Memphis Democrat Column from December 16, 2007

Despite having to deal with all the ins and outs of trying to stay on my feet this past week, I have to admit the sun shining through the ice on the trees this morning and afternoon was really entrancing. It has been nice to get a break from the relentless weather the past couple of days and finally see some sun.

With the arrival of the snow, skis have been taken from under the house and ski boots have come down from the attic for the first time this year. Stan got in a good session of skiing yesterday and I am sure more folks will be going out soon. Renay missed some school because of the winter weather, but put in some serious reading time while she was off. She also was outdoors playing with our dogs Sammy and Goldie, snowboarding and taking a long walk through the woods with Gigi. Before school was cancelled, she was able to participate in the elementary school winter musical concert on December 10th. Renay is studying percussion as a member of the band and played bells in the program. She is looking forward to beginning drums after the holidays. On December 4th, we celebrated Richard's birthday. Gigi made him a special cake with a big chocolate "R" on top and we all enjoyed it at lunch. At the community potluck that evening, he discovered that he shared a birthday with a couple of the Rabbits. Laird returned from Albuquerque on December 7th after a very enjoyable Thanksgiving break. The weekend after the holiday, he and Ma'ikwe visited Ceilee and Tosca in Las Vegas. Jo had also flown in from Asheville, North Carolina where she is now living. Stan drove back from Manitoba on the 11th and spent the night in Minneapolis with friends on the way. He had a good visit with his family. For the first time, he helped coordinate an annual gathering held by his mother's family and plans to do it again next year. Stan got in some skating while he was there, but had to go the indoor rink in Altona since there was a lot of snow. He said they had at least twelve inches fall during the time he was there. He and his brother also took in a hockey game. I had misunderstood what he had said when he called home and it was actually minus 21 degrees C at that time. That would be about minus 6F. Temperatures ran about minus15C (5F) to minus 30C (-22F) while Stan was there, although it did go down to minus 40C with wind chill, which is minus 40F. Br-r-r! We said goodbye to Otto and Richard this morning. Otto caught the early train from Quincy on his way to Michigan. He will be gone about three weeks. He is going to attend a two week workshop at the Creative Health Institute near Battle Creek and then visit his father in Ann Arbor. Richard drove back to Minnesota to spend the holidays with his family. He plans to do a visitor period at East Wind Community in southern Missouri early in the year. We have appreciated his assistance since the sorghum harvest, particularly with cutting firewood and forestry work. He has also been a great help with all the sorting and organizing jobs that have needed to be done. We hope to see him again in the future.