Foundations. The basis on which things stand. In the past few years, our foundation of Faith has been examined, and strengthened.

The year 2000 began with growing concern for Doug's father Clair's health. January saw him suffer some small strokes, which caused his speech to get a bit mixed up, resulting in sometimes humorous conversations. There was also loss of the ability to swallow, weakening his physical body. His spirit, however, was saying "Amen! Come Lord Jesus!" February 6th Clair went Home at last, fulfilling his earnest desire to be in the arms of his Friend. The family, though sad to lose his daily presence, knew in their hearts he would never be far, resting firmly on the foundation of faith in meeting again. A joyous celebration of his life, and a later memorial tree-planting at Ocean Park United Methodist Camp on Easter weekend gave an opportunity to share "Clair stories" and begin to heal.

In the mysteriously good ways God works, Doug was out of work right after his father's death; Boeing's engineering union, SPEEA, went on strike for the first time in its history. As a result, Doug had an unscheduled five week "vacation". One would think I would have put him to work on projects around the house, to keep him occupied, but really, each day was an uncertainty, and it seemed the biggest need was to just "Be". The strike was settled after forty days (hmmm, rather biblical-sounding!) and Doug returned to work, losing 28 days' pay.

Spring melted into summer, and activities abounded. Doug and I prepared to be volunteer staff at Ocean Park's Junior Hi Jive Camp again, helping with planning sessions and working on related projects. However, another event intervened and prevented us from reaping the benefits of our sowing. One of our beloved fur-kids, Geordi, became seriously ill two weeks before camp, with a high fever and lack of appetite. Over the next week and a half, he clung to life, eventually needing a transfusion of both "regular" and synthetic kitty blood, before finally recovering enough to come home. However, he needed daily medication and careful monitoring, so we decided we'd better stay home and care for him. Our dean, Blaine, says he expects us back next year!

Summer activities also included a yard sale, where we helped Jean unload some 50 plus years' accumulation of things as she made the transition from house to apartment, having moved after Clair's death. Doug's brother Blaine and his family (wife Tammy, kids AJ, Stacy, BJ and Nathan) now live in the Hanson Homestead, and have added two fur-family members to their busy gang; Tyson the cat (yay!) and T-Bone the dog (BIG dog!). It's fun to see them more frequently now, as one or the other of us will pop over at times to visit.

In early August, we had another fur-kid health crisis, as Marmalade came down with what seems to have been the same malady Geordi had suffered. It is true that experience is the best teacher, and having seen how Geordi's illness progressed, our emergency vet Lisa Dzyban was better prepared to treat Marmalade, so he didn't get *quite* as desperately ill. Still was pretty darn bad, though! (Both are now recovered, by the way, and doing well. Geordi has a heart murmur as a souvenir, and early stages of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but since he can't read, he doesn't know any different.)

All year long, and actually for most of the previous year as well, Doug and I had been making plans with our friends Kathy and Wes, and Wes's daughters Hannah and Mary, to go to France. Dates had been set, housing and airfare arranged, and all was in readiness. We debated canceling our plans when the strike hit, but eventually decided to go ahead and pay for it somehow later. We convinced Jean she would enjoy having a break, too, so she came along with us. Filling out our group, and playing tag-team traveler, was Mike Devine, who arrived the day Hannah and Mary had to return. We had many adventures, both pleasant and stress-filled; the usual tourist-type stuff of getting lost between destinations or arriving someplace to find most things closed were manageable. But Jean apparently had a mission to do medical research, becoming ill with a cold that just wouldn't go away. She, and we, had been trying what we could with over-the-counter remedies, hoping those and some rest would be all she would need. One horrible night of coughing settled it: she must have medical attention. So I had a new adventure: calling the French version of 911 and explaining our need. In French, of course. Stuff they don't teach in either high school or college classes! It worked marvelously, with an ambulance arriving moments later and whisking us off to the nearest hospital. 20 miles away. Diagnosis: Pneumonia. After a two-night stay she was released, with strict orders to rest and not exert.

We had arranged for housing in three different regions of France: Burgundy, the Dordogne, and Languedoc. Our first two weeks, before Jean became so ill, were spent in a 16th century chateau in Burgundy, with a horse pasture just below our window, and a peacock "alarm" nearly every morning! Wonderful rolling hills, green meadows, pasturelands and roaming forests make up the Burgundian countryside. Oh it was lush! We next went on to the Dordogne, to a house in the town St. Cyprien, near the river Dordogne. Wonderful place! From this base we explored various attractions, including the medieval castle of Beynac and the cliff-side town of La Roque Gageac. A river trip by canoe and kayak will long be remembered, especially by Mike, who had an unscheduled swim in the river after capsizing his kayak! It was late in this week that Jean was hospitalized. After her release, we moved on to our final house, in the Languedoc region of France, a village called Azillanet. Jean settled in to her "nest" on the main floor while the rest of us climbed narrow, turning stairs to our rooms above. From this homestead we took daytrips visiting nearby attractions, including the medieval town of Carcassonne, which we learned had been used as the castle in the movie "Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves". We had a fun day dipping toes and other body parts in the Mediterranean sea at the town of Collioure. Kathy had a minor adventure with the encounter of a sea urchin, who stung her heel when her foot slipped off a rock. Vocabulary lessons at the Pharmacie followed, as we tried to find out what to do for it.

We finished up with a whirlwind four days in Paris, seeing as many of the sights as possible. Jean was getting well enough to see some sights, touring Loire castles, Monet's garden, and the Louvre by wheelchair. While Jean rested at the hotel, Mike, Doug and I carried on, seeing the Musée d'Orsay, exterior of Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel tower. We have all agreed there is so much more to see and do, that we must go back!

Our return home was nearly uneventful, except for a slight delay at the airport, waiting while the police bomb squad determined the nature of a suspicious package. A bomb scare to finish off the trip! Just what we needed, to make this the most memorable trip any of us have had, I believe!

Meanwhile, our niece Amy Short had the care of our gang of 11 cats, getting to know them better than she probably ever did! She grew rather attached to Tarli, who she says acted more like a dog than a cat, following her around and seeming happy to be near her. Great job, Amy! Thanks!

We continue to be active in our church, Bethany United Methodist; Doug is still Financial Secretary, and also serves on the Staff-Parish Relations Committee, as well as the Finance Committee. We both sing in the choir, enjoying blending our voices in wonderful harmonies. I took on a new responsibility this year, becoming the Lay Delegate to Annual Conference for our church. It was a new and interesting experience for me, and was especially wonderful to witness my brother Jon's ordination as an Elder in the United Methodist Church. As a result of this position, I also attend the Finance and Staff Parish Relations committees. We decided to drop bowling with the Church Fellowship League from our schedules for this year; we felt we needed a break for a while.

Our "Princess", Kalice, has been diagnosed with diabetes this fall, making two cats with that condition in our household. She is doing pretty well on insulin, even though we're still working to regulate her dosage. She takes her shots well, having watched me do that special thing to Oscar over the years, which sometimes results in treats! The rest of the fur-gang are basically well, celebrating being able to go outdoors anytime, after the installation of a fence-top barrier that prevents their climbing out of the back yard. They can have their freedom, and Mommy can have her sleep!

Foundations. We build our lives on them, in family, church, work, and fun. Sometimes we don't even notice them, until the "earthquakes" of life hit; then we examine our foundations, repair any cracks, and go on. We know we can always rest our faith, our very lives, on the one True Foundation, Christ, whose birth we celebrate this Christmas. May He fill your hearts and homes with His Love.