Read On!

Another fun packed year to be sure. We often have no clue at the start of the year how things will play out, all we can say is that thankfully, another year has passed without a major setback or long-term blows to the Duke Family. That’s not to say there were no brushes with calamity, but all in all we end this year more or less hearty and hale. We know that for several of you this was not the case in 2017 and for that you are in our minds and in our hearts. In any case, perhaps some light relief in reading on our adventures could be the tonic so settle back with a wee dram, or a hot chocolate and a few pfeffernusse, for a read of the Duke 2017 Christmas Travelogue.

We had our first Christmas in Covington, somewhat warmer than the few prior years in Pittsburgh, but no less full of tradition, full of fun, family and friendship. To that end, Boxing Day saw us pack up and make our first trip to Atlanta in the spirit to trying something/somewhere new for every holiday opportunity while we are in the US. We met the Van Ettens in Atlanta and spent several wonderful days, sometimes with almost spring-like weathers, exploring the world-class Aquarium, the iconic World of Coca-Cola, the impressive CNN Center and Olympic Park, the great restaurants, and outdoor ice-skating at the abundantly Christmassy Atlantic Station shopping complex. Next up was a scenic drive north in to North Carolina and then across the Great Smoky Mountains and the divide in to Tennessee, eventually on to Pidgeon Forge and several amusement park days at Dollywood before returning to Atlanta for one more night after seeing the New Year in with the Van Ettens in our lovely (and not at all rustic) log cabin

Late January marks the beginning of the month-long celebration that leads up to Fat Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras, aka Shrove Tuesday), and that means the arrival of fresh King Cake at Nonna Randazzo’s! Trip to Baton Rouge, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine with the Ponthier twins, thanks Julie!

For Feb, even as early as December Matt and his brother Stephen, in cahoots with Fran’s Husband Jez and college buddy Simon, were planning a surprise visit for Fran’s birthday. Overnight flight, met Stephen, Simon dropped of the tickets to Wales vs England in Cardiff. Drove to Clevedon, surprise! Matt will never forget wandering in to their living room and surprising Fran. The rest of the weekend was a whirlwind, no doubt. We had a lovely meal that night at the country club, followed by breakfast with Jez and his family (who were all in on the surprise!). That Saturday afternoon we headed in to Cardiff to the Principality Stadium, meeting up with Simon Everidge who had managed to secure his own ticket. There’s something quite magical about the pre- and post-game scene in a rugby town like Cardiff (a place where both Stephen and Matt were born, Royal Cardiff Infirmary to be precise) and with a close and gripping game in between, it was a great weekend. Matt drove back to Surrey with Simon the next day and flew back to New Orleans the next day. Phew!

February was a bit of a medical month for the grown-ups even as we were looking forward to our first Mardi Gras. Matt was getting ready to have medial branch neurotomy via radiofrequency ablation (you’ll have to google it) on his spine after years of suffering chronic neck and arm pain. Just before this, Jeab was out riding her bike with friends, had a bad tumble and broken collar bone in several places. That meant we were both out of action for a while and poor Gabby couldn’t get the Mumma-love she need for several weeks after the accident and again several weeks after the surgery to pin her collar bone back together. Yes, we had to miss out on Mardi Gras but more impressive was the way our friends and neighbours and Chevron rallied to support us with for Matt to work from home, meals showing up, an improvised roster of day care visits, and Calliana even got to go to some of the parades thanks to our friends. Izzy, Julie, Tillie, Stacy, we love you, thanks!

March saw a definite change in the weather to being able get back out doors and in to the pool! In addition, we were delighted to welcome our friends from our time in Perth, the Ramirez Family, in to the area just in time to start enjoying the crawfish boil season! Also, mid-month, we were delighted to be invited by our Iranian neighbours Sean and Hila to participate in their Chaharshanbe Suri Festival, in which part of the celebration includes “fire-jumping”!

April rolled in and Matt was off to Houston for the AAPG conference. He also found the time to squeeze in a lovely meal with dear friends Sharon and Keith Shepstone as well as attend an SDSU Geology Alumni Reunion meeting up with former professors and new connections in Chevron with formerly unknown alumni. Aztecs are everywhere! Also in April, we attended the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival with the Van Ettens. Strawberries are made in to just about every food and drink (a lot of it adult-oriented) possible and was great, county-fair type event, and the word “mobbed” springs to mind. The highlight of the month though was surely our Easter- Spring Brea trip to Moab in Utah.

Matt was lucky enough to have had work in the Moab area in the early 90s and always wanted to go back. Anyone who has spent time at Dead Horse Point, Arches or Canyonlands National Parks can’t help but be struck with the majesty of these rock formations and we made sure to visit all three parks. Moab too has changed, and you can argue either way for better or worse, but we liked it and were very impressed, especially that they now how an outstanding Thai restaurant there! Also, keeping the tradition going of trying to meet at least someone we know, Matt arranges to drive north west in to the heart of central Utah to discover more about where Marcia and Dan Houghton had retired to up near Sterling, Utah. To say, “thoroughly gracious hosts” would not do just to the welcome they showed us at their lovely setting. While we only stayed the one night, it felt like we packed a 3-day weekend in to it between the fishing, and visiting the horses, and nearly stepping on a snake! Thanks guys! In addition to that connection, Matt was also able to meet a former Unocal colleague, Rex Cole, now teaching at Mesa College in Grand Junction as we spent our last day/evening on the trip in that very nice town, having driven back from Moab via Scenic Byway U-128, and along the spectacular Upper Colorado River Valley awesome views of Castleton Tower, the entrance to Castle Valley and the Fisher Towers (as seen in the opening sequences of Austin Powers – Gold Member ~ you knew there had to be a reason to go look, baby yeah!) and the La Sal Mountains .

May comes in and work begins to heat up with the design of the new organization that combines two business units with two locations in to one unit, but still two locations. Matt had to work on the design without knowing initially, if he was part of the new organization. That stress was offset by the joy of little Gabby turning one. Jazz Fest is a big deal for the New Orleans area and we did get tickets but sadly, due to Jeab recovering from surgery we were not able to go. Not to worry though, our good friends Doug and Sandy Kypfer happened to be down from Montana visiting friends from less than a few miles away so we were able to pass on the tickets and have them over for a BBQ – Callie made cupcakes! Calliana finished the year strong was an Honor Student. As an end of year treat, Jeab took Callie to see NKOTB, Paula Abdul and Boyz II Men for an 80’s flash back extravaganza! May was capped off for Mother’s Day with a multifamily gathering at a local winery for a Kids vs Parents cabbage ball throw-down, with all the smack and trash talk you’d expect (and that was just between the parents!).

June would be a strange month for us. The girls made their annual trek back to Thailand, but Matt, still working on the reorg, was not able to join them this time. It was an odd feeling being home alone for 4 weeks, even with all the extra work stuff going on. Matt kept himself busy (and sane) by painting two rooms, refinishing one teak indoor and one teak outdoor furniture sets, completed a load garden work cleanout and replanting work, and a long list of other “put-off” jobs. The highlight was the surprise party for the Ponthiers at Izzy house where Matt got to channel his inner Prince as well as be DJ/Quiz master. Thanks to Stacy for the make-up help! Bitter-sweet thing about this business: you say hello to old friends like the Ramirez family, but you have to turn around and say “bon voyage” to dear friends like the Ponthiers, and later in the year, the Van Ettens.

July and we’re all back together and looking forward to Callie turning 12 and Simon Everidge and his daughters Lillian and Savannah coming over for at the very end of July for just over a week, taking advantage of the newly started direct London – NOLA flights on BA. Great to see them too as we routinely dropped by over the years as a family, and even met one time in the Gold Coast, OZ, but had never been able to return the favour of hosting them. We made up for it with a jam-packed itinerary which included a swamp tour, the NASA Stennis Space Center and Museum in Mississippi, the New Orleans Aquarium, Mardi Gras World, The French Quarter, a trip to discover the music scene on Frenchman St, a trip to the Abita Brewery (girls not included), plus some good old fashioned hanging out by the pool and taking it easy time. Tears as the airport as we said goodbye (the girls were a little misty too I think)

And then before you can quite fathom it, it’s August and Callie takes her second solo trip to Houston (albeit a shorter one than from Pittsburgh), and again the Bombardes play host. This time, Auntie Patricia drives Callie back with Lorraine and Marlissa on board for a return visit. Very soon after that, Calliana is back to school with the usual mix of excitement and trepidation for the 7th grade. Matt was off to Houston to participate in another grueling selection event, this time somewhat relieved to have already been notified that he was safe and very glad and tired after that week was over. There was also time for squeezing in a visit to the Rehab Bar to watch former Pittsburgh Band Mate, Jim Logan, perform with a new band. Matt joined them on stage for the last song. August also saw yet another fun fancy dress DJ/Quiz master party and Izzy and Rafael’s house. The high point was the partial eclipse and all the home-made eclipse viewers! Jeab had her first visit to the Superdome to see the Saints play in pre-season. Hey, maybe that was what shifted the team’s fortune this year and started such a wonderful season for them?!

Matt’s new position includes 4 teams based in Houston and September saw yet another trip to that post-Harvey place. By a very fortuitous happenstance, buddy John Sanclemente was still in town before heading back to Lagos, so Matt got an Ultra-Uber Porsche experience from the airport. Callie’s received her first $20 wage bussing tables at a Thai restaurant in Covington where she also had a chance to more widely practice her Thai with the owners. Gabby continued to develop her eating and communicating skills although we were noticing the lack of clarity of a lot of her words (more to come on that). The strengthening of the bond between Gabby and Callie is clear to all of us who have watched them together and thoroughly heartwarming. Check out the matching outfits that Jeab made for them!

