May 26, Part II

The wedding was beautiful! The church was wonderfully decorated and the pastor had a lovely sense of humour. It was definitely a wedding ceremony where the newlyweds can say that it went off according to plan. At the end the organist came over to Aidan and said she was so happy to hear such beautiful singing. He seems to end up with a fan club wherever he goes!The reception was equally as lovely. It was cold but we kept busy to keep the blood circulating. Aidan was the keeper of the photo guestbook and was a real politician when it came to getting people to have their picture taken. He even managed to get the bar and kitchen staff to have their pictures taken for the book. The festivities went into the morning but a great day and evening was had by all.

May 26, 2007

Just a quick check in - we have to be at the church for 2pm so we have about 2 hours 15 minutes to relax a bit.First of all, we got an email update on Deaglan. Deaglan is doing very well. His facial swelling is now minimal so he has responded to the drip well. Sadly his vein 'blew' last night so they removed the drip. They will re-drip him come sunday in an effort to preserve his veins. His appetite is excellent and he loves the lactulose...it's almost like it is a treat! Other than that he is definately brighter in himself and craves a cuddle. They think his progress is great and they have given him a fighting chance going into the surgery. Dr. Colin is back tonight and surgery scheduled for Sunday morning. His wife will get him to try calling after the surgery to keep us informed.The trp up here was good. We got into Gatwick at about 6.40 yesterday morning and icked up the rental car. Pete (Aidan's brother in law) and Aidan took turns driving. The english countryside was amazing. The spring flowers are out in force and it was just an amazing show out the window. We're staying at Cleat House in Sheringham. It is a wonderfully quaint town on the Norfolk coast of the North Sea. We visited the reception site and had lunch with the bride, groom and family yesterday. We then went into Cromer to do a little shopping for necessities before coming back to Sheringham for a nap. We went out with Aidan's pareents to a Thai place for dinner and ended the evening walking along the promenade and visiting the model yacht pool (I'll go back and take pictures tomorrow). Aidan picked up flint rock off of the beach and threw them at other rocks to make a spark. It was pretty cool in the darkness.This morning we got up around 8 and had breakfast. I'll take pictures of this place because it is my ideal house. The detail is superb and the bathroom s as big as the bedroom! We went into Sheringham to find cufflinks for Aidan but also were able to visit the little shops and walk about with people doing their Saturday shopping. I love that there are dogs everywhere and butcher shops and small bookshops. The lady who runs Cleat House bicycles everywhere. It is just such a nice vibe.

It's been a tough month...

Our vows included the phrase "in good times and in bad". This past month has included the 'bad' but we have had to find strength in each other. Today we lost one of our cats, Loreley. She was attacked on Saturday night by a cat or dog, we do not know. She did not make it to the vet. We buried her this morning in Aidan's parent's backyard. It was the hardest morning of my life thus far because how could you lose such a young and sweet life for no reason. Yes, we plan to adopt another cat from the SPCA but we will never forget our princess cat.We are also counting down to major surgery for our puppy, Deaglan. He has a portosystemic shunt and if he does not have the surgery we will lose him too. Unfortunately, we will be overseas when he has the surgery on Sunday but our thoughts will be with him through the whole ordeal. At this point, he has to make it through the surgery and recovery - there is no other choice.There has been 'good' as well. I auditioned for an got into a show for the fall. We are going to Aidan's brother's wedding this weekend and it promises to be beautiful. Our garden is lovely and the roses are phenomenal. My mom has been in the hospital (bad) but she is out and much better (good). And finally, we have each other and we're getting through the bad and good together. That is what it is all about.

Christmas Letter 2006

Hello! We cannot believe that a year has passed so quickly. Well, it has been another very eventful one. We include an overview of what we have been up to in 2006:

The Regiment went to Jamaica in February and Aidan was forced to endure another two weeks in the heat with the mosquitoes. Fortunately, they were up in the mountains and the temperatures were not so bad (eighties instead of nineties) Whilst there they did a bout of river rafting as well, which was rather exciting, especially the rapids. The last three nights were spent at a rather nice resort in Montego Bay.

