Happy Holidays and 2018 Recap

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Happy Holidays

It was another good year for Bernie and me - not only are we alive and healthy, but still traveling and enjoying friends, family and life in general.



December 2017: We spent last Christmas in Del Mar (near San Diego), California with Argentine exchange daughter Marcela, husband Tim and their son Cal. Tim's aunt and uncle live in Del Mar; Tim's parents and they flew in from Florida; Tim's sister and her family drove from elsewhere in CA; Tim's cousin and his family live in San Diego - a fun bunch of people, wonderful food and a lovely time.



Hanukkah begins the evening of December 2 and continues through the 10th this year, so we wish all of our Jewish friends a peaceful and harmonious Hanukkah.

May you have the spirit of Hanukkah which is Peace, the gladness of Hanukkah which is Hope, and the heart of Hanukkah which is Love.

January:

I had cataract surgery on both eyes, giving me 20/20 vision and no need for glasses of any kind. The lens implants are mono-vision, which I had with my contacts, but the difference is, well, no contacts!! I had light sensitivity at first, but that has subsided. Extremely pleased with the outcome.



Niece Jaime from Alaska (sister Diana’s daughter) and her family came for a visit. Dustin, Jaime’s husband, has grandparents who live here. Unfortunately just before they arrived, Dustin’s grandfather passed away. Dustin’s parents came to be with the grandmother and of course help plan the funeral and memorial.

I’m still volunteering (and loving it after ten years) as a docent (educational guide) at the AZ-Sonora Desert Museum. I’ve been handling large raptors this year.



We have several docent get togethers outside the museum so we can invite spouses, etc., and have libations - always great food and a lot of laughs. I work/volunteer with such a great group of people - smart, engaging and fun to be around.



At the end of January we attended a true celebration of life for George Brown, owner of The Lucky Wishbone restaurant in Anchorage and a long-time friend. He passed away at 95, so a good, long, happy and productive life. Still, it was the end of an era. George and wife Peggy had been wintering in AZ our entire time here and at least once a year, on his birthday, he’d throw a party and invite every Alaskan in town (or so it seemed). His daughter Pat is also a friend and she arranged George’s final good-bye.

February:

JJ, whose birthday is Feb. 5, spends her birthdays outside of Alaska whenever possible and this was about the third year in a row she has been with us in AZ. Argentine exchange daughter Victoria (Marcela's twin), who is a masseuse, was working in Tulum, Mexico. She flew up to Tucson and overlapped with JJ for about a week. We had such a great time with those beautiful, energetic, funny/crazy young ladies.



Shortly after the ‘girls‘ - yes, they’ll always be ‘girls‘ to me - left Bernardo flew to Colorado Springs, Colorado as he does every year to work at the Air Force Academy preparing a team of three cadets to participate in the international humanitarian law competition (Jean-Pictet) that we both work at every year - Bernie as a juror/judge and me in administration. Bernie is also a member of the Committee now, so works on the competition's organization throughout the year. In CO Springs Bernie also worked with another Air Force Academy cadet team, this one going to a military competition in San Remo, Italy.



Good friends Stuart & Susan who live in Seattle also have a place in Rosarito, Mexico and we’ve visited them there many times. This year we decided to show them a part of Mexico they weren’t familiar with: Puerto Peñasco, aka Rocky Point. We rented a house just across the street from the beach and spent a fun three days shopping, beach combing, eating and exploring.

March:

Early March Bernard flew to Washington, D.C. for the American Red Cross Clara Barton International Humanitarian Law Competition. He and several others helped found this competition (modeled on the Jean-Pictet) about five years ago. The American Red Cross took it over last year, which is a good thing vis-á-vis money, but Bernie and his colleagues continue to contribute time and effort to the competition.



Bernardo was back from D.C. only a couple of days before we headed to Macedonia to take part in the Jean-Pictet International Humanitarian Law’s 30th annual competition. We went a week early and traveled in Macedonia - all over; from the border with Greece to the one with Albania. Here is the link to that blog: http://www.travelblog.org/fred.php?id=1015506 - The Republic of Macedonia/30th Jean-Pictet IHL Competition 2018.

April:

It is a busy time of year for Bernie; we were home less than a week before he headed back to Europe, to Frankfurt Oder, Germany to teach for a week at the university he is affiliated with there.

May is our ‘down‘ month when we recuperate from our spring activities and get ready for our summer adventures.

June 10 - September 15 - summer travels, here is the link: http://www.travelblog.org/fred.php?id=1024876 - Summer 2018: USA, Canada & Alaska, Germany & Poland

October:

Early in the month long-time friend Jill (met in Ecuador in 1988; visited her in Malaysia and Atlanta; she has visited us in AZ before) came for a short visit. She was doing America by Amtrak and did a very interesting blog about it.



Bernie had one more international humanitarian law gig, which was in Los Angeles, California for the America Red Cross - a training for training volunteer educators to disseminate humanitarian law - actually part of the mandate of the American Red Cross, but they’ve been doing a pretty terrible job of it. You need a U.S. President and head of the American Red Cross who believe in international law to encourage the dissemination . . . . nuff said.

November:

For Thanksgiving we had a friend from El Paso, Mara, come for the weekend. Hubby Larry came down with a cold the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and was feeling so bad he didn't make the drive with Mara - he was missed. In addition to Mara, for dinner we had friends Tim & Linda from Alaska, Almarene and Suellen join us for a fun day, but I forgot to take photos.

Future:

December: We'll be in Arizona for Christmas. I've been hoping to get grandson Evan (13), who lives in Seattle, here for part of his Christmas break, but things have not firmed up yet.



