Betty and Chuck spent Christmas 2001 in Pearland at Carol’s home.  Bill, Gini and her kids, Trent and Beth, came for Christmas dinner.  Before and after Christmas, Chuck helped out at the Radio Shack store in Marble Falls.
On  New Years Eve, we went to church and then came back home.   We received about two inches of snow the evening of Jan 1.  On Jan 2, Chuck took a picture of the sunrise  and snowy pasture which made the Austin channel 24 news/weather broadcast.  Betty started going to a water aerobics class at the local recreational center.
Chuck determined sound proofing needs for the church religious education building and, in January, helped install the sound absorbing panels.  The acoustics are tremendously improved.
    Chuck continued working on his airplane most of this year.
    Again this year, Betty and Chuck took part in the church’s Good Friday Passion Play.
    In April, the torsion spring of the double garage door tore loose trapping both cars inside.  We had to take the motor home to town to get parts to fix the door.
    In May, we took Carol to Ferndale, Washington where she planned to live.  While in Washington,  we went to see Mount St. Helens and also took the ferry to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island where Mike and Trudy Loucks showed us the sights.  Before leaving Seattle, we had a nice supper with Terry (a.k.a. Dr. Stanford) and John Creighton.
    In June, Chuck took grandson, Trent, to Galveston Railroad Museum and then to ride the Bolivar ferry.  We visited Betty’s Mother who had moved to a nursing in Huntsville, Texas.
    On July 18th, Gini, her kids, Carol, Betty and Chuck left for Red River, NM in the motor home.  The grandkids had never been to the mountains and had a good time.
    All summer, Chuck spent a lot of time building his airplane.  Mike Peraino made the required lettering “EXPERIMENTAL” and “N701TX” to be put on the airplane.
    On September 12th, Chuck started the airplane engine for the first time.  It started right away and is very smooth and quiet.
Bill started a new job working on an oil and gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico.  September 20 was a good day, the FAA DAR inspector came to our house, checked out the airplane and issued an Airworthiness Certificate for it.  Chuck’s brother, Dick, was here and witnessed the happy day.
    From September 30 to October 6, we took a motor home trip to Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, Arkansas and then to Lake Texhoma where we met up with Irene and Bernard Kleman.
    On October 25, Chuck flew to Seattle on a consulting job.
    Due to the trips and our wet runway the airplane’s maiden flight was not until November 10.   On that day under the experienced hands of Roy Immel, the airplane was flown to Burnet Municipal Airport where Chuck is testing it before bringing it back home.  The airplane flies nicely and is getting better as little adjustments are made here and there.
    On November 15, Chuck’s sister, Sister Marie Celine, came for the weekend.  On Thanksgiving day Betty helped out at the church for the Schreiber family’s annual dinner for the folks in Burnet.   On November 29, Chuck’s brother and niece came for the weekend.
    Now that the airplane is flying, Chuck has gotten around to building cabinets for the utility room.  We will spend Christmas at home with family and friends, but also including a trip to Huntsville to visit Betty’s mother.

Have a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Chuck and Betty Deiterich  (web site: http://members.thegateway.net/cfd)