End of the Year Blog Post or It's Just Life...

 I sat down to do a year in review thing today. I put together a picture collage from the last year and there was so much I don't know if you can make heads or tails of the details from the crowded blend of action. I also reviewed back through the blog to get the catfish count for the year and while we are still thankful to be living better that most of the other 8 billion people on the planet December kind of has us limping into the new year. 

Cathy had a shoulder replacement at the first of the month and the joint is doing well and maybe is even a little ahead of expectations. She has been troubled with a lingering urinary tract infection and chest congestion. I have been having great fun with a visit from Katie and kids in from Chicago but Cathy has been out of action for most of it.  

Morgan, Ali and kids made it to Greenville, South Carolina yesterday for his new position with his employer. I'll miss them but it's nice to see your kids and their families doing new and exciting things and we look forward to the travel adventures to see them. 

On a sadder note this week my first cousin Betty Bush passed away at 97 years old. You might have noticed Betty at one of my fish fries. She was a tiny woman who sat and quietly ate her weight in fried catfish. May the Eternal Light Shine on her. I know your family and sister Dixie will miss you. Betty and Dixie were my mother's nieces but so close in age to my mom everyone thought they were sisters. That's Betty on the left with Dixie.  

The catfish count for the year is down. We managed 183 catfish on 9 trips. That does not include 4 or 5 sharks and one sting ray at the beach. That seems pretty paltry compared to some of the 500 fish years we have done but there were many swimming, hiking and tubing trips and at least a dozen camping trips with this old man spending a good bit of time in his lawn chair in the shade. Maybe I should count live music attended because there seemed to be a pretty good variety of that.  

Here's a photo from a hike at Martin Dies Jr State Park yesterday. Of I can survive New Year's fireworks with this bunch tonight I should cruise smoothly into 2025.