Last night Jim and I were talking about the last year as many of us do when Dec. 31st approaches and we both thought it felt extra full, extra tense, extra happy, & extra impactful, so quite mixed up. Looking back, maybe that is the way every year unfolds in early retrospect but that’s how 2025 feels to us.

We began 2025 waiting for Jim’s Aortic Valve surgery and we were nervous, but hopeful. Thanks to Jim’s inner strength and the amazing doctors, it was remarkably successful. We have spent the past year getting physically stronger and rebuilding muscle. Dealing with downstream radiation issues from Jim’s youthful cancer treatments will always be part of our lives. But the successful valve surgery was a huge blessing. Last month Jim began using a “FAO” bionic leg brace to increase stability and strength in his lower legs. It’s a learning process, but it definitely improves his walking and pickleball!

We did our first River Cruise in May which you can read about in our blog here from Amsterdam to Budapest, followed by a week in beautiful Switzerland.

We were back for the June opening of our 10th DDIR in Everett.

Our summer boating in Canada was very busy & successful with lots of friends and of course lots of stoic challenges. But that is boating.

We saw the Eagles at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September and it was awesome! Every seat is a great seat for the immersive music video experience. After that we visited Zion National Park, our favorite, for some late season desert mountain majesty. If you’ve never been to Zion you need to put it on your bucket list along with the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and Monument Valley

Sharing time together with our family and friends is really what makes life so special and worthwhile!

We have so many blessings, but of course, national and international politics, addiction and homelessness and the darkness of antisemitism were a constant sadness for us. We are sickened by the war in Ukraine and the ongoing genocide in Sudan. We do what we can, try to stay informed but the Zeitgeist (“Spirit of the Time”) feels sick.

As “normies” we see the world pulled by the darkness of the extremes. All we can do is continue to speak out where we can and do good deeds around us as much as we can. We all have the power to make a difference with positive work.

Finally, the last living hostages were finally released by Hamas. Thank God they are home but true peace seems so elusive and the attacks on Jews around the world and in the US continue as we have recently seen so horrifically in Australia. It makes traveling to antisemitic cities like Toronto and countries that glorify “globalize the intifada” impossible for us. We really believe most people are good and caring, but we all need more people to speak out against evil when it reveals itself.

To stay up to date we listen to a lot of podcasts and read a variety of newspapers and blogs with diverse perspectives. Our favorites are The Free Press, The Dispatch, The WSJ, The New York Times (for some things it’s excellent, but definitely not regarding Israel and the Middle East), the Times Advertiser for Hawaii news, The Seattle Times for Seattle news, The Atlantic, and the blogs Noapinion & the Liberal Patriot. Our favorite podcasts are EconTalk, Advisory Opinion, Call Me Back, and For Heaven’s Sake. How do we have time for all of this you ask? We are retired, we like to read, and we love listening to interesting conversations when we are doing other things or driving somewhere.

I continue to counter all the negative energy out there by feeding my creativity with ukulele, creating mobiles and other fun stuff with sea glass “Calder” style, reading books, gathering for my book club, and traveling when we can.

Spending as much time as we can in the sun and salt water helps a lot too. Thanks to our friend Ken, I can finally make sourdough bread, cinnamon rolls, “discard” sourdough pancakes and other goodies. We are big sports fans of our local teams but most especially of our Grandkids’ teams. This summer we got to listen and stream their Little League Playoff games while floating on the True Love in Princess Louisa Inlet. The world is full of miracles and wonders, for sure.

We love good movies. Last night we saw “Song Sung Blue” with our dear friends Stephen and Kaysi. What a great movie, especially if you love Neal Diamond music, as we do. Of course, the music is wonderful, but it is so much more than that. It’s a movie about dreams, love, and perseverance despite extreme adversity. What more can we ask for than that as we look back on a year like 2025 and look forward to 2026?

Sending our love and aloha to all of you!

Jim and Fawn