Christmas 2003

Season’s Greetings! We hope this letter finds you happy & healthy as we “wrap up” another year! 2003 started out with the ambitious project of putting in a new swimming pool and landscaping. To say the project took much longer than estimated would be a understatement, but 4½ months later it was finished – complete with palm trees & outdoor stereo speakers!

In February we embarked on a two week vacation to Europe. First stop: London, where we spent five days catching up with old friends and seeing the sites of the city -- including a ride on the London “Eye,” a huge futuristic Ferris wheel built on the banks of the Thames River. The ride certainly gives you a bird’s eye view of the city. We did a little shopping, and were also treated to VIP treatment in Heaven – one of London’s hip nightclubs.

Our time in London was all too short, and soon we were jetting off to Italy were Eric was a guest at a Star Trek convention. Our hosts met us at the airport in Rome and took us directly to a restaurant were the other guests were gathering for the first in a series of massive Italian meals that would be the daily highlight of our trip! We’ve never consumed so many carbs in such a short period of time. Apparently it’s customary in Italy to have two different courses of pasta before each meal. And that doesn’t include the antipasto! Fortunately, we had a chance to burn some of it off as we spent our first full day in Rome walking across the entire city, starting at the Coliseum and ending in Vatican City. Highlights in between included the Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Parliament Building and some shopping.

On Thursday we headed to the site of the Star Trek convention in Fiuggi, a resort town about 60 miles from Rome. Here we spent the next four days eating & communing with the fans, & eating, & taking trips to nearby monasteries, mediaeval & pre-Roman towns & villages. And eating. Meals were part of the convention schedule: breakfast, lunch & dinner. Pasta, pasta, pasta – & more pasta!

On the Monday after the convention we traveled to southern Italy. Late in the afternoon we arrived at the ruins of the ancient city of Paestum, just south of Naples and Sorrento. One of the best examples of a Greek temple to be found anywhere in the world is located at Paestum. Founded as the city of Poseidon in the 6th century BC, this was a key stop on an important trade route. The Romans took it over in the 3rd century B.C., and changed the name to Paestum. The Temple of Neptune is better preserved than the Parthenon in Athens. That evening we dined in a top notch Italian restaurant and had one of the finest meals you could ever ask for. Then it was back to our hotel in Pompeii.

The next day, we walked a few blocks from our hotel to the excavation site of ancient Pompeii. On August 24, 79 A.D., the city of Pompeii was buried in volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Walking through the ruins is like taking a journey to a place where time stands still. The entire trip was a wonderful experience.

In May, Deb’s parents came for a visit & were here for Mother’s Day. We also drove up to Santa Barbara & enjoyed a visit to the Scandinavian town of Solvang and the Chumash Indian Casino. Memorial Weekend we made it up to Oregon for Eric’s family reunion. Steve Krutzler (http://www.trekweb.com/) stayed with us for six weeks beginning in June. He came out from Florida to be a Dead Zone intern at Eric’s office. His fiancée Brittani also got to spend a weekend with us. They will be out again next week, along with Steve’s parents to visit his sister who now lives in L.A., and they’re all coming to our place for Christmas dinner.

Summer was a sizzler – several weeks of 100 degree+ weather – and we were glad to have our new pool to play in. Eric’s parents came for a visit near the end of July. We even lucked out with a visit from Eric’s cousins John & Cara and their kids Amy, Jessica & Brett. The pool got a good inauguration this year. In August, we made our annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas for the big Star Trek convention. Labor Day weekend we drove down to Mexico where Eric’s boss rented several beach houses for the staff of The Dead Zone to spend the weekend together. Deb’s parents came for another visit in September – and we made a special trip to Las Vegas to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We stayed at their favorite hotel, Imperial Palace, and Margaret won $1,000 on a Royal Flush. Eric won three jackpots of $1000 each!

In October we had the pleasure of hosting our nephew Zach for his first trip to California, and – of course – Mickey’s house! It was nice having Marc and Stacey here, too. We let the parents have all the fun taking Zach to Disneyland, but while they were here, we also introduced Zach to his very first movie-going experience – Disney’s animated “Brother Bear” at the historic El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, which included a live musical performance with several Disney characters including Mickey Mouse! That rat gets around! The weather continued to be unseasonably warm with temperatures over 100 degrees. We had Zach’s Uncle Greg & Aunt Vicky and his cousins Eilidh & Finn over for a fun pool party. We even got to celebrate Stacey & Vicky’s birthdays with cake & ice cream. Near the end of their visit, wild fires started to rage through Southern California, which was a little scary for everybody – especially with the fires so close to Greg & Vicki’s home in Alta Loma – and then a few days later within view of our own home. Marc, Stacey & Zach got out of town before the worst of it. Eric had big plans for Halloween (fog machine, scary music, etc.) but that’s the night the rain finally arrived, putting a damper on the Trick or Treat fun, but proving very helpful to local firefighters. Winter started the next day.

For Eric’s birthday, we went to northern California to spend the weekend with our friend Lolita – and drove up thru San Francisco to the wine country in Napa Valley were we enjoyed visiting the various wineries and enjoying the fruit of the vine. We stayed at a spa motel in Calistoga where we experienced our first-ever mud baths. It was as nice weekend. Our friend Barb from Baltimore also came for a visit in November. She’s considering a life-altering move to L.A. sometime in the future, so we had a good time showing her the town and looking at cool apartments near the beach in Playa del Rey. She also treated us to a delightful holiday performance of “The Sugar Plum Fairy” at the Griffin Theater in Westwood. We spent Thanksgiving with our friends Lolita, Suzanne & Chase, and after turkey dinner enjoyed a lovely walk on the pier at Manhattan Beach. The weather was beautiful.

Eric has been busy at work this year. He was promoted to Associate Producer on The Dead Zone in January just as season 2 was expanded to include six new summer episodes. Season 3 started production on December 1 and will air summer of 2004. Eric has also become actively involved in addressing some socio-political issues (i.e., homelessness & crime) that have confronted the Hollywood neighborhood where his office is located. So, in addition to his long hours at the office, he’s also been attending meetings of the West Hollywood Safety Commission, the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council, the Hollywood Media District’s Business Improvement District, the LAPD, and the Sheriff’s Department.

Debra was selected by the Oncology Nursing Society to exhibit a poster presentation at their conference in Denver this year. This was her first national submission, and was told by colleagues that this never occurs on your first try, so it was unexpected, but a great experience. She recently learned she’s been selected again for another presentation in 2004! Additionally, Deb was one of only four people chosen from her hospital to be trained as a “green belt” for Six Sigma – a quality-improvement process being adopted throughout the Providence Healthcare System.

December, as always, brings lots of parties and activities. Because we decided to stay home this year (rather than go to Las Vegas again!) – ostensively to “save money” – we’ve ended up re-doing the dinning room (in a rash of insanity) the week before Christmas (to include a new dining room table & chairs scheduled for Christmas Eve delivery) and are in the process of refinishing the hutch to the color of Brazilian rosewood. From the look of things, you’d never image we were hosting a Christmas dinner in less than 6 days! This is what happens when you watch too much Home & Garden Television! Oh, the glory of the season!

Love,
Eric & Deb