Geoffrey Dean, visiting
After a birthday and pre-Christmas celebration on the 21st, I and my significant other flew to Minneapolis to spend Christmas with her family before heading to the San Francisco Bay Area to visit my sister and relatives on my mother’s side.
I hadn’t been to California in about a decade, and it was especially interesting to see it at this traditionally chilly time of year. California cold is, well, warmer than in most other places. The dark green pine foliage and high palm trees give the western shore of the Bay Area a Rome-meets-the-tropics feel. I enjoyed Christa’s enthusiasm on seeing the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time, and she called Sausalito “charming” rather than “touristy,” the preferred descriptive, I imagine, of the average Californian.
Neither of us had spent New Year’s eve with hardcore boaters, so the festivities expertly organized by my sister Jennifer at the Willow Berm Yacht Club on the east bay delta of the Sacramento River were a delightful new experience for both of us. The holiday fun did not extend to actually taking Matt and Jennifer’s boat out of its berth, so we’ll have to do that on another visit.
Before we returned to Salt Lake City, we had dinner with my mother’s oldest sibling, who had just returned from a trip to Belize with his wife and had an extensive videolog, replete with his ad-libbed narration on ancient Mayan civilization. I was especially impressed by his active lifestyle and fit physique, evidenced by his ability to keep up with the younger tour participants as they climbed the steep steps of a Mayan pyramid or kayaked down a Belizean river. Hope I can say the same when I’m pushing 80!
whittling to-do's
My to-do list, overwhelming for the last few weeks, is now down to
Meanwhile, we did a Christmas concert a couple of weeks ago.
- Find and install printer drivers
- Diagnose problem with BBQ
- Fix latch on patio door
- Write concert review
- Replace cracked windshield on SUV
Winter is icumin in. My Miata is buried to the windows, and even digging the SUV out of the berm left by the snowplow was a challenge this morning. We managed to get out grocery shopping, though. Night before last it hit –14 F. Coldest night in several years.
I finally got out skiing today for the first time this season (see to-do, above). Cross country in excellent snow, bright sun, no wind, temperature about 20 F. Great day, but I’m certainly out of shape!
good to go
On New Year's Eve, I took my infrequent bone-density test. As I see doctors only on an as-needed basis, this test arose from my slipping on ice and falling on my ass on my way to a New Year's Eve party. I landed on my left hip and left elbow. My hip is fine but my left shoulder, the one I dislocated several years ago, is a bit sore. However, all in all I passed the test, which shows that a predominantly plant-based diet devoid of dairy products produces strong bones, and I am good to go for another season of skiing.
I am steadfastly bringing 2014 to a close and goal setting for 2015. Reflecting on the accomplishments of this past year including the new foals, new cows, new calf, business expansion, a beautiful new farm, and writing for Moristotle & Co. Happy to have had a successful year behind me and looking forward to a quiet 2015 year ahead.
December held an important milestone in my formal education. I travelled to North Carolina and participated in commencement exercises at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where I completed my graduate studies in music. In my short time there, I enjoyed good visits with friends and mentors.
The holiday season was, as usual, a busy time musically, filled with various Christmas-oriented gigs, from playing holiday tunes in the cafeteria of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital on multiple occasions to performances of sacred works of Bach, Handel, and Pachelbel. Following Christmas Eve, I spent a quiet holiday break with my family.
Happy New Year to all! I am looking forward to a fruitful year of new adventures.
When our little dog Oliver arrived some time back, he wrapped his paws around our hearts, but there are times he drives us crazy with barking. Makes him a good watch dog, though. He even barks every time it thunders. All the barking has led to one of his aka, "Bob Barker."
We here in Arkansas enjoyed Christmas break. Sleeping in a little and a more laid-back life.
Not much else to report right now. Looking forward to a visit from a dear uncle I haven't seen face to face in almost 16 years!
December started out cold and wet. Now, when I say cold I mean 70 degrees and rain sometimes in the afternoon. However, by Christmas the dry season had began to set in and four days before Christmas Eve, it warmed into the 80s and stayed that way throughout the holidays.
We are a long way from our family here in Costa Rica, so holidays can be a low time for us. But we have a Costa Rican family that more than makes up for any loneliness.
