Bonjour Ma Famille

This morning I arrived at the office like a drown rat. I was walking to work as usual (takes just over an hour) and fifteen minutes into the walk there was an enormous thunder storm and the heavens opened. I whipped out my little fold-up umbrella which was good for only a few minutes. I discovered with the force of the rain that was falling it soon became saturated and the water seeped through. The rest of the walk was pretty uncomfortable!

Maddie wrote to tell me she is looking for a full-time job as wants to save as she is planning on going to Canada in December to attend a wedding of one of Simon’s clan.

Peter and Rebecca are back and we had them to dinner this week to catch up on all their travel news. Now Peter is back into at work and he has already sold a property this week! They are so excited with their new property settling in under 2 weeks.

Everyday I get so many emails because my address is on-line because of the business. As one of my business New Year resolutions I decided I would take the time to unsubscribe to everything I could. It is taking me forever as sometimes there are over twenty to do. I am starting to wonder if it is like counting sand – it will never end.

I am not sure if I told you about one of my personal projects. When we went to Canada I had to of course write home regularly. In those days overseas mail was very expensive so everyone wrote on very thin mostly blue airmail paper. There were cheaper ones already stamped that were self sealing and people would write in such tiny writing. I typed many of mine on very thin paper as well. I usually did about 4 typed pages. 

I wrote a lot to my grandmother and she wrote a lot to me. I kept her letters so I have a huge pile of blue airmail letters with her old-fashioned handwriting. When she died I discovered she had kept mine as well so voilà I had both sides. The letters I wrote have become a kind of diary of our first years in Canada way back from 1970. 

I decided I would transcribe all  the letters into Scrivener (great writers’ software) so they would be much easier to read. Scrivener will also automatically turn into all kinds of book formats. I only spend a few minutes on it every couple of days. It will take me a year I think to finish. Anyway I had to smile this week as the bit I was transcribing was about finding our first place to live. I thought it was fun to see the contrast with the apartment Liz and Bruce were thinking of.

                       C/o General Delivery,  Post Office GARSON  (Sudbury District) Ontario

6 November 1970.

Dearest All,

Well here it is – the second chapter in the continuing saga of Toni and Geoff Gray. The last time you heard all the news we were in Edmonton, Alberta. Somehow that seems ages ago as so much has happened to us since then.

..goes on for pages describing our travels across Canada.

Accommodation is very short in Sudbury (and very expensive) as it is the fastest growing area in Canada. So the old rule of supply and demand wins out and prices go up. Two bedroom apartments cost from about $200 per month up. We were dismayed at these prices but decided we would have to accept them as we wanted somewhere to live. Pat offered to drive us around to see if we could find one but no luck.

Then Mike heard about a house that was up for rent in Garson. Garson is outside the Sudbury city area on the way to Falconbridge (east of Sudbury). Pat warned us not to expect too much as Mike heard that the rent was $150 per month and she said for that price it would probably be a tin shack (there are plenty of shacks around too).

Anyway she drove us out to see it and we were all pleasantly surprised. It was quite sweet. It is on the highway, is grey stucco with blue trim. It has a front glassed in porch (quite rare as most homes only have a couple of uncovered steps outside their front door – verandahs are unheard of here. The house has a full basement with a recreation room made in it – bar and all. On the ground floor there is a large kitchen with a spacious dining area connected. The lounge room is not very large but quite big enough for us. There is one bedroom off the lounge, all bedrooms here have built in robes. Upstairs there are two bedrooms with sloping roofs and a tiled bathroom.

I love that we were dismayed at $200 per month but then I went shopping …

Food stores are having price wars here so food is a little more reasonable at the moment. I did a week’s  shopping yesterday and it cost $17 (that included meat and veg) so  am a little happier about that aspect.

I was only 23 when I wrote the above and I certainly don’t remember those prices. The letters span 6 years until she died in 1976 so there are lots of interesting ones when Kate and Liz were born etc.

Last Saturday Erich and I had fun taking Albert shopping ( see attached photo). Albert is our neighbour and he just turned 2. His mother is Japanese but from the large Japanese colony in Brazil. His dad is NZ. Albert speaks 2 year old Portuguese and English, I think his maternal grandparents speak Japanese and Portuguese to him when he is in Brazil. He is so cute you could eat him!!

Yummy Albert

This week I made my first booking for an activity for Charlotte and Sarah to do in Paris. Very exciting. The accommodation is booked, tickets are taken care of, so it is all go!

I don’t do anything with Picture life program but it sends me emails with memories from a year ago. From memory I signed up for this program because Liz and Bruce we’re going to use it? Is that right – do we use it?

My herb garden is recovering from our absence so we have lots of choice once again. I just love popping onto the balcony to cut my own herbs when I am cooking.

That’s about it!

love to all

Mum/Grandma/Toni