Our House

In 2007, Ken's cousin, well-known local author Valerie Green, wrote a lovely article about our home and the many connections we have made over the years.  Thought you might enjoy it - Ken and I certainly did!

Close Connections - The Girl Next Door

I think it was around 1996 that we first met Kelly. She was renting the suite next door, where daughter Terry now lives, while attending the University of Victoria.

Kelly had recently moved from Ontario and was extremely homesick.  I took her under my wing (or should I say 'our wings'?) and often had her over for tea and talks.  I think she used our phone a few times to call her parents.

I can recall one time when she was working on a project which involved researching some articles and pictures from old magazines.  As we happened to have magazines dating back to the 1950's in our attic, she spent hours perusing them for information.  I can see her now, kneeling on the floor upstairs, surrounded by dusty magazines, the sun streaming in the window on her back.  Meanwhile I was downstairs plugging in the kettle to make tea for us.

All our neighbours were invited to our 50th wedding anniversary and Kelly was included in the invite.

Time passed, Kelly graduated and returned to Ontario.

We keep in touch every Christmas.  She has achieved her goal of becoming a pre-school speech and language therapist and married a wonderful young man named Pat. They now have a little daughter and new baby son.  She writes me detailed letters about how their life is unfolding and I am keeping those letters for her future.

I am so glad we opened our home and our hearts to the girl next door when she most needed it.  In return, this close connection has enriched our lives.

Close Connections - Another Chapter

It was in 1993, when Ken was promoting his first book, 'Dear Mum', that we met Louisa.  She was part of the audience at our central library listening to a spiel by Ken.  The following day she phoned him to request a copy of the book for her brother.  Could she cycle out to our house and pick it up?

We liked her immediately.  Louisa had just moved to Victoria from Vancouver and didn't know a soul.  She was an avid reader and we were soon discussing books over a cup of tea.  I ended up lending her books from our vast supply and thus began a deep friendship which has lasted twenty-one years (and counting).

Louisa met a young Japanese fellow and they fell in love. His parents came to Victoria on a visit from Japan and we drove them around the city while Hideo (Louisa's fellow) explained everything to them in Japanese.  It was a fun day and when we parted company in Beacon Hill Park there was a great deal of bowing and hugging.

Louisa and Hideo married and settled in Vancouver where he is an established acupuncturist.  They had a baby girl, Emma, and we stayed in touch.  I kept every letter Louisa wrote to us as they contained so much detail I thought I should save them for Emma to enjoy one day.

Hideo, Louisa and Emma in the teahouse Hideo built in their backyard.

 In her Christmas letter of 2013, Louisa says:

"I would like to say a special thank you to you Lynette. When you gave me that bundle of letters I had written to you, I thought they were a few Christmas cards I had sent.  I had no idea you had saved every letter I had ever written to you, going back to the first thank-you letter I wrote in 1993 when I wrote to thank you for loaning me some of your books to read (which I enjoyed reading very much, by the way). 

A big thank you to you both for opening your home to me when I was fresh from Vancouver when I believe I had only been in Victoria for three days.  What a treat it has been over these past twenty years (can you believe it?!) knowing you both and having the opportunity to meet Terry, as well.  And of course, getting to meet Miller."

To me, this is just another example reaching out to others and the heart-warming results.

(In stark comparison, I recall an acquaintance, who when selling her car, remarked proudly that no one had ever sat in its back seat!)

Close Connections - Chance Encounter

In my last blog, I mentioned the importance of reaching out to people.  A prime example is a great friendship that developed from a chance encounter.

Having seen the movie 'On Golden Pond' Ken and I decided to attend a 'live' theatre performance of the same production at the Belfry.  As we stood in line, I began chatting to the couple behind us.  They had only been in Victoria a short time, having moved here from Toronto.  The lady, Pat, had a half-sister living here but didn't know anyone else.  We seemed to be 'in tune' so I took the plunge and invited them both for afternoon tea the following week.  For some unknown reason, I baked eccles cakes, and when Pat's husband, Trevor, spotted what was on offer, he exclaimed "Eccles cakes are my absolute favorite!"

From that day onward, our friendship grew.  We introduced them to many of our friends and they soon made connections of their own.  We enjoyed a lovely reciprocal relationship - enjoying many dinners in each other's homes. 

Pat had been an army captain and she was extremely proud of this accomplishment.  She was used to being waited upon and had very strict rules such as believing that it should always be a man who carved the roast and poured the wine. She also couldn't stand to see a man carrying a plastic bag.  I, on the other hand, usually carved my own roasts and when necessary, poured the wine.  Pat belonged to many organizations - I belonged to none.  She was a member of the Horticultural Society - I liked to get down and dirty in my garden.  However - we soon discovered that we both loved scrabble and Pat became a member of my group of scrabble ladies.

