The Lewin Family Virtual, Interactive Year-end Letter - 2021 ©

Back by little, if any, demand.........here it is for 2021, our 24^th year!!!

Due to the pandemic and burgeoning political scene, we are still hoarding toilet paper and myriads of other paper products. Toothpaste, too.

Most import and most exciting, our grandson, Archer, is proving to be a very active little boy and a joy for all of us. We traveled to Colorado to be with Anthony, Erin and Archer for his first birthday and birthday party. Just before we left to return home, we enjoyed his first birthday party,

Erin and Anthony are very committed to documenting for all to see, his activities and how quickly he is growing. I cannot post the videos, but most of the still pictures I upload to Flickr and here they be. Needless to say (or write), he is a growing bundle of joy.

Our travel yearnings have been severely limited due to COVID, limited to a trip to Colorado and Carol’s trip to a knitting seminar in Reno. Otherwise it is the regular trips to Trader Joe’s and Costco (yes, to further the stash of TP), that give us a sense of travel.

Other than instant recognition at the two above named stores, the big excitement is the rescue of two cats. The neighbor of a friend of Carol’s passed away and left two cats behind, JC and Silvester. Someone in this house, I am not naming names and it wasn’t me, said “Why don’t we get a cat?”

We picked up the two cats and brought them home on a beautiful and sunny Saturday morning. We were told they were only 10 years old. Short story long, JC was ill and when taken to her vet, we learned was 15 years old and in poor health. The decision was made to put her down. Sylvester, on the other hand, was a hungry 10 year old and quite healthy. Like all cats, he eats, sleeps and begs to be rubbed. Then the cycle starts all over, but punctuated by occasional vomiting. “Why don’t we get a cat,” plays over and over in my head.

I tossed Carol out of the house and she again supported the Flower Fields in Carlsbad. She was instrumental in assisting the flower breeder with various varieties of the Tecolote Giant Ranunculus. She also coordinated the Master Gardener’s working in the flower beds to pick the best of the best of these flowers.

She is also sharing a small raised bed in the community garden and we have enjoyed “home grown” broccoli, onions, lettuce, cauliflower. There is just something about growing and immediately eating home grown veggies that taste that much better. Nothing is better that freshly cut lettuce and broccoli.

And she is still very active in her book clubs. With the pandemic, the meetings have resorted to Zoom, so you can sit in your home, discuss the book and imbibe all you want. Peer pressure is hard to resist.

Speaking of knitting and Archer, as this is being penned, Carol the Knitter just finished yet another sweater and cap for Archer for those cold Colorado days and nights.

Mid-year, we experienced climate change first hand as a night-time storm blew through with winds over 50 miles per hour. The fence on the north side of the property just about fell completely over. Our neighbor, Bob, who is much handier than we are, volunteered to build a new fence. He would supply the labor and the skill; we provide the material. What a deal. For several weeks, Bob and Carol began building the fence and when it was all done, I stained it.

It came out so well, that we found a landscaper to duplicate the design on the 125 feet of property line on the south side. The original fence was there when we bought the house nearly 40 years ago. Sad to say, that old fence was only (somewhat) upright because the elderly termites were holding hands. That landscaper was so talented that he also replaced the two gates on each side of the house.

And just as those psychedelic drugs began to wear off, Carol repainted two outdoor tables with an acrylic pour and topped with resin. Pictures in the link below.

Being a weather nerd, I mounted the WeatherFlow Tempest on the roof. Now you can see the weather we are enjoying with a click of your mouse at https://tempestwx.com/station/46607/ .

Because embedding pictures into this web page is not a pleasant task, I have put together some pictures on Flickr of what was mentioned above. Here they are.

We wish you the happiest and healthiest holiday season and 2022.

C & A