It's a Texas Kind of Christmas

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We hope this letter finds you and your family well. That seems to be a constant concern these days. This whole year seems to be one big blur, creeping by on the one hand, but suddenly, almost over! It's no surprise to anyone I'm sure for me to say that this has been a very strange year, but I was surprised to see I hadn't made a post since last Christmas! 

We did have a few things of interest in our lives this year! The really good news is that Kendra’s Lyme infection went into remission early in the year. She now has a job with a 911 data management company and it’s keeping her plenty busy! The boys are doing well in their “virtual” school, and of course, growing like weeds, as they say. They seem to be adjusting pretty well to the whole new situation, but very much look forward to the occasional opportunity to play with an actual friend face to face! 

We did manage a camping trip to Lake Bastrop with the boys in March. Jaxen had a very successful day of fishing and was quite pleased with himself (now he just needs to learn to clean his own fish!). We had another camping trip in June in June when we inaugurated our new inflatable canoe (much easier to carry than the old one!). Raylan wasn't too sure about the whole thing, but we reminded him how brave he was on the trip before, so it worked out well. 

The south shore of the lake, where we stay, is perfect for canoeing. The water is usually calm and there are several small fingers to explore and examine the wildlife and plants along the shore.The Covid shutdown in our area began on the day we left the campground! At least we got two short trips in before things closed down  Our only outing after that was an April trip to the Witte museum in San Antonio for the dinosaur exhibit. 

 As with most places everything here has been pretty much become “virtual” if it happens at all. Steve even bought himself a new tractor online! A couple of phone calls to discuss details and before we knew it “Big Blue” was being delivered! It’s really been a big asset to our maintenance activities around the place, and he’s having a good time mastering all the new features our old tractor didn’t have.

 

Lots of gardening, cooking, art, craft and sewing projects to keep us and the boys busy (when they are here), and all the outdoor time we can fit in. New building projects and a lot of general puttering about the place have kept us occupied, though we’ll be really happy when camping opens up again! Right now our usually temperate weather is pretty darn chilly, but we're hoping that by the time things warm up in the spring we'll be able to get out and travel a bit.  I’ll close this with our best wishes for you and your family for a very Merry Christmas, and health, happiness and all good things for you and the family in the New Year!