We are in a new house

Well I have been away for a while, very busy. But I am here to report we have a new home. We have moved from Westsyde to Brock. From 850 sq Ft to 1440 sq Ft. Funny though I can't seem to find any empty spaces in the new place. You would think that taking what fit in the mobile and moving it here you would have some extra space but I do not. It would seem that we had things crammed in pretty tight. We have had a wild time getting into the new place with each day a real learning experience. I have a new found distaste for realtors, they are buck passers extaordinare. Our move date moved several times and we finaly moved in on the 15th of Dec. Pictures will follow in my next posting.

We are so very proud of our fair haired beauty. Rhea has grown into a awesome young lady. This is a portrait of her I took recently during her visit us. I took this with my new Sigma 70-200 2.8 . I love the Bokeh this lens provides. It enhances the natural beauty of Rhea's beauty. She looks great! 

Family Rocks

We had a visit from our daughter this week and I had a chance to finally get a curret picture of her. And a few of her and Mom. Awesome! 

Re: The Lens

I spent the week-end shooting with my new Sigma 70-200 2.8 and I must say it is at least as good as the Canon. I took about 1400 pictures and found the lens to be fast and crisp in all situations. A very good buy.

Selling A House

Well we are still trying to sell our little trailer. We have had several folks come through and finaly an offer, it is quite low but I will try to work it and see where we get. I am hoping to be in a new place by Christmas.

Bears & Stuff

My day at work was over and I had just gotten off the bus. A quick descent down 54 stairs into the trailer park. I was ajusting my Mp3 player when I caught somthing out of the corner of my eye in yard 6 ft. to my left. At first I thought it was a dog and then quikly realized that it was way too big. I stopped to see what it was and to my amazment a medium sized black bear stood on his hind legs with one paw on the tree beside him and growled at me..... It took a moment to register what I was looking at. At that point I decided that eye contact was not the best idea. I started to walk down the road away from the bear and reached for my cell. And called 911. To my suprise they gave me a number for animal control which I called. By this time I was standing about 100 ft. from where I had first seen the bear. I looked back to see him looking at me as he crossed the street tot he next house. Animal control put me on hold for about 5-10 minutes and then gave a chat about garbage and the like. To my suprise they where not prepared to send someone to catch or even to investigate. How about that eh?

This is my Dad and I during the summer holidays. We was chillin. 

The Lens

I just picked up the Sigma 70-200 2.8. I have done a little testing so far and look forward to getting to the hockey rink to see how it performs.

Birthdays and Fishin

The day before my 47th birthday my father called to say he would be fishing so he wanted to wish me a great Bday. I wished him good luck fishing and we hung up. Well.... the next day I get a call from Dad it seems he caught a monster 29 salmon. As you can see it's beauty!

Figure Skating

I headed down to the rink to try my new Sigma 70-200 and bumped into some friends. The Flukinger's. Thier daughter was competing. and I got a few shots for them. Not entirely happy with the results. I guess I need to work on a few settings. And perhaps my technique. 

Family comes to visit

My mother and her husband Ralph came to visit from Brandon Manitoba. They where doing a visit with all the friends and relatives. We got the chance to spend a day together and share a meal. We laughed, cried, and solved all the worlds problems. They left for Kelowna the next day. It was real nice to see them and gab a bit. Family is great! 

Buying a house

Well have you ever gone through the process of selling your old place then buying a new (new to you) house? Man does it get weird. We thought we had sold our mobile in one day on the market but the folks backed out at the last minute. So now we start all over again. We have had two more walk throughs but no offers so far. So we wait and see what happens.

This is my city. Shot from the walk bridge up to the hospital in the background.  

I was walking in the local park and came upon this wall painted up in the most rich and wonderful colors I thought I would share it with you all 

This is my brother Derek coming in for a smooth landing just off Strawberry Hill. He has taken up paragliding and has really started to get the hang of it  

House Hunting

Well folks we have begun to hunt for a new dwelling. It's kinda depressing to see what a 100 grand will buy you. We are tring to stay in the Westsyde area but it looks like slim pickings so far. We have just listed our house and will wait to see what happens.

