My Pal Gus Is Always Thinking

So Gus sent me a text the other day asking me to save my cardboard piano crates for him. He is always building things either for his daughter or his shop and so this text caught my interest. I am always interested is a new way to dispose of these cardboard crates. I dropped in to his house in the country yesterday to see exactly what he was up to. Now Gus is one of the kindest people I have ever met. He feeds all the critters that live in the hills around kelowna all winter and never complains about the cost as well as making sure there is a warm place for any ferrel cats that happen to be in his neighbourhood. So he had some cardboard from an old piano crate and decided to try making a scratching post for his 4 cats. This prototype was so successful he wants to make some more. His cats loved the first one so much I almost wish that I had a couple of cats.  ALMOST.

Thanks

I just need to say that I feel very fortunate to have the great friends and family that I have .
I do appreciate all the emails and calls I have received about my accident . It could have turned out quite different if I had lost consciousness when I first hit the floor. I have always said that I am a lucky boy.

What A Weekend

I have a piano in Grand Forks that had developed a small warranty problem that I needed to fix. Thursday morning I headed out to do the repair and hoped to be done the 3 hour trip by 10:00 A.M. It was supposed to be a nice day but about 1.5 hours into the trip it started to snow quite heavily and the only other vehicles on the road were logging trucks. I took that as a sign and turned around.  I couldn't see me driving in this weather for the rest of the day. It was a good choice because it just kept getting worse. Last thing I want is to end up hurt and needing help from a hospital.

So I come back home and spent the day working on a piano in my shop before hurting myself and ending up in the hospital anyways. It was about as serious as a bad car accident.

A word of advise is never walk thru the kitchen at night carrying a glass with the lights turned out and the dishwasher door open .  Yup. I did exactly that. I had been watching TV after Ruth went to bed and had turned all the lights out in the house. We have an automated house and everything is controlled off of the TV remote so it is easy to turn off the lights while sitting on the couch. Around 10:30 I decided to head off to bed and so I called the dogs to go outside for their evening business. They were following me as I walked quickly thru the kitchen to put a glass on the counter and then open the door to let them out. Before I could put the glass down I tripped over the dishwasher door I had forgotten to close while loading it earlier and I fell face first on that glass.  It broke and jammed it into my right temple. The good news is that I didn't pass out (I don't think ) and managed to get a towel pressed up to my head immediately . I knew this was serious so I woke Ruth up right away and she drove me to the hospital. I'm lucky she is so collected during a crisis. I've always admired that about her. At the emergency they took me as soon as she said rather loudly "can someone help him." I had lost quite a bit of blood. The glass had severed the artery in my temple as well as cut the muscle. The Dr. had to do quite few interior stitches before he could sew up the skin. It would have been an interesting operation to watch if it was being done to someone else. I also had to have stitches done to the palm of my hand but that wasn't a big deal.
So this is 4 nights later and the swelling is just starting to come down and my eye isn't quite as embarrassing  black as before. I can now put on my reading glasses and they almost fit my head. I am so lucky that I hadn't passed out when I landed and I am also very lucky that glass didn't go in my eye. I know my Angles were once again working overtime trying to keep me safe last Thursday night. Thank You.
I had my camera in my pocket when we got to the hospital and I had Ruth take my picture as I was being repaired. She didn't want to at first and having seen the pictures I now know why. I was so swollen and cut open that the pictures are some of the most graphic I have ever seen. That is why I have decided not to put them on my blog. It is amazing how such a handsome young man can have his looks changed in just a few seconds.

Honest Friends Make Great Friends.

So I went to Los Angles in 2011 with a friend from Calgary. We went to the NAMM show for a few days and then hung out in Palm Springs for about 4 days. That was the first time I have ever been there and I loved it. After that we drove back to LA and caught a flight back to Calgary where I got to hang out with his family before heading back to Kelowna. So jumping to the present I have been waiting for about 10 days for Brian to send me a hard drive with some information on it that I wanted. It finally came today.

                              I couldn't understand why he put it into such a large box .

When I opened the package up I remembered that I had bought Sharon (As Requested) a cup while in LA and left it at Brian's by mistake. Thirteen months later he was kind enough to send it with the hard drive. I think those shipping charger were more than I had paid for the cup in the first place. It is a very nice cup.

Now I have to decide if I want to give it to Sharon or keep it for my own. Maybe her next birthday.

Our Short Island Visit........

