I just finished reading Christmas 1994 and Christmas 1995. How delightful! Good idea Bob! 1996 has been an interesting year as well.

Thomas is 21 and is still working at the HerbFarm and taking classes at Green River Community College. Tom spends most weekends at mom and dad’s while working in the HerbFarm restaurant. Tom has also spent quite a bit of money updating his computer. His now is the fastest in the house.

Paul is 19 and got his AA Degree from Green River Community College on June 14. Paul is still working part time for Terry Spencer and still has his Bulletin Board running. Paul, too, has updated his computer, putting in a faster motherboard, etc. He also found a great deal on a 486-DX computer from Craig Baker. I bought it for $50 and have since replaced about every card in it. So I have a pretty nice computer, too.

Anne turned 16 this year and got her drivers’ license. She also just graduated from Maple Valley High School on December 6. She has continued being an avid Mariners fan, attending a number of their home games in the Kingdome. She also roots for the Seattle Sonics who seem to have a fairly good team again this year.

Valorie has been working for the Primerica Financial Corporation which specializes in insurance, securities and loans. She has been in training much of the year and got her insurance license. She is still working & studying for her securities license. She just recently stopped being the editor of the South King County Genealogical Society newsletter after having had a lot of trouble getting support from the rest of the membership for articles for the newsletter.

I have been busy at work at the Boeing Company, working lots of overtime. We just went to the roll out of the first 737-700 last Sunday. The airplane looks really nice and there were good displays. Last April, mom, dad, Valorie and I flew to Nebraska to visit Brule. The trip was wonderful and we met several cousins. I wrote about the trip and sent copies of it to mom and our other relatives.

The Betts have moved to Arizona after an extended time of fixing up their house in Hobart, putting it on the market and living in their garage while potential buyers looked over the house. Scott Betts just recently got in an auto accident in this VW and ended up in the hospital for several weeks. Tom, Paul, Anne and Sarah spent one weekend visiting him in Spokane. Kim and Rick flew up from Arizona. Kim stayed with him for several weeks after Rick returned to Arizona. Scott flew back to Arizona with Kim but intends to come back to visit sometime in February.

Amy Rouse just recently had a baby girl named McKenna and she also recently moved away from home to live in Black Diamond with Ben.

The U.S. Forest Service made us pay $4,400 for our cabin lease fee, but Ken Barr has spent considerable time contesting the higher fees. He finally managed to get them to lower it to $2,400, but this still in quite an increase for us.

Saturday, December 14, 1996

I got up at 4:30 AM and let Rhys do his thing outside. Cookie is still alive and well, but she had to have her left eye removed since she had glaucoma in it. Her right eye has such a bad cataract that she can hardly see. She maneuvers mostly by smell now. She also seems to have some kind of ear infection which Valorie has been treating with garlic oil.

Tom, Paul, Anne and Valorie decorated the Christmas tree two days ago. It looks pretty with its multi-colored lights and presents.

Paul has to work today after having spent yesterday with Matt Weber. We learned that he had stayed up until 4 AM and yet went to work at 8. Not much sleep, Paul!

Tom is working at the HerbFarm and won’t be home until tomorrow morning. I took a few minutes to put more water in his fish tank and to drop a few food pellets to his three fish.

Anne arose at 7 AM and chastised me for not having fed the dogs. That’s the ritual, you know; Anne feeds the dogs on the weekdays, and I feed them on the weekends (as long as I’m not working). Anyway, she managed to get Valorie up by 7:30. Brianne Rouse came over at 8 and we headed to the Eagle hardware store in Issaquah. Anne, Brianne and Valorie got Jay Buhner’s autograph by donating a "toy for tots". Of course, we were almost an hour early, so I wandered around Eagle for 45 minutes and then went to the Barnes & Noble bookstore and Egghead software. I did find one book that Valorie would like.

After having got Jay’s signature (and the Moose’s), we found a national monument (McDonald’s) and had lunch. We next stopped at a kitchen supply store. We walked by some people who had their Great Dane decorated with a set of antlers. Brianne jumped back and yelled, "Yikes! What IS that thing!!" We all had a good laugh! We did find "The Perfect Present" at the Kitchen Store: its a gift box containing a Mariners blanket, a cup and a baseball. The rest of the stores in Gillman Village were getting really crowded so we headed home. Brianne washed and vacuumed the Subaru while we all took an afternoon nap.

