thea has left a new comment on your post "IIDD, Dec 25th, Christmas Day!":
I read a blog of yours from September 1 of this year where you mention you know Noreen Sanders. I am trying to locate Fiona and Sheila Sanders, daughters of Noreen Sanders. I grew up with the Sanders family in Winnipeg. Could you send my contact information to Noreen. My name is Thea Nesis and my email is tjnesis@gmail.com. I would be so appreciative. thank you.
Posted by thea to Island Inn Diaries at 25 December 2011 23:43
Hi Maya!
Trust you spent a grand Christmas!
On another matter, had the following message on my blog today:
thea has left a new comment on your post "IIDD, Dec 25th, Christmas Day!":
I read a blog of yours from September 1 of this year where you mention you know Noreen Sanders. I am trying to locate Fiona and Sheila Sanders, daughters of Noreen Sanders. I grew up with the Sanders family in Winnipeg. Could you send my contact information to Noreen. My name is Thea Nesis and my email is tjnesis@gmail.com. I would be so appreciative. thank you.
Could you ask Sheila to contact her directly if she is interested. I don't want to cause any problems, unknowingly/naively, in the event that Thea is not someone she and Fiona know and/or want to be reunited with. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hello Thea!
I have sent a message to Fiona's and Sheila's niece, as I don't have either of their email addresses, or Noreen's, for that matter. I trust you understand that at any time, and more so, of course, in this digital age, one has to be rather careful about sharing personal information. I don't wish to be too, too suspicious but since I don't know you this is the course of action I've taken. That being said, I trust you are, indeed, a long lost friend and that reading my blog started a chain of events that enables you to reunite with friends from Winnipeg!
Furthermore, I'm rather curious about how you came across my blog in the first place. Even my own family and friends don't follow it. Not that I expect or even want them, necessarily, to do so. I simply enjoy writing, (to the extent that my journal entries are "writing"), and like to keep a record of daily life. In particular, I want to be able to use this tool to record our travels, whether to such places as Winnipeg, this past August/September, or to Honk Kong/Australia/Japan this coming March/April/May.
All the best. Healthy New Year to you, Thea, wherever you are! Cheers, Patrizzio!
Thank you so much Patrick. I lived across the street from the sanders on kingsway from the time I was 4 until 14. We did everything together. Shauna would stay with us when my parents went out of town. I have continually tried to find any of the 9 siblings for a long time.
I finally googled Noreen and Rocky Sanders and your blog entry from September 1st came up when you wrote about visiting Noreen, Rocky's widow. I'm sorry to hear Rocky passed.
My parents moved us to California when I was 14 and the Sanders are my biggest and best childhood memory. I am very intent in finding my best friends from 76 harrow avenue!!
Thank you so much. Thea
Hi again, Thea!
I met Rocky when I was a grad student at U of M and we became close friends. Their house at 76 Harrow was somewhere we visited many times, over the years.
Am curious to know if you still live in California as our eldest daughter, Ayn, lives in LA, with our two grandsons, Pierre and Alexander. We usually drive to California, at least once a year, if not more, to visit them and other friends, as well, and wine taste, of course! Cheers, Patrizzio!
Yes, I live in santa monica. I have three daughters who are all growing up to quickly. Do the Sandwrs still live in Winnipeg? Many years ago my mom heard from shauna. I have tried searching google and Facebook but no luck. How is Noreen?
Hi again, Thea!
Apparently Maya mentioned you to Colin, her father, and he was delighted to know that you were trying to contact family. He may well have already sent an email. I'll let him fill you in on all the details of the Sanders Family. Lots to tell as you can well imagine!
Since you live in Santa Monica, perhaps we'll could even meet when next visiting Ayn in Northridge. All the Goils want to shop along the pedestrian mall there anyway so now we have an even better reason for coming! We were last there in March of this year, day before LA Marathon, coming back from a wonderful driving trip to Mexico/Texas. All the barricades were on the streets but not yet in place. Didn't rain that day but made up for it during much of race, as you might recall. I was delighted to watch it on TV having just been there!
Cheers, Patrizzio!
hi pat, i will call grandma tmr and make sure they know her and then forward:)
thanks!
what a small world...
what a small world...
