Merry Christmas, 2023

 Merry Christmas, 2023,

January ~ Brother Bill & I took a quick trip to Arizona to visit family and friends in his motorhome.  A few highlights of the trip were the Organ Stop Pizza, Dwarf Car Museum, Mini Time Machine (which had a wonderful exhibition commemorating the victims of COVID-19).  We enjoyed shopping at the Golden Goose Thrift Store and the Wholesale Open Box Store.  We went to the Santa Cruz Chili & Spice Museum where Bill & niece Kelly were eating grasshoppers (I chose not to partake in that fun), and the Tumacacori National Historic Park where Kelly and I crossed the small river barefoot.

February ~ Kept busy with Friendly Neighbors Senior Center (I continue to be the Vice President and Tony continues to support all that I do for the organization).  Many evenings were spent watching grandson Cody's basketball games.

March ~ Tony turned 82 in January and I hit the big 80th birthday in March.  Tony surprised me with a party at a local hotel that specializes in parties.  About 25 friends and relatives came to the dinner party.      

    Granddaughter Cally chose this month to move to Alki Beach and several of us went over to help her on a Friday night.  On Saturday, we had fun in Seattle at Pike's Place Market (I have included a short video of the fish throwing because that is always fun), Emerald City Guitars, where you have to make an appointment to get in, and a ride by the Fremont Troll.  I believe I remember seeing 8 miles on my cell phone after we got back to the apartment on Saturday night.

    Grandson Casey & I took his two kids (Landon, and Kobe, my great grandkids) to the Palouse Discover Science Center.

April ~ Much to Tony's dismay, we hired a contractor to put up a wooden fence to replace our old one.  At the same time we were dealing with yet another flood, so we hired a company to put a drain and three sump pumps that are guaranteed to keep our basement from flooding.  Time will tell.  Of course, we had to replace all the basement carpet after this last flood.  

May ~ our 6-pack friends all went to Seattle area for a Kentucky Derby party hosted by our friend's daughter.  We also got to see what is left of Robert Louis Stevenson's Equator schooner and a trip to the Boeing Future of Flight museum (we all had fun practicing with a drone).  Another activity was visiting the Moscow Axe Throwing just to watch, not partake.

June ~ Several of us who used to meet in Arizona got together in Pullman for a long week-end, camping in our motorhomes in the wheat fields of the Palouse.

    Sister-in-law Janet (70) and I (80) took our small motorhome for a birthday visit to sister-in-law Colleen (60) in Boise area.  We do this every decade.  I hope I can tell you about the 70-80-90 visit in ten years.

July ~ a first for me ~ watching son, Dennis, be in the sole survivor golf playoff and he came in second.  I went for just a couple of hours when he assured me he would be done by then, but ended up on the golf course for 4-1/2 hours until it was finished.  Tony had to go ahead to our friend's house for the fourth of July party.  For the first time, Tony and I attended the Ice Cream Social offered at the McConnell Mansion in Moscow.

August ~ A trip with five other women to California, for fun in the sun, at the wine (Portalupi) and champagne tasting places, a pool at the condo, and a lot of card playing.  

    Tony & I started a motorhome trip by going to Ocean Shores, Washington to visit friends who had paid us a visit this summer, and then on to join brother, Bill and Janet, for our yearly trip to visit relatives and friends in Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Colorado.  First for us was burying animals in the Black Hills that had been kept in a freezer by our cousin and next, cattle prodding to help another cousin with the cattle vaccinations in Nebraska.

September ~ Continuing our trip included a lunch in our hometown with classmates of mine from 1961, a visit to the Knight Museum and Sallows Military Museum (here we saw uniforms from two uncles {World War II} and a cousin {Vietnam War}.  

    We learned a lot about the VCC (Veterans Conservation Corps) on this trip.  Just happened to visit three different places that were the result of the VCC and CCC:  1935 ~ City of Alliance fountain; 1937 ~ Lake Minatare lighthouse; and built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Core) in 1941 was the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, near Denver, a geological phenomenon.  Also, after leaving Colorado, we made a detour to see Chugwater, Wyoming ~ everyone has to have an ice cream cone there at some time in their life.  A few days later we took a detour to see the Natural Bridge and the Oregon Trail.

