2012,
Well 2011 was quite the year, some sad
times and some happy. We put our house up for sale in the fall of 2010. And
guess what? We are still here in Grand Forks! Our plans to move to Vancouver
Island are still on hold but still in our thoughts.
January saw us travelling to Flin
Flon again as Marsha’s Dad was failing. He passed away on the 8th. It was sad
to see him go but we were both happy that we could be there for him. In July we returned with the older
Motor Home we purchased and helped with Marsha’s parents funeral and internment.
In June we took mother Pat to a family wedding in Alberta in the Motor Home. It
was a pleasant trip however Pat seemed tired all the time. Upon returning we found that she was failing
rapidly and she quickly headed to the Island. Mother Pat passed away in her assisted living suite on August
4th, 2011 with Marsha and Alan at her side.
We remained on the Island finalizing Pat’s
affairs and looking after Lana’s son Kai’s home as he had gone to PEI with his partner Emily and daughter Willa.
Unbeknownst to all of us in the West, Kai & Em were wed in a field in PEI before they returned. On
the Island we travelled around and visited with Marsha’s relatives and met up with her brother Doug
and partner Ann who were travelling from Flin Flon. Even though the summer was sad with the passing of
our parents, we did have some enjoyable times what with not having to worry about work anymore.
Best
wishes for the New Year!
The Kneeland/McGregors
Our Vacation
We were invited to Alan’s
best friends step-sons wedding in Mexico, so(Alan’s first time out of the US or Canada) on the 12th
of November we flew to Puerto Vallarta. We spent the first 3 days in Hotel Playa Los Arcos which is located
right on the beach in Old Town. A bus tour (City & Tropical) took us to have a look
at the area with knowledgeable commentary. It was interesting, especially the Tequila distillery; you know
that Alan brought a few bottles home. On the Wednesday we moved to Hotel Playa Fiesta where Michael &
Melissa’s wedding was held. This was very relaxing and enjoyable for 5 mere days.
Plans for the 2012
Since we now have the Motor
Home and a time share, we are planning to spend more time on the road over the spring, summer and fall
and of course at least a week in some exotic warm spot during winter.
Our plans for
2011 also include the sale of our Grand Forks home and the moving to the Island.
We
are looking forward to 2012 and anticipate that it will be a exciting and interesting year. Who knows,
with the Motor Home and free time, we may well be able to visit with some of you again.
Our Life
Even though we have both retired
from our jobs, it seems that we have been unable, for the most part to start what promises to be a very enjoyable time in
our lives.
We now have the freedom, cats and dog allowing.
We had the two cats, mother and son and with the passing of Pat, inherited her Shiatsu Sasha. When
in the motor home we are able to take all the animals but of course when flying or in the car, that is impossible.
Alan’s sister Lana in Kelowna usually keeps Sasha and we have a lady in town here that comes in to feed the cats
daily. Our friend Sonny who has the local taxi and is staying in Pat & Bob’s suite in the basement
is usually here also so the animals are not to lonely.
We continually tidy up the house
for showings but since early spring there have been few showings. The home market in Grand Forks as in
most other places is quite dead. In any event, we do like Grand Forks and it is not hard to be here.
In any event we would like to have a sale and be able to begin the rest of our lives in a new location.
We are not getting any younger and it would be nice to settle in a spot where we want to stay.
Even if we were to stay in Grand Forks, we would have been moving into a smaller house as this one is much to big for
us now.
Maybe one the size of the motor home however after a few weeks it seems small.
Guess time will tell.
Family is very important to us and will see us often travelling
to Kelowna , the Island or Flin Flon as that is where our families are.
August
5th, 2012 will see us in Alberta as we will be holding a celebration of life for Pat & Bob at the Hastings
Cooley Cemetery near Forestburg and interning their ashes together in a grave so they can remain
together . After more than 60 years of marriage, we are sure that they want to remain together.
Mexico
As said before, we took Alan to Mexico.
It was the first time that he had ever been anywhere except the US and Western Canada. It was with
great trepidation that we got underway heading into the unknown. Neither of us know Spanish however we
did try to learn some before leaving. It didn`t work and we didn`t need to as virtually everyone in Puerto
Vallarta speaks English. It is definitely a tourist town and is probably not a true representative of Mexico.
Be that as it may, we did have a good time and were able to see some of the authentic Mexico especially the Tequila
distillery. Alan noted that there was a separate Tequila tour but there was not enough time to go on it
and besides Marsha wouldn’t find it too interesting
