Our Year In Review

Merry Christmas from Sharene, Harrison, and Mr. Spaghetti!

Sharene and Harrison’s 2024 Christmas Update

Health

Don’t you just hate it when old people immediately start talking about their health problems? Sorry, but we’re going to begin with them anyway. Health issues didn’t dominate our year — and they certainly don’t dominate our lives — but you’re our family and friends so you should know about them.

Starting with Sharene: she had her left hip replaced in November. Her right hip was replaced a little over a year ago and that surgery went well, but the doctors could see from the X-rays then that it was only a matter of time before the left one would need the same treatment. This time the surgery went even better: she came home the morning after the surgery, was able to climb the stairs by the third day, and was walking (with crutches) several blocks at a time after only two weeks. No marathons just yet but she’s looking forward to a full recovery.

And Harrison was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. That sounds terrible, but he doesn’t feel terrible and it’s way too early for sympathy or condolences. Parkinson’s is a complex disease, because it’s not really a disease at all but a collection of symptoms. If you exhibit these symptoms — the characteristic tremor is often the most noticeable — and other causes for the symptoms are ruled out, you’re said to have Parkinson’s. But the disease itself is a neurodegenerative disorder defined by brain pathology: clumps of alpha-synuclein protein inside neurons. And other less obvious symptoms of that protein clumping often occur long before the tremor. That’s exactly what happened with Harrison: he realized that he’s been exhibiting a number of these symptoms — slowness of movement, memory loss, sleep dysfunction, loss of sense of smell, among others — for years and in some cases decades. That was actually good news, because those symptoms built up very, very slowly, he learned “workarounds” for many of them, and it implies that the disease will continue to develop slowly. So far that seems to be occurring — he first noticed a slight tremor almost two years ago and, while it’s getting worse, it’s still barely noticeable to most people. For now he’s living life normally and is relieved to have an explanation for a number of issues he’s been dealing with for much of his life.

No More About Health Problems!

You’d never know we had any health issues after hearing about our very full year! We’ll start with a list of the major events, and follow that with a comprehensive gallery of photos throughout the year. We often get asked, “Will we be in your Christmas letter?” Click through and you can see for yourself!

• We started out the year with another visit (Sharene’s third, Harrison’s second) to Juicy Oasis, Jason Vale’s health retreat in Portugal. On the way, Sharene spent a couple of days with Charlene at her home in Portugal’s Algarve, and then the two of us joined up in Lisbon for a day of sightseeing in the capital before traveling on to Juicy Oasis.
• In February we returned to Thailand for a second glorious visit. We wanted to see Bangkok, and we were happy to experience it, but after spending a few days in that frenetic urban environment we were ready for a more tropical island vibe. Continuing on the “health” theme, we flew to the island of Koh Samui and spent a week at Visit Natural Detox Resort — a terrible name but a healthy week of hiking, biking, exercising, and the most amazing and extensive menu of delicious vegan food we’ve ever experienced. Then we returned for a second year to Baan Khaolak Beach Resort and another two weeks at what has become our favorite vacation spot in the world. We decided that two weeks there was simply not enough, so in 2025 we’re going back for three!
• It was still winter when we returned to Amsterdam, but we had some fun on the way to warm weather with visits by our Swiss “daughter” Hallie and her partner Marco, and later by British friend Emelina James, a fitness and yoga instructor at Juicy Oasis and an amazing Tina Turner tribute artist. We also made an overnight trip to Düren, Germany, and took in a performance by the Swingin’ Ladies Plus 2, a wonderful jazz and swing band consisting of our friends Stephanie Trick and Paolo Alderighi (who did a home concert for us a few years ago) together with Nicki Parrott and Engelbert Wrobel. We don’t have much opportunity to hear classic American jazz and swing music, so that was a special treat.
• In May, Sharene traveled to New York City for her annual Girls Trip. It was the 26th time that Sharene, Cathy, Kate, and Ann have traveled together since 1997 — a remarkable record and something they all look forward to each year. They scored an amazing apartment on Madison Park and spent the week sightseeing, playing cribbage, seeing the Broadway show Suffs and a live taping of Stephen Colbert, and laughing endlessly. Sharene took a few extra days around the Girls Trip to visit Frank and Lonnie on Long Island and Siobhan in Manhattan.
• In early June, our dear friend Martin joined us for a week-long bike tour based in Dresden, Germany. Bike tours are normally point-to-point — you start in the origin city and each day you ride to a different city or town, ending up at your destination. It’s fun to go to different places, but by the time you check into your new hotel it’s usually time for dinner, and then you leave early the next morning, so you rarely get to do much exploring of these interesting places you’re passing through. Our Dresden trip was a “star tour”, where you’re based in the same Dresden hotel for the week and each day you go out in a different direction, returning at the end of the day via a different route. That gave us plenty of time to get to know Dresden (with its tragic history of firebombing in World War II) as well as the surrounding territory, which is charming.
• In July, we celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary with a trip to the historic Dutch city of Maastricht, where Berlin friends Regina and Uwe joined us (and a few thousand others in the audience!) for a concert by Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. Rieu travels all over the world but Maastricht is his home, so seeing him there on the famous outdoor Vrijthof Square on a summer night is a very special event.
• We took advantage of good summer weather in August with a short car trip (in a rented car — we’ve been car-free since 2012) to central Netherlands. We visited a sculpture garden at Mariënheem, spent the night in charming Deventer, and came home the next day via Radio Kootwijk, site of a historic radio station that provided the first radiotelephone link between the Netherlands and its former East Asian colonies.
• In late August we were visited by Sharene’s brother David and his wife Betty from Kansas City, and then by a former broadcasting colleague of Harrison’s, Tim, and his wife Sue from San Francisco. Both couples were spending a few days in Amsterdam at the end of a Viking River Cruise. We’ve known quite a few people who took a Viking cruise, and everyone enjoyed them, so if you’re thinking about visiting Europe, it’s something to consider.
• In each of the past several years we’ve traveled to one of the Wadden Islands off the northwestern Dutch coast in the North Sea, and this September we returned to the island of Texel with Martin, Suzette and Fokko, Kerstin, and Monica. We rented a large vacation home and spent several glorious days with good food, bike rides all over the island, and lots of wonderful conversations. Texel is home to a small airport that specializes in skydiving and scenic flights. Harrison took the opportunity to rent a Cessna 172 with an instructor and spend an hour proving that he still remembers how to fly an airplane!
• Also in September we got a shot of Hawaiian energy with visits from Mark and Ron, whom we’ve known since our vacation rental management days on the Big Island, and from Barbara, who with her late husband Rich had a home on the Big Island not far from us. Barbara has visited Amsterdam several times, once with Rich, and faithful readers will recall that we’ve taken two memorable boat and bike tours with her.
• At the beginning of October, Sharene flew to Zurich to help our dear friend Sarah move from her large apartment (of over 40 years!) to a brand new retirement home. Together with Sarah’s three daughters Amelia, Hallie, and Isabel (our Swiss “family”), they helped Sarah downsize and move. No easy feat, but they were able to use many of her beautiful things to create her new, smaller apartment. And she is very happy with her new home. Mission accomplished!
• Our other big trip for the year was a 3-1/2 week trip in October to the West Coast — Seattle and San Francisco areas. Those places were home to one or both of us for many years, so we had lots of people to see. Highlights for Harrison: seeing dear friends Rick, Maggie, Andrea, and their extended families; a reunion of colleagues from KING Radio, where he worked in the 1970s; a reunion of colleagues from CellNet Data Systems, where he worked in the 1990s; and visits to Stanford University where he spent two of his happiest years at the Graduate School of Business. Seeing Rick, Maggie, and Andrea was also a highlight for Sharene, but she also spent some quality time with her sister and brother-in-law and their grandson at their beautiful home, where they hosted the Walshes for an afternoon. She also got to spend a few days with Jeanne and Mike in Scotts Valley, and she celebrated one more amazing Halloween in San Francisco where she and her friends gave out 1000 pieces of candy — no exaggeration! We both were also reminded of the beauty and great weather of the Bay Area.
• November and December: Sharene’s hip surgery and recovery, a canal boat ride to see the Amsterdam Light Festival, the 38th anniversary of our first date, and peaceful holidays in Amsterdam with a few people who are dear to us.

