Would it help if I told you we had good excuses for not communicating better? Maybe not, huh???
Last year, winter of 2009, Steve and I were consumed with helping my Mother with Dad’s care. Dad’s Alzheimer’s was progressing so fast and the poor guy was forgetting how to walk. We got him a walker, but he was convinced he didn’t need it and was always pushing it into a far corner where it would be “out of the way”. Mom Querin made the hard decision that Dad would have to go to a memory care center but said we would start looking into that AFTER the Holidays. The whole story is here below on this blog…but short story is… Dad had a severe fall at home just after Christmas 2009, had to go to the emergency room and was not able to return home again. Mom and I went into hyper drive and found him a place to live. This story has a happy(ish) ending, ‘because Dad has been in a great place now for a year and is very comfortable and content. He does not know any of us, but is always happy to see us. He no longer walks but spends his days in his favorite recliner. My Mom is happy and healthy and blossoming since the weight was lifted from her shoulders.
So that is our excuse for being out of touch last holiday season.
Steve was super busy with all the snow we seem to be getting in the last few years. He spends most the winters busy, busy and always tired!
I escaped the long winter with my friend, Tami, and we spent Spring Break in Florida with my best buddy, Scott. He purchased a beautiful home near Tampa that he plans to retire to and we all enjoyed lounging by the pool and sightseeing around the area.
Whenever Steve and I can, we go out to our Sleepy Hollow home in Gays Mills to get away from it all. Any season, when we can, we head out on a Friday, after work, and spend the weekend. Steve always has lots of projects that he loves to do and we spend time reading, relaxing, exploring Southwestern Wisconsin, sitting by the fire, stargazing and listening to the coyotes and the owls at night. The dogs, Pilar and Lucy, LOVE it at the Hollow because they can usually run until then collapse! We did invest in a beautiful fence this past year and closed in the back part of the yard. For 2 reasons…#1 to keep the deer away for the plantings in the back and #2 to reign in the dogs at times when we don’t want them taking off at bedtime or just before we have to leave on Sunday night or when there’s something dead and ripe in the woods and we don’t want Lucy dragging it home!
The month of June we were busy getting things spiffed up on the farm for the 2nd Annual International Students visit the Schultz Family Farm. 2010’s event saw about 150 people visit the farm, that number includes Schultz family members, friends and neighbors that volunteered to help. This past year’s event was so much fun. We had horse drawn wagon rides, a live bluegrass band, petting zoo, lots of outdoor games, bonfire and more. Even the little downpour we had didn’t dampen people’s enthusiasm... they just took cover and had more to eat until the rain stopped! Next year’s event is already scheduled (last Sunday in June 2011) so if you can, plan on attending! It promises to be bigger and better the third time around.
In July we joined Steve’s brother and his wife, Jim and RuthAnn, escorting Jim’s high school science class on a 10 day field trip to Belize in Central America. The first part of the trip we stayed in the rain forest where the mosquitoes made it a little hard to cope at times, but it was so beautiful and we visited some amazing places. From there we traveled to an island off the coast located on the great barrier reef (second largest in the world). It was a refreshing change from the jungle and SO beautiful. We snorkeled every day and saw breathtaking reefs of coral and sea fans and huge schools of colorful fish. Steve and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary there on the island.
In August we both took vacation time and spent 11 days at the Hollow, it was wonderful! We attended the Prairie Dog Blues Festival in Prairie du Chien with friends Tami and Jerry. Mom Querin and Mom Schultz (who turned 85 this past year and is doing GREAT) drove out and spent several fun relaxing days with us And, of course, Steve undertook a huge project, laying block around the back of the house and sloping the ground under the back deck for better drainage. Steve brings his bicycle out and he really enjoys cycling the hills and hollows around the area and taking in the sights. The time flew by so fast and it reinforced our dream to live out at the Hollow full time.
Steve and I were able to take a few road trips this past year to visit friends in Door County, WI and Lexington Kentucky. We had a fun in Prairie du Chien on a cemetery tour with Steve’s sister, Nancy, one cold October day, played tourists in Dubuque with Mike and Judy and made friends with some goats and potbelly pigs in Gays Mills with our friend Laurie.
September saw the retirement of my friend and carpool buddy, Kathy. We carpooled together for over 13 years! Now I am driving into campus alone everyday. The cost of parking and gasoline has now doubled and I am racking up the miles on my car a lot faster. I really do miss Kathy and having someone to share the stressful drive to and from work and just having a friend to talk to everyday.The upside to it is that I do get home an hour earlier each day and have the opportunity to be able to stop and do errands after work.
Being home each weeknight earlier, I was able to take some night classes like I have wanted to do for awhile. My Mom and I took a class on Victorian architecture in Wisconsin and Steve and I took a class on the Upper Mississippian Indians. We all learned so much and had so much fun. We plan to do it again next Fall semester.
This past year Steve rekindled his love of astronomy by joining The Iowa County Astronomy Club. His passion for the hobby never waned, but he is now into it more than ever, since he has people to chat and go stargazing with.
I am beginning my 10th year at International Student Services, ISS, 14 years total at UW-Madison, and still loving my job. This past year I have taken on the responsibilities of social media for the office. I took over the Facebook page for the office and with my hard work have increased the number of “friends” by almost 2,000 people in 9 months time. In addition, I now do the ISS Twitter account and have increased our followers more than double. I also created a YouTube page for the office and have been creating and posting videos. So in addition to all my other work at the office, I get to surf the web and search for interesting stories, videos and photos to post or tweet and I “instant chat” with people all around the world who want to ask questions…and get paid to have fun doing it!!
Steve continues working for the Town of Cottage Grove; it’s been 12 years now. He says he enjoys the work in the summer, but the long hard winters are not much fun anymore! Steve still works on our family farm raising corn and soybeans and had a bumper crop this past Fall... Check out the videos Steve and I created and posted on our YouTube page!
Our “girls’, Pilar and Lucy are now 12 and 10 years old, and both doing real well. They constantly entertain us and give us unconditional love and constant joy. (other than dragging rotten deer into the yard)
They broke the bank in 2009 when BOTH of them had to have ACL surgery, within weeks of each other..that was an ordeal!
Steve and I are both doing well….Happy and for the most part Healthy. I am having some complications from my hernia surgery and when it gets real cold or I overdo it a bit I can tell you exactly where the breaks were in my ankles. Steve has some arthritis in his hands which is bothering him more often and he works hard at keeping his cholesterol down. But you know what?? That’s really nothing, right? “Better than the alternative’, as Steve would say!
We hope you find a way to make all your hopes and dreams for 2011 come true.
We hope that 2011 is happy and healthy for you, your families and friends.
We hope that 2011 brings peace to parts of the world that so desperately need it.
Happy New Year.
Much Love from us to you, Martha and Steve
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