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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}