Sunday, December 28, 2008

CHRISTMAS NOTES

CARTWRIGHT

Christmas Eve at Dad's was a big party as usual, with a houseful of family. Marilyn, Issy, Mavis, Ron, Luke, Will, Trista, Shawn, Tracy, Julie, Dennis, and others, were there (I didn't necessarily get the full list!). Sounded like lots of fun going on in the background while I was talking to Mavis and Dad. Ham and chocolate cake were on the menu, as well as an abundance of other items, as you can imagine.

There was only about six inches of snow on the ground, so travel wasn't difficult--as contrasted to Bismarck (29"), Bremerton(12"), Pullman & Spokane(46"!), and other locations with which we have been in touch of late. We are glad to be in Tucson, although it got down to 27 degrees here last night, and froze a bunch of our plants. Skiing is good 25 miles away at the top of Mt. Lemon (9200 feet elevation)where 2' of snow has fallen.

BISMARCK

None of Lila's family made it to Dad's. However, they had parties of their own, at Tracy and Karen's on Christmas Eve, and at Don and Cindy's on Christmas Day. Lila had received our photo album and was very pleased to see all the family pictures. We have had very positive feedback about that work of "art" from quite a few people. Lila was having trouble with her dialysis connector and was scheduled for surgery on it the day after Christmas. Otherwise, she was feeling pretty good. I don't think it is a secret that Jenny is pregnant!

HELENA

Mat and Maureen went to two parties at the homes of friends on Christmas Eve, and had prime rib as the main menu item on Christas Day at their house, where Mat's mother, Melva, was among the guests. They had about 6" of snow and very cold weather.

YELLOW SPRINGS

Dione, Saul, and Mollie went to a Christmas Eve service, and spent Christmas Day at home relaxing, watching movies, and viewing our photo album. Dione discovered that I had not correctly labeled a photo of Mollie and Whitney. We'll fix that. Dione also noted that a photo of me as a tiny guy sitting on Dad's lap looked a lot like Mollie when she was small!

Maureen had been visiting them a week earlier for a weekend, with much fun had by all! Mollie is working on her book, a draft copy of which was e-mailed to us. It is really interesting and well done. Can't wait to see later versions! Mollie is in a school play and will be very busy for the next few weeks with practices and performance.

We talked to Mollie on her 12th birthday (Christmas Eve), and learned that she thinks her school is "awesome". She had a birthday party with her friends at school a few days earlier. She is taking pre-algebra, as well as Mandarin Chinese and French, among other courses. She really likes her teachers.

TUCSON

Our Christmas Eve took us to two local restaurants right in the neighborhood, followed by phone calls to Cartwright and Yellow Springs. Very pleasant and delightful! Christmas Day was at home, mostly making phone calls with all of our five kids and their families. Wonderful! We got the first copy of our memoirs book on Christmas Eve, and have enjoyed looking it over. Today we ordered more copies to send around to all the family in a couple of weeks.

Cheers,

Bill and Marie

Sunday, December 21, 2008

CHRISTMAS TREATS







The front door photo of a wreath, and the Christmas plant, are part of the Christmas decor at our house in Tucson. The puppies photo is from Julie and Dennis. It is not hard to understand why they got attached to all of them, and had trouble seeing all of them go to other people, except the second one from the left. Julie says he has a particularly good temperament and is "very mellow and sweet!" Julie also says they are looking forward to the Christmas Eve gathering at Dad's, who posed in a big chair for Julie in the last photo--with that same wonderful good-natured personality that all of us continue to appreciate and enjoy, on Christmas and otherwise!

WEATHER

It is 70 degrees and sunny today in Tucson, so we are particularly pained to hear of all the cold and snow that is affecting almost everybody we know all over the country. When I talked to Mavis a few days ago it was minus 15 degrees--the day that Marilyn and Issy flew in from Yuma to Billings (they drove to Sidney). Mavis said that the snow was only 5 inches deep at Cartwright, but was 14 inches at Williston, and friends of ours in Spokane had 17 inches that fell nearly all at once.

Mavis and Ron are planning to bring Dad with them to Arizona in mid-January, arriving here around January 12th to stay with us for a few days. Fantastic! We really look forward to a great visit with all of them. Mavis and Ron (and Lana) are planning a trip to Hawaii at the end of January for two weeks. Sounds like they will spend a good part of the winter in warmer climates!

MO AND MAT

Maureen spent a week in Washington, and en route back stopped three days with Dione, Saul, and Mollie in Yellow Springs. They had a grand time, going to see the "Nutcracker" Ballet, among other things. Maureen really enjoyed the "new" house that the Greenbergs now occupy. Maureen and Mat are coming here for a meeting in Scottsdale (Mat is attending a national meeting for hospital governing board members, since he is now on the board at Helena's hospital, as well as Chairman of the hospital foundation), and will spend some time with us during the week they are in Arizona--much to our pleasure.

ALBUMS

We sent copies of our FABULOUS JOURNEY album to Dad and Lila (as well as our five kids), hoping that the other members of the family can see it at Dad's or Lila's.
The idea was to send it along with copies of the memoirs. However, our publisher goofed up royally, and has not yet sent us any copies of the book--even though it is supposedly off the press and available to order. We also sent copies of our Holiday Greeting letter to everyone whose address we had. If you didn't get one and would like to see it, let us know.

Mavis is also working on an album of the family for Dad. We'll be interested in seeing that when it gets done!

Happy Holidays

Bill and Marie

Sunday, December 07, 2008

35th Wedding Anniversary






We drove to Sedona, AZ, for our 35th wedding anniversary celebration. It is truly a beautiful place, as illustrated by the two scenic photos. The third photo is of us in the restaurant where we had a delightful lunch on the big day! We think Sedona is one of the gems of Arizona, and fortunately, was not crowded with tourists this time of year.

Our plan is to spend a quiet Christmas in Tucson, after decorating the interior of our house with colorful decor, completed this morning. In January we are looking forward to visits from Maureen and Mat, and from Mavis, Ron, and Dad!

Happy Holidays,

Bill and Marie