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.
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The chronological topics:
As usual, we visited the Lubin clan in the Oakland area last holiday season, getting there in time for the holiday family dinner hosted by Jonathan’s niece and husband, Beth and Jim.
I traveled to Israel late January on business visiting the company’s site outside of Tel Aviv. With my boss Ken, we spent an extra day to visit the Old City in Jerusalem. The weight of history present in such a small area makes Rome feel contemporary by comparison. On my return I got a surprise gift from my staff that tickled me immensely, a custom Hawaiian shirt with Pippin peeking out behind the cut-leaf philodendron (right). My folks know me... (and they are so much fun to work with!)
As mentioned in last year’s Christmas letter, we bought a condo just off of Lowertown in Saint Paul last December. Leading up to the planned move we engaged Gentle Transitions to handle the details, which includes assistance in “sorting”/downsizing. Over three afternoons in the weeks leading up to the date of the move, a couple of ladies from Gentle Transitions helped us box up, sort, and figure out what was moving with us and what was not. The clothing sort filled the bathtub (left). I described the whole process as “outsourcing worry.” Then on March 1st, eight ladies descended on 1177 Lincoln and started boxing up the rest. We spent the next two nights at the Springhill Suites hotel a block from our condo. On the 2nd the movers came and loaded everything on the truck in the morning and unloaded everything that afternoon at the condo. Then on the 3rd, eight ladies (pretty much the same crew with some changes) arrived, unpacked every box, put everything away, and took away all the packing materials. They even put our many pictures up on the walls. When I was asked for instructions on where to hang the pictures, I felt like the proverbial deer-in-the-headlights. My response was “make it look pretty” and so they did.
Above: Panorama from the bedroom hallway to the great room.
One of the tasks we had to manage during the downsizing was to find a home for the pond goldfish and Jonathan’s tropical fish. Fortunately, the aquarium shop down in Eagan was willing to accept them, so we were able to empty both tanks with no problem. I had thought that we would be getting rid of the tanks, until Jonathan mentioned he’d like to convert the larger tank (~38 gallons) into a terrarium. What I didn’t pick up on was that he meant *I* should turn it into a terrarium. So rather than throw potting soil and a few plants into it, I went out on the internet and looked at terrariums. I ended up on the site for NE Herpetoculture which specializes in vivariums – i.e. the tank has more than just plants. So I ordered a kit for constructing an elaborate background with cork bark, and proceeded to stink up the master bathroom for days. As it turns out, the silicone used to coat areas of the glass to support the cork bark off gasses acetic acid during the curing process. The guy at the site warned me that it smell like the “most violent salad dressing” you’ve ever encountered – if anything he understated the stink. It took about 3 days perhaps longer to get the odor down to a tolerable level. After that, the project progressed smoothly.
L: The black silicone layer that off-gassed acetic acid - a pan of baking soda I used to try to absorb the odor; M: The completed background before adding the drainage layer, soil, and plants; R: The finished product after a few months of growth.
Once we were settled in the unit, I hired a decorator to put our touch on the condo. I described the décor as living in a sheetrock box with a “color” scheme to match – very neutral, except for a single red accent wall and the master bath which was a light green-grey color. Bonnie does business as “Arranged by Design” and was given the charge to make our furniture look like it belonged in the space – sheetrock was to remain intact (except for adjustments/changes to light fixtures). After the initial consultations, she returned with a series of paint chips which she dealt out like a croupier at the blackjack table in a casino. She asked to either pick favorite(s) or discard ones that I didn’t like. Ultimately I dropped the final candidates for the great room onto the oriental carpet to see which one worked best. As such we ended up with “Ocean Abyss” – a dark teal color that works in the space because of all the windows and light. I should note here that Jonathan professes to having no color sense and left most of these decisions to me. I ask for his ratification of my decisions, so he does have veto power if something offends his taste. The painting and rearrangement of furniture and accessories was complete in time for the August Party. (Note: outdoor light in this shot makes the color look more blue/less green than it really is.)
