Happy Holidays 2016!

Dave and Dru's Holiday Letter - 2016



"Nothing says holidays like a cheese log."  -  Ellen DeGeneres
For all of you who are too far away to visit this holiday season, please take a virtual seat in our living room, and let's catch up on the news.

This year, as is true of all years, we experienced both good and bad events, but 2016 had exceptional highs and lows. 

I had one of the best summers of my life in Florence, Italy, studying Renaissance art at the British Institute of Florence but returned home in July to learn Dave's daughter was dying.

Tiffany passed away on September 4, and we said a final farewell in a beautiful ceremony held overlooking the Pacific Ocean she loved so well. This has been, as I'm sure you can imagine, a sad, difficult time. 

To add to the angst, my son was beaten and robbed in a vicious attack almost two weeks ago. While I was ready to hop the next plane to North Carolina as soon as I got the news, I am a bit more confident now, after his doctor visits and excellent care from wife Melissa (I may recommend her for sainthood.) that Joel will make a full recovery and that his nose can be reconstructed. We are sure he'll soon be feeling and looking  like his old self again!
“Christmas is a baby shower that went totally overboard.” 
                                       –Andy Borowitz
On the plus side, our family added a new member when we fell in love with a scruffy little ball of black fur that turned into our beloved, whirling dervish of a rascal named Cooper. He is the only dog we ever met who hops and twirls as though auditioning for a dance competition.

Not to be outdone, Bud may be the only cat in the world who chases his own tail and screams bloody murder when he catches it! Still, despite that peculiarity, our faithful Bud greets us at the door when we come home, sleeps between us every night, and lets us know we're loved every moment of the day. 

 
That's the true spirit of Christmas; people being helped by people other than me.- Jerry Seinfeld
 This November we also discovered "Arizona's beach," Puerto Penasco, Mexico, which is just a four-hour drive from Tucson. We stayed at a five-star resort for a one-star price (Hmmm...sounds like a book I know!) and reveled in being back in this fantastic country, oddities and all. 

In this land, there are grandiose entries that lead nowhere. You've got to admire Mexicans' optimism because, while the dream was there, the money wasn't. This guardhouse protects nothing but hope. 

And while some road signs are few and far between, making it difficult to know exactly where you are, others are placed where they seem unnecessary. At least this stop sign gives you a chance to study a map.

But the view of the Sea of Cortez from our condo balcony was mesmerizing, and we loved the heated pool, swim-up bar, tidal pools, Pinacate Biosphere Reserve and Organ Pipe National Monument, so we know we will return soon.

We also took one other trip this year to Chicago to visit with Dave's brother, niece, nephew and their families. I loved at last meeting Dave's delightful "northern" relatives and we both thought it kind of the Cubs to win the pennant while we were there -- the entire city was festive. 

We spent most of our time visiting, but we did get to tour one of the top ten museums of the world, the Art Institute of Chicago, a visual delight. The museum houses a large collection of Impressionist art and a fair number of Renaissance paintings. This is one of three floor-to-ceiling stained glass pieces in Chagall's "America Windows."

So, this year comes to a close with the folks at Merriam-Webster Dictionary appropriately declaring "surreal" as the word of the year. That word certainly describes our lives in 2016. We were still reeling from the events of this fall when the election of Donald Trump nearly sent us over the edge. 

I was in Florence when the Brexit vote shocked me and everyone else, but I agree with Keith, one of my British friends, who wrote, "...just when I thought it couldn't get much worse than Brexit, you Americans have Trumped it!" Surreal indeed.
“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.” – Roy L. Smith 
 Still we remain optimistic. After all, our lemon tree's production has tripled since this photo of our first crop--yep, a single lemon--was taken in 2013, so we're optimistic about the future. We will continue to hope for an even better 2017...for the tree... and for you and me and yours and ours!

That's it for us for now.  But don't even think about getting up from that chair until you've told us all about your year.  We're anxious to hear it all!

While you're gathering your thoughts, know that we'll be hoping you have a wonderful holiday season and a terrific new year in which the worst day of 2017 is no worse than the best day of this past year!
                                        Dave and Dru