Hello cousins and friends,
Please forgive the prolonged absence... I wish I could offer up some brilliant reason justifying the inactivity, but unfortunately, it's really just laziness. Furthermore, I must make this entry brief as we are expecting hired help this morning and there is still preparation to do for his arrival.
So, in the interest of brevity, here's what has been going on under my nose, and I hasten to throw out an invitation to one and all to add newsy bits from their corner of the world.
- Alex Wright has moved from The 'Peg to the nation's capital to once again live with Peter, her husband after a two-year long distance marriage. It is our loss and the Eastern cousins' gain. I will miss Alex and Peter and Fraser, but especially Alex. It's kind of like watching my little sister move away AGAIN.
- Dad's ashes were interred at Brookside cemetary, right alongside David, on Friday, July 16th. Tears were shed, and rose petals strewn, but in the end, the family assembled for a pic-nic and the second generation cousins were able to spend sometime together, maybe enough to remember each other's name for the next time. As is often the case, we all agreed that the person for whom we were meeting - Dad, would have enjoyed the gathering more than any of us.
- Scoot Rees, Kelly Mckeag's eldest son, celebrated his marriage at the idyllic Granite Lake. Quite a few Winnipeg cousins were present. It was a gorgeous day!
- Sandy Burns is now stationed in Rankin Inlet and appears to be ding well. He works 12 hour days with one day off a week.
- Sonya Burns and her family spent two weeks in and around The 'Peg, but was happy to return home to Georgetown so that construction on their backyard pool might begin. HOW EXCITING!
- Lindsay and Dilly have spent COUNTLESS HOURS in the garden and are preparing for their European cruise. They will be accompanied by Aunt Dawn, Aunt Sharon and Aunt Pat.
- Lindsay is continuing her studies in the area of English as an Additional Language by taking a course on benchmarking.
- In previous posts I spoke of my job search and pretty much left you all hanging (I'm absolutely sure no one was losing ANY sleep over the unanswered question!) with regards to the outcome of the interview process. I was offered a PERMANENT contract with the Louis Riel School Division. I secured the job I held from October 2009 to June 2010, which means I will be teaching a 5/6 split. Few permanent contracts are offered in this economic climate, and so I consider myself very fortunate. I will be working with a wonderful team at an elementary school in my neighbourhood.
- Because of my new job security, Norm has been able to do many home improvements that have been piling up over the past ten years. He built an impressive patio in the backyard (with the help of Liam), is currently laying cork flooring in all three bedrooms, and built a couple of backyard sheds. Some days his walking is slightly tortured!
- Lastly, the Burns-Châtel summer has been dedicated to my post-ACL reconstruction surgery. We have not travelled at all because I am still on crutches and my exercise routine requires about two hours a day to complete. I'm keeping my eye on the prize: a "crutch-free" return to the classroom.
That's it for the update. Pretty mundane, i know, but sometimes a person needs a little bit of ordinariness in order to get ready for the next wave of activity.
Take care one and all.
Love,
Shannon Burns
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