Christmas 2012

It hardly seems possible that another year has seemingly zipped by. Actually it has gone by day by day, hour by hour and minute by minute. And what has happened to us is measured by how we utilized the minutes in those hours, days, and months of the past year. So what follows it that which has occurred to us during the past year.

Work

Margaret continues to work with Assessment Technology Inc.(ATI) as an educational trainer. As usual her work has taken her just over 47,000 miles and to 61 cities during the year - the most interesting of which was Hawaii in July. In her first trip to the island she was able to pack in a lot – a luau, Dole Plantation, lunch at the Giovanni Shrimp Truck, PolynesianCultural Center, and the beautiful North Shore of Oahu. Margaret has been fortunate in that her work travels allowed her to visit her family and friends in New England.

I changed locations last year in which to work as a tax preparer. I joined 1^st Choice Tax Services and had a very productive and interesting past year. 1^st Choice specializes in preparing tax returns for adoptive and foster care families so I did a number of returns for that clientele. I also inherited a client base from my predecessor and some of my former clients found me when an article in the local paper’s Moving Up column appeared in early February.

Travel

At the end of March while I was toiling in the tax garden Margaret decided to go to San Diego for a Girls Weekend with her sister Carol and cousins Beth and Catherine all from the east coast. They are hoping that this Girls’ Weekend becomes an annual event. While in San Diego they visited the Midway; Balboa Park; and Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcala, California’s first mission. Brother Leonard was a great host and took them to Coronado Island and toured the San Diego area.

I traveled to North Dakota in mid-June, arriving in time to attend the Father’s Day picnic at my cousin Mavis and Duane Olsen’s farm. On June 23^rd I attended the wedding of Erika Wolf and Ian Feole. Erika is the youngest daughter of our friends Walter and Sarah Wolf from Center. The next day I was able to attend the Sunne Lutheran mid-summer picnic. The picnic is a Swedish tradition that marks the summer solstice.

That week I drove to Nebraska to meet up with Margaret who flew into Omaha on June 30^th. We spent a few days with her brother John in Lincoln and helped him with some projects in his house which he had just occupied at the end of last year. En route to Nebraska I overnighted in Mitchell, SD, and before leaving the next day visited the McGovern Library at Dakota Wesleyan University. It was a timely visit what with the recent death of George McGovern.

On July 3^rd we left Lincoln and drove to Sioux Falls, SD, where we visited Clare Becker. Clare and I had served in the Peace Corps together. While there Clare took us to St. Joseph’s Cathedral. It is a most impressive structure. We overnighted in Sioux Falls and the next day drove the rest of the way to Dorset, MN, to visit Margaret’s mother and great uncle Mike at their summer home. While we were there our friends Ann Rathke from Fargo, Al & Lorraine Schmidt from Beulah, and Rudy & Lucy Radke from Fargo came to Dorset for visits because Margaret’s time on her trip was so limited. The Schmidt’s and Radke’s joined us for dinner at Companeros the Mexican restaurant run by Mike’s son Rick and daughter-in-law Laura.

Margaret and I returned to the Bismarck area on July 9^th in time to attend the Regan Centennial festivities that weekend. The Regan Centennial was focused around an all school alumni event. The high school closed in 1970 and the grade school in 2003. I had attended Regan High School during my freshman and sophomore years in the early ‘60’s. The alumni event on Friday evening July 13^th provided me with an opportunity to visit with many people I had not seen in years. Many alumni from around the country returned for the event. For a community of less than 100 people the centennial organizers put on quite a party.

The first event was the Tractor Trek from Wilton to Regan on July 13^th. I helped my cousin Eldo get his dad’s 1947 Farmall International Model H ready for the trek. The next day he also had the tractor in the parade which was comprised of over 130 entries. Following the parade there was a performing stage and a tractor pull. On Sunday I attended the breakfast brunch and ecumenical church service which were the last events of the Centennial weekend. All the events provided the throng with time to socialize and catch up with their lives. However it was almost impossible to see and visit with everyone.

