215 Huntley Ave, Auburn, California 95603-4314
E-mail: chris&janet@neworld.net
Website: http://users.neworld.net/chris&janet

Every year has its ups and downs, and this has been both a great year and a hard one for all of us out here in Northern California. Most of you already know that Janet’s mom Liz passed away last March. Most of you also know that we’re going to have our first baby sometime in early July. We've been trying for a while, so we're really excited.

Besides the grief and the joy and the "morning" sickness (all-day, thank you very much), Janet’s also been busy with her crafts projects and her reading. This summer, she continued the project of making custom wood-framed screens for our windows (getting rid of the old rusted ones) and tested her burgeoning woodcraft skills on a unique mailbox for our front porch (mailpersons have been known to grumble about the amount of mail - mostly catalogs - that we receive daily). It seems she's taken quite a liking to the table saw.But lately, most of Janet’s non-working time is spent feeling queasy and sleeping.

Chris made great strides this year in his personal growth quest, going the entire year without alcohol or nicotine. This summer, he took up bike riding and surprised Janet’s dad, John, by showing up at his house in Weimar. Several more serious riders were unimpressed, but 30 miles and 1300 vertical feet ain’t too bad for a confirmed couch potato. (It sounds crazy, but it really IS uphill both ways!) He’s learned to play some piano, and now writes and plays on piano more often than guitar, and his songwriting continues to improve. Chris also made a beautiful flower garden out of our hilly, rocky backyard, complete with goldfish pond. Audio Editions (where we both work) surprised him recently by offering him a big promotion to Catalog Manager that should make it possible for Janet to quit working when the baby comes.

We've been replacing the siding on our house, and it's almost done. We've pretty much finished the landscaping in the front and back yards, which meant a good year for the local nursery. We're hoping to turn the "garage" into a finished room and move all the music stuff out there, so the guest bedroom can become the baby's room.

We hope this letter finds you well, and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.