Catching up, part I

Last big post (not about a dirty bike) was the Christmas update, and the world did not stop at that point. So here's part 1 of catching up.

Kids went back to school in January, Jake for his last semester at Willamette and Quincy to Southern Oregon. Stu and I made our first trip to Oregon of the year to see Quincy's Winter term play -- Midsummer Night Dream. It is one of her favorite shows, so she was excited to be Assistant Master Carpenter for it.

Oh, yeah. Shortly before our trip to Oregon, Stu had surgery for a torn ligament, torn rotator cuff, and bursitis all on his right shoulder. That was the start of a rather long involvement with physical therapy, doctor checks, and more PT. Looks like I left that out of updates.

Meanwhile, farther north along I-5, Jacob was busy writing away on two theses and visiting graduate schools. During a rather busy week, he visited Washington State University, Montana State University, and Oregon State University. All visits went well, but the program at Montana State in Molecular Biosciences was most to his liking. He got a nice offer, so he committed to become a Bobcat.

At the end of March, kids were back for Spring Break, and we (minus Quincy) completed our 5th Bataan Memorial Death March. Out times were worse than last year, but Stu was barely a month post-op, so finishing was really the goal. The day ended up much hotter than average, and finishing was a bit of an accomplishment. Jacob's friend Janelle marched with us, earning all-around kudos for being willing to walk a marathon on the second day of her spring break. It was a poppy year, so much of the walk was more beautiful than usual.

Kids headed back to school, and things quieted back down. Part 2 will be coming soon.

On a sad note, Annie, our beautiful black mutt who shared our home since December 24, 1999, succumbed to cancer in mid-February. She died in our back yard in the caring hands of our gentle vet. It is always sad when a companion dies, but there is something strangely satisfying knowing that we were with her in the end, and were as loyal to her as she had always been to us. I think maybe Widget misses her the most, and she enjoyed tormenting that dog.