Merry Christmas!

God Jul! to our Danish family
Feliz Natal! to all our Brazilian friends
Feliz Navidad! to our Mexican friends
Kellemes Karacspmko Onnepeket as Boldog Oj Evet! to our Hungarian friends
圣诞快乐，恭喜发财 to Eric’s Chinese friends

Hoping that this finds you all well and happy. We travelled afar and had lots of family and friends come from afar. It was a Great Year!!

Well, I am writing this Christmas letter because I like the tradition of it all, including “Sending Christmas Cards”. I guess I am just old fashioned. (Old for sure!!)

For Christmas last year, we went to Brazil. We went with Eric’s friends, Ipe and Victor to visit their parents, Sergio and Heloiusa. Our flight from Calgary was delayed. When we got into Chicago, our flight to Sao Paulo had just left. Therefore, we got stranded in Chicago for a day, which wasn’t too bad, because the guys got to go up the Sears Tower. They loved it!!

We arrived just in time for Christmas dinner. (Two hours, before in fact). We had a CHESTER, which is a bird which is a cross between a chicken and a turkey It was good. It was the start to an incredible trip!!

We went to the beach on New Years Eve and watched fireworks in the POURING rain. It is the custom to wear white (which we did) and at midnight run to the beach and jump over three waves and make a wish. So we did. That was fun!!

While in Brazil I had my first facial. . . It is very inexpensive in Brazil. So I went to a Brazilian esthetcation. She did not speak English and all that I could say was, ”Il falla poco Portugese”. …which translates to “I know a little Portugese”. So we smiled and she talked and I nodded, not really understanding what she was saying. She put on creams and such. Helouisa, my Brazilian friend, picked me up, and said “Oh Sherry, you look beautiful!!” As soon as I got back to the apartment, Brian and Eric took one look at me and laughed hilariously. “Look at her eyebrows!!!” said Brian. The lady had dyed my blond eyebrows dark brown. They thought I looked FUNNY.

We spent 3 weeks with Sergio and Helouisa. They were terrific hosts and tour guides. We had great food and lots of laughs. We got to know their whole extended families and friends. They’ve been here three times since then and we still have good times with them.. Their neice and nephew were here in Calgary in April. They had never seen or experienced snow. Predictably, Calgary’s weather cooperated and it snowed while they were here. We also roasted marshmellows and made scores!! It was a first for them, also.

In May, Eric partook in a month long Engineering exchange program with the University of Shantou, in Guangdong, China. He lived in residence and ate at the cafeteria there. He said the servers would give the Canadians double the amount that they gave the Chinese students. He used chop sticks the whole time he was in China. Eric had one classmate from Calgary who is 6’7” tall. Eric said, “Chinese people would stop and take pictures of him in the middle of the street.” The University professors arranged for the students to attend cultural Chinese attractions, wonderful restaurants, a wind turbine factory (which related to their renewable energy class), and Chinese tea ceremonies. He had an absolutely great experience.

After China he stayed home for a couple of weeks and then went to visit his friends in Auckland. He surprised them with an unannounced visit. Then he went to Fiji for a week. After Fiji, he had previously booked a flight to Christchurch to see another one of his friends. She was in Christchurch, when the earthquake occured. All her plates flew out of her cupboards, but she was fine. Eric was there about a week after the earthquake. He said he felt an aftershock.

In May Brian’s sister Lori turned 50. She’s still a kid at heart (look at her having fun on the swing with Emma.) Also in May, Brian and I went to San Antonio Texas. He had to work on his golf swing at a couple of Golf Courses and I had to work on my tan. A couple of days before we were going home, I heard that there was a big snow storm in Calgary and that I would not need to get back to work at the Golf Course. I phoned my Danish cousin, Karen, who lives in Plano Tx and asked if I would be able to come and visit her at her new house. She said “Sure.” So I did and had a great time. She has an incrediable house, with a pool. She turned her American home into a very modern Danish home. Plus she is an amazing cook!

Brian had the priviledge to go salmon fishing on the West Coast. Hannah turned 10 years old in June.

Our Danish relatives Henrik, Lisbeth, Frederik and Mathius came to visit us. They rented a Motorhome and drove through the mountains and experienced Canada. The boys were the perfect age to travel and learn.

BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil spill, has ultimately led to BP’s decision to sell its NGL business in Canada (that’s the portion of BP where Brian works). This will mean that Bri will have a new job or employer in the new year.

