Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 1998 by Maude Ellen (George) Chittick Season’s Greetings from my hospital bed following a short trip from my bedroom to the bathroom. I now await surgery for a broken hip and have decided this idle time provides the perfect opportunity for me to dictate a letter to all of my dear friends and family. I am still residing at the “Sylvan House” where I have my own apartment. The attendants are very nice people, good cooks, and tend to help me with just about everything I may need. At times, we are provided with activities such as exercises, beauty care, and special dinners with family and friends. Just the other night, we had a boat cruise so we could all see the beautiful Holiday lights which adorn the shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Though I don’t seem to be as active as I have been in the past, there always seems to be plenty going on around me. The year began with a 30th Birthday Surprise Party for my grandson, Denny, who has been travelling a lot since his semi-retirement last year. Because of this, he spends a good majority of his time here in Coeur d’Alene with the family. Sharla, who thoroughly enjoys being a mother to Sage Boone, turned 32 in March. She is working hard with her software development company and teaching piano again. The two of them join me for dinner and shopping once a week. Dinner and shopping with Sage is quite an experience. He keeps me running, if not pushing and pulling at all times! Kyle turned 31 this year in March. He has been extremely busy developing web pages, doing contract work for Microsoft, and acting as a Web Manager for an advertising agency in Seattle. He is currently working on the web site for Nestle! Believe it or not, he is the only immediate family member left in the Seattle area! April saw Eldon and Carlene’s 36th wedding anniversary and a one-month vacation to South Africa and Germany. They are planning their retirement for December 31st of this year, after 34 years in the mental health profession. Travel, snowmobiling and golf are on their agenda for 1999. Arden and Nina celebrated 38 years of marriage in April. After many cross-country trips, they finally decided to sell their home on Bainbridge Island and move permanently across the country to be near Kirsten and her family in up state Pennsylvania. Sadly, I will be unable to take the trip I had planned to be with them for the Holidays. But once I am up and walking again, Eldon promises to throw me on a plane for a visit. The month of May began with Quilene’s 24th birthday. My youngest granddaughter, who resides and works in Corvallis, Oregon, does restaurant work and has created her own side-business selling snow-cones at carnivals and festivals along the coast. She enjoys the entrepreneurial experience and is looking forward to a two-month trip to South Africa to visit a friend who is in the Peace Corps. Shawna, who turned 28 in May, has announced to all of us that she and her husband, Brad, are going to have a baby. She is due to give birth just about her birthday this coming May and looks forward to welcoming their new baby in their new home on 10-acres near Eldon and Carlene’s home in Cougar Gulch. Kirsten, who turned 29 in December, and her husband, Jeff, are living on beautiful acreage, north of Erie, and keeping themselves busy with the three kids: Tanner, Taylor, and Cody, are all in school and happy to have their grandparents so close to them this year. I was blessed by a recent visit from Kirsten and Jeff as they drove one of Arden’s vehicles back to Pennsylvania during the move. How hard it is to have the ones you love so far from you. Well, that covers the family and me. I hope this letter finds you well and in good health. I will try to keep all of you informed as to my recovery from hip surgery. Please take care and keep in touch with me. Love, Maude Chittick