HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
12/8/92

I hope you had a wonderful 1992! I had a good one, mellow and very pleasant.

The biggest news is that I bought a new home in April. Out of the tiny condo of 8 years and into one twice the size a few doors down. I looked all around Boulder, but loved my complex so much, I stayed. I was lucky to find a unit facing the mountains and in great condition! I now have 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths a loft, a fireplace and a garage! The rental market is exceptional, so I am renting my old condo and am making a few bucks.

I am still working at the same telecommunications company systems. I was promoted to Service Marketing Manager and still like my job quite a lot. The company's still unstable, but I try not to think about it too much.

Vacations/Trips - My big vacation was to the Pacific Northwest with my friend Mozelle. We flew to Seattle, drove to the Olympic National Forest, then took ferries to the San Juan Islands, up to Victoria and Vancouver then back to Seattle. We alternately camped and stayed in hotels. It was incredible! Seattle is great. If I wasn't so used to all the sunny weather around here, I'd consider a stay in Seattle. The national forest was so beautiful. Especially the rain forest. I didn't know we had such places in the USA. The San Juans were cozy. We rented a sea kayak and rowed around Orcas Island. Saw many bald eagles and purple starfish, but no whales or sea lions...oh well. Victoria was my favorite place. So quaint and pretty. And Buchart Gardens were the most spectacular botanical gardens I've ever seen (and I've seen several). Vancouver is an interesting city. Their Chinatown is even bigger & better than NY or San Francisco. But, after the rest of the trip I found it a little anticlimactic and a bit over commercialized than what I expected.

I've also had a few long weekends. Several weekends at my friend's condo in Vail. A fun weekend at a lodge on the Colorado river with river rafting that was organized by my friend Peter. Later in the summer, I organized my annual reservoir campout and 20 people showed up with sailboats, rafts, canoes and lots of food. At the end of the summer, Peter and I joined forces and organized a weekend getaway to Grand Lake. Grand Lake is a high mountain lake in Rocky Mountain national park. 19 of us rented a lodge (the "Main House") and several other cabins at a resort. This was the most fun weekend of all. Friday night we had dinner then partied and danced all night in the main house. Saturday we went for a early morning raft rides and canoe rides. Then we all went golfing. It was my first golf game and I think this is my sport. I really enjoyed it and did very well too. After that, we rented a canopy boat, we all got on and cruised around the lake...FUN! That night, we had a big homemade gourmet pizza dinner then went into the little cowboy town of Grand Lake to check out the nightlife. Sunday, we leisurely packed up and went home, stopping in Rocky Mt. National Park and Estes Park on the way.

I had visitors as well. My Mom came to visit in April and we had a nice Passover dinner with some friends of mine. My Dad & Susan came out in the fall. My friend Barbara from Salt Lake came out to visit a few times. My friend Lisa came out with her brother and sister from the East Coast last month. We skied twice and had a wonderful visit. And, I'm going home for Christmas this year.

Again, I went to a few of concerts and shows. Crosby Stills & Nash, Moody Blues and Elton John. This was a year for nostalgia. They were all great shows and shows I have been waiting most of my life to see. There was also a more obscure concert with a group called The Kronos Quartet. They were a little too "out there" for my taste. I only made it to one music festival this year, the Winter Park Jazz fest.

A few other isolated activities: I took my first real balloon ride (and I didn't even jump out this time!). It was beautiful. Went to the Taste of Colorado fair where they have lots of food from local Denver restaurants. There was a street dance in Denver and a funky art show of velvet paintings with an Elvis impersonator for entertainment. Of course, I went for a few hikes. I also saw the Swan Lake ballet and a couple CU football games. I've been skiing 3 times already this season! I got involved in a fundraiser for the University of Colorado Ski Team, called the "Ski Ball". I had heard about the Ski Ball since I worked at in the industry 10 years ago. I happened to get onto the organizing committee through a friend. The process was fun, but the Ski Ball was even more fun. It was all it was cracked up to be. Lots of world famous skiers as well as a bunch of fun Boulderites and ski industry people. I saw a lot of old faces and had a good time.

There were fun parties of course too. Housewarmings, birthday parties, dinner parties, Halloween parties, Christmas parties, a wedding and the yearly hat party (the last one). I recently had a wine tasting party that we really fun. We disguised the wines in paper bags, tasted them all and rated them before unveiling them. Believe it or not, Marilyn Merlot 1988 won! It was really good.

I took an herbology course this fall and it was really interesting. I've always been involved with herbs and spices for culinary purposes (still haven't finished my cookbook yet), but it was interesting to learn about their medicinal properties. Since the class, I have avoided the flu and cleared up a cold very quickly this season.

Well, its time to close. It has been a good year filled with fun and adventure. I hope yours has been too - and continues to be so long into the future!

Warmest Wishes and the Best of Holidays!