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The Cruise of a Lifetime~ Part 4

21 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy WillsJUDY

I’ve not mentioned that, before each meal, Fred and I would “excuse” ourselves from the rest of the table, to say our blessing. This morning, at the breakfast table, as we were beginning to excuse ourselves, the other gentleman at the table leaned toward me, arm and hand outstretched across the empty chair between us, and said, “Looks like you are about to thank the Lord.” When I agreed, we all took hands and prayed. After prayer, I told him that he sounded like a preacher. He grinned and said, “well…….”

They turned out to be Richard and Judy, with their widowed friend, Lucy (Richard called her “Lucy B”). They are from Fort Worth, Texas, and he is the Worship Leader for the 8:00 a.m. service at the North Richland Hills Baptist Church. He also directs the Senior Adult Choir there. So while he is not a preacher, he is in the Christian ministry.

Richard and Judy flank Lucy

Richard and Judy flank Lucy

We found several points in common: His wife’s name is Judy – I am Judy. She is a pianist – I am a pianist (of sorts). I asked her one time: If you are eating a piece of cake, what is your favorite part, the cake or the icing? Her response? THE ICING! I gave an air fist pump and a whoop of joy – because that’s MY favorite part of a piece of cake, as well! WOW….are we twins?

We struck up an instant friendship.   Judy is the pianist for the service at their church (he affectionately calls her “Sister Judy” – i.e. “play us something in the key of G, Sister Judy”). He would address me occasionally as “Judy2.”

Just a note here to say that the first four years Fred and I were married were spent in Fort Worth, while Fred attended and graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. We are quite familiar with Fort Worth.

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Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary – the Rotunda

While Lucy was up getting her food, we talked about Fort Worth and seminary. He mentioned that Lucy was a Baylor University graduate, and I told him about my Dad being one of the three students at Baylor in the very first graduating class in the School of Music in 1924.

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When Lucy returned, he informed her that my Dad was a Baylor grad. She blinked and looked at me. Our conversation took off from there. She is a die-hard Baylorite!

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There is also another connection between Richard and us – he was the Minister of Music for the First Baptist Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico – my original home church – in the 1970’s! We began comparing notes on people we both had known while there. Absolutely amazing!

Original building, First Baptist Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Original building, First Baptist Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

Following breakfast, I wasn’t feeling very well, so I stayed in the stateroom, while Fred went on an excursion (walking tour) to the Marksburg Castle. He came back saying that it had been a VERY difficult walk/climb, and I would not have been able to manage all the steps and the climb. I was glad I had stayed home! But he took lots of pictures, and said it was a delightful castle to explore. I’m glad he was able to make the jaunt by himself.

