Hello and Happy Holidays! This is the tenth edition of the Mudd family news, which means that Doug and Patti have survived 10 years of marriage – most of them good! The Mudd family is having its 2nd Christmas in Colorado – actually we will be spending part of it in California and part in Colorado, since we will be flying back to the Springs on Christmas day… We will be visiting both Patti and Doug’s families while traveling through northern California. The week-long trip will be a well-earned family outing – and will hopefully involve some relaxation…
Doug will be authoring at least two books in the coming year – one that began out of discussions held in 2000 while Doug was still at the Smithsonian and one that will be the exhibition catalog for Barter, Bits & Dollars. The first book is due out in April and is entitled All the World of Money – it will be a Harper Collins publication as part of their series of Smithsonian books. It will feature Doug’s numismatic photography and is intended as a coffee table book. Other highlights of the year included a visit to Costa Rica to participate in the ICOMON conference (the International Committee of Money and Banking Museums), where Doug met colleagues from Europe, Asia and South America. These activities along with exhibits and presentations have kept him very busy over the year.
Patti & Loren took a short white-water rafting trip on the Arkansas River in August with Loren’s friend Sarah Egbert. All three had a great time and plan to include Doug on the next trip – hopefully in the late Spring of 2006!
Loren had an eventful year highlighted by her budding interest in acting and music. She participated in a school play and a summer-camp production, both of which she enjoyed and did well in. In September, Loren began taking piano lessons and also joined the new school band, where she decided to play the flute – two new instruments at the same time... Her first recital was on the 25th of November and was a resounding success!
Patti continues to work as a subcontractor through an Energy Software Company based in Boston. In an interesting twist, Patti has been working at her old company, Pepco, since June. Patti performed a much-needed audit of their retail settlement processes. The work has been rewarding despite the time spent away from Doug & Loren. She spent about two weeks a month at the client site and two weeks working from home.
Loren has continued to develop as an athlete, adding basketball and volleyball to her repertoire. She really enjoyed volleyball, basketball not so much, but soccer is still her favorite sport. Loren has bonded well with her team, the Bobcats, which did well in a tournament this past spring. She will be playing indoor soccer with them this winter.
Happy Holidays,
Loren, Doug and Patti