Frankly, I'm just not into Christmas right now...even though it's one day away. It's not so much that I'm grumpy, it's more that I'm tired. It seems to have been such a long, busy and frustrating year. Perhaps the late arrival of winter is a part of it. Perhaps frustrations at work too. I think the 'stress' in the world, from Trump, to Syria, to internet trolls, and back to Trump again is a large part of it. It's hard to be an active participant in life and not get worn down by it at times. So all I want for Christmas is some peace and quiet at home with my family and close friends and fortunately that is what this year is bringing!
But enough of my whinging, here is my annual (well almost annual) report on the machinations of the Matteys of Winnipeg: Nothing changed; everything's the same; nothing to see here; go back about your business! Kidding!
The two most significant 'events' of our year were the return of Lisa from her adventures in England and Trudy's decision to retire in a few weeks on January 13th.
Lisa decided to return to Winnipeg about six months before her 2-year visa expired due to a series of discouraging events. The environment at her place of work changed drastically for the worse, a 100-year rain storm flooded her apartment, and Brexit left everyone in a surly mood. She has returned to her prior life of working for the YMCA, volunteering, baking, cooking and being a force to be reckoned with.
One of her friends from Brighton, Hannah, came for a week long visit recently to see the snow and cold - she got a good dose of both but braved the elements in pursuit of a whirlwind tour of the 'Peg.
Trudy has been talking about retirement for a while now (and probably thinking about it for longer). She feels it is time to move on to new things and we're at the point we can afford for her to do this - at least we think so. Trudy has no specific plans other than joining a couple of her other retired girlfriends at the gym a few mornings a week. She's heading down to Phoenix in late January to spend a couple of weeks with her sister Wendy, who is also retiring, and her husband Larry. Lisa will be house-sitting for Wendy and Larry, so I'll be 'batching' it for a couple of weeks - oh well, lots of Jets games on the TV!
Things are very much the same for Spencer and Shyanne. He's been a journeyman electrician for over a year and continues to enjoy his work. Shyanne continues to work for the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and seems to enjoy it most days.They are saving up to put a down payment on the house they're renting when vet and truck repair bills don't get in the way. It's a small house on a great piece of property with lots of back yard for their dog Eddie.
Spencer and his buddies like to fish - year 'round. At this time of year they are antsy to get on the ice and start jigging for pickerel.
Me? Well I'm still at Carte and still leading the QA team. Carte continues to grow customers and do well. Our biggest issue is changing culture and processes to meet the demands of increasing sales. My boss respects me and my work, treats me well and I work with some great people, so hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I continue to go.
A significant activity for Trudy and I this past year or so has been being part of a community-based group (SOSRI) sponsoring three related Syrian refugee families to resettle in our South Osborne neighbourhood. Our primary activity was leading the fundraising. To date we've raised over $113,000 of our $150,000 goal. These monies have to support the 13 members of the families for a minimum of a year and cover immigration expenses including their airfare here. Thank you to friends, family, and community members (I'd like to see a Venn diagram) for your generous donations. If you would like to learn more about these families or support the cause, please visit our Go Fund Me page.
Travel? Why yes, I think we did!
Trudy and I like to travel and 2016 was no different with several big and small trips made.
Our first trip of the year was to Cozumel for ten days in late February with our friends Penny and Eric. Mostly we just wanted to get away from winter but Eric and I did get in some scuba diving as well. We stayed right on the malycon in San Miguel, the main town on the island. Did a lot of walking, eating and drinking and drove around the island a bit on a sleepy Sunday. We took a day trip over to Playa del Carmen to catch Brent Parkin, a Winnipeg institution who winters there, play the blues.
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| Penny & Trudy in the Gardens at La Parrilla Mission |
In May we were off to Italy, where Lisa joined us for ten days gallivanting around Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Pisa before heading back to Brighton for a few days to check out Lisa's UK digs. Trudy and I took Italian lessons in preparation. All I can say about Italy is Molte Bene!
Of course we took the obligatory gondola ride complete with a nice bottle of proseco. Expensive but worth the experience!
We went out to Murano via water bus to see the glass shops and factories. And we took in the sites on St. Mark's square, including the Bridge of Sighs and Doge's palace.
Florence was very busy and full of things to see and do - definitely not enough time here - I only got a few hours at the Uffizi and didn't even see the statue of David!
