One of our gifts this Christmas was the new Mac OS X leopard family pack. We are all enjoying the new features which this new kitty brings to our computers. I especially enjoy 'stacks' - a cool way to keep your desktop clean, yet files and recent downloads a click away. Another feature that I have already used a lot is the new interface between mail and iCal/Address Book. Calvin likes the 'cover flow' feature. We will be discovering new features as time goes on. Mac users, if you haven't upgraded yet, do it. PC users, just hope that someday Microsoft will steal some of these features in a future OS.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas Dinner at Benedict House
We took advantage of a somewhat quiet Christmas Day to help serve a dinner at the Benedict House in Bremerton. Our church, along with many others in the county, take turns providing meals for homeless men who are temporarily housed at the Benedict House. Esther and a couple of others spent the afternoon cooking up a prime rib roast, potatoes and veggies. The boys and I joined in serving and eating the meal. The men were appreciative and friendly. It was an added treat to drive through snow on Christmas Day.
Monday, December 24, 2007
bulthuis family gathering
On Sunday evening, the Bulthuis family got together at Aaron and Jen's house. This was after a candlelight service at Bethel Church. It was great to see Karen who came from New York, and Rebekah who came from Michigan. We presented Mom with a digital photo display loaded with family pictures from us all. We hope that the continual visual exposure to her children, grandchildren and great-grand children will keep her memory of us sharper. We will spend a somewhat quiet Christmas Eve. with just the four of us.
Friday, December 21, 2007
first day on the slopes
It is rare for me to hit the slopes before Christmas, but with all the snow piling up and a prodding son, I began my snowboard season today. We were able to take advantage of some two-for-one ticket coupons that Markus snagged. Oh, it does a dutchman good to see his son pinching pennies! Calvin's friend, Josh deLacy joined us for the Crystal Mountain adventure, albeit on skiis:( It turned out to be a great day. Probably the only non-stormy day of a two-week stretch, with lots of powder and no crowds. Yesterday was a bulthuis-shop-till-you-drop day (downtown Seattle, Universtiy Village, Southcenter, Ikea and the Supermall) Today was a nice contrast to traffic and shopping malls.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
december decor for the classroom
The last few days before Christmas break, we allow the students to bring things from home to decorate their table. They like to make it a competition. The winners were obvious this year, with hanging Santas, lights, and pine streamers. The decorations added to the atmosphere of our December party. Today is the beginning of a two week break. It will be a pleasant change of routine for both the students and their teachers!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
definitely a 'God thing'
Every year our church sponsors an Angel Tree Dinner. Children of incarcerated parents are invited to a dinner where gifts are given to the children on behalf of their parent. The incarcerated parent makes the request for their child to take part; and sends a note to be given with the gifts. The church buys the presents and puts on the dinner and then presents the gifts This year Esther and I had the opportunity to host a table. Guests are not assigned to tables but hosts greet families as they enter and then invite them to sit at their table. As families entered, I recognized one of my students in a large group of guests and knew it was my clue! As it turned out, not only my student but one of his cousins who was a former student, sat at our table. I was not aware that either of them had incarcerated parents. It was a special moment when the children opened up the notes from their parents before opening the gift. The church also helps pay for the children to go to summer camp. The custodial parent can sign them up. It looks like both of my students will be able to go this summer. It is humbling to be a small part of something that God is so obviously orchestrating.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
my wishlist
At the risk of appearing selfish, I have posted a Christmas wishlist for the use of my loved ones who can't think of what to get me. (See the link in the left column.) I often have ambivalent feelings about the Christmas gift exchange routine. On the one hand, it feels like a burdensome cultural obligation to spend excessive amounts of time in crowded malls, frantically searching for the right gift/s. On the other hand, it feels like a small gesture of kindness in expressing appropriate affections to our well-deserving loved ones. I often wonder if Christ is pleased with all the activity surrounding the celebration of his advent to earth. It does heighten the celebratory nature of the season, and encourages generosity and kindness, reflecting the great generosity and sacrifice of God at Christmas. I guess I'll stick with the program.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
finally complete
A year and a half after installing the window, I finally have the inside trimmed out in sheet rock, plastered, textured and painted. We added it to let more light in the north side of the house. The fact that the rough-in didn't look that bad without trim, and that it was way up high, made it easy to let it go for such a long time. I picked at it this week in the evenings and finished it last night. In addition to my home improvement project, I also hung the exterior christmas lights and we procured a tree from Stocks Tree Farm. It feels like a weekend's worth of work done in one day. Esther has also been busy adorning the interior of the house with seasonal beauty. Markus came home last night as his quarter is over. He will head off to Whistler for a couple of days this week.
