Christmas at the Wilsons

Christmas has come and gone and yet the celebrations continue.
I love the Christmas decorations, the mangers, wise men and angels.  So I am in no hurry to tear down my beautiful tree.  I am still sending cards to friends far and near.  We have taken care of Gen and Vivi while mom and dad are working.

I have pictures of our family singing carols on Christmas Day and also of the girls busy today playing with our toys and interacting with grandma & grandpa.

Rendezvous at NowThen

I am known as “Little Hammer” as well as Daniel. I have been blacksmithing for 15 years and knife making for 8 years. I have been buck skinning for 20 plus years and portraying a Colonial Blacksmith from around 1800’s.

Crowfeather & Chickadee are also known as Steve & Becky. They have been camping at Rendezvous since 2007. Steve is a rope maker and Becky cooks and bakes.

Mike is also known as “Mandolin Mike”. He has been playing his mandolin at Rendezvous for two years. He likes music and being with all the interesting people. Larry and Spencer spent the night Friday camping at the rendezvous in Nowthen. Larry brought his home made camera and took the pictures here. It was a cool overnight but they slept in the van.

A Beautiful Fall Weekend in Minnesota

I haven't gone to Women's Retreat for several years. What a gorgeous weekend to be at the lake. The speaker was great. The fellowship was awesome and the setting was spectacular. I had a safe trip home late Saturday evening and a good Sunday morning worship and Sunday school. My 3rd graders received Bibles from the church and then had a Milestone event with their parents to learn how the Bible was written and passed down to us today.

Labor Day 2012

Yesterday the family gathered at our house and I didn't take any pictures! Anna and Mark were busy elsewhere, but the rest of the family came to enjoy the day and the family.
JP is heading to the U of M today to move back into Comstock for his junior year. His major is sociology at this point. Grandpa had the wood and set up to build a picnic table so he commandeered help when the first boys arrived. The girls used the play house and played games inside for awhile. Spencer and others used the lawn mower wagon to haul wood for Grandpa's project.
We sang happy birthday to Mark and his friend, Linnea, by phone and sang to the summer birthday kids here. Then we enjoyed gluten free banana cake and ice cream with chocolate sauce and strawberry sauce. Yummy!
The kids are getting ready for school on Tuesday. Luke and Matt are in middle school, Mark is a senior in Becker. Gen is in first grade in Waite Park and Vivi will go to daycare since Anne is starting a job next week. Skyler will split time between Osseo (OET program) in the mornings and Buffalo in the afternoons. Spencer is at Osseo junior high and Rajah is at the local Maple Grove school.
Larry and I resumed our retirement schedule today. Do we miss teaching? No! We are very adjusted to our life of retirement.
Larry finished redoing his dad's boat, had the motor repaired, gardens, is building picnic tables, is power washing the deck, and is refinishing a table. I sewed sheet strips together for bandage rolling, repaired a square dance dress elastic waist, and am now on the Internet. My list of accomplishments doesn't match Larry's but we are both busy and active.

Back in time

Today we went to an old fashioned threshing show in NowThen, MN. Our square dance friends put on a demo for entertainment and to entice new people to try learning to square dance. The event features many old diesel engines, large and small. They have permanent buildings on the site and vendors come to set up their tents to sell all kinds of things too. We like reenactments of pioneer days, so this place held a lot of interest for us. We enjoyed the rope maker, blacksmiths, and basket weaver. Oh-oh! We didn't get a picture of the square dancers! It was a beautiful day for this outside event.

Busy Weekend - Family Gatherings

Wilson/Lee Weekend - Friday we packed up the camping van and drove to Princeton, MN to the Mille Lacs County Fair. We joined other square dancers to dance to Abe Maier's calling and promote square dancing. The sun was out but the temperature was in the 70's and the breeze provided wonderful conditions to dance up a storm and not get overheated.
We headed further north after the demo to arrive at Jody Wilson Lee and husband, Dave's cabin. Jody and her four brothers take this weekend to reconnect their families. Larry and I are the 'designated old people' and get the benefit of reconnecting with our niece and nephews and their families.
We enjoyed the beautiful evening and a delicious breakfast and then headed to Round Lake near Brainerd for the Mayo Family Camp at Judy and Steve Sundquist's cabins. Almost 40 of us gathered for a pot luck picnic.



