Christmas at The Roost & in Bethlehem

"A merry Christmas to all!" from the holidazing inhabitants of The Roost on this December 25th.

Here we are wearing the new warm tops gifted by Grandma and Grandpa. Didn't Gloria pick out a fabulous sweater for Soren? (And he WILL wear it, probably until the polar bears turn brown.)

And here are the merry guests, the Testermans who traveled from afar: Jill from Portland, Ann & Bill from Anacortes. We're missing all the relatives we couldn't be with today!

Last night we attended our fellowship's Nativity pageant. It was Soren's first time "acting" in it, and he was assigned the role of a shepherd. (If he has been a girl, he would have been an angel. Strict gender segregation!)

As the narrator read the Christmas story, the children trouped in and took their positions around the manger. Soren's friend couldn't resist a wave to his parents.

Such earnest little worshippers! (Soren in mustard yellow, at left.)

We were amazed that Soren slept till 9 a.m. But he had hardly wiped the sleep from his eyes before he was reaching into his stocking. Santa had indeed been here in the night! He had nibbled at the cookies we'd left out for him, and drunk all the milk.

Papaw Bill eagerly awaits to see what surprises Soren pulls out of his stocking. P.S. This was his formerly favorite sweater, very Christmasy. I'm hoping to have him wear it for our family portrait to be featured in our year-end card.

Auntie Jill leans in close as the presents are unwrapped. A new box of watercolors, kiddie chopsticks, an origami wolf pack, felt acorn treasures, non-toxic food colorings--all good stuff for a 5-year-old Waldorf student.

Now, what's this beside the tree? (It wouldn't fit under.) It had Soren's name on it, and was wrapped in a sheet...

 

For a moment it was a horsie to ride...

And then its packing was cut free and a NEW MATTRESS uncoiled with a great bound! Now our basement bunkbed has a top mattress, MUCH better for climbing on. And Soren's surprise at the true nature of this gift was priceless. I don't think he had any idea.

We leave you with this impish grin from our little elfin boy. May your holidays be peaceful and happy. Thinking of you!

NOTE: Click on any image and then you might be able to view a slideshow of this blog's posts, depending on your browser. Ho ho ho!

Happy Mis-Mis!

"Happy Mis-Mis," says Soren. "Christmas" has some pretty tough consonants for a two-year-and-a-quarter-old tot. All the same, merriest greetings from our family to yours.

I'm writing at the end of a long Christmas day that began at 7:20 a.m. with Soren waking up the household, and it is not over yet at 10:15 p.m. as Jeff makes attempt #2 to put our stimulated child to bed and quietude.

But in between was homemade cinnamon rolls, present-opening (oddly, not of too much interest to Soren, but he is appreciating his new Thomas the Tank Engine toys and branded clothing), a walk to the beach, and fine dining out at The Belmont, a waterfront restaurant that dates to 1885. We all enjoyed a delicious meal and Soren was extremely well behaved and chowed down on various bits of shared seafood entrees. The clam chowder was a hit with him.

Ah, yes, we are celebrating with my parents (Soren's Nannie and Papaw) and my sister Nora ("Auntie Nono"). Sis Jill had to work a shift at her ER on Christmas Day and Jim and Gloria are fairly well snowed in in Eastern Washington.

These photos are actually from Thanksgiving weekend, when downtown Port Townsend rolled out the red holiday carpet. We donned elf hats to take a carriage ride down Water Street.

Our be-jingled horse, with the wedding-cakish Hastings Building in the background.

The model train in the lobby of the Palace Hotel provided much entertainment that day and tonight as well, after we finished dinner across the street. Soren can stand stock still for long minutes on end, watching the train repeat the loop. I always indulge him him when he asks to "go downtown and watch train."

As the holidays have progressed, the scene on the train tabletop has gotten progressively more wintry and festive, with fake snow added and little lighted Christmas trees and random wrapped presents along the tracks. No wonder Soren thinks it's wonderland.

Here's wishing you some holiday cheer delivered on the express. Choo-choo!

Holidays with the Garrison clan

Soren met several members of his extended family for the first time over the holidays, at the (in)famous Garrison family reunion, which has been undertaken in the week between Christmas and New Year's for at least 12 years running. In attendance this year were my new-to-Soren cousins Forrest and Gwen (the two oldest above, both college students in Montana and Oregon respectively) and also my cousins Luka and Shanti (lower center and on lap at right). Cousin Melanie (upper center) was introduced to Soren last year. What a wacky, fun bunch!
We rented a big house at Fort Worden State Park, which is a 7 minute drive from our house in PT, so we got to home at night but showed up every day ready for group meals and action. Soren loved hanging out with the big kids, especially Shanti (5) and Luka (8).
They live on Quadra Island in British Columbia, and their mom Robyn (pushing, below) made the two-ferry trip down with them.

The hallowed tradition of "Spoons" was faithfully followed one evening. A simple card game with cutthroat silverware grabbing. Like musical chairs, there's always one spoon too few, so someone is knocked out of the round. I was runner-up to Gwen! Speed Scrabble and Apples to Apples were other favored forms of table-top entertainment.
Another fun activity out-of-doors was exploring the batteries and bunkers of early 19th-century Fort Worden. Everyone had their own flashlight, even Soren, and with my dad and I "supervising," we had some adventures indeed. At one point I wanted to turn around in a tight tunnel, leave the others, and go back the way we'd come, but Dad insisted we stick together. Soren never made a peep on my back, just shone his flashlight all around. Quite the explorer.

