Volume II, Number VIII: 2007
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OLYMPIA - The year began with a failure to execute. We'd seen it before but did not think it would happen again.
The TaylorGram for 2006 had been written, dozens had been printed, and many had hand-written personal notes added but they never made it into envelopes or to the post office ... and only about a dozen were sent via e-mail.
There had to be a better way. (HINT: This is it.)
The TaylorGram for 2006 had been written, dozens had been printed, and many had hand-written personal notes added but they never made it into envelopes or to the post office ... and only about a dozen were sent via e-mail.
There had to be a better way. (HINT: This is it.)
The 50th Anniversary Blast
FAIR OAKS BEACH - Because Boxing Day means nothing to our American friends, we transformed it into Blasting Day with dinner and a fireworks salute to four couples who had reached the 50 year milestone in their marriages. (Elaine gets the production credits for condensing the 12 minute live show on the water into a 4 minute YouTube video.)
The guests of honor included (L-R) Bob and Lianne, Dick and Jan, dad and mom (Mel and Wilma) and Bob and Nancy. In addition to the things that went boom in the night, dinner conversation included some eye popping revelations about young love in the 1950s. They all seemed to have survived the hijinx and grown up to be proper adults, although that may be an overstatement for some members of this 50-50-50-50 club.
The guests of honor included (L-R) Bob and Lianne, Dick and Jan, dad and mom (Mel and Wilma) and Bob and Nancy. In addition to the things that went boom in the night, dinner conversation included some eye popping revelations about young love in the 1950s. They all seemed to have survived the hijinx and grown up to be proper adults, although that may be an overstatement for some members of this 50-50-50-50 club.
Much of the evening's charm stemmed from the relationships developed over the years between mom and dad and their west coast friends.
Behind the scenes was a team of pyrotechnicians who designed, wired and shot the show. The boat driver (Paul) got to shoot the finale but Gary, Kevin, Heidi, Brad and Jaron did the hard work of getting the show ready (ably assisted by Nick, Sean, Joe, Rick, Rocky, Jay and Chris).
The Boxing Day blow up and blow out was the third of three celebrations of mom and dad's 50th, beginning with a garden party in Manitoba and a zip-line express tour of Costa Rica during the summer.
The Olympia party was closest to the actual date (December 21) and the temperatures would not have been confused with those of Costa Rica but were considerably milder than what was waiting for them back in Winnipeg. (Speaking of back in Winnipeg, the return trip turned out to be a milk run with mechanical and weather problems on the original itinerary forcing a change that stretched a 6 hour trip to 18 hours. Instead of Seattle-Denver-Winnipeg, they ended up on the scenic route -- Seattle-Portland-Chicago-Winnipeg.) The only redeeming possibility was that they left sufficiently tired that they were able to sleep during their first experience with a red eye flight.
Behind the scenes was a team of pyrotechnicians who designed, wired and shot the show. The boat driver (Paul) got to shoot the finale but Gary, Kevin, Heidi, Brad and Jaron did the hard work of getting the show ready (ably assisted by Nick, Sean, Joe, Rick, Rocky, Jay and Chris).
The Boxing Day blow up and blow out was the third of three celebrations of mom and dad's 50th, beginning with a garden party in Manitoba and a zip-line express tour of Costa Rica during the summer.
The Olympia party was closest to the actual date (December 21) and the temperatures would not have been confused with those of Costa Rica but were considerably milder than what was waiting for them back in Winnipeg. (Speaking of back in Winnipeg, the return trip turned out to be a milk run with mechanical and weather problems on the original itinerary forcing a change that stretched a 6 hour trip to 18 hours. Instead of Seattle-Denver-Winnipeg, they ended up on the scenic route -- Seattle-Portland-Chicago-Winnipeg.) The only redeeming possibility was that they left sufficiently tired that they were able to sleep during their first experience with a red eye flight.
Wedding Bells Ringing Off In The Distance
WINNIPEG - Word just in that our nephew Graham popped the question in the middle of exam season. He and Ang, about whom an earlier post said we were hopeful, will wed on July 5, 2008, in Winnipeg. In the meantime, Graham, Ang, Naomi, Mark and Dave and Karen are off to the land of Don Ho for a couple of weeks over Christmas and New Years.
