I'VE JUST SPENT ONE WONDERFUL WEEK IN FLORIDA.  Kingston was a great guy to get you around. Weather was cool but it beat shoveling snow.

Sad news our very best friend LASSIE had to be put down.  Her system broke down such as losing weight and eating more.  Water works had no control.  She was 11 and half.  A very, very sad day for us ....but best for Lassie - her mind was still o.k.   We will give a rest to pets for now.  People do write soon.

Love Aunt Patty.

Hi Patty,

So sorry to hear about Lassie..it would be a sad day.  I am still a few days away from getting my computer issues resolved so I can clean up in here....I am still having to deal with boxes and unpacking - such a lot of work you sometimes wonder if it will ever end.  Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself in Florida...I have to attend a conference in Orlando in early March so I get to visit a second time this winter and looking forward to it. Take Care, John

Oh Aunt Patty :-((

I am so very sorry to hear about Lassie.  Find comfort in knowing you gave her a wonderful life that many dogs never get to enjoy.  And in the end, you were kind enough to have the courage to let her go.  She'll be waiting for you at the Rainbow Bridge, healthy and wagging.

Mary

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to some-
one here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.  There are meadows
and hills for all our special friends so they can run and
play together.  There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine
and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who have been ill and old are restored to health
and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong
again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times
gone by.  The animals are happy and content, except for one small
thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be
left behind.  They all run and play together, but the day comes when
one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.  His bright eyes are
intent; his eager body begins to quiver.  Suddenly, he begins to run
from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him
faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend
finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to
be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your
hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more
into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your
life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together...

-- Anon. --

Howdy all!  So great to get all settled into my new home out here...putting my computer back together was challenging to say the least!  I have a great cable connection which is faster than fast..whew!  Thomas K., what's happenin?  Willy you still freezin up there?  Kevin, how's life treatin' ya on NB's north shore?  Mary R. and Mary W, how and hell are ya's?  Your rainbow bridge was very nice, mary W.  Aunt Patty, how ya doin'?  Anne Marie, (I can't remember if it's with an "e" and I am taking a severe chance..:)  what's new is Calgary?  Mary Ellen, when does the ice leave the river??  I am driving home in a couple months to catch myself a pot full of black salmon.  Hello to the rest of first cousins who cruize through here occassionally..:)

John V

Hello.  Happy Valentine's Day!  Glad we are back in business, thank you John.

Mary, I loved the verse - thank you.  Where are all our good people? Mary Ellen, ANN Marie, Tom, Brenda, Stephen. HI Willie up North.

Love Aunt Patty

Wow!  It's so great to see blue print in here again!  John, the LIVE FROM N.Y. theme is really cool.  Glad to hear you're getting all settled in.  Thanks also for the beautiful rainbow bridge illustration.  Aunt Patty, you're welcome. :-)

Mary W.

Hi: Great to have you back on track, John....it must mean that life is returning to "normal", right?  Well, while you are dealing with road rage in NYC, people in Newfoundland are dealing with "snow rage"....people who work for DOT and Public Works are being threatened, etc as yet another snowplow sends more snow back into people's driveways....and they are expecting another blizzard today...it has been quite a winter in eastern Canada....hard to believe those black salmon are only a few weeks away, John......take care and love to everyone, and belated Happy Valentine's Day
Brenda

Hi all,

And belated Happy Valentine's day wishes to all.  My little family had an unusual valentine's day. Tuesday evening just as I was stepping in the door from work, Mom called me to saw they had rushed JoAnn's Monika by ambulance to the hospital as she was seizuring and convulsing.  Pretty scary.  Well, within the hour, we had my gang and Mom in the van on the way to Bridgewater.

I understand that the reaction Monika has to fevers is something that happens in 1/25 children.  We three A. Kingston girls had the same thing so she inherited it -- Mom says from the Kingston side. She seems to be doing well and JoAnn and Pat took her home late yesterday.  Mom stayed down to help out with things and we headed home.  It was a whirlwind trip and something that each Valentine's day I will think about. Take Care....ME

Hi ya,

Sounded like quite a trip Mary Ellen.  Glad you like the layout Mary W....:)  Yes Brenda, things are definitely settling in and it is really great to get a balanced life style back again.  I am enjoying being in the east - I hear birds for example that I haven't heard in long time, the vegetation is so much like the Miramichi...really like that aspect of things.  (One additional postive is that our snow is now almost gone here...unlike the north,north east..:)

John V

John,

From my travels last year in New York, I would say that you are good three weeks ahead of Ottawa for leaves on the trees, etc.

