So, the official verdict from Willie and I is that has been a seriously weird and not-much-fun year. Which is my excuse for not getting on the ball with holiday cards or blogs or much else. So, where to start?
The year started with us losing our sweet dog, Carrie on Jan. 2. She was nearly 13 which is a pretty ripe old age for a collie, but that didn't make it any easier. The cats, I am happy to report, are doing fine.
We made a family decision last year to move Willie's parents down to Huntsville, AL where the climate is much better than NJ, they have a brand new single story house, and are walking distance to Philip and Linda (eldest son and his wife). Not to mention being close to two adorable great grandsons! Suffice to say, it wasn't an easy move for anyone! It did, however, involve Willie and I taking a road trip in a U-Haul which was fun (in a scary kind of way!)
My dad had surgery in August to re-route his abdominal arteries - turns out he had advanced PAD. It was a tough surgery, but he came through like a trooper and before you could say "poop" my mom had him out walking everywhere in Portland! I flew out for the surgery, of course.
In November, Willie turned 50 which was accompanied by more whining than you've ever heard. In between the whining, I kept hearing the words "Corvette" and "liquid black" but I just ignored 'em.
On the heels of Willie's birthday we got the call that everyone dreads - telling us that Willie's beloved Aunt Rosie had passed away. Although it was not entirely unexpected, it was still shocking and terribly sad. We got Willie's mom (Aunt Rosie's sister) up here for the funeral and a few weeks of rest.
Before we knew it, it was Thanksgiving and we found ourselves faced with our first ever Thanksgiving without Willie's parents, aunt, cousins, etc at our house. We decided at the last minute to go stay in NYC for a couple of days. We stayed in downtown right across from the World Trade Center site and were fortunate enough to get passes for the new 911 Memorial Park. It was wonderful, and a perfect way to spend the holiday.
Earlier in the year, I decided to amp up my life-long photography hobby. I've learned a great deal this year, and am getting ready to enter a few things in some low-level contests. Along the way, I started taking a lot of bird pictures, which morphed into about 4,000 bird feeders. Willie is trying to be patient, but he wasn't happy when he saw a squirrel on our deck happily eating bird food. He keeps mumbling something about "furry rats" ... I'm ignoring it. Same as the birthday whining. I started a daily photo-blog if you'd care to have a look at http://www.blipfoto.com/dbifulco.
Willie got some good racing in this season and is already looking ahead to next summer and more racing.
For the first time since we've been married, none of our parents are going to be here for Christmas which leaves both of us feeling a bit unsettled. My parents are staying out in AZ where it is warm, and Willie's parents will be in Huntsville with the rest of the family. Not sure yet what we will do for the holiday, maybe another trip into the City.
We plan to head down to AL right after the holidays to catch up with everyone there, and then out to Oregon in the spring when my parents get back from their extended stay in the dessert.
We hope you all have a happy and healthy holiday season!
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