Xmas Letter 2009

Just getting to the island held some excitement for us.  We had to contend with large ocean swells in our large catamaran on the twenty mile trip out to the island.  Its two hulls take the waves better than a single hulled boat.  Still, the ride was windy and rolling.  Instead of rocking in the back of the vessel, Jay & I raced to the front.  We had to make our way along the outside of the cabin area as the boat teetered.  We had to hang on to the low railing to keep from going overboard.  The bow was rollicking, riding a swell upwards, hanging suspended in the air a moment, before it crashed down into the trough of the wave.  One of the rising waves knocked me to my knees.  When I looked back at Jay, he was airborne, hanging on to the rail as we began the drop off the crest.  Hoo!  What makes it even scarier is that Jay can't swim!  Well, we both made it to the front of the bow, got our sea legs, and whooped it up for the rest of the way out to the island.  

What a beautiful place.  

During the rest of our week, we rented bicycles, ate at a great vegetarian restaurant a couple times, "Nature's Grill".  The young ones went to Disneyland for a day.  We spent a day in Santa Barbara, walking the wharf and shopping.  And, I have to hand it to the people of Ventura.  Every evening, a group, with their dogs, would walk down to the beach to watch the sunset.  We joined them for a few dazzlers.  I really loved that.

Lastly, what's with the California highway system?  On our way back home, they CLOSED THE HIGHWAY and didn't provide any help on how to get around the problem.  We spent an extra five hours sitting in traffic because of that.  Then again, Jay made up for the delay by going with the traffic flow heading east as it hit 95 mph!  Yikes!  Fun trip.

Rock Band Champions

Who da thunk?  Nate had this goal; to win the best local Rock Band contest.  For consecutive weekends, a contest was held.  After a month, each of the weekend winners would battle for valuable prizes.  Well they won!   "Vengeful Emu!", made up of Nate, Mary, Emma, and Jay took first place and brought home hundreds of dollars of loot.


In June, a modified version of the group, without Jay or Emma, won the State Championship.  Then in July, up against some daunting competition, they won the Rock Band National Championship.  And it was quite dramatic to boot.  In Rock Band, you sing and play along with songs on electronic game controllers that are modeled after musical instruments.  After each performance, the scores must be recorded.  Well, one of the band members jumped from the stage (showmanship!) to demolish their tank (yes, they built a tank) and somehow the scores disappeared before the judges could record them.  They were in first place at the time and this would have been a disaster.  In the end, it was agreed that the judges could read the scores off the video that Nate's Dad had recorded and they won!  Shoo!

Whoops

So one morning I was peacefully sleeping when one of Emma's friends wakes me with,  "Janis hurt her back and she's in the backyard."

We had been puppy sitting a guide dog.  Janis was out in the backyard with the pup on a leash.  The grass was wet with the morning dew and slippery.  Somehow, maybe from a tug on the leash, Janis lost her footing and crashed on her back.  When I got out there she was hunched over a chair, barely holding herself up.  It sounded bad.  Got her inside on the couch.  I'm pretty sure she was convinced this was a life altering injury.  Called 911 and before you know it, we were on our way to the hospital.

What followed was a comedy (tragedy?) of errors.  After x-rays were taken, we were told we'd know in 30 minutes.  We waited.  An hour and a half later, still waiting and pain meds wearing off.  Numerous attempts to notify the desk and get some attention, but it took a full two hours before we knew what was going on.  No terrible injuries, shoo!  Still, Janis was in so much pain.  They tried to get her in a wheelchair and out of there when she could barely sit.  

Eventually, someone came by that understood what needed to be done.  Even though it didn't turn out to be that awful life altering injury we thought it might be, it gave us pause.  Makes us thankful for our health.

Empty Nest

And the young one got an apartment in Denver.  We rented a very large truck and moved a huge load.  Emma's sharing the apartment with Jay and their friend Grant.  They are a couple blocks from the capital, downtown.  Emma is in her second year of college, going to the University of Colorado, Denver.  It's a short bicycle ride to the campus for her.  Also sharing the apartment are two (now three) cats.  There's Axl, a rescue Emma nursed back to health.  Axl and I are big time buddies.  Then there's Freddie, pictured here.  He may be a "rag doll" breed, noted for their affectionate nature and tendency to go limp and relaxed when picked up.  Their latest, NOT STAYING, cat is Brody.  There are definite plans for her future with someone else.

To add to the excitement, Emma's car was totalled by a midnight hit and run as it was parked on the street.

When the girls were young we said they could do what they wanted to the walls in their rooms.  Uh, next family we raise, we're changing that rule.  Mary then Emma had the room in the basement.  Over the years it had grown into "a work of art".  Yowsers, painting over that was a chore.  There are still a few weird little portraits that leak through.

Even though both of the girls are out of "the nest", we all get together weekly for family dinner night.  We usually rotate where we'll get together and have some fun.

Wisconsin Visit

In August, Janis and I took a week and visited Wisconsin.   Our primary reason was to attend a reunion on her side of the family.  But we also took the opportunity to see my brother's new place in Door County and my folks' new place in Sheboyan Falls.  For us, it's like going to "the old country".  We enjoy so many things about visiting the state where we grew up.  We love the food.  Most people will cringe, but fried cheese curds, oh my gawd.  Yes!  Numaliciousness to the max.  


Steve and Nancy's place outside of Sturgeon Bay right on Lake Michigan is so great.  The reunion gang came over to have a look and just loved the view from the porch.  Our days up there were so relaxing.  Something about that vast expanse of water.  Steve and Nance have been working hard to make it into their dream place, and I'd say they've succeeded.  Wish we were closer to be able to visit more.