Tuesday - Our last full day in Suisse

(checkout our third web album for the last week of our wonderful stay at Chez Goudzwaard)
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Tuesday morning it was crepes for petite dejuner and they were tres bon.

Early afternoon Bryan, Troy and I grabbed our umbrellas and walked to Chevannes de Bogis, the adjacent village.  We made dinner reservations at the local auberge for six while Eva and Steph were faithful to their heritage and worked on making olie bollen.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some cleanup and getting ready for our departure tomorrow am.  I made sure to complete the checklist left for guests of Chez Goudzwaard.  I gave the establishments high marks and suggested they apply for inclusion in the next edition of the Michelon guide for fine places to stay in central Europe.

We finished our time in Switzerland with a great dinner in Chavannes de Bogis with a plus being that we were able to walk there and home again.  Au revoir.

Monday - Skiing at Villars

     This morning Bryan, Eva and I drove to Villars - about 1 1/5 hrs.  Bryan and Eva skied while I sat in the lodge allowing my back to heal some more.  Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?  I decided that even though I'd love to go skiing, I didn't want to be medivac'ed from the slopes (we saw three others leave that way).

Saturday - Trees and Lights

We had a relaxing Saturday at home.  Late afternoon we headed for Geneva to see the annual Trees and Lights displays - artistic works around the waterfront combining the trees of the existing landscape with the creative use of lighting.  This was the first day this week that we could rest assured that our stroll would not be interrupted by rain, snow or hail.

On arrival home, we enjoyed another traditional Swiss dinner, raclette - individually melted cheese on a generous helping of chopped tomatoes, corn and mushrooms, all placed on a lightly toasted slice of French bread.  Of course, there is always plenty of white Swiss wine to aid the digestion.  It's no wonder we sleep so well here.

Once again, we celebrate the light!

Bulletin, with words to the carols to be sung,
 at the Christmas day service.

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Eva, Bryan and I went to Old Town, Geneva for the 10 am Christmas service in the historic St. Pierre Cathedral, the church where John Calvin preached when he lived here.  Though the language was not native to our ears, the message was that which has been proclaimed through the ages - Jesus Christ came to earth to redeem broken humanity.

It was inspiring to celebrate Christmas with people of different languages, in a different country, and in a historic setting.  A unity was experienced that can be a guiding value as we continue our individual paths.

Wednesday - Steak and fries

It rained off and on today and much of the snow that had blanketed our village is now just a memory. However, my sledding crash is not just a memory - my movement was seriously limited. So it was indoor games - Scrabble, jigsaw puzzle, etc.

For dinner we went into Geneva and feasted on steak and fries - the only thing on the menu at Le Relais de L'Entrecote. This place is always packed and usually there's a line to get in, even when it is raining.

The city sparkled like crystal as we walked through the wet streets to get back to our cars.

Tuesday - Sledding in the Juras

Bryan got home from work early Tuesday, approx. 1:30 pm. We all got our snow clothes on, loaded up the cars with sleds and went to a sledding hill in the Jura mountains. The small ski area we went to was not yet open for skiing, but we decided sledding would be worth a try.

We had a number of good runs but finally had to call it quits after my race with Bryan ended in a spill. I limped back to the car and we went home and enjoyed another one of Bryan's famous fondue dinners.

No School this week

This day is almost gone.  First, we slept late, then we shoveled snow from the driveway and finally we went to look for a hill to slide down.  This is the way Troy, Quinn and I spent the day.  It was a very good day!

Zurich outing

  This weekend we enjoyed an overnight trip to Zurich. We drove there Saturday morning, as the snow was falling, and drove home early Sunday afternoon, as more snow fell. Was it ever cold (when we were outside).

Saturday we enjoyed strolling through the largest Christmas market in Europe (held in the the main train station). The market centerpiece: a 50-foot tall Christmas tree glittering with more than 5000 Swarovski crystal ornaments is visible from any spot in the market. The effect is nothing short of dazzling!
After a comfortable night in a very modern hotel, we took a 2 hour trolley tour of the city.

We thoroughly enjoyed the trip (especially watching Troy and Quinn eat their dinner desserts) but it was also good to get back to our warm house well stocked with reasonably priced food. 

