To blame the poor for subsisting on welfare has no justice unless we are
also willing to judge every rich member of society by how productive he
or she is. Taken individual by individual, it is likely that there's
more idleness and abuse of government favors
among the economically privileged than among the ranks of the
disadvantaged. -Norman Mailer, author (31 Jan 1923-2007)
Dear Pat Dear Corinn How are you? I hope very much, you are all well and travelling the world. And how is Cloe and Annie and your parents, Corinne? I'm thinking often back at my stay on Granville Island. It's been a wonderful time. I'm very well and so is my family. Max and Monica got retired last year. But Max decided to work on in his own business. So alsmost everything is as usual. I passed the lawyers exam last year and am now at the University of Lucerne, working on my PhD. Always fighting against procrastination. My topic is not yet fixed, but it's going to concern the "right to water" in any way. I'm looking very much forward hearing from you and wish you all the best! Lots of love, Fiona
Hello Dearest of Dear Host Daughters, Fiona! How absolutely lovely to hear from you! Congratulations on passing your law degree and Buona Fortuna in your PhD studies! We'll soon have to address you as Dottore!!! Terrific to hear that Mad Max and Monica retired, but like you, we are not at all surprised that he still working! I suppose he needs the income for all the expensive wine he has become used to drinking!
Much to tell but first I should say that I feel rather badly that I've not been in touch with all The Cruel Swiss over the last few years. No excuses but plenty of reasons, as I am oft wont to say! Nevertheless, both Lady Dar, (Cora Lee's latest nickname, [Lady Darjeeling, in full!], as we spent six weeks in India, from October to December of 2015, travelling with close friends, Lynne and Peter Lighthall.), and I think of you and your parents and extended Famiglia Rothenbueller often.
Many changes, the first of which is that Mom, Annie, died on August 29th, 2012, three weeks short of what would hav ebeen her 99th birthday. For the last two years of her life she suffered from senile dementia but was always miling and easy-going. Her physical health remained robust and although she didn't really talk or speak she was comfortable and received wonderful care. She was in the extended care faciliity but two buildings from where we lived on Lamey's Mill Road so I, and other friends and family could visit her, most every day. She died peacefully, and sad as it was, she had enjoyed a remarkable life so we all took great comfort in that.
The other significant event in our lives is that we moved to Penticton, in the Okanagan, in May of 2015! Many reasons but suffice it to say we felt we were still young enough, (We will both be 70 this year!), to have more adventures and what better place to live than in the hear of wine country! Believe me, Fiona, if you have not visited or seen the Okanagan, it is a must, so we expect you shortly! We are back in a small bungalow and Lady Dar, in particular, is very happy to be in our house again, after 16 years of condo politics! I'm beside myself, for many reasons, two of which are that we have a wood burning insert in our fireplace and the road cycling, hereabouts, is simply phenomenal. [Per esempio, I've ridden in three Gran Fondo events, (160 km), first when we still lived in Vancouver.] I've also joined a simply wonderful hiking group and we also snowshoe in the winter
However, I haven't been able to do that this year as I had my second hip replacement, (right hip was done in 2010), the left, on September 14th, this past year. Extremely pleased with both but I don't want to risk a fall on snow/ice or even on slippery ground once melt occurs so I'll wait until ground dries out in early spring before heading out with gang, usually twice a week. Lady Dar walks with The Flatlanders, once a week and attends yoga class twice a week so she is busy with that as well as volunteering with Grandmothers for Africa and at the Penticton General Hospital on Friday mornings.
Ayn is still in LA and doing extremely well as Director of Programming for the Hallmark Movie Channel. We drove down to spend Christmas holidays with her and Los Horridos, Pierre and Alexander. (Chloë flew down.) Pierre is studying Engineering and Alexander is currently a paramedic/ambulance attendant but wants to become a fireman and is hoping to be hired by Orange County. He, and his fiancée, Samantha, will be married in July so we will be back again. Lady Dar will fly, (as will Chloë), as she is now a Marriage Officiant and cannot be away for too, too long. [She has four weddings booked for this summer, to date.], while I will drive again, visiting friends along the way, and wine tasting, of course!
Chloë still lives in Vancouver and is working for a non-profit, Aunt Leah's, which deals with young adults in foster care. She has also taken a property management diploma, (through UBC's Sauder School of Business), as she is thinking of a career change. To this end, her Mother wants her to move to Penticton. We have decided that we will probably sell the loft in Vancouver and then use some of the proceeds to help her buy a home here, (Prices are not nearly as absurdly astronomical as in Vancouver as you might have heard!), should she decide she wants to leave the Big City! In fact, she and Pamela, Lady Dar's sister, in Vancouver, from Winnipeg, on business, will fly into town, late Thursday night, to stay for the weekend so we are looking forward to their visit.Lady Dar has arranged to view a house, with a view over Okanagan Lake, on Saturday, so who knows?
