June 6, 2009

I started to write a month ago when we left Amarillo – hard to believe I’ve been that busy. Doesn’t seem like I have time for much of anything but work and resting up so I can work. Last month I took a day off for depression. Can’t remember what I was depressed about but it was very satisfying to just announce my intent and lie down. Come to think of it, I felt so much better by noon we went some place.

We both have occasional moments of thinking Oh, this lifestyle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. But we can’t think of anything we would rather do, or any place we would rather live. I guess it will come to us when it’s time, exactly the way this venture came to us.

This past month has been really great. We did two parks outside Santa Fe, one of them actually at the Pojoaque (Po-Wah-Kee) Pueblo. This country is so old and interesting and everyone is happy to tell their story.

We visited the Santuario de Chimayo, known as the Lourdes of America. The story goes that in 1810 a man discovered a crucifix buried near the Santa Cruz River. He shared the discovery with the local priest and they took the crucifix to the church at the village of Santa Cruz. The next day the crucifix was gone, back in the ground at Chimayo. This happened twice more. Once they figured out they couldn’t keep the cross in Santa Cruz, they built a chapel around it at Chimayo.

The chapel is still in use, and a hole full of dirt is partitioned off from the altar, said to be the original place the crucifix was found. Today the holy dirt has two trowels in the hole, and people scoop it up to rub on their areas of affliction. The anteroom to the pocito (well) is full of crutches and braces and tokens of gratitude, testimonies of the healing power of the dirt. (People used to eat it, but today the church brochures advise against it.)

The grounds of the Santuario are beautiful. The sacredness of the place is reinforced by the thousands and thousands of tokens and notes tacked to the trees and statuary; rosaries draped on crosses, baby booties hung in a niche, a steel fence with crosses woven into the cross hatch, crosses of twigs and plants and popsicle sticks. In spite of the evidence of great longing and joyful gratitude, it is a very peaceful compound.

I lit a candle and said a prayer for my Mother, while Davey graciously agreed to get me some holy dirt. My knees are so bad I was afraid if I got down, I wouldn’t be able to get up (Oh, ye of so little faith!). They say 300,000 people a year visit Chimayo, and we couldn’t help but wonder where the dirt is coming from now, but we didn’t ask.

We’re in Bernalillo now, in our favorite little park among the cottonwoods on the Rio Grande. We had a great visit with our friends Ted and Marcia last night and are spending the day doing the paperwork to send off our last two jobs. Tomorrow we will head for Bend. It takes us nearly a week to get there; we’ll stay at Scandia and map their park so will be there at least 10 days. I’m anxious to see my Mother in Bothell, WA. She’s 94 now and just diagnosed with “a little bit” of cancer in her lungs and liver. We will be around the northwest all summer and as long as necessary to help with Mother’s assisted living and dying. She’s dealing with this “little bit” of bad news very well; she said “The doctor told me it’s cancer and I asked him how much time I have left, but I can’t remember what he said.”

And the beat goes on, dear friends. We send love,

Sam

Dear Friends,

Can you believe this is our 87th How We Be letter? Our fifth year on the road!

We left Havelock, North Carolina on April 2lst, after a great visit. Its always hard. We had a few days alone when Jason was in Waco, Texas on his job and I got to sleep with Roxy dog and feed Katie’s astonishing collection of lizards. Dave was in charge of Jasons 150 gallon, newly established (Its apparently never finished) salt water aquarium. His collection of beautiful fish is second only to the strange and exotic landscape of living corals and eatibus stuffi you dont want in your tank. Jason came home a little ahead of Jamie and the kids who were visiting family in Utah. In the following ten days I got to cook to my hearts content, and we caught up with each kids current interests and wishes. (Uncommon restraint prevents me from listing these interests and wishes in detail.)

We took I-40 all the way west. Overall, it is the best transcontinental highway we have driven. It takes us almost a full week, as we do nearly 300 miles a day but take a day off somewhere in Arkansas or Oklahoma. We had a crosswind nearly every day and driving is tiring for both of us. Spring weather is always volatile in this part of the country and this year was no exception, although we did get through Arkansas without a tornado warning for the first time.

