Hello all from flu-land here in Southeastern Ohio.  With this kind of a start on winter we can only hang on and get lots of bed rest, since the vaccine is long gone.  Rob was unlucky enough to get his flu on top of getting his wisdom teeth pulled.  Greg will have his wisdom teeth out in January, so this may be the Winter of Macaroni and Cheese.

As I wrote this letter last year we were bracing for what seemed inevitable war in Iraq, saving those pull-out maps of Baghdad from Newsweek so we could follow the street-to-street fighting we kept hearing about.  Now we try to build the much-less-inevitable peace. And tonight I see our terrorist alert has been raised a notch, so my prayer for peace this Christmas season has both a long-term and a short-term verse.

Here in Athens I turn my energy to small efforts to build community and make art.

I continue to volunteer at our neighborhood elementary school in the spring and fall when the 6^th grade class studies medieval times and ancient cultures.  Last year our ancient culture was China.  I wrote an arts enrichment grant, made many costumes, and solicited local volunteers from our Chinese university students to teach cooking, calligraphy, and other aspects of Chinese culture.  That’s a real short version of work that took many months, and was exhilarating and rewarding.  If only it paid.

I’m still Scoutmaster for Troop 71 while Greg is developing his Eagle project.  He’s planning to build a fenced area at a local camp to keep deer out so flora may be planted and studied unbrowsed.  Once Greg turns 18 in March I plan to be an ex-Scoutmaster, really.  I’ll still be involved in the troop, but I won’t be the central planner.

We have a sheltered workshop in Athens for physically/mentally disabled adults which includes a really remarkable art studio.  The “client” artists work alongside community artists on all sorts of projects which are sold to support the studio.  I’ve started to volunteer there.  The people who make the art world turn in Athens sooner or later show up at PassionWorks; I can learn/contribute lots.  (This year I walked with them in OU’s Homecoming Parade in the 10-ft tall daffodil costume I made.)

Last summer I worked with our local arts-council organization for their Day Camp (average camper probably 2^nd grade).  What fun!  We turned a big area of wall into a “cave overhang” and painted it with animals and abstract designs.  We painted African mats and drums and painted refrigerator boxes as huts and arranged our huts into a village and sang songs.  We designed our own continents including a sample city and sample wildlife.   I don’t know how we can follow that next year but I’m open to ideas.

Rob and Greg seem to thrive here in our little town in a low-key kind of way.  Rob has lived at home this last year, having had the experience of a year in OU’s dorms; next year I’m sure he has in mind an apartment with some friends.  He plans to study in Germany in an OU program this spring.  Greg, a senior, has only applied to OU so far; he seems unconvinced that he should spread his wings further.  Rob and Greg play in a basement band (our basement) doing lead guitar and drums, respectively, covering heavy metal songs by Metallica, Iron Maiden, Immortal. Lots of sound, lots of energy.  They seem content with the same friends and the same town they’ve known for years. 

May this next year find you investing your energy in the things that are good for you and overturning the rest.  Other advice you never asked for: Don’t forget to breathe…

Be prepared… Do a good turn daily.  My  love to you all.