…I got back to Calgary on Wednesday December 1, after 5 and ½ weeks in warm and beautiful Puerto Vallarta. Brian had been there for 3 weeks and Eric for 10 days. After they left, I went on a lot of walks and took over 2000 pictures. Construction companies in Mexico are responsible to hire cooks to provide breakfasts and lunches for the workers. One day as I was walking past a construction site, I saw one of the caterers and started talking to her. Then, sure enough, she graciously offered me a tortilla. I couldn’t refuse. They don’t have much but lots of compassion and good hearts. While I was eating and talking to this couple, the man pointed out one of the workers and said, “That man has 15 children (all boys) and no TV.” We all laughed. The food was great and people very friendly.

I had fun at the Puerto Vallarta airport before I flew home I gave my passport to the security guy. He looked it over and said, “Were you in Brazil?” I said, “Yes”. He asked, “How was it? What are the beaches like, compared to here?” I said both beaches are wonderful. During the security xray machine check on my carry on, one of the girls was looking at my carry on luggage. She asked if I could pull out what I had in my shopping bag. (Mexican Christmas Decorations). She said “Can we have a look?.” And then she said, “These look great! Where did I get them?”.

Eric has one more final and then he is finished his engineering degree. We had a fun time picking out his Grad photo this week. His graduation Ceremony will occur in May 2011. He opened up a letter he received from the Alberta government yesterday, and inside was a Scholarship Cheque for $ 1000.00 for his good grades while going to University. (He had not even applied for it.) He danced around the kitchen. Santa came early this year.

Eric’s room mates from New Zealand have arrived. They’ve already gone downhill skiing, and are skiing again today. On Saturday they are going to Canmore for a Dog Sled ride. Derek will be going to the University of Calgary for a year and Chloe will be trying to find a job and travelling around. Christmas will be fun sharing it with his friends. Eric had spent his Christmas at Chloe’s parents house when he was living in Auckland and they went and ate their Christmas dinner on the beach. We will have dinner at Dad’s, all 16 of us!!!! I still have to make our traditional Danish Sirupskeger cookies for Eric and shortbread cookies for Brian and Hannah and butter tarts for Janine. I am not used to being in the kitchen any more.

Now you have seen what we have been up to in 2010. Bri and Eric have convinced me to remain in the 2000’s and put our Christmas letter online again this year. I know a couple of people who do prefer to receive a paper letter to read with a cup of Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows on top. (Dawn, Lori you guys are getting this in the mail, although no pictures).

The music which is accompaning this Christmas letter is a new Christmas song by Coldplay. Chris Martin is the main singer and composer of the music. I admire his piano compositions and piano playing. For those of us that are older than 40, he is Gweneth Paltrow’s husband. Eric went to the Coldplay concert in Auckland and said it was the best concert he has ever seen.

Check THIS out. I thought it was nice to look at and hear during the Christmas season. I can just see the Three kings travelling on their Camels. (going up and down, up and down).

We Ho! Ho! Ho! Hope you have a Merry Christmas!!
and a Happy New Year!!

Love,
Sherry, Brian and Eric

The Toffin's 2009

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas,

I got back to Calgary on Wednesday December 02, after a really hot, great and relaxing month in Puerto Vallarta. Brian had gone home a week earlier so he could go to the Grey Cup. He saw Toni and Gloria who were not happy that the Stamps did not make the Final.

It was our turn to have Christmas dinner with the Toffin clan this year. We determined that earlier was better for all the kids who had finals in the middle of December. Three days after I had returned to Calgary, the house was cleaned, the table set, I had made our traditional Danish Syrupskeg cookies and Brian and Eric prepared a delicious turkey dinner for all. Wow, I can’t believe we did it!!!

One of my favorite things of Christmas is when I go to pull out decorations and remember all the people that have given us Christmas gifts. I also love the tradition of making cookies with my favorite CD on with the cold winter weather outside. I do admit, however, that even though I don’t like the cold, I do like it when I am in front of the fireplace with my feet on the mantle. Yesterday was my shopping day for the kids and today is card writing day.

Well, we had a very busy, eventful year. Brian and I went to the South Pacific to visit Eric for New Years, 2009.

We got to Aitutaki, one of the gorgeous Cook Islands, a couple of days before Eric. We rode bikes to the airport to meet him. We stayed at The Aitutaki Beach Resort. We were luckily upgraded to an over water bungalow.



That was amazing!! We could watch hundreds of fish swimming under our deck. We spent our days on an outrigger canoe and snorkeling.


We then travelled to Rarotonga, another of the Cook Islands, one of employees at our resort gave me a lift on his motorbike to get to church. All the parishioners’’ were in white with the women wearing their fancy hats. Different church choirs from around the island go to a specific church and sing in harmony. The harmonies were fantastic and were sung from the heart. I was invited to their lunch after church, which I certainly enjoyed. It really was one of my highlights of our trip.


