Christmas in New Hampshire

On Friday evening Lloyd's family came to our house. We had brought them presents in Prague, and it was fun to explain each one. We are blessed with two new members of the family since two of Lloyd's nephews got married this year. One bride is Roman Catholic and the other Jewish, so we began our festivities with their lighting the Advent and Hanukkah candles, complete with Jewish prayer. That was really special. We gave Sarah a miniature Golem and told her about the Prague Golem stories. We had an Infant Jesus for Amy, and pictures to show her of the many Catholic churches.

The highlight of the evening was caused by our daughter's spurt of domesticity. She was making an artichoke dip that called for chilli peppers, and accidentally bought VERY HOT jalapeno peppers instead. While chopping them her hands began to sting, and continued to do so for the next 12 hours! Each guest had a different remedy, so she tried milk, butter, cortisone cream, witch hazel, water, ice cubes, oil, aleve, and probably a few more. She even called Dial-a-Nurse, and nothing seemed to stop the stinging. We will remember this Christmas as the one when Loralee's hands were on fire.

I am reading Deuteronomy and Joshua to complete my Bible-in-a-year. These two books are excellent for missionaries. Maybe I'll write a study guide for IICS.

No snow in New England, but lots of rain. Temperatures in the 40s.