One day we hosted a gaggle of relatives taking a break from their nearby family reunion for a day visit to Port Townsend. They hail from California, Kansas, New York and other points of the U.S. Left to right are Karina, Scott, Cayley, Seth, Megan, and my mom, Ann.
We're out walking around Point Wilson and the lighthouse at its tip. This is all part of the state park, and I daresay it's one of the most beautiful places in the world that we are so fortunate to live in. Don't disagree with me!
Aunties Jill (above) and Nora (below) enjoyed beach time with Soren (watched over by Mt. Baker). We had a spell of warmish sunny weather that we soaked up.

And this reunion story would not be complete without Soren's great-grandparents, Karin and Gerry. Although she is frail, they make the trip from Vashon and fund this gathering so that we can all build up stores of happy family memories for the years to come. Thank you!
A span of four generations washing dishes...

Merry Christmas '09!

Yes, the old saying is true, give a kid a present and they'll love the box. The big box Grandpa and Grandma sent from Eastern Washington filled with presents became Soren's airplane (of course, those are wingflaps!) until it literally fell apart.
It's the day after Christmas and I have to say we haven't opened all the presents yet. Soren got so interested in the first present he opened -- a wooden train set with stackable blocks, from Grannie and Papaw -- that we held off introducing any more excitement. "Choo, choo...choo, choo," he immediately piped up with, and has barely stopped since.

Then it was off to "the Castle" for Christmas day dinner with my extended family. Manresa Castle, an 1890s gem (more interesting history here), has one of the fanciest dining rooms in town, so we dressed up for the occasion. Soren doesn't have a tux jacket or a bowler like Dad, but he does have a cute little vest and bandneck shirt, and they're not going to fit him much longer!
Here's our little family posed outside the castle, and the Testerman Troupe in the lobby. From left to right, Shelly, Ann, Soren, Bill, Nora & Jill.
We hope you enjoyed your Christmas as much as we enjoyed ours. All best to you and yours!

New camera records lagoon, tree-lighting

Main Street, Port Townsend ~ annual tree-lighting ceremony at Haller Fountain, shot from steps connecting downtown with uptown.

For months, I've known I needed a new point-and-shoot camera to carry in my purse or diaper bag, and finally I am the proud owner of a Canon IXUS 800 IS (6.0 megapixels). It's part of the Digital ELPH Powershot series, and my father-in-law Jim helped me find and purchase it on e-Bay over the Thanksgiving holidays (my first auction, and an interesting experience in itself). It's a second-hand camera we got for a really good price, and an early Christmas gift for the Randall Roost. Thanks, Jim & Gloria!

I took it for a test run yesterday and recorded these shots of our visit to the lagoon to watch the ducks and downtown (after dark) to watch the tree-lighting ceremony. All were shot with no flash, which is my preference. I'm pretty pleased with the results, and the resolution -- these could be printed at 8x10", which is good for photo books.

Soren & Shelly at Haller Fountain; no flash, color-corrected (to a point!) in PhotoShop.

Sign in window of Wandering Angus, the Celtic shop where we buy our favorite Irish-blended tea (Barry's Gold Blend).
Soren & Jeff at Kah Tai Lagoon; county courthouse clocktower in background.

Jeff & Soren at the lagoon; cold and windy!

Jeff is Bob Crachit this theatre season

Sporting glue-on sideburns and a not-quite-Cockney accent, Jeff is currently playing a key supporting role in our community theatre's production of Scrooge: The Musical. Do you recognize him as the head of the impoverished but cheery Crachit family (including Tiny Tim with a crutch that Jeff crafted) in the photo above?

Yes, Jeff is Bob Crachit, humble clerk to mean ol' Mister Scrooge, and he made his Key City Public Theatre debut last Friday in this ambitious musical by Leslie Bricusse. That means he sings -- and he even has a few solo lines. A fellow cast member reported to Jeff that she overheard someone in the grocery check-out line say, "I'm going to see Scrooge so I can see Jeff Randall dance." Which he does, after a fashion, if you count the choreography of the Crachit family shrugging their shoulders in unison as they sing 'round the Christmas goose.

But Jeff's always been a dancer; that's no sweat. And he has no trouble conjuring tears for the tragic scene at the tombstone of Tiny Tim -- he just thinks of his own son succumbing to an early death, and has most viewers reaching for their kleenex. He'll tell you the voice training has been the most challenging aspect of this show. He's the lead tenor and has been studying his parts diligently for months now, with the aid of a new digital voice recorder.

For the record, I encouraged him to audition for the part this summer after I heard the director (a friend and fellow actor) say she was looking for a Bob Crachit who was "very likeable with a good voice." And Jeff had been thinking he'd like to try his hand at this acting thing I'm so fond of (I've been in two mainstage shows and a couple of readings), he was just waiting for the right opportunity to come along.

Which means I've been putting Soren to bed myself quite often for the last month, and will continue to do so through closing night on Dec. 20. And I haven't even seen the show yet, although Soren and I attended some rehearsals and Jeff's parents were in the audience on opening night. I'll try to keep Soren awake through the Family Night performance on Dec. 9, then I'll go again that weekend while my parents are visiting (and seeing the show). Sister Nora will attend on closing night and watch Soren sleeping while I join Jeff at the cast party.

If you're a local, you won't want to miss this one. Get your tickets soon (info here), as many performances are already sold out.

The first review, in our local paper, is glowing. Leader Arts Editor Kathie Meyer says, "It was like having a really good seat at Seattle Repertory Theatre." Jeff is not called out specifically, but his photo accompanied the piece. Read it here.

"God bless us, every one!"