2017 Holiday Letter

Happy Holidays from Minnesota! 

When the clock struck midnight on December 31st, 2016, and the sky in Loja, Ecuador exploded into color as we ate our 12 grapes (representing a coming year of prosperity), I had no way of knowing what a range of emotions we would experience in 2017—from grief we couldn’t imagine to excitement about all the possibilities of life.

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We had flown to Ecuador on a whim—one of the joys of having no boss to answer to and a well-stocked frequent flyer mile pantry.  Keith had been looking at solar jobs in Minnesota, but discovered the paperwork for obtaining his electrical license would take a few weeks to process.  “Let’s just go to Loja while we wait,” he said.  Done.  

So there we were, enjoying the city-sponsored New Year’s Eve party at the Gate of the City, complete with fantastic live music, dancing, costume contests, hot drinks (no alcohol!), neon lights, and one of the best fireworks shows I’ve seen in my life. Keith and I busted out our swing dance moves to the delight of many onlookers who filmed us on their smartphones.

After the party, we wandered back to our apartment.  The city looked war-torn with all the smoke and fires from the traditional burnings of the Años Viejos or monigotes, which are homemade dolls made with old clothes and stuffed with paper.  

People like to leap over the burning Años Viejos.

They represent the old year, and people often attach notes of their sorrows and regrets before burning them to make way for a fresh new start.

We enjoyed five weeks in Loja, reconnecting with friends we had made in 2014, meeting new friends, attending cultural events, taking dance classes, and going on regular hikes—both on our own and with our favorite adventure group, LojAventura. I took lots of notes for the new version of my book about Loja.  During our last week there, Keith’s mom and sister joined us!  We enjoyed sharing one of our favorite places with the family.

Left to right: Emilie (Andrea’s friend), Andrea, Marcelo, Delfina, Ann, Keith, and me.

Back in the States, Keith called up the jobs in Minnesota only to discover that most of them had shut down for the winter.  So, for the third time, we ended up in Dickinson, North Dakota.  Going from Loja, Ecuador to Dickinson, North Dakota in late January is a rude shock to the system.  Lucky for me, I had a business trip scheduled to Austin, Texas in February.

I’d been hearing great things about Austin for years, so I was pretty excited to not only explore a new city, but also to become better acquainted with  my Location Indie team and several of our community members.  

My Location Indie peeps.

I’d been doing contract work with LI for over a year and on this retreat we enjoyed a fantastic mix of business and leisure activities—including many delicious meals, a bike excursion, and a scavenger hunt with kayaks!  I soaked in as much of the 80-degree weather as I could and braced myself for a return to the North Dakotan winter.

For the next few months, Keith and I focused on work.  I updated my Loja book and released the long-awaited print version.  On Keith’s occasional days off, we took trips to Theodore Roosevelt National Park or the Black Hills of South Dakota to go hiking, biking, paddling, swimming in hot springs, or just to see something new.

Paddling in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Keith also decided to make a portable hydroponics garden that we could take with us in our motorhome and spent many an evening designing and building it.

Keith builds a hydroponic garden.  It produced a lot of food over the year–especially HOT jalapeños.

Keith signed up for a course on solar energy in western Colorado, scheduled for the second full week in June.  We decided to take our motorhome along for the ride and really see what the old “Slothmobile” could do on those high mountain passes.  Why not, right?  You only live once.

Keith set out on the first leg of the trip with the Giant Slothmobile and I hung back in Dickinson to work for a couple of hours from a coffee shop before following in the car.  We arrived at our first destination in South Dakota within moments of each other.  The next day was more of the same, with me stopping for hours at a time to work, and Keith poking along like a snail.   

The third day, we began to encounter more serious inclines and Keith’s speed dropped to a slug-like 10 miles per hour in some places.   Somewhere near Meeker, Colorado, Keith pulled over to let the old Sloth’ rest, and opened the hood to check on things.  That’s when he discovered that the radiator fluid reservoir had cracked.  When he touched it to inspect closer, the brittle plastic crumbled in his hand. I was hours ahead by this point, and Keith was out of cell phone range anyhow. Fortunately it was a short downhill cruise into Meeker and he found a suitable replacement at an auto parts store a few minutes before they closed.  We spent the night at a rest area along I-70 near Glenwood Springs.

The next morning, Keith faced another mountain pass on the road to Paonia.  

The Old Slothmobile trudges up the mountain.

This time I stayed close, pulling off at scenic overlooks every few miles while I waited for him to catch up.  On the other side of the pass, when I met up with him, he looked a little spooked.  The engine had died on the way down and he lost the hydraulics, which made braking a challenge.

We made it to Paonia and settled into the RV Park.  I promptly fell in love with the little town, which felt like a small, quaint, older version of Boulder (one of my favorite cities ever). It’s situated in a fruit-growing region of Colorado, along a river, with the majestic Rockies a few minutes to the east and the beautiful desert a few minutes to the west.  Within a few miles of the town, one can hike in the mountains or a canyon, ski in the Rockies or bike in the desert.  The town itself has a vibrant culture and is filled with great restaurants, a health food store, a co-working space, and quaint shops.  It has a healthy, progressive, environmentally conscious vibe.

