Christmas 2023

 

     Christmas 2023

Season's greetings to you all from a very wet (due to some atmospheric rivers dumping on) Portland, Oregon! This year saw Josephine moving back to London and a number of trips across the pond to see her and check on Richard’s |mum). Liz is doing well living on her own, if not a little frustrated that she gets tired and cannot get as much done in a day as she used to. 

Richard is excited to be the new Director of Design and Information Technology at the Oregon State Bar (lawyers, not cocktails).  He had been at Oregon State Police as their CIO for over three years. The post-|Covid, “return to the office” commute to Salem (50 min each way) was getting to him so it was time to find something closer to home! He will now be managing technology for the lawyer side of the justice system rather than law enforcement! He looks forward to the new opportunity as it complements his interest in ethics, privacy, and technology. His new commute is 12 mins!

Jennifer continues with her spiritual and counseling business and continues to develop her methods of helping people, and has just passed her certification in change work. She is in her second of three years on the Board of Trustees at the Multnomah Athletic Club. She continues to be mama to Calvin, our 23-year-old chestnut thoroughbred who is doing so much better at the stables we moved him to in late 2022. 

Before moving back to London, Josephine surprised her mother by announcing that the two of them were going to Japan! Josephine grew up hearing stories from her mother about what it was like to live in Japan as a college student and she wanted to experience it for herself (AND hear her mother speak Japanese...which she does not...but does...ish, kinda!) The two of them headed out on an adventure in the first two weeks of March and had an amazing time. Richard now wants to experience Japan, so planning for that commences soon.

Josephine moved back over the pond in March on her path to being a sommelier. She had done a working tour of Oregon wineries including Ponzi and Willamette Valley Vineyards but wanted to get back to the old world. She started out at La Trompette (Michelin star) and then Bibi (high-end Indian in Mayfair). Just recently she has moved to KOL, another Michelin star Mexican restaurant under a Head Sommelier and with another Assistant Som. More to come on that.

Percy is now 10 years old and continues to guard the house well from squirrels, neighbor dogs and anything that need herding (joggers, cyclists, etc). Richard enjoys taking him for evening walks to the local school playing field for “Sunsets with Percy” (calendar soon!)

Our warmest regards and best wishes for 2024.
Richard, Jennifer & Josephine.

Christmas 2018

  

Christmas 2018

Season's greetings to you all from a sunny and damp Portland, Oregon. The weather is still mild here, with occasional breaks in the cloud cover for some amazing sunrises, sunsets and views of the mountains.

In brief...In January, Richard made a surprise trip to London for Josephine’s eighteenth birthday celebrations, and she got to buy her dad a pint at the pub. Then, after 8 months of searching, Richard got a new job in May and loves where he landed at the State of Oregon! In June, we made a family trip to England to pick up Josephine from her first year at Uni, got to see the CHESS revival (never thought that would happen in our lifetime!), made a road trip to Bath (just the three of us, so wonderful!), and built a new backyard patio just in time to host guests. 

In July, we had the BEST time getting to know Josephine’s French family, Benedicte, Bertrand, and Timothe. Every evening we sat out on the deck and cooked on the new grill (after 24 years, it was time to say bye-bye to the old one), laughing and learning about cultural differences and more importantly, what we have in common. No language barrier when love and laughter are in the room. We also celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary in July, amazed at how quickly time has flown by and how we haven’t seemed to age a bit (well Jennifer at least!) 

Josephine’s boyfriend Peter visited in August for two weeks, enjoying all that Portland has to offer (Powell’s Books, food carts, wine, beer & whisky tasting, outdoor excursions, and coffee). In September, Josephine headed back to school for her second year and quickly found her groove, reconnecting with friends and deep diving into her coursework. She is already planning her third year that will be spent attending one of a number of universities in Paris.

Richard is now happily ensconced in his job at the Oregon Secretary of State as their Deputy CIO and Applications Development Manager. He gets to manage the IT Strategic Plan and help guide the transformation to a modern infrastructure and development technologies in the public and private Cloud. He has also signed up for the Leadership Oregon program in the new year, with twelve, 2-day training events. Richard is hoping to write and speak more about ethics and getting smart about how we all use technology.
 

After five years of immersive studying of an ancient shamanic tradition called Ka Ta See, Jennifer has begun the process of setting up her new spiritual counseling practice and is excited to offer this unique non-Western modality of healing, practices, and ceremonies to her clients and wellness communities throughout Portland and beyond. For the new year, Jennifer is also continuing with her French lessons, horseback riding her favorite draft horse Appa, planning a visit to France in April with Josephine, and trying raised-bed gardening. Percy continues to chase squirrels and protect the backyard from invaders.
 

Needless to say, it looks to be a busy and exciting year for us, full of new adventures. Our warmest regards and best wishes to you for 2019.    


Richard, Jennifer & Josephine.

Portland, OR. 97219. USA.

