Duke was a wonderful alarm clock, waking us up at 6:50 am! Fair bit of snow last night so I woke myself up sweeping the front walk, Duke supervising!
Do take a
stroll along the many paths in the Japanese Garden and when you cross
the Red Japanese Bridge in Japanese mythology you are crossing from one
life into the next which is Happiness.
Hi Deanna, I am Pat and Corinne's daughter they asked me to send this information along to you, if you have any questions they are CC'd here.Thank you, Chloe Dunn
Right!!!]
Hello Patrick & Corinne,Thanks for your messages and pics. Certainly sounds like you keep busy, both at home and in travels. Somehow Christmas arrived this year faster than I was prepared for as it seems not that long since the last one though perhaps it is due to being retired that the days, weeks and months fly by so quickly. For us it has been and continues to be a wonderful stage of our lives and hopefully will continue to be the case for many more years to come.
Basically we are both in good health aside from still having balance issues as a result of the virus I had last December. It has improved but is still not back to normal as I often stagger/lurch appearing as if I might have had “one too many”. Certainly not a life threatening situation but somewhat life challenging and changing as it is only recently that I started driving again, but only in limited traffic areas and not at all at night.
We took a few trips in the past year, in February to Punta Cana where we will go again this coming March/April. In June a trip to Edmonton to attend Charlie & Barb’s daughter’s wedding as well as spend time visiting with Mom (now 96) and Ken and his family. Lynsey, Gerry and their 2 daughters (5 & 2) also flew in for the wedding so was great to have so many of us together at one time.
Having enjoyed a coach tour in Ireland last year, we decided to do the same type of trip this past September in Scotland, touring Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness then up to the north of the country through the Highlands and Islands. We’ve been fortunate when traveling to have really good guides, extremely knowledgeable about the history of the country as well as being very personable which goes a long way in making a trip enjoyable.
We were in New Jersey for the first half of December assisting with the care of our two granddaughters as the new au pair doesn’t start until after the holiday season. We celebrated early Christmas celebration while there and again here at home on the 25th with Scott and family. Happy New Year - best wishes for the coming year. Roma & Leonard Thanks Patrick...always enjoy your cards. LynetteSo sweet Patrick. Hope your Christmas was filled with love and happiness!!!
HI Patrick: Many thanks for the email and great pictures. Yes the only grizzly bear(s) left in California is the one on the state flag! I hope Canada can do better, which I guess has been most of my career. Your schedule sounds full as always and it was good that you included a picture of you relaxing with a book and a cat…..if I hadn’t seen this I would have assumed that you never relaxed. Your life sounds very busy and like the old rocker from Winnipeg (Neil Young) said…” It’s better to burn out than rust”.
I will certainly try to get down your way sometime in 2018 and it would be great to visit and catch up on life etc. I will make sure I call first as you may be in some other place on the globe. I have been doing some international bear work in both Norway and Sweden and I have been asked to go Mongolia (Gobi Desert) this spring where there are only 23 Gobi bears left on the planet. However the spring is my busy capture season here and it is a juggling act to get everything done each year.
After leaving Winnipeg in 1980 I got a job working on polar bears in the arctic (and many other species) and I spent 15 years moving around the NWT and seeing parts of our country that are truly amazing. It was a good time but a job for a young single person. I moved down to Alberta (the tropics) in 1993 and have lived in Hinton since that time. First I worked for a forest company which I hated and then found a job back working on grizzly bears and have managed to stick with this and I hope I can hang on until I retire in 2020.
My mom is still in Winnipeg but doing poorly at age 93 she has poor hearing, no mobility, poor eyesight and is in a care home. Overall she is lonely and is done with life which I can see. I don’t want to end up in that situation so I, like you, will try to keep active and busy and live life to the fullest each day. I have attached a few photos for you and best wishes to you and Corrine for 2018 and safe travels. Best personal regards Gord
New Year's Day Open House 2-5:30
Hello Everyone, Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. In our constant Quest for another magical & most elegant New Year’s Day you have been chosen and added to our Wish List of friends to share the first day of 2018 on Monday January 1st at our home from 2 P.M. -5:30 P.M. It will be a most elegant affair.
I will try to greet all of you when you arrive. Friends from Seattle Kathleen & Barry (we are godparents to their son) will guide you throughout the house to where husband John will be serving his famous Hot Cranberry Rum Toddy to sooth your souls with the help from university colleagues Todd and Victor. In the kitchen the Filipino gals, Cynthia her daughter Codie & her sisters will be baking up an endless array of phyllo pastries. As you move through the house the dining room table will have a cornucopia of gourmet appetizers created by many of you. (See Menu below). Our neighbor Rick, a professional firefighter, fisherman & chef extraordinaire will be serving up his freshly caught smoked salmon. Towards the end of the visit you must stay for the most decadent of chocolate cake that will be served before you go on your merry way. There is plenty of seating and standing throughout the top floor and if you want to move downstairs to the den there is a fireplace & lots of seating there too. The door downstairs leads to the magical & mystical Japanese Garden do venture out along the paths.
