2023 Holiday Greetings

 

Holiday greetings to one and all! I recently went through my photographs and made a list of some of the things that have occupied us during 2023. I'll be sending holiday greeting cards to many of you, but instead of sending along a letter, I'm using this blog posting to share a summary of what 2023 has meant for us.

• Our kitchen was remodeled during the first few months of the year. We love it. Much lighter and more functional.
• Along with many others, we thoroughly enjoyed following the University of Iowa women's basketball team through their season and all the way to the NCAA championship game.
• Grandson Anders had an active cross-country skiing season, performing well in the annual Birkebeiner and competing well in midwest division team events, and gaining a spot in the Junior Nationals in Fairbanks, AK.
• We spent a fun portion of February at our cabin surrounded by lots and lots of snow.
  
• Son Rob celebrated his 50th birthday this year!
• In March we were in Arizona with friends, and  enjoyed connecting with other friends, seeing some spring training baseball, feeling temperatures that were cooler than normal, and horseback riding in a very colorful spring desert.
• I somewhat reluctantly packaged up and sold my extensive electric train collection, thus simplifying our storage space and reducing the amount of "stuff" we will have to deal with in the future.
• Grandson Henry graduated from high school this year. We attended a couple of his final concert and jazz band concerts and were present for graduation exercises and a family party.
• I saw the last of my 70-something birthdays.
• We brought a new puppy home this year after having met her as part of a new litter in May. Named Maddie, she is now experienced in both life at our WI cabin and at our home in Iowa. Not a puppy anymore, she has learned many tricks and knows when other neighborhood dog walkers may come by with treats.
• In June, we met our Australian friends in Quebec and spent two full weeks with them touring there, in Montreal, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and finishing in Toronto.
• We had our garage floor repaired and nicely refinished in July.
• Granddaughter Penny competed in cross-country this year, performed with her school band on trumpet, and sang with the school choir.
• Grandchildren Henry, Clara, Frederick, Leo, and Maia all attended Camp Wapsie, some of their times overlapping so that they were able to be together.
• Early August found us at a beautiful guest ranch in Montana where we had stayed exactly 30 years previously. Jessica's family and Travis joined us for a week of hiking, horseback riding, trout fishing, games and lots of rest and relaxation.
• Granddaughter Eleanor performed in her fourth or fifth play at City High School in the fall. She has also become interested in family history, so I am thrilled that she and I are just beginning to share some time together with my genealogical records, photos, and documents.
• Grandson Leo and granddaughter Maia are doing well with their soccer teams. We got to see Maia compete in one game, but Leo's game was rained out the day we were able to be there.
  
• Grandson Henry succeeded in his audition for the Hawkeye Marching Band. I've been overjoyed to see him perform several times, as he will do one last time this season when the HMB is included in the Citrus Bowl activities.
• Granddaughter Clara played in her high school marching band and joined the intramural flag football team that her school now supports. Attending an Iowa football game with her later, it was fun to see how much more she knew about and was involved with watching the game.
• While at the cabin in the fall, we harvested lots of apples from two trees we planted there. Some of them were  given to others, but we made pies, crisps, and applesauce from the rest.
• Anders and I attended one Vikings NFL football game together in Minneapolis (his birthday present this year).
• I harvested a damaged cherry tree that a friend allowed me to take in the spring. After having it sawed and kiln-dried, I brought home lots of nice lumber. My first project was a chair for us in our bedroom.
• December 7th was the second anniversary of the discovery of my colon cancer. I appear to have completely beaten it, as all followup checkups to date have given me a clean bill of health.

We continue to hope for some sense of normalcy to return to our country and to the stability of our democracy, and we wish you all a wonderful 2024! Below are a few photos from the year past.

Bill and Kathie