Family Mellmann

Christmas Eve 2023 is in the books.  Actually, Katherine is "in the books".  Katherine has two real hobbies, writing her own stories and reading other's, so when birthdays and Christmas roll around books are always a good choice for gifts.  I like to get her the first two or three books of a series and then if she likes the series we can add the rest later.  That's what I did this year, and then threw in some "author-y" books (how-to type books for budding authors) to help her build her craft. For Patrick, I tried to keep it small since he has to take back in an airplane anything we give him.  A few clothes and a couple of gift cards did the trick. Yes, more books. And her favorite movie in book form (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children) for the win! It's a boxed set!  Best mom ever! And our traditional fondue dinner, of course. Christmas Eve day had all the usual features; put the tree up and decorate it, church activities (I directed the children...

We have a favorite sushi restaurant in downtown Burlington.  They have excellent fresh fish and flavorful sushi and maki, better than any other sushi place in the area.  And they know us on sight.  When we walked into the shop for our dinner reservation, the owner greeted us by name.  When she saw only three of us, she asked if our daughter was joining us.  This has been our restaurant choice for anniversaries, special events, and celebrations for many years. Now, as we prepare to move out of Vermont - and with everybody home - we went out for one last sushi night.  Katherine had flaked out on us as we were preparing to leave but that didn't stop us from enjoying a lovely dinner together. Farewell Asiana House.  We will miss you.

When the kids were younger, we would have a family game night.  Sometimes it was just Katherine, Mama, and Papa (Patrick didn't really care for board games) and sometimes it was Patrick, Katherine, and Mama (Papa didn't really care for card games), and sometimes it was just Katherine and Mama (Katherine likes to beat me at Uno, which she does fairly consistently through the liberal use of Draw 4). While everyone is home and in a celebratory mood we cracked out die Siedler Seafarer edition for an afternoon of discovery and piracy.  Die Siedler is a strategy-rich, rules-heavy game with lots of moving parts and can take a long time to play - think of Life or Monopoly but with more rules, lots of customization, and about one extra hour.  Patrick had to leave about halfway through the game to go visit with friends which he planned to do while he was in town.  Meanwhile, Papa came from behind for the win.     Having Christmas Eve fall on a Sunday creates certain ...

Last year, we visited the Shelburne Museum Winter Lights for the first time.  We enjoyed it so much that we decided to try it again.  THIS time, Katherine listened to her mother and dressed in layers and was able to stay warm during the walk.  Every time she said, "why didn't I listen to you sooner about wearing layers?" I just bit my tongue. Patrick - "What are these, a runway?  They have all the colors of a runway." (once a pilot, always a pilot) Katherine's favorite light exhibit would be the orbs. Mom's favorite spot is in the lighted forest. The selfie was Katherine's idea.  How could I say "no"?  

As we prepare to move out of Vermont, Patrick has returned "home" to help us celebrate one last time in the Green Mountains.  He arrived last last night and will stay for a week.  Our first activity; German Christmas cookies. Katherine provided the musical entertainment with her Spotify winter playlist and helped us decorate the cookies.   Christmas is shaping up...although there is a startling lack of...SNOW.

I just got home from hand bell rehearsal!  After several years of wanting to ring in a hand bell group again, I finally connected with a local community hand bell choir that meets at a local church and does a few concerts each year, and sometimes does programs for schools and nursing homes.  I attended their Christmas program last year and asked if I might be able to audition for the next fall.  No audition necessary (apparently teaching hand chimes to a bunch of junior and senior high students is credential enough to get accepted) and I started this fall.  But when I signed up last Christmas, I didn't know I'd be moving.  Even when fall came around and rehearsals began, I thought I would be around until late spring or early summer. Oh well.  They let me stay on and we are preparing for our Christmas concert, conveniently scheduled for AFTER Christmas (so that it doesn't conflict with school programs and church events).  So, if you're local and want to...

It's gettin' real around here. For the past couple of weeks we have been meeting old friends for one last cup of coffee or one last meal together before we leave Vermont.  I had my last hair appointment with my favorite beautician.  We have given away, sold, pitched, or packed almost all of our belongings - everything except the clothes we wear, the equipment we use to work, and the kitchen tools we eat with every day. We gave away the last of our living room furniture this weekend.  All that remains is one chair that survived from the original furniture we bought when we built this house sixteen years ago.  It looks pretty...sparse.  Even the Christmas presents look a little sad sitting under the window waiting for the tree to go up.  It also doesn't look much like "home" anymore...ironic since Patrick will be coming "home" for Christmas - one last celebration in Vermont. After Christmas, the office furniture will go to its new home, and the old treadmi...

In the last 2 1/2 months, I have spent a lot of time cleaning, organizing, and pitching.  First it was a rental property renovation and cleaning.  Then it was time to prepare for a cross-country move (we pay movers by the pound so it was time to lose some weight!) and get our house listed for sale (for which the house must be nearly empty and staged like a showplace).  This morning, I realized that I hadn't dumped the pictures from my phone since early this summer when I left for Arizona to see Patrick.  So, today I am filtering through a whole summer of photos from Welcome to [state name here] signs as I criss-crossed the country, to garage sale items that I wanted to give away or sell, to knitting projects, and pictures captured to remind me of one thing or another (like a recipe from my Aunt Diana, a photo of a knitting pattern I'd like to try). Mixed in with all these random snapshots of my last six months was a screenshot of a text conversation I had with Kather...

It might be an example of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon and it might just be a really good idea. When I was at the grocery store earlier today, this car was parked in the spot in front of me.  As we begin to put real plans behind our move west (to Montana), it's funny to encounter a sticker like this here in Vermont.  I see many cars with bumper stickers from all over New England and other areas of the US, but seldom do I see Montana.  I think we should take their advice. :)