With the pop of champagne corks fading in my ears, but the bubbles still careening around in my brain, I hazarded an open eye on January<\/strong> 1, 2014.\u00a0\u00a0 Once I adjusted to the harsh light of the winter sun, I debated\u00a0getting out of bed.\u00a0 Big mistake.\u00a0 Little did I know, but that a new phrase “Polar Vortex”\u00a0was about to enter my vocabulary and one which would make me yearn to hibernate for the next three months.<\/p>\n But New Year’s Eve had been as swell as a party could be this side of the 1920s.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n But New Year’s Eve had been as swell as a party could be this side of the 1920s.\u00a0\u00a0 Our country neighbors decided to host a grand New Year’s Eve ball to inaugurate their new ballroom.\u00a0 Being part of the 99.99% of the population without their own ballrooms, we were, of course, quite eager to attend.\u00a0 Just one slight hitch. The dress code stated:\u00a0White Tie<\/a> (also tiaras, honorary medals, and diplomatic sashes as appropriate).\u00a0\u00a0Now, even though we are most definitely not in the ballroom owning class, we can, between the two of us, muster three decent tuxedos. \u00a0But sadly no tails, and not a tiara to save our souls.\u00a0 What to do?\u00a0 Well, we’ll rent them, I thought, and immediately googled ‘plutocrat attire for hire.’\u00a0 Sadly, in the 21st century this is not easily accomplished, even in the rarified social climate of Washington, DC, the local home of diplomatic sash wearing types.\u00a0 Every place that\u00a0I remembered from my previous life had closed shop.\u00a0\u00a0But after clicking through site after site of lurid wedding rental duds, I finally found the real deal and set up an appointment to get us kitted out.\u00a0 Fitting me was no problem.\u00a0 I may have gained a few pounds, but I’m still pretty standard issue.\u00a0 Keith, being size Eleventy Thousand, was another matter.\u00a0 There was apparently only one appropriately sized set of evening wear in the entire country which had shoulders broad enough, pants long enough, and waist small enough and it was not available to ship to DC.\u00a0\u00a0 It would seem that most gentlemen of his stature that wear full evening dress are not known for modesty of girth.\u00a0 Luckily with sufficient incentivizing a local tailor agreed to make some alterations so that Keith could arrive in style.\u00a0 Of course after all that trouble we arrived to find half the male guests unashamedly cavorting in standard issue tuxedos….<\/p>\n At any rate, the moment I got out of bed, the Polar Vortex began.\u00a0 It was the longest January on record and reminded me of every reason I hated the winters of my Chicago childhood.\u00a0 I spent most of it inside escaping the snow and cold and getting fatter.\u00a0 But we did have some fun – we had a great dinner at the Foster-Harris House<\/a>, an end of the month visit from my old World Bank colleague Holger Kray<\/a> and his family, and attended a star-studded book party for Allan Gurganus<\/a>.<\/p>\n January Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’70’]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s odd how Noo Yawkers think their experiences are so much more authentic than anyone else’s<\/p><\/blockquote>\n We were constantly hit by more snow and cold in February<\/strong>.\u00a0 The non-stop winter felt more like Minnesota than Virginia.\u00a0 For Valentines Day we escaped frozen Virginia for the tundra of New York for Gray<\/a> & Brian’s<\/a> wedding.\u00a0 A great weekend amidst the snow drifts.\u00a0 We stayed in a new hotel<\/a> in Battery Park City which had great views of the new world trade center and the snow falling on the Hudson and New Jersey (which, frankly always looks better with a coating of snow).\u00a0\u00a0 Since we were dressed like lumberjacks<\/a> in the snow anyway, we decided that we really should make a trek to Brooklyn to see what actual hipsters<\/a> looked like in their native environment<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 I have to say, they’re pretty much the way they’re caricatured.\u00a0 It’s odd how Noo Yawkers think their experiences are so much more authentic than anyone else’s.\u00a0 The Brooklyn hipsters are just aping the ways of Portland youth from a decade or two ago, when no one cared that Portlandia was crawling with grungy bearded plaid-wearers making their own beef jerky.