Sept 19

The fundraiser is over, now the real work begins, lol!

On the night of the fundraiser the weather was beautiful, the dinner was delicious and with a near sellout crowd, everyone was having a good time. There were lots of door prizes and silent auction items ( please check and support the sponsors on our list!) and the staff at the restaurant were terrific (thanks Lousie et al) . We turned in all pledges and fundraiser money this past Monday and have raised approximately $6500 towards our goal of $10,000.

We have more pledges and donations being sent daily - so thanks to everyone who was able to come out for the dinner - as well as a big thanks to all those who have supported us both financially and emotionally. It was a very busy time. And surprisingly still is.

We want to keep the momentum building. Thank you notes and follow up letters will be out there shortly so look for them!! We want to keep everyone updated on the progress we are making. I am constantly approached by people who let me know about someone in their life who has been diagnosed with MS. Three people in the past week have told me about the loss of a father, the diagnosis of a mother as well as a positive result where the health problem was thought to be MS but proved to be unrelated. There are so many new treatments available but so many u/k factors as well. It has been somewhat humbling to see what so many others have gone through. Along with the empathy and understanding there has been a bonding with people I have never talked to or met before.

I am continuing to train daily. I run along streets in North Delta with my 'Running for Joy' shirt and now get the odd honk or wave. I can't tell you how encouraging that is. My treadmill finally gave out so it is roadrunning, rain or shine. Let's all hope the weather holds!

Thanks again to everyone - you have been such a great support. We will be uploading some pictures from the fundraiser in the near future (I need tech support for that!) when I coordinate with my 'Web master' Annie.

Take care

Jan

Sept 2, 2008

Long time since my last post but I have been busy! I took Annie on her promised Whistler trip and we spent the day hiking around the lake and exploring Whistler. We stopped at the pub for lunch and then played some games set up at various kiosks. I had to laugh; we had lunch in th pub and Annie never got carded. Considering everyone always gets her age wrong it was no surprise when she was told she was too young to spin the wheel at some of the kiosks. Annie was very nice when I laughed! Anyways, we had a great day but too soon it was time to pack up Annie and send her off to Ottawa. She was all ready and this time she took Benny - (the 5 pound poodle). He was quite excited and made the trip in one piece. He has settled in quite nicely according to Annie - she has walked him all over the sites in Ottawa. He defintely hasn't enjoyed the recent thunder storms. Annie set up her SKYPE camera and he was quite happy to see us and bark!
Once Annie settled in, Eric flew out to visit. At least I hear he did. I really only caught a brief glimpse of him as he passed in and out the door on his way with friends. But the flip side is Rachel also flew in with Julia so we have had some fun playing with the grandbaby! Time is flying by so quickly right now. My days are spent dropping off tickets, picking up or asking for donations and running back and forth. It cuts in on 'visiting' time but everyone has been jumping in to help with all the organizing. Ralf missed out on fishing as Wayne's boat has been docked with repairs but managed to go for a few hours with the kids on ours and pick up some crab. We also spent a day with Great Oma at the PNE and Great Grandpa in Vancouver. So we have squeezed in some 'quality time'. Countdown to the big dinner - 4 days and counting. Only a few tickets left and more prizes coming in. Everyone keep hoping for the predicted hot weather and we will see you there!!
Jan