Christmas2023
Abby and I pose with the tree
It has been a good year. Our first grandbaby arrived and we made many trips back to the midwest to visit, especially Sandy. My son Mickey got married. We did lots of fun trips. And my very first wargame design was published. The end of the year was very busy, with a trip to French Polynesia with my siblings. We had a visit to Boise from Shannon, Jimmy and Brooklyn at Thanksgiving. Besides the actual visit, there was baby-proofing the house beforehand and then putting it back to it's normal state. In between all of that, we had the inside of our house painted. It took a week for each floor, not counting all the time before and after to move everything out of the way and then back. A lot of work and a lot of disruption. By the time Christmas came, Sandy and I were ready for some quiet time - a peaceful holiday at home.
We had a nice Christmas, just Sandy, Abby and me. It was nice to have the house all put back together and everyone back home. I think Abby especially was glad for that since she didn't understand all the disruptions or why her humans, especially Sandy, was gone so much. We watched some football games and caught up on our favorite show, Midsomer Murders. As usual there were lots of presents. Since Ssndy's laptop had died recently I got her a new, small, ultra-lightweight one so that it would be easy for her to take with her on her frequent trips back to Illinois to play gramma. As usual I got lots of cool board games, PC games, books and lots of other neat stuff, enough to keep me busy for a long time. Abby got toys and treats. Everyone in our house must have been good this past year.
Brooklyn reading the book that I got her for Christmas
There was something else that was fun this Christmas. It was our first year getting Christmas presents for a grand child. I found a series of childrens books on science for babies. I started her out with a copy of "Quantum Physics for Babies". I figured I might as well get her started learning quantum mechanics early. Pretty soon Brooklyn and I will be having heavy physics discussions when I go to visit.
Although I wasn't there at Christmas, they sent me a picture of Brooklyn reading her new book. See - I knew she would like it!
Next year should be interesting, and it should be very busy. Grandbaby number two is due in February. Brooklyn will turn one year old. I expect that Sandy will be back in the Midwest a LOT in the coming year. I will probably be back quite often too, although not as much as Sandy. I also have lots of ideas for tropical trips and maybe a dive trip with my sons.
Sandy and Abby check out the presents
A big thing is that I have my knee replacement surgery coming up in January. I have resisted getting it as long as I could. In the past year I did less hiking and had more trouble doing it than usual. Even taking Abby for walks in the neighborhood got to be painful. But the thing that convinced me was the house painting. Carrying dozens of loads up and down the stairs to and from the garage was the final straw. My knee couldn't take it. So I will have the surgery in January. I am hoping it goes well and that next year will be a good hiking year again.
From Sandy, Abby and me: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
