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2001
March 22, 2001
Purchased our 1993 Blazer and
traded in our 84 Cutlass. Quite a
step up, as the Cutlass had no dash light, broken rear window, front window
wouldn’t roll down, rust, a shimmy, torn seats, a bent fender and a wandering
head light. On the next morning I
was looking out the window when Stan snuck by at 7:30 to take a peak.
I said “Get away from there” and he had no idea who was talking to
him. Then Viki came out to use the
car. It was a special moment.
Viki and the Blazer
April 8 –17, 2001
Tim ate raw hamburger on the 8th
and thought that he was recovered on the 10th, but became seriously
ill with campylobacter on the 11th.
By the time doctors diagnosed this after the long weekend, Tim missed his
birthday trip to the Aerie Resort. Viki
sent Steve and Carol instead. When
penicillin was obtained on the 16th, the symptoms finally dissipated.
Happy Birthday! No more raw
hamburger!
May 18, 2001
Tim, Viki, Kathryn and Pam took
a trip to Wenatchee – the apple capital of the US, located in central
Washington. The 1 hour border
crossing was very “entertaining” – the customs traffic control had choice
4 letter words for Hindus which they shared loudly, so that even Kathryn and Pam
could hear. In Wenatchee, we stayed
two nights at Lincoln Rock campground. It
was a lovely spot, but it was very cold at night and very windy on our full day
in town. Pam and Kathryn slept
under the stars both nights. With
temperatures below 40 and strong winds, it’s a wonder they didn’t suffer
hypothermia. In true Anderson
camping style, we ate all our meals out. On
the way home, in the pass over the Cascades, we enjoyed throwing snowballs in
the warm sunshine.
Kathryn and Pam asleep
Tim
May 28, 2001
Point No Point for Tim and
Viki’s 7th anniversary. Cold
rainy weather that was perfect for the fire and the hot tub.
Excellent salmon bagel for lunch.
June 15-17, 2001
Another annual trip to
Parksville for the weekend at an oceanfront townhouse.
The attendees this time were Stan, Viki, Tim, Kathryn, Marika, Jason and
James. The weather was excellent,
especially in comparison to the cold rainy weather the year before.
Tim and Kathryn went swimming on two different days.
To keep out of the light breeze they laid in the shallow water and then
sprinted to new locations, like infantry on a beach assault.
Jason spent most of the weekend trying to get his new gas powered car
running, while Marika made puzzles. Stan
played a mean game of tennis. The
group went to Parksville for a round of evening mini golf.
On the last day, James showed up and Tim and Viki watched him skateboard
at the park in town.
Stan
and Kathryn
July 2–9, 2001
We had excellent weather for our week at the lakefront on
Shawnigan Lake. Kathryn stayed the
first five nights and her friend Amanda stayed for several days too.
Tim swam everyday and by the fourth day, Viki started joining in.
Day visitors included Stan, Damon, Marika and Jason, Lovisa, Tracie,
Terry and Chuck, Cheri and Alexis, the Mitchell family (Kevin, Teresa, Sierra,
Lora, Robert, Angie and Billy, and Pam). James
made a brief appearance, mainly prompted, it appears, by a need for a quick
meal. James arrived on his
unlicensed, unregistered motorcycle using his parka hood to fake a legally
required helmet and carrying an unsurrendered suspended driver’s license.
We also had a number of friends of the family who visited, including
Pam’s – Tiffany and Dora
Teresa’s – Steve and Sherry
Lovisa’s - Emily, Chloe and Jordan
Viki’s – David, Anna Maria
and Louisa
Tracie’s – Bryan and
Caroline
One of the highlights was the
loss of Tim’s swim mask in 14 feet of weedy water by Tiffany.
The mask had been in Tim’s possession for 41 years.
Tiffany’s instructions added a special precision to the subsequent
recovery operation – she was sure that she lost the mask in the lake
somewhere! An extensive search over
a number of days gave great focus to lazy days in the sun, but was really only
effective in producing sun burns. The
recovery period has been extended to future visits.
Not only was swimming fun, but
there were regular evening fires and horse shoe contests.
Robert made the best burgers imaginable on a grill held over the open
fire. Stan produced a great finale
on one of the horse shoe matches by throwing a game winning ringer over top of
one by his opponent, Tim. The train going by at the edge of the property was a source
for many crushed coins. An otter
and her baby combing the bay in the fading light was precious.
Lovisa’s friends from the
south end of the lake came by on two separate occasions with very fancy boats
– Mare in her Ski Nautique and Rob in his $50,000 boogey board cruiser.
