Well, that was certainly a year! We were really busy a lot of the time, managed to sneak in a bit of travel, had some major life transitions, and \u2026 well, mostly tried to keep out of trouble.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The generic introduction.<\/p>\n James continued his post-grad work, spending the spring in Reykjavik, Iceland, and the fall in Oslo, Norway. That all wraps up this coming spring, back in Reykjavik, completing his Masters in Viking and Medieval Norse Studies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In answer to the question we’re always asked (after exclamations of “Oh, that’s really cool!”), “What is he going to do with that MA?” the answer is … nobody knows. He’s not interested in academia, but museum and\/or archaeological support work are both things he’s working his network for — which might mean him staying on in Iceland or another Nordic country.<\/p>\n We’ll know more by the next Christmas Card letter.<\/p>\n All of which has been a great excuse, of course, for various folk to travel and see him. Margie and Dave did so in Iceland in the spring, …<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Went there with Stan and Mary, and enjoyed it a lot. It’s a beautiful country, an an interesting combo of cosmopolitan Europe and rural backwater. Looking forward to another visit (I’m going to be helping James move in in a few weeks).<\/p>\n … and continued from there to a fabulous cruise of the Scottish isles \u2013 Shetland, Orkney, Outer Hebrides, Skye, Mull — and tours in the cities on either end, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Delightful.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Once in a lifetime trip, both in terms of all the cool places we were able to visit, and on sailing on a Ponant cruise, which was top-notch everything. Great trip.<\/p>\n In the spring Margie and Dave also took a long weekend trip with friends to Sonoma, where we drank much good wine (and, maybe, joined a few wine clubs).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Went with Jackie and Scott, and had a fine time there, too.<\/p>\n In the fall, Dave and Margie road-tripped with friends to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone (and points coming and going). Fun times, and wonderfully scenic!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Another trip, this time by motor vehicle, with Mary and Stan. I’d never been to Yellowstone before, and I’d love to go there again sometime. Also had the chance to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse memorial and all sorts of other cool locations as we circled back.<\/p>\n On the work front, Margie continues her (fully remote) work in Kaiser Permanente HR, focused on the data quality program.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And continues to get kudos and plaudits from her management team.<\/p>\n Dave, on the other hand, unexpectedly got laid off from his employer (while shoulders-deep in a mission critical project), and decided that both the job market and the financial numbers looked right for him to retire early \u2013 or, from a more important perspective, to become full-time coffee boy for Margie. That was at Thanksgiving, so we are both getting used to the new cadence in our lives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n More on that story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our cats, Kunoichi (15) and Neko (13), are enjoying Dave and Margie being full-time at home. Kunoichi gave everyone a scare, though, when she slipped out an open door without being noticed until the next day, and went on a three-week (!) walk-about in October. She was finally found by a neighbor using a flyer Dave had put up. She\u2019s recovered the three pounds she\u2019s lost and seems to be in good health again.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We had, quite honestly, given up hope for Kunoichi, and it was one of the high points of the year when we found her.\u00a0 Or, as Margie put it, “Best birthday gift of the year.<\/p>\n For entertainment purposes, we continue to be regulars in the local theater scene, especially at the Arvada Center and at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I’ll put either of those up against any other regional theater in the country. Fantastic work.<\/p>\n Game-wise, we\u2019ve been playing various tabletop fantasy role-playing games run by friends,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Including a D&D campaign (Phandelver and Below) being run by Stan, and a joint Frosthave game with Jackie and Scott. Busy!<\/p>\n and Dave in December started up his own new ongoing game about cozy murder mysteries in a New England town.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/2024-recap-1.jpg\")
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