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The Butchart Gardens in British Columbia

The Canadian people are very fortunate to have been gifted with such a treasure. 119-year-old internationally renowned 55-acre Display Gardens, located in Brentwood Bay, British Columbia created by Jennie Butchart and is still now privately owned. Serene and tranquil, walking through, breathing in the clear, clean air, daydreaming among all the beautiful Flora, but at Night!

At dusk, the Gardens are transformed by “Night Illumination.” Over 3000 subtle lights turn this Garden into a magical wonder.

My Hal and I walked hand in hand, not speaking, only deeply breathing in and enjoying this delight, being close to my Hal in this paradise. I would not want this evening to end.

On this trip we decided to forego Victoria and the “Empress Hotel” as my memories are still so clear of our visit to this very old hotel and their offer of afternoon tea. Still vivid in our minds and therefore thinking, skipping it would only be a winner and we won’t be missing anything.

After we arrived at Butchart Gardens, signs directed us to the dining room. Opening the doors to it, a sunny room, big and beautiful with large windows greeted us. Everything seemed to be white, crisp and starched. Table linens, serviettes, flower arrangements on each table were beautiful and fresh. The waiting staff were allowed to smile at the guests. This was a winner! We had a delicious lunch of poached salmon with a delicate caper sauce and rice, white asparagus with clarified butter sauce. My Hal had ordered a crisp, white, full- bodied Burgundy. We enjoyed talking with our waiter, he had a great sense of humor.  We had many different choices of teas, and the dessert menu was plentiful and astonishing. We took a leisurely walk after our big lunch through this paradise. Something we will remember for a long time.

Our legs were getting tired, and we found a bench to rest and have a conversation. By tomorrow evening we want to be back in Vancouver to meet our dear friends Bob and Coleen Thompson. We will have dinner together in our hotel dining room the “Royal Court.” We will stay there for two nights and then take the short flight together to Sea Tac.

It was an unforgettable, long weekend. I was still dreaming about all the beautiful flowers and plants we saw. That beautiful garden is a great gift to the people from this so generous family and hopefully they will be able to enjoy it for generations to come.

Our dinner, by only candlelight, the doors to the outside terrace open, was a symphony! A great bottle of a smooth, aged red Rhone wine to accompany our filet mignon for us four. Tender, like butter, browned on all sides with a fragrant cognac sauce, little, browned in black truffle butter potatoes and a mélange of wonderful mushrooms on the side. They talked of “home-made” ice cream. So, we thought we would give it a try. It was a fragrant mint with tiny chocolate chips and a chocolate sauce on the side, if you wish to have it. Their coffee was a great Kona coffee, and one could not resist to have a cup with a splash of a fine cognac in it.

A beautiful ending to a wonderful weekend. We still have another day. Maybe some shopping?

My Dear Friend “Bonnie”

Before I get to the end of my story telling, I wish to write a little ditty about my dear friend, named Bonnie here at Woodlands. She is my neighbor, my “watching over me” my dear friend and my little sister.

I had a severe reaction to an antibiotic given to me for cellulitis, which caused me to have terrible hives all over my body. At my age I was not able to cope or battle this as easily and gracefully as when I was in my 60s. I got no sleep for four consecutive nights, was irritated, itchy and angry.

Today, I felt some better, if I can control myself, keep the heat down in my apartment, things will be some better and I know that the worst is over. So far, it was a good day. It is evening now, and the question is: “What to eat?” I really should eat something today, but nothing sounds good right now. Until I got a phone call from my sweet friend Bonnie. “Would you like a grilled cheese sandwich” she asked. Oh, that sounded good! “And some fresh fruit?” That sounded like a wonderful dinner and to my surprise, I said “Yes.” Pretty soon my little sister Bonnie arrived with a freshly grilled cheese sandwich, already cut into sections for easier eating and cut-up mixed fresh fruit. What a lovely gift! What a friend!

Then Bonnie asked me if I would like to try a wonderful tomato soup from Trader Joe’s? Again, I heard myself say yes. Pretty soon, while I was enjoying this wonderful warm, grilled cheese sandwich, Bonnie arrived with a container of hot tomato soup. I tried it, it tasted yummy, and I finished it, enjoying every spoon full. I had a wonderful, unexpected, tasty dinner tonight, thanks to a wonderful lady, called Bonnie. I am feeling better, the hives are on their way, and I am feeling so blessed and loved. This friendship I have had with Bonnie is the greatest gift I could wish for at this age of 96. How blessed can one be?

