Quite a Year


 
As we’ve said, this has been quite a year for us here:
 

 
What about you? Has your life changed much in the past year?

Thanks to Evan, Mike, bikehikebabe, tammy, Kaitlin, Cathy, Rummuser, tikno and Kate for commenting on last week’s post.
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29 Responses to Quite a Year

  1. Evan says:

    Improved a fair bit in the last month or so I’m glad to say.

    Have just been getting some ideas together for my blog for the year ahead.

    The biggest change has been the last month or so (very much for the better).

  2. Mike Goad says:

    No big changes this year — certainly nothing as big as my course change back at the beginning of 1972 (see blog).

  3. bikehikebabe says:

    Same ole’, same ole’. The way I’ve made it.

  4. Cathy in NZ says:

    Crikey…my whole year has been tremendous fantastic.

    It was my 60th birthday as well and the goal had been made approx 5 years ago I would graduate with a degree from a University.

    And I DID IT!

    I probably did a whole lot of others things but that took the full line honours πŸ™‚

  5. Evan says:

    Congratulations Cathy

  6. tikno says:

    Not much. Nonetheless it is certain I have brought my children and wife crossing 2011 with well.

  7. tikno says:

    Happy New Year to you and family, and also to all readers here.
    Hopefully the prophecy of ancient Mayan tribe about doomsday 12-12 not proven because God still love us. πŸ™‚

  8. This picture brings home reality in the starkest way possible. Whoa. What I’ll imagine is your re-constructed home where this shot was probably taken from. Your new home, to me, is a symbol of hope and a lesson on how to deal with a bad hand in life.

    My 2011? Two significant events.

    1. BFF Two losing her dad to lung cancer in September and her mum, also to lung cancer, yesterday. Yes, New Year’s Day 2012. Her dad was a chronic smoker; her mum not. Passive smoking is a killer alright.

    2. Bestie Boy losing a very close friend who joined the notorious ‘Forever 27’* club after a hit-and-run in May. Street lights in that very same area is one the things he was campaigning for.

    (His friend was Human Rights lawyer, not a musician.)

    These seem like grim events to look back on my 2011 by. Not to me. I embrace death as part of the circle of life. Although it hurts immensely when the people I love leave. Two of my closest friends are hurting over the loss of their loved ones and *that* is the trauma of my 2011.

    BUT I have many, many more things that I was grateful for in 2011. Too many to list here. One of them is meeting nice people like you, Jean, and your regular commenters. I get inspired and I get to dispel a little more ignorance when they share their experiences.

    Bring on the rest of 2012!

    Kate

    P.S.: Thanks for the explanation about the check box below the Comment box. I had noticed some of your friends have that link to their last post, but I didn’t think anything of it. I accidentally did not uncheck my last comment on your blog and *your CFL moment*, I was enlightened when my comment went live. πŸ™‚

    That’s mighty nice of you to “advertise” on our behalf for free, Jean.

    P.P.S.: Congratulations, Cathy!

  9. Mike Goad says:

    Cathy, congratulations! My 60th is next month, but I’ve been thinking of myself as 60 for several months now, so it’s no big deal.

  10. Jean says:

    Evan,
    That’s great that 2011 ended so well for you.

    Mike,
    Thanks for the great post! Our big change was coming here 37 years ago. That was a great move too.

    bikehikebabe,
    It seems to me you had a lot to deal with this past year. I’m glad it hasn’t changed your life too much.

    Cathy,
    My congratulations, too! Getting your degree is a big accomplishment.

    tikno,
    A lot of people will be surprised if the Mayans were right! Glad the past year went well for you and your family.

    Kate,
    The little building is the shed, so far unusable because the inspector hasn’t come up yet to give it his blessing. Our little cottage will be on the clearing to the left.

    Thank you for joining our little community.

    I agree with you that death is a part of life, and we still miss the people we lose. πŸ™

    Mike,
    You and Cathy are both so young! Although I’ll bet Kate is even more of a youngster.

  11. Cathy in NZ says:

    Mike and I are the balance you need! πŸ™‚

  12. Mike Goad says:

    37 years ago… somewhere under the North Atlantic…

  13. Jean says:

    Mike,
    Under the North Atlantic sounds cold. What was it like inside? How crowded were the nuclear subs? Were they more comfortable than the WW II sardine cans?

  14. Yes, I think I’ve got more confidence and a better and more positive attitude this past year. Not before time, but it’s good progress.

    Happy New Year, Jean.

  15. Rummuser says:

    Yes indeed, it changed. I got a new shock absorber put in as the old one had got loose and was rattling and affecting the chassis.

  16. Mike Goad says:

    The water outside was certainly cold. The cold war nuclear submarines were a lot larger than the subs of WWII. They were longer than a football field — between 381-425 feet, depending on class — and were about 33 feet in diameter at the widest point, about the height of a 3 story home. Each boat had a crew complement of about 144 men. There were actually berthing spaces for all of the crew — no hot-bunking –, though missile techs and torpedo-men had their bunks in the missile compartment and torpedo room, respectively. We had showers as well as washers and dryers — after all, we were submerged for months at a time. Over 6 deterrent patrols, I spent 15 1/2 months under water.

    You really get a good idea of how big they are when you see one in dry dock, out of the water. The boat in the link was the sub I was on, the Casimir Pulaski, SSBN 633, at its launch from the construction drydock in Groton Connecticut in 1963. It was scrapped in the 90s as part of the conditions of nuclear arms reduction treaties.

  17. Cathy in NZ says:

    Mike, that certainly looks big in comparison to the people standing near it and from your description it was “big”

    The problem with my being 60 is that most people do not believe I am anywhere near that age! So it’s sometimes an uphill battle getting them to believe or to stop them laughing πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

  18. bikehikebabe says:

    Come on, quit yer braggin’. You can’t mean that they don’t believe you’re 60 because you look 90. Don’t answer that. I’m pretending to be funny. πŸ˜€

  19. Jean says:

    Maria,
    I’m happy that things are going better for you. I’m impressed at how well you’ve handled your situation.

