Hello again, everyone!
If you are reading
this before the 21st of December, please relax, there is nothing to
worry about regarding any calendar running out.
If you are reading this AFTER the 21st of December, I told
you so. If you are reading this on the
21st and the sky outside is filled with hot hail and the moon is a
red as blood and the sun is as black as sackcloth, well, oops. I have a pretty good feeling we’ll all be
laughing this one off on the 22nd though…which may be exactly when
those Mayan fiends will actually strike because we won’t be expecting it.
I certainly hope
the world isn’t about to end, as this year has brought quite a bit of settling
down for some members of the Foster family, and I would imagine a pole-shift,
meteor strike, or zombie-apocalypse would wreak havoc on my property
values. Yes indeed, after twenty years
of being tenants to any place Uncle Sam placed us, Jennifer and I have picked
out our actual home. We’ve settled just
north of Lacey, Washington, and just east of Olympia. The house is older construction and quite
perfect for our needs and wants, and sits on a wonderful two acres with trees
in the front and wetlands in the back.
We are deliriously happy with our new home, which closed mind you on May
25th; the 35th anniversary of “Star Wars.” I trust that date far more than some poor
Mayan schmuck with a chisel standing over a big stone wheel who likely said
something like, “guys, I’ve gone out six-hundred years, can I stop now? My fingers are tired.” Regardless, Stately Foster Manor is open if
anyone wants to come visit. My toy room
is huge.
We also gained a
bedroom this year as Zack has moved out and is on his own. He’s been working in New Mexico, and I won’t
lie, we miss having him around. It is
gratifying to see him taking care of himself though, and being the responsible
adult we never thought the three-year-old Zack would ever grow up to be. Wouldn’t mind it though if he happened to
relocate to the Northwest, but we know he will be successful at whatever he wants
to do.
Hannah is quite
happy to be back in Weird Washington where she’s the most normal looking person
on the street. She just turned 18
herself, making Jennifer and I the parents of not one but two adult
children. Post High School plans are
still in the air a bit as far as the order goes, but there’s some college and
possibly some Navy ahead. We’ll see
which one comes first. Hope she learns
to swim a little better.
We did have an
addition to our family this year. Back
in August Jennifer adopted Luna, a six-year-old Italian Greyhound. Don’t think horse-like racedog; she weighs
about 15 pounds, but as Eightball and Patches the Evil Cat™ have found out,
that’s 15 pounds of sheer trouble. She
had come from an abusive home before and we are glad to give her a good
home. She’s made a lot of progress in
the last couple of months (though we think Eightball liked it better when she
was a bit more timid) and is certainly becoming part of the family. The aforementioned Patches the Evil Cat™ is
now 16 and as rotten as ever. She seems
to like the fact Luna is small enough to exert some control over, though they
are about tied on who wins what. Eightball
loves her, but you can see sometimes just wants her to give him his space. Tough when you’re used to being the only
child.
Besides rescuing
greyhounds, Jennifer has also become the Bob Villa of Olympia doing most of the
work inside (painting and electrical) while I manage The Green around it. Luckily I have read enough “Swamp Thing”
comics to know how to talk to plants, though some of them are still
resistant. My dream of raising orchids
has started resulting in dead orchids. I
might need to stick to rhodies…
So, the world
can’t end on the 21st, too much to do and too many years ahead of
chasing fast little dogs through the back yard.
We do all hope the year has been kind, but for those to whom it was not,
we offer our love and support. May the
New Year bring happiness to you all, provided of course there is one.
Stupid Mayans.
Love,
Daniel, Jennifer,
Hannah, Patches, Luna, and Eightball
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