Here's to a New Year!

Well 2011 has come and gone and we survived.   It has been a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs, but we have come through it and are looking forward to an awesome 2012!

January 1, 2011.  Our crazy friend (and wonderful partner in crime), Nadia, bid on an old, dilapidated hotel in De Borgia, MT.  We "won" the auction and became proud, new owners of what we hope will be an ultra cool ski lodge.

February 20.  I just about died while running the Austin Marathon on a relentlessly hilly course and in the heat and humidity.  The nightmares are now beginning to fade...

April 8.  We arrived back in Montana and instantly feel like we're home.  We spent the next six months living in Dillon, exploring old ghost towns and driving 4+ hours several weekends to work on the Hotel Albert.  The time flew and we got the roof repaired before the fall.  Many thanks to all our friends who came out to help!

September 2.   I put my best friend Riley down.  The 11+ year old rescue gave us lots of love and we gave him a great life.  It was possibly the hardest thing I've EVER had to do.

October 13.  I arrived in California, excited to begin a three month assignment in Ventura, CA, live on the beach and enjoy a little R&R after a busy summer.  Susan and the two dogs welcomed the fall to Montana before coming down three weeks later.  Susan and her brother Tom got to spend 5 days with family friends down in Charleston, SC for a wedding.   I rode my bike or the bus to and from work and started talking to myself.

November 18.  We drove up to Cambria to visit our friends Natalie and Mike.  I raced my only cyclocross race for the season (didn't finish last) and we had a great time catching up on ten years or so.  Thanks you guys!

Thanksgiving.   Susan out did herself (again) by creating a feast fit for a king.  Even though it was only two of us (plus two hungry canines), she held nothing back and I realized just how truly blessed we all were.

The past two weeks.   We moved inland ten miles from the beach for some peace and quiet.    Ventura Oaks, our current home, has been a good move for us, though the morning frost has been hard on these old bones as I head out on my morning bike ride to work.   Brrr!   It seems as I have lost my edge and that this California weather has begun to rub off on me!

So looking back, 2011 was a year full of good and not so good.  One thing I can say is that it was busy.  Sorry for the lack of blogging, but with this new year comes a new adventure and a continuation of unfinished business from last year...just begging to be written about!

Here's to a brand new year!