From Loreena McKennitt:

Dear Friends,

I am sure I am not alone in being amazed at how quickly this year has swept by.

On the professional side, I am most grateful we were finally able to undertake most of our Mediterranean tour and meet so many of you in some new, as well as familiar corners of the globe – areas which had in many cases inspired An Ancient Muse. (To those in Morocco and Israel who we did not meet, we do hope to come to you in future.) Out of our tour we were able to render our experience into a project called A Mediterranean Odyssey, which was released this fall and which some of you may already have.

Much of the rest of this year has been spent attending to professional housekeeping matters, as well as a variety of personal ones all of which come with a richly varied life.

All of us here at Quinlan Road, and in particular myself, would like to express our deepest appreciation for your continued support and interest in my mode of 'musical travel writing' and for all your letters of interest, your support and appreciation – even your constructive criticism! The greatest reward is knowing that the music has found a meaningful place in your lives.

As the eve of the shortest day of the year approaches, once again there are so many things which come to mind. The joy of knowing that the days of light will now grow rather than diminish and not too far behind will be the signs of spring.

And of course, it is a time of stock taking – where we have come from (or through) this past year, what has or has not been 'accomplished' or has happened, or how that may shape our hopes and expectations for the coming year. And no matter how difficult or challenging things may have been this year, I am sure many of us could say things could have been much worse.

As a good friend so often says, "These are the good old days" and we may be well advised to enjoy and appreciate the present as much as long for better things in the future, no matter how short of the mark things may have fallen this year. In other words, life and all its challenges and wonders are a relative thing and there is much to be appreciated in the present. We must not let jewels of everyday life slip by us. These treasures may fall in the small and simple things, or even the familiar and mundane. We may simply not have taken the time to appreciate them.

And yet it is also a time for renewal and hope. While things may not have turned out as we might have wanted, we are open to new experiences and new opportunities and even new chances to improve who we are.

We would like to extend to all our friends around the world our warmest wishes for the Christmas and holiday season and the coming New Year.

LM