Bad I know. But I ran out of time!
I did send a hard copy to a few people - My Uncle Bill and Aunt Nan, my Aunt Ruth, My Auntie Flo, Carole and Moose Cameron (Josh's in-laws), Lynn and George Davis (Tim's in-laws,) Ruth and Jerry Kelly (Sam's in-laws) and one of my earliest friends Laura Michalik.
Merry Christmas 2013 and Happy New Year 2014
I know that Christmas newsletters are hardly needed anymore. News is shared fast with Facebook, email and cheap cell phone plans. But there are twenty years of Christmas letters in my computer and I can't stop now!
I’m living in Greenwood, Indiana with my wonderful traveling companion Scott Smith. He retired in January after 34 years with the Post Office but still gets up each morning to eat oatmeal with me for breakfast. Many weekends we drive the back roads of Indiana in the quest of completing my ongoing photo project – there are 92 counties in Indiana and I want to take a picture of each county court house. I’ve only a few left. What will I do with all those pictures? No idea, but it gets us out of the house and we travel well together. Without me, Scott journeyed to Maine with his son-in-law AND enjoyed a North Carolina beach vacation with his daughter, grand girls and Auntie .
With me? Well, we had two weeks in Great Britain! First we were going to drive ourselves around, and then we saw a YouTube video on the MAGIC ROUNDABOUT OF SWINDON. If you get a chance, watch the video. You’ll see why we threw out the idea of renting a car and instead, signed up for an 8 day Trafalgar bus tour. We were driven all over England (Stonehenge! Bath! York! Stratford upon Avon!) with a side trip to Wales and a few days in Edinburgh, Scotland. When the tour was over, we still had 4 days in London on our own. Scott had us nipping on and off the Tube like locals as we saw the Tower of London and Big Ben, attended The Mousetrap, roamed cathedrals – we even saw Prince Charles by chance AND took the train to Paris! Scott sampled the beers of Great Britain while I developed a fondness for bangers and mash served at Mabel’s Tavern. This trip was simply fantastic and I enjoyed every minute of it.
We flew west to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for Thanksgiving week with my Josh and his wife Megan. The week before our visit, Josh and Megan's step-dad Russell drove from Idaho to Indiana and back again...in FOUR DAYS...to pick up a truck Josh has been working on with his Dad. A Very Tiring Adventure - FOUR days, 3600 miles, and they're still friends. :) Josh and Megan are doing great; he works from home for HP, programming for the state of Ohio, and Megan works as a counselor at Fernan Elementary, just a few minutes from the house. They live in a beautiful area, just about 10 minutes from Lake Coeur D’Alene. Beautiful yes, but too far from me, that’s for sure.
What are Tim and Mary up to? Both teachers at local Lafayette schools, they’re also dealing with Diapers and Bottles; my Grandson Clark Davis Franklin was born on August 7, 2013! I was lucky enough to see him when he was only a few hours old. Luckier still, I was his Granny Nanny Oct. 14 - Dec 20. I'd drive up to their place on Sunday and stay until Friday afternoon. I'm not retired - my Boss allowed me to support my clients via cell phone and laptop. Clark is a cute little guy and I miss him already! It's back to the office for me and Clark starts at a day care in January. I posted a picture each day I was with Clark on my blog http://whats-next-onthe-todo-list.blogspot.com/
Sam married his fiance' Jenna Kelly this past May. Two days later, she took off for a summer job in Normal, IL at the Shakespeare Fest and he worked in Terre Haute. After returning to Sam in Terre Haute, she found another theater job at the Cardinal Theater in Bloomington Indiana. After teaching a semester of freshman English at ISU, Sam packed up their gear and moved there as well. He starts a new job soon; more on that in Christmas Newsletter 2014.
So Tim, Mary and Clark are 90 minutes north of me. Sam and Jenna are 60 minutes south. Josh and Megan? 29 hours northwest. Five out of seven fairly close at hand – could be worse! :) My kids are simply the Best. I've posted some pictures on my Flicker photo account - http://www.flickr.com/photos/99288886@N04/sets/72157638924131573/
I was really hoping that 2013 would be a year without sorrow, but that was not to be. My Brother Steve’s little girl died this past spring; a stupid accident, she drowned in her bathwater. Zuzu was only 4 ½. Every time I think of her, with her sweet little face and big smile, I’m SO sad and my heart breaks for my brother who loved her so much.
What will 2014 bring? ONLY good things (knock on wood!) I’m thinking lots of travel with Scott and lots of time with my boys and girls. I hope to see some old friends and perhaps meet some new ones. Love and hugs to you and yours from me and mine! Have a wonderful Christmas 2013 and a 2014 full of adventure, love and hugs!
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