Summerland Surprise Blues: Saturday, January 2nd!

An artist should never be a prisoner of himself, prisoner of style, prisoner of reputation, prisoner of success, etc. -Henri Matisse, artist (31 Dec 1869-1954) 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! I am encroaching on Pam's territory, she is away, but will be back soon. I am sending this message to all on Pam's mailing list as well as our OF (Rick's) list, so some of you will get it twice, I beg your indulgence.

The tradition continues: In previous years there was a fair interest, mainly from the non-snowshoers, to do something in winter and thus the Monday Boot Hikes were born. When conditions allow we go and walk through snowy, or bare countryside, keeping the speed slow to moderate, terrain friendly and duration to 3 hrs max. If this is something which would appeal to you, you are welcome to join us.

Now the crunch: A brand-new mailing list will be established. If you want to be on it, you MUST respond, otherwise you will not be notified about any of our MBHs.

MBH #1, Monday, Jan. 4th, 2016

• ​Meet at 9:00 at Summerland IGA parking lot
• The Southerners may carpool from Penticton Home Hardware at 8:40
• The destination will be decided on the spot, depending on the snow conditions, the weather and the participants.
• Coffee at approx 12:30-1pm at a place TBD, depending on the numbers

See you on Monday, Al       Hi Al! Happy New Year to you and family! Lovely to see you on Boxing Day. Trust you enjoyed Star Wars! I'm delighted to join the Monday Boot Camp! Please add me to the list. At some point, I do hope to try snowshoeing. I bought a pair at Costco, before Christmas, but need to learn how to use them first. In fact, I may well try them out on the side of the KVR. We had a glorious walk there yesterday, between Vancouver Ave to just past Lakeview Cemetery. Look forward to seeing you on Monday. Thanks and Cheers, Patrizzio! 

So did we! See you tonight :)
 

[Thanks for booking this!!! Just watched a movie on Netflix you should watch I'll see you in my dreams!!! Really great !!! Hi Chloë! Glad it all worked out! Was quite pleased at how easy RBC's Rewards system worked and allowed me to book flight without any difficulty whatsoever. The film is probably one for your Nana as I'm more interested in Narco fare! Must away as I have to put my accounts in order as it's time to do our monthly settling up!. Love, Dad!]

Hi All, So great talking to you yesterday! Love the photos. Is the second one a sled to bring along drinks for your hikes? Your stories are fascinating, Paprika. Thanks for sharing! What a coincidence that you should bump into Mary and that you already knew Claire, but I am not surprised as you two know how to welcome others into your fold. And Cindy looks like a charmer. I know it won't be long before you guys have a whole new gang of friends! Sounds like Penticton is living up to your expectations. The photos are beautiful and you guys have a blessed life. Can't wait to come see it for ourselves.

Thierry is coming back for a few days tomorrow. Can't wait to see him. Our walk on the mountain might be a bit tougher today. The wind is howling and all the beautiful snow has been blown off the trees. We hope you and Corinne, Ayn, Pierre and Alex and Chloe have a fabulous year and that all of us get to see each other in 2016. My wish is that our house sell so we can get back to beautiful BC. You are always welcome for another visit. Love you guys! Love, Carol xoxo

Hi again, Smoked Eel People! Thanks again for the New Year's wishes. Cora Lee still misses Los Horridos terribly! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Jean! Your New Year's meal sounded even more delicious than all the wonderful fare we've enjoyed over the years! Earlier snaps and description of lamb through torte brought back extremely fond memories of past tables shared with you and John, in your more than warm and inviting home.

Just finished peeling the spuds for Mme Coriandre's delish Feta potatoes. We are taking this dish to a surprise 65th for Jos tonight. Her husband, Aarturo, (aka Aart), arranged to have about 40 friends for the affair. Her actual birthday is on the 4th but their son and daughter are in town until tomorrow morning so he wanted them to be able to celebrate their mother's birthday. Had the great good fortune to meet this lovely Dutch couple as they are part of the hiking group. I presume that many of the people coming this evening will be associated with that group as well.
 

