It seems that the holidays come more quickly each passing year. At least we are enjoying them as much as ever. 2007 was a very good year—nothing truly outstanding but nothing really bad either. Sylvia and I hope it was even better for you and that your good fortune continues into the New Year.
The best news is that we had no bad news—no accidents, hospitals, or funerals. The work on “Tall Oaks” continued through the year but we've finished the inside now. One of Jerry's Christmas treats will be a bath in the “Jacuzzi” and a nap in the new bed in the Master Bedroom. It's been a long, long, hard struggle to get all this work done, but we WILL enjoy it in the coming years. When guests come we no longer have to move out of the “guest bedroom” to accommodate them. Even Sadie's bed will stay put. She is a happy, healthy, spoiled dog and she keeps us smiling.
Still lots of work to do outside here, but the big job of filling in the gully is done. After 15 months of a few trucks here and there, in March the folks building Bentonville's new 175 million dollar art gallery finished the job for us in a week. Doesn't sound like much, but it was quite an impressive operation. During the week, we saw hundreds of dump trucks come and go and a full-time bulldozer pushing rocks, trees, and dirt. Now we've got an acre field, with a small garden patch, instead of a deep gully growing brush and weeds. We can even drive the garden tractor to the other side of our property.
We had some great travel in 2007. In October we went back to England and in August we attended Jerry's “sibling” reunion in Medora, North Dakota. We also had shorter visits to St. Louis, St. Paul, Kansas City, Branson, and Omaha. We did lot's of local and day-trip sightseeing when we had guests. But the highlight of 2007 was a three-week trip to China and Tibet with Joyce and Kenn.
We got to see a lot of sights, cities, and countryside. Bed, board, bus, boat and guide were super! We still may not understand China any better than before we went. For example, China is a communist country, but bustling with capitalism. We saw a lot of poor people, but there appeared to be a large middle-class with money to spend. Unexpectedly, most basics, like rent, healthcare, and education, were not free.
Communism was more subtle, but still evident in other ways, like in the large military presence and numerous billboards. And we were advised not to talk politics with anyone. Families are allowed only one child. The people we met were very friendly and quite curious about us. Sadly, many important historic and cultural attractions had been destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Tibet was as exciting as we expected, but it was quite poor and the political-religious situation is very tragic. The Three Gorges project is unbelievable. Hugh impact on people and environment. We left with any desire for Chinese food quite satiated. Next Year's big trip is a couple of weeks in Alaska.
We always enjoy our annual return to family and friends in England. Unfortunately there is never enough time to see everyone or to visit as long as we'd like. Sylvia's family is doing well. We had a great weekend with Paul and Angela in Shrewsbury. Brother-in-Law Frank gave us a “job” this year pushing latest karate book at a regional event he organized. We even got in a day trip to Scarborough with Irene and Les – quite eventful.
Our day-today existence remains unexciting. Sometimes we feel that if it weren’t for the medical and dental professions we'd have no social life at all. Because of persistent jaw problems from his accident last year, Jerry has had major dental work throughout the year. Sylvia remains a busy part-time assistant manager thee days a week at the local Habitat for Humanity Re-Store. Jerry no longer volunteers regularly with HfH, but still does taxes during the first four months of the year with AARP. We don't anticipate significant life-style changes in 2008 – expect to remain busy and productive.
Again, a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you and yours.
Sylvia, Jerry and Sadie
9651 East Highway 72, Bentonville, AR 72712
Telephone 479-271-8572
E-mail: jerry@argets.com or sylvia@argets.com
Web site: http://www.argets.com/