A Good Year!

It was a good year for us. We attended numerous family reunions and enjoyed renewing family ties and welcoming ast least one new baby into the family. It was gratifying to participate with Cathy’s family. I enjoyed tutoring Devin this past summer and seeing him grow athletically and musically.

We were able to make several trips to the Roanoke area and fellowship with friends there.

I continue to enjoy my Woodstock writing group and this blog. Also, FaceBook and email have kept me in touch with a wide circle of friends, family, and former students. If you invite me to be a “friend” I will surely try to keep in touch with you.

Our most significant adventure was the trip Lib and I took to New England this fall. It was an Abbott’s bus tour of the region named “Rails and Sails”. Saw lots of historic towns and cities.Those that were linked to the ocean and whaling were perhaps the most interesting. The Cape Cod area was perhaps the most compelling. We were on the ground touring as much or more than we were riding. The trains ad boat excursions added to the interest. Our tour leader and bus driver were most helpful
in helping us over the hurdles that impaired oldsters encounter.

In Vermont a train ride, a trip to the top of a ski mountain, and a visit to a farm that was successfully marketing maple syrup and cheeses was also memorable.

I perhaps performed on violin as much as I have in a long while. I’m indebted to Francis Church for pushing me to my limits to learn new quartets and chamber music. I played a few paying weddings this past summer with members of Christina’s quartet and enjoyed Saturday chamber music sessions.

The bell ringers at our church made progress and were a fun group to direct and teach.

Lib and I have been blessed to live another year in a neat home and close to one of our daughters. We look forward to another year, even if it resembles the past one in many ways.

Lib had successful cataract surgery and carpal tunnel work. I hope the hip replacement operation in January will decrease my pain and increase my mobility. We look forward to “Sounds of the Mountain” at Camp Bethel in early spring and NOAC Conference in North Carolina in the fall. Anything else will be just more topping on the cake of life.