Annual Holiday Newsletter

Dear All,

Well! Christmas season is upon us again and it has been an eventful year for all the family. Just an update for those in touch lately: Hadley is recovering well from his invasive emergency procedure, so thank you all for your communiques of hope and encouragement. Sadly, the gerbil was not so lucky and expired within; doctors tell us that his last moments would have been warm and snug, which is a comfort to us, as is the knowledge that if we had not recently clipped his nails the episode may have been much worse. Mr Runsies will be sadly missed, and laid to rest beside Slow Poke and Sir Screetchalot.

Miranda continues in her athletic successes with a sixth placing in the Mt Maunganui College Old Girls' women's triple jump (ages 30-35yrs division) with a photo feature in the Weekend Sun (15 November). Her left elbow is clearly visible in the left hand side of the shot--her arm is the one with the wristband, not the one with the watch. Miranda has also mastered the culinary arts, adding to her repertoire French Toast, Scrambled Eggs With Chives, and other egg dishes cooked in the microwave which no longer explode.

Hullo! This is Socks the dog! I'm verrrrrry excited about my new bed, which has a nice tartan pillow--and also lots of hair which I like to shed that other people aren't very happy about! Especially the neighbour's cat, who likes to curl up on a hot day in my bed! Maybe if I still had my testicles, I would do something about that darn cat, but I'd rather just lick where they used to be and look scared!!!

Glo began 2008 in a completely prone position, and is now fully upright.

She has also purchased a very comfortable pair of shoes, in black.

Doug has had a very good year, even by his exceptional standards. His cellmates now call him by his real name, and he has become the creme de la creme winemaker for those 'on the inside', with very few blindings from his August '08 vintage, which was very close to red. His tunneling proceeds slowly but surely after the burst sewer pipe episode of 2007, and he hopes to break ground February 20th next year. If he is successful (fingers crossed!) we plan to hold an intimate gathering at Merivale Sports Bar, after which will be a more forceful discussion regarding buried jewelry. Doug has also become a 'culture vulture' and keeping up with all the 'hip' trends by getting a tattoo and several discreet piercings. The old gang at the insurance firm wouldn't recognize him!

And, finally, moi... Well, the fifth (is it that many already?!?) round of estrogen therapy is upon me, and Dr. Philips says that my 'top half' surgery can proceed in the New Year. I already have sizes picked out (D on the left, B on the right), though the 'bottom half' will have to wait until the stretching phase is complete. In other news, I ..f.i.n.a.l.l.y.. finished reading 'Love In The Time Of Cholera', and will start on a whole fresh book once Oprah tells me what it is. My friends at church want me to look at 'The Purpose-Driven Life', but I saw the author with Barak Hussein Osama on the news, so there goes that!

That's all from me in 2008... congratulations to Michael and Alana, who are celebrating their upcoming nuptials, to Robert for finally burying that huge thing, and Tracy and Patches, for the roughage.

Regards,
Logan