Happy birthday, Younger Daughter!

Today is Younger Daughter's birthday.

Happy birthday, dear daughter!

The orphan party

Younger Daughter is currently at her overseas duty station in Europe. Like many military personnel, she finds herself far away from family during the festive season of Christmas.

Her solution? She's throwing an "Orphan Party" on Christmas Eve, which will continue at least until midnight and probably later. She has a spacious apartment and large terrace, so lots of people who have no other family nearby will join together and make merry. She did this last year as well, and apparently it was a wonderful success.

We talked to her a couple days ago, and she explained the plans. Apparently the guest list is now up to 23 (including some children and, no kidding, two German shepherd puppies). She's offering the space, including a portable fire pit on the terrace, and the guests are bringing everything else

Besides decorating her apartment, she's assembling themed flowers consisting of bundles of pine branches, berries, and white flowers, some of which will be suspended from the ceiling to make fake mistletoe.

Even more fun, it's a pajama party, so everyone will show up in (modest) sleep wear. There will be a prize for the best pajamas.

All food, all beverages (alcoholic and otherwise), all snacks and treats, are being brought by the various guests. (Her words: "I'm not making a damned thing.") Younger Daughter has personalized gifts for everyone – everyone! – and she splurged a bit for these, including stockings for the kids. (The kids' stockings will contain candy, chocolate, small toys, and – just to annoy the parents – harmonicas.) The packages under the Christmas tree shown above are just some of the gifts she's wrapped for her guests.

Someone is bringing a hot chocolate bar, where the beverage can be enjoyed plain or mixed with Kahlua or Irish cream or other modifiers. Someone else is bringing all the necessary ingredients for s'mores, to be toasted over the fire pit. Yet someone else is bringing a karaoke machine so people can sing Christmas carols.

Above all, the guests are cognizant that children will be present, so everyone plans to keep things fairly wholesome. For those choosing to indulge in adult beverages, Younger Daughter is making sure everyone has designated drivers, and in a few instances she's offering spare beds and floor space for those who just want to sleep it off.

Oddly enough, a card game I used to play with the girls when they were young – called King's Corner – has become quite the sensation among Younger Daughter's cohorts. Apparently they're planning a King's Corner playoff during the party, with a Nerf gun prize.

Last year's party had about 20 people and just by chance there were no children present. She said everyone had a blast. Weirdly enough, one of the highlights was the cigars and chestnuts one guest brought. At the time, Younger Daughter was living in a different apartment with a massive patio, so people assembled around the fire pit smoking cigars and playing a game in which they tried to toss chestnuts into others' drinks. Sounds odd, but apparently it was a smashing success.

I simply love the idea of an Orphan Party. If Younger Daughter, like so many of her fellow military personnel, are forced to be far away from loved ones over the holidays, I'm glad they're celebrating together.

Alternative strawberries

Our strawberries are starting to bloom.

We don't expect ripe fruit for a while yet, but it's yet another sure sign of spring.

At her European duty station, Younger Daughter has a balcony off her apartment where she keeps a few potted strawberry plants. Interestingly, though, many of the flowers aren't white.

Some are light pink.

Some are dark pink.

Some are dark red.

And yes, some are white.

They're all strawberries – she regularly gets fruit – but I have no idea why the blossoms vary in color to such a degree. Does anyone know?

Younger Daughter's bookshelves

If you recall, I shipped out Younger Daughter's library to her European duty station a couple months ago.

At the time, she was engaged in adding a dramatic splash of color to her apartment to alleviate the stark white walls. She did this by painting some IKEA shelves a dark blue, then wallpapering the backs. At first glance, the wallpaper choice seems garish, but as you'll see it turned out splendid.

She sent me photos after the shelves were set up. Unquestionably the end result was a vast improvement over a start white room.

She finally got the shipment of books in, and was able to populate the shelves somewhat.

She also bit the bullet and purchased a couch to replace the battered old one she had.

Her apartment is looking very homey! There's nothing like books to dress up a room, in my opinion.

Shipping a library

When Younger Daughter (who, as you know, is in the Navy) was home visiting us last May, one of the things she did was sort and inventory her extensive collection of books.

We moved out of our old house while she was overseas in Japan, so we boxed all the books she had left behind in her bedroom. We made sure to identify her books, as we had thousands of our own books boxed up as well.

When we moved into our new home, Younger Daughter's books got stored up in the new loft Don built above his "man cave." Last May, she was just heading for her European duty station and didn't know what her living situation would be. So she sorted her books and labeled some for quasi-permanent storage with us, but a large selection she wanted shipped overseas whenever she got her own place.

She's now settled into her apartment where she'll be for several years, and asked for her books. In late December, I shipped her the first batch, which she just received. But she had nowhere to put them ... yet.

Because one wall of her apartment is an enormous blank white space, and because she's not allowed to paint it a different color, she came up with a clever idea.

