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Have you ever wondered why you yawn whenever you read a annual holiday greeting from the Barnetts? It's because they never do anything exciting like travel to exotic places or have grand-children. As evidence in support of this contention, consider that during the last year the highlights of their boring life were such mundane things like:
- bringing in and spreading about their property 330 cubic yards of top soil;
- purchasing and placing along the river bank 200 tons of rocks;
- installing luminaries along the sidewalk to the front door;
- installing three spotlights to illuminate the flag at the top of the flag pole;
- reseeding one acre of land near the pond and along the flood plain;
- building and planting a large rock garden behind the house;
- replacing all of the second-story windows in the house with Pella products;
- replacing all the outdoor window shutters;
- burying the electrical line supplying power to the residence;
- upgrading the electrical service from 150 to 200 amps;
- installing a whole-house electrical surge protector;
- installing lighting for the built-in shelving unit in the living room;
- burying the water pipe from the river to the sprinkler pump house;
- installing a fifteenth sprinkler head in the back yard;
- placing three new stone sitting benches around the yard;
- expanding the landscaping in the front yard;
- putting down ten cubic yards of bark mulch as surface dressing;
- planting blueberry bushes;
- hiring professionals to fully trim the weeping willows;
- making out change-of-address cards for 19 lived-trapped mischievous red squirrels, 5 marauding chipmunks, 4 rascally raccoons, 1 frequently trespassing possum and 1 bank-burrowing muskrat;
- in Lee's case, writing 5 articles and co-authoring one book, and
- saying goodbye to his 200,304-mile Mercury Sable Wagon which was also our rock hauler (Yes, we purchased a new car -- a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta Wagon);
- in Dot's case, surviving her final semester of teaching and
- going to work full-time at Porter's Orchids greenhouse in Grand Ledge.
We hope your year was a little more stimulating than ours (if not, you might want to get a life or seek counseling). But please remember that it is always fun for us to host family and friends (that means you) here in Wacousta.
Happy Holidays!
Lee & Dot