I inspected Brianne’s washing job (which was good) and then changed the car’s oil. We have managed to put 108,000 miles on the car since buying it in July ‘92. Paul got home at about 4:30. On the evening news we all got a shock when we heard that the Mariners Baseball team has been put up for sale! Apparently they are tired of waiting for the City Council to make decisions concerning the new stadium. Needless to say, Anne was extremely upset.

For dinner we decided to go to Round Table Pizza in Auburn. The pizza was good, possibly because we had to wait almost an hour. We shopped at the Auburn Super-Mall. Brianne got a gift for her mother.

Sunday, December 15, 1996

I got up at 5:01 AM. I ground some coffee beans and made a fresh pot of coffee. Yum! I remembered to feed the dogs and Porky Pig. Paul got up at about 7 AM and went to work at Terry Spencer’s. I turned on the news and heard the announcement that Boeing was going to merge with McDonnell Douglas! It will be interesting to see what effect that has on my job.

I got busy and wrapped Christmas presents. I used some foil wrapping paper and they really look nice. Valorie and I went shopping while Anne stayed at the house waiting for Sarah Betts to come over. I decided to give Anne her "Christmas Bonus" which was a wad of $1 bills. Sarah arrived shortly after we left and they both watched a movie.

Had breakfast at Maples, gassed up the car, and then found an electric etching tool for dad at the Do It! Center. We then went to Auburn and stopped at the Men’s Warehouse. Found two really nice white shirts for Ron. Valorie bought me a blue shirt and tie. From there we stopped at the Incredible Universe to look at Fax machines. We had decided that we wanted to get a fax-copier-printer for the Betts, as a family present. The prices there for fax machines were high, but we did find a few computer games which Valorie bought.

Our next stop was Big 5 in Federal Way. Valorie bought some ski gloves for Thomas and picked up a plastic jump rope for Anne. Just across the parking lot was Crown Books, so we spent 45 minutes there. I got a book for Ron about merchandising on the Internet. Valorie found several miscellaneous books for "special" gifts.

We then headed for the Good Guys to look at fax machines. They had a floor model priced at $399 which was marked down $100. They replaced the toner cartridge and the batteries. It looked like a good deal so we bought it. At home, of course we had to set up the fax machine and test it out. Sent a fax to Ted Cowan and he returned one. The machine also will take electronic phone messages and make photo copies. Our only challenge is to wrap it so it won’t get damaged in shipping to Arizona. Had left-over pizza for dinner. Anne was having a bad stomach ache and thought she was coming down with the flu. Since we didn’t have a normal thermometer, she used the cooking thermometer to take her temperature. She was alarmed when it said her temperature was 100!

Monday, December 16, 1996

I got up at almost exactly the same time as yesterday. Let "Bud" go outside, but he was hesitant. There in the darkness I heard a scuffling sound. Suddenly, a lumbering shape appeared: Porky Pig! I had to wear Anne’s Mariner’s jacket and entice Porky to get back inside her pen with the lure of breakfast.

I fed the dogs a special breakfast of dog food topped with Wok Oil. They wouldn’t eat it! Even Cookie wouldn’t taste her food. So I tried heating it in the microwave and they still refused to eat. Finally I added some left-over meat which got them eating.

Tom, Anne and I went shopping after watching an hour of the Today Show. We learned that this is the busiest day of the year for the U.S. Post Office. Our first stop was SeaFirst where I got some Christmas cash. Drove to SouthCenter to Computer Sonics where I picked up a 4X4 CD-drive for Paul. I almost got the wrong one as I picked up a box that said it was a 4-speed CD drive. Whew!

Went to the credit union and deposited my advance holiday check. From there we drove to Bellevue where we stopped at the Computer Stop and got a Sound Blaster card for Paul. Thomas went in and paid half of the cost. We then drove across the street and I got a sound system for Valorie to have in her car.

By this time we were hungry so we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch. I had their fish sandwich, Anne had chicken nuggets, and Tom had a McLean Deluxe.

Our next stop was Tower Records and Books. There were a lot of people by now headed to Bellevue Square so we parked in the Puget Power parking lot and walked to the store. Anne found a CD for Paul and I got one for my dad and one for Valorie.

After trying to find a parking place for 15 minutes, we decided to go to Factoria. Thomas took over the driving duties and we wandered about that mall for an hour. Thomas found a silver chain for Angel.

Came home just as Valorie was leaving to take the fax machine to be mailed. She ended up going to Covington and paying over $40 to mail it. In the mean time, I put a roast with potatoes, onions and carrots in the oven in preparation for dinner.

