Boxing day..

Well we had a lovely Christmas.

There was some question as to whether or not Santa would find us up here in the mountains but we were so very lucky and everyone got spoiled.

It's boxing day today and I'm staying with the kiddos while Wayne is back to work and Jill and her sister Becca are out trying to find Boxing Day bargains.

Posting a few pics of the kids from the past few days. Jill and Shaya playing with Shaya's 3D Nintendo... uhhh well Jill seems to enjoy it. Rylie snacking by the tree and then enjoying the snow on the deck on Xmas Day.

Jill, Wayne, Shaya, and Becca went tubing on the ski hill in the afternoon and then we enjoyed a great turkey dinner Xmas nite.

It's a great spot out here. Wish Jewels were with us but it wasn't meant to be this time around.

Life is good. Merry Christmas to all.

Driving west for Xmas...

After a stop in Edmonton to help in production of another 700 tonnes of EZ Street as well as a very nice few days visiting with Nikki and Jesse, I hit the road throught the mountains to the west coast.

I admit I was a bit apprehensive about road conditions and it turned out to be quite icy. I guess icy relates to pretty as the scenery was gorgeous. Snow and ice on the trees (as well as the road) and a wrong turn which added about 300 extra km to the drive proved to be interesting as well as somewhat challenging.

A nice 2 day drive and a relief to pull into Courtenay to start my visit with the kids.

Life is Good!!!

Nice little story in the Free Press today....

SAY A LITTLE PRAYER... Last weekend a first-year student in residence at Canadian Mennonite University was admitted to hospital with an irregular heartbeat.

Then his heart stopped.

It took time but eventually he was revived, placed on a heart machine and then he underwent an emergency procedure. It's a surgery that, if it failed, meant a heart transplant was the only option. But what adds to the story of one student struggling for his life is what the other students and the university did. Sunday evening, they began gathering for prayer vigils at the residence hall.

Monday afternoon, the prayer vigil went campus-wide. And in the evening, they gathered again to pray for their fellow student.

At last report, the student came through the surgery successfully, is breathing on his own and his parents are with him.

Oh, there's one more thing.

Because of the prayer vigils, CMU, in the person of academic vice-president Earl Davey, extended the deadline for course papers by nearly two days. How many other Canadian universities would do that?

Pray tell.

Life is Good....

out the bedroom window..

8am Friday morning... 'nuff said.

Life is Good!

An unhappy Minnesota Vikings fan...

I was going to dedicate this post to Tom.. again... but lets say it's for Viking fans all over.

Perhaps I should have waited till tonite to post this cause the Vikes are playing Oakland today and just might win.. but unfortunately, it's more likely that a lot of Minnesotans will be wearing the same face as this poor young fan is..

I must let them know that regardless, Life actually is Good!

Torn....

I've been somewhat torn in making a decision about attending a reunion of past employees of a company I worked for years ago.

Mack Travel gave me an opportunity to move into Northern Canada where I ended up living for about 25 years of my life. Most importantly, this move gave me the opportunity to be in a position to adopt my children, Jill and Jesse, and for that I am forever grateful and pleased.

The job itself was good for me as well. It helped me learn a sound basis for business and this has been somewhat of a building block for me over the years.

Torn... yes - because I left this job under less than desirable circumstances. The owner of the agency is and will always be very respected for his business acumen and his generosity. Without going into details, I lost a lot of respect I had for him and to be honest, couldn't care less if I ever see him again. And of course, he probably doesn't give a rat's ass if he were to see my pretty face again.

But.. I've been seeing a lot of Facebook posts from previous employees that I worked with who will be attending. I enjoyed their company both professionally and socially and .. well, it looks like it will be a lot of fun.

To top things off, I guess the decision maker for me was the little ditty posted along with this diatribe which I also saw on Facebook today. It is kind of corny, but I have to say that a lot of what it says has become my mantra in life and is sort of the basis for my starting this blog in the first place.

So, I booked my hotel room for this big occasion. It will no doubt be very highly attended and it will be good to see my old friends and colleagues. Maybe I'll even give JR a hug....

Life is Good!

What we do on a quiet Saturday afternoon...

You have to admire the boys in Wisconsin. They never pass up an opportunity to put up a bar if they have a good visual opportunity..

