Well here it is The day after Christmas or as it is know around here (Boxing Day). The day when the stores offer some great deals and some not so great deals. ha ha. It seems to be a real big thing in this ares.I haven't been shopping on Boxing day in a real long time. One reason is I am not that fond of large pushy crowds and another is I really don't need anything.
Well today is is only +3-C ( or 38 F) (for you guys in the States) out and just a little wind and we have  NO snow.  It really doesn't look like Christmas but nothing we can do about it.
 Yesterday Tanya and Tom and the kids came over after Church. We celebrated our Christmas on the 19th. With Kristy and Bob, Tanya and Tom and the kids. I had a Ham in the oven when they got here and we had a great dinner with the Ham and all the trimmings. The kids were all excited because they opened their stocking at home before going to church. They had to show us what they got and couldn't understand why Gram and Papa didn't do stockings. ha ha. Wendy and I didn't buy each other gifts this year as we are going to Chile in 2 weeks and that is our Christmas present to each other. We sure are going to miss these grand kids while we are gone for 6 weeks.
 Wendy is working until 7 pm. tonight so I might go in and spend a little time with Tanya, Tom and the kids. Not much to do in Picture Butte.
We had our Christmas evening service at our church on Saturday evening. The church was full. After church I was invited over to our friends Darryl and Selena Brouwer. Wendy was at work. They had lots and lots of good food and there was 13 of us there. Good food and fellowship.
 It seems like all I have been doing for the last week is eating and of course lots of sweets. Yesterday I didn't feel so good but seem to be fine today.
Well I hope and pray that you all had a great Christmas. Now the new year is coming that will probably be more good food. ha ha. No since trying to loose a few pounds  until this is all over. ha ha.

I pray that you will all have a Happy New Year.  God Bless you all.

Here is a picture Wendy took while we were in the States last year.

Well here is is December the 9th. Wow where does the time go? Wendy is home today and has just baked about 4 doz. mince tarts. I even got to help. All I did was cut 4 little holes in each one. Didn't go for coffee this morning so I made  scrambled eggs and ham for us. Mandy called on Skype and we talked for a while with her and the boys.

For some reason I don't seem to have a lot of get up and go today. Probably just as well because starting tomorrow it looks like we will have a busy week. Tomorrow morning I have a Men's Coffee at 8:30am. here at the Church.. Then I should load my truck and go to the dump. We have Wendy's work Christmas party and I think that starts about 6 or 6;30pm. I believe it is at her Bosses house. He seem like a real nice guy.Then on Sunday after church I have practice for this Christmas Musical and that will probably go until 4 or 4;30pm. and then I get to sit down for a couple of hours before the group come for the Truth Project that we do every Sunday night here at the house. Well it doesn't take a lot to set up for that. We have 13 people usually.Wendy is going to watch Erilyn and Amelie at a Christmas thing they do in a Choir that they are involved in so I will have to do the Truth Project with out her. sigh.

Then on Monday we may have practice again depending on how good it goes on Sunday. She said we may have 3 or 4 practices because we do the musical on the 18th.  We have Kristy and Bob coming on the night of the 16th and Tanya and Tom and the kids coming and maybe stay over  because we are going to do our Christmas on the 17th. because Bob and Kristy have to go to Spruce Grove on Christmas day to Bob's parents for dinner. That means that I will have to get the turkey on early because I have a full dress rehearsal Saturday afternoon for the musical. Sounds confusing but we'll get through it somehow. Then on Sunday and Monday evening we do the Musical. Usually they fill the gym and I think that will hold about 270 people. When you think about it Pray that I won't forget the lines. I only have 38 or 39 lines. aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh.  It is a good musical and God will see us through it for sure.

I guess it will be low keyed here at Christmas day. Not sure if Wendy is working. Anyway I pray that you all will have a Merry Christmas  and just maybe I post again before the end of the year. ha ha. Just maybe eh???
God Bless you all.

Well here I am again at this silly old computer. Maybe it's not silly maybe it's me that is silly. ha ha. Today is Monday the 21st. and I think this week is going to be a busy one.
Wendy is working and I am going to take my ladder over to Tanya house so they can put up some Christmas light. Wendy suggested I should put our light up today but here I sit on this computer. Sigh. I am going to get our Christmas stuff out of the garage and bring it in the house. Maybe as soon as I finish here I will attempt to put our lights up. However she did say to wait until she got home. Oh  well I normally don't listen to well anyway so we'll see.
I have to put some mud on our ceiling in our entrance way. Hope to get that done today .
Tonight I have a board meeting at 7pm. at the church and then on Wed. I chair a meeting for the Food Bank at 7pm. Tomorrow I have a prayer meeting at 7:15am. at the church and then I have to go to the Seniors Club to see where they want me to set up my amp an microphone on Thursday evening. They want me to play a few Christmas Carols there.  They have a Men's Choir  that is going to sing for them at their Birthday party that they have every month. They are supposed to sing for an hour but as the choir is all old fellows like me they want to take a break after 15 or 20 minutes and have me play a few carols and then they come back and finish. Sounds like fun eh??
Then we have a practice for the Christmas program on Tuesday evening.I have to go for a blood test n Friday and we have a Wedding on Saturday and Sunday evening we have our Truth Project at our house at 7 pm.   With all that happening   I guess I had better get off this silly computer and get to work eh??Oh well what has to get done will get done and the rest will have to wait right??

