Guess Who Made the Wall Street Journal?

It's hard to believe that we are coming up on seven years since our transition from Connecticut and the start of our great NW adventure. For the past couple months, we have been interviewed by a WSJ reporter named Anne Tergesen for a story on midlife "gap" years for grown-ups. We knew we were one of three profiles but had no idea we would be the cover story. Thanks Anne for bringing light to this important topic and for letting people know how important it is to follow your dreams no matter how old you are. Here is the article in today's Wall Street Journal or paste this  
http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-400441/?mod=wsj_streaming_latest-headlines into your browser.

Lovely Lila Comes into our Life- May 2013

Lovely little Lila came into our lives earlier this year. We have been so busy skyping with her that we haven't had a second to update our blog! She is now seven months old and between the two of us, we've been back to see her (and her parents, of course!) three times. Once a quarter is our goal- she is gorgeous but we are very biased!

Can't believe how big she has gotten- first two teeth this week and should be in full crawling mode when we see her in two weeks. We are in love!

A White Christmas in New England

Sorry no photos of snow but we had over a foot of the white stuff during our recent visit to NE- lots of great family time! 

...and even a New Year's day 5K in Colchester with Ray and Nanette.

Susan and her dad sporting the purple pants!

Susan with her dad and brothers- think she's the center of attention?!

The boys at the Tessitore gathering

and the girls

Aris with his Uncle (Aris) Ty

Stephen's mom and the Ristaus  gather at Aris and Stacie's with Zeke the Zebra!

Merry Christmas 2012

If you could have one wish, what would it be? As we reflect on 2012 we are reminded of the many, many things that we are thankful for. We started our year in the beautiful town of Chatham, MA  at “first night” with very dear friends from our college days.  And with our families and friends in CT, we toasted a new year with the hope of continued laughter and the joy and love that we have received freely throughout our life.  How blessed we are!!!

We continue to enjoy our NW adventure and our new friends here.  The beauty and choices in Oregon are still a wonder that we witness every day through snowshoeing, hiking, biking, running, concerts and volunteer work.  We even went to the Oregon State Fair this year!  

And we’re not the only ones who have been enjoying this great part of our country. Visitors included: Gabriela, our niece from NYC surprised us with 3 girlfriends on their cross-country trip.  It was quick but we were happy to host them and give them a little taste of Portland. 

Mike Hajdun from Colchester, CT came to join Stephen for the STP (for those of you who don’t know what this is, the STP is “SEATTLE TO PORTLAND” on bikes in 2 days – 200,  yes 200 miles).  They were very impressive and Susan served as our personal "sag wagon."

Maggie and EJ, close friends of Aris and Stacie from CT spent some time here vacationing (July) and shared their news of having their first child after we made poor Maggie climb a mountain. 

Ty, Susan’s brother from SC, didn’t quite make it to Portland but we were able to meet him in Seattle (July) for dinner and an overnight while he was on the west coast for work. 

Ben, Chey, Aris and Stacie spent a week (August) with us in sunny and beautiful Sunriver, OR in the high desert for a fun week of outdoor activity, great food and meaningful family time.

 

Stephen’s brother Raymond, his wife Nanette and sons Josh and Andrew came for vacation (August) and we think they covered (almost) the whole state in 10 days.

Susan had a great visit with her parents in SC (April); we had a week in our time share on the NC coast with Susan’s dad (October) and we are anticipating our trip to New England for Christmas and the New Year with in-person hugs.

Stephen started a new job heading up a new Encore Fellows program with Social Venture Partners in addition to his consulting and other endeavors.  He also put in an irrigation system in the yard.  He’s really taking on new challenges (NOTE:  mechanical reasoning!) and succeeding in ways he never dreamed of. Susan has continued her work in the garden as “The Plant Nanny” and business was even better this year than last.  In addition, she completed a training program and was nationally certified in phlebotomy.  She hopes to do both in the future.

