It is wonderful to have family here for Christmas. My brother and his wife Sue, and Trevor all arrived two days ago from Las Vegas. Trevor is leaving Christmas Day, Jon and Sue on New Year's Eve.
Mack, Heather and Todd are visiting Brianne and David in Shelton, and Daisy is courageously carrying on with three children and possibly no husband for Christmas, but that is the Navy and we are grateful for their service.
Wendy and Michel are taking a break from work and enjoying their two sons, Alex and Matthew, in Paris. Alex has another semester to go at MIT, but Matthew will be finished his undergraduate training in the spring. He has been offered serval positions, but has made no decisions as of this date.
Wendy and Michel have been invited to a wedding in India, and then will vacation in the area before returning to Paris.
Jane reported that her father's 90th birthday celebration was lots of fun. All well there apparently.
Brianne and David are enjoying their rapidly growing young man, Maddox. He rushed to greet his father's return one day recently, saying "Da Da Da, REINDEER! They have been reading him reindeer stories.
Its ben a good year for me. I am currently in several exercise classes, tap dance class, Glenaires, a ukulele class, and preparing for a Revue in March in which I dance and sing!!. Haven't been this involved in show biz since college. Some of us went to the Moscow Ballet performance of The Nutcracker in San Diego a couple of days ago.
The Glenaires had their Season Concert which was videotaped. If you are interested I will try to send you a copy. We sang, "All I Want is a Hippopotamus for Christmas". Check it out. Its quite a popular song, apparently.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and the best New Year ever. Love to all, Val
My mother and I, together with Irene and Betty Robertson sailed together on the Hiye Maru from Yokohama to Vancouver in March of 1941.
We had been to Vancouver the year before and I was excited to be back in this beautiful country. Stanley Park had towering eucalyptus trees with the strong scent I remembered so well. There were totem poles and walking paths. Then there was English Bay, the lovely protected beach I had played on the summer before.
I was in third grade, having learned so much in the six months of Sacred Heart Cathoic School that they moved me up from what otherwise should have been second grade. I could write in cursive, could read well and made friends with some very nice girls. They were all of well-to-do families since the neighborhood was wealthy, and I was invited to birthday parties at some pretty fancy homes.
But there was a war on. Pearl Harbor was alarming. My mother moved us to an apartment when things got impossible at the Klaugsey's. I remember my eighth birthday, July 31, on the sunny front lawn, being "bumped" eight times, and one for good luck! Held by hands and feet, the birthday girl was lowered to the ground and up again by friends, nine times.
remember blackout curtains on all the windows, and air raid drills. Would they strike Vancouver next?
That Christmas all I wanted was a rubber doll that could be fed with a bottle and wet at the other end. This was before plastic was invented, and all rubber was scarce, needed for the "war effort" for tires etc.
My mother managed to find such a doll, with moveable arms and legs that could be bathed and fed and diapered like a real baby. She would sit in the little kitchen and make beautiful knitted and sewn doll clothes, while I slept. That was a special Christmas. I called my doll Heidi after the Spyri heroine of the same name. I played with her for hours.
Birthday Party York House
Being bumped.
