Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Merry Christmas, 2017


Carolle Trembley & John Palmer         
John and Carolle
                            
#602, 19 King Street
London, Ontario, N6A 5N8


December 5, 2017.

Hello                                                                                   
         Holy Cow, the temperature outside this week rose to +16. And they call this winter???  We can take it.  I’d better not press the issue too much.  We have always had a winter season with lots of cold weather and a ton of snow.  I expect we will get our share this year too. 

 
Gramps/John as Randy Hans
       
So, what’s the action at our place these days?  Well, if you follow John on his Facebook page, you will get a view of some of our eatin’-out meals and some of his costumes for mystery dinner theatres.  This is the best season for them.  Firms hire the mystery dinner folks for their staff Christmas parties and get togethers at this time.  Carolle prefers to stay at home and currently is working on knitting at least one new scarf for someone.  In between times, we both have regular lunches and card game get togethers with our friends.
 

         We are both struck by the difficulties encountered in aging.  We discovered that both of us have lost about 3” height since we started our ‘shrink chart’ a few years ago.  Carolle has begun to answer “I’m almost 80,” when her age is questioned.  We still feel we have  a wonderful life, but sometimes the restrictions and pain make it more difficult.  Carolle has bought a walker, as she has trouble walking more than a couple of blocks—especially uphill.  We both have had canes ready for quite a while now.  We don’t seem to need them much, thank goodness, but it feels safe to have them.

Veronica with Paytyn and Paisley
Jodie with Paisley and Paytyn
         Lots of movement in the family this year.  One of our favorite photos is of Veronica in the hospital bed with Paytyn and our newest great granddaughter, Paisley.  That girl smiles almost all the time.  The two girls are very good together.  Well, they have great parents.  Jodie has finally found a job which seems fair to him and reimburses him for all the work he does.


Brandon and Kayla

         Kayla and her partner, Brandon, moved from Regina, Saskatchewan to Vaughan, Ontario this year, and both were able to transfer jobs.  They found a nice apartment and see his son, Jacob, often. Because she is within a couple of hours of London, we are lucky to see Kayla more often. Rachael also has a new apartment which everyone loves.  And she has a good part-time job.


          
Matthew and Laura
          


Matthew and Laura became engaged this year while in Romania on vacation visiting Laura’s family and friends.  They will marry next July.  And they bought a new house, which is palatial and beautiful.   






Phebe

Cordelia
Phebe moved in with them, and she is now looking for a job.  You go Phebe!!  Cordelia has begun her first year at Western University and is loving it (well, mostly.  One course doesn’t turn her on that much, but she is keeping current.)  How wonderful it is to see her smile when talking about University.   


Jacob and Melinda
Elise and Lara, first day of school

Jacob and Melinda and Lara and Elise are doing well in Houston.  Hurricane Harvey hit them this year.  We were so impressed seeing the water up to the entrance of their garage.  Luckily it didn’t get into the garage or the house.  There was so much water that they were cooped in at home for several days and say they were quite relieved when the water started to go down and they could get to their schools and jobs again.       
        
        
Next week we fly to Edmonton to have an early ‘Christmas dinner’ at Kristi’s and David’s—a tradition we have missed for the last several years.  We will get to see Carolle’s sister and her wonderful family there. There is already snow in Edmonton. Well, what would you expect?

Earlier this year, Laura invited us for ‘Christmas’ at their new house.  So, on Boxing Day, Laura and I will let John and Matthew take Phebe and Cordelia to one of the Boxing Day sales starting at 5:30 or 6 am while we stay curled up in bed.  After that, the family will come together at their house for our Christmas celebration. 

So, 2017 has been an interesting year for us and we have landed here still walking and talking and having fun with family and friends.  We hope you have had a year as interesting and that you will have a Christmas celebration with family at your sides.  And we hope next year is wonderful for you.

      Merry Christmas and Happy New year!

     with love from Carolle and John