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Christmas Greetings!  From our home to yours,
may the light of hope, the warmth of friendship,
and the comfort of love surround you
this Christmas and in the New Year!


Another year has come and gone - almost.  Why is it that as we age the days go by far too quickly?  Perhaps we are to savor our days for the gift they are to us.  Now, if we could just find time to do the “savoring”!!  We continue to be blessed with the gifts of good health, true friends, new challenges, wonderful memories and celebrating 20 years of wedded bliss!  As we reflect back on 2005, we share our year with you—and look forward to reading about yours!!

THE USUAL STUFF
Rich again spent most of the year working on the new 787 airplane that Boeing is developing.  This year’s focus shifted to developing a new process for managing changes other engineers want to make after they have already started building the airplane.  Now that this process is being implemented, he is transitioning back to a previous assignment, architecting the replacement of several antique computing systems used to design other airplane models.  This lets him trade a 1.5 – 2.0 hour commute for one that is 15 minutes.  He is loving this!  Rich has continued taking night classes towards becoming a Certified Financial Planner, and has only 2 to go.  He still plans to expand his existing business in this area after retirement from Boeing this coming summer.

Susan added a few more activities to her life.  She continues to tutor at the Technical College.  She enjoyed a young Vietnamese man who lived most of his life in France and was planning to improve his English to attend a University in California.  He was such a delight and shared much of the French culture throughout their conversation time.  Her mentee is now in Grade 5 and they continue to meet weekly.  She is growing up and is quite a chatter box!!  To prep for our bicycle trip in Europe, she and her friend, Pat, met weekly to ride on many of the trails that are part of this area.   

FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FUN
Our friends, Kathy and Alyssa Wickard, joined us for a few days in early March to visit some potential private colleges in the Puget Sound area.  Since their visit, they have moved to Tennessee, making us realize that Idaho Falls, their previous home, wasn’t really that far away.

Susan’s sister and family, the Schoenbaums, joined us on their Spring break and Easter.  The twins, Ann Marie and Elizabeth, had their first exposure to the Pacific Ocean and Mt Rainier’s year around snow.  Although they really enjoyed the water and beaches, they thought the snow was the best!  We joined them the days they stayed at the coast and introduced them to our wonderful “sucker clouds”!  These coastal skies will lure you outside with sunshine, and 10 minutes later drench you in a torrential downpour.  Everyone had a great time – in spite of the rain!

Rich’s Mom visited us several times during the year to celebrate family events.  We always enjoy her visits and hope they give her a break from her chores and commitments.  She continues to be in good health.  We would like to see her spend more time to enjoying friends, hobbies and traveling, and less time doing yard work and worrying about other matters.

In late May, we visited Susan’s family in Indiana and attended the graduation of niece Sara.  She left for training at the Poynter Institute afterwards.  Now she is a journalist with a Daytona, FL newspaper.  We had a wonderful visit with Family and friends.  Susan joined some of her Franciscan friends for a 4-hour lunch in Terre Haute.

Susan’s Father had a very challenging year.  In April he had back surgery and was recovering very well.  In early June he began to feel exhausted, short of breath and weak.  Initially his family doctor made several diagnoses that family members questioned, especially after his conditions worsened and he continued to lose weight.  He went through a series of tests, many he hopes to never go through again, and was finally diagnosed by a Specialist.  Once he started on the right meds, his condition improved markedly.  Now his challenge is to rebuild his strength. Mom has been a pillar of strength, managing things at home.

We lost a dear friend, Bill Hogue.  His 18-month journey with brain cancer came to a peaceful end.  Susan was so blessed that he and his wife Mary allowed her to make part of the journey with them.  His greatest gifts were his generosity and ability to connect with people.  He loved so many and he always let his friends know that.  As our hearts hurt with his passing, our lives were so enriched and gifted by him.

