Hello All! We have been busy this month with birthdays and trips. We took off on Feb 3 for Southern California to visit Missy, Meg and Scott. We spent the day and night before our flight at Libby's in West Seattle. We really enjoy our visits over there. As we go more often, we get more intrigued with West Seattle. It's like a little community over there! We got to SoCal in time for the Super Bowl and watched that with Scott's family and friends. The next day and for the week after we worked at Grandma's house. We cleaned out part of her workshop and filled two big garbage cans and the recycle bin. We will go back down each month for a week to finish up. Also, we made plans with the gardener to remove all the bushes you see in front of the house. After 40 years, you can't see the front. We'll replace them with low bushes in front of the house and grass for low maintanence. We had snow on Whidbey at the end of January. We didn't expect it, but awoke one morning and there it was. We were glad to get down to the sunshine in SoCal. Everybody down there is doing really well. Missy has a light teaching load since she is coordinating the support labs for students this semester. She loves her job! Meghan is so tall and looks like a teenager. She had to be convinced I was her funny grandmother, but I did get her attention when I told her I thought I could move down for the winter months and pick her up every day after school. I could put my head out the window and yell, "Yoohoo! Meghannnnn! Over here!" When I reminded her she would have to explain that to her too cool frineds she tried not to laugh, but I caught her!! Scott's job still keeps him busy. It was fun to meet all his golf friends at the Super Bowl party. Of course, his brothers were there and wives and kids! We also got to celebrate his birthday on Feb 4.
Libby is in England right now. She has gone over for four days of work and six days of sightseeing. She and a friend are going on the Chunnel for a short trip to Paris. It's been years since she was there, so she is very excited. We sent her off with a new camera (a Christmas present) and hope to get lots of good pictures. Her business continues to be good. She plans vacations and then work!!
I am busy with the Power Sqd secretary duties and the Standing Comm secretary duties. And, I hae started a four year Education for Ministry Study, starting with the Old Testament and then on to the New Testament and then two years of church history, both in the greater world and then in the U.S. It requires homework and thoughtfulness, but it is just what I have been looking for.
Our church continues to grow and we expect great things this year. We are having a few growing pains. We need a scheduler for activities and a church calendar, but overall, we are doing very well. We tolerate the stresses and strains of being displaced better than one would think possible. Our new bishop continues to reassure us that all will soon be resolved. We pray he is right.
I went to visit a few friends in California over Feb 8 weekend and took them the shawls I had knitted. Now I am determined to finish the projects I had already started. To that end, I did finish a scarf I started over a year ago, and now I am going to get rid of all the extra yar. I have a few new things to begin, but nothing that will take too long.
Jim is getting ready for sailing season, although it is pretty cold right now! We have three schedules we have to coordinate with the three boating groups we support. Looks like we'll have a few longer cruises in August and September, and then fill in with shorter ones in June and July. The best months are August and September because the weather is perfect then. Today the sun is out so we think it is time to get ready to go!
On Jan 4 we began our diet for the new year. We are doing the Protein Power low carb diet for the time, and we are both losing weight. Jim loses faster than me, but it is coming off. There is a long way to go, but we feel so much better and we eat much better now. Jim's birthday was Feb 14 so he feels good that his pants are getting baggy! We had a lo carb birthday, but it tasted good and we felt victorious. The best to our friends and family from the Whidbey Wagners.
