Comings and Goings . . . .

It looked good on our cell phones, but I see the photo is a bit blurry.  Still, it has meaning.

Three Love ladies were enjoying a fun lunch visit at Spokane's O'Doherty's.  

One of my Facebook friends questioned the "lunch" aspect:  all I see are beer glasses, she wrote.

Nope.

Ice water.  

Annie and I picked up Debbie at the airport yesterday, then drove back to Spokane to enjoy a meal at one of our most favorite stops.

We enjoyed getting to know our server, Eric.  

He was glad to see three decisive women walk in and select their booth without checking out the whole place first.  

He was also glad to hear we were from Sandpoint, a place he dearly loves.

Eric had good memories of time spent years ago at the old Donkey Jaw, now known as Eichardts.  

I added a tale to his Donkey Jaw lore.

And, yes, Eric really enjoyed the story about one of my friends riding his motorcycle up the stairs at the popular Cedar Street bar/restaurant back in the early '70s.

I was there to witness that motorcycle marvel, performed by Pat, who's known for other cycling tricks well into his "more mature"  years.

Eric treated us well, even happily taking the photo with Annie's cell phone.

The lunch marked a hello/good bye of sorts.  

After Debbie, Annie and I finished off our All-American burger,  Irish stew and MauiWowi, respectively, we drove back to the airport and said our good bye's to Annie.

Debbie and I enjoyed the drive back to Sandpoint, catching up on our respective Christmas happenings.

Willie was at the house, gathering up some wood for their condo, so we sat back and enjoyed some pie and more Christmas gift opening.

Christmas for the Willie, Annie, Bill, Debbie portion of the family exhibited a rather dominant theme:  Bigfoot, Sasquatch goodies.

All three households now have a Bigfoot ornament with a Santa Claus hat to put on future Christmas trees.  

Bill has a "Bigfoot Crossing" sign as does Debbie.  Debbie and Willie have a Sasquatch Drive street sign for their condo.

It was important to emphasize a topic that took up a good share of family conversation this year----even a night of summer "Squatching" at Blume Lake for some family members.

Nice to have some symbolic treasures to go with the memories. 

And, so the majority of the Christmas hubbub has passed.  The tree comes down today, and I'll probably shut down the outdoor light show.

It's always nice to clean up the clutter, and, as Bill mentioned this morning, this whole production and its lead-up has lasted a long time with Thanksgiving being so early this year.

Now, we can move on to thoughts and projects of the future, along with the usual day-to-day responsibilities.

On the last day of 2012, we'll be helping my sister Barbara celebrate her birthday and sending along birthday wishes to our sister-in-law Joyce.

Part of that celebration will be spent in front of the tube, watching our ZAGS take on Oklahoma State.  

So, it will be a fun good-bye to another memorable year.  

That reminds me that I'd better go downstairs and find those 2013 calendars so I'll know what day it is when I wake up in the new year. 

Happy Sunday.  GO SEAHAWKS!