This is a picture of Christmas at our house some years ago before we learned to escape the cold Alberta winters for the sunnier climate in Arizona.This year, Christmas will look a lot like the one shown since the land border is still closed and we've decided to spend Christmas and the rest of the winter here. We are nicely secluded on our acreage 20 km outside of Red Deer and we mostly keep to ourselves except for a weekly trip into town for groceries and a few other assorted errands.
We are both very grateful to still be healthy and happy and we do what we can do to stay that way. The freezer is full. Hans bakes delicious sourdough bread every few weeks, and we have a steady supply of fresh eggs available from our neighbour down the road.
When the sun is shining brightly through our many windows, it heats the house to the point where we sometimes have to open a few. But when it's cloudy, Hans keeps the fireplace going from dawn to dusk using ample supply of wood he chopped this summer. We are pretty content in our self-imposed isolation.
Visits with friends have been inflrequent this year, and both Hans and I look forward to the day when restrictions will be eased and we can enjoy some face-to-face time with the other people in our lives.
We leave you with this lovely quote, written by Scott Alexander Blank, son of Lauren Blank, whom we met on our trip to Turkey in 2015, we have his permission to share it with you:
"You must give meaning to your life every day by doing exactly what fulfills you. Be reverent to the past but do not dwell. Be hopeful of the future but do not fast forward. Remember that weekdays account for most of your life even though you always look forward to the weekend."
More than ever, we wish you and
your loved ones continued good health
now and in the coming year.
Hans and Lo