October ~ I finally made it to a tailgate party for the University of Idaho.  Crazy fans begin partying in the parking lot at 2 pm for a 7 pm game.  I can thank my son and grandkids for this adventure.  Janet and I again took a motorhome road trip to Seattle to see friends and relatives.  I was proud to say that I drove the motorhome all over the Seattle area without a problem (pretty good for an 80 year old).  Another first ~ we stopped at an Amazon Fresh, in Bellevue.  What an eye opener ~ amazing how many cameras were in the ceiling of the store.

November ~ Brought many challenges.  Tony had two seizures within a month (one was a ride to the Emergency Room), and the second we just stayed home and waited it out.  Doctor visits for eyes, ears, blood tests, and general health, seem to take up a lot of our time.  Tony does not drive anymore because of the seizures (luckily we have a friend that would take him Christmas shopping, so I can be assured of having a few gifts under the tree).  We continue to entertain ourselves with evenings with friends, jigsaw puzzles, TV, and occasionally, Tony  goes in his workshop.

    A gas line break caused us, and nine other towns around us, to be without heat and hot water for four days....this was the same time that we had scheduled to replace our 30 year old refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher.  Because of Tony's inability to get down on his knees to do any plumbing, I am now a certified You Tube plumber.  The dishwasher works with no leaks!!

    We had Thanksgiving and will have Christmas at Dennis' home, although I continue to do most of the food preparation.  Tony and I hosted an open house for all the Friendly Neighbors again this year which seemed to be very successful.  Grandson's basketball games provide a great source of entertainment ~ the most recent game went into double overtime with the Moscow team winning in the end.

December ~ preparations for Christmas (gifts, candy, cookies, and popcorn balls) consumed my time so this letter is just barely going to make it before Christmas.  I think Tony and I both agree that we are slowing down.  Thanks to all of you who have sent cards and good wishes....we enjoy getting them.

Our families ~ Tony continues to Skype with his brother every month; his sons still remain in London and Spain.  I lurk on Facebook to keep up with Tony's extended family and my own family.  Nothing dramatic with my family this year...we get visits several times a year from the Seattle bunch, including son Kenny.  All are doing fine.  Kierra and Caily turned 21 this year, and I'm looking forward to our planned Karoke Bar outing soon.  Met Phillip's girlfriend recently, and heard from Abby that she may move from Manila to the states in the next year.

We hope all our friends and relatives are geared up for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

~~Sharon and Tony

Merry Christmas 2022

Merry Christmas, 2022

    I am a little late getting our Christmas message out.  As always, we have had a busy year.  Our friends, Bill and Sally and Win and Sue were with us a lot through many adventures.  We named ourselves the Moscow 6-Pack.  We enjoyed a few trips with the Roadrunner Club in Moscow.  We finished last year by going on the Roadrunner bus to Lewiston with a stop at the amazing Kascha Quilts in Genesee, followed by a Christmas musical at the Lewiston Civic Theatre, dinner at the Red Lion, and a walk through Lewiston's Locomotive Park.

    New Year's Eve was spent at Colter's Creek Wine Tasting establishment in Moscow.  Another Roadrunner trip with the Moscow 6-Pack was to Fairchild AFB SkyFest in Spokane.

    We took the Moscow 6-Pack on a day trip in our small motorhome to St. Gertrude's historical museum with a stop at the Nez Perce National Historical Park and museum.

    Dennis' family ~ Of course, I spent a lot of time going to Cody's basketball games last winter and this season, and football games this fall.  Caily is attending WSU in Pullman; Cally is a nurse/manager in the Seattle area; and Casey and his family (Lindsay, Landon, and Kobe) are kept busy with their jobs and family life.  Dennis has branched out to own a rental condo in Pullman and has just now bought a piece of land to build a "spec" house on.

