Springtime

The winter we didn't get earlier this year has been showing up now - a huge Easter storm arrived just in time Thursday! But it is warming up again, and in another day or two we will be back to green grass.

Tom spent his winter in Alamos, then traveled to Japan and the Philippines for a month with a group of friends. He's back in Texas now, and I will take a week's vacation there this month. Then he'll wait for the "all clear" (no snow in the forecast!) to return to Montana.

The Special Olympic scarf project turned out successfully - we sent 20 scarves to the state office.

Next year we've decided to give the scarves directly to the local chapter since we know several athletes, and they only compete in the local games. The local contact thinks they could use 45 scarves, and we're pretty sure we can do that - several crafters have mentioned they would prefer to know their contribution is going to local athletes, so enthusiasm is high for this idea. We're just waiting for the official colors to be announced so we can get started.

Not really winter...

We can't complain about winter this year, except to say we've hardly had it! Not much snow, not even terribly cold (but cold enough to say BRRR). As long as this doesn't mean we'll be having a much-delayed winter in May, I'm OK with this.

Wedding plans are coming along. They have selected the date (September 22), the place (the City's Beall Center) and a honeymoon destination (San Francisco). Jamie has found an incredible pair of shoes (wish I had a photo - very Victorian-looking, platform and extreme heel, but she only plans to wear them for the ceremony), and JP has ordered his wedding band.

(Beall Center - very appropriately made of stone and block, perfect for someone who works in masonry!)

It's time for the latest batch of Scarves for Special Olympics - several friends have been knitting this winter, and we have a new batch to send off to the state office next week. We'll take a photo and hopefully get it posted here. I liked this year's colors (cherry red and navy blue). Seeing the new colors each year always gets me inspired to start again!

Holidays!

This is my version of our annual holiday letter. It's been a few years since I've taken the time to write one, so this is a big improvement. Why not take advantage of the internet services available?

Highlights of the year, some of which have been mentioned in previous posts: our fun trip to Washington, D.C. in April and the cruise through the Panama Canal in September.



In between these we had a lot of work done on the house, completing repairs from last year's hail storm: a new roof, new paint, and some interior ceiling work. Next year we'll be looking at window replacement, and should probably consider carpeting - we're still living with the original rust/brown shag. It just won't wear out!

Tom just spent a week in Portland with Jon-Erik, where they celebrated a bit of Christmas. Next Tom heads to Mexico for the winter, and Jon-Erik will come to Bozeman. He's finished another quarter of his graduate program, and is still doing well.

James-Philip and Jamie have settled in to the house in town, and are planning a wedding! News hasn't gone out to everyone yet, so I'm taking a chance by posting here. But since I don't think there are many followers, it doesn't seem to be a big risk. (But if you read this, don't spoil the surprise!). They are using the family heirloom engagement ring, passed on to each Henley son. I believe he is the fourth Henley to use it. We hope they are as happy as we've been.