South Africa - January, 2016

 We had a a guide assigned to us who would sit patiently in our truck and wait for us to take the perfect shot of each animal. Ally (the only female guide and the one who was our ranger) was excellent...giving us detail regarding the habits and habitats of the animals located on our safari, The leopard above posed nicely for this shot,

As soon as this elephant started to move toward our vehicle, our driver backed up and went on to find another animal. We were able to move in quite close to many of the animals but rhinos and elephants were off limits!

As there has been a drought in parts of South Africa and particularly in and near the Kruger National Park, the shrubs and trees are not as lush and vibrant in color. 

This giraffe gave us many poses from which to choose. The animals were not spooked by the vehicles. They gave us plenty of opportunity to take a variety of photos from different angles,

SIR OSCAR

Sir Oscar is waiting for us to come home
While watching and listening not far does he roam

He perks up and waits as he hears the knob turning
No longer alone and no longer  yearning.

Sir Oscar, he waits to be offered a treat
When nothing's forthcoming, he gives in to defeat

 Back up on the sofa, Sir Oscar does leap
Now that we're home, he is able to sleep.

I can't believe I did it!

On April 2, 2015, I had quite a surprise when I walked toward the 8th green here at Copperleaf. I couldn't find my ball which my three golf buddies saw landing on the green. I searched behind the green, beside the green,  in front of the green and then someone said 'Did you look in the hole' Why would I do that I wondered. With nowhere else to look, I did just that...and there it was!!! I wanted to share this good news with you. And although it was not any skill of mine that got it there, I was thrilled to have hit a 143 yard drive that landed the ball into the hole! My friend, Sylvia Bacon, surprised me by giving me this plaque as a gift. She had been riding in the cart with me that day. Whoppie! 

The Burlington Art Gallery presents ~ FIBER CONTENT 2014!

The Fibre Content 2014 exhibition is a collaborative effort with original works by artists. Arja's work was selected by a jury for this show. Algonaquin Rapids a 43" x 29" beautifully designed quilt had been paper pierced and embellished with thread, yarn and organza. It truly celebrates one of Ontario's stunning wild places.

On September 11th, Arja and I traveled to Burlington and took in this breathtaking exhibition. This is what the Show Manager said of the selected pieces. "The selection jury had the tough job of reducing the 208 entries to a manageable number for the space available. The quality of the work made this a difficult task."

Congratulations, Arja! God has blessed you with much talent. It is truly used to His glory as you share it by giving to others in so many different ways.

The Upstalsboom on the Baltic Coast in Northern Germany

 Emilie had fun playing on the shoreline of the Baltic Sea. She spent a good hour collecting stones that she had planned to take back home..."A-a-sorry, Emilie...you'll have to be content with having only a photo of them."

 Checking in with Grandpa to see if he was having as much fun reading as she was collecting stones.  Turns out Emilie enjoyed what she was doing more than Grandpa. Although relaxing, for Grandpa, was a good thing!

We stayed for two nights in Germany before travelling to Gdansk, Poland. This lovely hotel just outside of Gdansk was our last stop with Emilie  before she was to meet up with her mom, brother, sister and granddad. They were attending the wedding of her Uncle Andre who was getting married to a lady who  had been born in Poland and...best of all...Emilie and Alexandra were going to be the flower girls!

"Bye, bye, Emilie.  We  had a wonderful time with you in Europe!"

To Paris with Love ~ August 8 - August 10

 Emilie very much wanted to visit Paris. We were pleased to accommodate her request. As it happened to be my birthday on the day we arrived, Chuck and Emilie went all out to make it special. They came into the living-room area singing 'Happy Birthday' while each carried an armload of balloons. They made the day a memorable occasion alright!

It felt like a weekend of celebration. On Saturday evening, Chuck surprised us by booking a dinner cruise along the Seine River. We boarded at 8:15 p.m. and had a wonderful meal that was served over a two-hour period. Someone took a photo of us when  we went out on to the back deck to view the Eiffel Tower all lit up. On the left is a photo taken during the day when we did a bus tour of the city.

It was a very happy birthday being able to celebrate it in Paris with Chuck and with Emilie.

Enjoying Landal

This is a photo of the sitting area in our backyard at Landal. As it was covered, it enabled us to eat outdoors even when it was raining. Our surroundings were lush with flowers and hedges. Often our dinner time conversations were accompanied by the melodious cooing of the doves nearby.  

Emilie had this huge pool all to herself one morning when she had decided it was time for a swim. Landal was located in the middle of farmland. Behind the pool, in the background, there was a bicycle path, a road and behind that--a farm. The Dutch make use of every inch of land available to them.

"Checkers, anyone?"