Let the spirit of Christmas dawn on your life each day of the new year.

Lona and I wish you all the joys of the season and hope you have a great new year.

We hope you have had a year of health and happiness. Our year has generally been such, but we have advanced to an age that perfect health should not be expected. We are doing much better than a dear friend whom we lost to cancer this year – probably better than most our age.

Those who read last year's letter may remember that Lona had just been diagnosed with the chronic lung disease, bronchiectasis. Shortly after that, Lona came down with another bout of pneumonia. While fighting this, it was discovered that Lona also has the rare lung disease Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). This disease is probably the underlying cause of all her other lung problems, but this can not really be proven. She is taking 3 powerful antibiotics a day for about a year and a half to get rid of the MAC. It is related to tuberculosis. MAC not nearly as serious, but is just as hard to cure. In the meantime, her bronchiectasis is in remission and not much of a problem, and she is progressively getting more energy and endurance as the antibiotics conquer the MAC. We are able to take our all day hikes, and I am impressed at how she can chug up a steep hill.

I said in my last letter that I was finally able to run again after a four year layoff due to cracked meniscus in my knees. It healed itself, and I have steadily been racing faster with no knee pain.

We could not take a trip this year due to fighting Lona's lung problems, but I did get to go a 4-day backpacking trip with 3 friends from my running club. It was to the Emigrant Wilderness in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, just north of Yosemite N.P. The sunrise picture this year was taken there. This is the first time I have backpacked in years, and it was wonderful. The scenery was spectacular, and the alpine wildflowers were at their peak.

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 I got so enthralled with the flowers on the hike out that I did not notice that I had gotten onto the wrong trail until I had gone over a 9,000' pass and down the other side. To save myself, I had to backtrack over the pass to where I got off, adding a couple of miles to an already very long day. I have never done anything that careless and stupid before. I will be keeping my wits about me in the future.

Your friends,

Lona and Don, wishing you a great 2012