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Happy New Year!
Greetings from Santa Fe! 2016 was a memorable year, but we won't talk
about that. The big news in
last year's letter was that Niels
married his sweetheart, Rebecca.
Our weekly rhythms are still defined by ongoing activities (besides
work). For Hubert soccer year round, the weekly 'Mr Science' hour in
the 6th grade of the local primary school, and now work in the new
Maker Space, playing with 3D
printers, laser cutters etc.
Deb hikes, bikes and goes to Pilates and the gym for fun. She continues to work with young children, specializing in autism and feeding
disorders in babies and young children. She is a member of the Department of Health's Cleft Palate team, which serves children
from birth to age 21.
So here is 2016, mostly in order:
The year started, not unlike other years, with Hubert stuck in a snowstorm on Long Island. Made good use of his time though.
(btw, all pictures are clickable)
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Quarks and gluons
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| This year, Hubert took up making stained glass windows again after a decades-long
hiatus, having converted one of the kid's bedrooms into a studio. The
current series of windows
are based on physics graphs.
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In May, we visited California. First stop was to visit our friends, Barbara and Ted, at their home in the
Berkeley Hills. Lots of steps up to the house, but the intrepid visitor is rewarded with this view of
the bay with San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge from
their living room.
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From Berkeley, we travelled to Big Sur where we stayed in a lodge and were able to take
in gorgeous scenery and wildlife. Later in the year this same area would suffer from
devastating fires. But this is how lush it was in May.
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Hubert, Deb, Susan and Tom
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Returning to the Bay Area for the
Maker Faire, the world's biggest gathering
of do-it-yourself designers, tinkerers, and artists/technicians,
we had the pleasure of visiting Susan and
Tom Bigelow, son-in-law Andrew's aunt and uncle. Tom was nice enough
to let Deb pose behind the wheel of his Tesla. We visited the Google campus,
as well as the Computer History Museum. The museum contains displays that
include an orange and white "
kitchen computer"
from the 1970's whose (only) use
ostensibly was to store recipes. Uh, okay!
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Projects at the Maker faire use everything from microprocessors to
cardboard.
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Deep in the Imbros Gorge
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In July, we travelled to Crete for a physics conference and an amazing
cultural experience. Imbros Gorge leads from highlands of south central Crete down to the sea. Pictured
with Debbie are Judith and Daniel Zwanzinger, our hiking buddies.
Daniel is a fellow physicist who was participating in the conference.
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After our half-day hike, we enjoyed an excellent dinner of fresh-caught
fish on a terrace in the seaside town of Hora Sfakion. We were able to pick our fish from the display.
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With Judith and Daniel
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The physics conference took place in the northwestern town of Kolymbari. The closest city was
Hania, with its Venetian harbor and
fortifications. This beautiful lighthouse
is a focal point of the harbor. Nearby is a multitude of restaurants offering fresh seafood.
We were lucky enough to not only get to sample fresh-caught seafood but
also to witness this pictoresque sunset.
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Rethymno is a town on the northwestern coast of Greece. Conquered by the
Venetians, Rethymno boasts a Venetian-Ottoman center. Overlooking
the town is the Fortezza, an imposing Ventian fortress with bastions.
This picture shows Hubert in the interior of the Fortezza, with palm trees and a
mosque that has been converted into a space for art exhibits. It felt as though we
had walked onto a movie set.
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Leaving Crete for northern Europe, we flew to Frankfurt, Germany to visit our friend,
Sam Rendfort and exchange hugs. We then drove
to Amsterdam for a short family visit. Hubert's sister, Sofia, and
husband Ed live in a
cozy garden home north of Amsterdam. Plenty of opportunities
for bike rides in the nearby villages. Deb's favorite spot was the
"trekpont," a self-operated-rope ferry.
Sofia
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A visit to the family is not complete without a family barbeque at sister Mirjam's and brother-in-law Henk's house. It was
wonderful to see the younger generation, nieces, nephews, and their children. How did we get old enough to be a great aunt and
great uncle?
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Lotte, Jet and Jimi
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East cherenkov coming down
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PHENIX, the experiment that Hubert has been working on since
the 1990's, came to an end this year. Sad to see it come apart. It also means no more
frequent trips to Long Island. I also emptied out and returned the apartment that the team
had maintained there all this time (
#23 in first picture). Was almost like
a second home.
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Locally, there were plenty of new and old places to visit,
Pecos National Monument, the site of a Spanish mission with unusual adobe work, kayaking
on the Chama river with postdoc Marie, Petroglyph National Monument, which is smack in the middle
of an Albuquerque residential neighborhood, and the aspens
on the mountain above us.
On the Chama river
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Picturing petroglyphs
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Aspen Vista trail
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Powering up a steep grade
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In the fall, we decided to take a day trip on the Cumbres and Toltec historic
steam train from Chama, NM to Antonito, CO.
The autumn colors and mountain views, coupled with the excitement of travelling
on a steam train, made for a great trip. We will add this outing
to our list of recommended activities for out-of-town visitors. Wear a hat
and glasses - the ash and cinders have to go somewhere.
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Jim, Jolie, Deb and Sissy, beer and poboys
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In October, we went to Louisiana. First stop was Abita Springs,
staying with Sissy. New Orleans is just across the lake, and we spent a day at the poboy festival
(no matter when you are in NOLA, there is some festival going on). Food, drink and music of course, plus
we got to see our friends Jim and Jolie. We also visited Hubert's aunt Suze in Mandeville, who is
now approaching 90.
Second stop Baton Rouge, where we stayed with Deb's cousin Donna.
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2016 edition of the NY7+
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| Third stop New Iberia, for the second (for us)
quadrennial reunion
of the New York Seven +. The gang goes back to our days at Centenary College in 1971-72.
All grey hairs now, if any.
... returning home just in time for Halloween
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With Andrew and Saskia
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Thanksgiving found us in Tucson, Arizona, a mere 9-hour drive
from here. Saskia and Andrew had moved there in August.
Surprise: Tucson is great for bicycles! The city offers many
things, including the nearby Saguaro National Park, and a great University,
where Andrew is now a doctoral student.
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In the saguaro forest
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Our Christmas/Sinterklaas
tradition of drawing names and creating a poem that honors
(or pokes fun at, more often) our chosen family member was challenged
this year by the fact that Saskia and Andrew were in Corpus Christi,
TX, with Andrew's family. But no matter, that's what Skype is for. Here
is Niels reading the poem his Secret Santa wrote for him, while
Saskia and Andrew listen in and watch the festivities.
Hooray for technology!
The stroke of midnight on new year's eve found us watching the traditional (?)
dropping of the javelina in Silver City to usher in 2017.
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Wishing you health and happiness in the next year,
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