Thursday, December 18, 2014

Hike and a Christmas party

Most of the group at the trailhead
Today we met an hour later than usual, to go on a nice easy hike of six flat miles (three out, three back) before gathering for our annual Christmas party at Amy's place. Although she hasn't been able to join us lately because of her knee replacement and back problems, she still wanted to host the party, and we were more than willing to allow her to.
Marjan, Frank, Karen
We don't see Marjan and Frank very often any more, as they usually hike with the other Senior Trailblazer group. Frank is 84 how and doesn't move as fast as he used to (who does?) and Marjan is now 78 but still hikes as fast as ever. Karen bounces around from one group to the other, so it was really nice to have some friends we don't see very often on the hike. There were twenty of us in all.
Linda, Peggy, Marjan, Ward
This picture shows the end of the trail, where we turned around and went back to the cars. And then we all made our way to Amy's for the party. I picked up Smart Guy, who was waiting for me at home with the salad and the wine. When we arrived before the main group got there, I saw that a dozen or more people were already at Amy's who did not go on the hike. There were many people and a very festive atmosphere.
Amy and Jacqueline
Everyone brought food to share, and there was more than we could all eat, but most of it was very healthy and I did fine... until the desserts. And then a piece of pecan pie and a piece of cake were my downfall, and I didn't even touch most of those scrumptious goodies.
Seniors all concentrating on the task at hand: eating
We all enjoyed ourselves very much, as well as getting a chance to know the spouses of some of our regular hikers. Although I don't usually allow myself to eat so much rich food, it was worth it. And the cake! It was to celebrate a very special occasion: Helen's 80th birthday!
Helen and her cake
Helen doesn't hike with us much any more, but she went out with the Senior Trailblazers for 14 years, faithfully. For her birthday, she decided to put a cool purple streak in her snow-white hair. I told her she looks simply beautiful and is an inspiration for me. She told me she hopes that I can still hike when I myself turn eighty. I figured it out: if I still am able, I will have been hiking with these wonderful people for 15 years! A great day.
Selfie in the mirror
All the pictures taken today were with my brand-new iPhone6! I am very happy with my new purchase, and I'm thinking that on days when the weather is fine, this may be my go-to camera of choice. I've got a lot to learn, but it's definitely fun.
:-)

21 comments:

  1. What a happy crew of hikers. Congrats on the IPhone 6. The cell phones are amazing. I'm still at IPhone 5 until my new phone renewal pops up.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice to see Amy! That purple streak is something else...she looks like a happy sort and when you are eighty why not!
    Good to see all your group and I am glad you had a good day:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. The warmth and friendship just glows....How lucky!

    ReplyDelete
  4. you have such a great group of friends. helen is adorable with her hot pink/purple stripe. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. nice...you have a cool group of friends...and how nice that the ones that did not hike or dont hike anymore came as well...a nice reunion...

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a wonderful group to be part of! Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You are a good advertisement for the iPhone. You may even make me a convert one of these days.

    ReplyDelete
  8. We have our skaters Christmas party tomorrow. Many former skaters come back and celebrate with us. It gets pretty noisy as people are very happy to see one another.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have a year to go with my iPhone 5, which I love. did you get the big 6 or the small one?
    Your hiking group is such a great bunch of people.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh I'm so jealous! I'm hinting and hinting and hinting to Art that I need to get the iPhone 6, but so far he's not buying it. I'm wearing him down though.

    I agree with Linda that your hiking group is such a wonderful bunch of fun, hardy friends. How fabulous to stay healthy together.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Big, big smiles. For you and all the intrepid hikers. I love that stylish purple streak too...

    ReplyDelete
  12. How wonderful DJan, to have such a lovely party after a nice flat walk of 6 miles - and that's quite a crew you've got there. A great occasion to get together and celebrate with good friends. I am impressed with all the years you all have hiked together. You should do a post on the total years of hiking of all your regular group, put them all together and give us a number and a more personal post. I think that would be kinda neat and I'll bet there would be a large number, when you added them all up. I've just ordered my new iPhone 6+ and am expecting it to arrive today. Do you have a waterproof cover on it - I have one on my iphone 4s and it has always worked great. Looks like you had a great time and best wishes to you and your group for prosperous hiking next year.

    ReplyDelete
  13. How fun! Glad you had a good time. And don't feel guilty, you don't make it habit to indulge in sweets, so enjoy it when you do.

    I agree with Tom Sightings - you may make me an Apple convert just yet!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello! Thanks for stopping by my blog and becoming a follower. Yes, I already follow you (after Amanda from Wildly Simple posted about both of us last spring). I enjoy reading about your hikes - and, yes we do have a lot in common. I'd love to come "up north" and explore some of your trails. :) Drop by anytime!

    ReplyDelete
  15. My iPhone is the only camera I have now. It's just so easy to carry and I use it as my computer on the go, too.

    ReplyDelete
  16. That was great to see many people you haven't met with regularly anymore or at all. Heartwarming! Your new phone takes fantastic pictures! Nice that Smart Guy came with, too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. What fun you are having! My wife and I must return to visit your spectacular landscapes.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, I can't scare up 3 walkers and you have 20. What a great looking group and how nice that the spouses got to enjoy. You all looked quite serious when eating:))

    ReplyDelete
  19. Those 80 year olds are still hiking and here I am sitting on my butt most of the time. What a nice get together, DJan. I would have enjoyed it myself. Your new iPhone takes great photos.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Looks like fun! The iPhone 6 photos are terrific!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Lovely to see you all again. Don't the years go by quickly. You are all marvels. 😉

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate your comments! If you see a word verification box here, just ignore it. I don't use the darn thing and Blogger is trying to get us to use it, I guess. Ignore it and your comment will still appear.