Even though Christmas Day and New Year's Eve have both come and gone, we hope it isn't too late to send you our holiday wishes. Our lives seemed even busier than usual this December, and we decided to assign the task of writing Christmas cards a "B" priority. The days slipped by and we didn't get around to it, but when Christmas cards and letters began arriving from our family and friends, we realized how much we enjoyed getting everyone's news. So, we decided that maintaining the tradition is well worth the effort, and this posting is an abbreviated version of our Christmas newsletter.

Bonnie and I have had quite a year, with lots of ups and downs. Our annual sailing adventure started in April, when we returned to Aisling I in Tunisia. Before setting sail, we explored Carthage (what's left of it) the lush countryside of northern Tunisia and the edges of the Sahara desert and got a small taste of life in the Arab world. After lingering in Tunisia for nearly a month, we pointed Aisling's bow toward Malta, to see what the Knights of St. John had built. As we arrived from the sea, the mark they left was obvious at first glance. The fortifications and the architecture are impressive and beautiful. We also re-discovered how comfortable it feels to be in a country where English is spoken, and how great it was to connect with some of our cruising friends. Life is inexpensive and good in Malta. Then, on to Syracuse in Sicily. Did it ever feel, taste and smell good to be back in Italy! Italy may have its problems, but the Italians have the art of cooking and wine making down to science. It was later, in Greece, when our supply of Italian wine and prosciutto ran out, that we knew we had to head back to Italy soonish. You really have to go, if you haven't already.

From Sicily we did a two-day passage to Paxos in the Ionian Sea of Greece. What a difference a few miles make! The water was bluer and clearer, the hills were greener and the language and food were completely different. Historic and cultural sites seemed greater in number and significance than anywhere we had visited before. We loved it, but soon after our arrival in Greece we learned of Bonnie's cousin Isabel's tragic death in a terrible boating incident. Shortly after getting this news, Bonnie returned to Canada for the funeral and I followed a few days later, after finding a secure place on the island of Lefkada to leave the boat. While we were at home, we were able to attend our daughter Katherine's call to the Ontario bar, catch up on work and spend some time with our family. When my brothers visited Nova Scotia we had our first opportunity in nearly four years to spend an extended period of time with them and my sister Lyn and their families. (Al lives in Abu Dhabi and Rob lives in Houston, so organizing family reunions can be a bit complicated.)

Upon our return to Lefkada in late July, we discovered that an uninvited guest had taken up residence on Aisling while we were away. The signs were unmistakable- a rat had been on board- but was he still there?? Neither of us got much sleep the first night, but as it turned out, the perpetrator had already left the scene of the crime. Our rat apparently had a refined palate and Mediterranean tastes, since the only things he chewed were a couple of heads of garlic and the lid of our jug of precious Tunisian olive oil. Fortunately, good olive oil is not difficult to find in Greece and we were very lucky that he didn't gnaw on any hoses or wiring. Now our pre-docking checklist includes an environmental assessment of the "rat risk". Anchoring out seemed the safest solution until someone told us that rats can tread water indefinitely and can even climb anchor lines! "Yikes, lets get out of here!" Rats aside, Greece, as you probably can imagine, is amazing, with the lore of the ancient mythology, remains of temples, olive groves and an almost endless selection of beautiful islands floating on beautiful seas. We swam in the warm water, toured Ithaca on a motorbike, visited the awe-inspiring ruins at Delphi and Delos, transited the Corinth canal and dealt with the usual equipment failures and maintenance issues as we hopped from island to island.

From Greece it was on to Asia, Turkey to be specific. The Mediterranean is probably the only place in the world where you can touch three continents (Africa, Europe and Asia) in such short distances. The coast of Turkey is dramatically different than the other Mediterranean countries, with lush pine forests sitting on steep hills and mountains. The Greeks and Romans were here also, leaving the country rich in history and architecture. Modern Turkey is truly an economic powerhouse and very well developed, more so than some European countries. We returned to Canada in October after closing up Aisling for the winter. We are looking forward to exploring more of Turkey when we return in 2010, if the gods are with us.

This summer saw the passing away of my Aunt Joyce, who will be missed. She was a happy soul and always had a kind word for everyone. She was an important part of the Salsman family "glue" that keeps us together. My parents (86) and Bonnie's Mom (78) are all in good health and great spirits. Our son Christopher has been working in the accounting department at my business as well as looking after our home and our dog Shakespeare (who is now 12 years old but still looks like a youngster) while we were sailing. Christopher has a beautiful new girlfriend Sara whom he likes so much he moved in with her a month ago. Our daughter Katherine finished her articling year in Toronto and moved home to Halifax in July to join a small law firm here. She has found an apartment on the second floor of an old house just around the corner from us and we are now expert assemblers of Ikea furniture.

We always find it difficult to resume our "real" life when we return to Canada and this year seemed more daunting for some reason. To-do lists mount at home and work while we are away, and the week before Christmas we managed to flood our basement and nearly burn our house down all in the same day. Ahhh it's good to be home- but luckily, we had no lasting damage from either mishap. The decorating and wrapping all came together in the nick of time, and as we listened to our nephew Richard narrating the Christmas story at St. Matthew's on Christmas Eve, there was nowhere else in the world that we wanted to be. It has been great to re-connect with our friends at holiday parties, we had a chowder lunch and took in the movie Avatar for my birthday on December 23rd, had a huge turkey feast with the Salsman side of the family on Christmas day at Lyn and Kevin's house, then had an equally huge ham dinner with the Dicksons at our house on Boxing Day (Dec 26th). We rang in the new year in style, with a lobster feast at Roy and Joanne Redgrave's house In between the festivities, we even had some time to relax beside the Christmas tree and listen to Christmas music. We've had rain, and snow, and freezing rain, and more rain...such is the winter weather in Halifax.

Happy New Year to all- we hope 2010 finds you even happier, healthier, wealthier and wiser than last year!