Dear Diane,

First, Happy New Year. I have to admit this hasn’t been one of my favorite years of the many I’ve been fortunate enough to have ushered in over my lifetime. Most of 2025 was really great, but the ending not fun. I know you were in a lot of pain toward the end and don’t blame you for not wanting to go on. Because of that, the ending was more tolerable for me, but I still didn’t like it, much. I think that’s true for everyone who loves you.

Now, about football. You had the Oregon game set to record so, of course, I had to watch it. So did Jennie. She came over and spent most of the day with me watching football. Oregon was the first game this morning, beginning at 0900 and it was a good one. Most of the came made us all nervous but the Ducks persevered beating Texas A&M 23-0. Yes, they. What made that even sweeter is that Texas was ranked at #4 and the Ducks are #5. It was a fun game and made the day even better. I just wish you were in your chair watching it with me, but Jennie did a good job covering for you. She brought Siah with her and Jasper came later. We had hotdogs for lunch. I ate a can of chili and ate the whole thing because no one else wanted any. That worked for me because I can eat a whole can of chili no problem. You’ve seen me do that lots of times.

During half time of the Oregon game I took Max for his morning walk. I actually got up at 0500 for some reason, but didn’t want to take him out in the dark. We walked all over the back yard, though, and that seemed to please him enough for the time being.

I’m working on one of the puzzles I got for Christmas. It’s a 1000 piece one and looks pretty difficult. So far I have the edge done but had a problem with that. One piece was missing for a couple of days until I got on my hands and knees and searched all over under the table. It was hiding behind a chair leg. I was very happy to find it. The rest is going to be difficult.

Now that it’s 2026 I need to take the tree down. Maybe I’ll work on that tomorrow. Maybe not. It’s kind of nice to look at.

It’s 1800 now and I just got back from walking Max his second time. He earned it, and walking is a good thing for me, too. I’m getting pretty good at it because I haven’t done a face plant since my last one before our trip around Oregon.

That’s about it for today. You know I love you, but I’ll give you an ILY anyway. Just one more thing. When the Winnebago folks visited I gave Sophia the bag with all your Sketchers so she could see what fit her. I got a text from Carolann, who feet at much smaller than yours, thanking you for 3 pairs of sandals she found in the bag. Sophias feet are actually your size so she may wind up with a lot of the shoes. We’ll see.

Here’s just one more favorite photo I have.

ILYATT

Me