We went on a really nice one-day Super Chianti tour while in Florence, courtesy of our wonderful kids - thanks Spencer and Lisa! The tour included a visit to the mad butcher of Panzano and Greve - both places to go back to one day.
We also took the bus to Sienna one day.
Cinque Terre was nothing short of spectacular! The five villages are all beautiful and unique - it's just too bad that so much of the coastal walkway is out of commission. We stayed in Riomaggiore, which is the southern-most of the villages and used the train to hop one-by-one northward and then the ferry to come back home.
The Pscyclepaths were off to Oregon in July. Have to admit before I go any further that there is very little cycling anymore on these trips but there is lots of food, wine (and other libations), friendship, and frivolity!
We went whale-watching, beach-combing, and helped celebrate US Independence Day with fireworks on the beach. The whale-watching was an adventure due to somewhat rough seas but we did see a few Grey whales.
The coastline of Oregon is tremendously beautiful. There are lots of fantastic vistas and quaint little towns to check out.
Our next stop was a house in the hills outside Newberg in the Willamette Valley.On the way from Depoe Bay the guys stopped to take in the Evergreen Aviation Museum where the Spruce Goose and many other aircraft are on display.
This is wine country so we just had to visit a few of them. We also sauntered down the Norman Rockwell-like main street of McMinnville and spent another day cycling in a large park on the outskirts of Salem.
The September long weekend saw us take off with a few of the other Pscyclepaths for Dorsett Minnesota. The cycling along the Heartland trail was great, as it always is. More fun and frivolity but no wineries :-(
We stopped at Itasca State Park on the way home to get a look at the headwaters of the Mississippi - pictured here.
In late September I was in the Big Easy for the second year-in-a-row for a conference.
I really like New Orleans - fantastic history, interesting people, great music and great food. At that time of the year the weather is warm but not too humid.
It was kind of fun to be at the mouth of the Mississippi having been at its headwaters a few weeks earlier.
Trudy and I were off to Ottawa in October for an extended Thanksgiving long weekend. The primary purpose was of course to visit Anne and Tim in Prince Edward County and my side of the family in the Ottawa area.
We had a great visit with Anne and Tim - just like old times - miss those two a lot!We sat down on the shores of Lake Ontario quite a bit or up on their deck watching the waves rolling up on the shore. Tim and I even did a sauna followed by a sip in the lake - it wasn't so cold!
Oh, there were wineries here too! And another aviation museum.
Our visit with my family started off with Thanksgiving dinner in Carleton Place, where Trudy and I got to meet all three of the new grand-nieces and nephews, Cambria, Haughton, and Audrey - cuties all!
We stayed at the senior's complex in Gatineau where my Dad and Jocelyne live. I must say it is a fantastic set up for them.
My dad turned 89 a few weeks ago and is in great health physically and mentally. We are planning a trip to England next fall to visit relatives in honour of his pending 90th.
Scubacation was our final trip of the year...off to Cozumel for the now annual dive trip. Trudy and Lisa came along too! Every year the diving gets more and more zen-like for me. I'm now up to 64 dives! I also did my first wreck dive!
There were 23 of us, including 15 divers - enough to fill our own dive boat! Our crew has grown to include folks from Saskatoon, Edmonton, Ottawa, and Colorado.
We celebrated Lisa's birthday with a group dinner for all of us.
Some of us celebrated Halloween with a night dive. We saw some neat fauna including an octopus that took on all sorts of colours trying to escape our lights.Some of us went into town a day later to the Dia des Muertes festivities in San Miguel.
Trudy rented a car for the week so she and Lisa along with some of the others tootled around the island checking out the Mayan ruins, the beaches, Punta Sur park and other sights.
Music, Music, Music
We took in a lot of shows this past year - hard to recount them all but the highlights were definitely Festival de Voyageur, volunteering at Interstellar Rodeo, and the broadcast of the last Tragically Hip concert at Assiniboine Park. Casey and Gail came in from Edmonton for an all-too-short visit so they could take in the Rodeo. Music is made all the better in the company of friends.
Next Year?
You'll have to wait and see!
WOW - it's been a busy year - no wonder I'm tired!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our friends and family! May you enjoy the warmth and comfort of the season. Hope to see you soon!