 

~~~~~~~~~~Part 4 to be continued~~~~~~~~~~

 

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The Cruise of a Lifetime~Part 3

14 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

Our second morning began again with breakfast. We shared our table with Tina and Bob.

We had sailed overnight to Cologne, Germany, and arrived about 10:30 a.m. Shortly thereafter, we began the walking tour of the historical center of the city. Our guide told us that Cologne is the oldest city in Germany. It dates back to around AD 50, when the Romans established a major settlement.   We had a really interesting guide. He told us how the Romans conquered one side of the river – the side we were on – but couldn’t get across to the other side. They called the people on the other side “barbarians.” Now, the politically correct people call them the “cross-eyed” people instead.

In 1709, Italian expat and Cologne resident Giovani Farina created a citrus-scented toiletry he dubbed “Eau de Cologne” in honor of his adopted city. Other perfumeries followed, especially Wilhelm Meulhens, who founded the famous “4711″ brand (named after the address of his manufacturing building). There are several museums in the area, as well as a Chocolate Museum – which we didn’t get to!

Because it was Sunday we could not get into the cathedral until after services, so we walked around the outside of it and the square. Our guide told us about the cathedral, how long it took to build which part, which was the oldest, etc. He gave us other information about Cologne. He was a very interesting man.

 

Many years ago, while we were living in Germany and took our own tours of the country, we visited Cologne, and found a fountain that depicted an interesting and funny story about German workers.

Judy in front of fountain 1969
In front of fountain 1983

 

While on our tour, we walked right up to the fountain – called the Elves of Cologne. We were so excited! We thought we would have to find it on our own, and there it was! Wikipedia says: The Heinzelmännchen are a race of creatures appearing in a tale connected with the city of Cologne in Germany. The little house gnomes are said to have done all the work of the citizens of Cologne during the night, so that the inhabitants of Cologne could be very lazy during the day. According to the legend, this went on until a tailor’s wife got so curious to see the gnomes that she scattered peas onto the floor of the workshop to make the gnomes slip and fall. The gnomes, being infuriated, disappeared and never returned. From that time on, the citizens of Cologne had to do all their work by themselves.

 

After lunch and naps on the ship, Fred and I went back out into Cologne to find a book on the Elves of Cologne, which we found in the “information” building. The story is essentially what I remember about it.

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Our dinner companions that night were an Australian couple, Velma and Jeff.

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We also had Jill and Roy from Albuquerque, New Mexico (actually Belen). He is a retired veterinarian, and she is a retired nurse. We had a most interesting talk about Albuquerque   We also had dinner with Rich and Mary from Pennsylvania who we ate with the first night on board.

Back to the room and relatively early to bed. These are long days, and we still aren’t over our jet-lag.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

 

 

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The Cruise of a Lifetime~Part 2

7 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

The first real day of our cruise started with breakfast. There is a “buffet” breakfast in the restaurant, with a chef making omelets – made to order.

Our ship, the Gefjon (gef’- ee – on) is named after a Norwegian goddess.   Interesting.

 

Our first excursion took us to Kinderdijk (kinder-dike), Holland (the Netherlands).

 

 

This is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We saw a building with three huge Archimedes screws.

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From the original 150 windmills in the area, only 28 are left, and Kinderdijk has the largest collection of working windmills in that small area – 19 in all.

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We saw the windmills – went into one – and saw the polders the windmills gather water from. The windmills are used to pump water from the polders using internal or external scoops into reservoirs on two levels.   We were amazed at the size of the mills, and sails that are placed on the blades – it is all mechanical. We were also amazed to see that the caretakers actually lived within the windmill. Small spaces, and usually when the father died, the son took over.

The one we went in was old – made entirely from bricks. The newer ones looked like they were made from “shingles.” Most of these windmills date from 1738 through 1740.

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The ship supplied us with “receivers” and ear pieces that we plugged into the receivers that hung from lanyards around our necks. Each tour guide had a “channel” that we tuned into. That way they could talk normally and we couldn’t hear what the other guides were saying (different channel). It was a very convenient way to do the tours. We had them with us at all times on our excursions. The ship also supplied us each with bottled water on each excursion.

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Back on board, we began our sail to Cologne, Germany. Still being rather tired, we both took a nap, until it was time for the mandatory safety drill – including wearing our life jackets. We have to get over that jet lag!

