Christmas Day

I'll Be Home for Christmas always makes me cry. The first year Klep and I celebrated Christmas as a married couple, we made a conscious effort to establish the tradition that our home was where we both were. We did not begin the going home for Christmas that would have put us into a competition. We have, since then, spent part of the day other places, but most of our Christmas days have been spent in our home. Fortunately most of the rest of the family has decided that our house isn't a bad place to spend most of the day!

Christmas contrast with Thanksgiving here because Thanksgiving is a carefully thought out proceedure. I have schedules and lists. Christmas pretty much happens. We never completely know what we will be having for dinner until we sit down at the table.

Now, don't get me wrong! There is always plenty of food. This year will probably be remembered for the Boef Bourguignon and the garlic mashed potatoes which were contributed by Rob and Traci. No matter what shows up, it always blends into a good menu which is well seasoned with laughter.

Thanksgiving is one of those days when the good table cloth and the china comes out. Not so Christmas! This year we were paper Santa Plates and cups with assigned reindeer names. A couple of the elves assigned names and decorated cups. We give the "maid" the day off on Christmas and clean up is quick and easy.

One thing is always on the schedule on Christmas day and that is the reading of the Christmas story from Luke. This year after everyone was gathered, the elves collected those of us who had slipped away to the kitchen and four generations of our family paused to listen to those verses about the baby, the angels, and the shepherds. And we, like Mary, pondered them in our hearts. We had our Christmas prayer, the gifts were unwrapped, and the bedlam was on!

The afternoon at our house is another happening. After the dinner is cleared, the cookies and candies find their way to the table. We are in and out. Games go on. The puzzle begins. Friends drop in, and the day slips away until some of our family start heading home.

When the darkness falls, the grazing begins again with sandwiches and leftovers.

The Gifts That Keep on Giving

Christmas has become synonymous with gifts. The tradition of giving lots and lots of things to lots and lots of people is not an old tradition. In fact, it basically came about during the latter part of the nineteenth century and has slowly built over the years until now the gift buying, gift giving, gift obsessing begins before Halloween with stores decked out in both Halloween orange and black and Christmas red and green.

The concept of the gift of course is older than this. There is the actual reason for Christmas which was the gift of the savior to all mankind. That is what the day "Christmas" commemorates although it is unlikely that the birth took place in December. The other old reason for the giving tradition was the example of the Magi when they gave their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Christ child.

Unfortunately, most of the gift giving mania has little to do with either of the original gifts. Perhaps there are other gift that are not bought in stores or ordered on line which have a deeper meaning for all of us. As I mused over the miles yesterday returning from South Carolina to Florida, I thought of some of the wonderful gifts I have received in my life.

God gave me the gift of parents who always tried to do their best for me. He gave me parents who could laugh and who were not afraid of work. He gave me, all these years, the necessities of life and many joys.

He gave me salvation and a relationship with him that I need to unwrap and treasure every day.

He gave me a husband who loves me and two wonderful sons. He gave me daughters in law who love their husbands and fit into our family. He gave me two beautiful grand daughters to love, cherish, and watch grow as they discover the beauties of life.

He gave me a niece and a nephew whom I love and treasure. He gave me a niece-in-law whom I think of as my own. He gave me two bright nephews who give me the treasure of laughter and love.

He gave me a circle of Christian friends who encourage me and help keep me straight when I slip into self-centeredness.

He gave me a church that nurtures me and challenges me to serve.

He gave me a home with heat, running water, and electricity....all things that would have been unheard of two hundred years ago!

He gave me a country that even with its problems is still the best one in the world to live in.

He gave me challenges and difficulties which are gifts that teach us balance, tolerance, humility and patience.

He gave me peace, joy, and hope to know that everything is in His hands.

He gave me curiosity and a mind that enjoys exploring and learning.

He gave me this year a chance to see the glaciers of Alaska, the mountain peaks of the Yukon, the waterfalls along the Cumberland Plateau, the dusting of snow in the Appalachia's, a sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico, a cardinal landing on my frozen water feature, the lunar eclipse over my house, and more beauty than I can remember.

