Gary's description:

It was a full year for me. My primary judo instructor, Shunichi Namba, died in January, although I didn't find out for several months. I skijored with Gusty (who turned 12 this year) a couple of times, sometimes in races, sometimes not. It is still his favorite thing in the world, although age has robbed him of speed and some endurance. We came in dead last at Silverton skijor race, and also dead last at the Flagstaff race on the scooter. But Gusty was grinning ear to ear for both of them. Vita is now no longer interested in mushing more than a few yards. We tried to adopt a German Shepherd we named Mocha … I spent a good deal of time training her at the local rescue and fell in love, but Gusty wouldn't have it so we only had her 2 nights. In April Carolyn and I flew out to DC to help Ryan move. Carolyn went on to the UK after the cleaning and packing, I stayed behind after and helped Ryan physically move furniture. He twisted his ankle shortly after we started … so I did most of the moving myself. I was only a little sore when I left back for NM. In July I went to dance camp in Socorro, NM, where I went to school for 2 semesters back in college. It was very hot, with swamp coolers and no air conditioning, but I had a really fun time. Dorms that looked ready to be condemned in the 1970s were still looking like they were ready to be condemned. I've also been dancing on Thursday nights (Balkan dancing, lots of asymmetric rhythms), on Saturdays sometimes with Carolyn (International dancing), and Carolyn and Gillian on Wednesday nights (Israeli dancing). The Israeli group has disbanded due to the crisis in the Middle East, hopefully only temporarily.

In August I visited the Midwest, starting with my 50+1 year high school reunion. There were attendees who looked like they were in their 50s, and others who appeared to be in their 80s, even though we were all in our very late 60s. It was satisfying to find out what happened to several people … Jef Bloc, Randy Paradise (who did not come, but I got a report), Lauren Eoyang, Claire Ashley, and others. There were a LOT of people who didn't come … many had died, others just weren't interested. From there I went up to visit friends in Iron River MI (the Petroskis), Madison WI (Oksana Baterflavy, Mary Sykes, Mark Isaacson), and Green Bay(The Beckers), returning to Chicagoland to visit with the old Disgusting Dinner crowd and Cheryl Anderson. Mike Elder , and later the Kimbers, put me up and held a sort of reunion for the Disgusting Dinner crowd, mostly folks I met through Bell Labs when I worked there. I also found time to see Steve and Maria Kaye (my cousins) and dine with Shari Maremont (technically we are not related, she is my cousin's cousin, but we have been in each other's lives a long time). Earlier this year Shari & Dave found themselves in New Mexico and we spent time together. I shared a meal with Mike Feldman too … Mike and I were in both grade school (Stone School in Chicago) and high school (Niles East in Skokie) but had lost contact for decades. I found him on Facebook and we reconnected.

In October Barry and Steve Kaye came to visit me as did as did Cheryl Anderson. All came for the Balloon festival on 2 adjacent weekends. Oddly, Steve cannot stay in my house because he is allergic to dogs, so when he came over we dined outside on the deck and he slept in a hotel. He was only inside the house long enough to use the bathroom. I went to see a doctor about my shoulders and he gave me an injection. I'm hoping to return to judo now when mushing season ends. We'll see. I'm still folk dancing, but shoulder holds are uncomfortable.

November was the most exciting month, but not in a good way. Very early in the month Carolyn's yearly mammogram showed a suspicious lump of tissue in her right breast. A follow up exam was ordered, but could not be scheduled until 3 weeks later. It made for a nerve wracking 3 weeks. The initial Xray was a 3D image, more sensitive than previous years. It turned out that the lump was not a tumor, not cancerous, and nothing to be concerned about.

