Peace on Earth

Dear Family & Friends~

I hope the year has been a good one for you. Ours has been full of blessings and excitement, so here's a quick recap.

Floyd's job which started in September 2004 continued until April when he and the crew completed building the new Visitor's Center in Lone Pine, CA. Now, he's again working for Build-It Construction on new houses going up in the Ridgecrest area. Floyd's garden was very bountiful once he won the battle with the invasive, little, garden critters. We had lots of fresh veggie salads, Floyd made ketchup from the surplus tomatoes, plus he made apple butter from the 60 pounds (!) of apples he and I picked in Tehachapi in September.

Jacqueline finished her master's thesis! We never doubted that she would, but it had become such a regular topic of conversation over the years that it's hard to believe it's now a thing of the past. She continues to take classes in subjects that interest her and works three part-time jobs that enable her to have time for classes and other activities. Her newest job at the University involves transcription which she really enjoys.

Pine celebrated her 14th year at Mervyn's. She just received the award for her district for having the store with the lowest number of staff turnovers for the year. She was in her friend Monica's wedding in April and was in her friend Adrienne's wedding earlier this month. She got a very sporty 2000 Nissan Altima last Spring.

Jed keeps busy with his job at China Lake. He and I have had some good discussions about nutrition lately. He eats foods in as close to their natural state as possible and has helped me get back on track with my diet.

Gabe graduated from Village Christian High School in June. He works part-time building guitars in a small shop in the San Fernando Valley. He will soon complete his first semester at L.A. Valley College. He's very interested (and talented) in photography and playing the guitar.

My big news is that I retired! October 14th was my last day as a civil servant. I've already been called in as an independent contractor to interpret a couple of assignments which I enjoy. I took two short-term classes through the local college this fall and have registered for two more courses for Spring 2006. My long term goal is to (finally!) finish my B.A. with a major in English and minor in Journalism. For fun I've been going to scrapbooking crops and getting lots done on my various album projects; taking card making classes, therefore making and sending lots of cards; plus I joined Toastmasters in May and have given a number of speeches to the club. I think I single-handedly keep craft stores such as Michaels, Jo-Ann's, and Beverly's (not to mention all those online) in business buying papers, pens, rubber stamps, and other goodies. If you let me know your birthdate (unless I already have it), I'll send you a birthday card, something else I really love doing!

Floyd & I went to a Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser in Studio City last July (great experience!) and a Natalie Cole concert at the Hollywood Bowl in August (what a fun time!) We've made a few more day trips to pick up or drop off Floyd's mom, Julia, when she visits. We've started attending Crossroads Community Church in Ridgecrest. It's non-denominational and very contemporary in a laid-back, California sort of way.

We're looking forward to another good year in 2006 and hope yours will be filled with blessings, too!