VOLUME IV, NUMBER III: 2023
The first Christmas card of the year arrived just minutes after I began drafting this year’s TaylorGram – at once a reminder that I was behind (again), and that holiday correspondence is an annual highlight. Social media and the Internet more generally have changed the volume and nature of Christmas mail, but it is still a treat.
SO THIS IS CHRISTMAS (REDUX)
Reflecting on the year that was, technological advances – including but not limited to generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and CRISPR gene editing – reminded us that we have not, in fact, seen it all and the future still holds new things, many of them with an upside. Geopolitically, on the other hand, parts of the world are roiled by military conflict and civil strife, and it appears that western democracies are tired and even the idea of them has fallen out of favor with their own people.
A PASSING
We lost Paul’s dad Mel unexpectedly early in the year. He was hospitalized in February and died peacefully at the end of March. Paul was able to be with his dad for a couple of weeks before he died. It was a special time of just being together as dad reminisced about living on the farm in Saskatchewan and giving them the opportunity to say their final goodbyes. Paul and his brother decided to postpone the memorial service until July, which provided out of town relatives – including a number of nephews – the opportunity to join in what became an impromptu family reunion. It was held after the memorial service at The Half Moon, one of dad’s favorite drive-ins in Lockport, MB where he treated everybody from the service to a hotdog and some ice cream. His favorite flavor was maple walnut.
While in Manitoba in July, we spent time with Paul’s brother and his family. We also got out to Westman to catch up with Elaine’s closest relatives. The main attraction was the annual Routledge family camping weekend on the family farm just outside the thriving metropolis of Oakner, MB. It was a great time with her siblings and their families around some good cooking, nightly bonfires and even a few fireworks out on the gravel road.
A Milestone
Amid all of that, we marked our 35th anniversary in October. We are happy, content and, if you don’t tell anybody, we’ll admit to still liking each other. We will hit the high seas in the new year to celebrate number 35 officially with a partial transit of the Panama Canal with ports of call in Jamaica, Columbia and Costa Rica.
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Normal Life Around Here
We enjoyed working around the house and yard, catching up on some deferred maintenance and keeping things looking nice. Elaine experimented with some new recipes for the Big Green Egg, smoking new cuts of meat and varieties of cheese in the outdoor kitchen. It was all pretty tasty and made us think we should be doing more such things. As I write this, Elaine is baking my annual Christmas present - a double batch of fruit cake using the recipe handed down from my maternal grandmother. Because it is a double batch, we'll be sharing with a few select friends.
Also this year, our cat of 14 years and Elaine's constant shadow - Jennyanydots or Jenny for short - died of breast cancer. Our surviving cat, Jerrie, has become rather accustomed to now being the alpha cat and sleeping in all the good spots left vacant by Jenny.
We enjoyed a weekend in Vancouver, WA (just north of Portland, OR) getting caught up with a couple of friends we have not seen in a long time and watching a third compete in the state transit drivers’ bus roadeo. She placed second. Yay!
Also this year, our cat of 14 years and Elaine's constant shadow - Jennyanydots or Jenny for short - died of breast cancer. Our surviving cat, Jerrie, has become rather accustomed to now being the alpha cat and sleeping in all the good spots left vacant by Jenny.
We enjoyed a weekend in Vancouver, WA (just north of Portland, OR) getting caught up with a couple of friends we have not seen in a long time and watching a third compete in the state transit drivers’ bus roadeo. She placed second. Yay!
We also drove north for a quick visit to Calgary in early September to pick up a family heirloom from dad’s estate from our hosts, James and Leanne Hill. James had driven out it out from Winnipeg, saving us about 1,330 kilometers (826 miles). It also gave us the opportunity to catch up with the Hills, another longtime friend in the area, one of Paul’s cousin and his wife, and visit some of Paul’s old stomping grounds from his time at the University of Calgary almost four decades ago.
With a train station less than a mile from our front door, we took Amtrak Cascades up to Seattle twice this year. For the first, Paul was volunteering at the grand opening of new Seattle studios of a public radio station with which he has been involved for about a decade. We met many interesting people during the day, including NPR’s Michel Martin.
The second trip was to see Joan Osborne in concert, which was great but came with a COVID chaser. We had avoided the virus for 4 years but came home to contend with it for three weeks at the end of November.
As the ink dries on this letter, we are mostly recovered, rested up and ready for whatever 2024 has in store.
Wishing you the very best of the new year. Thanks for staying in touch over the years and across the miles.
As the ink dries on this letter, we are mostly recovered, rested up and ready for whatever 2024 has in store.
Wishing you the very best of the new year. Thanks for staying in touch over the years and across the miles.