Merry Christmas Happy New Year

Well, here we are again, our Christmas letter comes out well past Christmas! As usual, we spent all of the Christmas season filling orders for Linda’s cookie business. It was another great year for Linda’s Gourmet Cookies; just as we have since starting the business in 2004, we had another year of double-digit growth. We grew in both corporate and personal orders. Our new Lemon Drop cookie was a big success and, as always, Gooey Butter Squares, ToDieFor Bars, and Truffles were extremely popular.

Peter is well into his second year at Georgetown. His focus is on Economics, with a heavy dose of Philosophy, Gender Studies, and Debate. His Debate activities take him traveling about the country multiple times a month. So far this year they have been to Boston, Atlanta, Winston-Salem, Lexington, and Los Angeles.

There was no major travel for Linda and Bill this year. This was the year of home repair and remodeling. It all started in the spring when a major leak in the boiler heating system was soaking the ceiling in the dining room. We had seen the symptoms of this for some time and had all variety of repair experts out to work on it - including carpenters, roofers and gutter specialists - without any success. It finally turned out to be a leaking pipe in our steam heat boiler system. That was repaired and then the boiler itself broke down and needed to be replaced. With that behind us, Linda embarked on major remodeling and redecorating of the house.

The main bathroom in our house is the original bathroom. When the house was built in 1917, this was the only bathroom in the house and there were seven people that lived here and shared it. I can’t even imagine the traffic jams in the hall outside the bathroom at the start of the day!

Linda had it completely remodeled down to the bare plumbing, wires and studs. It was a good thing we did it because we discovered several plumbing and electrical problems that were in immanent need of repair. She then had the bathroom put back together with beautiful subway tile, marble, and a large soaking tub. Not to stop there she did major redecorating of the hall, dining room and living room. We should be set for the next xx (you fill in the blank) years.

Remember that boiler we had replaced? Well one repair leads to another, and the steam pipes in the basement started to leak. They were insulated and so we had to have the insulation removed before we could even find where the leaks were. There were several leaks but they were relatively easy to plug up. We’ll hope they hold.

With such and active year, 2012 is going to be a year of relaxation. It’s time to identify fun cruises to go on. Next year at this time you will be reading about our travels to exotic places, interesting exploits, and enjoyment of delicious food.

Happy New Year and we wish you the best for 2012!!!

Linda