2024 Wrap Up

Hi Friends and Family,

Dave and I love receiving holiday letters so much – this year we decided to join the fun and create our own missive. I’m using the writer Gretchen Rubin’s approach to recapping the year by pulling one highlight from each month. Easiest way to create this e-version of our letter is on this page on my website (which is intended to be hidden from any navigation, so hopefully, it’s just visible to people who have the direct URL, but no harm if others stumble upon it - please forgive the irrelevant header and footer).

A group of ten people, smiling, gathering in front of a colorful, decorated backdrop with Christmas and holiday lights and cartoon characters, at nighttime.

January

Started 2024 with family at Siesta Key. Visit to Selby Gardens display of lights on New Years Day gave us perhaps our favorite lights display ever, likely due to the balmy weather. A fun bonus event from this month was hearing Monica Lewinsky speak at Frederick’s Weinberg Theater. She offered amazing insights into power, grace, and reclaiming the narrative. (Pictured L-R back row: Dave, my uncle George, my uncle Don, my cousin-in-law Michael, Audrey, cousin David, me, my uncle Bill; seated: my aunt Ginny and my aunt Samantha).

Two young adults relaxing on a beige sofa, one smiling and waving, the other lying down and holding a phone, in a cozy living room with a colorful abstract painting on the wall behind them.

February

Enjoyed a visit from Dusk and Lain, so pleased to have IRL time with them. Bonus thrill: wired for wifi through Fort Collins’ new public utility. Farewell Comcast!

Four people smiling in a greenhouse with large green plants and a glass roof.

March

Our beloved Foco basement renters moved to a home they bought here at River Rock and we welcomed our new, current renter, Mark. No photos of those fine people, so bonus family portrait from February.

A smiling man and woman taking a selfie together in a lush forest with a carpet of blue flowers, tall trees, and green foliage.

April

Celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary a bit early with a river cruise in The Netherlands, catching the tulips at their peak (yes, we know these aren’t tulips in this photo, but they were some of the beautiful blossoms we saw at Keukenhof Gardens).

A woman with glasses and purple-tinted hair smiling behind a large yellow Labrador Retriever in a kitchen.

May

Spent almost 3 weeks in Annapolis petsitting for Poppy, the wonder dog in what would become our final stint for Trusted Housesitters. Bonus fun: Audrey joined us for a week in Annapolis – got to see the Blue Angels perform, as we stayed very close to the Naval Academy

A group of smiling people standing close together inside a house, with a woman on the far left wearing a purple tank top, a man next to her wearing glasses and a black cap, a woman in the middle wearing a blue t-shirt, a man on the right in a maroon t-shirt.

June

My cousin and his husband Michael visited Maryland and we became tourists alongside them, hopping on a bus to get a tour of the Gettysburg battlefields. The opposite of a bonus: my mom broke her hip and Dave got a hairline fracture in his femur (fortunately, no surgery required, but a lengthy recovery ensued). Photo is pre-hip surgery for my mom. (pictured L-R: my stepmom Lee, cousin-in-law Michael, my mom Anita, and my cousin David)

A tranquil urban scene with a stone bridge over a small waterway filled with lily pads and water lilies, surrounded by neatly landscaped gardens and multi-story brick buildings with windows and balconies.

July

Dave went to many, many hours of physical therapy, and my cousin Adam (realtor extraordinaire!) helped us sell our MD condo in one weekend.

A woman with gray hair and tattoos on her arms holding an orange cat standing next to a red Toyota car with a pumpkin face painted on the hood, in front of a green barn with an open door, on a grassy yard.

August

We drove The Pumpkin Car from MD to CO in our 9,268th trip back and forth between these two states (mercifully, Dave was sufficiently recovered from his bike accident to do half the driving even though he was still on crutches). That’s my sis with her cat Kevin.

A vibrant rainbow arching across a cloudy sky above suburban houses and trees.

September

I worked my final day at Lyra Health, officially launching my private practice. Photo is a glorious rainbow over the common house at River Rock.

Four people taking a selfie on a beach with a large rock formation in the background.

October

We spent a week in Portland with Dusk and Lain, visiting the coast, hopping on a fall foliage train, and hearing Ta’Nehisi Coates speak at the beautiful Schnitzer Concert Hall. Not pictured, but worth Googling: the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta – or maybe YouTube it – fun to watch people paddling mammoth gourds while dressed in Halloween costumes.

Two inside an empty metal storage container, one on the left with fists raised in celebration and the other on the right with hands on her hips smiling. There are orange and blue straps on the floor and some cardboard boxes leaning against the wall.

November

Dusk and Lain moved back to Foco!

Group of seven people dressed warmly, smiling and looking down at the camera, which is held below them. Some wear glasses, hats, and scarves, indicating cold weather.

December

Audrey and I traveled east for a whirlwind visit where she got to tour a marquee NASA project that our friend Lisa is working on, we celebrated my mom’s 82nd birthday, and we strolled through 3 holiday light shows in one week (photo is family leaning in for a great portrait at Brookside Gardens). It was a busy month as Dave went to Las Vegas with 60,000 of his closest friends for the AWS conference.

Group of six smiling adults taking a selfie in front of a small plane at an airfield on a sunny day.

Bonus

Our flying lesson from our wonderful friend Linda, who built Zenzele, that lovely plane, with her own hands – from a kit! Photo from early January 2024. (Pictured L-R: my cousin David, me, Audrey, my uncle George, Dave, and pilot and plane builder Linda).

Close-up of a long-haired tabby cat with yellow eyes and white markings on its face and chest, sitting indoors.

RIP

Our 21-year-old cat King George, His Royal Highness, ultra loving snuggler and expert yowler.

Our favorites list (these aren’t necessarily things that were released in 2024, just things that marked our year):

Book of the year: What It Tales to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World by Prentis Hemphill – profound insights that feel so nourishing amid the aftermath of the US presidential election
App of the year: Unwinding Anxiety – life-changing insight into the habit of anxiety (and how to develop replacement habits)
Game of the year: Trial by Trolley – horrendous ethical decisions that must be made in a party atmosphere
Song of the year: Rise Up by Audra Day – a 5-minute sound bath of inspiration
Podcast of the year: Pulling the Thread, hosted by Elise Loehnen – conversations with brilliant thinkers
Podcast episode of the year: Derek Sivers, interviewed on episode 777 of the Tim Ferriss Show – out-of-the-box thinking that’s challenging in a good way
Substack of the year: Emily McDowell’s Subject to Change – she’s an erratic poster, but that makes it more fun. So much generosity within the comments, particularly travel tips, truth about sleep, and welcome permission about quitting.
Bike race of the year: Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal –Dave got a jolt of inspiration as he was rehabbing and – bonus – it brought all the big stars to North America. Now he’s flirting with traveling there next year to see it IRL.

Looking forward to 2025’s adventures. With massive love,

Margaret and Dave