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I grew up listening to music by the Beach Boys, and wanted so much to join them and become a Surfer Girl. A drawback:  I lived in Chicago. But I could channel surf on the TV, couch surf as I got older when visiting with friends in other cities and also web surf when shopping for the holidays. Now, looking forward to the new year it appears that our library invites us all to Adventure Surf! It does not matter when or where you live in Sonoma County, opportunities to experience joy and accomplishment are offered to all ages. Check out the events listed below, and get on board. And you don’t have to worry about sharks!

For the New Year I am going to concentrate on better communication. Communication is the cornerstone of any good relationship. And, I’m worried about my long-term relationship with my wife. Our hearing isn’t what it used to be and when she’s talking I’m not always hearing.

Yesterday I made two reservations on The Empire Builder Amtrak to bring my daughter Sarah and I to northern Montana in mid-January. This is a repeat trip that we enjoyed very much when my husband, Joel, was alive. We traveled to see his family and we boarded the Coast Starlight in Davis, and got off at the small prairie town of Shelby, Montana, just east of Glacier Park and Browning.

It’s winter. The occasional frost tips the blades of grass creeping slowly but surely through the brown, dry turf we don’t water all summer long, conserving water for the warm season crops of vegetables and orchard trees.

100 years ago – January 2, 1919

As we all begin a new year of life in Sonoma County, we should look across the local landscape and also within ourselves and count our many blessings. By the luck of genetics and geography, we live in a peaceful, plentiful and free country. We happen to also live in one of America’s most beautiful and bountiful regions. For those of us with family, a job and a home, we could not possibly be more blessed. And we don’t need to look too far to see someone who could benefit from our over-abundance of good fortune.

Looking for a lost pet or a new four-legged friend? See the list of incoming strays and the slideshow of cats and dogs available for adoption from the Sonoma Humane Society, Healdsburg Center.

Huginn and Munnnin

As the New Year approaches, many of us are thinking about turning over new leaves with a list of resolutions. Some of you may have ambitious goals like training for a marathon, or quitting a habit or taking a trip to a foreign country.

For the new year I am going to concentrate on better communication. Communication is the cornerstone of any good relationship. And, I’m worried about my long-term relationship with my wife. Our hearing isn’t what it used to be and when she’s talking I’m not always hearing.