Pat and the four boys came and so did Leslie and her three kids. We saw Bob Freer, Neal and Paula. All of Manny's girls were there and some of their families too. We were so happy to have Sandy and Bob (Lit's daughter). Next year the picnic will be in Monticello, MN. Larry and I are getting ideas together now. So Wilson's are inviting all the Mayo Cousins to save August 17th 2013 for the next Mayo Cousin Camp.

Dreams do come true

Larry has had his dad's aluminum boat in our yard for many years. This past year he has been redoing the wood trim. Thanks to a friend, he has a boat trailer and recently purchased a motor. Last week he got the license renewed. It is still in his dad's name. He was ready to put it in the water. So this week, he invited Mark, Matt and Luke to come and camp with him. They took the boat to a little spit of land at the end of Lake Pulaski and set up a tent. It has cooled down so they headed home instead of sleeping in wet clothes at the lake. In the morning they decided to bring the canoe to the lake too. It has been a great time for all of them.

Camping at home

Our family gathered last Sunday to celebrate Rajah's 10th birthday. Spencer turned 14 and Mark 18 earlier this month. Pat's family were camping or working so missed the party. The rest of us enjoyed the day. Paul brought a new game, Fireproof. It was a board game of cooperation where we worked together to put out fires and rescue victims. It should be in Target later this year. In checking schedules, we decided to camp with Rajah and Genevieve this week or we'd lose the opportunity for the summer. How quickly summer will end.
So Rajah and Genevieve came on Tuesday and stayed two nights. We 'camped' by sleeping in the camper in our yard. Gramma cooked in the house. We ate outside. The girls played in the house, in the yard, in the playhouse and the camper. We also went to the beach Wednesday afternoon. Rajah was into sewing. She brought her own material. We finished a velveteen skirt. She wanted a 'working' dress. We took measurements and created a pattern. It is about half way finished. Grandma didn't get back to it. We did get Vivi's dress made. It took one seam and ribbon straps. That is really quick. Now I'll have to get back to sewing and finish up these projects.
We should also mention that Skyler and Spencer have been out to our house with Paul to do car work. Grandpa also had them try out an extension pole fire torch. We had a nest of bugs in the tree in front of our house. Skyler made short work of burning it up.

Sunday in Peitou

Church in Peitou started at 10 AM. We arrived a little early and were greeted by Peggy, the church secretary, Jean, Felicity and others. They had us listed in the announcements and welcomed us along with the visiting pastor from Malaysia. He preached on Ephesians about family relationships. We felt like we were with family. When grandpa and grandma came in, we were both very touched. Grandpa had been in the hospital a couple of weeks ago. He is almost 90! His wife also doesn't get to church often because she can't sit very long. But they were both there!
We visited with other young people after the service.

Then off we went to a fancy restaurant with Chinese food Hong Kong style. It had sweet desserts served with the meal not after the meal. The food was delicious. The fellowship was wonderful.
Betty had the car and took us into the mountains to Yangminshan National Park. We walked and talked and soaked in the hot springs and then went to a goat farm for goat ice cream and fresh vegetables!
We had such a fun day!

Vacation Mode

We traveled by train on Thursday afternoon from Ping Tung to Taipei. We had breakfast with Jack and Lunch with Jack, Lynn and Ricki and Grace from Dong Gang church. Joyce rode with Jack to bring us to the train. It started to rain before we arrived at the train and was really a down pour as we unloaded our luggage. Larry changed shirts to one he'd been given from the church. We have been wearing these matching shirts (1 sets) since arriving in Taipei.
The rain cleared by the time we got to Taipei. We were quite a sight with Larry carrying two back packs (one in front like a baby carrier). Marlys had a smaller backpack and the computer case strapped around her. Each of us wheeled another suitcase too. I thought we traveled light?!
We got a taxi. The first driver didn't seem to know where the Wencui Center was so we went to the next driver. He looked at the card and had us get in. Without any words exchanged, he drove directly to the door of the center! Praise God! They key was at the guard house for us. We are in Laura's old room 701.
Friday we got up and took the train to Beitou. We are at one end of the train line and Beitou is almost at the other end of the line. It only cost a little over $1 to ride that far! We stopped for coffee at 7-11 and got to the church about 8 AM. It was locked up. We continued walking down the familiar streets and eventually bought some pineapple.
When we got back to the church, Jean (a friend from 2005) was setting up the CD player to exercise. Marlys joined in and soon the pastor's wife came too. 45 minutes later the session ended. It is a great way to start the day, exercising to praise music.
We had our breakfast and then headed back to our hotel to get Internet connections and take a nap. Larry bought pizza for our late lunch. Our next date was at 7 PM for the night market.
Vicky and William met us to browse and eat our way through the market. The only thing I can compare it to is the MN State Fair. This market is open every night, all year round. Marlys was starting to feel a sore throat coming on, so we headed home.
We slept in today and met Vicky again this afternoon at the Chiang Kai Chek Memorial. The buildings are spectacular.
We walked and talked and enjoyed the beautiful area. We also went back to the Handicraft store and to a department store right down by Taipei Main Station. We got home about 6 PM for a nap and quiet evening. Larry went to the local park for some people watching, After our hectic schedule of the past three weeks, it is so nice to relax and slow down.
We are soaking in the sights and sounds of Taiwan.