God Bless all you who read this and I pray that you will all have a great week.

November 17,2011
Guess it is about time I updated this old blog eh? Well I have to just thank my God for my health, family and friends.
I have been feeling real good for the last few weeks. I have my garage all cleaned and can now get our new car in at night. It is a lot nicer for Wendy when she is working to just go out and get in a car that has been inside all night. However it has a real good heater and heated seats, heated windshield and rear window, heated rear view mirrors, and hands free phone and it is an automatic transmission that you can also shift it manually. Oh and you can start it with the push of a button on your key chain. Never thought that I would own one like this one. It is really nice and I enjoy driving it. Things ain't like they used to be. Makes me not want to get into my old pickup anymore with nothing power not even the steering. Ha Ha.
My garage looks really nice and I have put arborite on the benches. I can find almost everything I need now. ha ha.
We are busy at the church now with the Christmas play coming up  and all the practices with that. I have a part in that plus am helping with the building of the set too.
I have our yard all cleaned up for the winter and it looks good. Still have 2 tree stumps that I have to load on my trailer one day when I get some help but took all the branches to the dump. I did it just before it started getting cold.
My friend Darryl came over and helped me put up the drywall in our entrance way. Tomorrow I am going to put some mud and tape on it.
I have to go practice some songs on my Harmonica tomorrow at 10am. for the Seniors birthday  on the 24th. of this month. They have a men's  choir that will be singing but they don't want to sing for a full hour so they will sing for a while and then I'll play for a bit and then they will come back and sing again. They are all older fellows (my age and older) and to stand up and sing for an hour must be too much on them I guess. Oh well it should be fun.I'll be playing a few Christmas songs.
Then on Dec. 2nd. Barry and I are playing for the Seniors Christmas party. They have a full catered dinner and then a dance after.
Tomorrow night I am going bowling with a bunch of guys for a stag party for my friend Darryl who is getting married next week.

Well I guess I'll call it a night and end this silly old blog. Have a great day and my God Bless you all.

Today it is a bit foggy out and -5 C so it is not so nice out but it is November and guess we have to expect a bit of cold weather. We have had a  great fall. Breezy but warmer than normal. I have all our fountain's put away in the shed and cleaned and ready for next spring. It was so nice out I hated to put them away but glad now that I did. We also got a bit of snow yesterday.

Wendy has been back working so I have been working in our garage(shop) trying to get it ready and cleaned out so we could put the car in when it gets cold.  Last week I bought some shelf material and I have installed a 12" shelf all around the garage 8 foot up. Our garage is about 10 foot tall on the inside. I have peg board on 2 walls and most of my hand tools and extra stuff is all hanging on there. At least now I can find most things when I need it.Yesterday I spent most of the day out there sorting nails, screws of all sizes and putting them in plastic container( Peanut Butter jars). It is amazing how much stuff you keep.

Well I am thinking that I should start building something that I could sell and make a few dollars at but not sure what to build. Any ideas??? I used to build piano benches and still have some material to do so but they are not a big seller down here. I need a product that you can't buy on line. ha ha. Oh well I'll keep praying about it and maybe God will give me some good ideas. I trust he'll find something for me to build .

Well I am going to play this Sunday on our worship team and then I play with Barry (Runaway) name of his band. It only him and I. We play at the Army Navy club on the 11th of Nov. for about 3 hours. It is a veterans dinner dance. We don't have to many gigs lined up right now maybe they are tired of hearing us. ha ha.The only other gig is on Dec.2nd. we play for the seniors Christmas party here in Picture Butte. Maybe we'll get a few few more soon. I really enjoy playing and get tired of just playing to myself down stairs.Ha ha.

Wendy is home today but has to go in at 7pm. to 11pm. tonight
They have asked me to do a Christmas program at the church called S O C C E R. (The Society of Christmas Carols Emergency Rescue).I will be one of the actors. It is a kids musical but they need a few older actors to pull it off.The songs are great and the kids do a wonderful job singing them and seem to be having fun. It sounds like fun but I am praying I will be able to remember the lines.I will have about 39 lines to remember and at my age not sure it will work.It has a real powerful message about Jesus birth. Guess I am going to need your prayers on this one.
Well guess I should go back out in the garage and bolt down a few machines on my bench. I removed them and put arborite on them.

This morning I went to the church and we had a mens coffee time. That was good.
Well God Bless you all and I pray that you'll have a wonderful day,

October 27,2011

Well I guess it's about time I updated this old Blog eh??
Ok ! where do I start. We have had a real busy summer and it was a lot of fun. Wendy got her hip replaced about 6 months ago and that was a bit of a struggle but she got through that. I had my cancer treatment about the same time. I was a bit worried about that but I felt pretty good and was able to help her. She is now back to work but the doctor is only letting her work 4 hour shifts. It was nice having her around for 6 months and doing things together. Now it's back to me and the dog . haha but it's only for 4 hours.
WE had lot of company this year. First Mandy and the boys then Jorge came July 1st. Then Bob and Lynn Dorland our friends from out east came and we really enjoyed having them for  few days. Then Mandy and Jorge and the boys went back to Chili. That was a bit of a sad time . We sure do miss them.
Lets see then  Wendy's niece  Ami and her husband and 2 daughter came for 4 or 5 days. It was nice getting to know them. What a delightful family.
Then Hess.Ronnie and Hank drove down the Sunday after my birthday and spent the day. They surprised me  for my birthday. Ya got love those guys. Kristy and Bob came down a couple of time and we went to see them in their new apartment. Tanya ,Tom ,Wendy and I drove up to see the Pendergas in Edmonton one day and stayed at a hotel over night.
Wendy and I took our trailer and went camping with our church group.Tanya and Tom and the kids came out.We camped at Park Lake about 15 klms away. Not far from home but it was fun.
Then Wendy and I went camping, just the 2 of us and the dog of course for 2 time. That was fun. Our trailer is old but it is just fine for us.
We had a big day at the church this past Sunday. We have changed the name to ( Cornerstone Community Evangelical Free  Church ). We had about 110 people there on Sunday and we had a lunch at the church.