Speaking of Winnipeg, Clara and Dusty celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary last June. We drove back for the party. Unfortunately, Dusty, now 92, is on oxygen, full-time. His lungs were compromised during the war and with his advanced age, he now requires the oxygen. Corinne will fly back to Winnipeg, mid-February, as Clara will have some minor tear-duct surgery and she wants to be able to help out afterwards, as well as give her bother, George, [He and Barb, his wife, live immediately next door to them, at Falcon Lake.], a bit of a break for a couple of weeks or so. Clara celebrated her 92nd birthday on January 28th and is doing very well. She is even on Facebook!
Very busy here so even though we are retired, (unlike Massimo!), never enough time, it seems. Well, there you have it Fiona. A bit of window into the life of your adoring Host Parents. Please pass along our best wishes and fond regards to all our dear Swiss friends. Do think carefully about visiting as we'd simply love to see you again. Tell Workaholic Massimo to spend some of his money. He and Monica should visit as well, of course! Fondestos from Lady Dar to you, Fiona, watching her favourite soap, with a cat on her lap! and Andre. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Well no moss is growing on you! And jealous you saw mt sheep! We really need to retire!! Dave has decided to retire at the end of August, but I decided to stay on for probably another year. Just not ready yet! We may show up for another visit in the spring/summer. Would be grand to meet Lady Dar! At least we now we know what she looks like! So nice you have some kitties! I’m off to take 2 of our 3 to the vet – one has had swollen glands for months. Not sure why. Much to tell but first I should say that I feel rather badly that I've not been in touch with all The Cruel Swiss over the last few years. No excuses but plenty of reasons, as I am oft wont to say! Nevertheless, both Lady Dar, (Cora Lee's latest nickname, [Lady Darjeeling, in full!], as we spent six weeks in India, from October to December of 2015, travelling with close friends, Lynne and Peter Lighthall.), and I think of you and your parents and extended Famiglia Rothenbueller often.
Many changes, the first of which is that Mom, Annie, died on August 29th, 2012, three weeks short of what would hav ebeen her 99th birthday. For the last two years of her life she suffered from senile dementia but was always miling and easy-going. Her physical health remained robust and although she didn't really talk or speak she was comfortable and received wonderful care. She was in the extended care faciliity but two buildings from where we lived on Lamey's Mill Road so I, and other friends and family could visit her, most every day. She died peacefully, and sad as it was, she had enjoyed a remarkable life so we all took great comfort in that.
The other significant event in our lives is that we moved to Penticton, in the Okanagan, in May of 2015! Many reasons but suffice it to say we felt we were still young enough, (We will both be 70 this year!), to have more adventures and what better place to live than in the hear of wine country! Believe me, Fiona, if you have not visited or seen the Okanagan, it is a must, so we expect you shortly! We are back in a small bungalow and Lady Dar, in particular, is very happy to be in our house again, after 16 years of condo politics! I'm beside myself, for many reasons, two of which are that we have a wood burning insert in our fireplace and the road cycling, hereabouts, is simply phenomenal. [Per esempio, I've ridden in three Gran Fondo events, (160 km), first when we still lived in Vancouver.] I've also joined a simply wonderful hiking group and we also snowshoe in the winter
However, I haven't been able to do that this year as I had my second hip replacement, (right hip was done in 2010), the left, on September 14th, this past year. Extremely pleased with both but I don't want to risk a fall on snow/ice or even on slippery ground once melt occurs so I'll wait until ground dries out in early spring before heading out with gang, usually twice a week. Lady Dar walks with The Flatlanders, once a week and attends yoga class twice a week so she is busy with that as well as volunteering with Grandmothers for Africa and at the Penticton General Hospital on Friday mornings.
Ayn is still in LA and doing extremely well as Director of Programming for the Hallmark Movie Channel. We drove down to spend Christmas holidays with her and Los Horridos, Pierre and Alexander. (Chloë flew down.) Pierre is studying Engineering and Alexander is currently a paramedic/ambulance attendant but wants to become a fireman and is hoping to be hired by Orange County. He, and his fiancée, Samantha, will be married in July so we will be back again. Lady Dar will fly, (as will Chloë), as she is now a Marriage Officiant and cannot be away for too, too long. [She has four weddings booked for this summer, to date.], while I will drive again, visiting friends along the way, and wine tasting, of course!
