I was so happy to hear from you and to get your most
interesting
diary or daily account of your trip to Manitoba. I was so glad to see
the photos also, especially the one of Roger watching Auray sleep.
I also keep a daily account of my long trips, as you
say,
its nice to refresh ones memory. Delia, Paul, and I took a trip to
Australia,
New Zealand, Tahiti and Fiji in Jan. 1986. We left Winnipeg on Jan. 4th
(Delia's 62nd Birthday) and returned
to Wpg. on March 4th. It was such an
enjoyable
trip and so interesting ! Delia & Paul's children (all 15 of them
had paid for their trip) as a gift for their 40th
wedding anniversary. I paid for my own. When I reread my account of the
trip not long ago, and looked over my album of photos it was surprising
how much I had forgotten. The Australians and New Zealanders are such
hospitable people. We also spent a few days in Hawaii on our way home.
I had gone to Hawaii in March 1980 with our Bridge club, 8 of us women
and we had a wonderful trip then too. Its nice to read and bring back
all those wonderful memories. At my age (81 in Jan.) my memory does
not improve.
Some of my grandchildren wanted to know (about 10 years
ago) how it was like growing up on a farm without electricity and no
indoor plumbing, etc. I decided to write it all on paper for their
benefit,
and had copies made for all 3 of my children and 9 grandchildren and
gave them the copies at our 1992 Raymond family re-union. I am sending
you a copy, so you too will have a lot to practice your English.
Am also enclosing copies of some old family photos I just had copied
today to include with my family history.
I read your account over a couple times and the
genealogy
of Hector and Marie Louise Meilleur, I had no problem understanding all
of it except for a couple words which I looked up in my Larousse's -
French - English - English - French Dictionary. I had never heard the
word "cécité" for blindness we always said "aveugle". My french
vocabulary is not as extensive as my English is, "mais on
se comprend !" I'm writing in English but I find I'm thinking in French.
We had at least 8 inches of snow on Nov. 2nd
and 3rd, some drifted to over 10 inches
in front of my garage doors. It was wet, heavy snow which stuck to the
snow shovel, really had a good exercise workout shoveling my double
drive
way and my sidewalks. We had enough warmer weather later to melt the
ice off the streets so they are bare, but we have just enough snow
to cover the lawns. Our summers are hot and after a few weeks of
colorful
fall foliage the weather gets chilly and our winters are long.
I will be flying out east to Washington, D.C. to spend
the Christmas Holidays with my children in northern Virginia on Dec. 22nd
and returning on Jan. 30th. My children
always want me to spend the whole month of January till after Jan. 29th
(my Birthday) can hardly believe I'll be 81. Where have the years gone
by ? I'll be missing at least one month of our coldest weather
which will help shorten the winter. The D.C. area might get a snowfall
or two usually in Feb. but it does not last long because the weather
is mild enough to melt it in a few days. I will become a great
grandmother
for the first time in March. My granddaughter will be 27 in April so
they are old enough to start a family.
This has been a very busy week for me. I too am involved
in a lot of Church work, and for the past twelve years I have been
doing
volunteer work every Thursday from 8 a.m. till eleven thirty a.m.
setting
hair drying, and combing out lady patients at the local Nursing Home.
In our parish, most families have a meal served after a loved ones
funeral in our church basement. The family and friends furnish the
food, but we (our funeral committee) go early and make the coffee, set
up the tables, keep the food hot or cold, slice and butter buns, etc.,
set out the food and have everything ready to serve as soon as the
funeral
is over. It's a good thing we have a commercial dishwasher to wash all
those dishes, but they have to be wiped and put away, the tables
cleared and wiped off, left over food sent home with the family, etc.
Our funerals are usually at 10 O'clock in the Morning so we go to work
on them at 8.30 a.m. and seldom done before 1.30 or 2 p.m. depending
on how many we serve. Normally we serve from 75 to 175 people.
We've already served 2 funerals this week and work on
another one tomorrow. We have perpetual adoration in our parish (in a
small chapel) 24 hours a day 7 days a week for the last 12 years. I
go every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. When I'm out of town, someone
else takes my hour. Its hard to get the younger members of the parish
to be involved in church work, both husbands and wives work and they
are not interested. Seems a shame.
I better bring this letter to a close. You'll have
enough
English reading to last you a week !
Your maiden name - Connolly - tells me your father must
have had a mix of Irish or Scotch, am I right ?
A 3rd, 4th,
or 5th cousin ??? Which ? It does not
matter, I'm glad we met and enjoyed each others company. I have a small
home but I would be very happy to have all of you come and visit me.
Hope to see you again before I get too decrepit.
With affection,
Lea Raymond
P.S. Excuse all my errors.
