Christmas Letter

Christmas 2006

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s been a busy, but rather uneventful year at Maguire House. The highlights have been, as usual, family get-togethers, visits from grandchildren, our wonderful guests, and our too-infrequent travels.

We are victims of our own success. Last year we made a profit of $51, but that was OK since we run the B&B as a hobby and as a way to host family and guests. This year we have been much busier, so we checked into getting proper insurance, and found the cheapest policy is $3800. We were booked almost every weekend and some weeks in between. Maureen was spending all her free time cleaning house; Mike was getting overwhelmed by cooking and maintenance. So we decided that we would no longer take paying guests after the end of this year.

After our initial disappointment we realized that we would now have more time for family and friends, travel and sailing, and all the activities on Mike’s list when he “retired” fifteen years ago. We’ll also be able to host any of you who can come to visit.

Maureen went to her Mother’s family reunion in Missouri, then brought back twelve of her relatives for a visit. It was a wonderful experience for all of us. Oktoberfest was a great family get-together until Mike’s mother fell out of bed and broke her hip. She’s mending well, but won’t climb into that bed again.

Our two-week trip to Switzerland and Bavaria was our best yet. We did lots of hiking and sightseeing around Lauterbrunnen at the foot of the Swiss Alps, opened Oktoberfest in Munich, and relaxed in Partenkirchen, Germany. A one-week trip to Texas in June let us explore San Antonio and it’s wonderful riverwalk, then enjoy gracious hospitality in Austin from Mike's U-2 buddy, Billy Ely. We highly recommend those two cities.

The best parts of our year were the times we spent at Maguire House. We hope to enjoy it more as we wind down a little and work on some of our projects (greenhouse, chicken coop, garden, tree house) that have been neglected. Come stay with us and check out our progress.

Merry Christmas,
Mike & Maureen