My Christmas gifts have been given all through my life. Yes, it will be fun to open a few packages from people who love me, but my deepest joys are in these gifts which have enriched my life.

2011 will be full of gifts. I just know it will. What is wonderful is that no one has to take paper, tape, and ribbon to wrap them. They will be wrapped in the living of each day.

Christmas Letter 2010

Merry Christmas 2010

The fog hovered over the field as I awoke this morning the day before Thanksgiving 2010. The house is quiet as we await the arrival, one by one of our Thanksgiving guests. What better time to pause and think of Christmas which is the sum total of all Thanksgiving!

2010 has been busy with trips, time spent with family and friends, puttering around the house, gardening, lazing in the chair with a book, and, ever so often, just sitting on the screen porch watching the birds at the feeders.

Klep oversaw the expansion of one of our local parks the first three months of the year.

In March my mother went with us to South Carolina to meet her youngest great-grandchild.
April and October were Tennessee months in Winegar Hollow where we enjoyed old friends and family. We managed to slip down to Greenville several times to see the kids.

In May, two years of effort culminated in the 50th high school reunion for the Jasper High School Class of 1960. I saw classmates that I had not seen since we marched down the aisle of the now defunct Jasper High School auditorium. We spent an evening reminiscing to the sounds of the 50’s supplied by Rob.

In April we celebrated Leila Kate’s first birthday with a party in her back yard and in May
we celebrated Ava Grace’s fourth birthday at her favorite restaurant, Red Robin.

After we got the house painted this June, we headed to Memphis to do our Highway 70 across Tennessee trip that we had been planning for years. Of course we made several side trips off the old highway. If you want more details, it is further down here on my blog.

In August we celebrated my mother’s 87th birthday at the Smoking Pig in Valdosta before we flew off to Alaska for a tour/cruise.

Again, there are pictures and details on the blog. Alaska and the Yukon were awesome!

We got back from October in Tennessee and left the next morning for Bowling Green, Kentucky for Aunt Agnes’ funeral. She had been blessed with 103 years of life. While we were there we met cousins that we had never met and reconnected to others that we see way too seldom.

November has been settling back in, getting new steps and walks, and getting ready for Thanksgiving followed by Christmas.

December 18, I return to our missive as we realize that we enter Christmas week tomorrow. We have celebrated Thanksgiving with our house full of family, welcomed our friends in for an afternoon of caroling and snacking, and now we look forward to the final countdown to the celebration of the birth of Jesus which we will do here at home after a quick trip to South Carolina for a little pre-Christmas celebration with the Karolina Kleppers.

We wish you all Joy, Hope, and Peace this next year. May His blessings pour out over you and yours.

Barbara and Klep

Layers of Christmas Joy

Christmas time is upon us. Tomorrow the calendar tells me that winter will be officially here. The last few months have been so intensely busy that I have hardly had time to contemplate the rapidly approaching celebration followed by the closing out of the year 2010.

Even with the busyness, we have been adding layers of Christmas joy one by once since Thanksgiving.

Klep and Anne put the tree up after most of our group had left for home. I spent "Rivalry Saturday" decorating the tree while I enjoyed the last big day of the college football season.

Decorating our tree is a trip through the forty plus years we've spent together. We remember the December trip to Okinawa in 1969 when we place the rattan angel atop the tree. We smile over the faces of our sons on homemade ornaments from their elementary school days. We laugh to see the little gingerbread men made by Erbia, a dear friend in Niceville. The wooden soldiers bring memories of our neighbors Carolyn and Ken. Others remind me of my teaching years as I hang ornaments given to me by students who are now successful adults. Our tree is not a designer tree and there is no theme other than the theme of our lives over more than four decades.

The next week we cleaned and polished and assembled and baked as we prepared for our open house. My mother arrived early on the afternoon of the fourth laden with boxes of homemade divinity and platters of blond brownies. She loves to be here as it all comes together, helping cut bars and set out food. She also enjoys a sneak sample of the goodies to guarantee that they are ready to eat, especially the sweet and sour meatballs.

