| This holiday we were graced with the visit of dear old friends and Merry Makers, Betty Carol and Norm Smith from the Greater Bay Area of California. Well, sort of - actually from Lincoln Hills, near Rocklin, CA. They arrived on December 29th in the late afternoon after a full day of driving, straight through. Because the weather held - we were scheduled for rain - we went to Maurey Jacob Park and took an initial walk alongside the Willamette River, passing the hibernating rose gardens along the way. The river was a murky brown and running high, apparently carrying heavy silt from upriver. Afterwards we crossed the river on the pedestrian bridge to Valley River Mall, just to check out the scene, and then returned to our starting point. We next drove a short way across town to have dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, McMenamins on the river... |
We invited Cathy and Keith Beyer, Tori's parents, over for dinner on Tuesday, and spent a wonderful evening with them and the Smiths just talking and such - the next day we hosted a luncheon inviting the whole Nagai-Beyer-Bailey family of Eugene, and everyone enjoyed catching up. We hadn't seen Betty Carol and Norm since the summer gathering Tracy and Scott Lohman Signor hosted this past August. At one point during our visiting Venice became quite attached to Betty Carol around the piano, where Betty Carol taught her to play Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater. Later, she played a mini-concert to the delight of all...
After breakfast and watching the Pasadena Rose Parade on the telly, Betty Carol and Norm left shortly after 10:00 for California. |
