Thursday 12-20-2012 Blog Update-Christmas Letter

I thought I would start this blog update with a picture of a Christmas cactus that is blooming in my living room.  It was outside all summer and I didn't pay much attention to it but it is sure pretty now!

I mentioned in my update a few days ago that it has been over a year since I added to this blog.  I will try to fill in some of the blanks and let you know what the Gaudi Clan has been doing for the last twelve months.

About this time last year, Terry and I were getting ready to go on an amazing 2 1/2 week visit to Mumbai, India.  We were in Mumbai over Christmas and New Years as guests of our friends from Dubai, Corine and Denzil D'Souza.  Their daughter Bianca and her husband Bill were also there visiting from London and their son Charley and a girlfriend were there from Baton Rouge, LA. where he is a teacher.  Corine and Denzil also have a home in Mumbai and that was where we all stayed.  We had a fabulous time and were very well cared for.  We went somewhere different almost every day travelling by train, car, bus, motor scooter taxi (putt -putt) plus we did a lot of walking.  It seemed like there was a party somewhere every night and we ate fantastic foods and met a lot of wonderful people.

One of the people we met in Mumbai was Father Joe, a Catholic Priest and a really special man.  Catholicism and I had parted company some 55 years ago but with the help of Father Joe, my Catholic faith was restored.  He heard my confession (you can imagine!) and I received Communion.  He also blessed Terry & my  43rd wedding anniversary on December 28 in a special service.  I've been going to church every week since that time and Terry calls my conversion "The Miracle of India."  I will try to write some more about Father Joe and the work he is doing in India in a future blog.

Charley D'Souza came to visit over Easter and we enjoyed having him.  He is a bit of a scholar on Catholicism and Bernie asked him many questions.  His parents also came to visit here in Columbia while Terry was in Mexico.

Terry and I returned to Columbia on January 6 and I promptly got sick with another bout of pneumonia.  This time I ended up in the ER for half a night but thanks to my doctor, I finally got better.

Terry's sister, Linda came down to see us from New York for about 3 weeks in February.  During her visit, we went to Charleston where we were joined by our son, Scott and Martin for a long weekend.  It was a bit cold but we stayed at a very nice hotel, ate some wonderful food and had a great time in general.  Scott is doing very well at Ohio State and will become a full professor this year.  His love is still searching for planets and he has found a bunch of them!

Our daughter, Tana, came to see us from LA for a few days in late February and we had a great visit but it was much too short.  Tana is doing some amazing things outside of her normal 9-5 job in computer graphics (which she hates.)  This year she was team captain of a 12 girl group called "Bandits for Boobies" that raised over $34,000 for her 4th annual 26 mile Avon Walk for Breast Cancer!  Of the total, she personally raised over $4,100 and walked the entire 26 miles even though she has had problems with her feet that resulted in two operations this year.

Tana founded a women's meeting group last year that now has 170 members.  She is also working toward certification with the International Coaching Federation and has earned certification this year in Reiki, Quantum Touch and Reconnective Healing. I have asked her to post some information on these fields on my blog so you can check them out if you are interested.  Eventually, she would like to work full time in coaching and the energy field.

In March, Terry and I went to Charleston for a my 6 month checkup with my cancer doctors.  All my test came out fine and the doctor told me to come back in 6 months (which I did, and I am still cancer free!)
Also in March, Terry had cataract surgery in one eye and later this year had her other eye fixed.

In late May, Terry spent a week at Fripp Island (near Charleston) at a yoga/macrobiotic retreat.  She had such a good time that in October, she went to Mexico for a "Spirited Women over 45" retreat that also featured yoga and macrobiotic food.  This retreat was literally in the jungle with a very long, difficult hike up a mountain for yoga twice a day!  However, "the yoga was wonderful as was the food and the women were AMAZING as were the teachers."  I took her word for this since I was off on a trip of my own in October which I will mention below.

In June, Terry spent a week in Alaska with Scott who was there for a seminar but managed to take some time off to also see Denali and other places.  Terry took a bunch of pictures and the scenery looked breathtaking.

In June, Terry's sister Linda returned for another visit and I also celebrated my 73rd birthday.  Tana also returned to Columbia for a brief visit just after my birthday.

In July, Terry and I went to Washington, DC to be with Scott when he received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).  He was nominated by the National Science Foundation from which he received a large grant last year.  Though the parents and guests didn't get to meet the President, Scott and the other recipients did.  It was an amazing honor to receive this award and we are very proud of him!

In August, Terry went to New York and Lake Chautauqua for a week with her sisters (her youngest sister has a second home on the Lake), their children and her step-mother, Helen.  I didn't go but did visit with my friend, Jay Coleman, in Beaufort, SC and also spent 5 days in Bland, WV with good friends at the annual Eaton/ABB Bristol Nascar Race Weekend.  We shot sporting clays, watched the race, ate great food and had a delightful time at the home of Diane and Lloyd Breedlove.

In late October, while Terry was in Mexico, I went to Staunton, IL to attend my 55th HS Class Reunion.  I also drove up to Champaign, IL for a 50 year reunion with a bunch of my fraternity brothers, many of whom I hadn't seen in 50 years.  We also went to the University of Illinois Homecoming football game.  We lost and it was cold but I still enjoyed the outing.  I was also able to meet several other friends in the Staunton/St. Louis area and had lunch with several friends from the Eaton Sales Office.

Terry and I have stayed close to home the last two months and are looking forward to a quiet Christmas and New Years with some close friends.  Terry baked some cookies which she sent to our kids and gave to some neighbors and I hope she will be able to relax the rest of this month although I'm not holding my breath. As of today, neither one of us are sick but there is a bunch of people in Columbia who have to flu or some other bug.  It would be great to end this year on a healthy note.

We are going out to eat on Christmas Eve and will then go to midnight mass.

I hope you have a happy and healthy holiday and that 2013 is a wonderful year for you and your family.

Here a picture of Terry and me with my oldest friend, Frank Brown, who turned 99 this year and is still going strong!