Seasons Greetings Everyone!
12/00

I hope the beginning of the new century was exciting and wonderful for you and your loved ones.

I had an interesting year; full of emotions. There were wonderful times, and also some sadness. But in the end, I still feel very lucky
and blessed.

Work ­ I'm going on my 6th year at the natural products industry publishing and trade show production company. Early in the year it was tough, losing my boss and graphic artist to our new Web division. I even went on a few interviews. But now, I have a great new boss and things are going well, albeit crazy like always.

Vacations ­ I didn't go home last season for the holidays, but plan to make up for it this year.

The new century didn't bring any big vacations in the form of exotic locales, but did bring a vacation that was huge in the form of emotional enjoyment. I went to Rangeley, ME and Portsmouth, NH in July and visited with some very special old friends. Rangeley is a very important place for me. I spent my summers there as a teenager and have many fond memories. My friend, Gye, from Boulder...who grew up in Rangeley, was going to Maine for a business trip, so I coordinated my trip with her's. I flew into Bar Harbor, and drove up to Rangeley the next day. I saw people that I hadn't seen in about 20 years-old friends and boyfriends, and my childhood best friend, Jill and her family, who brought me up there in the first place.

The town actually looked smaller than I remembered-was I really that young? I stayed at Gye's camp on the lake, visited people, partied a bit much and roamed around getting nostalgic. After that, I drove to Portsmouth and saw my old friends Robin and Shelly, who I hadn't seen in years either. What fun. I ended in Bar Harbor with Gye for a few days. Along the way, I enjoyed a whale watch, harbor cruise, tour of Acadia National Park, saw a moose and ate lots of lobster! It was incredible and I hope to do it again someday...but not wait another 20 years.

Once again, I went to both of my company's trade shows in Anaheim and Baltimore. After Anaheim, I visited my old boss, Bob, and his wife in San Diego. I'd never been there. Had a great time and really like the place. I didn't do anything after Baltimore, but did enjoy a visit from Lisa and her kids at the show.

Once again, in February, I went to Salt Lake City to visit Barbara and, and do that ski-to-a-yurt-and-eat-a-gourmet-dinner adventure with a big group of her friends. This third time was fun, as always.

On Memorial Day, there was a BBQ at Suzi and Tom's; An overnight getaway with Lisa to Mt. Princeton Hot Springs in the summer; A couple of weekends at Peter's ranch in Glenwood; and recently a weekend at Stephanie and Todd's new cabin in Grand Lake which included an afternoon at nearby Hot Sulphur Springs.

In August, I helped Peter and Kathe organize their third annual ranch party at his family's place in Glenwood Springs. We had about 60 people this time, staying both on the ranch and at hotels and B&B's nearby. Mostly we cooked, ate, socialized and hiked around the ranch. It was great fun, right through our traditional Saturday night BBQ, up the mountain at the caretaker's log cabin. Unfortunately, we had a very sad ending, but since I save icky stuff for the end of the letter, we'll just move on for now.

Ray didn't have the raft trip this year either, still fighting his battle with Graves disease. But, he's confident for 2001, and has booked the campground for the weekend before the 4th of July. Anyone want to come out?

Visitors ­ In June, Barbara came out for a long weekend. We went to Aspen for a day and stayed the weekend at Peter's ranch.

My mom came out for a nice long weekend in June. She helped me try to pick out new dishware, but I just can't make up my mind.

In the summer, I spent a few hours visiting with my friend, Lisa and her daughter Jaclyn, from Maryland, during their layover at Denver airport. Later in August, she "shipped" her husband, Bill, out here for a vacation to get his mind off his company's strike. We went up to Rocky Mt. National Park, Grand Lake and on a restaurant review (more about that later).

Sue came down from Ft. Collins in October, for our annual tradition of going to the Art Open Studios tour; where you visit local artists in their studios and watch them work.

Culture ­ I only saw a few concerts this year, and again, most of them were at E-Town, the local radio show, recorded live and aired around the US. There, I saw Janice Ian, someone named Samite from Uganda, Jorma Kaukonen, David Grey, and Michael McDonald (formerly of the Doobie Brothers). The only other concert was Queen Ida and her Zydeco Band at the Arvada Center.

