All In The (Lego) Family

In case you hadn't heard, my husband is just a little bit crazy about Legos. He doesn't play with them, though. He researches, buys, cleans, sorts, organizes, and sells Legos. At any given point in time there are tens of thousands of Legos in my house, and none of them are available for playing (but feel free to stop by his online store and browse the merchandise).

Linda's first ever Lego build - a snowman!

His passion for the interlocking bricks has birthed a curiosity in me. I don't think I'd ever play with Legos or create my own buildings, but I can see the appeal of the puzzle.

With so many Legos around the house, we're all a bit curious. Today I decided to ask Linda if she

wanted to give 'em a whirl. She hesitated, but curiosity got the best of her and we sat down at the kitchen table with three new holiday sets - a snowman, a turkey, and a reindeer.

Ta-da! It turned out so well that she wanted to keep going.

We started with the snowman. I enjoy the small sets because their small (and therefore quick to put together), but many of the pieces are also small. I discovered lots of one-by-one bricks and plates, two-by-one slopes, one-by-one slopes - trust me, I'm talking about tiny pieces. Tiny pieces work for little fingers, but it's harder when your fingers are wider than a two-by-one brick.

Midgie stopped by to help.

Not only are my fingers wide, Linda's fingers are wide. She's also never put Legos together before. And she doesn't have a natural sense for how things match or fit together.

What should have taken 10-15 minutes took more than an hour, but I could see Linda's brain and fingers communicating, struggling to line up the bricks and snap them together. Many pieces frustrated her, but she kept going. She challenged herself, finishing what she started even when it was hard.

Turkey concentration...

I won't lie - it wasn't easy for me either. I hadn't planned on spending an hour with Legos today. I have a story to write and dishes to clean, but I could also see the interest in Linda's eyes when I asked her if she wanted to play with Legos.

After successfully completing the snowman, we moved on to the turkey and reindeer. We had a few set backs, but we kept going. At the 30-minute mark I realized I was going to have to adjust my afternoon schedule, but I decided not to worry about it. One of the reasons we wanted Linda to move in with us was to give her new experiences - Lego building certainly counts!

...and reindeer magic.

So now Linda has her first official Lego family. We've already decided that these guys are staying with us - you won't find them for sale anytime soon. We may even take them apart this spring so we can put them back together again next year.

Linda's Legos! The whole fam is ready for the holidays.

Aunt Linda - Editing Assistant

My husband's work schedule alternates with the seasons - early mornings in the summer, afternoons/evenings in the winter, and the occasional weekend. We love it for many reasons, but it sometimes puts us in a situation when Matt's working and I have a writing event. If you're a writer, these workshops are informational, inspiring, even entertaining. If you're not a writer...not so much.

Many of these events take me away from home for many hours at a time, so that means Aunt Linda has to tag along. The first time I encouraged her to bring her video games or knitting, but she insisted that she would be fine. If I could handle it, she could handle it.

That was two years ago. Since then, Linda's attended 4-5 writing functions. She doesn't take notes, but she attends and pays attention, sometimes even participating. She's even starting to recognize some faces of people she's met at multiple events.

ACFW-GLC meeting in Grandville, MI - August 2014

We're regular attendees at meetings of the Great Lakes Chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Those meetings take us all over the state. I'm not a fan of driving, but Linda loves seeing the sights and getting out of the house. I don't think it hurts that, as writers, we always have chocolate on hand, so she gets to partake too.

Just part of the gang, hanging out in Gaylord.

Linda's getting so comfortable with these meetings that she's figured out the routine. We regularly start by introducing ourselves and telling everyone what we write. I've often introduced Linda and explained that she travels with me. At this past meeting, however, she took the wheel. After the AA style intro ("Hi, I'm Karin, and I'm a romance writer) I started to introduce her, but she stopped me. "I'm Linda. I like Amish fiction."

This past week I invited Linda to become more involved in the writing process. I gave her my manuscript and a pen and asked her help out.

Paper, pen, and coffee - she's ready.

No, she's destroying my story. She marked up the already-edited pages so we can reuse them and print on the back sides. It may not seem like a big deal, but when you want to reuse 250 pages, it saves a few precious minutes to have someone else help out.

I don't think she's ready for an overnight writing conference yet, but Linda's become an unofficial member of northern Michigan writing community. 

Women, Wine, and Watercolors

Last week the Elk Rapids Women group started their 2014-15 season, celebrating 70 years of encouraging and supporting women in the community. This season they've decided to focus on hosting events that give women a chance to have a fun night out. Realizing that we are, in fact, women, Aunt Linda and I decided to join them.

