December 22, 2003

Season’s Greetings,

So many excuses, so little time.  Santa, please bring me a gift certificate for more time, and a little extra time so I can get to the time bank and cash it in.  Oh yes, and stronger reading glasses, and a Federal mandate to require bigger print.

I have had a most challenging, rewarding, educational, and fun year.  I am exhausted, but recharged by the affection of my sweetheart Maria.

The year has been filled with many fun adventures with Maria such as our mini-Colorado Hot Springs Tour,

http://www.myxyz.org/phmurphy/Vacation/OurHotSpringsTour.html,

a volunteer data collection project to a bison (buffalo) ranch in South Dakota,

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a surprise party for Maria to commmorate her 20 years in nursing,

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a Dia de los muertos Barbie (i.e., Halloween Stu and Joanna style)

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a trip to California to visit Maria’s mom and friends in Alta Loma near San Bernardino, followed by a trip to San Diego to visit my birth father Jerry Marlow and his wife Ina,

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and a trip to meet Maria’s friends Bill and Alice in Albuquerque. 

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Bill taught us about a scale that lives on prickly pear cactus that is used to produce the red henna dye, the white cottony material is where the scale lives,

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In case I haven’t told you, my old 1965 Volvo that I owned for 23 years was finally donated to a Lakota medicine man and it now makes trips from Denver to South Dakota – looking a little like a white buffalo (with rust accents).  Sorry, I can’t find the picture of the Volvo heading off over the horizon with a medicine man at the wheel.

 I also traveled over 4,000 miles in 6 weeks as a part of my work for Colorado State Parks and I am still struggling to complete the reports.  The natural world is my mistress and though I love her, I always long to be back with my sweetheart Maria.

This only scratches the surface of the past year or so.  Visits with friends and family really keep me grounded and it is important to keep in touch with people who know your past, and care about you.

I wish I could spend more time with all of you and hope that the future will permit it.

Have a wonderful holiday and let love, fun, and productive success fill the days of the coming year.

 

Love,

Pat