We ended the day by joining the friendly folks at the Westlake church for the 5 pm service and then dinner and relaxing at home.

Friday - Snow

It snowed all night and this morning everything was transformed - the fields were blanketed in white, cars crawled along trying to maintain traction,











holiday decorations were postcard perfect, and some people resorted to former pasttimes.

Thursday - Run to Lake Geneva

It looked like today we would have some sun so Eva and I decided to run to Lake Geneva (down hill from Bogis-Bossey) and then Stephanie would pick us up in Coppet. The temperature was below freezing but the running kept us warm. In 45 minutes we were sitting in a little coffee shop in Coppet with Stephanie, enjoying a coffee and croissant.

In the afternoon, Eva and Steph dropped me off in Geneva and gave me free run of the city. I caught a train and bus to get back home.

Tuesday - Overcast and freezing

It was cold but not so cold that we couldn't run from Chez Goudzwaard, across the French border to Luc de Divonne and back. We were chilled during the run but returned to a warm house and hot oatmeal. The rest of the morning was spent reading and blogging as Stephanie had to go to Nyon for her weekly French language lessons.

This was an indoor day after the brisk start. Below, both Troy and Quinn are exercising their creative talents - writing stories and songs - before turning in for the night.

Monday - frosty weather after some rest

With the help of Unisom, Eva and I slept great at Chez Goudzwaard, #301. I got up in time, 7am, to walk Troy and Quinn to the bus while it was still dark and Eva slept for 12 hours.

It was brisk today - sunny and frosty. Mostly we stayed inside. Eva and Steph went grocery shopping and I walked to the local ATM to stock up on Swiss francs. This walk allowed me a great view of the chateau in Divonne, France (see my web album). The rest of the time was spent reading, internet access, and encouraging Troy to get on with his report for school.

Travel to Switzerland

At 9am Saturday, we flew with United from LAX to airport in New York. From there Swiss Air took us to Geneva where we arrived at 9:30 am Sunday morning. With this schedule, you don't sleep much on the airplane.

With snow falling off and on today, we did our best to stay awake at Bryan and Stephanie's home. We took a walk through Bogis-Bossey in the afternoon with Troy and Quinn to see the various Christmas decorations. Tonight we will hear and see Quinn as she portrays an angel in the Church program.

A good night's sleep will be welcome so that we stop feeling like zombies.

Summer is Gone

Summer is now a memory - the weather has cooled considerably and we have started using our blankets again. And memories fade, so I take pictures.

October 1 looked like it might be the last warm day for a while, so I decided that I would enjoy it and spend a few hours at Huntington Beach State Park. Thanks to the parking pass that Tim deeded to me, I was able to drive right in and not pay the $15 entry fee.

Thanks for the parking pass Tim!

A Voice that Moves Me

In the mid 90s, driving home from work, I heard a voice on NPR that captivated me. It was Iris DeMent, singing a song from her first album, Infamous Angel. I was hooked. I bought her CD and she became the one singer I would mention to people.

For many years, I checked the web as to new CDs and her performing itinerary. I bought each CD as it was released but she didn't often tour. She had a gig in Santa Monica one year but I couldn't make it.

And then Eva heard that she would be peforming at the Carpenter Center at Cal State Long Beach on September 26 along with BeauSoleil (Cajun music). We bought tickets (my birthday present) and last Saturday we were lifted from our routine by that tremendous voice.

Iris is not a performer; she is a singer and lyricist. She wore very little makeup, a funky dress and cowboy boots. She didn't smile much. But when she grabs her guitar or sits at the piano, with her red hair falling in her face and her eyes closed half the time, she sings some of the sweetest songs.

It was a night to remember.

(See and hear Iris on Youtube.)

