December 31, 2009
Shelbyville, KY
Well, don't fall over, those of you who used to read this space. I finally overcame my blogging inertia and decided to post an end of the year update. One of you readers told me a few months ago that you kept checking for some update since Passover...but there was nothing here. So, here goes.
Recapping the end of last year and early 2009, we left Mexico to spend a few months in Fairhope, Alabama to be close to Corey, Candy, and Gaby. We rented a cute little cottage just half a block from the bluff overlooking Mobile Bay. We thoroughly enjoyed Fairhope, being walking distance from shops, restaurants, the library, the arts center where I took pottery classes. And, of course, we had lots of C,C, and G time, especially with Gaby. We babysat quite a lot while Corey and Candy worked. That time went really fast.
We did some traveling during our time there. In late March we went to Florida and visited with Bob's sister Joan and her husband Sam, then Tarpon Springs to see Joni and Bob Cooke, then North Palm Beach to see my brother Ed and Kris and meet Kris' dad and his partner for the first time, and back through St. Pete to see Jan and Bill Riley and their kids. Lucky us to have so many family and friends in Florida.
In April, having decided that I wanted to return to my job this fall, we came to KY to house hunt and bought an old (1914) Arts and Crafts bungalow on Main Street in Shelbyville where my college is, just two miles down the street. While we were here, we got the sad news that Joan's husband Sam Gowan had passed away, so we went to Gainesville again for the funeral. In late May, we drove to northern VA/DC to see Susannah and John, where we flew out to France to spend a couple of weeks with Joni and Bob at a seaside cottage in Brittany and a few days in Paris. The weather was perfect. Back to Virginia for a few days with Susannah and John, visited local wineries and antique shops--more beautiful weather. Then we drove back to Alabama in early June where the heat and humidity from hell had descended on the Gulf Coast. While we were packing up for yet another relocation, we managed to squeeze in a trip to nearby Panama City and meet up with the Rileys' extended family and friends. Bob, Corey, and Candy went fishing about 60 miles offshore with Bill, Danny, Mark, etc. and came back with gorgeous red snapper, which we ate that night, cooking them on the outdoor grills at the resort. Yummy. Gaby got to meet yet more cousins (several times removed, but who's counting when you have new cousins to play with?)and they barely got out of the swimming pool long enough to eat or sleep.
We left Fairhope on the first of July to move to Shelbyville, putting down some sort of roots for the first time in over two years. But we were ready. The weather was incredibly cool, barely 70 over the long 4th of July weekend. We were wearing long sleeves in Ky in midsummer! The weather stayed mild for the most part. Joan came to visit for a week; Corey, Candy, and Gaby came for a few days. We were glad to be near Mindy and Mark again (in Louisville). The first of August, Mindy and Mark drove with us to Virginia because we all had tickets for the Paul McCartney concert. (I think I should blog that separately. What an incredible event that was.)
Along with moving, getting our stuff out of storage, unpacking, traveling, having company, I was also getting ready to go back to work. Bob decided to teach one course for us, so he was prepping, too, to teach an Intro to Computers course. The experience of returning to work full time for me should probably also get a separate blog, so I'll just say here that I found it amazingly satisfying all around. Going back to a work environment with people I enjoy and respect (and I think reciprocate)along with the challenge of setting up new courses for new students has been stimulating and exciting. Maybe more about that another time.
Along with work, we've also been redecorating and now remodeling our old house. We've painted a couple of rooms, stripped wallpaper from one, Bob has mastered the art of repairing plaster walls. And we're adding another bathroom, going through what was a closet off our bedroom, into the space under the eaves. It will be cozy but very nice, I think. Our contractor, Jeff, does a lot of work with old houses and has a great deal of respect for them. His crew is largely mexicano, very simpatico, and speak English very well, although we try to practice our diminishing Spanish skills with them.
We went back to Virginia for Thanksgiving with Susannah and John and John's family. We went to another great concert while we were there, the Brian Setzer Christmas Extravaganza. Lots of fun. Susannah came to visit a few days with us by herself since John was working. (I neglected to say that they were both summarily fired by their company in one sudden, unexplained move several weeks ago. They were both offered new jobs, though, within days, thankfully, and John went straight back to work within a week. Susannah decided to wait for a better offer, which came a couple of weeks later. She starts the new job January 4 and has used the six weeks or so off work to catch up on household things and visit us.)
We made a quick trip to Alabama after our grades were done and brought Gaby back with us to spend a few days. We had a great time and she's a real trooper. She likes "Shelbybille." We took Gaby to her other grandparents Christmas Eve, just in time for Mommy and Daddy and Santa to get there. Then C, C, and G spent a couple of days with us this week with Mark and Mindy coming out last night, too. Along with Pam and Steve and Millie and Caitlin, Gaby's new friend.
So, it's New Year's Eve. The kids have left to go on to their next destination before returning to Alabama. Susannah and John are having their annual New Years Eve party for their friends, Mark and Mindy have plans in Louisville, the workmen have all trooped out of the house (bathroom not yet finished, of course--maybe two more weeks?), and we are blessedly alone! It's a gray and dreary winter day but not terribly cold. Possibily some light snow or icy rain tonight. We're staying in tonight with left-over soup, some bubbly, and old movies. But we're thinking of all of you--good friends and family. For too many people, 2009 was a horrible year in so many ways. For us, it was a very happy and healthy one--if a bit unsettled, literally. We're very lucky. But for all of you, we want to wish a better year, a better decade, with lots of love, good health, and happiness--maybe even some prosperity, too!
Betty and Bob