Friends Diane and Niece Pam are also early arrivees. Every party needs people ready to don an apron and help play hostess. Other friends trickled in until we had a good group ready to sing the old favorite Christmas carols in the hall. The children added a special layer of joy with their playing in the yard and then in the room set up for them as the evening darkened into night. As Marky was leaving, he told us he would soon be out of school and would like to come and play.

Our next layer of joy was the day of shopping I spent with my friend Ginger as we covered Tallahassee, finishing our outing at a delightful little Italian restaurant, Bianca's. Good food, good conversation, and good laughs are all a part of Christmas.

We spent another evening singing carols at the Christmas supper at the Deas farm. Sunday evenings we spent practicing the church cantata which culminated last evening with our presentation and church party. The church was beautiful as one of our young man played Silent Night on his guitar. The simple beauty of the melody floating through the darkened room was a poignant reminder of that silent night over two centuries ago.

This afternoon, two of our young neighbors from just up the street are in the duck room (Kevin's old bedroom) entertaining themselves with our vast store of Legos. I sit here in the hallway for a few minutes and listen to their happy voices. They are marvelous children, the very essence of Christmas joy.

Later today our first Christmas guest, Anne, will arrive. That will be another happy time adding to the layers of joy that make up Christmas.

The joy of Christmas will continue to build through the week. How could it not? We will spend Wednesday night visiting with our grand girls and their parents, enjoying the sweet sound and chatter of little girls.

Friday will be Christmas Eve. All day a sense of expectation will be with us. We will have a family meal and then we will gather around the tree and Klep will take his father's Bible and read the story of the first Christmas from the Book of Luke. We will sit together and enjoy the moment.

Christmas Day will have more family, more food, more games, and more moments of joy as we experience the uniqueness and the tradition of this Christmas, layer on layer of joy.

Apple Picking Time in SC

From Port to Airport: Vancouver B.C.

Getting off the Zuiderdam was quick. Clearing customs and finding our lime tagged luggage was not so quick, but shortly after ten we were ready to head out and find our hotel. Two helpful women convinced us to take the skytrain instead of a taxi. They assured us that luggage on the train would be no problem and they were right. We found the ticket vending machine which took debit cards, got our cut rate ticket, and headed to Burnaby.

Vancouver is like many cities, made up of many smaller communities. Burnaby is a little east and and north of downtown. Fifteen minutes on the train got us to the Metrotown station. On the train we chatted with an older man from Viet Nam and a younger man who is moving to Hamilton, Ontario soon. At the station, we were not quite sure the best way to get to the hotel. We were helped by two transit workers: one from India originally, the other from Kobe,Japan originally. After taking the elevator down, we crossed the street and left our luggage at the hotel.

We needed Canadian money, so our first stop was a bank which I was surprised to find open on Saturday. After that we ate lunch at Boston Pizza where I had soup and salad and Klep had a massive prime rib burger. We then started walking toward mass transit. Instead of the way we had come, we ended up walking about a mile before we found a bus stop. After a long wait, we decided that we really didn't want to spend the afternoon walking around a garden/park. We hopped on the train, went back to the Waterfront station, found a tour bus, and spent the rest of the afternoon seeing the different neighborhoods that make up Vancouver and many of the landmarks including the Olympic Calderon, the first Cathedral, the First Baptist Church, Stanley Park, Gastown, English Beach, Granville Island, the Burrard Bridge, Granville Bridge , Library Square, the old courthouse which is now the art museum,and China town. What really amazed us was the amount of high rise apartment buildings scattered through all the neighborhoods.This city is still very much alive in the downtown area with shopping and lots of people out and about on a Saturday afternoon.

We hopped off the Big Bus (http://bigbus.ca/home/) at the market area on Granville Island to shop for supper. We bought beautiful fresh cherry, Swiss cheese, and a fresh loaf of bread. We made our way back to the bus stop, caught the last bus of the day back to the Waterfront Station, found the train, and returned to our hotel where we ate our meal and watched the sunset over Vancouver.

Sunday we were marvelously lazy, spending a lot of the day resting. During a late lunch at Opa!, a Greek food place in the food court at Metrocity, we people watched: young Chinese girls in their Daisy Dukes, mothers in their saris, ethnic groups from all over the world. Vancouver is truly an international city.

