Christmas 2008

The year 2008 in review

Another glorious year has flown by with mostly positive happenings.

The year started with our Antarctic Adventure together with our friends the Stokstads. It was a truly eye opening and gratifying experience to be on the last continent not yet spoiled by man, where penguins, birds and large sea creatures rule land and sea. Subsequent to this trip, Bob and I proceeded to rent dual sport motorcycles to tour some 4000 km through Argentina and over the Andes to Chili and Patagonia, beeauutiful. This adventure was subsequently written up by Bob and published in “City Bike,” including Bob’s extraordinary photos.

In March Tineke joined a group of women friends to go kayaking from Loreto to La Paz in Baja. They spent all 10 days and nights outdoors, under blue skies, on clear waters surrounded by wildlife above and below. It was a cleansing experience, both in the physical and spiritual sense.

Sigrid and Mike’s lives are a reflection of where we once were, a house full of kids with parents juggling careers – Sigrid teaching and Mike with new employer Phillips, getting “Dutchier.” Tineke baby-sits once a week and thus regularly observes the “3 flowers” blooming.

Annelise and Mark celebrated the completion of her residency and the end to those long hours, all the more to enjoy their “wonder boy” Haakon and the work on their Seattle home.

Elke is in her element – water that is. She works for the Department of Fish and Game on unmanned submarine projects under the tutelage of her godfather Konstantin in Fort Bragg, her birth place. In her attempts to stave off small-town fever, she surfs and has taken up ceramics…a heretofore obviously hidden talent.

In the spring we attacked landscaping our garden for the culminating event – Steve and Sanne’s wedding in June, which took place in one of nature’s cathedrals – a redwood grove with filtered sunlight – followed by a celebration at our home, our third such daughter garden wedding.

Steve is busy finishing Medical School, exploring the residency phase. Sanne is an ICU RN, but is exploring the next degree as anesthetist. Who knows, maybe they will be back in California next year.

Our lives have gone more “equine”, primarily positive and expansive. The one truly devastating experience was having to put down Tineke’s wonderful dressage companion, Nassau, after he shattered his left hind pastern in the corral. On the upside she is now working at two Equine Physical Therapy

Centers, one that also serves Disabled Veterans. After Nassau’s departure, another Dutch horse came into her life, Apollo. He is a 6 yr old gorgeous Friesian stallion, aiming to compete in the World Paralympics Equestrian Games in Kentucky 2010, to be ridden by Michael Muir, a descendant of John Muir himself, disabled by MS.

Michael is an inspirational visionary equal to his famous ancestor. Under his tutelage I have been taught to run a team of mighty draft horses to take the curious, disabled and marginalized to enjoy the wonders of Mother Nature. Obviously the 2500 acre ranch requires a good share of heavy and healthy weekly labor. This and working on International Medical Projects and Rotary fill the days nicely.

We followed the Artic Tern from one Pole to the other, encountering it again on a motorcycle trip in Alaska this summer, the tern too having flown from the South to the North Pole. In Alaska we were joined by our friends Bill and Barbara Ramsey. We toured around from Park to Park and one B&B to the next, through magnificent landscapes with majestic wildlife, frequently chilled (but not stirred) and wet.

Our immediate family has

expanded (don’t worry, no child) by the addition of Great Dane # 4, the very playful and fast growing Beau, named by granddaughter Maren when she traveled with us to Washington to find him.

In addition, the entire extended family (including mothers-in law in the near 90’s) have enjoyed a relatively accident free and healthy year.

Life is wonderful! Our lives are blessed…

We wish the utmost health and happiness to each and every one of you,

Merry Christmas

Torsten and Tineke