Letter short

795 Sunrise Blvd

Prescott AZ 86301

Dear Family and Friends,

Here’s my annual letter – again with photos embedded in the text.  As usual, I'm late in getting organized.  I'll start by wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and hope that 2014 was good for you – at least in the main.

This year was sad for our family in that my mother passed away peacefully in the night at the end of May.  She was 101 and a half, so this wasn't unexpected.  She had a wonderful life and was ready to go.  She became feeble once she moved into the Care Home in Chepstow (Meredith's town) at the age of 99 – before that she had lived on her own in her bungalow in Bradford Abbas in Dorset – her house for 44 years.  I'm glad to say that her mind was in good shape to the end.  Here is a photo of her at her 100th birthday celebration.


Nigel and Donna:  For those of you over 65 – most of us by now – health becomes an important topic.  For you youngsters, you can skip down to Kids and Grandkids!  Donna's health is generally good, but she does have osteo-arthritis in her hands, which makes her joints very stiff and painful at times.  Unfortunately, there is no treatment to cure this – it is due to bone spurs that grow on the fingers.  The multiple myeloma that was diagnosed last year does not affect what she can do.  She has blood tests every three months so any changes will be caught – thankfully nothing has become worse.  Donna's back, which has been problem in the past, is doing pretty well.  

She is still quite active at her church, volunteering once a week.  Her main hobby is making cards for birthdays and other special occasions.  The things that can be done with various tools to produce hand-made card are really amazing – though very time consuming.  She has a few friends who are experts, and two of them with Donna have now given two classes for other interested ladies.  [Insert one of D's photos]

I am very fortunate with my health, with nothing of importance to report.  I keep active in mind and body – use it or lose it!  I lead a hiking group every other Friday and volunteer each Tuesday, making maps at the County GIS department (Geographical Information Systems).  These maps are both for my hiking group and for the the Hiking Spree, organized each autumn by the Highland Nature Center.  

There is a trail called the Prescott Circle Trail, which is over 50 miles long and goes all around the City, mainly in the National Forest but also over some city and private land.  The idea for this trail was conceived about 20 years ago by Yavapai Trails Association and has slowly been coming to fruition.  This year the full circle was finished, except for a small gap of two miles due to private property and an owner unwilling to allow a right of way.  I wrote a Guide to this trail a couple of years ago, with descriptive text, history and maps for each of the ten segments.  The two photos on the right

give you an idea of the variety of this trail (it goes along the shore of this lake for a mile or so).  

I am in the process of producing Version 2 to cover the new sections constructed this year.  It is a popular booklet that sells for $5 – whenever the local paper (Daily Courier) writes about the Circle Trail, sales go up!  

I also write letters to this paper on various topics (e.g., religion, politics, trails).  When an article or another letter in the paper gives misleading information, I feel the need to give a different perspective.

Kids and Grandkids:  We see Abby and Andrew, Becky's two children, less often now as they grow older (11½ and 9½ respectively) and are involved in more activities.  They are both doing very well at school, which is gratifying for all of us.  The kids stayed with us for a week in June.  The Highland Nature Center has day camps during the summer and I was able to sign them up for the same "fun camp" – they enjoyed spending the days out in the woods with other kids, building forts, walking in the creek and learning about nature.  This autumn they decided to try playing soccer again and were both on the same team – we drove down to Phoenix earlier this month to watch their last game.  The soccer was eight-a-side and not competitive.  They both enjoyed it and were two of the better players on the team.  [photo 6562] They will play again after Christmas.  

B&A&A will come up to Prescott to spend the day with us on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas).  Their great grandfather Bill (Cindy's father) died in November at age 92 – he was a wonderful man.  His wife Jean had died two years previously – they had been married for 70 years.  He had been lonely ever since and was in declining health recently, so this was a blessing too.  So, now all their great grandparents are gone.

Becky is still with MB Associates – the owner and her boss Mark is one of the top gun lawyers in the States.  He expects a lot from Becky, which can be wearing with trips to Washington DC and various conferences elsewhere but she is able to handle it well.  She has hobbies she enjoys that help her relax.  This includes starting a new small business out of her home, teaching ladies various crafts that she is good at.  She has successfully given two test classes so far. Her front room is set up with tables, glue guns and other implements.  She is working on a website (not yet completed), so currently is inviting her network of friends and contacts.