Well things are getting back to normal or back to something. Not sure what is normal any more. We had 2 trees cut down that were dead and then I cut 2 trees down that had partially blown over and had a friend of ours pull the stumps for us with his big machine. We couldn't get the machine through the gate so we just pulled them out with chains and left them in the garden. I go out almost every day and whack a few roots off with an old axe and in a little while I'll have to get some help and put them on the trailer and take them to the dump. Our yard was beautiful all year but now old man winter is showing his head. It snowed here yesterday but it didn't last to long.
I have been busy fixing things around the house and getting things ready for some drywall  for the ceiling in the entry way. It got wet when we had the leak in the roof and we haven't fixed it yet. I put the insulation and poly up the other day but I have to get someone to help me with the drywall. Yesterday I went over to the Food Bank and patched a ceiling that needed a bit of repair then took a load of trash to the dump. Funny how things just seem to collect in your garage. I have to clean it up so I can get the new car inside nights. Makes it nicer for Wendy when she has to go to work and protects the car a bit. We are really enjoying our new car and just had it serviced and had a car starter installed. We have over 13,000klms. on it already.
Well it is getting late and I should get ready to go for coffee with the guys.

Oh Wendy and I are hosting  ( The Truth Project ) at our house on Sunday evenings for the new 6 weeks. We have 13 people coming and everyone has been here for the last 3 weeks. They are our church family and it is fun learning more about our God with them.

Well I think I should quit and call it a day.
God Bless you all and have a GREAT day.

Well it has been a month since I blogged guess I should try to remember what has happened in the last month.
Well Wendy is doing real well recovering from her hip surgery. Now she has been using her cane a lot lately. We are trying to keep her from doing too much but that is a chore. I am pretty proud of her. She is really doing well and now has to exercise to build up the hip again.

We had our roof on the garage done and then the house started leaking. We thought at first it was the garage causing the trouble but guess we were wrong. Then  we had the house fixed. Then 2 days later it rained and the garage leaked but the house didn't. Sigh. The guy came back and fixed it or we hope he did anyway. It didn't leak yesterday so we are praying that it is fixed for  good.

We picked Mandy and the boys up at the airport in Calgary on Tuesday. Boy have they grown. Not Mandy just the boys. Mandy has lost a lot of weight and looks great. Josiah came running when he saw us with open arms. That made my day. They sure are cute little boys. On Tuesday evening Kristy came down from Red deer and surprised Mandy. She stayed until Thursday and then had to go home because she had to work that afternoon. Sure was good to see her. Sure do miss them guys. Hopefully her and Bob can come down again real soon.  On Wednesday morning Tanya and the kids came over and we had all 8 of our grandchildren (soon to be 9) and all 3 daughter here. Sure was a busy house for the rest of the day. Tom came over after work and we all had supper. Good thing we have a big table.

I have been working out back in our lawn and garden and things are looking really green. The grass seems to just grow 2 or 3 inches every day. Good thing I have a riding mower. Thanks Wendy.

Our church is having ( Invite a friend) on tomorrow with a lunch after the service. I have invited all the guys that I have coffee with and am praying that some of them will come. God has blessed us and our church so much . We will soon have to move our services to the gym if it keeps on growing. That is a good problem to have and I thank him every day for our church family. Thank you Lord. We have lots of things going on at the church for the next month. It is going to be a busy summer by the looks of it.

Jorge will be coming at the end of the month. Can't wait for him to come. Sure do love our son in-laws.

Well I have lots of things that I would like to get done this year . I am going to paint my shed and put some new boards around the bottom and finish putting vinyl siding around the  sun room.The door on the garage needs painting and weather stripped. I have all the siding and the boards for the shed. Just have to paint the boards and wait for the rain to stop. ha ha. We really don't need any more rain.
Well that's about it for now.
God Bless you all and Have a great day.

Wow! it has been 3 week since I blogged. Well let's see a lot has happened since then.

Wendy had her hip replaced and was in the hospital for 5 days.She has been doing really well. The first few days were really hard for her and then she had a bit of a problem so we had to take her to the doctor here in Picture Butte. He gave her some new pills for the pain and she is doing great. She is getting around with her walker and her cane. I have to watch her so she don't overdo it. That happened one day last week and she was suffering for it but I think she learned that it doesn't pay to try to do too much. We  have gone out to Lethbridge a couple of time but have to be very careful getting in and out of the car. Kristy came down from Red Deer and stayed the first weekend after the operation and that was good. Tanya came over and did some laundry and helped Mum a a few times.

