2021
Happy New Year 2022
Well another year with little travel….
We did manage a trip to Dubai the end of April. It was wonderful seeing Julianna! It had been almost 2 years that we had all been together. But even more exciting is that she is coming home for Christmas! First time in 12 years. I just have to get that dig in. But we are all very excited.
The only difficulty is that Hugh and I started a major remodel of the kitchen in April. It won’t surprise you that we are still mid-project. We do now have cabinets, no doors but at least cabinets. They are coming today to inspect the kitchen to see if it is ready for the new stove. The stove was delivered in August, but we finally are at a point that it can be installed, fingers crossed, of course! We have been without a stove for over a month, and eating out is not something we really enjoy.
Water and drainage has been our biggest headache. The dishwasher and sink were removed in May to see if we could change the orientation of our island. To do that, the sink and dishwasher had to go. A utility sink was put in so I could sort of “do dishes”. That was fine until the drain stopped working, then it was bail out the sink daily. Which also was fine, until my knee decided to quit functioning properly. Then the task of bailing the sink went to Tim and Hugh. Needless to say, running water that drains properly will probably be one of the most exciting parts of our new kitchen.
In August we drove up to Oregon to visit friends and then over to Missoula to meet up with a photography instructor. We both love Missoula, so it was great having a week there with little planned. We love the city and were surprised on how much it had changed in the last five or so years, since our last trip. We visited our old favorite photography spots and had dinner at our favorite restaurant. Many of our favorite eating places were gone, sad to see the changes time had made to such a wonderful city.
As Covid was still an issue, we decided to book a month in Missoula next summer. What could be better that being out of Phoenix in July. We also didn’t think international travel would be easy in early 2022 (and that was before we knew of all the variants). We still hope to get in one international trip in the fall. But much will depend on Covid and my knee. It looks like a joint replacement maybe in my near future, and I am in almost total resistance. I did have an allergy test this week to see if my body would tolerate a replacement. So I did do step 1.
Tim found a new job this year that he loves. He has decided to pursue a career in HVAC and got a job starting in a warehouse at a local growing company. He seems to love the environment and they love him. He spends his time home after work telling me about everything he has learned during the day. The job is definitely more intellectually engaging for him than the grocery store. He will start his actual schooling in August.
We still have three cats and one dog. The dog is incredibly old (18 years) and he is a large dog. Gage is totally deaf, so we communicate with him via sign language of sorts. Usually that involves a treat. He is having more trouble getting up (aren’t we all). The three cats still entertain us. Squeak is the same age as Gage, and spends most of her day sleeping but she has a howl that can wake the entire household when she is thirsty. Eli is the cat we refer to as “our lodger”. He came to us as a stray and although he is a wonderful cat, and maybe the best behaved of the lot, he hasn’t totally captured any of our hearts. There seems to be no kitten in him. I guess as a stray that got beaten out of him. The newest arrival is Tim’s cat, Kiwi. He is a true joy (most of the time). He still is a lot kitten and loves to explore the house, his world. He has loved having the kitchen in various stages of remodel, all new areas of exploration for him. He is the most people loving cat of the group and is always looking for someone to hang out with.
Julianna came home for Christmas, making it extra special. It has been a long time since we have been able to celebrate the holiday in Arizona.
Well not much other news from 2430 Coyote Creek. Hope you had a lovely holiday season and have a wonderful New Year. Hope to be back later this year with tales of our overseas adventures. Staying home is getting very old! Until then, enjoy life.