Atwood family update

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So it’s time for the cousins to check in again and gather for a WELCOME and delicious repast at Mary Ellen’s home!

Cousins are those nuts on the family tree you can’t shake loose. And wouldn’t want to if you could.

What’s new, you ask? Last summer in 2014, the California-born branch of the family threw a 1920’s themed birthday party to fête the former Harvest Queen of Sugar City (Twylla aka Mother/Grandma) on the occasion of attaining her 90th year. We enjoyed a tasty catered dinner, stuffed ourselves with a custom cake, and donned our 1924 thinking caps to play Twyvial Pursuits. Can you answer this tough question?

Which war ended in 1924?
A. Apache Wars  B. Russian Revolution  C. French-American War  D. Serbian Uprising
Or this one~
In 1924 Computing Tabulating Recording Company changed its name to: 
A. Westinghouse  B. Microsoft  C. Columbia Records  D. IBM
Not so easy, is it? Unfortunately, Mother/Grandma/Twylla did not win a prize in Twyvial Pursuits.
In other news:

Deb and Kim
Doing our best to save water in this historic California drought. Who knew recycling begins with water? Tips: wash vegetables in a bowl, then water the plants; capture shower run-off in a bucket, then flush the toilet; wash your hands over dishes soaking in the sink. And so on. Time will tell if water is the new oil…
Our tutoring business Purple Pen continues to grow, managed under Kim’s capable hands. In his spare time Kim indulges his two passions–watching Korean dramas and cooking (Yum…I can attest to the success of the latter!). His latest culinary discovery is the SousVide machine.
In addition to tutoring and blogging (sporadically), Deb is at work writing two manuscripts because clearly it is not enough to torture myself with just one.

Hillary and Jason

Hillary is thriving as a marathoning CPA in Seattle. Last month she took part in a 24 hour relay, and her team won third place. Don’t know where that running gene comes from. Could she be a changeling? We were so happy that Hillary was able to join Amanda and parents for a weekend in Las Vegas where we attended a Cirque du Soleil show and a murder mystery dinner. (Hillary was identified as a suspect, but fortunately was later found innocent.) Jason works as computer guru for a Facebook affiliate developing virtual reality. Last time I was in Seattle, I got to preview a VR viewer–sort of like the old Viewmaster of my youth except it moves at dizzying speed! His project just hit the shelves and is doing well.

Their BIG news, however, is:

hil

Coming late January.

Amanda

Manda manages college recruiting for a social media company in San Francisco called Hearsay Social. When not at work, she can be found practicing her riding skills on rather huge horses. She recently won third place and first place awards in Dressage and Cross Country and is preparing to enter the prestigious Woodside show. Here she is in her adorable outfit.

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Deb1That’s it except for Nala the Naughty who requires monthly spa treatments for her delicate skin and has her own dermatologist on speed dial. A dog dermatologist, really? Yes, really.

So there you have the news from your Atwood kin. Writer Ogden Nash said, “I’d spend more time with my own kin and kith if my own kin and kith were more fun to be with.”

I guess Ogden Nash never attended a Pocock/McClaws/Isgrene/ et al event because…

Relatively speaking, we’ve got a pretty good fun family!

And remember, if you don’t know who the family black sheep is, it may be you.