Loading...
Gadget by The Blog Doctor.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Christmas Letter 2012

Hi all,

This year brought some sadness to our family, with the passing of Margaret’s Mother, Joyce, in September. Joyce was 93 years old, having been born into a very different era, within a year of the ending of World War I. She lived a long and fulfilled life, having brought up five children, and having cared for her often ill husband. She is greatly missed.

Joyce with her 90th birthday cake


Stephen’s parents are still in care, at Colton Close Glenroy. Eric is doing well, and enjoying his life. Edna, as has been the case throughout her life, is struggling with health issues, but she keeps soldiering on. She amazes us with her determination and resilience.


Here they are at the Wednesday morning sing along called "Band Practice". Sadly Edna has not been well enough to attend these events in the last few months

Some of our grandchildren have achieved milestones this year.
Our oldest grandson, Joshua, has completed year 12 and is looking for an apprenticeship, probably as a diesel mechanic.

He is also something of a muso as well.


Our English grandson, Jeremy, has started Secondary School this year.


The rest of our grandchildren continue on with their schooling and are often avid in the sporting field, including basketball, softball and horse riding.


We have been very busy this year, as both of us are active on committees in our Retirement Village and in our Probus Club, but we still found time for one overseas trip – to Italy. As often happens when we visit Europe, we met Philip (and Bev) in an exotic city – this time Rome.



Although Margaret often talks to her son on the phone, it is a delight to meet him in person. We will see him soon as he is coming to Australia for a few weeks soon after Christmas. In Italy we visited many famous cities including: Rome, Siena, Florence, Pisa, Milan, Venice, Assisi, Sorrento and Capri.

Here is a link to the first page of my posts on that tour.

One of the highlights of the trip was a gondola ride in Venice. Note Margaret is at the back left.



Margaret and I weren't the only members of our family to travel overseas this year. Mark and Beth holidayed in Fiji.



We are looking forward to March next year when we will complete our terms on the Village committees, which will give us more time for our personal activities including travel. We are currently planning a trip to France, Ireland, Scotland and England next year. The first event we have booked is a tour of the Somme battlefields. Stephen’s paternal grandfather was wounded at Villers-Bretonneux on 30th April 1918, so this trip is partly in memory of him. In October we plan to visit Albury for Probus Rendezvous, followed by a week at our timeshare in Bright.

An important milestone next year is Margaret’s 70th birthday. People at our age don’t always look forward to birthdays, but this one will be special. We will celebrate it in Preston (England), with Phil, Bev, Bronwyn, Hayley and Jeremy.

When we arrived at the Village, in late 2007, there was a great deal of work to be done to complete it. At times we despaired of it ever being completed. We are therefore very pleased that all of the housing has been finished and that only some minor roadwork is required for the Village finally to be declared complete. New people are coming in all the time and it is good to meet them.

Below are two photos taken from the end of our street about a year apart.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I initially commented I clicked the "Notify me when new comments are added" checkbox and now each time a comment is
added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way
you can remove people from that service? Bless you!
Feel free to visit my page ... visit web site

retirement villages said...

I love reading biographies and business books, and coming across your page is an additional idea for me in writing my blogs.

team mak scam said...

I have read lots of blogs any topics but this is the blog that worth it to read, thanks for sharing this.

Anonymous said...

tiffany and co, michael kors, longchamp outlet, gucci outlet, louis vuitton outlet, kate spade outlet, ugg boots, longchamp pas cher, sac longchamp, christian louboutin outlet, nike air max, ray ban sunglasses, replica watches, cheap oakley sunglasses, tory burch outlet, nike free, longchamp, oakley sunglasses, ralph lauren pas cher, louis vuitton outlet, louboutin, replica watches, ugg boots, longchamp outlet, uggs on sale, nike free, louboutin shoes, louis vuitton, tiffany jewelry, polo ralph lauren outlet, prada outlet, nike air max, louboutin pas cher, jordan shoes, ray ban sunglasses, prada handbags, air jordan pas cher, louis vuitton, louis vuitton, louboutin outlet, oakley sunglasses, chanel handbags, burberry, ray ban sunglasses, air max, oakley sunglasses, nike roshe run, nike outlet, oakley sunglasses, polo ralph lauren outlet

Anonymous said...

moncler, replica watches, swarovski crystal, ugg,uggs,uggs canada, canada goose outlet, links of london, swarovski, bottes ugg, barbour, canada goose, canada goose outlet, ugg pas cher, pandora charms, louis vuitton, juicy couture outlet, louis vuitton, moncler, moncler, barbour jackets, ugg boots uk, wedding dresses, coach outlet, juicy couture outlet, thomas sabo, moncler, canada goose, montre pas cher, canada goose, toms shoes, moncler, louis vuitton, canada goose uk, moncler, pandora charms, karen millen, canada goose, moncler outlet, louis vuitton, doudoune canada goose, moncler, pandora jewelry, supra shoes, hollister, marc jacobs, sac louis vuitton pas cher, ugg,ugg australia,ugg italia, pandora jewelry