We had a light lunch in the Aquavit Lounge. Usually set up as a buffet on the Terrace – much quicker and as good as in the restaurant.

After lunch we checked on our e-mail. Fred got one of the hostesses to set up our phones to receive e-mail.

We took in a Dutch teatime in the Aquavit Lounge. They served lots of goodies, and flavorful, interesting hot tea.

Nearing dinnertime, there was a “Toast to Our Guests” by Captain Marcel Stephan and Hotel Manager Harald Halswanter in the Aquavit Lounge.

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It was a welcome time for the guests of the ship. That room was used for many things, including the daily briefing about the next day’s excursions by Program Director, Carl West. Carl followed the tours on each excursion, taking pictures. Each evening, those pictures would scroll through the two monitors set up in the lounge. It was fun to find pictures of yourselves on those monitors.

Dinner in the restaurant. Everyone at the table had the Chateaubriand, and it was wonderful!

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Our table mates were Steve and Jane from Colorado, and Lola and Judy from Minnesota. Jane had recently had back surgery, and while in physical therapy, fell onto her back and re-injured herself. She was moving rather gingerly and always used a cane when she walked.

Another long, busy day, and the bed felt really good!!

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

 

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The Cruise of a Lifetime~Part 1

31 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

PART 1 – GETTING THERE

We had been investigating a Viking River Cruise in Europe for a while, but decided they were just too expensive. However, Fred was able to find a really….REALLY….good deal, and we snatched it up. We were scheduled for November 5 – November 20, 2015.

Our flight was scheduled for departure on Thursday, November 5, at 4:20 p.m., but it was delayed until 5:06 p.m. with mechanical problems. We finally boarded the plane hoping to leave soon. The plane started to back out but the pilot said the engines were doing the same thing they were doing before, so he took it back to the terminal. Fred checked with the Delta people, and they said our connection in Detroit would wait for us.

We were delayed again when we entered the plane and then deplaned a third time.   Fred then checked with the international Delta people and they got us on a Lufthansa leaving for Frankfurt, Germany at about 8:20 p.m. – about 20 minutes from then! That was four hours after we were originally scheduled to leave. They said our flight from Detroit would NOT have waited that long for us. We had been given some really bad information. We were also quite glad we had carried all our luggage with us!

After arriving in Frankfurt on Friday morning, we boarded another Lufthansa to Amsterdam. We finally arrived in Amsterdam about 2:30 p.m. Fortunately, the Viking people were there picking up other late-arriving guests. They thought we had decided to cancel, and just not come. We took a Viking bus to the ship, the Viking Gefjon (pronounced gef’- ee-on) and found our state room, number 325.

 

These ships are called “long ships” for a good reason!

 

After a late lunch buffet in the Aquavit Lounge Terrace,

 

we rested some, then tried to email but had no success with that. They had a computer station, but the laptops were “International” versions, with some of the keys rearranged, and with international symbols that we weren’t accustomed to. It was a bit nerve-wracking to try to type any kind of message!

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We had no time to take in anything in Amsterdam, much to our regret. However, we have been to Amsterdam many times during our times living in Germany, so we didn’t feel too cheated.

The Chef’s Dinner was in the restaurant. There is only one restaurant on board, and all meals are eaten there, and together. Most tables are set for six people, with a few large enough for eight or 10. Our table mates that evening were from Tucson, Arizona, and from Pennsylvania. There was no assigned seating, and we were able to meet quite a few of our fellow shipmates during the cruise. After we had ordered our meal, Fred left the ship and quickly went to a corner store to get some items we couldn’t carry on the airplane.

We went to bed early, as it had been a long day.

Oh and by the way, as I was getting off the last flight in Amsterdam, overloaded with bags, overbalanced and fell getting off the airplane and into the jetway. So far, no lingering effects from that.

 

 

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It’s Junk!

24 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

I sometimes have a difficult time buying presents for Fred – birthdays, Christmas, just because I want to….   And especially at this point of time in our lives, when we really have everything we need, it’s difficult. Now it’s more “wants” or just things that I think he might enjoy.

And this has been a trend throughout our married life. Unfortunately.

And so it was, many years ago, when we lived in Panama City, Florida (Tyndall AFB), that I found myself down at the marina with some girlfriends. There are some really neat shops down there, as well as some great eateries, and we were quite immersing ourselves in that atmosphere. We wandered into a little shop, and I was just looking around, just to see what treasures they had. Of course, it was a lot like a “tourist trap” that we see too often in those places.

But then I looked up and saw it……….the perfect thing for Fred’s wall! It was a framed “picture” of an old 1903 Mercedes! He had often said he would love to own a Mercedes in his lifetime. Perfect! Of course, it’s on black velvet (don’t groan – it gets better!), and it’s made up of the neatest stuff – a piece of vinyl and some trim,

