Family

This guy is crazy!
Maybe he is the black (or off-white at least) sheep of the family…

Eric the sheep

Eric decided to put Jackson’s sheep outfit on after the Christmas concert at the church.

Pics from the west….

Nan and I had the opportunity to take a drive out to Harris Saskatchewan yesterday and take some photos. Harris is the little town that Abi teaches in. Very quaint. I mean VERY quaint. We were able to get some nice shots of small town Saskatchewan.

Typical grid road

This pictures (sans the smart alec comment) shows the typical grid road as they are called out here. Bleak, bleak, bleak. Or I guess if you enjoyed wide open spaces, you would call this Nirvana.

Haunting old church

I really wish that I had taken the time to walk up to the side of this old, run-down church and snap some shots of the interior. I would have been interested to see what the inside was like. I was a little worried to though. On the other side of the church, part of the roof was held up by struts that did not look all that safe.

Prairie buildings

This pic is of some cool old looking buildings sitting in a field. It is strange, you find buildings out here in the weirdest places.. Right in the middle of nowhere, there will be a building or two..

Help me decide

I have some ideas about what espresso machine I would like. I like the following ones but I am leaning toward one in particular because of price. It is on sale.

What are your thoughts? Do you like any particular one?
Let me know…

Sirena from Starbucks

Ascaso Fun in Black

Gaggia Baby in Ivory

Espressione Recto 4

another relaxing day…

We are just relaxing this morning and enjoying another day as a family. Mom, Dad, Aunt Nan, Abi, and Rose have all made the trek into Saskatoon. Rose is working today but then off for the duration of the week I believe. The rest of the troops are trying to finish up their Christmas shopping today.

Nan spent some more time on the Wii this morning. I think she is hooked
The boys caught up on their daily journalling as I am doing right now. I really should put a couple of days work in while out here, but now that I am into vacation mode, I am having a hard time motivating myself to do that.

Rosemary has to replace the battery in her car today. The weather is pretty cold. They are picking a new one up today and bringing it home and we will install it this evening.

New machine

So, I think I am going to replace my espresso machine. I had not realized how tired it is getting until we were at Eric and Lins’ this past week and Eric made me an americano with his machine. I could not believe the power his machine had…

So, I am on the hunt for a new one. I have no idea where to start really. I am looking for suggestions. If you have any ideas let me know. I would like to be in the 400-500 range. I know that will severely limit me but I think that is where I should be.

Let me know.

North to Alaska!

Well, so it seems.
Since we have arrived in Saskatoon on Wednesday it has been cold. Real cold.
Last night the temperature was supposed to dip to -40. That is really cold.
So cold that I will not be trying to get my outdoor walk in today. I value my nose and eyes too much for that kind of craziness.

We have had a great time so far. Tuesday we went to Toronto after having lunch with Eric and Lins and dropping the dog off in St. Thomas.

Once in Toronto, we settled into our hotel, had a swim, dinner at Swiss Chalet, another swim and then to bed. Wednesday morning we were up at 5:30 so we could get to the airport in decent time for our flight. We need not have worried at all. After all was said and done, we were sitting my gate with an hour to spare before boarding time. Good thing that there was a Starbucks right next to us…

Once on the plane, we sat on the tarmac for 2 hours as most flights were backed up due to the weather and the fact that every plane needed to go for de-icing…

Jack and Will really enjoyed the flight. It is kind of sad to say this, but they enjoyed the fact that the seats had their own individual entertainment systems in them more than anything else I think. But it made the flight go quickly which was very nice…

Once we had landed in Saskatoon we were greeted with -25 weather. Bit of a shock but it was fine.
Rosemary and Abi’s place has TONS of room for us all. We have been enjoying spending time playing games, chatting, snacking and playing the Wii.
I could seriously get used to having one of those Wii things… Schooling Nan last night in Wii play was especially fun We were joking that her Wii me looked like it needed counselling after losing so many contests. ha ha.

It is so cold this morning that we are not even going to church. We are going to have a quiet morning at home and then friends of Rose and Abi are coming out for coffee and a visit this afternoon.

Last night, Rose and Abi put on a Sabbath meal for us. It was really great. They have taken a good number of the Sabbath traditions and updated them for Christianity. It was VERY enjoyable and very reflective for me.
Nan and I think it might be something for us to try to with our Potluck Group next time we host. We will give all of your forewarning so you are not freaked out or anything. It is just a fantastic way to remember what God has done for us.

So, we are truly enjoying our vacation. We have been able to spend some really nice time together and we are not even half done yet. So nice.

