November 16, 2009 -- well more time has elapsed without a post. Will try to catch up. In September Deidre came back to Oregon for a couple of weeks. She and Mark have split. It was good for her to have some time with Stevan. Kathy's health has been doing much better. In late September, we went to Washington, DC to see our two grand daughters -- Evangeline and Lindy. Evangeline is now 27 months and Lindy, 6 months. Mark and Mollie are still in the journalism world. Mark moved from National Review the first of November to opinion editor of the Washington Examiner. Erika and Barry have been working hard to keep their construction business afloat. Barry is a hard worker and willing to do most anything. Consequently, he is able to find work when others can't. Currently, he has a job way out in the boonies of E. Oregon that will keep him busy into next year. Oct. 17 to Nov. 10, Kathy went on a trip to Asia with her cousin, Gail. It was a 16 day cruise, with a few days tacked on each end to take longer looks at Bangkok and Beijing. They also visited Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi inVietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Okinawa, and Shanghai, China. They gained a great appreciation for Asia -- especially the shopping. While Kathy was gone, I went to Cabo for a week to check on some water damage from the tropical storm that hit in late October -- and to see Deidre. Bellatrix is weathering the economic downturn, but not without difficulty. We are leaner and meaner, but still in the black. Next week we travel to Hawaii -- to see the Navy-Hawaii football game and to visit friends and family.

Well, quite a gap in posting. However, thought I would try to bring things up to date a bit. Have done a little traveling this year. Went to Boston and Newport, RI with Nicolosi's in late January for a week (No ski trip to Alps this year.) It was cold. Did get to visit some of our old stomping grounds from the 70's and a trip to the Boston temple. Early February went to our Utah condo for about a week. Did manage a few runs on the local slopes. February-March we went to Cabo and stayed 31/2 weeks. Had two sets of company at Casa Hemingway during this period. The Bauers (Bill and Judy - USNA classmate) were the first. The day they left we had Joan and Wally Sparks for a week or so (Joan has been a close friend of Kathy's since before kindergarten.) Weather was great and we saw lots of whales right from our deck. April we did a belated trip to Garmisch with Nicolosi's. George and Carol stayed another week and toured northern Italy. Late May into early June back to Cabo for a couple of weeks. Besides enjoying the weather and the house, we had a few maintenance issues that needed attention. Mid-June Kathy went to Salt Lake City to take her mother (92) to visit relatives. About the 3rd night they were there at our condo, her mother broke her ankle. This began a long period of medical issues. Her mother spent 3 days in the hospital then 3 weeks in a skilled nursing facility. Insurance kicked her out of the facility, so we found a assisted living place for the next 4 weeks. During this same period, Kathy was in St. Mark's for a week with heart and arterial problems. Grandma is home now, but still in a wheelchair. Kathy is feeling better, but still under care and grounded from traveling for awhile. Oh, I forgot to mention that during all this , Deidre totalled our Cabo car (Durango) and banged herself up a bit. I had to go down to Cabo for a week to clean up the mess. So, back here in Sunriver, we have been busy fighting health insurance companies and trying to make sure that Grandma gets proper care. Kathy has also had an oral surgery (broken tooth on a 55 year old root canal) along with her other medical visits. Meanwhile back at Bellatrix, business started off pretty good the first five months. Since then the recession has really caught up with us. Have had to make some tough decisions this year to make sure the company keeps afloat and in good shape for when the economy turns around. That is a brief synopsis to catch up on our lives. Will try to do better in the future.

January 3: Well, it was another chilly day. Went to the mountain and did about 5 hours of riding. Because of recent conditions, only a few lifts were running. Consequently, the zillion people that are still in town for the holidays were concentrated on about 4 lifts. The good news is that most of them didn't arrive until after 10:30 or so. So we had about two good hours where the lift lines were short. However, the snow was fantastic. Since it has been so cold, the snow was light and easy to move. Talked with Don Bolster (an old high school friend) today. We email often, but nothing like a phone call now and then. Went grocery shopping with Kathy after I got home. Got a lot of good stuff like oranges, vegetables, etc. for good prices.....

Well, the wind did do some damage. We had a large pine limb blow down (had to cut it into 3 pieces to move it.) Electricity did flicker a bit here in Sunriver, but Bend had a power outage for a couple of hours. Other than that, not much else going on. Going to the movie (Marley and Me) early so we can get back to watch the Sugar Bowl with Utah and Alabama.

Happy New Year! Fifteen straight hours of football. Kathy will probably leave and shop most of the day. It has been exceptionally windy and gusty so far today-- and warm. Wouldn't be surprised if there weren't some trees blow over and even some power lines out.