The New Year Begins

There are some photos floating around, but I don't have any at hand except this one that Laur sent of a recovering (ear infection and possible strep throat) Leondis sitting in his Christmas truck. I think it may be a classic.

Bubb and I said goodbye to the kids the weekend between Christmas and New Years. Matt and Laur had that long drive and needed to be to work on Tuesday morning. Sarah and Aaron didn't have as far to drive, but were also due at work on Tuesday. Daniel and family were overdue in Provo, so they drove up on Tuesday AM. That left Bubby and I to our own devices, and we made good use of the time.

I had to go work Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but with no students or administrative assistant to give me orders, they were leisurely days. I flexed my work schedule around the others things we were doing, which is the best part of working when there is no one on campus.

Bubby was on furlough from work last week, and she enjoyed the time at home. She cleaned out every drawer and cupboard, rearranged furnishings, and generally got things in order to start a new year. We saw three movies last week: "Invictus", "Avatar", and "Sherlock Holmes". All very different, but quite enjoyable. Bubby was most surprised by "Avatar." I think she thought she was going to see a kids carton, not a 21st century version of the Captain John Smith and Pocahontas story, complete with 3D special effects.

We were also able to run to St. George twice and do some Dutch names at the temple. It will be a slow process, but we plan to keep working at it. Hopefully our kids can assist us.

Speaking of which, our St. George renters have announced that they are vacating the condo on January 9th. We are going to put new carpet and paint in, and use it ourselves for awhile. Hopefully we can afford to maintain it, and then it can be an overflow for family when they come to visit St. George. Daniel and Rosalyn are already recognizing that it will provide a home base for their temple attendance. They can stagger session attendance and have a place to be to tend their kids. It will likely take us most of January to get things in order, but after that, we can start to enjoy the space. Bubby is in a dither thinking about colors and decorating. She doesn't feel particularly capable in that area. Of course, I just want to do it on a budget. We don't need to get too carried away right now. I think we can ease into it. Minimal furnishings, beds where they are needed, and enough housekeeping items to get by. I think we can furnish much of it from what we already have. Of course, we will have to buy a few big ticket items, like a washer and dryer, but it will sure be nice to have them when we use the condo.

We got to visit with UP, AK, Jason and Liza, Tony and Jaye, and Cindy and Ray on New Year's eve. It was grand to see them all. Bubby and I had a coupon for Milt's and we went to dinner before our visit. Of course there was abundant food at AK's, but we were not too interested after petite fillets, shrimp and that famous Milt's salad bar. Booty would have been proud of me, we played hearts and I ended the game by shooting the moon on the others. I beat UP by one point, and that got to him, pretty good.

We have started a new semester, and things are definitely underway. New classes, new students, new problems, and new challenges. But that is what gets me out of bed in the AM. My knee has healed well enough for us to start walking again, so we have been pounding the pavement in Cedar City from 4:30-5:30 AM this week. I hope we can walk every day it isn't snowing the rest of the winter.

Happy New Year to all of our readers. Life is good. Drink up!

Buboppy