Aidan accompanied Marisa to her 10th College reunion at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia in May and was introduced to some of her old friends from College. Spelman has a very picturesque campus on the eastern side of Atlanta. We also visited the new Georgia Aquarium, which is absolutely superb. The highlight was seeing the Whale sharks in the enormous central tank built especially for them. They were only small though, about 15 feet in length. They will eventually grow to approximately 30 feet. One of the exhibits is a tunnel, where you walk underneath the large tank with all of the fish around and above you, just like walking on the ocean floor.

Musically, Aidan began his “professional” singing career at a couple of funerals. He has also been involved in several concerts with his clarinet, accompanying the St. John’s Youth Choir and a chamber concert with the Bermuda School of Music which included such works as Haydn’s Missa Sainte Nicolai. The bagpipes are also going well. He even has a student who is progressing quite nicely. Aidan hopes to have him ready for the next summer season.

Marisa is technically in the home stretch of her doctoral work with 5 classes to go in 2007. She completed her final residency in Atlanta and has identified "Knowledge Retention in Bermudian Knowledge-Based Organizations" as her dissertation topic. She cut back on dance classes in 2006 but continues to teach Highland Dancing and a Bellydancing course. Unfortunately, she has not been on stage (or backstage) all year!

Of course, the biggest change this year was that we were married on 22nd September. The ceremony went off very well, with everyone remembering what to do. Both the Regiment and Pipe bands played for our reception, along with Marisa’s highland dancers and belly dancers. We danced a choreographed piece to “One” from 'A Chorus Line' which was fun. Everyone appeared to have a great time. Video of most of the performances are on our website.

For our honeymoon, we took a canal cruise across Europe, starting in Budapest in Hungary and continuing through such places as Bratislava, Slovakia; Vienna, Durnstein, and Salzburg, Austria; Nuremburg, Bamberg, Wurzburg, Miltenberg, Rudesheim and Cologne in Germany and ending up in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We traveled along the Danube, Main and Rhine rivers and the intersecting canals. We would strongly recommend this voyage to anyone wishing a two week relaxing vacation. All of our pictures are available on www.marisaandaidan.com

Now we are back and settling in to “real” life again. We have adopted two kittens from the local SPCA, who busily try to get themselves into trouble on a daily basis. The gardens are shaping up and everything appears to be going well. We have moved into our new home and the weekend projects never seem to end.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year, 2007.

October 9, 2006

We tried really hard to start October 8 off on a good note because of all of the traveling that we had ahead of us. After an early breakfast, giving Akos his gift and putting our bags out, we walked to Gassan’s, the diamond cutting and polishing operation on one of the canals. It was a lovely walk with almost no traffic and people walking their dogs along the canals. We arrived at Gassan’s about 15 minutes before they opened. We signed up for the free tour and then were taken to a place with other tour guests. I was able to purchase a porcelain bell for the Christmas tree. We had our tour with another couple who I believe were looking for an engagement ring. We had a good tour and were shown the stages of diamond production from having the rough, to cutting it, to faceting it and then polishing it. We saw people polishing diamonds using the traditional tools and were also shown the patented Gassan cut that had 121 facets.We were then taken into a room and given an overview of the four Cs. In Europe, the colour classifications differ as they have names, not letters. We saw loose stones, compared to one another, with the related prices and then we went through trays and trays of rings, pendants, and earrings. It was great and the prices generally were not too bad. Our tour ended in the Gassan shop so Aidan and I got to work looking for a pair of diamond solitaire earrings. We found the perfect set -- .26carat, Top Wessenton (equivalent to colour f/g in the US system), PK1 in a round brilliant cut set in 18 carat white gold – and it did not break the bank! They’re excellent!We walked back to the ship for 11 a.m. transfer. If only we knew that it would be our last bit of peace for the whole day. Getting to New York was HELL! We detest the Frankfurt airport with a passion. It took over an hour to find the tax refund office. We had to go through at least four security checkpoints yesterday. We just got more and more irritated and realized that we would have been better off making our own travel arrangements and flying via London versus New York. Anyhow, we boarded our 7 1/2 hour flight to New York, crammed into tiny seats. I couldn't put my seat back, because the woman behind me kept pushing back -- I was too nice, I should have done it anyway. The guy in front of me did and I was cramped the whole way. The good thing was that I got to watch ‘The Devil Wears Prada’. Yes, I can say I have lived parts of that movie.We got to New York and had to sit on the runway to get to our gate. We finally got in and had to do the whole immigration thing. We caught a yellow cab and I was irritated again because we gave the name of the hotel that we were given and the taxi driver wanted to lecture us because the hotel was not where he thought it was. Then he got an attitude when Aidan gave him the tip -- Aidan ended up giving him extra. I wouldn't have given him anything!The room was nice, and we had a view of Shea Stadium. We had room service -- an excellent steak dinner were french fries and broccoli. We watched the Discovery Channel Atlas program on Italy before going to bed. Aidan didn't sleep well as the stress from yesterday had gotten to him. It definitely was an irritating day. We left for the airport at 5 a.m. with the shared goal of relaxing in our bed at home. We got through the airport pretty well and had an hour before flight. My coughing was awful, but we boarded our flight to Bermuda. We’re Home!!!