A Month Before Christmas
OLYMPIA -- It is a small but historic moment. For the first time in 15 years, the perennially procrastinated TaylorGram is done and mailed (conventional and e-) before December 1. Even more, as the Post Office receipt attests, the print version was mailed more than a month before Christmas. (Maybe that's why other people call them Christmas letters, not New Year's, Valentine or Easter letters.) As one long time reader suggested, "maybe we are turning over a new leaf." Maybe.
"Free Lainie" - Based on a True Story
SEATTLE - The year ended for Elaine with a ten week marathon of training hospital staff in preparation for the launch of the next phase of a clinical information system at Harborview Medical Center. Regular readers of the TaylorGram may remember ORCA, a whale of a modernization project at the hospitals owned and/or operated by the University of Washington. With each release of the system, the training regime becomes larger and more complex ... and more demanding on Elaine and a relatively small team of trainers.
The intensity for this release is expected to ease off by mid-January 2008. (ORCA is still a baby whale as such efforts go and will take until 2013 to grow up big and strong, so the Free Willy moment is still five or six years off.)
This period of her professional life will likely be remembered more fondly than it was lived. The core project team has worked hard and well together, helped along with a (strangely shared) quirky sense of humor.
If you have not seem her around town, or if you have had to wait longer than would have expected for a response to an e-mail message, blame it on the whale that swallowed her whole.
The intensity for this release is expected to ease off by mid-January 2008. (ORCA is still a baby whale as such efforts go and will take until 2013 to grow up big and strong, so the Free Willy moment is still five or six years off.)
This period of her professional life will likely be remembered more fondly than it was lived. The core project team has worked hard and well together, helped along with a (strangely shared) quirky sense of humor.
If you have not seem her around town, or if you have had to wait longer than would have expected for a response to an e-mail message, blame it on the whale that swallowed her whole.
The Round Up: When in Rome, iWoz and Killing Trees
ROME - The street life in Rome was one of the delights of Paul's brief but rich trip to Italy this fall. He was able to carve out about three days for sight seeing (and sampling real Italian cuisine) but was invited there by a group of US legislators who traveled there under the auspices of their foreign affairs committee. Paul was on a panel on comparative US-UK tax filing modernization with Labour's Baroness Angela Billingham of the British House of Lords. Noting their respective idealogical backgrounds while introducing herself, she quipped to her conservative audience, "labour to me would be communist to you" to polite applause and a little nervous laughter.
In his travels this year, which were dominated by the now usual circuit of US state capitols and a handful of major cities, Paul also met Steve Wozniak (who provides a playful romp through the story of his invention of the PC and rethinking what it means to do things that matter in a new autobiography called iWoz); Juan Williams (who is a fixture on public radio and cable news but whose greater contributions may be important books on the American civil rights movement); and Josh Rushing (whose mission as a US Marine in Iraq was to explain America to the Al-Jazeera television network -- and vice versa -- which landed him in the Control Room before he joined the billion dollar global media company).
[Nothing here should be construed as an endorsement of everything they have said or written, or as a solicitation to buy any of their books or DVDs, but each had some provocative ideas that are worth thinking about.]
For his part, Paul helped kill a few more trees this year with another book chapter (in somebody else's book) and a number of white papers and reports.
In his travels this year, which were dominated by the now usual circuit of US state capitols and a handful of major cities, Paul also met Steve Wozniak (who provides a playful romp through the story of his invention of the PC and rethinking what it means to do things that matter in a new autobiography called iWoz); Juan Williams (who is a fixture on public radio and cable news but whose greater contributions may be important books on the American civil rights movement); and Josh Rushing (whose mission as a US Marine in Iraq was to explain America to the Al-Jazeera television network -- and vice versa -- which landed him in the Control Room before he joined the billion dollar global media company).
[Nothing here should be construed as an endorsement of everything they have said or written, or as a solicitation to buy any of their books or DVDs, but each had some provocative ideas that are worth thinking about.]
For his part, Paul helped kill a few more trees this year with another book chapter (in somebody else's book) and a number of white papers and reports.
