Good bye 2011

Tonight we are spending with John,Mary and family alone with Travis as the last hours of 2011 tick away.  This year has brought many many happenings and changes. 
We have had a wonderful time this Christmas.  John/Mary and family have been here this week and will be leaving tomorrow morning.  Terry and I will be heading back to Naples in the afternoon. 
2012 will be here in a short time and it will be fun to see what it brings.
We wish a happy new year to all.

Tomorrow

As I welcome December 23 I realize that tomorrow we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our savior, our King, our protector, our friend, our Lord and many more to us.  When I think of Christmas I think of family, of friends and of the blessings I have and for sure have done nothing to deserve.  Here is the entire Lee clan last July and we await Cynthia/Mike's new little one SOON. 
Terry and I are excited to see family, to spend time together, to play with those precious grand children and to spend our first Christmas together.  It is hard to believe that we have already spent almost 3 days and only have 10 more here.  Yesterday we were able to get some decorations up, all the presents wrapped and one big shopping trip done.  Today some more food shopping and then tomorrow food, family and the birth of our Lord. 
We wish all a very Merry Christmas.

Fly the friendly skies

OK I admit this is not the plane we will fly but we are flying tomorrow.  This happens to be a plane that flew past as we were on a cruise around the Apostle Islands last fall.  Tomorrow is the real deal.  We fly non-stop from Fort Myers (RSW) to Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) and arrive about 2:00 or so.  I know I got that lingo down for airports.  There will be one bag checked with stocking stuffers for the grand kids and one of the carry-ons will be loaded with oranges from our tree.  Not bringing much clothes as what is good for here would not work well in St. Paul in December.  I do know that weather in St. Paul has been mild and the entire fall and early winter has been a blessing.  BUT for the sake of Henry, Liam and Leo I am sorry as I know they wanted to make a mega fort in the front yard with Uncle Travis.  It looks like the ingredients for any kind of fort are not there.  Maybe by next week but not very likely.
Yesterday fit the cap I saw perfectly.  On the cap I saw "another day in paradise".  Well there was little wind, sunny skies and temps in the low 70's.  After church Terry and I enjoyed some sun, a 15 mile bike ride and then a short short bike ride to Walgreen's to use coupons for some more stocking stuffers.
This morning the temp reads 59 and I think that is one of the first if not the first 50's reading this fall.
No baby yet.  Over the weekend we talked to Mike and to Cynthia and no pink or blue has arrived and as of yesterday afternoon Cynthia said maybe it will come late.  Well my prediction is December 23rd or maybe the 24th but not late.  I know it would be nice for Mike if that baby would come early this week as he wants and I am sure needs and deserves some time off  work.  Wow between he and John L they put in enough time to the education of our youth for at least 4 educators.
Today it will be order the house a bit (that is my part as Terry is pretty much always in an order mode), pick oranges, pack, check in to our flight on the computer and make a list and check it at least twice to make sure we have what we need and want.
I know I know for some of you who read this you are saying is he not finished with that french press so that he can stop writing and YES the cup is dry and the mind is empty.

A treasure------------No luck

Terry and I took the boat shuttle Tuesday and walked on the beach for an hour.  As always I had my eye out for a shark tooth but again no luck.  I keep thinking next time but....
We received a Christmas card from one of my few remaining cousins on the Sampson (my mother) side.  It is a treasure for sure.  She hand wrote on both sides of two pages 5 X 7.  Ruth Gregerson is now 92 and lives in Visalia CA.  For some reason I always thought she was so nice even though we seldom saw her and her family.  I think her husband Lester was a OTR truck driver but I am not sure of that.  Joan, Dave or Helen may know for sure.  Anyway I am pretty sure she is the daughter of Uncle Ansel who was mother's oldest brother. I am guessing that Ansel was almost 20 years older than mom as the family was large. Ruth (mom's neice) was the flower girl in mom and dad's wedding.  Some of the things she said:

• "My aunt Ruby"
• "Your mom was my idol in so many ways-Also teacher or mentor! An example---I learned to shine the chrome on the kitchen cook stove until it was mirror perfect--that may sound trivial but it's one of the happy memories I have staying with Grdpa and Gma while Ruby was still at home! --a really pleasant one is after the noon meal Gma always settled in her rocker by the north window to read her Norwegian paper while I sat opposite her struggling with learning to embroider---the county road passed by on this north side we we could keep track of neighbors activities too!!!!"
• "I've begun to limit my driving so have taken Amtrak several times" (she is 92)
• Perhaps my favorite (I had sent Ruth a letter and a picture of Terry and I after she had sent a note to me) "--am looking forward to meeting Terry too-What a lovely lady she is!!"

I am not sure how old grandma Sampson was when she died but I know it was before I was born.  Of course I will always remember grandpa Sampson with the chew of tobacco which he would offer to us kids.
Enough but it was fun to received the letter and hear about her family and about my mom.  I always thought my mom was a wonderful person and did really good things with her life given what she had but sadly I am not sure mom felt that way about herself. 
It is interesting that I would enjoy the letter so much and really would like to see Ruth again.  I have always been BAD at visiting relatives or contacting friends.  I always felt my siblings were so good at that and for some reason I was not but I am now giving it a better try with some success.
Enough for now as the coffee cup is almost empty.

Another first a step away

Here is the sun rise in late May on the North Shore.  It was a day of wind, of warmth and fun.  Later that day Terry and I drove to Ely as she had never been there.  When one stays on the north shore and the wind makes the waves wash against the shore the sound is almost like an a symphony.
The "first" yesterday has nothing to do with the picture.  Last night Terry suggested we walk over to the community pool and swim.  I like to swim for a bit of exercise but we had never gone over in the dark.  Actually the sign says it is open from dawn to dusk but I am sure anytime is fine.  As I swam it was almost like a bit of heaven.  There were lights under the water in the pool, over head the sky was full of stars and around the pool is lined with palm trees.  Terry sat on one of the lounge chairs as I swam and each time I would come to the end of the pool the light would reflect on her.  I suppose I was in the water for 20 minutes or so but it was a memory to last forever. 
I actually worked a bit yesterday. 

