Tag: Holiday

Christmas 2020

Kris FreedainLeave a comment

Had a nice quiet Christmas at home with Dawn and Ian this year. We got to do video chats with our families, open presents slowly, and just enjoy the day. As always, the part of the holiday I enjoy was seeing reactions from the gifts they received. Ian had a good day and drove himself to the ATM to deposit his favorite gifts into his bank account. Dawn loved the silly t-shirt Ian and I found for her (as you can see in the video above). And during our video chat, we were able to watch my Mom open a custom made present we got for her from ‘Crown and Paw‘; a picture of her little dachshund Bo Jangles as ‘The General’.  
Then we finished off the day with my favorite meal, Swedish potato sausage, meatballs, kidney beans, with the Swedish Limpa bread we made the other day, and some lingonberry sauce. 

A fun Father’s Day

Kris FreedainLeave a comment

Had a great Father’s Day with Dawn and Ian yesterday. I slept in a little, woke up and watched some World Cup, then we went out for the day.
The three of us headed up to Downtown Santa Ana for the Patchwork festival. We had gone last year and really enjoyed it.

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After Patchwork, we headed over to Old Town Orange for an early dinner, while we watch the Argentina game.

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Then we to ‘Friendly Donuts’ in Orange, a place Dawn had found via their social media presence on Facebook.

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Minimal Advent Calendar

Kris FreedainLeave a comment

Recently, I found a link on swissmiss that really caught my eye; a minimal advent calendar. Dawn loves Christmas time, and I thought this would be a great idea to give her. Though I would have liked to support the artist who had the idea, I didn’t really have time to order it and wait for it to ship from Germany. Hopefully I can support them through a different purchase for someone at a later date. Plus, I am lucky; my friend Mike M. at work is a fantastic woodworker!
I showed Mike the item and told him my idea, and he said he’d be able to do it in no time. He’s a good guy and wouldn’t take money for it, so, I do owe him lunch. (thanks again Mike!!)

What I really loved about this, besides the minimal aspect of the item, was that Ian and I could write personal notes to Dawn for each day. Here is the little man crafting his priceless notes to momma. I love what he wrote for her.

We each crafted notes; things we could do for her, personal notes, and shared memories. I know I enjoyed writing the notes, and I could tell the little man did as well. He can be so creative.

The advent calendar, full of notes.

Then, we made her sit at the table so he could place it in front of her while she had her eyes closed. He, of course, had the notes in a very specific order; planning exact days he wanted her to open specific ones he’d written.

I think she enjoyed her surprise, and will be able to enjoy it all month.

Vesak Celebration — Whittier Narrows Park

Kris FreedainLeave a comment

I’ve finally been able to make time to post our pictures from the Vesak celebration. We had a wonderful time and I was very happy Dawn was able to come with us this year. Another highlight of the day was seeing the wonderful, and always smiling Rev. Danny Fisher who immediately asked how our friend Bill in Chicago was doing. Made me smile ear to ear to be able to report the good news about Bill.

In the pictures, you’ll notice a set of beautifully carved statues ‘The 18 Lohans’. (BuddhaNet has a great explanation of each: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/lohans.htm)

It was a perfect day.

Here is another shot the good Reverend took of Ian and I bathing the Buddha, while Dawn got video. (thanks again for the shot Danny)

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