Saturday, December 23, 2017
Sunday, January 1, 2017
More pix
pythons and giant clams.
Annual Gkid campout, new dog Alfie making himself at home, triathlete again
Bauer’s Christmas Letter 2016
Bauer’s Christmas Letter 2016
We can quote Charles Dickens here ... “ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
It fits, doesn’t it?! But let’s go back to the beginning! Our year was, as was many other’s year, a convoluted mixed up mess ...
Like Dickens’ 1859 opening of The Tale of Two Cities, 2016 started out just great for us - the best of times. We were in Tucson at the wedding of a niece’s son. Lovely Tucson. Lovely wedding. Lovely reunion with all of Majken’s family. We were excited to be somewhere we hadn’t really visited before. Visions of warmth and sunshine as we flew out of the rain. Well, the clothes we had for what we envisioned didn’t really work for the weather we actually had. After visiting and hiking around Tucson with relatives in the chill, we headed to Bisbee. It’s in the mountains; it’s cold. After an emergency shopping spree for Kathie, it was lots of fun to visit mines and eat in fun little places left over from the 60's. We didn’t visit any corners in Winslow, Arizona, but there were lots of flat bed Fords and girls driving them and guys wanting to be looked at. Sadly, they were all as old , or older, than we were..
In February, Kathie and her partner chose to take their entire firm, “plus one person for each employee,” to the Mexican Maya Riviera for 5 nights. A fun time was had by all ... and most can remember it. It seemed the age of Wisdom and only some got sick. It was an all inclusive resort with “frivolous” bars in each room which were refilled daily. And armed guards. Oh my. Kathie and Mark got out to the island of Cozumel for some snorkeling where Kathie got slapped by a jelly-fish and her partner talked Kathie into riding a banana boat. Both were interesting experiences. There’s those worst of times and age of foolishness.
In April, we had our annual Easter duck races with kids. In the rain this year! Then, we took Liesl’s and Jake’s family to Port Townsend where we rented houses at Fort Worden, scene of an Officer and a Gentleman. The houses were great, until they weren’t, but we survived the poisonous fumes emitted by the failing heaters. On that weekend, we all went whale watching and the grandkids learned how not to be seasick. We even saw lots of killer whales, at a distance .... Ian and Candace went a few months later and got skunked, but it’s a nice boat ride!
Shortly after that trip, Jake informed us he and Kim were separating. I don’t think it was the whale watching, or the poisonous heaters, but you never know! They have managed this diversion of paths wisely and it appears they and the three kids and their dog Kula are doing well.
In May, we hopped on a plane to head to Australia. We wanted a chance to see the Great Barrier Reef while it was still ... well, great. We started in Melbourne (pictures and tales on our blog “markathbauer.blogspot.com”) then flew to the Whitsunday islands before flying further north to Cairns and the Reef. Sadly, the reef is truly dying. They don’t publicize this because that would hurt tourism. Hmmm, warm seas and extra nutrients flowing into the ocean are destroying it. We visited at least 5 different areas from the Whitsundays to the North. Not a pretty picture. 70-90% of the coral at each site was dead or dying. After trekking on a beach where a crocodile ate a local the same day, we figured it was time to get off the coast ... into the “red Center.”
What we found was that Australia is a very dangerous place. Everything is poisonous and out to kill you. You’d look down at a bush and realize a giant python was curled in the middle. You’d look up and a 10 inch spider would be dangling over your head. “Oh, look Pretty red flower” and the guide would scream “Don’t touch!!”. We still loved it all. Ayers Rock, now known as Uluru, was gorgeous and mystical in the rain. As was every other place down under. It rained every single day we were there, floods were everywhere and Sydney was hit with the worst storm in history. We were stupid enough to be out in it in our Gortex. Not too different from what we are used to! Mark even walked over the to of the Sydney Bridge in 90 km/hr winds.
