Greeting from Colorado! First the great news, no fires this year. All else tends to pale after that.

We started the year with a mini-vacation in January to Estes Park to enjoy the mountains in winter. It’s always a great time to unwind and cruise the local shops. In February, we returned to Santa Fe for their restaurant week. It was a bit cool, but it’s a great opportunity to try some of their famous southwestern cuisine.
By March, Mary’s other hip was becoming a major issue and she decided it was time. She had hip replacement surgery in late March and the next couple of months were recuperation and physical therapy. The good news is she is now doing fine, still moving a bit slower, but without the pain. With two new hips, she is now officially the bionic woman!
Summer brought the normal tourist flood to Colorado, which meant we had the opportunity to see several old friends. The highlight of our summer was the extended visit in late July and early August of Marc and Rana from Istanbul with Ozan, our new grandson! We found the grandparent thing to be a real blast--the opportunity to play with him all day and then give him back to his parents in the evening is a great thing. We all went to Santa Fe and Taos for a few days to introduce Rana and Ozan to a bit of southwest history and culture and sample some great food.
October started with a trip to Pagosa Springs with Mary's family to view the fall color in Colorado. November was our trip to Turkey to help celebrate Ozan’s first birthday. We did get out of Istanbul for a few days to visit Cappadocia, the ancient site of human made caves in rocky spires and hillsides. The stay in a cave hotel was memorable and the people were great.
Mary’s gardening was slowed a bit this year with her hip replacement, but she has big plans for next year. Gary continues to do a bit of consulting, facilitate seminars on leadership and character development at the Air Force Academy and serves on our HOA board. He led a group that secured over $97,000 in fire mitigation grants for our community.
We hope your holiday season is filled with friends, family and good memories. If your travels bring you to the Pikes Peak region, we would enjoy sharing a peek of our part of the Black Forest.

Gary & Mary Hoffman