Were in Amarillo, Texas; quite an adjustment from Georgia and North Carolina. We are finding sales to be very tough with advertisers waiting to see what is going to happen. Amarillo is the first major town we’ve been in where we could really SEE a recession. There is a real shortage of trucks on the road and a lot of shopping lots are far from full. From Amarillo we go to Santa Fe to work a park and Pojuace, a little town between Santa Fe and Taos. These two parks are new to us; we picked them up when our managers left the company last month. We really miss them, but they got a job offer they just couldnt refuse. We now report to the national sales managers and we know and like them.

I’ve always said one of the things we like about this lifestyle is the simplicity. We celebrate the little things. Dave is still kind of high over how good the large rear mudflaps look after he painted them. I have discovered a hand soap that smells like bourbon. Reminds me of my Dad, not to mention a couple of decades of my own life. I love it. Simple just about covers it, I know…

Love to all,

My Mom surprised us with a trip to Utah for Easter. We had a wonderful visit, packed with lots of fun activities but mostly just being with family again. That of course is the very best part!!! This will be a huge entry with a lot of photos…

The morning we flew out, when I woke Xander up to get him ready he hugged his puppy and said “My Puppy is going to miss his Daddy so much!” He is so cute how he still uses his puppy to express his own feelings. Sweet little boy!

Porter’s Flat Stanley got to make the trip with us too!

[slideshow=68]

The kids did great on the flight over (such a long day), when we were flying into the Salt Lake Valley Xander went nutso over the snow in the mountains. He was really animated saying over and over “Look mommy…SNOW!” “There is snow on the Mtn” “Can we play in the snow?” He was just firing one statement after another. He had several people around us chuckling at his excitement. And Susie cracked me up. She and Becca were across the isle from the rest of us and I could see she was excited about something. We finally made eye contact and she mouthed to me that the lady in front of me was reading a Book of Mormon. Susie was thinking that was pretty cool! I laughed and pointed to a different lady in front of her. She looked over her seat and her eyes got big and she tried not to laugh out loud…that lady was also reading a Book of Mormon. Guess we have been out of Mormon country for a while or something…

Lori and Glen are always so great about picking us up at the airport and letting us use their van…we appreciated it so much! We spent what was left of Saturday and Sunday with them and their kids! Xander and Glen hit it off (well ok maybe 90% of the time the other 10% Xander was scared of Glen because Glen is such a tease!!!) they had great sword fights together. Xander was in heaven playing with all of Jacob’s guns and huge rubber snakes that look WAY too real!!! The girls had fun making cookies together. And some kind of game is always a part of visiting the Walters. We always have fun game nights with them!

[slideshow=69]

During church it started to snow. Again Xander went nuts. He ran right to the doors and would have been out there if I hadn’t grabbed him quick! What torture the next 2 hours of church were… Well right after church even though it was sooooo cold with a strong wind we attempted to go sledding. There really wasn’t that much snow so it was rather pathetic. The Walters were very good about humoring us North Carolinian’s…

[slideshow=70]

On Monday we headed north to Lana’s house with a stop in Logan first…we visited our wonderful neighbors Gramma and Grampa Gunnell. Sister Gunnell looked so great, our visit brought back many special memories of chatting over the fence until one of us finally had to break off our conversation to go make dinner or something rather boring…we’d rather keep chatting!!! We LOVE the Gunnells so much and miss them terribly. They were a part of our everyday life in Logan. It took only moments for Katie and Xander to make their way back downstairs to the playroom and they had a great time with Grampa Gunnell. Next we snuck a great visit in with Sister Dewey. She is another favorite person of ours… we were so thrilled to be able to see her this trip. Our last trip we had rotten timing and she was on vacation when we came through Logan. What a fun time we had, poor Rusty was probably worn out by the time we left. The kids had him so wound-up running around fetching balls. Of course the snow was still quite exciting and it was tough getting the kids back in the van to leave! I have to admit I don’t really miss shoveling it!