Christmas 2016

  

Christmas 2016

Season's greetings to you all from a cold, and recently frigid, Portland, Oregon! This year saw several trips across the pond, returning to a “Snomageddon” in December, when Josephine and Richard landed in a snowstorm that brought Portland to a standstill. Fortunately Jennifer saw the impending calamity, and booked a room within striking distance of the airport.

Hard to believe that Richard is now entering his 10th year as IT manager of the Bureau of Development Services at the City of Portland. A good chunk of that time has been trying to replace the City’s aging permitting system. Now one vendor down and still going. But as he often says, “If technology were simple, I’d be out of a job!” Richard had a great 50th birthday touring Portland distilleries by limo with close friends. He continues to learn about the art and science of whisky, which is also known to improve with age!

Jennifer has continued with her speaking, coaching and spiritual studies, and crafting her new vocation helping people to get present to themselves and whatever they are dealing with in their lives. She has enjoyed being house mama for Josephine but is preparing for the next stage in life…”empty nesting!” That means a lot more time to pursue her new career and developing her business goals and vision.

Josephine is now in her senior year (second year of 6th form) and working toward graduation in June. The year started with a trip to Paris for Josephine’s 16th birthday and ended with checking out universities in the UK with her dad. Top of the list currently are Edinburgh and King’s College, London. She is applying to US universities including Yale, Williams, Brown, as we write this letter. It has been a very complicated, confusing, challenging for the whole family navigating the higher education application process in two countries. Josephine has a job as a barista in a local cafe owned by Dario who she met through her music teacher. She has enjoyed learning the art of coffee and community, and relating with customers, their culture and language, including some Russian and Bosnian.

Sadly, we had to say a fond farewell to our adopted Australian Shepherd this year. Richard swears he saw Raleigh out the corner of his eye the other day. So we guess his spirit is still watching over us, and keeping those pesky squirrels at bay. Though Percy seems to have taken over that role extremely well.

Our warmest regards and best wishes for 2017.

Richard, Jennifer & Josephine.

Portland, OR. 97219. USA.

Christmas 2015

Christmas 2015

 


Happy 2015 Holidays!

We’re off to celebrate Christmas 2015 in Canterbury (sounds like a TV special!), and then New Year’s and Josephine’s 16th Birthday in Paris. We made the mistake of promising that to her a few year's back and she never forgot! And we will squeeze in some university/college visits to Oxford and Cambridge the first week of January. I know...ALREADY? The UK uni application system makes her pick one or the other, so we are checking them out so she can confirm she is going to OXFORD (Richard exclaims!)




2015 Highlights: Josephine still loves acting and singing and excelling in school, Richard exploring creative endeavors (stained glass, comedy writing), 21st Wedding anniversary, Jennifer’s 50th Birthday (Crone-mitzvah), flooded basement (2016 will be year of the Remodel!), and overall good health & happiness to go around.







It’s hard to believe another year has come and almost gone….We are grateful to have you in our lives and wish you an incredible 2016.

Jennifer, Richard, & Josephine
Portland, OR. 97219. USA.

Christmas 2013

  

Christmas 2013

Season's greetings to you all from Portland, Oregon! As usual, thanks to all of you who have already sent letters to us.

June saw another European Vacation. This year we spent time in Oxford and Edinburgh showing Josephine the sights; as well as some R&R in Spain. This November we made a trip up to Victoria, BC to see Eddie Izzard and take afternoon tea at the Empress Hotel.

Richard continues in his 7th year as IT manager of the Bureau of Development Services at the City of Portland. He has been part of the planning to replace the City’s permitting information system, and move to paperless development and construction review. Quite an undertaking and the project should keep him busy for the next couple of years. 

Update on Jennifer.

Update on Josephine. Josephine is entering her 14th year. New school. Still at NW Chiildrens' Theater. 

Other events. 

Our adopted Australian Shephard, Raleigh still keeps the back yard defended. Percy?

Our warmest regards and best wishes for 2014.
Richard, Jennifer & Josephine.

Portland, OR. 97219. USA.

Christmas 2010

  

Christmas 2010

Season's greetings to you all from Portland, Oregon! Thanks to all of you who have already sent letters to us. We are highly amused by all the weather in Europe. We are usually dealing with the snow right about now, but it seems to have moved over the other side of the planet. 

Richard is now entering his 4th year as IT manager of the Bureau of Development Services at the City of Portland,. The bureau just got approval to upgrade its permitting information system to go Web-based and paperless. Quite an undertaking and should keep him busy for the next couple of years. On this year’s “Take Your Kids To Work Day”, Josephine toured of some downtown high rises, as well as Richard and Jennifer’s offices. But she most enjoyed playing Mario Kart on the Nintendo DS against Richard’s technical teammates.  

