FUN = GRANDCHILDREN

It's always great to have sons and daughters bring the grandchildren for a visit. It seems that the older I get, the more fun I have. I even risked life and limb to slide down our homemade luge. Enjoy the pictures of some of the activities at our Rosholt log home.

ENJOY WATCHING THE SLEDDING FUN!

My personal opinion is that we enjoy a beauty here in central Wisconsin known no where else in the whole wide world.

Our own "Selle luge" is on the right with the uphill walk immediately to the left. After a while, another run was made to go under the "clothes line" poles.

They had to do a lot of talking, but finally I took the plunge (there was a sled under me).

Megan is a trooper - always wanting to be a helper. Here she's clearing the driveway.

Rachel tires right along with her two friends:  Sarge (left) and Isabel (right).

When finished playing outdoors, there are always lots of things to do inside. Refueling the plane. Joshua is wearing the felt hat that I used to use to tell the campus ministry story.

Luke is back for more fun on the hill.

And finally, time to fill hungry stomachs on Karol's GREAT FOOD!

Sister Jean (Middleton) reads to Luke and Megan.

Brother-in-law Paul (The Clock Man) does his best to repair our old kitchen clock.

BIRD HEAVEN

This morning we received a new covering of snow. While it was only an inch or so, it created a time when the birds took shelter. As soon as the snow subsided, the birds came out to our feeders.....and they were busy.

Up to 5 or 6 chickadees would be sitting in this forsythia bush at one time. But it's nigh impossible to get a picture of them all at once. They sit for a moment, flit up to the feeder to grab a seed, and then return to this bush or travel to a nearby red pine to eat the seed. They travel in and out quickly.

At our suet pole, we have a variety of birds stopping by. This is the downy woodpecker. Others enjoying this "beef kidney fat" are hairy woodpeckers, red bellied woodpeckers, white-breasted nuthatches, red-breasted nuthatches, chickadees, and sometimes bluejays.

The northern cardinal always seems to be the beauty of the forest. Red in winter stands out in the white of the snowscape.

I love this shot.

Grandpa Selle always used to call the black-capped chickadee the "tomboy of the forest." They are playful and full of energy. And their call is almost mesmerizing.

How can you not help but fall in love with this bird.

The forsythia bush provides wonderful protection from the frequent visits of the hawk.

Mourning doves have begun to make the north their home even in winter. Years ago, every last one of them headed south. With more and more people feeding, they simply like to stay here.

Sunsets over our neighbor's home are often beautiful.

And, yes, I'm still making bowls. Except that when I began turning this piece of black cherry, I decided it shouldn't be a bowl, but a candle holder. Flexibility is good!

This petite bowl is out of black cherry, only about 1" in height. Maybe it could be used for a personal portion of Valentine M & M's.

A COUPLE NEW BOWLS

Not doing much else, so I thought I would post today's bowls.

The left bowl is a shallow 4.5 inch candy dish made out of maple from our Iola property. The bowl on the right is a 7.5 inch cherry burl. If I have to say so myself, it did turn our really nice.

A burl is a knot-like appendage that grows out of a limb. A burl results from a tree undergoing some form of stress. It may be caused by an injury, virus or fungus.The largest burl ever found was on a redwood tree and measured 26 feet.

This burl came from our Iola property. I've had it stored away for some 5 or 6 years, at first, not (knot) knowing what to do with it, and then, waiting until I gained enough skill in wood turning so that I would'n waste it. I have a few more burls to turn. IF YOU EVER FIND A BURL, OR SOMEONE BY CHANCE OFFERS YOU ONE, DON'T TURN IT DOWN. I'LL TURN IT!!!!

JOUNG YOUL AND MI KYUNG

In 2002, a wonderful young Korean couple came to Stevens Point for English study. They chose to worship with us at Peace Campus Center, and during that year, we came to love them. About seven years ago, we met them again while Joung Youl was at a seminary in New Jersey working on his MDiv. degree. He initially was intending to continue his studies and return to Korea to find a job teaching theology.

But God has his ways, and the plan changed. Joung Youl (now known as John) and Mi Kyung (now called Mia) headed to Idaho where he pastored several small congregations. Two years ago, he was transferred to Tabor Heights United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon. There he serves a congregation worshiping 70 to 100 each Sunday. He loves the ministry there and the people love him for his ministry among them.

John and Mia Go have two children, Grace (8) and Gloria (3). We were invited for a  great lasagna lunch and spent a most enjoyable afternoon reunion time with them.

Each Sunday worship begins with a 15 minute pre-service time of song/praise. I didn't know that John could play the guitar (he even knew how to play when he was in Point - although he never played at Peace). Enjoy a portion of one of the songs they led.

John's message was very Gospel oriented. During his sharing, he recognized Karol and I for the blessing influence we had on his life. It was like a "moment in heaven."

The whole time with the Go family was so special for us - and along with that specialness came emotions that we wore on our sleeves.

Gloria invited Karol into her beautiful little tent located on the living room floor. Karol was honored to join her.

Grace is a second grader (on the left).

The afternoon in their cozy apartment was filled with smiles and laughter - but I think that of all present, the two girls took the front stage.

