Happy New Year ~ 2017 (with Highlights of 2016)

Hello, Friends.

It's been a hard year of losses for our family. In February, Mary's beloved father passed, and his sister, Aunt Jane (who, with her sister, Aunt Kate, was our nearest neighbor) followed him in June. We have found comfort in good memories and the love of family and friends, but we miss them immensely.

Here are the highlights as they occur to me (Mary) in no particular order:

Here Dad reads at our wedding.

In January, I wrote about my dad in my column, and I'm really happy that he got to see it before he passed. I wrote about Aunt Jane, too, but

Aunt Jane

her death was very sudden, and she never got a chance to read it. Don't wait to tell people in your life how important they are. (A cliché, maybe, but one of the true ones.)

Ellis is now a Junior, majoring in Computer Science in the College of Engineering at UIUC. I hear he

Ellis

is making pretty good grades, too, especially in his ice skating class. He enjoys school so much that he's thinking about grad school.

Michael reads a few poems.

Michael is still working up in Watseka in his therapy private practice. He's done a lot of renovations on his office, making the back room cozy. He's been working on projects at home, too, putting the floor on our new front porch. Soon we will be able to set a little table and a couple of chairs out there to enjoy our morning coffee. He's also been doing body work on my car--pounding out dents, sanding, and painting. It's like having a new car. You live with someone for 30 years + and never realized they could do body work. Who knew? Michael's talents seem to be limitless. He is still writing poetry, and we go up to Chicago fairly often to read in an open mic or visit the museum or go to one of Dylan's Recovery Soup events.

Dylan tweets his soup!

Dylan is a busy one, cooking and baking at Café Marie Jeanne, a delightful rustic French restaurant in Humbolt Park. He is perfecting his sourdough technique and hosting his pop ups (the Recovery Soup events linked above). We're really proud that he uses these events to raise money for various charities, from the Chicago Food Bank to the ACLU to Chicago House and Social Service Agency. If you'll be in Chicago check out his Facebook page at The Dinner Table to find out when his next event will be.

Chandra is still in Seattle, and he and his partner, Lila, have just adopted a huge puppy. Freya is a Bernese Mountain Dog. Michael and I visited in October, just before Freya joined the household, so we had to content ourselves with hiking, and wandering around Pike Place Market. But we look forward to meeting her in the coming year, maybe when we go on

Mary and Chandra

our backpacking trip somewhere in the Cascades. Stay tuned for news of that trip next year. To prepare, we have been exploring trails closer to home, and in September spent a couple of days hiking at Devil's Lake in Wisconsin.

On the trails in Devil's Lake

Hiking at Little Si in Seattle

Fresh Veggies at Pike Place Market

Seafood in Seattle!

Mary and Michael buy their traditional bouquet from the Market

It's hard to believe, but I am about to defend my thesis for my MFA. For two years I've been going down to Kentucky for 10 day residencies and writing long distance during the semester. I almost hesitate to say it, but my little book is nearly finished. I just have one story to heavily revise and then polish the rest. I've had a little good luck with publications. My first book review appeared in our school journal, New Madrid, (Okay, I had to write it to graduate, and they sort of had to publish it.) and I have a short story upcoming in Quiddity's 2017 issue. I studied abroad in Ireland for most of the month of June, and Michael got to come for a week. As part of my schoolwork I contributed to this blog: Murray State Irish Literature Study Abroad. You can read about what my classmates and I were up to, or you could read my posts: Q-Con in Belfast and Earthenware Pot Oven: and Artifact of Hospitality, and The Vivid Face of James Connolly. You could also check out my friend, Ryan's, blogposts on our trip, especially The Summit Kept its Promise, and How we learned so much from an exhibit that's not open yet.

Irish Castle

Irish Tower

Mary and an Irish Wall

A Walk in the Woods 

Mary and Michael at Sandycove

James Joyce Tower

Wishing you and yours a happy new year filled with light, love, community, and hope.