We came home to Mark’s first triathlon in about 30 years. It was in Olympia. He took third (out of 5) and got an invite to nationals. Guess we are back where we started when the kids were little! Then we took off camping on Orcas Island with Liesl’s family and Nate’s family. Great campsite, again, in our new little T@B, right on the lake. Lots of swimming for both of us. Started thinking I would train for a triathlon in September, a short one!! We had another grand-nephew wedding, this time outside of LaGrande, Oregon. The T@B got rolled out again and we camped in Pendleton and at Lake Wallowa for that week. While in Pendleton, we made arrangements for a massive (“YUGE) family reunion during the Pendleton Round-Up in 2017.
Once back from that wedding, a routine checkup found Kathie had a kidney tumor. Same one that killed her mom in 1979. We found this one really really early, though. It was a good day, Hope and despair intermingled. No triathlon for Kathie. She headed up to the University of Washington for consultation. Hoping for small incisions with robotic surgery. Nope, cracked her open like an egg in November with the incision running from sternum around her left side to her hip. The morning of the surgery, she woke up to her phone alarm to read Trump had won ... every time she woke up for the next week, she was sure the nightmare was from the pain drugs. Nope ... Read the Dickens quote again!!! Incredulity! The surgery left Kathie with about half of that kidney and good prognosis for the future. As a result, though, she is retiring from the law practice and looking to finish the three middle grade books she has been writing. Mark is retiring in June and we are both planning a few more glamping trips with the T@B to more distant places. When Kathie got diagnosed, Mark immediately made plans for us to hike across Northern England as a target for recovery. Not sure if that was denial or optimism. That is supposed to happen in June!
Just before the surgery, we got a new dog. Gunner died in the spring and we were on the list for a puppy. But no puppy setter was in sight. Then Jake called us. He knew of a 16 month old setter that badly needed a home. Alfie was delivered to our door in a few days. At 16 months old, he had already had 5 other owners. This was going to be his forever home if it killed us. It almost did. A mild attachment disorder has been pretty much relieved by constant contact and training him to look us in the eye before he can eat or go through a door. The biggest assistance was probably letting him sleep on the bed with us, to confirm he is part of the pack. Of course, then Zenyatta had to be on the bed. Of course, I had just had surgery and couldn’t be bumped. Mark has survived in the 3 square feet of space left to him ...
I guess that fills you in on us. Now to the rest of the family.
Zenyatta is losing weight from having Alfie to play with.
Alfie is one of the brightest dogs we have ever had, shades of reincarnated Morgan. Oops
Jake is doing well at work and at home. He turned the boys’ bedroom into an American Ninja climbing course, including a climbing wall. Mason, his oldest, is 9 ½ and into loves to watch football and Ninja competition, but is really into running and biking. Like father (and grandfather), like son (and grandson). Kale is 7 and in fierce competition with Mason to also act 9 years old. Paige at almost 3 has come into her own as a princess, well able to let us all know what she wants, and when, and was the first to the top of the climbing wall.
Liesl is still commuting to Olympia from Puyallup 2x weekly to see her clients. Both Cooper and Grace are in school full time this year, leaving Liesl with lots of time to fill. I don’t think she is having any trouble with that!. Nate is enjoying his hectic time at Amazon and keeps rolling up the promotions. I can’t even explain his job!!! Cooper is 7, in first grade, and is a total master at Legos. He puts together kits for 10-12 year olds, 600 plus pieces, in minutes with no effort. Minecraft is especially popular, we hear. Grace at 5 ½ is enjoying kindergarden, dancing and all sorts of music. Both kids have also finished all the YMCA youth rock-climbing classes.
Ian is still commuting to Seattle for his law firm, from Puyallup. He and Nate cross paths on the commuter train regularly. He ended the year by being made a full partner. Candace is an art docent for the grade school those 5 Puyallup grandchildren attend and has started painting quite a bit. Aidan, the 9 year old, is playing competitive soccer - as goalee no less. We figure it serves Ian right! Donovan at 8 is a charming and mischief-filled young man who is very interested in art. Aiyana (Nya) at almost 6 is smart, athletic and beautiful. Wow. She has it all.
