December 26, 2006

Season's Greetings:

We've always had a white Christmas in Moscow, but I'm calling this our Global Warming Jule, or a sloppy Chinook Christmas, using a regional Indian word.

I've linked Gail's Christmas letter/pictures at this site.  Gail explains there why she is calling this is the Year of the Foot.  It is also the reason why that we've not done much traveling this year.

We did do our usual Mexico getaway at our timeshares in Cabo San Lucas, and we will go again for 3 weeks this March.  We also spent a week in Provence, suffering the 100 degree heat but enjoying immensely Gail's relatives and friends, good food, wine and fellowship.  The countryside, hundreds of acres of wine grapes mixed with lavender and sunflowers, and the hill top towns, were stunning.

My daughter Christina and her husband John are down from Edmonton for Christmas week.  They are both thriving in their jobs, working too hard, but I guess that is what I did when I was their age.  It was wonderful to have them and Gail's mom most of Christmas Day, and then John's parents joined us in the evening.

Even though I keep up the battle with local Calvinists and write a radio commentary every week, I still continue to stay on top of my professional writing.  The most exciting thing I've written is "Was Gandhi a Tantric," which you can read in three different versions at www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/GandhiTantric.htm.  If don't mind something a little risqué, you can check out the two cartoons as well.  The one done by my Sandpoint Reader editor is really superb.  One might call it Randy Gandhi.

I wish you the very best for the new year,

Nick