Hi Paul!
Thought I'd send along these snaps of last Sunday! Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year to everyone at Aunt Leah's. Cheers, Chloë and Patrizzio!
Thought I'd send along these snaps of last Sunday! Happy Christmas and a Healthy New Year to everyone at Aunt Leah's. Cheers, Chloë and Patrizzio!
Thanks for the pictures. I had meant to ask you to send them to us.
Good one of you and Chloe (especially if her old mad had of smiled)
Have a good Christmas in LA.
Paul Stewart
Maintenance Manager
···············································
Building a Brighter Future for Foster Kids
AUNT LEAH'S PLACE
200 - 668 Carnarvon Street, New Westminster, BC V3M 5Y6
T 604-525-1204 ext 225
F 604-525-1295
Hi again, Paul!
It's tough to smile when one is having he whip cracked on one's aged back for the entire shift! Easy for Chloë to smile when I'm doing all the raking! Cheers, Patrizzio!
It's tough to smile when one is having he whip cracked on one's aged back for the entire shift! Easy for Chloë to smile when I'm doing all the raking! Cheers, Patrizzio!
Bon voyage, Patrick. Best wishes to
you and Corinne for the holiday season. Don't ride so much that you
need another cassette when you return. Prices do seem a bit high at West
Point.
George and I were thinking of
giving you an escort out of the city tomorrow so we can safely hang our
bikes up for the winter and go into hibernation Merry Christmas, Ray
Pat, Corinne and Chloe
Branko recently told me about Patrick's mom's death. I am so sorry to hear, but she clearly had a long, happy and productive life. I wish the same for all of us. Despite that, she was your mom ( and grandmother) and it is hard and I am sure you miss her deeply. My condolences. Sandy
Branko recently told me about Patrick's mom's death. I am so sorry to hear, but she clearly had a long, happy and productive life. I wish the same for all of us. Despite that, she was your mom ( and grandmother) and it is hard and I am sure you miss her deeply. My condolences. Sandy
Hi Sandy!
Thanks so much for your kind words of sympathy and concern. Very thoughtful of you and much appreciated.Happy Hanukkah/Christmas and a Healthy New Year to you and your lovely daughters! Fondestos and Cheers, Cora Lee, Chloë and Patrizzio!
Thanks so much for your kind words of sympathy and concern. Very thoughtful of you and much appreciated.Happy Hanukkah/Christmas and a Healthy New Year to you and your lovely daughters! Fondestos and Cheers, Cora Lee, Chloë and Patrizzio!
Will take small animal ornaments. Thank you!
Perhaps if you strung your laptop around your neck while you pack you could get things done
Hi Tinsel Town!
I'm not a cross-dressing iPad LA freak yet! Cheers,Poppa "We Don't Need No Packing Management Consutlatant Types Round Here" San! Oooops! I just smashed a crystal elephant
I'm not a cross-dressing iPad LA freak yet! Cheers,Poppa "We Don't Need No Packing Management Consutlatant Types Round Here" San! Oooops! I just smashed a crystal elephant
A little update
This will be brief due to leaving work early yesterday to take Erich to
the hospital will need to go in this a.m. to finish up some chores.
Please hold this in confidence as I am not so sure Erich would (maybe not) care what I have to tell you and if you talk to the ladies please omit any mention of the following sensitive issue.
Please hold this in confidence as I am not so sure Erich would (maybe not) care what I have to tell you and if you talk to the ladies please omit any mention of the following sensitive issue.
Yesterday I met him at our bank at eleven, telling me he would be in the lobby by the fireplace. Well I waited past the appointed hour and no Erich, always very punctual. I went outside and there he was wandering around the parking lot looking a bit dazed. Said he had been inside, but 'no way'. We debated about a place for lunch, he recommending a sandwich joint near Costco that would allow us to take Robert inside, which we did.
After that we returned to my apartment as he wanted to rest and listen
to music. Laid down on the sofa, I put a Dvorak concerto on and he
drifted off until the time to leave for his appointment at Providence
Hospital which is a very short distance from my
place. After a brief wait, he was escorted to the meeting place with the hospice staff and was in there for over two hours. Beforehand he showed me the stats on his affliction which about freaked me out. I just couldn't believe what I was reading! Just hard to fathom. After his meeting with these folks I drove him home.
