Year end letter around Christmas 2023

    Sooner or later, I know I need to get this epistle out of my head and onto the page, so to speak. It always seems that Christmas cannot possibly be just a few days away again, but here we are. Gift giving gets less and less prominent than when children and grandchildren were small, so gift cards and desired projects completed stand in for something pretty wrapped in decorative paper. This year it looks as if we may have a snow free Christmas at The Defors' new home in the Lakeville, Minnesota area- you did notice the address. I might as well cut to the chase and get started with January 2023.

   As usual the weather in this part of the country always plays a large part in what is done and what gets done. I see that we started out with heavy snow which means work moving it etc. I was anticipating the arrival of our new Ducati Multistrada, my Christmas present for the next several years, hopefully. Jan, Eli, Leah and I drove up to Richfield to pick up the Duck on the 21st. We did get out to Eli and Lindsey's for football a couple of times, thank God the games were not quite so pathetic as this year. On the 24th I took Jan to Gen's in Rochester. Originally the girls, Jan, Gen and Rachel were going to fly to Savanah, Georgia for a few days get together, but Gen could not go along with Jan to Georgia. Jan had to make the flight to Savanah by herself, with a stop and bad weather in between. Jan met Rachel and granddaughter Annika- finally in Savanah after the flight from hell. They spent a couple days there and then drove to Burke and spent a few days there visiting. In the meantime I was batching at home, a new experience for me, usually it's Jan by herself while I have been traveling or for a training session, but that's not happening anymore. Our next door neighbor Dennis passed away towards the end of the month, that was Leona Shellum's second son to die in two consecutive years!

   February.  The 1st I was up to the Cities to the airport to pick up Jan after her return flight from DC. I think that we were both glad to see each other again. She's not real fond of flying, although she did fly out to San Jose to see me once when I was out there for training back in the 80s sometime. The big news on the 3rd was that Eli had passed his final test with the electrical training after five tough years of part time schooling and apprenticeship. We have a few birthdays in February, Annika on the 15th, and Steve and Eli both on the 23rd. The usual doctor appointments, heavy snow falls and working on the bikes, mainly the new Ducati. Lest I forget our anniversary on the 14th was the 52nd. I remember going to 50th anniversary parties for aunts and uncles and, man, they were old, or so it seemed at the time.

   March. Had the taxes done in decent weather and it looks as if most of the rest of the month was cold and snowy with the birthdays of two of our Kuehl girls, Leah on the 9th and Lindsey on the 16th. I had a PGR mission to the new South Dakota Vets cemetery near Sioux Falls on the 24th, that and mounting several tires on Tony, Fritzy and Jack so I can add more miles this coming summer.

   April. This month looks like the weather is trying to make up its mind, as we had some snow and 80 degree temps a few days apart. The conditions were good enough that I managed to get some miles on the bikes and start the break in on the fresh one. On Easter Sunday we had the whole gang minus the Defors meet in Mankato for lunch. The whole gang being, Gen, Sam and Gus Theobald, Eli, Lindsey, Leah and Aaron Kuehl and last but not least Jan and me. Other than Jan getting a new German vacuum cleaner on the 17th it was a slow month.

   May. Out of the blue, Rachel called Jan to wish her happy Mother's Day and also mention that she was near the Cities on her way to the home they just bought in Lakeville!! To say we were shocked would be an understatement. After that the fact that there are several birthdays, on the 19th for Phil and Joe, on the 25th for me. Sadly the 4th would have been Pauls birthday. I had a good doctor's appointment at Mayo, PGR mission to Sioux Falls, Jan and I to Lakeville to check out the Defors' new home. It's in a wooded area on a few acres just off I-35. That baby grand is going to look great in her living room. We were getting pretty good rainfall at this time which turned out to be really needed later.

   June.  This month was fairly quiet, some rain, some riding, shopping for a new living room couch to fill in the space when the baby grand goes to Rachel's home. Eli, Leah and I drove up to Buffalo to a car show on the 11th.We did buy a couch at a store in Redwood Falls. It's kind of crowded with the piano still in the living room, but soon the piano will head up to Rachel's. Jan spent time toward the end of the month getting the trailer stocked for our yearly trip to Lanesboro and on the 29th we hitched up and headed down there for a few days.

   July. The first few days of July were spent in Lanesboro camping- I do feel a little silly calling living in our trailer "camping". We had quite a crowd this year as the Defors are back in Minnesota, along with Eli, Lindsey, Leah, Aaron, Gen, Steve, Sam, Gus, Rachel, Joe, Annie, Will and Jan and me of course. Hans stayed home with their new puppy Mabel. Grilling burgers etc., and games prior to the fireworks, which were as big as always. I got to some PGR missions along with riding southeastern Minnesota roads during our time near Lanesboro. Aaron's birthday is on the 10th and Laura's is on the 23rd. That about sums up the month of July.

