Well it’s time!                             Have been putting this off, as I wanted a reminder of the wonderful moment I got to meet, Marg & Jess. But it’s time to delete our countdown clocks. How I don’t want to & wished it was just starting all over again. Though I know in my heart of hearts, that we will see each other again, in the not too distant future - That I know.  

 It is also time that I started down the road of annoying everyone, with  adventures & photos of our dream holiday.   It is now a month since our return home, yet in our minds eye, it only seemed like yesterday.   Steve & I   are still finding it a bit hard to feel settled being back home.

We started our holiday in Hawaii after a 9 hour flight from Sydney.What a pity that air travel is so traumatic these days! So unlike all of the travel brochures which glamorise this stressful activity. And what a shame that airport operators cannot design and position signs, which help you find your way, rather than help you get lost !  

  But we finally made it to Honolulu, only to find that they are trying to redesign their airport to be even worse than Sydney’s ! All they have to do is go to Singapore and copy Changi airport ! It is that simple. Instead we waited over an hour for our hotel transfer, as the bus got bogged down in airport road works !  

Waikiki beach is now just a tourist strip of T shirts and key ring shops, but it was nice to have a break in our journey, where Canada was our real destination.   So, we did the tourist thing and enjoyed this beautiful fountain on Waikiki Beach, after a long walk up & down Kalakaua Ave.     A couple of locals welcomed  Steve & me and at least reminded me of the birds I had left behind at home.     Whilst our mobile phones worked OK on global roaming, our 240v chargers did not seem to be compatible with 110v sockets ! We sought technical advice but it seems that we were the first Australians with mobile phones, ever to have visited Hawaii ! So much helpful advice, but so little result. !   In the end we just bought a two pin plug and stuck it in the wall socket- and it worked ! The battery charged, just a bit slower on the lower voltage ! Just part of the overseas travel experience !    This was Waikiki Beach before the crowds. Stopping in Hawaii was just to have a couple of days break before continuing on to Vancouver Island, Canada,which was another 7 hour flight, via Seattle. We enjoyed the rest but Honolulu was too commercialised for us & we both felt our dream holiday was not going to start till we arrived in Canada.   Love to all Janice This one i'm sneaking in of Steve enjoying a local?????? Please no-one tell him!          

 The sun was shinning  and warm enough for me to be outside......first time in  two & half weeks, without having the shivers. Being a gorgeous day Steve asked a couple of friends around for  an early lunch.....as you lovely ladies have already heard about Steve's cooking skills,( by the way he wasn't kidding)   he decided to zip into our fishing co-op and pick up some fresh king prawns and to a bakery for freshly baked bread rolls. So we threw a salad together with a few other  tit bits & a enjoyable lunch was had by all. It was so  nice to be outside for a few hours and i was back indoors  before the cool evening air  drifted in.  It has been a lovely day.

To everyone of my wonderful friends that left  heartfelt words of encouragement, support, compliments & gifts....I thank-you  immensely....I felt truly touched. It is people like you all, that makes minti the fantastic site it is. No matter what situation some-one is going through...there is always a friend out there, who cares.

I'm going to dob a  friend in now....our dear Marg is feeling poorly, more than poorly as she  has pneumonia ( her hubby is giving her heaps, saying she doesn't  have to go in sympathy with me!) She has suffered with pneumonia many times which really takes it toil....so  for my dear friend ( and yours) please send healing vibes her way.

                                                              

                                             

                                                No man or woman is worth your tears.

The only one who is, will never make you cry.

If you love someone, put their name in a circle, instead of a heart.

Hearts can break, but circles go on forever.

Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say.

Best friends listen to what you don't .

If all my friends were to jump off a bridge, I wouldn't jump with them. I'd be at the bottom to catch them.

Don't frown, because you never know who's falling in love with your smile !

It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone and a day to love someone---but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

 

                                                

Much Love & Appreciation Janice xxxxx

 

