Our 50th Class Reunion was October 26 and 27th. I spent all Friday at the school, Mama Mia’s, and watching the parade. The actual reunion was at the stockyards on Saturday evening. It was so much fun seeing old classmates and catching up.
The sunroom was demolished except for the roof. Bradley Construction poured a new foundation and made it about two feet wider and a little deeper. They then rebuilt the structure with new windows, walls and new light fixtures and electrical. We now have a large picture window facing south over the yard.
We also had a new driveway done. The existing one had been compromised by the massive roots from the cypress next door. We had the existing sidewalk removed and a new one installed with a square for the water feature and a sidewalk across the western half of the front. There had always been a 2” “step” from the porch to the sidewalk and the concrete people eliminated that hazard.
We have a few more projects to do before we are finally done with the improvements we want to make. I want more sidewalks in the back, a greenhouse and electrical to the shop and storage building and the planned greenhouse.
Thanksgiving was wonderful. We went to Jennifer’s on Thursday and to Stan’s brother’s home on Friday. It was good to catch up with everyone. Trea’s family and Cheryl came from Georgia for Friday. Billy’s family came from south Texas for Thursday. I love being able to share the holidays with my nieces and nephews and all the kids in both families. They all love being together and no one is sitting in the living room texting their mom asking if they can go now after 30 minutes. (True story.)
I will be doing Christmas eve at Walter’s again. No one really makes much effort to come and it’s usually a pretty small gathering. To me, it’s about ensuring that the tradition is continued in some form for those of us who treasure our family and the true meaning of Christmas. I know Walter appreciates the gesture. We’ve been going out for Christmas day but I think I have finally recovered from the last foot surgery enough to actually fix a small meal.
I love the water aerobics class I’ve been taking. This is a hard-core workout. We were moving plants and Stan thought they were too heavy to pick up but they weren’t a problem for me. I’ve really seen improvement in my upper arms. I think doing the steps in the water and all the other stuff has helped strengthen the muscles in my legs and back and has had a positive impact on the foot issues. It still hurts, but I can deal with it better now. The orthopedic surgeon told me that anything he could do to correct the issues might work or could make the problem worse. He doesn’t recommend doing anything. In other words, learn to live with it was the recommendation!
Stan is back to normal. His toe has healed from having the knuckle removed and he is feeling pretty good. Winter is always a little hard for him, but this year should be a lot better now that the heart issues have been addressed.
We are enjoying life and are very happy, and that’s the best place to be.
