Family Mellmann

Last year for Christmas I received an embroidery machine.  It took me a few months to get it purchased (supply chain issues perhaps) and set up but I did finally get the job done.  I tried a few patterns from the built-in inventory on the machine and quickly decided that this was going to be FUN! I found some online sources for quality patterns and came across one that I thought Patrick might enjoy.  He cleaned out his closet and gave me four shirts that have mostly seen better days but that still have some life to live and asked if I could embroider them with my nifty pattern.  Today, I finally got the job done.  I think they turned out pretty well.  He's...flight instructing...but I can't wait to see what he think! (Katherine and I are still working on a pattern that she likes.)  

Katherine is many things but two things are more pronounced; she is a voracious reader and money burns a hole in her pocket.  Generally a night owl, she was downstairs and dressed and ready to go (complete with her winter coat on and a new hat and gloves) before 9:00 AM so that we could be at Barnes & Noble when they opened.  A Christmas gift card was itching be spent and she was ready to stock up on a new round of reading materials.  Katherine describes herself as a "purist", preferring actual books with paper and ink over digital books to be read on a device of some kind. I have tried over and over to get her to make use of the library - nearly unlimited free reading, but she has never actually met a book that she was willing to part with.  She much prefers to soak in their pages over and over and over again.  When she reads a mystery or fantasy fiction, she imagines alternative endings, twists unwritten by the author, or imagines other characters who could add color an

As a Christmas break activity we bought tickets to the Shelburne Museum Winter Lights show.  We enjoyed some fresh air, a little walk, and LOTS of beautiful and creative lights.  We even ran into some old friends who had the same great idea.  

It's Christmas Eve which means our family has been celebrating Christmas.  We started with putting the tree up and getting it decorated.  I went to church to direct the youth choir who sang Once in Royal David's City, and to sing in an ensemble (I think this has been my singing-est Christmas in years!) before returning home to continue our festivities. The presents are opened.  The fondue is finished.  The dishwasher is running.  The kids have retired to the upstairs to collaborate on a Minecraft world.  In Minecraft, as in life, they each have their skills and interests and deploy those skills in a cooperative effort over the Christmas holiday when both have extra time to just hang out...and play Minecraft.  Joerg is checking out what the kids are up to (I think a heard him explaining what a LAN is).  And I am ordering some supplies for next year while the list is fresh in my mind.  Given the spate of "supply chain issues" we have had recently, perhaps if I order now

Tis the season for all manor of Christmas activity. On December 1st we began our annual tradition of opening Advent calendars.  For nearly twenty years I have filled custom-made calendars with unique-to-each-kid presents and treats.  Now that those "kids"aren't kids anymore, the tradition has taken a shift to the more store-bought variety. Katherine's calendar is filled with her favorite holiday treat, peppermint bark. Patrick's (last ever) Advent calendar is filled with baking-themed items from cookie cutters to icing tubes.  It's the perfect start to his First-Apartment-Supplies. I've attended three Christmas parties including Adventsingen with the "internationals" and this Trinity teacher/staff Christmas party complete with the perennial favorite Yankee Swap. Christmas programs are being prepared at both church and school.  I will be directing the youth choir (Kindergarten through 6th grade) when they sing on Christmas Eve and the students at