2019 Christmas Letter

To those whom I love:

Les started the year with a new job. He likes it much better than his previous position. He is also the worship leader at a church that would have no music without him. He gets to preach there on a regular basis and enjoys that very much. He helps with GriefShare and a local recovery program.

I’m still at the library. It keeps my brain active trying to keep up with all the technology, and answering the patrons’ questions feeds my teacher soul.

John graciously came to babysit my dogs while I went to Florida in July for my mother-in-law’s 95^th birthday celebration. We had a wonderful time and ate our way through numerous restaurants in Sarasota and on Siesta Key. I got to meet the pastor whom I had only seen online before that trip.

         

John also came to visit for Oktoberfest. We walked many miles and had a grand visit. It turns out that both of us bought each other the same t-shirt, except in different colors. He offered to stay an extra day so Les and I could go north for a brief visit with my mother.

       

Angela visited over Thanksgiving and we celebrated Christmas with her the same day. She is planning to marry Cody Lamberg, but hasn’t set a date as yet.

May your holidays be full of joy and God’s best blessings.

Thanks for visiting with me, Kathi

December, 2016

To those whom I love,

I wish you all a blessed Christmas and a wonderful 2017.

My year seems to have been uneventful on the whole, but some events have left their mark.

In March, Mother (Lois) had a stroke that put her in the hospital for a few days and in rehabilitation for about four more weeks. Lori and I wanted to go up there right away, but John said that the roads were bad with all the snow they had and not to come yet. As it was, Mother doesn’t have any memory of that time and our trip would have accomplished very little.

In May, Lori determined to go north to see Mother and she swung by to pick me up. We had a whirlwind weekend before we had to return to work, but it was well worth it to see the northern half of the family.

I tried a couple of new gardening techniques. One worked extremely well, the other not so much. I plan to reduce the size of my garden this coming year as it proved take more time than I had to keep up with everything.

Instead of doing my own writing, I found that there were a few people who had a story to tell, but didn’t know how to accomplish the task. I’m not sure if I was ghost-writing or ghost-editing, but I enjoyed myself and see ripples spreading out from the work I did.

I managed to completely shock my Mother when I informed her that I was going on Medicare this June. She knows her own age, but has failed to drag my age along with her. She couldn’t believe that I was “that old already”.

At the library, I have been working with the same boss (Becky) for the last 11 years. This Friday, she will retire and I will have a new lady (Julie) to report to on Monday. Julie has been here training with Becky for a week now and I think we will have a smooth transition. She seems like the kind of person we will be able to peacefully and happily work for.

Les has various ministries and a job that he treats as a ministry, which is exactly what he loves to do. He has also done some writing. This year’s opus was entitled Confessions of a Job Gypsy. If you want a glimpse of the man I married, check out this book.

John almost always visits me around Oktoberfest which I look forward to every year and Angela always visits at Thanksgiving. This year Angela changed employers and took off the month of July between jobs. She came for an extra visit and I really enjoyed her time with us.

As final note, if you have my address in in your address book, please add PO Box 39 to send anything to us.

God bless you and may a good year be inscribed for you in the Book of Life.

Love,

Kathi (Eickstadt) Linz

2015 Christmas Letter

To those whom I love,                                        Christmas 2015

I decided to show you my year in pictures. Other people had to build my garden for me, because I broke my left arm near the shoulder. It couldn’t even be casted since the break was high on the bone. I did manage to plant everything with only one hand.

Broken arm in March

Angels built my garden. This was a week after I broke my arm. It was an great gift.

Two new keyhole gardens

Gardens in June

Several summer storms

 

Walking the dogs   

                                          

Counting the fogs in August

Canning salsa in August

My article was #1 bestseller in its category for over a month.

John visiting during Oktoberfest. Sorry, it’s fuzzy.   

Photography date with Les.

Thanksgiving with Angela                    

Hoar frost in December (three of 150 pictures)

The Lord has been good to us in 2015. The year has been interesting in a few large ways and many small ones. I’ve enjoyed them all as they happened and recorded as many as possible with my camera, It’s hard to believe that I will qualify for Medicare in a few months. I’m learning that I can still do almost everything I’ve ever been able to do – it just costs me more than it used to.

This year I lost my uncle Paul and attended a few funerals for friends. I’ve experimented with photography, writing, and gardening. Some experiments succeeded better than others, but I’ve learned quite a lot from all of it. I eagerly await the new year and what all I will learn in the future.

I pray God’s best blessings for you in the coming holiday season and the coming year.

Just in Case

Just in case someone hasn't seen my Christmas letter yet, I'm going to post it here.  The original Christmas letter had a different picture of Angela, but I posted that one earlier and thought a new one might be more interesting.  I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas with happy memories of both God's gift and family times together.

Christmas, 2011

Love to all of my families and friends.

It’s been quite a year here in Seymour.  My brother John visited twice – once in March and once in September.  We were able to visit Lori and her family in Kentucky, and John also wandered through Oktoberfest with us.  We carried a Flat Stanley with us (for a friend in Tennessee) and had a great time.

Angela also visited twice – once in August and once for Thanksgiving.  We are more than proud of her.  I had no idea that accountants spent so much time flying from city to city.  Here she is resting from her hectic schedule guarded by her watchdogs.  Abby turned two in July, and Buddy is now 8 years old. 

Les is four years at his current job, and I have been at the library for over six years.  This town has welcomed us in. I get a real sense of belonging when people say, “You remember when that building used to be …” or “She must have gone to school with you.”  Our church is filled with wonderful people who are bent on sharing what they have with the local community and outreach to the Dominican Republic.  Every year we gather shoes for the Dominican kids so they can go to school, new shoes for local children who need them, shawls for hospice (my special project), blankets and hats for Riley’s Children’s Hospital, and a food gathering project for Community Provisions.  This summer we raised 12 ½ tons of food.  I also teach Sunday School and Les has been asked on occasion to lead the adult and teen classes.

This summer I arrived at that certain venerable age where Ivy Tech allows me to take classes tuition-free.  I took a library course which gave me enough points to recertify for my library position.  It was both challenging and fun.  I decided to continue with online classes.  I started one almost as soon as the virtual ink was dried on the final exam of the library class.  Another class will begin in February. 

I intend to pursue my writing more intensely than I have for the last several years.  Also I sadly seeded most of my large garden to grass.  I’m keeping what Mother would call a “postage-stamp garden” and will hike to the farmers’ market for most of my fresh veggies.  My garden has yielded sparse results for three years, so I’m going to let those who do it better be my suppliers.

If you are interested in viewing my current doings, I’m keeping a blog at http://mydailyadventure-kathi.blogspot.com/. 

Love to you all and best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi