December 1, 1997
Holiday greetings to our friends and family everywhere.
I am really trying to get a jump on things this year. This year was busy, but without some of the hectic trips and major life events of the past several years. Guess we are just getting to be 'boring' old married folks. Sounds good to us, actually.
Of course, we did do some traveling, partly to use up some free tickets from last year. On President's Day weekend, I went to California to visit mother and Karen. We drove over to Monterey for the weekend. We picked up Dan's mom and spent the day on Cannery Row, lunching and visiting the fabulous aquarium there. In March, Dan and I flew back down and spent a week with Dan's Mom. We helped clean the motor home, the garage and other fun chores of that sort. It was a good break and the weather was nicer than in Boise.
In April, I went to Portland for a few days on business. I got to visit the HP site in Corvallis, Oregon for the first time. It was very interesting. In May, we flew to Albuquerque for three days for Susanna's graduation from high school. We had not seen her in almost two years. She has grown up to be quite the young lady. Cinda was there as were Steve and Ken, two of Susanna's brothers. Andy wasn't able to make it, but it was still a wonderful time for Susanna to have so many there. We had a wonderful, but short, visit. Cinda had just returned from a Spring break trip to Italy. She brought a fabulous hand-made ceramic mask for Susanna, all the way from Venice.
In June, we drove to California to attend American Library Association and to visit family again. We had a chance to drive up along the coast and have lunch at Bodega Bay and then do a little antiquing while we were there. We had a brief, but spirited, mini family reunion in Prunedale while we were there. Dan's brother Irv, his nephew Mark, and his sister Sue were all there visiting. We stopped in Fresno for the night, then on July 4th, headed over the Sierras, taking some less traveled roads, including highway 4 past Alpine Lake, through Markleeville and into Carson City for the night. It was a route we had never traveled together before. We always enjoy exploring new territory, even if it gives me heart attacks when we're on little narrow roads at the edge of canyons.
When we got back to Boise, I had to get into gear and get ready for a full-scale family reunion. Three years ago we had held a gathering of my mother's side of the family in Lawrence, Kansas. It was the first in nearly 40 years and all 12 of the cousins of my generation who are still alive were there. I had volunteered to host the next one in Boise in three years, which was 1997. I had picked the dates over a year earlier and was not sure how many, if any, of my relatives would come. Well, it was a resounding success. My mom, both Aunts who are still living and 11 of the 12 cousins were all here.
For the main event on Saturday night we had over 40 people for supper. I reserved the recreation center of our development for the major meals and for swimming and tennis. I had the local Basque restaurant cater the Saturday night meal. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. It was wonderful to be together, share old pictures and journals and get reacquainted. Even the weather co-operated and it was not too hot. And the river opened up for tubing just days before the event. We are planning the next event in Indianapolis in 2000!
In August I had to go to Huntsville, Alabama, again for some software training. My co-worker, Phyllis, and I decided to fly in early and spend the weekend in Memphis, just a four-hour drive away. We had a great time. I had never really thought about going to Graceland or any of the other places in Memphis. We took an all day Gray Line Tour that included Graceland. I'll have to admit it was very interesting. And the next day we went to the Titanic Exhibit in the Pyramid. THAT was a truly amazing experience. We were quite overwhelmed and touched by it. If you get a chance to visit this exhibit in a city near you, do not miss it!
The first week of October we went to Idaho Library Association in Idaho Falls. I was finishing my year as the division chair and was responsible for a couple of the presentations. Dan was also showing off LiLI (Libraries Linking Idaho), the statewide Library linking network he has been part of creating over the past year. On the way home from Idaho Falls, we stopped off in Jerome where there were reported to be some good antique stores. I managed to acquire some new additions to my newest collection, old Royal Doulton Bunnykin and Beatrix Potter dishes and figurines.
The second week of November, we flew off to California for one more trip. This time it was business for me and Dan came along for some pleasure and a little business. I attended the HP Library Network annual meeting for two days, and then we spent Saturday out in Livermore at my niece Julie's. Karen and mother came up and we celebrated Karen's birthday. We got to see Steve and Jill and their son Nicholas too. He is getting big and looks just like his dad at that age. It was good to see everyone. On Sunday, we had dinner with Dan's mom and his brother Irv, in Prunedale. Then we drove to Monterey where I was attending the Internet Librarian '97 Conference for three days. Dan spent one day visiting the vendors and the rest of the time with his Mom in Prunedale. After the conference, we spent a day sightseeing, in Santa Cruz and also visiting the new California State University -- Monterey Bay, located at the former Fort Ord. We were most interested in their Library, which has been planned from the beginning to be as electronic as possible. They have most of their journals in electronic format only. We were skeptical before we got there, but it seems to be working, at least for now, and for them.
We will be home for Christmas and New Years. Chris and Laura and the grandkids will probably be over sometime during the weekend, just as they were last weekend for Thanksgiving. Otherwise, we will be enjoying some quiet time together this holiday season.
Speaking of the kids, they are all doing well. Chris is still working for a private family as an aide to a paraplegic young man. He is good at it and the parents of the patient treat Chris and his family very well. Laura recently changed to a new job. She is working with developmentally challenged adults instead of at the nursing home. She likes it much better and she doesn't have to work evenings, weekends or holidays any more. Jayla started kindergarten this fall and Tony is going to preschool, so it is much easier on everyone with Laura having a predictable schedule. We see them about once a month. They still live about an hour away in Horseshoe Bend. They were here for most of the reunion activities and were amazed at all the 'relatives we never knew we had', as Chris put it.
Cinda is in the middle of her final year of graduate school in Chicago. She is still working in engineering for the Illinois Tollway, living in Wheaton and working on her thesis project. Soon she will be looking for employment for after she graduates in May with a master's in urban planning, and of course she already has the degree in architecture. All we know for sure is she will be MIGHTY glad to be done with school!
Andy and Amy became engaged last spring and are planning a wedding next June. We will be going back for it and are looking forward to seeing everyone that we haven't seen since last year. Andy is managing the Internet Web activities for Follett software and Amy is teaching high school.
Susanna just turned 18 and at last report was working two jobs. She had planned to work with children in some way, but could not do that until she was 18. She's now working in one retail job and as a hostess at a steak house.
We are both busy at our jobs. Dan earned tenure at the University early this year and I just passed my 20-year anniversary with HP last month. So I guess we are (hopefully) settled in for the duration. We will both be 55 by February and are starting our 10-year countdown to retirement (though Dan doesn't especially plan to retire then). Dan always teases me about being the 'older' woman. I got my first 'senior' discount at a restaurant on the last trip we took. Dan was kind enough to point out to the waitress that I qualify and he doesn't. HP in Boise has had a couple of tough years. So far I have survived the downsizing. I think I will be continue to be OK, although it is a fast moving business these days. It is a great time to be in the information business, as the Internet provides us with so many new tools to provide resources to our users. Dan didn't get a raise this year because the State Legislature, in its infinite wisdom, took the measly 2% slotted for state employees' raises and used it to pay for the $10 million in road repairs after the floods in the first part of the year. Doesn't make sense to us, but it could be worse I guess.
Anyway, we are doing fine, health wise. Dan had been suffering from sleep apnea and was sleeping with a CPAP machine for about 6 months. At the suggestion of his doctor, he had laser surgery in April and as a result, his breathing is fine and he was able to get rid of the machine. It was definitely worth it, although he had a VERY sore throat for a couple of weeks. I have managed to get back to a reasonable weight once again and am determined to keep it there this time. I try to walk at least 3-4 times a week and keep a close watch on the fat grams. I was on fen-phen for a year, but got off of it before the big stink about it hit in the fall. I am fortunate that it didn't seem to cause me a problem. My doctor is keeping a close watch on me. Dan was on it for a while, though not as long as I was. He too seems to have escaped any bad effects to his heart. He is now off of it and still working on eating more healthy choices. We walk together whenever we can and we work together on it.
We bought a lawnmower this spring and actually started mowing our own lawn. On Memorial Day the two of us spent three days laying 1500 square feet of sod on our back hill. These two facts will be doubly amazing to all the people who know how allergic Dan is to grass and how much trouble he has had had with his breathing over the years. But we have found that it is cheaper to do the lawn ourselves and we really enjoy getting out in the yard once it a while. I planted some iris and gladiolus last year and they were very lovely in the spring and fall.
We continue playing a lot of bridge and attend all the home BSU football and basketball games. We work in our church bookstore one Sunday a month. And on every trip we take, we always manage to poke around and leave some money in local antique stores. Support the local economy! I told Dan that I don't think we'll ever really retire. We have to keep working to support this antiquing habit. We are thinking of becoming dealers and doing some shows when we do quit HP and BSU, but we'll wait to see what happens. It would be a great way to keep traveling and pay for it at the same time.
Since I don't work on Mondays, I recently started delivering Meals on Wheels to about a dozen folks every other Monday. I really am enjoying it a lot, and they are all so appreciative.
As we enter into our eighth Christmas together (hard to believe it's been that long), we once again stop and count our very many blessings. We wish all of you a New Year filled with love and peace.
Love and peace to all,
Gail and Dan