Just this morning I had a message from one of the founding members of this group and he will be leading a Monday Boot Hikes group for all the people not interested in snow-shoeing. First hike of 2016 is this Monday so pleased as punch to be able to get out into the surrounding hills and work off some turkey and wine! Must away as I've chores to do and promises to keep to Mme Coriandre! Fondestos to you both. Cheers, Patrizzio! PS: Thought you might enjoy these pictures! 

Hi Cactus and Older, Tyrannical, albeit  Well-Meaning Sister! Your New Year's hootch sounded throat-watering, reminders of all the wonderful bottles we've enjoyed over the years! Cheers, Patrizzio! Pic: spudolinos!

Good to hear from you, and glad that you have enjoyed your snow-shoeing.
Don't envy you your temperatures however. 

We are invited to a wedding in Boise on June 18. So my thinking cap is on, but we will see. Not inconceivable that we could fly/rent car and make it north. Have lots of time to dwell on this, but thought to send a warning shot across the bows. Give us a chance to subsidize the northern economy with our super dollars.
 

Tell Lady Darjeeling that I am enjoying a novel by a Canadian woman, Miriam Toews, "All my Puny Sorrows" which I got in harmony with Rick and Ruth (no doubt unrelated) at City Lights, which we visited with erstwhile Ferlinghetti interviewer Lin Xiang, our Chinese House guest. I wonder if the Lady knows of this seemingly excellent chronicler of the mores and existential woes of our fine contemporary society. Although yours is more contemporary than ours these days. 

Spent most of yesterday afternoon at the potluck talking with a 31 year old Calgary woman, a chemist who has roomed with our friends Jeanette and Mark for six years. Wonder Woman is the only way to describe her. Her current passion is windsurfing, and I'm sure she's out there today braving the icy bay. A little awestruck, both of us, by her amazing brilliance and athleticism. Back to Toews. Cactus

Hello Tinsel Town and Falcon Beach! Your scarf looks teriff, Ayn! You and Dusty look younger than your grandchildren, Rosita! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Joan! Did you stay awake to welcome in the New Year? Please say hello to Merna and wish her and her husband well. Fondestos from Lady Dar to you, Joan. Cheers, Patrizzio!

My sister Glenna sent me this short little video, which we found to be both funny and educational. Hope you do too. https://youtu.be/Z-BbpaNXbxg

Hello Il Pescatore! I thought that there were only pickerel in Red Lake! You Hubbles are quite a bit different from Clan Danilevitch! On second thought, Dallas Grey is cut from the same mold!!! Fondestos from Lady Dar, with a very, very large, very, very sharp Red Devil, to you, Muskellunge/Arctic Char People! Cheers, Patrizzio! 
 
Thank you so much for the photos and letter Patrick!! It was so nice of you to share your New Year's Eve with me!! I actually started a letter back to you that very evening but somehow the whole thing got lost in the shuffle!!...it was late and I had just got the kids to bed and tidied up my daughter's place a bit!!
That was my New Year's Eve as they went out to some fancy hotel with friends for a party to ring in 2016!!
 

I was definitely invited to join then but the baby sitter booked off the day before so it totally didn't bother me to stay home with the he kids!! I had commented on how nice of a lady Cora Lee is...she is definitely and obviously a good companion as you two share life in a fun way...that's the way it should be!!
Today is Jo's birthday and it was so thoughtful of Aart to bring the cake to your place as to keep it a surprise...He is another "jolly good fellow"...you two are definitely the life of the party!!!

Am keeping busy here in Santa Barbara!!...went for a nice hike with my 5 yr old grandson yesterday!! My IPhone is plugged with photos and I have not managed to get into ICloud...so sorry..no pictures!! My New Year's resolution!!...It was a hike on the flats over the cliffs of the Pacific...beautiful sights Just park 5 mins from my daughters to start the hike We reached the stairs that lead down to the beach...was a lovely afternoon The day before ...I took him to see Alvin and the chipmunks in " Boys in the Hood" at the theatre..it was most enjoyable!!!

