The Deals' Holiday Letter with the REAL Pictures Included

Our printer decided it didn't want to crank out our letter, so those of you who receive on in the mail will be disappointed in the color. Therefore, I present it here!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ef’s year can be described in a few words: Publishing and selling books! Since last Christmas, her novel Esprit de Corpse came out, and along with a poem or two, she’s been featured in seven anthologies and sold to two more that will be released this April. The second book in her series, Aéros & Héroes, is now in its final stages before publication. We had a grand launch party, and she’s signing books like crazy. Yay! Check out her website or blog. efdeal.net or efdeal.blogspot.com.

In April we took the whole family to Jamaica, where the grandkids learned to snorkel on their own. They just jumped in and followed the fish! Buddy took this magnificent photo on our last night, just before Ef was whisked away to the hospital with congestive heart failure (after telling the doctors for the past two years something was wrong with her heart and lungs post-COVID).

In May, Jack was inducted into the Buglers Hall of Fame where he and Ef won first place in the duet category, on flugelhorns! playing an original piece written for us. We also marched the Elks Parade in Wildwood with our beloved Golden Knights in June.

Our niece Krista asked Jack to officiate her wedding in June at an actual castle (a museum in Doylestown)! At least three of us said “Ni.”

We were very saddened to lose our older chow Kije. He had a hard start to life, but he was just the sweetest boy.

Corbin missed him a lot, so to cheer him up, we finished out July camping at our favorite park in Ithaca, and brought home much wine to fill that new wine rack! Jack's been thoroughly enjoying his retirement. He fancied up his workshop and brought in a wine rack. He refreshed the kids’ playset and built a pool bar for Buddy’s pool.

He’s played a few more gigs with DPW at the Manor Bar on bass, played the art show at Holman’s again with Gerry and the Deals, and picked up a lot of Christmas brass work.

We joined the Haddonfield UMC, and the following week Jack was the bass player for the praise team! (He moves fast)

He and Corbin have a very special bond, too: meeting up at King's Road Brewery in town!

GRANDKIDS!! The get more adorable every year.

Eliana will tell you, she is "so five." She's a dancer, a storyteller, an artist, a singer, an actress, and knockout beautiful. Leighton is "two times two and two plus two." He's a math whiz and reads on a 4th-grade level. He takes dance lessons, too, along with French, and he's a loving snuggle-bug.

What delights us most is how much these cousins love each other!