Dec
And then there's December, typically the month we do close to nothing. We smoked a turkey breast mid-month (woo hoo!). And we paid Rachel a visit the day after Christmas. Otherwise, it was a relaxing month after a very busy "vacation season".
Nov
Two days after returning home from the Rhine cruise, Bruce and Eileen took their friends the Colbys to see Eileen's cousin-in-law, Patrick Dewayne, perform his world-reknown one-man show, "The Accidental Hero". The show presents a dramatic WWI-era synopsis of the life of his grandfather, who inadvertenly got credit for liberating the Czech Republic.
About two weeks later, Bruce and Eileen drove to Florida (Andrew flew) for Thanksgiving with the Goldstein family. Amazingly, they hit no traffic at all on the trip south until they got to Jacksonville. There were only a couple 5-minute delays even there. Bruce and Eileen also visited several friends while in Florida. Click here to see more photos from the trip.
Oct
Bruce's work friend, Ken Kueny, flew his private sport plane to Leesburg airport, where they met to go flying through the Shenandoah Valley. This was very close to peak foliage autumn bloom. They landed 20 minutes into the flight at Shepherd Field ANGB (airport) in Martinsburg (home to the 167th Airlift Wing), where they had lunch and then continued the flight south along the valley.Click here to see more photos of the excursion.
Bruce and Eileen did a Rhine River cruise, again with AmaWaterways. This trip began with 3 days (on our own) in Amsterdam, ended with 3 more days in Lucerne, Switzerland, and continued into early November. The weather was gorgeous, which is not typical for that region during autumn. I think it rained one day during the trip and possible lightly while we were cruising and inside anyway (it was chilly outside!). And then there was the snow atop a hill in the Swiss Alps, not to mention the rail car ride up and down that hill. Breathtaking! photo-gallery/2020-2029/2025/159-rhine-river-cruise
Click here to see TONS of photos of the vacation.
Sep
Bruce began to get more involved with the Joomla! open source community, with which he's been affiliated in one way or another, since 2005. This website is implemented with Joomla! Eileen got more active with her ARORA yoga and water aerobics classes at Lifetime Fitness.
Aug
Bruce drove to Indiana to visit his brother, Keith, his best friend, Gary's, family, and Bruce's and Eileen's besties, the Schumanns. The trip took him to Connersville, Indianapolis, and Fort Wayne. Some e-biking was done in Indianapolis.
Jul
Bruce and Eileen visited Rachel. Bruce did several rides with his e-bike riding group. July was an otherwise unremarkable, but very hot, month.
Jun
Eileen FINALLY had her long-awaited "big surgery" that was originally scheduled in January 2024. Her recovery went better than expected, which was a huge relief to both of us.
Eileen and Andrew participated in the World Pride parade held in DC. Click here to see the photos from the parade and festival.
May
Rachel turned 34 years old! Can you believe it? Click here to see the photos from our visit with her.
We got some new/used deck furniture from a neighbor and had to replace the cushions. But now we have a space to relax outside in the sun.
Apr
Bruce and Eileen traveled to Normandy, France, to visit their forever family friends the Coutures. The weather was absolutely perfect, which is unusual for that area in April. We visited Normandy Beach museums and their parents/inlaws as well as other fun places. Bruce and Eileen ended their trip in Paris for a few days. Click here to see the photos from this trip.
Mar
Bruce transitioned from a blood glucose (BG) monitor to a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). So he began learning exactly how his body reacts to specific foods. At times it seems like his BG randomly swings up and down, but there is probably an answer for what's really happening there and he just hasn't discovered it yet.
Lea Last, our au pair from Aug 1998 until Jul 1999, visited us for a few days. She's from Estonia but currently lives outside of London, UK, with her husband and son. We have kept in close touch with Lea all these years and she is like family to us.
Bruce bought yet another e-bike, this time a Luckeep X2. This one is for group rides and can handle more types of terrain. Click here to see more photos of the bike.
Feb
We finally had the old, large, brown leather sofa that we've had in our family room for over 20 years removed. It's being replaced by a smaller brown leather sofa plus loveseat we got from some neighbors. I will miss the electric recliners, but we have recliners in our living room.
Jan
Happy New Year!
Bruce officially retired Jan 2, and both of us started Medicare on Jan 1. Life becomes interesting...so they say. So far, not so much.
Eileen went on a Princess Carribean cruise with a friend we met on an Amawaterways river cruise in 2023. They visited the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas. The whole time she kept teasing Bruce that he should have gone with her. Maybe next time.
We have a new president and federal administration. We are scared.