I hope everyone had a great Christmas Day, or if you don’t celebrate, a great Tuesday. My coworkers, Tom, Chris and Marty Kitty, spent this Christmas with me on the summit. For Tom, Marty, and I, this wasn’t our first Christmas on the Rockpile, but that doesn’t make it any easier to be away from friends and family from the holidays. Thankfully we all get along well and there was plenty of Christmas cheer to ease us being miles away from it all. However, there were many individuals behind the scenes who made this Christmas what it was. So, I/we would like to take a minute to send out some thanks to those individuals that made Christmas so special for us.

 

Earlier in December, Ray Girard donated a tree to the Observatory. While we have a fake Christmas tree in storage, nothing beats the sight and smell of the real thing. So, thank you Ray for providing us a real tree to make our living quarters look and smell like Christmas.

 

Our volunteers, Mike and Sue Zlogar, brought this tree up with them and then proceed to decorate it, as well as our living quarters, by putting up stockings, lights, ornaments, and even a makeshift star out of cardboard and foil as a tree topper. So thank you to the Zlogar’s for donating your time with us and spending some of it to make our quarters feel like Christmas.

 

 

A handful of people sent us Christmas Cards. In an ever increasing digital era, it is still nice to receive paper cards during our once a week mail deliveries. So thank you to these individuals for taking the time out of their busy holiday schedule and considering us in their Christmas mailings.

 

A few people sent us Christmas cookies and treats. Thank you to all these individuals for providing us a taste of the holidays. With all the delicious items I have been shoveling down, I am starting to feel like a 4-H project getting ready for the State Fair.

 

Our tree had packages stowed under it sent from Rosanna S, Carol A, Susan & Bob N, Mike & Sue Z, Charles, Laura P, Lee W, David M, and a few anonymous “Santa’s” (either truly sent anonymously or we couldn’t find a packing slip with a name on it). Thank you to all these individuals for the cat food, cat litter, pots & pans, coffee maker, Crock-Pot, electric griddle, blender, office supplies, and candies. Your items were all things we were in need of, so we appreciate you sending them to us and giving us something to open on Christmas morning.

 

Our social media posts, especially the ones posted on the 25th, had numerous Christmas greetings and well wishes. So to all those that stopped by our pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to leave these comments, Thank You! – we read all of them and appreciate your messages.

 

 

Lastly, to all our members and donors over the past year and coming days to round out 2018. Your support, big or small, is so greatly appreciated by me and everyone here at our small non-profit. We literally wouldn’t exist without your support. So thank you for allowing us to continue our weather data, forecasts, pictures, and personalities with you over the past days, weeks, months, year, and beyond.