[slideshow=71]

We went to Lana’s cozy home in the hills of Southern Idaho (I just love her house!). We were greeted by their huge husky dog, Xander of course freaked out a bit. He was so hilarious the whole time we were there though…every time he would see the dog out the window he would come tell us “There is a wolf outside”! He was a little worried about that “wolf”. We had a great time hanging out, staying up really late watching movies and playing games. Katie and Penney were the only ones who ventured outside to play in the snow, and there was a lot more to play in too.

[slideshow=78]

We also made a couple of trips into Logan again for errands, AGGIE ICE CREAM – yum! And visiting more friends. We were able to spend some time catching up with the Fullmer’s and a quick hello to Missy. The kids had a great time playing, being silly and just hanging out. Susie was able to hook up with both Kate and Rachelle so she was happy too!

[slideshow=79]

And of course a stop to the cemetery and the Temple to take some photo’s. We wish we could have stayed longer in Cache Valley, saw more neighbors and friends but our time was more limited this trip!

[slideshow=80]

Our drive out to Roosevelt was well…PAINFULL!!! Xander developed a ear infection (we didn’t know this) and driving over the high mountain pass he was in such pain, he cried for over an hour straight. I apparently have been very spoiled with him because he hardly ever cries, even when he was a baby. Well I didn’t deal very well with his constant crying. I was so fried by the time we got to my parents house. That was the longest drive EVER…once we arrived the pressure must have gotten better because he fell asleep in my arms and slept hard for a good hour. Poor kid! The girls headed over to their cousins house to play. We joined them later when Xander woke up.

[slideshow=81]

At Lisa’s house Katie and Xander were thrilled to see their chicken and bunny that they caught at the rodeo last summer when we visited… They have gotten huge. Brittney and Wyatt have taken very good care of them. At Grandma’s house we listened to conference and did projects either with the kids or on the house. The older girls spent alot of time “Twilighting”

[slideshow=82]

Brittney, Porter, Paige, Katie and Xander had a great game of Duck Duck Goose going on…it entertained them for a long time.

[slideshow=83]

Lori, Tenisha and I escaped to Vernal to do a Temple Session. It was fun having a girl day, we went to lunch, did a little shopping..ok so we just went to walmart for some groceries but it sounded good didn’t it??? The next day we went to Jo’s to make strawberry jam! Becca was a big helper, she had strawberries up to her elbows!!! Susie and Ashley took the little kids on a walk, but the rest of the day they pretty much did the “Twilighting” thing again…those are some good books!!!

[slideshow=84]

Becca also helped Jo make Chocolate Easter Eggs. I was really surprised the other kids didn’t want to help…Becca had Jo all to herself! She was not complaining that is for sure! One of the nights Jim took all the older kids to the High School play. Susie and Becca were so excited to get to go to a play, still loving the dreams of becoming famous actresses…well when they got home Susie said “Our play was way better than that!”

[slideshow=90]

We had a big service project that we did at Justin and Tenisha’s, some of the land is Jim and Jo’s as well. Anyway we had a “ROCK” party. We helped them clear the land of rocks…lots and lots of rocks!!! The kids had a great time! Porter and Xander entertained themselves pretending to be puppies…digging for bones!

[slideshow=85]

Justin had his big tractor that he drove around and we loaded up with rocks. The kids loved taking turns riding with him. Check out the one of Xander, I mean Puppy with his head hanging out panting away!!! He is such a funny kid.

[slideshow=86]

Becca was a very daring hard worker. She and Wyatt got in the bucket of the tractor with it raised up really high so they could throw the rocks into the fencing. I was really proud of Becca. She didn’t want to stop working when everyone was heading home. She begged Uncle Jim to let her help him with one more thing, changing water I think it was…

[slideshow=103]

Susie was pretty excited because she got to drive the 4 wheeler for awhile. All the kids worked really hard. And yes that is a picture of AJ driving…can’t believe I have a nephew old enough to be driving…he was 2 months old when Jason and I got married…time flies! We ended the night with a roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.