Paul got home at 6:45 from working with Terry. He and Terry had to move several displays from Craig Rhyne’s business in Seattle. The Rhyne Company went out of business after it was found that Craig had misused customer funds. Valorie and I went over to Terry’s and looked at some jewelry that he had purchased at the Rhyne Company auction. I bought four sets of pearls to give as gifts.

Tuesday, December 17, 1996

I arose at 5:30. It’s cold this morning-- only 28 degrees outside. Neither Cookie nor Rhys spent much time outside. I could hear their feet crunch on the frozen lawn!

I fixed a special breakfast again by mixing a bit of peanut butter with their food. Cookie enjoyed it, but Rhys simply licked at it and gave up. Oh well, maybe he will be hungry later.

Paul worked his first day at the HerbFarm office. He answered phones and took orders for catalog products. He said there were only two people working the eight telephone lines. It was difficult since calls would come in all at once and he had to put many on hold while he directed calls.

Anne worked the day helping clean house for Karen Spencer. I forgot to ask her what she did but I’m sure it was the usual vacuuming, dusting, etc.

I wrapped a few more presents and spent a little time on the world wide web. Visited a Washington State Department of Highways site where I could access their traffic video cameras. Interesting.

Porky Pig is starting to make it a habit to come up to the sliding glass door and come inside. I brushed her and brought her in. Of course Rhys was extremely interested and wouldn’t leave her alone. She liked to rub against the legs of the piano. I took her back outside and decided that she needed to gain respect for the electric fence again. So I turned on the fence and put a note on the door to turn off the fence before letting the dogs out. Unfortunately, Porky did not try to cross the fence while it was on. Maybe tomorrow.

Valorie made candles last night. There was a shiny round one, another in the shape of a six-sided star, and a bunch in containers.

I did a little cleaning: vacuumed the carpet and swept the kitchen and dining room. I decided to move the couch in front of the living room window. It makes it more difficult to watch TV while sitting on the couch, but it makes for a lot more floor space.

Valorie decided to take her car to Renton to have the mechanic look at why it is so difficult to start when it is cold. He also will check to see what makes a "clicking" sound as the car turns.

We spent several hours shopping. Stopped at an antique store in Renton to see if they had any antique cork screws. No luck. We then tried to find a Shucks in Renton and finally ended up at the store in Kent. Valorie bought some tools for Paul. We also looked for an antique cork screw in the antique store in Kent. Found several, but they did not appear to be very old. The only interesting one was priced at $27.95. Too expensive.

At home Brianne Rouse came over. She and Valorie made a few more candles. I rested on the floor while Anne and Thomas enticed Rhys to attack my head. By patting my head and yelling, "Ow! Ow! Ow!" they are able to get Rhys to grab hold of my hair (what little is left) and tug. Crazy dog!

Wednesday, December 18, 1996

I started my day like always. Fixed a pot of fresh coffee and warmed myself by our new fireplace insert. It sure is nice.

Valorie found two interesting articles about Christmas in Ireland. I’ve included them as attachments to these writings.

Tom and Paul got up around 7 AM and left to go skiing at Crystal Mountain. It looks like it should be a pretty good day for them.

I watched most of the Today show. I went outside and raked up the fallen branches. It took three full wheel-barrow loads.

We got a letter from Andrea D’Allesandro. She will be graduating from College this June. Anne put together a return Christmas card that we’ll mail tomorrow.

I spent an hour or so on the World Wide Web. Checked the UPS site to see what was happening with our package that we sent to Kim & Rick. It is in transit. Also found out that one of the computer games that I wanted for Christmas was rated rather poorly. We’ll see.

Anne, Valorie and I went shopping at Southcenter. Our first stop was at Costco where Valorie returned some car care items. We then stopped at a computer store and picked up a 1.6 MB hard-drive for my computer. Walked around the mall for an hour. Valorie got some gifts at the Kitchen Outlet. Anne pointed out a photo album that she liked. Anne also has been having stomach pains, so we headed to Renton to get Valorie’s car. They fixed a front wheel bearing, rebuilt the front axle and replaced the coil. It cost about $350 but it’s worth it if it means the car is reliable.

Tom and Paul got home at about 5:30. They had a good day of skiing. Paul liked his new (used) skis. I put a Costco lasagna in the oven and opened by Birthday bottle of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir red wine. The meal and drink was delicious.

Paul was going to install my new hard drive but found out that it was a slower drive than what I really needed. Valorie agreed to return it tomorrow and pick up the faster version.

Thursday, December 19, 1996

I fixed the dogs a special breakfast just like the one I made yesterday morning. I ladled meat juice over their Pro-Plan dog food. They chomped it down!