\u00a0 Now it’s a ‘thing’ because it’s in Brooklyn.\u00a0 At any rate, the kids make some good food<\/a>, and we enjoyed it.\u00a0 The next day was all Manhattan glamour as we met up with old friends from the East and West coasts to celebrate at Gray & Brian’s wedding brunch.\u00a0 It was not only a great reunion and great send off to a great couple, but it was also a great escape from the cold and snow outside.\u00a0 It was great. The festivities continued with a reception in the evening with even more old friends.<\/p>\n Back home we set up for lambing, but, as usual, nothing happened.\u00a0\u00a0 Which was a good thing, given the cold and the fact that we had agreed to shear the sheep on February 27th.\u00a0\u00a0 What were we thinking?\u00a0\u00a0 Shearing heavily pregnant ewes is actually easier than dealing with their more svelte sisters, but we hadn’t counted on sub-zero temperatures! The sheep huddled together in the barn and refused to venture outside.\u00a0 Also at risk were Keith’s diminishing flock of ducks.\u00a0 A frozen pond and 2 feet of snow made it very difficult for the ducks to seek shelter.\u00a0 They were easy picking for some migratory eagles.\u00a0 Of the 10 ducks we had started with, only 2 remained.\u00a0 I decided they needed to be penned up ASAP.\u00a0 But how to do it?\u00a0 It isn’t easy tramping through snow drifts and brambles for ducks or humans.\u00a0 But they had the advantage of diving into thickets.\u00a0\u00a0 It took a while and some scratches and bruises, but I got ’em in the end.\u00a0 Though not without a very impressive black eye.\u00a0\u00a0 I got horrified looks from everyone who saw me.\u00a0 “What happened to you?!!!”<\/em> they’d ask.\u00a0 I’d just sigh heavily and say “marriage isn’t easy.”<\/em>\u00a0 Keith did not find this amusing at all.<\/p>\n February Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’119′]<\/p>\n As lambing season always gets off to slow start, we thought we could sneak away for a quick overnight trip to NYC on the first of March<\/strong> to celebrate Michael Golder’s big 5-0.\u00a0 Poor Jeremy! Our trusty farm manager was up to his eyeballs in lambs from the moment we left.\u00a0 Michael’s party was over-the-top Manhattan-sized fun at a restaurant high above Columbus Circle<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 As is the tradition in our group of long time friends, we practiced hard with some other DC folk to contribute a song to ‘roast’ Michael’s big event.\u00a0 Needless to say we were a total bomb!\u00a0 Flubbed lines, singing out of key, and all the usual stuff which wouldn’t have mattered in the least if the rest of the contributors hadn’t brought in Broadway professional ringers and a surprise appearance by Michael’s old college singing group<\/a>.\u00a0 The next day we got to have brunch with my old high school friend Nely Keinanen<\/a> visiting from Finland before we headed back to VA.\u00a0 Of course, the instant we got home we had 8 inches of snow over night and subzero temperatures and more lambs! The next day things went downhill fast,\u00a0 -17\u00b0 and lambs freezing as they were born.\u00a0\u00a0 We lost two and several more were hypothermic.\u00a0 It was a total nightmare and I never want to hear about a ‘polar vortex’ again.\u00a0 Due to the extreme cold and snow cover, Spring was delayed by weeks, but we managed to make in to DC for a brunch with friends and a nice farm dinner with Keith’s sister and brother.<\/p>\n March Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’206′]<\/p>\n April <\/strong>was mild and rainy, but in between the showers I managed to get the kitchen garden planted and the hornbeam tunnel trimmed to its final form.\u00a0 From now on it should be a matter of just a light trimming twice a year to have it rival any garden topiary in Europe.\u00a0 The farm was all neat and tidy and ready for a long growing season.\u00a0 Dave and Brad flew in from Long Beach to bring some West Coast flair to our staid East Coast steeplechasing traditions<\/a> at the annual ODH races<\/a>.\u00a0 Everything seemed all right with the world except my finances.