Thursday, December 31, 2009

Notthat year in review

One of the best things about having this blog sort of thing is that it works out as a pretty good diary. Mush reminded me this morning that today is the end of 2009, so I went back and looked at the year's postings (114 of them compared to only 82 in 2008) to remind myself of the things that happened.

But first a quiz: did I have more posts with grandkids or The Boy?

January - This month started with The Boy on crutches. In spite of that, him, Mrs Notthat, and I all headed to the LA area, with the highlight being watching a taping of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. When we returned, The Boy started in the Skyline College automotive program. Another semi-significant event was that Mrs Notthat and I started playing with Facebook. I had figured that this would reduce the number of posts I would make through the year, but it hasn't, mostly because a lot of people that read these posts are too smart to get involved with Facebook.

February - The Boy got rid of his crutches and started driving again. I obsessed a bit with the bathroom habits of my coworkers and how challenged they are when it comes to disposing of the paper towels after washing their hands. (Really!) And we had a great Pansy Day.

March - Riley ended up in the hospital. Twice. This happened WAY too often this year. Darci also got into the act on one of these occasions, ending up sharing a room with Riley.

April - I had my first x-ray of something other than a tooth - my right knee started giving me trouble. So naturally I started a summer walking program with San Jose Fit. The Boy bought a Jeep! And a group of us went to a cold Giants game ("Cheeeezebooooger" - still sends chills through me).

May - The Boy took the top off his Jeep (which remained off until October). I had an MRI on my knee. The walking program was not bothering it though, so I ended up leaving it alone. We had one of our large backyard BBQs.

June - Mrs Notthat and I headed up north to Lassen National Park and then on to Oregon to stay in a treehouse for a few nights. This trip involved zip lines, tie-dying, and us buying Mickey Moose. Riley ended up in the hospital again. The Boy ended up with a snake in his room. We had another of our large backyard BBQs.

July - The fourth was spent watching the Stanford and UC Davis bands put on another of their great shows in RWC. Mrs Notthat and The Boy headed off to Germany. The Boy and I went to the Fire Arts Festival, put on by The Crucible in Oakland. And Riley made another trip to the hospital (weirdly, as he was being released, Darci turned up at the emergency room, although she ended up avoiding being admitted).

August - Mrs Notthat and I went camping. Cousin Jay from Missouri visited. I swapped out the garage door - a much more painful process than I had bargained for. The Boy and I built a large enclosure for the snake.

September - The Boy bought a new bike using eBay, which proved much harder to do than you would think. We sealed the deck. Mrs Notthat and I spent a day at The Crucible learning to MIG weld, cut with plasma, and torment copper.

October - We put up the awning over the newly sealed deck. Mrs Notthat headed off to Missouri for Cousin Barry's wedding. And I did the amazing (for me) - I walked a marathon! This was the single coolest athletically-inclined thing I think I've ever done.

November - We bought a new minivan. We thought we could get by with just normal cars, but too often we found ourselves needing more room, and now we've got it. My parents visited us, which involved a LOT of very cool quilts and a few garage sales. The Boy had his wrist operated on. Mrs Notthat surprised me by agreeing to join the San Jose Fit winter program with me. Surprise number two was that she is a stud at this walking thing. Riley ended up in the hospital again, this time being significantly worse than the previous visits.

December - I began work on a treehouse sort of thing for the grandkids. Mrs Notthat, The Boy, and I spent a few days in Auberry, playing with dogs, goats, snow, and mud. Mrs Notthat headed back with the grandkids for a few more days of fun.

And that's about it. The year had its ups and downs, but all years have those. Sadly, Danni has had to spend the last two weeks in the hospital, which has robbed a lot of fun from this holiday break. But on Saturday morning Mrs Notthat and I walk a hill-infested 10K (6.2 miles) and will get medals! Plus, I believe there are a few football games being played over this weekend.

Naturally I will be sound asleep as 2010 rolls in - I can't remember the last time I stayed up on New Years Eve, and with my cold lingering on, I need all the rest I can get for Saturday.

That's it - move along...

PS: The Boy beat the grandkids 36 to 33. Hopefully next year's totals will involve fewer surgeries and hospital visits though.

2 comments:

mary ann said...

This is a great recap. I'm so glad that you have been posting more this year. Best to you, Mrs. Notthat and all those kids in 2010!

DAK said...

That was fun to read. It's amazing how many seemingly insignificant things we write about that, when you add them up, turn into a life. I would have put my money on the grandkids instead of The Boy. Maybe because there are two of them. Keep this up so we can be part of your life too. I love it.