I always said I would write one of these but never did. Now I can, sustainably, with no postage. And, there are links! I love web design for dummies.
So 2008 was quite a year. Matt and Erin celebrated their first anniversary in April and this second year is just flying by (that’s a good thing, right?). They both got settled into their relatively new jobs this year, just in time for the “economic crisis.” Erin never knew that loss of state funding could affect universities! But students still study abroad, and people still buy wine, so they are both still in business for now.
On February 21, our family was suddenly in mourning over the loss of my mother’s mother, Mary “Nannie” Keough. Nannie had been living in Philadelphia for a few years and had grown to love her home and her friends here. One day, fairly suddenly, Erin was called away from work and got to Nannie with her mom and dad. Erin told her mom, “Tell Nannie she has to wait for Andrew–Andrew’s not here yet!” Her mom did, and Nannie did. Andrew arrived, and a few minutes later, she died. As hard as this was for our family, she is happy where she is–with her husband, Jim (Pop-pop), which was where she wanted to be since his death 6 years earlier. We held a beautiful memorial service for Nannie at the chapel in her home in Philadelphia, and another at St. Michael’s Church in Penn Yan in August.
Because Matt works in wine, we take advantage of this to its full extent and went to California wine country in March for a long weekend. Visions of real estate danced in our heads, only to be dashed by the prices. But, in two years, we’ve made it there twice (all tax deductable) so let’s hope we make that a trend.
Matt continued to book gigs around Philadelphia for his taiko group, Kyo-daiko, which he helped found. Erin continued her side job of making jewelry–mainly custom orders but some online sales as well. We also have been very busy around the house–Matt dry-walled a ceiling for the first time (with the help of our fathers) and we had a garden that produced a grape vine, a jungle of tomatoes, and other various herbs. Erin discovered her love of gardening and everything that goes along with it (weeding became Erin’s stress management program after work during the summer). Our future goal is to be 100% sustainable from our back yard garden.
The summer was also filled with Phillies Games (World Champs!); farm markets; taking care of Erin’s parents’ cat during their July in Friday Harbor (this year we will visit!); visiting Matt’s family out in Pittsburgh and Central PA; Matt’s mom’s retirement and permanent move to Pittsburgh; watching our friend Susan win a gold medal in Beijing; and birthdays.
Erin was able to get a few more stamps in her passport this year. Work sent her to Montreal and London and a friend sent her to the Dominican Republic for her wedding. The past few months have gone too quickly. Soon, Matt and Erin will be visiting her parents in Japan, where they will be living from January through April. We are excited for another happy and healthy holiday season, and wish the same for you and your families.