"We can only learn to love by loving."
~Iris Murdoch
~Iris Murdoch
my dad says he totally know her and wants to touch base so i sent it to him to pass along etc:)
Hi Maya!
Apparently Thea now lives in Santa Monica so perhaps we'll even meet her when next visiting Ayn!
Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hi Patrizio
WOW!! That Polar Bear Suite is POWERFUL!!!! so beautiful and heart rending. Nature is incredible and we do not seem to be able to turn the big ocean going liner of our carbon-addicted culture around FAST ENOUGH!!!! You and Corinne can be fantastic lobbyists though, I know and your mail makes me see that even better!!!
I wish you could write something about the carbon addicted culture that is like your wonderful christmas spoof which is tagged on to the end of this email, it made me LAUGH OUT LOUD!!! We have to be able to do that - I think of the clown role, the jester, the one who speaks truth to power in ways that are allowed and heard.
I enjoyed meeting both of you so much!! Let's hope we can connect again in person one of these days, in the meantime it is great to be in touch online
my blog is at http://biancatheduck.blogspot.com/
I only post every now and then when I have something I want to write!!
Sending you and Corinne and the whole Island Inn mob the very best of fun and meaning in this magic world we have inherited!!!
with much appreciation and the very best wishes Fe
Hi Felicity!
Thanks for sending along your blog address. Great to meet a fellow blogger!!! Glad you enjoyed the wonderful polar bears and the spoof on Safety at Christmas. Unfortunately, I wish I could say I wrote the piece but I didn't. Nevertheless, it is fun and I agree, we need something on our carbon-addicted natures. Perhaps I'll try to work something up for a New Year's message, using cycling as the foil, akin to the following from ER. Again, not my work, but still a gentle poke at the Royals, nonetheless!
Queen’s Christmas message to be replaced with round-robin letter:
In a break with tradition, the Queen has this year eschewed her traditional televised Christmas message and has chosen instead to send a round-robin circular outlining the ups and downs of her family’s year. NewsBiscuit is proud to bring its readers exclusive access to the letter.
*
My loyal subjects,
One understands from one’s advisers that there has been some bother with money this year. Ordinarily such trifles would not trouble one, but it seems that the small screen may now be a luxury that many of my subjects cannot afford, so this year one has committed one’s regal musings to paper the better to communicate with the commoners.
It has been another eventful year for the Windsors. One’s highlight was of course William and Kate’s wedding. It was a wonderful day: William looked regal and Kate was divine, although her sister’s arse caused a bit of a stir. Poor Philip got a crick in his neck craning to get a better view. One wishes William and Kate every happiness for the future, but William is his father’s son so we were sure to set up a cast-iron pre-nuptial agreement – and Philip has a contact he can call if ever things get out of hand.
One’s eldest granddaughter Zara Philips also married this year. Her husband is a sportsman of unique looks, but sadly one nearly had cause to call on the SAS to offer him advice after he committed an indiscretion in New Zealand. However, one has been given to understand that dwarf throwing is a long-established tradition among those who work for a living, not to mention an excellent form of preparation for the catching and throwing skills required at the highest level of rugby union.
We just now need to marry off young Harry. However, like a finding a backer for a corgi at the dog track, one fears those particular royal goods may only appeal to a niche market.
There have been no funerals this year, but Charles is keeping his spirits up.
One is afraid to report that Andrew got into a spot of bother again this year, but then he’s always had a weakness for improper relationships. Over the years many have criticised the royal family for being out of touch, but we are just like every other family in the UK and accordingly have the misfortune to possess one child that brings us nothing but disappointment and embarrassment. And for someone who travels the globe as UK trade envoy, one would imagine that Andrew could be a little more inventive with his Christmas gifts than to give us a BAE fighter jet each year stuffed full with unmarked Saudi banknotes.
For William and his grandfather Philip, professionally it has been a year of contrast. William’s work in the RAF saw him saving foreigners by plucking them out of the sea, while Philip took a turn at throwing them back in when he volunteered to check passports as a stand-in immigration officer at Dover during the recent strikes.