So I've been telling Sharon that if she ever finds a nice chunk of land on a lake near them I would be interested in looking at it to buy. She found it  last week. Actually Chris found it. There was a chap who came into Chris's office a few days ago saying he was interested in selling 50 acres on the big lake that is connected to the kids camp lake. He agreed to bring me over to the property and let me take a look. At first I thought it was not too bad but then he told me that he didn't have an easement allowing him to cross forestry property to get onto the 50 acres. That is the only way in. Next he told me that he figures the property is worth millions. I didn't say anything to him but I know that he has valued it a little high.He was telling us how has been  a hunter and a trapper all his life and it is a passion of his. We came across what I still think was Moose poop but he said it was Elk poop. Suddenly I heard a crashing in the gully just below us and motioned to them that there was something big not far away. Sharon also heard it and came up beside me right away to try to get a look. My Son-in -law Chris didn't hear it . I think he and the hunter "Pete" were talking. I was thinking I should try doing a moose call but Pete had just insisted that it was an Elk and I didn't want to look like an idiot. I don't know how to bugle like an Elk but Pete was hurrying up beside me to show off his calling skills so I thought. I looked into the bush anticipating this great bugle from him and he started to whistle the same way I do to call my dogs. Hummmmm. I was laughing inside but didn't say anything. The bush went very silent and nothing appeared. That old moose was likely thinking "Oh Crap , that guy must have some dogs with him and he is trying to call them back to check out that noise I just made." Ha.Ha. I did like the property but it needs an easement and more realistic pricing.

There is lots of old growth forest on the property. That is quite valuable but he is going to harvest it over the next couple of months.

There is over 1000 feet of shoreline. The profile for the bottom 5 acres is almost lake level. Very nice.

It is a beautiful lake. 

Back home Ruth was fighting with the auto potato peeler and making dinner for us all. She finally grabbed an old fashion potato peeler and did this chore by hand. 

Elliot hunkered down in an old box to watch TV with us. This kid can make anything look like fun.

Ruth and Sharon spent a little time figuring out a problem on their computers.

I really like their dog. He is a great friend to everyone. This is the room he hangs out in when everyone is busy. I don't think he minds the cramped quarters as long as there is food. He is a foodie. That may be why I like him so much. A dog after my own heart.

So we're pulling out of their yard Friday morning and Celab starts running after us. He is such a good dog I rolled my window down and told him to stay. He stops immediately and just watches us drive away. I sure like him. I almost went back and asked if we could take him with us. I'm sure they would let me have him because they know we would give him a good home and they are a very busy family but we already have two dogs. 

It was a cloudy morning when we got to the ferry but we were hoping to drive back to the sunny Okanagan where it is always nice weather.

The last two hours of the drive was in a prairie type of blizzard . Those driving conditions were why we moved out here. This was taken at Brenda Mines about 45 minutes out of Kelowna.

We got home to this around 9:00 Friday Evening. I dislike snow.

Isaac's School

Sharon and I drove Isaac to school this morning. He is taking French Immersion in Duncan so it is a bit of a drive to get him there. The school is a beautiful old building.

On the way in we saw an Elk herd right beside the road. I've never seen anything like this before. I had to stop and take a picture.

It was cool to see all the steam coming off of their bodies. I only saw two males in this herd.

So the girls went to town to the library and I am hanging out with Elliot. He is a cool little guy.

On The Island

So Ruth and I headed out to the island on Wednesday morning to visit the kids for a few days.
The sky was blue and the weather was warm when we were leaving Kelowna but by the time we got to Meritt we were looking at winter. I sure love living in the Okanagan. This became very cold very quick.

 We started getting some blue sky once we got on the ferry. Luckily we ended up on the top deck outside.

Ruth actually came out of the truck for some fresh air when we were about half way across.

I love the ocean air. It is so fresh and crisp. I'm sure it is better for us than what we breath back home.

We got to sharon's around 7:00 . Ruth and Sharon got into the X-box after supper. They told me to stay in the other room but I did manage to take their picture in the mirror.

 Elliot had been in bed since we got there because of the flu. Poor little guy couldn't hold down any food. He came out of his bedroom around 8:30 and announced that he was hungry.Sharon asked him if he thought he could keep down a bowl of cereal. He wasn't sure but said he would like to try. Then he ran into the back room carrying a big bucket. He told us that this was just in case. We all laughed, This kid thinks ahead.

                                  It worked out just fine. He was happy to get something into his belly.

   Kids are in bed and Ruth and Sharon settled in for the remainder of the night. They are easily amused.

