Exercise, Eating Right - and Drinking Lite Beer d'accord

Well, almost two months since the new year and although it wasn't really any kind of a "resolution", I was determined to try drop some pounds. Julie and I joined the local fitness centre and although it is difficult for her to go on a regular basis what with working full time, I have had no excuse other than position number two in the attached caricatures, lying on the couch and enjoying a few beers.

OK, I still enjoy the odd beer - especially the abundance of micro brewery brands available at the vendors down here - but I have been exercising - allllmost daily - and have dropped 10 pounds since early January. I must admit that I am feeling better and I think the exercise along with eating more healthy foods has helped me with my ongoing pains and rituals resulting from my surgery last year.

Anyways, my goal is to drop 20 pounds by my 61st birthday and should be a snap if I can keep with the program. Then I'll be ready to put it all back on when we take our Alaskan cruise the end of July.

Oh well, Life is Good, n'est ce pas?

Alaskan Cruise for this summer - WoooHoooooo

So, Julie and I are booked - along with 3 other couples from the Trimont area - to go on an Alaska Cruise departing Seattle on July 31st. We will be on a 7 day cruise on the Golden Princess. This mega-ship weighs in at 109,000 tons and can accommodate up to 2,600 guests. There are over 700 balcony staterooms, three formal dining rooms, three lounges (not that that interests me!) and a nine-hole putting course.

Our cruise includes a number of interesting ports of call. We take in Juneau, the state capital of Alaska and re-visit the glory days of the Alaska gold rush in Skagway, home of the famous White Pass Railroad. We will see glaciers and marine wildlife while cruising Tracy Arm Fjord and spend the day in Ketchikan, famous in Alaska for great shopping, totems and fishing. On the way back we visit Victoria for a day and then disembark in Seattle on Saturday August 7, 2010.

The really, REALLY nice part of this is we will get to visit Wayne, Jill, and Shaya - hopefully in both directions and get to meet my newest Grandchild who is expected around July 10. Jill is actually having her ultrasound today to determine due date and possibly the baby's sex as well.

Life is Good!

Snow Shoeing Frontenac State Park on a frosty day.

This morning was absolutely gorgeous as we woke up to Mother Nature's best hoar frost paint job I have seen for some time. We had been planning to go to Frontenac State Park near here for some snow shoeing so we headed out early to try catch the hoar frost on our jaunt.

Our timing was great.. the frost was just starting to fall off as we wandered amongst the trees. The area we were in overlooked Lake Pepin which borders Wisconsin on one side and Minnesota on the other. We were quite impressed with the number of ice fishermen on Pepin until we left the park for Red Wing and noticed a fishing derby on another small lake nearby. This ice fishing thing is a national past-time here in 'sota!

We decided to carry on around Lake Pepin after lunch and were so happy that we did. We found a winery that we had visited last summer and was open so we bought a couple of bottles to go with our nightly dark chocolate. Then followed the Mississippi River to a town called Alma where we drove up to an overlook that was breathtaking on such a nice sunny day. Finally, we visited the local tourist center which has binoculars and telescopes set up to view the 30+ pairs of bald eagles that are nesting in the area and fish the open waters by the Alma Dam.

Life is Good!

It truly is the "MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!"

This winter has been quite long with lots of snow and storms across Canada and the USA. I will have to admit that when I take a drive - almost anywhere I go - It makes me feel warm all over knowing that our business is selling a cold asphalt that is the ultimate product when it comes to fixing potholes - ezstreetasphalt.ca

This photo was taken from the front page of the Minneapolis Star Trib today.

Life is Good!

Life is Good - Snow Shoeing along the Zumbro River

Julie was so sad this morning. Phone rang to officially cancel school for today. It's been snowing a nice quiet light snow that past 24 hours and it was blowing around a bit this morning so not safe for the school buses.

But what a wonderful day to put on the snowshoes and take a hike along the Zumbro River which runs right out back of our place. Lots of trees around so it cut off the wind and it was just a serene little spot to explore on the snowshoes. We have been working out since the new year and this is a wonderful alternative to huffing and puffing on the treadmill.

Life is Good indeed!

A Duluth weekend - and a visit to Gooseberry Falls

We drove up to Duluth last weekend. Julie needed a haircut (long story) and a visit with local family - Scott and Kim. We also were lucky to connect with Mary and went to see a movie - Crazy Heart - with her. Not a good choice and not nearly as good as we has thought it would be.

We also had a lovely day trip out to Gooseberry Falls which is up the north shore of Superior. This is Julie's favorite spot in the whole world and always a fun place to visit. It was interesting visit as we got to see a group of climbers practicing their ice climbing techniques shinnying up the frozen falls.

Duluth is one of my favorite spots to visit as well. So many nice views of the Lake and always a freighter or two moving under the lift bridge. Always a fun time when we visit this lovely place - and you should see the potholes here as well!

Life is Good!

So soothing to sit back and watch the birds feeding

I've been driving Julie a bit crazier (if that's possible)... with my ongoing battle with the local squirrel population. Set up a couple of feeders but I wasn't able to situate them well enough to keep them from stealing the bird's feed. I finally have set up 5 feeders in such a pattern that those damn tree rats can't get at the one containing the sunflower seeds. SQUIRRELS ZERO - JIM ONE... I WIN, I WIN.

I do find it very soothing and good for the heart to sit back and watch the variety of birds feeding outside our window. The Pileated woodpecker is obviously not one of my photos but I was so lucky to briefly spot one as it landed on the big tree outside our window. A huge woodpecker and so distinctive with its red crown and black body.

It just makes me feel at peace with myself and the world to see our little visitors drop by for a quick bite several times a day. Life is Good, isn't it?

Can there be too many pics of Shaya???

OK...OK... I guess I can over do it with pics of my lovely little grand daughter but it appears I have migs and gigs of space left on this blog that is un-used so here we go again. I'm hoping to visit with my kids and grand kid over the next couple of months .. not sure when but will be nice to see them again.

These photos were taken when Shaya was modeling in the part of a three year old kid at Jill's photography class. You may note a pack of gum which is a current favorite and was used as a bribe to get her to chill and put up with the demands from Jill's classmates.

Sat Nite in Zumbrota - Crossings Presents - Robby Vee

There is a neat little venue in Zumbrota called Crossings. It is a combination gift shop, handicraft training centre and Art Studio and on the weekends, you can usually find some sort of concert happening there. Last Saturday nite, the featured entertainer was Robby Vee (Son of the old time rocker - Bobby Vee). Julie is a friend of Crossing's owner Marie and she called Julie Saturday afternoon to see if we could come and help out with the show. The crowd almost hit 70 people (packed in on folding chairs) - and I must admit I was somewhat apprehensive attending a concert by such a "famous" artist.

I am so glad we did. The first half of the show was a tribute to the songs of Bobby Vee and a number of the rockers of that era such as the Big Bopper - and we were given an insight as to what it was like growing up in a rock "icons" home. It was a lot of fun and the second half was filled with Robby Vee's own music which was fun in its own right.

All in all, a fun Saturday nite in the big town of Zumbrota.