This year we have holidayed in a number of delightful places. In Dublin one took the opportunity to express regret for incidents that had taken place in the past between Britain and Ireland, and they seemed to buy it because there was not a single mention of potato on the menu. We also travelled to Australia, our 16th visit since 1954. The media described it as one’s ‘farewell tour’, and in truth one will be glad to see the back of those uncouth beer swilling natives. One made sure never to let one’s handbag out of one’s sight the whole trip.
During May we had the Obamas to stay at Buckingham Palace. Philip had forgotten they were coming and there was one awkward moment when he returned to see them examining some silver in the banquet room and called the police. After that he was always chaperoned during their stay and blotted his copybook only once with an unfortunate remark about ‘mid-tan boot polish’.
Unfortunately my horse was beaten in the Derby by that whipper-snapper French jockey. How Nicolas Sarkozy has time to ride horses and govern France one can only wonder.
Next year one celebrates one’s Diamond Jubilee. How those 60 years have flown. One is 85 now but with public sector pensions coming under fire it seems one will have to continue working for a while yet. Though one won’t be striking because one doesn’t want to give Charles a sniff.
Wishing all one’s subjects the very best for a divorce-free and anti-republican 2012.
Elizabeth R.
I couldn't agree with you more wholeheartedly about the clown, the jester, the trickster, the one who speaks truth to power, and to our own inner selves, in ways that are allowed and heard, in ways that must, necessarily, be heard, particularly because quintessential, critical messages are either not allowed at all or brutally censored and repackaged, using Orwell's 1984 double-speak!! Onward!!!
Coriandre and Chloë have just left to see the new Sherlock Holmes. I didn't want to face the Boxing Day line-ups at the cinema and prefer, much more, to remain at home, reading quietly with Maggie, our Devil Cat, or catching up on Christmas correspondence. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hi Morana!
Trust you and family celebrated a grand Christmas together! We had one ourselves. Started out on Saturday, making two very large, cafeteria style trays of stuffing for lunch for homeless at church on Christmas Day. Coriandre did all the chopping, (large bag of Spanish Onions and three large bags of celery), perched on a stool in front of counter, and sautéing mixture while I prepared Uncle Ben's stuffing, bringing liquid to a boil and "fluffing" in bread crumbs at just the right moment! Tasted pretty good for something not made completely from scratch.
We enjoyed Clarisse's home-made borscht, with sour cream, before going to 7:00pm service at Trinity. New, interim-minister, Beth Hayward, conducted a wonderful service and the tiny choir, three singers, conducted by Music Minister, Ron Smail, were simply remarkable. The two sopranos had such powerful, soaring, expressive, thrilling voices that it could have been the London Back Choir singing carols to the mesmerized congregation. The wonder on the faces of the small children opening the large wrapped present holding the Crèche figures was wondrous indeed!
Back home to ready the Christmas Eve meal. Chloë and Clara fried up the perogies, (Bought this year, from Alenka, a small Eastern European deli store owned by couple from Ukraine who came to Vancouver in 1996. They are really helpful and friendly. Didn't have time to do them ourselves, much to our chagrin!), while Dusty did Cajun spiced jumbo shrimps. Mini-bagels with garlic and herb cream cheese and a huge crock pot of baked beans completed non-meat traditional fare. I was kept busy open wine and filling Cora Lee's quickly emptied glass and by time food was ready Clan Sutherland trooped in and we sat down to enjoy the delicious meal.
Downstairs gang departed about 10:30pm and once I'd loaded dishwasher, Cora Lee and I started peeling spuds. We were donating a large bag for lunch for homeless. By the time we had the potatoes peeled and sliced and in pots of cold water, ready for the morrow's boiling, it was almost midnight and we still had to play Santa. Stockings stuffed and presents arranged neath the tree, we trundled off to bed, close to 2:00am!
Up at 7:30am to have a java with some extra delicious Avalon eggnog Chloë had brought home from GI Market the day before. I had put away most of last night's dishes before Her Majesty ambled, (as well as one can "amble" on one leg!), into living room and we wished each other Happy Christmas!
