Christmas Letter for 2011
(Working on adding images, check back later to see the pics!)
WOW, what a year! It came in quietly and we hope it leaves quietly as well. But the time between January 1 and December 31, has had high and low points. But, for the most part it was a good year.
Weather sounds so boring, but his year we had extremes in every direction…Record snow fall 24”, then record drought, record cold -36 °and record heat 65 days over 100°. Believe it or not our trees actually had pretty fall autumn colors. We had just enough rain in September to make that possible.
The record snow storm and the ice storms from years past enabled Dan to play Paul Bunyan!! We have a friend with a chain saw and Dan got to down his first tree. After it was down, the garden looked really bare without the tree.
In the spring our neighborhood started an alert neighbors program. We have a wonderful organizer that sends out emails about neighborhood news. Each block has a captain, and Martha volunteered to be the captain for our street. We organized an ice cream social in June, complete with a visit from the Tulsa Fire Department complete with Fire Truck.
The first of May we lost one of our babies. Penny was 12 and developed lung cancer. Even though we still have two other IG’s Bella (5) and Gabby (3) the house is really quiet. We could always count on Penny for a good growl when she was playing with her toys. Any one that has lost a pet knows how difficult it is to come home and not have that happy face to meet you.
We suffered another loss in May. Martha’s Uncle Jene passed away. Uncle Jene performed both our wedding ceremony and Martha’s sister and brother in law Beth and Ed’s wedding ceremony. The Memorial service was in Arnett, OK. Martha went with her parents. It was a nice celebration of his life. While we had mixed emotions, it was nice to spend time with relatives; an aunt, an uncle and cousins.
Also in May, Dan’s mother had to go to the emergency room as a result of a car accident. We are glad she was not hurt, but the car was totaled. It was right before Memorial Day weekend and quite an ordeal to get the car out of the storage garage and to the salvage yard.
In June, we made a couple of trips to the emergency room with Dan’s dad. During the first trip the emergency room he was seen by an ER doctor that was making rounds and medical residents. In his teaching to the residents the doctor said, “This patient has Alzheimer’s Disease”. Dan and his sister learned at that time their dad had been diagnosed, three years before. It has been and adjustment and learning experience for us all. Thank goodness for the Alzheimer’s Association, OASIS (adult day care), and home health.
In July, Dan, Martha and Beth took Martha and Beth’s parents to Estes Park for the annual trip. We had lots of fun and relaxation. On our way down the mountain into Estes Park, the brakes didn’t work well and the transmission would not downshift. Dan did a great job getting us into town. The next day we took the Martha’s work van back to Boulder for transmission work. The LUCKY CAR got to spend a month in Colorado before it was trucked back to Tulsa. Several times we discussed going to pick it up to get out of the 100+ degree heat!!
Over Labor Day weekend Dan’s second cousin Dick and his wife Janet came to a high school reunion in Bartlesville. They were able to spend an evening in Tulsa catching up with the McCarroll side of the family.
In September we made a trip to Oregon. We toured our way through and visited many Pinot Noir wineries. Unfortunately, our favorites are not available in Oklahoma and they can’t ship wine here.
We took a quick trip to the Oregon coast and ate clam chowder at the world famous Moe’s Restaurant. We were able to sit right by the window and watch the seals in the surf. We took a couple of days and went to visit Dick and Janet in Bend. They were great tour guides and hosts. We had a happy hour celebration with some of the best hors d’oeuvres we’ve had in a long time. We also got to celebrate Oktoberfest in downtown Bend with beer from local Bend breweries.
On our last day, we took the Columbia River Gorge Highway, east out of Portland and saw a series of waterfalls, with the most spectacular being Multnomah Falls. It is a 611-foot-tall roaring, awe-inspiring cascade of icy water that lets you experience the power and beauty of nature up close. According to Native American lore, Multnomah Falls was created to win the heart of a young princess who wanted a hidden place to bathe.
In November, Martha joined the social media generation by purchasing her first “deal” on Groupon. She’s still not on Facebook, but Dan is a Facebook groupie, checking in frequently.
Earlier in the year the owners of one of Dan’s favorite restaurant’s retired. Sam and Nuhad owned Cedar’s Imports for over 40 years. Her tabouli, hummus and cabbage rolls were the best in town. Dan managed to get their neon sign to help him remember all the good times and delicious food.
Also in November we felt our first earthquakes in Tulsa. I think there was one last year fall, but we did not feel that one. Yes EARTHQUAKE in Oklahoma. There was one 4.7 and 5.6 on the Richter scale. There were several pre-quakes and several aftershocks.
This December, Martha presented one of the Advent lessons in our Sunday School class. Thanks to Dan’s multimedia computer skills we were able to show clips of Las Posadas and the St Lucia celebration. Both celebrations focus on the light of the Christmas season.
We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe a prosperous New Year.
