We hope everyone had a good New Year’s Day!
As has been my habit in past first-of-the-year posts, I would like to begin with a short review of 2018 before I get into recent news and events.
The biggest news of 2018 was Pam’s retirement. I can report that she does not miss the long daily commute and likes the time she has to work on projects and taking care of our pets.
The retirement house hunt continued with two trips (May and October) back to the Midwest to meet realtors and view some properties. “The One” has not appeared yet but we continue the search.
Son Toby bought a home in South Bend and was promoted to a crew supervisor position. He seems happy with this. We met with him and a few of his friends on our May trip east; his friends are a varied and friendly group. It looks like he has settled into a routine that suits him.
Daughter Felicity traveled to England and Wales in 2018. She still works for a couple of on-line companies and managed to get overseas for a bit. Travel is her thing. On return to the US she found a studio apartment in Vancouver, Washington, to use as a home base until her next adventure. She would like to get to Australia and New Zealand in 2019. We hope she can swing it.
According to Pam’s notes, we managed 20 visits to The Lot in 2018. Much was accomplished in cleaning up and salvaging firewood. We concentrated in an area we call The Aspen Grove and it is great to be able to walk this area now after the dead and down trees have been removed. Chips were spread on several of our walking paths and we hope they settle in over the winter, resulting in easy-to-walk trails next year.
I was kept busy with working at The Lot, travels back to the Midwest, and my regular job. One project, recently completed, was to redo almost all of my web site pages to move my Galleries and videos off my old hosting service onto the one that hosts this blog page.
Now onto current items.
Pam has been working on her “barn quilt square” and it is looking pretty good:
Pam’s barn quilt square
Based on a 24″ x 24″ framed canvas foundation, the paint is acrylic.The square is hanging on our front door and can bee seen from the road. It makes for a cheery entrance.
My mother, now in a care facility, appears to be fading according to my brother Jon. Not unexpected but sad just the same. It remains unclear if she can recover enough to move back home but I suspect she will be in the care facility for some time.
I have new projects at work and plans for The Lot are being formulated; more clearing and chipping is in the works. 2019 promises to be another busy year.
As I write this it is snowing fairly hard. The forecast is for 3 – 5 inches of snow today, making this one of the heavier snow falls of the season to date. I’ll be out later shoveling the deck and ramp then firing up the John Deere and using the snow blade to clear off the driveway and sidewalks. Tomorrow it will be back to work.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny:
Retirement. At last. Looking for the fun and fulfillment that eluded me in my working years.
Happy Trails.