Is it just me, or does everyone roll their eyes whey receive one of those "year in review" letters that some people love to send out with their Christmas cards? I suppose that once upon a time, when they had to be hand written or individually typed that they meant something more. Now, with it being so easy to churn out multiple copies on a printer.... grf! They always seem to contain the most "amazing" pieces of information: little Anna is the top of her class at UofC, James just made partner at Dumas & McPhail, we took a cruise around the world, Bill was promoted to district manager in record time... blah, blah, blah!
This morning Helen and I were sitting in the dining room going through the latest batch of Christmas cards. I spied one with the return address of our long-time friends Brian and Pam and opened it up. As I did so, a few pictures fell out of the card, as well as a folded sheet of paper. Oh no, not Brian now too! We've always just done a card and some Christmas goodies, most often hand delivered. Oh well... feeling obligated, I began reading what Helen dismissively calls a "year end brag".
| We rang in the New Year at the Vagabond Inn in Golden. It's not much of a leap to say we really needed a chance to unwind. As I reported in last year's note, Pam and I both really dove into our work in 2008. |
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| This summer, Iona managed to secure a place on the synchronized swimming team at the 2010 Olympics; we're all proud of her achievement. Maria, our youngest, is majoring in French literature at Queen's. |
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| Mark is back from Hollywood for a bit from working on (of all things), a planned Partridge Family remake. Yes, that Partridge Family. We were a bit surprised, but Mark assures us that he isn't out of his tree and that it is a bona fide project with serious financial backing. He also brought Larry a gift that he's still agog over; an original script of "The Price of Doom", signed by Cordwainer Bird. Mark's certainly found his calling, as unconventional as it is. |
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| Last year's stay in Golden will be hard to top, but we think we've found a worthy successor. We're spending a week at Chamonix in the French Alps with the girls. They won't admit it, but we know they've been laying awake at night for a few weeks now with the anticipation! Come New Year's Eve, the ladies and I will dancing the night away at Le Hameau Albert Ier. |
What in the world??? I passed the letter over to Helen while I sat there, drumming my fingers on the table trying to figure out what that was all about. I knew darned well that Brian and Pam didn't spend last New Year's in Golden and seriously doubted that they'd be spending this one in France. And they only have two boys, neither of them even in high school yet! Had Brian finally lost it, or was this some obscure practical joke? I opened up the card and noticed that it had a little note written in it:
Stephen: in revenge thanks for last year's excursion to Yamnuska, I've gone out and hidden a Christmas themed puzzle cache for you. Mountain climbing will not be required, but it might take you awhile to figure out just where you have to go! You're looking for a regular LnL. It's only a short hike (after all, I hid it!), but I think you'll enjoy the view when you get there. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, old friend!
Hmm! Helen and I poured over the letter for a few moments when she suddenly chortled and started humming to herself. Just like that, the coordinates became clear. We looked at each other and without saying a word grabbed what we needed for a short winter hike and headed out the door.
