We’ve had fun but somewhat stressful year. I personally find it stressful when someone asks me- “So what are you doing in your retirement?” I somehow feel the real question being asked is: “Given the state of the world, what socially useful thing are you doing to improve the lot of humanity with all that spare time you have in your retirement?” The answer is- not that much. I fold, tape and label the Unitarian Church newsletters once a month. This causes minor arthritic wrist discomfort so it is one small sacrifice. I mail modest donations to my favorite environmental organizations and local candidates. I occasionally e-mail or Tweet my discontents to my congresswoman. She usually sends back a cheery note that all is well. I don’t think I can reconcile our differing world views so I’ve mostly given up on much further action on that political front. 
We escaped the worlds problems by spending almost a month hiking parks in Utah. Our trip and many pictures are posted on my blog https://janlw.wordpress.com/utah Utah parks are fantastic. 
The best news this year is that our only daughter 
was happily married to a great guy with a wonderful family in Madison Wisconsin. The wedding itself was very easy. Leigh did all the planning and we sent money. The stress was getting there. Our 1912 house was losing its front porch. We found just one contractor willing to tear down and rebuild the concrete porch, this time with rebar. After setting a date for the demolition and replacement in early July the crew showed up mid-August and we’d promised to be in Wisconsin August 23rd. We left for the wedding with our porch paid for and almost complete. All was well when we came home in September.
After our fabulous Wisconsin wedding we went to the family cottage in Michigan to rest before the next wedding. 
Leigh’s best girlfriend from college was married in Aspen Colorado. Megan’s parents invited us to use their rustic cabin in Twin Lakes, CO near Leadville. What fun that was! 
We took some beautiful hikes in the Twin Lakes area. We also spent a couple of days in Denver where Dennis & I first met in graduate school.
Megan’s wedding was also fabulous. Megan and her father canoed to the ceremony site in the Hallam Lake Nature Preserve. It was a wonderful setting and a very fun event including pre- and post-wedding hikes. 
In the unlikely event of a dull moment Aspen was hosting an international rugby tournament. On the drive home we spent the night in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We were in time for the first big snowstorm of the season. We drove into the Tetons National Park only to have them close the gates the moment we arrived, due to snow.
Life has been pleasantly dull this fall. We’ve had a mason replace and repair the places in the house foundation that were cracked, fell off, or were knocked off when the porch was rebuilt. Dennis volunteered to deliver Meals on Wheels once a month. He volunteered me as his assistant. They tell us nothing can go wrong if we can program our GPS.
We are hoping for more snow and some good x-country skiing in the New Year. Happy Holidays to all.
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