Up up and AWAAAY !

We have sooo much snow! So Tuesday we are flying,
(escaping), to the Canary Islands! Perfect 75° there.
My son wants to come too and bring our granddaughter. We rented an apartment on the oceon, so we would have room for us all. Hope he can get a flight.

We'll be back around the middle of January. So I just want to wish everyone a happy New Year. See you in 2011.

Have a wonderful time! And bring back lots of pictures to share!!

Thanks yonuh. You know me...a walking talking shutter bug. :-)

Congratulations Edelweiss! What a great idea that is. Hope you
have a really fun time! Florida is cold. The West Coast is
mud covered.

Edelweiss
good idea and the sun is such a healing friend..(wear sunblock)

the airports here were at standstill and friends have been unable to have a foreign break.Many many people slept at airports in London some for several days it must have been uncomfortable

My weekend away did not happen due to the snow but it is just posponed...we were wise to decide to remain at home and in fact the train did not run that we had booked..
so Edelweiss fingers crossed for a hassle free holiday...so well deserved.

Thanks Jabber, amazed that Florida is cold. Crazy world.

MountainAsh, I had to really smile when I read your advice about the sunblock. I could hear my Mom speaking through your post.

We've been seeing the airport jumble in London on the news. We have a very cold winter, and icy icy streets. I'm amazed that the Muenich Airport isn't having problems. Thanks for crossing your fingers for us, you never know...I may just post here again tomorrow.
Sending my friends here a BIG hug!

Edelweiss, have a WONDERFUL time in the Canary Islands

You can watch 2011 roll in over the beach

Is anyone planning a wonderful vacation for 2011? I have two frie nds going on a writers cruise. All writers, poublishers etc. in the writing field. I am invited but don't have the extra money to free up just now...

We're waiting for my follow-up appointment in 2 weeks before we decide when to go for our annual Cuba trek this year. Our small bedroom is jam-packed with stuff, so I hope we can go soon!!

The big trip we're looking at for this year is three-fold. We're tentatively looking at flying to Austria and staying in Saltzburg for a few days, before joining a bus tour that begins in Vienna and travels all the way down the Aegean coast (Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, etc) to Istanbul. Then we want to fly to Athens and catch a cruise that includes stops in Jerusalem and Alexandria Egypt. All places we've both wanted to visit. We've worked out the itinerary so that all the timelines match up, and will probably book it once we get the go-ahead from the doctor.

Eagle your year sounds wonderful..and everything you deserve..
Maybe you have said here before how you two started to go to Cuba..which I see as wonderful mission work for humanity.Would you share how these trips started?

Thanks MA. The problem with me talking about Cuba is that I can't stop. It's our passion. It started about 15-20 years ago when hubby's two brothers (and wives) used to go. The two brothers decided one day to take a taxi as far as the road would take them, and ended up stopping at a teeny tiny hovel where an old man sat outside on the verandah. In those days it was fairly dangerous for Cubans to be seen talking to tourists outside of the resorts, but this old man didn't care. He only spoke Spanish and the two brothers only spoke French, but somehow they communicated together, and a solid life-long friendship was born that day. The next day, hubby's two brothers went back with some sweaters, towels and socks because they had noticed that the old man was cold. That was how it all began.

One of hubby's brother has since died, but many of his family continue to go every year and bring as much luggage as we can afford to bring...and we return with almost nothing. We take everything you can imagine that will fit into a suitcase (sometimes more...one year my BIL brought a wheelchair and another year a baby stroller!) Over the years that old man's family has grown into an entire village, so we try to bring a small useful gifts for each person - hot wheels for the children (the girls prefer them to anything else we bring), little dolls for the girls who don't want hot wheels, skipping ropes, yo-yo's; sewing kits, toothbrushes, underwear, crank flashlights, socks...our bedroom is packed from floor to ceiling and wall to wall with shopping bags full of these little gifts, most of which the Cubans are not able to buy there even if they had the money. Things as simple as needles and thread, cosmetic pads, good quality toothbrushes and watch batteries are greatly appreciated.

I've said it before, I believe that God puts a spark in each of us for something. For some (like Chatty) it's animal welfare, or a passion for building wells in Africa, or baking/cooking for the soup kitchen down the road...each of us has a spark for a wee corner of the world, ours is for this teeny tiny patch of Cuba. The village where we visit isn't even on most maps, it's at the end of a washed-out, often impassable dirt road. Many of the houses look like piles of old boards nailed together. But inside those hovels live the most loving, kind, delightful people we've ever met, people who are poor and in need of everything, and yet who will cheerfully and without hesitation give you the shirt off their back, or their last morsel of food if you needed it. To give you a recent example, it costs a Cuban about $20 per MINUTE to phone us here in Canada. The day after my surgery, our friends - our very poor friends - pooled together their sparse resources and phoned my husband to find out how my surgery had gone. They live love. I have so many other examples of this unconditional love that would make you weep, they're so beautiful.

We don't involve ourselves in the politics, we simply love these people, who are more family to us than our own blood families are at times. We just want to help in whatever little ways we can until the time comes when they will be free and financially able to help themselves.

Like I said, it's dangerous to ask me about our trips to Cuba!

My collegues who taught politics spend several trips there.
Yes all people have a spark,,once found it burns brightly.
sounds truely remarkable

For those of you who aren't in Facebook, just want to let you know the island hopper is back! We had a wonderful time. If you would like to see some photos of the trip, here is a link. Just click on the photo and it will appear larger.
Hola, and welcome to the Canary Islands!

Great stuff Angelika! You both look great in photos. Our (short) vacation was snowier..in Banff, Alberta.

That's a wonderful gift that phone call of kindness from Cuba, Eagleheart.

Thank you, Orchid. I appreciate your comment, especially coming from a fellow photographer.

Eagle, just got a chance to read your post. What a wonderful heart filling story. And how satisfying it must be to know that your good will is landing in the right places…contrary to Haiti…what a scandal that is. Corruption is their nation’s word.

I read that Cuba wants to get into the tourist industry. Hopefully they will succeed. They are supposed to have beautiful beaches. Can you tell us something about the landscape?