   August. This month started out hot but with some rain, which has been arriving at beneficial times this Summer. Me biking to some PGR missions at assorted locations in this area, and Jan and I getting to some soccer games for the Theobald boys. Rachels' birthday on the 18th and attending the Butterfield Threshing Bee which usually falls at the same time. I did have a biopsy taken of a spot on my lip that was reported as non-malignant the first time. I also made a short run out to Wall with the new Ducati, Vince, just for an overnight stay and returned through the Bad Lands. I spent an evening with Eli, Leah and Aaron out at the Petroglyphs for a meteor shower. We did manage to see a few while lying on the sun warmed rocks after dark.

   September. I hate to sound like a repeating record, but it was above 90 for several days here again. Leah got her motorcycle permit and Aaron got his drivers permit so now they're legal, kind of. Hans' birthday is on the 5th, Gen and Steve's anniversary on the 6th, and Eli and Lindsey's anniversary on the 9th, kind of a busy week there. I had some more tests done on the 14th and headed west to Murdo the next day in the afternoon. I headed back west through the Badlands in the morning. It must have been because of the time of the morning but it was really beautiful because of the light, I guess. I spent that night in Buffalo, Wyoming and did my Bighorn loop opposite from the route I usually take and again caught the light on the west side of the Bighorns at a special time. From Sheridan to Gillette on old 14, except for the crossroads of Ucross it's a lonely stretch of hiway, to Wall for the night. I was home the next day in the afternoon. Jan and I got to the Defors for football one Sunday and there are the usual shopping trips to New Ulm and Mankato. 

   October. I was having some physical therapy and another trip to the Gonda building in Rochester to a different doctor in dermatology for another biopsy on my lip, this time it's skin cancer. So I'm scheduled for Mohs surgery in the very near future. Anyhow, PGR missions, 4" of rain one day and William's birthday on the 14th, also Sam's on the 23rd along with Phil and Laura's anniversary on the same day. Oh, before I forget the closest one to me is Jan's birthday on the 22nd. The Mohs surgery on the 30 was unusual, they keep shaving slices off until they get to clean tissue. In between you sit and wait for pathology to clear you, with us about 45 minutes or so. I got to go home after 3 trips to the chair, not fun but I'm getting used to the outpatient side of things. The evening before my surgery Gus got his first buck with a bow a pretty good-sized prize. He also bagged a turkey this Spring, so he is the great white hunter of the group.

   November. Jan's sister Paula's birthday is on the 4th and on the 8th, Eli bagged a 9- or 10-point buck in his own grove, also a good-sized prize. Both Gus and Eli's deer were their first, I wish I could claim the 4 or 5 that I have hit with the vehicles that I am driving. Now that Rachel and family are back in the state, we are making trips to Lakeville not just to visit the string of bike shops, but to their home. In addition, to Rochester for Mayo visits, sports events and the Theobald's for Thanksgiving again this year, it's always a special time. Of note, shortly before Thanksgiving Annie got her driving permit, leaving William as the only un-permitted grandchild. On one of our shopping trips to New Ulm, I had Buff backed into in the Hy Vee parking lot. It looks as if almost $7000 to fix what looks like a bad parking lot fender bender. The last date that needs flagging is Hans and Rachel's wedding anniversary, on the 29th.

   December. Jan and I spent the first few days of the month in Wadena with Jan's sister Paula. They went thrift shopping and I finished off another book. I did manage to put some more miles on Vinny when the temperatures were not too bad. This has been a pretty temperate Fall so far. On the 9th we were up to Wooddale church in the Cities to hear their concert because this year Rachel and Annie are singing with the choir, along with Rachel's mother-in-law Donna Defor. As usual it was quite a production, with the choir, a full orchestra, and guest star performers on stage. The only downer to the evening was making my way, in the dark with snow, slippery roads and traffic. We were very glad to pull into the garage let me tell you. After that I had Vinny out and turned him over to 7000 miles, and it rained all day the next day! Jan has been making several return trips to New Ulm for various treatments for pain and now she's trying acupuncture with assorted results, hopefully there is relief somewhere down the road. I have one last birthday in the year, it's Marcy on the 30th.

    So that does it for 2023, a mostly slanted viewpoint of the previous years' events by my records. I'm writing this on the first day of Winter and the ground is still bare and the temperature is not too bad. Frankly the idea that you need to be waist deep in snow to have a Merry Christmas is a myth, believe me there are folks in warmer climes that are not enjoying the season. Ducking for cover often moves the appreciation for the Christmas season to second place. I'm going to add here what our grandchildren are up to in the coming year. Josiah will be finishing his junior college, Annika and Leah will graduate from high school, Samuel will finish his junior year, August and Aaron will finish sophomore year, and last but not least William will finish eighth grade. Despite all of the depression and disappointment that run rampant this time of the year, we need to step back and remember what we are really celebrating at Christmas, the birth of Christ in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago. So, Merry Christmas everyone and lets' hope for a good coming year 2024.

    Peter S. Kuehl    

    21 December 2023