holiday happenings

Ho ho ho. Happy new year. Here's a copy of our annual holiday letter for those of you who want to be in the know. It has been edited for timeliness and such things.


Indianapolis had a nice 4” snowfall back in mid-December. Then it was 50 degrees by the end of the week. Now it is cold and snowy, but again, by the weekend we can anticipate 50 degrees again. Living this far south (at least for us) has odd benefits and odd drawbacks. I think we’ve realized that we like long autumn afternoons and true spring mornings. But we also miss the snow and cold, living more true to our northern roots that I think we thought we might. Nevertheless the world is always turning toward the morning, and as long as we have what we need we can’t really be too picky.

As much as we like to hear about your fantastic adventures of the year, so too shall we share ours: This year it will be all about the numbers. Join in the mathematical fun, and see where you too, can participate.

21: The number of visitors who stopped by and actually slept in our bungalow in 2007. Just a few were repeats, but we had folks en route from Minnesota to the east coast, Cincinnati to Wisconsin, Tennessee, Los Angeles, Toronto and related Canadian environs, Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Virginia.

9: Total number of people housed here in one fantastic spring break weekend. The house was a buzz with all kinds of game enthusiasts. Erik taught them how to play Kubb—the Swedish game affectionately known as “Throw Some Blocks, Then Throw the Stick Shortly Thereafter.” Our Kubb ambassadorship has resulted in a full scale resurgence of the game across the northern hemisphere.

1: The guest who locked him self both in and out of the house. What? How is this possible? It comes down to keyed locks on both doors. It’s a tricky little thing, Erik having done it the first time to know how it works. Dan, we apologize again, and glad that you got out in time.

750: Total number of hours worked (including 150 hours of overtime) by Erik in preparation of the new exhibit, The Power of Children: Making a Difference. Both of us spent considerable time and energy in making this exhibit about racism, discrimination and tolerance come to life through the stories of Ryan White, Ruby Bridges and Anne Frank. It was a long summer of overtime, but the result was a fantastic exhibit that opens up much needed conversation for families and children. We also had the opportunity to attend the gala which included hearing from Ruby Bridges and Jeanne White-Ginder, mother of Ryan White. Elee also published an article about the exhibit which appeared in the journal Museums and Social Issues. It’s not available on the newsstand, but if you want a copy, she’ll happily send it along.

12: Number of hours spent flying, and railroading from Indianapolis to Rovereto, Italy where Elee gave a paper at the International Human Science Research Conference. Actually, one of the members of the conference suggested perhaps she and he had attended the Conference on Facial Expressions. Imagine if you can someone who can equal Elee’s penchant for facial contortions, add some Dutch language and a shock of white hair and there you go. If you are looking on the map, Rovereto is in the Southern Tyrol, approximately 2 hours north and east of Verona. It is a beautiful city and though we didn’t stay long, we ate well and relaxed.

7”: The amount of snow it takes to shut down the city of Indianapolis for not one but two days! Hard to say whether it was comical or tragic that our street was never plowed and most of the city was impassable. Yes, they do have snow plows. Whether they know which end goes on the street seems to be in question.

So, to sum things up (exactly 800!) we are doing pretty well. The year ahead promises more exciting travel, fun with friends and family, and a chance to make a difference somewhere in the world somehow.

We wish you the best and hope to add you to our roster of house guests some time in 2008. We’re counting on you to help break the record.

Be merry and bright!