A Merry Christmas to All!

Following is this year's annual update for those of you who did not receive it by mail.

December 2008

Dear Family & Friends~

As another year comes to a close, I find joy once again in touching base with each of you. I hope you've been blessed with good health and happiness during the year as we have.

Floyd's work on the Pine Tree Windmill project finally began this month. The weather in Jawbone Canyon has not been conducive to long hours out in the elements, but they are making progress nevertheless. This project is the largest U.S. wind farm to date having eighty 340-foot windmills with propeller diameters of 253 feet. We enjoyed vegetables from Floyd's small garden where he also planted a large collection of gorgeous daylilies, cosmos, and other blooms. On his lathe, he crafted many beautiful pens from native and other woods, as well as acrylics.

We were delighted Jacqueline visited this fall. We took her to Death Valley for a day trip. She, Pine, Floyd, and I were on the road by 5:00 a.m. We hiked, admired rocks and land formations, picnicked, snapped photos, played in the sand dunes, and marveled at the national park's amazing beauty until 8:00 p.m. The day before, we took Jacqueline to Lone Pine (also in Inyo County) during their annual Film Festival. We visited the Film Museum which houses exhibits of movies made in the area, especially Westerns shot in the Alabama Hills over the past few decades. Badwater in Death Valley is the U.S.'s lowest point (-282 feet) and Mt. Whitney located near Lone Pine is the contiguous U.S.'s highest point (14,505 feet). Jacqueline moved to Sweden earlier this year as she continues work with the online dictionary -- ordbogen.com.

Those of you who've read my annual letters for years know I always write about Pine's evolving work at Mervyn's. After 16 years, Pine left the company in February. (Just in time, too, because all Mervyn's stores will close by year's end.) She now enjoys helping manage the front office of a small, family-run heating and air conditioning business. Pine is the best cook I know. She is a marvel in the kitchen, and she's never made anything for me that wasn't absolutely scrumptious! She celebrates all the holidays with us, and we're so happy she always makes two or three delicious dishes to share. YUM-O!

I've kept busy during the year with my two favorite papercrafts: scrapbooking and cardmaking. In May, I made digitally created albums for Mother's Day and Pine's birthday. I made lots~n~lotsa cards at workshops, at card club meetings, at Stamp Camps, at Stamp-A-Stack events, and to swap with my CrazyCardMakers Yahoo group and Scrap & Stamp Arts pen pals. I'm so excited to tell you my first card is published in Just Cards!, Winter 2009 issue. In the spring, I rediscovered beading and have enjoyed making earrings, necklaces, and beaded bookmarks. I started a blog just for the fun of it and enjoy writing short pieces about our lives. Check out simplystated4u.blogspot.com if you'd like know what we're up to during the year. In addition to several interpreting assignments throughout the year, I kept busy with volunteer work for La Leche League speaking to parents at the local hospital's birth classes and taking over the treasury for the two local groups.

On the furry front, there are several changes, starting with Sissy's disappearance on June 13th. She was 14 years old, in perfect health, and we believed she'd be with us forever. The night after Thanksgiving, our delightful little Smoky cat bolted out the open back door, and sadly, all evidence points to a fateful meeting with a roving coyote or bobcat. It has been so difficult for us because we adored that little cat and all her happy antics! We took 13-year-old Mollie the Bluetick Hound to the vet a couple of months ago when she slowed way down. We thought we were losing her, but the vet diagnosed diabetes, put her on Vetsulin and a prescription diet, and now she's like a brand new dog. Feral cats come and go, so now, we have four regulars who show up twice a day to eat.

Pine & Jed's Uncle Art died unexpectedly on 2 Dec. It is such a sad loss for our family. At Mark's request, Floyd & I have taken over the care of Art's cat, Julie, an 8-1/2 year old Tortoiseshell who was originally Mark's mother and father's kitty. She's a very sweet, affectionate cat with beautiful black and gold markings and bright yellow eyes.

We hope your holidays are filled with love, peace, and memory-making moments and that the new year is full of promise!