Colin the Scientist

Brad and I were thrilled with Colin's wonderful achievement at the Niagara Regional Science Fair. As well as winning an award for the top project at school, he also won a Niagara Regional award .

How did he get so grown up and so smart all of a sudden ???????

Spring Finally and good news

I spent this evening with my friend at our local garden centre making this lovely spring container. It felt so good to be outdoors(well, almost) and working with plants and soil . What made me feel even better was the latest news about mum from Dr O'Connor. The bone tumors have shrunk significantly and there is no evidence of any sign of a growth of the cancer . The appointment was ctually on her 71st birthday and so it was probably the best pesent she could have possibly hoped for .
Andrew flew over from Vancouver for her birthday and we had a good weekend together .

Mum is now off on a cruise this Sunday . It was the trip she and Doug were planning together and she decided to go ahead with her plans . Her friend Marjorie is going along and I am sure they will have an excellent trip . They leave from Miami to Southampon and then returning to New York on the Queen Mary .

Spring is always a time of renewal and the good news about the treatment has made us all feel invogorated.

Trip To The Zoo

The highlight of March break was a trip to the zoo. Colin loved it, we were FREEZING ...beyond freezing ! Mum and I walked for miles and had a lovely day with COlin.

Old memories with Colin in Ferndown

March Madness

MARCH by Emily Dickinson
Dear March, come in!
How glad I am!
I looked for you before.
Put down your hat-
You must have walked-
How out of breath you are!
Dear March, how are you?
And the rest?
Did you leave Nature well?
Oh, March, come right upstairs with me,
I have so much to tell.


March will go down in the history books of our family as being a difficult month . Sadly, Doug's funeral was not until Good Friday and the start of the easter weekend .So we all had this dreadful anticipation with the hope of course, that it would all go well.
The funeral was lovely. It was one of the few sunny days we had in March and it was very dignified, peaceful and simple , very like Doug . We all went up to the condo afterwards for a few drinks and a chat and the day ended on a very positive note .

After the funeral was over though, mum had a bit of a crash. She was recovering from a bad cold that started shortly after to her last visit to Roswell in February . Hilary, my sister in law, was visiting from Vancouver and mum managed to hold up reasonably well and the just felt really sick and awful . I was no help at all as I was laid up in bed for a week. Just as mum and I started recovering, Colin went downhill fast and basically spent his March break sitting on his Grandma's recliner chair playing video games. By the time I took him back to school, he was a ghostly shade of white and looked quite sad next to all the other kids glowing from their tans in the Bahama's. Florida etc etc .

How is Mum feeling now ? Sad, angry , confused, cut-short , heartbroken .......but mum is a complete inspiration in the way she manages to pick herself up, get the help she needs and reach out to the people around her who love and care for her. She is the most resiliant, strong person I will ever know and I am so incredibally proud of her . Mum has never read a "self help" book in her life , but she is the sort of person that is the true embodiment of courage under adversity . She didgs down deep and always seems to find a small spark that she can relight. Words cannot describe my wonderful mother . She is my rock and my touchpoint ... and far from me helping her , she has never , ever stopped being my most loyal friend , mother and confidant . I am so fortunate to have received that gift .

The good news now is that we have all rebounded very well. This is thanks in large part to our Dr Hamboyan, our wonderful GP who makes house calls. He is a godsend and the most gentle, lovely man you could ever meet. He has four young kids of his own and enjoys the flexibility of doing house calls as he can fit it around the schedules of his family .

Life does roll on and we are just trying to enjoy the first specks of spring and look forward to April . This weekend Andrew is coming to visit, we are going to Buffalo and then on April 8th, we are going to celebrate mums 71st Birthday !

Happier times

Hard to believe that was us two weeks ago in South Beach Miami . Mum, Maureen and I went down for my birthday and we had a great time .This was before we realized that poor old Doug was having such a hard time . Shortly after we returned from Florida he got transfered into ICU and went downhill very fast . It still seems very unreal .

Today has been a better day . Mum made a few phone calls, and we had a good chat with Nigel in the UK which was lovely . His wife Denise is in Ghana doing community work at the moment . She sounds great and the emails have been quite entertaining !

As we have cheered up a little bit, we are hoping that Doug's daughter Cindy, will be able to join us for a meal on the weekend . It may lift her spirits during this difficult time. Hilary , Andrew's wife , is coming over from Vancouver for the weekend to stay with mum and she will drive her to Buffalo for her appointment on Tuesday .

It's also Colin's spring break ....three LONG weeks ahead of us as the school holidays coincide with easter . I have no idea what we will do to fill in the time but we will think of something I'm sure .

A busy time ahead .....probably just as well to have a distraction as the Ackland family and Doug's funeral later this month are very much in our thoughts.

R.I.P Doug

For what is it to die,
But to stand in the sun and melt into the wind?
Kahlil Gibran, from "The Prophet"

The past couple of weeks have been very rough . Mum's friend Doug died on Friday night. It's very hard to put into words how we feel. Doug was a good friend to mum and to all of us .He will be sorely missed . His death was unexpected.Mum said goodbye quite happily and went to Florida the day before Doug went into hospital for surgery on his foot . The expectation was that he would manage reasonably well. Sadly, he passed away from complications of diabetes and never fully recovered from the operation. It is very, very sad and mum is feeling quite adrift at the moment. We feel for his daughters , grandaughters and all his family and friends . Doug was a kind, generous person and we will always remember him with great fondness. We just have to hold on to lovely memories of his kind spirit and warm heart .

The finality of death is so very bleak and painful. It's a sad time.