Lesson 515: 2017 Year in Review

Hello, Readers!

2018 is just a few hours away.

And as Lamp Post tradition has it
 you will find Eloise at her computer most of the day,
putting together the annual Lamp Post Year in Review.





While compiling the year's best photo moments
I laugh,
and cry,
 but mostly shake my head,
musing over how quickly time does pass.



It's New Year's Eve,
so grab your drink of choice tonight,
and scroll through the 2017 picture story,
as my world is captured through my lens.



In reviewing 2017 overall,
I can best summarize it as a year of ups and downs.
Was 2017 more up than down?
I suppose it all depends what stories you choose to focus on.

Weather stories dominated the news.
One third of our country was underwater,
one third of our country was aflame,
and now my third of the country is frozen.

The Lamp Posters can relate to each in some small way.

And unfrozen Lake Erie all of last winter
contributed to this damage to my parents' cottage.



In August their barn was a total loss from an electrical fire.



And as for the frozen part--
well, we're living that right now.



I always have wondered if this all black woolly worm
I found crawling around my garage this fall
was an indicator of the winter we are having.



One thing about Father Time is that he fixes all things.
The cottage wall has been rebuilt.

The barn has been rebuilt.

And as for the weather---
well, we know we will see the beach again.
This was a photo from New Year's Day 2017!

A milder winter
rolled into a wet spring.

And then came sweet summer.

High lake levels meant very little beach.

The zoo is always a fun visit every summer.

Especially so when a train full of Amish people 

are riding behind you.

Summer came to and end,

and it was time for fall dances

holiday gatherings

and beautiful nature.

We've had a record breaking snowy start to the winter.

Every year has its moments,
both good and bad.
Because Eloise always likes to end on a positive note,
we'll start with the OUCH section first.

Donald Trump was elected President.
By President's Day I had finally come to terms with it,
and had my children
and all of my students write him
President's Day letters.
We wanted to wish him well,
and hoped that he would send his photo for home
and classrooms, along with the traditional White House coloring book
and sticker collection.

Sam seemed cool with the fact that he'd be getting mail.

Ellen,
like many women,
had no words.

Natalie just sent him her signature drawing.

As you can see we've never received anything back from President Trump.
I had Natalie draw another Happy Person picture of him,
just like the one pictured above,
and there it will remain until I receive something.

We had mouthfuls of ouches
as the girls and Jack had their wisdom teeth removed.

Louie had a major ouchy with his back
by pulling his psoas muscle while mowing the lawn.

Thankfully we have a chiropractor friend who makes house calls,

and a ten year old who will tattle tale if the price is high enough.

Eloise had a rough health year.
My body started behaving badly,
from extreme fatigue,
urinary tract infections,
stomach issues,
headaches,
unsteady heart beats,
and two bouts of Staph infections on my face.

Treated individually,
they seemed like isolated incidents marking an unlucky health year.
Further investigation discovered a football sized tumor on my left ovary.
I said bye bye to my ovary
and my long list of health problems.

Eloise is happy and healthy and full of stories that need to be told.



Grandma had a big ouch on her left side, too.





There is no bigger pain though than losing a loved one,
far too young,
from the terrible disease Cancer.
We will miss Peyton's smile,
but her fighting spirit long lives within all of us.



This guy broke my heart a few weeks ago,
and my favorite morning news program just isn't the same.



Ouches continue with our local economy.

The biggest Ouch with the barn fire
was the time consuming job was the inventory of the lost items,
some many decades old.

We will be forever thankful for neighbor Laura
for driving by at 5:00 am and acting on instinct
that something just wasn't right.
She saved our home!

The new build by CJ Kelly Construction
was fun to watch each day,



under the supervision of Buddha Kitty
who protected the job site.





Thank you, CJ
for turning our ouch




into an Oh, Wow!

Ellen Louise was so excited to become a licensed driver,
until she failed her driver's test.
OUCH!

I had my own little mishap.
Not many can say they drove their car through their garage wall.
In retrospect,
it's kinda a cool claim to fame.

I found out my real name is on the way out,
deemed as nerdy and out of date.
OUCH!

After all those ouches,
one would need a little get-away,

and that we did!

Darien Lake, NY










Cleveland, OH hosted Handsome and his wife Faith Hill.



Happy Valley called us!







One of my former students came to visit me,
after successfully completing his first year of college!



I had lots of fun with Bitmojis.

We love Ed Sheerhan.
Ellen got to see him in concert for her 17th birthday.

I read some really great books.

We have a killer Wednesday night trivia team
at Harbor House.

Me,
and all of Erie
Rocked Out!

Stitch Fix helped restyle me into a hip and stylish 40-something.

Pinterest still continues to inspire me.
These are a few of my favorite pins.

\

Eloise,
your resident Bird Nerd,
got some really cool captures this year.

This little guy kept coming to my window
for a solid week.

I finally found a bluebird!

The stink bugs invaded this fall.


Fawns are still my favorite.



We discovered out feral cat Stealth had kittens!

Kitten hunts were the summer source
of entertainment for 10 year old boys.

Nature is simply amazing.

The moon was outstanding this fall.

Here are my favorite photos of other people's children.

And this is my favorite photo of other people.



Eloise turned 46.
Sam turned 10.

Natalie became an uneven 19.

Louie an even 48.

Ellen is 17.



And Grandma and Grandpa are older than dirt.

Josie is now 13 and a half!

We continued to push tolerance,
awareness,
and education on the
Autism Front.

We had lots of awesome sports moments this year.

Softball, baseball, and bowling
dominated the news headlines during the spring and summer.

Ellen and the first ever Husky Girls Golf Team rounded out the summer

and brought in the fall on a positive note.

Huskies finally won the bridge back.















Football is always a favorite,



until however,
your son gets drafted for the injury plagued Cleveland Browns.

Now it's time for Hoops
and we couldn't be happier.



Eloise even had a short list of small triumphs,
the challenges even more challenging
on a not-feeling-so-well year.

Erie Half Marathon















Barber Beast on the Bay

Will Run For...

Eloise is happiest when she sees kids getting a healthy start in life.

Eloise has been a Team Adrenaline Punch Card carrying member
for over five years.

There are more moments

and memories that any blog page can ever hold.

Milestones are the most memorable.

We look forward to the new in 2018.

We are so excited we could flip--
which is exactly what Sam finally mastered after months of practice!




Sam's going to have to wait a bit
to attempt his flips again.



Eloise wishes all of the Readers
a very Happy New Year. 

The light will still be on in 2018.
See you on Friday nights throughout the year.

Eloise
XOXO