Monday morning came early with a three fifteen wake up call. We loaded into a taxi and passed quickly through the empty streets with the sky just beginning to show predawn light. As we passed through customs, we ran into our new friends from West Virginia, Stan and Carolyn. We talked all the way through and then parted as they headed to Alaska Airlines' gate and we headed to Delta.

The flights home were uneventful with a long layover at the Atlanta terminal. We were home with the luggage in before eleven. It was a really good trip.The memories of wilderness, snow capped mountains, wild rushing rivers, glaciers, and good friends newly made will be with us forever.

Sailing to Vancouver

Our last day on the Zuiderdam was Friday. We watched the ocean slip by and knew that we were getting close when we started seeing land in the distance once more Friday afternoon. We spent the day doing ship things and packing up.

Klep went to the disembarkation meeting after our leisurely breakfast. Mid morning we attended a cooking demonstration and learned a variation of Baked Alaska served with Cherries Jubilee. After lunch, we watched the celebrity cook-off between members of the senior crew. By four p.m. the bags were almost packed and we went down to the Promenade deck to meet MaryDale, Jane, Tom, and Sally to catch up and swap addresses. While there, several whales surfaced in the distance.

We sat together for the Master Chef dinner where the crew entertained us while they served a very special dinner that started with pate and ended with Baked Alaska. After that, we said our farewells and went to the eight o'clock show which featured a magician with his trained dog, and an accomplished juggler. It was marvelous fun!

Some time during the night, our bags were picked up from outside our door. When we awoke, we were in port in Vancouver. Our disembarkation time was 8:55, so we had a leisurely breakfast in our stateroom before we headed off ship to clear customs in Vancouver.

Ketchikan, Alaska

Thursday we enjoyed our breakfast in our room as we sailed through the heavy wooded shores of southern Alaska toward Ketchikan. We walked down the gangplank a little after ten to look around the little frontier town which was populated heavily by the passengers from four crews ships which were carrying a total of 8,364.

We picked up a little candy, some postcards, and a pair of copper ear rings which had the raven totem on them standing for knowledge and creativity. I then walked Klep to the pickup point for his aerial tour of the fjords on a float plane. They took off from the float plane dock which is four blocks up from the cruise ship.
By noon the pilot had already taken four groups out taking off on the inlet and flying south over the numerous fjords created by glaciers in ages past. They saw spruce covered mountains except for the very tops where the mountain goats lived. Since the mountain tops were covered with clouds, they did not see the goats today.


They touched down on a remote lake that was twenty seven hundred up in the mountains from which an 1800 foot waterfall fell. Then the pilot took off again, winging his way between the clouds and the mountains to bring the passengers back to the waterway in front of Ketchikan. It was an exhilarating ride in a six place small airplane. We watched more of the planes take off from our window on board.

The salmon were definitely running here today.

At tea today we shared a table with a couple from Arkansas and two couples from Kent in England.

Tonight we continued our international experience by sharing a table with a couple from Australia.

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay was a glorious experience. We awakened to a thick fog bank Wednesday morning. Since we had been warned that this was likely to happen, we calmly went about having breakfast and heading to the top of the ship. Sure enough, by eight the sky was beginning to lighten and we were beginning to see glaciers.


After breakfast we went to the briefing by a member of an indigenous tribe, the Askayisawaa. The name of the speaker was Xeetli or Alice Haldane. She was a member of her tribe’s wolf clan. She explained that the child took the name of the mother’s clan. Clan members are not allowed to marry any one in the same clan because tehy are all considered to be part of the same family and are brothers and sisters. She talked to us about the history of her people and the problems they have had holding on to their culture since the Europeans first started showing up. It was quite interesting to hear her. She and two rangers came on board early in the morning from a boat that pulled along side the ship and left the same way each afternoon in Glacier Bay.

