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Dear
friends and family,
Well, this
year has certainly had its ups and downs. My April Fools Day
heart attack certainly surprised me and has been the focus of
my attention through much of the year. It colors everything
I do. That's not necessarily a bad thing as my diet has improved,
I continue my walks with renewed purpose, and I monitor myself
far more closely. Perhaps most importantly, I've had to confront
the impermanence of life. All in all, I was very lucky not to
do more damage than I did. I'm at least as active as I was before
the attack and only bothered a little by my dependence on medications
and restrictions on doing anything to excess. I owe a great
debt to the Hartford Hospital's Dr. Primiano who implanted my
stents. His compentence and manner put me at ease, allowing
me to observe my treatment without fear. And a smile for my
cardiologist, Dr. Tally, who promised he'd help me live long
enough to die of something else! Several other health issues
cropped up this year but turned out to be more smoke than fire:
a skin cancer was of a type that could be ignored, and a glaucoma
diagnosis was reversed by my opthamologist.
Okay enough
of that. Well, almost. As long as I'm on the subject of health,
I have to mention Ian, who broke his collarbone in the first
High School soccer game of the season. He was so proud to have
made the varsity team... and ended up spending the entire season
on the sidelines. The team made the state championships though
and he was able to play briefly in the third round, until a
takedown bruised the bone and discretion put him on the bench
again. Ian is fit now and practicing for the Northeast United
premier team indoor season which starts in January. A High School
sophomore, Ian is approaching 5'10". We all look up to
him now. Athletics and the online game World of Warcraft occupy
most of his attention.
Ian in the
playoff game against Weaver High School.
Jill just
completed the third semester of her Massage Therapy program
at Morrisville State College in upstate New York. Three quarters
done already. Time flies. Her plans for work after May graduation
are not firm yet. She'd love to work on a horse farm, performing
barn chores and giving massages to staff and riders while learning
to give therapeutic massages to the animals. Jill has been lucky
to have free access to Spash, a horse owned by a faculty member.
Jill provides splash with grooming, exercise, and companionship
- in return for which Jill gets a chance to ride.
Although
still performing as a fill-in Vet Technician, Julie has had
a lot more hours of work this year. The practice changed hands
late in the year and the new owner is trying to expand to three
full-time Vets. That means more demands on all the staff. She
retains her passion for gardening, with special interest in
her Hosta garden, though those plants and many others have provided
salad for hungry deer this year.
We vacationed
in New Hampshire again this year, at the lakeside cottage of
Julie's folks. Here
are some typical scenes.
Health and
finances put a damper on major projects this year, though I'm
very proud of the work we did rebuilding our cement front steps.
Countless bags of cement went in after major rotten sections
were removed. A lot like dentistry but on a massive scale. The
result would certainly not live up to my father's standards,
but the steps haven't looked this good in any of the 23 years
we've lived here.
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After
rooting out the rotten cement.
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Ta-dah!
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(Okay, hardly
the kind of pictures you'd expect in a Christmas letter, but
I really am proud of the steps.)
The Congleton
"kids", David and Elizabeth, and our granddaughter
Hazel
have had a busy year at work and at play. David's responsibilities
have grown as he has been adding staff and moving into a new
office space. He is expanding the company's business in northern
England. Elizabeth switched jobs from editorial work to a broader
role in researching information for the company's various project
teams. Hazel will soon turn three and loves to dress up and
dance. They've traveled quite a bit too, with trips to Connecticut,
New
York, Wales,
and Florence
off hand.
My consulting
work remains slow, but my photography has almost become a business.
Not quite paying for itself, but closer. This year I won two
awards (a first for flowers, and a third for landscape) in the
Connecticut Audubon Society's show. I also did my first commission
work, photographing a gorgeous old farm for a Marlborough family.
I've been invited back to "shoot" the farm in all
seasons. Just waiting for some snow! (No hurry, thanks.) My
main photographic subject remains the Air
Line Trail. In November, I marked five years since I took
my first pictures on the trail. My web site has grown to over
1,700 photos taken in all seasons. The
latest pictures are here.
Here's wishing
you and yours a warm and loving holiday season, and hoping that
we'll stay in touch this coming year.
Cheers from
all of us, - Stan
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