Season's Greetings from Snohomish and Hansville

Volume XXV                                                                                                         December 2002

Twenty five years is a long time....a long time to be writing these newsletters.
But that's how long it's been as this one makes number Twenty-Five. I think when
we started, a lot of people groaned when they saw it arrive. But newsletters are the
only way you can tell all your friends and relatives what's been happening in your
life, and based on the number we now receive, "my" idea has caught on. A lot of
water has gone over the dam in those 25 years. Our first letter was born of necessity.
We'd just moved back from Hawaii, bought the farm, and had too much news and
too little time to convey that to everybody. Since then, we've done a lot. Stories of
our many animals, the farm, my work, our travels, Dot's dancing, births, deaths; a
lot of our milestones have been duly reported. Until today, when we find ourselves
in a retirement  house we like a lot. We've never wanted for things to do, and we're
as busy as ever, but I do note that my annual letters have shrunk in size over the
past few years.

This year, I thought we'd try another 'innovation.' Another chance to upset some
people.  This year some of you will be getting our 'regular' printed newsletter.  But
if I have your email address, others, including hopefully you reading this now, will
get an electronic version.  It's faster.  It's easier (after I've got it written.)  It saves
paper,  printer ink cartridges, postage.  As they say in the ads, it's new and improved.
But, it is better.  You see, you lucky folks can get a little longer, more creative version.
 And, as they say, "that's not all."  For you get color pictures, and more of them, that
those poor non-electronic people will never see.  So here it is! 

       Our Hansville house.....with new roof.....and new paint job!

We are fine, and hope this holiday season finds you well too. I'm loathe
to tell about all our activities, since it generated a lot of responses like "hearing
about all your work wears me out! Slow down!" So, I'll only say that this year,
we continued the remodeling activities at our Hansville place. The reason is, -
there's a lot to do, and things seem to take a lot longer than you think. But, we're
getting there. While we spent about a month painting the balance of the outside
of the house, which is now about 98% complete, we DID do some other things
for a change, including boating and hiking. And, we have had a number of house
guests. Which has been a lot of fun.
 

My Dad came in July for a week. He helped us celebrate our 32nd anniversary.
He (and we) relaxed a lot, and I think he had a good time.  He looks pretty good
for a cool 89 !

   On the way to Hansville on the ferry

In early September, Dot's brother Charles and wife Berthe came from
Montreal for a week. I KNOW they had a great time. It was their first trip
West, and we had fun, visiting Mt. Rainier, while they enjoyed their room
with private deck, ocean view, etc. We each cooked a meal, trying to outdo
each other, which was a real blast.

   Dot, Charles, Berthe at Mt. Rainier

    ...and the winner is...

     ....and, a picnic lunch at the beach by our house

.On a sadder note, our sweet kitty Bear passed away on April 28th. He got
sick suddenly, and within a few days was gone. He was about 9 years old, only
half that of our previous cats who lived to about 20. In their cases, we knew they
were very old and their passing was at least somewhat expected. Bear left us so
quickly, that the shock has still not worn off. His pal Chiba, our dog, misses him
a lot...... So do we. For the first time since we've been married, we don't have a
kitty making our house into a real home.

                    B E A R                                                                 Pals
 

                                       C H I B A
 

Also leaving us during the year was our former neighbor Don Hogan,
a true genius , who invented many sophisticated medical instruments; Dick Morgan
who was the Director of Service when I  came to work at Boeing and a long time
friend; our farm butcher John Marzolf - "the old man," who butchered all our sale
sheep. It was only at his funeral that we found out he was a Marine hero in the
South Pacific during WW II. And Bob Dunigan, a good friend and colleague who
I worked for while in Hawaii, and who worked for me the last seven years of my career.