I staked out a chair on the Lido deck where I could observe both glaciers and tourists. It was fun watching them run from side to side and then up and down the stairs and back around. I was bundled up with two deck blankets and my polar fleece, so I was fairly warm. The light rain stopped not long after I went out on deck. I stayed there and watched the majesty of all the glaciers slip by until we reached Margerie, the last and the most spectacular one that we would see. By then Klep was back from running around and we went into and found a window table. We lunched overlooking the Margerie glacier as the captain turned the boat all the way around giving everyone an excellent view of the glacier.

After naptime, we headed up to tea which was an absolute delight with cupcakes, finger sandwiches (including salmon, of course) and scones. We than promenaded a couple of times around the promenade deck and found us deckchairs in a protected area. We enjoyed using the binoculars to watch the birds and search for other wildlife. The most we saw were 44 geese which were headed south.

We came in to warm up and dressed for dinner. It was captain’s night, so Klep had to wear a tie. We had a fantastic dinner which included surf and turf for those who could eat lobster. I had a rack of lamb. The dinner from appetizer through dessert was quite spectacular. We sat at our table and swapped stories with our new friends from Iowa and Michigan until it was too late to make the show.

We returned to our cabin, inspected our towel animal, looked out at the water, and fell into bed. The boat put us to sleep quickly.

From Whitehorse to the Mothership

Tuesday started way too early! We were up and out of Whitehorse before eight a.m. and on our way through more of the Yukon gold rush territory to our first stop, a little town named Carcross which had the obligatory visitor’s center and gift shops. It was a nice little stop where we all took time to see the train exhibits and enjoy being out of the bear bus for a few minutes. It was tip day (we would lose the online bus driver Mike and tour director Michele) so the bus driver regaled us with stories of the gold rush as we continued down to the train in Frasier. Mike tried, bless his heart, but he can not tell a story and make it interesting.


When we arrived at Frazier, another small town, we stayed on the bus until the train was ready for us. We traveled in old passenger coaches on the narrow gauge railroad to Stagway, Alaska, covering much the same route as the prospectors of over a century ago. Our train hugged the mountains on one side and bordered deep ravines on the other. Klep got the window seat on this one as we crossed trestle after trestle and went through tunnels. I will look at the photos he took when we get home!

Arriving in Skagway, we transferred to another bus, cleared customs, and were welcomed aboard the Zuiderdam, our mother ship! We were ecstatic to be aboard the large vessel which carries over 1900 passengers and 600 crew members.

After locating our stateroom (main floor, 1069, ocean view) and freshening up we headed up to the Lido Deck for a late salad lunch. We ran into Sally and Tom and Phil and Nora from the bus. We all had lunch and went our separate ways. We were tired and did not feel the need to tour Skagway or to visit another gift shop. We would hold off until we got to Ketchikan. For us, it was explore the ship time.

As we wandered around the decks, we saw a coupla of seals in the water near the ship.

After the obligatory life boat drill (Ours is number seven.) we unpacked the clothes, had a rest, got the communicating door repaired so it would lock and keep our deer neighbors from barging in again, and dressed for dinner. While we were enjoying dinner with a couple of women from Switzerland, Nicole and her mother Rose Mary, the Zuiderdam began its way to Glacier Bay.

After dinner, we saw a good musical show and attended a lecture on glaciers. After that, we were proud to call it a day, knowing we did not have to meet luggage call the next morning. We did walk up on the top deck to see if there were any stars out or if we could see the moon. Alas, we saw only one star. The smooth seas made for good sleeping.

Uncommon Journeys: When Barbara Met Jasper

Sunday afternoon when we were all road weary from bouncing over the potholes on the Alcan, our driver pulled off the main road and dropped us at a beautiful complex while he delivered our luggage to Whitehorse. The name Whitehorse, the largest city in the Yukon at 25,000 people, got its name because the rapids on the Yukon looked like a large group of white horses.

We debussed and found ourselves in a place that houses 52 sled dogs, a few running loose, and the rest lounging quietly in a large pen. We made our way to the tented area next to the pen where the owner/manager of the business greeted us and explained how they train the dogs and use them. It was quite interesting although we will never pay fifteen thousand dollars for one of his dogsled trips to the arctic ice far north of the artic circle.