Brian and Eric snorkeled and scuba dived in Rarotonga. I spent my days riding a bike around the island. I went to the market, I watched families plant Taro. I watched as one family put headstones on their property to bury their dead. The Island is about 19 km circumference. All three of us are proud to say we did it. While on our bike ride we got stuck in a Tropical downpour. That was memory making for Eric, he still grimaces at me.


One evening while at the “Island Show”, I went to the pool where the performers were getting ready to do their show. There was this one woman who was putting fresh leis on her daughters and a leaf hat. I asked if I could take a picture. She said “Yes of course”. She then saw my dress and said she wanted to give me an extra head piece that they had used just a couple hours earlier when they had performed at a beach wedding. She put it on me and took a picture of her two daughters and I.

At the end of the show, they asked if I could join in with them for pictures. Then the woman who had given me the hat said that I was to go to the Market on Saturday and I would be on the “Island Show” disk her husband was putting together. So I am now on an Island Show disk. Wow!!! I always seem to have a great time.

When we first arrived in Rarotonga we had an email waiting for us. It was from Ellen and Hartley (my Danish Relatives) I thought, “How in the world would they know where we were?” It turned out that they read my Christmas Letter from last year that stated where we were going in the New Year. It turned out that they themselves were going to be visiting New Zealand. Via email, Eric and Hartley arranged a get together on Waiheke Island, a short ferry ride from Auckland. So we met half way around the world to have dinner together at a very fine winery. It was great fun!! Their son Henrik and family will be visiting us in Calgary next July. We look forward to seeing them.



Back in Auckland Eric was a great tour guide. He took us downtown and to a first class cinema. We went walking along the coast and we saw where he paddled most Saturdays, …we went to highest point in Auckland … we went to a Black Sand beach. (It was neat to see where he lived. His house was big and had a huge garden. His roommates were great)


Brian and I got back to Canada in late January. We had a fairly cold spring and I ended up with a house full of plants as I struggled to keep all my flowers for my gardening jobs alive Trust me, Brian was not too happy and it took a lot of time to water.

Life returned to normal in April. I worked at the Golf Course, Southern Alberta Pioneer Memorial Building and
my other gardening jobs. Brian spent as much time playing golf on a course as I was gardening in one.

Brian’s dad passed away suddenly in May 2009 after a brief illness. He had fallen down in his house and could not get up. Lori phoned his house and got concerned that he did not answer. So Jeff, (being a paramedic) went and found him. They got him into the hospital but by this time he had pneumonia. Then his liver shut down and then his heart. It was a very sad.

In May we had Manitoba Telephone System film a commercial with Cindy Klassen, the Olympic speed skater, in our house. That again was fun.

The Danish Canadian Stampede Breakfast was another highlight of my year.




Our nephew, Maddox, had a slight accident at his house. He fell from the second floor to the main level of Scott and Janine’s house. It was quite serious. He was strapped on a stretcher and taken to the hospital by ambulance. Thank goodness no serious injuries occurred, although he was in the hospital a few days and did have a compressed disk in his spine. He had to wear a neck brace for a while.


In August it was the 10th year anniversary of mom’s death. We went to Peter’s for burgers, fries and shakes, and had a picnic at the cemetery.


My dad said, “This past year will probably the best year of Eric’s life.” He spent a good three weeks with us in Aitutaki and Rarotonga. Then he went to the Island of Vanuatu with his friend Jamie. He went diving to a depth of 40 meters to see two ship wrecks. Then his friends from Calgary went to visit him. They all went to Fiji for a week. They swam with manta rays and got lots of Vitamin D. He flew to Christchurch on the south island. He got home in time to have his 22rd birthday. A week later he went to Nova Scotia to see the World Canoe and Kayak championships. He came home for a few days and then flew to Montreal to help with selling paddles and kayaks. He is now back for this fourth year of Engineering at the U of C.


During his reading week in November he came to Puerto Vallarta visit us for 10 days. Brian and I threw the football a lot on the beach. Eric said I caught the football good for an old bird. He and Brian went diving at Los Arcos.


In August we had the Ion Chef cook off. That is an annual family get together where there is a competition on food preparation. This year it was barbecuing ribs. We all judged for flavor, texture presentation etc. The kids took it very seriously. (Notice the pens in the photo.) At the end Eric was the champion, I felt Scott’s presentation was phenomenal.










Now you get to see firsthand what we have been up to in 2009. Bri and Eric have convinced me to be in the 2000s and have the Christmas letter online. How did you like it? Was it easy to access?

It is the South Pacific tradition to light a new torch to welcome in the New Year.

We are wishing you all the best in 2010.

Love,
Sherry, Brian and Eric