Every year I add one more Christmas decoration. This year it was this Santa train. Jole and I managed to get it attached to the front of our garage. It is hard to tell in the daylight, but it is very visible and cheerful when lit at night. This will be our first full winter here in Dunrovin’ We decided not to count last year because we spent so little time here. This second year here has been busy for the two of us. Jole has gone to many seminars and has learned: a) how to make rain trough out of cement and peat moss, b) how to fashion your yard into the ideal bird habitat and c) Worms 101.
Jole has also been heavily involved in the Glenhaven Book Club, in addition to her kayaking and becoming familiar with virtually every hiking trail in the area. With each passing day, Jole’s love of her home, friends and this area is deepening.
A real highlight for Jole this year was being invited to dinner in Kennewich, WA by Tim (Jole’s ex-husband) and his wife Georgie who were hosting Tim’s three children (Mimi, Tim and Sarah in starting from the left in this picture) and their families from Norway. Jole had not seen them for many years so this was a time that was very dear to her heart. Thanks you Tim and Georgie for your hospitality and an inforgettable evening!
Somehow I got involved with the community here in Glenhaven Lakes and am on two of their committees; Vice Chairman – A & Z Committee (Architectural and Zoning), a committee that approves all of the cutting and pruning of trees and any new construction permits (new homes, remodels and sheds). And as its Chairman, I formed the “Reeders” – a committee that oversee the beautification and maintenance of the water quality of our little Reed Lake. Does this make me the “Lake Cop?” Maybe. This “Reeders” project should be very rewarding. My first official act was to convince the Association to create a grant supporting the cost to have a student intern designated by Western Washington University to conduct a Reed Lake study. Our goal is take the results of this research and develop a lont-term plan to revitalize the lake. I just recieved an email a few days ago confirming that WWU had made its selection and a Ms. Maggie Taylor will be our intern. I have set a date for a meeting on Dec. 9th to meet Maggie and to let her know what she is getting herself into. This may prove the old adage….”sometimes the best man for the job is a woman.”
Our major adventure this year was a 3,700 mile road trip in the Mini Cooper, from Washington across the Southern border of Canada. This gave us the opportunity to spend a week with 
our good friends Pat & Gerrit in Toronto. Inspite of the G20, that virtually cordoned off the city center, we had a marvelous week there. We could not have had a better time. Pat and Gerrit took us all over Ontario from one adventure to another. We took train trips, went to farm markets, saw the Terra Cotta Soldiers at the Royal Ontario Museum, toured the Toronto Zoo and marveled at the view of Toronto from their 48th floor condo overlooking the city of Toronto. Gerrit treated me to a drive around town in his little red Ferarri (which he sold recently). It was a fun time.
Before we left Canada, we spent a couple of days in Niagara Falls. While the weather was dreadful for our trip across Canada, our last two days by the falls were “Chamber of Commerce” wonderful. We found a little vineyard restaurant for lunch on the Niagara Highway built on the high escarpment overlooking the Niagara River. The food was only topped by the check. I told our waiter that I would have to call my bank to see if I could get a loan!
The next chapter in this grand excursion was our trip South out of Canada to visit my son Jim, and his family (wife – Julie; four sons – Ryan, Colin, Nolan and Caden). We spent a fantastic two weeks with Jim’s family in Harrisburg, PA. It was over 105% our whole stay there. We were also lucky to have my daugher Kathie join the rest of the family. Her home is in Pendelton, S. Carolina. She managed a week with us before heading back home. 
The only ones missing from the DeLany
Clan in the Mini Cooper are Jole and Colin. The other picture are Jim and Kathie. I think we were either in the Antique Train Museum or waiting in the queue at Hershey Park. We were impressed with how much Pennsylvania looks like our area of Washington State. We actually saw two sets of fireworks this year. We saw them on July 1st for Canada Day and again in Pennsylvania for July 4th.
The last stop on our sojourn was in Salt Lake City, Utah. We attended the wedding of my niece, Jennifer to Will Kriews. We spent what time was available with Janet ( my sister) and Eric ( my brother-in-law) and their other two children, Phillip and Rick. Of course, we met the rest of the Kriew clan also.
The wedding went off with out a hitch (pun intended). I will hear about this from both families. My computer is in a sorry state of late and I lost all of the wedding pictures. I even tried to ”steal” a few pictures from Jennifer’s Facebook wedding album. This software (or Facebook’s) would not import the pictures. Jennifer was at her most beautiful and Will looked very dapper in his military blues. You will just have to take my word for these representations.
The weather was just as hot in Utah. I don’t think we had a day less than 105% the whole week! Travelling was no fun with a BLACK Mini Cooper convertible with a black top! We both took an oath that we will avoid anymore long road trips in a small car during the hottest months of the year. Actually Jole ammended the original oath by saying “no more road trips period!” I have a feeling that if, we get a comfortable motorhome or nice travel trailer, and can travel at a more liesurely pace — it might be possible to terminate the agreement. Time will tell.
Our Canadian trip was Gort’s (Mini Cooper) swan song. Sport car convertibles are just out of step with the lifestyle here in Washington. I traded Gort in recently for a crew cab, 4 X 4 Chevy pickup truck. This beast that I have named “Taz’ (short for Tasmanain Devil) will serve us much better on many levels. Our Tahoe was just a bit of a lightweight for hauling my boat – the “Knot a Yacht”. This assumes that I will somehow have the boat finished in time for fishing and boating in the spring of 2011. If there is anyone out there that understands boat mechanics, knows wiring, and has the time — I need you.
We just celebrated Thanksgiving dinner as a guest of Kathy and Marty, who are among a whole group of new friends that have made our transition to Washington so comfortable. We have invited Kathy and Marty to join us for Christmas dinner along with Don & Marlene, Ann & Steve and Gary & Marilyn. Dunrovin’ will have a very merry Christmas for us this year. Naturally, we do miss all of our friends from our many years living in California. Maybe we can have them all come too……….
I tried to do a panorama view
of our back yard
. So this may look a little strange, and is a bit disjointed. I took these the day of 
Thanksgiving before we went to dinner. Now by noon of the next day, all 4″ of snow had melted and you could not see even a single bit of snow left. I’m told that this is very typical of the snowfalls in this part of the world.
I have to tell you that this looked like a Thomas Kinkade painting. With any luck, we may even have a white Christmas. We had a lot to be thankful for this year and next year seems to hold the promise of being as fruitful. Well that was our year in a nutshell. I was afraid to include any more details for fear of boring you. There was really much more to share. Perhaps when you decide to visit Dunrovin’, we will have the time to tell the whole story. Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
December 1, 2010 at 5:50 pm |
Thanks for the good thoughts. Yes, we are relishing our retirement and try to enjoy every precious moment. We are also blessed with a lot of good friends — like you.