Rob’s girlfriend wanted to throw Lovisa’s friend Emily off Rob’s
boat in the middle of the night, which made for excitement that woke up those on
shore.
Tim had been having some
serious stomach trouble up until the start of the holiday. It seems that a steady diet of ice cream bars, chocolate chip
cookies, potato chips, and coke were the perfect cure.
There are few things better
than a week at the Lake!
Diane R, Teresa, Kevin, Pam,
Stan, Lora, Sierra
Swim mask search
August 18, 2001
At Sierra’s
birthday party, Teresa sends the 5 year olds on a treasure hunt and three
witches (aged 10 in full costume) jump out of the woods at the young children.
Sierra and a friend both started screaming and eventually worked each
other up until they were both hysterical.
August 26, 2001
Stan
turned 78 years old. We had a
birthday party at the Mitchells. Pam
and Robert got into a pie fight in the kitchen.
Then Kathryn and Stan joined in. Kathryn
and Pam smeared coconut cream pie on Stan’s cheeks and he did the same to the
girls. I thought they were going to
knock him down the steps during the fracas.
Then Robert returned with shaving cream which he sprayed on the girls’
hair. It’s always exciting and
entertaining at the Mitchells’.
August
30, 2001
James
showed up in Victoria for an unexpected visit.
He continues to be determined to live his life on welfare.
He tried working but it just isn’t for him. We had a very interesting conversation:
“What
have you been up to lately,” asked Tim.
“Absolutely
nothing,” James replied with a sense of accomplishment in his voice.
“Doesn’t
that bother you?” Tim enquired.
“No,
it’s awesome,” James responded.
“Don’t
you get bored?” Viki asked.
“If
I do, I close my eyes,” James said with sincerity.
Tim
started laughing so hard he pulled a stomach muscle
September 3 – 10, 2001
The second trip to
Shawnigan Lake for the year resulted in another great time. Highlights included:
- Tim and Robert playing guitar together.
Robert played lead and Tim rhythm on Tequila Sunrise.
- Kathryn catching a fish with the fly rod without even
casting.
- Tim catching two rainbow trout off the dock.
- Two otters cruising the bay at dusk.
- Visits and swims from Kathryn and her friend Callah,
James and his friend Ted, Stan, the entire Mitchell family, Lovisa and
Henrietta, Melissa, Josee and Amy Woo.
- Tim and James joining Kevin and Robert for Friday
night hockey (full gear) and visiting until 3 in the morning at the Mitchell
hot tub.
- Bee stings for Tim and for Viki.
- Walking Stan to catch the train, which stops about 50
yards from the property.
- Walks every morning to the corner store for bakery.
- Continuation of the search for the missing swim mask.
- A loving last evening for Tim and Viki, which included
catching a 10 inch trout, watching the train come down the track in the dark
and a great time at the fire.
Viki, James, Stan, Lora, Pam, Sierra, Kevin, Teresa, Kathryn
A busy day at the lake.
Tim and the monster
trout
James and Tim
October 27, 2001
Viki, Stan and I went to Point
No Point for lunch. The days of
rain gave way to bright blue skies and ocean.
We stood on the rocks above the cove and watched the blue-green waves
crash to shore. The strait was
edged in white clouds, but the blue in the center stretched to infinity.
It called to us to venture forth, but the beauty at the shore keep us home this
day.
December 20, 2001
Family dinner night included
a light tour. Wendy, Marika,
Lovisa, Viki and Tim jammed in to the 4 seater Blazer.
The girls sang Christmas songs enthusiastically.
We visited the best overall display on Tuxedo drive:
We also stopped at the best
light display and the best figurine display, both on Ponderosa.
Half
of best figurines. This is
someone’s garage!
Marika supplied the
chocolate and a great time was had by all.
December 24, 2001
Guests for Christmas dinner
included Kim, Glenna and Stan. Damon,
Lovisa and Marika all stayed over night. Viki
was exceptionally extravagant with gifts, including a TV (Damon), an MP3 player
(Lovisa), a guitar (Marika) and an aquarium (Tim).
December 25, 2001
Got up at 7 AM to take Damon
to the bus depot and then to pick up Kathryn.
I found Stan waiting in the parking lot by my car, game for another
traveling adventure. The roads and
the scenery were white with frost in the bright sunshine. It reminded me of the time Stan came over in the midst of a
blizzard and he and I drove around in the snow for hours.
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