I guess that is all we can put together at this time. Sorry for the delayed letter, but read that first paragraph again!!! There are reasons for the delay! Pictures can be found on our blog
markathbauer.blogspot.com
And we can always reply to any email you send to markathbauer@gmail.com !!
We can quote Charles Dickens here ... “ It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
It fits, doesn’t it?! But let’s go back to the beginning! Our year was, as was many other’s year, a convoluted mixed up mess ...
Like Dickens’ 1859 opening of The Tale of Two Cities, 2016 started out just great for us - the best of times. We were in Tucson at the wedding of a niece’s son. Lovely Tucson. Lovely wedding. Lovely reunion with all of Majken’s family. We were excited to be somewhere we hadn’t really visited before. Visions of warmth and sunshine as we flew out of the rain. Well, the clothes we had for what we envisioned didn’t really work for the weather we actually had. After visiting and hiking around Tucson with relatives in the chill, we headed to Bisbee. It’s in the mountains; it’s cold. After an emergency shopping spree for Kathie, it was lots of fun to visit mines and eat in fun little places left over from the 60's. We didn’t visit any corners in Winslow, Arizona, but there were lots of flat bed Fords and girls driving them and guys wanting to be looked at. Sadly, they were all as old , or older, than we were..
In February, Kathie and her partner chose to take their entire firm, “plus one person for each employee,” to the Mexican Maya Riviera for 5 nights. A fun time was had by all ... and most can remember it. It seemed the age of Wisdom and only some got sick. It was an all inclusive resort with “frivolous” bars in each room which were refilled daily. And armed guards. Oh my. Kathie and Mark got out to the island of Cozumel for some snorkeling where Kathie got slapped by a jelly-fish and her partner talked Kathie into riding a banana boat. Both were interesting experiences. There’s those worst of times and age of foolishness.
In April, we had our annual Easter duck races with kids. In the rain this year! Then, we took Liesl’s and Jake’s family to Port Townsend where we rented houses at Fort Worden, scene of an Officer and a Gentleman. The houses were great, until they weren’t, but we survived the poisonous fumes emitted by the failing heaters. On that weekend, we all went whale watching and the grandkids learned how not to be seasick. We even saw lots of killer whales, at a distance .... Ian and Candace went a few months later and got skunked, but it’s a nice boat ride!
Shortly after that trip, Jake informed us he and Kim were separating. I don’t think it was the whale watching, or the poisonous heaters, but you never know! They have managed this diversion of paths wisely and it appears they and the three kids and their dog Kula are doing well.
In May, we hopped on a plane to head to Australia. We wanted a chance to see the Great Barrier Reef while it was still ... well, great. We started in Melbourne (pictures and tales on our blog “markathbauer.blogspot.com”) then flew to the Whitsunday islands before flying further north to Cairns and the Reef. Sadly, the reef is truly dying. They don’t publicize this because that would hurt tourism. Hmmm, warm seas and extra nutrients flowing into the ocean are destroying it. We visited at least 5 different areas from the Whitsundays to the North. Not a pretty picture. 70-90% of the coral at each site was dead or dying. After trekking on a beach where a crocodile ate a local the same day, we figured it was time to get off the coast ... into the “red Center.”
What we found was that Australia is a very dangerous place. Everything is poisonous and out to kill you. You’d look down at a bush and realize a giant python was curled in the middle. You’d look up and a 10 inch spider would be dangling over your head. “Oh, look Pretty red flower” and the guide would scream “Don’t touch!!”. We still loved it all. Ayers Rock, now known as Uluru, was gorgeous and mystical in the rain. As was every other place down under. It rained every single day we were there, floods were everywhere and Sydney was hit with the worst storm in history. We were stupid enough to be out in it in our Gortex. Not too different from what we are used to! Mark even walked over the to of the Sydney Bridge in 90 km/hr winds.
We came home to Mark’s first triathlon in about 30 years. It was in Olympia. He took third (out of 5) and got an invite to nationals. Guess we are back where we started when the kids were little! Then we took off camping on Orcas Island with Liesl’s family and Nate’s family. Great campsite, again, in our new little T@B, right on the lake. Lots of swimming for both of us. Started thinking I would train for a triathlon in September, a short one!! We had another grand-nephew wedding, this time outside of LaGrande, Oregon. The T@B got rolled out again and we camped in Pendleton and at Lake Wallowa for that week. While in Pendleton, we made arrangements for a massive (“YUGE) family reunion during the Pendleton Round-Up in 2017.