Pat's husband, Trevor, was very involved with the Victoria Chamber of Commerce, so on his 75th birthday I made a cake and my clever sister-in-law decorated it with the appropriate phrase "We're glad you followed the birds to Victoria".  

Unfortunately, Trevor was suffering from cancer and he soon left us.

But, a few years later, Pat met another nice gentleman, a widower named Harvey.  They were perfect together and our mutual friendship continued to grow.

Sadly, neither Pat nor Trevor are with us any more, but it just goes to show that a chance encounter can forever enrich your life.

Happier Days

I am feeling very sad and a bit empty.  Our 'old' friends are dropping like flies.

We have such treasured memories of get-togethers with neighbours and friends. I can recall our living room being filled to capacity.

Our Dutch neighbours used to provide us with Indonesian food and our German neighbour often brought the most interesting dishes to our parties.  On New Year's Eve we all ventured outside to bang on pots and pans at midnight, having spent the evening together playing card games and guessing games. It sure was fun.

My advice to the present generation is to enjoy every moment.  Treasure your friends, don't put things off, seize the day!  Do not spend your time chasing money.  Life goes by so quickly.  Above all, capture it all on camera - memories tend to fade.

Don't be intimidated by so-called 'better' cooks.  Even if you offer a cup of coffee or tea, macaroni and cheese, meat loaf or a pizza - the whole idea is to open your door and your heart.

Don't mind me.  When you grow old, you can wear purple and speak what is in your heart.

Queenly Connections

When Queen Elizabeth II announced the celebration of her 60 years of reign, I thought it would be fun to send her a copy of the article I had written about Carolyn Sadowska, who impersonates Her Majesty.

On the 13th of April, 2012, I received the following letter from Windsor Castle, acknowledging receipt of my correspondence and enclosing a lovely brochure commemorating the Queen's 60 years as monarch:

Needless to say I was very thrilled and grateful to receive this now-treasured letter.  But hey, I'm not finished yet!  

Recently my thoughts turned to Carolyn Sadowska and I asked Ken to check on the internet to see if he could find any mention of her.  There she was! with an update of her life, so we sent her an update of my recent contact with the real Queen.

We were thrilled to receive the following reply:

"I am writing to you from Nepal where I have been coming for several months at a time for the past few years, trekking, drawing, writing, learning the language, etc.  I feel very fortunate that Expo 86 and Jimmy Pattison gave my performing career a significant boost.  To this day I continue to perform at special events and it is still an adventure.  Occasionally events come up for me around the world so I've enjoyed visits to a great many places across Canada and the USA as well as further afield to Tokyo, Barcelona, Dubai and Manila.  Most of all it has been tremendously gratifying to make a living making people laugh and have fun.  Thanks again for taking the time to write.  It was very kind of you to do so.  Regards, Carolyn."

But the story of royal connections doesn't end there! Recently I told our nephew's wife, Elaine, this story and she had an interesting bit to add.  When she lived in England years ago, she assisted the Queen's veterinarian in caring for the royal corgis.  

One little corgi had a severely damaged leg and a decision had to be made regarding amputation.  The Queen, wearing a comfy coat and headscarf, arrived at the veterinarian's clinic for a consultation.  Elaine was captivated by her Majesty, especially when the Queen invited her for tea! Unfortunately this meeting never took place as Elaine developed a severe case of laryngitis.  

Goes to prove, once again, what a small world this is...

Fit for a Queen

In 1986 when Expo took place in Vancouver, we made a point of attending on several occasions.  We found it fascinating to wander around and take in all there was to experience.  One day we enjoyed watching 'the Queen' (impersonator Carolyn Sadowska) chat with people.

As I stood admiring her regal interaction with the crowd, it suddenly struck me, what was I waiting for?  At that time in my life I was writing free-lance articles for the Times-Colonist and was always on the look-out for new writing projects.  So, I approached 'the Queen' when she took a break from royal duties and asked if I could interview her for an article.  She graciously agreed.

Our son Mark, being a free-lance photographer, agreed to take photographs.  It was a fun interview and Mark's photographs were a great success.  Our little grand-daughter, Colleen, presented 'the Queen' with a bouquet of flowers and Mark captured the moment and Colleen's look of wonder perfectly.  (Colleen is now a 31 year old mother of two!). In 1987 my article was published in Woman to Woman magazine. Here is a copy of that article - stay tuned for my next post, which contains some interesting stories that came about as a result of writing this article and meeting Carolyn.