We have had an eventful year what with me undergoing a triple bypass operation in March; selling our house (to the same folks who we bought it from a year before), moving to an apartment downtown; taking lots of walks, meeting lots of new people and learning more about Cornwall.
Lots of good times with friends at Thum's Thai Kitchen; Cedar's in Cornwall Square for great Lebanese food; a trip to Upper Canada Village just 30 minutes away; visits from my Brother Terry and his wife Lynne, my sister Wendy and her husband Rene; a visit from old friends Nid and Tomas who came from Toronto for a weekend. We also visited the Thai Temple in Ottawa (Kanata) to participate in a 'tumbon' - an enjoyable event, food, Thai music and new people to meet.
By chance, I met up with an old friend from Montreal with whom I had lost touch. When we were selling our house, we had a garage sale. I had a baking table at the front of the garage and I saw this older bearded guy and lady (she wasn't bearded) looking around. When he said something, I recognized his voice and said, "You sound like a friend of mine from Montreal named Larry Wells." He stopped dead in his tracks, looked at me and said, "I've been looking for you for 20 years!
Larry and I had shared an apartment in Montreal in the early sixties! They have been camping for seven years each summer not far from Cornwall. Lots of good times and memories to reminisce about. His wife, Lorraine, has been with him for 48 years! Wow! Nong and I are coming up on 27 so that's not bad either, eh!
We spent a fun weekend in Montreal visiting the incredible Botanical Gardens there. Nong has discovered Skype and so she now chats regularly with her sisters in Thailand. I chat with my cousin Robin in England, too.
Nong's favourite toy this year is her new IPad and I just bought a small Lenovo computer for when we travel anywhere. I need access to the Net when we're away and an IPad isn't the right tool for me. So, I'm busy right now learning to operate a computer than is less than half the size and a quarter the weight of my Dell dinosaur. I also have to load a batch of programs but there's no CD drive on the new computer so I to transfer everything from CD to a Lexar thumbdrive then load them from there to the Lenovo. The Lexar is a 32 GB drive so it can handle everything. Technological progress! Keeps the old brain active, too... and staves off nastiness like dementia and Alzheimer's.
I'm waiting for my first assignment as a volunteer with Tri-County Literary Council and expect to be teaching other seniors how to figure out their computer in TCLC's new Home and Not Alone program. That'll start in January.
I got several books published on Smashwords this year; https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/rwftaylor
... had one small art exhibit at a senior's home and expect to do 2 or 3 in 2015
... joined Focus Art - an art group,
...looking at joining a writers' group,
...updating my online school website, www.teachesl.org
...always adding a slew of new images to my art website...
www.bobsartstudio.net (which for some reason, seems to have a big following in Brazil)
...working on a presentation I have been asked to do in Alexandria (Ontario, not Egypt!) on Thailand in April. I was supposed to do it this past April but it was too soon after my heart operation and I wasn't up to it.
...when our friend Shaun packed up and moved to join his wife in Thailand in the fall, I was suffering from 'friend withdrawals' but amazingly or providentially(?), I met a fellow at TCLC one day who is also retired, lives in Ottawa but is in Cornwall during the week, runs a small publishing company and we seem to have hit it off. Lots in common and, believe it or not, he lives on the same street - a block away from Shaun's condo.... Jim and I have coffee/lunch regularly now at The Grind...a neat little restaurant within walking distance for both of us.
Lots of things on the go...keeping busy...enjoying life and dealing with anything it throws at us.
Nong and I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Fun-Filled 2015!
See ya, eh!
Bob and Nong
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