Clara and Dusty came over about 8:30am, just before Chloë started her shower. We wished everyone more Merry Christmases and over more java we put potatoes on to boil and started to ready breakfast: smoked salmon on toasted bagels, scrambled eggs and fried mushrooms. When Chloë had completed her ablutions I opened the finest Cook's California Sparklng Wine, (an exceedingly rare 1839 vintage!), mixed it with OJ and toasted each other! I then went to collect Mother at Broadway Lodge and brought her back for breakfast. Bit of difficulty putting on her coat and getting her to uncurl her fingers when trying to fit her gloves but fine, otherwise. She looked very festive in the red sweater we had given to her a few days earlier, in readiness for Christmas.
After enjoying scrumptious breakfast and a few more toasts, Chloë took Mom back to Broadway Lodge and I finished last of mashed potatoes. Was ready to go when she returned and we made for Trinity at 11:30am. Place was abuzz with activity as we brought in pans of dressing and pot of potatoes. Coats off and shirt sleeves rolled up we set to work: Chloë ferrying foodstuffs from kitchen and other food preparation areas to trestle tables set up in the narthex while I manned the sink, washing everything from serving platters to bowls for cranbeery sauce to gravy dishes to dropped utensils. Pretty strady going for about two solid hours but lots of fun and good fellowship with rest of volunteer contingent, some we knew from past lunches, others new to us and process. Towards the end of our shift we even had an incredible cup of the eggnog one of the Anglican families, (Trinity is composed of congregations from Kitsilano United and St Mark's), had to thought to bring along. Dusty would have approved as it was laced with more rum than eggnog!!! Very fluffy and frothy and certainly most drinkable as part of secret recipe, apparently, involves whipped egg whites!
So fortified we finished off the last of the chores at hand, collected our coats and oven mitts and empty pot and made for home, close to 2:00pm. On the way out, a number of the people served remembered me from past lunches. I have taken to wearing my red Crocs along with a Santa apron so I suppose I stick out a bit like Rudolph! Everyone was most appreciative and we were certainly pleased to have been able to help out, to make the lives of those less fortunate a tiny bit more comfortable, at the very least.
I had been hoping to go for a ride, with Robo Ray, around Stanley Park, once we were back from volunteering at church but by the time we were actually home, all I wanted was a nap! I phoned Raymundo to beg off and just after I put down phone I realized that I had left the pretty package of cherry cake that Beth had presented to me with when she and her family had come to be part of gathering over lunch, putting it on top of the fridge next to the sink, out of the way, and, as it turned out, out of mind as well! (Earlier in the week she had paid a visit to Cora Lee and I had shared some of "my" cherry cake, a birthday present from Rosita, with her, carefully monitoring thickness of slices, however, Dear Reader!) I was so tired from combination of late night, early morning and the hours of standing over the sink that I could hardly bear the thought of driving back to pick up gift before everyone left. Fortunately, for me, Chloë was happy to fetch forgotten present and I drifted off even before she was out the door!
Had a simply divine nap until about 3:30pm and then proceeded to start working in kitchen, all over again. Helped Chloë with all the dishes she used making her cornbread stuffing. Cora Lee was ensconced on her favourite armchair, with her favourite cat, watching The Sound of Music, making unreasonable demands more often than the scullions would have liked. Chloë had broken a wine glass when emptying dishwasher after she returned from church and had not had time to vacuum in case she had missed any tiny shards of glass. I, as Vacuum Master extraordinaire, was charged with the task but only allowed, by royal fiat, to do so during commercial breaks. This, of course, delayed entire hoovering project, yet She Who Must Be Obeyed, was adamant about the decree. This caused all sorts of mutterings and grumblings among affected underlings but to no avail. (Was more than tempted to blurt out: "Git yer own bloody tea, yer Bloody Majesty on yer shiny mini-bike, Royal Coach scooter!", but was cautioned by the Downstairs Maid to refrain from so doing, although she had to pinch herself to stop from laughing aloud!) The Proclamation held. I did manage, however, to slip, surreptitiously, as you would expect, three pinches of arsenic into Her Majesty's afternoon tea, Dear Reader, but have, unfortunately, yet to see any encouraging results! Will have to speak to my pharmacist after Boxing Day!!!
