2013 - The Year in Review

Subtitle: 2 Weddings and a Funeral.

Summary: I lost a gall bladder and a father, but gained 2 in-laws.

2013 started off pretty good, then took a quick turn to the crappy. My little Bert got married, which was a fun thing. Then Dad was in a terrible car accident and subsequently died--definitely a sad and miserable experience for all of us. A week after that my gall bladder exploded and I had to have surgery. Not fun, but I sure feel better now. Malcolm decided to go back to college...and he's doing great-thanks for asking. I joined a gallery and able to disply my paintings in public--good for me, I'm not sure about the public, though. My baby brother turned 50! We had another wedding-Jon and Lila. Definitely a wonderful thing. And I found out I'm going to be a granny, times two. Awesome! But, sadly, I must report the death of a very dear friend of mine. Denise went into the hospital the week before Christmas, finally succombing to cancer. She fought it for 10 years. I am so, so sad to lose her. I have to tell you, she was absolutely an amazing person. I worked with her for almost 18 years. We were in same department and for most of that time she sat over the cubicle wall. You get close to a person when you spend 40 hours a week with them year after year. So, all in all, the year was mixed. Some wonderful things and some incredibly sad things. But, that's life.

The birthday boy with wife and youngest daughter in historic Old Williamsburg.



The box Taumi, Mike and Jon Lee built with scrap lumber for Dad's cremation. Inside is model of a tobacco barn, a sausage biscuit from McDonald's, with coffee (sugar, no cream) and the Farmer's Almanac.