I had a gig that I did a week ago and Adri and Erie came over and grandma-sat for a Saturday evening. They stayed until Monday. Such a cute pair.

We had to take her back to the hospital on Tuesday this week and get the staples out. She said that hurt a bit but she is healing up. She has been doing really well and has not been too demanding. I try to stay out of her reach cause she wields a mean cane, ha ha. No, she has been great. She now has a shopping bag attached to her walker and I saw on face book she was looking for a cup holder for it now. She bought a Starbucks this afternoon.

Today I had to go to the hospital for my second treatment. The first one made me really sick but so far this one hasn't been too bad.

We had a fellow come over and give us a price on fixing our garage roof. We have a leak where the garage meets the house and after looking at it closely we realized that it need replacing. I went and picked up the material for it today. Dan, the guy that is going to do it, gave me a list of the materials so I picked them up this afternoon. He said if the weather is good he will start sometime next week.

I have been cleaning up our back and front yard. It looks really good now but it took me awhile. The raking and cleaning up takes me a lot longer now than it used to. I just took my time and got it all done now. Now I have to get ready for the new flower plants and hopefully I can get the garden tilled and planted soon, if the weather stays nice. I had to repair our swing because all the vinyl straps on the bottom broke this winter. I screwed some wood slats on and it looks good.

We had to make a fairy garden. ? I was not sure what Wendy wanted but she came out back and told me what she wanted and showed me where to put the stuff she wanted put up. I have to admit it is real cute and the kids are going to love it. Today we went and bought a few bushes that she wants put out in our back yard. That should keep me busy for a few days. We bought a couple of Saskatoon bushes and some large flower bushes. Five in all (so far).

We had a wonderful supper tonight that one of the ladies from the church brought over, We have been blessed with some beautiful flowers and four meals from our church family. Yesterday Teresa and Darrell and Christi  came over with some treats from the bakery. Sure do love this church family. Last night Janel from our church came over and cut Wendy's hair for her. They are all so sweet. Wendy has had lots of cards and phone calls so that keeps her busy.  She is doing really well with her walker and cane. She can't outrun me now.  ha ha.

Thank you Lord for all the blessings you have sent our way in the last few weeks. God is so good.

God Bless you all.

April 17, 2011

This morning we woke up to yup you guessed it MORE SNOW.  This is really getting crazy. The other thing that we woke up to was the power in our bedroom and part of our kitchen was out. At first I was thinking that maybe we had a leak in the roof and water had gone in to one of the electrical outlets. Then I was thinking just maybe one of our outlet plugs shorted out but then how would I find that??? Then I thought I should check the sump pump and when I checked that I found that it had no power and when I flipped the breaker again it buzzed and the breaker kicked out immediately. When I unplugged the sump and flipped the breaker it stayed on so then I knew it was the pump. We I had to play on the worship team this morning at church so after church I went into Lethbridge and bought a new pump. Guess the old one just shorted out. So $150.00 later all is well and the new pump is doing the job.

Well tomorrow we have to get up real early and take Wendy into the hospital. She has to be there at 6:20 am. She is first on the list tomorrow. She has been suffering for a long time and it will be good for her to walk around and not hurt. I guess she will probably hurt for a couple of day but it should go away soon.  It has been bothering her for the last 5 years. Just before we moved down here from Edmonton she had her name on the list and they called her and told her they could do it the first week in April but she canceled it because we were moving and she had just taken the job with the Police Department here in Lethbridge. That was 3 years ago. So it has been a long time. I will probably be at the hospital most of the day tomorrow and come home tomorrow evening. One of our friends is going to let Madison out about 12:30 or 1 tomorrow afternoon. Then she will be good until I get home. She is to old to leave outside in this cold weather. Poor old dog.
Well guess I should get ready for bed soon as 5am will come pretty quick eh?
Please pray for Wendy tomorrow.
God Bless you all and I pray that you will all have a good night.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Well here it is Friday the 15th. already. Where does the time go? Well lets see what I can remember of the past 10 days. I had to go to the lab and get my blood work done again as I had a doctor's appointment today. They also did a cholesterol test as we were curious of how the BiosLife was working. I had to go to see Doctor Mohamed, my doctor here in Picture Butte, because I needed meds that I take for my heart but there was no more refill at the drug store so had to call him and make an appointment to get them ordered. While I was there he said that the blood test came back and that the cholesterol was fine. That means the BiosLife is doing the job. He also told me that my PSA test was .02 which was less than the last time I went. Not sure he was supposed to tell me that but he did.

Today I went to see the cancer doctor in Lethbridge and he told me that the PSA test was good 0.2 and that I have to go to the hospital on May 6, for another treatment. I don't have to go back to him until December15.

Well yesterday we woke up to about 10 inches of new wet and heavy snow. I thought it was about 6 inches when I got up but the guys at coffee actually measured it and said I was wrong. Shows what I know, eh?? They said that last year on the same day we had snow. April 14th. Guess they keep track of things like that. On Wednesday I was out back painting a large trellis we have in the back yard and did a bit of raking and cleaning up of some large branches that had fallen or broke off of our willow tree. Then to wake up to all that snow was not nice.Oh well it's Alberta, right????

After we went to the doctor we stopped in to see Tanya and Tom and the little ones. We got home about 11:30 and Wendy made lunch. Then I put our new toilet in the upstairs bathroom. Took me about 4 hours to take the old one out and put the new one in. Kind of slow in my old age but it all went well and no leaks at the end. Wendy spent the afternoon making bread and scones. She won't be doing any baking for a while so thought that it would be good to get it done now.

