webyates

Christmas 2008

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 08:41:01 -0800

Hello everyone, and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a happy and prosperous 2009. It’s Christmas Eve as I’m posting this, and we’re hunkered down in the middle of the biggest snow fall on record for Christmas. The previous record for snow on Christmas Day in Portland is 1.3”, but this year we already have about 16” and we may get some more today. You can see the snow on the deck in the picture, which I took a couple of days ago, it’s got deeper since then! Fortunately none of have to go to work for a week or so, so apart from topping up our food supplies we have no need to venture out. The Oregon road crews are doing their best to keep the highways passable, and our cars have 4 wheel drive so we can get out and drive around fairly easily, although at times they are mandating the use of snow chains. I’ve posted a few more pictures in a new album on our Pictures page.

Tim and Andy came over yesterday to spend Christmas with us, and apart from the usual partaking of the Christmas spirit, we have nothing much planned until after Christmas, when we have some decorating projects to tackle. So it looks like we’ll be out looking around the sales, assuming the snow thaws enough to let us get out. Apart from that, we are all doing fine, and although our weight loss program has been paused for Christmas, we still plan on losing a few more pounds by the time summer comes.

So, once again we wish all our family and friends a very happy Christmas, and a great new year.

October 2008 Update

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 11:54:57 -0700

Hi everyone, the summer weather has definitely disappeared and the cooler and wetter weather has set in, which actually suits us quite as it’s more like the good old London weather we grew up with :-)

We’re pleased to report that life has returned pretty much back to normal following the events of the summer. Jan has had no recurrence of the mystery symptoms, and all her check-ups have been normal. We’re both continuing with our weight loss programmes, and I’ve attached a picture of my progress to date. I’m now at 14st for the first time in about 30 years, and Jan is down below 11st, so we’re doing great and feeling a whole lot better too. We both want to lose another 10lbs or so and then decide whether to stick at that or lose a few more pounds. I must say it’s been surprisingly easy, in part due to the software we’re using (diet controller) which simplifies a lot of the keeping track of calories, etc, and also because most other diets require you to give up certain items which makes you want them even more. With good old fashioned calorie counting, nothing is forbidden, so we have no feelings of being deprived. So now our clothes are decidedly baggy, and we’re at the point where we must start on getting a new wardrobe together.

The movie that Tim has been involved with is nearing completion, which means his work there comes to an end at the end of this week. Currently he plans to relax for a few weeks before deciding what to do with himself next. Andy is still between jobs, but is able to manage OK until he finds the next one, which is not being helped by the current Wall Street turmoil.

Now we’re looking forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving, and then we’re in the Christmas season again!

Summer 2008 Update

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 14:18:51 -0700

Sorry, another lengthy gap between updates, but we've had a pretty weird Spring and Summer this year. First of all, Jan went for a check up and was diagnosed with heart disease, and at about the same time her Mum was taken into hospital with a recurrence of her Lymphoma. A week later Jan woke up with chest pains, arm and shoulder pains, and shortness of breath, in other words all the symptoms of a heart attack, so I called an ambulance and rushed off to the hospital with her. After 2 days of tests, they pronounced her fit and well, with no heart issues at all, which was great news, although it's left everyone wondering what caused all the symptoms she was having.

A couple of days after she came out of hospital, she flew to the UK to see her Mum in hospital, but sadly a few days later her Mum passed away. Tim and Andy and I flew over to attend the funeral and help with her Mum's house and returned with Jan a week later. So we've spent the last few weeks of the summer recovering from all that, and decided to throw ourselves into redecorating our bedroom. In the middle of this, Andy got caught up in a company downsizing, and so he lost his job. Fortunately he's managed to find some temporary work while he looks for something permanent. Tim continues to work at Laika, with the film Coraline due to come out around February 2009, and Jeff is still at Lightfleet. Jan started back at school a couple of days ago, now the summer holidays are over.

SInce the hospital incident, Jan has been back for several more checkups, and all her test results are coming back as perfectly normal, so at the moment it's a bit of a mystery as to what happened, but we're all very relieved it doesn't seem to have been due to anything important. What this did do was to spur us on to get a bit healthier, so we're both on a fitness and weight loss crusade. As of today, with daily treadmill workouts and a calorie controlled diet tracked using dietcontroller, Jeff has lost 21lbs and Jan has lost around 10lbs!

Christmas 2007

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:37:20 -0800

Merry Christmas everyone, and we hope you have a Happy New Year.

We had a relaxing and laid-back Christmas and New Year, with a couple of weeks off work to get some rest and relaxation before starting work again in the new year. The weather here is a bit rainy this time of year, and we’ve ben threatened a few times with some snowflakes, but so far it hasn’t settled where we are. The mountains and hills around us are all snow covered so it looks Christmassy at least.

We plan on a lot more leisure activities this coming year, taking some time to take our cameras and visit some new places. It’s about time we explored some of the further reaches of the Pacific North-West, there’s so much to see we just have to plan the time to do it, so that’s what we plan to start doing in 2008.

We hope you have a great 2008 too!

Autumn 2007 Update

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 22:07:30 -0700

Well, the summer is over, the leaves are falling, and the nights are drawing in and getting cooler. We’re all back to work now. Jeff started his new job at the start of September, and Jan started back at School again, but in a new class. Tim is still working at Laika Studios, and Andy has started a new job at Weyerhauser, which he seems to be enjoying. So, touch wood, we are all stable again for a while (hopefully).

The picture above was taken in Washington Park, where Jan and I visited a couple of weeks ago to admire the Autumn colours. It really is a lovely time of year, except for having to clear up all the leaves that fall off the trees in our garden.

Jan and I celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary on October 15th, which was great, but made us feel older than we would like. We celebrated by going out shopping for some pearl jewelry for Jan, and I got a new watch. In the evening we went out for dinner to a Japanese restaurant, where the waiters serenaded us with a traditional Japanese song of celebration - at least, that’s what they told us :-)

So now the attention turns to Halloween in a couple of days, followed by the Thanksgiving holiday in late November, and then on into Christmas. We hope you have a good Autumn!