December1999
Holiday Greetings!
All is busy at the Lee household, as usual, where it seems like there is never a dull moment for any of us!
Sammi is a busy 3-year-old. She takes weekly classes in swimming and dancing, and also goes to Hebrew school once a month. She is doing very well in swimming - she likes to put her face in the water and her teacher tells us she has a strong kick. In her dance class she is learning the basics of ballet and tap and can actually remember some of the things she does from week to week. She is enjoying Hebrew school, which is mainly teaching about Jewish holidays via art and crafts and food. We have all been going to the toddler Shabbat services as well as family services at the local temple. Sammi also goes to daycare 3 days a week and enjoys being with her friends and teachers. We love her new level of communication, which finally allows us to discuss art, music, movies, etc, plus she is constantly singing songs and making up stories. As you can imagine she has questions and opinions about everything! She has a nice group of friends, many whom came to her birthday party at Great Brook Farm this fall. One of the highlights of the day was Grandpas Rick and Bennett and Grandma Lorraine playing music and singing with the kids.
Peter is still busy working at Media 100. Things change constantly over there - but he is still happy. The commute is fine with rare exceptions. Thank goodness none of us has to drive on Rt. 128 to get to work! It seems Peter is always working on some project around the house. Now Peter is not only Saul's apprentice, but he takes on projects of his own. When he has a free moment he tries to play a computer game.
The house is doing fine. It felt like we spent a month just raking leaves (my goodness we have a lot of oak trees!). We regraded the ground on the right side so that water would stop collecting near the side entrance. Next summer we hope to re-paint the whole thing. Of course there are still interior projects to work on, too, not to mention moving all the boxes from the blue room up into the attic. Some day we'll unpack all the boxes from the move, but we are in no rush.
Misch is busy with her web site (http://www.oldpatterns.com). We are not sure if she will ever catch up with her back stock of patterns. In fact, she has given up actively hunting for patterns, since sellers now seem to find her. She just bought 1,000 patterns from the early 1940s. We figure those alone will keep her busy for a few months! Customers keep coming back for more patterns, some from as far away as Australia and Japan. In her spare time Misch is trying her hand at rubber-stamping, and has sewn a few things for Sammi. Sammi and she are still going the gym twice a week. Sammi likes playing with the kids in the gym's nursery and the exercise keeps Misch fit.
We have just acquired a new car. We had planned to wait at least another year, but Misch's Geo Prizm had its back-end crumpled by an SUV and the repairs would have cost more than the car was worth. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the accident! We decided to move up to a mini-van since we like to travel with our friends and family in one car- it's more social that way, and even the Volvo isn't big enough to seat 4 adults and a kid in a car seat comfortably. Finding a mini-van that has enough legroom for a 6'4" driver was surprisingly difficult--not to mention trying to buy one and take delivery during the Thanksgiving break! We ended up with a brand new 2000 Mazda MPV. It drives nicely, and everyone fits in it (one set of grandparents at a time).
We still go vintage dancing. Everyone had a great time at our 10th wedding anniversary party in April. We also had a wonderful time at the Newport Vintage dance week, where Peter and Misch dressed as clowns for the costume ball. The costumes worked well and everyone loved Peter as a giant clown. We manage to go dancing about once a month, though we wish we could do more. Sammi has started going to afternoon tea dances with us, where she remains light on her feet, at least when we lift her up to dance with.
Speaking of grandparents, Bubbie has been knitting up a storm. Sammi loves her pink Pikachu Pokemon sweater (yes, Sammi likes Pokemon), not to mention all the other sweaters Bubbie has made for her. Zayde has been working on a giant play gym for the backyard. We finally got the family piano tuned and Grandpas Rick and Bennett have been playing it with Sammi. She usually sings along or plays her harmonica. Grandma Lorraine came to visit Sammi's pre-school and played her harp. It was a big hit with Sammi's classmates! Sammi loves living so close to all of her grandparents.
Much love,
Misch, Peter and Sammi