Strong Loonie floats Canadian Boats
OLYMPIA - With the value of the Canadian dollar at heights not seen since Watergate, we have noticed a welcome uptick in the number of Canadian visitors who have visited our little slice or paradise (even with its misfortune of being located just south of the 49th parallel).
The most recent guests were Paul's cousin Brent Taylor and his wife Corrine and their son Mark from Hanna, AB. They arrived by train (the Olympia station is only a quarter of a mile from our place) and continued their northwest tour with stops at Mt. St. Helens, Qwest Field (where the SeaHawks beat the Bengals) and the Western Washington Fair (where the Steve Miller Band just happened to be playing).
Brent and Paul hatched the plan for the visit at last year's Bacon Reunion in Dodsland, SK (see the 2006 TaylorGram)
Dave and Karen were here earlier in the year, as were Paul's parents
The most recent guests were Paul's cousin Brent Taylor and his wife Corrine and their son Mark from Hanna, AB. They arrived by train (the Olympia station is only a quarter of a mile from our place) and continued their northwest tour with stops at Mt. St. Helens, Qwest Field (where the SeaHawks beat the Bengals) and the Western Washington Fair (where the Steve Miller Band just happened to be playing).
Brent and Paul hatched the plan for the visit at last year's Bacon Reunion in Dodsland, SK (see the 2006 TaylorGram)
Dave and Karen were here earlier in the year, as were Paul's parents
Sneaking onto Facebook
OUT THERE - While we do not fit into its target demographics, we both created profiles on the social networking site with some surprising results. We have been swapping stories, videos and various widgets with family members more often than we have talked with them on the phone (even though the price of a long distance call has now been driven down to essentially zero).
We have also connected with people with whom we have lost contact from our respective home towns, high schools and employers -- Health Sciences Centre, CKO Radio and CKND Television chief among them.
All of it was enough to jump start renovations of our respective websites but, alas, they remain a work in progress. Maybe next year.
We have also connected with people with whom we have lost contact from our respective home towns, high schools and employers -- Health Sciences Centre, CKO Radio and CKND Television chief among them.
All of it was enough to jump start renovations of our respective websites but, alas, they remain a work in progress. Maybe next year.
Hamiota Homecoming
HAMIOTA - Elaine's home town of Hamiota marked its centennial in July 2007 with a homecoming celebration that brought almost everybody back, including the whole Routledge clan.
Pattie, Jack and Eve were in the parade, Jim played a man of the cloth in a historic Amazing Race across Hamiota, and Elaine joined a small cadre of genealogists in telling the village's history through its families.
Add in fireworks, a dance with a hard working live cover band, a BBQ and a mud bogg and you have a great summer weekend in a pretty special place.
Pattie, Jack and Eve were in the parade, Jim played a man of the cloth in a historic Amazing Race across Hamiota, and Elaine joined a small cadre of genealogists in telling the village's history through its families.
Add in fireworks, a dance with a hard working live cover band, a BBQ and a mud bogg and you have a great summer weekend in a pretty special place.
Golden Anniversary Triumvirate
BIRD'S HILL - The invitation to Mel and Wilma Taylor's 50th Anniversary explained the celebration's early date by asserting that a garden party in December would have involved entirely too much shoveling.
According to the Environment Canada forecast, the July weekend weather threatened a 90 percent chance of rain. The day actually delivered on the minority 10 percent chance that it would remain dry.
Mom and dad's backyard garden was in full bloom, Naomi had done a masterful job decorating the outdoor party and the local Taylors (broadly defined to include Dave, Karen, Naomi, Mark, Graham and a girlfriend Ang about whom we are hopeful) worked the logistics of turning the backyard into a dining room and bringing a 100+ pound BBQ'd hog to the party.
About 60 of mom and dad's best friends from the last five decades - including best man Glen Fidler and matron of honor June (Toews) White - were able to join them in an afternoon of remembrances while making new memories.
The July garden party (and a family dinner the previous evening) was the catalyst for what has become a year long celebration of their golden anniversary.
In August, they were the guests of friends (and honorary family members) Cecil, Arlene and Devon Squires for a high flying tour of Costa Rica. You ought to see mom on a zip-line!
(The third event in triumvirate is scheduled for Boxing Day in Olympia.)