In July we assisted the Washington Wine Association in serving wine at a conference event for State Legislators from all over the U.S.  We were to offer “tastes” of wines in specific varieties and educate them on Washington wines.  This required us to taste 12 to 14 different wines in a variety, and then elaborate on their flavors.  Rich had Syrahs and Susan had Rieslings.  Although we have been trying to “home school” ourselves on different flavors, we can’t yet distinguish differences between blackberry, raspberry and cherry flavored grapes – and hope to never taste a wine that has a tobacco or petrol flavor.  Fortunately, most people just wanted their glass filled.

TRAVELS ABROAD
The highlight of our year was a 3 week trip to Germany and Austria in September.  There were 7 of us for the 1st week and 4 for the last 2.  Pre-trip planning focused on a self-guided bicycle tour along the Danube River for 1 or 2 days.  Using guidebooks and ideas from friends who previously traveled, we prepared our itinerary.  We pre-booked accommodations for 2 of the weeks and decided to rely on the local Information Offices to find places to stay in the smaller towns in Austria.  The uncertainty added an element of adventure, and for the most part, pleasant surprises. 

We started by spending a few days in Rottenberg, one of the best preserved pre-war cities.  We then traveled to Passau and followed the Danube River into Austria, eventually arriving in Vienna.  In Passau, we attended St. Stephen’s Church and listened to breathtaking music played on the world’s largest pipe organ (over 10,000 pipes).  A 3-hour tour of Mauthausen, one of Austria’s Concentration Camps, was a powerful, moving experience.  Although many of the buildings are gone, the tour gives you a real sense of the inhumanity of the Nazis and the suffering of all those who were imprisoned or died on those grounds. 

In Melk we toured an ornately decorated Abbey that was once the home of St. Benedict.  Although he had wanted this Abbey to be a small, frugal place, it was transformed into a summer palace under ownership of the ruling Habsburg family.  Part of it is now a school for the children of Melk. 

One highlight of our 1st week was a 23-mile bicycle trip along the Danube River between Melk and Krems.  The trip was relatively flat with some hills, usually near and in the small towns through which we rode.  The well-marked path took us through hillside orchards and vineyards, past crumbling castles and through many small towns.  Although this is a very popular trip, the trails were not too crowded.  We returned to our starting point by taking a small river cruiser back up the Danube!  We decided against a second day of bicycling as some folks were quite saddle sore and walked a little funny!  This did provide an excuse for indulging in local wines, including varieties we don’t have here in the U.S.

Our 2 days in Vienna left us with a yearning to return again.  It is a fascinating mixture of culture, art, history and a trendy fashion scene, all surrounded by buildings rich in historic architecture.  This was the center of the once famous Habsburg Empire, portrayed by the majestic Schonbrunn Palace.  This was the home of Empress Maria Teresa, who ruled a large area of Europe for over 20 years, while giving birth to 16 children!  Wow!!  Need we say more!  Europe’s best museum of art history, the Vienna Boys Choir, the home of Mozart - we needed weeks, not days, to take it all in.

Another week was spent in the Austrian Alps in the little town of Schladming. The mountains are majestic and the 1st snow of the season capped their peaks during the night.  We walked one of the many paths connecting the farms and small towns.  Hearing the cows with their bells on was a great change from city noise!  A day trip to Salzburg reminded us of Vienna, but on a much smaller scale.

Our final days were spent in Munich and nearby smaller communities.  We attempted the Octoberfest, but stayed only a few hours.  Even the hard and steady rain didn’t deter throngs of people and their umbrella weapons. The beer tents had a 3-hour wait, so we ate a sausage and left to drink our beer elsewhere! 

Throughout our visit we found the food to be wonderful and the beer abundant.  When the language became challenging, we always found someone to help us.  Rich became a very proficient driver, really enjoying the speeds of the autobahn!  All in all, the trip was a delight, our companions very enjoyable and our appetite to travel continually increases.

We will be spending part of the Christmas holidays in Indiana with Susan’s family, followed by some time in Oregon with Rich’s family.  We will arrive back in Seattle in time to spend New Years Eve with friends.

As you celebrate this season,
may your home be a haven of
Peace, Love and Joy
as the spriit of Christmas enfolds in your heart!
God bless you abundently.  
Our home is always open to you.