Seasons Greetings? Political correct? Nah, We are so late this year we decided to look around and see what was appropriate at this point, and all we have seen has been Valentine stuff on the store counters soooo…Happy Valentines Day. Of course there is a reason for all this and to explain.
We will start with the end at the beginning (or the beginning with the end). About 10 days before the big day, Joyce (while getting out of bed in the middle of the night) lost her balance and fell right on the “foot” of a stationary bike which was obviously positioned to close to the bed. Result: two broken ribs and a punctured and partially (25%) collapsed lung, plus a four-day stay in the hospital.
While she is well on the way to recovery, normal seasonal priorities had to be juggled, and the annual letter did not fare too well. We didn’t want to leave anyone in the dark, so here it is a bit late. The good news from this episode was I learned how to turn on the washing machine, dishwasher, and how to run the vacuum. The bad news of course was I learned how to turn on the washing machine and dishwasher and how to run the vacuum. The rest of the year was good if a bit benign.
Toward the end of Feb. we had a major snow/ice event that dumped a lot of heavy stuff that really tore up the neighborhood tree population. We had a big Bradford pear go down which saved me the trouble and we are now enjoying the fruits thereof in our fireplace. It took local crews over 8 months to clear up the litter. Later in the spring we made our annual pilgrimage to Jekyll Island on the Georgia Coast. The island is a state park with very reasonable accommodations.
With current budget crunches the “brains” in the State House decided it was a resource not sufficiently exploited and are planning re-development with high-rise condos, amusement parks and all the rest. It won’t be affordable much longer, which is sad. Much of the island is now un-developed and represents a fair picture of a barrier island ecosystem including a major sea turtle nesting area, and the site of a state-of-the art turtle hospital and rehabilitation facility.
Most interesting. The year has not been economically friendly to many people, but Bruce and George still are in business albeit with reduced forces, and even then, Bruce was able to throw us a belated but greatly appreciated joint 80th birthday party in August. We thoroughly enjoyed it all, especially me. You see, Bruce has jumped (not dabbled) into the home brewing gig, and I must admit has produced some fine product.
So happy birthday indeed! We both hope the next year will see things improve and that you will be able to really enjoy 2010. We sure plan to.