    Happy New Year to you, too!

    Rummuser,
    It sounds as if the chassis is in good repair now and you’re ready to roll. πŸ˜€ And to tell us all about your adventures.

    Mike,
    That’s huge! I’m glad it worked out so well for you. That’s a long time to be confined under water.

    Cathy,
    I wonder why chronological age matters so much to some people? I had a good time hiking with a women years ago…until she realized I was 10 years older than she was. Then she never wanted to hike with me again. No wonder some people try to hide their age! πŸ˜€

    bikehikebabe,
    I have no idea how old I look. I do my best not to look in the mirror. πŸ˜€

  20. Cathy in NZ says:

    I know I shouldn’t be offended that I look around 10-15 years younger but when you want some serious “help” and people believe they are older than you…it’s not a great feeling.

    Or someone much younger believes you should do xyz for them because somehow they believe they deserve it!!! I’ve had some interesting short conversations with such people. I sometimes feel I need to carry age certificate with me…to validate things πŸ™

    example: I started Uni with other mature students…twice within I think first year, both had something to relate about age…

    W (male) said one day “when you get to my age you will understand” and I said “what age is that?” reply 49years. (I was around 56 at the time)

    J (female) also had this age thing going and she knew I was similar age but what she didn’t know I was actually 2 years older!! She got a huge fright when she found that out…I probably said something like, “well during the break it’s my birthday and I’ll be 56”

    Many of the my friends, say it’s my attitude, the way I wear my hair, my clothes and things like that…other older people insist that “my wrinkles are few” – but hey when I’m at the mirror I can see them, plainly – and they weren’t there a few years ago when I was in my early 50s!!!

  21. Jean says:

    Cathy,
    Again, it is interesting that some people make such a big deal about other people’s ages. Why would anyone care about a two year difference? Thanks for the interesting stories.

  22. Cathy in NZ says:

    a few years differences in both these cases was because they felt I didn’t understand what it was like to be older “than them/me” – and therefore when I was “older” I would understand certain things…mostly I think to do with “old age”

    πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ˜‰

  23. tammy says:

    oh monk…. i love the picture of the brave little shed. it will be glad when the cottage is built. and so will you i’m sure!
    i’m late to the game as usual, but i’ve enjoyed reading all the comments from everyone.
    my year also held huge loss of life, but like you, kate, i have to realize it’s just part of life on this planet. i’m hoping that 2012 will give a respite from the stalker, cancer.
    cathy, to get a degree is no mere thing. it’s major! so proud for you. i do believe you look as young as you feel… so you must feel very young!
    rummy, your chassis … that’s funny! made me laugh.
    mike… we have the old “batfish” from ww 2 in dry dock, you know, so people can go through it. amazing. i wouldn’t last 2 minutes in a sub. your modern one or like that old one!!! simply amazing. my hat off to you. and thank you for your service.
    this is getting too long. i always go on and on. but i like our community. i like hearing from maria and tikno and evan (such a warm smile there in your picture) and the true free spirit… bhb!!!
    love and happiest new year to you all,
    tammy j
    ps monk, you should check on wilf. he’s doing fine!!!
    he’s so amazing. such a fine wee polar bear in france profonde.

  24. Jean says:

    Cathy,
    I think a friend of mine had the right idea. His favorite saying, and attitude, was to smile and say “I’ll take that as a compliment.” He would have had no problem with being thought younger than he was.

    tammy,
    I love that picture too.

    Happy New Year to you too, and I do check out Wilf every day. πŸ™‚

  25. bikehikebabe says:

    How do you check on Wilf? I looked Wilf on Google. Was a lot of things.

  26. Jean says:

    bikehikebabe,
    Wilf is a dog and Angus writes about him: wilfanddigby.blogspot.com/ The posts warm my heart.

  27. >Although I’ll bet Kate is even more of a youngster.
    – *giggle* So now, YOU, too, Jean, know that I have some growin’ up to do.

    >my year also held huge loss of life, but like you, kate, i have to realize it’s just part of life on this planet. i’m hoping that 2012 will give a respite from the stalker, cancer.
    – Embracing death was something my dad and mum did, so I just learned from them. In my teens, I learned about the pain that resulted from the missing the departed. I was blessed to have learnt a solid coping mechanism for any kind of pain – prayer – from my parents, too.

    While I hope our year is free from not just cancer, but other ailments that debilitate, I wish even more fervently that we all discover the strength within to cope with whatever comes our way, Tammy.

    I wouldn’t worry about coming late to this party, Tammy. Chez Jean’s looks to be thriving 24/7 establishment where the revolving door at the entrance is never still. I come back here each time I get pinged via RSS about a new post.

    Kate

  28. bikehikebabe says:

    Kate, I’ve been looking at your blog. Fascinating!

    Now it’s all about the house burning down in our wildfires here & rebuilding. But read some of her old posts. I learned a lot about life. She made the cartoons you’ll see.

  29. >Kate, I’ve been looking at your blog. Fascinating!
    – Thank you, bhb! I think *you* are pretty fascinating yourself – part bionic woman and a whole lotta funny lady.

    >Now it’s all about the house burning down in our wildfires here & rebuilding. But read some of her old posts. I learned a lot about life. She made the cartoons you’ll see.
    – I do want to sift through Jean’s site. I can’t see that happening in the next two months at least because I’m getting ready for renovations to begin in the kitchen and bath in my current residence.

    Thank you for suggesting I do this. It’s even more incentive to do what I had planned.

    Kate

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