Christmas 2008

Two weeks later, Christmas was suddenly upon on us, but it was relatively quiet for us, with get-togethers or dinner at friends’ homes most evenings. We had our now traditional Christmas tree decorating party bringing Christmas cheer to our little place with good friends. And the tree was PERFECT covered in its mish-mash of ornaments and fond memories! Christmas day itself was very relaxed: after an eggs-benny breakfast we sat in the snow on the beach enjoying the White Christmas, drinking hot chocolate and baileys – looks like it’s becoming a Christmas day tradition for us! Later we had delicious mouth-watering turkey with friends Aaron and Katherine and their family, followed by games… and more eating!

Boxing Day we braved the Sales. In North America Boxing day sales start at 6 or 7 in the morning. Two and a bit hours of freezing cold at 4.30am in the queue was not much fun let me tell you! It had it’s merits - the people around us were nice enough and knowledgeable about electronics, helping us seal the deal in justifying our intended purchase of a new telly! Our current 13 year old telly was going to replace a broken tv for our Big White renters. We had done our research from all the Boxing day flyers out on Xmas eve and knew which bargain we wanted. Once the doors opened only 20 people were allowed in at a time and as we were 19th and 20th in the queue, we were in the first group; we obtained a sales slip for the TV at the door, then headed over to the till. That easy! Even though the whole experience was extremely dignified and this was a big purchase for us, I think this will be my first and last Boxing Day sale. Getting up at some ungodly hour and standing in the freezing (-15C) cold has to be really worth it! Thankfully, Martin and I love turkey and later that day we drove to Summerland (about 45 minutes away) for more Christmas turkey with his Nanny, and Auntie and Uncle. (His parents winter in Arizona). So it was a relaxed and pleasant afternoon, but we were definitely wiped out from our early morning start!

Recent storms have been dumping lots of light fluffy fluffy fluffy snow so we have been enjoying the snow up at Big White - the ski hill. Unfortunately, I was back at work this week while Martin, whose work was closed, skied for a number of days.

New year’s eve was great; a party and sleepover at Nicole’s and Don’s. Quite a few families with lots of kids running around. We had fun playing twister in the garage (Nicole and Don had epoxyed coloured circles onto the garage floor!), but as we’re all getting old , it was pretty tiring. This was followed by endless games of Hula Hoop and tight-rope walking on the Wii. I crashed at about 2am! Martin at 4.30am. * Mush
Photos to follow.

Cuba, Nov 2008

Photos to follow.
For a Christmas present to each other, we went to Cuba at the end of November- a place I’d been wanting to go to for a while. We spent two and a half weeks moving around every 2-3 days. We have been to many countries around the world and discovered that Cuba is not our favourite country - probably because we have a lot to compare it to! We loved the old colonial architecture. Pity it was crumbling and very run down in many places that we went to. Imagining all the buildings restored to their former glory, it would’ve been an amazing place to see. Some towns were very quiet and there wasn’t a lot to do in the evenings, but when we encountered latin music playing in the which we discovered in the evenings just walking around town. We enjoyed going back in time seeing all the rundown 1950s cars - very cool! And the people in the Casas Particulares (like B&Bs) were super super nice to us and we had a great time interacting with them. We also had fun in a place called Vinales – in the countryside with lots of limestone pinnacles. One day we met a farmer, Miguel, who was SO nice. He had a moustache – mo – just like Martin’s, so here they are, the Mo Bros! We don’t speak much Spanish although we tried and managed to muddle through most times. Using very basic Spanish so we could understand, Miguel invited us to his home (shack) for coffee and a handmade cigar which he rolled for us right there and then! We met all his family over the next coming days, and they were super-grateful for the toothpaste, soap and clothes we gave them. On the whole, the people in Cuba in the streets and shops are not as friendly as other people we have encountered in other similarly oppressed countries that we've been to. Of course, they do want your money … so there was a lot of hustling.. "You want taxi?.. You want restaurant? You want cigar?" Like I said, not our favourite country, but we’re glad that we went, and now we can cross it off our list.

