The Squamidian Report - Special Christmas Addition

Hi All and Merry Christmas.

I'll start by welcoming Hugh and Mary to my little weekly newsletter. Just so you don't get your expectations too high, I often have nothing much to say so I hide it by babbling aimlessly.

Well, our Christmas tree has so many light on it that you can get a sun burn just by walking past it. Sue wants it to shine brightly, well, it sure does. Good thing it's artificial or it would need constant watering.

The dogs like us having time off as they get to go to Tim Hortons for a donut in the morning. We refer to it as the second best Hortons in Squamish even though it is the only one here. The service and product quality is so bad that it simply can't be rated as number one.

We have always enjoyed going out for a coffee as it is time together that we can squeeze in even on a busy day. The dogs simply see it as their right to an outing.

We've also made a point of watching the sun come up and illuminate the mountain peaks. The rainy season here dumps vast amounts of snow in the high country and it can rain for fairly long periods at a time. When the weather breaks the views are worth it. Spectacular.

Ryan has been hanging out with the guy next door. He is also a drummer so they have a lot in common. Gives him a break from having to be with us old farts all day. His visit is quickly running out of time as he flies home next Sunday. He will have a major adjustment to make as there is a 3 hour time difference and he is sleeping in till noon here. That means he will have trouble getting up in time for supper when he gets back. I think he's on Hawaii time.

Ryan and I celebrated Christmas Eve day by climbing the Chief. That's an exhausting climb, very hard on the lungs and legs on the way up, hard on the knees on the way down. Very worth it though. We could see the weather closing in from up there. The cloud front was coming in off the ocean and by the time we got down there was light snow in the air. Pretty Christmas snow. That makes 10 times up there this year. There are local people here that have never climbed it, but they have been to Octoberfest in Kitchener.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great Christmas. We miss everyone, more or less.

the doug