The September meeting was a Paint and Pour - a night of wine and watercolors. None of us had any watercolor painting experience (no, I don't consider my middle school watercolor Super Saturday class as "experience"), but we were willing to try.

My friend Steph joined us, and she and Linda bonded over their appreciation for white wine. Everyone chatted and snacked for a while before getting down to business. Then it was all work.

We started with sample strokes (those little white squares with lines on them), then set out to paint flowers (it was supposed to be a rose...mine is a little more mum-like). Linda got right to work, painting drier, dark lines, then bleeding out the colors with some water.

Okay, it wasn't all work. We had to let our flowers dry for a bit, so we refilled our snack plates. (Notice all of the cups on the table - surprisingly only one person accidentally rinsed out her brush in her drink.)

With the flower done and the stem added, Linda went rogue and added a tulip to her paper. 

Done! As you can tell, she was really proud of her picture, and I was really proud of her. I wasn't sure if she would get frustrated or enjoy herself; I think being with a bunch of other women who didn't know what they were doing helped her feel comfortable trying something new. I'm sure it didn't hurt either that some of the ladies took advantage of the wine portion of the night, so Linda's flower looked like a Monet compared to their final projects. Definitely a good time. We're already planning on and looking forward to attending more ERW events this season.

The Grand Tour

Today I told Linda it was time for another blog post. When I asked her what we should write about, she wasn't sure. I threw out a few possible topics: cats, Detroit Tigers, church. She agreed to them all, but wasn't really sure what she had to say about them, so I suggested a video. She couldn't wait!

Without further ado, here's Aunt Linda in her vlogging debut with "the Grand Tour."
 

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Linda and I made it to our second Traverse City Beach Bums game last weekend. This is one of our favorite summertime activities. A great stadium, cheap tickets, good team, and the BEST mascots around.

Wuerful Park

Here you have Suntan and Sunburn, everyone's favorite giant bears. They dance, they cause trouble, and they're more entertaining than a one year-old boy with his first birthday cake. My husband appreciates their antics (as he's not really a sports fan).

Suntan and Sunburn!

My dad drove up for the game, and he brought his new camera with him. I could resist capturing the moment, as one of his new favorite pass times is capturing all kinds of moments (also a favorite pass time of Linda's, but she forgot her camera).

Photographing the photographer

By far the most exciting part of the game was a foul ball in the second inning. It went up about three stories, during which Linda and my dad lost sight of it. They spotted it again as it whacked Linda on the hand. She hated everyone fussing over her, but while they tended to her, she grabbed that ball and stuffed it into my purse to make sure no one else ran off with it. (The next day she admitted that it was nice to have so many people care).

Post-hit ice pack

Suntan making mischief.

One of my favorite parts of Beach Bums games is their recognition of veterans and servicemen and women. At every game they ask past and present military to stand while they play "Proud to Be An American." Suntan, Sunburn, and stadium workers walk around handing out American flags to every veteran...

A handshake and an American flag

..And the teams come out of the dugouts to give our servicemen and women the standing ovation they deserve.

Honoring our military men and women.

And to make sure no one gets too emotional, my husband wears his camo hoodie with plaid shorts...

My husband...www.yooperstewart.com

We love attending Beach Bums games and are already planning our next outing. I don't know how it could top this last game though. Not only did a foul ball nail Linda, she also won a squishy ball during a between-inning giveaway! She has quite the trophy shelf now!

In a place of honor, beside her Detroit Tigers beer can.

Cherryland Humane Society - Sharing the Love

Linda loves animals. When we visit our family in Vegas, the first question she asks is, "How's Izzy?" (my sister's dog). I'm pretty sure she goes to Vegas to see the dogs, cats, nieces, and her sister (in that order of importance).

Kitty love! Linda picked this cat because he reminds her of Sebastian, her cat from Jackson.

We have two cats at my house, and I've done very little to take care of them since Linda moved in. She feeds them, pets them, gives them treats, cleans the litter box, gives them snacks. Is it any surprise that they love her so much?

Our friend was a little shy. We spent the first 20 minutes petting him (and petting him and petting him).

Even with three dogs and six cats in her extended family, Linda isn't quite satisfied. She has lots of pent up petting energy and it needs a release! That's why we signed her up to volunteer at the Cherryland Humane Society. We went through orientation together, and now Linda is a registered, certified cat volunteer. Today was our first day of feline playtime.

Starting to warm up...

It was a long day of errands and appointments, but none of it mattered. Linda played with an adorable (adoptable!) kitty, which she has assured me was the best part of the day.

Because it was Linda's first day, I sat with her in the play room, to make sure she knows the ins and outs of the humane society. Our little kitty friend made sure I had something to remember him by...

Ready, set, GO!