Thank you, Bonnie, for being in my life!

A Journey to Vancouver, B.C.

My sister Friedl came to visit my husband Hal and me, and during that time Friedl and I made a trip to Vancouver, British Columbia, a two-hour drive from our home in Bellevue, Washington.

My Hal had a trip to the East coast coming up for meetings, scheduled for his job with AT&T. Hal and I discussed maybe Friedl and I having a little outing too while my Hal is gone. Maybe up to Vancouver B.C. for two or three days, stay in a nice hotel, see the city, go shopping of course and sightseeing. Stanley Park, trying the tea house and going shopping in the beautiful China store, an excellent linen shop and also the tea shop for some special tea, like the fragrant green tea from India, we purchased before. I do like the linen shop. They have a big variety of serviettes I love to look at and pick some with gorgeous designs of handwork on them. The table looks much more welcoming with these, rather than just matching ones to a tablecloth.

I made reservations for Wednesday and Thursday nights, coming home on Friday and picking up my Hal at the airport on Saturday.

Today is Wednesday and a limo is picking up Hal to take him to the airport and after, Friedl and I are starting our journey to Vancouver. It is only a two-hour trip, and I am hopeful that it is not too busy at the border. We got to Vancouver around noon, and I drove directly to the Four Season’s Hotel garage and parked. Taking the elevator up to the lobby to sign in. They started serving lunch in the lobby and dining room with carts carrying several large silver Serving dishes with lids, with wonderful food. If one preferred one could order from a menu. Friedl and I went to our room first to freshen up and then joined the people in the dining room.

The interior of this hotel was awesome, Asian style furnishings and beautiful pieces of Asian art throughout. It is a gorgeous place, I am so pleased I had heard about it, and they had a vacancy for us. So far everything is memorable, only my Hal was missing. I usually do not travel without him. The drive up here, the scenery on the way was breathtaking. On the right side, looking out of the car window we enjoyed seeing the Cascade mountains and beautiful Mount Baker. On the left side is the vast Pacific Ocean, it is a beautiful area and to be fortunate enough to spend one’s life in. I always thought how lucky I was to come to the State of Washington, my Hal’s birthplace and his home.

Friedl and I enjoyed our lunch in the dining room, we tried the scampi with rice and a wonderful assortment of mushrooms, browned in clarified butter, with a tasty sauce. We ordered a glass of a very fruity and crisp white Rhone wine. Excellent!

We were ready to take on the town, walking and exploring the stores I remembered. Especially the Asian shop on Robson Street, where one can see all different color jade items. My Hal and I never missed that store, when we came to Vancouver. Tomorrow we will start out with Stanley Park. This afternoon, armed with the Visa card, we will browse in a special store, maybe some unusual, pretty item will follow us back to our hotel. We went to the “Designer shop”, with all ladies’ garments from well-known designers. We must critique the new fashions for this summer. As we entered, Friedl saw a stunning summer dress right outside the changing room. The dress was white silk, plain and the bodice was like a tuxedo shirt with fine pleats inset and covered buttons to the waist. The skirt was straight and belted by the waist with a narrow crocodile leather belt, in cream and white, and a grand, large buckle of amber color jade, a beautiful design. Friedl would look lovely in it. While my sister was trying on this dress, I asked the sales lady if I could try that awesome leather jacket, I noticed on the way in. It was short, to the waist in the softest leather and my favorite color, caramel with gold buttons. It would look perfect with my wrap around linen with silk skirt that has a closure of caramel color leather. I was encouraged by the clerk to try it and it fit perfectly, so I kept it on to show Friedl and after she admired it, it and the dress were going home with us. We were so very pleased with our finds that we no longer wanted to shop or browse. We were walking down Robson Street and passed a German café and we decided to enter and have a glass of wine with something light to eat after our substantial lunch, call it supper. This café was very nice inside. Small marble top tables and a long counter, a showcase for all the food they served. A big variety of goodies, savory ones and sweet ones. We ordered a nice, chilled Riesling, German from the Mosel Valley. It was very tasty, sweet and refreshing. We picked a platter with a variety of excellent cheeses, a little ramekin with duck pāte, dark tasty bread with sweet butter. It all went good together and was not like a big dinner. We had a lively conversation what we shall get into tomorrow.

