2013-holiday-letter

Paul made a big change at work this year.  After working at Intel for seventeen years, and making many late-night pro & con lists, he decided to strike out and try something new.  In early May, Paul left Intel and became a Vice President at Cinder.  Paul and his team provide technical staffing solutions for high tech companies, focusing on Software Development and Quality Assurance.  It has been an exciting transition, and Paul now finds himself giving sales pitches, attending networking events, and tracking details like cash flow and payroll - all things he never imagined doing.  He is even taking business management courses next year!  The company is growing quickly and Paul is really enjoying the new challenges.  At the end of October, the company moved into a new building, and for the first time ever, Paul now has his own office!  It’s a revelation. 

Lake Myvatn, Iceland

Introducing Indy! (seen here, helping with the gardening)

This whole 400+ sq ft room is Paul's office!

Speaking of changes, Paul also decided to simplify his hair care routine (he was tired of watching it go down the drain each morning).  We're still deciding if we like it - I can't say winter is the best time for this sort of hairdo.

Indy supervising the firewood

Skogafoss in Iceland

Hiking in Waterton Park (in Alberta, Canada)

Susan Jane remains very busy as a staff attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center, and received a promotion in May, when she became the Wildlands Program Director.  While her litigation docket remains full of efforts to defend ancient forests and spotted owls, Susan Jane is also committed to the Blue Mountains Forest Partners, a collaborative forest restoration organization based in John Day, Oregon.  The collaborative work is time-consuming, but also very rewarding.  Due in part to SJ’s work, the Forest Service awarded a long-term stewardship contract to local contractors in eastern Oregon that is designed to restore thousands of acres of forest, and bring economic sustainability to local communities.  (Editor's note: This is a HUGE accomplishment!)

Paul with niece Malia and nephew Drew

Indy won a prize at kindergarten graduation

SJ on the coast at dusk 

In another nod to her collaborative spirit, Susan Jane continues her work on the influential NFMA FACA Committee, under the Secretary of Agriculture.  The committee oversees implementation of a new forest planning regulation.  All of this work has frequently taken SJ on the road this past year, including several speaking engagements such as the Congressional Research Service in Washington, DC, Society of American Foresters, Oregon State University, Law Seminars International, Sustainable Northwest, and many others.  We forgot to mention the cool "Bridge Builder" award she won last year for her collaboration work; only the second time in 11 years that this award was given to an environmentalist.

One of our biggest goals this year was to do more for (and with) our community.  Paul has started volunteering at the Oregon Community Foundation, something he was unable to do with his previous travel schedule.  We also started our own foundation ("The Catalyst Fund", managed by OCF), something we hope will be able to contribute to our favorite non-profits long after we're gone.

On top of the Marquam Bridge for the Bridge Pedal

Top of the mountain, Vail, Colorado

Tired little munchkin

Thingvellir, Iceland

Our travel schedule this year included some visits with family and friends as well as an exotic location or two.  We started the year skiing in Vail.  We enjoyed long weekends with friends in Yachats and Brookings and also spent a weekend near Seaside (all Oregon coastal towns).  We went back to TEDxBend, this time with SJ’s parents, and rode in the Portland Bridge Pedal, one of our favorite Portland activities.  Paul went back to Chicago to meet his new nephew Ryan (born in April) and to celebrate his grandmother’s 90th birthday.  Paul’s parents also came out for a visit in October and we ran them ragged all over Portland.

Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park

Hiking in the Trinity Alps

Paul's parents in Portland

We had two longer trips in the second half of the year.  In September, we drove to Glacier National Park (and Waterton Lakes National Park) and met up with SJ’s parents for a week of mountains, lakes, hiking and cool old lodges (you can read our blog here and see more pictures here).  Susan Jane’s mom did an excellent job planning all the details of the trip, and each of our hikes had a big payoff without being too strenuous (Paul's favorite kind of hiking 

).   

Yachats, OR at New Years

Dressed for warmth in Vail

View from our room in Waterton Lakes National Park

On Halloween we headed to Iceland in a quest to see the Northern Lights.  Iceland is one of the more obscure places we’ve traveled.  We really enjoyed the trip and found great scenery, welcoming citizens, and excellent food.  We were particularly impressed with how well organized and tourist-friendly everything was, making the trip comfortable and memorable.  And best of all, we saw a great Northern Lights show on our last night there - perfect ending to the trip!  

Weekend in Seaside, OR

Taken on our last night

You can see lots of our pictures and read about our trip here.

Susan Jane has taken some excellent hiking trips this year as well.  In addition to a trip to Steens Mountain in southeast Oregon, SJ backpacked through the Trinity Alps Wilderness and a few other short trips around Oregon and California.  She is already planning her trips for next year!

Relaxing weekend on the 4th of July

Puppy Burrito!

Coast in Brookings, OR

With friend Dani at Tall Trees Grove

Just after we sent our last year-end letter, our Great Dane, Strix, was diagnosed with an illness, and we had to make the difficult decision to send him to the Great Dog Park in the Sky.  He was only 18 months old and otherwise perfectly healthy, and it was very tough on us. There will always be a Strix-sized hole in our hearts.

Helping Mom with her email

Indy at 10 weeks

Hiking in Glacier National Park

After taking some time to recover from the loss, we took the plunge again this summer.  We found a cute little puppy at a local shelter that was listed as a Shepherd / Lab mix.  Needless to say, that was a bit of false advertising. 

This is the picture we saw when we picked him out, 

The view from our balcony at Many Glacier

A food-motivated dog is a joy to train

and this is the picture of what he looks like today.  Quite the change!   

Sunset at Salmon Mountain, California

Trips to Home Depot include rides for Indy

We also did a major re-landscaping project to start the year, completely overhauling our backyard.  It was quite a project.  It involved moving the fence, building a new shed, demolishing the old shed and steps, adding a rock wall and firepit, sprinklers, lighting, grass... you get the idea. :)  Susan Jane was even able to get a friend who is an Ironworker to design some artwork for our yard (in addition to some railings).  Here are pictures from the project - it’s been a great conversion and now we are spending every available minute in the backyard.  It’s like getting an addition on the house, and has created a whole new living space for us.  It is a (relatively) quiet sanctuary inside Portland city limits. 

Some of the ironwork in the back yard