I have been doing these letters since 1986. Each year I wonder if anyone actually wants
to read them but I like other people’s letters and it is interesting for me to
reflect on the year.
Last year we basically
had snow most of December, most unusual!
I don’t mind snow and have snow tires but it was a bit much as Vancouver
isn’t really designed for weeks of snow.
Wisely I had planned a get away on New Year’s Day to Palm Desert for
a few days and it was lovely to leave the snow and hit the desert. Sandy and I had a great time and the bonus
was for the last couple of days, my old friends Vicki and Gavin were in the
same complex with their daughter, Jane, and adorable granddaughter, Lola, so
fun to have them as neighbours again. For more pictures just go here!
I returned and ended up surprising myself by
joining a community choir, Local Vocals, with my friend, Sydney, and later did
a gospel workshop weekend with another friend, Lori, and was able to perform
with Good Noise Gospel Choir, which was fun.
I also had a nice visit from Hilary.
Another big event was participating in the Women’s March here. I am still in disbelief Donald Trump was ever
elected president. I have not been to the United States since he was elected.
I also took another
water colour art course and continued to volunteer two mornings a week with
first graders and tutor Cam next door who is making very good progress.
The snow did leave and flowers began to reappear (one of my mini irises) and I went for a
couple of days to Victoria and visited Margrit and Hilary. It’s always great to go there.
Old friends, Anne and Barrie were here to see
their daughter and son in law and granddaughter, Kasia. It is fun to have them in town and I really enjoy
having Shannon and Nick and Kasia living here.
Spring was well underway here when I went to
Quebec at the end of April. I was there for about ten days
and had a great time but the weather was rather awful. Linda and I spent a night in Mont Tremblant
and couple of days in North Hatley where I was also able to catch up with a
couple of my cousins, which was nice. I
also was able to spend time with Val and other John Grant High friends, Diane and Janice on the West Island of Montreal
Vancouver looked lush
when I returned. And it was great to see
my garden flourish. Donna and I spent a
couple of days in Whistler in June and I took more water colour courses.
My summer included a trip to beautiful
Christina Lake in August to visit Elaine
and Terry. The saddest event of the year
occurred when 21 and a half year old Holly just stopped eating basically while
I was away, and after a couple of trips
to the vet I realized the end was near and had her put to sleep. She really didn’t seem to be in real pain
until I made the decision so knew it was the right one. When you have a cat that old you know you are
have limited time but sad to say good bye to such a fun companion.
She was friendly and purry to the very end. 
In the fall I ended up doing a bit of subbing
due to a teacher shortage. I did a couple of art workshops and Val from
Montreal came to visit and we had a trip to Whistler and she also went to
Galiano and Victoria. It was fun having
her here but we didn’t have time to see everything of course. And then two days after she left, Sue and I
were off to Croatia and Slovenia for 12 days .
It was a wonderful trip. Just hit the previous sentence for more pictures. We loved being there and even got to see a bit of Italy, Bosnia, and Montenegro. Considering the violence that occurred there not too long ago, I had such a feeling of peace when I was there, which somehow was very heartening. Also I loved the diversity of climate and terrain and the layers of history.
Before I returned I was asked again if I
would be willing to teach two days a week at my old school from the beginning of November probably until the end of December as
a resource teacher sharing the position with my former principal. I have actually enjoyed it but sometimes hard
to get everything in as I already had a pretty busy retired life. But I still manage to go for ocean walks,
fitness and yoga classes and choir . My art and knitting have taken a bit of a hit. I
have had to get a bit more efficient as I also ended up being program chair of our DKG
women educators’ group so that has also been another added piece.
2017 was once again a good year and I am
looking forward to new adventures in 2018, whatever they may be. Wishing you a joyous holiday season and new
year!
