I don't know that I'll have a chance to do various Resolution and Best Of posts today — I had expected to do so during this fallow weeklet between returning from California and New Years, but I fell sick and lost a couple of days in there. And today is largely race-around-and-tidy for (gasp) New Years Eve.
But I can (for those who have any interest in such things, or merely as part of the historical blogging record) post the family Christmas Card letter. Little in here will be new to anyone who actually reads my online scribling, but it's a nice capsule of what was important enough to share with distant friends and family during our at-least-once-a-year contact.
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Yet Another Christmas Letter, Huzzah!
December 2015
The year 2015 was yet another Thrilling Epoch of Suburban Denver Bliss in the lives of the Hill / Kleerup Consortium. A bit more hectic than most, but we have our health and each other, and that’s where the bliss comes from.
We finally wrapped up the kitchen expansion and remodel, adding 120 sq. ft. to the kitchen, and similar space extended onto the (now walk-out) basement below. Ground was broken in November 2014, but final inspections weren’t until August 2015. The result is big and beautiful and it was worth all the fuss and bother.
On the flip side, in August Dave was laid off from his employer of almost thirty years, as part of a corporate restructuring. It’s been an unexpected but interesting opportunity for him to re-evaluate his career, and he’s dived into job hunting, networking, and all that good stuff. (If you happen to know someone hiring IT execs in the Denver area, let us know!)
Margie’s been busy on her end of things, working as a workforce analytics consultant, which kept her busy traveling to and from the Bay Area. That was the majority of the traveling in the family for the year, except for our annual camping trip in Southern California.
Kay’s high school career progressed into her sophomore year. She’s still pulling down a full schedule of honors classes, as well as participating deeply in band, where she plays the flute. Her school, Arapahoe HS, placed 6th overall in Colorado at the state Marching Band finals, and played the national at Mile High Stadium for an Outlaws (lacrosse) game. She’s also participating in the Winter Percussion group on the keyboard. The school band will be touring over spring break in Austria and Germany.
Dave continues to serve on our church vestry. Dave and Kay both completed National Novel Writing Month again in November, cranking out 50,000 and 35,000 words respectively. We try to hold monthly Game Days for friends and family to get together and have some fun. On the pet front, our three cats — Kunoichi, Neko, and Purrl — are all doing well.
Another happy occurrence this past year is that Margie’s parents, Jim and Ginger, moved in June from California to Colorado, just a few miles away. We’re really happy to have them “in the neighborhood.”
So it wasn’t all the normal dull and boring and placid … but it was mostly pleasant, and being together makes even the occasional bumps survivable.
A very Merry Christmas (and other seasonal holidays and celebrations) to you all, and a Happy New Year, too.
— Dave, Margie and Katherine
