It is that time of your that you remember your friends and family who have had such an impact on your life. Thanks you all for being there for us this year and years gone by. I know life would be very different without your all in our lives. Below is a short video I did around the house on a recent snowy day, Carol is so good at decorating I thought I would share.
Here is a summary of the year 2017 from our perspective. We were fortunate to spent a good portion of our year traveling. We started the new year out by traveling south to see many of our snowbird and Southern friends and others who live outside of Rhode Island. Thank you to so many for taking care of us or making time in your lives to re-connect. Jimmy and Gaby, Sue and Steve, Tom and Debbie, Mike Shewmaker, Marie and Ernie, Ed and Nancy. We enjoyed such wonderful hospitality and Florida sunshine of the Keys! We swam, hiked, and experienced the new freedom of retirement in January and February. We came home to do laundry and headed for the Caribbean where we again were the guest of a generous friend…complete with a condo on the beach! We shared some time with our grandson, and he was able to show is pappa his newly acquired boating skills. Thanks Kelli for a lovely vacation. Home to re -group and plan for the summer cross country trip…actually it was a road trip via the Trans Canadian highway towards the West Coast. We had a learning experience with camping…we learned we don’t like it much!! We did manage to spend Canada Day in Canada, and I know it would have made my Mom proud.
We fell in love with the magnificence of the terrain out west. The Canadian Rockies were beyond anything we had imagined. While on the West Coast we spent a wonderful week with our son Jason and lovely Kate. Sigh… miss them terribly. The time in Portland was the highlight of our trip by far! But onward we drove to Idaho where we visited our landlord of more than 40 years ago. Jeanne you were such a treat! We then pushed eastward to a final stop in Illinois to visit more family… Ed’s brothers. Wow, it was so good to be this side of the Mississippi. August found us bonding with the grandkids Ben and Grace, as we drove to Washington, DC and enjoyed the Solar Eclipse out on the National Mall in front of the Smithsonian. We even saw President Trump's motorcade from our hotel room. Love our Nation’s Capital! Our year has started to wind down a bit and the planning of another adventure or two is in the undertaking. I did learn that besides camping, I’m not a big fan (at least not yet) of retirement. I am working again part time and very happy to be with staff and residents I love so much. Ed has embraced retirement with more grace…but he has done some consulting and has had success with his Art. Ed has been in a couple of shows and there are more in the works. Very proud of his dedication and his talents. Ed has also discovered baking!! We have gotten to eat some delicious treats…and he even made the pies for Thanksgiving dinner!! Dear friends and family please stay in touch.. we look forward to the mail and the sentiments of family and friends from so far away.
May your year ahead be filled with good health, love…and lots and lots of laughter!!
Peace, The Huffs
“Many people will walk in and out of your life but only true friends leave footprints in your heart.” –Eleanor Roosevelt