    Kenny's family ~ Kierra manages a fitness gym in the Seattle area and Phillip is in a supervisor position with Blue Origins owned by Jeff Bezos, Abby lives in Manila, studying psychology.  Kenny continues his work at Applebees.  Kierra, Phillip, Kenny, and Cally make the trip over at least three times a year and Dennis and I have managed a couple of trips to visit all of them over there.

    Tony and his brother talk on Skype once a month at least.  Jonathan in Spain has branched out to building metal animals.  Check out his facebook page for interesting pictures.  Neil and Becky continue to be in the London area.  We hope to make a trip to UK and Spain this spring.

    Our involvement with the Senior Center has continued.  Being Vice President seems to have more responsibilities than I ever imagined.  The Moscow 6-Pack tried our luck at the Coeur d'Alene Casino by riding the free bus to the casino.  Free meal and free play for a short time.

    Tony opted to get knee replacement in July.  That slowed us down quite a bit.  If anyone suggests getting a new knee at the age of 81, you might tell them it may not be worth it.  Tony wanted his old knee back!  However, now five months later he is doing very well with it after all.

    Brother Bill and Janet and Tony and I took a three week motorhome trip back to visit relatives in Wyoming, Nebraska, and South Dakota.  When in our hometown, we visited Dobby's Frontier Town and got to go in a replica of the candy store and hamburger shop we patronized as kids.  On the way, we stopped off at the Crook County Museum (most interesting thing in this museum was a dental chair that had to be peddled like a bicycle by the patron to keep the drill running), and the Sundance Kid statute (compliments of Roadside America).  Our biggest surprise was the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Wyoming.  They claim this is a Smithsonian-quality museum, and we all agree.  It was great.  Unfortunately, Queen Elizabeth died while we were without cell phone service in the building .  Texts were coming in from a lot of friends and relatives as soon as we came out of the museum.  What a sad thing to happen to Tony, our UK friends and relatives, and the whole world.

    Tony continues to be most comfortable at home and in his shop, as well as watching YouTube and working jigsaw puzzles.  I travelled to the Seattle area to visit all the relatives there and to go to a Johnny Mathis concert with Kenny.  What a treat that was.  Johnny Mathis looks old, but his voice remains the same!  The next week all the relatives came over for Thanksgiving at Dennis' and will return this week for Christmas.  Tony and I did travel with the Roadrunners for an overnight at the Coeur d'Alene after seeing the musical "Traditions of Christmas".  Dinner at the Coeur d'Alene and a boat ride to the "North Pole" to see Santa Claus certainly got us in the Christmas spirit.  We had an open house for all the senior center members so they could see our Christmas Room.  It may prove to be an annual event.

    We hope all our friends and relatives are geared up for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas 2021

🎄Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

We now know why you need to be retired at 65.  Scheduling doctor appointments, attending doctor appointments, ordering prescriptions, picking up prescriptions, putting pills for the day in little boxes, going to cardiac rehab, getting your eyes checked, ordering glasses, picking up glasses and on and on.  There isn't time for going to a job.  😉

Amazingly enough, we did have a very full year, even though COVID did a number on our socializing.  We got our Mederna shots in March and the booster six months later.  

🎂Tony turned 80 this year.  For his celebration, we took the small motorhome to spend the night (in Moscow) at a friend's home, and Tony proceeded to try to drink an $80 bottle of whiskey that had been commissioned by friends in Colorado as we sat around a fire outside in the cold.

As soon as we got our second COVID shot, brother Bill and Janet, and Tony and I took off in our small motorhomes for a road trip.  Our first stop was at our niece's home in southern Idaho.  We found the World Center for Birds of Prey to be very interesting.  Other tourist stops that we enjoyed were the Mountain Meadow Wool Shop , the Historic Laramie Railroad Depot, Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, the Wyoming State Capitol. and the Museum of the Fur Trade, all while visiting relatives in Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota.

