Christmas letter 2004

We are now completing our second year in our new house, and we are enjoying it very much. We finally have something to put over the fireplace! And somehow, when we bought the frame, the cost came out to $12.90 instead of $129.00 as it said on the price tag. We love computers!

In the fall, Kyoko's dad visited for about a month. Jim spent time with Kyoko's dad to help him with his golf swing. Unfortunately, by the end of the trip, it's questionable how much help Jim was able to give to Kyoko's dad, but since most of the practice sessions were videotaped and then copied over to one of our (many) ReplayTVs (digital videotape recorders) and subsequently copied to mpeg format, there's a lot of material available for studying -- with hopes of finding the right keys to improve his golf swing.

Kyoko continues to volunteer at a nearby local high school for assisting in teaching Japanese. Kyoko also has some students she is tutoring. If you are interested in learning Japanese, please let her know!

Jim continues his current project which takes him to Vienna, Austria practically every month. In the Spring, Jim was actually able to take a business trip to Japan and Taiwan. Jim and Kyoko then took a rare Springtime vacation to Japan. In fact, the last time Jim was in Japan in the Spring was in 1990, back when he was 10 years old (ha!). Even though we've seen cherry blossoms 2 years ago in the DC area, it was nice to see cherry blossoms in Japan.

Later in the year, Kyoko was finally able to make it back to Europe. It had been 3 years since her previous visit to Europe. On this trip, we spent some time within Austria, going on a cruise along the Danube, visiting Graz (but somehow we missed seeing the Arnold Schwarzenegger museum... Awww...) and visiting the Salzkammergut area of Austria near Salzburg. Then, on the last weekend we were in Europe together, we went to Amsterdam, Holland. One common theme on all of these trips was rain! It rained every weekend, but we still had a lot of fun.

We took a cruise found in one of the Vienna tour books. The tour was approximately 8 hours, practically the whole day, so it seemed like it would be a nice, relaxing cruise on the Danube. As it turns out, the cruise itself was only a couple of hours and quite a bit of the rest of the time was on a bus, which is not exactly our idea of a nice cruise. Part of the tour also included a tour of the Melk Abbey. We had seen the Melk Abbey on a previous trip to Vienna many years ago, but this time, since we paid for the tour, we were able to see parts of the abbey which is not available without a paid ticket, so this was nice.

We went to Graz on another weekend. Jim had not set up any hotel reservations in Graz, so he was frantically contacting places to stay just before going. Fortunately this meant that some places were offering special deals since they still had some vacancies. We took advantage of a suite for the price of a hotel room. Unfortunately, it rained buckets, but Graz was still an extremely pleasant city to visit.

We rented a car to drive out to the Salzkammergut area of Austria. Jim had forgotten to get an international driver's license, which turns out to be required in Austria. Fortunately, the agent at the rental car counter was very understanding ("So you showed me your international driver's license, right?"). The scenery around the Salzkammergut area is peaceful, with the mountains right next to the lakes. It's just amazing. It's so relaxing out there that it makes you want to even consider to move out there, but we can imagine the winters out there can be very severe. Anyway, this weekend, we were able to find a dirndl (traditional Austrian dress) for Kyoko.

The last weekend in Europe, we went to Amsterdam. This was our first trip to Holland, and it was a fun weekend. Coincidentally, during the week, there was a meeting in Vienna with a couple of participants from the Netherlands, and when Jim and Kyoko went out to the airport to head to Amsterdam, we met up with one of the people from the meeting. We then decided to meet on the weekend. Jim hadn't realized that Amsterdam consisted of a complex canal system and fortunately the person we met took us on his boat. It was nice to get a personalized tour of Amsterdam. When we asked some people about traditional Dutch food, most people just laughed, meaning that there's not much to say about traditional Dutch food. Because of this, Indonesian food is sometimes considered the adopted national food of Holland, so he took us to a restaurant with Indonesian food. I wouldn't necessarily call it an Indonesian restaurant because from the outside, it looked like a normal pub. Anyway, we liked the food very much... But what we didn't find out until toward the end of the trip was that we should try Dutch pancakes! We have always enjoyed Dutch oven pancakes at the Original Pancake House (in Champaign Illinois or Dallas) so we decided to try Dutch pancakes in Amsterdam, and guess what! They must have stolen the recipes from the Original Pancake House because they really do taste similar! In fact, if I had known this, I probably would have had Dutch Pancakes all weekend long. Of course, a favorite spot of Kyoko was going to the Heineken museum! We also made it outside of Amsterdam to Zaansche Schans to see the windmills. Even though it was a touristy area, we really enjoyed it. The cheese tourist shop out there has great soft serve ice cream!

