The New YEAR!

Well, the new year has come and gone, but I am just getting around to blogging about it. Oh, well!! The year for us did not start out to well. I ended up having to go back to Phoenix the beginning of January to due a death of a dear sweet friend. It was unexpected and we later found out due to some of the medications that she was on. Jonathan was not able to come out until later due to his work schedule, but since we had already planned on come out as is our usual trip in January, he was able to make it.

This trip to AZ was a little unusual for us too, as it was the first trip back to Phoenix where there was another woman living in my dad's house. It was good to see, but also hard to see as everywhere I looked there were reminders of my mother. So with my dad and Cookies' permission we took down the big drapes in the living and dining room and repainted the walls. We also bought new blinds for both the living and dining rooms to get rid of the old verticals that were so weather rotten that they were falling apart. It turns out that this was just the first of many painting jobs that were to come for my dad and Cookie.

Jonathan was also able to go skiing for the first time in almost four years. He went with a good buddy Isaac. This skiing trip just might have to turn into a regular thing for him. He told me later that he really missed skiing and since we all know that there are no ski slopes anywhere close to us. This just might have to do. He also told me that he looks forward to teaching our kids how to ski. I on the other hand stayed home and spent the day shopping with Cookie and enjoying some time to relax. I don't ski. I have taken one ski lesson and that was over six years ago. I may take it up again in the future, but we will have to see. Notice in the picture that Jonathan is wearing his Fire fighter turnouts. He doesn't have any ski clothes anymore, but found out that these work really warm as they are water resistant and really warm.

Since my dad and Cookies house is now getting full with furnishings from two homes, it was also decided that on this trip, Jonathan and I would bring back my antique furniture. This included a bed, dresser, high boy, two mirrors, and a desk and chair which were not able to make it in the truck. We have a big shout out to friends who loaned us their truck for the trip as we don't have a vehicle that could have carried this furniture back with us. I was also able to load up about a dozen more boxes of stuff that will eventually make it back to our house here in Houston. Hopefully, if my dad and Cookie drive out this year some time, they will be able to bring some of the stuff with them as well. Otherwise, we will be bringing it back with us every time we come out to Phoenix, since we almost always drive out in January.