Friday, November 30, 2007
one down. two to go
Today marked the end of the first trimester at our school. It was also the end of the month and time to celebrate November birthdays. The school had a 'tie day' to encourage school spirit. We of course rocked out at our now infamous IMA monthly party. The down side of this academic milestone is that I will be spending most of this weekend working on report cards.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Thanksgiving 2007
We enjoyed a family holiday with both the Eides and Bulthuis' We are fortunate to have so much family in Lynden. Jenny's family also came up to Lynden, so they joined us for the Eide turkey dinner on Thursday. Markus brought an SPU friend, Scott, from Colorado who joined us as well. Mike and Marti hosted the feast which included oyster stuffing for the hearty Norwegians. Instead of shopping on 'Black Friday,' we enjoyed a walk at Boulevard Park in the sunshine. In the evening, we celebrated with the Bulthuis' at Doug and Pam's. Jack and Sue were up with Aaron and Jen, and Ellen spent the week with mom. It was good catching up and celebrating God's goodness. We also visited with Anna and girls who came up from from Tacoma, and longtime friends, Frank and Cynthia. On Sunday morning we visited 'Vintage 242' Bjorn and Jenny's church that meets in a movie theater in Abbotsford. The church is part of the Acts 29 church planting network, and Bjorn and Jenny are very involved in serving - Jenny with children's ministry, and Bjorn with music, AV and developing the web site. It was great to visit with so many family and friends.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Qwest Field at last
Yesterday was my first visit to Qwest Field. Markus and I joined about forty people from Harper Church at the Seahawks/Bears game. We felt fortunate to catch the Hawks on a good day! From the nosebleed section, you can't see the game as well, but the atmosphere is great. To help add to the 12th man noise, I found myself belting out any kind of strange cry that my vocal chords could produce. The intensity in the stadium is so much higher on defense than on offense. The cheer over a completed pass is dwarfed by response to a false start. The crowd acts like they are an active participant of the defense (which they are!) My favorite play of the game was when kicker Josh Brown tackled the ominous Devin Hester. I don't suppose I'll get a chance to go to another game soon, so I'll cherish the feelings as I cheer on the Seahawks from my couch.
Monday, November 12, 2007
a new 'getaway' destination
Every fall, Esther and I like to do a weekend getaway. We often go to Leavenworth or the Oregon coast. Last minute reserving insured that the bavarian village would not host our outing. Turning our attention to the coast, we were reminded that some Portland friends had recommended lodging in Astoria. With some reservation we booked a room at the Hotel Elliot, a renovated hotel that looked inviting. We were pleasantly surprised by our stay in the historic city. The town seems to be on the upswing, with galleries and boutiques slowly taking over abandoned buildings. We thoroughly enjoyed the dining options. Since the weather was nice on Saturday, we went up to the Astoria Column, which overlooks the whole northwest tip of Oregon. It was great! I enjoyed the Columbia River Maritime Museum as well. Astoria is close to Seaside and Canon Beach, so we were able to catch the coastal thing before returning home.
Monday, November 05, 2007
27 and still going strong
I faced a choice this month of whether or not to fix the brakes on the Datsun. Because of some unique features, brake replacement is a little more costly than most. After some hesitation, I went ahead and replaced the brakes. My father bought the 1980 200SX new and was quite proud of it. When he moved to a minivan a few years later, he passed it on to the Bishops. Jack kept exceptional care of it as it cycled through all three of their children: Aaron, Sarah and Rebekah. Jack gave the car to Markus, who used it for three years, and now it is under Calvin's 'protection.' My dad would be proud to know that his 'Datsun' has passed through five grandchildren.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Lynden visit
We spent Friday night and Saturday in Lynden. One of the purposes of the quick trip was to see Bjorn and Jenny's Halloween decorations before they took them down. They had quite an event on Wednesday night. We wished we could have been there. Another reason we made the trip was to say good bye to nephew Zach who left Saturday for Colorado. He will work at the ski resort in Brekenridge for the winter. With Kelsea in Hawaii and Zach leaving for the winter, John and Kay were feeling a heavy dose of desertion. We were also able to spend a little time with my mom, taking her to an apple orchard to pick up some cider and other goodies. This afternoon, we went with Calvin and the DeLacys to a college fair in Seattle. Calvin has some new schools to scope out now.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
The Blake Island Challenge
Someday I'm going to organize a race that starts at Southworth beach. Contestants must padddle over to Blake Island. Once on the island, they must run the perimeter trail, and then paddle back to Southworth. This afternoon, Esther and I completed a gentler version. We canoed to Blake, hike around it, and canoed back. We did it in just under two and half hours. The canoe trip takes about a half hour each way depending on current and wind. The 4.5 mile perimeter trail took us an hour and a half. It was a great Sunday afternoon couple activity. Maybe we could make a couple's race!
