I just noticed that my last post on this site was August 3, 2023. This was shortly before all hell broke loose, on the morning of August 16, when my 57-year-old son Colin Cudmore, inventor of the Garden Tower, who lives here in GAPV, in the house next door, suffered a massive aortic dissection, both ascending and descending branches. He was supposed to die, but did not; the two surgeries left him paralyzed from waist down, suffering from extreme nerve pain waves (signaling that nerves are beginning to fire, a good sign), and utterly determined to make his way back, at least to home (after we renovate the house so a wheelchair bound person can navigate through it), and eventually, back to walking. He is inspiring everybody around him with his continuously generous and cheerful attitude.

For now, Colin is in a local care center, and I post notices on a daily basis as to his condition: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/colincudmorehealing

Meanwhile, Summer turned into Autumn, and Autumn turned into Winter. However, our arugula and one type of lettuce are still growing, feeding us.

Last night, we held a wonderfully raucous New Year’s Eve Community Dinner with massive amounts of food, wine, and White Elephant gifting. Seventeen of us altogether; other than Thanksgiving, when we hosted a dozen, this was our first Community Dinner in lo these many months.