\u00a0 My real estate career had been built on the premise that helping extremely rich people spend a few millions of their gazillions on a country farm or estate or two would let me sweep up a few crumbs in the process.\u00a0 But the crumbs had been few and far between these last few years. Where were these 1% people hiding?\u00a0 Where were my crumbs?\u00a0 Unfortunately my mortgage and credit card companies were not hiding at all.\u00a0The wolf was at the door once again, and frankly I was starting to get tired of living hand to mouth.<\/p>\n April Photos\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’280′]<\/p>\n The gardens, pastures, sheep and everything else worked together to create some excellent late Spring magic in MAY<\/strong>.\u00a0 Really, this month doesn’t get enough good press, or at least it hasn’t gotten much since 1931<\/a>.\u00a0 But it’s a great time of the year on the farm.\u00a0 Not much to mow, lambs are gorging on fresh green grass and the gardens are all planted and not yet full of weeds.\u00a0\u00a0It’s a pretty mellow period before all the heavy summer work sets in.\u00a0 Yet this year found us unable to enjoy much of it.\u00a0 Keith’s work schedule had him so frazzled that he even contemplated quitting.\u00a0 My work schedule had me so un-busy that I worried if we’d be able to pay the mortgage. Still, by the end of the month, Keith’s schedule had calmed down and mine had perked up enough so that we were able to have a few seasonal dinners in the orchard and say good-bye to friends Patty & Bruce as sold their farm and packed up their kids and moved to Australia.<\/p>\n May Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’292′]<\/p>\n June <\/strong>was relatively uneventful.\u00a0 It was too wet to make hay (well, we missed our one window of opportunity).\u00a0 And even though we were now officially poor as church mice, we had already booked and paid for Keith’s birthday extravaganza.\u00a0\u00a0 So, while Rome was burning, we got out our fiddles……<\/p>\n June Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’355′]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Keith’s Bicoastal Birthday<\/strong>.\u00a0It’s not everyday that you turn 50 years old.\u00a0 In fact for most of humanity’s existence it was only the rare few who made it that far, so it should be an occasion marked with some ceremony.\u00a0\u00a0Thus in keeping with Keith’s dignified buttoned down and bow-tied East Coast persona, we gathered a few close friends in DC for a small dinner at the Tabard Inn<\/a>. The Tabard is the opposite of trendy in a very rapidly trendifying city and it struck just the right ‘old school’ note for an old school evening\u00a0 (see photos above).<\/p>\n The next day Keith boarded a plane to LA to meet up with his old Orange County ‘peeps.’\u00a0 I followed a few days later and we rendezvoused at Jerry Bloom’s spectacularly sprawling Richard Neutra mansion<\/a> in the Hollywood Hills.\u00a0 Sited at the peak of desert scrub hill with movie star homes scattered all around beneath him, Jerry literally has the city at his feet.\u00a0 Keith, being an Angelino at heart, felt right at home and immediately started making calls by the poolside in true movie mogul fashion.\u00a0 I was too captivated by the ‘real estate-ness’ of it all.\u00a0\u00a0Talk about location, location, location……\u00a0 Jerry apologized for the ‘little renovation project’ he was undertaking (doubling the size of the house).\u00a0 He’s a true architectural historian and the finished addition will stay true to Neutra’s mid-century modern vision with stunning results.\u00a0Can’t wait to go back and stay there again now that it’s all completed (hint, hint).\u00a0\u00a0That night was ‘my’ night on the Keith birthday tour and we caught up with some of my ex-pat East Coast friends (some of whom I hadn’t seen in 20 years).\u00a0 They form their own little foreign community among the natives, but have all done incredibly well in adapting to the “industry” (LA parlance for movies & TV).\u00a0 It was great to catch up, compare notes, and reflect on life’s twists and turns.<\/p>\n After a night at Jerry’s it was time to try out Amtrak West Coast style.\u00a0\u00a0 Keith started his train career moving trains up and down the Pacific coast and he was eager to show me a slice of it.