Our year began with the loss of Andy's brother Tony on January 8. This was followed by COVID, which I picked up in the waiting room at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) (see Not for Sissies). I managed to give it to Andy, and probably Sam. Thanks to Paxlovid, I wasn't all that sick, but it sure did last a while.

After that start to the year, things settled down. The sun came up, spring came, I kept fiddling, and then it was summer.

The end of July brought another loss - my friend Judith Fried died on July 25. She'd been my friend since I was 16.

Followed almost immediately by another - my dad, who had been losing ground for a while, died on August 5. My brother was in town during his last few weeks and was able to see them through some of the most difficult issues. I owe him!

My brother and I are co-executors and co-trustees of the estate, but it can take some time to get things moving, so it was about a month later that I flew out to Southern California and spent 3 weeks in the Best Western San Dimas. Rick was there too, and Rosa came as well. The three of us make a very effective team, and we worked like crazy but we also had fun.

But the hits kept coming, and on October 1, Dad's wife Mary also passed away. She's been a part of my family life since I was a teenager. It was tough having them both leave us but it made a sad sort of sense. Each without the other would have been sad indeed.

And then one more - one of my treasured cousins, Dorothy Muson, passed away unexpectedly on October 13. She was my mother's niece - born in 1938, when my mom was just 11, the second daughter of her half-brother Herman Tyor. Dorothy was always doing something new and unexpected.

Saying Good-Bye

I've created a memorial page for each of the loved ones we lost this year. Each has a link to an obituary online if one exists, and suggestions for memorial contributions.

May their memories be a blessing!

Anthony Toepfer 1947-2025 Read about Anthony	Judith Pines Fried 1926-2025 Read about Judith	Joseph K. Indenbaum 1926-2025 Mary Ryan Indenbaum 1935-2025 Read about Joe & Mary	Dorothy Muson 1938-2025 Read about Dorothy

Each month I play at 3 places locally - two assisted living residences and one adult day-care. We work up a one-hour set for each month, repeating it at each place. We mix in tunes we love, new ones, old ones, songs and stories. I always look forward to it, I love this audience and I've learned so much from playing for them.

Richard (Dick) Jackson lives at Valley Village in Townshend, and is someone I have known for a long time. He lived up in Windham, and was still walking up and down Windham Hill into his late 90s. He's now 102 and still with us. Not long ago he was the subject of a wonderful story. His US Army "Sons of Bitche" hat was recognized by 13-year-old Karsten Olsen, a WWII buff, who was at Valley Village visiting his grandfather. Karsten knew that the US Army's 100th Division was responsible for liberating the fortified town of Bitche, France, where his mother is from and where he visits every summer. Karsten nominated him for the French Legion of Honor, which was presented to him in June of 2024. You can read the full story at Vermont Public and at the Commons.

In September, going through my Dad's stuff, I discovered his "Sons of Bitche" hat. I knew Dad was in the Army at the end of WWII; but I did not know he was in that same division. I also found a wonderful map of the area. Dad had ordered it, most likely, at one of the many reunions of the division; he probably never took it out of the mailing tube, which was addressed to him in Pasadena, where he had not lived since the mid-1980s. I brought back the map to have it scanned, and to have a print made for Dick.

Click the map to see a larger version.

Early in April, I had a call from my friend Sue Engle, with whom I'd played in a string quartet. She asked me to play for her late friend and housemate's memorial service. Kit Wakefield had passed away after a long and interesting life; she was a music teacher and choral leader, a traveler and a sailor. I didn't know Kit well but I had spent some time with her, and it was always a treat. Sue asked me to play Jay Ungar's Ashokan Farewell, which can be a little mournful, and to blend it into something perhaps a bit more cheerful. And could I please play solo? What could I say? For the second tune, I chose Æ Rømeser, a Danish Sønderhoning from the island of Fanø, off the West Coast of Denmark, to honor Kit's love of the ocean. You can hear this beautiful tune here, played by Mads Hansens Kapel.

Playing solo for an audience is something I have almost never done, and it isn't one of my strengths. I practiced like crazy for weeks, and even though I was nervous, it went well. One thing I had not anticipated — since this was a church service, and quite formal, of course there was no polite applause. Then what are you supposed to do? I still have no idea.

Not for Sissies!
Andy and I are both doing OK now, but at Thanksgiving 2024 Andy started feeling unwell, and it quickly spiraled into a serious and very painful condition: pancreatitis. Our family karma demands that anything serious must happen on a holiday weekend, and this was no exception. Because of a snowstorm we had celebrated Thanksgiving with Deb and Tony on the Friday instead of Thursday. 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning found us in the emergency room at Grace Cottage Hospital. It took some time to determine what was wrong, and then to form a plan.

The trick was finding, on a holiday weekend, a major hospital that had the technology to further diagnose the problem; the staff available to interpret the findings; and a bed. The closest hospitals to us had one or two but not all three, so later in the day they loaded him into an ambulance and dragged him off to Bennington Hospital, an hour and a half away from home. I did not follow, because by the time I got there it would be too dark for me to drive. It turned out that the head pancreas specialist from DHMC, Dr. Gardner, was covering at Bennington that weekend, so Andy became his patient. That was good luck in the midst of a difficult time.

We came home again late Monday. By Friday we were back in the hospital with Pancreas Round II. Since it was clear what it was, Andy was able to stay at Grace Cottage for Round II. It took longer for him to bounce back (more like a gradual grind, really). We went up to DHMC in mid-January for an endoscopy to see if the blockage was still rattling around in there - nope! But that's where I picked up COVID. With one thing and another it was mid-February before I was really put back together. The good news is that by mid-February you can start feeling like winter might end.

The horrible inflatable Santa (photo above) showed up on Route 12 heading into Keene NH right around the time that the Pancreatitis did, and it is equally frightful. Rather than show you Andy's insides, I decided to share that. Yes, it really is that big.

Department of Good News
I had cataract surgery on August 7 and 21. What a difference! It all went very smoothly and I'm pleased with the results.

At right, a simulation of the difference, using my sunrise photo taken on August 7, on the way to Cheshire Medical Center. Click the image to see a larger version.

The Rest of the Family
Andy has kept busy with conservation mapping and associated activities. The non-profit he launched with a friend in 2021 has made good progress this year, conserving just shy of 341 acres. Check out Bull Creek Common Lands.

Sam keeps busy with whatever comes up: landscaping, snow removal, plumbing, shoveling, firewood, playing the piano.

Rosa has been living in Stockholm now for almost 6 years. She became a Swedish citizen finally, right before she came to LA in September. She's a true global citizen now, with three (3!) passports.

This is my 26th year of online holiday silliness. I am grateful beyond measure for my family and my friends, near and far, for the memory of those no longer with us, for the example and inspiration of strong and wise mentors, for the beauty of the place I live and the kindness and generosity I see in my neighbors and my community.

Wishing you health, safety and fortitude for the new year, and beyond.

Love, Laurie

The Rainbow on July 1, 2025