65TH TRIP AROUND THE SUN

65^TH TRIP AROUND THE SUN

The days seem to spin around so fast that I find myself wondering where the time goes.  Its been a busy and happy year except for Mark being sent to Iraq. I was so angry to learn the news that I knew I had to do something physical so I tore into the closets.  Pulled everything out and reorganized.

In one week Page and the girls will be here for a month.  We have a busy schedule with activities for the girls.  Shannon is in stage camp at American Stage and Bridgie is doing art at the Art Center and Harbor Mice at the sailing center.

I started my year off with a surprise party at Bella Brava.  All of my friends came and the surprise of the evening was having coffee served from Martha Eugenie Devalcourt’s  sterling silver coffee pot.  Talk about surprises.  Steve bought it for me and how we found it is quite a topic for a future writing.

Steve’s 70^th birthday was a giant party (not a surprise) at the St. Pete Yacht Club.  He introduced the GTX1 to everyone.  This is well-documented in pictures making a long description superfluous. The Chicago Woodrough’s came for the event and we took the children to Weeki Wakii Springs.  They loved it. Steve took a cross country drive in his GTX1 and made a second trip to Las Vegas to the SEMA show.

Late in November we left Miami on a three week cruise up the Amazon river to Manaus.  It was an experience of a life time and also is well documented with photographs.

We returned home just before Christmas and Page came with the girls for a three week visit.  Of course, we did the usual Build A Bear expedition to get a bear for Molly and new clothes for the older bears.

The end of February was the opening of the new wing of the Museum of Fine Arts.  By special request Mary and her father came for the event.  I spent the weekend teaching Mary the rudiments of sewing and bought her a small sewing machine.  The big surprise was Steve honoring me by arranging to have the grand staircase of the museum named in my honor.  This is perhaps the biggest surprise of my entire life.  It truly is one of the best gifts I can imagine.  It is now mid June of  a wonderful year.  Next year we are planning a cruise of the British Isles. And This Thanksgiving we are planning a family reunion in beautiful Death Valley.

We have managed to have some interesting family reunions.  Last summer we were all at Spirit Lake with Harold and Joan McDermott.  The previous winter we took a family cruise to the Caribbean and the girls had a wonderful time. Of course, there was the family reunion to beat all – our trip to Italy for Shannon’s baptism.

In 2005 Steve and I took a Baltic Cruise and visited St. Petersburg Russia for three days. And, who can forget the cruise down the Nile in 2002?

I think that I am starting to see why time has flown.  We been rather busy.