The Monday after

Bill's about to head off to work. I saw on Facebook at 6 a.m. that Annie was back in Seattle (nine hours ago). Willie, Debbie and the grandpuppies could be on the road by now or soon. The great holiday is over, and we move on to the New Year.

This is a monumental day for Willie and Debbie. They'll arrive tonight from Boise after staying one more day than expected. The Silver Sage Council of the Girl Scouts of America wanted to do a going-away party for Debbie, so that happened last night.

A new life starts for them today as they get ready to move into their rental home on the lake. It will be fun for them because Willie's coach and friend, Cheryl Klein and her family live next door. Cheryl, who recently retired as SHS athletic director, is the one who told him about the house in the first place. So, we're all grateful to her for steering them toward such a wonderful set-up.

Here at the Lovestead today, I'll be taking down the Christmas decorations a little earlier than usual. I had no choice last year with that hemlock tree. Most of its needles had already fallen off, so it went out the door a couple of days after Christmas. In this year's case, I'm thinking that the grandpuppies might be in need of space and a chance to watch what's going on outside.

Since the tree is at the sliding glass door, their access to the outside world view would be limited. So, the decorations will go to their storage spots for another year. I've got my card envelopes all organized in alphabetical order for a new list.

Since I lost one whole page of my usual list and had to play the guessing game, I've got to start over on that, and I hope to post the new list on the computer while it's still fresh in mind and so next year will not be quite the hassle this year seemed to be.

By the way, I've also redone my link list for this blog. Yesterday while trying to add Annie's Flickr address, I pushed one wrong button, which erased the whole link list. So, if you read this blog, and your link has been on my list and doesn't appear now, let me know. I'll add it to those I could remember this morning.

Ah, the fun of trying to remember everything. It gets to be somewhat trying during this time of the year. We're on "remember it all" overload, it seems. We do the best we can, but that never seems to be enough.

We have seemingly a gazillion birthdays in this family this week, so I'm going to issue an all-out birthday wish to all who are turning a year older. I do know that my niece Laura has a birthday today, and I realized on Facebook this morning that a grand-niece celebrated her second birthday yesterday. As the family continues to grow and as some of us get several years old, a lot slips through the seams.

It was a wonderful Christmas here, helped along considerably by beautiful weather that allowed us to engage in activities with relative ease instead of with a weary mind wondering if we were gonna make it out the driveway, let alone go for a drive up in the mountains. We're very thankful for the great weather and for friends and family who made the Christmas very special throughout.

And, as we move on, it's always exciting to start focusing on the future. In 2010, Bill and Annie plan to climb Mt. Lassen in Northern California. Debbie will be biking from Seattle to Portland with her friend Paige and any followers who want to tag along.

Willie will be preparing for new classes to teach and getting himself firmly grounded as an educator. I might be working on a book (for someone else), and I know I'll be saddling up my horse to take to the trails as soon as possible. We're hoping lots of cousins will join us in Seattle in mid-March as we participate in the annual St. Paddy's Day Dash. Annie says you can sign up online.

There will also be gardening, geocaching, lawn mowing, hiking, picture snapping, horseback rides, Lodgepole Log ceremonies, horse shows, swimming in Big Blue, Facebook fun, cheering for Zags and Broncos and Vandals and more moments admiring the beauty of nature and the people who make every year special.

Life moves on, and we're ready to take it ALL on as we continue to act out the next few chapters.