Friends from Taiwan

Jimmy Wu, a student at our University in Ashland, started attending our Presbyterian Church several years ago. He was learning English and American ways and far away from his family in Taiwan. We became friends and several years ago invited him to spend Christmas with us. He was excited to experience his first "Christian Christmas" in the USA. He had no idea that we gave each other gifts and was really surprised that we included him with gifts! He then moved to Washington & began attending Western Washington University. He made the 600 mile trip to be with us again for Christmas & this time he was prepared with gifts!!! Jimmy fit in well with our family. This past Christmas, we received a call from him and he was able to come again but had a special request. His mom & dad & brother were coming and wondered if it would be ok if they came too? We were delighted! We invited them to stay at our place and they accepted! Jason, his brother, knew very little English and mom & dad did not speak English! They were a lively family wanting to experience everything they could! They played games with us including Five Crowns - they jumped on the trampoline - they enjoyed our food - they brought gifts & received gifts - they wanted to attend our candle lighting service at church - they even had fun scraping the frost off their rental car's windows. Whenever there was anything to do in the kitchen, Mrs. Wu was there helping. . .words were not necessary. . .cutting, dicing & stirring are the same in all languages!! And whenever we needed a translator, Jimmy was always there! We had a great time with our new friends making this past Christmas a grand memory.

Christmas in Texas

December, a month to remember! A Rose Bowl disappointment for the Oregon Ducks and families gathering. But Oregon and Texas do have long lasting memories of both losing their Bowl games on National Television! We all know that the Christmas Season is happy for most folks but sad for many others. We all remember those unusual Christmases over the years but this year had many enjoyable moments. Roly & Candy had their clan gather in Corsicana, Texas. The usual climate is mild even in the winter even though I remember ice storms in December. But the winter blast waited until January for Texas where they have been shivering with 20 degrees! and in Oregon it's Spring, almost! We all missed the Texas kids and grands and greats! And finally received these memories to enjoy with them. Now headlong into another year, we are all thankful for life and the opportunity to grow some more gratitude to keep us warm!

Thanks to Candy, Roly, Ashley, Zack, Holly, Joe, Blake and Tyler! We all missed you!

Hummers Stay in Ashland

Several hummingbirds decided to stay in Ashland instead of heading to Arizona for the winter. They probably know that obligates us to feed them until the flowers bloom in Spring! But this week we have an Arctic blast of cold air that seems like zero degrees wind chill even though the sun shines afternoon! Yesterday and today, the fog was so thick the frost grew every minute obscuring the sun. The barren trees and shrubs were all covered with a snowlike covering. I went out to get a photo and as usual, the hummers protested. They have claimed the feeders and let you know your too close. The hummer you see, decided to wait me out in the top of the frost covered tree and as soon as I went inside, took a long sip of sweet feed and retreated to home in the top of the nearby evergreen.

Ashland Water Polo State Champions!

Adam, Lori and Bob's water boy, helped the Ashland High School Water Polo team win the state championship! As a sophomore, Adam has worked hard and landed a regular starting position on the team. The final game was very close against a tough Portland team. Going into the final quarter, Ashland was behind 8 to 10. Against a super goalie, they struggled for goals but outlasted their opponents and scored the winning goal with just seconds to go. Congratulations to Adam and his team for a superb accomplishment!

Tyler Reports from Boulder, Colorado

Roly & Candy dumped Tyler their youngest, as new fallen snow, in Boulder again this fall. Now in his second year, Tyler looks forward to the first snowfall so he can snow board!! He finally figured out how to maneuver a photo from his cell phone to my cell, then these photos became my problem on how to get them from my cell phone into my computer all the way to this Blog! You don't want to know all the hoops we had to jump thru! 'But alas, 2 photos from Boulder! You can see the University football field in the distance and enjoy the beautiful Colorado snowfall! Thanks Tyler for this great effort!

Summer Trip - Final Installment 5

It seemed like we were gone all summer, nearly 8 weeks. After 10 days in Michigan surrounded by Esther's family and friends, we headed back to Indiana to see family & friends in & around Wakarusa with the grand event, my 60th Wakarusa High School class reunion! We spent our week with Norma & Gene Slagle. Our first stop was Uncle Bud Hartke in Mishawaka. As always Bud has sharpened his sense of humor and manages pretty well alone with a little help from niece Tammy. It's always scary to have breakfast at the uptown restaurant. . .but decided to go for it. And as you would expect, an old girlfriend and 6 other old folks that knew me right away and. . .I did get most of them right but was relieved when it went better than I expected. I can't tell you what I ordered and if I even ate it . . .but it was a nice memory!

We had a great time with Tammy, Allison and Brandon in Wakarusa, Sharon Poe, a 1st cousin, Al & Barbara Beutler in South Bend, the Ludwicks and Wises in Wakarusa and others.

After the reunion, we headed for home. After two nights in motels (9 nights in motels for the entire trip) we reached Kay & Tom Branches in Crawford, Colorado. They took us to the National Monument Park in Pueblo. It reminded us of the many beautiful scenic places that are preserved for all of us to enjoy. On to Salt Lake City and Sacramento, CA where Chris & Carlon, our long time friends from College days greeted us for a long week-end. The week-end was a special celebration for their kids. It was a farewell at the church they started in Rocklin, CA.

We were now anxious to get home and collect two months of mail!!! and, see what bills we had forgotten to pay. Things were quiet in Ashland with very few problems awaiting us. It was a wonderful trip! The 2000 Mercury Villager gave us a comfortable even after 125,000 miles! But best of all was Ashley's wedding in Austin, TX and our families and friends that we loved to connect with and make new memories with. You were all grand people!!!

Corsicana, Texas Bulletin

THE BASS ARE COMING IN to Roly's dock apparently feeding on the small fish who live in submerged trees and weed cover. Just received the photo taken quickly at night after catching this 8 pound largemouth bass! It does make all fisherpeople want to board the next plane for Texas! Congratulations Roly!