Merry Christmas 2018 – From the Hillman Family :: www.hillmanweb.com/xmas
Mañana has been my modus operandi this year, so I am slow in getting our newsletter published. The festive sentiments have been percolating and now it’s time to “Let it go... Let it go... Let it go” (movie Frozen) We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Good Health and Happiness in 2019!
*** Ja-On has reached another milestone in his career. He completed and defended his thesis on posture for Osteopathy in the fall. He has now graduated with dual diplomas, Diploma of Osteopathic Manual Practice and a Diploma in Science of Osteopathy. He and his staff at Reactive Massage Therapy Clinic are busy taking care of their many clients in the Westman area. In addition, he is marketing products by Modere that help his clients maintain healthy bodies, and building more online material on maintaining physical health. It’s wonderful to see Ja-On passing on his cooking skills to his girls with their “Little Girl Cooking Show” live on facebook!
*** Angela can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel in her studies for certification as a Registered Massage Therapist. She will be finished with these taxing weekend classes in Winnipeg in the new year. Meanwhile, she is honing her skills as a student massage therapist at Ja’s clinic. When not working, she is a busy mom with her two little girls.
*** Soulin has become an independent young man, moving into his own apartment and buying his own Honda vehicle earlier this year. At the moment, he is working full time as night supervisor for Paladin Security, still contemplating on a future career. One bonus about living in his own apartment, he’s learning how to cook!
*** Inara, our ginger gal is now 6 years old and in grade 1. She loves crafts and already showing good skills in drawing. Inara’s been working hard at learning to swim even if it scares her. She enjoys playing drums and piano when she’s up at the big house. She and little sister Tayla love to sing and dance, especially songs by ABBA from Mama Mia at the moment.
*** Tayla, the blond imp is full of energy and flexibility. She loves gymnastics and able to do some pretty amazing feats. We always have front row seats when she performs in our livingroom! Dance classes also help in using up her excess energy. She never walks, she dances from room to room, often singing, stopping to do a full split, or bending backwards to touch her toes to her head! Both Inara and Tayla are in dance classes, and they both love to read.
*** Robin is in his 10th year working at Tactica where he is a business analyst. The company has been working on mobile apps for university researchers on topics ranging from depression, healthy living, and even cannabis. He’s also taking classes here and there at Red River College, working toward a certificate in business analysis.  Robin enjoys performing as percussionist with the Winnipeg Pops Orchestra. This summer he borrowed the orchestra's timpani (aka kettle drums) to learn at home. Luckily the family were good sports about having three giant drums in the dining room. He got a good deal on a set of timpani recently, but this time they'll be kept upstairs.
*** Jen is working as an Educational Assistant at a new school 700+ kids. She works with kids in kindergarten and grade 1. Talk about patience! Sewing and crocheting are relaxing activities, and she has made some lovely items for family and friends.
*** Oriyen is a teenager and in grade 8. She has grown so tall! Oriyen continues to enjoy air cadets and has joined the drill team. With a trip to Quebec coming up, she’s been babysitting and saving her money. Besides taking care of her birds, she’s also sketching and painting.
*** River, our little China doll is in French immersion kindergarten and loves it. This is her second year in swimming lessons and first year in Girl Guides. Oh, it’s dangerous when she brings out those chocolate-mint cookies! Jen says River also enjoys helping her cooking and baking. Good to see those genes coming through the next generation.
*** China-Li, a Doctor of Radiology, specializing in Thoracic Radiology continues to enjoy her work in the tertiary care centre of Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre as well as two other city hospitals. In addition, she has an academic position – teaching radiology residents and students. Her boyfriend Scott Pettitt is an Advanced Care Paramedic working for the city of Winnipeg. They did manage to find free time together in their busy schedules to have a short vacation in Mexico, and to a conference in Vancouver, where Scott got to meet more of China’s relatives. They just moved into their new character home in the fall. Now that they are settled in, they will be hosting the Hillman – Pettitt Christmas festivities!
The Elders on Kensington Crescent haven’t been idle either.
*** Bill, as usual, is spending long hours on his many computer projects. We took thousands of photos during our 2018 Mississippi Delta and Asia visits. So far, he's displayed Japan, Hong Kong and Macau on our Travel site. . . he's almost finished Taiwan and then it's on to South Korea. He's looking forward to sharing the photos we took at Korea's DMZ -- especially the ones inside the secret invasion tunnel built by North Korea for a possible invasion of the South.
     The weekly ERBzine Webzines for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in Tarzana, CA are still a priority. . . he hasn't missed releasing an issue since 1996. All 15,000 of his ERBzine pages are in searchable archives. Added to this is the coverage of the numerous live music shows we attended through the last year. . . the biggest one being the spectacular 3-hour  Paul McCartney show. This was the first Beatle we had seen live, although we've had a great time exploring their old haunts in Liverpool and Hamburg . . . and we even played in some of the Northern England venues they had performed in during their early days when they were the Silver Beetles :)  His volunteer work on his military, museum and nostalgia sites carry on, but documenting family histories and keeping up with the adventures of our kids and grandkids is a priority.
*** As of Dec. 4, Sue-On celebrated the first anniversary of retirement from teaching at Brandon University. FREEDOM ... feels wonderful. Gardening in the spring and summer was wonderful and leisurely. She had time to visit with friends and enjoy babysitting the grandkids. Along with her Crazy Plant Ladies group, winterscaping -  putting together outdoor Xmas arrangements for friends, family, and the house -  was the project to replace playing in the dirt. Needless to say, I love being a retiree!
*** Spring took Bill and me on another month-long trip. We were joined again by brother Kenny and s-i-l Rebecca. This time, we took in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea. In Japan, we met up with old school chum Dennis McLean and his lovely wife Kumiko.  At the Kusatsu Restaurant high atop the Estopia Hotel, we enjoyed our first 15-course traditional Japanese dinner overlooking a beautiful view of Kyoto.
    Every country was a different experience, but most memorable was the time we spent in Hong Kong.  With Kenny and Rebecca as our guides, we visited places I remember as a child: Victoria Peak and the two homes where I lived from age 2 to 10. South Korea was our final destination. We had a tour to the DMZ and went underground to the tunnels between the north and south, built for military movement...
    In August, we drove to Morgan City, Louisiana for Edgar Rice Burroughs DumDum. It was a great opportunity to see our friends again. This time, we had the extra bonus of meeting up with Sue-On’s “cousin”, Henry and Kathleen (Choy) Lincoln. They live in Alabama, and after being in correspondence for more than a decade, we finally got to meet face to face!

Many more of our tall tales are spread across our main Websites:
www.hillmanweb.com  ::  www.hillmanweb.com/book  ::  www.hillmanweb.com/xmas