Season's Greetings!

The oft-cited curse, "May you live in interesting times," certainly could apply to this crazy year of pandemic, political strife, and social turmoil. But, just as the curse is misattributed to the ancient Chinese, the past year can also be seen through a different perspective. Ignoring breathless news reporters and sniping social media posters, we can choose to focus on the people, activities and things important to us on a much more immediate level. For us, our sailboat, Lotus, and "Hobo" camping trailer provided wonderful ways to take vacations while remaining safe. Local hiking trails and the wonder of technologies like Netflix and Zoom provided regular entertainment.

We were on a Spring driving trip to Virginia via a stop in Pennsylvania to see Frank L. Wright's Fallingwater when we encountered the COVID-19 outbreak. Fortunately, we were the sole visitors at the Bed & Breakfast in Pennsylvania both ways, and stayed in a well-equipped Airbnb in Richmond. We were able to visit with Lynelle and Jim and their family as well as take walking tours of the city.

Summer weekends were often enjoyed onboard Lotus, with plenty of swimming and sunsets. We traveled to Turkey Run State Park in Indiana for a week long family vacation in late July. Great weather allowed for plenty of outdoor activities and "socially distanced" visiting. Kathy and I took a September camping trip to northern Michigan and again enjoyed great weather, hiking and kayaking.

In October, we transformed the traditional Father-Son backpacking trip into a three family caravan tour of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia. Craig and Lora had made reservations early in the year allowing us to enjoy good camping sites along the way. The Fall colors helped make the trip even more beautiful.

In the interest of protecting everyone's safety, we had a small Thanksgiving with Betty joining us for the evening. Christmas will be similar, but we'll make sure to visit each other electronically to share the holiday.

Work life has been hectic. Who would have thought COVID-19 would have resulted in an explosion of puppy and kitten adoptions? In addition, spending more time at home resulted in pet owners finding more problems with their pets. On top of all that, we operate with reduced efficiency due to all the precautions put in place to keep our teams and clients safe.

As the New Year dawns, may you all remain healthy and focused on what is most important to you. The world will be what it will be, but our lives will be what we make of them.

Merry Christmas!

Steve & Kathy