Jewels and I took a drive out to the place where County Road E intersects County Road Z...

and what do you get.. the EZ Street Saloon of course...

Life is Good....

I don't know why...

I'm not sure why but just sitting and watching my little birds buzz around the feeders makes me feel good.. Like I mean REALLY GOOD. It seems to just put my heart at ease and I could watch them all day - uhhh which I basically do cause being here is like being retired... which is not all good cause one of us has to go to work every day (except for weekends of course)..

I'm getting myself into trouble..

Winter is coming. Snow over the lake the other day. Hey.... that means there will probably be more of the little critters looking for food.

Life is Good.

Halloween MONSTERS!!!

Apparently, there were unconfirmed sightings in Courtenay BC last night of a very scary witch, accompanied by a tiny dinosaur.

Now we're not sure if we will be able to actually confirm this sighting, but there are also reports of a severe candy shortage in several houses in the area as well.

I love my girls... all of them!

Life is Good.

A couple of pics from the wedding... Art who??

I didn't take my camera to the wedding so just using a few shots that Scott took at the ceremony.

The wedding was at the home of friends of Annie and Tab and it was a beautiful setting around the pool with a vineyard in the background. There were several famous people attending in addition to me... Art Garfunkle had a nice chat with Bob and Judy after the ceremony. The kids were there as well except for Cam and Cassie who were missed.

All in all, a beautiful day and a lovely couple.

Life is Grand...

Quick trip out to LA .. for Tab and Annie's Wedding

Our trip out west to attend Tab and Annie's wedding was a quickie.. we had several cocktail parties and functions to attend in our four days so we didn't get to see a lot ... altho' one day we did the tourist thing and saw several of the trendy spots in the area.

Our hotel was in Santa Monica near the beach and it's a nice but very busy area. Lots of good restaurants and of course a side trip out to he observatory to get photos of the famous "Hollywood" sign as well as a smoggy view of the city. We also took in Rodeo Drive, Hollywood and Vine with it's walk of fame stars, the famous Whiskey A Go Go, and then a stroll down Venice Beach to rub shoulders with all the... uhhh.. freakie people.

It was a good time spend with Scott and Kim and Jewels and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the sights with them.

Life is Good....

Duluth hiking... Chester Bowl

There are so many really nice hiking trails within a 20 minute drive. One of our favorites is Chester Bowl which is a mile from Julie's house. It's about a 2 mile hike that follows Chester Creek and has a variety of terrain that makes the hike both fun and a bit strenuous as well.

The leaves are almost all off the trees now. Still very pretty along the creek with a number of small falls to add to the scenery. It's difficult to believe that we can take a 45 minute hike right in the middle of the city and feel like you're out in a rural area in the middle of the woods... I love this type of exercise... so good for the mind as well as the old body..

Life is Good

Black Top Beer. Get it?? Ya Know..Black Top.. EZ Street!

Black Top is a pleasant road connecting villages and communities statewide on a ride of Black IPA discovery. Expect this beer to pour a hop forward jet black glass brimming with aromatic bitterness.

Brewmaster Dan skillfully weaves molasses and chocolate malt undertones with a soaring rush of clean citrus and pine hop notes to deliver a drinkable Black IPA.

Savor Black Top, like Wisconsin's miles of licorice ribbons of ink that meander through armies of corn and bovine mowed fields. Enjoy the journey on a road less traveled. Happy Trails.

Yeah.. Life is Good!

But enough about me...

I understand that the folks that take time to check out my "stuff" on this blog are really just looking for photos of my beautiful granddaughters.

Jill posted some halloween pics onto her facebook and between my favorite little witch and my gorgeous little cupcake head, ... well they're just so damn cute that I feel like I might explode when I see them..

Life is Good...

Back in Duluth...

I got back to Duluth a couple of daze ago. Nice to be home.

Jewels and I have gotten back into "hike" mode and have spent the past couple of nights doing different strolls. The trees are in bloom with fall colors and it's so beautiful here. Last nite we walked the shore trail that takes in Duluth's downtown path along the lake. It was getting dark (totally dark here by 7PM), but I managed a few pics. Nice to see the "salties" coming into the harbor again.

Life is Good.