Sue & Tim Metcalf 235 Cayuga Rd · Lake Orion, MI 48362 · (248)690-7192
December, 2020 When we left you last year, we were looking forward to spending Christmas in Seattle with Chris, Sarah, and Slone. Sarah’s parents, Richie and Marsha Wait were also there, so it was a non-stop party. One of the most fun activities was our ride on the “Santa Train.” Once Slone opened his first gift, a car-hauler truck with all the cars from the “Cars” movies, he was not interested in opening anything else! After cancelling our trip in 2019, we travelled to Florida in February for the Miami International Boat Show. All our favorite vendors were there. Tim learned a lot about new developments in Marine Electronics, and it was fun being around so many boat people. Unfortunately, the 2021 show has been cancelled due to COVID. After the boat show we stayed in Florida to visit our good friends Tom and Sandy Wadsworth. They are avid boaters and fishermen, so we spent time on the water with them Sue caught fish after fish, a couple of which got cleaned and eaten. Sue’s horse treat business, The ClintRMint Company , had a booth at the Michigan Horse Expo in March, for the fifth consecutive year. It’s fun seeing all the vendors and horses, and it’s an opportunity for Sue to court new dealers. We recently received the sad news that the Expo has been cancelled in 2021, again due to COVID. The Salty Dawg Sailing Association was busy this year. In April, at the height of the first COVID wave, they stepped in to help cruisers in the Caribbean get back to the US. The Homeward Bound Flotilla provided weather routing, communications and tracking services, and negotiated Right of Innocent Passage for almost 200 boats. In November, they helped about fifty boats get to Antigua, the USVI, and the Bahamas. Tim has joined the Board of Directors and looks forward to helping the Association move forward. We have not seen our boat since March, when the US-Canadian border was closed to all but essential travel. That meant that she was never launched this season. We missed spending our weekends on the boat, and spending time with our boating friends, who were also “in the same boat.” Sue’s businesses have continued to thrive this year. She debuted a new website for ClintRMints , with sales portals for both retail and wholesale, and the response has been good. Everyone likes her embroidery, so The Embroidered Horse business is brisk. It is a joy to watch our grandson Slone grow up. His vocabulary grows every day, and he just loves life. Chris built him an eight-foot climbing wall in the back yard and he goes up it like a spider! This has not been the best year for Tim. Beginning in February, he experienced pain in his back. legs, and feet. Ultimately the problem was diagnosed as nerve compression in the lower lumbar spine and sacrum. After delays caused by COVID shutdowns, he had spinal fusion and decompression surgery in September. His recovery is going very well, and we are hoping for a full recovery. Thanksgiving was, and Christmas will be quiet for us. It is rare for us to celebrate these holidays alone, as we will this year. Overall, it will not bother us to see this year leave and we have high hopes for 2021. We wish you and yours a joyous holiday season and hope that you will join us if you are in our area.
Sue and Tim
Sue@SueMetcalf.net • Tim@TimMetcalf.net |
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