We have another major snowstorm going on outside after the month of January so far had given us a thaw, which cleared all the snow we had gathered in December.

Again from Christmas cards I learned that Isadora Osgood is having a grand third grade at a school in Rockport. Her mom, Betsy says that fashion is her current passion, but she also enjoys ballet, skating, and skiing. There's plenty of snow at their Sugarloaf condo for the sledding and fort-building going on. Chris' son Elliot is having a good freshman year at B.U. in the College of Fine Arts. Like father like son?

A nice long letter from Pat Vayda details their current pursuits. Serena is busy with med school. Allette has now been working in Tennessee for two years and they finally have enough staff that she can do the work she was promoted to. She does still lead trips but mostly goes from camp site to camp site checking that all is going as expected. The school no longer calls itself a "camp" but continues to use the concept of living on camp sites in little cabins and using outdoor skills to teach self-reliance, team building, etc. She is trying to decide if she will go into social work or counseling, but knows she does not want to sit at a desk all day. She maintains what Pat calls an "imaginary kitchen" in their attic, for she took advantage of company discounts when she worked for Williams-Sonoma. Since she worked Christmas '06, she was off this year and had a fellow teacher visit who had desires to see N.Y.C., a quick train and ferry ride from Maplewood.

Cece has declared a major at Smith, Art History. She is taking Italian in preparation for a semester there in her junior year. Jack is hoping for a Utah skiing trip and looks forward to connecting with Jen Loughridge and her family as well as the Eric Millers. Jack does see John Ridlon through work, but the Vaydas and Ridlons have yet to connect for a social time, due to the Ridlons flitting about.

I have misplaced the Jan. 3 rd column, so if any of the following Pierce news and sightings is redundant, I apologize. At the end of December they saw Betsy Morrell and Isadora on the slopes at Sugarloaf, and heard that Chris was somewhere on the mountain. One morning Deb and Art had a chat with Doug Niven and his son Cameron. Doug's wife, Nikki was on her way with son Tyler to the Kingfield clinic to check out a strep throat. He was scheduled for a hockey game the next day in Bangor but Niki was taking no chances. He is also just out of a cast and anxious to return to the team. The Balchers were expected for the New Year's weekend to enjoy the fantastic amount of snow they have. Carl was to work in the Sugarloaf First Aid Clinic on New Year's eve and New Year's day, and then on Mondays and Tuesdays for the rest of the ski season.

Art let me know that Phyl Webster's cousin Al, with his wife Sally who live in Florida, were at Sugarloaf around the holidays, and if I reported her continuing to golf, it was wrong. She is fine but no longer golfing.

Art is complaining about the cross-country trails being too well used, and packed down. He says that Carl has no understanding of his complaints, and Art thinks he might better take up downhill.