[slideshow=87]

Uncle Jim took Xander out to let him ride a horse. Xander was pretty nervous, I don’t think his little bottom was on the horse for longer than a half a second and he was done!!! But he liked petting the horse.

[slideshow=88]

Xander and Porter played so well together. They were super hero’s together, played outside on the trampoline and playground for hours. Xander loves their awesome toy room and he spent even more hours playing there! He was in Heaven…a BOY to play with and lots of cool stuff to do together!!!

[slideshow=89]

Back to Grandma’s we got real crafty…we had all kinds of different things lined up to entertain the kids and give them something fun to do. One of my highlights of the entire trip was when my 11 year old nephew Wyatt came to me and said “Jamie…I love you…” and then he gave me some earrings that he made just for me!!! Very sweet!

[slideshow=91]

We did a lot of Easter crafts too. The first one was the kids got to make Easter bags for Easter Egg Hunt we had planned. The older kids were good about helping the little ones do theirs. They turned out cute!

[slideshow=92]

Another one was making Easter Nests. This is a Evan’s family tradition that Lisa shared with us. It is with rice crispy treats and malted milk chocolate eggs. And the kids get to create their own nests and then eat them! YUM!!! And we can’t have Easter without coloring Easter Eggs!

[slideshow=100]

The time came for the Easter Egg Hunt, major excitement!!! We split the kids up since there is such a range in age. We started with the babies and let them get a head start on finding eggs. They were so adorable… then we let the wild 4-9 year old’s loose! What a hoot!!!

[slideshow=93]

Then we had a treasure hunt for the older kids. That was a hit too! We had them running all over the place figuring out the clues. We did the clues using Primary Songs. It was fun. The end treasure was a basket of goodies for them!

[slideshow=94]

It was so great to have most of us all together. The kids were loaded up with candy, excited and wired from all the sugar…happy day!!! Parker and I had a great game going, he was my little buddy. He would find me and then come stand near me watching closely until I caught his eye and then he break into the biggest grin for me. By the end of our trip we had it down to a science! He is so stinkin’ cute!

[slideshow=95]

To channel all that sugar rush we took the gang to the Vernal pool and let them expend it there!!! They had so much fun swimming. It is a really great indoor facility. And after swimming there was a awesome climbing wall that each of the kids took turns climbing. Even Xander did it. Not all the way up to the bell but way above my head!!! I didn’t get pictures of this because I sent my camera with Lori…

[slideshow=96]

Lori took AJ, Ahsley, Jaicee and Susie to the Temple to do Baptisms for the Dead. They met Uncle Jim, Uncle Justin and Grandpa there who helped them. Susie was very excited to be able to go to the temple again and especially to be able to go with her cousins…

[slideshow=97]

More family fun, playing games, hanging out just being together. I loved our time of just BEING not neccesarily doing if that makes sense. It was wonderful to just be together and share in each others lives. I had to get my fill to last me until the next time we are able to make it out there…

[slideshow=99]

Easter Sunday was almost boring for the kids because of all the fun we had with cousins and now it was just them! Katie was the most excited! The Easter Bunny was very creative in finding soft baskets that would easily squish into a suitcase…whew!!! Justin and Tenisha came to Mom’s ward with us. I got to witness the most hilarious thing that Kennedy did. Tenisha had told me about it but I hadn’t seen it yet. Kennedy was testing her Daddy to see if he was really serious about telling her to stay by them instead of pushing the door open and leaving sacrament meeting. He warned her a couple of times to come back. Well imagine a 21 month old trying to roll her eyes at her dad. It comes out like she is fluttering her eye lashes at you. Hard to be reverent when you are laughing so hard!!! Tenisha made us a wonderful farewell Easter dinner and homemade cinamon rolls that were absolutly delicious!!! And then we headed back to the city to get ready for our flight back home.

[slideshow=101]

We ended our trip at Lori’s. The kids got a great activity going of playing night games. I bought Xander a pack of bubble gum, thinking it would entertain him a bit on the plane and in case his ears bothered him. Well we knew that Uncle Glen had won over Xander when Xander offered only him a piece of his bubble gum! The gum proved to be very entertaining…Xander taught himself how to blow bubbles!

