Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
2023, Another Year
Merry Christmas. This is another of those old habits: A Christmas letter to describe in a few words all that has happened in a whole year. That’s almost an impossible task, but here goes.
Fresno homelife: Here, there really is not much changed from past years. Marianne spent hours and hours learning new painting techniques and even had a pair of small art shows. Our Cambridge Avenue neighborhood remains a good place to call home. My own home activities are limited to garden work, puzzle solving, and minor old-home-repair. We expect 2024 to keep up the pattern.
Family: We visited Gabby, Mamal, Ava, and Sam a few times down in their Monte Sereno neighborhood. Occasions varied, from Ava’s grade school graduation, to a funeral for Mamal’s aunt Afa. Down in Monterey, we joined Spencer’s high school graduation and generally updated with Chris, Leisa, Spencer, and Adam, with both boys now enrolled in University of California at Santa Cruz. Banana Slugs. We need to visit Marianne’s “other mom” Klare more often on these trips, but she’s doing well, despite more decades than she might like.
Travel: This was the year we returned to travelling. We started with short overnights to Cambria on the coast and up to visit friends Ted and Nancy in Sonora. Travelling to visit friends became a thing, but first we worked in a few days in Mendocino, one of our favorite getaways. After that, we managed a real Road Trip, visiting friends in the Bay Area, another up in Winters, and Cousin Tom Trotter family in Port Orford Oregon, an old-timely coastal community that reminded me of my childhood. Then there was one more family stop, up in Seattle with Cousin Maryetta and Tina.
The four-week trip to the Pacific Northwest was good practice for our next trip: The Great European Road Trip (GERT). In two months, GERT had us drive a rented Tesla to friends in Bavaria, France, and The Netherlands, with some tourist-only stops in Italy as well. It was a perfect trip and, if you want to know more, give us a call or visit!
Health: After three years avoiding Covid, we both were stricken just days before our flight to Germany. Fortunately, symptoms were gone by the time we got on the 11-hour flight. As for the cancer pachyderm, Marianne finished recovering from her second encounter and then in mid-2023 discovered yet another spot. That occurrence was removed, margins were also removed and pronounced clear, freeing us to start GERT.
For 2024, we will strive to live in the moment, and suggest you do the same.
Marianne and John