Well, another year has passed, mostly uneventful for us. Several of our friends and family have had struggles this year and that, of course, made us hope for better times for them in the new year. At the end of my last holiday letter to you all, I mentioned that we were on a health kick and hoping for a less adventurous year. Healthwise, we had a good year, or reasonably so for two old farts. No ER visits or hospitalizations at least.

The vehicle front was another issue. While we started the year with a new car, that did not last long as the insurance declared the car a total loss at the beginning of the year, when a speed demon broadsided John as he was leaving a grocery store parking lot. John was fine, thankfully, but shaken. Of course, the camera in the car proved he stopped at the stop sign but that did not prevent the speeder from hooking up with a personal injury lawyer and causing us a good deal of stress. Thank goodness we have a good insurance company and a good lawyer.

The other vehicle issue is karma for the first. We have a John Deer riding mower in Vermont which is more of a mini tractor. It is almost ten years old and so we get it regularly maintained, which is no minor issue. We must have it picked up to be taken for repair/maintenance, let them work on it and then bring it back. Just when we were thinking we should give them a call, we got a call from John Deer. “John, about your tractor, I have good news and bad news, what do you want first?”    Ever the optimist, John says “Give me the bad news” “Well” says the John Deer tech, “Your tractor was all fixed and ready for us to take back to you, and a big truck backed over it and totaled it.”  “And there is good news?” John asks skeptically. “Yes, we caught the guy who did it on our surveillance camera and you will be getting a brand-new mower/tractor” Karma and cameras to the rescue.

Northen Vermont, as many of you know, suffered severe flooding in our area of Barton. Our home, elevated quite a bit above Roaring Brook, is in our backyard. It is usually more like a dry creek, but this year it lived up to its name. A new little waterfall appeared from the raging water carving out a new route out by the flooding this Spring. FEMA was in the area helping homes and businesses in the flood plain. One of the restaurants, the only real restaurant in Barton, had to close from flood damage. It recently triumphantly reopened.

Donna’s art continues to keep her busy, but John continues to remind her to do what brings her joy and not to over commit. He even printed a sign for her stating “NO! is a complete sentence.” Nature and Social Realism continue to stimulate her creative juices. Follow her art adventures on Instagram & Threads as @donnawalshwarren & @artevolutiongallereyonline and Facebook as East Coast Artist Donna Walsh and Art Evolution Gallery. Here is a sample of one of her small paintings, “Northern Lights” now in the collection of a dear friend.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

With all our love,

John & Donna