She went to IKEA (of course there's an IKEA not far away from her!) and purchased enough bookshelves to fit the entire length of the wall. Then, to add a dramatic splash of color, she's papering the inside of each bookshelf with wallpaper, as well as painting the shelves a darker color to offset the stark white walls.

She admits the blue-and-yellow theme may look strange, but I have a feeling she'll be able to pull it off (unlike me, both our daughters developed excellent taste in interior design).

Meanwhile, I boxed up the remainder of her library and shipped it off to her.

She said she'll send pictures when the whole thing is complete. As I told the nice lady in the post office who was processing the customs forms, there are worse things to have than kids who are crazy about their books.

A note on Younger Daughter

In light of the developing conflict in the Middle East, several readers have expressed concern for our Navy daughter, who is currently stationed in Europe.

We just talked with her today, and she's fine. Since she's on shore duty for the next few years, we're praying she won't be directly involved in this horrible situation. She's confident she's not in immediate physical danger.

The same can't be said for other members of the military. And, of course, things can change in a moment as the political winds shift and the conflict involves more and more nations and people.

It breaks my heart to read about so many innocent lives lost. Please continue to pray that this conflict can be resolved without further escalation.

Advice for boot camp

I received a comment as follows: "We have a family friend (one of our sons' buddies) who will be joining the Navy next month. He is a great young man – a solid Christian and very driven in whatever he sets his focus on. I wondered if you might ask your Navy daughter what items she wished she had had or were useful when she went off to boot camp? Or if not practical during basic, what sorts of things would be good for a care box later when he is deployed or in special training? (I believe he is going "nuclear reactor school" to learn how to maintain the power plants on large aircraft carriers and/or subs.) Any feedback would be most appreciated! Best Regards, TimfromOhio"

The photo above is a screenshot from Younger Daughter's boot camp graduation in 2017. I also put up a blog post about the things recruits were restricted to bringing when going to boot camp (here).

Anyway, I sent the query from "TimfromOhio" to Younger Daughter, and this is her response:

"Don't send anything while he's in boot camp, except letters – care packages will get him in trouble. He'll be in school for a long time, so he won't really need much since he'll be at a shore command, but nice socks are always a plus, homemade snacks, etc. I'd say maybe a nice boot camp graduation gift like a watch or a wallet, something small that he can take with him while he travels."

Oh, and I remember Younger Daughter saying when she got her penicillin shot in boot camp, she spent some time scooting around on her rear end, sort of rubbing it in. Apparently it's a lot more painful if you don't do this. (Further advice along these lines can be found online at various forums, apparently.)

Hope this helps!

A nice surprise for Younger Daughter

Younger Daughter had barely arrived at her overseas duty station in Europe when she received a call from the Base Commander.

She was informed she had achieved the rank of E6 (Petty Officer First Class). The Base Commander congratulated her, then passed the phone to the Base Operations Officer and the Base Executive Officer, who also offered their congratulations.

Not a bad advancement for five and a half years in the Navy!

Update on Younger Daughter

Whew, what a schedule our poor Younger Daughter has endured over the past couple of days.

After her flight from Denver to Norfolk was canceled, the airline put her up in a hotel. A very nice hotel.

Here are some of her messages:

"So I finally got in touch with everybody [in Europe], although I got almost NO sleep. Right now I'm waiting to hear back from the travel organization to see if they'll authorize me a commercial flight, because the next military flight isn't until June 12th. Meh, it's all part of the grand adventure, I guess."

Then later: "I will say this hotel is a much nicer place than I normally stay at!"

In the evening: "I have a flight booked now! I get to Norfolk at 1500 tomorrow, early morning flight. Hopefully it goes smooth from there. I'll get to Europe eventually - either wait until the 12th [of June] for a military flight or they'll pay to fly me commercial. I won't find out which one until tomorrow."

Then later: "I had just JUUUUST started to fall asleep when I got a call from Japan. So yeah, I'm flying early to Norfolk tomorrow morning, and they're going to try and get me on a commercial flight to [her duty station] on either the 30th or the 31st from Norfolk. I'm starting to think this is a big conspiracy to keep me from getting sleep. I have to be up by 0230. Flight is at 0530, but the shuttle times leave on the hour so the 0300 shuttle is my best option. I don't get in until 3PM though, I have a layover in Newark."

Then later: "I have a flight! It's super inefficient. But I go from Denver to Newark, to Norfolk, to JFK in NY, to Paris, to [the duty station]. The Newark to Norfolk to JFK seems stupid too, but ah well. They're all paid for by the military. Actually the Norfolk to [Europe] flight is only $600. The Navy knows how to get a good deal, especially since the flight is tomorrow. I made over 70 phone calls to figure all this out."