These are two of my children, Jessica & Kristine. They are the absolute "Bees Knees" 

September is here and i'm 47

Well I just turned 47 on the 11th. and I think I will make it. We are all settling into the new fall season getting back to routines and patterns lost over the summer.

Summer is drawing to a close.

Well here we are August slipping away and September calling. The weather was so-so but I had a great summer. Work has been a challenge with my shifts now four on four off then five on three off. I like the time off but feel a little lost when I return. Kris will return to school soon going into grade 10. All things are new again.

Momma got a new pair of shoes! This here is a picture of the kid with her better late than never grad gift. She started out a little shakey but I think she is gonna be a good skater 

Changes, Changes, Changes

Well my posting at the mission has changed again. Moving from 9 to 5 Mon.- Fri. To 4 on 4 off 12 hour shifts. Once again we are struggling with fiance in the summer months. But all is well I am still where my heart has brought me and I look forward to meeting the upcoming challenges that come with staff cuts. Holidays are just around the corner and I am looking forward to them. I have also taken on a big soccer tournament in Williams Lake on the week-end of the 23rd July. We pick up Kristine while we are up there and she will help us with the tournament. I miss her and will be glad to have her back.

It was a good and sunny day, we walked a talked down by the river in several of the trails that wander through the woods and marsh. All was well until the topic turned to the possibility of snakes. Well after the topis was going home ;-)  

Hum.... 

The budding photographer 

A little holiday.. a little rest.

I just finished a week of holiday. It was good... very good. I spent some time doing a little of everything. And half that time spent with my grandson Justin who by the way is growing into a fine young man. We had Super Soaker fights and played video games, swimming and walked down the river with the Sammy the family dog. We had fun pictures will follow.

Holidays

Well I'm two days into a one week holiday and beginningt to feel better. I had been sick for awhile and it seems the cure was killing me. Bad drug reactions to several perscriptions left me wasted but I'm on the rebound. I finaly got my UBUNTU CD's and I must say it is a good setup. Relearning a completely new OS has given me a challenge but I guess I'm always up for that. Once I get the language down I'm sure it will come to me. Linux Distros are becoming more user friendly all the time. I have even found a few small distros that work well on old PC's. Like Feather and DSL. Well Wed. I'm off to Kelowna to pickup Justin, I'm looking forward to that. Well thats all for now see ya when I see Ya

This here little little lady made me breakfast in bed, what kid I got eh? 

And this be Jackie! 

Me and the Kris up above the city... we three took a drive on daddy's day. The picture was compliments of Jackie. 

Daddy got a new set of wheels! 

Monday In Kamloops

Hi Folks,
It's been a while since my last post. I must confess I have been suffering the summer time bah's. Between alergies sinus infections and some misterious stomach ailment I have been remiss to write. But I have found a quiet moment to record my thoughts. Kamloops has been unusually wet for this time of year. The rain is welcome though, the summer heat will come soon enough and we will all be hiding from the heat. I have some holidays coming soon. I'm looking forward to seeing Justin we are going to get a few days together in early July. And then back to work for a few weeks. Then two weeks off in August. Jackie, Kristine and I are Qualicum Beach bound for a visit with my Dad & Carol. Jackie and I are looking forward to taking an two day trip by bicycle to Hornby Island. A little R&R at a bed and breckfast and seeing the sights including Tribune Bay. We just bought a new car (well new to us) and looking forward to the trip. Well thats all for now. But remember folks, no matter where you go....... there you are!

Two Goom-bahs havin fun.

Grandpa gives Xavier the big raspberry. 

Xavier found a place on granpa's lap. I think he is the bee's knees. 

My little grandson Xavier came to visit. He was fascinated by the yellow flowers at the mission. Our time was short but I enjoyed every minute of it. 

It's Wednesday

The day is unfolding as it should. We are enjoying great weather and life abounds where ever you look. I am glad my allergies have subsided, I was rather sick for a few days. Life at the mission is simply whizzing along.

This guy skimmed the ground for a long time before gravity said come home 

This guy flew over top looking straight down at me.