Happy Holidays!

Happy holidays, dear readers, and our best to you and yours. Current news - sung to the tune of "There's a hole in my bucket" - there's a stone in my bladder, my bladder, my bladder, there's a stone in my bladder that won't come out; and, there's a cyst in my left kidney, etc. that needs further study. Will have a CT scan this Wednesday for more in depth (har, har) analysis of the cyst, and will send an update when I have more info. We had a lovely time at Papamoa Beach this past week, and Carrie should have a picture or two to illustrate that visit. My nephew Ross and his wife Virginia and their son Andrew have been visiting since 15 December, and will share Christmas with us. We had planned to have Christmas dinner with a colleague of Carrie's but she had a horse riding accident where her horse fell and rolled over her, fracturing her pelvis, so she is out of action somewhat, though still getting up and around surprisingly well. We see on the web that it has been, and is being, a cold winter for many of you, so I will not dwell on our warm weather. Carrie, Joseph and Emily remain healthy and in good spirits; the kids are eagerly awaiting Christmas. If Santa lands on our metal roof it will cause a clatter, for sure, for sure. I had a good week of beach walking, shell gathering and book reading, and look forward to the new year, when I hope to become a volunteer somewhere in this town, and plan to go out of town more often to see the nearby sites, and hopefully improve my camera skills. We hope to come to the USA this next year. We wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New year (I just made that up - pretty good, huh). Keep those e-mails coming - I very much enjoy and appreciate them. Manford