On our way back to the SeaTac (Seattle/Tacoma) Airport, we stopped for about an hour to visit Dave and Norma Moore (friends from East Lansing days) in Vancouver, WA. Norma and Dave have wonderful giving hearts and just made us feel so at home with them during our visit.

SEATTLE, WA

Karol and I are in Seattle and Portland for the weekend. Reunion with some Peace people; wedding reception for Alisa Ma and her new husband, Ben; and worship in Portland at Tabor Heights United Methodist Church, John Go, pastor. John (Joung Youl) was a part of the Peace community in the late '80's.

Seattle is one unique city:  expensive parking, good transit system, an eclectic mix of people; lots of homeless, damp with temps in the 40's; and, right now, a green city (vs. white in Wisconsin).

Lunch at a Thai restaurant.

This little flower garden graced the front of a little shop.

The view from our Marriott Courtyard hotel room - facing the Seattle Mariners baseball stadium.

Street people/the homeless abound in Seattle.

Alisa (just married) with her mother YuHua (Grace) and Karol at our early morning breakfast.

The Pike Farmers Market may be the biggest tourist attraction. The main floor and a variety of sub-floors offer crafts, food, fish, and most anything you might ever want.

The seafood looked mighty fresh, but the smell equaled the freshness.

 Walking through the market was quite the experience since so many varieties of products were available for purchase.

Lots of fresh and dried flowers was available.

It's fun to watch the second video of more of the shops in the Market.

YOU MIGHT GUESS THAT I LOVE MARKETS!

We also walked the opposite direction from the hotel (another 15-20 minutes) to visit the celebration of the Chinese New Year. A stage had been set up for viewing and so we stuck around to watch some of the music and acrobatics.

12 is the number in Seattle. Someone told me that it started with a young girl who was named Sabrina Twelfth Mann (the family, avid Seattle fans). Now, all over Seattle you see the number 12 - the Seahawks have 11 men on the field, and #12 is the "fan." We have seen many shirts with the number 12 and the name "Fan" on the back (even the maintenance man at our hotel).

An animated cutout in front of the Seattle Art Museum.

Parking is at a premium in downtown Seattle. You can only park on the street if you call in and pay the rate. I thought we would have an easy time with our car; but we have walked.

Parking garages and lots are expensive. I thought that this was for the day - but this was for one hour.

A very interesting sign. The colors and white are all little Japanese origami folded cranes. The folded crane (tsuru) is a sign of Peace. You will find many in Hiroshima.

After enjoying Vietnamese "Pho," Karol and YuHua look at the video of Friday at the Justice of the Peace where Ben and Alisa were married. Ben's parents, Alisa's parents, and Alisa's brother, Bert, were the only ones present.

YOU CAN'T CAPTURE COLD!

 Early this morning, the temperature hovered close to minus 30 degrees. That is a bit chilly. But those crazy weather forcasters always want to make it colder by laying out the "wind chill." In fact, yesterday morning, one of our weathermen, Mark (Wausau, channel 7), did not even give us the temperature, he only reported the wind chill.

Karol and I never tire of seeing and photographing the majestic pileated woodpecker, here, a male. While this is not an award winning picture, you have to know that we simply love these birds that regularly come to eat suet (beef fat from the kidney area) on a nearby tree.

This ATV trail takes me down to the lower storage shed where I house my dry wood. The snow was so deep that I needed to shovel my road. Yesterday, I brought a very small load up this hill, but I got stuck several times....the temperature was so cold that the "dry" snow was like shifting sand.

You are looking at one disappointed boy. Joshua had wanted to come to our house to sled, but it was impossible to make a slide in the deep snow. Instead of sledding, he and sister, Kaitlyn, decided to dig a tunnel in the snow that Cheeto, our snow plower, had piled up. Joshua is a true Wisconsinite - the giveaway is the Packer coat.

This is my current supply of firewood: maple, cherry, birch, and a little oak. This stack was cut three years ago and is really nice and dry (that insures that our chimney will remain clean). The wood stacked behind the ladder will eventually be used for bowls.

CHECK OUT A VIDEO OF MY WORKSHOP. I THINK I NOW HAVE EVERYTHING NEEDED IN TERMS OF TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT (AT LEAST UNTIL I WANT TO SOMETHING MORE ADVANCED OR UNIQUE)

SPEAKING ABOUT BOWLS....I'VE BEEN OUT IN MY WORKSHOP RECENTLY.

Made last night. I love the gentle edge on this maple bowl. This one took me approximately two and a half hours to make. Karol was pleased and so was I with the quality of this bowl.

When the weather is cold, I start a fire in my workshop in the morning, and in several hours it is warm enough to work with just a hooded sweatshirt. I've been turning mostly cherry and maple, but the piece in the front (left) is a natural edge "unknown wood." If I have a preference for bowl uniqueness, it is the bowl in the front center with the overlapping edge (great for M & M's).

Another selection of bowls. Can you tell which one I didn't turn?

The snow on our pier keeps getting taller and taller.

Our second favorite bird is a tie between the black-capped chickadee or the red-breasted nuthatch. Both are like little comedians with antics and movement that tend to amuse us as we watch.

In order to protect itself from the winter cold, the rhododendron curls its leaves tightly. You can see ice on the left side of the photo. The buds form the center of the leaf clusters. In spring, they will produce wonderful pink flowers. Winter is just a time to live in expectation of spring!!