Merry Christmas!

 

Dr. M wrote this year's poem, and I would just like to remind everyone that he has a Master of Divinity (with languages) and a Ph.D. in history. 

“Of the logos being forever do men prove to be uncomprehending, both before they hear and once they have heard it.” Heraclitus, as quoted by Sextus Empiricus
 
Surely the one who preached in the wilderness
Understood the failure of men to comprehend.
Neither Christ nor Elijah, no prophet was he,
But he knew things and spoke of them boldly.
The logos, he said, was everlasting, indeed,
The logos was with God in the beginning,
The logos WAS GOD! Heraclitus likely
Would have debated the nature of the Divine
With the man we know as John, but he had
Gotten the gist of the Greek’s ancient memo.
“Jesus is the reason for the season!”
We proclaim. John would likely correct us:
The Christ, he preached, is the logos,
The “word” that gives meaning and order
To everything that was, is, and ever shall be.
The Christ is God become human, accepting
The fragile mantle of flesh and dwelling with us,
The Promised One who joined us here on Earth
To show us the true way, the Lord’s way, and in turn
The errors of our ways, our thoughts and actions.
The Christ, both gift and sacrifice, born of a human
For the sake of all humans, in love made manifest
A new covenant between God and humankind.
The season of God’s love has no beginning, no end.
God’s love is forever. Hallelujah! Celebrate God!
 
Mike & Dana Rhyne
Christmas 2025

2025 Project 365 – Week Fifty-one

Perhaps I shouldn’t have waited until after a full day of church and caroling to start writing this…
Sunday, December 14^th            
Choir photo after the cantata. We wore pink because it was the Joy Sunday of advent.

Monday, December 15^th       
Happy anniversary to ussss!!!
 

Tuesday, December 16^th      
I made an omelet with Justice. I might have added a smidge more cheese than was strictly necessary.
 

Wednesday, December 17^th        
People. It happened AGAIN. Ms. Aunt was trying to send flowers to her niece and put the wrong city on the address, so they got left by our door even though the street address didn’t exactly match ours. This time, Dr. M just decided to pay it forward, sleuthed the correct address & had flowers sent to the niece.
 

Thursday, December 18^th    
I’m wearing some compression gloves due to having a little thumb pain & now I know how dogs feel when they try to walk in those little booties. My right hand is ok, but my left hand can’t feel the yarn. VERY WEIRD.
 

Friday, December 19^th              
Felt rather festive today!
 

I think we’re finished decorating our tree (for now). 
 

Saturday, December 20^th   
I was rootling around in our box of spices from the Penzeys Spices Advent Calendar & came across this one that looks delicious AND made me smile. And THEN I got a flyer from the Open and Affirming Coalition in the mail & I decided that God must be telling me to spread the love. But then I also took a picture of the spoon that my coworker Kim gave me so you could see my true nature (witchy with a chance of sarcasm).  
 

It's entirely possible that I will always share this meal when Dr. M makes it because it’s so pretty! Italian style bone in chicken thighs with peppers and onions. Delicious!

Christmas is in just a few days, although we’ll continue to have gatherings for a week or so. Thank you so much for the book suggestions! I think I got all but one of them. Now I need to spend some time reading them before I pass them along to the boys. Right now, I’m wearing my new Christmas jammies (thanks Dr. M!) and doing laundry. How about you? Ready for the week ahead - or just ready for the week ahead to be over?

2025 Project 365 – Week Fifty

People, I have been busy! Yesterday was cantata day (& we did really well, to my utter surprise), and today is our 35^th anniversary so we’ve been spending some quality time together mailing our Christmas cards and getting lunch from the hot bar at Honey’s IGA. Big time celebrating going on here!

Sunday, December 7^th            
So Mary apparently had about an 11 pound baby? My gauge might have been a smidge off (in my defense, I didn’t know the size of the manger, but in my non-defense, I didn’t try to figure it out ahead of time).