British Columbia imports the fine chocolates from France and Germany, the kind with liqueur filling. So, we will explore that tomorrow after our nice walk-through Stanley Park and lunch at the tea house. This is really turning out to be a wonderful memory for my beloved sister and me. Tomorrow we will visit the jade shop on Robson Street, and I will be looking for something awesome for my Hal. On our last year visit they had beautiful silk kimonos for men. I am sure I will find an appropriate one that my Hal would like to wear, when he retires, for lounging in the morning for breakfast.

After a nice breakfast in the lobby of our hotel, we were on our way home. Another sunny day with breathtaking scenery all the way to Bellingham. We arrived home early and tomorrow we will drive to Sea Tac airport to greet my dear Hal. When we get home, we will have so much to tell, to show, and to tell him that we dearly missed him.  

Jamaika Blue Mountain (and the Seattle Opera House)

For Christmas this year, two of my dearest friends gave me “Jamaika Blue Mountain” coffee, for a most wonderful Christmas present, my favorite and the most fragrant and tasty coffee there is.

As I am enjoying this precious cup and seeing the label every day, it awakened a beautiful, full filling story in me.

It was after Seattle had the World’s Fair and due to that, this great gift to our city, a most beautiful Opera house. Such beauty, such sophistication and pride it brought to Seattle. A lot of interesting and enjoyable menus were offered, but the one that caught my interest was “Harry Belafonte” is coming to the Seattle Opera house. Oh, how I loved his voice, his songs and yes, I would love to get tickets. My dear sister Friedl was planning to visit this year and we could combine her visit with an evening at the Seattle Opera with this charming man, Harry Belafonte. My Hal and I would be so proud to show my sister how our Seattle has grown and what a beautiful Opera house we now have. And the guests!

My sister Friedl knows all about Harry Belafonte. When I visited my sister and family the first time after I had left Germany, I purchased a record, a vinal, “My Island in the sun” sung by Harry Belafonte. A beautiful song by a beautiful man. It brought tears to my eyes every time we played it.

It’s here! This so special evening with my Hal, my dearest sister and Harry Belafonte!

We were walking across the street from the parking garage to the new Opera house, through the beautiful, appointed lobby and found our seats all the way in front and got settled. We were very happy and anticipated an evening that was special and maybe a one-time opportunity to be gifted such an evening. My dearest sister Friedl, dressed in a black velvet suit looked stunning and my Hal, dressed in black tuxedo trousers with a white silk shirt with fine pleats, tie and a grey velvet jacket looked so handsome. I wore a brown velvet suit with a fitted jacket and a cream color silk blouse, buttoned in front and ending with a big bow tied by the neck.

Harry Belafonte came on stage and an unforgettable evening began. The next two hours were mystifying, awe-inspiring, touching and one would not want it to end. He also presented us with this lovely rendition of “My Island in the Sun.”

On our way out we decided to find a great place for something light to eat and enjoy a bottle of great champagne, to celebrate and toast this beautiful artist Harry Belafonte and the Seattle Opera house! An unforgettable evening to cherish and remember for years to come.

A Telephone, The Telephone Company

The year was 1980 and it was October, a most beautiful fall day with gorgeous fall colors on the trees, while driving from Seattle back to Vancouver. We had found an awesome Condo, a townhome on the east side of Seattle. Bellevue, Cougar Hills.

The complex existed of 19 units, separated by an individual courtyard with wrought iron gate, leading to the front door of each building. Attached was a double garage. Each townhome had two large bedrooms and two bathrooms. Beautiful hardwood floors throughout except the bedrooms and bathrooms were carpeted. All rooms had large windows and the living room and master bedroom had big doors going out on balconies. Both stories had cathedral ceilings. The inside was awesome.

Outside though was not completed and we were promised that this would be done, after the sale was final, before we would move in. Like most times they were not done when we moved in and still not done for another four weeks after. I already was working and my Hal, like always after our transfer was in meetings and seminars in Washington D.C., San Francisco, or Bosten and I had to deal again with Realtors, Builders, Associations and the move. I was reluctant to come back to Seattle, I truly liked Portland; Hayden Bay where our sailboat was moored, downtown Portland with all the beautiful shops and restaurants, all this I missed already and yet, when the transfer to Seattle was offered, we went.

After more than a month of waiting for the builders promise to be fulfilled, I was still waiting. I had so much anger, pressure and regret built up, that I exploded when I came home after work, and it still was not done.

The closest thing to the Telephone Company was the actual phone, the instrument. In those days the Phone Company’s manufacturer, General Electric made and owned the phones.

I took the phone, had my high heel shoe and started to release my anger and frustration by trying to demolish this enemy of mine, the telephone. They were well built, not easy to destroy, but I kept at it, I had so much anger stored up that it would outlast this phone, I was sure. Finally, I won, it was baculite pieces and lots of wires. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. It was done I felt so much better, my stored-up anger was gone I was exhausted.

I called the builder and told him that I was no longer waiting, that I had someone who will do the job and I would send him the bill. The next evening it was done! Our builder came through, it only took a push. He left a bouquet of flowers with a note in the garage: “I hope you are happy with this work and sorry for the long delay.”

In the morning, feeling like myself again, I put the destroyed phone in a paper bag with me to work and in my lunch time I went to the AT&T office in Bellevue to exchange it for a new one. The employee behind the counter looked into the bag and then looked at me and asked: “what happened here? This is a wreck!” I told her it got damaged while we were still having construction in the condo.

Well, she had to believe me, at least she gave me a new phone and said:

“Keep that construction crew away from the phones.” I thanked her kindly and left.

Oh, how much better I felt!

A Visit to the Burg Frankenstein (a Fortress from Roman Times)

During summertime many visitors come to this castle for outings, sightseeing, great dinners in a romantic setting and for unforgettable concerts. The castle grounds were lighted with floodlights and the view to the south-west, across the fertile valley of the “Bergstrasse” (mountain road) was awesome and one could see in the distance the river Mosel with hill after hill of beautiful grape vines, producing one of the finest Riesling wines in Germany.

The streetcar brings the visitor from Darmstadt all the way along this fertile valley to the old, beautiful city of Heidelberg. On the way there are stations one can get off to venture by cable car up the hill to Castle Frankenstein.

It was a beautiful summer day in June, close to my 12^th birthday and my sister Friedl was fourteen years old. Our mama suggested we get tickets to the summer concert at Frankenstein Castle. It was a concert with overtures from famous operas, mostly Mozart, and the conductor was the world renown Herbert von Karajan. One of the greatest conductors of the 20^th century, von Karajan ruled over the Berlin Philharmonic and European classical music for more than three decades.

The cable car took us up to the castle ruins of Frankenstein, right to the large courtyard. The setting there was mesmerizing with all the floodlights shining against the rock formations, ruins and this most beautiful courtyard. The stage was all set up for the orchestra, and the guests were finding their seats and in anticipation of a wonderful concert tonight were ready. The music was beautiful and touching and Herbert von Karajan gave it his all to engage the audience fully.

After the concert ended, my parents, Friedl and I had reservation in the restaurant, outside the castle walls in a beautiful wooded setting, with a welcoming entrance and courtyard, many flowers in colorful, large flowerpots, tables laden with groups of candles burning, giving this outdoor setting a romantic atmosphere to evening dining under the stars. The dinner was superb, and we all enjoyed it. Our parents had praise for the excellent year of the wine they had chosen. It was a Riesling Spaetlese (late harvest) from the Mosel valley, not far from here. The dinner we all chose was a beautiful presentation, like Still Life, large tiger prawns in a fragrant lobster sauce with fresh shallots and fresh dill, chopped.  It was a special treat on a summer night with our dear parents in historical surroundings, never to be repeated.

Food for tummy and soul.

A Happy and Great New Year 2024!

A little story, a big gift, great blessings.

This Christmas of 2023 is the 6^th Christmas without my beloved husband, Hal.

It does not become easier, it becomes more depressing and sadder each added year.

But having to admit, there are rewards. Big gifts to me are my dear friends, such blessings! Such rewards! Such treasures! After six years I still get beautiful Christmas cards, calls, e-mails, wonderful visits and comments that touch my soul on Marcie’s website from so many dear friends.

I feel so blessed, so honored and loved. The gift of all this, outweighs by far, the hurt and longing I feel for my Hal. Not all dear friends are able to visit, some moved away, and some cannot come the distance at this holiday time, but I hold them in my heart.

