Thanksgiving was a blessed day of family, friends and food! I didn't get a good picture of all of us, but here is part of the group. We stuffed ourselves on traditional foods and funny conversations. Two of the "wits"--namely, David and Kat--kept us in stitches. Adaon added a bit of "wisdom". Tank and Tess, the "puppies", added their drama when Tank (who is as big as our kitchen table) bumped some of the ham off the table. Steve prepared a great traditional treat from England which, as he said, "took 24 hours to prepare and was gone in two minutes". It was wonderful! Jeff and his adoring fans (his nieces and nephews) entertained themselves with the Wii. We just kind of chilled for most of the day. Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?

RETIREMENT IS MY FAVORITE THING

This is a fairly strange looking blog. I'll get better I promise.

My title for this blog is a little optimistic, perhaps, but is true right at the moment. I guess I need to learn how to write the blog first and then title it. Well, actually, I need to learn to get the @#$$blog written correctly. I've spent two days trying to write the first one and I think it's now lost in cyberspace and I've plastered personal information all over the Internet. Ah well! Technical stuff has never been my strong suit. In fact, I don't know why I decided to start a blog especially since I read that it's similar to birthing a new baby. (Speaking of which, Dawniella Joan Castleton made her appearance this morning. She's beautiful.) I certainly don't think I'll blog every day or even every week, but we'll see. I feel it's a better alternative than MyFamily (which, thankfully, expires pretty soon) or the weekly e-mail. At least I can add pictures (maybe!!!)

We're adjusting to retirement and, as many other retired couples say, should have done it years ago! Yesterday we spent a wonderful day visiting museums in Tacoma. I wanted to see the Gee's Bend exhibit and it exceeded my expectations! The Gee's Bend exhibit is of quilts, but there are other exhibits in the Tacoma ArtMuseum as well which were also interesting. We both loved the model train exhibit. It gave me some new ideas for my village! We also had a nice chat and lunch with Jeff who doesn't really want to return to California any time soon.

Life is good with all the Gunter folks. I'll try to add some of my favorite pictures from the retirement party. It was so terrific! Hope this works!