After we had vacated the house on Lincoln Avenue in March, our realtor Jessica, brought in some tradesfolk to get the house ready to put on the market. After a thorough cleaning, the red walls in the living and dining rooms were painted an off-white color to make the rooms look bigger and furniture to stage the showing was brought in. As we had with Gentle Transitions, I decided that we would “outsource worry” on the sale of the house and let Jessica be the real estate professional, and follow her recommendations. Although the asking price she named was a squidge below what I was hoping to get, I raised no objection to it. So the house went up on the MLS on a Friday as “coming soon”, and showings starting the following Wednesday, and an open house the Sunday after that. I would have to say Jessica really knows how to do things – we had over sixty showings between Wednesday and Saturday and every offer (there were four) was $25k or more over the asking price. Ultimately, we accepted the offer from a neighbor on the block who was renting, and wanted a permanent address on our block. We closed in early June.
We celebrated our 40th anniversary in the middle of June (15th from receiving the paper that made it official). As usual we drove down to Cadiz KY for the Thomas Family Reunion held on the traditional date of the Sunday after Fathers’ Day. Always so nice to catch up with family!
Late June I attended the Microbiome Movement: Drug Discovery conference in Boston. As the conference butted up against the long (4-day) July 4th weekend, I decided that I would take the DownEaster up to Old Orchard Beach and spend the weekend with Cindy and Mike in Pine Point, and fly back out of Portland. When Jonathan heard my plans, he made a face (I think the proper term is “moue”). He liked my suggestion that he fly out to Portland the same day I was flying to Boston and we could fly back together. The flying back went off without a hitch, getting there turned out to be a big challenge as a set of storms had thrown United’s flights into disarray. The big hazard of operating in a “just-in-time” mode put you at risk of such a major disruption with no resources to buffer the impact. So on the day we were to fly out, the MSP-Chicago flight was cancelled, but we lucked out in that the previous flight was still boarding and we were able to get to Chicago to catch our flights to Boston (me) and Portland (him). Once in Chicago, Jonathan made the flight to Portland with no problem. For me, problem – the flight to Boston was cancelled. The irony is that my bag which I was forced to check to make the MSP-ORD fight made it to Boston, I didn’t (immediately). After a couple hours on hold to the airline and fiddling with their app on my phone, I was able to book a flight to Portland. Cindy made another trip to the Portland Jetport to pick me up with my knapsack and only the clothes on my back to wear. I took the DownEaster down to Boston the next morning and only missed the opening plenary session of the conference (almost always a snoozer) and met up with a number of co-workers attending the conference from Parsippany NJ and Copenhagen in addition to Roseville MN. One of my coworkers (he was based remotely in Boston at the time) was so concerned about my lack of a change of clothes that he went to a local store and bought a pack of underwear and a shirt for me. He texted me that the only briefs in my size were a purple tiger print . . . I just laughed, and said “Why not?” So he’s become the only person other than my mother to buy me underwear. My checked bag spent the time over at Logan Airport with no signs of motion. I had asked at the Portland airport baggage office to have them sent to that airport to pick up but they remained firmly in place at the airport. When I got to Pine Point, the next morning I called the frequent flyer number (I’ve managed to become a precious metal to them again – gold, but not platinum) to ask for assistance. Later that afternoon, a courier with another ten bags in the back of his car dropped my bag off at the Little House in Pine Point.
My arrival in Pine Point gave me my first view of the kitchen remodel. We are extremely pleased with how it turned out. Cindy had been sending me an occasional image she or Rick West the contractor had taken during construction. I love the comment our daughter Harris made when she first saw it – “I can bake in this kitchen!” So she did (below).
In mid-July, we drove to Pine Point by way of Lindsay ON to visit Káča. Once in Pine Point our time was spent in the usual festivities of beach and sandbar walking, tide supervision, and eating. Cindy and Mike were already there, and we were joined, schedules permitting, by our daughters Madison and Harris, and their mothers M’lyn and Diane, Madison’s boyfriend Andrew, and Diane’s sister-in-law Brenda. Our daughter Devlin was able to get enough time off from her job the Army Language School in Monterey CA teaching Russian to participate in a friend’s wedding and spend a couple days with us. One day we drove up to Brunswick to see Betsey, Jonathan’s colleague from his Bowdoin days. On our drive back to Saint Paul, we stopped off in West Lafayette IN to have breakfast with Barb, a colleague of mine at RepliGen.