Teaching in Dong Gang

Marlys Grace Debra
We have had a busy schedule in Dong Gang.
Our hotel is very nice and new. We sleep very well and have been reorganizing our suitcases and trying to find room for everything people have gifted us with. The weather is very warm and sticky but usually there is a breeze since we are right on the ocean. Today (Wed.) it rained heavily with thunder for about 20 minutes. It gave the air that fresh smell, but soon was hotter and muggier (if that is possible).
Each morning we have gone around the corner to the local 7-11 for great Americano coffee, a sandwich and orange juice.
By 9 we are picked up to go to the church. Grace is studying to be the pastor and has been our hostess along with Jack, Lynn's and our teacher friend. He has given us English posters and supplies to use with our lessons. We teach from 10-12 with about 25-30 students. There are great helpers with the students.
We have also had good translators. Debra, our friend from 2006 who visited us in MN translated on Monday! Joyce, a dear sister from the church, translated the other days.
We then go out for lunch and have a rest until 3-5 when we have a smaller class of about 15. Some of the kids return for a second time and we have several adults who want to improve their English.
We are so blessed to have taught this material at Kung Ho and Lin Bien. We are using the ice breakers and games we have picked up along the way. Thank you, Bob, for your excellent example of telling the stories in a simple vocabulary.
Thank you, Evelyne for the curriculum and songs.
Each evening a different group from the church has hosted us to dinner. This is a great time of fellowship. Larry is in his element with all his puzzles and games and our pictures are a big hit too.
Sadly, Lynn's father passed away over the weekend so we haven't see much of her. But we will have lunch with her before leaving tomorrow.
Dong Gang will always have a special place in our heart.

Saturday - move to Dong Gang

Saturday was a day off to change locations. Our friend, Jack, picked us up and we visited his friends at a local park. They love to practice karaoke there. Then we stopped by his English cram school to talk with his three high school students. We all went out for tea/lunch at a local restaurant. Jack's wife was there having tea with her friend. Lynn, our former host from 2006 met us there with her son, future sister-in-law and sister and husband. It was a big, friendly gathering. Lynn's father has been seriously ill for about 5 months so we later joined people from church to go to the hospital to pray for him and for the family. While at the hospital, we met the owner of the hospital who is also a state representative to the government from their area. Here's a picture of Lynn and her mother.

In the evening we went to the night market. It was a once a year market with special displays from the local artists and clubs in the town. Jack's adult English club sang a song on stage (100 Miles - an old cowboy song). The church set up in front of their building and gave out balloons, flyers and other toys to the crowds walking by. The worship team sang outside and it was a gala party atmosphere. They were announcing the celebration Sunday of their 6th Anniversary and of the camp Monday to Wednesday this coming week. We had crowns on our heads. Larry wore a pink church vest and we helped publicize the church. What a lot of fun. We ate at the market with the singing men. We had shaved chicken on a bun (like a giro) and then stopped to eat pig's knuckles. It tasted like ham and was delicious. They served it with pickled cabbage - sort of like dry sour kraut. There were several bakeries there too so we had a treat later. They sell all sorts of food, clothes, shoes, hardware and they have arcades for little kids too. The crowds were fullest between 8 and 9:30. Things started closing down about 10. We felt like we saw the real Taiwan. No other foreigners were in sight.