We had ten adults, two teenagers, and three kids in the house. We opened presents in the morning, had dinner that afternoon, and sat outside until after dark. It was truly a great day. Here are a few pictures.
debt-free
Folks have lost the plot on "real" living. Things that should be primary are now secondary or even further down the list. There is far too much credit-purchasing in our society. Buying stuff for people when you really should not be spending money you don't have. You simply don't have it, that's all. No need to make a big deal about that. You are not less of a human being. No need to say, "Oh, I'm sorry but that's all I could afford to give you." So let's forget this last Christmas and move on with a possible solution. In Australia, the $1 and $2 currencies are gold coins. I save all those particular coins every day of the year and by November it usually comes to $800-$1000. Shirley and I then work out how many people we need to buy for and roughly how much each should cost, and that's it. (Some would be more, and some less.) We have not been in debt over Christmas's foolish debt cycle in about 30 years. It makes it so much more enjoyable for us knowing we have nothing to repay during the following year.
Saving in America would be a little harder as the coin value is smaller, but even if folks put $2 per day in a jar they could have roughly $800 for Christmas spending. And $2 is less then half a Starbucks coffee! Imagine what you could have putting away the whole cup value!
We also make personal and special things for folks. Everyone loves that because they know it came with a lot of thought and love. Buying "stuff" is not the same. We do that too, don't get me wrong.
All one has to do is follow through with it. As the old Roger Miller song goes, "Knuckle down, Buckle down...do it...do it...do it...Dare to be yourself. Dare to be "real."
I had no idea I was going to go down this path of "parenting advice" when I sat down, and I trust I have not offended anyone. My intent was to make life easier with a little jolt on the matter. It has certainly made our lives more joyful and fulfilling! And debt free.
With love, Vic and Shirley
still learning, myself and others, still wondering what to do with myself to avoid "the black dog" and maybe be useful...still lazy. still working on keeping body from sliding into the couch stuffing (and he gives me MORE books to read for Xmas...sigh) so, off to the gym...again
not resolved
A new friend told me recently that one of his resolutions for the new year is to expand and enrich his communications both on the Internet and in his face-to-face contacts. That made me face up to the fact that I hadn't formulated any new year's resolutions. Should I have? Should I still yet? What, if anything, should I resolve?
Some incidents on the day I'm writing this (January 1 – when else on this topic?) make me wonder whether I'm even able to make a resolution — that is, actually follow through with it.
I have today, for example, let Siegfried back into the house after his first outing of the day but, a few minutes later, had no memory of it whatsoever. Lying on the bed doing my stretches (so that I can stand up almost pain-free), I found myself wondering whether he was still out there. So I got up and went back to the door. I didn't see him, so I called his name in case he'd gone to the other door. No, he was in the house, and my wife hadn't let him back in, so it was I who who had done it. (Siegfried is smart, but he can't let himself into the house.) It struck me as odd that I had utterly no memory of letting him back in. And, I saw now, I hadn't locked the door after letting him in, even though locking an outside door is virtually automatic. I guess it's a wonder now that I even closed the door – except that it was in the twenties outside this morning.
Another thing I did – and I guess it's a wonder that I can even remember it now – was to empty two packets of Sweet'N Low into my wife's tea cup rather than into mine, resulting in my finding my tea in need of more Sweet'N Low, and having to drink her tea as well as my own – well, I guess I could have poured one out....
Then, much later, after my wife asked me to make coffee, I dumped the two ounces of coarse coffee into my non-quite-empty tea cup rather than into the French press....
My wife, by the way, asked me what I had on my mind, and I wish I had had something on my mind, which would have been a ready rationalization that I wasn't really losing my mind....
P.S.: Speaking of temps in the twenties, our local weather forecast says that temps are going to remain in the twenties all day on my birthday – all 24 hours.
| Copyright © 2015 by Morris Dean |
Holiday visiting, digging out of snow, managing to-do lists & creating new resolutions, keeping your bones dense, partying and gift-giving & receiving, how to survive Christmas debt-free, and much more....
ReplyDeleteFellow "characters" of the blog: forgive me for giving lead-off position to my son. His sentence beginning "The dark green pine foliage..." and his penultimate sentence in praise of his 79-year-old uncle's fitness were just too beautiful not to give precedence.
Chuck, what a winter you're having to endure, punctuated by routine household contingencies. Thanks for all you do.
Jim, so glad your shoulder wasn't reinjured and that you got such a good result on your test. Wise eating helps bring about good results.
Bettina, thanks for joining the staff in 2014, and here's to a flourishing 2015, both on the blog & on Franklin Hill Farm.
Congratulations, André, for being handed that sheepskin. (Do they still slaughter sheep to award degrees?)
Dawn, I think we should have captioned those photos featuring my sister your mum!
Ed, it's wonderful how you and Janie have become family with some of your delightful young neighbors.
And Vic's simple tip for avoiding Christmas debt – a jewel!
Susan, I'm with you as regards still wondering, although I may have come upon a very important resolution that I need to extend beyond the first week of January: take very frequent breaks while working on the computer, so my neck doesn't get so stiff!
Thanks Morris, for you kind comment.
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