| Flexer Harrison Family News |
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| Summer 2005 |
| Boy, did the summer fly by! Aaron returned home at the end of April, and stayed for four months.WE had to juggle the cars, but we got along fine... Aaron is back at McGill University now. Madeleine had a wonderful time at YCC as a senior CIT. She made close friends and chats regularly. Who knows what next summer will bring? She is now involved in Arsenal Soccer and her junior year of High School This summer has been really cool, for the most part. We keep wondering if it is actually autumn. Where did the heat go? Madeleine finished her sophomore year at Benicia High School and eagerly flew back to MOntreal on June 17, to start two months at YCC (her last summer as a camper) in the CIT program. Stpehen began preparing for coaching those U-13 girls, who had tournaments all summer.. Riva picked up her new bicycle (Devinci Podium) in Paradise CA on May 6, and promptly reinjured herself at the Bay to Breakers walk on May 15, where she did a cartwheel on Ocean Beach and tore her right hamstring. It took a good two and a half months to heal, and it is still fragile. However, she has been able to cycle progressively more and more distance and was was able to complete a metric century (100 km/65 miles) on the Tour de Napa on August 21 out of Yountville CA. |
| The month of July was the busiest yet. Every weekend from June 26 to the end of July involved a trip south of San Francisco to LA and beyond. On July 3, Sandy Miller (formerly of Benicia) and Steve Miller remarried down in Redlands, so Riva, and her friends Allison and Kim drove down to see the happy couple renew their vows. It was a real lightning trip down to Redlands, which was a sleepy little town that weekend (drive down Saturday a.m., drive back Sunday afternoon) . For those of you who read 'The Family Nobody Wanted', yes it was set in that part of California. Lovely architecture and gardens.....Good Luck,Sandy and Steve! The following weekend was another whirlwind trip south. This time, to celebrate the barmitzvah of Nicolas Halper (son of Riva's cousinsLaurie Vender and Stpehen Halper). Riva and Stephen stayed at their cousin Lynn Selick Mayer's house, a real treat- they finally got to meet Lynn's family - husband David Mayer and the boys Avramel (21) and Daneil (19), Thank you Daneil for giving up your bedroom for the weekend!. The house was very full, as David"s two nephews from Israel were also staying for an extended period. The bar mitzvah was held at Temple Emanuel. It was a very moving ceremony, and Nick did an excellent job. Stephen and Riva really enjoyed meeting Laurie and Stephen's family and friends, and everyone made them feel most welcome. Supper at Spago's in Beverly Hills was lots of fun, and chef Wolfgang Puck came out to give Nick a special serving! Sunday Brunch was held at Toby and Harold's place in the historic district of Beverly Hills. Riva was lucky enough to be given hollyhock seed by Toby...and the food! and the cymbidiums! Los Angeles was a good place to visit that weekend. And YES, the following weekend Riva and Stephen hauled down HIghway 5 yet again! this time all the way to San Diego. |
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| Most people will remember September 5 as the day that Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. For our family, it was a terrible time. Riva's brother Alec had been feeling off-colour all summer, tired, short of breath and nauseous. He figured it was a stomach bug. That Sunday night he shared a pizza with his nephew Aaron and felt sick all night. He still felt sick in the morning, and didn't go to work, and finally called his brother Will, who suggested he go to the ER just in case. Alec drove Annie's MG to the Jewish General Hospital and walked into the ER. Turned out that he was in heart failure. At 6 p.m. PST Riva received a telephone call from brother Jack, telling her that Alec was in the hospital being prepped for bypass surgery, and that he had had a heart attack. Alec had a quadruple bypass and came through the surgery fine. He returned home two weeks later, and is healing. He climbs stairs now, and has the go-ahead to drive, which has improved his quality of life no end. It has been a very frightening time for all of us. |
| September 2005 |
| January 2006 |
| What better way to celebrate the start of a new year than with the birth of a baby! Welcome to the world, Elizabeth Flexer! You are the first child of the twenty-first century! Auntie Riva spent a couple of weeks getting to know her nephew Bernie in St. John's NL and waiting for Elizabeth to appear, which she did on a dark morning on January 6, 2006 . Madeleine is thrilled to have a little girl in the family. It was such a pleasure for Riva to spend some time with Bernie. Time passes so fast, and Aaron is nearly 20, so a two-and a half-year old is strange territory again. But they had fun, playing in the snow, going to the park and playing cars in the basement. Now Riva has to knit a sweater for Elizabeth... |
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| March 2006 |
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| Riva is back a school, attending the Master Gardener class at the UC Extension program. She is really enjoying learning in a structured environment. |
| Happy 60th Anniversary! VERONICA & GUY Labelle On March 23, 1946 Veronica Denoon and Guy Labelle were married in Edinburgh, Scotland and lived happily ever after. Happy 60th Anniversary from your loving children and grandchildren Published in the Montreal Gazette on 3/24/2006. |
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| April 2006 |
| Madeleine attended Benicia High School Prom 2006. |
| Riva visited Montreal and her mother for a week or so. She enjoyed the trip, found it all too short, and is planning to return ASAP. While she was there she visited with her brothers, and reassured herself that everyone was OK. Photos |