Ben and Chey are still in Pittsburgh working very hard... well just working and sleeping really. Chey was accepted into a three-year pediatric cardiology fellowship so they will be in Pittsburg at least until 2016.

Aris and Stacie have been working on their home in Mansfield, CT and have done remarkable things to their kitchen, outside shed and various rooms in the house.  They approach the work with no fear and the outcome has been awesome.

On a sad note…Susan lost her mom in September, a loss we continue to grieve. She misses her voice the most, but pictures her dancing, running and swimming.  Marilyn never stopped smiling. The celebration of her life was beautiful and the love and outpouring of support was an extension of who she was.

On a very joyous note……As the circle of life would have it, Aris and Stacie are having their first child (and our first grandchild) in May.  We are thrilled and still walking on air even though we found out two months ago!!!

Amidst our personal and collective pain and suffering, our lives continue to be filled with hope, joy and love.  We wonder how we got so lucky and wish this same fortune for everyone.  In the words of Madisyn Taylor, “we can see that we all begin life in need of a lot of care and attention and many of us end life the same way. Giving and receiving are companion energies that take turns throughout our lives, and we all get a chance to be on both sides.”

What would you wish for? We wish you a very blessed and peaceful season and a 2013 filled with love,  joy,  and comfort in your sorrows.

with love,

Susan and Stephen

2012 Updates

Sorry for the lack of posting activity (it hasn't been a quiet year!) but here are a few highlights from the past year:

The Spaceman, Bill Lee, comes to Portland to hang out with Stephen

 Susan and niece Gabriela

Stephen and Addison, newborn to niece Amy and Andy Consiglio

A  summer visit to Multnomah Falls

Mike Hajdun and Stephen after Day 1 of the STP (Seattle to Portland) ride

STP Congrats from friends Mark and David

Stephen and Tom Royce at a Red Sox- Mariners baseball weekend in Seattle

Cruella made an appearance at the
Carlton Hill annual costume croquet event

A Child is Born

Congrats to our niece, Amy and her husband Andy on the birth of their first child, Addison!! She's a beauty!

Are We No Longer On An Adventure? 

So Susan asked me today after commenting that I hadn't posted on the blog since Christmas! "Well, of course we are, " I stammered.  It's just that it's been real busy and I haven't had time to post anything. So a matter of hours later, here I am making sure the adventure is still in our life! Here's a recap on the past 4 months:

•  We attended Tara Bloom and David Polite's wedding in Sunriver, Ore. on a snowy beautiful weekend in February...

• Susan completed the first leg of her latest adventure- she is now a phlebotomist (no, not a lobotomist or a philatelist!) and will be working as a contractor for a company that does insurance policy blood screenings. Btw, she plans to continue her "plant nannying" during hours and days she is not scheduled to take blood. Here she is at her graduation from the training program...

• I met and posed with two of my heroes... Rocky... at the bottom of the famous steps at the art museum in Philadelphia...

...and Bill "The Spaceman" Lee who spoke at a fundraiser for a Portland youth baseball foundation to promote his latest documentary, "High and Outside." Bill still follows the beat of his own drummer!

• We weren't supposed to be doing as much traveling in 2012 as 2011 but already we've been to the east coast three times between us and made two trips to central Oregon. But not much on the horizon as we are enjoying the fine "home cooking" that spring and summer in the Pacific NW has to offer.
• Susan just returned from visiting her parents and brother Ty and his family, Jennifer and Abigail in South Carolina...
• Here's a couple photos from today's hike on Sauvie Island, located between the Columbia and Willamette rivers, just outside Portland.

• Yep, if you haven't seen us for a while, we've lost about 75lbs between us and are looking like young teenagers...if that isn't an ADVENTURE, tell me what is!!!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 2011

Out of the stars, rising from rocks and the sea, kindled by sunlight on earth, arose life.Ponder this thing in your heart, life up from sea:
 Eyes to behold, throats to sing, mates to love.