I know, I should never complain, I have so much to be thankful for, being ungrateful would take all the deep joy I feel away.

Grateful, blessed, thankful are a big part of my long life and it becomes clearer to me with every added year, that I am very rich and have a warm and cozy feeling, that keeps me going.

Thank you, my dearest friends from the heart for your continued friendship:

Love is the best of all feelings.

                                                                              Your Ilona

Christmas Eve Dinner

Planning Christmas dinner for the Cole family has always been a pleasure for me, but this Christmas dinner will be a challenge, since my Hal’s father won’t be with us at the table, I must think of something very special for my Hal. His father had been very ill and is, after an operation, still in the Hospital. It will of course be a wonderful get together, if it is up to my Hal and me. We took extra care with our decorations, and they are beautiful. The tree, a tall  Noble fir is flocked, has big gold balls and our collection of clear glass balls with a gold star inside, an angel or a tree. A beautiful collection, all from our visits to Germany. Tiny white lights completed this ten-foot noble fir.

My Christmas eve dinner was a turkey with sweet potatoes a gratin, mashed potatoes, French small green beans and broccoli, sauteed in clarified butter, stuffing with pecans, and gravy. I made a nice crisp salad with grated cheese and cheese croutons on top to enjoy, as Hal was cutting the turkey. My Hal opened a wonderful, matured Burgundy to enjoy and digest this, rich in taste, dinner. The dessert I presented was Pumpkin Pie and an egg nogg with cognac tart. Very delicious! Some wonderful Blue Mountain coffee tasted great to end this Christmas eve dinner.

Before we started dinner, I wanted everyone to have something for their heart and mind. I had on top of each charger a little “Table present” to give my Hal’s family a moment of pleasure and happiness.

For my Hal I had a small oil painting: an oil on wood by Dennis Ramsay, a British painter of “Still Life” and one of my Hal’s and my favorite artists.

This little gem was of a golden pear with the green fresh leaves still on the stem and in the front was a twig of Juniper berries. The pear looked good enough to take a bite out of. It was framed in a gold frame. A precious piece of art!  We will find a small spot for it or put it on an easel. We already owned two large paintings by Dennis Ramsay. On a black background, it had an antique copper flower vessel with the most beautiful, large purple Irises in it, beautifully framed with velvet and an ornate gold frame. A striking piece!

A second one, again oil on wood, an hourglass in the background, a dusty bottle of Bourdeaux wine, an old candle stick with dripping wax running down the candle stick, a glass of wine by several books, some open. It had a carved, light wooden frame with a golden hue. An awesome painting! This whole painted scene, to me, represented my Hal, so it went home with us. We also had the pleasure of meeting the artist, Dennis Ramsay, who moved with his family to Australia from England and did not bring his beautiful art to the United States any longer. Hal and I were delighted to own three of his paintings.

Having had a wonderful dinner, good wine and great dessert, everyone seemed happy for this moment and remembered Father, who could not be here tonight. But everyone’s thoughts and minds were with father for this evening.

With the tree lights shining, the good smell of the coffee, the tummies full and happy, we now started opening the Christmas presents. Another little moment of happiness stolen away from sadness.

Tomorrow, Christmas Day, we will go to the Hospital with presents, some special goodies if it is allowed and lots of love.

We will visit and honor our father.

Christmas Time in Germany

Christmas time starts with the four Sundays prior to Christmas day, called Advent.

On most tables in the dining rooms or even kitchen tables, beautifully decorated Advent wreaths go center stage. There are four candles on that wreath and each Sunday one additional candle gets lighted and by Christmas eve all four candles are burning brightly, as the family sits around the table having dinner and after, while hot chocolate, homemade cookies and delicious pastries are served, we were singing beautiful Christmas songs, or our Governess Mrs. Kramer would read wonderful Christmas stories to us.

With the start of Advent, the whole house would take on a beautiful aura. Every room, especially the foyer was being transformed into a wonderful “Winter Wonderland” a holy Christmas scene.

December 6^th is Saint Nicklaus Day. That is the only time Saint Nicklaus makes an appearance. He comes late at night into the home, looking for the children’s bedrooms and there by the door he will find a pair of slippers. He would leave little lovely presents for the good children and a twig, from a tree branch for the naughty ones. If you received this twig, you have ample time to be very good, exceptionally good by Christmas, so you too would receive the gifts you had wished for all year. The German Saint Nicklaus does not look like the Santa here, he does not wear a red suit with a big black belt, a big belly and a beard and a gruff voice. The German Saint appears in a beautiful garment, is slender and has a gentle demeaner and friendly voice.