Before we left, Cindy and I were planning next 81JCD remodel – updating the LR/DR by adding a fireplace (a firebox actually) and bookcases on the east wall, replacing the single window with two smaller ones on either side of the “chimney.” In addition some electrical work to improve the lighting and update the ceiling fan. The foam beams are history.
R: The family in Hawaiian shirts, back row - M'lyn, Madison, Devlin, Harris, front row - grand-dog Fable, Mark; missing Diane and Jonathan.
The August party was another success, in addition to the Lubin clan from Oakland (Michael and Norma, Beth and Jim), my 4th cousin Eric King (he flew to Chicago to catch a baseball game, then the train to StP, to catch a Twins game). As usual we had the chance for some enjoyable visiting with family both before and after the party. As the first August Party in the new digs, it was well attended (more than 100 guests over four hours). It was also loud. At the old house, there were in essence a series of little parties in the back garden, the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, and the front porch. With everyone in the great room the noise was intense! I stepped out into the hall every so often to rest my ears.
In September, we returned to Pine Point (flying this time) to spend some more time there and then to go on a cruise in Penobscot Bay on the schooner Stephen Taber. We were alerted about the Taber cruises by Roger and Carol at church who take the cruise every year. The schooner, all wood, has been in continuous service for over 150 years. The stove in the galley is a wood burning stove (kind of nerve wracking considering…) but the chef on the cruise was superb and all the meals were wonderful! The captain is into his cheese so the wine and cheese hours that preceded the dinners were events on their own. We found that we are not sailors – we didn’t get seasick or anything of that nature, we got a little bored. Even with that learning about ourselves, we would recommend the tour without reservation, it is an excellent value, and is worth trying at least once.
R: Standing on Hell's Half Acre with the Taber at anchor behind us. The crew set up a lobster bake on the beach.
On the way back to Pine Point, it became evident that I was coming down with something, and a test confirmed it was covid. So I masked up for the trip back to Saint Paul, and it became obvious that Jonathan, who had tested negative for covid at Pine Point, was getting the symptoms and was severely fatigued. A second test at home in Saint Paul was positive, and resulted in him getting a prescription for Paxlovid which worked really well for him.
Before we left for Pine Point, I had reached out to Bonnie and let her know that we were ready to begin redecorating the remainder of the condo – the two bedrooms and master bath. As of this writing, the process is underway with the carpets replaced with laminate and the walls painted. The remainder of the project is awaiting some back-ordered light fixtures to go over the new medicine cabinets. Those cabinets are the only exception (beyond light fixtures) to the “drywall stays intact” edict. The last item will be the wallpaper in the bathroom, which is backordered into January.
L pair: The master bedroom before/after carpet replacement; R pair: The master bath after laying floor over the tiles.
In mid-November, M’lyn, Diane, and Harris drove out from Rhode Island for a visit which was greatly appreciated as we were not able to get to Greene RI for Thanksgiving.
Jonathan’s valve job was scheduled the day after the Greene Gals left. The procedure was performed via catheterization so his stay in the hospital was about 36 hours. The actual procedure was a bit after noontime, and they kept him overnight to monitor for stroke symptoms (the most common side effect I believe) even getting him up at 3am in the morning for a weight(!) measurement in addition to the hourly checks. So he came home the day before Thanksgiving (something to be thankful for!) while I prepared for the meal – a reprise of our covid Thanksgiving – a sriracha glazed duck complemented with a dessert of bourbon pecan pie (which we sampled the night before).
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In less chronological topics, in-person choir has returned to church finally, and with the new church year resumed a weekly practice schedule and performing twice a month. We are running about 45-50 singers compared to the 60+ in “before times.” We are also missing a choir director as the previous one retired a year into covid (he delayed his departure a year). Now that the congregation has installed the new lead minister, the search for a new director will begin in the new year. In the meantime, the Board hired two interim co-directors who are doing a marvelous job. I still take my voice lessons at the MacPhail Music Center in Minneapolis with Dennis Peterson, an operatic tenor. Choir and voice continue to be the highlight of my week.