His mood is very good, we joked about the usual 'manly' stuff including a great erection he achieved the night before, but 'got all dressed up and no where to go' situation if you get the drift. We also decided to go see 'Life of Pi' again, this time in 3-D so will do that this Friday (the plan anyway). He also wants to take a helicopter ride over the Olympic Mountains and spend some money he has saved up. We will see how that goes. We got a laugh of all the time I spend at Evergreen Cemetery and told him I could arrange a good price for a plot, but no, he will be torched! I have cleaned and restored over 3,000 headstones at this old burial ground and Erich as come to visit me there on occasion.
Well I must close this off for now as my work is calling me (damn) but will return later. Rest assured I will do my best to help him out in this awful time. As you can imagine Nola and his Dad are devastated, the latter being 97. No one wants to outlive their children, I know I wouldn't.
So you take care, don't know your religious persuasion but prayers and good thoughts are always good.Best wishes to you and yours, Thomas
Hello Penny! In the
first instance, please let me apologize profusely for not writing sooner to express my deepest condolences and
sympathy on Howard’s death.. Trust this missive finds you and all your family as
well as can be expected.Howard was
more than a wonderful individual and certainly everything and all that I could
ever have asked for in a boss. I look back with deep fondness on the years I
worked with him. He never ceased to amaze me with the incredible depth and breadth
of knowledge with respect to the materials we worked with. Furthermore, I truly
believe he cared a great deal about the profession of teaching and did his
utmost to provide the resources needed to support its students and faculty. From
the point of view of the Library, I also know that he was a manager far ahead of
his time with respect to making flexible allowances for employees with young
families. He was as caring and concerned as an employer as he was as a parent. He
will be deeply missed by all who had contact with him, whether in the stacks,
on the reference desk or on the
badminton court! I count myself both privileged and honoured to have
worked alongside him.
Again, heartfelt
sympathy to you and your sons and their families. Fond regards from Corinne, Chloë
and Patrick.
In Memory of
Howard Roger Hurt
August 22, 1937 - October 5, 2012
Jenn M In New York there are pop up markets ALL OVER the city selling trees 24hr/day on the side walk. people just walk them home, because no one has cars! It was very cool.
A Noble Fir from Aunt Leah's! Fabulous tree and more than terrific support for a very worthwhile charity! Happy Christmas kids! Off tomorrow, Portland and then Healdsburg!!! Any wine left in Sonoma
I have already made a reservation, under your name! Sarge left his credit card there first time around so we are really going to enjoy ourselves!!!
- Patrick James Dunn Hi Jean! Thanks for birthday wishes! Trust you are well. Hope to be in France next September. Will you be around?we are scheduled to leave Vancouver on Wednesday! We want to take our time driving south to LA to spend Christmas with Ayn and Los Horridos
- Patrick James Dunn Sorry, I hit the return key before I had finished editing! You are probably wondering who the hell are Murphy and Zoe! At any rate, keep in touch. We are doing a house exchange in Cornwall in August, 2013, and then coming to the Continent. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Jean Homsy Thanks for the mail, I will be away July/August but plan to return sometime in September. We will keep,in touch. Happy Christmas to you and your family. Xxx
I'm not a cross-dressing iPad LA freak yet! Cheers,Poppa "We Don't Need No Packing Management Consutlatant Types Round Here" San! Oooops! I just smashed a crystal elephant
While you were smashing
heirlooms I purchased some lovely wine glasses for both red and white
for my kitchen to prepare for my Canadian clan…also a nice bottle of
Whaler’s Dark Rum awaits you after your long
journey…with plenty of lime for your nasty bottle.
Hi Again, Tinsel Town!
Wonderful news as I need more rum to pour over gigantic, homemade Christmas cake Raymondo gave to me for my birthday and which I am generously going to share with Los Horridos and nobody else! Cheers, Grinch Poppa!