\u00a0 It was like old home week for him, and he even still knew some of the personnel from the old days. California and trains are two terms that may seem mutually exclusive, but LA’s Union Station<\/a> is busy and beautiful.\u00a0 Keith delivered on the scenery too. The train hugs the coast (even going right up to the beach at points).\u00a0 Ninety minutes later we were in Santa Barbara <\/a>where we sampled the local grape juice and ate<\/a> and ate<\/a>…\u00a0I decided that if I had to live in California, Montecito would be tolerable.<\/p>\n Back in LA we checked in at the new Ace hotel<\/a> in Keith’s old neighborhood downtown.\u00a0 Keith was excited to stay here for a couple of reasons.\u00a0 It was smack in the middle of his old stomping grounds when the area was still pretty dicey.\u00a0 It was right above the old United Artists theater<\/a> that he’s always loved since his days as a docent with the LA Conservancy<\/a>, and, well, it was hip<\/a> and new.\u00a0\u00a0So new, in fact, that we were the first guests in our room.\u00a0 The Ace chain is is hipster high style – which means inventive use of cheap materials, but some ‘retro’ touches that the youn’uns think are really cool – like an actual phonograph with vinyl records in each room (Keith thought this was cool too).\u00a0 What doesn’t work so much is a very young staff of Hollywood wannabies “acting” as your doorman or check-in attendant.\u00a0 At any rate, there is no better way to actually truly feel 50 years old and out of it than staying in the coolest, hippest, newest hotel in LA.\u00a0We were much more at home at dinner that night<\/a> with the Harding family and Danielle Chat.\u00a0 These are Keith’s dearest and closest friends in Huntington Beach and truly wonderful folks.\u00a0 I had met them several years ago on our first trip together to LA. They also saved our bacon at our wedding last year by forming an emergency Martha Stewart brigade<\/a> to produce wedding programs, favors and other things in record time and military precision.<\/p>\n Another way to feel old (but not really) is to have Kaycee Harding organize a reunion party for Keith on Punky Reggae night<\/a> at notorious LA dive La Cita<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0What a lot of fun.\u00a0 Keith got to see all his old gang, I got to dance to 80s punk and reggae in a club dark enough that no one could critique my 54 year old ‘dad dancing<\/a>.’ \u00a0 We were more in our age bracket the next night when we went bowling for Keith’s West Coast birthday party<\/a>.\u00a0 Bowling is completely under-rated.\u00a0 Especially when it comes with dinner and cocktails.<\/p>\n The highlight of the trip for Keith was not his own birthday party, but a LA punk rock reunion at Cafe Nela<\/a> the next afternoon.\u00a0 He was real excited about seeing all the old bands and the legendary characters of his music career.\u00a0 I was curious to see this whole group of people that had loomed so large in his life.\u00a0 I’d heard all the stories about the wild behavior and rock antics his youth.\u00a0 So imagine my surprise when we got to the club and saw all these suburban joes and janes, mostly on the heavy side, comparing pictures of their kids and grand-kids while the most gawdawful skreeching noise obliterated any chance of conversation. Suddenly the Sunday afternoon time slot made sense. These were not the stay-out-late-party-til-you-puke types they were in their youth.\u00a0 They all wanted to leave this sketchy neighborhood before dark so they could get back to their homes in the Valley and be in bed by 9 for work the next day.\u00a0 One was even there campaigning as a Republican candidate for Congress!!!\u00a0 To say I was let down was an understatement!\u00a0 Where was the dissipation?\u00a0 Where was that frisson of danger and decadence that I expected?\u00a0 And yet, even through the earplugs Keith had thoughtfully provided me, the chainsawing guitars and screamed vocals of the bands (who knew the old ‘uns still had such lung power?) were getting these grannies and gramps moving like the mosh pits of their younger days.\u00a0 When the crowd saw Keith, it was like the return of the conquering hero.\u00a0 He was embraced by everyone and quickly pulled hither and yon to be reacquainted with old compadres.\u00a0 I watched the scene from the daylight (and cooler air) from the front of the bar as far from the music as possible.