Moi and Mine

It’s a sunny California-style winter day and I write my blog while snuggled in bed with my Brizzy-bear. Can life really get better than this? Natala calls it Californialicious. Nevertheless, in pursuit of whatever, we are migrating to downtown Los Angeles—a world class city to the south of us. "Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles,” said Frank Lloyd Wright. Our visit is to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, early. This is because Natala and her micro-dog, Cuba, are willing to house-sit, cat-sit and dog-sit. Thanks, Natala! Of course, we do micro-dog-sit Cuba sometimes.

This has been a good year, one that I have blogged about from time to time. (See my sidebar right and scroll down to Way Back Posts or further down to Archives.)

2006 started with a trip to Australia to visit my mum, Isabel, and celebrate her 85^th birthday. I give praise for her continued good health although she tires easily now and is on a small dose of medication for her heart. Bill and I enjoyed the balmy weather on the famous Gold Coast of Surfer’s Paradise, my favorite place in the whole world, especially in the down-under summer during our winter.

The other highlight of the year was the party we gave for Bill’s mother Polly’s 90^th birthday. Bill’s folks, his dad Bill (94) and Polly, live in their home which was designed by Bill in Los Osos on the California coast. They, too, are in good health.

Thanksgiving at Natala’s home in Seattle with over a dozen family members, was another highlight for us. (See photos at Flickr right.)

Working on Reduced Load is still an experiment for me and I reassess it each semester. In May, I gave up sitting on the Academic Senate but next semester I may be more involved with Institutional Effectiveness and strategic planning—continuing my vital search for meaning in academia, as if it actually existed. I completed xyz which filled a twenty-page report for the Professional Recognition Committee. I sat on a Tenure Review Committee and I was peer reviewed myself, after many years. My major assignments are our college website and Reference.

I wrote all the chapters of my book about the Raj Era and had it edited by Naomi Rose (see Naomi's blog in my New Links). I then re-wrote each chapter, except the last. Now I have recipes with leads, illustrations and photos, more personal stories, indexes and introductions to add to complete my magnum opus in 2007.

Alongside my writing, I’ve been organizing my thirty-year backlog of photos with the help of Kathy and now we’re up to 1990, that’s just when life got more complicated for me back then.

The pirouette of time goes on. I celebrated the Winter Solstice with my group of Goddesses, Christmas with my family and the New Year will be with my Raj group of women who have been meeting for about 25 years. Not forgetting my now-traditional Crab Curry vindaloo with family and friends at our home on New Year’s Day. Wish you all could be here!

2007. Did I ever think I’d be here? Did I make all this happen—the good, the bad and the ugly OR is that, too, an illusion? Blessings.

Family updates:

Bill officially became a senior citizen, which we celebrated in style with curry and rice at a sit down dinner for a dozen friends. He still works 24/7 with Karla, Jo and John Hill designing resort hotels and luxury homes. Of course, he takes breaks to keep up his suntan. He showed his mylar paintings at the EVC Library this fall.

Natala is visiting for Christmas, after the worst storm in Seattle which kept her without electricity for days. Sheila is starting the New Year at Echo Lakes surrounded by snow, with Jasmine and Jared and friends. Brizzy improved his deportment greatly, thanks to Barkbusters’ Peter Levy. Cuba gained a whole pound.

Amy has a baby due in Spring making the number of Bruner grandchildren an even dozen; Meta and family chose to winter in the hot Australian bush; Dan and family drove to Seattle to spend Thanksgiving with us and will probably be moving next year after homesteading near Walla Walla for four years; Jeffry and family are living in Aloha near Portland (not Hawaii) where he is working outsource on Intel’s website; Jessica and family are at their re-modeled home in Portland near her mother Nancy and sister Amy’s place—for the holidays from Chicago. For pictures of all see my Flickr site.

May God and the Goddess bring you rich blessings in 2007!