Early this morning she wrote: "I feel like I've been at the airport for a decade. I'm actively getting older. The precious remnants of my 20s are slipping away. Not to be dramatic or anything."

She then proceeded to update us throughout the day, hopping through various airports: Newark, JFK, and finally Norfolk. She should be boarding a commercial flight shortly to Paris, and from there will transfer to her duty station.

Yowza, that's a lot of hassle for one canceled flight!

How we spent our Memorial Day weekend

We spent our Memorial Day weekend saying goodbye to our military daughter.

We had a wonderful time during her visit, packing in as much as we could. Not just visits with old friends and taking a hiking trip, but engaging in endless conversations. She also fell in love with her parrot again.

On Saturday, I drove her to Spokane, where we spent the night in a hotel near the airport. On Sunday morning, still at the hotel, she made sure her dress-white uniform was neatly ironed.

Then I dropped her off at the airport, hugged her fiercely, and said goodbye.

The plan was for her to fly to the huge naval base in Norfolk, Virginia (with a layover in Denver), then take a military flight from Norfolk to Europe to report to her next duty station. But things went south in Denver when the flight to Norfolk was canceled.

Suddenly she's not only in limbo in Denver, but she's unable to fulfill her orders by reporting for duty. She's been trying to reach her Chain of Command in Europe (keeping in mind the time changes as well as the holiday, which U.S. service people observe even in other countries). The airline is only providing a single night's stay and two meals to compensate for the delay, even though the next flight to Norfolk isn't until Tuesday ... and the next military flight to Europe isn't until June 12!!

Anyway, the poor kid is trying to work through the entire mess. One of the things she's trying to do is contact the military travel organization to see if they'll authorize her a commercial flight to Europe.

So yeah, that's how we spent our Memorial Day weekend.

Meanwhile, a mighty "thank you" to our past and present veterans, whose sacrifices too many of us are willing to overlook, dismiss, or forget.

Hiking

During Younger Daughter's visit with us, we've been trying to show her some of the beauties of the area, since this is the first time she's seen our new (to us) home. We decided to take a family hike to the same spot Don and I went to a couple years ago.

Unfortunately the only day all four of us had free for this hike followed a night of dramatic thunderstorms and heavy rain. In driving to the trail head, we had to dodge a few spots where rocks had been loosened by the rain and tumbled onto the highway (one boulder was about three feet across, smack in the lane; later we saw a highway crew truck on its way to clear it away). Still, everything was lush and green.

The river was quite high and very lively.

The lichens hanging off the trees had been revived by the rain.

Mr. Darcy, needless to say, was in his element.

We all did a lot of huffing and puffing to get up that first extremely steep and muddy half-mile until we emerged onto a saddle at the crest.

Way, way below us was a tributary creek, roaring from the rain of the night before.

After catching our breath, we set off on a trail that followed the contour of a very steep slope.

It was while on this very precarious slope that we met – I kid you not – a mule train consisting of a man riding the lead animal with three mules following behind. I was in front holding Darcy's leash, so I stopped him and asked for a few moments to find a place to get off the trail. He asked us to get off-trail on the downhill side; that way if one or more of the mules spooked, they would spook uphill and not tumble down the slope.

Well, let me tell you, it took us a while to find a spot we could cling to without tumbling to the bottom of the ravine. I would have taken a photo, but I was too busy hanging onto Darcy's leash lest he lunge for the mules, while Younger Daughter actually clamped her hands over his muzzle for extra security.

The rider was a cheerful fellow in his 40s who said he was packing out from a distant cabin, and thanked us profusely for accommodating him. He also mentioned he would be returning within about an hour and a half.

Here are some of the mule prints in the mud.

Darcy found the Ultimate Mud Puddle and managed to saturate his entire lower body. Well, why not.

We saw some gigantic trees. This towering giant was far enough away that its sheer size was hard to appreciate, but it was huge.

We hiked a couple miles in, then turned around. We wanted to give ourselves enough time to get down the mountain before the mule train came back up.

Younger Daughter took the lead with Darcy on the return trip, so I was able to take a few photos.

The arrow-leaf balsam root was especially beautiful. These are big showy flowers that thrive on thin soil on south-facing slopes. They always bloom in May and early June around here.

Let me tell you, Darcy thoroughly enjoyed himself.

It's impossible to underscore how steep the slopes were down to the tributary creek. I understand the mule train driver's concerns about his animals spooking on the downhill side.

I don't know if you can make it out, but just about dead-center of the photograph you can see a patch of the road we drove in on. (Bad grammar there, sorry.)

We reached the saddle and started on the muddy and treacherous descent to where we'd parked the car. Don followed in the rear, keeping Darcy on a tight lead so no one got pushed over on the slippery mud.

It was a fun – if muddy – morning's hike, and we all had a good time. But it does make me wonder: Just where is that cabin from which the mule train driver was coming? Asking for a friend.....