[slideshow=102]

It was such a wonderful trip, reconnecting with family, making lots of memories. We are very blessed!

On the flight home as we left Salt Lake Valley Xander hollered out “Good-bye Utah!!!” and started laughing. What a nut!

Dear Friends:

Once again, the Georgia tornados missed us. Savannah had a fairly wild thunderstorm but it went through quickly. I couldn’t help but notice how we have become used to the tricky weather: we were only inconvenienced by the TV interruptions and the weather alarm going off all night.

We have finished our second park here and will move inland to Statesboro tomorrow. We took a week off and met the kids in South Carolina, a great if belated celebration of our 30th wedding anniversary.

Myrtle Beach, SC is a great vacation spot on the Atlantic Coast. Unfortunately a lot of places were still closed for the season and the weather was iffy. Still, it’s the first time our family has all been together in five years and it was wonderful. Kevin rented a huge, beautiful home with decks off three of the five bedrooms, completely furnished. Morgan and Shelly taught the kids card games, Jamie led the march to the beach every day (“like herding cats”), we had a rousing game of mini-golf (I have my own putter), Jason remembered Valentines Day with roses and candy, Kevin taught Xander how to eat crab and drink like a man, and Jason took us to the Dixie Stampede.

Dave and I went to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede three years ago at a company meeting inn Orlando and all we could think of was “Oh, I wish the kids could see this!” It was a dream come true to have the 11 of us there, with fantastic seats for the show. The Dixie Stampede is set us like a Roman coliseum with room between the rows for waiters to deliver a 5-course meal. The arena is filled with colorfully costumed program of spectacular horsemanship and magic and hokey jokes (and one small pig race). The trick riders were young and flashy and the master of ceremonies was a southern baritone. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and it was truly memorable for us. I guess it’s the kind of pageantry the South loves. The patriotism displayed in the finale was set off by the riders doing a fast drill, blinking in the dark, the MC’s shirt lighting up alternately red, white and blue. I have to admit it made me laugh out loud at the time; it still makes me smile.

For a change we were (I was) able to let the kids go without tears, and drove back south. We didn’t have the motor coach and went through Charleston wandering around enough to know we really would like to spend some time there. We found a motel with 100 watt bulbs, had world class ribs at d.d. pecker’s wing shack and thought we’d died and gone to heaven.

It has been cold in the southeast. We have had to unhook the water many nights this past month. It’s getting warmer, though. The days are soft. I love the humidity. Those little icky age-bumps you get on your skin just rub right off.

I continue to be fascinated by the graveyards in the South. They can be found anywhere, noticeable because they all have headstones, no matter how crooked and crude. The local obituaries run long, with pictures and platitudes aplenty. No matter how old you are when you die in the South, you have been taken too soon.

We’re feeling strong and happy and send love to all.

Sam

We had such a great vacation! We met G’ma Sam, G’pa Dave and the Mullin’s at Myrtle Beach SC. We were so excited to see Kevin, Shelly and Morgan again. It has been about 5 years since we have all been able to get together. We spent time at the indoor pool, walking the beach, playing basketball, feeding the ducks, playing cards and just being together… Xander learned from Uncle Kevin how “Men” drink thier sodas… Xander was quite the little man copying him and telling everyone “I’m a men!” When we would try to correct him and tell him “Man” he would get mad and say “NO, I am a men like Uncle Kevin!” The girls learned several card games from Aunt Shelly. The kids LOVED being with Kevin, Shelly and Morgan.

[slideshow=64]

We did some family portraits at the beach. It was pretty cold but we survived it and the pictures turned out really nice.

[slideshow=66]

We went to an all you can eat seafood place and boy did we eat… I was hesitant getting Xander the all you can eat menu because I didn’t think he would really eat that much, he’d be happy with a hot dog. But it is a good thing we did. That kid packed down the crab. That was pretty much all he ate (and hush ?). We kept bringing him more and more. He patiently dug through them, Uncle Kevin kept passing him pieces too. He ate SO much of it! Wow it was impressive!