Helping - One Person at a Time

One Tuesday morning, early February, just as Pastor Joel was getting his feet wet at Anaheim CRC, I sat down with him and reviewed some of the procedures the council has followed in the past few years. As we finished our hour together, I stepped out of the pastor’s office and there in front of us was a man asking for assistance. Pastor Joel had another appointment so he asked me to see if I could help. This was the first time I met Manouch.
We talked and he shared with me that he was Iranian, had converted to Christianity and then had been disowned by his people. He was in a difficult situation because he had lost his job, had run out of money, and now had no money for gasoline for his car and hadn’t eaten for three days. I spent some time with him to get him some basic medical attention, food and gas for his car. Having taken care of the immediate need I told him to return on Sunday and our deacons would see how they could assist.
In the coming weeks, Manouch came to worship on Sundays, attended the Wednesday Men’s Group, and received basic assistance from the deacons, but he was getting more concerned. He was evicted from the house where he was renting a room, he still had no job, and he saw no way to turn things around.
Then one Sunday, Manouch told me he had a job interview on Wednesday in La Jolla, but now his car wasn’t running. We sat down with one of our deacons and worked out a way to get his car repaired. Through the new week, I assisted and encouraged him. Finally, on Thursday morning, his car was finally road worthy and running. Off he went to La Jolla.
Two weeks later, I saw Manouch at church and he told me that things had started to turn around for him. He was working part time in La Jolla and was so thankful for all the assistance that Anaheim CRC had provided.
And then on May 17, Manouch was at worship again and was able for stay for the potluck. He was looking better than ever. He was now working 40 to 48 hours a week at the Hyatt hotel in La Jolla and they were providing him a room during the week. On weekends he comes back to Orange county. Smiling, with tears in his eyes he said to me, "You saved my life." I told him, "No, Jesus saved your life." His response, "OK, you and Jesus saved my life."

He wasn't the only one that had tears in his eyes.

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that this nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Memorial Day always bring to my mind the loss of Don Lindeman. After serving in Vietnam he came back a different man. He and Teri stayed with Eva and me and it was obvious he was troubled. But we overlooked the signs of his internal struggles until he attempted suicide. We convinced him to enter the VA hospital for help but they failed him. He hanged himself while a patient at the West Los Angeles VA hospital in 1971. And I failed him. I shied away from looking for a way to help him with the demons that haunted him.

Four weeks ago, I stopped by Eric and Danah’s in San Juan Capistrano. I brought Danah her father’s Army uniform that had been hanging in my closet all these years.

If You Can Read This, Thank a Teacher!

I admire teachers! It is a joy dealing with a teacher who knows her/his business and who brings excitement to the art of teaching. In the past week I reflected on this at least three times.

1. Last Saturday, at The Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano, a talk about landscape design was given by Pat Overby of Fullerton. She's knows design, she knows plants, and she knows how to communicate.

2. Wednesday morning I tried to reach Eva at school for some critical information. The secretary rang Eva's room, but no answer. Then she decided to page her. Finally, Eva picked up the phone to see what the office needed that warranted an interruption of her class. As the secretary connected me to Eva, the secretary said to me, "She is so funny! When I asked here where she had been and why she didn't pick up the telephone when it rang, she emphatically stated, 'I WAS TEACHING'.

3. Wednesday night at the church Men's Group, Norm Kredit continued leading the study of the last book in the Bible - Revelation. Norm has the gift of tying many parts of scripture together with the text being studied and is able to sketch on the white board to crystalize some of his points.

It is a reminder to me that each of us is skilled in a number of areas and when we are allowed to teach in our area of interest, there is a double blessing - a blessing to the teacher as well as to the learner.

Goodby, "good good Dad"

Alex was a brilliant rocket scientist with The Aerospace Corporation for 38 years. On Saturday, during a game of tennis, he died suddenly of a massive heart attack. His wife Betty was librarian at Star View Elementary school where Eva teaches. They have two daughters, Jennifer and Allison.

This afternoon, Eva and I attended the “celebration of life” event at Los Caballaros Racquet and Sport Club in Fountain Valley. Eva has worked with Betty for the past 15 years and their daughter, Allison, was a student teacher in Eva’s class one year. We had also attended a couple of parties at their home in Huntington Harbour.

It is always sobering when an unexpected death occurs. But it was good to hear remembrances of Alex from his daughters – “good good Dad” was a phrase they often used in reference to him. There were many other remembrances offered, and they were touching too, but after awhile it’s enough public comment and time to let the guests just mingle and talk to whom they will.

