Alexandra, John & Thomas French Flair 2010
Joyeux Noël 2010
Hello Everyone,
Only a week before Christmas now, and time to reflect on the past year and send greetings to all our friends far and wide whom we can’t share Christmas with. We wish you all every happiness for Christmas and the coming year.
From last year in November our year started off with abundant snow giving that Christmassy atmosphere, snowmen & great sledging races but it just didn’t stop snowing, the start of ‘the big freeze’!!!
On the day we were booked to fly out from Geneva almost all of Europe had blistered conditions and for the following days all flights & trains were either cancelled or fully booked. Deciding upon the best alternative was to return home by train and drive up to Zebrugge (normally 7 hrs on the auto route but 12 hrs because of snow, sharing the drive) then take the overnight ferry crossing to Hull and drive to Grandma’s (in Whitby, UK).
The ferry ride there & back was rocky for sleeping yet pleasantly enjoyable for service. But the road conditions made driving hazardous with heavy snow and ice especially over the moors. For this year the snow has arrived earlier (September) but lucky for us yesterday we arrived safety just missing more heavy snow conditions and cancellations around Europe.
We’re happy to be here in Whitby with family especially spending time with Nora, since she was recently diagnosed with cancer. However she has had a successful operation and is keeping positive for the future.
In April we all decided to have a first ever Menzies family video reunion (the last real family reunion where we were all together was in NZ for my sister Annemarie’s wedding which was 14yrs ago!).
Since we all live spread around the globe we were all actually able to get together and chat online to celebrate our twins brother’s 40th birthday, John who lives near Cairns, Oz & Karl who lives in Wellington, NZ. Kevin the eldest of the family organized this, hence he was busy through the video taking photos etc…he lives in Melbourne, Oz, Annemarie lives in Atlanta, USA, Clare lives in Wellington, NZ, Mum & Dad (Jay & Marie) live in Rotorua, NZ (hometown) and us of course in Chavanay, France.
So we all made ourselves available for this video call to John and Karl that Sunday 25th at 8am Brisbane time (Midnight France, 6pm Atlanta, 10am NZ) Since I was calling at midnight, I couldn’t speak too loud for fear of waking up Thomas and John. Also we had to be dressed as a 1970’s celebrity, to fit in with John’s party theme.
There were only 6 video boxes to view all at one time so we had to take turns to go off line. Dad’s suggestion is that next time maybe each one in order has a time allotted to speak and tell any news etc., in that time…what sayest thou?
Here’s the 2 video’s to watch – Video 1 and Video 2. As you can see technology is our best friend!
In July we were treated with my sister Clare and her partner Marco staying with us for nearly 3 weeks on their European trip. Whilst their visit we all stayed for a weekend in Chamonix, the weather was perfect postcard conditions for activities and taking in the panoramic views.
We went through a carved ice cave, ‘La Grotte de Glace’ there, freezing but amazing cravings. On their return to go back to Wellington, NZ it was sad to farewell them but I hope to see them and family sooner than what’s anticipated.
In August we spent 2 weeks in the Alps where an annual children’s festival takes place at ‘Le Grand-Bornand’ in the ‘Haute-Savoie’ region. Please click on photos & videos to check it out.
In late August, taking advantage of living so close to the Alps we spent a weekend to trek up to Lac Lauvitel, a climb that we know very well but this time Thomas joined us.
For this coming September my parents (Nana & Poppa) have mentioned that they would love to visit us in France and my sister Annemarie in USA, but this is not certain from being able to fly or not for health reasons.
This year has not been an easy one, as work pressure caused John to take time off and now working part-time. It’s been learning curve for both of us ‘on health comes first’.
Recently John had shingles, poor thing but knowing that his Mum’s future looks bright has helped him to recover quicker. At the moment work has picked up and is going well for John where he’s transferred to the commercial dept. Currently trying to win the new Nissan “Leaf” business which is an electric vehicle. As for me I enjoy teaching English to adults, taking the same courses as last year but with some additional courses closer to where we live.
For Thomas (4yrs) it’s been shining progress at his (maternal) school ‘St Jean‘. From Sept the school year started him off going into the MS (moyenne section), which meant sharing the same classroom with the GP (grand petite section) children, he was thrilled! His teacher is very impressed with they way he articulately calculates what he’s given to do and his ability at linking his words together cleverly when saying a sentence in French.
Out of school Thomas participates in a circus school and mini tennis on separate days, which he enjoys for the activities and social side.
On house renovating is been a slow one expectantly this year but we are in the process of creating a new bathroom. In the garden Thomas’ wooden play hut was built by John & painted by me which gets used often.
For this coming January & February we’re going on John’s companies annual organized ski trips for two long weekends one at ‘Les 2 Alpes’ and the other at ‘Serre Chevalier’. It will feel good to get back into snowboarding again and new for Thomas to be involved in a ski school.
As you can see, 2010 has been a recuperating year but the future shows a positive one. We look forward to a great gathering of families in the future and wish for our parents to keep well. Best wishes again. And all the best for 2011 – keep in touch.
Love from, John & Alexandra & Thomas.