December 2021 was our first Christmas in our Yuma home. It was fun to decorate without going overboard. We were keeping everything simple, and equally important – simple to store for the majority of the year.
Barry and I agreed we were not going to get each other a present just because it was Christmas. There really wasn’t anything that either of us wanted or needed personally or for the house. Well, so we thought. I recently bought a steel tongue drum, and Barry noticed I could use something to hold my music. He completely surprised me with this wonderful music stand. I love that it can keep sheet music from being blown way, and will hold a music book opened to any page. I find that I play more often now – both inside the house and out on the patio. It will also be easy to take with us in the motorhome.
I discovered the TENEX elbow shock absorber a couple weeks before Christmas from a fellow pickleball player. I researched it and found that MIT tested it out and stated that it is currently the best thing on the market for tennis elbow. This might be perfect for Barry. I ordered one, but gave it to him prior to Christmas since his arm/elbow was giving him grief. It seems to work. He has been playing a lot without hurting!
We had a nice quiet Christmas Day with dear friends, John and Virgie Holtzapple. Virgie and John prepared the prime rib and I did the rest. Dinner was amazing with excellent old vine zinfandel wine , but the company was even better. After dinner we played Sequence. It was a perfect Christmas to realize we are extremely blessed with wonderful friends. Unfortunately, we were so present and in the moment with each other that we never thought to take any pictures. The hours fly by when we are together!
Virgie and John will be relocating to another park nearby in about a month. We really hate to see them leave their beautiful home here since we have so much fun when we’re together. I wish we had taken the opportunity sooner to start getting together with these two, but last winter covid was a serious issue, and we were 100% focused on getting our new house furnished, completely emptying Vinny and settling in. John and Virgie came over for a short visit last spring and shared valuable insights on Yosemite since we were headed there, but then it was time for us to repack Vinny and take off traveling for a few months. The good news though is that their next home is only a couple miles away! It isn’t like they are moving to the other side of town or to another city or state! Barry and I feel blessed with this special friendship, and look forward to much more time together and various celebrations through the years.