THE CHRISTENSEN FAMILY CHRONICLES
* Circa 2014 *
If you are reading this you made the cut
and stayed on the list for another year
...nice work if you can get it...
Eagle
Bend Achers - Crop Report: OK, this year it was NOT my fault...the deer
invited themselves up onto our elevated deck and flower beds and ate a
promising harvest – wouldn’t surprise me to spot them in the kitchen the way
things are going…
Things
That Are The Same: Her reason for living (aka me, albeit a
little worse for wear)
Things That
Are New: My #%*& Tractor! and her &*^$#
computer!…
The High Commander – This year began
as all good years do with our annual We Came–We Saw–We Ate “Lord of the Rings”
marathon and food-o-rama on New Year’s Eve and morning, followed by extended hibernation
and a bottle of Tums. January saw the
beginning of his year-long reign-of-terror as Chamber of Commerce
President. In February the partying
continued with a celebration of year 44 of his best idea (life with her). He continued his unbroken stream of hits in
the kitchen ensuring lasting fame, if not outright fortune, creating endless
delicacies of curious culinary delight.
This included doing the cooking at the annual Sadieville Armed Forces
Day Celebration at the park. Yes, the
cookbook is under development…
Culturizing
efforts this year included: A February trip to the Arnoff Center in Cincinnati
to attend “Evita.” In March we enjoyed the Eagles again at the Yum Center in
Louisville. In May it was back to the
Arnoff Center to see “Phantom” (again). On
another occasion we were special guests of Toyota at a Reds game in their
skybox (Reds won, food and company was great).
We also attended our first Festival of the Bluegrass at the Kentucky
Horse Park.
The fall campaign
season saw him re-elected Mayor (for lack of something better to do) in an
unopposed race -- the vote was close. In
Sadieville our electoral motto is “vote early and often” so other than the 7
bottom-feeders who voted for themselves, the populace leaned slightly to the
right this time around. Then, in his continuing march toward world domination,
in October he was elected Vice President of the Kentucky League of Cities so he
has that going for him now. Assuming he
doesn’t get hit by a bus in a year or so he’ll move up to the center chair.
In addition to the
bucket list trip detailed below, out-of-the-norm travel included whale and
sibling watching visits to both oceans aka New Hampshire (Gulf of Maine) and
Vermont in July and the Oregon Coast (Depoe Bay) and Washington State in August. We also went south to ride the Big South Fork
Scenic Railway in July. A quick trip to
Utah in October and a few runs to Michigan for various funs and games filled
out the travel itinerary for the year. Next
years’ plans are still undetermined but the passports have been renewed and we’ll
let you know.
The Information Officer –
In February she
checked another thing off of her bucket list as she jetted away, escorted by
the High Commander, for an adventure to Egypt, via Cincinnati, Chicago,
Istanbul, and Cairo. The trip included a
four-day cruise up the Nile River from Luxor to Aswan with stops in Edfu and Kom
Ombo. We also took a three-hour bus ride across the Nubian Desert to Abu
Simbel, a camel ride (I named mine Wildfire) to a Nubian Village, kissed a live
crocodile (yes, we have pictures.. (I
was going to ask her how kissing a croc compared to kissing me, but then
thought better of it…) We stopped and shopped at an Alabaster factory in the
Valley of the Queens, and at Alfayed Place (a purveyor of “essential oils” aka the basic ingredient for
all perfumes). We also visited a papyrus
shop in Cairo to observe the making of real Egyptian papyrus and of course the
purchasing of such. The trip naturally included
visits to the Pyramids, the Sphinx, Tombs in Valley of the Kings, and Temples
honoring various other old dead people whose names I can neither pronounce or
spell. It was a grand and memorable trip
to say the least. Oh yeah, we ate shawarmas
in Cairo. A shawarma is like a southern style Po-Boy sandwich only stocked with
what I hope was either chicken or beef, nicely and interestingly spiced.
Sandi pretty much used
up a whole nother year taking care of her Dad, me, and 70 or so mobile tax
deductions every Sunday, undertook the digital scanning of every picture we
ever took anywhere and the creation of customized
albums for us and each offspring whose name we could remember. This all filled her days and nights quite
completely and constitutes a really worthwhile effort. The things we do for love.J
The Security Officer – Nissa ever and ever the devoted mom and Toddster’s wife, gave us a number of
excuses to travel to the great North Woods.
From Katlyn’s general insanity and attempts to master adulthood to
Aubrey’s star turn in a musical revue and competitive showcase at the Fruenthal
Theater in Muskegan with a stirring – stirring I tell you – rendition of Over
The Rainbow. The girl sings like an
angel, I couldn’t see her all that well cause I had “something in my eyes.” Aubrey
tagged along on our aforementioned Oregon Trip as well. The Paul man is beginning the complicated
trip from goofy high school student to goofy young man, we’ll keep you posted...
The Medical Officer –Andie the mother of all mini Marx’s and her trusty sidekick Michael gave us
pause and cause for multiple delights this year. Lots-O-trips to Buckner Elementary and the
greater LaGrange area were taken whether it be to watch Hayden dressed as Haydenardo
Da Vinci for his field trip to the wax museum, doing his cub scout thing,
running a 5k with his Dad, or our other emerging pop star Bailey sing, dance,
and wiggle her way into the hearts and minds of the general populace. Our travels to their world always leave us in
awe (usually in a good way). Gramma
Sandi braved travel as an escort on a couple of the mini’s field trips with the
school to places like Farnsley-Moorman Landing near Louisville. We particularly enjoyed sharing their
Louisville Color Run experience. As a
family they did a 5k through downtown Louisville streets to help raise money
for Cancer Awareness. A “Color Run” is a
5k race through downtown Louisville and 5 stations where they throw different
colors of powered corn starch at the runners as they pass “holy 1960’s Batman!” They all made it but were a tired mess.
The Science Officer – Jake we enjoyed several “Jakexperiences” this year. He stopped in as part of his vacation in
April and dutifully kept us in the loop on his various NASA postings and
experiences. He was able to join us for
the annual Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet during his visit. Not sure what he thought about that vis-a-vis
his Dad’s turn at the podium to give the annual President’s Address but there
were no casualties. In his own right, he
wowed the Michigan locals in a couple of writing and storytelling competitions
this year as well.
You have reached
the end of this years’ chronicles and deserve a suitable reward, but since reading
this letter is its own reward, pat yourself on the back, enjoy an inflated
sense of accomplishment and self-affirmation and have a great next year. WE ARE OUTTA HERE! The Christensen’s !!!
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