New Year's Eve Round Midnight Blues : Tuesday, December 31st

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. -Carl Sandburg, poet (1878-1967) 

Hi Patrick & Corinne. Thank you for the lovely Xmas e card - the grandchildren especially liked it! All is well here in Cheddar as we hope is with you and yours.
We have had a very wet and windy winter so far with lots of people on flood alert. Tonight we will be seeing the New Year in at a rock'n'roll dance! Wishing you a very happy New Year, Sue & Roger    

Hello Sue and Roger!

Trust you are both well. From your lovely Christmas picture that seems to be the case. Thank you for it and the New Year's wishes. Wanted to wish you both all the best before the New Year as well. We are, at the moment, in the Sunshine Valley, (heading east, just past Chilliwack/Hope), probably till around noon today.

  
Once again, all the best for a Healthy New Year to you and family, Sue and Roger. We trust our paths will cross in the not too, too distant future and we would love to have you stay with us when you visit Vancouver. Cheers, Patrizzio!

PS: Glad your grandchildren liked the Christmas card. Perhaps they will enjoy the balloon game which comes with the New Year's card I'll send along once I've posted this message!

Pics: Sunshine Valley on a stroll with Al and Colleen.

A Healthy New Year to
    you and Cheryl, and family, Allan,
    from Corinne, Chloë and Patrizzio!

         Cheers to one and all!   A Healthy New Year to  Krissy, Mark, Chloë and all their Snowshoeing, Big White, Teapot Friends from Cora Lee,(Mom), and Patrizzio, (Dad)  Much Warm Love and Cheers to one and all! 

Hello Sunshine Valley Folk!

Just a quick note to thank you both for such a lovely visit! Must away as I'm only one not upstairs but wanted to send along snaps. Will be in touch, in more detail, later! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizzio!


Stats for today's ride:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/422590040#.UsPWHqopluU.email 

Thank You Patrizzio and all for the lovely card. My neighbour and good buddy Steve and I went to an early movie, dinner at Swiss Chalet and home again. I had an incredible view of the fireworks, which, for a small city, were very impressive.. It is now 1am and after a very late night last night, I am off to bed. All the very best you you and your family in 2014... Thanks again... Bill 

Wayne Sutherland

Happy New Year from Dartmouth NS — at Celtic Corner

Thank you sir Patricio All the best Livingstone 

Hi Joey, Chandler, et al!

Trust your feline New Year's eve was as pleasant and as food/hootch-filled as ours. We had been invited to a dinner party by Joanne, good friend and neighbour, upstairs in our building to bring in the new year. After Cora Lee and I returned from the Sunshine Valley, (beyond Hope!), where we had spent the previous night with close friends, Colleen and Al, at their comfy cabin right on the Sumallo River, about 1:30 pm Tuesday afternoon, I managed to get in a great ride to and around Stanley Park, leaving the Islay Inn just after 2:00 pm. Not too, too many people about but those that were walking or jogging were certainly enjoying the day as it was dry, although quite cloudy. Temperature was poifect for riding and there was but little wind. I was home around 4:45 pm. 

Stats for ride:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/422590040#.UsPWHqopluU.email 

I was just putting my bike away and wishing Herardo, the janitor for our building, all the best for coming year, when Cora Lee came out of our door with the yummy potatoe dish, (mashed potatoes smothered with a topping of grated, smokey Cheddar and green onions), she had made for dinner. She was on her way to take it to Joanne's apartment and then she was planning to take a walk along the Seawall.  Once I'd readied my steaming mug of java I sat down to send out New Year's greetings to friends and family across the world. Coriandre returned about an hour later and we proceeded to phone close friends to wish them all the best for 2014 as well. 

After a number of calls, Coramandel went to ready herself for the evening's festivities and shortly after she had showered, Ayn phoned. We had a lovely chat although I was upset to learn that both she and Alejandro were feeling under the weather, (One of our friends, Ricardo, in Squamish, was also laid low with a nasty flu/terrible cough.), so would be spending the evening at home. Xavierino, however, was hale and hearty and at work at Sound so we presumed he would be raking in huge tips over the course of the big night!
 

For her part, Ayn was going to curl up in bed and watch both Inside Llewyn Davis and Nebraska, as a friend/colleague, a voting member of the Academy, had let her borrow her screening copies. I was quite jealous as I do want to see both films. Anyway, I handed the phone to Corinne and went to self-beautify! Once I's showered and pomaded I called for fashion advice as I needed Cora Lee to give the go ahead on my choice of shirt and the matching bow-tie. By the time this critical outfitting was over, Clarisse and Dusty had arrived bearing Rosita's spicy shrimp, one of the appetizers we were contributing.
 

Coriandre had put together a plate of gluten-free crackers and an incredible Truffo, (Truffle Triple Cream from Benton Brothers Fine Cheese on GI), a "soft surface ripened pasteurized cow's milk cheese", so laden with these dishes and bottles of wine, the others made their way upstairs. I wanted to finish sending a few messages so after I'd done that I followed them, bearing the bubbly we intended to drink at midnight.

Other two guests, Maxine and Dave, both friends of Joanne, were there by the time I walked in the door. I'd met Dave this past summer but hadn't met Maxine before. Had a most enjoyable time, nibbling and sipping, visiting with everyone until Dave and Coriandre were dispatched to bbq the pork loin while Monique helped Joanne with other dishes in the kitchen. Durstons and I flipped TV channels to try and find one that everyone could agree upon to watch as countdown to 2014 approached. Assembled company was divided between coverage at Times Square and show in Niagara Falls. I opted for latter, (All things Canadian), but Cora Lee insisted on the former as she wanted to see the famed crystal ball dropping on freezing New Yorkers!

Once everything was deemed ready, we served ourselves from the heaping platters and casserole dishes arrayed on the kitchen bar counter and our plates were soon piled high with slices of the aforementioned pork loin, wedges of the Tourtière I'd helped make the previous Saturday, Coriandre's fabulous smashed spuds and a divine broccoli/red onion salad. We sat down at the table and Corinne gave thanks for the sumptuous feast and the friends and family fortunate to share in this plenty. 

Maxine, unfortunately, had to leave by 10:00 pm so Joanne served a wide selection of home-made baked desserts for the sweet-toothed among us, with room enough left to savour the wonderful confections of sugar and chocolate. Wishing Monique an early "Happy New Year" we bade goodnight to her and repaired to the living room where we continued to flip between channels, watching the various live performances, the breathes of all the parka clad commentators  and scantily clad female vocalists quite visible in the frosty air!
 

Coriandre had her way and so we settled on CTV to watch the festivities in New York and with a minute to go I popped the cork on a bottle of Josẻ Dhondt Rosé de Saignée, a very, very tasty Brut Champagne, as it turned out, and poured everyone a glass in Joanne's attractive flutes and when the ball dropped to announce the birth of 2014 we toasted one another and then made the rounds of kissing and hugging each other. Polished off the terribly good bottle by 12:30 am and by then it was time to go for the first sleep of 2014! Healthy New Year World!   

Colleen Teahan Waldron

Thanks Corinne Durston and Patrick Dunn for the lovely visit, delicious stew, bridge lessons and engaging conversations We miss you already xo

Sent with AquaMail for Android
http://www.aqua-mail.com

EITHER DATE WORKS FOR ME AT THIS TIME. HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL!--Kurt

George, February 9th would better for me.  

Best wishes to everyone for a happy new year! GBR

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/12/31/256596253/nothing-focuses-the-mind-like-the-ultimate-deadline-death