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a thimble here and there,

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an old TV dial,

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hair clips,

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a safety pin,

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a shoe tap,

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a door hinge,

 

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an old can-opener-key,

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well, you get the picture. It is so unique. So I purchased it, took it home and surprised Fred with it. He was delighted!

It’s been on our wall ever since, and we enjoy looking at it.

I was showing it to a friend one time, and asked what she thought about it. Her comment? “It’s junk!” BOY! Did that deflate my balloon!

Oh well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? I just think of the creativity of the artist that put it all together. And we still enjoy it!

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Love….Take 2

17 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

Recently I wrote about Love (December 20, 2015).…..what is love? There are so many kinds of love in this life – the love of best friends, the love of a spouse, the love of parent for a child – and the child for the parent. The love of a person for the Loving Heavenly Father who blesses us with so much in this life, and His love for us.

In my lifetime, I’ve been blest with all of the above. God has been so gracious to me and I thank Him daily for those blessings.

But I also have “mementos” of some of those blessings. For instance:

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This little hanger-on has meaning for me. When we were living in Panama City, Florida (Tyndall AFB), Fred had the opportunity to go to Colorado Springs, Colorado for a conference, and was able to take me along with him. We arranged for our daughters to stay with people, and we were set to go. Unfortunately, as the time to leave drew closer, the military found a military flight for Fred to take – which meant I would have to travel alone. That really wasn’t a problem, except we like to travel together. Oh well, such is the way with the military. When I finally arrived in Colorado Springs, it was full dark. Fred picked me up from the airport and we headed to the motel. The next morning, as I woke up, he told me not to get out of bed just yet, and to face the window. Wondering what in the world???….he pulled open the curtains………and there in all her glory was Pike’s Peak in the bright morning sunlight!! Gorgeous! All that to say that this little memento is from that trip. Whenever I look at it, I remember that time, and the beautiful surprise Fred had for me, and his delight in giving that surprise to me.

And this little plaque:

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This was painted by our daughter, Karen, when she was rather young. I actually don’t remember when she gave it to us, but we’ve had it a long time. And we both treasure it. It is a memento of the love she had as a child for her parents.

For this past Christmas, Fred was given a “tea” set – mug, lemon tea bags, and this plaque that says the same thing as the mug.

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Because we both believe the words of this scripture to be so very true, we treasure this plaque, and have added it to our collection of love mementos. When we look at it each day, it reminds us of God’s love for us, and how we need to treat that love, and how to pass it along to those God places in our pathway each day. We can only pray that we live up to His desires for us.

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Go Run

10 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

Well, Christmas is over. All the hoopla is done. And I’m still eating all those Christmas cookies that I made. Man! I’ll be glad when they are done and out of the house! Just too much temptation to eat, and eat, and eat. I mean, I don’t make cookies that I don’t enjoy, you know?

Not too long after Fred and I married, his mother shared a recipe for German Springerle cookies. They take a bit of work to make, and I only make them at Christmas time. The batter has to be “beaten” for one hour – you read that right – one hour! I finally purchased a standing mixer solely for that purpose. Then all the other ingredients mixing together – a little anise extract and seed, then some grated lemon rind (zest), and powdered sugar, then the rolling out and pressing down with the wooden boards.

Then comes cutting them out, and after all the dough is cut, cooking them. They puff up and make marvelous “pictures” on the cookies, and I really enjoy eating them. With that “hint” of anise and lemon…….mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

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Then there are the cookies that my Aunt Jessie called “Pecan Puffs.” I’ve seen them called Italian wedding cookies, and other names. These are really my favorites. Again, a bit of work, with all the rolling and all, but they are worth it! And I’m overly proud to say that my recipe is the best! I know, I know – very prideful of me. But I’ve eaten some of those others – and I just like mine the best.

And then my best friend, Sue, makes the very best divinity I’ve ever tasted and sends that on as her Christmas gift to us. I reciprocate by sending her a couple dozen of my Springerle cookies and a couple dozen of the Pecan Puffs as well. A very nice trade off.

But by the time we wade through all those goodies – WHEW! I really need to go run and work off some of those calories!

