Month end

Hey there - I thought I would end the month with pictures of Jalen and Lexi that I took this past weekend. Jalen was very busy with his ball hockey championships over a three day period. He was in second place with total points going in to the tournament so I knew he would earn a few more. I offered $1.00 per point (assist or goal) and at the end of the championship game I had to fork over (and was happy to do so!) a total of $16.00. Lexi and I bonded while Mommy and Jalen were extra busy doing a million things. Among the things on Tracey's list was new shoes for Jalen. His feet have grown two full sizes since his last pair of shoes a mere two months ago. It's expensive raising kids!!!!

Tomorrow I head to Halifax - more on that and how my June is shaping up later.

Love

CA

BPG - Bell Pensioners' Group and memories

I attended the annual BPG meeting yesterday here in Toronto. The meeting was moved for the first time from the Mississauga location to a more central location on the Yonge North subway line ... a very easy commute for me and hopefully for others as well.

Membership in BPG continues to be an issue so this is a bit of a 'pitch' to any Bell pensioners who read my blog but have not yet given their $20.00 to join BPG. Please join - much work is needed to protect our pensions in the future and $20.00 is a very small price to pay for the good work the BPG Board is doing on our behalf. I am no longer on the board but I know how hard these pensioners work on our behalf.

There is a much-loved social hour before each of these meetings. We gather at 11 am while the actual meeting begins at 12 noon so we have a full hour to catch up. It was Russ Donaldson's 75th birthday so we got to congratulate Russ for example. Dave Hall and I always find a few minutes to chat - Dave was the Manager of our Rouge River hockey team and for years and years we could all be found at the annual Bell hockey tournament - and for years and years Dave's team won the big trophy!

One of my favourite memories of time with Dave (or Davey as we called him then) was when Danny Bell and I had dinner with Dave and his wife to celebrate - was it his 20th anniversary with Bell? That detail I don't remember but it was a significant milestone. We had drinks at their beautiful home and then went off to dinner. A good time was had by all. Of course, that memory makes me think of Danny who we lost far too soon to cancer. Danny was 50 years old when he fought a very brief but oh-so-tough battle with this damn killer disease. We all miss him still. I try to keep in touch with Carolyn, Danny's sister, and our conversations turn to Danny so easily. Remembering is a good thing.

Today is yet another rainy day. Jalen has ball hockey playoffs all weekend so I will be heading north tomorrow and will have many photos to share on Monday. Here's hoping the forecast for rain all weekend is not accurate.

Love
Carol Ann
PS - Please don't forget to join BPG if you have not done so.

May 22nd pictures

Jalen loves his little sister and Lexi loves pulling Mommy's hair!

Lexi is practicing two separate skills here - sitting up and also rolling over - as you can see she is slowly mastering both skills.

I took this beautiful picture of mother and daughter at the Hockey Hall of Fame while we were watching the boys......meaning James and Jalen of course.

We had a wonderful family day!

Love

CA

Return Visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame

When my son and his family picked me up yesterday we had a surprise for Jalen. We were headed for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Jalen and I have been there once but the rest of the family was making their first visit. (At four months of age Lexi was only mildly interested!) In these pictures Jalen was shooting on the Hockey Hall of Fame goalie and did a great job. He visited this particular area a few times, then the Wii games took over. While Jalen and Tracey played Wii, James worked on a real estate deal and Lexi and I sat in the Theatre and caught up on our hockey history. One minor melt down was cut short when Lexi fell asleep having only disturbed the others in the theatre for a few minutes. And, when you are as cute as Lexi, no one really minds as long as her out bursts are brief - and they were. We had lunch mid day and then back inside for a few more games and then to Nana's place to watch Vancouver win the game!! Lexi slept through much of the game.

Love

CA

My niece - Dawn Marie Balisky

Today I want to brag about Dawn Marie. DM is a daughter, wife, sister, auntie, friend, teacher and my beautiful niece. These pictures were obviously taken at her wedding - wasn't she the most beautiful bride? We were all proud of DM for so many reasons on her special day - I believe that was in 1991 correct DM? In the second picture she is with her sister Natalie (who is my God child) and my then-very-young-son James.

Currently DM is training for her first triathlon and I am so proud of her for taking this on. I recently asked for an update and, in part, this is what she said, "Training is going very well. My favourite training is swimming which surprises me to no end. I was up and out of the house on the way to the pool this am by 5:30. I love swimming - nothing about it hurts! ... Last night I biked and ran. It's called a brick work out, because there are activities stacked (more like you feel like a brick!)" OMG I can't imagine it! DM went on to say that she is grateful for her support team including her husband Dean, Wendi and Sharon her friend from My Communities in Bloom group.

Wendi is an artist and there might be a tattoo in their future when the triathlon is behind them!

DM is a fantastic teacher. I have been with her in downtown Grande Prairie when some of her students see her in public. They have such glowing things to say to her and clearly consider her part of their lives. They actually follow her around when they see her.

DM's big weekend is in mid June so do me a favour and send her lots of love and positive energy.

Love

Carol Ann

A heart-felt idea

Hey there -my friend Eileen brought me this gift from her last trip to Mexico. (She does lots and lots of travel!) The heart has the smallest hole in it that is meant to be an opening used to insert a secret message. I am going to have Jalen write a note to his sister to be given to her on her 16th birthday. Only Jalen will know what his message is for little Lexi. We will work on the project together and then put the heart in Lexi's time capsule.

I am always interested in hearing ideas you may have re projects we can enjoy with our grandkids so please do share.

Love

Carol Ann

A walk down memory lane with my Logistics friends

In the first picture, from the left, J C Legault, Eileen Savage, Judy Charette, Sam Botsikos and me. Diane Chabot (our leader) in the solo photo. We last all worked together in 1994 and following that date, one at a time, we found "life after Bell." Yesterday we got together, first at my condo, and then at a lovely little Yorkville restaurant to walk down memory lane via names, places, events and even a fire - but enough about the fire! We laughed, we shared, and we learned more about each other as we listened and enjoyed hearing about each other's successes in life. We all lead very different lives now than during our Bell careers and it is a gift to catch up and share.

I find now more than ever (and yes perhaps it is because of my cancer experiences) I love reconnecting with friends from my Bell days - and let's face it Bell was our life at one time so those we worked with often became very good friends. It doesn't take long to realize who you want to keep in your life and it is so important to me to reach out and let me friends know they are on my mind. Don't wait for a funeral to get together. Actually though, if a funeral is why you are planning to get together Diane can make that happen, so to speak! (Couldn't resist that Diane!)

Thanks for making yesterday such fun my friends - and thanks for giving me yet another memory to look back on.

Love

Carol Ann