Covid 19 and the pandemic that it brought, has lasted for almost a year now. We thought it would be over in a month or so when it made its appearance last March. Our world is still full of masked people, and pressures to take a vaccine that was rushed to market. For that reason we have felt hesitant to take it. But a prophet of God has encouraged the use of it. There is talk of making it mandatory for everyone. In fact, there is talk about making other things mandatory as well. This pandemic has people scared, and that makes them more vulnerable to control. Is it really better to be safe than free? I guess a lot of people think so. We don't.
Another birthday for me came up in January. I spent the day talking on the phone to friends and family who remembered my special day. That made it a sweet celebration for me.
Gerald was with us for the holidays this season. It was so very nice to have him with us for over a month. His influence is always uplifting. Here he is with Reed.
Being in the presence of family is such a joy. They are all good people and easy to be around. That is a blessing that descends upon me every day.
I've been working on getting Layne's story written up. It has been fun to go through some of his papers and discover little things that I didn't know. He has written his story, but there are additions that I continue to find. So, as easy as I thought it would be to put his story in a book, it has become a bit more complicated to figure out what supplementary materials I should include. Here is a picture of him and his buddy, Dave Garrett, taken sometime in the 1960s.
While working on those materials, I found a scrapbook of my Dad's pictures, taken when he was single and in the Coast Guard. There were some I don't remember seeing before. Here is a sample, of my Dad, Gerald Kiser, when he was studying for a radio exam, Note how tan he was; it was during a period of time when he dove for coins tossed to him and others, including his buddy Goldie, by people on board touring ships, pulling into shore on one of the pacific islands--maybe Hawaii.
We have a lot of family birthdays in January and February. Thank goodness for calendars to keep track of them all. Most of the birthday people were not close by. But grandsons Bruce and Timothy are here. They are the 4th and 5th sons of Reed and Dorothy. Here is Timothy, a new 17, enjoying a pile of gifts, as yet unopened. Bruce is looking on.
Our two resident grandkids are maturing and doing well. Angelica is a junior and 17 now. She has a passion for dancing and has lined up numerous dancing lessons that keep her busy most nights. Conflicting with her driving schedule to lessons, is Seth's schedule for Basketball. That makes sharing a car challenging. They manage it and I think it is good to learn how to share with good humor. Which sometimes happens and sometimes doesn't! Seth is an 18 year old senior now and is growing beyond his 6'6" height. That boy is now the tallest one in the family! Here he is, doing his part for the school team.
He graduates this year. Here is his senior picture. I think he looks pretty yummy.
Speaking of cars (which I was a few sentences ago), Layne has been pushing for us to trade in the jeep for something else. I have been resisting (I love the jeep), but he really pressed for his cause. So last week we drove into the Toyota dealership and traded the jeep for a Toyota Highlander. As sad as I was to see the jeep go, I have come to love the Highlander. So, once again, Layne's impression has been for the best. I have found that paying attention to his instincts is always the right thing to do. Here is our last view of the jeep, in the Toyota parking lot, and its splashy green color. Our new car is also bright and beautiful--red! So now all three of our vehicles are red.
Audrey and Cliff went in with us on an order for beef this year. We took delivery two weeks before they were able to come and claim their share. So we stored what wouldn't fit in our freezer outside, on the back porch, preserved by regular supplies of dry ice. One of the great things about Idaho cold winters, is that they provide additional cold storage...outside. It worked out well. Just before Audrey and Cliff arrived this past weekend, we had our first real winter storm. It snowed and snowed! For the first time this winter, we have snow on the ground. The whole weekend was full of snow!
It was magical. The weather cleared up a little for Cliff and Audrey's drive home on Monday. Their company is always pleasant. It is hard to see them go. Here they are, in the living room on Sunday, with Cliff wearing a Valentine vest made for him by daughter Allegra.
We had a sweet, low key, Valentine's Day, with Dorothy joining us for dinner. Cliff cooked!
So our days are slow-going with activities still on the down-low. But life must go on and there are things to enjoy despite all the disruptions in our usual way of life. For that, we can be grateful.