Tom and I went to Bellevue Square. Left at 8 AM and returned by 11:30 AM. Thomas got a gift for Angel (some jewelry) and a black, cotton turtleneck sweater for Carrie. I looked at a lot of things but nothing caught my fancy.

I spent some time surfing the Internet and then laid down for a two hour nap. In the meantime Thomas left to work at the Herbfarm and Valorie went to exchange my hard drive for a slightly faster one.

I climbed up in the attic and found some boxes into which I put the pearl earrings for mom, Valorie, Lola and Carrie. Anne found some double-back tape and I wrapped them in foil. I wanted to put a bow on top of each one, but we didn’t have any good ones. So Anne and I hopped in the Honda Civic and headed to the store. Anne mailed a Christmas card to Andrea and we put gas in the car. At Payless we found some good bows. I picked up a box of Almond Roca for Lola and some chocolate coins to use as stocking stuffers. Anne and I checked at Safeway to see if they had any Mandarin oranges. They didn’t.

Finished wrapping the earrings. They look great. Paul had fallen asleep, but finally got up and decided to install my hard drive. The plan was to simply remove my old 340 MB drive and put in the new one. However, it got complicated when my computer wouldn’t recognize all three drives. So he ended up copying the information from both of the existing drives onto the new drive and then re-copying portions back. The entire process took about five hours. Everything works fine now.

Anne has not eaten much today, a banana and a muffin. Her stomach-abdomen is bothering her and she laid around most of the day. If she doesn’t improve soon we’ll need to have her seen by a doctor.

Friday, December 20, 1996

The dogs had another morning meal with meat juice. Watched the news. The top story for the last few days is the hostage situation in Lima, Peru. Some gunmen stormed the Japanese ambassador’s house and are holding over 300 people hostage. They demand release of 300 jailed people. So far, no one has been hurt. Also in the news today is word that the Mariners are willing to come back to the bargaining table to re-consider the sale of the team. Nothing is decided yet, but at least there is hope of keeping the team in town.

I got a haircut at 9. Left the barber a $3 tip. I guess Paul had wanted to go with me, but he didn’t say anything. He even chased after me in HIS car but I didn’t see him. I stopped at the Kent Fred Meyer and got an Anne Lennox tape for Angel and a couple of baseball videos for Anne. Also picked up some Satsuma oranges, one box for us and one box for Anne.

At home I fixed a hamburger and then Paul and I went on search of those perfect presents. I mentioned to him that there was a place in Buckley that Valorie and I usually went. So we drove through Enumclaw and tried to find the place in Buckley. No luck. It was gone. So we stopped at an Antique store, but did not find any old corkscrews. (Ron wants old or antique corkscrews for Christmas.)

We then headed down the road and stopped at a Fred Meyer store. Paul got a CD for Ted (big bands) and I found another Anne Lennox tape for Angel. The clerk just raved about the tape as I bought it. I wonder if it is really that good? By this time Paul was hungry so we stopped at the national monument (McDonald’s) and had lunch..

Drove to Sumner where we searched through another Antique store. Paul did find an "older" corkscrew, but I wouldn’t call it antique!

Gassed up the car and took a back road heading toward Auburn. We ended up driving by fields where they grow sod. The road turned into a dirt road and I ended up covering the car with mud. So much for my $20 car was job from Brianne!

Stopped in downtown Kent. Browsed in the Pawn Shop and then through Penny’s. Went to the Card Shop and Paul found a poster for Anne and some baseball cards. By now we were worn out, so we headed home.

Anne had been sleeping all day. She has eaten very little. Watched the evening news. Valorie called Kim and Rick. They were shocked at having received the fax machine. Rick and Scott are busy trying to figure out how it worked.

I spent some time browsing the Internet. Looked for the 1997 Mariner baseball season schedule, but it wasn’t available yet. Also checked to see if the HerbFarm web page was available, but it’s not. Paul went to see his friend Scott who is home for the holidays.

Saturday, December 21, 1996

I arose at 5:30. Anne was sleeping, sitting up on the couch! Went through the usual morning routine. I sure hope Anne feels better today.

I spent some time wrapping presents. I’m using foil wrap with double-backed tape. It makes the presents really look nice.

I unloaded a bale of hay from the Subaru and filled Porky’s house. She spent the next several hours rooting around in the straw looking for seeds to eat.

I spent several hours surfing the Internet. Found a screen saver with pictures of skiing. It looks really nice. I figured that Anne must have some kind of African sleeping sickness because I laid down on my bed and slept for several hours. In no time it was 3:30!