Friday, October 26, 2007
new light fixtures
For the last two years, Esther and I have been casually looking for some light fixtures that would fit our 'hearth room.' We found some this week at Home Depot, and I installed them last night. They definitely match the decor better than the seventies' white globes. It's that inside project time of the year again.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Goodbye Bowser
He was a good dog. He had to be to survive his delinqent owners. As gentle as a dove; the only time that I ever heard him growl in twelve years was when another dog bit him in the mouth. He was a Basset with a hyper streak, not the mellow sedate creature of stereotypes. His tail twirled like a helicopter prop when he was on a track. Stubborn as a mule; he followed his whimsical nose rather than his master's voice. Bowser witnessed the growing up of three boys into men. He shared the family's affection with a succession of three cats. He transitioned as well as any of us in the move to a different house. But it was time to say good-bye to our canine friend. He was going blind and his back hips could not keep up with his eager spirit. We just couldn't justify making him suffer through another cold, wet winter in the potting shed. Today I brought him to the Humane Society for a long nap! Thanks Bowser, you are the only dog that could live out your days in the Bulthuis family.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
cleaning Blue Wing
One of the costs of mooring a boat in the Puget Sound is the clean up when you haul it out. This past weekend I pulled 'Blue Wing' out of the water. I borrowed Tim's pressure washer, and spent an hour after work cleaning the scum off the bottom. This was the first year that I used a pressure washer. The growth came right off the part that had bottom paint. The sides were a different story. Well, it's clean enough to store for the winter.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Family Day at the Shipyard
For twenty years I have worked with them, played with them, worshipped with them, and taught their children; but their work world is as foreigh to me as the streets of Paris. "Code &, Radcon, 290, 457" are an alien language that my closest friends toss around. You can't live in Kitsap County without rubbing shoulders with shipyard employees, whose world is surrounded by fences and is filled with security codes and regulaions. Today, Esther and I stepped into their world and got a glimpse. Our good friends, Tom and Peggy Gilliard invited us to a kind of 'open house.' We had to be cleared ahead of time to be on the list of guests. This kind of thing does not happen very often, so we jumped at the chance. We obviously couldn't take a camera. Aside from seeing where Tom and Peggy worked (in the same building), the highlight was boarding the nuclear submarine USS Alabama. We waitied in line a long time, but it was worth it. To crawl through a working nuclear sub, the most lethal machinery on the planet, is a little intimidating. It was great having Tom as a personal tour guide, as he was stationed on a nuclear sub for four years, and teaches nuclear safety to shipyard engineers. I have a little more understanding now of the world in which so many of my friends work. Thanks, Tom and Peg!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
leaders hike
Every year, we take the leaders in our classroom on a hike. These students have proved themselves responsible, so we give them leadership in the class. With 51 students, we need a little help! The leaders assist in keeping their table on task. Because of the weather this fall, we decided to take them to the Dungeness Spit rather than Mt. Townsend. Taking advantage of 'the Olympic rainshadow,' we didn't get a drop of rain. There were 13 students and six adults on the hike. One group made it all the way to the lighthouse (5 miles each way) The other group (which I was with) took a more leisurely pace and made it about half-way. After waiting a while for the lighthouse group to return, I sent the group ahead to the Sequim swimming pool while I waited for the other group. As the hours passed, I found a warm spot in the sand and took a nap. On wakening from my snooze, I glanced at the water and took a double take as a male orca with it's tall straight dorsal fin surfaced and submerged. I kept watching as it repeatedly surfaced, sometimes spouting. There was no one to share this with as I was all alone on the beach. I wondered if anyone would believe me. Fortunately, the group coming back from the lighthouse had seen him too; as well as a female and some younger ones. We joined the earlier group at the rec center and enjoyed the warm pools.
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