In your quest to meet many interesting people the guest list is diverse: There are teachers, students & nurses. A senior health economist. Conservation & forest biologists. A couple that are both medical doctors. There are boaters, sailors, and yachtsman lovers of the sea. A British naval officer. She is a classical ballet dancer, instructor & harp musician. He is a Dutch 90 yr. old gardener with 250 Bonsai. Many authors. Professors in educational research. Specialist in distant education. Financial advisors & accountants. She is a human resources assistant. A South African lawyer. A free-lance journalist. An international pilot. Realtors & administrators. A Canadian coast guard. An organizer for the activities & rendezvous cruises for the Victoria Yacht Club.
Consultants in: education, business, data base, health care, family therapy & gardening. A librarian. An American systems engineer in aviation. Artists, photographers, gardeners & landscapers. A medical doctor from France. Little Ella is ten and learning French. Two lifelong friends, she a 95 yr. old prof. in mathematics who mentored a female British prof. now specializing in mathematical biology. There are grandmothers & great grandmothers. A South African business couple who sailed their yacht to Victoria. A Jewish Prof. who teaches about the paranormal. A Greek PhD student studying dementia & a masters in counseling. A German international horse trainer.
A day trader & an entrepreneur importer of “Kastamonitsa” virgin olive oil from their family owned business in Greece. Ukrainian professors in educational psychology & counselling. And of course many animal lovers. Entrepreneurs who own a bakery, coffee shop & nursery specializing in Japanese Maples. A British & South African geologist who wrote “It’s a Mindfield”. A Chinese Brush & Ink instructor & artist. Owns an international brewing co. A Dutch volunteer firefighter owns an appliance business with his British wife. A 92 yr. old biologist. A British executive administrator & quilter. A British midwife now a lawyer.. A professor who teaches Spanish.
An organizational facilitator & flute musician. Professors in public administration & director of strategic research. A couple that are both lawyers. A Ukrainian superintendent of schools. A Ukrainian executive marketing manager, an artist, sculptor, designer & landscaper. An Icelandic naval lieutenant & professor in educational measurement. A teen who studied philosophy, divinity & the classics in Scotland. A speech pathologist. Teen studying computer science. A 92 yr. old surveyor who runs his own business and wrote “Gold Rush Steamboats Francis Rattenbury’s Yukon Venture”. A British professor specializing in plant science. .
An architectural cabinetry designer who built his own home and furniture. They are a British couple a medical doctor & nurse who sing in the philharmonic choir with them their son & his wife Yumiko visiting from Japan. A Greek professor who teaches the history of education. A Ukrainian girl who escaped the Stalin regime to teach French in Canada. A British retired dean of Science. Special Guest: Climate scientist & politician Andrew Weaver head of the Green Party.
Your MISSION Should You Accept: With toddy in hand stroll through our rooms & introduce yourself to as many exciting & interesting guests as possible. Share your stories. Should you succeed in your mission you will experience “Much Joy & Happiness”. See you all on Monday, January 1st 2018 Love, Jean & John(Please note: To keep the foyer free of obstacles when you arrive please place your boots in the bedrooms. Your shoes do not have to be taken off.)
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Menu “Hot Cranberry Rum Toddies” To Sooth Your Soul Smoked Salmon with Cream Cheese on Rye Bread Cheeses Salt Spring Cheeses with Cheese Whisps----------- Phyllo Wrapped around Brie Cheese with Cranberry Chutney served on Sesame Crisps------------ Phyllo Caramelized Onion & Gorgonzola Cheese Tarts Puff Pastry Cheese Straws Baked with Rosemary & Sea Salt----------Feta Cheese, Mint & Olives creatively placed on Cocktail sticks---------- Puff Pastry Feta, Pine Nuts & Pesto Palmieres Devilled Eggs
Vegetables Sweet Potato, Yam and Ham Mini Scones with Honey Mustard Mayo----------Guacamole with Tortilla Chips---------- Greek Humus with Pita -------Assortment of Fresh Vegetables with Pesto Mayo for Dipping Phyllo Spinach Spanakopita with Greek Tzatziki------------Vegetable Baked, Crunchy Thins---------Artichoke nibblers
Meat Thai Curried Turkey Balls with Sweet Tomato Sauce------------- Puff Pastry Curried Pork Sausage Sliders with Apricot Chutney--------------Mexican Chili Beef Pate on Taco Shells Barbecued Pork Tenderloin Seafood Tempera Battered Prawns with Plum Sauce--------------------Japanese – Homemade Sushi
Sweets And for all you Chocolate Lovers Scrumptious Chocolate Symphony!------“A dark chocolate Layered Cake, with White & Dark Chocolate Mousse that sits on a Chocolate Cheesecake Base”. Oh So Good!
Thank you for your Christmas ecard !!
I was away for 5 days in Palm Springs so missed seeing it until today!
All the Best to you and your family Patrizzio!We wish you the best for next year as well. Terry and MaryHello Patrick and Corrin:
Thank you so much for the lovely card. We've got quite a bit of snow here now.
Hope you are enjoying some warmer weather down south.
All the Very Best for 2018.
Cheers and Hugs from Von BingenMerry Christmas; took me a week to solve the puzzle but with computer aids we did it; now it takes only 1/2 a day each time I try; see you in the New Year
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