Chloë still lives in Vancouver and is working for a non-profit, Aunt Leah's, which deals with young adults in foster care. She has also taken a property management diploma, (through UBC's Sauder School of Business), as she is thinking of a career change. To this end, her Mother wants her to move to Penticton. We have decided that we will probably sell the loft in Vancouver and then use some of the proceeds to help her buy a home here, (Prices are not nearly as absurdly astronomical as in Vancouver as you might have heard!), should she decide she wants to leave the Big City! In fact, she and Pamela, Lady Dar's sister, in Vancouver, from Winnipeg, on business, will fly into town, late Thursday night, to stay for the weekend so we are looking forward to their visit.Lady Dar has arranged to view a house, with a view over Okanagan Lake, on Saturday, so who knows?
Speaking of Winnipeg, Clara and Dusty celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary last June. We drove back for the party. Unfortunately, Dusty, now 92, is on oxygen, full-time. His lungs were compromised during the war and with his advanced age, he now requires the oxygen. Corinne will fly back to Winnipeg, mid-February, as Clara will have some minor tear-duct surgery and she wants to be able to help out afterwards, as well as give her bother, George, [He and Barb, his wife, live immediately next door to them, at Falcon Lake.], a bit of a break for a couple of weeks or so. Clara celebrated her 92nd birthday on January 28th and is doing very well. She is even on Facebook!
Very busy here so even though we are retired, (unlike Massimo!), never enough time, it seems. Well, there you have it Fiona. A bit of window into the life of your adoring Host Parents. Please pass along our best wishes and fond regards to all our dear Swiss friends. Do think carefully about visiting as we'd simply love to see you again. Tell Workaholic Massimo to spend some of his money. He and Monica should visit as well, of course! Fondestos from Lady Dar to you, Fiona, watching her favourite soap, with a cat on her lap! and Andre. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Enjoy the rest of the “winter” – although it’s sunny here, cold still. The hummingbird is hanging in there. Have to take the feeder in every might to warm it up. No idea how they make it through the night. Luise
Hello Non-Retirees! Trust you are both well! Hope your kitten with swollen glands is on the mend or fully recovered. Must apologize for not being in touch sooner but life has been and continues to be busy. Before I detail a bit of this past weekend's activity I wanted to mention that I was wondering if you had heard from Pam, of late. I know she hasn't been hiking for last little while and let our bridge group know that she won't be playing until March. Lady Dar hasn't seen her at church either, last few Sundays. I don't want to interfere, of course, but I am a tad concerned. Since we haven't known her as long as you two, I thought I'd mention this, just in case you might have more insight into her personality. Of course, it may well be that she simply wants a break from all the activity. If so, I understand completely.
I did have a short message from her yesterday but she didn't really say much. Anyway, if you think there might be something more please let us know. Again, I don't wish to interfere but would like to be a good friend. Thanks.
We would love you to return and you are welcome anytime. However, please don't come for next month or so as Lady Dar is off to Winnipeg, on Valentine's Day, to see her parents! I'll be here to look after the feline population but Etta and Duke would be more than happy to see you. All the very best. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hello Malt and Book Aficionados, wherever you are! Hello Malt and Book Aficionados, wherever you are! Trust all goes well. Lady Dar and our friend Kjell, visiting from Sweden, drove down to Gallagher Lake yesterday afternoon to complete paper work and pay for shares. Fondestos from Lady Dar to one and all, dropping stitches as I scribe, in preparation for her knitting class this evening. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hello Ski Aficionados, wherever you are! Thanks so much for the marvellous visit, brief though it was, Trevorino, and your generous hospitality. Terrific to see you, and family, Ariane, as well as Rae. My, how Damien and Corben have grown! Lovely lads, indeed! We had an uneventful drive back to Penticton, stopping at Costco, en route. Highway was still completely bare so other than the dense fog on the Connector, over the summit and down, for a few kilometres, all went well and we were back in town just before 5:00 pm.
Kjell left, around noon, today, to drive back to Silver Star. Lady Dar is off running errands and I'm about to hit the stationary bike so must away. Fondestos from Lady Dar, in absentia, to one and all! Keep in touch about a possible visit, Trevorino and we expect you in August, Ariane! Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Lady Dar and Swedish Freeloader just before he left with family silverware!
Hola todos from this great town, How are you all? I am sorry to send a mass email but I haven’t been very good at regular notes. It is funny how there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to do everything one hopes when there is no work or schedule!
