TRAVELS
Since our primary doctor is in Beverly Hills (adopted by us after Tom’s heart-surgery last year), we try to coordinate appointments with visits to relatives and friends (see “VISITS” above).
Between Tom’s and Diane’s medical issues, that made for a good handful of visits. See also NATURAL DISASTERS, below.
On a trip to San Diego, we helped move nephew Tyler into his dorm.
Smoky Wawona (1985 by Tom Bopp)
Genevieve, the Comfort Squirrel, reclining on our deck.
LIFE IN THE MOUNTAINS
Our garden grows: dogwood blossoms in the spring with lots of roses and columbine. Trees leaf out and get taller: cottonwood, maple, birch, poplar, aspen, dogwood, all of which give a good show in autumn. Native deer-grass and some non-natives get eaten (by design) by local deer.
In September we had a cord of firewood delivered. October had the whole-house generator clucked over. One must keep the generator happy, as it is often pressed into service by trees falling across power lines between here and Oakhurst. October also brought the much-anticipated Large Item Pickup day, for which we unloaded a dead microwave oven and helped neighbor John dispose of a fridge.
Now that the holidays are coming to a close, Diane is in the last phase of her cheerfully-embraced (for the most part) Holiday Duties which have included (but are not confined to): decorating the house, the trees (inside and out), writing cards, wrapping gifts, decorating the piano at the hotel (and decorating Tom) for various events there such as the Tree Lighting Ceremony, the Lighting of the Yule Log, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and last but not least New Year’s Eve.
Tom continues his local history research, and is currently deep into writing a biographical sketch of a famous local stagecoach driver, George Monroe. Stay tuned.
We wish all a disaster-free 2019, and a modest raise for the time-content of the coming year of, say, 7 percent. Is that asking too much?
Love,
Tom & Diane