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+% document
+\documentclass{letter}
+\usepackage[margin=0.5in]{geometry}
+\usepackage{multicol}
+
+% text
+\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
+\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}
+
+% graphics
+\usepackage{graphicx}
+\usepackage{wrapfig}
+
+% signature environment
+\newenvironment{sig}[1]%
+ {\begin{list}{}%
+         {\setlength{\leftmargin}{300pt}}%
+         \item[]%
+ }
+ {\end{list}}
+
+\begin{document}
+
+\pagenumbering{gobble}
+
+\large{\textbf{Winter Solstice Greetings \hfill 2017}}
+
+\begingroup
+\setlength{\intextsep}{0pt}%
+\setlength{\columnsep}{10pt}%
+
+Hello to all my friends and family.  %
+I hope that you are feeling peaceful, cozy, and happy in these winter months.  %
+As I write this letter, the ice fishing season has begun in Madison.  %
+Brave individuals have taken to the lake near my apartment to test their luck.  %
+
+\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.45\textwidth}
+  \begin{center}
+    \includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{"IMG_20170820_120702"}
+  \end{center}
+\end{wrapfigure}
+
+I'm now in the middle of my 7th year of graduate school.  %
+Time flies, and I'm begrudgingly trying to wrap up this phase of my life.  %
+Not sure what comes  next.
+
+My good friend Tyler graduated this spring.  %
+I am happy to see him move on to better things, but sad that we are no longer living in the same
+place.  %
+Perhaps life will bring us together again at a later date.  %
+In celebration, Tyler and I took a short vacation together.  %
+We camped at beautiful Wyalusing State Park---Tyler's first camping experience!  %
+The midwestern summer rains caught us, but we had fun despite the weather.  %
+We also visited House on the Rock and New Glarus Brewery.  %
+
+On August 21st of this year a total solar eclipse crossed much of the Continental US.  %
+My parents and I took this as an opportunity for family vacation.  %
+We visited the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, at the intersection of Kentucky and
+Tennessee.  %
+After a bit of stress, we ended up finding a nice waterside campsite (right).  %
+The very large lakes were too large for our small Alumacraft, so we did not get much fishing
+done.  %
+I did get lots of reading done, and the time spent away was nice.  %
+The eclipse itself was pretty magical.  %
+The family (including Karaby) put on our swimsuits and waded into the lake to watch.  %
+
+\begin{wrapfigure}{l}{0.45\textwidth}
+  \begin{center}
+    \includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{"DSC_0043"}
+  \end{center}
+\end{wrapfigure}
+
+In early October I traveled to beautiful Arcata to visit my good friend Claire
+and her husband, Ralph.  %
+Claire and Ralph have a wonderful home on a gravel road nestled among impossibly tall redwood
+trees.  %
+I enjoyed exploring Arcata and the nearby town of Eureka.  %
+Humboldt State, where Claire works, has interesting California architecture---one of Claire's
+colleagues has an office with only outdoor entrance!  %
+The local Ma-Le'l dunes (left) were interesting---very windy with alien landscape and flora.  %
+Making pasties and horchata, and enjoying Claire's famous pie, were the highlights of the trip for
+me.  %
+
+\vfill
+\raggedleft
+
+Stay in touch---note new address. \hfill Blaise Jonathan Thompson \\*
+\hspace{0pt} \\
+725 W Washington Ave. Apt 306 \\*
+Madison, Wisconsin 53715 \\*
+\hspace{0pt} \\
+1-424-225-2493 \\*
+blaise@untzag.com \\*
+http://blaise.social
+
+\end{document}