Every day starts with my dog Hazel waking me, wagging her tail, ready start our morning routine, which ends with a one to two mile walk, depending on the weather or our whims. Yesterday as we arrived home we met our friends Fred and Clover, so we went on a second walk with them. Then my day usually proceeds to an extensive, creative project designing and building musical instruments. My 70s are the best years of my life.

My wife has some serious health issues that cause pain, discomfort and depression. When it reached the point that she had not left the house for three weeks, we got her a little dog, a happy Havanese rescue. Now she also has no excuse to not get up. They do sleep late, but my wife has regained ability to walk, now up to about a half mile, and I hope eventually she'll be up to join Hazel and me for some of our nice river walks.