I ask myself: what could you possibly want to hear in a holiday letter? Perhaps that I'm planning to write more often so that you won't be reading such a long letter next time? Just be glad you're not Alberta Environment. I mailed them a letter just before Christmas that was nearly 100 pages long. I didn't even write Merry Christmas at the bottom for fear of sounding sarcastic.
The highlight of March was a trip to the Caribbean. Maya invited me on a relaxing cruise with her fellow medical residents, Jenn and Jocelyn. Normally I like to be the captain of the ship, but in this case it seemed prudent to test the waters with someone else at the helm. Not only have I never navigated the Caribbean before but this vessel was a good deal larger than the 30-40 foot vessels I've been sailing! After losing Maya and Jenn on the lifeboat drill, leaping several feet to make it on board after the gangway was up in Barbados, getting pushed out of a Kayak in Antigua, listening to the all-American tourist crew of Canada II try to sing Oh Canada to the tune of O Christmas Tree, learning the hard way that I no longer have the strength or technique to make it up a short climbing wall after a hard day on the winches, walking into an active volcano in St.Lucia, nearly missing dinner every night, and (horror of horrors) shopping for jewelery in several ports, I'm not so sure the cruise could be called relaxing! Jocelyn has the prize for most adventurous in the group as she somehow found herself in rum-soaked winter clothing in -30 C Montreal at the end of the trip. No one really remembers how that came about.
My parents kindly hosted a birthday party in Bragg Creek to celebrate the fact that I am 29 for the second time. Although some suspect the choice of location was my secret way of curtailing drinking, Bragg Creek was in fact chosen because my apartment was too small to host everyone. Did this prompt my next move? Or was it the fact that I got tired of midnight fire alarms, underage neighbours disgorging over the balcony, increasing rent, blaring Flames fans, the music loving elephants living above me, elevator rides with questionable people, and the year round sauna conditions in my apartment? Whatever the reason, one day I went out and bought a townhouse.
That's all it took to find one: one day. I looked at 8 houses and the one I bought is the only one that felt really right. My realtor said buying a house is like falling in love: you just know when you find the right one. I hope she's right.
As well as house hunting in May, I also completed my Bronze IV sailing course. I had a great time learning to sail backwards and without a rudder. In spite of losing the battle to keep a Laser upright in winds gusting to 50 km/h on the last day of the course, we all passed with flying colours.
Although bruised from the Laser battle, sailing was still on the agenda for June. I chartered a Bavaria 32 and sailed the Gulf Islands with Susan Miller, Michelle Laplante, and Ken Yamazaki, all friends from my Deep River summer. We had a very enjoyable trip, in spite of cooler weather.
I returned to Calgary for about 10 days before beginning what I call my Triple Trip. I had a wonderful time catching up with Queen's friends at Steve Scott's wedding in Toronto. Afterwards, Carol Scovil wisked me off to Kingston where I had the honour of becoming Godmother of Angus Skinner. We really enjoyed catching up with Meg and Colin and playing with Angus. Then a brief return to Toronto where I had lunch with Cousin Stan and Anja.
Since I was already halfway across it country, it was only a short hop over the pond to Scotland. I had missed Grandma's 90th birthday in May and wanted to visit her. Security had been stepped up for the G8 and I must say I've never seen such large guns. Had a nice visit with Uncle Bill, Aunt Maureen, and Lynne. After a couple of days I flew across the channel to Paris. My sister Helen was spending the summer staying in Paris with her boyfriend, Francois. He sounded like someone I would want to meet! Fortunately we all got along in spite of my fear of speaking French ( I seem to have forgotten how?). I really enjoyed the visit; going to some places I had been before (Mont Martre, Musee d'Orsay, Notre Dame) and others I hadn't (Versailles, Salvador Dali, Promenade).
Then I did all of the flights backwards. I stopped for a day in Glasgow and stayed with Grandma again. We had a lovely dinner with Lynne, Allan, and Stuart at Lynne and Stuart's beautiful home. Then I had a few hours in Toronto which I spent touring the harbour with Ken Yamazaki. I returned to Calgary to finish packing and clearing out. The move into the new house went smoothly.
Since then I've been very busy with a number of volunteer activities. In August Calgary was host to Mobility Cup, an international regatta for sailors with disabilities. I have been volunteering with the Disabled Sailing Association of Alberta for several years now. It was very exciting to be able to volunteer as a sailing companion for Mobility Cup. I sat in the back of a Martin 16 and took orders from DSAA Commodore Katie Gerke. Although the weather caused the cancellation of most of the races, we really enjoyed the few we had.
In September I joined the steering committee for Sustainable Calgary's Citizen's Agenda Project. We have been consulting many Calgarians about actions and policies to make Calgary more socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable over the next 5 years. Along the same lines, I am in the Built Environment Working Group for Imagine Calgary. Imagine Calgary is working on a 100 year vision for Calgary.
In October I bought a Laser sailboat (clearly having forgotten my adventures in May). Sadly, it was not delivered until November when the reservoir is closed. My little Laser sits snugly in my basement, asking me to take it for a spin every time I do laundry. He will have to wait until May 1. I did manage to squeeze in one last sail in the family boat Elvira. My Bronze IV classmate, Karen, and I accidentally discovered a new way to take the mast down for the winter. While it was a lot easier to take it down on the water, we did require the assistance of boat patrol to return to dock:)
In late October my neice Cassandra Jade was born. Her big brother Kaiden loves her, although he is more likely to invite you to see his "new basement" than to introduce you to his baby sister. In November a gaggle of friends came over for dessert and a visit to my new house. Kaiden made sure guests saw "Aunty's new boat." Susan Richardson came to visit on Grey Cup weekend and we made a trip to Blairmore to see Peter Woodman. Before I knew it, Christmas Eve was upon me and Helen and Francois flew in. We all spent Christmas at Mom and Dad's, with John and his family joining us for Boxing day.
As you can see, 2005 was a busy year for me (and I'm sure I have forgotten to tell you half of it). Plans for 2006 include a trip to Ontario in January, and another sailing trip that has yet to be planned. Meg, Colin, and Angus are coming to visit in February and I hope other friends will visit this year as well. Happy New Year!
Curious about what I'm up to? Here are the links to pictures and more information:
Disabled Sailing Association of Alberta
Sustainable Calgary
Imagine Calgary
Laser
Kate's website (with pics of sailing trips)
Photos of the cruise
Photos from Paris
Pictures
