Christmas 2018

We had a really good Christmas this year. It was pretty mellow; the kids got presents they liked; it wasn't super-extravagant; Mom seemed to enjoy herself; we got to see Pat and Karen for the first time in ages.

Notable presents included outfits for the girls from Grandma, who buys high quality Hanna Andersson goods. These are garments built to last, made, it seems, for Viking children who might have to engage in hand to hand combat on a shale beach. Which is awesome for the person who receives them as hand-me-downs -- no way a kid is going to wear this stuff out before they grow out of it.

In years past, Grandma bought the girls matching dresses, which was super-cute. But Suzanne almost never wears a dress these days. She needs monkey-bar-ready clothes. So starting last year, Elizabeth gets a dress and Suzanne gets pants and a t-shirt. But Grandma outdid herself this year, getting Suzanne pants, shirt and a really nice hoodie. Elizabeth got a beautiful dress, tights, and a bow for her hair.

From Santa, Elizabeth got a 1955 Smith-Corona manual typewriter in like-new condition. Those elves are amazing! She loves it to death. Suzanne got a Kindle Paperwhite, which is the only thing besides a puppy she asked for. (She did not get a puppy.) The Kindle is an e-reader, not a tablet computer. But recently they became waterproof, so Suzanne can read in the bathtub.

More importantly, we enjoyed each other's company, ate a lot of good food (thanks, Barb!), and just had fun.

Grandma's Getting Glasses!

Grandma (Sherry) has been complaining for some time now about her failing vision. Me being me, I've put off dealing with it for three months. But now it's 2019, baby! New year, new me! I've resolved to stop procrastinating so much.  So on Friday I made an appointment for her to get an eye exam today (Saturday). And boy, does she need glasses. Her vision is not great. Mom also has cataracts, but the optometrist said they're not bad enough to warrant surgery.

I scheduled this appointment at Wal-Mart because it is close to the house and I figured it'd be cheap. It was! The exam was $99. The doctor said Mom needs bifocals, but encouraged us to get two pair of glasses: one for reading and one for seeing at a distance; her reasoning was that bifocals can cause older folks to trip and fall. So I was prepared for maybe $150 per pair. But the glasses were about $40 per pair. What a great deal! As evil as a mega-corporation such as Wal-Mart undoubtedly is, I'm glad there's somewhere local we can go to buy two pair of glasses for $80. A year or more ago I bought new glasses and they cost $500, but it was a buy one get one free deal. So for more than I wanted to spend I got more glasses than I wanted to buy.

I can't wait for her to get her glasses. I remember how magical it was when I first put on my specs. I think her life will be transformed!

Note: There used to be a picture of Sherry here, but she did not like it. I thought it was one of the better pictures of her. She disagreed. I want to honor her wishes, so I've taken the picture down. 

Update! We got the two pairs of glasses. It wasn't magical, as I expected. The pair for far-seeing don't do much, according to Mom. The reading glasses, however, are a big improvement over her drug store specs. I'll count that as a success.

New Year's Day Hike

It became a tradition some years ago that on New Year's Day we go for a hike or walk near water and think of something from the past year that we wish to discard. We pick up an object to represent the trait or behavior that we're leaving behind, and toss it into the water.

This year, we went to Lacamas Lake in Washington state where we met friends Dan and Vanessa and their kids, Charles and Ella. Barb and I enjoyed the hike, but I think we were in the minority, joined only by Vanessa and (maybe) Charles. Dan was cold, Suzanne said the air hurt to breathe (it was pretty cold), Ella's legs hurt, and Elizabeth's list of complaints would take too much time to type. I guess if you put Charles in the hike-positive group, it was fifty/fifty.

But we got it done. Then, after separating from our friends, we went to lunch at a burger place in beautiful Camas, WA. When we got home, we all got under the covers in Barb's and my bed, and read and rested and got cozy. It was a great kickoff to what I think is going to be a great year.

The light was low on the horizon, leading to some very pretty pictures.

The photo is imperfect: Suzanne looks like an unconscious person with a fragment of candy cane in her mouth; we are both out of focus. But look at that background!

(L-R) Dan, Charles (barely visible behind Dan), Vanessa, Suzanne, Barb, and Ella. Elizabeth is either with me, or sitting on a rock moping.

Frost on an oxidized bolt head on the bridge.

This is the spillway beyond the dam. A cool feature of this hike is that you get to walk over the dam, which was upgraded from timber and mud to concrete in 1923. It powers the Georgia-Pacific paper mill in Camas, WA.

About ten minutes into our hike we stopped for snacks and hot cocoa. Elizabeth was already flagging. Needless to say, it didn't get better from here.

Vanessa, Barb and Suzanne looking over the lake.

A mood.

Suzanne is a pretty cool dude.

Happy 2019!

We had a really good time at Aaron and Wendy's rockin' New Years Eve party. Guests included ourselves, Robin and her son Keoni, and the Lawheads. A perfect amount! There was lots of food and drink and Wendy asked us to bring our PA and microphone (a gift from Anson and Alder laste year) which, paired with Aaron's laptop and stereo, made for an excellent jury-rigged karaoke machine.

I'm pretty sure everyone took a turn at the mic, if not as a soloist, at least as part of an ensemble. We did our countdown to 2019 on East Coast time, so we weren't up too, too late. What a lot of fun with great friends. What a good way to start the year. I am grateful.