October 7, 2006

We are enjoying a lazy Saturday morning watching the Netherlands landscape pass us by. It is the last full day of the cruise and we will be running around Amsterdam this afternoon. For now, I rest and try to deal with this chest cold and coughing.Yesterday was quite lovely. Cologne was cool, but we did enough walking to keep warm. In the morning, we boarded small trains and went to the cathedral. The tour guide on the train was interesting, to say the least. She drew out her words and had everyone laughing. When we got off of the train we immediately went to the other tour guide who thankfully had different inflection. Cologne was amazing, because it was built on top of the Roman colony. One of the first things we saw was the tile floor in the Romano-German museum. It really caught my attention. I was even more blown away when our guide took us down into a parking garage and we saw the remains of the old city wall. Apparently, construction takes forever in Cologne, because whenever they try to excavate, they come across Roman ruins and artifacts.After the tour we visited the cathedral and the Romano-German museum. The cathedral was special because it is said to have the remains of the three Magi, or Wise Men, from the nativity story. The remains are kept in the Golden arc like box, and it was definitely impressive. We got a book in the cathedral since we did not do a formal tour. The museum was equally as fascinating. It is always amazing to see how people did the equivalent of modern activities that use particular technologies but using only primitive resources. Aidan pointed out that without shock absorbers, the Romans had used leather straps on their carriages. It was indeed fascinating. What gave someone the idea to do something like that in the first place.We then explored the shopping streets in search for an Internet café -- it had been a week since I cleaned out my mailbox. I was over quota again, so I deleted a lot of junk. I kept my promise and didn't answer e-mails. It has been odd to be literally cut off for two weeks. After cleaning up my e-mail we got a waffle from a street vendor and headed back to the ship for lunch. We came out after lunch with the goal to find the bride's collection of Christmas ornaments. We found a store near the cathedral with handmade glass ornaments and thankfully, we found the collection as well. The items and meanings are as follows:1. Pine cone -- motherhood and fruitfulness2. angel -- God's guidance in the home3. Santa -- unselfishness and goodwill4. flower basket -- good wishes5. House -- shelter and protection6. Rose -- beauty and affection7. fruit basket – generosity8. rabbit -- hope and faith9. Bird -- happiness and joy10. Fish -- Christ's blessing11. heart -- true love12. teapot – hospitalityWe then walked about for what felt like hours, visiting shops and looking at what Cologne had to offer. We got tired and decided to drop the ornaments off at the boat. And then went to visit the chocolate museum. Needless to say, it smelled amazing and tasted even better. It was a great museum and the working factory was fun. We got to taste the chocolate from a chocolate fountain and then we got to purchase chocolate in the shop. We ate way too much chocolate on the way back to the ship -- but it was good. After a nap because my cold was getting worse, we dressed for a concert in lounge. La Strada were a trio from Belgium of two violins and a guitar. It was lovely. They played classical and Gypsy music and were fabulous. We purchased two of their CDs for our collection. We then had the farewell Coctail party and dinner. By the end of dinner my voice was gone. We didn't party with everyone else, because we were both not well – Aidan was sneezing and had a runny nose. We turned in early and hope for good Saturday.

