Author: Joyce

Christmas Tree

We usually wait until mid December–once it is cold and snowy out–to go look for our Christmas tree.  This year we decided to look while Mark was still home for Thanksgiving. It was so nice when we went that jackets were optional!

We always look for a tree that is at as tall as Mark.  At first we thought we would not find a good tree again this year. Many of the trees were lopsided or dry looking.  However, Megan and Adrian found one!

Megan was excited to discover that Santa was around.  She enjoyed being able to ask for snow and then was given a candy cane.  She managed to persuade all of the kids to come talk to Santa.

When “Bob, age 18” (Audrey) asked for snow, Santa said “snow is already taken” and would not let the kids ask for it again. She replied with “something better than coal?”  Santa told her that she had to work harder to get that.  Adrian asked for wider chimneys while Mark requested taller door frames.  Andrea asked for ice cream.

They informed Santa their goal was to make him smile and they hope that he had a wonderful day. I think the children succeeded.

Five Medals 2017 part 2

Five Medals is a fun way to converse with many different people. It is also a great place to practice different photography styles. I tried some candid “street shots”, just taking pictures of whatever caught my eye. I also interacted with people more before taking pictures.  While I enjoyed talking and learning a lot of new stories, I often forgot to take the pictures after!  Oh well, I guess I still have a lot to learn.

If you are interested in going next year, the tentative dates are October 20-21!

Five Medals 2017 (Part 1)

The weather was perfect for this year’s Gathering at Five Medals.  I appreciated the time each person took to tell their story of life in the Midwest between the 1660s and the early 1800s.

I  talked with a spinner who explained what she was doing and said she loves the chance to relax and spin while her children did chores or read out loud.  I learned about caning chairs.  We were instructed on how to make birch wood homes and how easy they were to pack up and move. My favorite though was a little boy who told Megan, “We just slept here all night, we are not really Indians”.