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May the Christmas season fill your home with laughter and your heart with joy!
Rich and Susan started 2019 by unwinding from the Christmas holidays and holiday travels. For us, this meant spending 20 days on the Big Island of Hawaii. We were joined by Rich’s cousin Susan and husband Murray, and for a week, by his cousin Rob and wife DeeDee. The usual snorkeling, kayaking, hiking and basking in the sun were part of our adventure. While kayaking and snorkeling in Kealakekua Bay we came upon several small sharks, a first. Fortunately, humans and creatures respected each other and no altercations occurred! While we were enjoying the sun, our friends and family back in Seattle struggled with over a foot of snow. We know how to time vacations!
Just to be sure we were relaxed to the max, we were home only a week before flying to Cancun for a week in March. We were joined by 6 close Seattle friends at an all-inclusive resort, where Margaritas became an afternoon ritual.
Six weeks later, we were on a plane again, this time to Burbank, CA. This was to attend the wedding of cousin Susan’s son, Robbie. Also in attendance were all of cousin Susan’s siblings – the rest of the Baugh clan. The wedding combined some Christian and Jewish elements, both in the ceremony and the celebration, including the traditional Horah dance! Lots of fun for everyone! After the event, all traveled south to San Diego to spend several days at the home of cousin Rob and wife DeeDee, where we saw more family.
As you may have observed, we will go to great lengths to escape the wet, gloomy winter weather of Seattle! With spring and our dahlias in bloom, we returned home to our more humdrum lives.
But the Pacific Northwest is a beautiful place to spend the summer. We verified this while taking a trip to Victoria Island in Canada for a slightly delayed celebration of our anniversary. We took a high speed passenger ferry to the Island and stayed near the water, walking or busing to places of interest. Susan had the unfortunate luck of being hit on the shoulder by a salt candle that fell from a second story window while eating breakfast on an outdoor patio. No major injuries, just bruising and soreness. Not the way she wanted to earn a comped meal!
Summer is also a time to visit family. In July, we took a trip to Salem to spend a weekend with Rich’s family, and attend his high school’s 50th reunion. Rich was able to recognize some classmates, but not many. He was surprised how much change 50 years brings! Then he realized it is happening to him too!
Later that month, we flew to Evansville to spend time with Susan’s family. Our visit included a family reunion, visiting friends, wine tours with Louise, Bob, Phyllis and Leland, and watching great nephews enjoying the 4th of July fireworks!
A very special event occurred in early October--our niece, Sara and her partner, Colin, were married. The ceremony took place outdoors in the Kubota Gardens - a lovely Japanese garden. The weather was perfect and the Gardens provided an outstanding autumn backdrop. About 19 of Susan's family traveled here to participate in events before, during and after the wedding. We were delighted that we could host the rehearsal dinner for about 32 at our house--a very cozy affair! Louise and Bob, parents of the bride, stayed with us the week before while working on last minute activities. Closer to the wedding, we hosted 7 family members. Three great nieces and nephews brought lots of cheer and fun to our normally quiet household.
Susan continues with her Guild Activities for Children’s Hospital throughout the year. After 2 plus years as Treasurer, she handed the job over to another member. She participated in the Archdiocese 2-week long Immigration March. Parishes throughout the area had concurrent walks. The 6 miles, with some pain at the end, were a reminder of what the price of freedom is about. She had also hoped her every 2 years brain MRI would be her last. Although the results were fine, the Neurosurgeon wants her to continue having one every 2 years.
Rich hoped to get our house painted this fall. But discovery of a dozen or so holes in its siding, created by large woodpeckers, forced its delay until spring. Instead, he worked on getting siding replaced (4 stories up) and patching some holes. He is also working to have some cottonwood trees cut down that are starting to block our view of Lake Washington. It has been a long process, involving participation with multiple neighbors and requiring a permit from the city. Now that all the leaves are off, the view is pretty good. He is trying to complete this project before leaves grow back next spring. To Susan's delight, the work is being contracted out, rather than Rich doing it himself. Rich's time devoted to running his financial planning business also contributed to schedule slides for both projects.
As we are aging, we are observing a shift from being sports participants to sports spectators. This year, we especially enjoyed watching Seattle's Major League Soccer team, the Seattle Sounders. Besides attending 5 regular season matches, we were fortunate enough to watch them play for the championship (the Super Bowl of soccer). It was hosted in Seattle to a sellout crowd. We arrived early to take in some of the pre-game festivities, then watched a very exciting game from amazing seats in Row 1, thanks to our friends, Keith and Sandi. When the go ahead goal was scored, the crowd erupted, which was recorded on local earthquake seismometers. Just for diversity, we also attended a Seattle Mariners baseball game and a Seattle Seahawks football game, which they won in an exciting overtime. That Russell Wilson is an amazing quarterback!
For cultural experiences, we continue attending plays at a nearby theater, taking in summer outdoor concerts at local parks, and a concert at Ste. Michelle winery. The park concerts were mostly tribute bands to music of the 70's and 80's, and the winery concert was Chris Issac. Based on the years this music originated, does this mean we are now listening to "classical" music? Maybe it's just us who are becoming classics?
We will again spend Christmas with Susan's family
in Evansville, New Year's in Seattle with friends, and then attend a Hopkins
Christmas gathering in Salem in early January.
Our wish for you this Christmas season - May all that is meaningful, beautiful and gives you joy be yours now and throughout the coming year..…
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