I stayed in ND until early August doing various fix up jobs around the farm. During that time I stayed with my cousin Archie in Bismarck as well as spending nights in the house at the farm. One task that I accomplished was to paint the house at the farm with the help of my friends the Wolfs. Before returning to Tucson I took a side trip to Williston to visit my cousin Debbie and her husband Don Wahus. I also saw Debbie’s sister Judy and her husband Doug Velenchenko who were visiting from Longview, WA. The visit was two-fold as I also wanted to see some of the oil development going on in the Bakken shale formation. They have adopted a slogan ”Rockin the Bakken” and indeed things are rocking in that area. I met my cousins at Tobacco Garden Bay a resort on the south side of Lake Sakakawea and we then drove back to Williston. The road we took has been well beaten down by all the truck traffic in the area and is typical of many of the areas roads. Also visible were many of the so called “man camps” that have been developed to house the oil field workers. All in all it was an eye opening side trip. On my way to Tobacco Garden I had stopped in Parshall to visit the Paul Broste RockMuseum. It is a museum built in 1966 of uncut native stone and features the rock collection of Paul Broste, a Parshall area farmer, artist and collector who homesteaded in that area in the early part of the 20^th Century.

After I had been home for a couple of weeks we took a short trip to Farmington, NM. Actually Margaret had training sessions in the White Mountains and in Glendale before and after Labor Day. We surprised our friends Al & Lorraine Schmidt from ND on their 40^th wedding anniversary. They came to Farmington to visit their daughter Lori and family who organized the event. While in Farmington we attended a Native American art show and decided to buy a water color painting done by Benson Halwood and accomplished Navajo artist from Chinle, AZ. The painting depicts a family of three with a woman on a paint horse trekking along a snow covered landscape at dusk with a view of what appears to be San Francisco peak in the background. That peak near Flagstaff is considered to be sacred by the Navajo.
Thanksgiving Margaret went to Florida to visit her family. It was a very quick trip but she wanted to make sure that she visited her nephew, Jordan, this year. Early next year Jordan is being deployed to Afghanistan for a year as part of the FL National Guard. So we ask that you keep him and all military personnel in your prayers.

Visitors

In January, over the MLK weekend, which coincided with my 65^th birthday, Walter and Sarah Wolf from Center, ND, spent four nights with us on a three week swing they were making through the western states. I took them on a whirlwind tour of the Tucson area and they attempted to ski on Mt. Lemmon. At the beginning of March we hosted Larry and Betty Falkenstein from Wilton for a night as they made a similar visit of western states. They had also attended the NASCAR race in Phoenix. Larry and Betty are our farm neighbors back in North Dakota. Margaret’s cousin Meriel Brodie from NC visited us this spring. It was great to see her again; it has been many years since they’ve gotten together.

Our Life in Tucson

After 25 years in Tucson we are involved in the Tucson community. Margaret volunteers for Literacy Volunteers of Tucson teaching English to non-native speakers. This has been very fulfilling and exciting to see the participants become more confident in their speaking and knowledge of English. A parent was able to volunteer for the first time in her child’s classroom, one person became a US Citizen, and several participants got library cards for the first time!  She has also volunteered her time with MOM (Market on the Move). This non-profit volunteer based organization sells produce that would otherwise be discarded. It’s great produce!  So for our friends in Southern Arizona, perhaps she’ll see you at St. Cyril’s Church the second Saturday of the month. I am still serving as treasurer for Lutheran Campus Ministry as well as secretary to the board of the Campus Christian Center located near the UA campus. We are also season ticket holder of the TSO (Tucson Symphony Orchestra) and attend Pops monthly concerts from January through March. This past year we saw the Bill Ganz Western Band as well as the Wicked Divas billed as the “bad girls of musical theater!”  This month we kicked off the new season by seeing Ann Hampton Callaway perform The Streisand Songbook. In the spring and fall before it gets too hot and when it starts to cool off we do like to attend the Symphonic Winds free outdoor concerts put on in Udall Park on Saturday evenings.

