Day 1459: New Year's Eve

Looking back over 2015, it was a very good year.  My children continue to be happy, healthy, employed and insured.  Steve and I are healthy and engaged in purposeful work.  Mary has completed her radiation and is considered cancer free.  Despite her sadness and grief, Nancy has tackled many challenges of living alone and has fashioned a busy, productive life.

Yesterday, Colin, April, Frizz't and Oscar survived their flight across the country and are now at home in Los Angeles. They found a nearby diner, so all is well.

For me, the biggest stories of the year would be:
1. My book is a few weeks away from completion!  It has been an all consuming endeavor, but I am so very proud of it.
2. I swam 109.5 miles this summer!
3. We took an exciting trip out west and traveled 1800 miles through seven national parks in Utah and Arizona.
4.  My one health event was a macular hole that was magically healed with a very expensive injection of jetrea.  Hooray for modern medicine!
5. We also traveled to Nags Head, NYC several times, Columbus and of course, the trails of Chautauqua County by backpacking.

What's the plan for 2016?
1. Publish and promote my book!
2. Swim another 100 miles.
3. Travel to Scotland in May and Australia in September.
4. Visit our kids in California and NYC, sisters in Louisville and Columbus.
5.  Have another successful backpacking season with four schools!
6. Cut back on carbs and increase exercise.

So, Oscar's great adventure!

As Colin said, "a little pee and a lot of meowing," but they survived.  He said he has never been so glad there were several babies on board who screamed because they drew the attention instead of the cats.  Toward the end, Oscar somehow escaped from his carrier and was about to take off when April caught him by the tail!  They were on the ground in NYC for an extra 90 minutes so the poor cats were starving and thirsty.  So were Colin and April.  They arrived at the apartment at 2:00 am their time or 5 am our time, totally exhausted.  They unpacked the new litter boxes and air mattress, made a little cardboard house for the cats to hide in and fell into a deep sleep.  This morning they did a hunt for Oscar and found him behind the refrigerator.  Where else? 

Day 1458: And they're off!

They're on their way!  The flight took off at 8 pm with two little kitties tucked in under the seats and two nervous parents settled in for their long journey.

Oscar

Drizz't

He hissed at the security agent and scratched Colin's arm, but otherwise, he's ok.

We have to wait till tomorrow to find out how the trip went.

I finished the draft of the preface this morning.  It actually made me choke up a bit because I wrote about what drove me to write about Quest and my hopes for the future.  The last seven years have been a huge investment and the book has consumed nearly all my time and energy from November to March.  My friend Kate joked that I'll be experiencing some major postpartum depression when the whole process is over.  With any luck, I'll be spending my time promoting my book and writing new ones. 

Day 1457: Musical staff meeting

Another musical season has begun!  Of course, work has been underway for a couple months.  Auditions are over and roles have been cast, sets are designed,  lighting plans are in process, costume ideas are being tossed around.  This was our first staff gathering and it's always a joy to reunite with such close and loyal friends.  I really missed them.

 The twenty-first chapter is completed!  Recruiting and enrolling was a tough chapter because it was so procedural and I had to humanize by adding anecdotes.  I spent over an hour with Margaret and gained new insights into her experiences.  Her comments will be especially valuable in the final chapter.

Tomorrow,  I'm planning to read all the material I've collected for the first and last chapters.   As I've written concluding paragraphs for each chapter, I've thought, "oh, I should put that thought in the introduction!"  I've allotted three weeks for this task, but may need more time.

Colin and April and their kitties will be flying out to California tomorrow evening.  Today was their last day at work in NYC.  I'm sure it was hard for them to say goodbye to the many good friends they've made over the last four and a half years.  Although it will be a challenging transition, I'm sure they will succeed and thrive.  We are so very proud of them!

Drizz't is the rascal, temperamental, vocal and sometimes aggressive. 

The challenge will be keeping him quiet on the plane. 

Oscar is the scaredy cat, nervous, a bit neurotic and shy.

He gets so frightened that he wets himself.  

The kids love them so much.  I hope the sedative helps keep them calm.  

Day 1456: Writing all day

My sister left town at 6:30 am and drove through the torrential rains of winter storm Goliath till 3:30. She's exhausted, but safely tucked in at home in Louisville.  It was wonderful to have her join us for Christmas this year, the first Christmas in forty-five years that we've spent together.  But I know it was very hard to be away from her own children and granddaughter.  It probably won't happen again for many more years, so I'm glad we had this time together.

Except for an hour walk after lunch and an hour for dinner prep, I worked all day on the Cobb history chapter and finished about 8:30.  Tomorrow, I'll proofread it one more time and then put it to bed.  It went much faster than I expected, so I'll have two and a half weeks to complete the last two chapters if I am to reach my Jan. 15 goal.

Tomorrow morning I'm interviewing Margaret for the final chapter on the legacy of Quest.  I'm sure her insights will be very valuable.  It will be the toughest chapter to complete because I have the least amount written for it.

Day 1455: Empty house

Our sons left by 8:30 am after a wonderful week together.  They drove through hours of heavy rain, but made it home safely.  I was in my PJs at 6:00, took two tylenol, drank lots of water, and settled into my chair with kitties sleeping by my side.  Time to recover from a week of indulgence, a busy schedule and lots of company.

This morning I finished the enrolling and recruiting chapter!  Woohoo!  Next on the agenda is the Cobb era history chapter.  At noon we visited with Shane and offered him a new job on Quest:  Hike group leader.  He will either take my place or that of another leader who is struggling with health issues.  We have complete confidence in him and he's ready for the next challenge.  Now, we just have to wait and see what the start date will be for his summer job.  Hopefully, it will be after May 21, 2016.  He will be the first Quest hiker ever to transition from 8th grader to student leader to adult leader and then hike group leader.

Everyone has now booked their trips to Scotland!  Seven of us will be traveling together, Steve and I, Mary, Nancy, Laurie, Steve and Rachel!  Among many attractions, we'll be visiting the Isle of Skye and the town of Culross where Steve's ancestors lived.  Very exciting!

Day 1454: Boxing Day

Nephews, niece, sister, brother, sons, husband.  Morning computer updates, leftovers for lunch, Star Trek The Movie, pizza and salad supper, a full thirteen rounds of dominoes, Star Trek into the Darkness.  Happy day!

Nancy, Brad and Sarah

Evan, Steve and Justin

The whole crew

Day 1453: Merry Christmas!

It was an incredible day!  We are blessed with a loving and generous family and surrounded by wonderful friends.  Today, I am again reminded of our good fortune.

The house is now quiet and we are relaxing by watching Harry Potter and The Sourcer's Stone with Justin and Evan.  We were able to Skype with Alexandra and Lisa this morning and Alexandra was practicing her new flamingo wings.  Then this afternoon, we Skyped with Colin and April, Drizz't and Oscar.   It was so good to see their faces.  They are all packed and ready to move on Wednesday.  Tonight, for fun they were going to see Star Wars.

After opening a mountain of presents, we took a long walk on this 50 degree day and then played a few new games.  One called Sushi Go was cute, but ultimately we returned to the old standby of dominoes.  We've eaten so much over the last few days that we can barely move, but tomorrow we have to eat the stollen that Justin brought from NYC and lots of leftovers.  It's a tough job, but we'll manage.