We're late getting this one written...sorry. We didn't even go
away for Christmas this year, so we don't have much excuse...but we've
been busy. In our last letter we had driven to Florida for Christmas.
In February we had a party for some friends at the yacht club where we
served Peter's great award-winning chili, in edible bread bowls created
by Deborah. That was so much fun that we're doing it again this year, a
month earlier (the entrée this year is "butter chicken", a curry
dish).
In March we flew back to Florida (because we only had a week off),
grabbed a rental car at the airport and drove down to go camping on Elliot
Key in Biscayne National Park, visited bird sanctuaries, and snorkelled
the coral reef from a catamaran sailing out of Key Largo
Upon our return, Deb took delivery of her new Swift - very high
"cute factor". I find it a gas to drive, no pun intended...manual
transmission, zips around like a little sports car, and takes its fuel
in sips instead of gulps like the old Marquis used to do. Lots of
room for Maxie and/or camping gear in the back, too.
We celebrated Canada Day with Arnd, Stefanie, Silken and Una on
Salt Spring Island. A little chilly this evening, but we had nice
warm hikes and picnics on other days.
After that we stopped in Vancouver to visit with Lara, who was starring
as Rosalynd in As You Like It, a Shakespearean production on Bard on the
Beach. We hung out together for a few days, walking, eating Sushi, crossing
the Capilano Bridge, etc...
Shortly after we got home, her brother Kenton and his partner Erika
visited us in Toronto. We went sailing, and sacrificed their digital camera
to the gods of Lake Ontario, but undeterred, they quickly bought a better
one, and we all went to Niagara Falls for a camping and sightseeing trip,
as well as the AGM of the Angola Memorial Scholarship Fund.
While at the Falls, we did the Maid of the Mist, Marineland, and
the Aviary...Erika has birds on the brain, don't you think?
One of them tried to stow away in Deborah's backpack to break out
of bird prison. Maybe he identifies with our taste in T-shirts.
In August I got to fulfill a longstanding dream by taking my brother
Peter sailing in our 27' Mirage
My nephew Dylan found Lake Ontario positively Caribbean.
Niece Emily took a while to be convinced,
and got wet one centimetre at a time,
but eventually went in for a dip as well.
Of course, not all days on Lake Ontario are as sunny, but our friends
Sean and Adrienne show us how Lake Ontario sailors deal with gray days
In November we sold our big 3-bedroom, 2-storey home to a close
friend, and moved into the house we'd been renting out since '91, at 28
Marsh Road, Scarborough, ON M1K 1Y8.
(This photo is a year old. It shows the old Marquis, which
held up well for twenty years but is now in car heaven.)
The downsizing exercise has been severe, and I'm still not sure
the experiment was a total success, but it is cosy, and there's a superb
garden that we'll be able to grow flowers and vegetables in when the snow
melts - the last house didn't have any gardening possibilities (too much
shade from mature maple trees). We have hardwood floors, and a real
wood fireplace (my new toy). Doesn't heat the house much, but gives
great ambience, and warms you up like toast if you sit right in front of
it. As the Friendly Giant used to say, "One little chair for one
of you, and a bigger chair for two to curl up in, and for someone who likes
to rock, a rocking chair in the middle." - and we actually have the rocking
chair, too. This room is where you'll be sitting if you come to visit
us this year...and maybe sleeping, too, as my poor mother discovered a
month ago!
Just pulling your leg...we've come up with a better sleeping solution
since Mom was here and we're a little more unpacked and a little better
organized. Any of our friends will be most welcome to stop by, or even
stay overnight. We've spent this Christmas break getting organized,
doing AMSF banking, helping my friend move into our old house, lots of
other chores, and visiting with friends we don't see much of during the
school year.
I wonder what the year to come will bring? A new school for me in September, I know that much; but I don't know which one, yet. Deb will stay where she is at Oakridge until she retires, three years from now according to my calculations, although she says four. Maxie is still getting around, but growing older and weaker; we don't know how much longer she'll last, but she's almost thirteen, which is quite a feat for a Great Dane. There will be travel, for sure - maybe China, maybe Angola; and lots of sailing.
We wish each of you all the very best for 2006.
love,
Steve & Deborah