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?" 

From The Hague to Amsterdam - August 5th

 Madurodam...a favorite stopover on the way to Amsterdam. Miniature replicas featuring  many of the famous landmarks in the Netherlands. Located in the Scheveningen district of The Hague, visitors view replicas of famous Dutch castles, public buildings, Schiphol Airport, the Peace Palace, an amusement park and much more. Emilie enjoyed spending time in the playground following our tour. A final stop for a photo standing in a pair of  over sized Dutch klompen and then we were off to Amsterdam.

We took a boat ride along the canals of Amsterdam; although the clouds threatened the day with rain, it didn't come until today.

The Five Flies (built in 1627) was a restaurant Chuck and I went to on our honeymoon. Whenever we return to Amsterdam we try and have dinner there. Now we are making memories there with our grand kids.

Our First Day

This hammock in our backyard provided Emilie with rest for her weary bones after our long flight. We all plopped down on the nearest couch, bed or...the hammock when jet-lag hit us at unexpected times. For Emilie, it was after eating a big Dutch dinner.

 Ready, set, go!--off on the bikes to tour the Brabant area where we are staying at a Landal resort.

 The small figure at the top of the tower (in the middle) is Emilie. This unusual tower design was built as a lookout from which to view the surrounding countryside, the nature preserve and the lakes. I'm sure it was beautiful. I can only take their word for it. I chose to remain "ground-bound."

We cycled past several farms as we biked. Emilie was charmed by this tame little pony with the thick mane.

Emilie's European Vacation - August, 2014

Cameron drove us to the airport and gave us a grand send off.
Too bad Chuck missed taking a photo of Cameron lifting Emilie into his arms up for her final farewell hug. I was taken by surprise when he gave me a bear hug that lifted me off of my feet! (I found out I wasn't as frail as I thought--no broken bones to report.)

Hard to believe it's been five years since  we started taken each grandchild (when they turned ten) to Europe. After Emilie, comes Taryn who will turn ten next July. The years have come and gone far too fast. This photo was taken just before we walked into the terminal. What a nice surprise when we found out our plane was taking off ten minutes early. Last year, we took off two hours late.

No disappointments so far. Emilie didn't stop smiling until she finally fell asleep some time after midnight. The seats in each pod reclined fully to make sleeping on an airplane a very comfortable experience. Of the three of us, Emilie was the only one who woke up on time to be served breakfast. She wasn't about to miss out on anything.

We arrived in Zurich, Switzerland at 7:15 a.m.. (Our time--six hours earlier.) We had a one hour layover and then off to Dusseldorf where we rented the car that would take us to Landal in Tilburg, Holland. Sleep came quickly as soon as we arrived.

Emilie's European Vacation ~ 2014

Emilie is all smiles as she prepares to leave on her vacation with Grandma and Grandpa. Her Daddy drove us to the airport and got us there on time to take our 6:20 p.m. flight. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that our plane would be taking off ten minutes early.

Our Home for One Week...A Quaint Little Town called Malmesbury

 Malmesbury is a limestone medieval town of intimate beauty that is located on a hill and about two hours west of London.

 Alexandra is standing by the River Avon.  You can see our place in the background to the left.

We attended church at the Malmesbury Abbey, now known as St. Paul's Anglican Church.  The current church was  constructed in 1150 A.D. and replaced the original abbey which was built around 800 A.D.

\This photo was taken from our balcony and is a view of our neighbor's home which is behind the mill. 

 As you can see, there's much potential for Chuck to bump his head on our living-room/dining room ceiling.

"If I bump my head one more time I'm going to scream!"  Thankfully, he didn't bother to carry out the threat; for if he had, the police would have been knocking on our door, for sure.

Alexandra standing outside of our Malmesbury home.  Yes...this is the road you see, about 4" from her feet.  She was not allowed to go outside and play...no kidding.

"Good-bye, Holland!"

 With Holland almost a memory, Alexandra was excited about leaving for England on Saturday.  We left our little cottage at Landal, on Friday, and traveled south, to one of my favorite Dutch cities, Maastrict, located in the province of Limburg.  We planned on staying overnight as our plane to Heathrow would be leaving on Saturday around 4:30 p.m.

 Although Alexandra enjoyed traveling to the various towns of interest, in The Netherlands, she really enjoyed the food...especially the Dutch fries.  "Oh...if only I could eat these!" 

 Chuck booked us into the most charming hotel for the night.  It was located about 8 kms. from the heart of Maastrict.  Formerly a monastary, it had been closed down, as such, in 1997.  This photo shows some of the beautiful grounds (behind me) and the patio located outside of our room.

 We weren't just a little spoiled although very much appreciative of being able to see and experience the beauty of Chateau St. Gerlach on our last evening in The Netherlands. 

 "Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma for such an coo-awesome (cool/awesome) holiday in Holland!"

 "A little rain can never spoil a great holiday."

"Yup...I'm off to "meet" the newborn prince."

Biking and our trip to Amsterdam

 Alexandra has loads of energy and her Loopstra legs are able to help her keep pace with Grandpa.; Grandma...well...she's managing to keep up.  (Someone has to take the photographs!)

 This poor little pony, approaching Alexandra, could hardly see her for his long thick mane.  Nevertheless, he kept up his trot until he reached the electric fence.  Too bad for him that Ally wasn't able to give him a hug and a pat.  There hasn't been an animal that we have passed where Alexandra hasn't  insisted on stopping to offer soothing words.

 "Finally, Grandma, you caught up!"

 "Yes...the best part of the meal...Vla!"  Every grandchild we have taken to Holland has been introduced to the Dutch pudding/dessert called Vla (pronounced "Fla")

 "Fla-la-la-la-la-la-la!"

We took a one-hour boat ride along the canals in Amersterdam.  This (next to Vla) was a highlight for Alexandra's stay in The Netherlands.

We were all saddened by the loss of Grandpa's camera in Amsterdam...still...he was able to smile for my camera shot of he and Alexandra.  All in all it was a very good day!

  From |Amsterdam, we drove to Ouderkerk on the Ij (a river) where we met old friends whom I had met when Chuck introduced them to me on our honeymoon 43 years ago.  We are all grandparents, now; their children and our children are in their late thirties and early forties.  Between us, we have eleven grandchildren!