Happy Holidays!

We hope this newsletter finds you heading into the holiday season having had an enjoyable and successful year. The first two months of this year, my time was dominated by being the project manager for the implementation of new medical records and management software at the hospital. Once the dust settled, Kathy and I escaped to Traverse City for a short winter vacation that included hiking in Sleeping Bear Dunes and visiting with some friends in Glen Arbor.

The main project on Lotus over winter was rebuilding a porthole in the cabin. My woodworking skills were challenged a couple times, but we were pleased to find no leaks in it this summer, and it looks even better than the original. We spent several days on board during the week of July 4th, and enjoyed three straight nights of fireworks on the lake. It ended up being a short sailing year, though, because we spent the last weekend of August with friends in Northport, then headed to Tennessee a week later to be present for Dad's nephrectomy.

Dad's surgery provided us the opportunity to get to see all my siblings at one time or another. Fortunately, the surgery went well, and Dad exceeded all expectations in his recovery. We traveled back to Michigan for a week, then headed back down, stopping to check on his progress, then continuing on to Charleston and Savannah, where we met up with some friends. We stayed four days in each location, walking and eating our way through the two southern cities. Serendipitously, we went to Charleston first, so we were in Savannah when hurricane Ian came ashore in Charleston.

We enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving with Kathy's side of the family at her niece's home in Spring Lake. We'll take Betty with us to Tennessee for Christmas, then be home to ring in the New Year.

Have a Merry Christmas!