Hi, Y'all,

Here we are again. Glad we were able to get everyone organized enough and get these Christmas cards out. With all the cards we have been sending over the years some of you could probably make a flip book, flip through them and see an animation of us growing old. Most noticeably Shirley and I. This photo was taken at a place called Elbow Falls. It is about 25 minutes west of our home, just as you get into the Rockies. We had never been there before that day but will have to return as it is really beautiful. Unfortunately we got there just as the sun was setting behind the mountains and we were back lit. We had hoped more detail would show up but unfortunately that's about the best I could get out of this negative.

My darkroom is fully set up now. Got running water, music, and of course plenty of darkness (my first darkroom where I do not have to cover up windows). It's just great. Now all I need is some free time to get properly reacquainted with photography.

We have been in Calgary for almost a year and a half now. Still no regrets although we truly miss all the folks and friends we left back East. We are still finding out interesting stuff about our surroundings, so in many ways the experience is still quite new. We have adapted quite well, I think, although Christine still believes she would be happier in Oakville.

Mike is kept quite busy with school and continues to do well. He should have no problem getting into University (most likely University of Calgary which is about a 1 hour commute by bus and C-Train). Patrick is attending a "trade" oriented high school. This term he has English and Gym as well as Sports Equipment Repair (Bikes, skis, you name it) and Woodworking. He is doing really well in his Woodworking class. His current project is building an electric guitar. Whether it turns out or not, he will have learned quite a lot from the experience. Pat also plays in a band with his friends (a base player and a drummer). Pat plays lead and sings as well as wrote a few. Considering they have been playing under 1 year, they actually sound pretty good together (also extremely LOUDDD!!!).

Christine is still quite the social butterfly. Lots of friends both in and outside of school. Eric very much keeps to himself. Enjoys computer games (maybe a bit too much). Seems to really enjoy doing his Science labs using Word and Microsoft XL to plot graphs of his lab results. He is also learning about web page construction. He has even set up his own Web Site to share Diablo computer game clues and cheats.

This summer seems to have gone by in a flash. We were really happy to get visits from the kids friend Cattie, Shirley's brother Ron, wife and 2 friends, as well as my sister Lisa and her family, and my sister Carole. These visits give us the pleasure of acting as tour guides and seeing the wonderful sites this province has to offer. I am still in awe every time we go to the mountains.

We also had a quick visit to Shirley's sister Bernice's and husband Jim's place in Kelowna BC. Really nice country out there as well, but our visit was almost cut short. About 15 minutes after we got there, a forest fire started about 2500 feet from their home. All homes in the immediate vicinity were evacuated. We did not have to go (or maybe they forgot about us), but we spent the rest of the evening hoping the wind would continue to blow in the other direction and watching the water Bombers (planes) dump water and fire retardant on the flames.

I don't have a ton of stuff to write this year so perhaps I'll leave it at that. If you are interested, we have set up a web site on the Internet where we post things we feel might be of interest to our friends. Right now there is a page called Photo Album 1998 (you'll never guess what it contains). This card and this letter are also posted there (for the benefit of those who do not get this card but with whom we correspond). There is also another item about a hike Eric and I took to the tea house at the end of Lake Louise. We will try to add items when we get a chance so if you want to see "What's up with the Verdone's", feel free to look there every so often. The web site is:

www.globalserve.net/rayv/~family/

I'll close, by again, giving you all an invitation to come and visit us out here. We have lots of room for you all and would sincerely love to have you stay with us. We hope this letter finds you all happy and in good health.

Love,

e-mail: verdonefamily@shaw.ca