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| A couple of years ago |
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| La Molli, pup with attitude |
Back I came to Denver. My Big Client decided to retire in 2003, so I guess I did, too.
However, I still spend the same hours at the computer. My roommate, LaMolli, known as Miss Molli by the neighbors, and
I live with a spectacular view of the Rockies in this glorious state.
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| A Colorado sunset |
What do we do with ourselves? All the crafts in the world, I think.
We have cocktails down the hall with Rod, who's a New Englander, Dartmouth version, and lived for years on a boat in
Florida. We lunch with Helen B. Good, whose name I shall use in a book I want to write. (Got permission already.) Judy spoils
Molli like mad, so when Molli escapes, she runs down to her apartment.
I can now read real books instead of computer books, so I've done a lot of that, including rereading some old favorites. I'm
learning architecture, that is, how to tell one period from another. Of course, I can't stop there, so I'm learning how to
draw the houses as well, evidenced at this site. Gained a good friend in Australia since I've done every single one of her Paint Shop Pro tutorials on creating rooms. I
can now create marble halls and island paradises that have no mortgages, no taxes, and no need to dust.
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| From our window |
Since demographics now tell us that Denver has a majority of Latinos, I get to practice my Spanish at the Mexican stores,
but Hawaii Helen, who lived there for years, and I go to the oriental market from time to time.
I now know how to cook for one, which was a helluva task for someone who used to do a lot of entertaining. However, I've
just moved to a larger apartment, so maybe I'll get some practice again as soon as I've unpacked.
So fifty-some years after seeing most of you, this is where I am. Of course, I'll have to visit my son and his family
as well as my daughter in St. Kitts soon. Rough job, but someone's got to do it.
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| Christopher Mark van der Veen Parker II |
Nana -- at last
My grandson, Chris (aka Pookie), started school in 2007 at the Montessori School in Basseterre. What a super little boy.
So now I have two Lisas and two Chrises, plus my stepmother Chris, who still lives in Wyomissing. Yes, we use cue cards.
There are pictures of where Chris, Lisa, and Pookie are living in St. Kitts here. They were taken in early July 2007 when the little one was still grieving about giving up his New England sandbox. One day
into the trip and he was convinced.
Daughter Elysa lives in St. Kitts, and she's such a proud auntie. She and Pookie play all kinds of games together, and
she's obviously adored back. Amazing how quickly she becomes his age again.
We visited Pookie et al in May of 2007 when they still lived in Enfield, CT. Here's a windswept picture, with
my beautiful and talented daughter-in-law in the middle.
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| Mystik Seaport, May 2007 |
Daddy Chris
If you think I've had a lot of careers, you should talk to Chris. He's lived everywhere and done everything from underwater
archeological salvage in the Caribbean to being a fine dining chef in places like the exclusive Beano's Cabin near Vail. Oh,
yes, he did a stint as a middle school math teacher in the Virgin Islands, complete with suit and tie.
Auntie Elysa
Elysa continues to love sports, from reffing soccer to playing it. She's had 90-year-old knees, but does that stop her
from skiing, hiking, and sailing Lake Powell in a houseboat regularly? No, sirree. I just wonder how long it's going to take
before she goes for her Doctorate. For a while I though she was going to be a perpetual student -- and she did it all on her
own. She's the Director of Recreation at the Marriott in St. Kitts now.
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| Pookie and Elysa being five in 2007 |
Future Plans
Life continues to be an adventure. I never would have guessed that I'd have so much fun throughout my life, and I'm not
even close to finished yet.
Remember that great law of Murphy: Whatever you need to do, you need to do something else first.
See you all at the 75th reunion???
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