December 28, 2016

The logs from the fire are popping and crackling as they pour heat and light into the room. Siena, our 13-year-old terrier, is curled up next to me, eyes closed, but always vigilant for the possibility of dropped food or an unwary intruder. Elsa is at the dining room table addressing our New Year Cards that will carry the message of this letter to your mailbox. And outside, 2 ½ feet of snow have accumulated from the recent storms. Even though Christmas has passed, we hung up some Christmas lights inside the cabin and on a western hemlock that had been knocked down by a broken branch from a bigger tree. It was leaning over, but still but still had its needles so we cut off the top for a makeshift tree. It’s a very cheery scene.

This is the third year of a growing tradition Elsa and I have grown into, coming to her parents’ cabin between Christmas and New Years’ Eve, reading, sleeping, and if the weather cooperates, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. This year, the snow is wet and heavy, but we are going to try on the skis anyway and see how it goes.

The year 2016 brought a growing sense of restlessness for both of us. Elsa, after 18 months of long commutes to Salem for her work as the Development Director for Willamette University’s MBA program, decided that her passion was centered around helping people, especially women, find their success. In a single day, having meetings with three successful women leaders, she made the choice to leave the safety of the university and commit to forging her own path in partnership with women who inspired her. That was in August and in December she purchased partial ownership of a start-up that services fleets of vehicles (like zipcar) with oil changes and detailing so that the cars are ready for customers who rent them. She’s been working part time with the owner of the company to set up the systems needed for growth and frankly, I think Elsa is spectacular at it. She’s enjoyed it so much, she’s ready to take on another company to balance her workload.

For my part, 2016 provided me with formidable work challenges. What began as an effort to uncover a new business plan for the World Forestry Center, revealed structural challenges in our board governance that ultimately required a wholesale replacement of our 40-person board of directors. In December as our new 13-person board took office, I finally saw the light of hope that we may actually be able to turn around this venerable 50-year-old organization. The coming year will tell if we can be successful at generating new value from the core of company’s mission, but from the depths of my despair in September, I am feeling much more optimistic that success is possible.

<-World Forestry Center’s Gala

The year also held its share of travel. Unlike last year where we went to Germany and Austria (and I finally made it to Africa), this year we stayed domestic (DC, Colorado, Wisconsin, Arizona, California, Washington, Idaho). Highlights:

• 5 day backpacking trip to the enchantments
• Seeing Aldo Leopold’s shack in Wisconsin
• Hiking stunning trails outside Tucson and Phoenix with Aunt Bernice followed by beer-enhanced banter with Uncle Larry on the back patio (in March!)
• Visiting Michaela and Troy’s family in Colorado with Jr. Baseball and an introduction to the magic of smoking meat
• Thanksgiving with Mike and Jenn in Seattle
• A visit to the National Building Museum in DC (a hidden gem)
• A weekend Trip to Friday Harbor to see the Boydens
• And, of course, some quick trips to see family in Spokane, Bend, and Lincoln City.

<-Aldo Leopold’s Shack

This year was also the year of “the wall.” Not the infamous wall that our president-elect wants to build along the southern border, but a much more modest and ultimately more effective wall that keeps our driveway from sliding down the hill and into our neighbor’s yard. After getting quotes from contractors that ranged from $16K to $26K, I decided that with a bit of effort, I could build a wall to my own liking and keep my savings account intact. Cheerfully, on June 5, I began the excavation of the old wall, pulling away the cement blocks, digging down to the stable soil, and adding appropriate drainage. I figured a couple of solid weekends would get me well along. I would have been right except for my own decisions to make “enhancements” to the project, adding an extension to the sprinkler system, running electricity across the driveway, and making the driveway 10 feet wider so that turn at the bottom wasn’t so tight. My 40-foot-long wall became a 100-foot-long wall. I needed more concrete blocks and 26 cubic yards of gravel to fill in the space. Elsa pitched in, moving 10 wheelbarrows of gravel per day until the massive piles of gravel were transferred to the huge hole I had created. Then I started building…the second wall to reinforce the first wall. That’s when Elsa dropped the shovel and walked away. I guess what I’m really doing is building a terrace, but it started as a wall. There’s a lesson in here somewhere.

In the end, the wall cost $3500 and most of my weekends for the summer. I still need to get the driveway surfaced and complete the lower wall… so the project isn’t complete, but I found the whole thing very satisfying and it gave me a place to put my energy when work was frustrating. Moving 75 pound blocks and shoveling gravel melts away your stress.

Now we anticipate 2017. Last year, hit us with a lot of external change. Friends separating, celebrity icons dying, a radical change in our political direction as a country, another friend choosing to become a mom at 43…it adds up to what feels like a swirling maelstrom of change and led us to declare 2016, the year of the old-fashioned (an excellent way, it turns out, to use up old bottles of whiskey). But 2017, we are calling the year of “prepping for the future”. We have about 20-25 years of our careers left, now is the time to push forward on our dreams, to make sure we don’t regret spending too much time working and not enough time playing.

< This is not our baby.

We are starting out with a trip to Maui to see whales in January. Elsa has been wanting to make this trip for more than 30 years, and this is the year we make it happen. Then in February we are heading to Sedona to do some exploring with Bernice and Larry. In addition, we are working with friends who are artists to help them design business strategies that will elevate their work and we wonder if this could become a sideline business because we love this kind of stuff. And at the end of the year, I should be getting my first all-electric car, something I have been wanting since 2001. We’ll see if 2017 and Tesla can deliver.

Here’s to our dreams, and your dreams. It would be lovely to see you in this new year.
Best wishes,
Eric and Elsa

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