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See Cape Breton arial photos here

Click here to see more Cape Breton Update photos.

Year-end Recap, December, 2008 <~><~><~><~><~><~>

Beautiful Cape Breton >>>>>>>

.

Our visitors >>>>>>>>

Back in Atlanta with family >>>>>>>>>>

and in Columbus, Ohio >>>>>>>>>

My new passtime >>>>>>>>>

 

 

 

ee more here >>>>> CopperTop Creations

Summer Season in Cape Breton, July 22, 2008 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

In My Spare Time>>>>>>>>>

 

Driving the Cabot Trail - May 1, 2008 {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Roadtrip to Cape Breton - April, 2008 ~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~

Click here for more photos from Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.

Click here for Melvin's South Georgia Island story and photos.

Halloween, 2007 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cruella deVille, aka Lisa Bailey turns Barbara and Florence into the Jetson girls.

The finished product: Cruella, Jane Jetson, and Jane's slutty sister, June Jetson.

At the Inverness Art Center party: Cruella, Pepe La'Peuw, (Susan Covey) slutty June, Ninja Turtle, (Kathy Cameron) and sweet Jane.

Daughter Laura dresses up in Columbus . . . a devil wearing Prada

Click here for photos from Barbara's Huntington reunion weekend, July, 2007.

August & September, 2007#######################

Sailing the Bras d'Or with the Whycocomagh crew

Melvin snags a snack of mussels Barbara scrubs'em up for steaming.

House from the water

 

May, 2007 - Barbara does lobster {}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{

Lobster before.......

Lobster after..........

 

GENTLEMEN , START YOUR ENGINES -------T A L A D E G A

Jeff Gordon revs up the audience in the Dupont Party tent.

Fans roam the infield before the race . . .

. . . and Bob Meredith tries out for spot on the pit crew.

The race.

 

.......................Duke Writers Workshop......................

With mentors: Judy Goldman, Darnell Arnoult, and Abigail DeWitt...... .....With my classmates Alice, Lyn, and Dawn.

 

<><><><><><><><><Visiting the Burns family in Montreat, NC.><><><><><><><><>

Susie and Wade build their dream house.

On their way to school.

Rocking with my pal Susie.

 

 

Mary Jean (Tomlinson) Harrold, Mary Ellen (Neal) Ore, and Barbara (Rains) Collins celebrating Mary Ore's Forever 59 birthday.

 

Photos from Cape Breton - October, 2006 +#+#+#+#+#+#+#+

and lots of mother & daughter Posing

From the Deck of our home at Latitude 46

From the marsh at mabou

From the dock in baddeck with s / v ginger

Photos from Cape Breton - August, 2006 <><><><><

Neighbor Jim Williams comes to visit. Jim and wife Carol, along with brother Laurie Williams and wife Dolly are treasured friends.

 

S/V Ginger sits at the dock in Baddeck. Check out that blue sky!

 

Melvin takes the Matheson clan for a Sunday sail on S/V Ginger.

Paul takes the helm while son Brian and wife Margaret Ann look on.

Allister shares local knowledge of the waters he has known since birth.

 

The time stamp on these photos is 5:30am.

Only someone who gets up at the crack of dawn can catch our deer having their morning walk through our field.

 

Photos from Cape Breton - May, 2006 %%%%%%%%%%

 

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Photos from Cape Breton - April, 2006#############

Christmas in Cape Breton******************************************

With our Floradorable Christmas tree

Christmas Dinner with Florence and Wayne, Allister and Marion. Melvin, Alister and I are wearing our crowns from the Christmas Crackers. Florence, Marion and Wayne chose to abstain.

Florence does Atlanta >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

No fear of flying for Miss Matheson. She took her first airplane ride like a seasoned traveler. After waiting past midnight for our luggage, we grabbed some sleep and proceeded to spend the week seeing the town.

From the Sundial Restaurant, high atop the Westin Hotel....

Visit the Georgia Aquarium: http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/

 

With daughter Laura, feasting at Williamson BBQ

 

Relaxing at home before the flight home to Cape Breton

 

Thanksgiving in Cape Breton, 2005 #################################

 

Laura makes friends with Bupper and Winnie during dinner with Wayne and Florence

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In Myrtle Beach with long-time Huntington friends Jerra and Vince Montsinger

From left to right: Michelle, Jerra, GingerB, Vince, Michelle's Hannah, and Chris with son, Lucas.

 

Fellow hot-rodder, David "Hugs" Hughes, stops by to show Melvin his recently finished 1932 Chevrolet.

 

Our third "Girlfriend Conference" included a day sail with Captain Kathie on her 25ft. Coronado, Kat's Meow.

 

Cape Breton wouldn't be as much fun without Wayne and Florence. Besides the great construction work from Wayne, Florence and her crew took on the task of cleaning the house. With her mighty steamer in hand, Lil' Flora flew into action and turned the place from scuzzy to sanitized. She's my "go-to gal" with questions about life in Cape Breton, and has become a very, very dear friend.

 

Our neighbor, Nutmeg shows off her new calf, Coal. He's only one-hour old, and Meggy looks like she is already over the motherhood thing.

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Photos from Cape Breton - July, 2005

Kathy David and husband John stop on their Cape Breton vacation tour.

Overlooking Heritage Village and the Bras d'Or.

With Kathie Catlin at the marble mine.



Polisher finishes pieces in preparation for conversion into countertops,
flooring tiles, and other decorative applications.

 

See photos of:

S/V Ginger sails from Hampton to Bermuda to Cape Breton.

Cape Collins Construction

 


View from our patio in early March, 2005.


March 12, 2005 Barbara and Linda Busby Parker
during the Barnes & Noble event that followed her
BRUSH CREEK WRITERS' COOPERATIVE fiction workshop.
Linda read from her novel, SEVEN LAURELS, then
led a discussion on the writing craft.



Melvin and Bob Meredith work on Bob's dream car.

 

 

Brush Creek Writers and Instructors gather at the North Carolina Writers Conference
in Durham, NC. From L to R: Beth Stone, (Darnell's daughter) Belinda Virginia Boyd,
Lynn York, Ginger B.Collins, Darnell Arnoult.

 

Writers meet in Florida for BRUSH CREEK WRITERS' COOPERATIVE
writing retreat led by author, teacher and coach,
Darnell Arnoult, (bottom right).

 


 

Playing dress-up.........The "Huntington Transplants + 1 " ring in the New Year of 2003.
From left to right: Barbara & Melvin Collins, Mary Jean & Fuzz Harrold, Mary & Norb Ore.

 

Cars, Cars, Cars...We love our cars!

Mel keeps things humming in his workshop. There is a 1939 Ford in the restoration process.
Hopefully, it will be finished before retirement. The Mustang was finished in 1999, and provides
lots of great sunny weather driving, especially in the sping and fall.

When Mel spotted the 1949 Ford Truck, he knew he had to have it. He restored the Mustang
to let Barbara relive her teens, and the Ford truck did the same for him. He drove that model
on the roads of Union County when he was a teen.

The latest addition is a Model A Ford Mel found at a yard sale. He put all the pieces in the
back of the pickup, and they now sit as "yard art" until the time they get a turn in the shop
for restoration.

Mel has also entered the world of racing by sponsoring a car at Dixie Speedway. #63, the
MELBARBIE, races on the weekends and gets Mel a place in the pits. It's not NASCAR, but it's a start.