Skating 'til Dark

Tuesday, 30-December-2008 - Veghel - To my delight, Marij showed me a picture of me skating the day before (along with a hundred others) in today's daily paper. Went skating again today--there were twice as many people on the ice.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/20081230_di_veghel#

Ice Skating in Veghel

Monday, 29-December-2008 - Veghel - Went skating this afternoon at the the Aa-Broeken, a meadow which is flooded to create a wonderful frozen pond. A lot of people were having a lot of fun. Saw some familiar faces, including skaters Ron and Chris. It was their anniversary.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/20081229_ma_veghel#

The Ice Thickens in Veghel

Sunday, 28-December-2008 - Veghel - The weather reports were forecasting ice skating for the coming week so I checked out how the ice was coming along. The ponds around our neighborhood weren't frozen solid yet; but nearby at the frozen AA-Broeken meadow, I found about fifty people trying out the thin, but thickening ice. I decided to comeback tomorrow to do some skating.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/20081228_zo_veghel#

Christmas Newsletter

Sunday, 14-December-2008 - Veghel - I just updated my home page to include this year's family newsletter. We're sending an e-mail instead of a Christmas card this year to those who use internet. Katherine provided the artwork you see here. Wishing you a blessed Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.

Living Room Christmas Tree

Wednesday, 10-December-2008 - Veghel - Marij finished decorating the living room Christmas tree.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/20081210_wo_veghel#

Sunrise Driving

Monday, 08-December-2008 - Veghel - I was hard to keep my eyes on the road this morning.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/Sunrise#

Christmas Tree Saturday

Saturday, 6-December-2008 - Veghel - I really enjoyed it in years past when our children helped me to pick out a Christmas tree. This year I returned to Cor to pick out a tree--all trees, no matter the size: four euros...except for the 25-year old sequoia shown in the picture. On the way to the farm, I stopped by van Zutphen's auto re-cycling to pickup a couple of hub caps for the Ford Escort. I picked out a nice small tree which I hoped to use for a couple of years--I dug it out roots and all. Just before dark, I put lights on the tree in the front yard. The neighboor children enthusiastically approved.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dale.weiss.planet/Christmas_tree_saturday#

First Christmas Wish

Tuesday, 02-December-2008 - Grand Rapids, MI - We got our first Christmas card today from Loretta Morris. We met Loretta and her family when we were on a family summer vacation trip in 1992, visiting her son Gary at her home in Grand Rapids. Gary didn't want us to come at first, because he hadn't told us that he was ill. He was skin and bones now. That didn't matter to us; he was our friend, and we were determined to see him. We had a great visit--he had a good day. We had fun and laughed together. His sense of humor was still as sharp as ever, but he got tired after a couple of hours. His sister Janis treated us all to hamburgers at the A&W. He died two months later from AIDS. Gary was a fellow airman, and a friend. We were stationed together in Turkey, and again in Belgium, where he became a family friend for us all.

May this dove
Bring Peace from above
To the friends you cherish.
To the family you love.
~~~~~
And may Christmas bring
Renwed Peace to your heart
As the old year ends
As the New Year starts.