![]() | MERRY CHRISTMAS![]() |
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December 2002
Welcome to the annual Janz Christmas letter. This year our construction concentrated on ceilings, we purchased prime, piney property, fraternized with the family, saw several scintillating seas, and continued our careers with the same companies.
In response to your first question, "What have you done to your house lately?", we can safely say, not much (see paragraph 4). The major home improvement project this year has been finishing off the garage - and it will be next years, too ?. We added inches of insulation, screwed in sheetrock, and mudded monstrous seams. Also, after the family room ceiling fan's controller was crisped (Mike tried real hard to fix it!), we promptly installed a new fan and added recessed lights (to hide the ceiling gopher holes). Next year we'll complete the garage, remodel the master bath, and build a gazebo for the spa.
Since we've just about run out of projects for this house, we decided to add a new home to our repertoire! In December, we bought a 1 bedroom, 1 bath cabin in Tahoe! It sits on a 1/3rd of an acre and has a beautiful view of the lake. The plans are already coming together: egress the electric water heater, beautify the bathroom, raze and replace the roof, and apply a wood patina exterior paint. Once a snorkel is no longer required to exercise our Intel stock options, we plan on replacing our new humble abode with a 3 bedroom, 2 bath cabin. (can you see a new project here???)
When we were not improving or hunting for homes, we were diving and traveling and diving! This year, Hawaii was our first hop after Mike muttered Maui in March was a must for migrating Humpbacks. We enjoyed half-a-deca days of dynamite diving. We will never forget hearing the Humpback whales sing, the back wall of Molokini, and seeing a pod of whales 200' away! In the seventh month, we siesta'd for seven days on Lake Shasta. Our trip consisted of the following activities: sleep, breakfast, sleep, lunch, read, sleep, dinner, sleep... repeat. This year, we wound up our "walk abouts" with a wonderful week under the warm waters of Cozumel. The visibility was at least a 100 feet, the water was 84 degrees, fish life was abundant, the coral was healthy, and the calm current carried us along the coral formations. On our "dry day" we traveled to Chichen Itza to see Mayan ruins. We have decided to return as often as possible (for example, next year!).
This year, our family expanded and contracted in size, and Mike celebrated 3 years (soon to be 4!) since his transplant with flying colors! We hit a major milestone when his test results were "normal" for a typical person (of course, the follow on checkup showed him to be "abnormal", but we already knew that ?). Rob and Caroline's daughter, Morgan Rose, joined the family on May 1st (happy b-day, Lori!), and Julie and Kurt presented the family with Kyle August on August 11th - our first Nephew! In December, we celebrated Grandma Pantenburg's 90th birthday in Oregon. Also, in December, we said goodbye to Grandpa Pat. He will be watching from above as we celebrate Christmas this year.
This year, we find ourselves with one less frolicking feline. In October we held Cleo, our 8 year old, grey tabby for the last time as she succumbed to the cancer she was diagnosed with in July. We believe that she is now eating heartily and gaining all the weight she originally lost. Magic is enjoying the opportunity to rule the roost. She spends more time indoors, and loves to be on our lap, collecting pats, and purring away.
Next year we plan on traveling again to Cozumel (more diving), Cruise the Caribbean, and NOT travel to Australia (this is now scheduled for 2004)! Feel free to email us at include(".do_not_delete") ?> or visit us at http://www.mljanz.com/.
We hope the coming year brings peace, good health, and a safe and wonderful holiday.
Love,
Mike, Lori, & Magic