Monday, December 8^th       
You’re getting three BeReals this week because we were slack on taking pictures. This is me, home from mall walking and taking a photo of the full glory that is Ms. Pinky. We know she should be trimmed, but that’s where her most gorgeous blooms are.
 

Tuesday, December 9^th      
And here is a closeup of the blooms…
 

Wednesday, December 10^th        
Another BeReal – doing some training on year end procedures (proof of health insurance tax documents that have to go out to employees per the Affordable Care Act).
 

Thursday, December 11^th    
I was SO SLEEPY after dinner!
 

Friday, December 12^th              
My dad putting together his Christmas present (a cabinet for his shoes). He’s still pretty darned handy!
 

Saturday, December 13^th   
While I was at choir practice, Dr. M was on Pop duty. Here are three of his cats. He loves these cats and feeding them helps structure his days.
 

Christmas poem is written (thanks Dr. M!), cards are in the mail, cantata is history, most of our gifts are purchased (I think – perhaps I should inventory them). We might be ready for Christmas. Oh! I just remembered I need to get books for the great-nephews! Any favorites for toddlers & 4-6 year olds? (Grayson is VERY SMART and into weather and dinosaurs). Elliott seems pretty bright too, but since he’s still a toddler he’s just getting regular toddler books.

2025 Project 365 – Week Forty-nine

Once again it’s Sunday afternoon, and once again I’m writing this with one eye shut, kicked back in my recliner, two minutes away from falling asleepzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
Sunday, November 30^th            
Since it was the first Sunday of Advent, we opened up door 1 of Dr. M’s Penzeys Spices calendar. It was a good one!

Monday, December 1^st      
Bugnook of the North, reporting from 45 degree Hickory NC!
 

Dr. M put the tree up! It was a nice surprise when I got home.
 

Tuesday, December 2^nd      
This was the only photo on my phone from Tuesday – a screenshot I took to send to Dr. M. Made me laugh.
 

Wednesday, December 3^rd       
Ms. Pinky is, as ever, two toned.
 

Thursday, December 4^th    
I look like I’m about to tell you to shush in the library. Ha!
 

Friday, December 5^th         
At Thanksgiving we had a bit of a hamtastrophe & the oven was FULL of juice & grease (note: the ham was fine). When I got home from work yesterday an elf named Dr. M had cleaned it all up! The oven hasn’t been this clean since we moved in almost 9 years ago! Thanks sweetie!

Saturday, December 6^th   
I made a baby Jesus, as one does. (Stay tuned for next week’s post to see that he was not exactly the right size for the nativity that I made him for. Oops!)
 

Well, I managed to stay awake until the end of this post. Were you able to stay awake too? Good for us!

2025 Project 365 – Week Forty-eight

Here it is Sunday night after being off work for two days and I’m not exactly feeling the Sunday Scaries, but I’m also not entirely excited about waking up at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Sunday, November 23^rd           
We had a Thanksgiving potluck at church (Dr. M brought green bean casserole & cornbread!). But then afterward, something went awry with the hanging of the greens. I’m not sure what…

Monday, November 24^th     
Ducks. Getting into a row. I wonder if the black one is like a border collie duck?

 The Moon Man, at it again… 
 

Tuesday, November 25^th     
The EnChristmasification of City Hall!
 
 

Wednesday, November 26^th      
Dr. M volunteered to make the gravy for our family gathering. It was really good!
 

Thursday, November 27^th    
Happy Thanksgiving!
 

Friday, November 28^th              
We celebrated my brother’s 60^th birthday today (it’s on Monday, but we’ll all be at work). Dr. M & I bought him $60 worth of potato chips, his wife got him 60 Diet Sundrops, his youngest son & his wife got him 60 scratch-offs, and his older son & his partner gave him $60. She worked really hard on this!
 

P.S. I didn’t get a photo of my brother. What the heck!

