Christmas 2007 |
Sue Anne & Bruce |
Well, we promised
you last
year (and the year before) that we would be firmly established in our
house in New Hampshire before the next Christmas letter came
around. This time we came close. Our house in Maryland has
been on the market for a couple of months now, and we try to spend as
much time as we can up north. But there are reasons to come back
to Maryland, some of which involve keeping that house in showpiece
condition so that it shows well in a difficult market at a difficult
time of the year.
Next year it’s New
Hampshire for
sure. If you sent cards to us there this year, we’ll get
them. If you sent cards to us in Maryland, we’ll get them.
We are quite used to this multi-locality existence. We have
clothing in both places, tools in both places, a full set of toiletries
in both places, even bathrobes.
Other than a rather
continuous
process of moving, what else have we been up to? It’s been a busy
year, as always. Retirement is like that! Many of our more
memorable experiences did indeed occur at our place in New Hampshire,
so let’s start with those. The year began with what has become an
annual tradition, the Robert Burns evening a couple of hours away in
Hampstead. Pipers, dancers, music, and Scottish food (including a
haggis recipe that omits the nasty bits), along with the mandatory wee
dram to commemorate the 1759 birth of Scotland’s Bard. The church
hall was filled with townsfolk and guests. What better way to
spend a cold January Saturday evening in New Hampshire?
Bruce was in NH later
in the winter
and joined with people in the nearby town of Newport when they turned
out to mourn a fallen soldier. The line stretched well out into
the street and then up two flights of stairs in the town opera
house. Opera houses are common in the mill towns of northern New
England, many lovingly restored and used for civic occasions such as
this one, and for happier times as well. We returned to Newport
later in the year for a fun presentation of the 1936 play You Can't
Take It With You by a local theater group.
In August our house was
the scene
of a reunion that brought together both sides of Sue Anne’s
family. Attendance peaked out in the mid-twenties, with relatives
coming from Wisconsin, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and all over New
England. Ages ranged from 1 to 94. Activities included
food, drink, water sports, mountain climbing, antiquing, and lots of
good conversation. An unexpected highlight was a videotaped
interview with a local historian concerning Sue Anne’s late aunt, Dr.
Anne Wasson, who had been a key figure in the New London medical
community. Family activities continued with a return visit to NH
by Sue Anne’s sister Aimée in early November, followed by
Thanksgiving there with brother Ted and their mother.
As always, we made lots
of trips to
visit Sarah, Dan, Noelle (4½), and Roxy (2½) in
Edmonton. We know the place well by now. The kids are great
fun, and it’s wonderful to see them moving through so many stages of
growth and development. Karin and her little pug dog Edgar joined
us on one of these trips, to the great delight of the kids. The
big news from Edmonton is that a third grandkid is on the way, due in
March! And further news is that Dan has been selected for
promotion to Full Professor, a major accomplishment in the academic
world, especially at his relatively young age. Sarah and Dan will
be coming back to Maryland for a week’s visit with friends and family
in mid-December, after which we will all head back to Edmonton for the
holidays.
Karin, the organizer
and planner,
put together a wonderful two-week trip to Italy in October for herself
and husband Dan, Sue Anne and Bruce, and Dan’s mother Cathy. We
spent a week in Venice, staying in an apartment overlooking a canal,
and then we rented cars and headed south to the Chianti area of
Tuscany. There we rented a villa with a beautiful view of
hillsides, olive groves, and vineyards, and we took side trips that
brought us to a number of nearby hilltop cities and to the stunning
architecture of Florence. It was the first time there for Cathy,
of Italian background—we visited her namesake town of Vinci, birthplace
of Leonardo—and a return trip to many places 40 years later for Sue
Anne and Bruce. We wrote up our adventures in a blog that we
published most every day at a nearby Internet shop. You can find
links to this and some of our other doings at our family Web site,
www.bottomleyweb.us.
It was also a busy year
for Sue
Anne’s artistic pursuits. She very much enjoyed her classes in
the techniques of fused glass at the local art center. And she
devoted all of July to her solo show Wool
on the Walls at Resurgam
Gallery in Baltimore. As implied by the title, the show largely
featured wall hangings created using rug hooking techniques, along with
some three-dimensional wool pieces, fused glass, prints, and
drawings. Many different media, but with a very cohesive theme
running through the entire show.
Spring was a
challenging time for
us, as Bruce was diagnosed with the early stages of prostate
cancer. We were very fortunate that nearby Johns Hopkins Hospital
is the world leader in research and treatment of this condition.
He had surgery there in early June—the only treatment that the doctors
consider “a cure.” The results were totally successful,
recuperation was not difficult, and now life goes on as normal.
We both appreciate the support we received from friends and family
alike. It meant a lot.
Our Christmas
decorations are in
New Hampshire, and we’re in Maryland. But there will still be a
festive atmosphere here anyway. A happy time of being together
with our family. We wish a joyous holiday season to all, and a
terrific New Year 2008.
Look for us next year
at PO Box 66,
Elkins, NH 03233, phone 603 526-2496. Honest! Our e-mail
address remains bbb@acm.org. Stay in touch.
And, special for this on-line edition of our letter, here’s a link
to our home location in New Hampshire.