Dear Family and Friends,

As always, the holiday season just seems to pop up after fall. Here in CA our Japanese maples have just turned an amazing deep red, the golds are goldie, and I still have a few tomatoes in my garden. Today we are having a gradual rain, which is badly needed in this time of drought. It is also good because it motivates me to stay inside and take care of e-mails and mostly do my blog. I do get intimidated every time I start so I just have to push thru the beginnings. One thing I have strategized is that I am going to divide my letter, so I can get to things, but not be too long. Look for part 2 next week.

So, first news for those of you with Falls City or SCL connections is that Sr. Mary Hilaria died at the Mother House on Nov. 2. I was actually travelling back to Ks. the next week, for a Murphy wedding, but didn’t get there for the funeral. She had been failing for about a year, but died peacefully with the support of the sisters. Sr. Therese Bangert gave a beautiful tribute to her at the Mass. We had remained close friends thru the years. After returning to the MH she had especially enjoyed auditing classes over at St. Mary, and usually took two courses a semester. I will miss our visits.

For my health report, I do have a break from chemo therapy. This time the Dr. would have preferred to keep going for a while with the chemo, but my blood was getting pretty far down, and it was best to let the body rest, and the bone marrow go back to work. My cancer seemed to be under good control for the time, and so I do get a break. After my first round of chemo I had 9 months before it came back- so I’ll do all of the healthy things I can do, and we’ll see if we can keep it away longer. It is curious with my cancer, that this time, even when in treatment, I do have periods of feeling good. As
long as I take my naps, and get my exercise, etc. things seem to go OK. I did have a number of delays because my blood counts were often not good, but it just slowed down the treatment, but didn’t seem to
make it less effective.

After a great summer of having good visits with Sarah, Luke and John, we had a great trip to southwestern France with the Seattle Stantons, and several friends. Jim and Jolanne had purchased a week in a French farmhouse that had been a B and B and then a private residence. It was a beautiful traditional farmhouse that now slept 12 or more, and had a swimming pool, tennis court, gourmet kitchen, and great group areas. We had great groups for sightseeing, hiking, tennis, cooking, eating, and of course drinking. We always had fresh fruit foraged from the trees or roadside,fabulous fresh breads, and great meals out and at home. We flew in to Toulouse, and spent several days exploring the area.Carcassone and Peyrepertuese were two amazing areas- one a walled medieval city which still has busy shops and restaurants and is a favorite for French tourists. Peyrepertuese was a castle with several fortresses built high on a steep hill. The climb/walk up was breathless and breathtaking, and the views were spectacular 360’s. After our fabulous week together of triping and vegging, everyone has different extended travel plans. We spent several days at Lourdes. It was the first rain we’d had in France, and it rained on and off for 2 days- but didn’t deter any of the activity. John had such a wonderful service experience in Lourdes, he had sort of told us what not to miss. Highlights were the baths, which we both took, the evening processions, and just the sheer number of people there-despite the rain. It was a great way to end the trip. We enjoyed the other couples, and it was a great chance to spend time with Jim and Jolanne, and our nephews, Matthew, James and George.

I am probably missing all kinds of things, but I do want to be in touch before the craziness of the holidays is in full swing. Do remember us in your prayers as we do you.

Love Annie/Noel