The gifts around the tree on Christmas Eve are gifts from the Angels, who also bring gifts to the Christ child’s birthday on Christmas Eve.

On Christmas Eve day every adult in the house goes on “overdrive” because there is so much yet to do. A beautiful, tall Noble Fur has not been decorated yet. Our trees do not come into the home before Christmas Eve, Christ’ birthday, then they are placed in the living room and the adults are decorating this beautiful, tall Noble tree. The door to the living room is closed and magic is happening inside. After the tree is finished, all the toys and gifts are placed around the tree and someone is lighting all the candles on that majestic tree, an important piece of Christmas history.

While this was going on, the children of the home had to get dressed up and in front of the closed door had to sing their little song or recite the little rhyme they had learned for this evening.

The door would open and there stands the most beautiful and awesome Christmas tree, shining bright with all the candles and a golden reflection off the flames onto the beautiful glass ornaments. Every year, every Christmas there is the same wonderous reaction from the children and adults. With all their wishes fulfilled, the family now is approaching all the presents around the tree, happy they did receive what they had hoped for and wishing this evening would be a bit longer. Bedtime on Christmas Eve always comes too soon.

Cookies and hot chocolate for the children and champagne for the adults along with beautiful piano music by Mrs. Kramer our governess, was always a big part of that evening, (“Oh heilige Nacht”) Oh holy night.

It was always hard to go to bed, but as we got older, we realized that we had two more days to play and celebrate this so holy and beautiful Holiday.

On the second Christmas Day we had relatives and friends coming by and the centerpiece on the dessert cart was always my mama’s beautiful “Croquembouche” a pastry made from cream puffs, built up like a Christmas tree and covered with spun sugar. The puffs were filled with a delicious patisserie crème. Mama’s pride and joy on her beautiful Christmas plates.

Everyone should experience a German Christmas at least once in a Lifetime.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HOLY NIGHT

FROHE WEIHNACHT, HEILIGE NACHT.

The Classic Carolers

My beloved husband Hal was searching for some unusual Christmas decorations for his library. We had seen at Molback’s Nursery’s gift shop these wonderful Victorian Carolers, dressed in garments from the 1800s, beautiful, handmade and nostalgic.

We were going to put together several adults and children, to have a large group of carolers. They could decorate some of the shelves or stand in a group on my Hal’s desk. It would make a colorful decoration for Christmas, but also would tell the stories from the 1840s, 1850s and up to the 1950s when caroling was very popular again here in the United States of America, but the original clothing, of course, had dramatically changed by then.

As we found out these beautiful, handmade figures were hard to find, but we found quite a few at Wright’s Nursery in their large gift shop. In order to get a nice colorful group together we kept on adding new ones every Christmas. We ended up adding children to the adults, which made it more complete, thinking that whole families are going out into the cold, crisp night to sing Christmas carols.

Many traditional caroler costumes are based on 1840s-1860s fashions with large skirts, puffy sleeves and a cape for warmth, but there are two other, equally delightful periods, perfect for caroling costumes: Medieval/Early Renaissance and the 1950s.

Each costume era has a different feel and provides its own creative and comfort advantages.

My Hal and I made it a special day, picked during the weeks before Christmas for “hunting.”

We made it a challenge that day to find at least one couple or maybe two children. We were happy when we ended the “hunt” with some more of these beautiful handmade figures and my Hal’s library looked awesome and festive with these lovely carolers on the bookshelves among all the books.

For Christmas eve and Christmas day, when we would have guests coming through our home, we would display them in a half circle on my Hal’s desk, opposite a white flocked Christmas tree or a basket with two beautiful large pink or white poinsettias in it. Playing old, original Christmas songs in the background made this scene from Victorian times complete and our guests, as my Hal and I did, enjoyed this warm and lovely scene.

I had given some away as Christmas gifts after I moved and downsized, but now it is time to gift the rest to friends or family members.

My dearest Hal is no longer with me, and these beautiful figures are a painful reminder of what no longer can be, so I will give the rest away this coming Christmas.

Another painful moment for me, parting with something precious, that was my Hal, my love, and my life.