The end of another year is here and I am still alive to tell about it. It has been a year of avoiding illness and resuming some activities. This is my annual report about 2022.
I am glad to say that my immediate family is intact,
including me, my adult children and their children, plus Pete, the wonderful man
in my life. I have lived through the third year of the Covid 19 pandemic, which
meant sometimes wearing masks in public, sometimes participating in meetings and
church services remotely on Zoom and staying at home a lot. But this year the
pandemic didn’t seem as bad as before, so I had more opportunities to be with
people than in 2021. By December we had a new word to describe the pestilence
around us: tripledemic. We now have covid, flu and RSV (which does not stand
for Revised Standard Version), whatever it is. All three conditions are with us
so I quote the recent words of the leader of Ukraine, who said they/we are
alive and kicking. Ukraine is in worse shape than we are, no thanks to the
Russians. We are okay.
A large part of my life every summer has been spending
time at Washington Island. This year daughter Sarah parked a new-to-her camper
on the island campground in the woods for the family to use when she allows it.
It is small for many people so when she was on the island she made space for only
one more person to stay with her. Mostly when I was there, and I was there
quite a bit of the summer, I stayed in one of the campground’s cabins as I have
done other years, and I stayed in the camper when Sarah was living her life at
home. It has many amenities but not a lot of space. That is true of the island
we love too.
I did more than camping at Washington Island. I
exhibited my artwork at the Art and Nature Center again this year in an all-summer
exhibit by islanders and summer islanders. The center is in an old two room
school building with one classroom set up with paintings and three-dimensional
art for people to admire and buy, and one classroom arranged with items from
the island’s natural environment, including live snakes in aquariums, a beehive
and other natural things for children and adults to look at and enjoy. Also on
the island I attended services at the Lutheran Church, where I connected with
island people whom I have known over time.
Plenty of things were happening from time to time
elsewhere. Pete and I took a tour of several days to Mackinac Island in June,
where we toured the carless island in a horse drawn carriage and walked around
and enjoyed the woodsy paths and posh environment of the Grand Hotel with its
five course dinners and (of course) shops. The occasion was billed as the lilac
festival, but I think I saw more geraniums.
Pete and I took some day trips with groups of seniors.
In August we went on a day tour by boat on Lake Geneva with its large,
beautiful homes built along the lakeshore about a hundred years ago by famous
wealthy Chicago people. In August Pete and I took a day trip to the Kohler
Andrae State Park near Sheboygan on the Lake Michigan shore and enjoyed walking
on the dunes. Another day in summer we visited the International Crane
Foundation in Baraboo, which has cranes (birds) from all over the world. Apart
from these senior group trips we attended several plays during the year at
American Players Theater in Spring Green and in Madison at the Overture Center.
These events were a pleasant return from the days when the covid scare kept
events and people to a minimum.
Volunteering at the senior center and public library
went on all year for me. The senior center brought back pre-covid programs and
activities, so I helped. I serve on the Committee on Aging and the senior
center’s Foundation Board. I participated in hanging two exhibits, one
paintings and one photography, which show the work of Dane County residents
over age 55. I submitted my colored pencil drawings in the painting exhibit.
These month long displays on the senior center’s second floor are good
opportunities for seniors to showcase their creativity for the public to
admire.
At my nearby branch library I went back to doing the
pick list all year. What’s that? It is a list of the library’s books and other
items that a volunteer or staff person finds to fill hold requests to send to
other libraries. This sharing of library materials provides better service for
people. I am one of the volunteers who finds the items on the list when it is
my turn. I have been doing this since I retired fourteen years ago. Just place
a hold on an item in the library’s online catalog and it will arrive at your library
in about a day if it is available. That’s the hold system.
In October Pete and I joyfully celebrated the sixth
anniversary of meeting each other. We had dinner at Delany’s Steak House in
Madison. I am very happy that this relationship has endured for six years and
has remained loving and comfortable for both of us. We celebrated Pete’s
eightieth birthday in October at Delany’s.
Sadly, I saw much less of my children who live away
from Madison than in non-covid times. I look forward to times when we can do
things together again. Sarah, John, Sherry, Laura and Ian are here in Madison
where we have access to some time together. Sarah is continuing to recover from
breast cancer-mandated radiation treatments dating back more than a year, so
she is limited by how well she is feeling. Radiation saves lives but it takes a
long time to heal. I am glad to see her every now and then. Her energy goes to
her job where she works at home. John and Sherry have lovingly invited me to
eat supper with them once a week. They are giving me their time. Dori, Mary and
Libby are out of state. We had some family gatherings on Zoom on holidays, so
we can be thankful for times like these. I look forward to a future when we can
all be together in person.
That’s what happened in my world. May everyone live
long and prosper.
