Dear all, does it feel like 2008 passed by in a blur or what? Here we are at the doorstep of a new year already brimming with plans and projects; there is lots to be excited about and look forward to in the coming months. Christmas break has been full of fun and packed to the brim with relaxing. I made it all the way from Brussels to Anchorage, Alaska and just managed to evade the epic storm that rocked Seattle to its very core and shut down all transportation for several days. My brother managed to miss the storm as well but my Mom and sister were not quite so lucky and had an abbreviated Alaskan Christmas. In the end we all made it up to Anchorage and had some fun times hanging out with each other.

This break has been full of relaxing but I have made it out of the house a couple of times. My boyfriend Rich, my brother Chris, and I piled in the car one morning and headed to the other side of Turnagain Arm where we lawfully chopped down our own Christmas tree and hauled it back home. It needed a little trimming and amputation but really is quite a nice specimen, do not even think of likening it to a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. We have it anchored to the ceiling and the floor and the cats have yet to knock it over. My Mom and sister Virginia arrived just in time to catch the end of Christmas Eve Service at our local Lutheran church. After Silent Night we sat down to a massive Christmas Eve feast comprised of roast goose, cold smoked lox, dilled shrimp, new potatoes, and the best rice pudding of my life. Christmas day dawned snowy and we opened presents and ate æbleskiver, Danish pancakes, until rallying and making to the other side of town for a blustery but beguiling sledding party.

New Years Eve featured king crab, roasted deer, and other tasty nibbles; excessive amounts of contraband fireworks, a bonfire comprised of former Christmas trees, kids on snow machines, and lots of good people at a friend’s house who knows how to throw a great party. We ushered in the New Year with Auld Lang Syne punk rock style and some fireworks that got just a little too close to the neighbors house. I wish you a safe and happy 2009 filled with lots of good adventures.

Amy