Wrapup

One cannot summarize the year without commenting on the past years political events. We have just come through another contentious presidential election and all the polarized feelings that were generated. Now we see the posturing going on in Congress concerning the so called “fiscal cliff” and one can only hold out hope that our politicians will eventually get things right. If you have doubts about that just go and see the movie Lincoln and reflect on what the country went through at the end of the Civil War.
The world, our country, and we as individuals and families face problems and tragedies every day. At this time of the year as we take stock of our lives and as time marches on we are thankful that for the most part our health remains reasonably good. However we are cognizant of the aging process and saddened on the occasions when we hear of the death of friends, family members, and acquaintances. But since death is a part of life we remember the promise of the Prince of Peace and the Lord of Life and remember that He is the Reason for the Season. May we extend a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.   
Pictures
Check  out the pictures -- just click on the "Photos (2011+) in the upper right side. On the Shutterfly page click the green "Pictures and Videos" link on the top of the page. You can also checkout the photobooks Margaret put together - Regan Centennial, Summer 2012, and Mark's 50th B-day.

 

Fall is Here

Fall has arrived in Tucson.  Okay, it's nothing like the Midwest or New England, but us it is on the cool side.  Just a few weeks ago we were in the mid 90s and this week we are in the low 70s.  The evenings we are actually dropping down the mid 30s. It's difficult to get up at 5:45 am when it is dark and cold outside.

The first weekend of November we had a Lobster Feast!  Each Fall Child & Family Resources has one of the big fundraisers -- lobsters in the desert!  We had our friends Marge & Norton Johnson (fellow North Dakotans) join us in the feast.  What a wonderful evening we had.

Earlier this week we attended a play "Mesa" held at The Invisible Theatre.  It's a small local theatre production.  In the 20+ years in Tucson we had never been to one of their performances.  It was an enjoyable evening.

Ready for Thanksgiving?  Hard to believe that it's just a week away.  I'm very disappointede that some stores opted to "cash in" and be open on Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is even early this year...so why the rush?  Stay home with family and friends....don't shop on this precious American holiday. I'm heading to Florida to spend time with family, especially my nephew Jordan.  It's a very quick trip so Tim is staying here.  Don't worry he is taken care of for the holiday.

Summer

Hard to believe that the summer is half over.  Where does the time go?  Tim headed up to ND in mid-June and I followed the end of June.  Well, actually I started my vacation in Lincoln visiting brother John and helping him around the house.  Tim worked outside (trimming trees, cleaning gutters) and I did stuff inside (unpack boxes and hang curtains).  We then headed up to SD to visit Clare Becker.  We had a short but wonderful visit with our friend.  Then on the 4th we were in Dorset, MN, and stayed a few days with Mom and Uncle Mike.  Our friends from ND drove over one day and we had a wonderful luncheon at Companeros.  (You have to check out this awesome Mexican restaurant.)  Then off to ND.  I wanted to be there for the Regan Centennial Celebration on July 13-15.

I came back to Arizona for only a few days before heading to Hawaii.  It was my first visit there and I can now see why people love it there.  I want to go back!!

The summer is my busy work travel season.  It turns out that I'm actually home just a few weeks all summer.  But that is okay.  I do get to visit friends and family along the way.  Looking forward to seeing my family in Florida next week.

Want to see some of the summer vacation photos?  Check out the photos on the Shutterfly page, http://johnsonarizona.shutterfly.com.  There is a link on the right side of this blog page.

Bedroom

You can get a felling for the "old" -- wallpaper, stripped, and paneling

Final product ... just need to get the pictures rehung

We have decided to finally redo the master bedroom ... Margaret got tired of seeing the 70s "wood" paneling on two of the bedroom.  So Tim destroyed and Margaret restored!  Tim took all the paneling down (and the 60s style wallpaper) and oversaw the contractor who put up dry wall.  Then both of us painted and put up vertical blinds (blinds were easier to put up than we thought).  Margaret spent many hours polishing her grandparents' brass bed ... it is easier to do when it was out of the room.

Summer is Here

Summer must be here.  Southern Arizona broke the century mark this past week.  It is one of the earliest 100+ days in weather history.  What does one do in the summer?  Attend a baseball game!  That is exactly what we did last weekend ... saw the AZ Diamondbacks vs. Braves.  AZ won!  The nice thing about the Chase Field in Phoenix is that the dome can be closed so the AC was on. 