Carolyn's description (revision 1)

In February, I had a wonderful time in California visiting with my friend Estelle and most of that time in San Diego. But we did a lot of amazing things including going to the Magic Castle in LA that (I admit), I had not known existed. I had a wonderful visit from my friends, Karen and Tina in June and some marvelous pool parties with them and over the summer. My best friend in Chicago, Cheryl, came to visit in October and we had a riot. Every day we did something very fun. It was awesome. My new local friends Janette, Laurie and Carol have brought some very fun times into my life when I most needed it including during those horrible 3 weeks. Lunches and theater and just having a good meal; a cozy conversation; a glass of wine. Jazzercise has not just made me stronger, fitter and more flexible (which helps my rubbish right knee), but it has, at times, kept my sanity, and I have made friends there including the ladies I mentioned and Patty.

Other highlights (although with some pain involved): Going to see my Mum in April. Much to my surprise she knew me straight away and wanted hugs and kisses. We spent an hour or two together every day. I shopped for clothes for her. I planned her funeral in advance. And all of this was with the invaluable support and help of friends. They gave me a place to stay, drove me around, picked me up and dropped me off at the airport, attended the interview with a funeral director and possible places to have a reception. Had many good laughs and a drink. The lovely people at Haulfryn Care Home who are like family now. I knew it was a matter of time before I could not FaceTime with her anymore. It was getting too hard. She honestly didn’t now what she was looking at. So after almost 50 years of being in regular weekly contact with my Mum and Dad and then Mum…it stopped. That was hard.

The low light of the year was a breast cancer scare in November. After a high definition 3D mammograms, which is very accurate in detecting cancerous tumors, I spent three weeks thinking I had cancer for sure. But further testing revealed a calcification good result from this, is the determination by the radiologist that given my higher risk, I can get all the testing done at once to prevent another anguished wait. In December Gillian caught COVID and has been very sick with it. I also became ill but tested negative. As I could not get Paxilvid my asthma worsened. Gary and I spent five hours in an urgent care clinic to get treated. I then reacted adversely to the Prednisone that lasted several days. Meanwhile I came down with a bad head cold I passed to Gillian. As Gary was nurse, shopper, and chef, our letter was delayed. But after a weather delay Ryan arrived on Christmas Day, and we celebrated on Boxing Day. We were all well enough to celebrate enough with Ryan and friends who joined us.

I feel very grateful and settled here in New Mexico. A beautiful environment. A lovely house. Good friends and my family. Fantastic sunshine and sunsets. We hope you had a merry Christmas and a happy, healthy new year.

Gillian's Description:

This really turned out to be my year. I overcame the debilitation of depression, anxiety/panic
disorder, hypothyroid, and C-PTSD, and am now able to function. I got involved in Albuquerque's local
theater scene. Not only did I find community and make local friends, but was offered a job as front of
house manager at the Adobe Theater. This was a pleasant surprise, as I wasn't trying for any paid
position. I continue to settle into my new job and love the camaraderie I've found there. This past summer was the happiest I've felt in maybe 16 years. Meanwhile, I completed online
courses in Python and Flask (a tool for applying Python to web programming). Due to necessity (because
a $36 subscription per month to access already completed courses is ridiculous), I constructed a 300+
page reference book to all the lessons for private use. Since then, I've drafted a rough guideline for
developing the weather-related site/app I'd like to build a business around. (Special thanks to Dr. Kent
Archie for helping so much!) I've also created a complete visual model of what I intend as the
finished product, including a few test runs. The last several months have been slow for beginning the
coding process, due to a roadblock and a new job to adapt to, but I have zero intention of giving up. Unfortunately,
sciatica prevented me from getting back into Judo. I hope to return to it once the condition subsides.
I'm also looking forward to more interior decorating at home. In short, I'm overjoyed at being able to
overcome so many medical conditions that have plagued me for years, and am cautiously optimistic about
2024.

Ryan's Description:

Still living near DC. I've been rock climbing for over a year now. I moved to a new apartment in April and work has been going very well, and I managed to get a substantial raise. Natalie (an out-of-state pal) came out to visit me, as did Gillian (who finally got to meet my cats). The cats are still obnoxious lovable little turds. I'm standing right next to my dad as this is being typed as I am now visiting in New Mexico for the first time since 2019.

The dogs were very pleased to see me.