Ruths Birthday

She has done a great job in making it last.It started on Friday when she was helping at the Canadian Culinary competition that is happening here in Kelowna. That is when she started to celebrate.  Then again on Saturday when she was helping take food to the judges at the competition. I was able to be there for the event. I just stayed away from the fish and I was fine. Lots of people showed up I think there was around 400 in attendance. We just pretended it was Ruth's birthday party.

These kids all worked so hard to make the food World Class. It was quite an event.

So our friend Keith J got to be the drummer who played  with Ed Robertson from the Bare Naked Ladies during the after party . He sounded great. I was thinking that this band would have likely done a lot better if they had Keith with them right from the beginning.

Sunday morning we all met in the Orchard Park Shopping Centre parking lot to form car pools. We planned to go snowshoeing 50 Kilometres out of town in the mountains for Ruths Birthday . We have such cool friends. I love how they all want to make everyone's birthday special . They all know Ruth likes the outdoors and that she also likes to snowshoe so this is what they planned.We had a nice tromp for about 1.5 hours. It was a beautiful morning. I had to laugh cuz all the girls put their snowshoes on in the parking lot and as we walked the 75 feet to the trails I asked a few of them if they needed to go potty before we headed out . They all sighed as they took the gear off and headed into the bathroom together. I have to get my laughs wherever I can. 

Gord was in front of me and yelled back that we had a visitor. I thought it was a deer when I first looked up. This was a beautiful Bull Mastiff. They are huge dogs.

So the girls are all together in the woods . The hills were steeper than they looked.

Gord and I seemed to get ahead of everyone else .This was on a huge open area that might have been a lake. It was very beautiful.

I did laugh to myself. They are hiking in what could be 10 square miles of open area but they are all within 2 feet of each other.

I was hoping to cover the word ice with my head. It was gong to be an ego picture for me. I could have put it on my business card.

So Maureen is such a good sport. The snow looked fluffy and Ruth wanted to make snow angles. Maureen was in right away. I got this shot as she went down.

Ruth was right behind her. I was wishing they went down together. That would have made a nice picture.

I laughed as they tried to do the snow angles that they wanted. It was a hard crust on top and they didn't make much of an impression.

It was a really nice morning.

Our Snow Shoe Stomp

I"ll add to this blog later but for a starter I told Ruth to line up my head with the sign for this picture. Unfortunately  she was off just a little. I thought it would be great if it said  " Dangerous , Thin "  It started off as an ego thing but it didn't  seem work the way I wanted when I saw the picture .

It Started Out Great and I Learnt Something New

Today is Ruth's Birthday. I got up and made her a nice breakfast. Once that was done I found her in her office doing her favourite morning activity. She was on her computer checking out the stock market and drinking coffee. Hard to believe but I have enjoyed 40 of her birthdays so far. They just keep getting more and more low key every year.

I headed out to tune a piano in the Vernon concert hall that they need for a performance tonight.
As I drove past the beach next door I stopped to take this picture. The Lake was calm and beautiful.The clouds have been hanging low all week. I was wishing I had my better camera.

So the piano was close to pitch and was easy to tune. I love when it is like that.

I picked up some flowers for Ruth on the way home. I had ordered white Lilly's but when I got there they has substituted them with something else. Lilly's are $12. a stem this close to valentines day and the girls at the flower shop know how cheap I am. That's a good call on their part.

So Ruth has been on the list to be a helper at the 2012 Canadian Culinary competition being held here in Kelowna today and tomorrow. They called her a few weeks ago to tell her she has been accepted as one of the helpers who presents the food to the judges. She was really excited to be doing this. She headed out at 3:30 to get to the university and start her new weekend job.

I had bought a ticket for $175 . to go to the competition tonight and enjoy the evening while she was working at the event. I was really excited about this.

                                                           Friday February 10, 2012
                                                               Mystery Wine Pairing
                                                             Hotel Eldorado - 6:00 pm

I LEARNT SOMETHING IMPORTANT TODAY. I had made Ruth and I a nice salad for lunch with a  Tuna fish side order and sauce. That was at 1:30. At 4:00 I was having a party of my own.

Yup. It came to me this evening as I sit at home alone on my couch that the last 6 times I have had any type of sea food over the last 4 months I have become ill.  I must be allergic to fish. Being the Scotsman that I am it is killing me to know I bought that ticket and didn't use it. I'm going to the dinner tomorrow evening with Andrew M. as his partner is flying to Toronto early Sunday morning to see her family. I hope they don't serve fish.