Anyway, that's about all the room we have. We hope everyone is doing well and that everyone has a great 2005!

Christmas lights 2004

From GuideLive:

GLENBROOK
– Bedford

Until recently, only locals knew about the quaint themed displays in this tiny, hard-to-find Bedford subdivision. The secret's out, and it's well worth a cross-county jaunt. "The Night Before Christmas ... In Texas, That Is" features 10 floodlighted custom signs, each with a Tex-ified verse of the famous holiday poem, strewn along a short four-street route. Expect to see 10-gallon-hat wreaths, multicolored picket fences and Santa's Flying Armadillo Express. Don't miss the snowman-populated ice rink and animatronic "Santa's Workshop" at 3500 Huntington Lane: It's in a cul-de-sac just before the tour's end. Nearly every lawn is outlined in red lights, making the presentation impressively cohesive. Finally, make the trip an early one as some residents extinguish their displays well before 10 p.m.
WHEN: Every night from 6 to 9 through Jan. 2.
WHERE: From Airport Freeway, exit at Central Drive and go north to Cummings Drive (one stoplight north of Harwood Road). Then go west to Brookside Drive and turn south to enter the neighborhood. From there, follow the "This way, partner" signs. Fort Worth Mapsco Page 54-K, F and B, then Page 40-X.
ADMISSION: Free.
– Mike Daniel

SPRINGPARK
– Garland

This Garland neighborhood, with its greenbelts and ponds, knows how to twinkle and shine for the holidays. Many of the cul-de-sacs take on themes, such as "Winter Wonderland" on North Spring Court and "Gifts of the Season" on Cross Timbers Lane. In "Hawaiian Christmas" at Wheatfield and Cross Timbers, pink flamingos mingle with reindeer donning sunglasses and leis, and Santa lounges in his captain's hat, champagne in hand. The kids will particularly enjoy the story of Frosty the Snowman on Cottonwood Court.
WHERE: From Jupiter Road, go east on Springpark Way and weave in and out of the surrounding streets. Dallas Mapsco Page 8-R.
ADMISSION: Free.
– Deborah Voorhees

HIGHLAND PARK
– Dallas

The 21-block area bordered by Preston Road on the east, Armstrong Parkway on the south and west, and Mockingbird Lane on the north has been a long-standing destination for seeing exquisite, tasteful holiday displays. Even with home tear-downs pockmarking the area, you'll still find enough festive figurines, green garland with red trimmings and color-coordinated light themes to make this trip memorable. The majestic "Prince of the Parkway" pecan tree at Armstrong and Preston still reigns supreme as a touchstone of holiday tradition.
WHERE: Mapsco Page 35-J, K, N, P.
ADMISSION: Free.

PRESTON HOLLOW
– Dallas
Older homes in this 1950s neighborhood feature retro, multicolored C-9 bulbs along rooflines. From Forest Lane, go south on Preston Haven Drive, south on Royalshire, east on Northaven Road, south on Edgemere to the side streets south of Royal Lane, west of Hillcrest Road, east of Preston Road and north of Meadow Road. Mapsco 15-X, then Mapsco 25-B, C, G and L. Newer homes on Waggoner Drive west of Hillcrest Road feature trees tightly wrapped in twinkle lights (Mapsco 25-M). Look for a Western Santa at Desco Drive and Edgemere (Mapsco 25-Q) and an animatronic panda bear band at Deloache Avenue and Preston Hollow Lane (Mapsco 25-T).
ADMISSION: Free.
– Nancy Moore

FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS
– Arlington

High Point Church marks its second year of hosting the drive-through playground of lights. The course includes more than 5 million twinkling lights on more than 120 moving displays and 100 decorated trees in all colors. Glowing scenes include holiday toys, a dinosaur village, sports, trains, cars and a candy land. There are also a petting zoo, a food court and a holiday market. A live Nativity scene is presented on the weekends.
WHEN: Sundays through Thursdays from 6 to 10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 6 p.m. to midnight. Through Dec. 31.
WHERE: High Point Church, 2500 E. Arbrook Blvd. (northwest corner of Interstate 20 and State Highway 360), Arlington. From Interstate 30, take Highway 360 south and exit at Mayfield Road. Stay on the access road to the main entrance, which is south of Arbrook. Or from Interstate 20, take Highway 360 north and exit at Mayfield Road. Loop underneath 360 to head south on the access road. Fort Worth Mapsco Page 98-E and J.
ADMISSION: Free, donations accepted.
PHONE: 817-394-3131.
WEB SITE: www.churchunusual.com
– Toni Edwards

INTERLOCHEN
– Arlington

The bright lights in Arlington's northwest neighborhood have been packing in lines of traffic for more than 25 years. The residential lighting display kicks into high gear on Friday, and many people come from all around North Texas to take in the gleaming spectacle. The tour takes one to two hours, depending on traffic, and officers will help direct visitors in their vehicles through the streets. Your best bet is probably to plan a visit during the week rather than on the weekend. The area also has canals, which are decorated in the holiday spirit. Houses include elaborate displays with lighted train sets, golden reindeer, large inflatable characters, nativity scenes, and, of course, Santa Claus. One house features a mechanical version of the man in the red suit that looks incredibly lifelike.
WHEN: The community is usually aglow from 6 to 11 p.m. through Dec. 25.
WHERE: Enter at Westwood Drive from Randol Mill Road, south of Interstate 30 and west of Fielder Road. Look for Findlay, Portofino and Loch Lomond drives, and Crowley Road. Fort Worth Mapsco Page 82-A, then Page 81-D and C.
ADMISSION: Free.
– Toni Edwards

DEERFIELD NEIGHBORHOOD
– Plano

This 700-home planned community's holiday lighting contest is a perennial favorite. At least half the houses feature elaborate setups using large cutouts, front-yard displays (a large inflatable Grinch and Nativity scene made entirely of lights are particularly festive) and, of course, scores of colored lights.
WHERE: Take the Dallas North Tollway to Legacy Drive, go east for 2.5 miles (across Preston Road) and turn north on Archgate Drive into the neighborhood. Dallas Mapsco Page 555-R, then Page 556-N, T, U and V.
ADMISSION: Free.
– Gary Dowell

HIDDEN COVE PARK
– The Colony

Local businesses decorate Hidden Cove Park for the Christmas Lights at the Lake event, which runs daily from 6 to 10 p.m. through Dec. 21. Highlights include a Nativity scene, Santa and a snowman on a moving teeter-totter, and a gingerbread house. More unusual displays include flamingos and dolphins. Hidden Cove is an appropriate name for the park – it's tucked away on the east central shore of Lewisville Lake, and you have to navigate some twisting, bumpy roads to get there. Santa and carolers are scheduled to make appearances on weekends.
WHERE: From State Highway 121, go north on FM423 and west on Hackberry Road. From Hackberry, follow the signs to Hidden Cove Park. Dallas Mapsco Page 554-W; Page 553-Z, V, R, M, H, D; Page 454-W, S, N and J; Page 453-M, L, K, J and N.
ADMISSION: Free (contrary to the signs that say to stop and pay to enter), although a donation of food, a toy or cash is requested. Donations will go to the Denton County Friends of the Family.
INFORMATION: www.hiddencovepark.com or 972-292-1001.
– Ann Pinson

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

ARLINGTON Wimbledon area: Take Cooper Street south from Interstate 20, then go west on Bardin Road, south on Racquet Club Drive. Good streets include Coventry Lane, Wimbledon Drive, Bridgewater Drive and River Ridge Road. Fort Worth Mapsco Page 96-P, N, S and T.

