We're baaaaaaaaack!

"The Girlfriends" - Tijuana, Mexico 2008


Virgin de Guadalupe, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico December 2009




Shaun dancing with Joan & Bill's (our friends we were housesitting for) neighbors in SMA at the Festival Virgin de Guadalupe





Dancing at the Festival Virgin de Guadalupe in San Miguel de Allende






Payton Clark, grandbaby #13, 5 months Sept. 2009






Mom and her new "boyfriend" Jack at 87 and 89! - Sept. 2009;








Mom and Jack with Payton









November 2008 - posing for Xmas photos

I went back to work in March 2009 for Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield where I am doing Strategic Planning for IT. It was just too scary being retired in the midst of financial ruins and I decided I needed a paycheck and benefits again for awhile for my mental well being :) After 30 years of management, I thought I'd try something different and do a staff consulting role. It's a very time consuming job, and many days I feel like the energy expended < the results!

Shaun has been babysitting Payton, grandchild #13, and the only one who lives in the Portland area, 2 mornings a week. We are loving being able to see her often and watch her grow week by week. Shaun is also writing a book about her fascinating life, though it might become a work of fiction so if it does, act like you don't know it was based on her life :)

We haven't traveled much the past few months....work is getting in the way of life. We miss it terribly. We are planning a trip to New Orleans for Thanksgiving week and look forward to that.

My Mom came to visit with her new "boyfriend" Jack in September. She is 87 and he is 89 and both are blessed with good mental and physical health. They are like 2 teenagers in love. It's wonderful.

I spent last weekend with "The Girlfriends" hanging out in a hotel in Portland. We got together in the spring in Hood River, OR and will meet again in Palm Springs (or somewhere else warm and sunny) early in 2010. We have been hangin' since we first met at HP in 1985 in Palo Alto. We have been through births of kids, deaths of parents, marriages, divorce, empty nests, comings out, cancer and just about everything life has to offer. I am so thankful that I have these wonderful ladies in my life.

I recently reconnected with my BFF from high school days. We aren't sure how long it's been since we were last in touch. I thought she still lived in NYC and she's been in LA for 16 years, so it's been a long, long time.....maybe 20-25 years. Anyway, it was great to talk to her today and catch up a little on a lot of years.