When the mail came I finally got a CD I had ordered from a company in Bellevue almost two weeks ago. It’s a Linnex CD that Paul wanted.

Since it was the first day of Winter, Anne & Valorie opened presents. Anne got a baseball "Bloopers" and "Best Plays". Valorie got a Journey CD.

Thomas got home at 2AM and opened a present. He got a couple of cutting boards. His comment, "Not too exciting!"

Sunday, December 22, 1996 and Monday, December 23, 1996

I got up at 3 AM and went to work. Boeing is presently experiencing an "up" cycle in airplane production. We already have over 500 orders for the new Next Generation 737 and the first one isn’t even delivered yet! Our backlog of work in the Manufacturing Engineering area is growing and the concern of management is that we spend as much time as possible during the "holidays" to get back on schedule. I don’t mind working, but it is tough to sacrifice the holidays especially when it means being away from the family. So, to minimize the time away, I start work at 4 AM and work eight hours straight, finishing at noon.

The weather has been rainy and cool. In fact, there is often snow mixed in with the rain. We had a light dusting of snow on the wet lawn on Monday.

Anne has been sick for almost a week. When she eats she gets really bad stomach aches. And, by not eating, she has little energy. She lays on the couch for most of the day, sleeping much of the time. If she doesn’t get better soon we’ll have to get her into see a doctor.

Tom, Paul and Valorie went into Seattle to do some shopping. Paul wanted to get a Navy shirt. I went to the Auburn Supermall and got a cute hand-held puppet that looks like a weenie dog. I will give it to Valorie as a stocking stuffer. Also got a coffee-maker for Valorie and a picture album for Anne.

Thomas went to the Herbfarm Christmas party. He made hand-sewn scented bags filled with rice. If they are heated in a microwave for a minute they are great to put around your neck. Soothing!

Tuesday, December 24, 1996

I got up at 3 AM and went to work. Spent a typical day processing the Engineering drawings into manufacturing plans for the factory. The eight-hour shift went fast since I was really busy all of the time.

On the way home I stopped at the QFC to pick up a bottle of Champagne for Ted (Mums) and a few stocking stuffers. The store was packed with shoppers. I had a hard time finding a parking space!

At home, Valorie and Paul had gone shopping. Anne was up and about. She is feeling a bit better. Both Thomas and Paul were baking cookies. Paul made chocolate chip cookies and Thomas made fog cookies. They both turned out great!

Wrapping gifts was the main activity for several hours. Anne did a beautiful job wrapping the Mandarin oranges for Ted and Lola. Thomas wrapped a sleep bunny for Alissa. I put together a junk-food gift for Sarah. I used the wooden carrier that mom had given me for my birthday. It looked really nice.

Everyone pitched in and helped ready the house. Anne vacuumed the floor while Paul swept the kitchen and dining room. Thomas cleaned up the porch and I burned the paper trash. Valorie returned home at 3:30. She had been in Enumclaw making a few secret purchases. Having finished baking cookies we set out an enormous spread of munchies and makings for sub sandwiches.

Ted and Lola arrived at 4:30 and helped set out the remainder of the food. Lola stuffed olives with salted almonds and Ted cut up some moose sausage. Thomas opened some sparkling wine (Spumante) and apple cider and served everyone. Sarah Betts arrived at 5 and she and Anne made a Guinness book of world records attempt at wrapping gifts. I must say that they looked pretty good! Sarah helped make some really good tasting veggie dip by mixing buttermilk Ranch dressing mix with a bit of store-bought dip.

Angel arrived at 5:15 with Christian and Alissa. Christian was NOT feeling well and rolled about on the floor yelling, "I just want to go home!" He began to feel better after Angel fixed him a sandwich and let him have some munchies.

We opened presents for over an hour. Anne got a TON of baseball gifts including a mitt, a ball, a Mariners blanket, a Milwaukee Brewers hat, packs of baseball cards, and books galore. Thomas got a couple of computer games (Mercenaries II and The Dark Eye), sixteen Megs of computer memory, etc. Paul got a 4X4 CD-ROM player, 16 Megs of computer memory, etc. Valorie got a radio for her car (& free installation), a creeper for use while working on cars, car jacks, a Bruce Springstein music CD and some candles. I got a new Epson Sylist 500 printer, blow pops and pop corn, Brut splash-on lotion, a pliers tool-set, car wax and washing mitt, a music CD of Chopin piano music, a gift certificate for skiing at Crystal mountain and a large white serving platter. We all got money from Ted and Lola!