Wonderful news as I need more rum to pour over gigantic, homemade Christmas cake Raymondo gave to me for my birthday and which I am generously going to share with Los Horridos and nobody else! Cheers, Grinch Poppa!
hi pat:
2 questions, did you already receive this, both sign and send back?
if not, i need it back today so if at all possible can you print sign and fax /scan back?
thanks Manulife Securities
Hi Ray and Patrick
I warned you I might send some holiday snaps so here they are,
showing the rather poor weather we had on Tenerife. Forgive the bathing
beauty shot- the only way I could show the beach action where I ran and
swam regularly but clearly didn't sun-bathe or
body build.
Although we hired a car for the duration most of the mountain
sections were by public transport(cheap) and allowed me to see the
views- so long as one could fill in 3 hours for the next bus.
We went through 2 umbrellas both blown inside out to give you an
idea of the weather. Temperatures low 20s , sea temp perfectly swimmable
but not much sun which is unusual for the Canaries at this time of year
in my experience.
We stayed in an apartment owned by a Spanish couple who were
extremely pleasant and helpful and the village was typically Spanish
with as far as we could tell no other Brits. I gave up trying to learn
Spanish a couple of years back and even forgot to bring
my Spanish conversation book so communication with waiters and owners
was very restricted.
Having no English bars I missed the England v Australia and all Blacks matches so I await your verdict Ray.
As you may see from the picture taken in La Oratava the Spanish
towns can be very attractive as was La Laguna ( the old capital) and
Puerto de la Cruz(despite the rain in both).
The walking in the Anaga mountains looked interesting ( we did
stroll on one of the paths) but needed a different walking companion and
several hours to complete - typically 3-4000 ft of ascent or descent
and say 12km. This on the mountains of little consequence
against Mount Teide at over 12000ft some distance from where we were.
On a sobering note Brian and Pat Taylor mentioned yesterday the two
major air crashes at the old airport of Tenerife in one of which I lost
a college friend and his wife and they lost neighbours.
We met an interesting German called Olaf on one of our trips who
put us right on JFK, Hitler,Global warming,Football etc- had a slight
accent but coud debate/discuss anything. He suggested we might like to
holiday in one of his apartments in the Baltic
Sea. Looked a bit cold last time I saw the Baltic.
Came back to some cold weather in England which brings me on to my incident this morning.
Decided I would go on the bike despite signs of a slight frost.
Negotiated railway paths and roads to and from Thorp Arch and then 1
mile from home on a local road the bike skidded twice jettisoning me
onto the road quite painfully- while travelling in
a straight line. Fortunately no cars. My shoulder and back are pretty
painful and I am feeling sorry for myself. No more winter bravado for
me- back to the exercise bike on frosty mornings. I think the weight
training will be on hold for a while too.
So I trust you both are being more cautious than me .
As a last thought I have just included a photo of Chris and me on
Carnforth station in Lancashire under the station clock which featured
in the film Brief Encounter(s) with Trevor Howard- before your time I
know. Hope the holiday is going /went well Patrick. Best wishes
Hi Cactus and Donna Florida!
Thanks for sounding the birthday trumpets! Much appreciated! Busy time here so must apologize for not replying sooner. Sarge and I drove over to West Van this past Saturday evening. Tapas party at one of The Sisterhood's Book Club's member's home, Heather Fraser. (Cora Lee, Flamin' and Robyn were in Seattle for weekend.) Lovely gathering, fabulous food and drink, although Sarge didn't imbibe as he was driving. Met some interesting folk and got to know Heather's husband, Rick. He had a heart transplant 10 years ago, something of which I'd not been aware! He developed complications after surgery and was in an induced coma for 5 days! Said he had wonderful, morphine induced dreams but that is all he can remember!
Back home we ferried their daughter, Erica, to 13th and Granville, as she needed a ride "overtown" as Sarge would put it. Lovely young woman. She helped prepare many of the dishes. We dropped her at her brother's place. Scott just graduated from UBC with an MA in Public Health. Both bright young people so it was a delight to meet them, if only briefly. Home and downstairs to enjoy a few snorts of malt. Sarge was dry after abstaining all evening!
