Steve & Dave's Christmas Letter

I guess one of the best things about being able to blog is we can all share our Christmas newsletters via the internet rather than by mail. Well, it is for me since I don't send out a lot of Christmas cards. So for those of you who might be expecting one, don't be disappointed. This is it!

First I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year. I hope you all stay well and safe. It's been fun hearing from all of you especially those of you who are so far away. The internet is a wonderful thing and the fact that we can all stay connected so easily is so cool. Having the opportunity to post pictures (thanks Annie and Jason) so that we can see friends and family members that we haven't had the chance to meet is a real treat. I can't believe how my little cousins are growing up and doing such great things with their lives.

Even keeping up with my brother and sister has gotten more fun with the blog. We can keep in touch by phone or in person but somehow, what we all decide to write about seems to be things we always forget to mention over the telephone.

It's been a pretty good year for Dave and me. His business is still growing but as always, during the winter season, it is always hard to pay the bills. But when spring finally re-emerges, his stress level will diminish. Dave's mom and dad are good. They've travelled a lot this year. They went to the Fiji Islands and liked it a great deal. They're not sure they're going to be travelling much more. Don's eye sight is getting worse and he has trouble negotiating steps. But they're still healthy and going full tilt, no matter what.

Dave and I haven't accomplished a lot this year at least not a lot that I can recall. We are alwyas working on the yard and have gotten great kudos from our neighbors for our efforts. That's always nice. It's my upbringing, I guess, but I always feel like I've got to keep the yard nice as a matter of pride. Our summer cocktail party was fun and we held it in the new yard. Everyone seemed to like the improvements. Jerry, the bartender that we've hired the last three or four years was in rare form mixing the drinks pretty strong. We made sure everyone was ok to drive or had a designated driver before they went home. Great party.

We didn't do a lot of travelling this year. Dave went to Spokane where he was involved with running a regional trade show. It was in November and you can imagine that it was cold and wet. I was going to go with him but then I got an invitation to join some friends in Palm Springs, California. So I had to decide - Spokane, rain, cold or Palm Springs, sun and heat. Well, I decided to take the trip to Palm Springs. Spent 3 days there having a great time with my friends. Met some new friends and got some invitations to join them next year.

Work here at the University is the same old same old. I will have been at PSU for 24 years beginning in 2007. Sometimes I think I'm just too stable. But working here has afforded me some great opportunities to travel and meeting incredibly interesting people.

Hope we can get more of the Harmon clan to blog with us this coming new year. I just heard from Aunt Lois by phone. It was wonderful to hear from her. And we found out that Chris is living in Seattle. Debbie has called him to invite him to Christmas dinner down here in Portland/Vancouver. Hope he can make it.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. You're all wonderful.

Steve and Dave