Dear friends and gentle hearts

I've been using that greeting for my annual holiday letters for 10 years now. I first saw it in a story about Stephen Foster- when he died, all he had in his purse were 38 cents and a scrap of paper with that line.

I finished addressing my Christmas cards tonight - they'll be going out into the mail tomorrow. I'm not including a holiday letter this year - most of the highlights of my year are already posted here, with one exception.

I hadn't started this blog when I went to Tampa in January. I went to attend the Special Libraries Association's Leadership Development Institute. At the end of the conference, my sister flew in for a few days vacation. We left Tampa right before the pirates invaded (for the annual Gasparilla Piratefest) and headed over to Orlando celebrate my sister's birthday at Disney World. It was my first visit to the Florida park (I've been to Disneyland in California several times). My favorite ride was the Haunted Mansion (also my favorite ride at Disneyland). I also liked Epcot. I enjoyed myself, but don’t see myself turning into one of those Disney fans who goes every year or even more often (casting no aspersions on Disney fans - after all, my sister is one and she’s a great person).

I'll be spending Christmas at my sister's this year - it will be nice to get away from the rain and cold of Oregon in the winter to spend a few days soaking up the Arizona sunshine.