When someone you know, who is close to the your age, whose career and family has similarities to your own, dies suddenly, questions arise - "When will I die?", "What will my daughters say at my funeral?", "Will the funeral go on and on?".

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven; a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot."

So tomorrow I'm going to Tree of Life nursery in San Jan Capistrano to attend a talk on landscaping with California native plants. It's time to change my front yard to be more drought tolerant.

Focus and Revelation

Wednesday evening I attended a focus group for SCR. SCR is interested in surveying their patrons as to why they attend the theatre and what, if any, changes are desired.

Events like this really appeal to me because: 1. I bump into people that I normally would not encounter. 2. Free food 3. A reward for attending (in this case: two free tickets to any SCR production).

This focus session did cause me to miss the Men's Group meeting at church where Norm is leading a study of "Revelation". My experience tonight was a revelation of a different sort.

Stand By Me!

Monday and Tuesday of last week I participated in the Dance of Racial Reconciliation – racial reconciliation training encouraged for all pastors and church leaders in the Christian Reformed Church. It was valuable but seemed to lean too heavily on a cognitive approach.

I car-pooled both days with Bonnie, Fernando and Miriam - staff members at Rosewood church. And on the way home Tuesday, we shifted to an alternate way of learning as each of us took the time to share our story of faith. There are many ways to learn and often unexpected ways trump traditional approaches.

This morning I heard a terrific segment on NPR – “Playing for Change”. Watch this and feel the power of music bringing people together.

I Like Clean!

I had a meeting with Pastor Joel this morning but when I arrived at the appointed time, 9am, he wasn’t in his office. In a few minutes he showed up and asked if I knew anything about automatic sprinkler systems - one of the sprinkler zones in his backyard had been on for over an hour and a lake was forming under the swing set.

We walked to the backyard, looked at the control box and tried a few things, but the lake kept growing. Joel decided to give Dick Van Eck Sr. a call. Dick suggested that the valve was probably defective and should be turned off manually. We did that and the water stopped flowing!

While we were in the backyard, Jonah was running around eager to get in the water and take advantage of this new opportunity. Little Izzie wasn’t so sure.

This brought me back to a time six years ago when Troy and Quinn were at our house and the side yard was flooded. It was Quinn who thought it was a great opportunity so she walked right into the mud. Troy cautiously watched from the patio and pronounced, “I like clean, her likes dirty.” But as you can see from the picture below of December 2003, Quinn likes clean also.

Old and New at the Postmas

At 7:30 am Friday, a crew from Vargas Tree Service came to remove four liquid amber trees from the front yard. For years we have enjoyed the beauty of these trees – the brilliant green in spring time, the bright red and orange as the weather turns cold, and then the Christmas lights outlining the branches of the multi-trunked specimen by the driveway. However, the sidewalks and even the driveway are loosing the battle against the brute force of the trees looking for water in a desert environment.

The city of Anaheim now and then grinds down the raised edges of various sidewalk sections and last year built a concrete ramp in one spot to allow pedestrian to pass our house without fear of tripping. And now the ramp is already cracked. We decided that the offending trees had to go.

But there was also new life at our house Friday morning. At 8:30 am, Mary and Julie arrived to clean house carrying a laundry basket holding a three week old kitten. It had been abandoned. Krystal had taken it home as a project for Nicole, but Nicole had other priorities. So Mary now is bottle feeding the kitten and carrying it around during her daily whirlwind of activities.

It was a beautiful day at 628 S. Shields Dr., Anaheim.

HE IS RISEN !

HE IS RISEN !

If you're unclear about the significance of this, please read "Surprised by Hope - Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church" by N. T. Wright.

Wellness Walk with Will

Early in the week, Will already enrolled Eva and me to join him at school for the Wellness Walk on Wednesday. Each time you complete a circuit of walking the perimeter of the school grounds, over ¼ mile, you receive a Popsicle stick. The student with the most Popsicle sticks is the winner.

Kristen, Eva and I were happy to encourage Will in his effort to promote wellness but were also relieved to see the 40 minutes for the Walk come to an end. We asked Will how many total sticks he had submitted. Will’s comment, “I don’t know. I just gave them to Coach. He’ll count them.”

Obviously, Will is motivated more by participating in the event than by the competition.