I thought that my last blog on Janice's behalf would be my last for a while, but although she is making progress, she is not yet up to a full return to the rigors of Minti !  not really sure that I am either, as I am fresh out of things to occupy my mind, now that ironing has been removed from my repertoire !  I also flunked the vacuum cleaner test, but freely admit that this was a quite deliberate attempt to retain my sanity. I did feel the need for mental stimulation, and this, coupled with my rage at having to "Say your name " to the Optus machine which answers all incoming calls whilst telling you how important you are, I changed my Internet provider !   This is a highly recommended theraputic excercise which can extend well beyond a normal persons grasp on reality.  Having proof beyond reasonable doubt that I am obviously not a normal person, I spent many more hours than the examination allowed before I saw the magic "Google" word and realised that I was now 'on line" again with my new,half price, real person internet provider !  Never mind that the real person in technical support is now a jibbering heap, the job is done and the sun did come up this morning !   It was not shining on Janice's Apple Mac book which uses a wireless router to connect with the world, so now the Apple technical support real person is also a gibbering heap, but the router is now blinking green instead of red and the world is at peace again. I think I will wait a while for the worlds technology to catch up with me before attempting further advances. Janice was thrilled to receive phone calls from Marg and Lui and these calls meant so much to her.  I was outside re-plumbing the house when Marg rang so did'nt get the chance to talk to her, and Janice was in bed when Lui rang, so she had to put up with me calling her Luisa, which sounds so much more exotic. It seems only days ago that we were with Marg and Dan at their home in Toronto and we both miss them so much. It will take such a long time for the memories to fade. We are all doing extra Lotto entries to try to finance a returm trip out here for these two wonderfull Canadians. Maybe they can bring Jess with them in case we run short of conversation !!  At least then she can buy her own bloody vegemite !

So thanks again for all your comments, and for your messages of support !    I have deputised Janice to respond to them all as soon as she is back on deck and I am back on the golf course !  Watch out Tiger !

Love to you all, Steve and Janice  xxx

 

So, Its unanimous- we don't iron tea towels,which is good because it will leave more time for the socks !   I had real trouble with the socks yesterday. I thought that because I have big feet, and therefore kingsize socks, that the pointy part of the iron would go in easily without the stern getting snagged in the heel !  Wrong !  I have so much to learn, but I'm getting there.  At least I'm improving my culinary capabilities. Last night was chicken stir fry, and I knew before i started that we needed a new wok ! So theres positives in everything ! The shopping went off without a hitch, but it reminded me of an incident in Canada when I fancied a meat pie for lunch. I asked at the shop assistant what flavours they had in their pies and was told "apple" or "peach" ! -  strange people these Canadians, no wonder half the women marry a Frenchman ! They do have vegemite there. I know because I lugged it all the way and in the two days we had with Jess, most of it had disappeared.

Pleased to report that Janice seems to have made some progress. Not much, but enough to be able to check the shopping bill to see if there was any food with the wine. I guess it depends on your definition of food. Nowhere does it say that it must be solid !

Hope you will all excuse my lack of personal responses to your comments, but as most had references to your undies, I thought I'd better not go there!   well, you know what I mean !   

So now its nearly a meal time again !  Strange how fast they appear when you have to prepare them, not just eat them ! Must be a message there, so will go and think about it.

Thanks again for everything,

Steve xxx

 

I am so frustrated. I had just spent an hour wring a blog for Janice and when I went to enter a subject heading, the screen went blank !!  I lost it all. This must be the third time this has happened !!

So, I will try again as Janice is so upset that she has not been able to respond to all of your messages of support, and particularly to all of you who have so generously sent gifts to her. Some are from new members and some from old ones ( well, not that old !!)  In fact she has not been on the computer at all for the past week. She is very weak and just sitting in the chair seems to be a big effort. I know from Marg, who is a veteran pneumonia sufferer, that this thing will not go away quickly !   So please accept my thanks on her behalf. I know she will be back on Minti as soon as she is able. I have tried to do a deal with Jess, to trade Janice in for her white Jaguar - but that seems to be a "no deal " and the Jag is staying in Montreal !  Not that I give up so easily !

Today is a miserable day in Woopi, drizzling and overcast, so I will take a break from my house busband duties to plan my change of broadband provider. My existing provider seems to think that it is acceptable corporate behaviour to expect their customers to talk to a machine when they wish to contact them !   Well, I for one refuse to do that and have now signed up with a new provider who has retained that quaint old fashioned custom of employing real people !   I know that my lack of computer skills will be exposed when I come to reconfigure my modem and e-mail settings, but on the other hand, should lose about 20 spams a day, from unknown pharmacists who doubt my virility capacity. Don't know if they have a camera in our shower, or if someone has dobbed me in !

So now it is almost lunchtime, so plan to Google "soup" to see if there have been any scientific breakthroughs in can opening technology !   Then its on to that most mysterious room in the house, called a laundry, to see if I can create a job for our local plumber !   And on that subject, just before I go - can someone please give me a good reason why I should iron tea towels !    I mean - do I look like I am short of useful things to occupy my time ?