Amsterdam proved to be as interesting as it promised to be. The morning and early afternoon was full of both sunshine and rain. I was sure that we would be running about with raincoats and umbrellas. I was wrong. The remainder of the day was sunny and bright.After our last lunch on board, we boarded coaches to take us to the canal near the central station for a Canal cruise. We learned a lot about the different roof shapes, the laws for canal boat living, and the locks that helped prevent Amsterdam from flooding. I was amazed by the canal boat gardens and the large windows in the houses on the narrow lanes. As usual, I loved seeing everyone riding around on pedal cycles -- even walking their dogs riding the cycles. Amsterdam definitely had the most cycles of all the countries we visited. At the end of the cruise we went to the Ryksmuseum. To be honest, I prefer Van Gough to Rembrant but I was there looking at Rembrants with the most boring tour guide, ever. Feeling as sick as I was, I tired quickly of her and I dragged Aidan off to explore the museum on our own. We enjoyed many paintings as well and pieced together Dutch life and their colonial history.After our final dinner, we decided to visit the red light district of Amsterdam. I had basic expectations of the area but Aidan did not know what to expect. The streets were packed with people of all ages. Aidan noticed that many guys appeared to be from the North of England. Anyhow, we walked up and down each side of the canal. The ladies in the windows varied in shape and state of dress. In the fluorescent lights they looked like mannequins, when they did not move. It was odd when they were negotiating with men outside the window. It was interesting to watch yet sad at the same time. We visited the erotic Museum, on the right bank of the red light district. It housed four floors of the history of erotica -- literature, paintings, ceramics, et cetera. It was definitely fascinating. It even had a floor explaining how the girls in the windows operated. Culture and history in the midst of what appeared to be an area of excess. Fascinating!We've just spent the last hour packing. Were having breakfast at 7 a.m. and have to vacate our room at 8:30 a.m. We may go to a diamond museum at 9 a.m. because we do not leave for the airport until 11 a.m.. Then we're in for almost 12 hours of flying – yeesh!!!

October 6, 2006

So much for feeling better. I think I have had a relapse and Aidan is blowing his nose every two seconds. We didn't let that get too much in the way yesterday. While we relaxed, well slept, in the morning, we got to explore Rüdesheim in the afternoon. We boarded a train, much like the type they use at home, well actually better covered, and were taken through the picture postcard town to Siegfried's Music Museum. It had over 350 mechanical musical instruments from barrel organs to music boxes and everything in between. It was fascinating. I ended up purchasing an egg music box because I was just so impressed with the place. It really made me want to get a Christmas music box with a song from the ‘Nutcracker’ but there wasn't a nice enough one that I could find at the time.We walked about looking for the regular stuff -- postcards, a book, and an added item -- the Bride's Christmas ornament set. We only found the postcards. We went down one street and found a place with the lot of wooden carved items. Aidan liked a particular nativity set, but they were attached to a rock. After walking about for another 15 minutes, we finally went back to the store and found that he could buy the set without the rock. Aidan set it up as soon as we got back to the cabin -- he knows exactly where he wants to put it for Christmas. At the same shop, I found gifts for my team in the office.We sailed down the romantic Rhine looking at castles and hearing about the fabulous legends of the area. The Loreley legend was the most familiar to me, but there were legends connected to almost every castle. And many of these castles were fairytale quality! The countryside was amazing with the vines and the colorful houses and the castles on the hills. During dinner we docked in Koblenz. We went for a walk around the town. If we visited Koblenz during the day it could have been what the Australians called an ABC tour – Another Bloody Church/Castle. It was indeed a pretty church from the outside. Everything else was bars and restaurants -- then again, it was after 8:30 p.m. We decided to head back to the ship and spend the time instead in the hot tub. We then watched ‘Monsters Inc” before turning in. The Rhine is pretty rough right now and has a lot of traffic. That with being sick made for a somewhat restless night. Still, we're ready to discover what Cologne has to offer tomorrow.