From the socials: What a banner day in the Bug household! Firstly, @ridinthestormout59 gave me my anniversary present (two weeks early - very on brand for us). The 35th anniversary is the emerald anniversary & this necklace & earrings of raw emerald is perfect! Then, this flower delivery came to the wrong house & when we called customer service they said we could keep them! Bonus: my wedding flowers were roses & calla lilies!! (Final pic is of my @thehappygivers sweatshirt because duh.)

 
Saturday, November 29^th   
Boy those roses REALLY filled out!

I have my winter roommate back! Ms. Pinky has been blooming up a storm.
 

We made it through Thanksgiving unscathed (mostly) and are careering toward Christmas at a ridiculous pace. Will I be ready when it gets here? Only the Shadow knows! Fortunately, it’s Dr. M’s turn to write the Christmas poem, so I don’t have that on my plate. Whew! Are you like me, and kind of wish it was already January (without actually wanting it to be January)?

2025 Project 365 – Week Forty-seven

Pretend that there are words here. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Sunday, November 16^th          
Fit check! This photo is actually from Monday, but since I wore this same outfit to church, I decided to put it here.

Monday, November 17^th     
Dr. M unlocked a new cast iron skill! This cornbread was so good! 
 

Tuesday, November 18^th     
Dusk at home… 
 

Wednesday, November 19^th      
Dr. M saw sheep!
 

Thursday, November 20^th    
I went to a women’s leadership conference with my coworkers. The convention center was recently renovated & I was obsessed with the fixtures in the bathroom. The one on the left was the hand dryer, the middle was water, and the right was soap.
 

Friday, November 21^st              
Dad & Sue had these probiotic gummies and I was intrigued because I’ve had a doctor recommend probiotics to me, but I was overwhelmed by all the choices. The good news is that these taste like those candy orange slices (Yum!). But the problem is that they taste like those candy orange slices.
 

Saturday, November 22^nd  
Dr. M & Ms. Pinky enjoyed a lovely day out on the deck.
 

When I went to look for pictures on Facebook I realized that I had not posted anything since the link to last week’s post last Sunday. I guess I’ve been a little quiet on the socials. How about you – have you been chatty or introverted on the socials this week? (Nance is exempted from this question – ha!)

2025 Project 365 – Week Forty-six

State of the Bug Update: Week 3 ½ of no pain medication and while I have noticed an increase in random pain, it’s not as bad as I feared. My shoulder does hurt a good bit more, but I think that’s not related to medication – I just really do need a shoulder replacement at some point. Also, I’ve cut WAYYY back on my consumption of Diet Sundrop (because it’s bad for kidneys too), and I haven’t had any headaches and my sleepiness during day has basically stayed the same. So, although I will continue to be a drama queen, things aren’t as desperate as I thought they would be.

Sunday, November 9^th          
Here was all that was left of the wedding décor at church. All the flowers were so pretty!

Monday, November 10^th     
I sent this to Dr. M with the caption “What fresh hell is this?” Note: we didn’t get any snow to speak of.
 

Tuesday, November 11^th     
Here I am modeling the sweater. I’ve already been working on the yoke because it's too big – I was worried that it was going to fall completely off my shoulders! 
 

Wednesday, November 12^th      
No photo.
 
Thursday, November 13^th    
Dr. M’s birthday! I felt like my gift to him was inspired this year – a Penzy’s Spices Advent Calendar! Here is the cover and the two inside “pages” – if you look closely you can see the little doors you’re supposed to open. I can't wait to see what all spices we get.
 

Friday, November 14^th      
Dr. M bought his own damned birthday cake and it has been delicious!
 

Saturday, November 15^th
Dr. M brought Ms. Pinky in for the night earlier in the week, but she’s back outside for now & still blooming!
 

The national news this week has just been crazypants. If it weren’t so serious it would almost be laughable – and that’s just what we want in our government administration, right? Oof. How was your week? Less stressful than the President’s?