Skip to main content

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!



With 23 posts already published to this blog in 2020, this being the 24th , and another  39 posts already published to our business blog, Real Time View (with the likelihood that we will close out 2020 with  40 posts), it’s time to simply sit back and yes, be truly thankful for what happiness we were able to realize this year. It’s been a very difficult time for all of us whether directly impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic or simply been on the outside, looking in.

As you can see from the picture above, Margo and I continue to practice social distancing. We were fortunate in that when we built our home in Windsor, Colorado, we made sure there were offices for each of us. Not surprising to read that at times, I can be a bit disruptive when on calls especially now as nearly all of our calls are on ZOOM. But enough about the practicality of our situation the really good news is that we continue to test negative for that dreaded coronavirus.

Like nearly everyone we talk to we simply cannot wait for 2020 to wrap up. 2021 just has to be a better year for all of us, don’t you think? When we look back at all the travel plans we had made for 2020 there is an element of sadness tinged with just a bright spot here and there. Yes, we saved an awful lot of money in 2020. But our Christmas celebration will be somewhat muted this year as family interaction is being kept to a minimum.

And so, even as this is but a brief post as the day draws to an end and Margo and I look to pulling out this and that to celebrate Christmas Eve, we want to wish you all the very best for this time of year. A time to celebrate Christmas, the New Year, and all that takes place during this holiday season no matter your religious customs. May it simply be a happy time and one where there is a lot of cheer on display!

Don’t hold that champagne toast for a better time and don’t spare any of the traditional yuletide festivities. If it's more or less a staycation then fair enough. At the very least, we can all say that yes, we made it! From Margo and me, the very best of wishes for all and we hope the weeks ahead prove to be a blessing to you all.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Through rain, cold, and the dark of night; it’s that time when family visits!

It’s raining! How hard can it rain? Walkways are awash and the pool is full to the brim. More than once have we resorted to stretching out the blue tube, the “blue snake” as we call it, and switching to backwash. There is a drain separating the pool area from the covered and, as best as we have seen to date, protected, lanai. Winter has descended and reminded us that we live well above the line separating tropical Southern Florida from the subtropical Florida Panhandle. Yes, it just gets colder when you drive north. We did not realize, or put much thought into, any of this when we built our house, the lanai and the pool and spa (under a “birdcage”) in the Panhandle. For comparisons sake, and for the benefit of my Australian family, the latitude of Panama City Beach is 30.22 North whereas Sydney is 33.8 South (and Brisbane, 27.47 S placing Panama City Beach and Coffs Harbor, NSW, Australia at 30.29 S equidistant from the equator. And we know how much it rains at Coffs, let alone further...

Travel: Is it romance or regrets?

  Visiting the charming coastal Dublin suburb of Howth There was a time, not too long ago, when the romance of travel still felt real. The lead up to the actual day of travel in the knowledge that the world was about to reveal itself in ways unimaginable, as flight attendants poured a welcoming glass of champaign. There were visas, traveler’s checks, hotel bookings – it was all quite thrilling. Well up to a point I have to admit. However, not so much these days. Indeed, there are times when regrets are involved in lieu of days you would consider the material that fills the pages of travel books. For nearly a month, from the last day of May through to the end of June, Margo and I squeezed in visits to Dublin, Ireland, London, Paris with a side of Bordeaux. We managed to fly, uber, train and sail and through it all there were numerous anxious moments involving a shrinking selection of clean clothes as well as a declining interest in the local cuisine. The journey Back when it was exc...

The Rug Journey – no Aladdin or magic involved!

Before Margo and I married, we had already contracted with an architect, bought a block of land, and began designing our first house. This would fulfil a shared, lifelong, dream of building our fantasy home. A fresh start. A bold design and a place that we would transform from an empty piece of land into a home that would provide both. the escape from business and become a space to entertain employees, business associates and most of all, family. The overriding element in the design featured two separate guest suites, each with en-suite and a separate room to relax and to look out on the fabulous ever-changing Colorado   landscape. It was an ambitious project that began in March 1999 and where we first took occupancy on July 4, 2000 but had to wait another year for the house to be fully built-out – our master bedroom suite being the last room to be finished. As for the two suites, these were included as we wanted to provide my parents an away-from-Sydney home – they would visi...