Life from the sea, warmed by sun, washed by rain, life from within, giving birth, rose to love. This is the marvel of life, rising to see and to know; Out of your heart, cry wonder: sing that we live.

from Out of the Stars by Robert Weston

What a Year...travel, celebrations and more travel...we had something scheduled every month of the year except July and that was before the year started. Here are some highlights of the year...

• Ben and Cheyenne married in August on Long Island Sound in southeastern Connecticut. We are thrilled to have another daughter and to see our son so happy. They continue to be very busy with their medical residencies in Pittsburgh.

• Aris and Stacie bought their first home in Mansfield, Conn. and we were able to help them get settled in August. They have just added their first family member, Denver, a foster pup they adopted. Aris has a new job at UConn and Stacie is a teacher in Putnam.

• We witnessed four other weddings in 2011, two of our nieces, Amy to Andy (May), and Sarah to Marshall (September), and family friends Grant and Marit (September), and Chris and Sabrina (November).

• A trip of a lifetime to an 11^th century chateau in southern France to celebrate Portland friend Mark Holloway’s 40^th birthday. Trips to Mt. Blanc and Chamonix, Annecy, Lyon, and Geneva, Switzerland made these 10 days memorable.

• Vacations in Hawaii to visit our friends Jay and Toni (March) and to Yosemite National Park (April).

• We climbed Mt. St. Helens (July) with our hiking buddies Dan and Diane.

• Visits from our son Ben, friends Jane and Ted Carroll, niece Abigail and brother Thomas and his wife Monica. Where were the rest of you?!

Believe it or not, we had a very busy year of work (yes, we did work amid all the travel and fun!) Susan successfully launched The Plant Nanny, her gardening business, and Stephen is consulting and supporting the development of “purposework” opportunities for retirees and those of us in the encore stage of work/life. We have been blessed to find work we love, colleagues we enjoy, and the kind of work that meshes well with our mobile lifestyle. And as our friend Toni likes to remind us, so far we have been able to “monetize” our ventures, although that is not something we take for granted. So far, so good!

Five years and counting...that’s how long we have been in Oregon and the vibe of the Northwest “stokes” us as the young locals say (or are they talking about something else?!) We enjoy the friends we’ve made, love the outdoors and recreational lifestyle, and really love having visitors...so get off your butts and come see us and the Pacific NW! We are planning on less travel in 2012 so get your reservations in now.

We are so thankful for all the blessings in our life and at the same time, are so aware of those who want for shelter, food, and employment. Sometimes it feels like all we can do is hold the pain and suffering of the world and pray for justice, equality and compassion...can we be doing more? Should we, as Jackson Browne suggests, be interfering in the business of why there are poor? All of the year?

The Rebel Jesus by Jackson Browne

The streets are filled with laughter and light

And the music of the season

And the merchants' windows are all bright

With the faces of the children

And the families hurrying to their homes

As the sky darkens and freezes

Will be gathering around the hearths and tables

Giving thanks for all God's graces

And the birth of the rebel Jesus



They call him by the "Prince of Peace"

And they call him by "The Saviour"

And they pray to him upon the sea

And in every bold endeavor

As they fill his churches with their pride and gold

And their faith in him increases

But they've turned the nature that I worshipped in

From a temple to a robber's den

In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns

And we guard our fine possessions

And once a year when Christmas comes


We give to our relations

And perhaps we give a little to the poor

If the generosity should seize us

But if any one of us should interfere

In the business of why there are poor

They get the same as the rebel Jesus.

Fall Colors and the Annual Turkey Trot

(Thanksgiving Day 2011)

Although Oregon is not known for its brilliant fall foliage, we put this one up there with the best displays in New England. The multi-variate reds, yellows and oranges (sometimes on the same leaf) were luminescent and breathtaking. Here are a couple photos from our yard...

and fall color of another sort across the street...

For our 5th consecutive year (yes, we've been here that long!), we participated in the Oregon Zoo Turkey Trot (and walk). Susan has always run and I usually walk but today I ran most of it- there are killer hills coming back that I choose to walk up. Who knows...could there be running in my future?