blue sky on New Years Day

blue sky on New Years Day
Originally uploaded by rfin.

Ringing in 2006

Happy New Year! I'm grateful to finish a thrilling and sometimes tough journey. It's been a great ride all-in-all, but I'm glad to have 2006 here and am looking forward to a number of things in this new year.

First though, a look back at a few highlights. Thanks to my son's 2005 goals, I got a taste of something new to me, running. Did a mini-triathlon on June 25 and discovered the indoor track at the Field House this winter. Running's already become less painful and more fun. Hope that trend will continue.

Enjoyed some success at the Huntsman World Senior Games in October. Swam in six events including my first 1,500 meter free. The best part of swimming this year was finally starting to get the hang of flip turns. Also enjoyed my first Antelope Island Moonlight Ride and riding in the Salt Lake City Marathon Bike Tour and the Josie Johnson Memorial Ride.

Of course these minor athletic joys pale in comparison to the satisfactions of family life. We had a remarkable year including trips to Orlando and Boston. We're proud of the kids accomplishments. We've now got just one left in high school, three in college and one who's got her undergrad degree and finished her rookie year as an RN. We're so proud of all of them.

On the more somber side of the ledger, 2005 brought the deaths of three dear women in the family -- a grandmother, an aunt and a niece. I'm so glad I had a few minutes with both my niece and my aunt before their sudden deaths in February and August. Family, friends, faith, and my camera and journals have all been a great blessing to me in this season of loss and gratitude for life.

2006 is already shaping up to be a great year. Sometime this summer we'll see our youngest son leaving for a mission. At my work we'll celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pioneer, Utah's Online Library. It's also year of cultural and scientific adventure with the 300th birthday of Rembrandt, the 250th of Mozart and the 150th of Tesla. I'm looking forward to more swimming, running and biking -- and perhaps a little travel as well.

great place for winter running

Einar Nielsen Field House
Originally uploaded by rfin.

I'm an OK swimmer. I enjoy mountainbiking. I haven't been much of a runner, but now that's started to change with regular visits to the indoor track at the Einar Nielsen Field House.

gable lights

gable lights Originally uploaded by rfin.

All the Christmas stuff in the house is down now. (Or I should say up in the garage attic.) All that remains are the outside lights. We'll get those the next weekend when we have a little better weather.

A Little Sunshine Goes a Long Way

Ah, there was sun in the natatorium pool during the lunch hour today, and sun on the walk down to the pool for that matter. December's beautiful. Great to have snow on the ground. I really don't mind Jeeping around in it, though it certainly inhibits mountainbiking for most of us. But along with the frigid temps and gray skies it's also great to get some unabashed sunshine and blue sky. Whoever took the noon hour weather staging shift for Salt Lake today, ataboy! (or atagirl, for that matter)

I've hit the deadline for a writing contest, now we'll see what happens. For the last 46 The Deseret Morning News has conducted "The Christmas I Remember Best" writing contest. I've entered for several years now. Sure, it would be cool to have a story published, but the great reward for me is focusing on Christmas, trying to write for a general audience, and hitting the deadline. I sent the story off last night at about 1O p.m. Nice to have that done. Perhaps I'll now have a little more bandwidth for blog entries.

Old but gold...well in this case, silver: "Genius without education is like silver in the mine." -Ben Franklin

A few more things I'm thankful for

It’s been a while since I’ve published a list of things I’m thankful for, so here’s another one. This time I’m going to organize in alphabetical order.

A – Autumn music like September Song
B – Beauty, buildings, bikes, beautiful buildings for bikes
C – Children as kids and adults, creative collaboration
D – Dedication, delight, deliverance from depression
E – Energy, exercise, education, encryption, encyclopedia
F – Family, friends, feasts, film, fruit, finance, frugality, fishing
G – Golf courses, generosity, good tidings, grief yielding growth
H – Hope, Handel’s Messiah, Seuss’s Horton Hatches the Egg
I – Insight, introspection, interpretation, timely interruptions
J – Jam, jelly, juice, jokes, gestures (I know, belongs in G)
K – Kitchen remodeling, gatherings, conversations, aromas
L – Light, love, luck, listening, leftovers
M – Music, mountains, mystery, mentors, minds, moments
N – Now, nature, nurture, networks, a sunlit natatorium
O – Opportunity, occasions for celebration
P – Peers, pears, pools, ponds, parents, places, planning
Q – Quiche quests quacks quarks quarters quiet questions
R – Rest, recreation, records, reason, relief
S – Snoozing, sneezing, sight, swimming, service, serenity
T – Travel, time, teeth, true walls, true tales, true friends
U – Utah, understatement, understanding, under the covers
V – Vitality, volume, virtue, verification, veracity
W – Wonder, wife, my wonderful wife
X – Xerography’s role in the development of laser printing
Y – Young and old, “yes” when you’re expecting “no”
Z – Zeal, zoos, getting some zzz’s