Girls' Weekend

Thought you might enjoy a "music video" of the recent Girls' Weekend. Click here to access the video. (It's about 10 minutes long.)

Family

As soon as I got back from San Diego, my cousin Meriel from NC came to Tucson. Her husband had family in Tucson and Willcox area so she was able to see them (while I was in CA). Friday night we were able to catch up ... haven't seen each other in almost 30 years!

Girls' Weekend

Just came back from a "Girls' Weekend" in San Diego. Met up with sister Carol and cousins Beth and Catherine. We decided that this past weekend would be the first of many annual girls' getaway. We had a blast!

I met up with everyone at the airport and we went off for lunch at The Fish Market. We then took a tour of the Midway Aircarft Carrier. Figured that we needed to do some walking to keep the East Coast folks awake. We met up with brother Len and his girlfriend Pamela at Dana on Mission Bay Hotel. This hotel was right at the marina and across the street from Sea World. Saturday evening we went to the La Jolla War Memorial and the beach for the sunset.

Sunday we went to Coronado Island, walked on the beach, and had lunch at the Coronado Hotel. We had planned to have a bar-b-q back at our hotel but the weather didn't cooperate. We ended up having the bar-b-q on Monday.

Monday we spend the morning at Balboa Park, had a light lunch there (good thing Margaret brought the lawn chairs, picnic table, and picnic basket!). The afternoon we relaxed by the pool. After all, San Diego was under a winter weather advisory that morning. Those East folks gals just don't understand the west coast weather advisory notices!

Tuesday morning we visited the Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first mission in San Diego, had lunch at an outdoor food court, and relaxed by the pool (again!). Met Len for dinner in Little Italy before having to drop Carol off for the red eye back to Syracuse. Beth and Catherine left on Wednesday morning.

Weekend Activities

Spring is just around the corner. We have been lucky in that our winter has been mild ... compared to last year. So I took a chance and planted the vegetable garden today. Got some green beans, different types of sweet peppers, a poblano pepper, cucumber, and I thought I would try some onions. Okay, the onions were an impulse buy at the nursery.

Today I helped out at M.O.M. (Market on the Move). St. Cyril decided to participate in this farmer market and it has been very successful. The wholesale produce that is not sold is brought up to Tucson from Nogales and set up at various non-profit organizations around town. My church has the 2nd Saturday. For $10 you get 60 pounds of produce. Last month they had zukes, tomatoes, and lots of peppers (among other produce). Today they had cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and lots of green beans. In the past all the produce was just placed in the landfill, so it is a great community opportunity to have this an opportunity for fresh produce at a reasonable rate.

This weekend is the Festival of Books. This is the 4th year for this festival and it is already the 4th largest book festival in the nation. We'll be going there tomorrow.

Tim is keeping up with the tax filings. Hey, this year you have a few extra days so the deadline is April 17th. Need help? He can most likely help you.

I had an opportunity last month to visit MA, which was great. Got to catch up with my cousins and friends from my Brazil days. Luckly it snowed the evening before I left. Looking forward to a "girls' weekend" at the end of March -- meeting up with sister Carol and cousins Beth and Catherine in San Diego. They have been been to San Diego so it should be a great adventure. On top of it...we'll be able to see brother Len.

FL Home Landscape

Mom and Mike worked really hard to xeriscape the front yard. She wanted to share the end results with everyone. Lots of sweat and hard work, but so worth it!

Lela

This is a difficult time to start the new year .... brother John's wife, Lela, passed away on January 5th with John by her side and listening to a harpist. I saw her last this fall when I was in New England for work. She was so looking forward to returning to Lincoln. Her wish was granted in late November, even though it was not as long as she had hoped. Her great sense of humor and love towards life and the everyday little interactions will be sorely missed. Of course, when we think of her we'll always wonder what hat Lela would be wearing in Heaven! This is a great time of sorrow for John but he is aware that his extended family is always thinking of him. http://journalstar.com/lifestyles/announcements/obituaries/fairfield-lela-m-watts/article_0f88da82-b4c1-5402-9a3b-6574efb3851e.html