The year 2022

January 10, 2023

The year 2022

The year 2022 had plenty of excitement for us!

First things first. I got metal braces on my teeth on January 8, 2022. As I write, the orthodontist says I have a few more months to go. Liz also got braces in May.

Had some family visits this year. Courtney and Viann dropped by in March, then again in June. A visit to Gator Beach was included! In July, Liz's cousin Marc and wife Elizabeth visited from Florida. A trip to the Japanese gardens at Balboa Park and ice cream were included! Nephew John and girlfriend Bekah also dropped by in November. Always good to see family!

In April, Liz and I discovered indoor pickleball, which changed everything! The Municipal Gym in Balboa Park among other gyms and rec centers around town has turned into almost a daily routine. I lost 20 pounds this year by playing pickleball for about 3 hours a day, 6 days a week, give or take! We have made many new friends in this "pickleball network".

Spring also brought our softball team competition with the AFCSL as well as a couple of softball tournaments during the year.

In May we went to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with Olivia Travel. The first two days of the trip it poured rain, then the rest of the week was beautiful. Great people with a week full of beautiful beaches and pickleball!

In June we went to Hawaii and attended Pat and Malika's re-commitment ceremony at Moli'i Gardens in Kaneohe. Pat is an old Navy buddy of mine from the 90's when were assigned to COMSUBPAC, Pearl Harbor. It was a beautiful ceremony! It was also great to reconnect with with old friends at the ceremony and during our stay on the island! Hawaii in general is always an amazing trip! A big thank you to Mario for the assistance and the loaner!

My great nephew, Edward Andrew Wallin was born on June 22, 2022. Katy and Andy's first born as well as Courtney and Viann's first grandchild! Welcome to the family and world, little Eddie!

In August we traveled to Dallas, Texas for Doug and Elizabeth's 50th wedding anniversary. A very classy event held at the Nasher Sculpture Center in downtown Dallas. It was nice to see a lot of the family! Liz and I also attended a Texas Ranger game while we were there, in their brand new stadium. Texas even won for us and beat Seattle 5-3. Great trip and a special thanks to Gary for his hospitality!

The saddest day of the year was September 20. Our Prince kitty took a turn and we had to put him to sleep. Incidentally, my 98 year old uncle Johnny in North Carolina passed away on the same day, but I didn't know that until a few days later. Rest in peace!

In October, our friend Mindy came down from Irvine for a day trip to play pickleball with us for my birthday! It was a great day!

Also in October, Liz and I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with Olivia Travel. We met up with softball friends Jill & Bethany and had a great time! Even ran into Ruth! A great boogie boarding beach, I have never seen so many little manta rays before and also witnessed a couple of baby turtle hatches. Great trip!

November brought Thanksgiving and a family get together at Courtney's house up in LA, with a stop in Irvine to visit Mindy on the way. Was great to see everyone and we even got Courtney to take us to his local YMCA to introduce him and nephew John to pickleball. Thanksgiving day had plenty of family, friends, food, football and fun! Another great trip!

Other notes of interest:

We are currently doing repairs and renovations on our Hawaii condo, with Mario's help, in order to put it up for sale soon with the intention of buying a place closer to the beach in the Coconut Grove area of Kailua. Wish us luck with that!

Now cat-less, our future Hawaii plans are progressing, but for now dental issues or "braces" are the main holdup. Now we are free to travel even more and take longer trips..... to be continued.....

After much thought, I decided to retire from any more attempts at freelance graphics and I let the hosting and domain expire for Liberty Call Productions. However, I am keeping the LCP Facebook page up for now.

Congratulations to Liz! In March she incorporated her business into an LLC. Brave Bookkeeping LLC at https://www.elizabethbrave.com/ and probably the only website I maintain anymore!

After the previous two years of pandemic, I consider 2022 a good year, (aside from one very bad day). I believe we are very fortunate and that is something I do not take for granted! I love retirement!

Unfortunately, a year cannot go by without losing people (or animals) that we love.
Remembering those that passed this year....
Vicki Dorsey (Navy friend), Maryla (Kia) Ball (Navy friend), Ted Henderson (cousin), John Hoppe (uncle), Joan Dwinnell (friend), Prince (kitty).