How the Nemos spent New Year’s day in Arizona, USA

Yesterday, December 31, I spent the morning and afternoon performing my annual year end archive and backup of computers to external hard drives.Then Barbara and I took an outdoor nap before hosting David and Nancy Weeks and three other friends to a homemade pizza New Year’s Eve feast.

Breakfast this morning, January 1, was also outdoors, enhanced by listening to “Calendar Girl” plus a dozen other favorite oldies via iPod and Radio Shack Portable Folding Amplified Speaker. Scrambled eggs with Love Potion Number Nine.

We danced in the raw, cool sunshine like fools to “Don’t Be Cruel,” and Barbara pointed out the first growth from annual spring wildflower seeds she sowed several weeks ago. We laughed to the lyrics of a Bob Dylan song I lifted verbatim in 1970, but did not realize it until twenty years later (to be the topic of a future blog).

I said I thought 2004 was a really good year, and Barbara reminded me that I nearly drowned on a June whitewater raft trip, that my father died in July, that she smashed her rear end falling into the swimming pool in October, and a few other choice events.

Leftover pizza was yummy during lunch again on the patio. Then we went for a long walk in the pricey Manzanita School area of the rolling, scenic Catalina Foothills while a cool mist moved into Tucson.

The Apple Store at La Encantada Shopping Center was full of customers and shoppers. I priced my fantasy dream G5 system while Barbara looked elsewhere for clothing bargains. Our credit cards remained in our pockets.

It’s quiet now after dinner, while I complete a couple of overdue Book Bytes reviews and Barbara reads aloud choice passages from Roddy Doyle’s novel, “A Star Called Henry.” I’m desperately sad for the survivors of the quake and tsunami, and I’m overjoyed to have family and friends with whom to experience and celebrate every moment of 2005.

Macworld San Francisco Expo begins in a little over two weeks! Long live MyMac.com, with special appreciation for our sensational publisher, Tim Robertson. Happy New Year to all.

[Nemo]