The first Sriner Christmas letter was printed on my spirit duplicator; remember those purple printed pages we got in school that could almost get you high from the smell, if it was just printed by the teacher.   Next, the letter  was printed on the mimeograph machine. Remember  that messy ink splattered  print we also got in school. I had both at my book store.  Then along came computers and home color printing. I moved into that media and was able to add color pictures to the Christmas Letter.  The older I got, the more I had to say and early printed letters were often 4 -5 pages printed front and back.  Even on light paper, the over-weighted cards became costly to print and mail as more and more people requested them.  Next, computers started talking to each other over the internet.  Suddenly, you could send color graphics and even video with the click of the button.  Over the years of ever-increasing digital communications, my letters evolved to the point that only digital format was practical. That is where we are now.  It is also now phone or tablet friendly; unlike the pdf versions I have posted in the past.  In this fast paced life we have built for ourselves,  we don’t even have or take the time to sit down at the computer and read email. We are ever-increasingly reading our mail on the phone while riding an elevator or waiting in line at the grocery store. It’s also a great way to pass the time waiting for the doctor; something that I and many of my friends do on a regular basis.  If we continue on this trend, soon we will have to confine our communications to a 140 character tweet.  If it comes to that, sorry but you will have to come visit me so I can tell you about my past year.  So,  for now, hang on; here we go; off for a ride through the thoughts of 2016.

As I try to chronicle the past year into a digestible serving of the meat and potatoes of life topped with a delicate humorous glaze of slap-stick and satire, I find myself face-planted against the reality wall of  CANCER.  There, I have said it! It is that word whispered in corners of the room by family and friends.  It isn’t something that can be wrapped up and tied with a bow to open at some unknown time in the future.  It is here and it directs, either directly or indirectly, the final scenes in this drama of life.  Yes, it can be postponed but it does not go away.  But, as they say, the show must go on and Pat is the strongest, most positive, most giving person I know.  The bad news is that the cancer is still slowly growing ; the good news is that the cancer is growing slowly and the medications have had few side effects. Thank God we have good doctors and good insurance.  I can’t even imagine what it would be like if the stress included the worry of how to pay for the care.

OK, so we have now faced the elephant in the room.  No, I’m NOT referring to me although I can see the resemblance.  I have reached that point where anything below my belly button is considered on the dark side of the moon.  Otherwise, I am relatively healthy.  Sure, I have those aches and pains that seem to accompany this age also aggravated by inherited spine problems but  I consider myself lucky. I can still get onto and off the roof and can do a little work while up there.  Yes, projects do take longer but time I have.

This past year’s major project was the kitchen remodel and although we are still looking at a patchwork of multicolored cabinets, otherwise, it is finished. My only regret is that we didn’t do it long ago. It is so much more convenient.  There is nothing about the new design that I don’t like.  I love the new appliances and new window.  I enjoy cooking and it is much easier to enjoy in the new environment.

When I look back on the year, I see it can be divided between trips to visit with the doctors and trips to visit with nature and friends.  It is sometimes challenging to balance these two aspects of our current life.  While we considered a trip south to consume part of the winter, the threats of weather problems both getting out of, and returning to, home were more stressful with health issues.  We find ourselves less flexible both physically and mentally.  The “what-ifs” can certainly put a damper on plans. Even a planned outing in May was cancelled due to weather.   It was June before we ventured out in the camper and even then, it was just out to Sangchris SP for a long weekend. .  The end of June brought a visit from our new friends, the Boones, who we met at Rocky Mountain National Park while camping. We camped together this time out at New Salem and visited with them  each day they were here.  We could not show them around as much as we wanted, but we did have a great time.  It is friendships like this that bring true value to life.

It wasn’t until August that we ventured out again; for a visit with another wonderful couple, the Felds, up in Door County, Wisconsin.  We decided to stay camped in their driveway and they were exceptional hosts.  Aside from providing full hookups for the camper, they tried to feed us every night.  I tried to reciprocate by fixing my self-proclaimed famous crab tacos.  In my excitement to share my dish, I overdid with the sriracha dressing.  It didn’t even occur to me that they didn’t like hot food. This was a major blunder on my part. When Hans coughed and lit the candles across the room, I got the idea that perhaps it was too hot.  Fortunately, Nancy had some cooling desert to sooth the fire.   We planned the trip around the Tall Ships Festival and spent two full days watching and photographing the ships as they entered and left Sturgeon Bay.  What a wonderful time it was.

click here for more tall ships pictures

Shortly after returning home, we were hosting another high school friend, Karen Hart,  here at our house.  Actually, we set her up in our camper “guest house”  for the time she was here. Again, more time with the companionship of friends.  While Karen was here, we were also able to enjoy a short visit with another HS friend, Mary Gasperin.  I guess you could say, August was Old friends month!  The key word here is “old”, no strike that; make it “friends”.

