Venice, Italy 2009
Holiday Greetings from Kirsten, Virginia (Ginny), Nadou and Radar.
February: Ginny accompanied me on a work trip to Washington. Ginny’s brother Larry joined us for a day in the city. When the work came to an end, we traveled by train to New York City for an extended weekend. We visited our friends Candice and Johanna, stopped at the Metropolitan and MOMA and saw three Broadway shows.
March: We celebrated our birthdays. Our beloved Perky passed away. I traveled to British Columbia to visit my sister Erika, her husband Chris and my beautiful niece and nephew, Jayme and Dustin.
April: Ginny and I traveled to Los Angeles/ San Diego for Easter. We saw friends of mine from my Covenant Players days. When we returned on April 17th we picked up Nadou, our new dog. Beautiful Nadou is Basenji and Italian Greyhound. We fell in love immediately.
May: Nadou was very slow to adjust. She was (still is) very timid and it became clear that she was in need of companionship. On May 20th Radar, a loving and comical rat terrier, became a member of the Lindbloom-Larsen clan.
Nadou and Radar
June and July: We set out for a monster road trip in June. We began with a weekend up by Lutsen, MN with gal pals Jocelyn and Pamm and then headed north. We stopped in Manitoba to spend time with my family. We visited my Grandmother Kath and my aunts Gillian and Jocelyn. I am pleased to have had a chance to introduce Ginny to friends as well. We drove across Canada to British Columbia. We stopped in Banff for a few days. We enjoyed incredible sights and horseback riding in the mountains. We continued on, stopping to meet more family (Ken and Helen Pearson) along the way, coming to the end of this leg of the journey in Abbotsford, at the home of my sister Erika and her family. After a few days, Ginny flew home and I stayed on for an extra two weeks before heading home via Manitoba. This return trip included travel with Erika, Jayme and Dustin. A wonderful time. Erika and the kids traveled all the way back to Minnesota and after a weeklong stay with the Lindbloom-Larsens, Erika and the kids returned to Canada.
August: On July 31st I had surgery. In 2006, I had weight-loss surgery. After losing 200 pounds, additional surgery was needed. Such significant weight loss left behind a lot of excess skin. I had reconstructive surgery on my abdomen to remove the excess. In the process I got a new belly-button. The surgery was a great success, I am very happy with my new shape. During this time our dear friend Sue Blough came from California to help out. What a tremendous gift. Ginny’s brother Dan visited in this month as well. We enjoyed our time with Dan very much.
September: Over the Labor Day weekend Ginny traveled to Iowa for a reunion of her maternal cousins. She had a great time. I did not make the trip as I was still recovering from surgery and was just getting back to work. September began a new school year for me. It was a very busy month.
October: We decided to go to Baltimore to see Ginny’s brother Larry. Brother Dan joined us for the four day weekend. We spent good time with Ginny’s extended family. I met Larry’s wife Carol, their children and families. I enjoyed this group very much. We look forward to seeing them again in the coming year.
November and December: What a very busy time. On November 19th, we flew to Paris. We spent 17 days traveling via train, making our way through France and Italy. We made stops in Avignon, Nice, the Cinque Terre, Venice, Florence and Rome. Ginny has been many times. This was all new for me, however. It was incredible! We returned on December 6th in time for the arrival of winter. 12 inches of snow has fallen in the past two days. I am enjoying the first “snow day” of the year as I write this letter. If you would like to hear more our the trip and see some of the photos, we blogged online each day of the trip (www.justkirjustgin.blogspot.com).
Love and wishes for a happy new year…CHEERS!
kirsten, ginny, nadou and radar
What a rich year, full of blessings. May the upcoming year be just the same, loves.
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