January and February 2008 (transferred from our website)

For this installment of what has happened in our lives, chronological order does not seem to make much sense. In early February, my Dad, Randy Callison, passed away. In case anyone wants to read the obituary, I have pasted it at the bottom of the page. We want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers, cards and contributions, flowers and foodstuffs during this difficult time.

Fortunately, my parents had visited us in Alexandria in late December/early January. We did as much of the touristy things as Dad could handle. We toured the George Washington Masonic Memorial, Mount Vernon (see picture, left), the Potomac riverfront (see picture below, right), Gadsby's Tavern, and all the rest of Old Town Alexandria, as well. Dad and I also watched many college football bowl games and NFL games with warm apple cider, just like we used to do in Wisconsin.

The Saturday during their visit, we went to the Alexandria Farmers' Market, and Dad bought me flowers (left).

For those of you who geocache, three of the bullet casings from Dad's 21-gun salute will soon be travel bugs. We took my parents geocaching on a few occasions, and they liked it. Dad would frequently ask about the travel bugs that we had helped on their journeys because he was interested in where they went next.

I wanted to include the these pictures, too, because of the great time that we all had. Last summer when we were still in Pennsylvania, some friends of ours invited us all over for paella (a Spanish rice dish). My parents frequently talked about how much they enjoyed that night.

In other news, I have started my job at the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), and I am really enjoying it. I recently completed my training phase, and I have been assigned my first samples. Of course, in the interim I was learning the nuances of different types of distilled spirits (bourbon, vodka, gin, sake, grappa, whiskey, etc.) organoleptically (by taste). In the coming weeks I will develop a plan for independent research, and find out where I will be going for off-site training. There are many career development opportunities with the TTB that I am excited to pursue.

As for Ken, he finally was able to get a Wii. Enough said.

We hope you are all doing well,

Amanda and Ken

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The obituary:

Randy Callison, age 58, of Oconomowoc, passed away Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008. Survived by his beloved wife Laura; daughters Heather Callison of Madison, WI, & Amanda (Ken) Smith of Alexandria, VA; sisters Linda (Lance) Sweeten of Huffman, TX, & Joy (Dale) Pachowiak of LaPorte, IN; brothers David Callison of Watertown, WI, Rickie (Amy) Callison of Watertown, & Daniel Brown of LaPorte, IN; mother Viola Brown of LaPorte, also other relatives and friends. He served in the U.S. Army, Vietnam, 1969-1971, as a combat medic and was a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #635, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Oconomowoc, and the Boondockers Car Club. He retired from Guhring, Inc., Brookfield. He was active in the Scleroderma Support Group. Funeral services 7:00 P.M., Monday, Feb. 11, at the Chapel of the Chimes, Wisconsin Memorial Park, 13235 W. Capitol Dr., Brookfield, WI. Friends may call Monday from 5:00 to 7:00 P.M.. In lieu of flowers, memorials suggested to the Scleroderma Foundation or St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Oconomowoc.