Neighborhood Restaurants we enjoy: Shenandoah, The Original Fish Company, Charo Chicken, Mangia Mangia, Beachwood BBQ, Spaghettini. Please tell me about places where you like to eat.

Current sweet cravings: Katella Deli Cinnamon Bagel Chips, Chobani Greek Yogurt “flip” Almond Coco Loco, Sweet Jill’s German chocolate upside-down cake, Dove milk chocolate, Dilettante chocolate-covered cherries.

We love to spend time with family. Our immediate family gets together every Monday night to talk and play games. We fight over who gets to choose the treat and we end with hugs. Once a month we have an extended Sunday dinner where everyone who can comes over in the afternoon. These times together bring us so much joy.

Other things that make me happy:

The kindness of others

Funny people

Music of all kinds and dancing like no one is watching (and hoping that they aren’t)

Going fast – motorcycles, roller coasters, body boarding, zip-lines, sky-diving, water slides

Reading a good book

Good friends

Nice clients

Belize is the perfect place to vacation we found out on our latest international trip. They have one of best caves in the world (Actun Tunichil Muknal), jungle (Ian Anderson’s Caves Branch), Mayan ruins (Xunantunich), beautiful beaches (Hopkins), scuba-diving (Hamanasi) on a barrier reef (one of Jacques Cousteau’s favorite spots), several distinct cultures (Garifuna and Mayan plus more) with English as the official language.

It is located on the eastern coast of Central America. We stayed one night at the Belize Zoo and heard the scary sounds of howler monkeys as we walked through the dark with only flashlights to light the way to see jaguars, other nocturnal animals and a huge alligator. We visited the Mayan Visitor Center where we bought cocoa bars and hand-made crafts.

Forty percent of the land is nature preserves. But as we drove down the peninsula to Placencia (which is only as wide as the road in some places) we saw multiple housing developments going up. As we drove on dirt roads to ride the zip-line through the jungle, we had a flat tire. As we drove back to Hopkins, we had another flat tire. Without four good tires, we were stuck but the locals are very friendly and we were offered and accepted rides back to the resort. Soon those roads will be paved and Belize will be a little less wild.

Some books I’ve enjoyed this year:

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig

The Marshmallow Test by Walter Mischel

The Martian by Andy Weir

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Be Frank With Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin