The Giving Spirit

It seems our compulsive "saving" days are coming to an end. Our house has long been filled with items that are too useful/nice/sentimental, etc to give away, sell or use. Hence we have to store them just in case an occasion presents itself when they are needed. Our closets and rooms were filled and even overflowing. Thanks you Dr Phil for having a show on compulsive hoarding! Our excess "stuff" is on the move. Last week Dan gave a brand new jacket away that has been hanging in our closet for nearly 5 years. (Just in case he needed a new coat.) I'm sure that soon we will see the stacks of new jeans, shirts, wallets, hats and more slowly make their way to others less fortunate within the coming months. I wonder what I will do with all the extra space?

December 20th 2009

Time has flown so quickly this month. I think because all of our kids are on their own this year it seems more like the Christmas when DW and I were dating. So far, we have gone shopping several times and have leisurely strolled through the stores without feeling the normal holiday pressure. It takes me back to 1984 when we would routinely, hang out, shop, eat out, etc just to be together. It seems we still get sidetracked routinely, but that has been a constant throughout our life. Since we have been getting more stuff done at home I haven't had to think about all the undone projects that wait for us at home.This is nice. So now I wonder if maybe we have come full circle and we are back to where we started? I'm glad we are still young enough to enjoy it.

Christmas with the Trapp side

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Happy Holidays

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My week off

I decided to use some of my PTO this last week. It builds up so fast and I really needed some time at home. I managed to get a few things done that I have been putting off. The week ended on a sad note though. Sandy has been sick lately. She hasn't been able to keep food down and seemed to be thirsty all the time. She is considered pretty old for a dog and Shar Pei's are a difficult breed to care for but we haven't had very many problems. Probably because she was a house dog. I had made an appointment at the vet but she didn't last and died on Friday. It is possible she developed cancer. Several years ago the vet had tested for it because she had suddenly gotten a discoloration of her skin. It was negative then but who knows maybe it was dormant for awhile. Dan buried her in the back yard and my mom put some flowers on her grave. We will all miss her.

Susan's surprise

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Christmas cookies

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Here are some pictures of the Trapp family annual christmas cookie day. You can see the kids had agreat time decorating cookies and they turned out so colorful and creative. Whats really amazing was that Sam also made an appearance! Nice to see you Sam!