A Great New Years Eve

This is my Metal Flake Silver Piano. It is the only one in the world and it Looks / Sounds Fantastic.

Michael came over to our place this New Years Eve for dinner and we had a wonderful time. He is a great guy and also a very talented  musician. I have known Michael for about 40 years. We worked together in Wpg. at Yamaha Canada in their early years. We weren't friends back then but we knew each other slightly. He was in sales and I was in service. Who would have ever guessed we would become good friends all these years later. He is one of the top sales people at an Auto shop now.

Ruth and I were talking about how our lives cross paths with other souls in this journey. We have made  many great friends on this ride.  Ruth and I both agreed this was likely one of the most enjoyable New Years Eves we have ever had. It was very laid back.

 The music was wonderful.

 I loved the fact that Ruth was so relaxed listening to Michael play the piano.

While the concert was going on I was busy making dinner.

I started with lots of garlic.

And ended up with this.  We had Egg Foo Young , Veggies in an oyster sauce mix as well as Chicken Kom Pow. Ruth made her wonderful home made noodles and there was rice. I had a sauce for the egg foo young which was good and we ate almost everything. What a great night.

Nothing like good friends , good food and a loving partner. Happy New Year.

Christmas 2012

So Andrew came over on the 24th and picked up the kayak I have built and sold to Chris A.  He is going to put a few extra coats of varnish on the top deck. She wants it extra thick and shiny. It was nice to see it going down the driveway. Now I'll get started on the Borealis Kayak I have laid out in my workshop.

Christmas Eve we got our home ready for a nice dinner with a few friends.

 The table was set for dinner.

Ruth made a ginger bread train with Jack which became one of our Christmas decorations.

I got the latest Player Piano playing Christmas music for when our guests arrived.

Everyone was here by 6:00 for what I thought was a great evening. Lots of laughs and stories.

 Ruth was making her magic in the kitchen tonight. It was a fun evening.

 CHRISTMAS MORNING

So we started out with a walk to the beach. We asked Daisy if she wanted to come with us. This is how she responds to when we ask her this question.

Carrie and Brad bundled up the Grand Kids and came over around 1:00 to spend the rest of the day with us. Jack was thrilled to be here today because Nona had told him that he could eat the ginger bread train they had built together on Christmas day. He tackled that project right away.

The best part of giving the grand kids presents is when they finally realize they have a new toy and Mom or Dad has shown them how it works. This was a soft cloth ball that says the numbers out loud when they press the number on the ball. This is supposed to help them learn how to count. It's never too young to start.Brad and Carrie are great parents and they both encourage these types of toys.

This was a magic kit we got for Jack. He has shown a little interest in magic lately and we thought he would enjoy learning how to do a few more tricks. He seemed to like it once he got the wrapping off.

Brad and I are going to have to learn how to do the tricks first and then show Jack. 

Ellie is starting to walk along walls , tables and whatever else she can lean on. The house is about to become kid proofed again.

Ruth spent a few minutes showing her the proper way to eat noodles.

So our Christmas dinner was Chinese Cuisine and not turkey. We all really enjoyed this. Ruth started out helping me make the meal but soon graduated to taking care of the kids. Brad moved in and helped me chop and cook. It was nice.

We made a great and entertaining team. As the chicken balls would crisp up I would flip them over my shoulder with the spatula and Brad would catch them in his mouth. 

Not A Nice Approach Into Christmas

So we had this young fellow rent our building by the university starting on September 1st. We gave him a few months grace to get his business up and running. The first cheque was due on Dec. 1.  It bounced. He promised to have Dec and Jan. cheque for us on Dec 21 but that hasn't happened. December 23rd he told us that he was going bankrupt and moving back to Edmonton. This is a tough town. He has a 5 year rental agreement. I'm not sure where this is going to end up except for we are getting our building back.
If anyone out there wants to rent or buy a great building in Kelowna I  have a spot for them to look at. I think I would prefer to sell the building. I don't want this hassle happening again.

The Grand Kids Go To See Santa

So the kids went to see Santa today. This is a candid shot of Jack waiting to leave.

Jack has been working on a magic trick and hasn't been telling anyone about it. He dressed up to see Santa and did his trick for him before getting on his lap. This kid is full of surprises. We sure love him. This top hat has hidden compartments that he uses in his magic show. This is something he has thought up on his own. Ellie was his helper for the big event. You can tell how eager she is to help.

This is Jack 3 years ago.

This is Jack today with his little sister. He has come a long way. What a great little man.

A Rambling Post

So Ruth and I first got together about 40 years ago.    Now that really scared me. Seeing it in print brings the reality home really fast. When we dated and got married we had a really cool car. It was a 1972 Corvette Sting Ray Convertible. I wish that we still owned this car. It is likely worth a lot now.