Tomorrow we have a men's breakfast and Pete had asked me to give my testimony. So guess I should think a bit about that before I go to bed. Our breakfast is at 8 a.m.tomorrow morning.Won't have much time to think about it then as I have to help the guys cook and get the tables all set up.

Oh, my computer was down all day yesterday as we had no power from about 10 till noon. The snow was just so heavy that some of the lines were down. After the power came on my computer wouldn't come on. I talked to Tom today and he told me what to do to get it going again, so now I am back on line.

Oh, by the way our cell number are no longer any good as we canceled our cell phones. Just too much money for us and we weren't using them much anyway.We are going to use an old number that Mandy and Jorge had before they left for Chile.

Well, that's all for today. I pray that you will all have a great week. I would ask that you pray for Wendy as her operation is at 6 a.m. Monday morning. She will probably be in the hospital for 3 to 5 days. I will try to keep you all informed some how. I might just have Tanya post things as to what going on. on FaceBook or e-mail.

God Bless you all.

Thursday Morning.

Today started off on the wrong note. Must have got up on the wrong side of the bed or something. Ever had one of those days when you just didn't feel like doing anything but had so much to do?  Well that was my day.
First I noticed that last night one of the 4 Solor lights that I bought and put on my deck  post yesterday didn't light. So I took it off and brought it inside to look it over. Checked the battery and found that it had energy so I put it back together. Then the light came on and wouldn't go out. They are supposed to come on when it gets dark and go out when it gets light.Sigh. Tinkered with it a bit and put it back out on the post. Then thought that I would put the new toilet in our upstairs bathroom. We bought one of those high ones. 17 inches tall compared to the regular one's that are only 13 1/2 or 14 inches tall.
Wendy went off to work so I went out to the garage and brought it in. Opened the box and saw a big crack in the bowl. Called Wendy on the cell to find out where the bill was so I could take it back. Found the bill and loaded the toilet in the back of the truck and headed to Lethbridge to Totem's about 30kls. Got there and of course all the questions? Did you drop it  or bang it so had to find the guy that sold it to me and then they asked him if he checked it when I took it and he said no. Any way they gave me a new one and home I came.
Got home about 11:15am. and remembered that I had to take my car into the garage because the wheel bearing or at least it sounds like a bearing is  going bad.  They told me yesterday if I could bring it in that someone could give me a ride home if it was around noon.
Got back home and made some lunch. Went into the garage and opened the big bag of bird food and put it into 7 plastic pails. Yup you guessed it I split one all over the garage floor.sigh. That took a few minutes to clean up. Filled the feeder and put a few things away that I had left on bench. Took some boards out of the garage and put them in our shed.Then brought in a set of chimes that the string had broken and hopefully will be able to fix that later. Got a couple of phone calls and then read a bit more in my bible and played on the computer for a while. Then went out back and tried again to open the combination lock on my other shed because I have forgotten the combination.sigh. Guess I'll have to cut it off. Should have used a regular lock but had this sitting in the garage and thought it would be good and it would have if I hadn't forgot the combination over the winter.Ha ha. Oh well live and learn. If I don't remember by tomorrow I'll cut it off and get a new one with a key.. That's what happens when you get my age. 74. It is one of those thing that you hear happened to other people but never thought it would happen to you . ha ha. I have a good memory but guess it is aw full short lately. Been racking my brain for the last few hours but nothing yet.sigh.
Well it is getting late and Wendy will be home in a little while so better get supper on or I might get fired. Oh!!!! guess if your not getting paid you can't get fired eh???? Think I'll take a bit of a nap.

Well have a great day and God Bless you all. Hey I just noticed that my computer clock is an hour behind must be it didn't go to daylight savings time .Oh well.it is 4:35pm. right now.

Wednesday April 7, 2011

Well I hope you all had a great day. I had a busy one today. First went for coffee. Left early as the language was getting a bit to much for me and I was getting angry so thought that I should leave before I got myself into trouble. I gave them a few little digs but that went right over their heads. I just said I have heard enough and left. Oh well sometimes I don't think they even realize what they are saying and sometimes I think they don't care.sigh. Oh well!
Well I went home and put up four new Led light on my deck. They look really good but there wasn't much sun out today. Then I went to the dump and unloaded some cardboard boxes that I had in my truck for about a week.The town took our cardboard container away 2 weeks ago and haven't brought it back yet. Anyway went to the dump and then dropped off a brochure I had borrowed from Pastor Peter.
Then I went and gassed up my truck and that cost me $48.00 because gas went up again yesterday.
Then I called Tom and I met him at 12:00 and I took him out to lunch for his birthday. We went to a Mexican place on the south side that him and Tanya went to a  while back. It was really good. Usually I don't like Mexican food but this was good.Then I dropped Tom off at work and headed back to the south side.
 Then I went to Canadian tire and bought a couple of cans of paint for my poor old truck as it is getting pretty rusty and need a bit of sanding and painting. 
Then I headed to Wal- Mart and got some milk and a few other things that Wendy wanted and some bird seed for our birds. Then I headed to Costco and bought a large garden hose that I saw there yesterday and 4 cans of tire spray.The tire spray is usually about $10.95 a can so $12.95 was a real good price for 4 cans. I should have good looking tires for a while eh??
Jumped back into old Bert and we headed to the Red Cross building  on the West end not to far from Tanya's. I had to get her a cane, a toilet seat with handles, a clamp for the bath tub and a walker. Wow just realized that it is only 11 more day before her surgery. Then I got home about 5pm. and called a friend from our church and invited him over for supper Quickly ran to the store and grabbed a couple of steaks and came home and put some potatoes on to cook. Dan showed up about 5:30pm. and I threw the steaks on the BBQ, sliced up a tomato and a bit of cucumber, heated up a can of corn and we had supper.
Dan and I chatted a bit while I did the dishes and then we headed down stairs and played a bit of music. Dan left about 9:30pm. so thought that I should blog a bit. Well that was my day. I think I am going to pack it in for today.
I talked to Kristy on MSN for a few minutes and I think I am headed for bed. Wendy just called and said she will be another hour at Tanya.
I pray that you all had a great day today and may God Bless you.