\u00a0 Never had I felt more out of place, and never had Keith seemed so much in his element.\u00a0 It was fascinating to watch.\u00a0 When Keith started pogo-ing, (view it here folks!<\/a>) some in the crowd tried gamely to follow suit, but whether concerns about hip replacements or just too much avoirdupois, few were able to maintain that manic pace that Keith set.\u00a0 And that was the best part of watching Keith turn 50.\u00a0 Seeing his peers and former band-mates acknowledge, while he may have a little less hair than he used to, Keith Miller, after all these years, still had “it.”\u00a0 And he does….\u00a0\u00a0 still have it.<\/p>\n California Trip<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’557′]<\/p>\n July 2014 may possibly have been the mildest and most comfortable Virginia July <\/strong>on record.\u00a0 At least it surely was in my living memory.\u00a0 Mild temps that only reached 90\u00b0 F a few times, but plenty of rainfall and low humidity – and no bugs!!\u00a0 The farm and garden never looked better or lusher.\u00a0 The only complaint was the constant mowing of pastures and trying to find time to cut hay, but those were minor quibbles for such “summer-as-it-should-be-but-never-is” weather.\u00a0 But it was a pleasant month for other reasons too: we had a great time with Keith’s siblings on the 4th of July; a delightful visit from Rick & John from Sonoma; a great group vacation on Fire Island for Russell Bridges’ 60th birthday; Keith did well in his annual local bridge tournament; and I got a nice fat juicy real estate contract to tide us over for several months.<\/p>\n The one small bit of excitement was very localized squall that I encountered on the way home to the farm late one afternoon.\u00a0 I was stuck behind some pokey drivers in heavy rain on a windy country road.\u00a0 Anyone that’s ever been a passenger of mine can attest that I am not a very patient driver.\u00a0\u00a0 When the car in front of me decided to just stop and put its hazard lights on, I was annoyed enough with the wimpy driver that I pulled into the left lane and tried to pass the car.\u00a0 A little rain can’t stop me<\/strong><\/em>!\u00a0 Of course, the moment I pulled ahead of the car I could see why it had stopped.\u00a0 A huge tree had just fallen across the road.\u00a0 I turned around and decided to head back the other way.\u00a0 But no sooner had I done so, another tree fell in front of me!\u00a0 There was nothing for it but to wait in the car while the rain whipped around us and hope that no more trees decided to fall (especially on the cars!).\u00a0 After a few minutes the rain and wind stopped, and a truck pulled up on the other side of the fallen tree behind us.\u00a0\u00a0I got out and told the driver there was no way out, and that in fact there was another tree down ahead of this one, and that he’d better turn around.\u00a0 He said he couldn’t as there was another tree down behind him!\u00a0\u00a0 So there we were 4 cars stuck on a country road in the middle of a forest between 3-4 downed trees across the road.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Finally another truck pulled up on the other side of the tree in front of us and an older gent got out and informed us that he lived in between the stretch of road blocked off by the downed trees.\u00a0 If I would ferry him up to his house, he would fetch his chainsaw and we could cut our way out.\u00a0 Of course when we got to his house he had to search for his chain saw – a puny little ‘Home Depot special’ that was barely big enough to cut through a twig.\u00a0\u00a0He then admitted that ‘the blade might be a little dull.’\u00a0\u00a0Needless to say I sawed and sawed and sawed while the older guys dragged branches away.\u00a0 The police and fire brigade finally showed up and watched me saw too.\u00a0\u00a0Only after I was able to clear a small path for cars to escape did the official VDOT crew finally arrive with “big boy” chainsaws to start clearing the wreckage.<\/p>\n \u00a0July Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’628′]<\/p>\n July languorously gave way to an even more gorgeously dew-dropped August<\/strong>.\u00a0 Because we may never see the likes of it again, we reveled in being outdoors at all hours – seriously – you could actually have lunch outdoors<\/em> – in August!