From Athabasca
2.12.1995
CHRISTMAS LETTER FROM PAM, GEORGE AND ROBERT
ROBERT: At 17 months is a laughing explosion of energy.
People literally stop and say things like: “Oh what a beautiful baby”, or
“Where is my camera when I need it.” He runs and rarely walks; is satisfied
with sign language for the moment. He does make a number of noises – bear, pig,
dog, cat, cow, camel, tiger, wolf (or coyote or dingo), donkey, kookaburra and
a very god tractor sound. He is big, blond, and curly headed with a mouthful of
teeth. He takes his job seriously: deconstructing the world. Plays hockey with
dad (a tennis ball for puck and wooden spoons for hockey sticks): gave his dad
a black eye. Wild teenager! Broke a dozen eggs in the supermarket with a fly
swatter.
PAM: Tied down and tied up with motherhood. Robert sure
slowed down her reading. Still nursing. Australia starts to look good as winter
wears away at us and local politics gets us down.
GEORGE: Now Professor of Finance and no longer Dean. Will
have administrative Leave starting in August 1996, until retirement at the end
of June 1997. Has agreed to a 2.5 month consultancy in Bangladesh in October
1996 so we may go round the world. Life is full of telephone tutoring, marking,
course revisions.
FARM: we had a dry spring. We seeded fenceline to fenceline
– 583 acres. This is the first year we did it ourselves. We bought our first
piece of John Deere, a seed drill, as well as a disk plough, a harrow, a sprayer,
another truck, another pick-up, another truck. All very second –hand. On June
17, we got our first summer rain 4 inches in one day followed by more and more
– 17 inches during the growing season. There was still standing water in the
fields at harvest. The only summer we had was a couple of weeks in September.
The crops were not good, but recovered enough to look respectable. Fortunately
prices for barley and peas are V.G. Canola prices are O.K. the farm is more
than one person can do May-June, September-October and little to do the rest of
the year... we do hire help. George got the crop off by thanksgiving and
completed the fall work after the first snow fall. Some piece of machinery
always breaks down, but we have worked out where to get spare parts and
repairing done. George still oscillates over the piggery; he has just bought a
pig barn, to pull apart and move over winter.
We are into it: a foot of snow on the ground; snow plows a
necessity of life; days rarely warm enough to thaw (can’t even roll a snow ball)
nights -10 to -20. It will get colder before spring. Pam’s first real drive in
a snow storm ruined both windscreen wipers. She didn’t realise that they freeze
to the window. Despite getting a new furnace the house is still not comfortable.
We are spending four nights at Jasper over Christmas; we didn’t have a holiday
this year. We don’t go to Edmonton very often now, as we gave up the apartment
in July. Aurora visited us twice, the second time Yale stayed for a week. Daniel
spent six weeks in summer on the farm, his mum Sharon staying for the first
week. At thirteen, he was very helpful and hopefully enjoyed himself as well.
He puts on weight. George’s two sisters also visited. Pam’s friend Mary visited
briefly in September. We finally joined the rest of humanity and got a TV and
VCR in November. Life will never be the same again. Tonight it is “Jefferson in
Paris”. Robert now knows who Big Bird is.
Christmas
Cheers
Pam,
George and Robert
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