EFTA01148584.pdf

2011— No complaints from the Khans and a Longeteig Hello everyone — here is the years' news from all of us here in Lexington — our 1r year here! (How time flies.) Hasan and Karen welcomed in the New Year at a gala event thrown by our local and excellent Lexington Symphony — managed to dance the night away and just about stay awake. Ayesha left on January l m for Karlsruhe, Germany, to start a new job with GameForge, an on-line game developer — her third job in the industry. She has settled in nicely and enjoys the work and her colleagues, but especially the fact that her boyfriend, Fraser Moore, moved from Scotland to be with her (and is now working at the same company). She visited us twice this year on her way to/from Austin for work. Her cats, Mowgli and Amenti have settled in well with us and here they will stay as she lives in a "no-pets" apartment. There remains squabbling between them and our older cats Cleo and Naima, but no blood has been drawn —yet. Zehra went to Scotland for a couple of weeks in February to look after Vimal and Gill's cats again. She continues to live in Provincetown, three hours' drive from Lexington, and continues to paint and co-create installations for several exhibitions, working with her boyfriend, Tim Winn who is also an artist. We went to a couple of their whimsical installation openings — she seems to have stopped drawing rats and has moved onto other animals, foxes, weasels, and structures such as Pawn Shops (pictured), thank goodness. She attended several friends' weddings, and in May we also joined her to attend the wedding of her good friend and former roommate, Lillian. EFTA01148584 Karen and Hasan spent some of January with his sister Nayyar and her family in Karachi. It was fun to see everyone there, although the situation continues to deteriorate in the country and the city, with no end in sight. There was only occasional gunfire at night, and only one shooting that closed the bazaars. Momentous changes elsewhere in the Middle East, which we follow with intense interest. Hasan is back teaching and writing as usual — his book on the Pakistani architect Habib Fida Ali came out this spring. He travelled to Egypt in March to judge an ongoing urban design competition — just after the Arab Spring — and was asked while there to speak at a hastily arranged public forum to look at options for Tahrir Square. He went back there for the month of July, leading a group of university and high school teachers on a Fulbright-Hays grant aimed at improving teaching about Middle-Eastern cultures. A tiring but enriching experience. Besides that he was in Istanbul (one of his favorite places), New York City, North Carolina and Florida. But perhaps his big news is that he became an American citizen after having had a 'green card' for 34 years! It must be some sort of a record for procrastination. Karen continues her landscaping work, which includes a medium-long list of pro bono stuff along with a short list of paid work. She took a week in Idaho in July, with Zehra, to visit her mother, and J. & Chase, Beverli, Shirley, Kristin & Bob, Lisa & Iver, Torrey & Hunter & Lane, and Kelli. She surprised everyone by 'letting her hair go' white and cutting it short! Her vegetable garden had its best year ever and supplied produce into November. Since the summer we had a slew of guests and caught up with old friends. Ayesha Heble visited us, as did Rudi and Azra Lemp, Ron and Tonda Gillespie, Nick and Sybille Bulloch, and Mona Ahmed from Egypt. In November, four other friends from the UK, Vimal and Gill Khosla and Niki Gardner and Richard Jennings, visited us to go 'leaf peeping' up in Vermont, where we all crashed at the most hospitable Doug Archard and Jean Kennedy's. The colors were somewhat subdued due to a late, warm autumn (read: still hopelessly green) but we enjoyed sight- seeing together. The weather in Massachusetts has been somewhat dramatic this year with an earthquake, a tornado, Hurricane Irene, and the "Snowtober Surprise" which wrought havoc in the Northeast — wet snow fell on fully-leafed trees, then gravity did its work. We were lucky we lost power for just 12 hours. But unluckily, we lost a number of up- and-coming trees in the garden much to Karen's chagrin, although she is gleefully planning their replacements. As the year ended Hasan underwent cataract surgery, replacing lenses in both eyes. His sight correction is now reversed, so he sees at a distance very well but must use cheaters for reading. We had Thanksgiving dinner at home, joined by friends and Omer (Hasan's nephew) who is studying piano technology for a year in Chicago. All four of us, joined by Gary and Suzi Graham, are looking forward to being with Vimal and Gill in Scotland over the winter break. May you all have a good 2012 and please join us in hoping that the world calms down a titch or two. With warm thoughts and best wishes, Hasan and Karen 143 Concord Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421, USA EFTA01148585