Not quite a week later our part of Louisiana was under threat of Nate. Luckily for us, it softened and took a right turn and so we were spared, but we did get to show our defiant spirit with the Ponthiers over from Houston in the only place still open on the north shore. The next day we had a proper reunion with at the Ladousiers house with the Hawkers, Ramirez and Courthoys in the mix. Calliana continued to do very well at school again being recognized as one of the golden students with a special lunch. October saw two Houston trips in quick succession. One was primarily for work for Matt but also gave Matt a chance to play golf (badly) with Joseph and visit Joseph & Elsa’s retirement spread up on Lake Houston, Walden C&GC. Both trips, for the weekend portion anyway, were to both practice and eventually play with the same band from August, Route 2 66. This time Matt was asked to sing and play guitar for the whole gig. Matt really enjoyed being with a band again and by all accounts, there will be one more gig in Feb for Jim’s retirement (this time with a supporting band………..). Jeab and the girls came out both weekends so they could also visit with the Bombardes (thanks Bombardes!) and those of you living in Houston will not have forgotten that the World Series for Baseball was being played in Houston that weekend. We go to watch some of game 3 with Tommy Lasorda plus his entourage.

November and the weather is simply gorgeous here, mild days and cooler evenings with much lower humidity. We joined The Curthoys and the Hawkers for the 3 Rivers Music Festival in a park in Covington making the most of the great weather and Jeab got back on her bike for the first time since February and we are out on the Trace with Gabby in her cart and loving it. Calliana performed in the choir and read out a poem at the quite touching Veterans Day show at the Junior High School. Our attention now turned to the repeat Thanksgiving appearance of sister Fran but Matt squeezed in one more trip to Houston and was hosted admirably by Clay and Heather Williams (thanks). Meanwhile, the culprit for Gabby’s delayed clarity of speech was narrowed down to buildup of fluid behind her ear drums, aka Glue Ear, (just like her big sister, and Auntie Fran) and so during a very short procedure she had drain tubes -grommets put in just before Fran arrived and the results have been incredible as her vocabulary has expanded and her pronunciation now extremely clear (she still pretends she can’t hear us when we tell her it’s time for ‘night-night, but then so does her sister).

With Fran here and over her jet lag we were all set to go to Houston and stay with the Bombardes again (we have preferred rate there!) but unfortunately, that’s just when Jeab caught a bad case of the flu and was advised not to fly. After some soul searching we decide to press on, leaving Jeab in Covington for a few days to fully recover. We did indeed spend a night with Bombardes before driving up to Lake Travis to stay with Gill and Andrew Fawthrop, Matt’s long-time colleague all the way back to early Unocal days and more recently in Lagos, now happily retired in the Austin Hill Country. We went out for wonderful lunch by boat and both Callie and Gabby had a chance to steer under the watchful tutelage of Captain Andrew. Thanks to them both for making their place open to us for that week. There was plenty to see and do in this area including the lovely Botanical Gardens, and after we picked Jeab up at Austin airport we got to visit downtown, Zilker park including the mini-train, the impressive State Capitol, Thinkery (an interactive science museum), Austin Nature and Science museum (for the dino-dig) and we capped off the trip with a visit to the Oasis for the spectacular sunset over Lake Travis (a possible retirement location we think………..). We flew back to NOLA on Thanksgiving to join the Van Ettens who had recently moved in during the final stages of their pack and move to Arizona and we all had a traditional Thanksgiving meal the next day. Monday was back to work for Matt, and a farewell to our dear friends Fred, Tillie and Elise, and back to a much cooler (temperature-wise) for Fran – Hope you can come again next year Sis!

December started with some great weather and then suddenly turned wintry and chilly with school actually closed one Friday for snow! There were several work and private parties and as we send this out we are soon to be heading off to NYC for 7 nights over Christmas to take in the festival. We have tours Central Park, the 3 Bears Holiday Bash, Ice Skating, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Macy’s Santaland all on our list before heading back to Covington for the New Year celebrations.

Reflecting once more on counting our numerous blessings and enjoying being part of Calliana’s transition in to young womanhood and Gabriella’s oh-so-sweet development of her language skills and her utterly charming personality. Yes, we haven’t tackled any of the knotty and contentious political issues of the year, you can go to CNN, BBC, FOX, SKY, Twitter, pretty much anywhere for that. Our assessment is that most are good at finger pointing and issue-raising, less about true compassion, collaboration and concession. We feel that civil hearts make for civil tongues and that a Christmas News Letter is not the place to make a point (or maybe we are by not making one….. ?????). Next year? How knows? A move always seems likely in this business but until/if it comes to pass, we’ll make the most of the friends and opportunities we have right here in southern Louisiana! Merry Christmas, and a truly Happy New Year to all.

Gabriella, Calliana, Jeab and Matt

Covington, December, 2017

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