2009 Holiday Letter

What a year! Just after camping season began, Beth’s mom, Margaret, suffered a “mini-stroke” – the doctor called it a transient ischemic attack . Thankfully, there were no long-term effects….but time to let Margaret “retire” -at age 88. She had been maintaining her household almost single-handedly since her husband fell and broke his hip late last year, and the stress was affecting her health.

The Wimber’s moved into a retirement home in July. They are still independent -living in a small apartment in a nicely landscaped area– with covered walkways and easy access to the dining hall. It took the efforts of all the daughters: Shelley to sort, donate, and pack, Beth and I to move, have a sale and clean, and Jan, here from California, to decorate and make them comfortable. At Lakepoint, meals are provided, as is laundry and light housekeeping. The staff is very nice. There are opportunities for bridge, bingo, fitness activities, and the occasional organized party (a luau, car show and a great Veteran’s Day celebration for example). Someone will check on them if they don’t come to meals. Best of all the food is good (for the Wimber’s it was a major concern, trust me)!

As for the house they were living in –Beth and I had owned it for eight years. We had finished a recent remodel of the basement after a flood (a huge, expensive, uninsured project –our agent called it a “maintenance issue”), and then additional construction to accommodate her dad’s reduced mobility after hip surgery (the “porch project”). With nothing but bad news in the real estate sector, we placed the single-family home on the market, hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst. As it turned out, we sold the house in EIGHT days! Not only did it sell quickly, closing took place in the same month. And….that….is what we did…on our summer vacation.

In late March, I graduated from the teacher training program of the Shambhava School of Yoga (it’s based in Colorado, but my training was here in Wichita). It took eight months and I am now a registered yoga teacher (RYT200). I continue to teach weekly classes at a local recreation center.

My best friend’s wedding was in May. For the occasion, I had been growing my hair…well at least that’s how it all got started. J Then it became a challenge to grow my hair to at least 10 inches (the minimum length) for “Locks of Love” -they make wigs for cancer patients. It was a happy day when I cut off that ponytail and mailed it to the charity!

I embraced “social networking” wholeheartedly! It was the summer of my high school’s 30th class reunion. Helped by sites like Facebook and Classmates.com, I was able to re-connect with a number of people, even if they could not attend the reunion. Facebook also helped me find cousins in Maine, California, and New York, college friends, and people from grade school!

Not as much camping as we would have liked, but we made it to Arkansas (Beaver Lake) in September. The group this year included my brother Derek. I was lucky to spend not only a week at the lake with him, but when he was temporarily laid off; he came to Wichita for a week. We built a cedar privacy fence, replaced trim on the outbuildings, and got other little things done. I enjoyed his mellow company.

Even though cut-backs continue at my job with CGF Industries, and with the recreation center where I teach yoga, and with the post office, we look forward to each precious day.

Update on Toyota acceleration........

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-recall26-2009nov26,0,3295310.story

Toyota Motor Corp. said today it would reconfigure or replace the gas pedals in 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles to prevent the episodes of runaway acceleration that prompted the largest vehicle recall in the company's history.

The announcement dramatically expands the scope and likely expense of the recall, which was announced on Sept. 29. Toyota had initially focused on the possibility that improperly installed floor mats might be causing the unintended acceleration problems, and urged owners of affected vehicles to remove the mats until they could be replaced.Now, beginning in January, Toyota dealers will start reconfiguring the gas pedal "to address the risk of floor mat entrapment."The recall affects the 2007-2010 Toyota Camry, the 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, the 2005-2010 Toyota Avalon, the 2005-2010 Tacoma, the 2007-2010 Toyota Tundra, the 2007-2010 Lexus ES 350 and the 2006-2010 Lexus IS 250 and IS 350.