Today is my sister's birthday!!! It seems like I have known her all her life!! :) And she has known me all of her life!
Well, my back improved enough for me to fly into Bellingham, WA on Thursday, to visit my uncle Ralph Halterman, who lives on Camano Island. I was hoping to see some snow while I was there, since he has a gorgeous view of the ocean and islands on the western side of the bay, but it moved in the day before I was scheduled to leave, which made it necessary for me to leave a day early, actually, before the main force hit. Apparently the drivers in that part of the state aren't very accustomed to piles of wet snow on the road, and it felt sort of like when I was warned to "get out of town" before a big hurricane hit the Southeast US in 1997 or 1998 and I cut my work short to get on the last flight out of Raleigh, NC.
We were able to accomplish quite a lot, and I am at a good place to take a break now until after Christmas. My uncle has some work to do, so he'll be ready to get going again after the first of the year, also.
My cousins Craig Halterman and Shawn Butler and their spouses (Rena and Brad) brought pizza over on Saturday night so we could spend some time together. I really enjoyed getting to know them better. They are very personable. We laughed a lot and seemed to feel comfortable. It's so odd to think that we are cousins, when I didn't even know their names, or indeed that they existed, before a couple of years ago. I enjoyed spending time with Uncle Ralph and I am so excited about helping him with his life story. He has had so many interesting international experiences, and in the process I am also learning a lot about my biological family characteristics, so I am very happy to be doing this.
The second day I was there, Friday, Uncle Ralph received a telephone call that his younger brother, the youngest in the family, my uncle Orland, had died. He had been ill for quite a long time. I last saw him a couple of years ago when my cousin Debbie Taylor and I went to visit him in Kearns. He had a tough life, with many unfortunate choices and difficult circumstances, but I remember him fondly. I know he is much happier now, surrounded by his ancestors who love him and will nurture him in this next phase of his life.
I had a little excitement on the way home. After we boarded the plane in Bellingham and were about to leave the gate on our way to Seattle, the captain announced that he had been informed that security "had been breached" and we all had to gather up our things and go back inside and through security again. I have no idea what the problem was--they never tell you the end of those things. They did take a middle-Eastern/East Indian looking guy into custody, but he ended up reboarding our flight at the very last, so apparently it was all resolved. The flight from Seattle to SLC was over an hour late. Thanks to Kevin for coming up in a snowstorm to get me at nearly 11 p.m. last night.
I was very blessed to have my back healed enough to make this trip, and it survived my sitting at the computer transcribing a lot of my uncle's writing, and then the trip back home. I have lots to do, so I'm hoping to continue to feel strong. I have a lot of energy, which is also a blessing.
Don't have any photos to post. I have a mess in my kitchen as I try to get some presents wrapped to mail. I'm glad I at least have my tree and can play my Christmas CDs!
I'm hoping the weather will cooperate for us to drive to Tucson on Thursday (and back on Sunday!)
Your life really is crazy! And it's not going to end! We'll try to just relax and watch movies with you, so you don't have to do anything for awhile.
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