Reprieve
Our best Christmas present? The "service engine" light in the car went out! Joel called the service department at the Saturn dealership this morning and they agreed that nothing of immediate concern is wrong if the light does not stay on. The mechanic said that moisture in the engine from Wednesday's torrential rains could have made the light turn on, or "sometimes the computer just hiccups."

The other great news was that Cory Kloth's wife Heather delivered three healthy babies Christmas day. The triplets are breathing on their own and reports of their birthweights seem pretty encouraging. The Kloths graciously hosted us, sight unseen, when we were in the Atlanta area in July.

Gloria in excelsis!
Our Christmas Eve lessons and carols service went very smoothly, though I am now exhausted and a bit wheezy. Most of the service is choral piece after choral piece, and our director really put us through our paces. Singing for a packed house is rather energizing, and we had some superb brass and strings accompanying on several of the pieces. Times like these make me love being in a big church.

You can read about our repertoire here. A webcast of the service was available live. I'll post a link when the recorded version is available.

The most difficult piece we sang was Laurisden's "O magnum mysterium." Dissonance and unusual harmonics are not easy, but it also requires a lot of pianissimo, which takes tremendous breath control to achieve. It's also the longest piece we sang. It's incredibly beautiful though, with some harmonies that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, they're so otherworldly.

On the downside, the "service engine soon" light came on in our "new" car when we headed over to church tonight. Please pray that it's nothing serious. The car is still under warranty, but we don't want to be stuck with it in the shop for any length of time because we had planned to leave Saturday to visit some of my family.

Now, to bed!

Fröliche Weihnachten!

Into the homestretch
Whew, I only have one last Christmas gift project to finish up, and just a few days left. These past few weeks have been really packed between giftmaking, baking, guests and fun events.

We got to see Return of the King the day it opened, in the afternoon. We got free babysitting--always a plus. Getting to the theatre was a bit scary, as our windshield wipers were malfunctioning in the midst of a major downpour. At every red light, Joel had to hop out of the car to get the left blade back on the windshield. Fortunately, we had pre-purchased tickets and the afternoon show was not sold out.

I liked the film a lot, but I'll probably like the extended DVD better. A few of the cuts disappointed me greatly. Eowyn and Merry get short shrift when the Houses of Healing section is cut. I expected Eowyn's plotline wrap-up to get some screen time since she is so prominent in the beginning of the film. I was also disappointed that the ships' arrival at Minas Tirith was so undramatic. The whole sails unfurling bit in the book seemed to suggest a really visually stunning moment that never made it to the theatre. Sigh.

For our anniversary, Joel and I went to hear Anonymous 4, a female quartet that sings mostly Medieval and Renaissance music, as well as works and modern composers who have similarly modal harmonics. Accompanied by different types of harp, they filled the Gothic-revival church with tight harmonies and even tighter unison singing. I think I was most impressed by their ability to sound like one voice when singing unison. It's evidence of both intense rehearsing and many years together.

Down with dictators
Listening to the radio during breakfast, we heard a long segment on the capture of Saddam Hussein. At one point in the broadcast, a crowd reacted to the news with clapping and cheering.

In response, our toddler daughter kicked her high chair tray, clapped and said "woot!"

Or should that be w00t? Only 16 months old, and she's picking up Internet chat slang. Thanks bq.

No, I'm not dead
Though in the past 10 days or so I've felt less than lively. I caught some particularly virulent respiratory infection from my germy toddler and have been sick since the weekend after Thanksgiving. She, of course, bounced back in a few days.

Despite feeling lousy, I've been trying to finish up Christmas projects. This is probably why I'm not completely well yet. Well, that and dragging myself to very intense choir rehearsals. I'm getting very good at lip synching when I feel a cough coming on. I think I should have worked on this technique earlier in the season when I realized just how rusty I am at sight-reading.

Another dirty secret I also recently learned is that we soprano IIs can stealthily morph into the alto section when the soprano part is getting into the brittle end of our range. Believe me, if we didn't do this, people would complain. If the ladies in your choir don't know this cheat technique, please pass on the word. Let's save our churches from needless screeching and strained vocal chords.

