Greetings from sunny South Florida!  This certainly has been a busy year for all of us and so many things have happened.  I guess the best way to fill you in is to recap our 2006 year.

In January, Eric and Andrew visited us picking up Mom and Dad Zion on their way down from North Carolina.  We all enjoyed some good home cooked meals, sunny days and balmy nights in Pompano Beach.  Scott, Jason and Stacy were off skiing with their mother in Lake Tahoe for the holidays.  Scott paid us a visit shortly after introducing us to his girlfriend Mallory.

The Christmas decorations were put away and we prepared for Lois and Arnie’s nuptials.  It was a beautiful ceremony held at Arnie’s cousins’, Sam & Garrett’s, house in Coconut Grove.

Another weekend, I drove up to Orlando to help Mom and Dad Zion out by fixing up their yard and doing a few small maintenance jobs.  Fifty-two bags of mulch later the yard was weeded, watered and manicured!  I even painted an accent wall in the kitchen for them!  I got a good workout that weekend!

In February, Gene turned 62, and we had a quiet celebration dinner.

I flew to Asheville in March to visit Eric and Andrew and see the spring flowers in blossom.  I love my daffodils and tulips!  I even brought home some Carolina violets and they’re blooming in a shaded area of my garden.

April was an awesome month experiencing the most anticipated Blimp ride ever.  My fantastic boss had won a trip through a silent auction and gave it to me knowing I have always wanted a ride on it!  Gene and I were lucky enough to be scheduled for this adventure the day of the Ft. Lauderdale Air and Sea Show.  Most rides last approximately 30 minutes and ours took about an hour and a half!  We were flown to south Ft. Lauderdale and actually looked “down” at the Red Baron’s performing.  Quite an experience!  Now we’ve seen the air show from land, sea and in the air!

The month of May brought warmer temperatures and my girlfriends and I decided to have a “Spa Weekend”.  I actually did this several times over the next few months.  It is very good for the soul.  I also started using a great product called Hawaiian Tropic Dark Suntan Oil.  Unbeknownst to me it had mango in it and guess who is allergic to mango?  ME!  After saturating my body every weekend with this stuff for over two months I ended up one morning at work in an anaphylactic shock.  EMT’s came and hauled me off to the hospital where I put it all together and realized it was the mango that was causing all this.

Needless to say I am no longer going in the sun to get that bronzed look!  I also scheduled an appointment for the dermatologist! 

Gene and I along with Cousin Marcella and Adrian went on a kayaking adventure in Hollywood, Florida.  After, we had dinner at a little place on the Intracoastal Waterway and had a real nice afternoon! 

June brought me an opportunity to pick up some extra work and money and use my “gift of organization” as a bookkeeping/personal assistant for a local family.  They have a home here in Florida and in Connecticut.  They flew me to CT to set up their filing systems and I also enjoyed the beautiful New England area.

On June 19, which would have been Grandma Kay’s 100th birthday, we went to Sarasota joining family for a memorial and spreading her ashes in Tampa Bay.

In July, Gene and I flew to our favorite New Hampshire town, Derry, where we visited Sharon and Ed King to celebrate Independence Day.  As always, we sat around “noshing” away and enjoying each other’s company.  We also took a drive up into the mountains and visited friends Linda and Lenny DuPere where we ate dinner followed by a wide variety if ice creams for dessert.

In August, Gene got his certificate for deep water scuba diving and went out in September with friends Gabby and Marcus.  They dove 100 feet down to a shipwreck named Spiegel Grove in Key Largo.  I got to shop and be a landlubber while they were discovering the underworld.

On September 1st Eric and Wendy were married in a beautiful ceremony, in the Big East Fork Wilderness near Asheville.  After their vows they took a plunge into the cold waters of the Pigeon River. 

Sadly, on September 12th we lost our little dog Molly of thirteen years.  She is up in dog heaven now with her mother, Heidi.  She’s missed everyday, especially when we come home and there is no little bark to greet us at the door.  And no we’re not getting another dog!  We travel too much now and anyway we still have Ebony our community black rabbit in the backyard.  He certainly gets well fed by all the neighbors each day!

October- I planned a little getaway weekend and kidnapped Gene.  His only clues were that he had to bring a bathing suit to swim and jeans and tennis shoes to hike in the mountains.  His guess was St. Croix or Gail and CR’s in Phoenix/Payson, Arizona.  To his surprise and after airport security guards helped me play along with this rue, Gene learned that we were going to Derry, New Hampshire for the weekend.  It was a beautiful weekend seeing the colored leaves at peak and driving through southern New Hampshire to Vermont taking pictures of covered bridges and then a tourist train ride around Lake Winnipesauke.

Hurricane Wilma hit us one year ago on October 24th .  Since then we’ve had a new roof installed but are waiting patiently for our porch which replaces the one that blew right over the top of our house.  It was sucked up all at once, like looking at something from a scene out of the Wizard of Oz.

November allowed us to take a tour of our local Hillsboro Lighthouse that we pass in the inlet from the Intracoastal Waterway to the ocean.  It is a magnificent structure and has much history.  Click on the web site for more facts. www.hillsborolighthouse.org

Gene is continuing his diving expeditions and went lobstering with cousin Adrian.  He came home proud with his catch of the day!

We will be spending the first week in December with Dad, Betty and family in Ellenton celebrating Dad’s birthday and Xmas.  It’s always fun to go there and of course pick up our orders of his awesome homemade Italian sausage!

And last, our Christmas and New Year will be spent in New Zealand with Gene’s family, high school and college friends.  There will be a lot to see but every day there is an adventure awaiting us!  We’ll be gone from Dec. 22nd thru Jan 8th.  Starting on our return trip home we’ll arrive in Seoul, Korea on Jan.5th, my birthday, for a layover.  Because of crossing the dateline

Jan. 5 will last 42 hours!  That’s the longest birthday celebration I’ve had in my life!  We also decided to take in the city on a quick bus tour and then head back to the airport to complete the rest of our 52 hour flight home.  Then it’s nap time.

You can follow us on our adventures in New Zealand by clicking on our “covert section” of the family web site at http://www.polizzifamily.com/trips/NZ_2006.htm

We wish you all a very Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

Love to all,

Cindy and Gene