Monday Morning

Hi everyone or at least to those who read my blog.

Well here it is Monday April 4th,2011.  Wendy has gone to work and I just got back from coffee a while ago. The weather is not to bad and supposed to get better. I hope. Got a few minutes before I have to go to the church for prayer with the guys.

We meet every Monday morning at 11:30. Wendy,Tanya, Kristy and Cynthia were at a retreat over the weekend. I got to hang out with Drew and Bethany and the Lister kids over the weekend. It was fun. Bob came down and stayed over at Tom's and went back Sunday.

We got a lot of new snow on Saturday but it is slowly melting away. Thinking about going into Lethbridge this afternoon and buying a new toilet. Thinking about putting in a higher one. Trying to get things ready for when Wendy has her surgery which is coming up soon. She is worried that I won't be able to take care of the garden,flowers and lawns.  I am sure God has it all planned out and I will be able to do it for sure. Might get some help from the grand-kids.

I have been feeling really good for the last little while and have my energy back so I am looking forward to getting outside and doing things if this snow ever leaves. I have to set up a chair for Wendy so she can sit outside after the operation. I'll need someone to supervise anyway right?

I have a few things that I really want to change in the back yard. I have to build a small bench of some sort to cover where Jorge knocked down the old fountain. Might have to buy a new one as one of our old fountains started to leak last year and I'm not sure I can fix it. I think I need or (want) some new solar light to put along the walk way out back.They really look nice at night.Thinking of painting our shed in the back and it needs a few new boards around the bottom. Might have to build a new swing for out back. The winter took it's toll on our old one. All the plastic pieces on the bottom must have frozen and broke. Might be able to use the old frame?

 Oh well I'm sure I will find lots of things to do this summer.
Well it is getting late and better get ready to go to the church. God Bless you all for taking the time to visit my blog. Have a great day.

Tuesday 22, 2011

Well it is the usual snow again thing going on here again today. Got up this morning a bit late. Didn't sleep good last night for some reason. Was up at 2am. and just couldn't get back to sleep until 6.
Went to coffee and then went an got my hair cut. Was starting to look a little shaggy.
Yesterday we bought a ceiling fan for our bedroom and I put that up. It works really nice and is quiet so if and when it ever warms up we can use it. Won't need to bring in the big fan when it gets hot.
Took the Saturn up to the garage yesterday. I think we have a wheel bearing going. Guess it getting old like me and need a bit of repair. It has over 200,000 klms on it so guess we can't complain . It has been a pretty good car for us for the last 10 years.
Well I should practice a bit on the harmonica. We play here in Picture Butte for the Seniors on Thursday evening. One of the guys from the club told me yesterday that they are expecting a full house because we are playing. They seem to enjoy hearing us play for them. I think Wendy is off Thursday evening so she will be able to come and listen.

Then we are heading to Edmonton Friday morning. We will drop the dog off at the kennels first thing in the morning and then continue on up highway 3 from Lethbridge. We will stop in Red Deer and see Kristy and Bob hopefully for lunch. We will be staying at our friends Ed and Betty. Ed e-mailed us last night and has invited a lot of our friends over to his house Saturday so we will get to visit lots of people. It is nice to have friends like them to open their house to us and everyone. I am getting excited about going up. It will be a nice break for Wendy as she has been working almost every day for the last two or three weeks.I think she needs a break.I keep hoping that I can get the garden tilled up as soon as this silly snow leaves.

Well not much else to write about so guess I'll call it a day. I have been feeling really good lately. God Bless you and I pray that you all will have a great day and Praise HIM.

