One of my goals for this month and my 101 in 1001 was to write a Christmas Letter. It’s done (yes, it’s late–it’s going out as an e-letter this year), so here it is:
Happy New Year from Our House to Yours!
Dear Family & Friends,
We hope this finds you in the best of health and enjoying the holiday season! As we look forward to the New Year and reflect on 2009, we thought it would be nice to let friends and family know what’s been going on in our world.
On May 19th, we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary by visiting The Wilds, a 10,000 acre wildlife conservation center in Cumberland, Ohio. Besides that it was FREEZING COLD and—of course—we chose the open air tour bus to see the animals better, we had a great time. In August, we spent a week on Bald Head Island, NC with Tim’s parents, brother, and sister-in-law. It was an absolute blast (despite the millions—literally—of stinging jellyfish) and we dream about a repeat trip. On our way home from NC, we took a detour through Richmond, VA to visit a long lost friend of Alverna’s. It was a VERY happy reunion and the guys got acquainted in the way grown men prefer: playing video games.
Tim has become quite the handyman this year. He replaced our hot water heater after our old one went kaput in the middle of the winter (brrr!) and, at the same time, he installed the almost brand new, high end water softener system we were generously gifted with. The combination of the two new systems has made a huge difference in our ultra-hard well water situation. Tim also built a new door for our chicken house, built porch steps, and installed a tile floor in our formerly carpeted kitchen. (Seriously, who carpets a kitchen!?) He also worked on his golf game, but unfortunately the weather prevented him from showing off his mad skills at the Bugh Family Reunion. Instead, we mingled with the rest of the family on the Inn’s porch and generally goofed off.
Alverna has now been working at Twin Maples Veterinary Hospital as a veterinary assistant for a year. Although it doesn’t offer her a career path, she enjoys the work and the people, feels blessed to have a job during these tough economic times, and LOVES the shorter commute. Alverna’s also been trying to keep up a regular reading habit, and in the process has been bitten by the Twilight bug. (Well, she IS in the over 25 demographic after all.) Other books she’s found especially enjoyable this year are The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan (in fact, she still can’t stop talking about it) and the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. Alverna also keeps a blog (www.AlvernaH.wordpress.com), which keeps her writing, if on an admittedly irregular basis.
Life on the farm continues. The horses are ornery as ever and the dogs love their yard just as much as always. Karli (the Border collie mutt) managed to get her paws on a squirrel. We’re still not sure if she caught it herself or found it already dead. Of course, she’s convinced that she caught it herself and is about to catch another at any moment. Kori (the Pembroke Welsh Corgi) has decided that our new horse farm neighbors across the street have four-legged aliens which must be watched (and barked at) at all times. In June, our meager flock of 3 hens was joined by a brood of baby chicks which arrived in the mail all the way from Webster City, Iowa. The “baby” hens are now laying eggs along with the “big” girls, which means we collect upwards of 6 eggs a day. (Anyone need some eggs!?) Tim was instrumental in the garden expansion project we undertook this year. We were able to enjoy fresh fruits & veggies for most of the summer and are fortunate enough to have some veggies in the freezer to eat over the winter. The highlight of our garden was our first watermelon EVER! Tim waited SO long for it to ripen, but it was worth the wait.
Basically, life is very, very good. As we look ahead to 2010, we wish you a healthy and prosperous New Year!
Happy Holidays,
Alverna & Tim
Aspiring Alverna 