George and I are coming to the end of our time in Mexico. We arrived Jan. 5th. It has been magical. We began here in Oaxaca with our friends Susan, Joel and their son Max and his girlfriend Anna. We spent about 6 days exploring the city and outlying villages and then flew south to Puerto Escondido and spent a week near two different beach towns, Puerto Angel and Mazunte. We enjoyed swimming in the ocean although they had several areas where you couldn’t swim because of the currants. The waves were massive. It was a treat to swim in the lovely little pool above Mazunte where we were staying in our own casita. We needed to jump in before bed each night to cool off. We walked to a variety of beaches and discovered pretty areas with restaurants overlooking the ocean. It is very hilly around Mazunte. We saw whales spouting in the distance a few times
We said goodbye to Susan et al after a week and took an 11 hour bus trip to San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas. We were at about 2500 meters so the mornings and evenings were extraordinarily cold! Some nights we had 6 layers of blankets on in our unheated rooms. It did warm up to about 18 C in the day time however. We stayed in 4 different places and had some neat experiences with the locals. We went on a tour with a Mayan woman to see two villages and an agricultural zone that grows everything from beets to cilantro and tons of flowers. There are very furry mangy looking long haired black and white sheep which the women from Chamula use to make big skirts that they wear for warmth and to identify their village.
The men wear white wool tunics to stay warm over pants and shirts. The area is also home to weavers and there are beautiful textiles including bedspreads, table cloths etc to see. The embroidery is exceptional as well. We went to the Textile museum and learned about each cultural groups' patterns and style of weaving. There are many cooperatives supporting local women, children and families. There are programs which teach women to weave after leaving abusive relationships. The women weave using the large belts they wear anchored to a tree or a post.
The history of the region is fascinating. We stayed in a place called Na Balom created by the first anthopologist in Chiapas, the Dane Franz Blom and his photographer wife Gertrude Duby. She documented Mayan women’s lives and the Lacondon people’s jungle life. Na Balom is home to 9000 books and is used as a base by social scientists from around the world. We listened to the artist in residence, pianist, Richard Pierce Milner, at Na Balom play the Steinway piano in the chapel. We were the only guests in attendance except for his partner. When he finished his concert he asked us to have coffee with them and we listened to stories of Trudy Blom and the work she did. She began a reforestation project in the region. They now plant 100,00 trees a year. There were 60 million hectares of forested land and now there is 1 million but the forests are growing thanks to Trudy’s work.
We travelled from there to a small town called Chiapa de Corzo which has been our only disappointing destination and we understand why~ history! The Mayans threw themselves off cliffs to avoid being ruled by the Spaniard Diego de Maziergos. This town was to be the capital but he didn’t like the climate and found the Mayans too difficult to manage. The one thing we really enjoyed was the 2 hour boat trip on the river to the Sumidero Canyon. We saw spider monkeys, crocodiles and all kinds of wonderful birds. The canyon is a kilometre deep. We were the only gringos. There were few gringos in the town. The locals seemed repressed, apathetic and dour. This was quite a contrast to the warm, friendly, hospitable souls we met until we reached Chiapa de Corzo.
We flew from Tuxtla to Oaxaca city last night and it felt like coming home. We are staying in a great Posada in a 400 year old building that used to be a convent. We will try a B&B for one evening tomorrow that was recommended by friends and then we are going to stay in our first Air B&B which has a kitchen with breakfast included. It is right in the Centro as well. We have met some interesting travelers. Many are staying here for 3 months at a time. They have given us good restaurant information and sight seeing tips.
We have eaten our best meals in this town but found some great little spots in San Cristobal too: two tiny Italian restaurants run by Italians. They were cooking their grandmother’s recipes. Today we had a late lunch at a restaurant, Crillio we just read about in the travel section of the New York Times- We enjoyed a very unique 7 course tasting menu. The food was very creative and delicious featuring local vegetables and herbs. This city is reputed to have the finest cuisine in the country and is making it’s mark on the world stage.
We are sitting on our hotel’s roof top terrace listening to the Mariachi music in the distance and having a cerveza with peanuts with chilli peppers. On Sunday, Feb. 5 we have a long trip to Auckland, New Zealand through Mexico City and Houston,Texas. We arrive on Feb. 7th with the distance and time change. We will stay with old friends of George’s in Auckland and do a few trips with them. We will be sad to leave Mexico behind but will spend lots of time here in the future. Take good care and let me know how 2017 is going for you. Sending you all lots of hugs and best wishes for a wonderful February. Love Jane and George
Hello Antipodeans! Trust you are both well! Thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful, wonderful detailed account of your time in Mexico. How did your flight to New Zealand go? How long will you be in the country? Will you visit Wellington? I have a good friend there, Peter Edwards so you should send him a message. He and his wife, Gemma, a physician, were here over Christmas but we were in Tinsel Town! He was a lifeguard at UBC when we first met. He eventually did a PhD in Brisbane and while he was there we hooked up and spent a weekend wine-tasting in Hunter Valley. I returned to Brisbane with him and spent a few days there. His landlady very kindly allowed me to bunk on a comfy couch on her enclosed veranda. Great to be a Freeloader! Fondestos from Lady Dar, to you world travelers. Travel safely. Take good care of each other. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Patrick, Are you still in LA? We arrived today to go to the Rose Bowl Parade. We are freezing. HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and Corinne. Cheers, Dawn and Gerry
