It’s been almost 8 months since I’ve written a blog post. We had just the made the switch to daylight savings time (3/9); yesterday, we switched back to standard time (11/2). Serendipity. Here is my personal calendar dump.

March

1. Fetched Maggie from the ER after she shattered her elbow (3/10)
2. Visited the ER w/ Maggie twice more for elbow pain and abdominal pain (no record of the exact dates)
3. Accompanied Maggie to surgery (3/14)
4. Consulted w/ Top Tier Remodeling & Design (3/13 & 3/18)
5. Met w/ Bekki Hood (3/28)

April

1. Began physical therapy for my leg pain (hamstring tendinopathy) (4/3)
2. Delivered The Last Lecture, “Life’s Rich Pageant” @ WSU (4/4)
3. Celebrated Dave’s birthday w/ Maggie @ Table 25 (4/5)
4. Met w/ my memoir chat group (4/17)
5. Ate dinner @ Tona and attended the Utah Symphony w/ Dave (4/17)
6. Attended Salt Lake Film Society’s “Dr. Strangelove” w/ Jake & Maggie (4/19)
7. Taught my last class (4/14)
8. Got a haircut before graduation (4/26)

May

1. Took Charlie to vet (5/1)
2. Euthanized Charlie (5/5) 😦
3. Saw Cory Ferguson about my vertigo (5/6)
4. Ate dinner @ Tona w/ Dave (5/8)
5. Enjoyed a massage w/ Angie (5/9)
6. Traveled to Kauai w/ Jake (5/12-5/18)
7. Finished physical therapy (5/21)
8. Gathered w/ the Gestelands for Memorial Day brunch (5/25)
9. Traveled to Washington w/ Dave (5/27)

June

1. Returned from Washington (6/5)
2. Met Brenda Schussman for coffee @ Kaffe Mercantile (6/13)
3. Gathered w/ the Gestelands for Father’s Day brunch @ Per & Cher’s (6/15)
4. Talked w/ Michelle Buxton of Albion Financial (6/17)
5. Met Maggie for coffee @ Cuppa (6/17)
6. Had coffee w/ Christie, Mark & Dave @ Kaffe Mercantile (6/24)
7. Met w/ Bekki Hood (6/27)
8. Enjoyed a massage w/ Angie (6/28)
9. Met w/ writing group (6/29)

July

1. Consulted w/ Top Tier (7/1)
2. Ate dinner w/ Dave @ Table 25 (7/1)
3. Traveled to Sun Valley w/ the Gestelands (7/3-7/7)
4. Packed up the house (all month)
5. Got a haircut (7/12)
6. Hiked to Dog Lake w/ Jen & Denny (7/14)
7. Met Yulia for coffee @ Kaffe Mercantile (7/15)
8. Met w/ Bekki Hood (7/17)
9. Visited w/ K (7/25)
10. Gathered w/ the Gestelands for Finn & Eli’s visit (7/27)
11. Took plants to campus (7/28)
12. Talked w/ Michelle Buxton of Albion Financial (7/30)
13. Met w/ Bekki Hood (7/31)

August

1. Enjoyed a massage w/ Angie (8/1)
2. Traveled to Ivins w/ Eunice (8/3)
3. Gathered w/ the Gestelands on Zoom (8/10)
4. Attended the “Wild and Precious Life Series” w/ poets Laura Stott & Sunni Wilkinson (8/13)
5. Ate dinner w/ Dave @ Xetava (8/14)
6. Attended Hippocamp’s “An Evening With the Editors 2025: A Lit Mag & Small Press Roundtable (8/17)
7. Met w/ memoir chat group (8/18)
8. Met Elizabeth for coffee @ Table of Contents in Mesquite (8/21)
9. Attended “Lunchtime Write-In” @ Project Write Now (8/22)
10. Gathered w/ siblings on Zoom (8/24)
11. Attended “Lunchtime Write-In” @ Project Write Now (8/29)

September

1. Attended “Lunchtime Write-In” @ Project Write Now (9/5)
2. Gathered w/ siblings on Zoom (9/7)
3. Attended “Hybrid Memoir: The Fine Art of Flexible Storytelling” webinar (9/10)
4. Traveled to Ogden w/ Eunice (9/13)
5. Walked through the house w/ Top Tier (9/18)
6. Ate dinner @ UTOG and attended the Utah Symphony w/ Dave (9/18)
7. Met K for swimming @ WSU & coffee @ Kaffe Mercantile (9/19)
8. Enjoyed a massage w/ Angie (9/19)
9. Reviewed mom & dad’s financials w/ Chris (9/21)
10. Saw Lance Bailey for my annual dental exam (9/22)
11. Celebrated my birthday w/ Dave, Jake & Maggie @ Tona (9/23)
12. Ate lunch w/ mom, dad & Dave @ Délice French Bakery & Café (9/24)
13. Picked up plants from campus (9/26)
14. Met w/ writing group (9/28)
15. Gathered w/ the Gestelands on Zoom (9/28)

October

1. Consulted w/ Wilson Underkuffler re: listing the house (10/1)
2. Consulted w/ Kandus Sewell re: painting kitchen, etc. (10/2)
3. Enjoyed a pedicure @ CT Nails (10/8)
4. Consulted w/ Arbor Pro re: trimming trees & removing elm (10/8)
5. Talked w/ Michelle Buxton of Albion Financial (10/9)
6. Traveled to Madison w/ mom & dad (10/11-10/18)
7. Saw Cory Fergson for my knee pain (lateral meniscus tear); received flu & COVID vaccines (10/20)
8. Talked w/ Michelle Buxton of Albion Financial (10/24)
9. Enjoyed a massage w/ Angie (10/24)
10. Gathered w/ siblings on Zoom (10/25)
11. Consulted w/ Laurie Van Zandt re: landscaping (10/27)
12. Fetched Maggie from the ER after she crashed her car (10/27)
13. Took Maggie to pick up her stuff from Ogden Auto Towing (10/28)
14. Drove Maggie to SLCC; curated journal list @ Sugar House Coffee; walked in Wasatch Hollow Preserve (10/29)
15. Walked through house w/ Josh from Top Tier (10/30)

November

1. Talked w/ David Bunker re: mortgage for Portland (11/1)
2. Drove Maggie to SLC to pick up the Gs’ Prius (11/3)
3. Wrote blog post @ Kaffe Mercantile (11/3)

Lots to process: Maggie’s accidents (the serendipitous bookends for this blog post); the conclusion to my teaching career and the end of my term as chair; the death of Charlie (much more to say when I have the emotional energy); a redemption trip to Hawai’i with Jake (this time I was the one vomiting); our scouting expedition to the Puget Sound area and a whale-watching trip from Anacortes; my ongoing health issues (knee and leg pain, IBS, vertigo, missed SSRI doses); our 6-week sojourn in Kayenta and traveling with Eunice; the trip to Wisconsin w/ mom, dad & Katy; many, many meetings with our financial advisor, real estate agent, loan officer, re-modeler, painter, etc.; infrequent bouts of writing; too few appointments with my therapist (I miss her!); farewell to the Dennistons 😦

Tomorrow we go to Portland.