Seasons of Our Lives.....

Christmas Greetings from Phelanland 2007

WINTER

Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.





· a sad goodbye to Mir & Ralph at the TO airport after lovely visit
· Art & Amber strip floors & move door as a surprise for Nagmeh while they’re away on pilgrimage to Haifa (orchestrated by our romantic son)
· Amber liked it so much, she decided to become a fine woodworker
· Arthur finishes work on my stained glass studio & I teach Walter SG
· I make several stained glass pieces, including a surprise hummingbird window for Aaron & Nagmeh
· I teach my 1st bridge course in Elmira & make several new friends
· Arthur enjoys his meetings with the Bonsai & the Rotary club
· I join Newcomer’s & CFUW & participate in their book, bridge, movie, wine, luncheon & new members clubs
· see Steven Lewis at Sir Wil; most incredible speaker I’ve ever heard
· I visit my aunt Glenora & Uncle Gord in London every few weeks & help them through some tough times

SUMMER

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.





· we visit old friends in Kingston & then spend a weekend in Tweed; what a trip down memory lane & a great start for the summer
· on a sad summer’s day, July 4, my dear aunt Glenora passed away; she has been like a mother to me for over 40 years; I played original Judy Garland “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” song & wrote a eulogy for the funeral; she & Gord had 64 wonderful years together
· with Stratford being just an hour away, we enjoy 3 wonderful peformances; one was with A&N to celebrate our mutual anniversaries
· we experience the Elora Music festival & wonderful Mill restaurant with my cousin Steven & Caroline; partied with the organizers
· we attend the Kitchener Blues Festival & antique car show
· Arthur finds Nirvana when we go to the Ford Truck show in Arthur
· we explore the beaches of Lake Huron, from Grand Bend to Sauble & were very impressed with their unique beauty; fun in the sun!!!

SPRING

Sweet April showers
Do spring May flowers.





· sauna is installed & operational by March; quite a challenge
· we have a wonderful surprise birthday party for Gord (90) & Glenora (86) on April 1st & they see many friends for the last time
· we undertake a huge yard project; remove old wooden fence around the pool opening up view to the back field & horses; install wire fence around the area; extend gardens; create an opening through the stone wall & create a new path, remove trees, work up & plant gardens
· Arthur has fun setting up his Bonsai collection; this involved digging holes to fill with gravel for cement block posts; covering the area in lawn fabric & cleaning up old pool fence boards & installing them behind the bonsai area as a wind break
· we find 3 other compatible couples to play bridge with
· Bunny invasion begins; set up a canvas shade structure beside pool
· attend an excellent TO performance of Amber’s “Voices” choir
· I move Gord & Glenora to Peterborough so Gord’s sister Marion can help them out & this was in the nick of time
· we went to Hamilton Lilac festival & held a Bonsai open house here

FALL

No spring, nor summer beauty hath such grace
As I have seen in one autumnal face





· Amber moves home after being away 5 years; she is studying Woodworking at Conestoga college, doing well & enjoying it; I am trying not to overparent; we have quite a time juggling cars as her school is 30 minutes away & we’re learning about each other again
· she & her Dad have had a lot of fun working together; they finished the garage dry wall, wiring, insulation, built shelves & installed window sills on the first floor of the house; their next project is to build a work shop in the basement so Amber can develop her expertise
· I’m thrilled to have two “handy helpers” in the house & have no trouble coming up with exciting projects for them; Amber painted her bedroom & the sun room a lovely turquoise
· I hosted a surprise 60th birthday party for my friend Joanne & several friends visited, including Ruth from Vancouver not seen for 20 years
· I taught 3 bridge classes & joined a Probus club with 175 women
· we are really looking forward to Xmas & New Years with our neice Karina & Kyle in Edmonton; along with Amber, Aaron & Nagmeh
· good news: Miranda & Ralph coming home for a month next summer