We were pleased to spend New Year's Eve sampling ciders, enjoying yummy treats, making new friends, and catching up with old ones at Lisa Bewley's place. Others, including Zebin and Shireen, stopped by to visit for awhile, but by the time the fireworks marked midnight, we rang in the new year with Lisa and Kayvon. Auntie Janet treated us to lunch on New Year's Day. It was nice to catch up with Judy Minniss at Starbucks to visit for a couple of hours and then to take June to see the Lafarge Lake lights. The memorial service for Lisa's dad, John, was held at St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, located across from Nana's old house near Trout Lake, on January 4th. Lisa shared anecdotes about her father, we sang two hymns, and the pastor read from scripture. Afterwards, 47 of us gathered for a reception at the Vancouver Alpen Club, enjoying German food and beer while we discussed happier times. We were very happy to return to our own home on the 5th, and then to host friends the following day to celebrate Epiphany and Guy's birthday by playing "Christmas Cards of Insanity" after dinner. The next day, I packed away all of our Christmas décor. We delivered a new dryer to Nanaimo on the 10th, before some more wet snow fell on the 11th, rendering many roads slushy and slippery. We had an enjoyable visit when friends from the local "walking club" stopped by for tea, coffee, and panettone. We were happy to join Debbie and Shaun for dinner, drinks, and games at their place on the 13th. The sun finally broke through on the 14th, encouraging us to bike to Gordon Bay and hike the short path to the point. What do you want for dinner?...steak?...pizza? Yes!!! The 17th was VERY rainy with stormy weather, but inside, our kitchen was blooming thanks to a thoughtful gift of mixed bulbs from Dick and Ann Orman, and roses from John's service. Shaun and Debbie joined us for a few drinks and a dinner of steak, spanakopita, roasted cauliflower, potatoes, and garlic bread in early celebration of my birthday. Despite losing to the women in "Gimme Five", we had an enjoyable evening. Afterwards, I watched two champions retain their belts on the UFC 220 main card. On my birthday, we attended the Honeymoon Bay Society's volunteer appreciation luncheon and received some more flowers. For the remainder of the month, the weather was inconsistent: some days it poured rain ALL day; sometimes the sun made an appearance; other times we experienced more wet snow and slush. Occasionally we were graced with the right conditions to fully appreciate the beautiful landscapes that surround us. We continued to walk whenever we felt it would be enjoyable. On the 27th, we stuffed ourselves with a huge sourdough bowl full of chili, garlic bread, Caesar salad, and unique beers at Shaun and Debbie's. We chatted while playing Yahtzee and Nintendo Wii. On the 30th, we hosted Debbie and Shaun for dinner and Moscow Mules, making use of their Christmas gift copper mugs. Lisa continues to volunteer and did some more Lifeline installs. We have been reading a lot, and I have gone back to reading several sports biographies. Although we did watch several movies this month, our focus has been more on binge-watching television series. We discovered "Big Mouth" and began watching "The Office" from the start.
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