PAYNE PARTICULARS 2008

Greetings to all of you from Galveston Bay, Texas!!

You just never know what joys and sorrows each year will bring. 2008 was one of the more challenging ones for us but there were also some celebrations as well! The year started out like any other year. In January Doug skied with some business friends and we took possession of our 46' Seamaster pilothouse sailboat which led us to joining the Lakewood Yacht Club on Clear Lake right off Galveston Bay - about 5 hours southeast of Dallas. We moored our boat there and began to travel down to spend weekends living on it. "Kokopelli" called to us more and more and we ended up wanting to be in this area more than Dallas.

In the first few months of 2008 Deedy headed to Missoula, MT several times to visit her mother who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Pat had been living with Susy since September 07. She fell in February and moved into an assisted living apartment in Missoula. Betsy was able to join Deedy for long weekend visit with her.

In March Doug decided to retire - Tatum had changed its focus and the lure of the sea was calling!! We spent Spring Break week living on Kokopelli and started searching for a home near the water! We sold our home in Dallas quickly and after a long search found an adorable home here in Seabrook, Texas. We are about 7 minutes from Galveston Bay and the yacht club where we keep the boat. We are close to the Johnson Space Center (NASA) and about 25 miles southeast of Houston.

In May Deedy finished up a fabulous year teaching 4th grade in Highland Park/Dallas. She had a wonderful group of students and hated to leave them, but the sailing dream was calling her. Meanwhile Doug got a job selling sailboats for a broker in Clear Lake.

We had the pleasure of going to the Bahamas with our good friends from Dallas, Edith and Brian. We traveled from Palm Beach, Florida to Turtle Cay and Marsh Harbor on their 70' Sea Ray. It was a wonderful relaxing trip. When we returned we moved into our new home and got ourselves settled just in time to welcome Chris, Patti, and Lindsey (Doug's brother) for a visit. We explored the area and sailed several times. A few days later DJ, Betsy, Olav and Cliff came in mid July to visit and check out the new digs. We had a great visit with them as well. although the wind did not cooperate, we did get out on the boat several times.

The timing of their visit was perfect because we were able to celebrate Betsy's engagement to Olav while they were here. They are getting married in New York on September 26, 2009. We are very excited!! They are still living in Brooklyn and Betsy is now the Digital Marketing Director for Sterling Publishing.

In August we headed to Chicago and Lake Geneva. We helped Cliff and Claire set up their apartment in the River North area in downtown Chicago. He left Merrill Lynch, New York in July and is now working for Equity International, a private equity firm. We are excited to have them back in Chicago and hope to spend part of the summer close by at Lake Geneva.

Doug's part of the trip was cut short because Hurricane Eduardo was headed towards the Houston area. He came home to secure the house and boat. Deedy headed to NYC to Betsy and while she was there Betsy found her wedding dress! We were fortunate that Eduardo did not hit!

In late August Deedy's mother Pat headed to live with her sister Nancy in the Chicago area. She asked to be at Nancy's for the last part of her life. We were all able to be there quite a bit, and Nancy and her family did a marvelous job of caring for her. In September we had a party for her with all four siblings and many of the cousins.

Deedy started her teaching job here in the Clear Creek district in August. She is teaching 5th grade math and science. (She teams with another teacher so she has two classes) It is very interesting! In her class she has a boy who only speaks Japanese and a girl who only speaks Russian. Many of her students are from Viet Nam, one is from Pakistan and one from Denmark!! One student's father is heading up to the International Space Station in February and many of her students' parents work for NASA!

On Friday, September 13th we were visited by IKE - the worst hurricane to ever hit this area. It was quite an experience and we got here just in time to be a part of it. We evacuated to north of Houston and hunkered down at a Comfort Inn for about 24 hours. It was amazing to see just what Mother Nature can do! On Saturday we drove back towards our home and ended up staying with a good friend because we could not get close to our house. Needless to say we were anxious to know how our home did in the storm and how our boat weathered it. The good news was that our house did just fine but the bad news was that our boat was totaled. The whole dock where it was moored broke loose and large boats were piled on top of each other in the parking lot; left there after the storm surge passed.

Once we assessed the damage and got things back in some order, Deedy realized that she was off school and could go back to Chicago to be with her sister and mother. School was closed for 12 days to allow students and staff the time to put their lives back together. Many of the school buildings were also damaged and needed repairs. Today there are still areas where you can see evidence of the storm's damage. Many are still living in hotels while their homes are rebuilt. It has been a humbling experience but it has also provided us a way to bond with neighbors and new friends!

Deedy's mother passed away on October 13th. She was peaceful and we were thankful we were able to be with her so much at the end. We will be celebrating her life in Chicago on December 28th with the WHOLE French Acorn clan (minus Kevin - Deedy's nephew who is in Iraq).

Life is getting back to "normal" except that we have no clue what "normal" is. Doug is enjoying selling boats. He is happy as a clam because he was able to "buy back" Kokopelli at a great salvage price and is in the process of putting her back together again!! He is doing a lot of the work himself and has networked with many of the locals to get the best people to help him. She did not take on any water and most of her damage was cosmetic, so she will be BEAUTIFUL when he gets done!!

We drove to Phoenix for Thanksgiving and got to spend time with DJ and his girlfriend Cameron. DJ is now an expert salt water aquarium specialist. He has several huge tanks in his house and does maintenance and design for clients. We got to see old friends and spend time with Chris, Patti and Lindsey for the second time this year. Beau is a traveling dog and was the hit wherever he landed!

We are driving to Chicago for Christmas. We will celebrate at Cliff & Claire's with Betsy & Olav and DJ & Cameron and the Browns. It will be different and fun! The first time in 33 years we have not had Christmas at our house! We look forward to seeing the Fureys and the Bobos. (Deedy's family) We will be back here to ring in the New Year at the Yacht Club.

We know everything will be fine in 2009. We have many blessings to look forward to. God bless each of you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Enjoy the holidays!!
Deedy and Doug

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace. (Agnes M. Pharo)