Finally, the Singing von Trapps made it to safety in Switzerland and I could finish my search for slivers of the finest Czechoslovakian crystal and then attend to mashing of more potatoes, one of our contributions to Christmas dinner with Clan Sutherland downstairs. Clara and Dusty did a turkey, (as Durstons are very particular about how the bird is to be done and wanted overlefts anyway), and turnip puff and Chloë helped take those plates downstairs. By the time I was showered and changed, Sarge was just finishing carving their bird. Table was set and looked lovely, adorned with crackers and large paper, origami cranes, courtesy of Akiko, Aaron's fiancée. Aaron is Sarge's nephew and he asked Akiko for her hand in marriage, on Christmas Eve, at Stanley Park. He produced the engagement ring near the Miniature Railway and it is rumoured that he was there for the Christmas Train ride and the proposal was an afterthought! Wedding is to take place this coming July, on lawn outside Sutherland's patio, so planning for that has already started!
Due to sheer number of guests, everyone, (except Her Imperious Royal Personage, Chloë pulling Lady-in-Waiting duty), helped themselves to sumptuous, steaming platters, (Flamin's mouth-watering, pecan encrusted squash and three different types of dressing joined the groaning serving counter), and we sat down to have food blessed by Cora Lee, now wearing her Earth Mother/Matriarch hat, and dinner began. We snapped crackers with those beside us and traded prizes with those around table if we didn't particularly like our own. Hard to believe some of the loot that the colourful crackers contained. Marvinator, per esempio, had the great good fortune to land a mini-Swiss knife look alike, complete with blade, bottle opener, pen-light and pen with automatically retractable nib. Device was good enough to qualify for a space mission while I was simply delighted to find a small bag of paper clips in the bowels of my cracker. Okay, so there was a small black magnetised base to hold them but Paper Clips! I'm retired already! What do I need from paper clips. Oy Vey!! And I don't even celebrate Hanukkah! Swapped for a pen with Kid Chelene and even forget to take that home!
We had an uproarious time with plenty of hootch and more food and more wine and on and on and on until we could barely move or laugh or breath, for that matter. Consequently, dessert, (Clarisse's Christmas pudding!), for most of us, was simply out of the question so the tables, (needed an extension to seat tall twelve of us), were cleared and dining room table pushed back against one wal to make room for The Battle of the Sexes, the new Christmas Game. As the name implies, The Sisterhood faced off against The Brotherhood. Each team asks questions, of the other, from the Female or Male point of view. The women ask questions that, supposedly, men would not know, (What are the call numbers on the plane in Lost?), while the men ask questions that are so general that even the pets in the house were able to answer. More often than not thess came with either or clues: Who wrote Heart of Darkness? Joseph Conrad or Ernest Hemmingway?
Needless to say, The Brotherhood struggled against the unfair odds and made slow progress until Sarge realized that the rules were not being applied correctly, and we then mounted a splendid dash to the finish line only to lose in a photo-finish. Gracious losers, as ever, we congratulated the winning team while grumbling into our glasses of Auchentoshen Three Wood, (matured in American Bourbon, Oloroso and Pedro Ximinez sherry casks), Kid Chelene's gift to his Dad for Christmas! Almost worth losing as we needed a couple of snorts to dillute the shame of defeat!
Thanking Clan Sutherland for wonderful meal and evening, we collected our now empty plates and bowls and made for upstairs. Thanked Clara and Dusty for the lovely turkey and turnip and they repaired to their lace. Goils changed into their jams and we watched a recorded episode of the American Prime Suspect before saying goodnight and heading to bed to read for a bit before turning out our bedside lamps. A full and wonderful, wonderful day and we felt magnificently blessed to share such time and such munificence with close family and friends. A Happy, Happy Christmas indeed.
All the best for a Healthy New Year, Morana! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!
Hi Famiglia Pether!
Looking forward to seeing you all soon! Give us a call when you have a moment after re-orienting yourselves to Vancouver and sleeping off jet-lag! We can be reached at home. Hope to be able to wish you all the best for a Healthy New Year, in person, soon! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!
Patrick James Dunn Movie date with your Giants, more like it! Nana and Chloe just returned from seeing latest Sherlock Holmes. Both said it was even better than first!
Ayn P We're hoping to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
My dads first Canucks game. Can't believe it's been 17yrs and he hasn't been.
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