Tracadie, New Brunswick has to be the snow capital of Canada.  I have quit shoveling snow.  Hired a fellow to do same as it took me 8 hours to shovel the driveway last time with snow drifts chest high. No more, I refuse.

Have been very busy with the Burnt Church issue.  It is likely going to be much worse this year unless an agreement is signed asap.  Tremendously complex issue.

Kevin

Hello All

Sorry for not having written but have gotten back in the saddle at work (now running the Product Management group at BitFlash, determining roadmap for software development, travelling to clients, etc.).  Was in Austin TX this week - what a beautiful place (highly influenced by the Sunny and 23 C 78 F temps (come back to Ottawa and Sunny but -22C Stinking Cold F).  Hoping to go back, do have trips booked for San Francisco March 8th and Las Vegas later in March.  All are healthy here thankfully and busy.  We had a warm spell which did a little melting but now everything is frozen over (I think Eastern Canada wins in snowfall but it has been heavier here than has been typical in the time I have been here).  Best to all.  SK

February 28th is John Francis Vickers' birthday, as well as Patricia Boyle.  I think there may even be another Kingston born on this date?  Tomorrow morning, Erin, Laura, Amy, Andrew, and I leave for Florida.  I can hardly wait to sit in the sun.  When we come back, February will be no more.  John, do you have a new email address or are you still with hotmail?  Take care everyone!

Have a great time Mary!  A friend told me the great thing about hotmail is that when you move, etc. is you never have to worry about changing addresses all the time, etc.....(I agreed and it remains..:)

John V

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN AND PATRICIA!!!!!!

Mary, please catch a few rays for me!  I am VERY envious. :-)

Mary W.

Happy Birthday to John and Patricia and many more.

Love Aunt Patty

Transfer interrupted!

(CP) Canadian Press reports that an earthquake hit Vancouver at approximately 10:45 AM PST.  Mr. Kingston, grandson of the late Sam and Lillian Kingston, stated, " I was sitting in front of the computer in my computer chair with my feet up and then I thought I was rocking the chair with my feet, so I put my feet down.... I was still rocking... HOLY COW!!!  EARTHQUAKE.... then my window blinds began to sway against the window frame and I could hear the the drywall crackle.  I got up out of the chair and wasn't sure what to do.... Find a solid wall... stand beside it... so I did.  I looked out the main window and tried to see if there were other buildings swaying... I couldn't detect any.... It's said a skyscraper is a safe place to be in an earthquake... better stay here.  Being 25 floors up, I was expecting a fair bit of sway... I figured the effects up here would be amplified.  The building is only a year or so old and should have more eartquake resistance than most, so it should be able to handle a pretty good shake without falling down or apart.... I thought about leaving the apartment, not by elevator though, but I figured I could walk all the way down to the main floor only to be wiped out by a Tsunami (big wave) if the earthquake originated in the ocean... so I stayed right where I was...."

.... Anyway, it looks like I survived this one... I'm a little worried about after shocks.... or maybe this little thing we just had was a pre-shock to the BIG ONE. I'll keep you posted.

Tom

Tom, your quake is all over the news here this evening....remember the one I experienced last year??  That was one of the worst feelings - it left me spooked and the one you guys got today was about three times stronger.

Went to the Conan O"Brian show this evening at NBC Studios..it was great..had a front row seat and the first guest (Mike Myers) came up and shook my hand...afterwards went up to the 65th floor in Rockafeller Center to a cocktail lounge with a friend and she ordered one volka and orange and I had a Sprite.  The bill was US$24.00 plus room for 2 tips on the slip...one for the "floor captain" and one for the server..$16 for her drink and $8 for mine....with tips, I figure those two drinks cost about $34 Canadian...hot tomalie!  My guest kept saying, "Imagine if we had ordered chips and dip!"

John V

Holy cow Tom!  What a terrifying thing to go through!  I'm so glad you're safe and sound and are living in a brand new building with the latest is earthquake engineering technology.  Your quake has been all over the news here as well (I'm assuming it's the same one that hit Washington state).  From what they're saying, aftershocks are not expected.  Let us know if you have any more rock & roll sessions.

