News and Views   A running log of Leclair life. (To send info for this section, you can Email Doug, or get more info. My Email address is lesleclair@geocities.com)
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----Sunday July 23
   (We were cleaning out the spare room where the computer is located the other day, and found the webmaster for this site hidden under a pile of paper in the corner. He was sound asleep, and it looks like he's been there for a couple of months. Sorry that this website hasn't been updated during that time, but we'll try to keep an eye on him and prod him once in a while to keep him awake & on the job.)
   Seriously, I do apologize for letting this site lapse, and hope to make up for it by doing a thorough catch up. There sure have been a lot of things happening in the last couple of months! You'll also notice a few changes on the site. I've taken another run at the colour scheme and the font to try and make it easier to read, and have also archived some more of the older news.
   Paulette sent in an excellent summary of the double shower for Sue and Haley, as follows:

On Sunday, last April 9th, nearly 20 females descended upon Michael and Sherri's place in Mississauga. The occasion, apart from viewing their lovely new home, was the combined shower for Haley Blair and Susanne Bonsall - bridal for Haley, baby for Sue. Why the two together? Well, it seemed the thing to do considering the fact that the wedding is fast approaching - May 13th, and the fact that Sue was to be in town for probably what would be the last time before the baby comes, on or around June 27th. Most agreed that the two of them would likely not mind sharing the limelight as neither of them is particuarly fond of being the center of attention. Sherri outdid herself with the preparations, the food, and just being a great hostess. Although she wondered at the beginning whether the fruit punch would go she needn't have worried. It was a great hit as were the delicious dips, shrimps, cake and pie, etc. Michael who was in charge of baby Kaileigh, made sure this beautiful little one put in a few appearances between naps and so on to the absolute delight of everyone. Special zeroing in time was set aside for each of our guests of honour as they opened their gifts one after the other. For the group gifts, the theme for Haley's was the garden while for Sue it was the baby's room. Some of the guests opted for buying their own gifts and those were just as appreciated. Both Sue and Haley seemed happy and thanked everyone for their generosity. Always nice to have a reason for meeting new people and for getting together with family and friends. I guess the next big occasion will be the wedding which I am sure will be just lovely. After that, I myself very much welcome the opportunity and greatly look forward to meeting my first grandchild this summer.

   Saturday May 13th was a very special day, John & Haley's wedding. It was a sunny and breezy day - a beautiful day for a beautiful couple. Preceded by darling flower girls, and accompanied by the blended sounds of flute and guitar, they tied the knot in style. The weather co-operated for pictures at the church and for a fine get together at Leo's. Smiling faces were everywhere - on two sets of proud parents, the co-conspirators that stood up with John and Hayley, siblings, and all the friends and relatives in attendance. The reception was one of the rare occasions when Leo got close to a golf course without actually playing, although he would have looked pretty funny playing golf in his monkey suit. When the important people in John and Haley's lives got up to say a few words, they were thoughtful, touching and brief - my definition of perfection in a speech. OK, a few corny jokes don't hurt either. By all accounts, the band did a terrific job - the place was just a hoppin'. The only minor flaw that I noticed in the entire day was the date. Now I know John would never forget his anniversary, (no man would ever do that), but I'd suggest you make an extra effort to avoid the bad luck of overlooking it when it falls on a Friday.
   (The links in the last paragraph are all pictures to bring back some memories. Special thanks to Hanniel Wan, who not only shared his pictures, but scanned them, re-formatted them for the web, and Emailed them to me, all ready to go right onto this site. It's a shame I couldn't include all 28 of his great pictures - if you would like to see the rest, Email me and I'll send them to you.)

   The new family member for Sue and Dan Bonsall arrived at 9:55 AM on Wednesday July 5. Bradley Bernard Bonsall weighed in at 8 pounds and 5 ounces, and was 19 and 3/4 inches long. Apparently mom was pretty tired afterwards, but very happy. Daddy Dan is quite protective, and hopes that Bradley will take after his uncles Neil and Dan in the height department. Let's see, we had a pool going on young Bradley's arrival time, didn't we. Looks like our winner is Yves, who was within 5 hours of the correct birth time. Mike and Sherri get second place since their guess was about 19 hours off, and third prize goes to Nat, who's guess came within 20 hours. Hmmm, notice that all the winners have gone through this "new baby" routine themselves recently. That sure seems to improve your prediction skills. I'm sure everyone joins me in wishing Sue, Dan & Bradley all the best (and in hoping that Bradley didn't inherit his dad's wacko sense of humour.)

   Gil, Lise, Alexa and Michelle were having such a great time at their new cottage near Goderich that Brianne Nicole Camirand decided to arrive early so she could join in. She was born at 9:53 PM on Thursday July 13th, and weighed 5 pounds 11 and a half ounces. That's going to be a real party day in London, since Nicole Elliott, and my mother Mary  Elliott also celebrate birthdays on July 13. Naturally, "nana" Carole is in her glory.

   Johanne and I, Nicole, and her friend Laurie spent the day at Wasaga Beach last Wednesday. (My stomach is still sunburnt, well, the top half anyway). We stopped by Collingwood on the way home for supper. Called Mel and Darryl to say hi and invite them to join us. Guess Collingwood is a pretty small place (or they were really hungry) because they made it to the restaurant before Johanne had hung up the phone. Sounds like things are going really well for Mel at work. Now I'm not saying Johanne's not a great navigator, but I think Darryl's directions saved us about an hour and a half on the trip home.

   Denise and Louis were down  to London for a visit near the end of June, and Johanne and I joined them for an overnight stay in a bed and breakfast place, the "Magnolia Manor", near Bayfield. We had an excellent meal at a restaurant called the Red Pump. Our hostess at the B & B later confirmed that Johanne had selected the most expensive restaurant in the area. We spent the next day cruising the area (Grand Bend, Bayfield, Goderich, etc.), looking at real estate and pondering what it would take to get into the B & B business. Louis also brought a board for a new marbles game, which is quite different than the old game we're used to. You deal out cards, and move your marbles by playing a card from your hand. Its a really good game - we played it for hours. The good news is that it doesn't cost you any money when you lose, which seems to be my specialty.

    We were over at John and Catherine's a while ago, shamelessly taking advantage of John's barbecuing skills. Sam was back from the University of Windsor, and I'd say Patrick is getting pretty close to 8 feet tall. Played a little "65" which resulted in some Elliott money being donated to the locals. Maybe they could put it towards some baseboard. You see, for reasons no one quite understands, John and Catherine haven't had any baseboards in their living room, dining room, and kitchen for about 43 years. I think they had some once, but it's hard to remember. If they ever decide what molding they're going to use, I'll scan the cross-section and put it on this site, and may we can all chip in with an 8 foot section. Sorta like having a gift registry at Home Depot.

    The paddlers survived the 8th annual Dads & Daughters canoe trip. The ladies tackled an 1810 meter portage without problems, once on the way in, and again on the way out. Lindsey couldn't make it because she had to work, but with university looming in the fall, it's OK if she works a lot. I'll have to work on the trip log for the Mr Canoehead section of this site - after I get this section done of course.

   Well, that's all the news that comes to mind at the moment. If you have stories to tell, please pass them on to me. I'd love to get some news from the BC or Thailand sections of the family. (And I promise I'll get them onto the site promptly.)

----To make the News page come up faster, I'm putting "old news" in separate pages. If you want to have a look at the old stuff, click on the appropriate entry in the following list:

-April, 1999 to Feb, 2000
-December 12, 1998 to March 29, 1999,  the beginning days

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