Merry Christmas 2019,

Merry Christmas 2019,

I was almost going to grant all of our friends and acquaintances a reprieve from a Christmas letter this year. Then I sat back for a moment and thought about how disappointed I am when I do not get your annual letter (email) detailing your past-year highlights. I have difficulty sleeping and my days are long and stressful just waiting and waiting. Not wishing to disappoint you in the same fashion, I invite you, if you have nothing better to do, to read on!

As in the past two years, the highlight of the year occurred from early January to mid-March when we escaped our lovely Alberta snowdrifts and minus 30s in favor of the sun and sand of Mazatlan. We rented a new condo near the beach and basically tried to perfect the art of recreational slothing. Our basic routines included watching waves, eating fish, reading books, eating shrimp, walking the beach, eating dorado, breaking the casino, eating scallops, exploring the Old Town, eating calamari, scouring the outdoor markets, eating prawns, visiting with Canadian friends, eating tuna, and shopping (Darlene only). I was eating sea bass somewhere nearby. This routine may sound fishy to you, but it requires a lot of stamina and cold beer to survive!

We returned home in mid-March and then set our sights on a house exchange to Halifax from late June to mid-July. It was our first visit to the Canadian Maritimes and we were both very impressed with the friendliness of the people, the scenery, and the wonderful Canadian history that we are so devoid of living in the West. We loved our visit to PEI and the chances to investigate what real lobster and great fish and chips taste like. We did the usual touristic things like visit the Cabot Trail, Lunenburg, Peggy’s Cove, Mahome Bay etc. During the time between our sightseeing expeditions, we spent more time exploring seafood restaurants!

After we returned home, we had to prepare for two family weddings - one in Winnipeg in August and one in North Battleford in late November. Both weddings provided opportunities to spend time with family and to witness the continuation of the Circle of Life for Darlene’s two lovely nieces. Fortunately, the dreaded Manitoba mosquito was apparently on summer hiatus and was not attracted to our seafood enriched blood. Likewise, the anticipated freezing weather of Northern Saskatchewan in late November proved to be only a Chamber of Commerce hoax, initiated to keep Trump from planning a very, very wonderful Skidoo trip in the area.

Our lives continue to be blessed with relatively good health - a little Achilles pain for me and a little knee inflammation for Dar - the consequences of our “active” lifestyle. Although we do, we really have nothing to complain about health-wise. I continue to master the art of mindless nothingness sprinkled with a little reading, writing, and coffeeing. Darlene is still doing a smattering of subbing, but she has indicated recently that the well is running dry. She says she would rather be catching rattlesnakes in a gunny sack or swimming with the sharks. Does that mean that next year we will both be home together every day? Yikes! I am going to need to prepare. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and hope that you will be able to share it with family and friends in a truly meaningful way. Our best wishes also for good health of body, mind, and spirit. If you have a moment, it would be great to hear from you over the coming holidays.

Darlene and Ken