Wednesday, December 25, 1996

I arose at 6 AM, fed the dogs and noticed that we had a tiny sprinkling of snow! Anne was sleeping on the couch and didn’t believe me when I told her that we had a white Christmas!

Ted and Lola came over for breakfast. They were supposed to arrive at 9 AM but didn’t get here until almost 10. We all opened our stockings. Tom, Paul and I all got some nifty "stuff" that acts as a hand-warmer once the package is opened. Also got some puzzles. Tom and Paul both got a Leatherman pocket tool. Valorie got some chocolates and a hand-puppet that looked like Rhys!

We had a good breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs with moose sausage, onions and spinach, turkey-ham, and several juices. Of course we had coffee made in Valorie’s new Bodum coffee maker.

I messed around loading Encarta 97 on my computer and then it was time to load up the car and head over to Ron and Carrie’s. We left at 12:20 since we were to arrive then at about 1. The car was really loaded and lumbered up and over Tiger Summit.

We unloaded gifts and put them about the tree. Ron served Champaign to all and we had a good time looking at glass thermometer that was sitting on the coffee table. It was the kind that has glass floating balls with weights, one for every other degree from about 65 to 80 degrees. As the room warmed up, the balls would start to sink. The one that was below the main grouping indicated the temperature.

We then spent several hours opening gifts. I got several nice shirts and ties, a pair of jeans, another car wash mitt (to be used by my helper), a car organizer, a massager-vibrator for my feet and much more. Tom, Paul and Anne all got money, packaged in a gold-painted hollowed-out book. Anne got more baseball gifts. Both Tom and Paul got a share of high-growth stock. Valorie got some books and candles and a bunch of other stuff that I can’t remember right now (mainly because this is being written on December 31!!) Ron got a digital camera, but we couldn’t test it out since he planned on returning it for a different model. Ron also got a lot of books.

We had a brief respite and then sat down to another marvelous Christmas dinner. The first course was Lobster and seafood. Since I was seated next to Anne, I got to help her out with her meal. She still is not feeling well and could eat very little. The Lobster was followed by a garden salad complete with edible flowers. Then we had lamb and vegetables. That was followed by a cheese plate. Finally we had a dessert of chocolate and pears. Each course had its own wine and of course the table was gorgeous with silver and gold! How delightful!

The room was tastefully decorated and lighted to set just the right mood with soothing background music. Dad told some stories of Christmas in Alaska. His mother had a greenhouse and they grew fresh tomatoes! One of dad’s memories was getting an orange for Christmas. Fresh fruit in the winter in Alaska was rare indeed! Dad also told the story of how one winter evening he went to the door and put his tongue on the doorknob. It stuck there! He also remembers how they would "chink" the house by going outside and throwing a pail of water on the sides. The water would freeze there and keep air from blowing through the cracks!

Mom only remembers going to Church on Christmas and getting a few special presents. She remembers having roast goose for Christmas dinner.

We all helped clearing the table. Thomas and Ron set up his computer and connected to The Herbfarm web page. This will soon be accessible to anyone on the Internet. Ron hopes to make it with music and animation!

Thursday, December 26 through Monday, December 30, 1996

The morning brought snow. We got several inches but other areas got a lot more.

I have been working from Friday through Monday. We had a large backlog of work to finish before the new year. Of course, working during a Holiday means that I’m paid double. Nice bonus.

The problem has been the weather. On Friday night we got an ice storm. It rained hard, but the rain froze solid to the trees, roads, cars and everything else. There was so much ice that we lost over a dozen huge limbs on the fir trees in the back yard. It looked like a bomb had gone off! One of the limbs tore the rain gutter support off the eve.

The drive to work was interesting too. Snow and ice were coating the highway. To make it worse, there were fallen trees and tree limbs in the roadway! The snowplows spent most of their time plowing the tree branches out of the road. To add to the problems, the falling trees brought down the power lines. There are almost 280,000 homes without power. Our power went out at 1 AM on Saturday morning and was out until Monday. We were able to keep warm, however, since our fireplace insert kept going in spite of the power outage. We used a battery-powered fan to blow air into the insert so it would put out more heat. The evenings were lit by candles and our Coleman lantern. We loaned our kerosene heater to the Rouses. They had no way to heat their house. Janice Rouse had Paul and I come over to replace the wick in the heater.

