Because you are reading this, we can only assume that you like reading Christmas letters. I like them, but they seem to be frowned upon in some quarters, so we figured if you took the time to type in the URL, you too enjoy these missives.
We didn’t do too much around the holidays last year, just hunkered down as the polar vortex socked Minnesota into the deep freeze for most of the winter. In January, we did manage a visit to the Lubins and Hughes in the Bay area. We stayed in a hotel just off Market Street and made good use of BART to get to the East Bay at the appropriate times. Jonathan’s niece, Beth provided her usual hospitality for a delightful family dinner. And shortly after returning to Saint Paul, our close friends, Nancy and Ellen visited – very daring in the midst of the polar vortex. When the spring thaw began, the most hazardous portion of Mark’s commute was between the back door and the garage (photo right).
Mark had some oral surgery later in the month. One thing learned – don’t take Mr. King to a grocery store still under the influence of the anesthesia meds. We were well “stocked up” afterwards. Mark will get a repeat visit (the periodontist, not the grocery store!) this winter to finish the job on the other side.
As part of the landscaping, we had a three elevated beds installed back by the garage. In February, Mark ordered a seed starting “cabana” – essentially a set of shelves with grow lights, and most importantly, a tent covering that keeps the cats from grazing on sprouting seedlings. The entire garden was a big experiment. We learned that we needed to drastically increase the watering of the elevated beds as they dry out very fast. The lack of adequate water kept a number of crops from producing (spinach, beets, tomatoes, peppers, and melon). We had good success with rainbow Swiss chard and carrots (pictured left). The strawberry patch took off nicely, although a friend from church experienced in local gardening warned us that the ever-bearing varieties typically don’t overwinter successfully, although the June-bearing varieties should be OK. The broccoli, onions, and strawberries produced modestly, and once the watering system was improved, we got some lemon cucumbers. We’ll plant the same set of veggies this coming year to see if the improved watering results in a more successful crop.
In April, we flew to Blacksburg VA to visit Mom and Dad on the occasion of their 64th wedding anniversary. Mark’s sister Cindy, husband Mike and son Mason drove down from Arlington VA, and we had a very nice dinner in Roanoke at Alexander’s.
We joined Cindy, Mike and Mason on a trip to Japan to celebrate Mason’s graduation from the University of Mary Washington with a degree in art history. We flew to Los Angeles a couple days early, and spent time Jeff and Amelia Silverman in Pasadena staying in their guesthouse. We hosted an “August Party in May” to reconnect with our circle of friends there. Irene Burkner graciously lent us her home for the venue, and Clarli Wilson and daughter Chris Richards helped provide the set-up. We drafted Ghassan Sarkis and Kathryn Leonard for the champagne run to BevMo.
We met Cindy, Mike, and Mason at the LAX airport on Sunday as we boarded the flight to Tokyo. Mike had spent 5 years in Japan over four visits, and was familiar with the infrastructure and knew enough Japanese to help navigate the trains. He did a phenomenal amount of legwork prior to the trip, and it paid off handsomely as we had a wonderfully smooth trip exploring Tokyo, Kamakura, Nagoya, Takayama, Kanazawa, Kyoto, and Nara. In the photo above left, Mark is posing with a reproduction of the golden dolphins that grace the roof of Nagoya Castle. Above right, Cindy, Mike and Mason are peering into a temple - there's gotta be a Buddha in here somewhere! And below is a panorama at sundown on the bridge in Arashiyama, a suburb of Kyoto. Our travelogues are located at the following:
The next vacation is already being planned – 5-day river cruise on upper Amazon in Peru, then 5 day excursion to Cusco and Machu Picchu – scheduled for April 2015. It’s not a Country Walkers tour – they had one in 2014 but did not offer it for 2015, so we’re going through AdventureSmith for these arrangements. Looking forward to it!
Shortly after we returned from Japan, Mark’s high school friends, Howard and Karen Moore visited for several days, and we spent a number of pleasant evenings catching up with each others’ doings.
To copy last year’s letter – "the summer was filled with our usual habits." We left extra early for the drive down to Cadiz KY for the annual Thomas family reunion. We arrived in ample time for the Saturday evening cook-out this year. Attendance was about 45 again, and we were all pleased by the surprise visit of aunt Carleen from San Diego. For the first time, I was able to bring a home-cooked dish, a pecan tort, instead of getting a bucket of fried chicken from KFC. The pecan tort was very well received, and we’ll plan on doing the same thing this coming year.
Shortly after the reunion, Mark’s brother Howie, along with his wife Linda and grand-daughter Hope swung through Saint Paul for a quick visit on their way back to San Diego. We took them to Joan’s in the Park – a superb restaurant here in Saint Paul - where we had a delightful meal.