September Parties, 2008

At the end of September Martin had his 15 year University reunion so off he went to Queens, Ontario. Meanwhile I went to a breast cancer fundraiser with some girl friends which was a lot of fun, dressing all the same in pink. *Mush

Photos to follow.

Summer 2008

Normally our landlords give us very little notice when they go out of town back to Vancouver, but this summer they were away for 2 months in Europe. This was excellent news as not only would we be able to enjoy the beach whenever we wanted, more importantly, we would be able to plan ahead for BBQs, parties etc with plenty of notice. So throughout the summer we had a number of parties coinciding (or not) with visits from various friends: Paul (whom we met in China), Lisa (from Martin’s high school), and old Kelowna friends, Gerri and Eric. Our summer was excellent because of this bonus and we could invite and just hang out with good friends with the best view in town! * Mush Photos to follow.

July 2008

Photos to follow.
Our summer was not as hot as it normally is here in the Okanagan, but on a rafting weekend in Lytton - about 5 hours northwest from here - we had temperatures of 41C! The trip was great with our friends Nicole and Don and their bunch of friends who we go camping with. We camped and then rafted down the Thompson river in 2 rafts (amongst many others). It was great – we would have water fights with each raft and then try and pull each other off the rafts into the water. It felt really good because it was so stinky hot! * Mush

My new job, May 2008

Towards the end of my contract coordinating the Gala of Hope for the Canadian Cancer Society, I got offered a job at the BC Cancer Foundation. The BCCF is the fundraising arm of the local cancer centre - the BC Cancer Agency, Centre for the Southern Interior - where patients receive cancer treatment and care. To add to the chaos at this time, my permanent residency came through at the end of April. Finally! It was such a relief! Anyway, I saw this as an opportunity, for once I started work, initially I would not accumulate enough holiday to go to England, so I thought I would grab the chance now. It was last minute, but it was great to see my family. My neice and nephew had just grown so much since I'd left a year and a half ago!

Then, two days after getting back to Canada I started my new job. I love it and my manager, Cynthia (far right) is a really nice lady, and the other members of the team pictured here, Rose and Karen, are great. The best thing was that because I'd been a volunteer at the centre right up until Christmas, everything was very familiar to me and I knew so many people. The first few weeks I would get hugs every day from various staff and volunteers congratulating me on the job! It was great! As much I find biology and science fascinating, I feel like I have found my new niche in life. I just enjoy my very people-interactive career now! A far cry from doing lonesome bench research! * Mush

Gala of Hope, March 2008

The Canadian Cancer Society's Gala of Hope was the event that I had been gearing up for for eight months now. Preparation for the black-tie fundraiser was full steam ahead with everything from the band to linen to the food to choose and order. The day itself was very stressful. I don't think I've been that stressed in a very long time. You see, even though I had a committee helping me with ideas and how to do/ask for stuff, it was really me doing everything. Apart from the decor, of course. Sheila and Joan, my decorating girls, did the most gorgeous job ever! They volunteered their time and services to transform the convention rooms at the The Grand Okanagan Hotel into an absolutely amazing ballroom for a champagne reception and 5 course meal banquet. It was stunning, sophisticated and tasteful.

As guests arrived decked out in ball gowns and tuxedos to the Champage reception (sponsored by Mercedes Benz), a jazz trio played in the background, and there was a definite buzz of excitement and anticipation in the air! Just before 7 the ballroom doors opened and there were murmurs and cries at the breathtaking design and style. The banquet dinner with wine pairings was delicious, although I didn't eat much as I was making sure things were running smoothly. The Band, called "The Famous Players Band", were AMAZING - nailed every cover song. So much so, that they sounded like the real thing! In between sets of music and dancing there were lots of fundraising games - diamond rings raffled, trips away to be won - all to raise money to support cancer patients and increase prevention awarenss. The volunteers that helped with the smooth running of the event were fantastic. It was a long evening and we didn't get cleaned up until 3 in the morning. Phew! The next day was a long one too - we had to break down the decor and furnishings and transport home to various locations around town. The whole event was a huge success and we raised $269,000 that night - almost $70,000 more than last year! As you can imagine I was very pleased and very relieved! * Mush