We wish all of our friends and acquaintances a very Merry Christmas and a happy 2018. Or at least a year that doesn’t have as much dismal national news as 2017.
Georgia and I have spent the year doing the usual things that retired people do; if you follow us on Facebook, you know probably more than we remember! You can scroll down the posts here to see what some of our activities have included. I’ve been riding my bike a lot (achieving a goal of 2000 miles this year) and working with my amateur radio (my call is KØGUZ). Terry also has a ham radio license (KEØHNW) and he has had a lot of fun packing it in to mountaintops and contacting other hams, using battery power. I’m not into climbing a 14,000 foot peak, but if you can drive most of the way there, I’m game. This is me, my radio and antenna and computer, on an unnamed peak in Utah:
Georgia, with the help of friends, has learned how to quilt, use her sewing machine and play the addictive and very complex game of Mah Jong. She hosts regular games with three neighbors.
And of course we’ve spent as much time as possible with our grandchildren – three live nearby in Grand Junction, and the youngest lives near Durban, South Africa. Our oldest just started high school.
We took a couple of weeks to visit friends in North Carolina, and a week with Sue and Charlie Fienning and their friends in Pawley’s Island,
and we went to Wyoming to view the solar eclipse. Paula (Georgia’s sister) saw 90% of it from Cheyenne, but Paula’s husband Michael and I drove north about 75 miles to see the 100% eclipse. It was awesome.
Above: Michael and me just before we we were abducted by space aliens during the total eclipse.
The population of Wyoming more than doubled as hundreds of thousands of Colorado residents streamed northward to view the event. It was really worth it.
Our year is ending with a visit from our South African granddaughter and her mommy. After a couple of days here, they flew to San Diego to be with Jackie.
We hope that this is a sign that 2018 will be a good year.
Steve & Georgia