Merry Christmas 2009



Okay so it's closer to Happy New Year 2010. I'd promise to try harder in the future, but you, dear reader, know me well enough that I can already hear the “Sure you will” echoing across the nation. This year Susan and I will both be updating you via this letter, because neither one of us can remember everything that happened. Okay, a slight exaggeration, not much happened. But enough of the intro, on to the news!

Susan and I are both well, older and starting to feel it, but healthy and happy. Our two cats, Maximillian and Carlotta, and our horses, Dalyte and Lady are also happy, healthy, and getting older. Dalyte has actually settled down and can give Susan a pleasant ride (occasionally) without spooking at every leaf or stone. And both Susan and I are still gainfully employed, which unfortunately is an accomplishment in this economy. I am into my eighteenth year at PTI with only 345 weeks to go before I can think about retirement.

This Spring, Susan finally convinced me to agree to expanding the gardens. Since we've been on Setter Road, she'd done an amazing job with the flower beds; different colors from May through the Fall. Always something new was starting to blossom as others started to fade. But other than the Rhubarb, which this year she slow simmered to make juice that we both enjoyed, we haven't planted any vegetables. With the expansion, we added 3 eight by four foot raised beds in the back where they could get the full sun. Let me qualify the “we”, I helped knock together and set up the wooden frames for the beds. Susan did everything else, mixing compost and topsoil (I think she had five yards total delivered), filling the beds, the planting, the weeding, the watering, and the harvesting. She even put up fencing to try to control the wildlife. And boy were the gardens productive; zucchini continuously from mid Summer to the first frost. Leaf lettuce, green onions, tomatoes in planters on the deck, kale and swiss chard, potatoes, cabbage, green peppers, broccoli, peas and green beans.

And yes, Susan did share our bounty with all of our neighbors. The problem was that some of our neighbors would wait for Susan's door-to-door delivery, but some would help themselves at night! The deer viewed the garden as a smorgasbord for their dining delight. And they must be experienced in gardening. If Susan would tell me something will need to be picked on Friday, the deer would enjoy it Thursday night. They ate every pea pod without touching the vines. The beans they would trim back almost to the ground. The broccoli was gone as soon as the head was almost ready to cut. They left the leaf lettuce alone, but loved the kale and swiss chard. Inside the fence the zucchini was safe, but the yellow squash that vined outside of the fence was gone as soon as it was big enough to harvest. Luckily they left the potatoes and onions alone. The only peas, that Susan got, were the ones she ate in the garden.

Susan's Contribution.... Last Christmas holiday, Paul fell while snow blowing and sprained, so we thought at the time, his wrist. (Actually I thought I sprained my wrist and treated it with RICE: rest, ice, compression and elevation. When I saw the doctor for my annual physical in May, she listened to the description of the injury, the pain and how long it took to heal and was sure that I had broken it. She strongly suggested that in the future I see a real doctor like Susan wanted me to do at the time. But she knows she was talking to an old fool. Back to Susan's part) So, later in the week when it snowed again, I went out and did the snow blowing for Paul. I pulled a hamstring while fighting with the monster. Needless to say, that slowed me down all spring long. Recovery seemed to take forever. Amazing how getting back on a horse sped it up.

Worked slowed down in the spring, so mid-June I went to Boston to visit Aunt Dorothy and the gang there. I had such a wonderful time. While it was high 60's and raining in Boston during my stay, in central Wisconsin during the same period of time it was in the high 80's low 90's and sunny. Yes!!! I picked the right time to be gone, while I love the sun, I hate the heat. Cousin Tommy met me at the airport and we took the ferry across Boston harbor to Quincy, where Aunt Dorothy picked us up. I'm so proud of myself, for the return trip I took the ferry and bus all by myself to the airport. Sunday it was very windy and the waves big. On our way home from church, we stopped to watch people out on the water with parasails, it was exciting to watch. Monday, Tom, Aunt Dorothy and me, oh, and Aunt Dorothy's dog, went to the Boston Gardens, in the misty rain but we had our umbrella's and I enjoyed the outing much.

Over the July 4th holiday weekend, my car left me stranded along the busiest interchange here in Wausau. As this was not the first time it would not run, the previous two times had been in the drive way of a friend's house, the other not even getting out of the parking lot from the garage after it was repaired, we bit the bullet and I bought a different car. That is right, I bought it. The only input Paul had was how much I could spend and to drive for the test drive so I could sit in the passenger and back seats so I knew my knitting friends would have a comfortable ride should I drive on any road trip. Again, I was so proud of myself. I knew what I wanted to buy, a Pontiac Vibe, one of my older knitting friends has one and I drive her car to our guild meetings each month. I really wanted a small wagon that got 30+ MPG and the driver's seat did not sit low, like in a sports car (that was killing me in the Hyundai)... and if it were red, that would be very nice. I found several in the area but they were newer models and were just over what I was given as a budget. Finally, I found one at the Cadillac dealership. We went and drove it. And in all fairness, we also drive another small wagon they had on the lot and even went and drove a Dodge wagon. So, since it passed the test drive, I took it to my mechanic for an inspection. He found two minor things but blessed it for me, he also discussed with me pricing strategy. So back I went to the dealer and discussed with them fixing the items he found. Of course, the guy I was talking to could not confirm without talking with the boss. No problem, I was in no hurry. He called me the next day and indicated they would make the repairs. So I dropped by on my lunch hour to discuss a sell price. I ended up getting the car $600 less than the price that day, which was a sale price, and $400 less that what my mechanic suggested as a max purchase price. So I bought I 2005 Pontiac Vibe, red in color and am loving it. An sure enough, it has been getting, 31, 29, 30, 31, 30, 31.... mpg (highway and city mixed) and when we went to a knitting seminar in Minnesota, a 4 hour one way trip, my passengers all had a comfortable seat. One even fell asleep.

Back again to Paul's part: For Thanksgiving, Susan's sister Sadie and our niece Wilhelmina came for a visit. So we got to have a family dinner for Thanksgiving. It was fun, tiring but fun. Looking back at in Willa is a very well behaved 4 year old. But Susan and I just do not have any experience with the energy and joie de vie that small children have in such abundance. By Saturday, we were sorry to see them go, but needed to rest for the remainder of the weekend to recover. We're looking forward to their next visit!



Return to list of Christmas letters