A new year

I am sorry for being so very delinquent in my blogging. It is not that nothing is happening...the last semester was a very busy one, and it kept on going after classes ended, right up until the middle of December, when the university closed up and we went home.

Highlights of the last six months:

In July, Joseph went off to Greece and Italy with his classics class (under the pretext of looking at vases and old stone buildings). My sister Sarah came for two weeks, and had some quality time with Emily, since my between-semester break did not correspond at all to Emily's between-term break, thanks to the biggest media event of the year (you may not have noticed), the Rugby World Cup.

In October, Emily and I went on a cruise! It was a small one (four days), to try out the concept--big boat, thousands of people (well, 2000). I wasn't sure how it would be, but we enjoyed it--Emily liked the kids' programme, and I liked reading my book on the balcony and not being able to do dishes even if I wanted to. We might try it again in a more exotic location (like Asia or Pacific Islands) sometime.

In November, my college roommate, Marian, and her friend, Pam, came to visit. They explored some local attractions on their own (Rotorua, The Shire, where they had just finished filming the Hobbit) and we went to Taupo and Napier over a long weekend. Highlights were the Art Deco walking tour (Napier was destroyed by an earthquake in 1930-something, and rebuilt very prettily) and the gannet colony, where we saw gannets hatching.

Joseph finished his last exam in November, and became a "high school leaver". This doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment...but we tried to celebrate, in spite of minimal cultural support.

The BIG EVENT, however, was Christmas, and its aftermath...Emily got a puppy. Ok, we all got a puppy, but he is Emily's, officially, and Charlie's friend. He wasn't actually under the tree--just a package of puppy accessories that very, very slowly dawned on Emily as she opened them up. It included a picture of the puppy, on a dog tag necklace, which she wore for the next 10 days, while we went to the Quaker Summer Gathering, and then picked him up on January 3. Emily has named him Hiccup. He is a Tibetan Spaniel, five months old.

So the anniversary of Manford's leaving was marked also by a new beginning. We did have some words about him in Meeting that morning, and the yearly meeting gave us a fern to plant in his garden.

Hiccup and Charlie started off slightly leery of each other (Hiccup barked, which scared Charlie, who is about 8 times his size), but they have quickly become friends, and started romping in the yard within two days. I will post pictures.

And by the way, Joseph turned 18 on the 30th, and (I'm not supposed to know this) had a date with a girl on Boxing Day (the 26th). The mother grapevine is strong. And I got myself a car for Christmas--a Honda Jazz, which is called a Fit in the US, I think. It will replace the minivan, as we downsize. Still plenty of room for us and the dogs.