Our Christmas Letter, 2012

This is the annual holiday letter Jamie sent out to family and friends.

No, I am not kidding.

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy Holidays!

Another year has passed here in our quiet hamlet of Austin, Texas.  The past twelve months certainly had their ups and downs. 

We’ve been very glad to have family so close by this year as Jamie’s mother had some health issues at the end of the summer, and we’ve been able to see her regularly and enjoy her progress.  Doug has also been here quite a bit to check in and assist.

In the early summer we visited Chicago for vacation and took in the museums, local nightlife and an Astros/ Cubs game at Wrigley.  Jamie’s health has been very stable and Ryan continues to work for the Texas Digital Library, refusing to divulge any details due to the sensitive nature of his experiments. 

In fact, for much of the year, Ryan has been locked up in his makeshift laboratory in the old watchtower on the edge of town.  Luckily, he’s not alone and has his assistant, Fritz.  The pair are working almost feverishly day and night, refusing to see anyone.  You’d hardly know anyone was there but the lights in the tower and the large boxes with strange return addresses delivered regularly under cover of darkness.

In fact, Ryan’s been such a workaholic that the only time we see him seems to be on moonless nights on the road near the local cemetery with his wagon and a shovel where he’s been taking strolls.  “I like to keep fit,” he explains.

He does love his work, and I think he’s on twitter, so maybe you can reach him there!

If you did not hear, early in the year, Jamie was inducted into “The Avengers Initiative” and it sounds like she spent quite a bit of late May wrangling with despotic transdimensional overlords hellbent on subjugating the planet.  It sounds like her ragtag team of misfit heroes really came together and we won’t need to be worrying about those alien invaders again for a little while.  She felt the team work was challenging and complicated, and she’s sorry about the giant metal snake thing they left in Manhattan.  That said, Jamie very much enjoyed the experience and plans to see the team again in summer of 2015.  Maybe with The Vision this time if anyone is thinking ahead.

By the way, if you meet a S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, we really encourage you not to look them in the eye, but do give them a big “thank you”.

We hope you and yours had a terrific year, and we hope 2013 turns out to be the best one yet.

Sincerely,

Mr. Bananas, esq.

Chimpanzee & Head of Household Staff

Stately Steans Manor