Hilary 30

Mary went to visit Hilary and Shayd for a few days in Vancouver. It was Hilary's 30th birthday and Mary had made a collection of photos of Hilary from the past three decades....

A week ago I was sitting one day in shorts outside, and the next week it is snow and very cold again. That time of the year.....

On our way to Spring

It is still pretty cold outside, but we are on our way to Spring again later this month. Last week a fellow Rotary member, Fred, celebrated his 95th birthday. Fred joined the Welland Rotary in 1996, the same year that I joined. He volunteered to make the weekly club newsletter but had never used a computer yet. We offered him access to a computer and some instructions in the International Team of Niagara College. Fred is young of mind and spirit, and still in amazing good shape for his age.

Also in good shape is Opa Vandenboom at the age of 92. 

Hilary will celebrate her 30th birthday later this month, with her Mamma visiting Vancouver....

The two sons of my sister Hanneke, Patrick and Rutger, enjoy a vacation together in the Alps. They are both well in their forties. Yes, time flies....

Memories

Hilary was born in March 1992, so in five weeks from now, we hope to celebrate her 30th birthday. Mary will fly to Vancouver for a short visit (I go there in late May to afterwards drive our CRV back). The above photo was taken in late 1992 in my small "home office" which I had in our house in St. Thomas. Hilary started a new job a few weeks ago and works from her home office in Vancouver....

Two years later in July 1994, Mark joined us. He was born in Amsterdam and shortly afterwards we took this photo at the condo of my parents. Three generations of Nolle men. My Dad was 35 when I was born and they had two daughters then already, 9 and 11 years older then me. I only became a father at the age of 37 and was on my way to become 39 when Mark came along....

Work always brought me to all corners of the world. The photo above was taken in 2013 during my last visit to the small Argentinian town of Puerto Iguazu, where I worked with Claudio Salvador - sporting a Niagara College shirt - who was (and still is) a huge advocate of the local indigenous Guarani people. 

It was one of the very interesting development projects I was lucky to work in and the local community leader on the photo taught me humbleness and patience. Meetings in his community would always have long pauses during which they were listening to the spirits. Our western cultures have moved so far away from that kind of thinking over the centuries. This specific project had a focus on tourism in the area around the famous Iguazu Falls...

Time flies.....

Birthdays and more snow

Opa Vandenboom received his first birthday card even though his 92nd birthday is only 9 days from now on Feb 13. He appreciated the card very much. It was sent by Hilary and Shayd all the way from Vancouver. Opa Nolle would have celebrated his 102nd birthday on Feb 12. Opa and Oma Nolle were born in 1920, just after the first World War and 20 years before the second. Hopefully there will never be a third World War (even though there are days it looks like the human race has not learned anything from those previous man-made disasters...).

There are lots of family birthdays this month: Hanneke turned 75 on February 1 in her apartment in Soest, the Netherlands. In Sarnia there are a few birthdays in the Vandenboom gang....

A lot more snow came down the past few days. We have been shoveling the driveway several times each day during the past week. I think I will really never get used to living with four months of a white and cold winter wonderland. However, the YMCA opened again after the most recent provincial COVID lockdown, so Mary and I venture out again for our regular 1 kilometer swims in the pool.....

 

Mary's new hat

During these current cold days, Mary bought herself a new hat. She likes it so much, she even has it on in the house. So father, so daughter.....
 

Hilary's new job

Hilary started a new job today. After 8 years work in various hospital ER departments + the last years in a private iron clinic, she now works for BC Doctors in a team offering services with respect to mental health of medical professionals in BC. For the time being - because of the ongoing COVID pandemic - she works fully from home. A big change for Hilary.

Yesterday we had a lot of new snow. We cleared our driveway a few times during the day, and in the evening we did a joined cleaning with our neighbors. Winter in Ontario....
 

Life goes on

This photo was taken 7 years ago in January 2015. One year later in January 2016 my father passed away a few weeks before his 96th birthday. He was a good man who lived a full life.

Skip a generation and happy to see that our kids are enjoying the Canadian winter. Hilary and Shayd are with friends another weekend in Whistler, a two hour drive from where they live in Vancouver.

And on the other side of the Rocky Mountains, in Jasper, Joe took Wil, Parker, Spencer and Mark for a weekend skiing and snowboarding.

Here in Fonthill, Mary and I try to stay in shape with our modest home gym during a period where the swimming pool is closed because of COVID restrictions and walking outside in not so nice because of the cool temperatures.

And another puzzle completed of a nice scenery of one of the Greek islands towns....