\u00a0 Normally August’s heatbath steams the life out of the pastures and the garden takes a hiatus until September.\u00a0 In this platonic ideal of August however, peaches fell ripe from the trees into our laps, the lambs grew plump on fields of clover, and the garden disgorged bushels of tomatoes, basil, and flowers on a daily basis.\u00a0 Invitations to neighbors’ pool parties and evening dinners under the stars showered down on us the whole month and everyone at the gatherings would marvel, “have you ever seen a month like this?”\u00a0 Keith lobbied to let our pheasants<\/a> escape their confinement with the chickens and enjoy the weather too.\u00a0 After a few nervously supervised outings, they soon were allowed to roam the farm at will and followed us like puppies.<\/p>\n Unfortunately at the end of the month tragedy intruded on this summer idyll.\u00a0 Our good friend Trip Hoffman<\/a>, who had been so wonderful to us over the years, died very unexpectedly.\u00a0 His brand of high-style fun can never be replicated, nor his generosity of spirit to everyone he ever met.\u00a0 His funeral in Tryon, NC was a testament to the fact that he touched the lives of so many in so many different places.<\/p>\n One bright note of that sad trip was that we got to spend some time with the Greenville, SC Zuschlags. Geoff and Sandy showed us the construction of their new house (with plenty of guest rooms for uncles – we made sure), while Will showed how he schools his horses, Sam showed his winning quarterback style, and Mindy showed off her skills as a dog trainer.\u00a0\u00a0Meg<\/a> got us tickets to her improv theater show<\/a> and took us to all the hot spots way before they were ‘discovered’<\/a> by the New York Times.<\/p>\n August Photos<\/strong>[slideshow_deploy id=’238′]<\/p>\n Keith, and by extension his ducks, taught me a lesson this September<\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0For the first time in the 18 years since I’ve owned this farm I have finally taken to heart the admonition to “slow down” and just live in the now.\u00a0\u00a0One beautiful afternoon after I finished mowing a field and doing other farm work, I fed Keith’s ducks and swans.\u00a0 He communes with his birds on a level I’ve never been able to achieve.\u00a0 But this afternoon I was so tired, and the ducks were being so ‘ducky’ that I sat transfixed and watched them dabble at the food, swim around, and dabble some more. For the first time in ages I was able to just let go all of the problems, concerns, and constant mental triage that makes up my day.\u00a0 I just sat there enjoying the ducks on our beautiful pond a on still early autumn day and felt the sun slowly set.\u00a0 Since then I’ve consciously spent more time staring at ducks,\u00a0watching the goldfish dart around the fountain,\u00a0 enjoying lamb antics instead of cursing their penchant for getting tangled in fencing and causing trouble.\u00a0\u00a0 It’s a great feeling to just let go and not worry about my endless list of things I need to do to “catch up.”\u00a0\u00a0Giving myself permission to waste time has been great.\u00a0 Even better is reading about one of my favorite authors<\/a> admonishing himself to do the same via a poem he keeps tacked above his desk<\/a>.<\/p>\n September was gorgeous month with very little downside.\u00a0The gardens and the farm started mellowing into autumn.\u00a0\u00a0A second cutting of hay yielded 42 bales of hay.\u00a0 My old friend Gerard Araud<\/a> took up his post as France’s Ambassador to the US and we had a quiet dinner with him before the onslaught of his official duties.\u00a0 He’s promised Keith a look at the Embassy’s wine cellar once the residence renovation is complete<\/a>.\u00a0 A garden dinner for visiting Gerry Buchanan and Keith’s sister and brother-in-law\u00a0was followed by a visit from my Aunt Helen and Uncle Jim. We had a great time with them, but didn’t remember to show them half the things we wanted to so, they need to come back soon.\u00a0 At the end of the month Trevor<\/a> & Dana’s<\/a> Indian Wedding extravaganza was the hit of the social season.<\/p>\n Another nice bit of news was that those gazillionaires that I referenced back in April suddenly began to come back and look at some Virginia farms.