Sophia plays for St Ignatius. All games take place at Fremont Presbyterian near Sac State. Sophia #15, gold jersey at far right. The only girl on the team.

She’s got the ball!

Santa was good to Justin. This is an Outlaw Cart, built for a child but soon to be modified to carry Justin around a neighborhood dirt track. A future blog post for sure. Tom in Alabama: Justin said you’re definitely invited to come and take it for a spin.

Avery likes to check out the sit-ability of things. Chairs. Well, of course.

Bike racks. Yes, no problem.

A drain pipe in a flower bed at Uncle Justin’s. Easy.

Even a stick will work.

Thank you Justin for driving!

Warming up.

At first Glenn said no we shouldn’t go to an NHL game, it was a bit of an expense. After all, back in Regina he could easily go to a pro hockey game and would only have to drive about 500 miles. It was easy to talk him out of that logic. It’s just 150 miles from E Nicolaus to San Jose. And we had total fun!

The Sharks won!

Cynthia, Phyllis, and Carol:

Later in the afternoon, Justin, Glenn and I went to dinner at Dave and Phyl’s house. Dave, Sharon and family:

Carolyn, Corey, and Mary:

Glenn and Chuck:

Jerry and Justin:

Master carver Dave:

Chris, Mary, Greg:

Each year, Carol gives to family about 30 different paintings as Christmas gifts. Each one is different and wrapped. Everyone was excited to see which penguin they got. Carol searches for ideas all year and begins painting during the summer. The images also become her Christmas cards.

A new tradition is born: Walnut Gathering with Grandma.


We gathered 79 pounds and still had energy to climb in the trees – a slightly heart-stopping experience at times.

The Gospel Choir was very special to Mom. They went to Atria El Camino Gardens every 2-3 months to sing for everyone in the Life Guidance unit.

The women’s group at the church did an amazing job providing food for the reception afterwards. As we all know, funerals are also a great time for catching up with family and friends. Most of the people in this picture I considered my cousins as I grew up. L-R Back row: Chuck, Phyl, Carol (siblings), me, John, Jim.
Around the table: Rebecca, Judy, Aunt Rosebud, Cynthia, Christine, Tom, Eva Lee, and friend Mary Lee.

Vi, Jason, Stacey, Justin, Jennifer.

Mom rallied for a few days, but then turned for the worse and we just couldn’t meet her needs at Atria El Camino Gardens so we said goodbye to a most loving group of people. Art is the guy in the back and a resident, he was thrilled to be included in the photo.

Mom moved to College Oak Nursing and Rehab Center.