Happy
Holidays and
A Review of 2012 from Charlotte and Smoot!
We started 2012 by going to see the beautiful lights at the Phoenix Zoo on Jan 1. On the 6th we hosted Cherilyn and Dena at the Indonesian dinner at UUCP. We saw Holly Near at Valley UU on Jan 11. On Jan 15 we caught a stray cat at UUCP; after fostering with us, Karin eventually adopted her and named her LucyLu. Jency visited Jan 19-24. We went to the Barrett-Jackson auction, the MIM, the Botanical Gardens and had dinner with the Leungs, an old friend meeting new ones.
We took part in the All-AZ UU Choral festival on Jan 28. We went to see the 3D version of Star Wars Episode 1 on Feb 10; I wore my Jedi robe. Connie played in the Chandler Symphony Centennial Concert on Feb 3. We met Kat and Francis there and sat with them. On Valentine’s Day 2012, AZ’s 100th birthday, we enjoyed the buffet at the Talking Stick resort.
We introduced Julie and Marshall to their doppelgangers, Julia and John on Feb 24. Emily and Chris Colson stayed with us Mar 6-7 on the way to the Grand Canyon. We had Mexican food, something not common in MT. Chris was amazed at my collections and menagerie and left loaded down with lemons and grapefruit. We went to a pre-season baseball game at the new Salt River fields on Mar 24 with John and Julia.
The next day we sponsored a student in Nepal through a program run by fellow UU Earle Canfield shown with us above left. On Apr 6, we got a pregnant rescued kitty. She finally gave birth to three kittens on Apr 22. We fostered the family. On Easter, Apr 8, Pat and Mary Ann Cate came through town and stopped for a short visit. They got to see my collections and turtles. Tragically, on Apr 17, our good friend Karen Gould died, a devastating loss. The photo of Karen and me above was from the HRC staff photo in 1986. On Apr 23, we visited the Hise’s new place near Prescott and got to tour the area and eat.
Smoot and I were part of the First Flush celebration at UUCP on Apr 29 when we inaugurated our new bathrooms. On May 5, we went to Katherine’s recital then later Paula joined us for Free Comic Book Day. Cabaret was on May 12. Smoot did a magic trick in the opening number and a skit on standard English vs Yiddish.
On May 20, Smoot was honored at UUCP for his six years of service as treasurer. Phoenix Comic-Con was May 24-27. It wasn’t as much fun as last year. Tommie visited on May 31 and was amazed, like everyone is, at my collections. On June 10, Bill and Joan hosted the After Cabaret party during which we all watched the DVD of the show. Smoot got an early birthday present on June 16, a new golf bag. I’m holding the credit card I used to buy him the gift. Dena and Cherilyn came by on June 18 and had the usual response to my collections.
The UUA’s General Assembly was held in Phoenix June 20-24, starting on Smoot’s birthday. Before we sang in the District Choir that evening, we had an impromptu birthday gathering at the Convention Center. I gave him a silly Penguins of Madagascar book and a new belt. The arty photo above was pulled from the UUA video and shows Kat, far left, Kellie directing, me, Diana and Heidi. Above right, Smoot and me (in my Standing on the Side of Love t-shirt) on June 22.
The GA choir, shown on June 24 was much larger than the District one. We sang some hard music and had to spend a lot of time at the conference rehearsing it. It was fun meeting new UU’s and visiting with old friends. On June 30 we had a belated birthday celebration with the Leungs. On July 20, Sandy T gave me a scarf she’d made with paw prints on it to thank me for the work I do in animal rescue.
Tucky came back to town from India and we got to see her at a party at Bonnie and Dave’s on July 21. There was a reorganization of Connie’s office on July 28 which turned out very well and gives me more room to file music in the cabinets. On Aug 8, Gail was in town to work with Smoot, Sandy, Robert and Shane on a special computer project. Two days later we drove to San Diego to do a test cruise. If I survived it, we could plan to go on a cruise to Alaska for our 40th anniversary in 2013. I did survive. We also toured the aircraft carrier Midway and got to visit with my cousin Barbara and see a tall ship.
