2022

The year 2022 seemed to just flow by for the LaMont family. Looking back we did a lot of what we wanted to do: spend time with family, travel, play music, eat well, serve others and stay healthy.

And there were a few things we'd prefer to avoid: frequent doctor appointments and a continuation of Covid in our community. That's the price you pay for living. Pat celebrated her 80th birthday and I somehow made it to 82. We still think we are around 30, still good looking (Pat)but just a bit slower (me). The good news is that we did not have to give up anything, just made the minor adjustments that come with aging. Here's a look back at our year: Our routine usually includes dinner with the next-door-neighbors and close friends Gary and Jeri. They are theoretically retired, but both work a few days a week, and volunteer even more. They are people with good hearts, and who act on the needs they see around them. We met a decade ago, probably through volunteer work at Habitat for Humanity or church, and have been close ever since.

We host music jams at our house on Tuesday nights with George Haskell(banjo/guitar), John Randlett (guitar), Kylee Harrison(guitar) and Beth Gaisford(guitar/mandolin), and me(mandolin/guitar). We play and sing for fun, but once in a while play at church or the local farmer's market. I participate in a weekly poker game on Thursday afternoons, a tradition that started with my late friend Ken Grassmyer almost 20 years ago. I refer to the players as my "fellowship group" because most of us attended church together. As the years pass, the players change but the $20 buy-in remains the same. We are mostly veterans and retirees and enjoy the talk, laughing and winning. And all are good losers. We have a weekly dinner gathering with five friends (George and Patty Haskell, Joe and Teddi Jackson and John Randlett). Sometimes we eat out, particularly a local Mexican place with outdoor dining (safe during Covid), or at each other's homes. Pat does whatever needs to be done all year for her Parish Care group, often filling her week with helping other people. Parish Care is a team from our First Congregational Church that includes four or so women who take care of people. It may invove a ride to the doctor, delivering meals or just a friendly conversation on the phone. If people need something, they find a way to respond. Her weekly routine includes helping a handicapped neighbor who needs transportation or prescription pickups. One of the disadvantages of our otherwise wonderful town is we have no drug store, no viable public transportation, and limited medical care so that creates a lot of needs. A drug store run involves a round trip of about 20 miles. A trip to pick up someone at the hospital requires about 30 miles.

We try to spend Sundays at church at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, the longest-named church we have ever belonged to, with a small and older congregation that is at the heart of our community. It is the only progressive church in our community of Murphys, a gold rush town turned touristy, which tends toward no-church folks or conservative congregations. We have a few LBGTA+ members, and a lot of mainstream types. In a normal year, which 2022 was not, I would be singing in the choir. This year no choir, and we all wore masks for most of the year due to several friends who are immuno-compromised. That's the routine stuff. This year we got back to travel, starting in early Spring with a long trip in our 2002 VW Camper. We drove an inland route to Spokane, which took us by our old neighbors' home in Idaho. Alan and Ann Christie, and daughter, treated us like -- well, old friends. We camped along the way at a RV resort with a hot spring, breaking up the long journey through the beautiful farmlands of Oregon and Washington. Zack showed us the sites in Spokane, along with several very good places to eat. We met some of his friends and got a feel for his new home.

We headed homeward with no particular path in mind, except I wanted to actually see the historic Columbia River. We hit the river and turned west on the south shore, following the Lewis and Clark route, and camped along the river. We got to see the grand dams Woody Gurthrie wrote songs about ("Roll On Columbia") and scooted past Portland and ended up on the Pacific Ocean camped out along the beach at Cape Lookout. We were working our way South along the coast when our old sailing buddies Michael and Sylvia sent us a text inviting us to come by and see them in their new floating home at Scapoose, Oregon. They have always been, and remain, water people. The home sits atop floating redwood logs on a backwater of the Columbia. he teaches online and he writes and they have added a dog named Biscuit to the family. We went back to the coastal route to Cape Blanco. Those great Oregon parks were detailed in an earlier blog, but in the Spring without crowds it was a wonderful place to be. Summer brought trips to the mountains and the north coast with family and friends, getting as much use out of our VW van as we can.

Late summer brought more camping trips, with friends and family.

Fall brought a trip to Santa Cruz for a wonderful relaxed week watching the surf and surfers, cathing the slightly weird vibe at a beach happening where people played body harps, and eating very well. That whole section of beach towns, including Capitola, has become a favorite for us.

Christmas at home was low key, and we spent a day at Ruth and Brian's home just two miles away and celebrated with grandson Connor, pictured with Ruth in Christmas attire, and granddaughter Delaney and husband Cooper who came west from Boston where he is in medical school and she is working on her PHD in bioengineering. Our final plan for 2022 is a multi-generational New Years Eve celebration at our church, welcome the New Year at 9 p.m., and tuck in to get ready for a wonderful 2023. Have a great year.