March18, 2011

What a beautiful day it was here today. Almost made me think that summer is just around the corner. I felt great again today. Have been feeling great for the last 2 1/2 weeks since my treatment.Seem to have most of my energy back and really feel like doing things. This morning I got up about 6:30am and as usual checked my e-mail and face book. Then I read my bible and took a shower and then headed off for my morning coffee. Had coffee and then drove to Lethbridge with a rack that I built for Tanya and Tom for their downstairs closet.I got there and guess what ??? Yup you guessed it wouldn't fit in the closet. I was afraid of that when I built it so I screwed it together just in case I had to tear it down. It only missed by about 1/4 of an inch but that was just enough to make it not fit into the closet. So I got my drill and unscrewed the bottom part and took off the bottom boards and yup it went in. Then I put the shelves in and it really looks good and Tanya was happy with it.
Then I went to the music shop and picked up a new Harmonica that I had ordered and that cost me $150.00. I was afraid it wouldn't come in this week but it did. I am playing a dance tomorrow with Barry at the Army, Navy, Air force Veterans Club here in Lethbridge. I have a Bd  harmonica but it has one bad reed so I ordered a new one. I have 2 of every key just in case I blow a reed. With 2 of each key I can send one in for repair and still play  a job if I have to. I send in about one every 2 months or so depending on how often we play. I have to send them to Wilson's Music in Toronto because that is the only place that replaces reeds. Usually cost about $40.00 per reed plus shipping which is about $15 to $20 dollars depending on how fast I need it. Now all I need is a few more gigs to pay for all this eh? Ok enough about Harmonic's.
Then I went to the Home and Garden show in Lethbridge and walked around there until about 3:10pm. and then headed home. Got home and then had to go do Meals on Wheels this afternoon. Only had  2 meals to deliver but it was fun. Had a chance to chat and tell both of them what church I go to and how God has Blessed me. I only have to do the Meals on Wheel 2 times a month.
Then went to the store and bought some Veg's  for Stir Fries for supper. Wendy got home about 5 and she cooked the stir fries. She always does a good job at that. Think I am going to keep her around. She is cute you know and a good cook and I think she loves me???? I'll let you know right after she reads this blog. ha ha.
Well that was my day. Well almost I just came down and practiced my harmonica's for 2 hours and now just finishing up with this silly Blog.  Better get to bed. I have a long day again tomorrow. Might have to catch a nap in the afternoon as I have to play tomorrow from 8 to 12 midnight. That is kind of late for an old fellow like me eh?
Well God Bless you all and have a great day tomorrow.

March7th, 2011

Well it is Monday the 7th f March and it is -21C  with a real light snow coming down. I just went out and started my poor old cold truck. Had to kick the door real hard to get in as it was frozen. Just looked at the weather report and they say it will get real nice before the week is out. I am hoping they are right this time. Wendy is working 7 to 7 so won't see her until about 730 pm. I am going to go for coffee as soon as my truck warms up. Then I have a meeting with our pastor. We meet every Monday at 11:30 for prayer. Some times we get a couple other fellows that come and pray with us.
Well coffee is over and It is still cold out.

Yesterday after church we went over to Tanya and Toms and celebrated Erie and Amie's  birthday. They are growing up so fast. Last Thursday I took Erie out to lunch for her birthday . She wanted to go to a Pasta place. It was good and we had a great time. This week is Amie's birthday on Thursday so I will take her out to lunch. It is fun taking them all out for their birthdays. Usually the younger ones want to go to Mac Donald's or Burger King because there is a play area there. Adrie and Erie because they are older like something else bigger and better. ha ha. Oh well it is a lot of fun taking them out and getting to talk to them one on one.

Have a great day and God Bless you all.

February 28, 2011

Wow February 28.  It was 8 years ago today that I retired. Time just seem to fly. It don't seem like 8 years but guess it is. When I think back and realize all that happened in the last 8 years it makes sense. For the first 4 years I spent most of my summers at lake  Lac Saint Ann about 3/4 of an hour North West of Edmonton. I really enjoyed that and Wendy and I had lots of fun and relaxing times out there. We had our tent trailer out there and after about a year we bought a 17 ft. trailer which I have parked out back of my house here. I am hoping that we can do some camping this summer but not sure how that will work .

Well lets see I went to Bolivia with Mandy and a group from Beulah in 2003 right after I retired.. Then in 2005 went on another mission trip with the Alliance Men to Poland. We traveled to South Africa  to visit Kristy and Bob. I think that was 2006 and then in 2007 we went to Chile for Mandy and Jorge's wedding in Chile.   ( Their second one.)

Then I found out that I has Prostate cancer and went through an operation.Then we sold our home in Edmonton and moved here to Picture Butte in 2008. Things sure have changed in the past few years. We now have 8 grandchildren and one on the way. The oldest is 13 and the youngest is about 1.

The last 3 winters have been the pits. So much for the sunny south. I guess the whole world is having  bad weather of some kind.
Wendy has been working lots and I have been doing very little. She is going to have a hip replacement in April so today I lowered our bed because they said that after the operation she wouldn't be able to get up in our bed which was a real high one. When I built the bed frame I glued and screwed it really well and to take it apart was a real chore but I did it . It took me all day. Well that was my day to day.

God bless you all and have a great day.

Feb.5, 2011

Well I was going to walk to go for coffee but everything was so slippery I just walked to the car and drove. It is + 1C  so things are not cold. The roads and sidewalks are really slippery.

Tonight we are having 2 grandchildren over for a sleep over. Kellen and Isabella. They sure are cute. We had Adriana, Erilyn and Amelie over on Wed. evening.  Little Sophia is a bit young yet but I'm sure she will be sleeping over soon.

On Sunday I am going with Tom after church to watch the Super Bowl game at Tom's friend Karl in Lethbridge. Wendy will probably go hang out with Tanya and the kids.

Last night Wendy and I went out for supper at Moxie's in Lethbridge. It is the first time we have eaten there since they moved about 8 months ago. The place is really nice and the bathrooms are beautiful. TV over the urinals and the bathroom stalls are huge. They even have 2 leather chairs so you could sit and watch TV or whatever. The sinks are big. I never saw bathrooms as nice as this.