Saturday night brought another storm and more snow. The weatherman said that the snow would turn to rain, and since it was raining when I left, I figured there would be little problem getting to work. Wrong. As I got into Four Corners the rain turned to freezing rain which began sticking to the car windshield. Then it turned to blowing snow. The road had not been plowed and I drove through eight to ten inches of snow. As I parked the car at work, I stepped out into an eighteen-inch drift! Fortunately it began warming up and raining. Unfortunately, there was no place for the melt water to go. It was trapped in the roadway between the ice walls that had been plowed. Huge puddles and lakes of water formed on the freeways and roads. I’ve never seen it like this in Western Washington before! On the news we watched video of roofs collapsing. One marina in Seattle had the roof collapse, sinking hundreds of boats!

Valorie called Kim on Sunday night. It’s her 41 birthday. They knew more about our weather problems that we did since they have a TV dish and can get our Channel 4!

We took the Christmas tree and decorations down last night. I have not been able to help much as I have been working.

Tuesday, December 31, 1996

I slept until 6 this morning. I was up last night playing a computer game called Phantasmorgia II--a Puzzle of Flesh. It has video clips and an interesting story line.

We got a copy of a letter from the Forest Service. They are offering to reduce our Leasehold fee to $2400 per year. It looks like we’ll accept the offer.

Valorie called a few of her friends last night inviting them to come to the cabin. I think Paul Herrick is planning to come up, but not stay overnight. We hope, too, that our parking lot has been plowed. Otherwise it may be difficult to park.

Christmas in Ireland -- memories from my Mom

My name is Maggie Folan and I read your note on the web and thought you might be interested in the description of Christmas in Ireland that can be found below. I am from the US, (Pittsburgh, PA) but my parents were born and raised in Ireland (Connemara area of Galway) and have maintained much of their Irish culture here in the US. And, thankfully, they have passed their love of Ireland onto me, my brothers and sister and our children. Anyway, my mom wrote this memoir for a college student doing research on Christmas traditions just a few weeks ago. Maybe it will be of help to you. Good Luck. And Happy Christmas to you and your family.

Preparations began early for our Christmas holidays. Fruitcakes and plum puddings were made in October and November and were placed in covered tins. Periodically, a drop of whiskey or brandy was sprinkled on the cakes and puddings in an effort to keep them fresh. And of course it added a lovely flavour and aroma that reminds me of Christmas to this very day.

For the weeks before Christmas, everyone was busy cleaning, whitewashing, and painting the house inside and out for this very special and holy day. With just a few days remaining before Christmas, we'd all go to confession as a means of tidying up ourselves in addition to our homes. As preparations continued, we would go out to the hillsides in search of prickly holly with red berries and strands of ivy and take it home to decorate the house. Without electricity, there was no need for the fancy lights that decorate homes today.

Christmas Eve brought its own special, last minute activities. All the children would polish their shoes in preparation for going to mass on Christmas morning. A large lighted candle would be placed in each window and the door to the home was left open so that any travelers would know they were welcome and would be given shelter, just as Mary and Joseph were given refuge on the first Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve was considered a day of abstinence so no meat could be eaten. Not much of hardship, really, for we knew the feast that awaited us the next day. A goose would be killed and prepared for the Christmas Day dinner. Just before bedtime, the stockings would be hung by the fireplace in anticipation of a visit from Santa Claus. These were not the specially decorated stockings you see now that are made just for Christmas, but rather the plain woolen socks knitted for us by our mother that we wore day to day.

On Christmas morning we would waken early and walk in the dark over the fields and down to the road on our three mile journey to mass. We took great pleasure in meeting others along the way and the greeting "Happy Christmas" was called out by all. Of course, before we left for mass, the children would go directly to the fireplace to see if Santa did indeed manage to stop at our home. It didn't take much to prove that he had been there. An orange, a small puzzle, perhaps a ball, just one item to each stocking and we as children were in awe. Certainly a far cry from what Santa is expected to deliver on Christmas morning these days. After mass, it was home to prepare the big Christmas dinner which was held in the middle of the day. To us it was truly a feast. There was roast goose, bread stuffing, mashed potatoes and vegetables. After dinner, when we would have our tea, it was time to dig into those fruitcakes and puddings that had been soaking up the whiskey for the past two months. What a treat! Later in the afternoon and into the evening relatives would come by to visit and, as we grew older, we would go out visiting ourselves.

The day after Christmas, St. Stephen's Day is likewise a holiday in Ireland. On this day, also known as the Day of the Wren, we would dress up in a type of disguise such as baggy old coats and caps and go over the fields and visit house to house, singing and dancing. Those we visited would always have a few pence to give us, the tradition being that we would need the money to bury the poor dead wren that we brought along with us in a box. We chanted the traditional song as we went along:

The wren, the wren, the king of all birds.