Thank you all again for your love and support

Love from Janice and Steve xxxxx

  

For all of you waiting for an update from Janice on our trip, I'm afraid there will be a delay - and you'll have to put up with me, Steve. Just as we were starting to reacclimatise from the trip and recover from jet lag, Janice was struck down by what we now know is pneumonia. She had not been well for a few days, but by the end of last week she was very ill. Of course, being a stubborn female she had refused to go to the doctor, but as an equally sensible male, I insisted, and took her on Friday. Then I get a rousting from the doctor for not bringing her in earlier - where's the justice in that ?  He thinks it is viral pneumonia, probably contracted on the plane trip home from Hawaii. The cabin was hot and everyone was coughing and sneezing !   He told me to call an ambulance to take her to hospital if her breathing got any worse, but as a result of my magical nursing prowess, that was not neccssary !  She is on very strong anti-biotics and tomorrw she has to have a chest x-ray, as the doc thinks that one lung has collapsed.  So we are taking one day at a time and hope that she starts to improve. She sees the doctor again tomorrow. So thank you all for your messages of concern, I will keep you posted over the next few days.

So now I must dash to cook dinner, light the fire, do the washing, clean the house, mow the lawn ......... my god you women have it easy !!

Bye, Steve

 

A big hello to everyone of our wonderful friends and a very warm thankyou, for all the  heartfelt comments & beautiful Mother's Day wishes...while we were away.

I'm sorry that i have not been on or done a blog as yet, but you still have 2 weary travellers this way....who are not sure what time zone their body is still running on, but we are getting there so watch out i'll soon be back to annoy everyone with so many tales & pictures.

At present am still feeling like a part of me is missing and a saddness beyond belief...walking away from Marg and her beautiful husband at the airport in Toronto, was the hardest thing i've had to do for many years. I so miss you my dear friend, especially my warm, loving hugs in the morning. This is so hard to even write about .

And how could one not miss vibrant warm loving Jess...with those  gorgeous eyes that melt your heart and a smile that light's up the  every room your in...she is family now.

So for now, i will just leave you all with a hello from winter wonderland!

Love to all Janice & Steve xxxxx

    Sorry, no time to write. we are off to the cottage. Weather is beautiful today. So are my lovely ladies.  Bye for now. Love Steve xx

Sorry to say that this is Steve, not Janice ! She and Marg are so joined by the arms that neither can come to the computer !        So I thought I would report that although Jess had no battery power in her camera - I DID !!     Maybe you would like to see more that Jess trying to escape back home - we did'nt know how to cope without Jess talking to us !  so tried to keep her here !!  My God she can talk.! but I'm going to be nice to her as she let me drive her white Jaguar !!  Love you Jess ! 

Marg and Dan have made us so welcome - we really feel so much at home here - EXCEPT FOR THE FREEZING TEMPERATURES . How soon I have forgotten my trek to Mt. Everest !

Tomorrow we are going up to spend a few days at their cottage in the backwoods. Maybe see a grizzly bear or a wolf.

So, back to the pictures. I took some great photos of the three amigos, Marge, Jess and Janice.  They can be published for a smal fee, so if anyone would like to deposit funds into my bank account, I will be happy to respond. Maybe I'll log on again later when I have checked my bank balance !!  Love from Janice and Steve in Canada !!

 

THIS IS DEFINITELY A COUNTDOWN NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know this is silly & i am a sook, but i am feeling very emotional today    and not quiet sure why?

 Wednesday May the 14th, we drop the car off in Jasper and head to the Railway Station to board "The Via Train" ( "Canadian Pacific") , which will take us from one side of Canada across to Toronto.  It will take 2 days & 8 hours (  Steve will be in his element, for sure)...we thought this would be a wonderful way to take in the ever changing scenery on this dramatic continent.

                                          

   We arrive in Toronto at 8pm on a very important day  Steve's birthday May the 16th....what could be more fitting.

Where the first fantastic moment will happen, meeting dear Jess.

Hopefully she has recovered by then.

Then 2 & 1/2 hours later,

"THE MOMENT OF ALL MOMENTS"  RECIEVING HUGS  in person from MARG. Like the photo from Lake Louise there are no words to describe what that moment will feel like.

That hug could last all night as i have so many hugs to deliver to Marg, from so many wonderful people.

The next 2 weeks will be ??????????????????????????????????????????? a mystery waiting to unfold on my return.

One of the great wonders that we do want to visit is "Niagara Falls"

 This would be magic to see Niagara Falls by night.

The last part  of our journey will be when we depart Toronto on friday the 30th May.....yeah  i know Marg, only "UNTIL LATER".  Have always wanted to go to Maui with Steve as i have been there twice before ( it is God's Country)...so we will spend  3 days there before arriving home on the  5th June after spending one night in Sydney.

We will be staying at the resort "Quest Maui Kaanapali Villas"

Where  hopefully, one morning Steve will be able to wake me about 4am so we can make the journey to "Haleakala Volcano" where the temperature is near  freezing.

 But to end our dream holiday watching the sunrise from "Haleakala"

Would be the perfect finale!

To all our wonderful friends, Steve & I send you all much love xxxxx