December 2009

Greetings to family and friends,                                                                           

Another year come and almost gone and another annual newsletter to update everyone of the past year’s events. It has been a year of ups and downs. Our family photo was taken on the UC Davis campus next to one of Robert Arneson’s famous “Eggheads.” He was on faculty in the art department and several of his eggheads are located around campus. It was very cool to see a small sculpture of his at the Renwick Gallery (part of the Smithsonian) in Washington DC this past October.

Our kids are both thriving. We are very proud of them. Jill quit her job last June and started law school at UC Berkeley (Boalt) in August. She’s handling the intense pressure very well and has made many new friends with other students in her class. It’s a much more diverse group of people than her undergrad days at UCSB. She’s also enjoying living in Berkeley and her roommates.

Cody is much happier this year. He’s in his sophomore year at CU in Boulder and has found his niche with his new major, International Affairs. Cody’s living off campus in a cute house with three roommates. He’s enjoying cooking meals but has told Rory and me, “I’m the only one of my roommates that cleans!” Rory and I got a chuckle out of that. He’s been working hard and doing very well in his classes including Spanish. He hopes to do a study abroad next year and seems more focused and excited about his future options.

Rory has been busy, as usual, working so hard to get CHPSO (California Hospital Patient Safety Organization) off the ground. It has been such a challenge with the economy in the worst slump in decades.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to accompany Rory on some of his business trips recently, now that we’re official “empty nesters.” Last October, we went to Maryland—staying in both Bethesda and Gaithersburg. I took the metro down to Washington DC and visited the Renwick Gallery, one of the smaller of the Smithsonian museums. It’s a small art gallery just north of the White House and is filled with so many amazing sculptures (Robert Arneson from UC Davis, among many others) and paintings. I also visited Clara Barton’s home in Glen Echo, Maryland. The tour and the original site of the American Red Cross was very interesting as well.

In addition, Rory and I had an opportunity to go to South Dakota for a talk he gave. I wasn’t sure what to expect but we really had a fun trip there as well. We went to Mt. Rushmore (white mountain goats everywhere — see picture) as well as the Crazy Horse Memorial. It’s hard to fathom how huge they both are. Crazy Horse is far from done—after more than 50 years of continuous work!! Both are quite impressive. It was very cold with intense snow flurries too!! Brrrrrrrrr! We also enjoyed seeing the small towns of Spearfish and Deadwood. Kevin Costner fell in love with the area after filming his movie “Dances With Wolves” there and owns a restaurant in Deadwood. It was surprisingly woodsy and very scenic there — something we weren’t expecting.

It has also a difficult year for us too. Rory’s Dad passed away in late September. He was 91 years young and mentally sharp to the very end. It has been very hard for everyone. We will all miss him.

My mother has also had some very challenging health issues—breaking her foot followed immediately by a very nasty pneumonia. She was in the hospital for several days with that but, thankfully, has made a full recovery.

As we head toward another holiday season, we’re thankful for our friends and family. I finished my treatments and am in remission. I continue enjoying my book club and friends. I still exercise regularly which I find is a great stress reducer.

Anyway, we wish all of you a happy, healthy and productive 2010!

Beth, Rory, Jill and Cody