Summary of 2008?

Tuomo writes: It’s New Year’s Eve – time for one more look back at some of the ups and down of our 2008. The events are in no particular order; any other form than flow of thought would be too much work otherwise :-

Teddy passed away in September ;-(

Lulu entered our life in October.

Our friends Sean, Nate, and Nicole came for a shoestring budget visit. Well Nicole was on a budget and a schedule; the rest of us weren’t. Lots of sitting in the car while the rain ruined all opportunities to view the Rockies. A faboo weekend in Seattle in the end though we ended up having dinner at probably the most overpriced and overrated restaurant in town.

Our friends Tytti, Pekka, and Timo, and came for a visit and brought summer weather with them. Tytti cooked us some fabulous meals and enlightened us of the finer nuances in oenology. I got to tour Seattle with Tytti and dance to our hearts' content to 80s classics at Neighbour’s. Pekka and Timo, who came over a week later but only for a very short time, got a whirlwind tour of what Tytti had explored in the past 10 days. Finally, when Tytti left back to Finland, Dave and I got to tour San Francisco with Pekka and Timo. The usual: the Wharf, the Castro, cable cars, Berkeley – but fun!

In August we got to see the Champagne Ladies for the first time since our move. A fabulous week at the beach awaited (after a red-eye flight to Philly on board a flight with no other than “Pam”!). Though the week began with a trial for our crimes against Champanity, the week was pretty much what we had been anticipating all year.

Dave’s dad got infected by multiple tick-borne diseases, which almost forced Dave’s parents to cancel their trip to see us. Fortunately, he managed to recover so that they were able to benefit from some of the best weather that BC has to offer; in fact, Dave’s dad managed to get a sunburn – though the medication he was on also contributed to this! High Point of the week: high tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria followed by a double-decker tour (high point: poopin’ harbour seal). Low Point of the week: Too bad that Teddy’s passing away coincided with their stay…

Later we learned that while Dave’s dad was in hospital for the infection he had a heart attack. Consequently, he had to go through a multiple by-pass in October, which caused changes in our Thanksgiving Day week travel plans. Balmy Florida became freezing Rhode Island, but a good time was had by all.

In late April and early May, I had a wonderful time in Finland, including the first Vappu (“First of May”) since 1996.

We made some friends with some new people on the US election night, which of itself was a truly historical event to witness.

The lower mainland got a white Christmas for the first time since 1971 (?), which meant that nobody knew what to do with the snow, in particular here in Langley where side roads remain to date in substandard condition.

Wonderful Christmas – our first one in our Canadian home – with a dinner party with our local family. Everybody was stuffed and needed to kick back a bit to loosen the belt. Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme…

All other events have been securely stored in our long-term memories; just remind us :-)

Finally, not a posting without a clip, just to remind us how time is an evanescent concept:



Onnellista uutta vuotta! Happy new year! Bonne année! Gott nytt år! Καλή χρoνιά! Head uut aastat! Gelukkig nieuw jaar! Boldog új év! Ein gutes neues Jahr! Farsælt komandi ár! Yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun!E gudd neit Joër! Akemashite omedetō! Szczęśliwego nowego roku! Feliz año nuevo! С Новым Годом! Blwyddyn newydd dda! Feliz ano novo! La mulţi ani! Šťastný nový rok! See you in 2009! MWAH!