After two years of being success coach extraordinaire, Jennifer left InsideTrack in June. She is now helping Josephine with her curricula and extra-curricular activities as a volunteer costume maker. Good to know that the Masters in Clothing and Textiles is coming in handy. Not to be sitting too idle, Jennifer has found a fantastic jewelry company and the opportunity to get out, be social and spread the “gospel of sparkle” too much to resist. If you are interested in sparkle, check out http://www.stelladot.com/jewelryjen . 

Josephine is almost 11! She continues to thrive at the Odyssey program and is in her 2nd year as  team captain. She was General Stonewall Jackson in last year’s school play. She was Mary Applegate in the Drain Party on the Oregon Trail Field Trip that mum and dad chaperoned in May. Richard ran into some of the descendants of the Applegates who own a coffee shop on Mt Hood. Currently she is Chief of the Haida tribe in the Mahopa unit (American Indian history) and preparing for a big pow-wow performance. 

August saw our annual trip to ol’ Blighty. This year we spent time in London showing Josephine the sights; Madame Tussaud’s, a double decker bus tour, Tower of London with multiple ‘rides’ past the Crown Jewels, Buckingham Palace, and Tower Bridge,  We spent time in Blean celebrating Liz and Suzy’s 70/40 birthdays with family and friends. Jennifer and Richard took the Eurostar to Paris for a few days to themselves. Richard enjoyed travelling at up to 186 mph and reaching Paris in ~2 hours. Jennifer enjoyed taking in the sights, visiting Sainte Chapelle, Chanel, Bhudda Bar and Versailles. And finally, we travelled to the Jurassic coast in Dorset with Aunty Lisa and Josephine’s cousins, Shevek, Tchianna and Tarran. We visited Richard’s “broken down” castle at Corfe, which he always pointed out on trip’s to his grandparents in Swanage when he was growing up. 

Unfortunately, this year Josephine’s gerbil (Pearl) passed away but she gained a couple of rats (Diamond, Onyx) and a hamster (Topaz). Our adopted Australian Shephard, Raleigh keeps the squirrels at bay, is very good at locating Topaz when she gets out, is a good cuddler and Richard often finds his spot occupied when he comes to bed.

Our warmest regards and best wishes for 2011.Richard, Jennifer & Josephine.

Portland, OR. 97219. USA.

Christmas 2008

  

Christmas 2008

Season's greetings to you all, from a very white winter wonderland in Portland! Thanks to all of you who have already sent letters to us. This has been the year of Facebook, with many of our friends and family connecting online. This allows much easier exchanges of updates, photo and video since it is a post once and everyone can see approach. We encourage you to join in, search for us on Facebook, or email us to invite you to connect. 

This year has seen a return to normality on the employment front. Richard has a job with the City of Portland and it’s hard to believe that it has already been a year. He is the IT Manager for the Bureau of Development Services that oversees development and construction in the City. Richards manages the central information system with a team of about a dozen staff. He is enjoying a change from health informatics and academia and Josephine enjoyed a tour of Dad’s workplace. This year’s “Take Your Kids To Work Day” included a tour of the airport’s new parking structure. 

Jennifer has also jumped back into the workplace. She is an enrollment coach with InsideTrack, working with prospective students interested in her client campuses. She loves working with students again and is reminded how fortunate she has been with her educational opportunities.
 

Josephine is almost 9! She delights, entertains, amazes and challenges us. Thank God we’re still taller. She started a new school this Autumn/Fall at the Odyssey program within Hayhurst School (private school education at public school pricing…YAY!). She has adjusted well to new surroundings and friends, and we are happy to see her rising to new challenges. Both Josephine and Jennifer are taking harp lessons on a beautifully made instrument we received last Christmas. Josephine is planning to hire out locally as soon as she has more than three songs to play.  Is it still considered child labor if she wears pretty dresses and smiles?
 

June saw our annual trip to the other side of “The Pond”. We went to the family villa in Spain for some R&R. Josephine had an “Encounter with the Dolphins” at Seaworld, Benidorm. We also spent some time in the UK with Jim & Liz, and visiting Josephine’s cousins, Shevek, Tchianna and Tarran, and catching up with friends.
 

The end of November saw Richard and Josephine return to England for a family funeral. Uncle John, his dad’s elder brother, passed away suddenly but peacefully. It was very important to be with the family at such a time. We also had to say goodbye to both our beloved Shelties, Nelson (14) and Chloe (16).  Nelson passed away in October and Chloe soon followed in December. They had been great senior sheltie companions and the house just isn’t the same without their presence. We miss them both and imagine them barking and chasing squirrels in dog heaven. Watch for an adoption notice some time in 2009. Jennifer doesn’t think she can go dogless for very long. She’s already offering to dog sit for the neighborhood pooches…she’ll go from dog walker to dog stalker if she doesn’t get another one soon.

Our warmest regards and best wishes for 2009. We’ll see you on Facebook!  Richard, Jennifer & Josephine.

Portland, OR. 97219. USA.