Christmas
Well, we made it thru the holidays. It wasn't too bad, actually. We did the familiar "Minneapolis Christmas Eve/Viroqua Christmas Day" run. I was fighting off a cold by using Airborne (which works quite well, actually!).
Christmas Eve we were at Mark and Abby's, and there were 20 of us. I was able to distribute some of Mom's jewelry and scarves, and that was nice. Abby made her second turkey ever and it was delicious! Aria had to leave early because of her dog allergy but also because she was getting sick. She was so miserable on Christmas Day that she was barely able to open her presents. But she's feeling better now.
[Christmas Eve on our way to Mark's Ron and I stopped at the cemetary and I went to Mom and Dad's grave and cried. It was good for me to do that. I had not been there yet.]
Wadi got the full spa treatment courtesy of Rykna - he now sports a new haircut (and bandana), and lies on a new bed (when he chooses to!). His coat is so soft and smooth.
Grandpa Olson is doing "all right" after losing his sweetheart. He told us that they met in 1940 when he was about 16 and she 15. He was driving up and down the town's main street on a Friday night with his buddies. She was walking with her friends, and they invited them to get into the car and go for a ride. He was "smitten" by her.
They dated for about a year, and then broke up at her request because she thought they should see other people. That lasted for a few months! That summer they both attended a dance. He walked over and said, "Hi, Beautiful!" "Hi, Big Shot!" she replied. And that, as they say, was that!
They waited a long time to get married, though - until 1953. But I'm glad they did, because then they had Ron and if he had been 10 years older, I would never have met him at college and gotten married to the most wonderful husband I could have and had the four greatest children in the world!
Brinne sent me a Soduko puzzle book and I got hooked! They are very interesting. If you are interested in reading more about the mathematics involved, this article was pretty interesting and not too technical.
Carl gave Grandpa a DVD of a movie called "The Big Fish" and we watched it Monday night. It was fascinating. I found the relationship between the father and son to be very intriguing because of the son's perceptions. If you haven't watched this movie, I encourage you to do so.
Renee and Ron gave Dad a DVD player - but then he had to buy a new television so that we could hook it up! But we finally figured it out and left him with hopefully a working understanding of all the remotes! (That's a challenge for anyone let alone a man who is over 80, but he's pretty sharp, so I think he'll be fine!)
Well, as Dad said on his Christmas card to us, "It's been a year." And now it's about over (and it's my father's birthday today). I was going to say that I hope next year will be easier - but it probably won't be. I could say I hope that I won't face as many difficult challenges as I have had to face this year, but I probably will. They'll just take on forms I had not anticipated. But thru them I will grow and so the struggles will be worth it in the long run.
Merry Christmas... and a Blessed New Year.
Christmas Eve we were at Mark and Abby's, and there were 20 of us. I was able to distribute some of Mom's jewelry and scarves, and that was nice. Abby made her second turkey ever and it was delicious! Aria had to leave early because of her dog allergy but also because she was getting sick. She was so miserable on Christmas Day that she was barely able to open her presents. But she's feeling better now.
[Christmas Eve on our way to Mark's Ron and I stopped at the cemetary and I went to Mom and Dad's grave and cried. It was good for me to do that. I had not been there yet.]
Wadi got the full spa treatment courtesy of Rykna - he now sports a new haircut (and bandana), and lies on a new bed (when he chooses to!). His coat is so soft and smooth.
Grandpa Olson is doing "all right" after losing his sweetheart. He told us that they met in 1940 when he was about 16 and she 15. He was driving up and down the town's main street on a Friday night with his buddies. She was walking with her friends, and they invited them to get into the car and go for a ride. He was "smitten" by her.
They dated for about a year, and then broke up at her request because she thought they should see other people. That lasted for a few months! That summer they both attended a dance. He walked over and said, "Hi, Beautiful!" "Hi, Big Shot!" she replied. And that, as they say, was that!
They waited a long time to get married, though - until 1953. But I'm glad they did, because then they had Ron and if he had been 10 years older, I would never have met him at college and gotten married to the most wonderful husband I could have and had the four greatest children in the world!
Brinne sent me a Soduko puzzle book and I got hooked! They are very interesting. If you are interested in reading more about the mathematics involved, this article was pretty interesting and not too technical.
Carl gave Grandpa a DVD of a movie called "The Big Fish" and we watched it Monday night. It was fascinating. I found the relationship between the father and son to be very intriguing because of the son's perceptions. If you haven't watched this movie, I encourage you to do so.
Renee and Ron gave Dad a DVD player - but then he had to buy a new television so that we could hook it up! But we finally figured it out and left him with hopefully a working understanding of all the remotes! (That's a challenge for anyone let alone a man who is over 80, but he's pretty sharp, so I think he'll be fine!)
Well, as Dad said on his Christmas card to us, "It's been a year." And now it's about over (and it's my father's birthday today). I was going to say that I hope next year will be easier - but it probably won't be. I could say I hope that I won't face as many difficult challenges as I have had to face this year, but I probably will. They'll just take on forms I had not anticipated. But thru them I will grow and so the struggles will be worth it in the long run.
Merry Christmas... and a Blessed New Year.
posted by Maggie | 8:01 AM
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