Happy New Year 2020!

Annika and her cousin Violet celebrate St. Lucia Day

I have been truly remiss in posting to this blog in 2019.  In fact, I skipped the entire year.  It's probably for the best.  2019 was not a particularly good year for me.  Neither was 2018, as a matter of fact.

However, I'm so grateful for my family and friends.  I have been sustained by many good people through a myriad of trials, large and small.

Most notably , I've neglected to herald the birth of the most recent additions to our family: Samuel Jeffrey on April 10, 2019, and Lily Jean in July of 2019.

Samuel Jeffrey

Lily Jean

This brings my brother's grandchild count to seven!  Such sweet little children, and all growing like crazy.

What a blessing family can be!

Violet's Grown a Bit

Since I was last blogging, our newest family member has grown a bit.  She's pretty tall!  Hi, Violet!

Introducing the Newest Evensen

Here she is!  Violet Elizabeth Evensen arrived on Friday, May 26th.  She is posing with her mom and dad in this photo.

The newest member of our family weighed in at 8 pounds 3 ounces and is 20 inches long!  She looked very much like her dad, my nephew Nils.

I love the name Violet.  She arrived with a full head of blond hair.  What a sweetie!

She also has the chubby cheeks that run in our family, as you can see below.  Violet is the 5th grandchild and the 3rd little girl of her generation in our family.

There's something wonderful about seeing a man tenderly holding a baby, isn't there?

Welcome to mortality, little Violet.  I can't wait to meet you!

Happy Birthday, David!

I love this photo!
David enjoyed our singing

My friend David has a birthday today, so Peggy and I took him out for hamburgers at Ruby's on Labor Day.  We had a great time!  The wait staff at Ruby's was the best. They were so kind, and got the whole restaurant to sing 'Happy Birthday' to him, and even gave him a hat to wear!

Peggy and David

Old friends are the best, right?  We had fun - mostly just eating and talking.  But it turned out to be a delightful day.

Our waitress

It's the simple pleasures that are often the best.  Good times!

Farewell to Frank

What are you doing, Marianne?

Yes, I'm taking your picture, Frank.  I figured someone should immortalize this moment in time. You've been with the company for 9 years, which is a very long time in Corporate America.

One of our Senior Engineers, Frank recently left us to pursue other dreams in El Paso, Texas with his family.  I was sorry to see him go.

The company held a nice luncheon in his honor the week he left.

The gang's all here

It was a good meal, but everyone seems very serious in these photos.

 We're normally not this serious.

Company President, Jimmy, enjoying Frank's speech

Frank got up to say a few words and was sincere and entertaining.  I've enjoyed working with him and miss his jokes and stories.

Good luck to you in the future, my friend!

A Chinese Kitten

Livia and Sparkle reading intently

My grand-niece Livia lives in Beijing with her Mommy, her Daddy and her two brothers. (She's in the middle.) So, when her Daddy found a couple of abandoned kitties on the roof, she got her wish - her very own little kitten.

This is what kitties do!

Livia named the little fellow Sparkle.  He's a little cutie pie of a kitten.  As all kittens are!  He is also very brave.  As all kittens are!

"I think I can!"

Funny, he doesn't really look Chinese.

A Kitty smaller than the headphones

I don't think Sparkle knows how lucky of a kitty he is!

Sleepy Baby

He's very cute, and obviously very loved.  Sparkle is a very lucky Chinese kitty indeed!

Even Daddy likes him!

Daddy likes him too

What more can a little Kitty ask for?

Little Girl Kisses!

Farewell to Sabrina

Suria, Carmen, Sabrina and Tiffany

It's difficult when someone you care for moves away.  Sabrina had been with my company since way before I came on board in 2008.  She was a vital part of the Corporate Marketing team - she was also the last of that original Corporate marketing team to leave the company.

That leaves me.  I've been around the longest now of all the marketing group in the company.  It's a weird feeling.

Tiffany, Nikita and Mengzhao

But, as is often the case, Sabrina's decision to leave had little to do with our company, and a lot to do with moving to the State of Washington to be able to provide a better life for her family.  Tough decision, but a good one for them, I believe.

Sabrina - I miss her acerbic wit

And so it was, back in May, that the Marketing ladies took Sabrina off to a farewell luncheon.  We went to a Chinese-French fusion place called Savoy in Alhambra.  The food was very good!

We sat outside under the awnings

Sabrina had 'trying escargot' on her bucket list, which is why Suria had brought us all here to the Savoy.  She knew they served escargot.  We allowed Suria to make the menu choices for us all, as the dishes were served family style.  That turned out to be an excellent idea!

We allowed Suria (right) to make some menu choices for us

I have to admit, despite my many travels in the world, I'd never had escargot (snails) either.  I was surprised to find that I really liked them.  Of course, they were drowned in butter and garlic - what's not to like?

The last, lonely escargot on the above plate got snarfed up quickly

The other dishes were delicious as well.  There was a spicy Asian curry and also Italian pasta dishes. It had looked like a lot of food when Suria was ordering, but we really chowed down on it.  With gusto.

There was little left after the feeding frenzy.

The dishes were varied, but each was delicious

I've always enjoyed the company of my female coworkers.  They are bright and kind and fun to be with.

My second helping of linguini

It was a fun get-together.

Sabrina has been gone a couple of months now.  I still miss her.  It still seems strange to not see her on the other side of the building, in the Corporate offices.

Hope all is well, my friend.