When the kids started to show up we had to move up to a 1974 Matador. I was so proud to be driving this piece of american ingenuity. NOT. I hated this car. In my mind I went from cool to dowdy. We couldn't afford the insurance on the Vet plus it needed new tires. All that on top of the bank payments made the Vet unaffordable. The dealer took over my payments and gave me this piece of crap. Oh Well. We managed to survive and the kids had more room to travel in.

MOVING ON

So Jack wanted to use my camera to do some experimental shooting. Being the laid back , easy going grand dad that I am I said go for it. This is the first shot he took.

Surprisingly he did get better. Actually he got very good. This is a shot of Ellie playing with a toy truck in our living room. She will be walking very soon.

This last weekend was a wonderful weekend . My dear friend Randy and his wife Lisa showed up for a couple of days. Randy and I rented a house together for a few years when going thru school. He was getting a couple of degrees in university while I was doing my piano tuning coarse . Those were great times. We spent the weekend laughing and talking about past and future dreams. It really was a nice weekend. I hope we have more time with them. They are nice and special friends.

So I dropped over to see the kids after Randy and Lisa headed back to their farm in southern BC . Carrie was working and Brad was home with the kids. He is such a great dad. Jack had fallen asleep playing some game and Brad was busy bouncing Ellie in his arms trying to get her to seep. She did fall asleep while he was doing this. Next he laid her down and RAN. A man after my own heart.

Another Great Week

So on Saturday night Brad and I had tickets to go see John Lee Saunders. He was fantasic . We started out with dinner and then headed down to the Arts Centre for the concert.

The show was everything I was hoping it would be. He had Sibel Thrasher with him and she is a world class jazz and gospel singer. This was a very nice evening. I loved being out with my son in law for the night. We laughed a lot. I would highly recommend seeing John Lee Saunders to anyone who likes music.

John Lee is likely one of the best piano players I have ever heard but he can pick a mean guitar as well.

So on Tuesday I am driving down Lakeshore when I see Ruth pull into the local market with the kids. I drove around the block to hook up with her and the grand kids in the store. I am so glad I did this. Jack makes me laugh. He runs in doing airplane wings with his arms and heads straight to the bakery.

The woman there says " Hi Jack, Would you like a cookie." ( Ruth has been taking him shopping there since he was a baby and they all know him . He is like part of the Lakeshore Market Family.)   He says yes please for the cookie and Ruth is in behind him saying " make it healthy"  She gives him a white flout  ,  chocolate chip cookie.

I can hear Ruth sigh from 10 feet away. I had to laugh to myself. Jack was happy.

ELLIE TURNES ONE

It was a big day yesterday.Our youngest grand child turned one year old. She loves sitting in a chair on the counter while we make dinner. I think she has the King And I syndrome where her head must be higher than every one else's.

Ruth and I made a feast to celebrate. I think that Ellie understood it was her birthday dinner.

 

Here we were asking her how old she was.

She knew it was her birthday dinner for sure when the cake came.

Jack had to help her blow out her candle. Such a good brother.

She had eaten a big dinner but still found room for a little cake. That proves she is related to me.

After dinner the kids had a crawl over their dad. I don't understand where they get all this energy from.

Busy Saturday

It was a busy day yesterday. I picked up Randy around 9:00 A.M. Saturday morning and we headed down to the shop to pick up the red piano. Glenn had been there since 5:00 in the morning doing the final polish on the piano.

I got the player system playing the other day. It was playing Christmas carols for Glenn while he worked on polishing the remaining cabinet parts.

It took about 3 hours but we finally got it moved into the customers and set up in their living room. It looks nice in their home. They had it painted red to match the trim on the turban that the the guy is wearing in the picture that is hanging behind the piano.

After the move we went for lunch and I headed home for a nap. Ruth had taken Jack out for the day to do some activities down town. They made a lantern at the Art Gallery , a Christmas decoration at the Rotary Art Centre and then headed to Bylands nursery to see Santa. They got there late and missed him but managed to get go on a hay ride around their property. Jack sat in the front and had a good time.
Ruth just handed me the list of events that she had him involved in. Jack took in 10 events and Ruth took in 11 events. Jack was too young for the wine tasting.
Carrie and I met them for dinner at a down town Japanese restaurant just after 5:00. Jack was dressed up in a  nice little outfit that Ruth had gotten him earlier in the week.He wanted to wear it today when he went out with his Nona and he looked so handsome.

Everywhere they went during the day Ruth said that people would come up and talk to him. Someone asked him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas . He thought about it for a minute and then replied that Santa could give him whatever he wanted to. This kid is so interesting.

After dinner we went to Kerry Park and watched the City Christmas Light up ceremony. It was packed with people.  Ruth as well as Jack were bagged. They headed home and I headed out to get Randy again. We had to pick up a piano that this artist is painting for me. It has been a very rocky adventure having him do this piano but after one year it looks like I will be getting it back.

Randy and I got the body tonight and hopefully I will be getting all the parts tomorrow night. It is beautiful.The artist has done an unbelievable job on this piano so far. I hope he finishes it.