Giving Thanks

My ongoing scanning project has been very introspective, bringing back memories of a wonderful childhood.

I’m thankful for my parents, one born on a farm, and the other a “city” (albeit very small cities) girl.

They worked and played together, raising a family of four who seemed totally unable to all smile and look in the same direction at the same time.

I'm thankful for my siblings who’ve added so much to my life -

I'm thankful that I grew up on a farm where I learned responsibility and discovered that it's really hard to water the calves in the winter if you didn't bother to drain the hose the night before!

I'm thankful for parents who made time to take us camping and hiking like this trip to the Morvitz "ranch" south of Mount Baker,

that Dad made time to take us on a more significant hike during his busy season, and that they trusted me to join several high school friends on a springtime hike to a fire lookout near Mt. Baker.

I’m especially thankful for my beautiful wife who puts up with me and has for over 40 years. Together we have two wonderful children

who sometime play nice together

and a grandson who ends up in the penalty box once in awhile.

I'm thankful, too, for all my friends who are feeling lucky they weren't included in this post!

I’ve been so blessed!

Giving Thanks!

We’re celebrating Thanksgiving a bit different this year. No trash can turkey, and no big family gathering. Instead, I'll spend the weekend futzing around with Scamp mods.

This year has been different from so many that we've enjoyed. We've had good times with the family including a wedding, meeting new extended family, a river trip with our daughter, paddling with our grandson, and a fairly long road trip in July with visits to several National Parks.

At the same time, we can also give thanks for the changes at work that led me to announce my retirement sooner than I might have otherwise. With just 22 work days remaining, it's time to start packing.

While it’s a bit scary, the calendar is filling with things we wouldn't be able to do with a 40 hour work week calendar. I'm looking forward to time with new friends in January and February and continued planning and preparation for a road trip to Alaska for several months this coming summer.  We're so fortunate to have good friends scattered all over the world and we're looking forward to being able to spend some time with them.

Wishing all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving.