The Wimp Won

I forgot to post about the outcome of my desire to delay turning on the heat in the house. On October 20 I wrote "Confessions of a Stubborn Wimp." I was determined to tough it out and not turn on the furnace until at least November 1. Well, I must confess that I didn't make it that far. I didn't even make it to Halloween. In fact I just plain gave up on October 23. Only 3 days after I fiercely declared war, my fierce determination froze out.

Here's what I wrote in my journal that day: "I finally wimped out and turned on the heat. It was between 66 and 69 today in here. I was cold and so was Betsey. We each had times that day of sitting on our hands to try to warm them up. It wasn’t worth it. I just couldn’t function very well. About 5:00 the house wasn’t any warmer than it had been during the day, so I turned on the heat and set it at 71º. It feels so good in here." (OK, so I have a really narrow comfort zone.)

I had been curious to see how cold it really got in here during that time, so I asked Jim to buy a cheap thermometer. (Emphasis on cheap.) The one he got cost $1.00 and worked about as well as you'd expect. It seemed to register the same temperature if it was on our kitchen table or in the refrigerator. I guess that could mean our house was really cold, or the refrigerator wasn't working, or the thermometer was in a state of hibernation and wouldn't register any changes until spring.

Anyway, I've been warm ever since--Thank you very much! ^o^

SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO AGREE WITH ME!

This morning as I was brushing Kirsten's hair I made up a tuneless little melody to get her to hold her head up. It went something like "Kirsten, look at me. I may not be much to look at early in the morning, but…"

Before I could sing anything else Kirsten gleefully exclaimed. "NO!"

It was too funny! ^o^

HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS

Halloween is always an exiting time for Kirsten. For at least a month in advance, she talks about the Halloween party that they will be having at school and the costume she will wear. Many years ago I made her an Indian costume, complete with fringe down the sides, out of some old sheets. We dyed it brown in the washing machine. She loved that costume, but alas, one day we realized that she had outgrown it.So we went to the Halloween Store, and found a Pocahontas costume! (The wig was a hold-over from earlier years.) She couldn't have been happier. She has worn it every year since then.Not only does she love the Halloween party, she also loves to pass out candy on beggars night. Here she is watching for Trick-or-Treaters. Traditionally we take the screen out of the front door, so she can hand out candy easily without opening the door. Unfortunately only 6 or 7 came this year.

I thought it would be fun to show how some other people in our family joined in the festivities this year. Karen made this really cute pea-pod costume for Elizabeth, which even has a matching doll. Karen said it was a little small, so Elizabeth didn't want to be in it for very long. Long enough to take a picture is good enough! ^o^

Karen and Elizabeth went to their ward Halloween party dressed in mother-daughter flower fairy costumes.And here's the flower fairy baby herself. At 9 1/2 months, Elizabeth isn't quite walking yet, but she's getting closer every day. And now here's Dad…To complete the family, Peter went to the party as a kind of wood elf -- the boy counterpart to fairies. He thought it was kinda fun when the flower fairy baby snatched his hat.

Elizabeth seems quite pleased with herself. Speaking of pleased--Karen was quite pleased that Peter was such a good sport about wearing a costume to the party. In her words: "Peter was very kind to agree to wear the costume I made for him. A lot of my friend's husbands won't consider wearing any costume at all."

I got to thinking about that. I'm glad that Peter is agreeable to things like that also. I have a hunch it's because his dad set such a good example for him… Come with me, if you will, back to 1987…

For many years we had a Christmas Eve Tradition in our family. We acted out our version of the Christmas story, and in Helena's words: "Dad had a supporting role…" He would willingly don his camouflage bathrobe, and the construction paper donkey ears that Helena made for him and carry Mary to Bethlehem. Tell me, is that donkey singing?

This one shows all the family Christmas Pageant participants, complete with costumes. The only one who isn't pictured is the narrator, but she never dressed up anyway. That cute little sheep down in the front is 5-year-old Barbie. The donkey is 45, but donkey's don't know that sort of thing. Mary and Joseph, a.k.a. Betsey and Peter, are 9 and 11 respectively. Next is Kirsten, the 18-year-old Innkeeper, whose chief job was to say "NO!" when asked if there was any room at the inn. The angel proclaiming "good tidings of great joy," is Helena, who was 16 at the time. Sweet Memories…