Well must get on with the New Year!!...I am on duty with the kiss so they can get that studio finished as to get some rental money!! On with the show!!..enjoy the hikes and the camaraderie of so many wonderful folks!! Hugs to you both!! Elle😀

Hi Murielle! You sound as if you have an almost full-time job in Santa Barbara! Must be wonderful to be so cllsoe to your grandchildren. Our are in their 20's and Cora Lee still misses them terribly! Cheers, Patrizzio!

We are having fun... went to a Dive BAR New Years Night... Jazz Band... were up to 2:20 am... uber home... Joyce was a little more under the weather than I... but I got her home ok.. LOL.. So thanks for taking care of the snow.. removal for us..LOL... cheers for now.. Ken.

Hi Up-Town People! You sound as if you have almost full-time jobs, socializing, in SF! Still working on snow removal, sorry! Cheers, Patrizzio!

Hi Cactus! Please do think about coming further north in June! Be more than grand to have you here at Burns Street! Anyway, cogitate away and we'll plan accordingly!

With respect to Miriam Toews, she is almost a relative! Not kidding. Ayn's Uncle was the Best Man at her father's wedding and he taught Cora Lee English in Grade 10 at Steinbach High. You might know that he committed suicide, like Miriam's sister. We have met Miriam quite a few times at various VWF events. I also recommend the following remarkable film:

Silent Light (Plautdietsch: Stellet Lijcht; Spanish: Luz silenciosa) is a 2007 film written and directed by Carlos Reygadas. Filmed in a Mennonite colony close to Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua State, Northern Mexico, Silent Light tells the story of a Mennonite married man who falls in love with another woman, threatening his place in the conservative community. The dialogue is in Plattdeutsch, the Low German dialect of the Mennonites. Carlos Reygadas' films are known for their long sequences, slow rhythm, and use of nonprofessional actors. All the performers in Silent Light are Mennonites from communities in Mexico, Germany and Canada. Among the performers is Miriam Toews, a Canadian author who grew up in the Mennonite community of Steinbach, Manitoba, and has written novels related to this culture.  

Ayn's grandmother, on her father's side, was a Reimer and Miriam, through her father, Melvin C. Toews, is a direct descendent of one of Steinbach's first settlers, Klaas R. Reimer (1837-1906), who arrived in Manitoba in 1874 from Ukraine. Maybe I'm related to her as well through Sharktooth!

We have her other books so you can borrow them when yo visit in June. Time to hit the shower and ready myself for this evening's festivities. Fondestos to Floridian. Cheers, Patrizzio! Pics: Silent Light!

That's amazing. If I had known that Miriam was a known author to you, I would have commented on the book and added that, given its themes, no doubt the author had had some very unpleasant life experiences to enable her to have the insights she has. 

Wow, what a close connection, and of course, I'd been thinking of the Squamoids.

Nancy has gotten into the "new" Sherlock Holmes and we just watched an episode on Netflicks. I will look for Silent Light after I finish the book....thanks!

Cactus (preparing for our festivities, in the manner you might expect; these will take place over at our friends' Peter and Wendy's tonight).

Hi Irene and Moriarity! Did you watch the latest Sherlock which took us back in time, Naughty Nancy? I thought it was extremely well done, dovetailing with present. Loved "gargantuan" Mycroft as well as some of the other secondary characters and the intertwining of "fact" and "fiction" in the very clever script.  We are dedicated followers of Cumberbatch and Freeman but also like the New York "Elementary" version with Lucie Liu and Johnny Lee Miller, et al.



For our part, we are fortunate enough to only have to worry about such trivial matters, other than snow and firewood, or which bottle of wine to open, as which of the gazillions of series on Netflix to watch! Other than couch potatoeing,life is grand! Talk soon, one way or another. Cheers, Patrizzio!
 

THERE IS NO ICE OR SNOW ON THE RIGHT SIDE ON OUR DRIVE WAY!!! IT IS SAFE TO WALK!