My sister Donna and husband Larry from Fairbanks are due to drive through Tucson in their RV sometime in early December. We saw them the summer, but it is always wonderful to connect with family - anytime, anywhere.

January: We have a week-long trip to Panama planned with Tim & Linda for the middle of January.

February: JJ arrives Feb. 2 for her get-out-of-AK-for-her-birthday trip. We are in the middle of planning a jaunt down to the Cancun, Mexico area; meeting Marcela and Victoria, our Argentine daughters there. Vic is working in Tulum Dec. - March. We are hoping that Jaqueline, our Guatemalan daughter, can join us - keep you posted.



Bernie has his Colorado Springs trip Feb.10 - 13 - preparing Air Force cadets to compete in the international humanitarian law competitions. Actually he works with two groups: one going to the Jean-Pictet and another going to a military competition in San Remo, Italy.



Shortly after Bernie gets back from Colorado my sister MaryJean and husband Buzz are coming for a visit - hope to do some hiking in this area, but also take a trip to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico for some beach time too.



Friend Deb from Alaska comes for a visit toward the end of the month.



March: Bernie is off to the American Red Cross Clara Barton IHL competition in D.C. the beginning of March. He is back only a few days before we fly to France for the 31st and **32nd competitions of the Jean-Pictet IHL Competition.



**Short explanation: The Jean-Pictet IHL Competition has, for the past 30 years, been held in English and French; 2/3 English-speaking, 1/3 French. There has always been so many more English-speaking teams apply to participate then can be accommodated; almost all of the French-speaking teams have typically been accepted. The International Committee of the Red Cross (based in Switzerland) has been encouraging us to have two competitions so that more teams can participate. That is happening this year with one competition being English-only and the regular one with French and English competitors. The competitions are a week long; this year we'll do the English-only competition for a week; then a ***week's break; then the French-English competition. Both competitions are being held in Obernai, France (Alsace region, NE France near border with Germany).



***We are still putting together our plans for that week, but we are leaning heavily toward Tunisia.



April: The second Jean-Pictet competition is over on April 6 and Bernie has to be in Frankfurt Oder, Germany on April 8, so he'll fly directly from France to Germany and I'll fly home by myself.



We hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with family, fun and lots of laughter.

May this joyous Christmas season bring you peace, health and happiness throughout the coming year.

Love, Kathy & Bernie

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Photos

Happy Holidays
Wishing you all the hope, wonder and joy that the holiday season brings.

Christmas 2017 w/Jensens in CA
Cal, Tim & Marcela in La Jolla, CA - spent the holidays with them at Tim's aunt and uncle's; Tim's parents, sister and her family and cousin and his family were also there

Niece Jaime & Family at the Desert Museum
My niece Jaime (husband Dustin, daughters Kadence & Ashlyn) plus Dustin's parents, all from Alaska, visited in January

January Desert Museum Docent Party
Sarah, our party planner w/hubby Jay, Jenna, me and Paul, our host. There were many more docents in attendance and they all brought the most delicious dishes to share. We only do this a couple of times a year, so everyone puts their best foot forward and we feast!!

Vicky and JJ in Tucson, Feb.
Feb. is Gem Show time!! The girls had a ball. JJ flew down from Alaska and Vicky flew up from Tulum, MX for a week. Vic lives in Spain normally, but several winters now she has worked at a resort in Tulum.

Stuart & Susan in Puerto Penasco, Mexico
In late Feb. we rented a house on the beach near the town of Puerto Penasco - this is the malacon/boardwalk in the downtown area.

Christina - June in WA
Daughter Christina this summer

Grandson Evan Lifting his Dad
Evan, 13 now, is growing fast and getting strong - obviously as he can now pick up his dad. Too funny.

Kathy & Cosmo - Crested Caracara
I'm still volunteering at the Desert Museum as a docent (educational guide) and working with large raptors

Thanksgiving w/Mara - November
Mara drove from El Paso; husband Larry had a cold and didn't come. I should have had on sunglasses as I'm squinting so badly - oh well, it is a nice photo of Mara

Larry & Donna - Dec.
Kathy's sister Donna and husband Larry stopped by in Dec. for a short visit on their way to Louisiana for their grandson's college graduation; hope to see them on their way back to AK in the spring. Obviously this photo was taken this summer at the high school reunion in Fairbanks

Skopje, Macedonia - March
Our hotel was just around the corner so night walks were safe and beautiful. That is a museum all lit up.

Ohrid Lake, Macedonia - March
Setting for 30th Annual Jean-Pictet IHL Competition. This was the view from our room balcony. When you are in a hotel for a week, it is nice to have beautiful surroundings.

Ohrid Lake Cruise - scene from boat/March
As a surprise we took all of the competitors on a cruise around the lake and then into town. We then had a tour of the town, stopped for coffee/wine, etc., and the return boat got back after dark. Since there was a DJ on board, nobody complained.

30th Annual Jean-Pictet IHL Competition - March
Group Shot - 48 3-member teams = 144 plus support staff brought our number to almost 200. We literally take over a hotel for the week.

Macedonian Adventure
While exploring a village one morning we got stuck over a creek, punctured the gas line, had to have a tractor tow us out; find a mechanic to repair, all while it was cold and snowing off and on - long, funny story.

Jill Sare - October
Long-time friend Jill, who lives in Ecuador now, came for a visit - Tucson was one of her stops on her Across American by Amtrak journey this fall/winter

JJ & Vic in Sabino Canyon, Tucson - Feb.
As is the norm in a Tucson winter, the weather was amazing when Vic and JJ visited in Feb. - we hiked Sabino Canyon, of course.