Greetings!

I’m going to resist the tendency to blog endlessly about the trials and triumphs of the house project (in this blog at least). When have I ever been satisfied with my rate of progress? I’ll summarize by saying that things are moving along, slowly.

Here’s our news over the past month:

Leigh had a bad cold that turned into an upper respiratory infection. One day she got up and said “I’ve got to see a doctor!”. The doctor prescribed some great meds that got her back to normal in no time. The meds were twice as expensive as the doctor’s visit but worth every centavo!

We had a nice Christmas with good friends. Their son was visiting from Oxford, England where he had attended graduate school. She prepared a full turkey dinner with the works. We even had party favors that exploded when you pulled them apart and party hats too. It’s British you know. They had bought a MAJOR fixer-upper which is nearly done now except for the landscaping. They have done a lot of the work themselves. It was a great way to spend Christmas.

We went to a New Year’s Eve party with dancing under the stars. The attendance wasn’t quite what the hosts had hoped for but we had fun. We ended up giving three band members a ride home to the neighboring village of San Nicolas. Then the following day we had a New Year’s Day party with ham, black-eyed peas, etc. and lots of good conversation.

Leigh has reached a major milestone with her “Study Guide” for AEA’s IBEC - a first complete rough draft. It’s about three hundred pages! It’s been a major effort for her and she’s on schedule. Congrats!

Leigh’s mother wasn’t doing so well in early January to the point where Leigh called a neurologist. It was Thursday afternoon. She was astounded when, over the phone, she first talked with the office assistant, then at length with the doctor, and ended up with an appointment for Tuesday, after his normal working hours. She flew to Boston that Sunday. She’s due back tonight. I understand that she has had an exhausting two weeks but the new information that has been received and the progress on other issues has been well worth the trouble and expense. Too much to go into here.

That’s about it. The house, immigration paperwork (my first FM3 application and Leigh’s renewal), and some preliminary tax preparation has consumed my remaining mental and physical energy.

We are looking ahead to having some visitors soon! You know who you are. Can’t wait to show you around…