Welcoming the New Year 2014!

Dear Blog Readers,

Pete and Bob having a Christmas morning laugh.

Due to its geographical position close to the International Date Line, New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to welcome the New Year.

"Take this time, not to worry, or to grumble, but to give thanks that we have the mad luck to live in the place that we do, in the time that we do. Smile. Take a walk. Eat a cherry. Swim. Laugh with your friends. Happy New Year, Wanaka."  --quote taken from Sunviews, the opinion section of the local paper, the Wanaka Sun. 12-26-13 

We smiled while walking up to Tuohys Saddle Sunday.
No cherries for lunch, but we did sample some in Arrowtown yesterday.

Another walk on Christmas day and many smiles with friends along the way.

Swimming? 
For more than a decade, Clint Ober has tirelessly pursued a one-man mission to awaken a skeptical world to a simple and forgotten fact: that the Earth beneath our feet contains great healing energy and that connecting ourselves to this energy is immediately beneficial as well as intuitively and remarkably simple. Here I am, "Earthing" at Colquhouns Beach in Lake Wanaka last week. I practiced "Earthing" in the waters of Lake Superior at Great Sand Bay this past summer. I highly recommend it. Try it on… sand, grass, rocks, dirt… Heh, run in the snow barefoot for 10 seconds! New Zealanders are natural "earthers"… you will never see a sign anywhere in NZ that says, "No shirt, no shoes, no service." What you will see in the grocery store, at the beach, on the sidewalks, etc. is shoeless Kiwis doing what comes naturally to them--- Earthing...a.k.a. Grounding.

Remember that the most valuable antiques are your dear old friends. 

-H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Remembrances: 

In 2013, we lost 5 valuable antiques… our Woodstock, IL friends from back in the 1970s, Jeannie and Bill B. and Marguerite D. And, our Evergreen, CO friends Jan M. and Judy S. We miss them and cling to the memories they created with us.

May your life be crowded with unexpected joys.  

-H.Jackson Brown Jr. (author of "Life's Little Instruction Book")

Resolutions:

In 2014 we plan on continuing our life-long retirement goals of doing what we love. We're hope that life is once again crowded with unexpected joys and heaps of valuable antiques. We resolve to travel more, make new friends and reap the joys of this wonderful, wonderful world. 

Grammy, let's go out and get some fresh airs. 

-Jack B. as said to his Grammy Barb

Renewals:

When my friend Barb's grandson Jack couldn't go skiing because he was sick, he asked his Grammy if they could go outside on the deck and get some "fresh airs." 

What a grand idea! In 2014, Bob and I resolve to renew our love affair with Mother Nature and to breathe more "fresh airs!"

"Fresh Airs"  for Bob means walking up and down the fairways of golf courses and biking and some hiking too. For Mary, continued hikes, walks, treks, and many bike rides in the "fresh airs" will be the norm. 

"Fresh Airs" on the trek to Tuohys Saddle.

Unexpected joys on a recent hike… an exploding golf ball? No…a mushroom orb.

More unexpected joy! The beauty of coming upon a lambkin with its mom resting in the shade after a busy morning of eating and running up and down the hills of the Pisa Range.

The joys of an early morning cuppa joe on our deck.
How we spend our days, is, of course, how we spend our lives.  -Annie Dillard

In 2014 we'll be having the mad luck to be in Wanaka, New Zealand for 2 months of a summer down-under, one week in Cancun, Mexico celebrating  and attending our nephew's wedding, one month "earthing" at the beach in Punta Del Estes, Uruguay,  4 months of enjoying spring and fall in beautiful Rio Verde, Arizona and 4 months of summer (again!) in the stunning Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where we grew up. 

In 2014, we'll be smiling a lot, taking many walks, eating fresh cherries and earthing and/or swimming in the ocean and beaches of our chosen destinations! We'll also be laughing with dear old friends and new-found friends too!

And? That leaves 3 weeks of unexpected wandering and wonderment somewhere in the world! 

Whatever your plans, hopes and dreams or ideas are for 2014, we wish that they all come true.

Scatter joy,

Mary and Bob

How we spend our days, is, of course, how we spend our lives.  -Annie Dillard

THIS IS YOUR Life.

Do what you love, AND DO IT OFTEN.

If you don't like something, change it.

If you don't like your job, quit.

If you don't have enough time, stop watching TV.

If you are looking for the love's of your life, stop; 

They will be waiting for you when you 

Start doing things that you love.

Stop over analyzing. All emotions are beautiful.

When you eat, appreciate every last bit.

Open your mind, arms, and heart to new things

And people. We are untied in our differences.

Ask the next person you see what their passion is,

And share your inspiring dream with them.

TRAVEL OFTEN; getting lost will help you find yourself.

Some opportunities only come once, seize them.

LIFE IS ABOUT THE PEOPLE YOU MEET, AND THE

THINGS YOU CREATE WITH THEM.

So go out and start creating. Live your dream and share

your passion.

LIFE IS SHORT.

...order prints of the Holstee Manifesto and watch the Holstee Manifesto video@

holstee.com/manifesto