I also enjoyed a Hula performance by a group including one of my co-workers, a native Hawaiian and a very good dancer. And my friend Lonnie's daughter, Britten, played lead in her high school play, Fame.

There was a goofy night watching War of the Worlds at our local "almost free" outdoor theater (in a parking lot downtown). In the middle of the movie, they broke in and played an announcement that sounded like our local radio station with an emergency broadcast. They were evacuating downtown Boulder because the dam up river had broken and Boulder Creek was about to flood. It was so realistic, some of us (including me) believed it. But in the spirit of Orsen Wells, it was only a prank, and I felt like an idiot.

Christiann and I went to the Beaver Creek Arts Festival again this year...but this time, skipped the Vail Ballet (due to rain) and went to Georgetown for dinner instead.

I got my annual dose of summer culture with a few more performances by CU's Shakespeare company-Henry V, Julius Caesar and their annual cabaret AIDS benefit.

Parties and Holidays ­ As always, there were a parties and holiday celebrations. Early last December, I went to a "Chrisgiving" dinner at my friend Bruce's house. I made a dish that I invented in a dream the week before; Créme Brulée Filled Winter Squash. Yum-it was a hit! I celebrated Passover and Rosh Hashana at Susan and Lonnie's. Also celebrated Hanukkah with them, then moved onto a Christmas party at Duer and Lisa's.

I spent last Christmas at my friend Chris's log cabin in the mountains. I envy her, as she lives in my dream home with my dream dog (a Bernese Mountain Dog). It was magical to spend the holiday there.

My millennial New Year's Eve was spent at my friends Michael and Bobbi's house, with lots of close friends. What a lovely way to turn the century...nothing spectacular just good times with good friends. And, I'm very glad all my worries over Y2K went unfulfilled.

An old boyfriend, Rocky, got married to Pennie in Estes Park over Labor Day weekend. I went with Lisa and we stayed overnight in the haunted Elkhorn Lodge. Ask me someday about the ghost that got into my camera.

In October, Susan and I put on a harvest brunch followed by an afternoon roaming through the largest corn maze in the country. There were about 25 of us, lost in the maze for about 3 hours. We had perfect fall weather and it was a blast! This will be an annual event.

This year, John's family came to my house for Thanksgiving-John, the food writer, his wife, kid, sister Lisa (also my good friend) and their mom-along with our friend Bruce, who used to own a few restaurants and is now a pie baker. It was a house full of foodies with much too much wonderful food.

Throughout the year, there were other fun happenings that include: A valentines party; a Humane Society benefit; a few birthday parties, including a 50th with a '60's/'70's theme; a St. Patrick's Day party, followed by a dance with our favorite local band; a 4th of July BBQ and then fireworks from a nearby park; a Hawaiian party in the mountains; a Halloween Barn dance; and a few "Red Wine Monday" gatherings.

Other Fun Events ­ I didn't go to the Kinetics again this year. Can't remember why...maybe I'm getting old.

The Slow Food group I belong to only had one event this year-we move very slowly! It was an evening of Italian food at a local restaurant. One of the group's leaders from Italy, came over with some chefs, who cooked us an incredible meal including some fantastic wines and cheeses they brought over.

Amazingly enough, I don't think I made it to a single local festival this year, nor did I make it to the amusement park to ride the roller coaster. I told you it was a strange year.

But, as always, I spent some time at spas and hot springs. On my birthday last December, I went to Indian Springs with a group of friends. There were more visits to that spot, as well as a few to Hot Sulphur Springs, Essentials Spa and Gold Lake Ranch (which is absolutely gorgeous!). I plan to celebrate in my birthday at a Russian banya spa this year.

I went out to dinner way too many times. My wallet and waist say "stop!" But, I loved every minute of it. On the other hand, I am now in a very lucky situation. John, who was the food editor for the Boulder paper for the last 15 years, took a new job as the restaurant critic for Denver's Rocky Mountain News. I am one of the friends he calls on to help with reviews. I have to join him at wonderful restaurants, order appetizers, entrees, desserts, wines and more...and have it paid for by Scripps-Howard. Bummer, huh? I've even been quoted several times in his column.

