Diane St. Cyr Francis sent this: My husband is a museum curator specializing in minerals. We normally attend many mineral shows, but all were cancelled last year.  Now armed with our Pfizer shots, we hope things will get back to normal.  In the meantime, we are exercising, reading, watching Netflix.

Jeanne Pinkerton Homer hasn’t sent an update in years:  “At the end of the last century, I went to graduate school and switched my career from computational linguist to licensed certified genetic counselor. There are only 5000 of us in this field.  I‘ve been working at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, California for 20 years in the field of cancer genetics (BRCA1/2, etc.).  I will retire when I don’t love it anymore.”

Ann Chipley Playe is happy to be fully vaccinated.  She’s being careful, but is seeing visiting children and grandchildren.  “We will restart travels with a trip to the Galapagos, with many friends, our son, and daughter-in-law.”

Christine Tarrio Perkins is excited.  “For the first time since COVID, I am visiting my mother, who is in an Alzheimer’s ward, and my father, who still lives independently (and drives!) at age 94. It feels so comforting to be able to give hugs, rather than wave through the window, which was meaningless to Mother. Adding to our pleasure, Doug and I can stay with our son’s family, including our 2 grandsons.  It’s worth the 6-hour drive, each way.”

Johanne Asselin Presser wrote:  Covid threw a wrench in our travel plans (3 international trips, many domestic ones), my three children are making the most of it.  Eldest child Mandy is a covid compliance officer in NYC; youngest child Deedee administers vaccines in Sonoma, CA.  Son Daniel and his wife Beth, started Quarantine 2020 Productions.  They have raised over $71K for Feeding America. They post video clips on YouTube of iconic movies with their two toddlers (Maddie and Barton) playing the parts. Will Smith and Jimmy Kimmel appeared in clips with the kids.  The videos have garnered publicity and donations from every continent except Antarctic, and Maddie is the youngest person named to the Today Show’s Kids in the Spotlight Wall of Fame.  See Quarantine 2020 Productions on YouTube.

So much has happened for Bonnie Beaver Roberts!  “I continued to work throughout the pandemic, giving me meaningful social interaction with my patients, took up Yoga in my spare time, became a top notch dog walker and continued with Pilates, biking, golf.  I retired in February 2021. We sold our house and bought half a house (for same price!) in Marin County to be near my SF daughter and our future first grandchild. Act III is finally beginning.  I have lived and loved half my life in SoCal and am freaking out a bit, starting over at 71.”

Merryn Rutledge:  Kathleen Foley Curley‘s enthusiasm for the Massachusetts South Shore prompted me to close my consulting firm in 2019 and resettle there.  I’m following my avocation–writing poetry.  Both my daughters fled big cities during the pandemic and now live nearby.

Joanie Speers comments that:  I came to London to study cello after we graduated in 1972, and have lived in the UK ever since.  I’m married, have 3 daughters, 7 grandchildren (6 months – 8 years old).   Our oldest daughter lives in Sydney, with her family.  We haven’t seen them for 1 1/2 years and don’t know when the next time will be, thanks to Covid. The others live in London, so we could see them at a distance, until last Easter when we got together in Wales.  We bought a derelict watermill there in 1979, restored it, and are finally learning Welsh, which is impossible. I worked in fine art publishing for over 20 years, then in the voluntary sector for a further 20 years.  For the last 10 years I have been trustee for several charities.  I’m volunteering for two of them: supporting family carers and helping people put plans in place for end of life.  I am keeping that work going by zoom and phone. My husband is a conservation architect, just retired, continuing as a consultant. We both play string instruments (that is how we met); until 2020 we played lots of chamber music.  We hardly played this last year.  We are hopeful for the future.