Hello Everyone

It is much too long ago since the last time I wrote I know. But here is a small update of my life in Canada. Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for the messages, cards and congratulations for my birthday. This year you could say it was kind of a magical number and the people who know me know that I am not a big fan of celebrating my own birthday. I usually leave it for what it is, and many wondered whether I would celebrate it this year or even tell anyone that it was my Birthday at all. Because my Birthday was on a Monday I had the following idea. On Monday evening we mostly go to Paddy's Pub where there is an open mic, now I told a number of people told that when I was in the Dutch Navy I sang with a band. With the result that, some people insisted of me going up and sing at the open mic. Now they do say that life begins at 40 and something like having a second childhood at 40 or just call it a midlife crisis whatever ... So I figured this is a good opportunity to once again pick up the microphone and sing a song. So on the 5th the Hupman Brothers would open the evening at Paddy's. Bryan one of the brothers agreed on helping me out ... and a couple weeks before that night we practiced a song from a Dutch artist Ilse de Lange and by the end it sounded good enough, the plan was to have a couple songs ready but it somehow we did not get to practice anymore after that. So by the time it turned March 5^th I was getting pretty nervous. By the time we came to the pub that evening I heard that there was no spot left is the evening was fully booked ... on the one hand I'm relieved but on the other hand, it was a pity because of course I had told everyone with my big mouth that I would go... singing... The funny thing was that there were a lot of Birthdays that evening, one of the bands their drummer had his birthday and another band there is the keyboard player had his birthday. Anyway, the band that opens the evening also ends the evening and while the Hupman Brothers are ready to go up again I got to sing my song. I'm pretty nervous by that time and George is standing there recording everything with a video camera. The responses are positive but the perfectionist as I am, I did not think it was going all that well. And I had promised you guys that I would show you the recording but somehow I cannot open the file on my computer... and that's really no excuse because I didn't think it was not good enough but I don't have the right program on my computer to open the file. And despite of the fact that I found that my singing was not so fantastic, we had a very wonderful evening. And I can actually say that I got up there to sing and that is something not everyone does ... if I will do that again remains to be seen. After the party in Paddy's Pub had ended we went home to George's place, I continue the party and were everyone enjoys a piece of cake that I had made for the occasion. Around 2 am I had partied enough and I crawled in to bed with a good feeling, I had a very nice birthday .... and had sung my one song.

Now I know that a number of people are wondering who is this George .... Well I will tell you.I know George from the restaurant where I had first worked in Wolfville the Tempest. Despite that I no longer work there, we still stayed in touch. And now, it turns out that I am gonna live with George and Heather who also works at Tempest. A friend of George has a House what he rented out but had been empty for a while. It was obvious that George wanted to live there but to be able to pay the rent he needed some roommates, Heather was also looking for a new place to live and after she had seen the House she was sold. I wasn't really looking for other place but when I saw the House I had also felt like I could easily live there. But I was not so sure if Heather and George wanted me as there roommate or vice versa, I finally decided o go for it and by the end of this month, I'll move to the Ridge house. It is no big move because the House is less than a 10-minute walk from where I live now, it's on a hill and has views of Gespereau Valley on the one side and on the other hand, you can see the Minas Basin. It is a fairly large house with upstairs and downstairs two bedrooms and a bathroom, there is a large living room and a spacious kitchen and there is lots of space around the house to have a pool in the summer and have a nice vegetable garden as well .... I'll be moving into one of the bedrooms upstairs at the front of the House which also has a large veranda. But I will soon take some pictures so that you can see what it all looks like.

At work everything goes is okay the end of the school year coming close, the last classes are April 9^th and the last meal for the students will be served on April 26^th. I will continue to work through the month of May because of all kinds of catering events and then I am done ... they will lay me off until somewhere the third week of August. Most of the staff will be laid off every summer and will come back with the new school year in the meantime you can get unemployment. For that will be perfect for me because I have booked a ticket for a few weeks to go to the Netherlands in June. My oldest sister has her 25^th wedding anniversary this year what they would like to celebrate with family and friends, so a good opportunity to visit Holland. Which I really am starting to look forward to, it will be so nice to see everyone again.

So far my little update, greetings and until next time, Gabrielle