Good Morning...

And a good morning it is.. what a nice view out of the window to take in as we sipped on our morning coffee today.

Five days till Xmas... wooooooohoooooooo

Life is Good!

Mom's 90th Birthday

December 16th is Mom's birthday and this year she turns 90 which is quite a milestone. The family got together for a dinner at the Senior's home in Lundar on the 11th. A good opportunity for a family meal. We had also invited people to drop in for a coffee and say hi to the "boss". We had a great turn out - about 70 people in all. It was so nice to see a lot of my cousins and old friends who dropped be to celebrate Mom's big day.

Life is Good!

Pics from the road

Winter driving brings on a whole set of new scenes and this las trip just added to mamma nature's delights.

I just had to stop a few times to take in the scenery north of Duluth driving out on a sunny day a few days after a major snow dump. The trees were drooping from the weight of the snow piled on them - lotsa the white stuff already and only mid december.

This photo was taken of a weather system like no other that I have driven in and I must say, this boy has a lot of miles on him! I was driving from Lundar to Winnipeg and noticed that the road ahead was exactly in line with a system of clouds to the west and sunny skies to the east. It was so strange to look out the passenger side of the truck and have limited visibility and out the driver side to see for miles. A bit further south I took a large curve in the road (around the town of Warren) and was driving in a snow storm for while until I completely rounded the curve and got back into the sun.

Finally, between Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg on a cold day I noticed the sun framed by a couple of large sun dogs.... took a few photos and a bit later saw a big old tree that seemed to add to the starkness of the scene..

Life is Good!

CONGRATULATIONS JEWELS....

Julie got word today that her appraisal for her new home went through. Looks like we will be moving furniture in on the 29th as hoped for. Photo shows before and after (OK.. after is the blue one!!!) of the house.

OK... notation made today... dec 9th and we have moved into the little blue house.. still lots of work to do but it's officially home to my girl...

Congratulations Jewels... Life is Grand!

a nice day to drive back to Manitoba... NOT

But it was a nice day..

Just not for driving. We slept out at the cabin last nite and awoke to an absolutely gorgeous morning. Snow hanging from the branches - a beautiful calm morning. Thank goodness there was no wind.. the roads were a bit treacherous at first but it turned out that I was heading away from the storm affected area and other than boring, the trip was ok. I'm safe and sound in my Brandon hotel, looking forward to making up a batch of asphalt over the next two days.

Life is Good.

WOW... my new grand daughter is GROWING....

Jill had just posted these photos onto her Facebook. It just blew me away to see little Rylie and how much she has grown and changed.. Again, it makes you realize how fast time goes by. I sure miss my girls and can't wait for an opportunity to travel out west to see them again.

Love is real Good!

nice...

The past few mornings we have watched some lovely sunrises over the Lake.

Life is Good!

Making a new batch of EZ Street in Calgary...

Sitting in my hotel room in Toronto - waiting for Kevin from Fermar to pick me up and buy me lunch. Thought I'd download the pics from the asphalt production in Calgary last week so those who don't know what our company does might have a bit better idea.

Well, first of all there is some serious job planning done at the Kensington Pub which is highly stressful and absolutely drains a person.. especially after the third sample is ..uhhh.. taken... Actually, the beauty of coming to Calgary was the fact that we had an extra day so we went out to Banff on day one and did some sight seeing. It was a beautiful day but unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me. Well... in hindsight, I guess I have posted enough pics of mountains this summer to hold me for a while.

The photos are mainly of the plant in Calgary which is operated by the city. We made up a supply of pre-coat followed by some tests in their lab for the viscosity of the product. Jan and Lars were in charge of this and you can see by the concentration that they take their jobs very very seriously. The final pics are the finished EZ Street cold asphalt product, piled neatly and ready for the city boys to start patching those lovely.. er.. nasty potholes.

Life is Good!

missing my grandkids...

Jill is such a creative girl. With halloween coming, she decided to costume up the kids and take some photos... and I must say that she has done a wonderful job. Although, with such beautiful and talented models, she can't really go wrong.

So, Rylie became a strawberry and her photos feature the lone strawberry in the pumpkin patch. My latest little grand daughter is putting on weight and growing.. like a ?? strawberry. And of course that natural little model Shaya is her usual cute little self dressed up as a 50's bobby soxer and photos taken with old 50's cars in the background. She is so special.

Life is really really good!

more nice stuff about Duluth.. 1/2 hr to Amnicon Falls

I'm not going to get into a Wisconsin vs Minnesota diatribe here... just gonna say that WI has more than it's share of great scenic spots an another, Amnicon Falls State Park is a faaann tastic spot for a hike, and probably a weekend camping... and to be determined but also some serious winter show shoeing... We took a drive on the spur of the moment out to the park which is no more that 1/2 hour out of Duluth... I was a bit shocked at the fee to stop into the park was $10 for the day but I must say that it was money well spent.

Jewels and I hiked the short trail around the multitude of falls along the river and the day was just gorgeous... me sure likie WI .. and the afternoon was capped off with a stop at the Anchor Bar in downtown Superior for a light lunch and a drink... this place is so funky and neat.. I'd love to take my YK buddies here for an evening of frivolity... that means drinking and eating of course... Two drinks for Jewels, a huge 40oz jug of draft for Jim and a couple of the best burger and fries u ever et... $17

Life is Good...

More nice stuff about Duluth.. 20 min to Jay Cooke Park

OK... so today we were doing some major touring around the area and we ended the day with a drive up to Jay Cooke State Park which is about 20 min out of Duluth.

Now I have to say, the colors around this area have been magnificent but this drive into the park was absolutely breath taking. I have not seen such a wonderful assortment of colors since driving the Dempster Highway the long weekend in September about 25 years ago. It just makes you feel at peace and leaves you with a huge smile on your face while driving through this area. The parking lots at the state park were loaded with vehicles and people as everyone in the area was out taking in the fall colors and the beauty of this area. It capped off a wonderful day.. uhhh .. well it didn't quite cap off the day as we stopped into Fitkers to indulge in a couple of beers and some chips and salsa to finish off the trip..

Life is Gooooodddd!