A Happy New Year in Johnson Lane

My boys have arrived home safely and we are so happy to have them home for some good home cooking, snowboarding and getting together with our family and their friends. Before they come home they request ahead of time their favorite foods, as if I don't remember. Garrett loves chicken Parmesan, sparkling cider, crepes, sausage, sliced peaches and anything chocolate. Davis loves applesauce, hot dogs, soda, crepes, macaroni and cheese and his favorite dessert is a fudge brownie topped with peppermint ice cream. Ick. Since neither son could make it here before Christmas, I took advantage of the after Christmas sales to pick up a few more gifts. I was surprised to find the five stores I went shopping at weren't busy, maybe because most people had to work that day.

n Last week I wrote about our 10-year wedding anniversary and as my husband and I reminisced at dinner I remembered, the flood of Jan. 1, 1997. You see, we lived in San Diego back then and had driven to Carson Valley to get married, because so much of my family lives here. We got married at the Carson Valley Inn's Wedding Chapel right after Christmas. On New Year's Day it was time for us to drive home. When we arrived back in San Diego 10 hours later, the answering machine was flashing with lots and lots of messages. I hit play, and it was my mom, concerned whether we made it home before the highway caved in, in Walker Canyon. What? The next half dozen messages were all from my mom, each time sounding more and more afraid of our demise. I quickly called her back and calmed her fears. She filled me in on what she knew about the flood. Wow, I'm glad we didn't live here then, it sounded devastating.

n Thank you to County Manager Dan Holler. My husband complained about our mail box landing at Johnson Lane and Henning. The ditch was partially collapsed and much too short for the full-size trucks to fit on. When I left to go shopping on Dec. 26, there was a road crew out there paving the landing and fixing the ditch. It looks great. If you have a safety concern about where your mail box is located, Holler is the man to call. Thanks again.

I hope you had a safe New Year and best wishes for 2007.

n Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.