I seem to be writing our
Christmas letter a little later each year. I used to have it done by
Thanksgiving, then by the first few days of December, and now we’re already
into the 2nd week of the month and I’m having to find time to get it
together. For those who think that life slows down when you get into the
retirement years – think again! I have less time now than I ever did before.
Family –
I had noted in last year’s letter that Chris and family had moved to Florida.
True to our plans, we made a trip down in early March to stay with them for a
week. While their house is small, the grandkids all sleep in the same room so
they do have a guest room. But sharing one bathroom with seven people means a
little extra scheduling in the morning. The Sunday that we were there we went
to church with them. It just happened to be New Member Sunday so we got to
witness the entire family being part of it, including Ilyanna who had just
completed going through the membership process. We also spent a day at the
Central Florida Zoo which is just in the next city. Having a week of 85 degree
temps in March is not typical for us, especially since Chris and Pam have
chosen to not use any AC. We were glad to get back home to a place that has
four seasons.
But this visit may have
helped prepare us. In April our heat pump stopped working and we decided to
leave it that way for a while. With a few judiciously placed fans we made it
all the way to the end of November without heat or AC in the main part of the
house. We have a nice in-the-wall AC unit in Kim and Matthew’s area and there
is also electric baseboard heat there, so while we take care of the boys during
the day we could be comfortable, but we learned to sleep with just a fan at
night for the entire summer. It’s now been fixed, at least temporarily, for the
winter. But the inside unit is original to the house that we built in 1977. It
doesn’t owe us anything, but we’re planning on doing a total replacement one of
these days.
There is another housing
change coming up next month. The family who have lived across the street from
us for the last 25 years will be moving. It’s been increasingly hard for them
to keep their family-owned business going with expensive government regulations
and competition from online suppliers, so they decided to close the business
and move to a second “vacation home” that they have had about two hours north
of here. We have also been thinking about Kim and her family – realizing that
when we either pass on or need to move to something a bit smaller or more
senior-friendly, that they would be left without a place to live as our house
would be too much for them to take care of. So we’re in the process of buying
the house right across from us and we’ll let Kim and family live there and then
leave it to them in our will. The stuff you have to go through to buy a home
these days is quite a bit more involved than when we built our home 40 years
ago, but closing is scheduled for mid-January.
The home is a 3-bedroom ranch
with a fully-finished basement – perfect for their family. It also has an
attached two car garage and an above ground swimming pool of the back deck.
Since it’s just steps from our house, we can still be involved in helping to
raise the boys and taking care of them during the day.
Meanwhile, Ethan is now a 1st
grader at Seven Generations Charter School. Isaiah doesn’t make the cutoff, so
he won’t start kindergarten until next fall, then Caleb and Asher will be the
next two years – it will be nice to have them all gone during the day. It’s
pretty hard to get things done around here.
Travels
– Since we are tied down a bit with caring for grandchildren we don’t get in
much traveling right now. However,
besides our week in Orlando in March and our usual week at Pinebrook in the
Poconos with the entire family, we did a little bit this fall.
In September we went to
Michigan for the week after Labor Day (taking Isaiah and Caleb with us). It was
Donna’s 50th high school reunion, and we also visited all her family
who still live in that area. We also stopped to see the “VanDeCar Farm” and got
a tour to see all the improvements that the young couple now living there have
made in the past few years.
Two weeks later we took a
quick weekend to Connecticut for my 50th reunion. Also got a chance
to visit with my Aunt Vi. She was the last of my mother’s siblings and has
since passed away, so we’re glad that we took the opportunity to visit with
her.
For the Thanksgiving long
weekend we went to North Carolina to stay with Donna’s brother Bill (taking
Ethan and Isaiah with us this time). On Friday and Saturday he was building a
new shed for a friend of his and we all helped. The two boys were the “screw
carriers,” keeping everyone supplied with appropriate screws. The shed was
12’x14’ with 8’ walls – no small project. But it was great weather and everyone
enjoyed themselves.
This past weekend we went to
Connecticut again – this time for a reunion with all my siblings, the first
time we’ve all been together since my mother’s memorial service 4-1/2 years
ago. Donna and I went up early on Friday and took the opportunity to visit with
a distant cousin of mine who I recently met online (more on my genealogy
below). So we’re not just homebodies!
Genealogy
– I’ve been able to build out my family tree quite a bit over the past few
years. My research is in two directions. First, doing ancestor research and
going back in time. I’ve been pretty successful in this and have traced the
Russell name back to its origins in Normandy about 1000 years ago, then several
hundred more years following Viking lines (Normandy was conquered by the
Vikings in the 900s). Made a lot of interesting discoveries while doing this.
But secondly, I’ve been
building out a descendant tree of all the descendants of my
great-great-great-grandfather, Silas Russell – trying to find all my living
Russell relatives. Doing research that includes living individuals is pretty
challenging as you don’t have things like census records to help guide the
search (they are not made public until 72 years after the census occurs). But I
have made connection with a substantial number of my 3rd and 4th
cousins. Last December we visited my 2nd cousin, Robert Russell in
Cos Cob, CT just a few months before he passed on at the age of 90. And this past
weekend we visited a 2nd cousin in MA who had a collection of
diaries that her great-grandmother kept. Her great-grandmother was in
attendance at my mother’s bridal shower in 1946.
I blog on a regular basis on
a number of topics, including genealogy as well as the history of the town of
Wolcott, CT where I grew up (and where most of the families from the town’s
history are related to me in one fashion or another). Check out
ramblinrussells.blogspot.com if you’re interested.
Miscellaneous – I’ve been continuing my
weight loss challenge of doing it slowly and steadily, I’ve taken off another few
pounds this past year and I’m now down 5” in my waist since I started. Still a
ways to go, but I’m continuing to move in the right direction, and by having
all of you as a yearly check-in that gives an extra incentive! But I’m also now
battling Type-2 Diabetes and trying to lower my A1C and sugar levels (started
daily finger pricks a few months ago). Just completed a 5-session class on
managing diabetes that should help (and took Donna with me so she can help out
by preparing appropriate meals with fewer carbs). [Breaking news – had a blood
test this week and my A1C is down over 2 points and my triglycerides down by
2/3!]
Hoping that all of you are
doing well. Now that the elections are “finally” over, and the country may
start moving in another direction (one that may be more inviting to Christians)
here’s wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
.Alan & Donna
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