When Linda first moved in I couldn't believe how much she wasted. I spent many afternoons grumbling as I picked through the trash and recycling to pull out bottles and jars with 1/2-1" of jam, shampoo, and peanut butter still inside. At first I would quietly put everything back on the shelf, then I talked with her about wasting. Then I realized what was really happening.

I started to figure this one Saturday while she was flipping through the Meijer ad. She likes to circle the items we need to buy, but that week she asked me for help. "Do we need toilet paper? Laundry detergent? Bacon? Should we go shopping?" No, no, and no - we had some of all of those things, though we didn't have a lot. I wondered though, does she really want those things, or does she just want to get out of the house?

One of Linda's favorite reasons for visiting Vegas.

The full revelation came when we were preparing for our trip to Las Vegas. After two months of snow (almost five feet of it) and ridiculously cold temps (more -20 degree days than 20 degree days), we were ready. Linda didn't just bring it up daily, she mentioned it almost hourly: "I can't wait to get to Vegas." After two glorious weeks of sunshine, we were back in Michigan and it started again, "I can't wait for summer. When do we go back to Vegas?"

That's when it clicked.

Linda's not a waster-she's EXCITED! She doesn't throw away the last inch of body wash because she doesn't want to use it, she's just so excited to start the next bottle that she can't wait! She knows that we have bacon, but she wants to make sure that we don't run out, that there's some in the fridge for next week, that she wants to go shopping RIGHT NOW.

I can relate. As a lifetime journaler, I start twitching when I get to the last 10 pages of my journal. I'll even write larger and about unnecessary things just to fill the pages so I can move on to the next book. I love the thought of the next, new thing, and apparently I'm not alone.

All of the best reasons for visiting Vegas.

I still regularly check the recycle bin and trash can for partially full rolls of paper towels, but I don't mind. I can understand the excitement.

Sing for Your Supper!

Sharing the Love - Crocs

Without a doubt, Linda's favorite footwear is Crocs. She has five pairs, each a different color. She wears them everywhere, inside and out. When she loves something as much as she loves her shoes, she wants to share the experience. I will occasionally slip on her Crocs to run outside, but Matt's feet don't fit. Even if they did, it would take a significant amount of money or Legos to convince him to wear holey, rubber clogs.

In Vegas, however, there is a an outlet mall with a Crocs store. Linda saw the chance to share her love of Crocs with her nephew. It worked.

Introducing Matt's favorite new house shoe.

The Wall

Linda loves to be involved. She wants to know how you are, how your day was, what your plans are, where

Linda and Matt chit-chatting last summer.

you're going. Then she wants to fill you in on her day: what she saw on the news or at the store, who she talked with, which teams are doing what. She is curious and interested, and she just wants to know everything.

During the summer, this isn't a problem. Matt goes to work before she wakes up, and by the time he comes home they both have lots of stories to share. Matt takes a few minutes to pull himself together, then he and Linda sit outside or work together in the back yard as they catch up.

The winter months, however, provide a unique challenge. I call it The Wall.

From November-May, Matt works until 9:30 p.m. Between weather delays and running errands, it's usually after 10:30 p.m. before he makes it home. Linda, however, hits The Wall around 10 p.m. The Wall is that mystical moment when she transitions from alert and interested to tired and annoyed. The exact timing varies on a daily basis, but there's no denying when we've reached it.

This makes winters difficult because Linda genuinely wants to know how Matt's doing - she cares about him and wants to make sure things are going well, so she'll wait until he gets home to get all of the information. If she's already reached The Wall, this can be tricky. Matt still needs time to pull himself together, but Linda is already tired and wants to get through things as quickly as possible. If Matt doesn't respond quickly enough or with the right tone, inflection, and answers, it upsets her. When he tries to explain himself, she feels patronized. If he doesn't explain himself, she feels ignored. Any number of things can go wrong after The Wall, and there's no way to anticipate what those things might be.

Matt struggled with this. He didn't want to upset Linda, but with the situation varying from day to day, he was never sure what would bother her and what wouldn't. This created many stressful nights for everyone. It wasn't until I finally recognized The Wall that evenings became easier.

For starters, I helped Matt identify The Wall. He now knows that Linda isn't being picky or difficult, she's just tired. Instead of losing patience or taking her responses personally, he responds politely because he knows that she cares. I also pointed out the best part of The Wall - Linda doesn't remember crossing it. She doesn't wake up frustrated the next morning because of a difficult conversation. All she remembers are the important details - how Matt's doing and how his job is going. There's no bitterness or animosity, just love and communication.

The Wall took us by surprise, but after we were able to figure it out, evenings have become more peaceful. A rocky road is more difficult to travel, but the results are the same - we end up where we wanted to go. Now we know how not to get frustrated along the bumpy path.

