Merry
Christmas,
2014 is rolling
to its end, and what a year it has been . . . filled with good times and
sadness and hopes and dreams.
The photos on
the card represent a small sample from last year providing glimpses of our area
and the breaks we have taken to explore. We will never run out of places to
hike, camp, explore, and photograph.
Annette is still
teaching online at IUPUI. Earlier this week, Larry turned in his grades for his
last class. ItÕs been a fun run, but is now time to turn it over to the younger
set. We continue writing the InfoTech column in Teacher Librarian (Last AprilÕs issue marked our eighth year).
Annette is also busy as the social media editor publishing a book, website, or
app review every day on the Teacher Librarian Facebook page.
Another era
ended last month as we sold our 1999 motorhome, a diesel rig that we purchased
new and our abode for a decade. Once our UT home was built, we found that we did
not use the RV. Harvey RV now resides somewhere in Minnesota. Annette remembers
it as being the home where she has lived longest.
This past year Larry
transitioned into retirement and kept busy with renovating and refinishing several
ladderback chairs, landscape work in the yard, and painting
and organizing the garage and its workspace. ThereÕs more to be done in the next
few years.
We both serve
on the Board of Directors for The Entrada Institute
and are involved with program planning and computer technology support for the
group. Entrada hosts evening programs along with
special events from Memorial Day to late October. Another group that meets
throughout the year is the OTG reading group (Odd Tuesday Group). We get
together on the odd Tuesday nights and discuss a selected short story. By
proclamation from founding members, OTG is never about learning or improving
our minds. The diverse backgrounds of our participants make for a fun and often lively session. It is interesting to see how the topic
travels once the story is introduced.
Our area
provides lots of opportunities to volunteer. We enjoyed working together with
our friends and neighbors at several great local events such as the Utah 4-H
Leaders Conference, the Tour of Utah and Capitol Classic bike races, the Utah
Symphony performance at the Teasdale Community Park (Part of this yearÕs Mighty5
Tour), photographers for the Wayne County Fair events, and helping out at
several of the Entrada festivals and special events.
In July our
home was the base for a 2014 Bolger-Thomas-Opperman
Reunion. The event involved a weekend of sightseeing, hiking, and visiting capped
with an evening of live music. Over forty of AnnetteÕs relatives came from
Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Missouri, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas,
WisconsinÉ It had been a long time since the last reunion, and it was a great
get-together.
Much of our own
travel this past year was for family visits to the Midwest. In June we visited
LarryÕs father (Sylvester) in Shelbyville IL, daughter Brooke in Chicago, and
Nancy and Bill (AnnetteÕs parents) in Hollister, MO. We were saddened when
Sylvester died in August, three months from his 95th birthday. A
short time later in September, LarryÕs cousin, Phil Reade, died, and we
returned for his funeral in Marshall, AR. Death and grief are a part of life; they
are both missed.
We spent
Thanksgiving in Fort Collins, CO with son Benjamin. He is finishing up his
studies there; has passed his written qualifying exams this fall, and will be
looking for that next teaching assignment. Older brother Blake is teaching
English at the International House Sabadell near Barcelona, Spain, and Brooke
is the Director of the Division of Web Communications at the American
Osteopathic Association. All of us were shocked last month when their mother,
Pamela, had a serious heart attack. She is recuperating at her home in
Charleston, IL.
WeÕre looking forward
to joining AnnetteÕs parents at Arrion and Ben RathsackÕs home for Christmas in Austin, TX. We will
experience the holidays with the wonder of young children, Alex and Kaylee, who are growing up so fast. Then, itÕs back home to
Utah before the New Years Day.
Dec. 2014