And that brings me to a picture I saw on facebook. Really says it all:

 

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Assurance

3 Jan

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

You might have gathered by now (if you read my postings consistently) that I glean a lot from facebook. If I find something that appeals to me, then I save it, and hope to use it in this venue.

I came across one recently that reached out and grabbed me. In a nutshell, it tells me that I can trust God to take care of me – no matter what the situation. (credit Cross Cards.com) It speaks of His all-powerful greatness.   It tells me I don’t have to worry about any situation I find myself in – because God can, and WILL take care of me.

I’ve found myself with cancer – and He was there.

I found myself with kidney stones – and He was there.

I found myself in physical therapy following total knee replacement – and He was there, giving me encouragement to push through the pain.

You see, I am His child. I’ve given my life to Him, to do with as he pleases. And because He made “all of this out of nothing,” I know I can trust Him to take care of me. And I know – without a single doubt – that God wants only the best for my life. He wants me to trust Him.

The world is in such a turmoil these days, that sometimes it’s overwhelming to think of “what if” and what “might” happen in the future. But my future is secure – it will be spending eternity with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And that delights me!

I am so very grateful that God has allowed me to be His child. The assurance He gives me carries me through each day – and through the remainder of my life.

May you and yours have a wonderful and blessed New Year – 2016 – in our Lord’s safety and assurance.

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Christmas in Germany

27 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

Recently, on facebook, I saw that our daughter, Karen, has posted a picture that took me right back to our first tour of Germany. She stated that it: “brings back memories of living in Germany!”  We were in Wiesbaden, living in government quarters, which was a “stairwell” with two “apartments” on each level. And there were two stairwells in each building. We happened to live on the top floor, which we later discovered was the best place to live. No one above us…if we needed a breeze, we had it whether or not the other levels had the breeze or not. The only drawback was carrying grocery sacks up those three flights of stairs – and laundry down to the basement!

But usually, at Christmas, we were encouraged to decorate our picture window. I seem to recall there were competitions among the buildings to see who had the “best” or most elaborate decorations, or the most meaningful….you get the picture.

Therefore, this picture really reminded me of that time. Here is the picture Karen posted:

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I’m sorry this picture is in black and white. However, let me show you one of the building we lived in, and what we did one of the Christmases:

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Our apartment is the upper left one – the one with the silver bells. I don’t think we won any awards, but it was fun, anyway.

Here is another picture, but not of our stairwell. They may have won an award!

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Ten years later, we were stationed in Heidleberg. We lived in a different “type” of government housing, with the picture window at the end of the building/room, rather than like the housing in Wiesbaden. Here is what I did for our window treatment there.

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The Germans made these wonderful decorations out of wood/wood shavings. That’s what this one was. Unfortunately, I must not have packed it well enough, because it arrived in the States rather beaten up, and unusable. In any case, I don’t have it any more. But we enjoyed it while there.

My taste in Christmas decorating may not be very elaborate, but Fred and I both enjoy what we put together to decorate our house.

But more than that, many of our decorations and tree ornaments are from Germany, and we are reminded of our time there every time we decorate our tree, or put together some sort of decoration in the house. It was a wonderful time in our lives, and we are thankful God gave us the opportunity to live outside our country.

 

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Love

20 Dec

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 

Love………what is love?

That is such an intangible word and concept – and yet we fling it around like we really know what it is:

“I really LOVE this dress……..I really LOVE that movie……I really LOVE that ice cream…” and on and on we go.

Of course, the BEST love is…….saying “I Love You” – to your mate.

But there is another love that tops them all – the LOVE God has for us. God loves us so very much that He actually sent His one and only Son to live as a human being – just like us – but without sin – and that Son took my place (and your place) on the cross and died for us. All that so we could be children of God, and live with His strength on this earth, and then eternally with Him in heaven. Unthinkable….unimaginable. And yet, it happened, and I am a child of God because of it.

Once again, on facebook I found a cartoon that says it all. Credit to Charles Schultz.

 

Peanuts a man called Jesus

 

How did Charlie Brown get to be so smart?

I thank my God and Savior, Jesus Christ, for this wondrous plan that allowed me – a Gentile – to be in the family of God. Oh, the wonder of it all. Thank you, loving Father.

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