Dona
Nobis Pacem
(Give us Peace) Trip to America
The peace and tranquillity of freshly fallen snow on a Christmas morning. This was
what I had hoped would greet my boys as they experienced their first winter, and
thankfully white, Christmas. As you can see by the photograph of my childhood home taken
just before sunrise on Christmas morning 2003, my Christmas wish came true. When we
arrived in Conneaut on that Sunday night there was no snow. Nor was there any on
Monday or Tuesday. On Christmas Eve we went to 4:00 Mass. The church was
beautifully decorated with hundreds of Poinsettias and, there in front, was the manger
scene. About half-way through the Mass, Frances whispered to me to look outside.
There, large flakes of snow were softly falling. The snow continued to gently
fall in heavy silent flakes throughout the night and throughout Christmas
day. It was a lovely day with my mother, brothers and sister and their
families. Of course we missed Dad as this was the first Christmas without him, but
we know that he was there in spirit.
On the following Saturday, Aunt Sue held a Christmas party. We had no way of knowing then
that this would be her last. There were 42 family members there which almost
rivalled the
reunion. As usual there was plenty of delicious food to eat and wonderful company to
enjoy.
By the end of the week all of the snow had melted. We took advantage of the break in the
weather to embark on a bit of sightseeing. We headed off to Cleveland. We
visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where we filled an entire day and had dinner in a
local pub that served the most delicious home made root beer. When we awoke the next
morning we discovered that a nearby factory fire prevented us from having showers as the
water was cut off. As I recall, the water came back on before we left so we were
able to freshen up. We did the tourist thing as we explored downtown Cleveland, the
mall, the war memorial, the tower and the botanic gardens. We tried to see a live
show but they were all closed for the Christmas season.
The next day we drove around some more of Cleveland before driving to Mogodore to visit
with my cousin Brenda and her family, Doug, Toni and Luke. They extended
generous hospitality and kindly showed us around their lovely rural community.
We managed a trip to Amish country during that week also where we ate at Mary Yoder's
restaurant, bought an Amish cookbook and browsed many shops. Jeremy got an Amish
hat; perhaps we should rename him Jeremiah Yoder.
The next week we were treated to a good old-fashioned blizzard that blocked the roads and
closed the schools for two days. It was great for the kids to experience sub-zero
temperatures, blizzarding snow, snow blowers, frozen fingers and toes and all of the other
great things about Northern Winters.
(Click on photo thumbnails to enlarge)
All too soon it was
time for the second leg of our holiday. Frances, the boys, my mother and I
packed up and boarded a plane to sunny Florida. We were greeted by
my cousin, Diane and her daughter, Kelly at Ft. Lauderdale airport. As
soon as we stepped outside of the airport, into the balmy tropical air, it was
as if I never left Florida 17 years ago as the memories came flooding back.
After we unpacked the car, we drove to see my Grandmother at my Aunt's house
where my mother was also staying. While I was there we got a call from my
brother Michael, who lives in Phoenix and was unable to be in Conneaut for
Christmas. It was great talking to him and as I exclaimed that we were
having a wonderful time and wished he was there - he walked in the door.
Diane and Dutch held a family party on the first Saturday night and we got the
opportunity to visit with family members that we hadn't seen for at least 10
years. The celebrations lasted long into the night as we tried to make up
for lost time and catch up.
On Monday, it was off
to Key West . . .but first we had to make a little nostalgia trip. We stopped at
Holiday Isle and the tiki bar - down in Kokomo. We had our mandatory Rum
Runner, explored the tiny island and resort, had a bite to eat and then we were
once again on our way.
"Way down in Kokomo"
Just one for the road
It's a hard life
Is it a Coppertone tan?
We arrived at Key
West about 5:00 pm and as soon as we checked into our motel we rushed down to
Mallory Square to watch the sunset and the buskers. The 22 dollar man was
still there after 20 years, along with sword swallowers and fire eaters.
We walked around the rest of the evening and all of the next day strolling on
the beaches and past the southernmost of everything in the USA, watching the
chickens cross the road (Key West has hundreds of chickens roaming freely
throughout the town), visiting Mel Fisher's museum, Earnest Hemingway's house,
the African museum and the Key West Lighthouse. We sampled the delicious
Key Lime Pie (which Jeremy has become an expert at making) before heading back
to Boca Raton.
Diane and Dutch's hospitality knew no bounds as they took us to their golf club
for lunch as the boys used the putting green. They also took us out on
their beautiful boat. We cruised past the mansions along the intercoastal
waterway before we docked at the restaurant. The coastal lights provided a
beautiful skyline and reference point as we bounced over the waves in the
blackness of the ocean night while returning. Dominic got the opportunity
to practice his driving with little chance of a collision.
We tried to catch up
with as many people as possible. We were invited for dinner by my cousin
Belinda and Mike. We enjoyed a lovely meal and great conversation as we
reminisced about the days of yore when we danced together. Dixie and
Pauline also invited us over for a delicious Jamaican meal and Dixie entertained
us on the keyboard after dinner. We went to West Palm Beach to visit my
Godparents and spent an enjoyable day there and were lucky enough to see my
cousins Lynne and Michelle while we were there. We also got to visit the boys'
American Godparents, Jeannie and Steve and their two talented children, Elicia
and Steven. We had a
beautiful midnight Italian "cena" in their lovely home as we visited far into
the wee hours of the morning. We met my cousin John and Pam and their
daughter Emilee for dinner one night as well.
