Happy Eastering and Springing everyone,

After this amazing winter, I hope you all are experiencing some good April weather. Our trips to NY and Chicago this year gave us a real taste of winter. As I usually do, I want to give a health report first, to get it over with. I know my descriptions have been confusing, so I am going to answer some of the questions I have gotten. I now have been able to receive my chemo therapy in Marin since the end of Feb. The NY clinic sets up the program, and we can do it here. We travel to Chicago once a month to do Chinese acupuncture with Dr. Deng, who has had a good record with ovarian cancer. The current chemo is quite strong although I get the drugs in reduced levels. It continues to be a struggle, and my energy level takes a nosedive. I get the treatment every two weeks, so at the end of the second week I get a little revived. I haven’t played tennis since mid Jan., but still look forward to getting back to it. I have to get really motivated to keep up my walking, but that’s a necessity of life.

We had a fairly busy Easter. After Mass and the Farmer’s Market we fixed appetizers for Easter dinner at a friends. Now this amazing woman returned home from a trip on Thurs. and had to teach on Mon. and had 30+ people for Easter dinner. She has two darling 20 & 30 something daughters who each had about 10 friends, plus our older group. It was great fun to see an Easter egg hunt, followed by cocktails. Really a fun group and a great dinner. Ellen was still on her trip to the South, and spent Easter with Larry Darveau and his family in Hilton Head, SC.

My true highlight of this spring and this letter is our 13 day Pilgrimage to the Holy Land- Israel and Jordan. We were invited by John and Kathy Stanton to join this group, which had strong connection with their parish in Houston. The chaplain and co-guide was Msgr. Rossi from the parish. The unusual nature of the group was that it was sponsored by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, which goes back to the Crusades, and which continues to support the Christian sites in the Holy Land, as its mission. We had 12-15 folks in the group who were either members, or being honored as a part of the pilgrimage. We had Mass every day, which was always a major privilege to be able to do, and it was very enriching.

We flew from Houston to Istanbul, and then to Tel Aviv, so we traveled by bus once we left Tel Aviv. The bus was actually a lot of fun, and a chance to get to know people. We are sure our back of the bus gang had the most fun. I’m not going to try any kind of daily itinerary, but some of the highlights were a boatride on the Sea of Galilee, going down to the banks of the Jordan, renewing our wedding vows at Cana, views from Mt. Tabor, Nebo, and the remarkable landscape of both countries, Petra, an ancient city carved out of the rock cliffs, the 3rd world Bedouin camps, getting across the borders of both countries, Bethlehem, Mt. Zion and the Mt. of Olives, and just so many places in Jerusalem. The Stations of the cross and the ceremony at the Holy Sepulchre were all amazing and inspiring. The people in our group were also a source of faith and reverence. Our last stop was 5 days in Jerusalem, so we really did get to see the city. If it was in the New Testament we saw it or heard about it. Clark and I took our free afternoon to visit the Holocaust Museum. It was beautifully and painfully done, but a memorable day.

So how did the “sickie” do all of this, and all I can say is that I have no idea. My energy was very good, and I had Clark beside me, and I think the fact that we had short outings and then got back on the bus, got water etc., and the weather was 60’s- 70’s, really helped. The other very weird thing was that I had a ravenous appetite, which thrived in all of the hotel buffets. We didn’t do many long walks, but there were always steps and more steps, and several walks at least a couple of miles. Toward the end I did have the luxury of skipping a couple of activities and getting back to the hotel.

Now as marvelous as our trip was, it was just such fun to have time with John and Kathy. We were all in the “back of the bus”, and John and Clark do get going. We also had special time with them in Houston before we left on the trip, and a day when we returned. We had a family dinner at a great Italian restaurant, and got to catch up with Mary and Bobby Stanton and their families. Our biggest surprise was that Mary had gotten Luke to come in for the dinner—so it was a fun gathering.

So, Palm Sunday and Holy Week had a very different, textured feeling this year. We were really buoyed along on the pilgrimage by the faith of our fellow travelers. There was just a real presence, no matter what kind of a situation we were in. I’m not going to make a lot of political statements, but what we did see on the trip were the ancient and new lines drawn between the people living and trying to live in Israel. We traveled with the Palestinian and Jordanian Catholic, Christian perspective, and it was so abundantly clear how much more there was. We saw many other touring groups from everywhere, and the Arab/Muslem groups and African groups were some of fascinating ones. IF anyone plans to go, I would just say to really check out the tour group to get what you want. Our company was called Inspirational Tours, Inc. We had a very experienced Palestinian professional guide, as well as Michelle Malloy and Msgr. Rossi, who worked with all of the logistics.

So, sorry again that I don’t do a better job of writing. Seems like there is always some block—too much going on or too little. Do know I love hearing from you, and know that you continue to pray for us and we do for you.

Love and prayers Annie/Noel