Martha says: This photo was taken in August on an easy hike at the foot of Snowy Mountain across the road from Camp Timberlock where we’ve vacationed for more than 30 years.  My travels also included visiting cousins in Rochester in January, Minneapolis in May, and Pennsylvania in September.  I love being a “Bubi” and watching Gabriel grow.  Before he was born, I managed to complete several quilts for babies, weddings, and high school graduations.  I’ve added photos to this web page so you can see them.  Most of what I was doing last year continued in 2011 including the Quilt Museum library and MassQuilts, so my life is now fuller than ever.

Bob says: 2012 begins like 2011 - with another trip to Asia looming (my fourth in four years).  Last year's was grueling - Japan, China, Australia, India; this year's will be a bit simpler, just Australia and India.  I may have to go back to North Asia later in the year.  I am looking forward to seeing some of the friends I've made in faraway places, but it's hard to be away from home for so long.
       I've dialed back the rest of my travel, as well as my work on simulation and anime, to make time for a higher priority, and that of course is Gabriel, our first grandchild. I find myself rediscovering and relearning what I knew as a parent more than 30 years ago. In addition, the rules for newborns have changed - how they sleep (on their backs, not their tummies), what and when they eat, what are acceptable forms of transports, all our saved  small cribs proved obsolete, and so on.
       Another change is that I'm now working from home, after the local office was shut down due to declining need. On the plus side, I have the shortest commute in my life (about five seconds), giving me back an hour a day. On the minus side, the cats don't respect office hours and demand attention on their schedule, not mine. Holding a conference call with a cat on the desk, rubbing her tail under one's nose, is less productive than one might hope.

Ben says:  2011 was another eventful year for us. We welcomed our son Gabriel Isaiah on June 29, the same birthday as his maternal great-grandfather. We've been having a blast with him ever since. Against her better judgment, Lori went back to veterinary school at Tufts and will be entering clinics in March. Ben enjoyed a productive albeit hectic X-Plane 10 release in November. We finished the year with an exciting new car purchase - a Subaru Impreza - which can fit both the baby and the dog, unlike our Civic. Yes, we bought a new car for our dog; CC is very excited.

Jonathan says: It's been an eventful year. In February, I fell on my shoulder skiing and tore my rotator cuff, requiring surgery. It's now fully recovered and I’m looking forward to hopefully a longer ski season this year. Funkitron shipped Solitaire Supreme this year for PC, Mac, iPhone, and iPad. It's great finally getting to write a game that the whole family enjoys. Larissa’s company, Genarts is doing well again, no longer on rocky ground from the economy. And of course, it's been very interesting being an aunt and uncle. The dogs, cats, and horses are doing reasonably well, though Isabella is starting to feel her age (The equine dentist thinks she's actually 25). Our dogs love it when Ben’s dog CC comes to visit.