We also managed to
squeeze in an airboat ride through the everglades and a visit to Walt Disney
World where we visited the Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
The airboat through the everglades
M I C - K E Y M -
O - U - S - E
In front of the castle
The poor Horse
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Hola - Mexico at Epcot
All too soon it was
time to leave but not without incident. First we were treated to a lavish
lobster farewell meal at Dutch and Diane's club which would have been the
perfect end to the perfect holiday. But when we finished and were in the
parking lot about to go to the airport, we were waiting for my Aunt to get the
car for my Grandmother and she stepped backward. She fell over and cracked
her head on the concrete pavers. My cousins took her to the hospital and
while we were checking in at the airport we received news that she was OK, save
for the big bump on her head. We boarded the first of many planes and
after stopping in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Auckland, we arrived safe and sound
in Sydney, ready to start work the next day.
Our Farewell Lunch
Hosted by Dutch
Au Revoir to the family
Until next time
Good-bye to the USA
Hello Sydney
Getting away from it all. At Easter, we needed to get Dominic's and
Timothy's driving hours up so we let them drive as we drove up to Butterwick to
visit Diane and Grant (Frances sister and brother-in-law). It was a nice
weekend and we enjoyed a bonfire and horseback riding.
Diane and Grant offered to let us stay in their time share so in April, Dominic, Timothy, Jeremy and I spent a couple of days
in a cabin in the mountains. It was a very enjoyable couple of days.
We all brought along some work which we able to complete without distraction.
We played some games, listened to music and enjoyed a bit of time roughing it
without all the mod cons.
Class Captain
Jeremy was elected Captain of his class this year and, according to his year
master, performed the tasks admirably.
Jeremy year 9
Where has the time gone?
Dominic and Timothy finished 11th grade in September and began 12th grade in
October. They have been working very hard studying and completing all
their assignments as they as they tackle this challenging year. They will
graduate at the end of September, 2005, just a day or two before they turn 18.
Dominic year 11
Timothy year 11
We're
Cracking Up "Did you hear that?"
"No" "Something's going on in the family room". It was 5:00
a.m. and there was a cracking noise. It sounded as though someone was
tossing rocks onto the floor in the family room. Frances got up to
investigate and called me. "Something's happening!" she said. I got
up and also heard the cracking sound. Maybe it's a rat in the bottom of
the TV cabinet I suggested. The noise was getting louder and more
frequent. I took a step towards the TV. The floor felt like a
sponge. "The floor's going to cave in, I shouted. We both jumped
back. Suddenly, in front of our eyes, the tiles began to lift in a row for
about 12 feet, making explosive sounds as they lifted. "It's an
earthquake". Finally, after about 15 minutes, the noise and the movement
stopped. Frances and I just stood there staring. We called a builder
who suggested we call an engineer who investigated for structural damage but
there was none. The best we could ascertain was that our tiles, which had
been laid about 10 years earlier (6 years before we moved in) had been glued
incorrectly. This, coupled with the fact that they were laid too close
together and butted against brick walls allowing no room for expansion, only
need a catalyst. That morning was a very cold morning which must have
released the glue and the pressure was too great so the tiles lifted. We
ended up having to replace all the tiles on the upstairs level. It was
Jeremy's 14th birthday (July 22)when this happened and by the time the new
tiles were finished and ready to go it was Dominic and Timothy's 17th birthday (September
26th). It was fun moving all the furniture into the living room and eating
in the dining room every night, but it all worked out all right in the end.
The Olympics 2004 Has it really been 4 years since the Sydney Olympics?
We were invited to a midwinter Birthday party with an Olympic theme to help
celebrate the Athens games. We were all given a famous Olympian to
represent and had to answer trivia questions about them for which we were
rewarded with a laurel wreath (made out of gum leaves). Some of the people
there were surprised to learn that Frances' uncle, Dan Carroll, won two Olympic
gold medals in rugby- one for Australia and one for The United States - and was
the coach of the team that won the gold at the next Olympics for the US team.
The US is still the Olympic Champion for Rugby from that game.
Frances This has been a big year for Frances, not only did
she make a big hit (or a big splash) in the US this year - in the form of a
Hurricane many won't quickly forget - but she has also been been busy over here.
We enjoyed her "end of financial year" party on board a floating restaurant, in
July where we got all dressed up for a fancy night on Darling Harbour.
Frances had her management conference in Windsor this year for 2 days in
September.
Frances' Workmates at Sothertons
In October, Frances went to Melbourne with 3 of her school friends, Mary, Lynn
and Ann. They stayed in a serviced apartment and enjoyed sightseeing,
going to a live show (The Producers), going to restaurants - where Frances got
up to belly dance - and other fun activities.
Semi-centurian On December 8th, Frances hit that milestone
birthday. The celebrations were somewhat low-key with a small dinner
party. Although the number was significant, Frances has seemed to cope
well, not suffering any depression or any other mental trauma. All in all
Frances holds her age very well. One would be forgiven for
thinking she just turned 35 (although to me she doesn't even look that old).
By the Way
Dominic and his partner
came first in the Tennis Competition.
We connected all the
computers in the house to a network so now we don't have to fight for the one
computer that is connected to the printer and the internet
Dominic's football team
made the semi finals this year. Timothy's and Jeremy's did not.
Dominic and
Ryan Girdler of the Penrith Panthers
.Matilda is fine
Matilda
Timothy, Santa, Jeremy and Dominic
