2017 turned out to be a not-so-good year for blog posting.  What I used to call my “Weekly Letter” resulted in only sixteen postings.  Instead, maybe I should refer to each of my postings as a monthly letter.  I will attempt to do better in 2018.  A positive New Year’s resolution.

If you have not heard, Lisa and I adopted a kitten, Vivian Noel (Vivie).  Born on October 10, 2017.  It has been almost nine years since Lisa has had a cat, and when we were made aware of Vivie, it just seemed like a good time to add her into our life.  She is part Balinese, part Ragdoll.

This mix of cat are extremely fond of people.  They like to be “helpful” and will follow you around and supervise your every move.  When you are sitting down, they will be in your lap.

They are notable for collapsing into the arms of anyone who holds them, even if they are cradled on their back.  They love people, greeting them at the door and following them around the house.

Vivian has good manners and has been easy to live with.  The good thing is... Vivian has yet to shed.  And if she does, it will be minor in comparison to other cats.  This is a good thing as we don’t like the idea of having to clean up cat hair.

Vivie is a momma’s girl, following Lisa around the house and coming to her when called.  Not so with me.  Vivian is still in an adjustment period.  Vivie’s day is all about eating, playing hard, sleeping and then sleeping some more.  Most of her day is spent in the office keeping Lisa company.  

The only time I have sung in a church choir was Christmas in 1974, that is until recently.  The ward was asking for warm bodies to sing in the choir for the Christmas program and Lisa felt we should be supportive.  I reaffirmed the reason I had not sung in a choir in 43 years was because I could not carry a tune in a bucket even if you put it in the bucket for me.  Being the good husband that I am, I reluctantly agreed to be a warm body and accompanied Lisa to the practices.  I began singing tenor and then migrated to performing a solo.  So low they couldn’t hear me.

I wore the new bowtie Lisa bought me for Christmas to the Sunday program and then told Nate, siting next to me, it’s not how good you sing it’s how good you look doing it.

After the Christmas program Lisa and I went home and began cooking for our Christmas meal for the following day.  We cooked all that day and then again on Christmas day until the food was served at 4:00pm.  We were cooking not just for the two of us, but for another family of five who were joining us at our home, the Gordon family.  Hadley Gordon, from Provo, Utah served part of her church mission in Anacortes and returned with part of her family for a visit to the area.  We agreed to host them while they were here.

On the last day of their visit, Bill Weaver and his wife Elaine offered to take all of us out on their boat, named Island Wanderer.  We ended up at Rosario Resort on Orcas Island for lunch.  Pictured are the Gordon family on the left, The Weavers (with daughter) on the right. 
 

Both Ian and I have begun using our new wood shop.  Ian made Lisa and me a bowl to store coasters for Christmas, using some walnut he acquired from the farm in Corvallis.  I made Lisa a bowl out of  Hawaiian Koa wood.  We brought the wood home with us from our last visit in Hawaii.

It has been a year since I had my knee replacement surgery (time flies).  The doctor told me at the time it would take a full year to recover, and it has.  There are now days that I don’t even notice there was once anything wrong with my knee.  There is no pain and no apparent limitation.  Yahoo!

One of the unwritten rules of being old is that we may not talk about our aches and pains.  But, I’m not keeping silent.  I am grateful for my health.  Aside from being 64 and having a new knee, I have no age-related health problems – no arthritis, rheumatism, etc.  But I do have the odd ache or pain that I didn't have even six months ago.  

One weekday a few months ago, while working on the shop, I noticed a pain in my left shoulder, arm, and elbow.  Since then both arms experience the occasional ache and sometimes sharp pain.  At times I’m unable to lift anything heavy.  I even notice it just sitting and typing on the computer keyboard. 

Now in the greater scheme of things and compared to the real health problems of some others my age, none of this is really worth mentioning.  But I'm curious about whether I am alone in experiencing random aches and pains in my arms unrelated to conditions such as arthritis or rheumatism, and that don't seem to indicate a real health problem.  Anyone reading this blog posting have experience with this?  Thinking it might be something more serious I have an appointment with my doctor in a couple of weeks.  I’ll let you know what he says.

Given some uncertainty about Lisa’s ability to work remotely for Intuit in the future, I have begun an employment search (Lisa may end up having to work out of California or D.C.).  I have sent out resumes and applied to online postings, but have yet to receive a single reply.  Though I have a strong resume in my chosen professional field, I’m sure my age has something to do with the lack of response.

I have a friend from church who is part owner in an architectural design/construction firm.  I spoke with him today and he is setting up an interview for me with his partner.  It seems, many times, it is not what you know, but who you know.  Wish me luck.