According to the Environment Canada forecast, the July weekend weather threatened a 90 percent chance of rain. The day actually delivered on the minority 10 percent chance that it would remain dry.
Mom and dad's backyard garden was in full bloom, Naomi had done a masterful job decorating the outdoor party and the local Taylors (broadly defined to include Dave, Karen, Naomi, Mark, Graham and a girlfriend Ang about whom we are hopeful) worked the logistics of turning the backyard into a dining room and bringing a 100+ pound BBQ'd hog to the party.
About 60 of mom and dad's best friends from the last five decades - including best man Glen Fidler and matron of honor June (Toews) White - were able to join them in an afternoon of remembrances while making new memories.
The July garden party (and a family dinner the previous evening) was the catalyst for what has become a year long celebration of their golden anniversary.
In August, they were the guests of friends (and honorary family members) Cecil, Arlene and Devon Squires for a high flying tour of Costa Rica. You ought to see mom on a zip-line!
(The third event in triumvirate is scheduled for Boxing Day in Olympia.)
Friends, Family and Fireworks II
FAIR OAKS BEACH - We hosted the second annual Friends, Family and Fireworks party in July, bringing together our friends from church and the neighborhood for a day of eats, live music, face painting, water play and fireworks.
Eighty (80) people showed up but it really did not seem crowded. The weather was perfect.
Our friends Gary and Teri Schuette and three other pyrotechnicians volunteered their day to wire up a fireworks barge that was twice as large as last year.
Gary, in a moment of lapsed judgment, let Paul help fire the finale. It is a short path from first exposure to addiction -- love those things that go boom in the night!
If you are making your plans, the third annual blow out and blow up is scheduled for July 12, 2008.
Eighty (80) people showed up but it really did not seem crowded. The weather was perfect.
Our friends Gary and Teri Schuette and three other pyrotechnicians volunteered their day to wire up a fireworks barge that was twice as large as last year.
Gary, in a moment of lapsed judgment, let Paul help fire the finale. It is a short path from first exposure to addiction -- love those things that go boom in the night!
If you are making your plans, the third annual blow out and blow up is scheduled for July 12, 2008.
Relay for Life and Our Favorite Survivor
OLYMPIA - OK, so we have many favorite cancer survivors (blame the headline writer) but there was only one that came down for the Thurston County Relay for Life this year (see picture above). Mom walked the survivor's lap with a number of friends she has made down here and we all joined in for the family and friends laps that followed.
Elaine has been on a local team for a few years now. Her hat, which drew the attention of a local newspaper photographer, is adorned with photos of loved ones who lost their fight with cancer. It features pictures of her mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle and a couple of co-workers. Sadly, she had to add another photo just before this year's Relay -- that of Elaine Thornhill, sister to our sister-in-law Karen.
Elaine has been on a local team for a few years now. Her hat, which drew the attention of a local newspaper photographer, is adorned with photos of loved ones who lost their fight with cancer. It features pictures of her mother, grandmother, aunt, uncle and a couple of co-workers. Sadly, she had to add another photo just before this year's Relay -- that of Elaine Thornhill, sister to our sister-in-law Karen.
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This Old House meets these New Walls
OLYMPIA - The continuing story of home improvement hit another important milestone this year with more work on terracing the back yard with more retaining walls.
With the addition of a 600-brick 68-foot wall in 2007, the total now stands at 2,350 bricks.
The results to date have been remarkable, and it has us thinking about more.
The count could rise by another 1,650 as some really outstanding friends - Gary, Chris, Mickey, Rick, Rocky, Bullwinkle (Jay), Little Chris, and Nick* - have signed on for another season of building walls. (* Bob, Bob, Mark, Dan and dad were not on wall duty but they helped ready the backyard for the really big July fireworks show.
With the addition of a 600-brick 68-foot wall in 2007, the total now stands at 2,350 bricks.
The results to date have been remarkable, and it has us thinking about more.
The count could rise by another 1,650 as some really outstanding friends - Gary, Chris, Mickey, Rick, Rocky, Bullwinkle (Jay), Little Chris, and Nick* - have signed on for another season of building walls. (* Bob, Bob, Mark, Dan and dad were not on wall duty but they helped ready the backyard for the really big July fireworks show.