• I was able to program the garage opener to the car. (I know that is not really work)
• I cleaned the back rain gutter as over the weekend we had rain and much of it ran off the roof into the pool area and not out the gutter.
• I blew the leaves off the driveway which is easier than shoveling snow off a driveway!
• Than I actually worked a bit as I reordered the garage and cleaned it up.  It actually was enjoyable to walk through it to wheel out the garbage this morning.

And of course I realize that what I did yesterday would not really qualify as  real work in the world of many people but for me at this time I will label it as such and take a bit of pride in doing it.
Terry and I also rode bike about 15 miles so that was fun.
We are still waiting for a call about that baby as we thought it (have to call the baby it because we do not know if it is a boy or girl)  maybe would come over the weekend.  Really it is due the same day as baby Jesus but Faustina and Jude arrived before the due date so we are waiting.
Once again my french press is gone and I am out of words.  I do not know how much I would or could write if I had a larger french press!

Another first and a fun day

Here is one of the sunsets in Cozumel over Thanksgiving.  They were beautiful.
A really fun fun day.  Our next door neighbors, John and Diane, play croquet.  They invited us to play with them at their club near our home.  We played six wicket and golf croquet.  Both were fun but the six wicket was full of strategy, kind of like a chess game.  For beginners Terry and I did OK.  After ward we enjoyed a delicious brunch with them which was great.
This afternoon we went to the movie, "Midnight in Paris".  It kind of followed a book we read about Hemmingways first marriage so that was fun. 
It was exciting to do something different today and fun to spend a day with Terry relaxing and enjoying the FL weather although it rained twice this afternoon.  This coming week it is supposed to be low 80's and sunny so we hope to get in a couple of walks on the beach. 
We are looking forward to spending time with family in a short time and for sure see if that new grandchild will be a boy or girl.  I think Faustina is correct and it will be a girl. 
Enough for tonight.

Happy Birthday John

HAPPY 42ND BIRTHDAY JOHN.  FORTY TWO YEARS HAS BROUGHT MUCH CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE.  IT'S LOOKING GOOD TO US.  MANY MANY HAPPY DAYS AHEAD.
ONE THING--IT SEEMS THAT AGE HAS NOT DIMMED THAT RED HAIR.
Love, Dad and Terry

The last of scuba diving

Here are some more pictures of the scuba diving adventure.  The one thing that was wrong is I did not have enough weights on and I tended to float UP.  In the picture the dive master is helping to pull me down.  He would instruct me or help me from time to time but I did not realize until we surfaced that he was always close to me.  He tended to stay behind so I did not see him.  Anyway it was a wonderful experience and one to remember.
Terry is off to the tennis courts this morning so I am being kind of lazy for a time.  When she returns, tennis times are 90 minutes, we need to get serious about a water leak behind the fridge.  It looks like it means pulling out the fridge and investigating what is happening as there is some leakage on the kitchen floor.  I am hoping it is not too complicated.
Terry and I had a good conversation last night about the heart.  At one time I felt it may get TOO much but I think in the end it was OK.  The conversation was about one's heart and comments a person can make that makes it look like you can gage someone else's heart.  I have been thinking alot about that lately as over the last almost 3 years now there have been many many many situations in my life and in our family where it would be so easy to act or make a comment out of thinking one knows what is in someone else's heart.  I have come to think in a different way over the last years.  At one time shortly after Gail died I said to someone that it has to be way more difficult to lose a spouse than a child.  Now I know that there can be no way to say that about others but rather it ALL depends on the relationship and the person involved.  Of course I can not detail my thought process here nor can I really explain but in the end here I know now that it is very difficult to know and understand our own heart and for sure we can not know another heart. I remember years ago I thought I was close to a person, I felt I knew him and understood him and then one day I received a letter in the mail that blew me away.  One never knows I guess.
I am thinking of my age this week too.  In two days my oldest son John turns 42.  I tend to think of him as a son, a friend and a wonderful family guy but still I also tend to think of him as a young young man.  Of course in terms of age he is young yet but really with family, work and so many other things he is way beyond what I often have in my head.  As I reflect back on the last 42 years I am so proud of so many things he has done and who he is.  At times like this I tend to think of all the kids, who they are now, who they were when they were so young, what they do (if course I understand they do much I don't know!) how they live their lives and I marvel at how different they are coming from the same culture and parents.  God certainly is creative in how he does things and what he does.
Well, the french press is almost history this morning and the fridge is patiently waiting for some care so will get prepared to work but first will take the short walk to the tennis courts to say hi to Terry's tennis friends and walk home with her.  One of her friends is dealing with financial difficulties from the internet.  She and her husband have seen several thousand dollars disappear from accounts and are working hard to recover and get a handle on the computer fraud.  I hope she has good news today. 
Two weeks from today we take to the skies again and will land in St. Paul early afternoon.  SNOW!!!!

Home in Naples again

Here is some of the wilflife I saw while scuba diving in Cozume.  Very interesting, very exciting and very fun.  Not much more tonight.  Terry and I arrived home about 4:30, went out for a quick bite to eat with friends and are now in for the night and ready to sleep in our own bed for the first time in two weeks. 
I will blog more in the days ahead and share our fun time in Mexico.  While gone we did not have very good access to computers so now at home it will be fun to share again.  I have no idea what kind of fish these are but very colorful.