Gettin’ stoked…

Today is my last official day of work before my holidays. I am so excited. We are going to visit my sister in Delisle, Saskatchewan. Don’t ask me where it is… it is near Saskatoon. I am not even sure where that is.. It is out in the prairies somewhere

The point is that we are leaving and not coming back for 2 weeks. This is a huge event for my family. I have not taken many holidays this year. I have taken the odd afternoon off to golf or ride my bike, and the odd day here and there to daytrip with the family but this is my only true “vacation” for the year. I am so looking forward to it.

I have a little bit of work to take. Not too too much. I have been working my butt off to try to not take a great deal. I have to admit that I am a little nervous about what will await me when I come home. I have not taken 2 weeks away from the business consecutively ever… Yikes. But, I am sure it will be fine. I have a great bunch of clients that have for the most part, all encouraged me to have a great time with my family and have let me know that they can hold things for me until I get back.

So, it is 2 weeks of family time with my sister, my other sister, my parents, my aunt and my family. Should be an absolute blast. It has been 3 and a half years since I have seen my sister I think. Definitely time to remedy that.

So, it should be great.
That being said, I have been doing a lot of thinking and praying for our friends the Osmonds in Belleville. Just last week, their 5 year old daughter Delaney was diagnosed with Leukemia… brutal.
And their roller coaster ride in the last week has been unbelievable. Delaney in now back in Kingston and undergoing Chemo treatments. I just wish I could reach out and give them all a big big hug right now. I know that there are lots of people who are.

So, this Christmas I will be stoked about family time. I will also be thinking about my friends as they go through a very difficult time. I have a hard time imagining my sons in hospital going through chemo treatment. I will be praying for them a lot.
If you think of them, pray for them. For Delaney that she will be able to handle the chemo okay and it will allow her body to heal quickly. For Davin, her little brother, to be able to handle the stresses of not having mom and dad around as much for a bit. For Steve, the father, who as most fathers is trying to be the man of the house and be stalwart at time, for strength and reliance on God. And for Lisa, the mother, who I can only imagine is beside herself with concern for her daughter.

Thanks

Changing a global perspective

I have been thinking a bit about my global perspective on life. It is rather local. I tend to focus almost exclusively on things around me and not very often about “over there”..

I think that this is something that I need to change. I am not sure how to really go about it yet.
When I look on the news and see things happening overseas it does not really affect me in the way that I think it should. I am wondering if my sense of empathy is dulled?

I can even see things that happen in a city not too far away, say Toronto or Ottawa or Kingston and not be too affected by them. I am not so sure that this is a good thing.
I once read that our minds are wired to emotionally handle the connections and ups and downs of a village of say 200-300 people. Before the advent of media and travel, that is how people lived. Were people more well balanced back then? I think it fair to say that their knowledge base was certainly more local that global that is for sure. But in today’s day and age, I think it virtually impossible to live with such a mindset. Somedays I would like to mind you. I just don’t see how as a computer programmer, I could completely shut off.. Unless I take a job as a woodcutter or something of the sort.

So, in one way, I am global. I see things from all over the world. But in another way, I am local. I tend to let the emotions and feelings of my local settting determine my moods, my mindset, my emotional and my spiritual tone.

Somehow, I think I need to bring them both into line together. Hmmmm

To all my American Friends…

Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you enjoy your day.

Blessed quietness…

Well maybe not quiet per se.

We spent a very good day together yesterday as a family. Even though we were out and about the city, we spent it all together. It was quite insular really. We did not talk to many people besides ourselves other than those that we absolutely had to in order to get our errands done.

For a Saturday we were up early (regular time) in order to get the car into Handford’s for its winter checkup and a new battery. (Early is not really really early like some hockey families… that is just crazy stuff that…)

We dropped the car off for 8, then walked to the market downtown and had a nice little breakfast at Little Red Roaster. We sat in the market and ate leisurely then strolled around the market, bought a couple of things, then walked over to Novack’s.. Listen to me, this is becoming a commercial for the stores in London we patronize….

We had not even left the market when we got the call that the car was finished. Sweet! We had kind of hoped to hit City Lights Bookstore before leaving downtown but they do not open til 11 o’clock Saturdays so we did not get to go there.

It felt really nice to be walking around downtown in the snow and laughing lots. It certainly got us into the Christmas spirit I think.

From there, we boogeyed on up to Costco to pick up pictures and some various and sundry items and then home!

On our way home, we stopped at the dollar store to pick up some small stuff for Nan’s piano teaching, then to the video store. The boys received coupons on Hallowe’en to each rent a video.

Once home, we had lunch then just chilled.
I did some work around the house. The shower downstairs needed to be re-caulked, and the sink in the bathroom needed its drain cleaned a bit. Nan practiced and then we watched a family movie. Fun.

Relaxed the rest of the afternoon and into the evening.
Great day.