Gobbled
Hard to believe it's already Thanksgiving. A month ago I flew down to Florida. Since losing my dad and returning home, I've been pretty wrapped up in time-consuming projects like buying a car, making Christmas gifts and organizing a volunteer day at the church library.

After spending a day deshelving, repairing and reorganizing the church library, I was appalled at how few books we have that are actual commentaries. Our "Christian living" section, on the other hand, is huge. (Largely, this is because we get so many donations for this category, and our funding level being what it is, we are grateful to get them.)

I'm somewhat discouraged by the types of things Christian publishers market most. If you looked at Christian Book Distributer's catalog, you'd think the only things being published are fiction and 75 versions of "Prayer of Jabez" and "Secrets of the Vine." I know that good, solid stuff is out there, but without Joel's help, I wouldn't know where to find it.

Woop! Woop!
Err, I accidently just discovered that our new car has an alarm system when I stowed something in the glove box. Aparently opening the door with a key will trip the alarm. I'm sure the neighbors were just thrilled by this loud intrusion on a quiet weekend afternoon.

Amazingly, the car dealer never mentioned that this optional feature was included. I should have suspected when they didn't try to sell us Lojack, a system much hyped when we bought our Prizm in '99.

Good news: insurance rates will go down. Bad news: for convenience's sake, we need to go to a dealer to buy a second transmitter to turn the alarm on and off.

Cars
Sigh. I've been waiting by the phone for a few days for the Purple Heart towing people to come get our wounded car. Just before I left for Florida, we decided to not sink any more money into our Prizm that needs new bearings and transaxle/transmission repairs, but to donate it to charity. It was such a great car when we first got it, but Philly streets have really done a number on the shocks, struts, and let's see...about 9 tires.

Tomorrow we pick up the "new" car. Finding something that fits our garage and budget with more cargo space has been incredibly frustrating. We finally found a low mileage Saturn wagon that fit all our criteria. The interior isn't quite as cushy as the Prizm, and the engine is a little louder, but after renting a Chevy Metro with no power anything (locks, windows, steering) for over two weeks, Joel is very excited to get the wagon. I think it will be cool to let Nicky ride in the back without shedding all over the seats. w00t.

Ring, phone, ring! Come get our sad ol' car so that we can transfer the tags!

Home
Claire and I got home Thursday afternoon after a good but somewhat bumpy flight from Florida. Not only did my big brother fly back with me to help, but we also got a free seat for Claire, who took a nice big nap.

The past two weeks have been the most exhausting in recent memory. I was glad to be able to be supportive to my Mom during this difficult time. All those boring tasks of keeping her apartment in order—laundry, dishes, meals, tidying up—generally fell to me. Thankfully, neighbors and church friends dropped off food every day, so no heavy-duty cooking was required while I watched Claire.

Believe it or not, near the end my father was recovering from the pneumonia and sepsis. What did him in was the medication he takes for bipolar disorder. He'd been on lithium for 27 years and had likely been in toxicity for several weeks. It took a nephrologist to help us understand the level of severity of that toxicity, and the irreparable harm it had done to his body.

Dad survived extubation and transport to hospice last Saturday. It was the best decision we made to move him. Suddenly, we were away from all the machines, and no limits on how many can visit or for how long. I was even allowed to bring Claire into the hospice. The room was lovely and comfortable like a hotel room, with a view of the lagoon in the retirement community.

Mom stayed the night at hospice last Saturday. My brother woke at 4 a.m. Sunday unable to sleep and went to see Dad. Mom was so thankful he woke her, because he was able to move her bed next to Dad's so she could hold his hand the rest of the night. Mom called me at about 6:10 to say that Dad's breathing slowed way down, then just stopped. It was peaceful and she was able to be right there with him the way she wanted to.

I put in calls to her pastors, and one came out at 8 a.m. with an elder. Several other friends from the retirement community stopped by before church. The eye bank arrived shortly thereafter to get his corneas, the only usable organ he could donate.

The next three days were a whirlwind, helping pull together the memorial service for Wednesday afternoon. More family arrived little by little, making our preparations all the more difficult. Who wants to run errands and make phone calls when there are family to visit and share stories with?