Don't Tell Matt, But We Need a Dog

Sorry it's been so long. I was busy, then unmotivated, then busy again. At the tail end of things was a trip to Las Vegas, so blog posts kept getting pushed further and further down the to-do list. I find myself with a few spare moments today, so I thought I'd show you what's on our minds:

Izzy (white) & Ginger (uh, ginger) at my sister's house.

Dogs.

Tayter, Linda's new best friend.

Linda and I spent time with five dogs recently, and we've decided that we need a dog. We're still trying to convince Matt, but we're pretty determined. I do foresee one potential problem, however:

Teegan, muscling her way into Linda's heart.

Linda may never have personal body space again.

(Stay tuned for more pictures from Linda's trip to Vegas!)
---
And here's a late addition to the mix:

Oh, Izzy...

An Elk Rapids Christmas, and Other Such Fun

Last year Linda, Matt, and I spent our first Christmas together in Vegas. It was fun, but not a true Christmas - we didn't decorate (leave a decorated tree at home with two cats?? no thank you), didn't have snow, and didn't get to participate in many of the local events. This year, however, I'm going all out, and I'm taking Linda with me.

Why Knot? The brave pretzel vendors.

Well, sort of. I'm trying to take Linda with me, but sometimes it's too cold. These pictures, for instance, are from the Elk Rapids Community Christmas Celebration. I had five people lined up to go with me, but the 19 degree day (not counting wind chill) scared everyone away.

The Miss Elk Rapids court sang Christmas carols with two tough Salvation Army captains.

No matter. I went by myself into the blustery, blistering cold. I walked down River Street, then almost jogged in an attempt to stay warm. Though I was chilled, the volunteers and characters played their parts with enthusiasm and energy (I think it helped them stay warm).

A little pre-Christmas socializing: Dancer left the North Pole to visit us in ER.

Despite being alone, I had a great time. How many other people get to visit with the elves and reindeer before Christmas?

Our town crier traveled the streets announcing the events and selling mistletoe.

And for the kid in everyone, the Christmas train depot. The owner of a vacant store front graciously donated the use of the space to set up a Christmas village. In addition to the trains, carnival, and Santa, a local volunteer organization was wrapping gifts and another group had cookies and hot apple cider.

Welcome to Elk Rapids!

I really wish Linda had decided to come, but I understand why she didn't. Numb legs don't last long.

Choo, choo!

After I snapped my pictures, I headed right home, ready to warm up and relax. Imagine my surprise to find Matt's car in the driveway, but the house locked up and no one home. I called him to find out what had happened.

"Mary (our neighbor) stopped by to ask Linda if she wanted to go downtown. We decided to come by and surprise you."

Ho, ho, ho!

Well, surprise! I was already home!

Since Linda did eventually make it downtown (even if she wouldn't go with me), I figured it would justify sharing some photos and telling you about our small town fun. I'd had to have a post without any pictures of Linda, though, so here's a look at her favorite kind of winter activity:

Yum!

Matt's Favorite - Cathedral Windows

Mr. Matt loves sugar. He doesn't just enjoy sweet things; he somehow knows which sweet things have the highest sugar content (and lowest nutritional value) and prefers those snacks. Example - Cathedral Windows. Really nothing more than chocolate covered sugar. These are super easy to make, so I don't mind making a batch. Mr. Matt lucked out this weekend, too - I needed a couple of pictures of my Cathedral Windows for a post on another blog, so I had to throw some together. Whenever I have to do something like this, I recruit Linda as my model.

Really, these couldn't be easier. You start with one back of chocolate chips and one bag of mini, colored marshmallows. I use a large glass bowl to make my own double boiler.

Turn the heat to high, letting the water boil, and stir constantly. You want the chips to melt into a puddle of smooth, chocolatey goodness.

After your chips have melted, add the bag of marshmallows. Mix together until all of the marshmallows are thoroughly coated.

Next, tear off a 2.5-3" long section of waxed paper. Pour your mixture onto the paper. Spread the mixture down the length of the paper, then wrap the paper around your marshmallows (creating a log).

Tuck your log into the freezer for an hour or two (until firm). Or, if you live in the tundra like me, put it outside for an hour. Once it's firm (you should be able to wave it around like a sword), unwrap it on a cutting board.

Now for the fun - making the windows. Slice the log into 1/2" sections. You now have individual windows! (Sorry I don't have a better picture. I gave most of these away, and when I returned to take a picture of the few remaining windows, they were gone. Matt apologizes and said it would be okay with him if I had to make another batch to get a better photo).

This was the first time Linda had made or eaten Cathedral Windows, and now she's a fan too!