December 18th, 2012

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December 18. A week until Christmas

Tuesday, December 18th, 2012

“Merry Christmas”

“Gezegend Kerstfeest”

“Maligayang Pasko”

“Chúc mừng giáng sinh”

“Selamat Hari Raya Natal” 

The full choir sang at the fourth Sunday of advent. We used Haydn’s Missa Tempore Adventus for the liturgical songs. The communion and rececessional songs were in English. Nothing in Dutch. You would have felt right at home. It was also father Bakker’s Birthday. The vestment and last advent candle colors were purple, what better occasion than to give father one of the purple covered “De Mastmakersdochters”? The first batch of fifty copies of the book arrived last Thursday and I will have to put an other order in soon. I also thank everyone who has already purchased a copy from the publisher’s web site.

My dock neighbor, who is also leaving his boat in the water this winter, is Wim Punt. My High School came up in the conversation last week. Last Saturday he told me that one of his friends attended the same school, turned out she was in my class for four years and graduated with me in 1954. Wim brought her along for the Christmas club party the next Sunday. Hannelore brought class pictures with her and we had lots to talk about. Then she gets up and walks up to one of our club members and ask if she might be Willy Sluiter, who was also in our class. It happens to be her younger sister….  What are the chances in a city of 850,000 to recognize a sister of someone you have not seen in more than 60 years? But I must not have made much of an impression on her then. She did not remember my name or recognize me. Let this be an encouragement: if you are not happy with your current looks there is still hope. My second wife, when she looked at old pictures of me said: “I would have never given you a second look!”

I have come down with a nasty cold. Tomorrow is the last choir practice for the Christmas program. Please, pray that the cough will be gone by then. Yesterday evening I did have company for my “Moules a la Fleetwood”. My granddaughter came over with three of her PLU student friends.

Katherina Cheng wrote on her blog about her visit and the Musselman on her blog at: http://nomadictude.tumblr.com/ She has a writer’s talent and all of these 4 young women have a brilliant future ahead of them with the education, interests and energy they have. I am certain that their 6 opas are just as proud as I and Opa Spencer are of our granddaughter, Corrine. And of their sons/daughters who raised them.

L.R.:Errin from Tennesee,Corrine, Becce from Vashon, Katherine Cheng