01 January 2012
The View From The Ledgs
01/01/12 12:29
I see the year as a huge circle. It starts high among the grey rocks of January and descends a long slope to the warm golden fields of July and August. There, it levels out and turns to the right. September begins the long climb back into the dark foreboding mountains of winter. There are may details along the way, stumbling among the high crags of December, the sharp corner that is Labour Day, but the most important is The Ledge. That week between Christmas and New Years is a narrow path high on the mountain face where I look out at the huge circle below and see the events of the year spread out like a tapestry. This is a time to stop and take stock. A time to review the events of the year and what I hope for in the coming year.
It was an eventful year too. For one thing nobody wanted to stay where they were. We moved of course (twice for those keeping score), but we weren’t alone. By my count, five nieces and nephews, four cousins, three in-laws, and several friends moved as well. Here’s to hoping that everyone is happy where they are now, at least for long enough for us to update our address lists.
It was a year when the earth didn’t want to stay still either. You likely remember the huge earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan. Debris from that one is washing up on BC shores now and will be a problem for most of next year. Less in the news were the quakes that struck Christchurch New Zealand. After a 7.1 that hit in September 2010, 24 other events of magnitude 5.1 or more have struck the Christchurch area this year. Here’s to hoping that, for a change, the people of New Zealand, Japan and everywhere else can get a good nights sleep in 2012
Political earthquakes hit much of the world in 2011. The Arib spring is changing the map every month. Here’s to hoping the Syrians and Yemenis get things sorted out soon, before there’s too much more bloodshed. Here’s to the Russians who are standing up to the Putin machine. Hope that turns out well. Then there’s the North Koreans. What’s the old adage ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’. I’m afraid I really don’t see much hope for improvement over there even with their “Great Successor”. There’s too many old guard on both sides of the DMZ that don’t want the situation to improve. Closer to home, 2012 is an election year in the US. Here’s to hoping that I can find enough on TV from the CBC and BBC that I can avoid the screaming and name calling and other assorted political noise from south of the border.
2011 was the year that I changed my creative output. These letters are going well of course but I also started a YouTube channel. Both of these will continue in the new year. On the other hand I experimented with Social Media and you know, I found that I’m just not that social. I’ve more or less dropped out of FaceBook, I haven’t been back there in months. I played with Linkedin while I was unemployed and have dropped that as well. The YouTube videos have been fun. I’m hoping to continue but it’s harder now that I’m not working at home. Apple is dropping web hosting so I need to build a replacement for my web site. More on that in the coming weeks. Here's hoping we all have enough time to play when we want to.
On Friday we picked the last of the apples from the one tree. We haven’t even touched the second tree. This place produces a prodigious amount of produce. Remember we got here after the peak of raspberries, strawberries and most of the raised bed crops and even then we were inundated. Here’s to hoping that in 2012 we’re a little better prepared to deal with the bounty that grows on this place. I don’t like to see food go to waste.
We traveled to Minnesota last summer. It was a fun trip, and it was also the long haul swan song for the Prius. It’s not unreliable but it’s closing in on100k miles so we want to keep it closer to home. We replaced the pickup with a new Honda which, while it won’t get as good a mileage as the Prius, is better than the pickup, and more comfortable. The Minnesota trip also was noteworthy in that we did a 1000 mile day. From Bismarck ND to the middle Washington in one long leap. From that we learned to never ever do a 1000 mile day again. Here’s to our upcoming eclipse trip in May. A nice run down the highway to Carson City NV. Hopefully the rest of the Aalseths can make it too and maybe even nephew Andrew from Tucson.
So sitting here on the New Years ledge II feel like Bilbo, high in the Misty Mountains looking far out towards Rivendell and The Shire and far in the distance a glint of the sea. I look across the pageant that was this year. We had some fun. We worked hard, too hard at times. Here’s to a year that’s a little less hectic, a little more planned, and a lot less stressful. Above all here’s to all of our friends. May you have a good trip as you start on the long path down from the grey mountains of January towards the golden fields of summer.
