50th Anniversary Tea

Today was the Golden Anniversary Tea for my Sisterhood. We celebrated 50 years since we were chartered by the Women of Reform Judaism.   I invited long time friends and family to join me.  This was an English style tea with fancy sandwiches, scones with cream and strawberries, plus sweets and fruit. Here are some photos:

UBC Graduation - May 31, 2016

I attended a special UBC Graduation Ceremony on Tuesday, May 31.  It was special because my nephew (Ken 's youngest son) earned his Batchelor of Applied Science in Engineering Physics (Mechanical) finishing the program in five years.  Lots of hard work and stress for him, but now it is done.  The family is so very proud of him.  Here are a few pictures of this special day for Teddy and us:

Interim President, Martha Piper, announced the winner of the Governor General's Silver Medal.  The winner was an Engineering Physics student, as was Teddy.  Ms. Piper advised that the Engineering Physics course was the toughest course at UBC.  Teddy is really brilliant!

Neil's Law Class Reunion

Neil's classmates from the UBC Law Class of 1959 sure like each other.   It feels like they have had more reunions than any other law class.  They have held a reunion every five years, and now two years.  May 13 and 14 they celebrated 57 years since graduation. On to the 60th!

Saturday night the event was held at the Terminal City Club in Vancouver, and in spite of his many disabilities,  I got Neil there with the help of his classmate John, and his wife, Carolyn, who kindly drove us.

Here are some photos from the evening:

Special Evening for Sam in Oxford

Could not resist posting this fabulous photo of my nephew Sam, and two of his friends, all dressed up in their tuxes and ready to go to the "Ball". Sam is in the middle.

They were on their way to the Lady Margaret Hall 2016 Ball, which is the college where Sam earned his Masters of Philosophy in International Relations. Very good looking guys!

Memories of Christmas Past #1

For the last several days I have been  nostalgically thinking about Christmas gifts that my Father gave to my Mother when I was a child.  Invariably it was an "Evening In Paris" perfume set, with perfume, cologne and eau de toillette.  I think you could buy it in a Five & Ten Cents store or at Rexall Drug stores.  When I was old enough, I went with my Father to buy it. It was always blue glass bottles on white satin, and I remember it sitting on my Mother's vanity in their bedroom. I have a whiff of a memory of the scent on my mother.

The first perfume that I remember myself wearing was "White Shoulders" by Eyvan, the perfume, body lotion and the powder. Such a thrill to get it as a gift.

Vancouver Welshmen's Choir & Sutton Place Christmas Decorations

Last night I went with friends to the Vancouver Welshmen's Choir performance held at St. Andrews Wesley United Church downtown because a good friend is a choir member. What wonderful harmony they had, the church was filled with their voices.  They were joined by the CHT Salvation Army Band (brass) and they were terrific. The Choir has several more concerts this month, do try and catch one of them:

 

And then after the concert a group of us gathered at the Sutton Place Hotel on Burrard  Street for drinks.  The hotel always has a wonderful display of Christmas Trees for charity purposes.  Here are photos of some of the trees including close ups of special tree decorations:

 

 

 

Games Afternoon

Had lots of fun at our semi-annual "Games Afternoon" today, with women playing their choice of mah jongg, bridge or canasta.  Our usual mah jongg foursome joined in:

How Vancouver is Changing!

As our friends and family know, we sold our home in the spring of 2014 and moved out in July 2014, after living there for 34 years.  During that 34 years, we redid every room and the roof about 3 times, built a gorgeous deck at the back, upgraded the windows, painted the exterior many times, planted many, many trees, and had gorgeous garden beds in the back where we entertained around the pool. But getting older and with more physical disabilities, we had to move into a one level condo. Here are some pictures of our former home:

I have driven by our former home many times in the last 14 months and saw the demolition begin about 3 days after we moved out, the excavation of the site, the building of the foundation for the new home, the structure going up, the outside finishing and the landscaping.  It was finished within the past 3 weeks. And then last week I noticed a "For Sale" sign out front and took this picture:

So being curious, I looked the listing up online, and found that it was listed for $8,780,000 (unbelievable!). It is described by the realtor as:

"WORLD CLASS MANSION, MAGNIFICENT CUSTOM BUILT QUALITY HOME, TRULY "ONE OF A KIND". Almost 5,500 sq.ft sits on BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPED level lot 66' x 120'. Supreme finishing throughout, full attention to detail, finest interior décor provides feeling of luxurious mixed classic/modern living. Foyer with high ceiling opening onto entertaining sized living & dining. 6 bedrooms & den, 7.5 baths, large gourmet kitchen & high-end cabinetry & appliances, large Island with granite counter top. HOME THEATRE, GYM, WINE CELLAR, SAUNA STEAM BATH, ADVANCE HOME SMART SYSTEM, RADIANT FLOOR HEATING, A/C, HRV. Here are some realtor pictures:

 

It is gorgeous for sure, but that asking price is beyond what virtually all Canadians could afford.  This is quite sad.  Imagine having 7.5 bathrooms!  Preposterous!

Aunt Dorothy's 90th Birthday Celebration

On Sunday, September 13, the family celebrated our Aunt Dorothy's 90th Birthday. She is my father's younger sister, the last surviving of the siblings.  She resides in a full care nursing home and is in wheelchair, but her health is otherwise good. We had a luncheon in one of the social rooms of the care home with just family in attendance.

We were blessed in having cousins visit for the occasion from Victoria, BC and Airdrie, AB as well as my brother, Ken, and his two sons Chris and Teddy. And of course Neil and I.  Here are some pictures of the event:

Ron (June's husband), Neil (Donna's husband), Aunt Dorothy, Ken (Donna's brother)
and June (Donna and Ken's Cousin)

Bob (cousin), Teddy and Chris (Ken's sons), Ron, Neil and Dorothy

 

Aunt Dorothy

  

Dorothy, Ken & June looking at Dorothy's old photo album
from her teenage years and 20's

Dorothy & June looking at the old photo album.  June found pictures of her father,
Walter, in his 20's that she had never seen before.

 

Chris (Ken's son) and Ron (June's husband)

Neil (Donna's husband), Dorothy and Ken

Dorothy needed help from Ken to blow out the candles

 

 

The Family: Back: Donna, Ron, June, Teddy, Chris & Bob
Front: Neil, Dorothy & Ken