Our niece

We only have one niece but she's all we need wrapped up in one beautiful, talented, clever, young lady. (She obviously takes after her Mom ... sorry John, couldn't resist!) We're very proud of her accomplishments. Like Carolyn, Haley is in the process of applying to colleges and waiting for the "big" envelopes. She has already been accepted at one of her fav schools so the future is looking bright!

All the very best to you Haley!

Our nephews

We have 5 handsome nephews that we don't get to see often enough. They are pictured here oldest to youngest:

Don's sister, Kathy's two boys, Adam (18) and Brandon (15).
Adam is heading off to university this fall.

My brother, John's, son, Cole (14). An expert in martial arts and solid as a rock!

Don's sister, Barb's, two sons, Eric (7) and Michael (5). They keep us well entertained as you can see! (Always wash your kids' hands after they play with crayons in restaurants ... you never know how they were used before you!)

Nola

Don's mom passed away on Thursday, January 7th. She was 84. She had a long battle with Alzheimers which robbed her of many years at the end. Here is a photo of Nola; this one taken in 1993 with Carolyn who was 8 months old during this visit to see us in Richmond Hill. She always enjoyed her grandchildren.

There was a beautiful service for Nola in Ingersoll on Monday, Jan. 11 where we celebrated her life and enjoyed the music that was so enjoyed by her. Adam, our nephew, put together a beautiful slide show presentation reminding us all of her better days and the many good times we all shared with her.

Personal space

I'm one that needs her personal space. I'm not one that likes people standing too close, especially strangers. Its hard to manage your personal space on an airplane, but most people, big and small, work hard to stay within their alloted minuscule space, i.e. the narrow space between armrests.

Except the person beside me when I rode back from Florida. She was amazingly unaware of any personal space courtesies. It was irritating me until Carolyn, my daughter, leaned over and said, "Forget about it mom. Pretend you're on that show where if you can tolerate the person without losing your temper for an hour you'll win $100." This completely changed my perspective and became a challenge - a game to pass the time away while I was bashed in the arm countless times.

And in hindsight I find the whole situation funny. Here are some of the things my seatmate did:

• Set her carry-on bag down on my foot and let my leg support it during take-off
• Massive sighs and massive shifting in her chair rocking the row
• Asked if she could put her lunch garbage on my tray (I said 'yes' thinking she was getting up to go the bathroom - she then made herself comfortable and didn't move, except to reach across me to drink from her cup on my tray!)
• Slammed me across the chest with her arm
• Hit my arm to talk to me even when I was reading or talking to Carolyn

Okay, it was very weird but I did realize later that she had some issues. She was met by someone as soon as she got off the plane and helped out of the terminal to where some anxious person was probably relieved for her safe arrival.

Where's my $100?!