Tuesday, December 10, 2019:   Christmas Greetings from Mark and Paula in Brainerd

January was cold with lots of snow.  Didn’t help Paula had a broken leg.  She got rid of the boot and left for a SCUBA diving trip to Bonaire in February. 

In February we participated in a VFW state pistol shooting competition.  Paula took third place in the .22 class.  Mark is now making sure to stay on her good side.

The winter was long so we started restoring radios from the 1920’s through the 60’s.  Paula cleans cabinets and Mark does the electronics.  Not many people know how to repair radios.  It has turned into a lost art and Mark enjoys the challenge.  He continues to give back to the broadcasting engineering profession by writing articles and mentoring.

Paula tries to dive twice a week from May through October.  In the winter months she volunteers at the Great Lakes Aquarium feeding fish, cleaning the tanks and interacting with children, along with adults.  She participated in an underwater fishing contest locally helping raise money to help disabled veterans learn to SCUBA dive.  She even caught a fish underwater – amazingly.  It is harder than you might think.  She watched a fish spit out her lure three times in a row.

The Brainerd Dispatch published an article about Mark’s service in Vietnam when he worked on the Mohawk OV-1 surveillance plane as an Army Sergeant and his accomplishments since.  He continues to be very active with our local VFW writing their website and volunteering in other capacities. 

Mark has turned out to be a real handyman around the house.  He doesn’t need a honey do list.  He’s constantly working on some type of project.

Paula attended the national convention of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Washington DC in late June.  It is amazing what those women accomplish.  She decided DC weather is hot that time of year but had a great time.

Mark purchased a new Lincoln Nautilus car.  We shop local and buy American.  It is good for our area and our country. 

Mark flew to Norfolk, VA in October to attend a military reunion.  He commented it is interesting seeing veterans he knew at age 20, now in their 60’s and 70’s.

Paula had a birthday in September and is now on Medicare.  Mark says he never thought he would be married to a “senior citizen!”  It was a Saturday so she went on a dive and had a few diving friends over later to celebrate.

We found time in November to fly to Albuquerque, NM.  Then drove to Santa Fe, Taos and Las Alamos.  We ate true Tex-Mex food, saw a lot of desert architecture, visited Indian pueblos, enjoyed farmers markets, the arts communities and many museums.  Bandelier National Monument was a real highlight – for Paula at least. Mark climbed ladders 140 ft to a pueblo home, while Paula stayed below and enjoyed the photos Mark took.

                                                       A silent night, Astar above,

                                             A blessed gift of hope and love.

                                                 A blessed Christmas to you