Sunday, from 10am-2:00pm, Chloë and I sold Christmas trees for Aunt Leah's, "a registered charity that has been helping kids in foster care and teen moms achieve a better future for over twenty years", at their Burnaby lot. Very, very busy and we sold over $1,500 worth of trees on our shift alone. Not sure if it had anything to do with the hootch infused hot chocolate or not but we had a blast! Wonderful selection, everything from Noble Firs to classic Charlie Browns, and certainly a remarkable charity worthy of much support. After shift finished she dropped me off at Vancity Theatre, downtown, where I took in 56 UP. Do you know this series?
In 1964, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Apted (Gorillas in the Mist, The World is Not Enough) began his career as a researcher on a new experimental series for Granada TV called Seven Up, which explored the Jesuit maxim “Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man.” The original concept was to interview 14 children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds from all over England, to see whether a class system was in place. By asking the children about their lives and their dreams for the future, differences in attitudes and opportunity were witnessed.
For almost a half century, Apted has interviewed the original group every seven years, examining the progression of their lives. Now they are 56. From cab driver Tony, to schoolmates Jackie, Lynn and Susan and the iconoclast Neil, the present age brings more life-changing decisions and surprising developments. From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life is discussed with the group, as they assess whether their lives have ultimately been ruled by circumstance or self-determination.
Simply fascinating, time travel really! Back home to have dinner at The Annexe with my in-laws: roast and potatoes/carrots, pickled beets and salad. Banana cream pie with Oreo crust for dessert! Dusty cut down and only had whipped cream on his second slice! I had Cora Lee's crust as it wasn't gluten-free! Very, very kranky Coriandre, let me tell you, in spite of just having spent the weekend in Seattle with The Sisterhood! We savoured a Nine Hats, Columbia Valley, 2008 Syrah, 14.5%, which Coramandel brought back from trip. Blackberry bramble tempered by a touch of smoke. Good length and acidity, soft tannins that compliment the fruit on the finish.
We are scheduled to leave Vancouver tomorrow so unfortunately I won't be sleeping tonight as I haven't even started packing! Portland tomorrow night, we trust! Have already been in touch with Amos and Patricia and we are wondering if it would be far too, too pushy making to invite them to Casa Vicente for dinner on Sunday, December 16th. We'll be spending Saturday night in Healdsburg and will drive to Berkeley next afternoon. We would expect to buy dinner fixings so if this works just let us know. If not, don't worry as we can arrange to meet at a spot somewhere you might recommend.
A day or so after the 10th of January we are planning to continue driving south and east with a mind to seeing New Orleans, as one goal. I'd like to visit some bourbon distilleries in Tennessee and Kentucky but whether this transpires or not, remains to be decided. We will see, Randy and Ruth, formerly living in San Antonio, now in Dallas, en route to New Orleans.
Two weeks ago we had a visit from a close friend, Rhoda Benson, in town from Cape Breton, to visit her eldest daughter, Dinao, who is taking an Art Therapy course here. I met Rhoda when I worked at the Curric Lab, (now the Education Library), at UBC and she was a Student Assistant, back in the late '70's! She came for dinner with her daughter, Dinao.Over the course of the evening Rhoda mentioned that she and Ron, her husband, would be spending three months in Saint Maarten/Saint Martin, beginning in January. Ron will be teaching there and they have a two-bedroom place provided. She invited us to visit! Now that the possibility of going to the Caribbean exists, we are trying to determine where best to fly from in the US. At any rate, the thought of seeing some of the places in The Deep South is starting to make us both shiver with anticipation.
Fondestos and Cheers, Cora Lee, Chloë and Patrizzio, and Maggie, of course!
Pics: At the tree-wrapper with Paul, manager of lot; in front of sales graph; Son-of-Frosty! Cora Lee with Lynne and Peter, last guests to leave our Open House on December 2nd! They hope to join us in New Orleans.
Hi Cactus and Donna Florida!
Thanks for sounding the birthday trumpets! Much appreciated! Busy time here so must apologize for not replying sooner. Sarge and I drove over to West Van this past Saturday evening. Tapas party at one of The Sisterhood's Book Club's member's home, Heather Fraser. (Cora Lee, Flamin' and Robyn were in Seattle for weekend.) Lovely gathering, fabulous food and drink, although Sarge didn't imbibe as he was driving. Met some interesting folk and got to know Heather's husband, Rick. He had a heart transplant 10 years ago, something of which I'd not been aware! He developed complications after surgery and was in an induced coma for 5 days! Said he had wonderful, morphine induced dreams but that is all he can remember!