Monsters vs. Aliens

Tuesday evening we all went to the movies except for Lindsey - she had homework for school to complete. We selected Monstors vs. Aliens 3D. We all loved the 3D effects but the adults thought the plot was a bit drawn out and were glad to finally see the credits on the screen.

Once at home, we all donned our 3D glass for a photo op.

Lilly - AIRBORNE!

Eva and I drove from Anaheim to El Paso yesterday. We got on the road by 5:45am and after eleven and a half uneventful hours, arrived at the Rietkerk home to find only Lindsey home. The other kids were at various birthday parties and Kristen was enroute to pick them up. Everyone was happy to see us. Lady was so excited to see us that she jumped up and down for 5 minutes upon our arrival but Lilly was so tired she didn’t even acknowledge our presence when she finally got home.
This morning we attended Coronado Baptist Church, then ate a delicious ham dinner at home and finally went to the park and played ball and had Lilly show us her rock climbing skills. After she climbed to the top she convinced us that she was destined to follow in her father’s footsteps and GO AIRBORNE!

Stretcher Bearer - Part 2

To understand this title, you may have to refer to my posting of March 18.

Tonight our Men’s Group met at church for our regular weekly time together. After our study time, we go around the table and ask people if they have a praise comment or a prayer request. One of our members mentioned Meneuch (he attended a couple of our weekly meetings in the past) and wondered how he was doing. Meneuch is Iranian and a former Muslim. When he converted to Christianity, his community disowned him.

I met him that first time he stopped by Anaheim CRC and helped him get gas for his car and paid for his hypertension medication. The next Sunday he was at church and our deacons helped him with food, information and some gas money. But he needed a job. In a couple of weeks he was evicted from the room he was sharing with another fellow because he couldn’t pay his share of the rent. The homeless shelter in our area is provided at the Fullerton Armory and this is where he slept at after that.

When I returned from Switzerland, I saw Meneuch at church. He told me that he needed help with his car – it wouldn’t start, was parked at the Armory, and was in danger of being impounded. He had an opportunity for a job in La Jolla as a maintenance man at the Marriott Hotel and that he had an interview scheduled and needed his car to get down there in the next few days.

We used my AAA policy to get his car towed to a garage where they promised to work on it on Monday. They got the car running on Monday but then it died Monday afternoon. Tuesday, Meneuch gave me a call and asked if I could help. We got AAA to tow the car back to the garage and they worked on it on Wednesday and finally determined the root cause of the problems. And fixed it!

This past Sunday morning, Maneuch was in church and told me that things had turned around – he now has a 30 hour/week job in La Jolla.

As I helped Maneuch, I kept thinking about opportunities we have to be “stretcher bearers”. You don’t just pull a person out of harm’s way, but you hang in there looking for ways of helping him get back on his feet. One of my rewards was Maneuch’s response when he saw me Sunday. With a big smile he greeted me, kissed me, and said, “Jesus is smiling at you”.

Amen!

Traffic School

I complete my second week of traffic school last night and learned some things:

1. It’s expensive to get a ticket. My ticket (62mph in 45 mph zone) was $319.50 which included $57 for traffic school. And there were other stories from the class: $437 for running a red light (recorded by camera), over $300 for spitting gum onto the street from a car or pouring Mountain Dew out of a can, and $287 for parking in a Handicap Only spot (and he was really upset because he was there for less than 10 minutes).
   
2. The best idea for staying awake when you’re getting drowsy is to pull-over, stop and take a nap. But the cutest idea was based on an immediate incentive approach - place a $100 bill between the fingers of your left hand and then extend your hand out the window.
   
3. You’re allowed to pick up your cell phone and use it to call 911 if there is an incident where another driver is harassing you, i.e. road rage. The instructor suggested that just being “flipped-off” might not warrant a 911 call.

Even though I did not enjoy traffic school, there were some positives. I changed my driving habits somewhat:

• I watch my speed more
• I’m more cautious around schools
• I have mounted a picture of one of my grandkids to my dash as a reminder to drive safely. (Quinn is the lead-off reminder
  
  

and before traffic school started I always went to Wahoo’s Fish Tacos for dinner.