Auld Lang Syne

It's now fairly late on Thursday evening, and the plans for the weekend have become clear. We're headed up to Montana for Granny's funeral. We're leaving tomorrow morning for a quick stop at the chiropractor's office, after which we'll pick up a bite to eat. Then we'll be on the road, by 9:00 if all goes according to plan. It's about a 7-7½ hour drive, plus a few stops for the sake of stretching legs and maintaining sanity. So we hope to be in Pony by about 6:30 or 7:00 tomorrow evening.

The funeral service itself will be held at the Whitehall LDS ward on Saturday at 11:00. After that we'll make our way back to Pony, where Granny will be laid to rest next to Aunt Dona at the Pony cemetery. According to her funeral arrangements, which she had planned out and paid for long before she died, Granny wanted me to perform the dedication of her grave. I'll have to get out an old priesthood manual and double check the protocol for that, never having done it before.

The practical upshot of all this is that this is the last entry I'll be making for 2006. It's been an interesting year, truly the best of times (getting married, college graduation) and the worst of times (stress with Old Girl, not finding a regular teaching position, losing Granny). I had thought to reflect more on the past year, but this will have to be sufficient. I do intend eventually to finish the Thanksgiving story I started earlier and report on Christmas, including The Haul (following the examples of Dilliwag and Lord Mhoram). And I've actually come up with a resolution for 2007, something I really never do. More on that later.

But for now, I bid fond farewell to 2006. Thank you, loyal readers, for being there to share it with me. Best wishes for a safe, peaceful, and happy New Year for all of you!