Back home we ferried their daughter, Erica, to 13th and Granville, as she needed a ride "overtown" as Sarge would put it. Lovely young woman. She helped prepare many of the dishes. We dropped her at her brother's place. Scott just graduated from UBC with an MA in Public Health. Both bright young people so it was a delight to meet them, if only briefly. Home and downstairs to enjoy a few snorts of malt. Sarge was dry after abstaining all evening!
Sunday, from 10am-2:00pm, Chloë and I sold Christmas trees for Aunt Leah's, "a registered charity that has been helping kids in foster care and teen moms achieve a better future for over twenty years", at their Burnaby lot. Very, very busy and we sold over $1,500 worth of trees on our shift alone. Not sure if it had anything to do with the hootch infused hot chocolate or not but we had a blast! Wonderful selection, everything from Noble Firs to classic Charlie Browns, and certainly a remarkable charity worthy of much support. After shift finished she dropped me off at Vancity Theatre, downtown, where I took in 56 UP. Do you know this series?
In 1964, acclaimed filmmaker Michael Apted (Gorillas in the Mist, The World is Not Enough) began his career as a researcher on a new experimental series for Granada TV called Seven Up, which explored the Jesuit maxim “Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man.” The original concept was to interview 14 children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds from all over England, to see whether a class system was in place. By asking the children about their lives and their dreams for the future, differences in attitudes and opportunity were witnessed.
For almost a half century, Apted has interviewed the original group every seven years, examining the progression of their lives. Now they are 56. From cab driver Tony, to schoolmates Jackie, Lynn and Susan and the iconoclast Neil, the present age brings more life-changing decisions and surprising developments. From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life is discussed with the group, as they assess whether their lives have ultimately been ruled by circumstance or self-determination.
Simply fascinating, time travel really! Back home to have dinner at The Annexe with my in-laws: roast and potatoes/carrots, pickled beets and salad. Banana cream pie with Oreo crust for dessert! Dusty cut down and only had whipped cream on his second slice! I had Cora Lee's crust as it wasn't gluten-free! Very, very kranky Coriandre, let me tell you, in spite of just having spent the weekend in Seattle with The Sisterhood! We savoured a Nine Hats, Columbia Valley, 2008 Syrah, 14.5%, which Coramandel brought back from trip. Blackberry bramble tempered by a touch of smoke. Good length and acidity, soft tannins that compliment the fruit on the finish.
We are scheduled to leave Vancouver tomorrow so unfortunately I won't be sleeping tonight as I haven't even started packing! Portland tomorrow night, we trust! Have already been in touch with Amos and Patricia and we are wondering if it would be far too, too pushy making to invite them to Casa Vicente for dinner on Sunday, December 16th. We'll be spending Saturday night in Healdsburg and will drive to Berkeley next afternoon. We would expect to buy dinner fixings so if this works just let us know. If not, don't worry as we can arrange to meet at a spot somewhere you might recommend.
A day or so after the 10th of January we are planning to continue driving south and east with a mind to seeing New Orleans, as one goal. I'd like to visit some bourbon distilleries in Tennessee and Kentucky but whether this transpires or not, remains to be decided. We will see, Randy and Ruth, formerly living in San Antonio, now in Dallas, en route to New Orleans.
Two weeks ago we had a visit from a close friend, Rhoda Benson, in town from Cape Breton, to visit her eldest daughter, Dinao, who is taking an Art Therapy course here. I met Rhoda when I worked at the Curric Lab, (now the Education Library), at UBC and she was a Student Assistant, back in the late '70's! She came for dinner with her daughter, Dinao.Over the course of the evening Rhoda mentioned that she and Ron, her husband, would be spending three months in Saint Maarten/Saint Martin, beginning in January. Ron will be teaching there and they have a two-bedroom place provided. She invited us to visit! Now that the possibility of going to the Caribbean exists, we are trying to determine where best to fly from in the US. At any rate, the thought of seeing some of the places in The Deep South is starting to make us both shiver with anticipation.
Fondestos and Cheers, Cora Lee, Chloë and Patrizzio, and Maggie, of course!