Our small motorhome was useful quite a lot this year.  What we now call the Moscow Six-Pack (Tony and I and four other like-minded, similar in age friends from Moscow) took a couple of overnight trips...one to Grand Coulee Dam in Washington and another to Elk River, Idaho.  Along with socials at our homes, eating out at least once a week, we have also visited the Wendt Pottery, attended a livestock auction and looked for graves at a graveyard (because one of us is connected with "find a grave") with these crazy people.  We partied and bet locally on horses during the Triple Crown races (complete with fancy hats and mint juleps).

My second great grandchild was born in late February.  Casey & Lindsay bought a house this year in Moscow to provide a home for their two children (Landon, age 4, and Nora Kobe).  Dennis' other kids ~ Cally graduated and is employed now as an RN in Seattle, Caily is going to college in Tucson, but will transfer back to WSU next semester, and Cody continues to entertain me with sporting events ~ baseball, football, and currently basketball.  

Kenny remains in Seattle near his daughter Kierra and son Phillip. All three of them make it over here at least three times a year for card playing and eating cinnamon cake.  Abby is still in Manila.

We continue to enjoy the senior center in Moscow.  I am still the Vice President of the board and have so far escaped becoming the President.  Tony talks with his brother in UK once a month at least to keep up with his family.

Unfortunately, one of our cousins, Steve Phillip, passed away this year.  See his memorial page on the Phillip Blog here.  Brother Bill and I left Friday morning and were back home by Sunday night after attending Steve's memorial in Nebraska.  We were pretty proud of ourselves to drive 2200 miles round trip in such a short time.  Great to see all the cousins and brothers and for me to get to ride on the back of Steve's motorcycle to the dinner afterward.

Our next adventure was to the Oregon coast for a get together with most of the people we camped with in Arizona for so many years.  Nearly 20 of us rented motorhome spots on the coast and had a great time watching the crabbing, hiking, clamming, sunset on the ocean, a tour of a the still working Umpqua Lighthouse, photography gallery, the Myrtlewood Gallery, chain saw carving, and one of the best museums I have ever seen in Reedsport, Oregon.  A day trip to Coos Bay, led us to the museum which housed a memorial to Steve Prefontaine, a famous runner, eating fish and ships on a boat on the water, and seeing the Marshfield Sun Printing Museum.

We made one more motorhome trip to Nebraska for my 60th class reunion, with a stop off at brother Jim's (where we saw the balloon festival and night glow), and cousin Judy's for the regular steak dinner on the ranch.  Cousin Janice and I arranged for our classmates to meet for Saturday morning coffee and cream filled bismarks (what we all remembered as kids growing up in Alliance).  A visit to the Knight Museum was included with the 60th reunion. 

And now....Tony decided he didn't want to travel long distances anymore, so...I went to the Oregon coast to a condo with friends for a few days, and a short week-end trip to Seattle.  We have joined Roadrunners of Moscow (a group that takes bus trips near and far).  To date we have gone on the Lewiston Ghost Tour and "A Christmas Carol" in Spokane (with Bradley Whitford as Ebenezer...formerly Josh Lyman on "The West Wing").  Next week we are scheduled for a bus trip to a quilt museum, locomotive park for Christmas display, dinner, and a musical.  We feel like kids on the bus because we text a lot (none of the men can hear)...and I think flasks are going to come out for this next trip!! 

Tony's home made elevator continues to aid his stair climbing as he goes back and forth to work in his shop many times a day.  One of his "shop" productions was a wishing well that sits proudly on our deck.  Our "at home" activities include jigsaw puzzles, binge watching "Netflix", and doing a lot for the Friendly Neighbors Senior Center.

Now...for my dilemma...Tony's green card runs out in May.  The cost to renew is $540.00.  I am tempted to set up two "go fund me" pages to see who wants him to stay here.  I wonder which one will get to the $540.00 first (UK relatives and friends to keep him over here or USA friends and relatives).  😀

The year is almost over...the popcorn balls, candy, and cookies are made...presents bought and wrapped...and now it's time to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Thanks to all of you for the cards, pictures, texts, phone calls, emails and personal visits to our home throughout the year and during the holiday season.  "Keeping in Touch" is so important.

~~Sharon and Tony