Mary W.

They are saying that with three large weather systems about to converge, we may get the worst snow storm in 45 years here Sunday and Monday...AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Tell you what Tom, I'll trade you a 3-foot blizzard for a 6.8 rumble! What do ya say there buddy??

John V

Hi John and Tommy: They say we are boring out here on the East coast - no tsunamis, no hurricanes, no earthquakes, no snowstorms that are the worst in 45 years......last big event....the Great Miramichi Fire...and of course we have storm surges like last Jan. when the north shore of Prince Edward Island had a lot of wharves wiped out...but it's tame really, isn't it?!!

Just made a quick trip up to the Miramichi....the river looks the same, the salt on the roads leaves a mild haze even on the clearest days, but, boy, do they keep those roads clear of ice and snow....Nova Scotia could take some lessons.

Cheers,
Brenda

Hello All,

Enjoying a beautiful Sunday morning here in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida...sitting out on the dock doing a little fishing and sun tanning.  My sister Mary and my nieces and nephews left a couple days before I arrived and Will arrives from Yellowknife on Tuesday the day after I leave...three of us here within seven days and not seeing each other.  Off to visit a lake that Kingston says you can see a real crocodile..:)

John V

March 10th was Patty's birthday!!  Happy Belated Birthday Patty!!!

Love you Lots
Monica

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY to all - and he is giving Glencoe, Ont. a snow storm. Let's hope this is the last of it.

Love Patty.

---

Aunt Patty, our snow is pretty well gone here and the robins have arrived...your spring is just around the corner considering I am only about a 6 hour drive or so from Toronto.

John V

Hi all,

It is a gorgeous day in Miramichi.  Hard to belive 30 cm of snow is supposed to be coming on Friday (UGH!!).

We had an exciting day at the College yesterday.  Labatts Beer brought in the Stanley cup -- have the picture of me with it to prove it.  Ed Rawlinson, Mary's husband, got a fantastic picture of him giving the cup a big kiss.  It was a lot of fun and really added a great deal of life to our front lobby.

Take Care all....

Miramichi? :)
 

"St. Patrick's Storm was a little late this year", our grandmother would say Mary Ellen.....John

Hi,
How is everyone these days?  I'm sitting here in Calgary and giggling at our spring.  +10 degrees until about 7pm then snow showers with about an inch or two on the ground. It is quite silly.  No jacket and then needing boots and mitts.

Middle age has struck and I purchased my first pair of reading glasses.  My arms were just getting too short.  They are these fancy half glasses.  I'll be able to keep up on my reading.
I received a fancy new IBM notebook from work and have had fun getting use to it.  It presented some problems intially.

Planning my annual Easter Dinner--about 20 people or so.  Great conversation and company.  I do the turkey and potatoes and turnips and they contribute the rest.

AM

Hello all.  John is that you out in the deep waters?  A.M. I must say when is Spring coming, very damp weather.  I have been serving a lots dinners , fundraisers for the church, expect to serve 2 hundred tonight.  Not all work, we get a great roast beef dinner when we are done.  Off to an auction sale, alot of farmers selling out.

PATTY

Blustery wintry day here on the Miramichi.  I had taken this week off and slept the entire week.  Ann and I are off to a Ball in Sussex, NB.  I can see why my mother and father like Florida, this has been a real winter here on the Miramichi.  Snow banks in Tracadie are monsters.

Laura is playing volleyball all day at her High School.  She has received an invitation to try out for New Brunswick's Girls Basketball Team which will represent the province at this summer's Canadian Summer Games.  Andrew is Moncton playing in Provincials - Midget Hockey.  I need a loan - these two are putting me in the poor house.  Every weekend they are on the road with their teams staying at hotels, etc etc.  Oh well, best they are involved in sports.  Andrew has been accepted at St. Thomas U as well as program for Hotel Management which takes place at St Andrew's N.B.  He appears to be cut out for the latter as the manager of the Rodd Inn has offered him a job starting May 1.  He was there on a high school program, caught on right away to the front desk, reservations, processing visa's etc, they were so impressed with his appititude and personality that they offered him a job.  He didn't ask, they offered it to him.  He does not really know how lucky he is - can you imagine the number of univesity students etc. who would be looking for a summer job such as this.

Kevin