In September, we headed over to Turkey Run State Park in Indiana,  for a week camping and visiting the sights there.  We crisscrossed the area photographing barns and covered bridges.  We are slowly finding a balance between the resting stages and the sightseeing events. We need both.  We are also finding ourselves able to take our time to see the little things and stop and visit with folks.  It used to be Go, Go, Go the whole time we were out; but now it is Go, rest, go, rest, rest, go.  Aside from missing one barn I wanted to re-photograph, we saw everything we wanted to see. We even took a less than rewarding trip down to Brown County where I remember stories of an artsy area with lots of barns.  It turned out to be too commercialized for us. We drove around and headed back. It felt like a wasted day.  The end of September brought more friends from High School as we gathered for a mini-reunion, 70^th birthday gathering.

In October, we hit the road again. This time, we were headed for the east side of Lake Michigan.  We were delighted to be going to visit another old friend from High School, Julie Avery in Empire, Michigan. Not coincidentally, this was the location of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore.  We camped there in the national park. The campground was AWESOME!  The first night there, we were delighted to have a surprise visit from Julie.  I don’t think anybody ever did that before. It was a nice welcome.  It is an interesting note that we were almost directly across Lake Michigan from Nancy  Feld. I tried to wave to her, but apparently she does not have as good eyesight as Sarah Palin because she could not see us just across the lake.  Barns, Barns, and more barns would be the keynote for this visit. We ventured up two peninsulas on either side of Traverse City, MI and zig-zagged our way back down.

The beautiful barns made for a delightful outing. We will definitely be going up there again.  Click here for more barn pictures. We shared a dinner at Julie’s home and another at the local restaurant.  Two specific events come to mind when I think back about this trip. The first would have to be the “wrong turn” guided by our GPS.  It was one of those back road short cuts. It was the closest we have come to the 4WD drive we found going up to Crystal Mill Colorado.  There were not the sheer drop offs but the ruts and muddy rills made up for that. Add in low hanging branches and a steady light rain and you have a real adventure.  The second event was not as exciting but rather an incidence of self-awareness. We pulled into the parking lot at the base of an extremely tall sand dune.  We debated getting out, but decided to just stay in the truck and enjoy our PBJ sandwich.  Before us was the sky reaching sand dune with young and older adventurers at various points ascending the dune.  At the provided picnic tables, were people putting on shoes or taking them off. I watched, almost in a daze contemplating the ascent of the “mountain”.  It took all of my willpower to stay in the car and NOT try to conquer the sandy slope.  I’m sure I could have made it just because of sheer will but at what cost?  As I second guess myself now, I’m not sure I won’t try it at some time in a future visit. Being old is still new to me and it is hard to accept.

November didn’t bring any camping but we were able to have Thanksgiving here again after several years celebrating with Krystal and Steve’s family.  No, we didn’t live with them for  four years and celebrate, we went to their home several times to celebrate Thanksgiving.  It was nice to have the family, Krystal, Kim, Joshua and Emily all together for a more intimate meal.  Now, we are getting ready for Christmas and a new year.

A recount  of 2016 would not be complete without some comment on the election and the state of our world. Last year, I talked about the great divide I was seeing in our country.  Now, it has grown to shameful proportions.  It could easily erupt into a small scale civil war depending on what transpires over the next year.

According to Edger Cayce, Plato and many other philosophers, there was an ancient continent of Atlantis. It was very advanced much like we are today. It too became divided between two factions. The one faction believed that we were all one; interconnected in spirit.  The other faction broke away from that belief as they enjoyed the thought that they were better and deserved to control those below themselves.   As long as they just fought among themselves, they were allowed to have free will,  but when they  lost respect of the land and misused it,  the Earth, also a living being, made the necessary changes to correct the attack on itself. Atlantis, like Lemuria before it, was taken to the bottom of the ocean for cleansing.

I resonate with the belief that we are all one in spirit. That means those who believe and those who don’t are still interconnected.  This spirit has no color, no religion and no sex.  I know, I don’t like that last part either.  I just pray that we can all remember who and what we are before  we blow each other up like many of the prophesies predict.

Love and Light,
the Sriners

The first Sriner Christmas letter was printed on my spirit duplicator; remember those purple printed pages we got in school that could almost get you high from the smell, if it was just printed by the teacher.   Next, the letter  was printed on the mimeograph machine. Remember  that messy ink splattered  print we also got in school. I had both at my book store.  Then along came computers and home color printing. I moved into that media and was able to add color pictures to the Christmas Letter.  The older I got, the more I had to say and early printed letters were often 4 -5 pages printed front and back.  Even on light paper, the over-weighted cards became costly to print and mail as more and more people requested them.  Next, computers started talking to each other over the internet.  Suddenly, you could send color graphics and even video with the click of the button.  Over the years of ever-increasing digital communications, my letters evolved to the point that only digital format was practical. That is where we are now.  It is also now phone or tablet friendly; unlike the pdf versions I have posted in the past.  In this fast paced life we have built for ourselves,  we don’t even have or take the time to sit down at the computer and read email. We are ever-increasingly reading our mail on the phone while riding an elevator or waiting in line at the grocery store. It’s also a great way to pass the time waiting for the doctor; something that I and many of my friends do on a regular basis.  If we continue on this trend, soon we will have to confine our communications to a 140 character tweet.  If it comes to that, sorry but you will have to come visit me so I can tell you about my past year.  So,  for now, hang on; here we go; off for a ride through the thoughts of 2016.