We also spent a afternoon at the Ripley’s Believe it or Not Aquarium. It was a really nice one, lot’s of cool critters. The kids favorites are always the areas where they can touch them, the sting rays and crabs. They had a really neat section where you could stand on a moving sidewalk and it takes you through the bottom of a HUGE aquarium and you can see the sea life swimming next and above you. The sharks and sea turtles were awesome! That night we went out for pizza and arcades. We got to see how fast the girls are on Dance Dance Revolution!

Our last day together some of us stayed at the house and some of us went miniture golfing. We had a lot of fun. Xander really liked whacking the ball around.

[slideshow=67]

That evening we all met back up and went to the highlight of the whole trip. The Dixie Stampede!!! G’ma Sam and G’pa Dave have been talking about this place for a long time now, wanting the kids to experience it. It was all they said and more!!! We had a great time. The kids were glued to the entertainment, I had to keep whispering to them to eat their dinner. The meal was an experience in itself, how they deliver it. The cups were the shape of a cowboy boot. Xander thought that was pretty cool. No silverware, finger licking good food! There were lots of horses, lots of cowboys and cowgirls, lots of singing and dancing, even a pig race. A fun night of North vs. South all in a very patriotic theme. Ending the night with Dolly Pardon singing to us…well ok she wasn’t really there but the jinormous screen of her singing made her seem well right there!!! It was a really fun night!

A BIG thanks to Uncle Kevin, Aunt Shelly, G’ma Sam, G’pa Dave and Jason for making this a wonderful weekend together!!!

The girls had a fencing tournament. Jason has really gotten into fencing and has involved the girls. They are so funny, each week when it is time to go to practice Susie and Becca complain “I don’t want to go…it’s boring…why do we have to…” Then they go and they come back so happy having had the greatest time! Katie isn’t like that, she loves to go, she looks forward to every Monday night! There is also a picture of Xander, poor kid, it was a long day for him, he was getting bored but he was really good! Becca’s friend Sophie participated too, they had fun!

[slideshow=60]

These are of Katie…she looks so cute!

[slideshow=61]

Becca did an amazing job fencing. She beat one kid after another. She went into the finals in 3rd place and totally skunked everyone and won it! She had to beat 3 boys to win…you go girl!!! One of the boys she beat had already beat her a couple of times, he was really good and had been fencing a lot longer than Becca has… but she and Daddy figured out a strategy for him and she just went at him! It was fun to watch her, she is so tall and she can stretch so far with those long legs and arms. It was pretty exciting for her to win first place! I love the photo of her right before the final match, she was so nervous! But she did it…Daddy was very PROUD!

[slideshow=62]

Susie did a great job too, she is more reserved than Becca, more calculating and controlled in her movements. She also won a medal!

[slideshow=63]

Xander is growing up fast…I thought I would share a few photo’s of this past month. His favorite entertainment is still his imagination. He loves to pretend. There are some pictures with his friends too. The first one is with his best buddy Jake. (Jake also gave Xander the Spiderman web shooter for his birthday that Xander is attacking Daddy with, Xander loved it!) This was at preschool celebrating his birthday. Well Xander’s mommy really goofed. Since Xander’s birthday was over winter break I really just put it out of my mind. During chapel time the first day back I heard them singing happy birthday to someone and that kinda triggered in my brain, “Oh…I forgot to bring a treat for Xander’s birthday for school…well I will do it tomorrow, he isn’t going to know the difference since his birthday is already over, maybe he won’t even think about it…” and I continued working. Well awhile later Xander comes into the office and he is trying really hard not to cry, his little lip is quivering and he cries out “Mom…you forgot the cake!” Oh where is the knife??? Just stab it in!!! What a horrible mom I am…They were singing to him in Chapel so he knew…well guess who made a quick trip to Duncan Doughnuts! The next one is playing dress up with Erin and Ella, and another with his friend Taryn feeding the birds and then going ‘bird watching’. And of course puppy is never far away…

[slideshow=59]