Pics: At the tree-wrapper with Paul, manager of lot; in front of sales graph; Son-of-Frosty! Cora Lee with Lynne and Peter, last guests to leave our Open House on December 2nd! They hope to join us in New Orleans.
Dear Happy Wanderer,
By the time you bring your warm bones back to the Island Inn I will
be a member of the 56 up club, so I marvel once again at the
synchronicity of all our lives and all that is. Piccolo mundo indeed!
The fact that Basil F. Stuart-Stubbs was one of your
colleagues and early mentors and that you are so obviously a Scandafile
lets me drink deep into the certainty of connection, i.e." it blows my
mind !" Basil became a mentor to me when I started helping Brenda and
Basile create their garden. We became accomplices
in our duty to obey "the she who must be obeyed". He always treated me
with the utmost respect and I was made to feel like a valued colleague.
What I miss the most is his piano playing. When I first started working
in their garden, Basil had just retired and
was reacquainting himself with piano playing. From rusty first forays
to more and more beauty I was witness to Basil's
blossoming.as an accomplished piano player. I would plan my lunch
breaks so as to best enjoy his playing and was inspired to revive my own
musical inclinations...I sing in the church choir and play the guitar
(both with enthusiasm but not much talent).
One of my very best friends lives in Aarhus. We hook-up with
him and his clan almost every time we go to Europe to visit with
Elisabeth's family in Switzerland. I met him in Algeria 30 years ago
when I was on my three year around- the- world bicycle trip.
He was travelling by bike as well and we shared the road for a month
and a half through the desert. He had a rendezvous with his girlfriend
(now wife of 27 years) in Egypt so we parted in Carthage Tunisia and I
headed to Italy in the late spring with no real
plan and certainly no rendez vous. Was I wrong or what? After two and a
half months of touring Calabria, Tuscany,the Venetian Coast and the
Lake District (Lago di Como, Lago Maggiore), during which time I; worked
at a cement factory (for 3,000 lire an hour
and the opportunity to flirt with the young raven haired office
temp),impressed the hell out of packs of macho cyclists cranking their
Campanolo equipped racing bikes by keeping up with the peleton despite
30lbs of travel gear in my panniers fore and aft,
(some things do change), and being taught arabic and Shakespeare by a
beautiful Italian university student taking a double major in Islamic
Studies and English Literature, (out of the mouths of babes), I headed
for the "hills of Switzerland" in mid summer.
After two weeks of day hikes and mountain passes I arrived unshowered
and unshaved in Elisabeth's home town. I didn't know her from Adam, but
to make a long story short, she became my Eve. A rendezvous of a
lifetime.
I had been on the road for one and half years at that point and I
recognized that this gal was something special. It has turned out to be
my most understated observation of all time.
Elisabeth agreed to join me in my ongoing wanderings but being the
responsible type she gave three months notice at her job and to her
landlord. I spent my time working on a farm on the outskirts of her town
(1.5 km from her apartment), became somewhat
proficient in Swiss Agri-Speak and reduced my metric mile time down
to under 3 minutes including the time to swipe some flowers by the road
side.
We cycled together for one year, the first two months back down
through Italy and Greece ( catching the boat from Brindisi to Patras)
cycling our way to Athens and then flying to Tel Aviv. After 3 weeks in
Israel including crossing the Sinai half way down
the peninsula ( I'm a big fan of this 40 days in the desert approach to
clarity) we made it to Egypt. We spent the next 9 months cycling
through Egypt, the Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. In Tanzania we met
up with our Danish friends and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro
together along with an intrepid Japanese traveller named Masaki. Years
later when I went to visit Jorn and Hanne at her parents place in
Copenhagen I was met at the door by a straight-faced older
gentleman,(Hanne's father), who greeted me in perfect English
by saying "you must be Masaki". The room full of people behind the
front door errupted in laughter and the tears flowed. These are the
moments I remember.
Thanks for being a part of creating new memories for me and many others.
Happy trails and season's greetings to Corinne,Chloe and you, a
prince dressed in a scoundrel's clothing ,often Spandexed and seasonally
themed from the house of Husquavarna.
Ciao, Stephen