Because of Mark’s limited vacation time, Jonathan flew out to Pine Point ME a week ahead. The time in Pine Point was spent in the usual festivities of beach and sandbar walking, tide supervision, and eating. Cindy, Mike, and Mason had driven Mom and Dad up from Virginia, and we were joined by our daughters Madison, Harris, and Devlin, and their mothers M’lyn and Diane, and Diane’s sister-in-law Brenda. We also made a quick day-trip northward to visit Chuck and Betsy Grobe in Brunswick, and Roger and Wendy Wickenden in Camden. In the picture at the left, Mom and Dad watch Madison and Mason try out the new paddle board and the one borrowed from neighbors Lauralee and Celeste.
In October, Jonathan’s niece Beth visited, and despite threats to pack her visit with excursions to exhaustion, the time and excursions to the Minneapolis Institute of Art were low-key and relaxing. We hope to get her husband Jim to join the next visit, which might come around the time of the 25th annual August Party in 2015.
As usual we spent Thanksgiving week in Blacksburg VA, providing transportation to the elder Kings, and otherwise keeping company. We enjoyed a delightful meal and evening with our “other family”: Waverly and Nancy Evans and offspring, Alaina and Reece, and Mary Evans Arnold.The Thanksgiving feast was at the Clifton Inn outside of Charlottesville where we were joined by Cindy, Mike, and Mason. On the ride to and from Charlottesville, Mark tormented Mr. Lubin with his Christmas music playlist – 243 songs long. The following evening, Mark attended the Virginia Tech/U.Va. game, where the Hokies pulled out a satisfying 4th quarter victory against our in-state rivals.
A couple weeks later, we made a quick trip to Rhode Island to make Christmas tree ornaments with the daughters. You see us hard at work in the photo at the right.
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In less chronological topics, Mark continues to sing in the church choir and has been taking voice lessons from the choir director in his role as faculty at the MacPhail Music Center in Minneapolis. A result of the lessons has been a migration from baritone to tenor. Choir and voice are usually the highlight of his week.
Mark’s work at Biothera resulted in a promotion to Sr. Director of Quality while still acting as CMC Director until his successor can be hired. The company has had successful presentations at a number of prestigious conferences that were well received.
Jonathan continues with his hobbies of photography and wood working, but claims to be slowing down. He has starting developing film again, after locating a light-proof tank for his 4x5” negatives. He loads the tank in a light proof bag – no dark room needed – and scans them into the computer to print.
Jonathan has also been serving on the endowment committee at church and facilitates one of the “sharing circles” that are part of White Bear UU Church’s small group ministry program. He also has begun tutoring at Central High School, although it’s going a bit slow.
We again have no big plans for the holiday, just some socializing with friends in and about town, although Mark does have to sing in two of the three Christmas Eve services at church.
We didn’t do too much around the holidays last year, just hunkered down as the polar vortex socked Minnesota into the deep freeze for most of the winter. In January, we did manage a visit to the Lubins and Hughes in the Bay area. We stayed in a hotel just off Market Street and made good use of BART to get to the East Bay at the appropriate times. Jonathan’s niece, Beth provided her usual hospitality for a delightful family dinner. And shortly after returning to Saint Paul, our close friends, Nancy and Ellen visited – very daring in the midst of the polar vortex. When the spring thaw began, the most hazardous portion of Mark’s commute was between the back door and the garage (photo right).
As part of the landscaping, we had a three elevated beds installed back by the garage. In February, Mark ordered a seed starting “cabana” – essentially a set of shelves with grow lights, and most importantly, a tent covering that keeps the cats from grazing on sprouting seedlings. The entire garden was a big experiment. We learned that we needed to drastically increase the watering of the elevated beds as they dry out very fast. The lack of adequate water kept a number of crops from producing (spinach, beets, tomatoes, peppers, and melon). We had good success with rainbow Swiss chard and carrots (pictured left). The strawberry patch took off nicely, although a friend from church experienced in local gardening warned us that the ever-bearing varieties typically don’t overwinter successfully, although the June-bearing varieties should be OK. The broccoli, onions, and strawberries produced modestly, and once the watering system was improved, we got some lemon cucumbers. We’ll plant the same set of veggies this coming year to see if the improved watering results in a more successful crop.
Because of Mark’s limited vacation time, Jonathan flew out to Pine Point ME a week ahead. The time in Pine Point was spent in the usual festivities of beach and sandbar walking, tide supervision, and eating. Cindy, Mike, and Mason had driven Mom and Dad up from Virginia, and we were joined by our daughters Madison, Harris, and Devlin, and their mothers M’lyn and Diane, and Diane’s sister-in-law Brenda. We also made a quick day-trip northward to visit Chuck and Betsy Grobe in Brunswick, and Roger and Wendy Wickenden in Camden. In the picture at the left, Mom and Dad watch Madison and Mason try out the new paddle board and the one borrowed from neighbors Lauralee and Celeste. 
A couple weeks later, we made a quick trip to Rhode Island to make Christmas tree ornaments with the daughters. You see us hard at work in the photo at the right.