What is amazing is that the dogs all remained quiet except for one of the younger ones who got quite excited when a squirrel ventured near him. After the talk, we were allowed to go in the yard where we could give the dogs a voice command that would put them on top of their houses for easy petting free on being jumped on.

I walked around for a few minutes when a beautiful grey and tan dog approached me, wagged his tail, jumped on his house, and looked at me as if to say, "I choose you! Now come pet me." His name was Jasper and he was duly petted!


We, of course, were given the usual demonstration of a dog team pulling a four wheeler.

We then boarded the bus again, a little less jaded and tired and headed to our hotel.

Lake Kathleen: Yukon Mirror

After a leisurely wake up, we boarded the big bear bus to head to the Kluane National Park for what we thought was a float trip. Somehow Holland America messed up somewhere and we found ourselves on the Lake Kathleen Boat instead, but, not to worry, we were blessed with a beautiful day, pleasant temperature, a calm lake, and vistas of majestic mountains and soaring clouds reflected on the smooth surface of deep blue green Lake Kathleen.

On the way up, our guide Annie, a young woman from Ontario, pointed out the spirit houses built near a river. These are little structures built by members of the First Nation to house the cremated remains of their loved ones along with objects they will need on the journey to the spirit world. It is traditional to build them near a landmark that is near and dear to the deceased. Evidently the Tahini river was near and dear to many people.

We started our National Park experience at the visitor's center where we viewed artifacts, got a better understanding of the topography of the park, and watched a beautiful movie about the park.
After delicious sandwiches on fresh bread from the local Haines Junction Bakery, we loaded onto the bear bus and headed into the wilderness to Lake Kathleen where we me our guide,
a member of the First Nation, boarded The Otter, a boat which sat ten people with no trouble, and headed out into the large lake rimmed with tall mountains coming down to the water. The lake is deep and cool, but in many places you can see through the water to the bottom. We saw large fish swimming in the deep water. Our guide also pointed out goats, high up on one of the mountains.



Lake Kathleen (Matatana Man) is the only lake in the park that allows boats.


After about two and a half hours on the lake, we returned to Haines Junction where we made a quick stop at the bakery for a snack and to pick up strudel for breakfast tomorrow morning. It will be an early start and we will enjoy our coffee/green tea in our room before boarding our group's bear bus and heading to Frazier.

The reason we call it the bear bus is that their are huge bears on the side as opposed to the moose bus or the whale bus.

Tomorrow we will have a few more Yukon sights before we cross the border back into Alaska. We may not have Internet access on our ship, so the rest of our trip may have to wait until we get back home.

Wow Ride: Mountains, Lakes, Potholes, and Mountain Air

Monday morning finds us in Whitehorse getting ready for our float down a river in the Kliane National Forest. We left Fairbanks Saturday morning, traveled down to North Pole, Alaska where we discovered that Santa was busy in the workshop and couldn't see us, so we went on to Tok for lunch of Alaskan food,




After hours of scenic mountains, a moose sighting, and potholes galore due to the road being build on permafrost, we swung into the hotel, a log construction, in Beaver Creek. By then, we knew the amazing history of the Alcan highway built in ten months during the early days of WW 2.

We were met by Officer Friendly who fulfilled all our Sgt. Preston of the Yukon fantasies with his wonderful posture and steadfast loyalty to truth, freedom, and justice, We immediately doubled the population of Beaver Creek by our presence,

We had a rousing evening around the fire ring in the meeting hall. Fortunately there was a large round hole in the ceiling to accommodate the smoke as we made our smores.
This was followed with beaver stew, Yukon chicken and all the trimmings.

The Yukon Musical the Rendezvous group presented was well sung and well choreographed. Even the tour groups sang their own songs, not quite so well sung!

Near eleven we left a "wake me if there are Northern Lights" call, showered, set the alarm, and fell asleep.

Sunday was another day on the Alaska Canada highway winding and bouncing through snow toppped mountains, passing lakes and rivers, seeing Dall sheep, and spotting another eagle on a nest as we entered Whitehorse. We had been surrrounded with more beauty than we can take in or describe.

Whitehorse is a larger town with about twenty-five thousand. We will grab a quick breakfast and head to the river.