The service turned out beautifully, however. It was just right and I feel like nothing important went undone. I'll post the memories I shared at the memorial service in another post.

I still feel like I have hardly begun to grieve, I was so busy in Florida and needed to be strong and fully functioning for my daughter. A close friend who has lost both parents warned me that the grief may not fully hit for several weeks.

All Souls
Herbert Francis Webster passed into his eternal reward this morning at around 6am.

Hospice
Dad started taking a turn for the worse yesterday. He began running a fever, and his platelets and electrolytes were still messed up. This morning we got bad news from the nephrologist--dad's kidney's have not been functioning normally. His salt levels have been so high since Sunday that irreversable brain damage has been caused. Even if the infections can be cured, he will never regain consciousness.

This afternoon, my mom and brother have a consult with the hospice staff. We want to move Dad back to the retirement community's hospice center to die peacefully. My mom is at peace about the decision, but at the same time scared and sad. She and Dad have been married 55 years.

It may sound strange, but it would be very meaningful to my family if Dad went home to the Lord on All Saint's Day. Dad has always been very enthusiastic about his faith and so open to what the Lord is doing.

It's hard to grasp the reality of losing a parent, even when I can see first hand that he is leaving us. I look at his hands and see him patiently teaching me to operate a darkroom, change a tire, paste up a newsletter page. I followed in his footsteps careerwise, a fact that made him so proud. I'm thankful he could walk me down the aisle on my wedding day and see Claire at least once.

Update
Thanks for your prayers and well wishes. My father was very close to death on Sunday. He has a type of stapf pneumonia and sepsis. On Monday morning, Claire and I flew down to Florida where I now write this on a wretched dial-up connection (I want my DSL! Waah!). My brother Steve was a huge help on the flight and Claire behaved exceptionally well, even without a morning nap. She has been a real trooper and brings a lot of joy to my family who've gathered down here.

As of today, my dad is still very seriously ill but improving, and the sepsis seems to be clearing up. The doctor who gave him 10% chance of survival on Sunday was actually very optimistic today. The pneumonia continues to be a worry. My dad will likely be in the ICU for several weeks recovering from the looks of things. We hope that tomorrow he'll be awake some after sleeping/being unconscious the past 48 hours, because two of my siblings have flights home in the afternoon. I and Steve are here until Sunday.

Please pray
I'd appreciate your prayers. My father is gravely ill and not expected to survive the next few days (Joel gives some more details).

I'm going to be flying with Claire to Florida first thing in the morning. Fortunately, one of my older brothers got a connecting flight through Philadelphia so he can help me deal with a very active toddler on the 3-hour flight.

This is especially stressful because it was so sudden. I'm having a hard time thinking straight and just figuring out what to put in the suitcase.

Lost and going nowhere fast
During Joel's fall break we were able to get free babysitting and decided to go to the movies. (The last thing I saw in a theatre was Matrix Reloaded. How sad is that?)

On a friend's recommendation we saw Lost in Translation starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. While the ads try to play up the comic aspects, this film's humor is pretty subtle. On the whole it felt far more like a drama.

Murray's character is a has-been Hollywood star who's visiting Tokyo to film a commercial. Johansson's a recent college grad in Tokyo with her husband, a photographer. The two are both plagued with insomnia and end up meeting in the hotel lounge and strike up a friendship.

As you follow each of them over several days, you see parallels--his career is over, hers hasn't begun yet. Both feel unneeded by their spouses. Both are deeply depressed and floundering to find any significance in their lives. Both are total outsiders in Japanese culture, though the younger one (Johansson) is willing to take some daytrips and explore on her own. Murray is routinely herded around by "handlers."

There are several quite funny scenes that highlight the Americans' inability to understand the Japanese language or culture. Yet the humor has an edge of the pathetic to it. You really feel sorry for these two lost souls.

Pottypalooza?
I think this has to be about the strangest fund raiser for charity I've ever heard of. I saw an ad for it in the latest Budget Living and wondered why on earth the marketing folks at Charmin thought this was an appropriate activity to link to a charitable cause. Weirdos. Why can't they just ask people to send in UPCs like normal companies?

