2012 Holiday Greetings

 

 

Happy holidays!

 

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season, whichever holiday you celebrate and wherever you celebrate it.  We are at home this year, and we think we’ve put up all the essential decorations, baked plenty of cookies (though we’re doing some more today – Christmas Eve), and distributed all the gifts.  Now we can relax and enjoy a few days of celebration.     

 

This past year has been busy with all our “normal” activities –  playing golf, bocce ball, canasta, mah jongg, bridge, going to the theater and opera, and enjoying wine tastings and travel. 

 

Our big adventure was a trip to New York City in June.  We participated in a tour arranged for Gammage supporters. (Gammage is a “presenting” theater located in Tempe.  It was built in 1964, based on a Frank Lloyd Wright design.)  While there we saw three Broadway shows, toured the Theatre District and the New Amsterdam Theatre, enjoyed eating in several local restaurants, and spent a morning at the Museum of Modern Art. We learned a lot about the restoration of Times Square – looks a lot like Vegas now – from our tour guide, who was involved in the effort to save the area. We had drinks with Deanne’s college roommate Julie and her husband at the Algonquin Hotel – one of the many historic buildings in the Times Square area. 

 

It was a big Cirque year.  We saw four Cirque du Soleil shows. Two of them – Kouzĺ and Dralion – played here in the Valley.  The other two – Viva Elvis and Zarkana – we saw on trips to Vegas.  We also saw Le Rệve at the Wynn in Vegas – not Cirque, but very similar.   This coming weekend we plan to see Cavalia - Odysseo – a show similar to the Cirque shows, but with horses.  We saw the original show four years ago and loved it.  If it ever comes to your town, check it out.

 

The week of Deanne’s 70th birthday we spent at one of our favorite resorts – Lawrence Welk in Escondido, California.  On her birthday, we took a Caravan Adventure Safari at the Safari Park (previously known as the Wild Animal Park, one of the venues of the San Diego Zoo).  On this two-hour safari truck, tour we went into an open field exhibit, where we fed giraffes and rhinos and got up close and personal with several other animals.  The tour does not visit the cat or elephant exhibits – too dangerous.  We did see a newborn elephant.  Got some nice pictures.

 

We’ve had no major health problems.  No trip to Minnesota this year (John’s on a two-year checkup schedule now).  We plan to return next year.  We feel lucky as we see those around us suffering from various maladies – serious and not-so-serious.   

 

A couple of Deanne’s former law partners – Ann Newhall and Jim Rubenstein – visited the area this past winter.  It was fun to see them and catch up on news of  “home.” 

 

As we write this, life is good.  We are enjoying our new friends here in Arizona and continue to miss our friends in Minnesota.  We thought more of you would be visiting our nice warm climate during the winter.  Would love to see you if you do.

 

Well, the world did not end on December 21st, so we’ll all carry on.  Enjoy the holidays and all the best to you in 2013.  Hope we’ll have a chance to reconnect with some of you.

 

Deanne & John