The Kalotai Family News 2020

by Lenore

Seasons Greetings Everyone!

This year all of us can probably say that it was an awful year in many ways. But, we were very lucky that we all still have our jobs, even though we work in different ways than before, and none of us has gotten Covid-19. Unfortunately, because of all the mandates here in Connecticut, we have not seen our grandchildren (or daughter and son-in-law) in person since February. We do use Facetime and Zoom but it just isn’t the same. Those of you who have your family close by are very lucky.

We do have some sad news this year. Our beloved dog Roxy passed away suddenly in June. She was 12 yrs old. Everyone misses her a great deal.

Then, in July, a stray cat wandered into our yard and was desperate to come into the house. We have adopted him and named him Binx (yes, from the movie, Hocus Pocus). He is about 1 ½ years old, mostly black, with a little white on his chest and stomach and white threads throughout the black. He is not an unfriendly cat, he wants to be close by all the time, but he’s not cuddly, does not like to be picked up or sit on anyone’s lap, and bites when he wants attention or food. And, now, at Christmastime, we are chasing him out of the Christmas tree daily. John calls him “Satan’s Furry Minion”.

John is still working for Stamford EMS in Darien, and selling Ham Radio accessories. The only Hamfest we went to this year was in Orlando in February, then as the Pandemic hit, every other Hamfest was canceled, leaving only online sales.

I am still an Avon Representative and selling my Photography products. Like the Hamfests, every Arts & Crafts Fair I had signed up for was canceled. I spent my year building up my online business. I now have a well developed website, an Etsy store, and an Amazon Handmade store. I also have products in a couple of stores in Meriden and Mystic. Business is ok, but I sure miss the Fairs!

Our daughter Emily is the Youth Services Librarian in the East Haven, CT Library. She has been working remotely running Teen programs partly from home, and partly at the Library. They are still not open regular hours.

Andrew works for a car stereo installer company in Milford, CT called Speed of Sound. They never closed as they are listed as “Auto Repair” and were considered an essential business. When business was slow last spring, they spent hours making face shields to donate to medical personnel, funded solely through donations.

Maggie and Justin are still living in Forest, VA. Maggie is working in Bedford Hospital and Justin is working from home for Liberty University. Jackson is now 9, Hunter is 6 and both are attending school remotely now. Skylar turned 1 in October and is reportedly getting into everything, as toddlers do. We really miss them a lot!

As I said before, we did go to one of the regular Hamfests before the Pandemic – Hamcation in Orlando in February. After the three days working there, we visited a friend who recently moved to the area, then headed to Tampa/St. Petersburg to meet up with our friends Wendy & Dan. We spent two days with them visiting some interesting places there. Together, we toured the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, an art museum devoted to the works of Salvadore Dali – interesting, but rather bizarre art. Then we visited Ybor City in Tampa, a National Historic District centered around the Cigar making industry of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. We ate in the historic Columbia Restaurant there, then took the free trolley to downtown Tampa and back again. As always, it was a great time with our friends! Read more about this trip here.

Lenore and John on the famous Melting Clock Bench outside the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL

We also went on a short trip to Maine at the end of August. We started at Foxwoods Casino in CT for one night then drove up to our “hub” of Bangor, Maine. We visited the Duck of Justice at the police department, then the giant Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor. We visited the extremely busy, but beautiful Acadia National Park, Cadillac Mountain, and Bar Harbor. Then the Easternmost point of the United States at West Quoddy Point State Park in Lubec, right at the Canadian border. And, finally, Doubling Point Lighthouse near Bath, and Portland Head Lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth. This trip was a lot of driving, but we saw some great sights and ate lots of great seafood! Read more about this trip here.

John and Lenore visiting the Duck of Justice in Bangor, ME

In between trips, we managed to do a little improvement in our yard by adding a new patio/seating area outside the back door next to the back steps. We used mulch for now, but may add something more permanent in the future. We would like to do something similar in the area on the other side of the steps also – a project for next year.

Thanksgiving this year was just a small dinner for the four of us. Sadly, Christmas will be the same. We will see the family through Facetime and share gift opening through a Zoom meeting. We are really hoping next year will be better, and safer. But already Hamcation in February in Orlando has been canceled. So, it remains to be seen what the rest of the year will be like.

We wish you a Happy and Safe Holiday Season and New Year!