2018

Happy Holidays,

This time of year seems to come more quickly each year. It seems like I was just putting up our 2018 calendars and now it is almost time for 2019’s.

I sold my business in January but stayed on part-time. The first weeks of January proved difficult as I was working so little. I wasn’t at all certain I was ready for retirement and wasn’t certain what I was suppose to do all day long. I kept watching the clock and it didn’t seem to move much. But then February came and I was working long hours to help with tax season. Part time was a quickly a distant memory.

Hugh fully retired last December after working part-time for several years. He still teaches at the medical school a few days while it is in session. He enjoys interacting with all the young students, probably remembering his medical school days. He has taken up cooking and baking in his retirement, and is very good. He has several signature dishes and added several more this year. He makes the best scallops ever! His tomato basil tort and grilled cauliflower are other hits! He finally caught the cooking bug from the rest of the family.

Hugh went to Dubai during February to visit Julianna and had a rather difficult trip back, as his flight was delayed in NYC. As his arrival time got later and later, Tim fell asleep and didn’t wake up to pick Hugh up at the airport. A very exhausting journey for Hugh but he seemed to have a good time exploring the EAU with Julianna.

Tax season finally ended and we were off to Australia for a month. We were traveling with Dave and Maud, my brother and sister-in-law. We saw so much of Australia! Hugh and Maud put together a fantastic trip! We had one day we got to feed the kangaroos, and that was incredibly special! My favorite part was Ayers Rock, maybe because we were out of the busy cities. We hiked around it and got to feel tired feet from the 6+ mile hike. My brother went back another day and climbed up it. He is only 81 years young! The youngsters didn’t accompany him. I also loved being in Palm Cove as the mornings allowed me to be by the water and to photograph extensively. When I look over my photos from the trip the predominance is water and seagulls, and you would not know where in the world I took them. But I had great fun taking them!

We also met up with Julianna in Portugal in July. We spent a week together in Porto. We all loved the city and I spent most morning before sunrise walking the old streets. We took a tour and tasting at Graham’s, a port wine maker, and had lunch on their gazebo like restaurant overlooking the Douro River and Porto. After Julianna left, Hugh and I ventured south along the coast and had a lovely time exporting small towns. I found a woven bag in a tourist center that I loved but they wouldn’t sell it, saying I had to go to the artist’s studio. That was an adventure, I had read on the internet that it was down a long dirt road, and to keep going it was worth it. Boy was it! We met the artist and he showed us his studio and what he was working on and explained the entire process. His female companion, might have been his wife, was a retired British fashion photographer.

Then it was back to the states and finishing up the tax return extensions for a few months.

In October we went back to Bangkok, Bhutan and on to Dubai. Julianna was on a business trip to Thailand so she met us for a few days of sightseeing around Bangkok. There was a torrential downpour one night while visiting Erawan Museum and we had a very difficult time getting a cab back to the hotel. The museum grounds looked to have much to photograph but that had to wait until another visit another time.

We had loved Bhutan last year when we visited so decided to return this year. We hired a private guide and driver so we were not constrained by a large group. The photography was amazing. We got to see people working in their fields, tilling the fields with cows and handmade wooded plows. We also arrived early at a dzong and saw the monks practicing their festival dances. The trip could not have been better and the photography was over the top! We plan to go back again in the spring of 2020. The people in Bhutan are warm and friendly and everyone is welcoming. Our guide took us to a cousin’s housewarming party, and we were warmly greeted and allowed to visit and photograph their shrine room. The entire visit was perfect! I have never had such a wonderful opportunity to see a culture close up except in Holland when visiting cousins. It was all very special.

Going to Dubai after being in rural Bhutan was somewhat of a challenge. We had a good visit with Julianna and got to see some of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The most important part was we had time with Julianna in her home.

In my free time I am working on slide shows of our adventures and working on a website. The website is more of a challenge. Maybe next year I’ll finish it. I’ll keep you posted. I would like a place to share some of our photos with our family and friends but the learning curve for me has been immense.

My sister Mary moved to the Phoenix area this year. One big project we did together was reupholstering some of her furniture. Her kitchen chairs were an amazing makeover as we replaced the seats completely, stripped off the old finish and repainted and made new seats for them. You wouldn’t know they were the same chairs. But in doing all that, my excitement of sewing was rekindled. ( I also found a wonderful fabric shop in Porto!) The good and bad news is my sewing machine of 32+ years died so I need to get a new one. I look forward to sewing more next year.

Although I still have days of wondering what to do, I am finding that reading fills the gaps between projects. I haven’t read novels in years, so it is a treat. One amazing thing is that my Christmas presents are already wrapped, which usually happens late Christmas Eve, and as Penny will tell you, my letters now go out before Christmas. I seem to remember some years that February wasn’t too late.

Our travel schedule for next year is already full with a trip to southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland in the spring. In the fall I will go to Poland with a friend and then meet up with Julianna and Hugh in Portugal, most likely Porto.