On Aug 19 we had an early birthday celebration for me with the Leungs. Susan had made me a really kewl Yoda throw. On Aug 25 we gave a Welcome Back to Choir party at our house which being the day before my birthday was also a b’day party. I had an appropriated Star Wars themed cake. The fall choir retreat was on Sept 15; Smoot and Sandy were cut-ups! We had a combined celebration for Susan and Katherine’s birthdays on Sept 16. The Blackwells came for a work session on Oct 3 and brought Calvin who got to play with our current foster kitties. On Oct 10 we were in an accident driving home from choir practice. Our 1996 Geo Prism sustained more damage than it was worth to fix so Smoot decided we needed to get a new car, a Prius-C hatchback which we did on Oct 13. We get 70 mpg on our trip to and from church, 99.9 from the post office and over 50 on the highway. We’re very pleased with it.
Linda and Gary gave a party on Oct 20, his birthday. He had candles on a pumpkin pie! We celebrated Dan Robert’s 80th birthday on Oct 27 at the Pinnacle Peak Golf Club. Smoot’s golfing buddies gathered at one table. The next day I had a display for Archives and Publicity at UUCP’s Harvest of Opportunities Fair. At the service that day we celebrated the Day of the Dead and remembered those who had died. We put photos of our parents on the altar and also the program for May Louise Mitchell Rampton’s memorial service that Smoot had attended in Chelan, WA on Oct 15. May Louise had died on Aug 19.
Brian and Henry hadn’t seen my collections so on Nov 16 they came over and were of course amazed by the spectacle! We celebrated Thanksgiving with Richard and Connie at his ex-wife Bette’s home. That Friday we had R & C over for T’day leftovers. Two days later, Nov 25 we traded our feral foster kitten, Shamu for a mother cat with six kittens. Nov 29 was a mixed blessing. We got the sad news that Smoot had prostate cancer which will mean he has some serious decisions to make. But we also drove to Flagstaff that afternoon for the NAU Holiday Concert. Before we left, Gheer and Rocky looked so cute packed into one of the kitty beds that I had to take a picture of them.
Above left, the group at the NAU Holiday Concert included us, Connie & Richard, Jon & Nando and Larry & Carol. On Dec 1, we sang with Carolyn, Gary and Bill at the Renaissance-themed auction at UUCP and got compliments. Smoot and I won Rev Susan’s sermon, an original song by Anne Byrne, a painting by Lucienne, monthly cookies and a seat at the Hanukkah dinner given by Duke and Susan. After the auction, we changed and rushed over to the holiday party for the District 23 Democrats. On Dec 3, Richard J and I took items to the apartment for the Eritrean family we’re sponsoring.
On Dec 4, Smoot and Duke met with Moira from the UUA to talk about future plan for the UU Foundation. I tagged along. The photo above of the mama kitty and her kittens was taken on Dec 5. We’ll keep them until the kittens are old enough for surgery and adoption, just as we have the many other cats and kittens we’ve fostered, 68 total since Sept 2010. On Dec 8 we celebrated Christmas with the Leungs by joining them to choose families from the Salvation Army Angel Tree at Desert Ridge then we shopping for the items needed then having dinner and belatedly celebrating Jimmy’s Dec 4 birthday.
After the auction, we got Lucienne’s painting and hung it over our buffet. We’re very pleased with it. On Dec 14, we went to the Hanukkah dinner that Duke and Susan hosted. The next day we went caroling with other UUCP folks, including another visit to Lucienne and Bob Rusconi.
After caroling, we rushed over to Tommie and
Rudolf
Volkmann’s for their Christmas party. Paw Placement directors
Tommie and Megan
posed with us. From the party we rushed to pick up Sandy and
went to the Hush
concert given by the Full Circle Women’s choir for which Connie
is now the
accompanist. The next day, as members of Unicare, Smoot and I
assisted at a
memorial service at UUCP. With the service and Smoot’s
foundation board
meeting, that meant it was a long day and a busy but fun holiday
weekend. Igor
Glenn was the entertainment at the Dec 19 Senior-i-tea at UUCP.