Once back from that wedding, a routine checkup found Kathie had a kidney tumor. Same one that killed her mom in 1979. We found this one really really early, though. It was a good day, Hope and despair intermingled. No triathlon for Kathie. She headed up to the University of Washington for consultation. Hoping for small incisions with robotic surgery. Nope, cracked her open like an egg in November with the incision running from sternum around her left side to her hip. The morning of the surgery, she woke up to her phone alarm to read Trump had won ... every time she woke up for the next week, she was sure the nightmare was from the pain drugs. Nope ... Read the Dickens quote again!!! Incredulity! The surgery left Kathie with about half of that kidney and good prognosis for the future. As a result, though, she is retiring from the law practice and looking to finish the three middle grade books she has been writing. Mark is retiring in June and we are both planning a few more glamping trips with the T@B to more distant places. When Kathie got diagnosed, Mark immediately made plans for us to hike across Northern England as a target for recovery. Not sure if that was denial or optimism. That is supposed to happen in June!
Just before the surgery, we got a new dog. Gunner died in the spring and we were on the list for a puppy. But no puppy setter was in sight. Then Jake called us. He knew of a 16 month old setter that badly needed a home. Alfie was delivered to our door in a few days. At 16 months old, he had already had 5 other owners. This was going to be his forever home if it killed us. It almost did. A mild attachment disorder has been pretty much relieved by constant contact and training him to look us in the eye before he can eat or go through a door. The biggest assistance was probably letting him sleep on the bed with us, to confirm he is part of the pack. Of course, then Zenyatta had to be on the bed. Of course, I had just had surgery and couldn’t be bumped. Mark has survived in the 3 square feet of space left to him ...
I guess that fills you in on us. Now to the rest of the family.
Zenyatta is losing weight from having Alfie to play with.
Alfie is one of the brightest dogs we have ever had, shades of reincarnated Morgan. Oops
Jake is doing well at work and at home. He turned the boys’ bedroom into an American Ninja climbing course, including a climbing wall. Mason, his oldest, is 9 ½ and into loves to watch football and Ninja competition, but is really into running and biking. Like father (and grandfather), like son (and grandson). Kale is 7 and in fierce competition with Mason to also act 9 years old. Paige at almost 3 has come into her own as a princess, well able to let us all know what she wants, and when, and was the first to the top of the climbing wall.
Liesl is still commuting to Olympia from Puyallup 2x weekly to see her clients. Both Cooper and Grace are in school full time this year, leaving Liesl with lots of time to fill. I don’t think she is having any trouble with that!. Nate is enjoying his hectic time at Amazon and keeps rolling up the promotions. I can’t even explain his job!!! Cooper is 7, in first grade, and is a total master at Legos. He puts together kits for 10-12 year olds, 600 plus pieces, in minutes with no effort. Minecraft is especially popular, we hear. Grace at 5 ½ is enjoying kindergarden, dancing and all sorts of music. Both kids have also finished all the YMCA youth rock-climbing classes.
Ian is still commuting to Seattle for his law firm, from Puyallup. He and Nate cross paths on the commuter train regularly. He ended the year by being made a full partner. Candace is an art docent for the grade school those 5 Puyallup grandchildren attend and has started painting quite a bit. Aidan, the 9 year old, is playing competitive soccer - as goalee no less. We figure it serves Ian right! Donovan at 8 is a charming and mischief-filled young man who is very interested in art. Aiyana (Nya) at almost 6 is smart, athletic and beautiful. Wow. She has it all.
I guess that is all we can put together at this time. Sorry for the delayed letter, but read that first paragraph again!!! There are reasons for the delay! Pictures can be found on our blog
markathbauer.blogspot.com
And we can always reply to any email you send to markathbauer@gmail.com !!
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