2017 Another year to remember

The main purpose of the year end blog is to savour all the good times.  It might seem strange to start off with some obituaries, but it is my way of remembering people who impacted my life in a positive manner.

Katherine Finn, mother to Barry Finn, and a former boss of mine.  She was a peacemaker and an animal lover  After we had parted company (she played no role in that) I was very stunned at a surprise 60th birthday party I received a well thought out gift--ironically a book from Stuart McLean.  She will be missed.  Her obituary https://obittree.com/obituary/ca/ontario/caledonia/miller-funeral-chapel-limited/katherine-finn/2947954/

Stuart McLean is someone I remember listening to on the radio.  At first as a guest on Peter Gzowski's show.  In the beginning he seemed to be telling funny stories, but in a way that made them funnier.  Later I caught onto the Vinyl Cafe.  Once I was able to attend one of his traveling shows when it hit Hamilton Place.  Another thing from the radio and this one live appearance was that he was always trying to give new talent a chance.  He first encountered the female singing duo, Dalla when they were busking.

Glen Campbell died after suffering Alzheimer's  I am not much of a country music fan, but I spent my last two years of high school in a rural area and more critically went to the University of Guelph with a heavy contingent of Aggies, some of whom became friends and it was a Sunday nite ritual to watch Glen.  It was impossible not to enjoy him.


Around the Bay Race 5 km.  Sharon with the encouragement of our son has taken a liking to running.  This year OKD sponsored a team and she joined.   8 minutes from back of the pack to the starting line

Gwynne Dyer, my favourite newspaper columnist was at Hamilton Public Library see:
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/04/gwynne-dyer.html


I missed most of Doors Open Hamilton because of time conflicts.  A highlight I did manage to see was the Digital Canaries Film Studio.  They provided sets for tv shows and movies.  They had a mock White House for interviews.  Also mock court room, jail cells, hospital rooms, etc.

Michael and Haley visited us from New Zealand.   Michael made several out of town visits with Haley to show some of the more interesting points in Ontario (and New York and Washington).  We had several family gatherings.  One of the hi-lites for me was provided by my daughter Heather when as a part of a family dinner she included a marshmallow roast. Another pleasant surprise was a meal prepared by Michael and Hayley to thank their hosts.

MM Robinson Get Together is getting to be an enjoyable routine.  7 members turned 65 this year and decided to celebrate together.  Guests came from South Carolina, Washington State and different parts of Ontario

Super crawl was mostly (not entirely)missed because of a prior commitment, but was as busy as ever.

Took in "A Few Good Men" at Theatre Aquarius

The AGH BMO Film Fesitval--watched the trailer show and one film, "Lady MacBeth."






My Superwalk for Parkinson's Canada was a little more successful (thanks to some Facebook friends).  I had my photo taken by a fountain in Gage Park that an old friend Don Heroux had done some fundraising for.



 

The Royal Winter Fair provided a moment I cherish.  Several years ago I met Shelley Peterson in Collingwood when she was just launching her writing career with a young adult novel for horse riders.  Not much contact in the meantime, but it turned out she had written the tenth novel in the series and was launching it at the Royal.  I came down to take a photo for The Rider.  First I had a brief chat with her husband David, former Premier of Ontario.  When she first saw me she remembered we had met in Collingwood ten years ago.


We decided to visit Michael for the Christmas holidays.  Getting used to a southern hemisphere holiday meant a bit of an adjustment.  Just so, New Zealand is such a beautiful country and we were fortunate Michael wanted to show it off and Haley was very supportive.  It is beautiful (and warm).  Lots of highlights, both natural and man-made.  Read more at:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/01/ending-2017-in-new-zealand.html

Instead of hosting a New Years Eve party (a tradition of 20 some odd years) we enjoyed the music and fireworks at Sky City in Auckland.

Restaurants--  In case anyone visits Hamilton these are a few of my favourite restaurants that I enjoyed.  Limoncello on Ottawa St.,   Gate of India, Wild Orchid, Lake Road, and further down James St S  Wass with Ethiopian cuisine and Bar on Lock.  A new one for me was Spring Grill, a Korean restaurant on Upper James.

In New Zealand in one day two restaurants highly recommend:  In Tauranga we tried Thai Thani2 and were pleased with both the service and the food.  A few hours later we were at Kumar's in Paeroa and were struck with the service and the food.  Musashi in Milford and Portofino in Howick were both delicious and had really good service.

Watching movies are one my favourite activities. http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/12/2017-great-year-for-movies.html

 
Books take more energy, but also can give a good reward.   Here are some my favourites for the year:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/12/enjoyable-reads-from-2017.html

My two most popular blog posts were book reviews.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/02/underground-airlines.html
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/02/white-trash.html

This post was delayed while I finished my vacation in New Zealand (more on that next year and with a separate post. http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/01/ending-2017-in-new-zealand.html  Much thanks to Chelsea Rolph taking care of our house and more importantly Oscar and Izzy.

You can read my year end review from last year.  
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/01/looking-back-on-2016.html

Looking Back on 2014

Did you have a good year?  Sometimes as we age memories seem very fleeting  but there are always nice things to remember and that is why I choose to highlight some of the pleasant and important things that did happen with my family.

Remembering those who are no longer with us still seems an appropriate way to start this account as I like to remember some of the reasons why we miss them.

Peggy Martin, a regular New Years Eve guest for over a decade and the mother of a close friend, Barbara.  A few things I remember include a love for her cottage and a bird watcher.  She was remarkable in her joy of life.  Up to the last she participated in a theatrical presentation.   I remember exchanging a few nature videos with her.

