As in past years, I’m going to share out Christmas Card letter here on the blog, where the three of you who actually read it can enjoy it, and where I can keep a permanent-ish copy. It’s that historical aspect that gets me to actually do a Christmas Card letter.
Christmas Card letters are, of course, generally upbeat. It’s okay to share challenges and even tragedies, but letters that turn into a litany of health issues, large and small, are a bit problematic.
This time around I’m going to add some color commentary.
Well, that was certainly a year! We were really busy a lot of the time, managed to sneak in a bit of travel, had some major life transitions, and … well, mostly tried to keep out of trouble.
The generic introduction.
James continued his post-grad work, spending the spring in Reykjavik, Iceland, and the fall in Oslo, Norway. That all wraps up this coming spring, back in Reykjavik, completing his Masters in Viking and Medieval Norse Studies.
In answer to the question we’re always asked (after exclamations of “Oh, that’s really cool!”), “What is he going to do with that MA?” the answer is … nobody knows. He’s not interested in academia, but museum and/or archaeological support work are both things he’s working his network for — which might mean him staying on in Iceland or another Nordic country.
We’ll know more by the next Christmas Card letter.
All of which has been a great excuse, of course, for various folk to travel and see him. Margie and Dave did so in Iceland in the spring, …
Went there with Stan and Mary, and enjoyed it a lot. It’s a beautiful country, an an interesting combo of cosmopolitan Europe and rural backwater. Looking forward to another visit (I’m going to be helping James move in in a few weeks).
… and continued from there to a fabulous cruise of the Scottish isles – Shetland, Orkney, Outer Hebrides, Skye, Mull — and tours in the cities on either end, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Delightful.
Once in a lifetime trip, both in terms of all the cool places we were able to visit, and on sailing on a Ponant cruise, which was top-notch everything. Great trip.
In the spring Margie and Dave also took a long weekend trip with friends to Sonoma, where we drank much good wine (and, maybe, joined a few wine clubs).
Went with Jackie and Scott, and had a fine time there, too.
In the fall, Dave and Margie road-tripped with friends to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone (and points coming and going). Fun times, and wonderfully scenic!
Another trip, this time by motor vehicle, with Mary and Stan. I’d never been to Yellowstone before, and I’d love to go there again sometime. Also had the chance to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse memorial and all sorts of other cool locations as we circled back.
On the work front, Margie continues her (fully remote) work in Kaiser Permanente HR, focused on the data quality program.
And continues to get kudos and plaudits from her management team.
Dave, on the other hand, unexpectedly got laid off from his employer (while shoulders-deep in a mission critical project), and decided that both the job market and the financial numbers looked right for him to retire early – or, from a more important perspective, to become full-time coffee boy for Margie. That was at Thanksgiving, so we are both getting used to the new cadence in our lives.
More on that story here.
Our cats, Kunoichi (15) and Neko (13), are enjoying Dave and Margie being full-time at home. Kunoichi gave everyone a scare, though, when she slipped out an open door without being noticed until the next day, and went on a three-week (!) walk-about in October. She was finally found by a neighbor using a flyer Dave had put up. She’s recovered the three pounds she’s lost and seems to be in good health again.
We had, quite honestly, given up hope for Kunoichi, and it was one of the high points of the year when we found her. Or, as Margie put it, “Best birthday gift of the year.
For entertainment purposes, we continue to be regulars in the local theater scene, especially at the Arvada Center and at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.
I’ll put either of those up against any other regional theater in the country. Fantastic work.
Game-wise, we’ve been playing various tabletop fantasy role-playing games run by friends,
Including a D&D campaign (Phandelver and Below) being run by Stan, and a joint Frosthave game with Jackie and Scott. Busy!
and Dave in December started up his own new ongoing game about cozy murder mysteries in a New England town.
“Brindlewood Bay,” for the record, a PBTA-based system that you can think of as Murder, She Wrote, with a large dollop of Lovecraft lurking in the background.
Alas, we’ve been slackers this year in organizing monthly Game Days for board games – we’ll see what 2025 brings.
It was a stressful (and busy) year, all that fun stuff notwithstanding, and Margie and I both tend to cocoon a bit when things get anxious. We’ll try harder this coming year.
We hope you have a very Merry Christmas (and other seasonal holidays and celebrations) to you all, and here’s to what we hope will be a Happier, Safer, and more Enjoyable New Year.
So that’s all the Good News. Bad News, we actually were pretty well off in — no major illnesses, no family tragedies that I can think of offhand.
Biggest (and most dire) disappointment of the year was Trump getting reelected. I don’t know what madness has gripped a big chunk of the voting public, but for all our sakes I hope they get over it soon.
All that said, let me raise a toast to 2024, and repeat the good wishes noted above for 2025. Thanks to our family and friends for helping make our lives so good.