We hope you all have had a healthy and happy year and wish you a very merry Christmas and all the best for the new year.

I don’t know where the time has gone in 2023 but here I am running around at the last minute trying to remember the things that have happened in the last 12 months. It’s been a relatively quiet year for us - no weddings but a couple of funerals. Unfortunately Al’s younger sister, Hope, passed away after a few years battling cancer, just a few weeks after their sister-in-law, Delia, was suddenly taken. They were very sweet ladies and we miss them both.

I am back in the office at least three days a week after working from home full time for over three years. Luckily I have my assigned parking spot so I don’t have to look for parking because by the time I roll in all the good spots are taken. It’s nice to see most of my co-workers in real life again but it’s so loud sometimes with people talking to each other or on the phone or on their zoom sessions.  I miss the quiet I had at home and I miss my dogs. And I hate driving in traffic again - that’s a real hassle.  After the new year, we have to be in the office 4 days a week and I can see the direction this is going so it won’t be long before we’re full time in office again.  It may well be time to retire at that point.

Al still stays busy with gym and visiting his only sister. She is the oldest of all of his brothers and sisters and she is still going strong. She likes to give Al a hard time but she also feeds him with home-made menudo and other family recipes. Al has been working on our yard quite a bit this year: adding some shrubs, pulling out others, adding river rock to the front beds, and adding a storage area by the gate. We had a patio area built in the back yard with paving stones where we store the grill and we planned to put some chairs and a table there but this summer it was so hot outside that we hardly spent any time outdoors.

I visited Scotland this year in September and spent almost a week on the west coast. Bill, Anne, and I visited our parents’ graves in Skye, then spent some time near LochCarron where Anne and her partner Jim are going to build a house. They have installed a cabin for temporary and future guest housing so that was the first time it got used. It’s a beautiful part of Scotland and the views are just spectacular from their home site. The village of LochCarron has a lovely pub and some fine wee shops as well and it’s just a few miles away. We were lucky with the weather and were able to spend a lot of time outdoors. Anne and I took a day trip up the west coast road to Ullapool and on the way back to the east coast we spent a few hours in Inverness. I also spent some time visiting here and there and if I didn’t get to see you I’m sorry but I didn’t have very much spare time. Once I retire I will be able to spend more time on these trips but for now they are much too short.

We are now down to 2 dogs, having lost Franklin earlier this year. He was 16 so he lasted a good long age and we still have Fiji and Chico. Chico started limping badly about six months ago from arthritis and refuses all medication and things that might help so I’ve had to stop taking him out for walks.  He goes in and out the doggy door to the back yard just fine but he’s definitely slowing down. Fiji is still going strong and reminds me when it’s time for walkies. He also likes to go for rides in the car, especially when I take him to the dog park. Sometimes we stop at Starbucks on the way home for a puppuccino but not too often because he’s kind of a chunky dog. He’s everybody’s friend and loves to cuddle.

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