Ruth Stewart, my Aunt Ruth was my mother's older sister.  I have lots more to say about her at  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/11/my-aunt-ruth.html

 

Don Theroux, our handyman, was recommended to me by a Home Hardware store owner who thought Don was the fairest one he knew.  Don was involved with fundraising including some events for Gage Park that we attended. I learned that he also did fundraising for other causes.  When our son, Michael needed to raise money for an African venture, Don was very supportive persuading us to hold one more dinner that helped put us over the top.  Don did a lot of renovations around our house and simple things that I was too incompetent to handle without ever belittling me.  He had been a customer of ours, mostly for items he would give to other people.  I learned that he liked to buy from his customers.  We were well aware of his battle with cancer and admired his courage and determination.

Last year we lost one of our cats and a few months later the other one.  Took some of the joy out of life and soon we got another and then felt it would be better to get a companion.  Cats are individuals and with different timing you can get different results.  Our two new cats came to us within a few months of one another and they play with each other much more than the previous two.  Surprising the younger, smaller male cat is the alpha, but the two love playing together and the older female is protective of her new playmate.

Last Christmas our daughter Heather bought us Netflix, our son Michael visiting from New Zealand bought us a large flat screen.  Fortunately for us they helped set everything up.  We both became addicted to watching  Breaking Bad, Suits, The Good Wife,  House of Cards, the Killing, The Bridge, Scott and Bailey, etc.

In past years we have enjoyed the Mum show and this year we checked out Spring tide at Gage Park and enjoyed it.

The Can-Am Equine show in Orangeville was more interesting than usual.  With the help of Glenda Fordham we added an artist and three authors to our booth.  We were also situated right beside a booth with the headliner, Guy McLean.  As a fellow Aussie, Glenda was able to lure him over to our booth for one of my favorite photos of the year. with Barry and Bruce K Lawes, an amazing artist.



We got a last minute change of plans when Heather called to give us an early Mother's Day and Father's Day present with a Pop Up dinner.  A local business organized six wineries and six chefs for a very special dinner held at Liuna Station.  Very enjoyable.  Heather had won tickets and sat at another table, but our table consisted of reps for two wineries plus from Cake and Loaf (a fantastic bakery) for some interesting conversation.


Doors Open Hamilton was enjoyable.  Each year I try to see a few new buildings.  This year, mainly because the Dundurn Castle parking lot was over flowing I visited the Hamilton Cemetery and it was well worth it.  I also visited the Empire Building.


The Burlington Eagles Gift of Giving Back food drive set a new record 278,550.01 pounds.  It is important to realize their success is not just the enthusiasm of a sports group, but the ability to organize other groups to get involved.  For that I credit Jean Longfield who has developed a lot of support from different parts of Burlington.

Supercrawl is getting bigger and better each year.  This year they tacked on an extra day.  Lots of restaurants and food trucks.  One of the highlights was Circus Orange that like to play with fire and high elevation.

Right after I took part in the Parkinson's Superwalk and this year raised a little more than usual.  Walking through Gage Park is always a pleasure.




The Mum show in November had theme of the upcoming Pan American Games.   The soccer games will be played in Hamilton and I hope to take in some of the action.  As usual the flower display was dazzling.




We attended two 40th wedding anniversaries.  Michael and Karen Bromilow and John and Debbie Polkinghorne.  John and Debbie's was at their cottage near Parry Sound.  Both were great fun, meeting old friends, their offspring and in some cases pets.

Took in one movie at the Art Gallery of Hamilton International Filmfest.  Film festivals are used to help book "art" films or point towards awards.  Juliet Binoche is one of my favourites and she starred in the last night's presentation of "1,000 Times Good Night" which we found enjoyable.




A highlight for me was meeting up with my sister Rebecca, this time with her husband Ali and daughter, Samia along with my brother Marshall and his wife Jean.  We met at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Toronto and did some shopping at the St Lawrence Market during the holidays..








We like to close out the year with a few close friends at our place for food, drinks and laughs.





I read a lot of books and enjoyed blogging about some of them at http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/12/books-remembered-from-2014.html
I also saw a lot of movies and you can check out my thoughts at: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/12/movie-pleasures-from-2014.html

I consider eating out one of the beautiful things in life and so consider restaurants as an art form. Culantro Peruvian was my choice for my birthday.  Stone House (for our actual 40th anniversary), Sokratis for a family function, Earth to Table, Jack and Lois, Ben Thanh Viet Thai, Nonna's.   Ventura's tried during Supercrawl and were very pleased with the service on a very busy day.  Bruyere in Cornwall gave a special private dinner. on the occasion of my aunt's memorial.

I did a lot of blogging.  The top three that drew attention were:  "Overbooked", about a travel book http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/02/overbooked-and-thoughts-on-tourism.html at  an admired old time movie star at http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/03/glenn-ford-forgotten-movie-star-from.html my short but educational political career at http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/04/my-short-but-educational-political.html  Enjoyed reading the few comments.  Without an audience there is not the motivation to write.  This year we will create some more memories.

Photos:  A group including me who have known each other for over 40 years and some for over 50 years getting together at the anniversary of Michael and Karen Bromilow.
Peggy Martin, Barb Martin, yours truly
Oscar and Izzy meeting Lexie.
Barry Finn, publisher of the Rider with headliner Guy McLean and fantastic artist Bruce K Lawes.
The tombstone of George Hamilton, founder of Hamilton. His grave had been moved to the Hamilton Cemetery which had been used for military fortifications during the War of 1812.  The round ball was done by a fellow mason to symbolize a requirement of being a mason.
One of the aerialists performing with Circus Orange.
Flowers at the Mum Show.
Marshall, Jean, Rebecca, Ali, Samia and Sharon at the St Lawrence Market.
Karen, Susan and Debbie enjoying New Years' Eve at our place.