Questions for Emeth
1. What novel has had the greatest impact on your life? How so?

2. Like all siblings, I'm sure you and your brothers had plenty of squabbles growing up. Now that you're all young adults, what do you most appreciate and admire about Ben and Berek?

3. On your last few trips to the U.S., you got a taste of American life. What are some things you think will be the most challenging to adjust to when you come on a more long-term basis to study?

4. How do you and Davey complement or balance each other in terms of personality, skills and spiritual gifts?

5. As a special gift, a wealthy relative has hired a wedding coordinator to help you make all your wedding plans. What instructions do you give her (theme, colors, other details)?

Good vibes
This morning on NPR Weekend Edition, Liane Hansen interviewed a hip, young vibraphone player known as Lalo. It was fun to hear how she got her first chance to play this funky percussion instrument in high school. Her school actually owned one that was collecting dust in a storage room.

I love the funky mix of techno and jazz that she's created. Her first album is definitely going on my wish list.

I got to try out marimba and vibes in high school too, thanks to a student teacher who came my senior year and was a percussion specialist. I was the only mallet player in the school, so I got more than my fair share of his time. He taught me rudimentary four mallet technique and I had a blast.

I think of the two instruments, marimba is more me. Vibes can be a bit, well, tingy and loungy. Marimba feels more organic. It include a lower octave than a xylophone. You play it with these soft yarn-covered mallets and get a really mellow sound, instead of the plinky xylophone sound.

Sigh. Buying my own marimba would be really high on my list if I were to come into a fortune.

In other highlights of the day, we got to meet Daniel Silliman , who was in the area visiting relatives. I thought it was way cool that he's double majoring in philosophy and journalism. Both Joel and I got to talk shop with him. Great fun. :-)

Questions for Jennifer

I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to recycle one of the questions I gave Paul, because I'd like to hear how you'd answer it.

Here goes.

1. You grew up in a really large family. How has your growing up experience influenced how you parent your own children?

2. How, after attending an Anabaptist college, did you end up Presbyterian?

3. What do you like most and least about being a pastor's wife?

4. Who are your favorite literary heroines? With what fictional character have you felt the greatest kinship?

5. You just won a contest sponsored by Miramax. They offered to make any book of your choosing into a film. What book do you choose? What casting suggestions do you give?

When you post your answers on your blog, please include the following:
::If you would like to participate too, here are your instructions:
1. Leave me a comment saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions (not the same as you see here).
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.::

You turn your back for one minute....
(not for the squeamish)

This evening, I was helping gather up dinner items to carry out to the dining room, when I hear Joel let out a big "Aieee!" from the next room.

I ran to see what the matter was, and Joel walked into the kitchen carrying a tiny, maimed mouse.

"Claire was holding this, cuddling it close to her face!" Joel said. "Yuck! I mean, it's cute and all, but gross!" He carried it out the back door and plopped it in the garden. We then washed Claire's hands and face with antibacterial soap.

This mouse was really small, probably about an inch and a half body with a long tail. It must be a litter mate of the mouse Keats was tormenting last week. I doubt that little critter survived so many days after the mauling Keats gave it.

Note to self: Stop procrastinating. Buy traps.

Questions for Paul
OK Duggie-meister, here are your questions:

1. You just won a contest sponsored by Miramax. They offered to make any book of your choosing into a film. What book do you choose? What casting suggestions do you give?

2. If you could have any of the following services free for the next year, which would you choose? Explain your choice.
a. a live-in housekeeper
b. a minivan chauffeur service for your family
c. a chef service that drops off hot meals to your door
d. a personal trainer and dietician to help your family be fit and healthy
e. a life coach to help you with your career, parenting, marriage relationship and any other emotional issues in your life

3. If you were offered a generous stipend to pursue an advanced degree, what would you study?

4. A wealthy relative offers to send you and Sylvia on a three-week all-expenses-paid dream vacation to celebrate your 10th anniversary (without the kids!). Where do you go?

5. If you had free rein to change the worship services at Tenth Presbyterian, what alterations would you make?

When you post your answers on your blog, please be sure to include the instructions (see my earlier post).