Guess Who's Doing the Stroll ?

Teo started taking a few steps this week but today he really took off and by the end of the day he twice walked from the living room to the kitchen to greet his Daddy and then his Mommy when they each came home from work. 

Riding in the Toy Box

This was just before we crashed into the china cabinet. Don't tell Grandma. 

War Bride

This being the 60th anniversary of the Canadian War Brides we thought we would check out one of our own. My Aunt, Jessie Brown, as it turns out was a war bride. She married my Uncle Ron (my mothers brother) in England and in September 1946, she and their son Colin boarded the passenger ship Aquitania and departed Southampton for Canada. Unfortunately things didn't work out for Uncle Ron and Aunt Jess, and in the early 50's she returned to England with their two sons, Colin and Doug. The families have lost touch.

Check out the Canadian War Brides site at ....

http://www.canadianwarbrides.com

Remembrance Day

My Dad was 16 years old when he signed up with the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles. He went overseas in 1915 and he fought in France and Belgium. In 1916 he was wounded at Ypres a few months before his 17th birthday but after convalesing in England he was eventually sent back into active duty. He was discharged in Toronto on 20 March 1919.

When he was in hospital they found out he had lied about his age. He was demoted back to a private and his pay was cut accordingly. Do you think the Canadian Army/Government should reinstate him and provide compensation for his lost pay?

The back of the post card has some notes which I think were written at a later date.....

"I got this picture taken after work one night just for fun. Some pose eh. I paid 12 cents for three. The high cost of living. Some attitude and cigarette stunt. Tear it up, after burning it"

JDJ in France?

I'm not sure where this pic was taken. It would be more exciting if it was in France and the boys were out with the little French maidens. However the post card back is in English so I suspect it was in England. If it was in England before he was sent to the front, he would only have been sixteen years old. If it was when he was back in England after being wounded he still would have been only 17 or 18 and what is he doing with his hand on that girls shoulder? My Dad's the short one on the left.

Great Auntie Moe (GAM)

Looks like the boys are warming up to their GAM and possible future overnights on the Island. When's the next ferry? How old do they have to be to travel unaccompanied? 

Happy Grandpa!

 

Happy Grandmas!

 

Happy Happy Birthday Parents

 

Cake Never Tasted This Good

 

Teo's 1st Birthday Party

Lot's of kids! Lot's of toys! Lot's of cake! Mommy made the cake to match his Haloween costume. 

Nearly Forgot Tricia's Birthday

Sharing a birthday with Teo will probably make it hard to do any real celebrating for Tricia's Birthday. She says she doesn't want to celebrate anymore anyways. Her birthday present and greatest joy is just to hold her little guys. I think Jacob was more interested in playing with the birthday toys or maybe getting into the cake. 

What's That Behind You?

 

Judy, Jacob, and (Mike?)

I'm not making any comment. Judy may want to explain herself. 

Happy Halloween Quilt

Tricia made little quilt hangings for the boys first Halloweens. (actually Jacob was around last year but he didn't celebrate that much last year). For those who are not fully familiar with the quilting process ....it involves selecting very nice material...cutting it up into little squares...and, sewing it back together again. Tricia has done a lot of quilts and they always come out looking pretty nice and certainly nicer than the original pieces of material although many question why would you want to cut up perfectly good material just to sew it back together again. 

Two Monkies in Costume

 

Do you Like My Lion Costume?

 

Lollipops

I'm not sure why, but my sister suggested I post this picture of her. (centre) She is the Queen Bee of the Cowichan Lake Red Hatters. Here they're singing "The Good Ship Lollipop" as they are known at the lake as the Cowichan Lake Lollipops. She also tells me they now have their own Blog.....'lakelollipops.blogspot.com'. Check it out if you dare! 

At Whistler BC

 

The Jones Boys

This is my Dad, on the right, with his two brothers....left to right...George, Chester, and Jack. These three accumulated over 100 years of service with Ontario Hydro where they all worked most of their careers. Uncle George was Superintendent of Maintenance, Uncle Chester was Superintendent of Construction, and Dad was Superintendent of Operations. In this picture they appear to be looking over some project model or something. We were certainly an Ontario Hydro family....most of the offsprings spent some time with the Hydro...a few of my cousins making it their fulltime career. I worked 6 summers with Hydro while going to school but then somehow ended up in the telephone business. 

Any Bets?

Any bets on when these guys will be walking? Can't wait for what they refer to as the "terrible two's". I guess when these guys are together it will be the 'terrible two's squared" 

Swimming Lessons

While Mommy is away at Whistler....she said it was a "Math Conference"....Grandma had the fun of taking Teo to his weekly swimming lesson. Looks like Teo got dunked but I don't think Tricia got her hair wet. Karen was co-presenting at the conference and Weilly got to experience fulltime babysitting....ie. two overnights at home. Weily and Teo will meet up with Karen in Whistler tomorrow for a little R&R for the three of them. 

Birthday Girl

Can't figure out why but it seems to be virtually impossible to get a picture of Judy these days without some guy hanging around her neck. Jacob will be 13 months next week. Can't tell you how many months old Judy is, but it's over 100. Happy Birthday!!! 

Jim and Marcia Coast on By

Jim and Marcia dropped by for lunch today....no not in their dinghy. They were on their way back home to Sidney and as they know, they are not allowed to pass by without stopping in. We got all caught up on the summer cruising news. Jim and Marcia were our mentors for cruising 'North of Desolation Sound'....they introduced us to the 'Broughtons'.....they showed us the way around 'Cape Caution'.....they shared many special anchourages with us.... and they even taught us how to "raft". We taught them how to play dominos, but don't let it be known that they played games....it's our little secret. 

What the Hell !!!

Good old cruising buddies...Jim Peters and Brian Plews. Any ideas on what we may be up to?