If we ever buy a home base in the U.S., that place is high on my list (though I would not be opposed to a home base in Ecuador, Mexico, or somewhere else outside the States).

Keith had a great time studying at Solar Energy International, and it thrilled me to see him pursuing one of his great passions: renewable energy. We hung out with his teachers and classmates several different evenings after classes.  At the end of the week, we collected our backpacking gear and hiked into the backcountry for two nights.

It felt great to be in the Rockies again!  When we lived in Colorado we backpacked all the time.

We decided to return to Kansas via the southern route and visit friends in the San Luis Valley along the way.  Two more mountain passes stood between us and the plains.  Once again I drove for awhile and stopped at a coffee shop to work while Keith caught up.  We met up with some South Pole friends and some friends from my days working for the Colorado Department of Human Services. We spent the night in Alamosa, and then Keith headed for Kansas.  Luckily, the old Slothmobile made it over all the passes (as high as 10,010 feet).  Keith went straight east and I veered north to visit my parents.  As he ventured into the flatlands and the temperatures soared to near 100 degrees, two tires blew.  Keith set up a camp chair on the shady side of the motorhome and waited for roadside assistance.  The next evening we reunited on our Kansas property, dreaming of the day when we can buy a newer motorhome.  This one is still holding up for now.

Lee (Keith’s dad) was excited to see us, and he and Keith went right back to work on the earthbag house.  It was the 4th summer since we started building it, and it looked like we might actually have it ready to live in by September.  “I’m anxious to get this done and move in,” Lee said.  “I’m tired of renting.”  

We took a break to celebrate 4th of July weekend as many relatives came out to visit.  Everyone had a marvelous time with the fireworks, hay rides, swimming and eating.  

Lee and his grandson, Jace, sit and wait for Bob to finish making his famous dump cake – a 4th of July tradition on our property.

On the 5th of July, everyone had gone home.  We spent the day cleaning up and getting ready to return to work on the house. Andrea (Keith’s younger sister) was up from Texas for a few weeks to help, too. That night, our lives turned upside down.  Andrea called Keith. Lee hadn’t come home.  They went out to look for him.  

To make a long, sad story short, Lee died that day.  We spent the next weeks in a state of grief and shock.  The amount of love and support we received from friends, relatives, acquaintances and even perfect strangers overwhelmed us.  A couple of weekends after losing Lee, a whole bunch of volunteers came out with lots of equipment and helped us with the earthbag house—Lee’s dream—which lifted everyone’s spirits.

One of our volunteers even brought out his skid steer!

Over the next few weeks, different people continued to come out and help.  We were thankful to have Andrea with us, too—the whole family together, working on finishing the house for Ann (Keith’s mom) to live in.

Andrea and Ann paint the inside walls with earthen paint.

Keith and I had planned to run an adventure race with my friend in Michigan in late July, and we decided to stick with the plan.  We were able to visit Keith’s aunt and uncle on the way up, and some other friends on the way back.  The race itself was a blast!  It involves orienteering with a map and compass through the woods on foot, bike, and over water in a kayak or canoe.  

Ready for an adventure race!  Me, Keith, Karen, and James.

The object is to collect as many checkpoints as possible within the time limit. I had done it the previous year, but this was Keith’s first time.  I’m sure we’ll be doing many more!  It was a great way to get out, move, and get our minds off the tragedy.

I had signed up for a conference in Las Vegas in August. Keith’s sisters planned a trip to the West Coast and Keith planned a trip to Missouri with his nephew.  That left Keith’s mom by herself, so I asked her if she’d like to join me in Vegas.  She jumped at the opportunity and off we all went.  Flights cost $22.40 total round trip for both of us—thank you, frequent flyer miles.  Vegas is not my destination of choice, but Ann and I enjoyed checking out a bunch of the free attractions, and we had one full day after my conference to explore the Red Rock Canyon area and Hoover Dam.  

Petroglyphs at Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas.

In September we had a celebration of life for Lee.  Over 170 people came from all over to party on the lake property with us.  The weather was perfect. It’s just what he would have wanted.  After everyone left, when it was just the immediate family, we spread his ashes in all his favorite places around the lake property.  He’s there forever now.

The day we’ve all awaited for years finally came in October: the house was officially ready to live in!  Keith and I moved into the guest room for a few days while we took the motorhome to the shop for some maintenance work.  We moved Ann in.  The home feels cozy and safe, like a fortress but with plenty of natural light.  

Excuse the mess–we were still moving things in!

Now that the house was finished and our bank account had run dry, it was time to go back to work.  Keith landed a job on a wind farm near Marshall, in southwestern Minnesota.  

Keith on top of a wind turbine.

Meanwhile, I had two conferences coming up: the Atlanta Writers Conference and the Reach Live speakers conference in Colorado Springs.  I’d signed up for both conferences but still didn’t have my plane tickets because we didn’t know where we would end up living!  As soon as Keith landed the job, I used my Southwest points to reserve my tickets out of Minneapolis.  I love how the whole Minneapolis to Atlanta to Denver and back to Minneapolis airfare only cost $16.80.  I’ve been travel hacking like this for years and it still tickles me pink every time.