After dinner we went to watch a play and we both enjoyed that. We got home about 11:15pm. I think we should do this more often. I like to eat out but the cost is so high. We could buy a lot of food for $65.00
Moxie's is not the cheapest place to go but they give you lots of food and it was good. We don't eat out often.

I helped clean the church yesterday. We do it once a month or so with another couple. Today I have to take a stand that I built back to the church.  I had to add a ledge to it. It holds a large Bible in the front of the church.

Barry just called and wants me to go to Coalhurst to a jam session this afternoon. Not sure I am going to go as I have a meeting but probably could get out of that. Oh well we'll see. I might just go over to listen.
Our snow is melting pretty fast and that is good. Wendy and I are planning to take 2 or 3 days and go to Banff. We don't ski  anymore (Wendy has a bad hip and I am just too old) so it will just be to window shop and look around and get a way from Picture Butte for a few days. Kristy might come along with us if she is not working.
Well not much else going on here for now. Have a great day and God Bless you all.

Friday Jan.21,2011

So!  Where did the month go? It just seems to disappear. Well today it has warmed up to about +3 so far and we are hoping it will melt some of this snow away. However we don't want it to go off too fast or we will be in trouble with all the water. Not sure my little sump pump will handle it all if we get a lot of water quick.
I guess we'll deal with what ever happens eh?
Wendy has her name on the HIP list again so she will be getting a call soon. She is in a fair amount of pain everyday and is looking forward to getting it operated on. However this has raised a bit of concerned for our kids as it seems they are worried about Mum and I both. I will probably be going through some sort of treatments about the same time she gets her hip operated on. Not sure how 2 sick o's will make it through that. ha ha
I'm sure God has it all planned out . We will just have to wait and trust him. I am hoping that my treatments won't be to bad and if they are God will make sure that Wendy is ok. It is so nice to know that the kids are thinking about us and concerned.
Okay enough on that subject.  Last night we had a young couple and their family come over for supper and we had a lovely time. They have 3 children. It is a couple from our church. We cooked a nice roast beef and it turned out really good as usual. I think I have enough for the next few day left over but it is really good so I don't mind having it a few more times.
 We are going to try to have more people from our church over for supper or coffee and desert. It is nice to get to know the people at church.
Wendy is working today until 7pm. and then tomorrow she works a silly split shift. 11am. to 4pm. and then 11pm. until 4 am. She is off Sunday so that is good.
Barry called last night and I am playing on Monday evening in Coaldale. Guess I should practice a bit. I have some music on my computer so I can just bring it up and practice  with that. I have it all set up here in the basement.It gives me something to do besides watch the silly old TV. There is not a lot to watch during the day anyway.
Well that it for today. I pray that you will all have a great day and God Bless you all.

Jan.4, 2011

Happy New Year  everyone. Well now I have to get use to typing 2011. Not sure what 2011 is going to bring but it  is all in God's hands so I really don't have to worry about it eh? Well here it is 2011 and we moved here in April 2008. It doesn't seem that long ago but here we are in 2011.

New Years Eve I played with Barry at Pemmican Lodge in Lethbridge. We were supposed to play at Black Rock Lodge at 2pm. in the afternoon but the canceled because of the flu. At Pemmican we had about 60 people there and it was a lot of fun.It was fun to see some of the seniors get up and dance to our music. Wendy came and took pictures and a video of us performing. She worked until 7 and then came and watched us. We played until 8:35pm. Then at 9pm. we packed every thing up and headed home. I think we got home about 10:30pm. Wendy was off for a few days but had to go back to work this morning at 7am.

This morning I went for coffee at 9am. and got home at 10:30am. It was a long coffee. Every one was telling what they think they are going to do this year. Not sure what I will be doing this year as I haven't given it much thought yet.

We got snow on Sunday morning so things are really white at the moment. Wendy is back to work and I have a dentist appointment at 1:30pm. this afternoon. Not looking forward to that as I hate the drilling and I have do have a new filling put in. Sigh. Oh well hopefully it won't take long at least that is what I keep telling myself .ha ha.

I am hoping that Wendy and I can do a bit of traveling around the area. We keep saying we should do that but it just doesn't seem to happen. We are not that far from the mountains. We haven't even checked out some of the little towns that are near us. Guess we are old stick in the mud's. ha ha. Maybe this is the year we can do that. It sounds like fun but we have to get off our butts and do it.


The year has gone by so fast and God has Blessed us in so many ways. Our little church has grown this year. Mandy and Jorge came home right after the earthquake in Chile and little Levi was born.  Kristy and Bob flew home from South Africa and are now back in Red Deer. Wendy got to go with Adriana, Kristy and Bob to Mexico on a mission trip. We flew to North Carolina and spent 3 weeks with Wendys brother and his family. Then we went to Texas with Tanya, Tom and little Sophia for a week. We went to a conference there and then took a few days and looked  around some of Texas. This Christmas we were bless with Tanya,Tom and the kids for 3 days and Kristy came for about 12 day as she wasn't working Bob also came on the 23 as he had to work. We had a great Christmas. Looks like we have had a great year eh? I have struggled a bit with  my health but can't really complain.  Again as I said before God has Bless us  for the year of 2010.

Well guess I should get ready to go to Lethbridge and face the dentist. Pray it won't take long.