It is actually snowing here in North Carolina! The kids are ecstatic!!! Last night we got a message that they were delaying school 2 hours because a winter storm was coming. We got a good chuckle over that! Well this morning it was suppose to start snowing around 7 am. By 8 am there were a few flakes coming down but nothing was sticking. We got a message that school was closed for the day!!! Can you imagine! What a hoot! Shutting down before there is even any snow on the ground…If we closed school every time a few flakes came down in Utah we would NEVER go to school! In the 15 years we lived there I only remember 1 official snow day. We just got word that school is closed tomorrow too! Well it really did start coming down around noon today. The kids couldn’t get outside quick enough. I unpacked all our winter gear and coaxed them inside long enough to bundle them up better so they could stay dry and they spent the afternoon playing in the snow!

[slideshow=57]

For Martin Luther King Day we went to the Aquarium. We love going there! Xander really liked the snakes this time but his favorite is always the stingrays! Katie loved the horseshoe crabs and whelks. Becca took over the camera so I thought I would post some of the pictures she took. Susie wasn’t feeling too great so she rested in the car for part of time we were there…

[slideshow=58]

Dear friends,

We got to Havelock, N.C. on Dec. 5th, just in time for Katie’s baptism and the New Bern Civic Theater’s production of “Scrooge.”  Susie and Becca both had singing parts in the play and were outstanding. They were so good I wanted to poke the person next to me and say “That’s my granddaughter! … and so is that one!”

We had a wonderful Christmas. Dave was felled very suddenly at 3 AM a couple days after Christmas; violent vomiting and diarrhea, he passed out, had a seizure and passed out again. The doc said the sudden dehydration made his blood pressure drop and caused the loss of consciousness. They monitored him in the hospital for a couple of days and within a week he was his old self. My mother fell and fractured her back on Dec 9th, so we were preoccupied with thoughts
of her and my brother over the holidays. Steve and Jane had to deal with getting mother out of the hospital and into a nursing facility in two weeks of record snowfall. Awful. Mother is healing and Steve is taking a big breath whenever he can.

We went to the beach on New Year’s Day after Xander opened his presents. He’s a dynamite little 4-year-old now. The beach was balmy, not even enough wind to fly a kite, just beautiful. We were at the kids’ for a month. The job we were going to do in the western part of North Carolina was postponed until spring. We loved being a daily part of Jason’s family. I got to cook a lot and totally get into what the kids are doing. We went to a piano recital, basketball game, fencing class, middle school concert and church Christmas program. All this an I bonded with Roxy, the springer spaniel. s.i.g.h.

On our way to Havelock, weather delayed us in Memphis so what else could we do but go to Graceland. What a hoot. Graceland is decorated like a really nice ‘60s motel. Huge earth colored table lamps, lots of those old mosaic ashtrays. You don’t get to see the upstairs on the tour. They say that when Elvis came downstairs from his bedroom, he clanked. Lots of bling. The house was decorated for Christmas and I was impressed to see that the 50 or so pointsettias on the stairs and around the house were real. The same cannot be said, unfortunately, for the eternal floral tributes in the meditation garden (backyard) where Elvis and his parents and Gramma Minnie Mae are buried.

We also got in a road trip to the Outer Banks. I guess I expected a wild surf with sunken ships littering the beach and wild ponies racing in the dunes. There wasn’t any of that. Actually, there wasn’t much of anything; the Outer Banks close for the winter. Fortunately, the Wright Brothers Interpretive Center was open and we got a great demonstration of models of the first two planes. It was great.

We know we’re in the south because we see signs for catfish, dance studios, decoy festivals, sweet tea, frahd evahthin’ what ain’t bahb-ee-cue, discount furniture, pentecostal platitudes, pageant dresses, kudzu, well tended cemeteries and drive-thru likker stores. We just started our first job of the year, on Skidaway Island, on the coastal edge of Savannah.

As we listen to the President’s farewell address tonight, another simpering voice of democracy speech, we look forward to January 20th with new hope and pride. Makes Dave glad he voted and makes me wish I was 30 years younger.

Love to all,