Farewell 2011 and Hello 2012
Doug & Marsha
PIX:
Here's to the dawning of a wonderful 2012 for all of you.
May the days be filled with warm sun
Plenty of naps.
And you raise enough hell to keep it interesting and fun.
It was an eventful year too. For one thing nobody wanted to stay where they were. We moved of course (twice for those keeping score), but we weren’t alone. By my count, five nieces and nephews, four cousins, three in-laws, and several friends moved as well. Here’s to hoping that everyone is happy where they are now, at least for long enough for us to update our address lists.
It was a year when the earth didn’t want to stay still either. You likely remember the huge earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan. Debris from that one is washing up on BC shores now and will be a problem for most of next year. Less in the news were the quakes that struck Christchurch New Zealand. After a 7.1 that hit in September 2010, 24 other events of magnitude 5.1 or more have struck the Christchurch area this year. Here’s to hoping that, for a change, the people of New Zealand, Japan and everywhere else can get a good nights sleep in 2012
Political earthquakes hit much of the world in 2011. The Arib spring is changing the map every month. Here’s to hoping the Syrians and Yemenis get things sorted out soon, before there’s too much more bloodshed. Here’s to the Russians who are standing up to the Putin machine. Hope that turns out well. Then there’s the North Koreans. What’s the old adage ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’. I’m afraid I really don’t see much hope for improvement over there even with their “Great Successor”. There’s too many old guard on both sides of the DMZ that don’t want the situation to improve. Closer to home, 2012 is an election year in the US. Here’s to hoping that I can find enough on TV from the CBC and BBC that I can avoid the screaming and name calling and other assorted political noise from south of the border.
2011 was the year that I changed my creative output. These letters are going well of course but I also started a YouTube channel. Both of these will continue in the new year. On the other hand I experimented with Social Media and you know, I found that I’m just not that social. I’ve more or less dropped out of FaceBook, I haven’t been back there in months. I played with Linkedin while I was unemployed and have dropped that as well. The YouTube videos have been fun. I’m hoping to continue but it’s harder now that I’m not working at home. Apple is dropping web hosting so I need to build a replacement for my web site. More on that in the coming weeks. Here's hoping we all have enough time to play when we want to.
On Friday we picked the last of the apples from the one tree. We haven’t even touched the second tree. This place produces a prodigious amount of produce. Remember we got here after the peak of raspberries, strawberries and most of the raised bed crops and even then we were inundated. Here’s to hoping that in 2012 we’re a little better prepared to deal with the bounty that grows on this place. I don’t like to see food go to waste.
We traveled to Minnesota last summer. It was a fun trip, and it was also the long haul swan song for the Prius. It’s not unreliable but it’s closing in on100k miles so we want to keep it closer to home. We replaced the pickup with a new Honda which, while it won’t get as good a mileage as the Prius, is better than the pickup, and more comfortable. The Minnesota trip also was noteworthy in that we did a 1000 mile day. From Bismarck ND to the middle Washington in one long leap. From that we learned to never ever do a 1000 mile day again. Here’s to our upcoming eclipse trip in May. A nice run down the highway to Carson City NV. Hopefully the rest of the Aalseths can make it too and maybe even nephew Andrew from Tucson.
So sitting here on the New Years ledge II feel like Bilbo, high in the Misty Mountains looking far out towards Rivendell and The Shire and far in the distance a glint of the sea. I look across the pageant that was this year. We had some fun. We worked hard, too hard at times. Here’s to a year that’s a little less hectic, a little more planned, and a lot less stressful. Above all here’s to all of our friends. May you have a good trip as you start on the long path down from the grey mountains of January towards the golden fields of summer.
Farewell 2011 and Hello 2012
Doug & Marsha
PIX:
Here's to the dawning of a wonderful 2012 for all of you.
May the days be filled with warm sun
Plenty of naps.
And you raise enough hell to keep it interesting and fun.