The Family collected 46 of our best photos of the year into an album. (Click on one of the three below to see it larger, then hit escape to see the whole album.)
Hazel says: 2016 was a strange but mostly positive year for me. It started out with what I jokingly called "#2Comics2Months", a period of intense drawing where I finished about 50 pages of comics: an educational comic for teens about abusive relationships, and the 2nd issue of my autobio comic, No Ivy League. After that, I dyed my hair to celebrate.
I'm very grateful for my job as the assistant editor at Roar Comics, which allows me a lot of time to work on my own art, and is flexible enough for me to travel to comic conventions and visit home a lot. Most of my best memories this year were with the wonderful community who shares this passion with me.
Like the majority of America, I was shocked and horrified by Donald Trump's ascendency. This is a national trauma, and it destroyed my (probably naive) sense of security about the future. Like so many others, I was spurred to action, and organized Comics for Choice, an anthology of comics about abortion, to raise money for the National Network of Abortion Funds. Keep an eye out for that IndieGoGo campaign in May 2017.
Marion says: Life is mostly excellent.
Professionally, I'm happy being a medium large fish in the very small pond of Craft CMS. I'm working from home, on various aspects of building websites. There is a lot of variety, and a lot of new things to learn. (Hazel has taken over newlevant.com - we designed it together, and I built it).
Creatively, I've supplemented the drop spindle with a spinning wheel, which has meant more yarn and more knitting. I've started a spinning group with some local friends old and new. We meet about once a month to spin and talk (and eat). Somehow it is easier to talk to people when I have something to do with my hands. And the monthly waltz jam continues (since 2008!). And 2017 is the year I am going to get back to dancing.
Like Hazel, I've been inspired to get more involved in politics. My New Years resolution to write three political letters a day morphed into getting 5000 'In our America' postcards printed, and then when I gave those first 5000 away, a second 5000. They look like this, and I will be happy to give you some. And I'm going to be helping curate the list on the 'Act' page there...
Jack says: I'm so happy to be alive, well, still dancing and riding bikes (and very grateful that Marion and I are both happy with our non-traditional marriage)!
My 2016 riding totaled ~4900 miles, included ~290 in Tuscany as part of 3 weeks there with my other partner Diane (and our travel tandem to which we've since added electric assist!) and ~866 miles over 2 weeks with BRNW.
I danced both contra and ceili most weeks, got to 5 contra dance camps including my favorite week at Lady of the Lake (Coeur d'Alene) for a total of 60 since 2004.
Other big travels include trips with family to the East Coast this year and New Orleans last year and with Diane to England in 2012 & 2015 and to France in 2013.
We'd be very pleased if you'd write us (jack, marion and/or hazel) or check out earlier years' photos and news: