VOLUME III, NUMBER V: 2014
Greetings from the Southeast Shore
Amelia Island, FL - We wrote this year’s Yuletide dispatch from just south of the Florida Georgia line, which is where the cover photo was taken. The trip was the combination of work for Paul at an annual leadership retreat hosted by his employer coupled with the chance for us to get caught up with Elaine’s friends - current and former contract employees at the hospital in Seattle - who have seemingly mastered the bi-coastal commute. Both live here and work with her at the hospital in Seattle. It also gave us a chance to reflect on the year just past, and make this once-a-year journal entry.
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Going Native
We turned the corner on a long process of improving the looks and stability of the four-story back bank with some 145 native plants - snowberries and coastal strawberries in the main, accented by handfuls of nootka roses, evergreen huckleberry, Oregon grape, red flowering currant, oceanspray and mock orange. All of that will join dozens of ferns and surviving patches of Cotoneaster that survived from our previous efforts to plant the bank. The key differentiator this time around? A 7-foot tall deer fence. Take that, you vegetation eating varmints!
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Going Home
Winnipeg, MB - We had special motivation for getting back to Manitoba this summer - to meet two new grand nieces on Paul’s side of the family. Both Naomi and Mark and Graham and Ang had daughters within a month of each other in spring. Paul’s brother Dave - now a grandpa to girls three times over - observed with a chuckle that he sees a future full of “pink and giggles.” We also got caught up with the rest of Paul’s family and Elaine’s siblings - the latter at Clear Lake during the annual Routledge camping weekend. Another sign that the years are getting away on us came with the realization that nephew Jack has his driver’s license and will graduate in 2015. How on earth did that happen!?!? The nieces on Elaine’s side are also at really fun ages and it was great getting caught up with them and their parents.
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FARMER'S SAUSAGE AND A BOTTLE OF TUSKERThe Toews Shamba - the Swahili moniker for the ancestral Toews family farm in Kane, Manitoba - was host to the 40th reunion of Canadian aid workers who worked together on what all regarded as a special project in Njoro, Kenya in the early 1980s. The team included Paul's uncle, aunt and family among other folks from southern Manitoba. Paul spent a remarkable month with them in Kenya's Rift Valley (with a side volunteer gig with Trans World Radio in Nairobi) in 1983. Elaine joined in the reunion and was able to meet many of the people who had been the subject of many stories over the years. Marked by storytelling and much laughter, it was a cultural mashup then and now - witness an authentic menu that included authentic Mennonite farmer's sausage and Kenyan beer (Tusker) - both of which were purchased in the cosmopolitan prairie town of Morden.
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A Year of Singer-Songwriters in Concert
We had the chance to see some of our favorite musicians in concert this year. En route to Amelia Island, we had a date at Orlando’s House of Blues to see Kip Moore, Sam Hunt and Charlie Worsham. Also this year, we saw Toby Keith play outside on a gorgeous fall evening at the Washington State Fair. Paul saw The History of The Eagles Tour, which, as the name suggests, played through the band’s discography with album-by-album commentary by seven of the nine singer songwriters who have been part of the band over the years and performed live together on stage. The artist affectionately known in our family as ‘cousin James’ and his All Star Band played in Seattle in May. Dave and his wife Karen - both huge James Taylor fans in their own right - came out for a weekend of music, sightseeing and visiting.
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The Visitors Log
Back in Washington state, Dave and Karen came out for a concert by the artist known (by us) as Cousin James. This summer, we also welcomed returning friends visiting from southern Alberta this year. Leanne and her daughter Dani from Calgary dropped down over the Canada Day long weekend for one of their recurring visits. In fall, we were delighted to host our friend Lynne and meet Roger as they made a three-state northwest swing.
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Doing Big Birthdays Up Right
Elaine rebooted a childhood tradition last summer as we hosted a July Baby birthday party. When she was a kid, the summer birthdays were celebrated together in group parties. She knew a number of local friends shared a July birthday and, as we have come to know new people through church, the number grew to almost three dozen July babies who came with their families for burgers, dogs, salads and cheese cake on a glorious summer afternoon. It feels like a “new” tradition in the making.
It was the second of two big birthday bashes this year. In April, Elaine feted Paul for his 50th birthday with a “Made in 1964” double header party in April. We spent the afternoon with friends during a radio-themed cook out complete with a photo retrospective, a decade-by-decade playlist, and toasts to the newly minted old guy. The fun continued with a surprise after party, as the storytelling became more embarrassing and the laughter grew louder late into the night. |
The Year of Paying Attention
In last year’s TG, there was an oblique reference to both of us “making some modest changes in an effort to take care of ourselves.” That worked out better than we could have hoped at the time. A year later, we are both enjoying the effects of healthier living. With a common sense plan, Elaine’s support, and the comaraderie of fellow travelers on similar journeys of their own, Paul has shed 120 pounds and is working on new habits to sustain good health for the next 50 years. For her part, Elaine is down 30. The health and quality of life benefits have been nothing short of transformative.
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All in all, we are excited about what is in store for 2015. We are deeply blessed in so many ways, including what feels for all the world like a second shot at a longer, healthier life.
We are also blessed to count you among our friends. Our wish for you is a joyous holiday season and a healthy and happy new year.
We are also blessed to count you among our friends. Our wish for you is a joyous holiday season and a healthy and happy new year.