I landed in Atlanta early enough to take the train to the aquarium and spend the afternoon being mesmerized by the huge whale sharks, rays, and other sea creatures.  

Over the next two days, I learned a lot about book publishing.  I met with an agent who critiqued my manuscript and is interested in seeing it again after I make the changes he suggested.  Win!

While in Atlanta I also spent a day with one of my South Pole friends and had dinner with a TCK friend.  What a treat to catch up with friends in person!  

Onward to Colorado!  I’d signed up for the speak off competition at the Reach Live conference and spent Wednesday morning with the other contestants being coached by Michael and Amy Port, who are complete masters of the art of public speaking and in coaching others to be great speakers.  

Me with Michael Port.

During the coaching session with Michael, I was one of the few speakers whom he let give the whole speech without stopping me part way through to give me feedback.  When I finished, the first thing he said was, “Well that’s just not fair!  You have such an amazing story!” Then he proceeded to mention many things that he loved about the speech and provide constructive criticism—mostly staging stuff such as when to stand still and when (and where) to move.  The speech really came to life with this.

In the afternoon, each contestant went into a room in front of a panel of judges (and two big cameras!) to deliver the 3-minute speech.  I fumbled slightly over one line, but the judges all seemed very engaged with my speech and again the feedback was almost all positive with only one minor suggestion.  I left the room feeling pretty confident that I would be a finalist.  

Then, about 3 minutes after leaving the room, I realized I had forgotten to say my call to action line—which is one of the items we’re scored on.  Since I had no call to action, that section would be a 0 for me and could knock me out of the running, but I wouldn’t know for sure until they posted the results at 10 p.m.

That evening at the VIP reception, one of the judges approached me and told me how wonderful the story was and introduced me to another meeting planner, told her I had an amazing story and that she would probably be hearing it the next night on the stage.  Quite a few people kept approaching me and expressing confidence that I was in the finals.

At 10 p.m. I checked the results page….and I wasn’t on it.  Obviously I was bummed, but the 11 speakers who did make the finals were all very good speakers and probably none of them forgot their call to action line!  The upside was that I was able to sit back and relax the next day and learn more in the conference without having to worry about performing on stage that night—though I would have enjoyed it.  But I was fighting off a bug at that point and it was nice having one less thing to think about.

The rest of the conference was phenomenal.  We learned a lot about the speaking industry and how to win stages and turn your speeches into the foundation for a bigger business.  We also saw a couple of amazing speakers; my favorite was Jesse Itzler, author of Living With a SEAL (a hilarious book!) and founder of multiple businesses.  He is also the husband of billionaire Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx.  (He himself only has hundreds of millions of dollars.)

Jesse Itzler.

Here are a few things he said that really resonated with me:

• What are you good at, like to do, and can offer to the world?

• The limitations we put on ourselves are self-imposed.

• The 40% Rule: When your brain says you’re done, you still have 40% more.

• How you do anything is how you do everything.

• The 3-Hour Rule: Dedicate 3 hours a day for YOU, guilt-free. You need “me time.”

• Remember tomorrow.  How will what I do today affect tomorrow?

• Take the “bucket list” to the next level: the “F@(%-It” list!  Make it happen now.  Think about your life resume, not your business resume.

“Remember tomorrow.  How will what I do today affect tomorrow?” – Jesse Itzler, in a speech at Reach LIVE, November 2017, Colorado Springs

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I flew “home” to Minnesota the day after the conference ended.  

Keith and I celebrated a simple Thanksgiving, just the two of us.  He had to work that morning but he came home early and I made us a traditional vegetarian Thanksgiving meal here in the motorhome—everything minus the turkey.  

As for the rest of the year, Keith finished the wind project and switched to a solar project and we moved to a small town near Mankato.  We plan to take a quick trip to Kansas to spend Christmas with the family.  Within the next 3-4 weeks, we’ll take the old Slothmobile back to her shelter in Kansas and prepare for departure to warmer climes.  Just this week we secured our tickets for a 2-month trip to Singapore and Thailand (we also plan to visit Cambodia and stop in Hong Kong on our way to Singapore), departing mid-January.  It should come as no surprise that these multi-city tickets to Asia and back cost us $147.63 each. Asia is our last continent!  Keith plans to start studying for NABCEP certification (for solar work) while we are abroad, and I will continue my online work.

We’ll be back stateside in mid-March, in time for a conference we’ve signed up for in Phoenix.  Then it’ll be back to work!  Minnesota is likely, due to all the renewable energy jobs here right now.

Despite a rough summer this year (I still can’t quite believe Lee is gone), we have so much to be thankful for.  Our families, our friends, and many caring people who barely even know us.  The opportunities we have to travel.  Our work.  Our adventures.  Life is good.  

We hope 2017 has been good to you. From our motorhome in Minnesota to wherever you are, we wish you the happiest of holidays!

Love,

Keith, Lily, & Sprite (the kitty)