Happy New Year!!

Greetings to all,

We’ve finished watching the Rose Parade and are now watching a couple of the many, many bowl games – remember when there were only four or maybe six? And they didn’t last from mid-December to mid-January? We were happy to see that the Gophers finally snapped its seven-time bowl losing streak.

So now it’s time to finish off this letter and send it out. 2015 wasn’t much different from 2014 – a couple of trips to Las Vegas, our annual trip to Palm Springs for the LPGA tournament, attending opera and Broadway shows, playing golf, bocce ball, and cards.

No major health issues – John had a clean checkup for his bladder cancer. And a couple of scrapes took care of a cancerous spot on his nose.

Deanne had a chance to visit with friends from work, both here and in Minneapolis last August, including a tour of Moss & Barnett’s new offices. John’s sister Ellen and her husband Eddie braved an airline flight to visit us here in November. We had fun showing them some of our favorite haunts and trying again to make John’s grandmother’s sweet pizza. We got closer this time, but it still needs some fine tuning. Ellen brought a package of pictures and other memorabilia from John’s childhood, including his teething ring. Can you believe what parents will save??

We spent our annual September vacation (to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary) at a Marriott time share in north Phoenix (near Scottsdale). It was fun doing some exploring in another part of the Valley. We visited a few new (to us) restaurants and enjoyed a relaxing morning at the resort’s spa.

This holiday season has been a bit cooler than we’d like, but we don’t have snow. Christmas Day we spent with Deanne’s college friend Karen and her husband Jack. Our theme was English – with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Jack made his signature egg nog, which we laced with some rum. Our Christmas Eve lutefisk dinner was a bust, but fortunately we had some homemade tamales (provided by one of John’s friends) to substitute.

We’re keeping healthy – working out and watching our weight. We’ve been attending cooking classes with a chef from Italy and making many of her recipes. They are made with fresh ingredients and taste great. She says worry less about the pasta and more about what you put on it.

2016 will likely be much like 2015. Are we boring, or what?? I’ve begun to wonder why we send out these letters.

Hope you had a nice holiday and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2016.

Deanne & John