Jonathan maintains his usual habits of mathematics, photography, and perusing the New York Times and Washington Post online.
The cats adapted easily to the new location, but alas, Tillie crossed the rainbow bridge shortly after Thanksgiving, leaving Pippin as an “only cat.” We will contemplate a new companion for Pippin in the new year.
I traveled to Israel late January on business visiting the company’s site outside of Tel Aviv. With my boss Ken, we spent an extra day to visit the Old City in Jerusalem. The weight of history present in such a small area makes Rome feel contemporary by comparison. On my return I got a surprise gift from my staff that tickled me immensely, a custom Hawaiian shirt with Pippin peeking out behind the cut-leaf philodendron (right). My folks know me... (and they are so much fun to work with!)
As mentioned in last year’s Christmas letter, we bought a condo just off of Lowertown in Saint Paul last December. Leading up to the planned move we engaged Gentle Transitions to handle the details, which includes assistance in “sorting”/downsizing. Over three afternoons in the weeks leading up to the date of the move, a couple of ladies from Gentle Transitions helped us box up, sort, and figure out what was moving with us and what was not. The clothing sort filled the bathtub (left). I described the whole process as “outsourcing worry.” Then on March 1st, eight ladies descended on 1177 Lincoln and started boxing up the rest. We spent the next two nights at the Springhill Suites hotel a block from our condo. On the 2nd the movers came and loaded everything on the truck in the morning and unloaded everything that afternoon at the condo. Then on the 3rd, eight ladies (pretty much the same crew with some changes) arrived, unpacked every box, put everything away, and took away all the packing materials. They even put our many pictures up on the walls. When I was asked for instructions on where to hang the pictures, I felt like the proverbial deer-in-the-headlights. My response was “make it look pretty” and so they did.
Once we were settled in the unit, I hired a decorator to put our touch on the condo. I described the décor as living in a sheetrock box with a “color” scheme to match – very neutral, except for a single red accent wall and the master bath which was a light green-grey color. Bonnie does business as “Arranged by Design” and was given the charge to make our furniture look like it belonged in the space – sheetrock was to remain intact (except for adjustments/changes to light fixtures). After the initial consultations, she returned with a series of paint chips which she dealt out like a croupier at the blackjack table in a casino. She asked to either pick favorite(s) or discard ones that I didn’t like. Ultimately I dropped the final candidates for the great room onto the oriental carpet to see which one worked best. As such we ended up with 
We celebrated our 40th anniversary in the middle of June (15th from receiving the paper that made it official). As usual we drove down to Cadiz KY for the Thomas Family Reunion held on the traditional date of the Sunday after Fathers’ Day. Always so nice to catch up with family!
In mid-July, we drove to Pine Point by way of Lindsay ON to visit Káča. Once in Pine Point our time was spent in the usual festivities of beach and sandbar walking, tide supervision, and eating. Cindy and Mike were already there, and we were joined, schedules permitting, by our daughters Madison and Harris, and their mothers M’lyn and Diane, Madison’s boyfriend Andrew, and Diane’s sister-in-law Brenda. Our daughter Devlin was able to get enough time off from her job the Army Language School in Monterey CA teaching Russian to participate in a friend’s wedding and spend a couple days with us. One day we drove up to Brunswick to see Betsey, Jonathan’s colleague from his Bowdoin days. On our drive back to Saint Paul, we stopped off in West Lafayette IN to have breakfast with Barb, a colleague of mine at RepliGen.
In September, we returned to Pine Point (flying this time) to spend some more time there and then to go on a cruise in Penobscot Bay on the schooner Stephen Taber. We were alerted about the Taber cruises by Roger and Carol at church who take the cruise every year. The schooner, all wood, has been in continuous service for over 150 years. The stove in the galley is a wood burning stove (kind of nerve wracking considering…) but the chef on the cruise was superb and all the meals were wonderful! The captain is into his cheese so the wine and cheese hours that preceded the dinners were events on their own. We found that we are not sailors – we didn’t get seasick or anything of that nature, we got a little bored. Even with that learning about ourselves, we would recommend the tour without reservation, it is an excellent value, and is worth trying at least once.
