End of Year

Well, guys, 2007 is about to come to an end. Who knows what will be in store for all of us in this new year? I hope all my neighbors (friends on Vox) have their health (or improve it) and get whatever else they're striving for. 

I have a short list of things I hope to accomplish. Number one on my list is to save more money. Mike and I have not done this well at all within the last two years so I really want to focus on saving money in 2008.  Two, I want to lose weight. At this point, I would be satisfied with losing 20 pounds. Three, I want to read my Bible more and continue to apply what I read to my life. I could do a lot better on the part called Forgiving, so that will be a specific thing I'll work on in  2008.

For those of you who commented on my last post about visiting my my oldest son, Steve and then my brother and sister-in-law, the visits were great.

First, we went to see Steve. We went to a city called Monroe, it's about 30 minutes north of Toledo, Ohio, and an hour south of us. Monroe is the home of Monroe automotive parts  (shocks and struts) and also LazyBoy furniture. It's also the boyhood home of General George Armstrong Custer (Battle of Little Bighorn).

When I was in my 20s I spent a lot of time in Monroe--every Saturday and Sunday for four years--taking care of my elderly paternal grandma. Back then, Monroe was nowhere as large as it is now. Today there is every store imaginable--from Sears, to Kohl's, Panera Bread, Coffee Beanery (no Starbucks, which I think is unusual), all the fast food restaurants, Wal-Mart, Target, Applebee's, and on and on. It was quite a shock to me to see all of the malls, stores and restaurants after all these years. I guess I was naive to not expect progress there when everywhere else has changed.

We took some food with us for Steve since he is going through the 'down time' at the tattoo shop. There aren't many  customers during the week in the winter and so money is tight for him.  We visited for a while at Steve's apartment and then we took him to lunch at Panera Bread. After that, Steve had to get ready to leave for band practice, so we said goodbye. I didn't want to leave, as I only see him about two or three times a year. During our visit I could tell that Steve is lonely. When you're a parent you want to take care of your kids and you hate to see them feeling bad. I can't fix the things in his life that are causing him problems. But, I was glad to hear that this week he's adopting a cat, so he'll have a little companionship at his apartment.

Right after we left Monroe we went to my brother's house. They had a small meal "out of boxes and bags" my brother said. LOL. We had pre-made lasagne, with salad and bread; and later, blueberry pie ala mode.  We sat and talked around the kitchen table and played a card game called Golf (Six card). Mike and I had never played this card game before. We had a lot of fun and laughed a lot. Mary showed us the artwork she's finished in preparation for crafts shows coming up in the spring. I was surprised when she let me have any two pieces of her art work.  This is the second time she's given me some of her work, which she puts many hours of time and effort into. I was very touched that she would give me more of her work, as she charges well over $30 for many of her pieces. I will take a photo and post after this one so you can see what my gifts were.  And, by the way---I felt fine all day yesterday. I don't know why I felt like I was coming down with the flu Saturday, but yesterday I was fine.  Since my brother often doesn't feel well I'm not sure when we will be able to visit again.

Tonight we're expecting another snow storm.  Five to 10 inches of snow with ice too. (Sigh). Steve and Brian will be at the same New Year's Eve party tonight, at a friend's home. Thankfully, neither Steve nor Brian drink. Steve is staying the night there. We're staying in. No booze for us, just a quiet night.

Happy New Year!