Merry Christmas 2023

 Greg and Dixie

2023 Holidays

 Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! 

May you have something to celebrate and someone to love in 2024.

“What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future.” – Agnes M. Pahro

Dear Family and Friends, 

So once again, I sit down to write a summary of sorts, to give you a bit of an understanding of the Goode life here in the California Redwoods. I'm not sure where this year has come and gone so quickly from. Looking back there were long stretches where I can barely believe we lived it. Time seems to have rushed up and past me this year without many grand adventures. Again we have lost one of my sisters-in-law. Greg's brother Harv's wife Fran who has been both a generous hostess, and a delightful guest at our home. Her laughter and her temper were both as vibrant as she herself was, and I can't believe she is gone. It happened quite fast, while she was out on a walk in the Black Hills we at one time called Home. I also lost another one of the four cousins of my Mom's who was more like her brothers and my uncles. Roger Slack was always there, at least weekly and usually more often through my entire life from early childhood until I married and moved away, and even then I never doubted the connection. Again I have to say that I can't believe he is gone and I'm only sorry I didn't spend more time appreciating him while he was still around.

But of course there has been more to life than just death and loss. There have been many moments of snuggling granddaughters, and watching my grandson's delight in the simple beauties around us. The new house that Austin and Trisha moved into is a warm, homey place with a garden that they have really gotten to thrive. It's as perfect a place to raise their son and daughter as I could have wished for for them, lots of fruit trees and room for exploring and animals and even a neighbor girl for their daughter to have as a friend. 

We did go on a short trip to the Redding Water Park for my 60^th birthday. We drove through the Trinity River area and spend two days just roasting and soaking in Waterworks park in the 105* heat before coming back to our 60* and fog, coastal summer. We had a gnarly forest fire not long after that, triggered by a dry lightning storm, which put the family without power or running water for ten days, and the city on gas powered generators for over a month. It left much of our Smith River canyon and river area scorched. Its a strange patchwork of charred and green areas. Some survived untouched right next to areas where nothing is left. We really owe much to the hard work of fire crews from all over the world.

Greg had those knee replacement surgeries in 2021 and that allowed him to move better. I'm really proud of him because he determined that he wanted to be around to see those grandkids grow up, and he started walking, then biking and swimming and has since lost 100 pounds even. I think it was actually 16 months and 100.4 pounds on the same scale at the Dr. in Medford. 

Emerson has been walking and getting in shape again too. And he had a chance to drive to San Francisco to take his client to a 49ers game. It was a big, exciting victory for the 49ers but his client had an abscessed tooth that ended up making him quite sick, so then Emerson has spent many many days and nights with him in the hospital. His client is almost exactly the same age as my brother Lance, but his handicapping condition is a lot rarer than Down's Syndrome and more severe.

Daisy got a wonderful German Shepherd/malamute female for her 9^th birthday. Foxy was a graduate of obedience school at Pelican Bay State Prison, in an inmate run program called Prison Paws. Walking the dog has helped all of us get outdoors more and be healthier. Of course we also have a ton of fur everywhere in our homes and cars and lungs. The only sad thing is Foxy gets car sick. I mean almost instantly. She has been known to vomit three times in a 4 mile drive, so yeah, we walk her and she plays with neighbor dogs and a neighbor pair of pigs that keep coming here to visit. 

I haven't gotten a diagnosis yet. My Neurologist from San Francisco referred me to one closer to home who supposedly was really good at testing the types of muscle issues I have, but she ended up moving and the Dr. I actually saw was a specialist in eye issues in neurology. After he told me I just had abdominal cramps and should drink tonic water, I became so frustrated I gave up on seeing anyone for awhile. But I have still been feeling better since I started being prescribed gabapentin a few months before seeing that idiot it took a few months to help, and the first noticeable side effect was my hair falling out in hands full. But still, I have the muscle spasms and the pain, but I also find my mood, my endurance and ability to participate in life all have improved this year.

Greg and I also indulged in tickets to Three plays at the Ashland Oregon's Shakespeare Festival. Two (Rent and Romeo and Juliet) in the Angus Bowmer theater, and one (the Three Musketeers) in the Elizabethan Theater in Lithia Park. And we got a second set of tickets to Rent given to us by Greg's friend so we went four times to plays. We also went once to see our Niece from Arizona, Remi and her boyfriend, Gabe perform while they were on tour before moving to Nashville. Once we had to cancel tickets to Jurassic Quest Animatronic Dinosaurs, and once reschedule a play because the fire had the canyon Highway closed down for a lot of July and August. 

This month I have actually gotten back into writing my novels. It's been several years since I had the mental focus to write like that. Again I think it is the gabapentin helping, even without a diagnosis. I have been digging into research on Pompeii and Mount St. Helen's and actually enjoying the process again. There were too many family deaths about the same time I started to have the muscle spasms and severe startle reaction, so I can't say for sure whether my brain fog was from the sadness and depression or from actually being a side effect of whatever neurological thing I'm battling, but I just couldn't even read a novel, let alone focus enough to create one from thin air.

What haven't I mentioned? Trisha has been creating absolutely gorgeous beadwork earrings. I don't have pierced ears, but if you do and are curious about what she has for sale, just ask. I don't know where she finds the time and patience to be both an amazing gardener and do such artistry, on top of raising my 5 year old granddaughter and 7 year old grandson. Gavin is non verbal, and smart. He's observant and has an ability to communicate that goes beyond words. Trinity is an eager kindergartener who loves school and has a very firm opinion which she is happy to tell you all about. Each of my grandchildren are very strong personalities unlike each other but I'm so in love with the three of them. 

Much Love,

Dixie and Greg

“Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we’re here for something else besides ourselves.” – Eric Sevareid