The Year In Photos

(Note: most photos have both a caption and a longer description. Depending on whether you are reading this on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, you may see all the captions immediately, or you might have to roll your mouse over a photo to see the caption and/or description. Clicking or tapping on any photo should bring up a full-size photo or a slide show with arrows to move between photos.) 

Farewells

Recognizing dear friends who are gone but definitely not forgotten. RIP.

Arie Taal

Rich Rawlinson

Marty Jupp (Joe Kelly)

Laura Siegler Evanchik

Our Year

In Lisbon

At Juicy Oasis

Frenetic Bangkok

Bangkok shopping mall

Bangkok canal view

Komodo dragon

Wild Tribe Restaurant

Resort schedule

Sharene’s reward

Khao Lak 2024

Welcome back to Baan Khaolak

Baan Khaolak pool

Khao Lak sunset

At James Bond Island

Amsterdam dog walker

Frank’s birthday

Hallie & Marco

Mr. Spaghetti’s Uber

Andrea & Chris

Emelina at Fabrique des Lumières

Dressed for King’s Day

King’s Day boats

Spring tulips & Mr. Spaghetti

New York Frank

The Girls & Siobhan

The Girls

Spring garden

With Martin

With Martin

Harrison’s happy place

With Philip & Xaviera

Mr. Spaghetti’s new home

With Kerstin, Leona & Greg

With Regina & Uwe

Andre Rieu concert

Aerial Amsterdam

With Michael & Peter

Richard & Lyn

Betty & David

Tim & Sue

Eric & Frank

With our friends on Texel

After the flight

Stacey & Cameron

Mark & Ron

With Barbara, Kerstin, Kate & Monica

Sarah

Rick & Maggie

Mount Rainier

Brianne

Laurel with Rexie

With KING Radio colleages

Doxie & Poh Bee

With Steve & Debbie

With James & Judy

With Margie

With Linda

At the pool

Sharene’s reunion

With Andrea

Hawaiians at heart

CeCe & Darian

Jeanne & Mike

Ann & Don

With Jane & Armstead

With CellNet colleagues

Sharene at Halloween

Sharene after surgery

Greg & Leona Catering

Martin’s birthday

Bert, Bryanna & Tayo

Christmas lights at home

Boarding the Belle Epoque

Inside the Belle Epoque

Hallie & a light sculpture

Celebrating the 38th anniversary of our first date with Dim Sum and an afternoon showing of “Wicked”.

If you’ve made it this far, then congratulations and thank you for reading! We are grateful every single day for the privilege of living a wonderful life, made even more full by the many people mentioned in this letter. We send all of you our happiest holiday greetings and wishes for joy and good health as we go into the new year.

Love, liefs and aloha,
Sharene & Harrison