On Stephen's day was caught in the furze.

Up with the kettle and down with the pan.

Won't you give us a penny to bury the wren.

Of course, the money was better spent in the sweet shop in town.

Growing up in Ireland in the 1930's and 1940's gave me the opportunity to experience a Christmas celebration so very different from the celebrations of today, both back home in Ireland and here in the United States. It's important to realize that in Ireland, even today, the Christmas season begins on Christmas Eve and continues for nearly two weeks, until the Epiphany. This is a time spent visiting and celebrating with food, song and dance. It's a distant relative to the one day event that seems to be the norm in the United States today.

I have always loved Christmas, and I still do. The fancy lights and elaborate decorations of today are wonderful, but nothing can compare to the simplicity that brought me such joy as a child in Ireland. Our family tries to keep some of the old traditions alive. We begin our celebration on Christmas Eve with all the children and grandchildren. Often we go to midnight mass and then spend Christmas Day with more family. On St. Stephen's Day, our children and their families have taken to carrying on the tradition of the wren. They go around to friends and family that are also from Ireland and spend time in each home singing and dancing. Rather than pennies, it seems the little ones collect as many Christmas cookies as possible. And the wren is now a wee little stuffed version and that doesn't look at all dead. The festivities continue on then for nearly two weeks with many evenings spent visiting family, friends, and neighbors. The house is kept decorated until the second week of January, and Christmas music can still be heard days after the last present has been unwrapped."

And here’s another story about Christmas in Ireland:

I ran an article in our family newsletter about Christmas in Ireland. It follows with reference I used for the info. Use it as you wish.

May God Bless you and yours, Nancy Lynch Jackson

LYNCH FAMILY ASSOCIATION

Nodlaig Nait Cugat 'Nodlaig Nait Cugat'...is Gaelic for 'Happy Christmas'

Christmas is a traditional holiday for both Catholics and Protestants. Celebrations today don't much resemble what was done in the Old Country. I thought it would be interesting to see if I could find out something about the traditional meal, decorating, gift giving and of course Santa. Here is what I found:

It is usually green in Ireland at Christmas. The Irish have a saying: "A green Christmas makes a fat churchyard." A Christmas without snow is an augury, a sign, of hard times to come, an omen that the village churchyards will grow fat with new graves. The proverb reveals something of the character of the Irish people, and it reveals something of their history and struggles. It does not snow often in Ireland, and thus it does not snow often on Christmas. A green Christmas is the norm, rather than the exception. The Irish, of course, have another saying about snow on Christmas: "When it snows on Christmas Eve, the angels in heaven are plucking geese for the feast on the morrow."

Christmas dinner is, traditionally, the most elaborate meal of the year in Ireland, and today, as in the past, many women begin their preparations weeks in advance. Plum puddings, with plenty of raisins, currants, spices, and breadcrumbs, as well as a liberal portion of Irish whiskey, are as necessary a part of the Irish Christmas feast as turkey with cranberry sauce is to the Americans. Bread pudding with butterscotch sauce, is another favorite. The real star of the culinary season is the Christmas cake, which may be started as early as October to allow time for proper mellowing. A goose is the traditional fare. The immediate family gathers. Married children have their own celebrations but unmarried children of all ages are expected to be home for Christmas. Dinner is eaten on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve was traditionally a fast day. Potato Soup is a common main dish on Christmas Eve.

Bringing home the Christmas starts on Christmas Eve. Decorating isn't done till then. One gift per person is tradition. Stockings are hung on the bedpost. And Father Christmas is the person who brings gifts. The tradition of placing lighted candles in the windows originated in Ireland. At nightfall on Christmas Eve, a tall thick candle is set in the principal window of the house, often by the father of the family. The candle may be either white, red, blue, or green and is often two feet in height. Traditionally, the honor of lighting the main candle belonged to the youngest child or to a daughter named Mary. Many families place a candle in every window of the house, or at least in all the front windows. According to custom, all candles must be lighted from the principal candle.

There were many legends and tales told around the waning light of peat fires on Christmas Eve. The houses and churches of Ireland were decorated for Christmas with holly because on this night an angel sprang from every spike and danced in attendance to the Christ child. And in the barnyards, the animals - the cows and horses and pigs - were blessed for a single hour with the gift of speech and knelt in prayer and worship of the Infant. Even the rooster, out in the yard was aware of the significance of this one night of the year, filled with the joy of Christmas, he was known to crow throughout the night. To hear the cock crow on the stroke of midnight was a particularly good omen.