Google Doodle to the Rescue
Shopping for Lyn is very difficult. I believe I've mentioned that previously. If I see something that seems like something she'd like, I try to get it right away so I don't miss out on an opportunity.
Nearly a year ago, I saw that Google had posted a Google Doodle celebrating the 120th Anniversary of the Nutcracker Ballet. Lyn loves the ballet. She watches each time she can catch it on TV. I remember we watched it annually growing up as well. She has a CD with the soundtrack. Each year for the past several years, Mom has taken her to a live performance. She could easily watch it daily. When I saw the doodle, I thought of her and how much she loves the ballet. That's when I spotted a link to the Doodle Store.
I bought her a shirt with the doodle on it. She'll never realize that it spells out Google. She will, however, recognize that it represents her favorite ballet.
Mom can show Lyn the above video link and tell her that today's post is about the performance they saw over the weekend. Then, when she unwraps her present on Wednesday, it may help spark that connection for her. I hope she likes the shirt.
By the way, they both enjoyed this year's performance much more than last year's.
I hope you don't mind a Christmas letter and a short 5 minute video. I don't think I have your email address. Ron
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/8YD56hJiOTA
CHRISTMAS -- 2013 December, 2013
Every year at Christmas time I ruminate whether to write a letter summing Marilyn and me into the record that we all keep. This missive is an attempt to do just that. But I have to say this last year has been generally uneventful, which, dear hearts, is not a bad thing. I write this from our winter camp in Green Valley, Arizona. A desolated 55+ kind of place, which we have for sale, about 35 miles from the border of Mexico. It came into being in 1964. Okay, enough of that.
We continue on with our routines. Marilyn goes to Food Bank where she volunteers on Monday and then to a sewing group at the Methodist Church on Tuesday. I, in turn, go to a writer’s group on Thursday afternoon where I read from a novel that I’m trying to
turn a sow’s ear into a piece of smooth silk. Then come an intermittent Saturday I go out with some guys to set up cameras along various trails in the desert trying to get an idea of how many illegals are coming into the country. We hand the pictures, movies over to the Border Patrol. In this area, Green Valley, there are a lot less coming north. Those that are still coming have shifted from the “easy flat land” to more mountainous terrain. And many of those are drug smugglers carrying packs of marijuana, which if not caught or dying from gunshots of other smugglers, make maybe five-hundred dollars. Enough to support themselves for awhile in the U.S.
We have not formally joined the local Lutheran Church, but we try to go to church on Saturday nights and many of the other social functions. So we are not unknown in the community. Of course we are still full members at Faith Lutheran in Homer. That is our “Home” church. We have a real sense of family there. So important in Alaska.
I finally got to do some chainsaw work around the house in Homer. My knee seems to be working and my back has pretty much recovered from a minor operation in 2012. Another thing we did was put in a permanent back-up generator. There were a few eyebrows raised since power outages don’t happen that often. But it has all ready proved itself when power was off for five hours due to a mechanical problem somewhere in the grid of Alaska. To my way of thinking, we Alaskans are lucky in that we are not connected to the Lower-48 electricity wise.
Sean, Lisa, and the boys continue on in Boise, Idaho. Joe (16) now attends the Boise Classical Academy and Jake (14) is being homeschooled by Lisa.
Jason has his routines of a job in Anchorage at the BX where he stacks food shelves. There has been talk of the government getting rid of some? of the BX’s. We hope that doesn’t happen as Jason values that job. Getting rid of the BX’s would be a blow to many military families.
Well, that pretty much covers this little summery. We hope your 2013 year has gone well for you and yours as we come up to our Christmas season and not forgetting the real reason for Christmas, that of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. And also not forgetting to say, “Merry Christmas!” rather than those other generic words, which mean little.
Love, Ron & Marilyn