COLLEYVILLE Woodland Hills neighborhood: Take Glade Road west from State Highway 121, then go south on Martin Parkway. Good side streets include Queensbury Way, Crossgate Circle and Eaton Circle. Fort Worth Mapsco Page 41-P and N, then Page 40-R.

FARMERS BRANCH Christmas Tour of Lights starts at Valley View Lane and Interstate 35. Follow the candy canes east to City Hall and to the Farmers Branch Historical Park, 2540 Farmers Branch Lane. Dallas Mapsco 12-V. Friday through Sunday and Tuesday through Dec. 21, Dec. 23-24, 26-28 and 30-31 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. 972-919-2631.

FORT WORTH Downtown: Fourth and Main streets. From Highway 287, exit Fourth Street west to Main Street. Fort Worth Mapsco Page 63-W.
• Stockyards: Exchange Street off North Main Street. From Interstate 35, exit Northeast 28th Street west, then go south on North Main Street. Fort Worth Mapsco Page 63-F and E, then Page 62-H and G.
• Ridglea area: From Interstate 30, exit Camp Bowie Boulevard south, then head north on Ridglea Avenue. Good streets include Rosemont, Kenwick and Locke avenues and Edgehill Road. Fort Worth Mapsco Page 74-M, L and K.
• River Crest: From Camp Bowie, go west on Crestline Road, north on Hillcrest Street, West on West Seventh Street and south on Alta Drive. Mapsco Pages 75-D and C.

FRISCO Prestmont area: From the intersection of State Highway 121 and Preston Road, go north on Preston, east on Prestmont Place, north on Fairfield Place, east on Max Lane, north on Bryson Drive, and east on Mallory Drive. Dallas Mapsco Page 556-F, B and C, then Page 456-Y and Z.

GRAND PRAIRIE Westchester area: From Interstate 20, exit Carrier Parkway south, then go east on Westchester Drive or Bardin Road. Good side streets include Clayton and Winston. Dallas Mapsco Page 61-R and V.

GRAPEVINE Downtown historic district: From State Highway 114, exit Main Street and go north about one mile. Fort Worth Mapsco Page 27-V, R and M.

GREENVILLE Brown family property: Some 350 trees holding 300,000 lights are decorated. Head east on Interstate 30 from Dallas, and take exit 97. Go north on Lamar Street, east on FM499, and north on County Road 4101 for about half a mile. The decorations will be on the left.

MCKINNEY From U.S. Highway 75, go west on Eldorado Parkway, north on Country Club Drive and west on Valley Creek Trail. Dallas Mapsco Page 360-V, U, T, P and Q.

MEADOWS FOUNDATION WILSON HISTORIC DISTRICT From Hall Street at Swiss Avenue, go west on Swiss to Texas Street. Early 1900s houses occupied by charitable organizations, such as Preservation Dallas, feature picket-fence-style Victorian trimmings, lighted gazebos and a lifesize Nativity scene. Dallas Mapsco Page 45-H and M.

MESQUITE Drive among the streets on both sides of Barnes Bridge Road between Galloway Avenue North and Northwest Drive. From Interstate 30, exit south on Galloway Avenue North, then go east on Barnes Bridge. Dallas Mapsco Page 39A, squares N, P, Q, T, U and V.

SOUTH DALLAS COMMUNITY TREE Annual display with 37-foot lighted tree and Nativity sponsored by Clean South Dallas. Stage with live music; call for schedule of events. Through Jan. 1. 214-421-1662. Southwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at Malcolm X Boulevard. Dallas Mapsco 46-T.

SOUTHLAKE Take Southlake Boulevard (FM1709) west from State Highway 114 for four miles, then north on Southridge Lakes Parkway. Loop around Brazos Drive to the east of Southridge Lakes and take Pecos Drive west. Fort Worth Mapsco Page 27-K and J, then Page 26-M, L, K and J, then Page 25-H, G and F.