Happy Holidays 2023

We Wish You Happy Holidays and a Happy, Healthy New Year.

This is a post that essentially summarizes our 2023 in words and photographs. There are many photographs; feel free to skip any. We wanted to share our year with you all. Since we have not had snow yet this year, Jan’s ice abstract welcomes you to the holiday spirit.

Happy Holidays Is Almost Here

Well, another year is almost over, and it has been both busy and quiet at the same time. Both Jan and I ended 2022 with some health issues. Jan’s problems followed her into 2023 and are still with her. One good thing we have learned is how to manage her problems. Everything considered, we are doing reasonably well, and after the slow start, we have made short trips to quite a few places and took walks in our neighborhood.

A Look Back at 2023

This post will mainly be a visual summary of the faces and places we have seen. In the first few months of 2023, we focused on taking it easy and gaining a sense of normalcy. Visits to doctor’s offices and imaging labs, both here and in Boston, in search of a clear understanding of Jan’s health problems, took priority.

As she felt better, we tried short trips, sometimes with friends. We targeted to see and photograph as many public artworks in nearby Rhode Island, and we have managed to visit quite a few. On good weather days, we took short rides to Conimicut Point Park, Roger Williams Park, and the Lotus Pond in North Kingstown, …

In early spring, the bulbs we had planted started showing up. A mixture of tulips, grape hyacinths, allium, and daffodils kept our front yard very colorful for several weeks. We hope a large number of them will come back next year too. They provided some photo opportunities early on.

At the end of June, Mina came to spend time with us and stayed for ten days. We continued our short outings in Rhode Island with her and even took her to Boston. Considering our limited walking range, we parked the car in the Prudential Center parking lot and only walked across the street to get on the Duck Tours bus. It was quite enjoyable.

Mina also got a chance to see the famous Providence WaterFire. We started the evening with a dinner at The Capital Grill and just stepped out to watch the WaterFire show. She enjoyed her stay with Nana and Dede and returned to Salt Lake City after a ten-day visit. We enjoyed seeing her very much.

During the year, I made several trips to the Stepstone Falls and Arcadia Management Area with Jim and Dennis. The terrain is quite rough for me, maybe even all of us. So, Jan could not accompany us to see the falls. But, all four of us took a ride to Buttonwoods Farm sunflower fields and the great-tasting ice cream. It was an enjoyable day with scenery and friends.

Around the same time, in July-August, we had butterflies visit our colorful garden. We took photographs of them and asked a friend, Deb, to come and join the fun. As we photographed the swallowtail butterfly, a couple of hummingbirds joined the fun. Highly enjoyable visitors.

As months flew by, the Halloween season was upon us. During our short walks in the neighborhood, we could enjoy decorated houses, gardens, and rooftops with skeletons, witches, and other scary characters. On Halloween evening, we had many trick-or-treaters knocking on our door, probably over fifty visitors. They picked their treats and their choice of candy and moved on to the next door.

On a hot October day, we drove to the Kenyon’s Grist Mill. It is one of the grist mills still operating and making Johnnycake mixes and cornmeal for other purposes. The weather was quite hot, around 80° F, and it felt good to be near the waterfall and the reservoir.

Jan continued taking pictures of my car reflecting different things and colors depending on the conditions. She enjoys those reflections, especially with her phone camera. On another nice day, we went to see the old cars at Cruise Nights gatherings. She even took a reflection of us on one of the cars.

Soon, we will fly to Salt Lake City to be with Elif and Mina for two weeks. It will be good to be with them. We will be careful not to climb mountains (Jan’s doctors told her that) and not to hug many people, as Covid seems to be on the rise. We will see firsthand Kahve Cafe and all the goodies Elif makes for their visitors and try some ourselves.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year

Have a wonderful holiday season. Catch up with you in 2024!

Here is a collection of photographs presented in chronological order. The first batch is by Jan.

And these are my photographs