Speaking of being quoted, I was interviewed for an article that's supposed to be in the upcoming issue of Natural Home magazine (January/February?) about the Goat Cheese Dairy tour I organized for Slow Food last year. Look for it...I think I'm quoted and my photos of the event may even get in.

A few other fun times included a visit to the new Denver aquarium; a day at the flea market; having friends over to cook a goose for no good reason; a day at a down-home oatmeal festival and an afternoon of eating pies on National Pie Day, 1/23.

Sports and Stuff ­ Boring! No skiing, no snowshoeing and no professional spectator sports. I did watch my friend Pennie's dog play flyball, took flyfishing lessons one day with Kathe, and actually hiked a few times.

One of those hikes was very interesting, but I can't tell the whole story here. In a nutshell, my friend Janet and I were trespassing on government property (don't tell!); found some interesting items; and are 95% sure we were stalked by a mountain lion. We didn't see it, but saw it's feeding area and my friend's dog kept turning around every 10 feet, as we walked, looking at something behind us that we couldn't see. A few days later, the radio announced that there had been a mountain lion spotted in the area.

I tried (unsuccessfully) to get into an exercise routine-again- and even bought a punch card at the local rec center. I went several times but the punch card's still in my purse. Lisa brought me to a Salsa Fit class once, and I even walked into the Martial Arts place to get information on Tae Kwon Do classes. I'm hopeless.

Volunteering ­ I'm still doing the Taste of the Nation Benefit to raise money for the hungry, chairing the restaurant committee and organizing the chefs.

Etc. ­ I tried out a few new hobbies this year, lets see if one sticks. My friend Stephanie, is trying to get me into knitting. I got enthusiastic and bought $75 worth of wool to make a beautiful sweater. But if I don't finish my "practice" hat first, which I've been working on for many months, I'll never even start the sweater. In November I took a very interesting class. Mitsubishi developed a new product, called Precious Metal Clay. It's a compound that works like clay, but after it's fired in a kiln, turns into pure silver (or gold if you can afford it). I spent a day making earrings, pendants and a ring. It was so cool! They looked really good, just like the stuff you see for sale in art galleries. This could be a new expensive hobby. If you're interested, find classes in your area at PMCguild.com.

Now for the sad stuff ­ Unfortunately, my 15 year old cat, Dustin, didn't recover from the cancer I wrote about in last year's letter. After two surgeries and months of chemo, his tumor returned a third time. I chose to let him go on March 3rd. I think it was the hardest decision I ever made, but am glad that I let him go before he suffered much more. The wonderful folks up at CSU Veterinary center told me something very valuable. They said "Lots of people say they've waited too long, but no one ever told us they did it too soon."

After that, I had delusions that I'd go "catless" for a while; maybe take the opportunity to travel or even try to live in Italy. But I couldn't stand it. Late in March, I began visiting Humane Societies every weekend. And on April 16, I brought home the most friendly, loving one-year old black medium-haired sweetie. His name is Coal and he's got great big, inquisitive green eyes. I gave him a baby shower and all my friends came over with toys. He loves everyone and is such a cuddler.

As I mentioned, Peter's Ranch Party ended on a very sad note. In the early hours of Sunday morning, one of our guests, had a severe asthma attack. His girlfriend rushed him from an upper cabin, down to the main house where 7 of us were staying. Peter and George did CPR, Kathe reached 911, I tried to direct the ambulance to the right building, everyone else worked as support, but we couldn't save him. John was 35 and an incredible guy. Most of us just met him that Friday, having been brought by his girlfriend, who works with Peter. I'd never experienced anything like that before. I'm glad I was with good friends. Many of us stayed an extra day to begin processing it together.

In July, my friend Annie took her own life. She was the friend I wrote about last year who discovered she had MS. The disease was getting worse and she was otherwise unhappy and had a difficult life. I guess it was just too much. I hope she's at peace and out of pain now.

To end on a happy note ­ On October 6th, I became an aunt! My step-brother, Hugh, and his wife Dianne, had a little baby girl named Alexis. She's so adorable - but I'm not biased. They live in Denver, so I look forward to watching Alexis grow up.

That's it for this year. I'd love to hear how your year went too.

Warmest Wishes,

Laura