\u00a0 There must be some special billionaire magazine that tells them all when to start looking at properties again. One foreign client that I share with a colleague always arrives in his own jet.\u00a0 Not that it’s a hassle picking him up at the airport<\/a>, but this time he came to see one of our newest listings<\/a> and was able to land right at the farm.\u00a0 Not a bad way to travel!\u00a0 Now if he would only just buy the place already…..<\/p>\n September Photos\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’260′]<\/p>\n October <\/strong>was mellow and wonderful, but after a mild and relatively rainy summer, I was expecting some vibrant fall color.\u00a0 The trees didn’t put forth much effort this year.\u00a0 I didn’t hold it against them, as we had plenty of other things to deal with.\u00a0This year’s sheep breeding season went well (I hope – we’ll find out in March), and we also did another round of artificial insemination<\/a> on 20 of our ewes.\u00a0 The last imports we had from the UK were in 2009, after which the US and EU no longer allowed shipments of ‘genetic material.’\u00a0 So we’re now pretty much tapped out of the stuff until they lift the ban. The highlight of the month was a visit from Volkhard and Marlies Selig from Germany<\/a>.\u00a0 I hadn’t seen them in 30 years!\u00a0 Volkhard was my host ‘brother’ when I went to Germany as an exchange student in 1978.\u00a0 The Seligs are a warm and wonderful family and they were my ‘home away from home’ when I studied in Germany in 1980-81.\u00a0 But aside from Christmas greetings and the occasional e-mail, we hadn’t seen each other since the mid-1980s.\u00a0 Three years ago we had a ‘reverse exchange’ when their daughter Stephanie decided she needed to spend some time in America<\/a> before she started her studies.\u00a0\u00a0 She even came back for our wedding last year, so I guess she convinced her parents it was safe to visit.\u00a0 We had a great time with them and I hope they didn’t think American Halloween customs were too awfully strange….<\/p>\n October Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’708′]<\/p>\n November<\/strong> was a quiet month.\u00a0 Well, sorta.\u00a0 Keith’s fall wine classes ended and he was studying furiously for his French Wine Scholar<\/a> exam.\u00a0 I couldn’t see what all the anxiety was about until I actually helped him study.\u00a0 Good grief!\u00a0 The minutia!\u00a0 And the important minutia – soil types, names of small obscure vineyards, byzantine classification systems that change from one village to the next, grape varietals that are grown by maybe 3 people in all of France.\u00a0 I kid you not!\u00a0 Keith was in a total panic and I could see why.\u00a0 How could anyone keep all these obscure facts in his head?\u00a0 And who needs<\/em> to know that much about French wine?\u00a0 Only 50% of those who take the test pass, and needless to say we were both on edge awaiting the results.\u00a0\u00a0 But of course Keith not only passed it – he ‘aced’ the test. With HONORS!\u00a0 Now he’s a certified wine snob and more obsessed than ever (but I’m very proud of him).\u00a0\u00a0On the farm everything was easily tidied up for the coming winter.\u00a0 The kitchen garden yielded a few last turnips and carrots (the beets were declared inedible by both Keith and the livestock).\u00a0 And a very good thing that all fields were trimmed and livestock in their winter quarters early, because the dreaded “polar vortex<\/a>” (where do they come up with these things?) arrived early and froze everything.\u00a0\u00a0So when everything is unseasonably January-like, can there be a better time to visit Chicago??\u00a0 Of course not.\u00a0 Keith had sold me on the trip as a chance to visit family, but his real goal was to see the one US stop<\/a> of a Victoria & Albert museum exhibition on David Bowie.\u00a0\u00a0So off we went on an Amtrak sleeper car to Chicago.\u00a0The dining car was nice, as were the French wines Keith stowed on board, but being strapped into the coffin-like top bunk in a sleeping compartment is not my idea of luxury travel. We arrived in snowy Chicago to find even the Chicagoans stunned by the cold.\u00a0 Keith really enjoyed the Bowie exhibit, but I have to say, I think he was as equally impressed with the collection of French impressionists<\/a> at the Art Institute<\/a>.