Took a family trip over the Christmas break. Stops in Winona, Minnesota; St. Louis, Missouri; and Nashville/Gallatin, Tennessee. Spent time with dear relatives and dear friends. All-in-all we proved to be fairly roadworthy. The transmission on the van developed an ominous clunk, which then developed into the twice as ominous clunk-CLUNK, but we are safely returned and will leave it to Scott to make the proper assessment (this repair may exceed two dozen eggs).
Memorable moments: laughing with my wife, watching our eldest daughter help care for rescued horses and donkeys, and listening to the youngest sing “America the Beautiful” at a volume exceeding most farm equipment.
And a special thank you to Mills: we returned to a warm house, a big stack of firewood, flowers on the table, and pampered chickens.