\u00a0 Of course the centerpiece of any trip to Chicago is to spend time with friends and family and this trip didn’t disappoint either.\u00a0 We got to see nephew Luka score some points in a basketball game, dine out with the family at a trendy new restaurant<\/a> at the end of their block, and experience traditional Lithuanian comfort food<\/a> cooked by our echt<\/em> Lithuanian sister-in-law<\/a>.\u00a0 Just for extra fun funness, we also got to spend an evening with Will Forrest<\/a> and Mark Smithe <\/a>and their nieces from the UK (who happened to land in Chicago a few hours before on one of their last legs of a year long trip around the world).\u00a0 It was great to see their beyond James Bond cool pad once again before it is sold.\u00a0\u00a0On the way back home Keith actually volunteered to sleep on the cramped top bunk in the sleeper car (all 6’4″ of him!).\u00a0 We had a very, very quiet Thanksgiving as Keith had to work until 9 pm that night.\u00a0 Somehow feasting a deux at 10 pm just doesn’t really feel like Thanksgiving no matter how much stuffing you eat.<\/p>\n November Photos<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’731′]<\/p>\n For some reason December<\/strong> this year seemed rather anti-climactic.\u00a0 How could this be?\u00a0 It contained the usual round of Christmas parties, Christmas parade, and Christmas dinner.\u00a0 As always it was nice and cozy and good to be with family and friends.\u00a0 Maybe it was the ‘as always’ part of this that was both reassuring, and perhaps a little too predictable.\u00a0 At any rate we put the month through its usual paces, and it performed as expected.\u00a0 Maybe we need to shake it up a bit next year?<\/p>\n December Photos\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n [slideshow_deploy id=’750′]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So that’s it, another year draws to a close.<\/p>\n It’s borne in upon me lately that there’s a tipping point in life that you reach where suddenly all the prospects<\/em> of a bright and shiny future of great achievement are no longer ‘future’ but right now or never.\u00a0\u00a0Certain life achievements have been made, or should have been made, and if they haven’t, well, it’s pretty apparent that they never will be.\u00a0 Friends I’ve known for ages are now reaching those goals in glittering fashion.\u00a0 Just this year alone three of them now must be addressed as “Mister Ambassador<\/a>.”\u00a0 Others have sold their companies and are happily retired, or starting new ones.\u00a0 Still others are now “the” noted authorities in their fields.\u00a0 And I? Well, I guess when I removed myself from the rat race a dozen years or so ago it was with the full knowledge that that would never be my lot.\u00a0I occasionally get those ‘what if’ moments that revisit youthful ambitions, but just as often I look around me and reach for the phrase that is inscribed on the sign at the entrance to our farm – bene qui latuit, bene vixit<\/a> and I am very happy.<\/p>\n I think Immanuel Kant<\/a> got it just right in his three rules for a happy life:\u00a0 Tu etwas, liebe jemanden, hoffe auf etwas (something to do, someone to love, something to hope for).\u00a0 I wish you all three in 2015!<\/p>\n Alan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" January With the pop of champagne corks fading in my ears, but the bubbles still careening around in my brain, I hazarded an open eye on January 1, 2014.\u00a0\u00a0 Once I adjusted to the harsh light of the winter sun, I debated\u00a0getting out of bed.\u00a0 Big mistake.\u00a0 Little did I know, but that a new … Continue reading 2014 Christmas Letter<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas-letter"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/IMAG1708.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50"}],"version-history":[{"count":55,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2371,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50\/revisions\/2371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/83"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zuschlag.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}February<\/h4>\n
March<\/h4>\n
April<\/h4>\n
May<\/h4>\n
June<\/h4>\n
July<\/h4>\n
August<\/h4>\n
September<\/h4>\n
October<\/h4>\n
November<\/h4>\n
December<\/h4>\n