October 15, 2012

Wow here it is the middle of October and it is still really warm outside.  19 C outside right now.
       Well this morning Mandy and Jorge and the boys went into Lethbridge so I went out back and started putting away our fountains. Boy that's a bigger job than I wanted to tackle but I guess it has to be done while it is still warm. I took our Bug Sapper down and cleaned that and put it back into the box and put it up on the shelf in the garage. I pulled all the fountains apart and cleaned up the pumps and put them up on a shelf in the garage. I labeled each one so next spring I'll know which pump goes where.Then I hooked up my pressure sprayer and cleaned each one. They get pretty grubby  over the summer and the birds really make a mess with them. Cleaning them you get totally soaked. Then Jorge came home and carried the heavy ones in the shed for me. I would have been a while and probably would have been sore for a week. Those things are heavy. I have a hand cart but it is hard to load and drag them to the shed. Thanks Jorge. Then we put away all the cousions that were on the chairs. The shed is all packed nice for the winter now.
       Then we had lunch and now I am going to go out and take apart our outside water line and blow that out for the winter so it don't freeze. Then I thinking maybe sitting down and watching a bit of T V. Well as long as it is so nice out maybe I should clean the garage.and watch TV later eh??
     We have been invited out to supper tonight so I won't have to cook. Well now that Mandy is home she does most of the cooking and I like that for sure.
Anyway I will meet Wendy there. Mandy and Jorge and the boys are invited to so we can all go in my truck.
     Well I ain't getting things done sitting on this silly old computer so guess I'll wrap it up for now.  i pray you will all have a great day and God Bless you all.

Well here it is October 1st.  Boy it has been a long time since I blogged. Well where do I start. On Sept. 17th. Wendy  and I were going camping for the last time this year but decided not to take the trailer and just go to Banff  for a few days. Glad we didn't take the trailer as it was really cool in the mornings but got up in the 20's during the day. We just rented a room at the High Mountain Inn. They had a free breakfast which was really nice every morning. We walked around the town and looked into lots of stores. Didn't buy much but did buy a few things.One that I can't mention until after the 5th.of Oct.(Wendy.s Birthday). We have Wendy's  birthday on the 5th. and Kellen's on the 6th. and Kristy's on the 8th. Looks like we should have lots of cake don't you think??
While we were in Banff we went to the old coal mines and look all through that . Interesting to say the least. Not much left of it as the Government moved all the houses and what they didn't move has fallen down as it was closed about 90 years ago.All in all we had a great time just the two of us walking and talking and planning as Mandy and Jorge and the boys were coming here on the 25which was last Tuesday. We picked them up at the airport and they are all settled in now.It will be a week tomorrow.
Today  we all went into Lethbridge as Tanya and Tom and the kids moved to another (larger) home still in Lethbridge.
They are predicting cold weather coming soon so tomorrow maybe I put the fountain away and clean them for the winter. Only have 5 of them but it takes a while to pressure spray them and get them clean.  Then I have to blow out the outside water lines with the compressor so they don't freeze during the winter.
Our flowers are still looking good but if it gets as cold as they are saying it will they will be gone in a few days. We are gearing up for all the birthdays and then Cynthia and her family are coming  for Thanks Giving so we should have a house full. Guess I had better buy a big turkey eh?? Well maybe two as with Tanya and the kids , Kristy and Bob and Mandy and Jorge and the boys plus Cynthia and her family and Wendy and I there will be 21 and if Cass comes and maybe Mario that will be 23.  Sounds like lots of fun and eating going to happen around here. With all the cakes for the birthdays and the turkey for thankgiving  and of course all the trimmings  sounds like I might gain a few pounds eh??

Well guess that  is about all for this blog. God Bless you all and have a great Thanksgiving to all our Canadian friends.

Well it has been a beautiful day. A bit windy but all in all a good day. Got lots done and feel pretty good so it has to be a good day.

This morning I got up a bit early and read my Bible and prayed and realized that I really need to rewrite my prayer list. It's only about 28 or maybe 30 years old and it is getting hard to read but I know what is on each line.(I should by now right)

Well went for a coffee and then came home and put the furnace cover that I painted yesterday back on to the furnace in the trailer. Watered the plants in the front and the back and cleaned 4 of our 5 fountains. Man do they get dirty or what? The birds just love them but they sure do mess them up. Bird poop, feathers, you name it . Then I sprayed our number 5 fountain with a rubber sealant to stop it from leaking. Then fixed the pump on that also and put it back on it stand. Boy are those things heavy or maybe I'm just getting old. Probably a bit of both eh? Then I got the lawn tractor out, gassed it up and went to the church and mowed the lawn. Came home and mowed our front lawn and put the sprinkler on it for a while. Then I put the new hitch on my tractor so I can pull the snowmobile trailer with it. I have to go get a large U bolt to make it stay in place. Well then I got out the trimmer and walked down to the church and trimmed the lawn there.

Then I came home and did my exercises that I have to do for my back. Maybe I should have done them first eh???Oh well that's how I do things (Backward).

Practice a few song and now going to make supper. Wendy will be home in a couple of hours but she doesn't want supper tonight.sigh.

Well I pray that you all have had a great day and God Bless you all.

Hi there! I'm back posting .Ya I know it is about time eh? It has been a good day but not so good. I know that don't make sense so I'll have to explain.
Well this morning I got up about 6:30am and headed for the church bout 6:50am. Made coffee for our prayer group that meets every Tuesday morning. Pastor Pete e-mailed me and said he wouldn't be there and 2 of our regulars Wayne and Glen Brouwer are on their way to Mexico. On a mission trip again. Anyway I made coffee and we only had 4 of us there this morning. It is good to see the men coming out for prayer first thing in the morning. We usually get 8 or 9 guys out on most Tuesdays.
After  our prayer group ended I went for more coffee with the coffee group at Eddies. I go there almost every day. Then I came home got something to eat and Wendy and went to Home Hardware and bought 5 bags of large wood chips for our flower garden. Wendy spread them and went out back and fixed a bit of fence that needed tending to. It seems there is always something to do around here.
Yesterday I planted our garden which is only half the size this year. The rest I am going to rake over and put grass seed in . I'm getting to old to have a real large garden. I was tired after only doing half. This year I planted 8 tomato plants, 6 pepper plants, 2 rows of beans, 1 row of peas a row of carrots and beets, radishes, lettuce, 4 different kinds of squash, some cucumber and some melons. That should keep me busy enough this summer plus all the flowers. Wendy spent almost all day planting flowers in the back yard and some flower pots that our grand kids gave her for mothers day last year. It was lots of work for the 2 of us but it is starting to look real pretty out there already.

Today it was so windy you really couldn't work out side. We just did a little bit out back and then Wendy had to go to work at noon for 4 hours so I came in and just played around here on the computer and played harmonica a bit . I have to learn how to play with the new background music and I am finding that it is not that easy. Maybe I'm just getting old?  I still miss playing with the guys in Edmonton. We used play a lot but we always had fun. I really miss all them guys. I played with 3 groups. The Harmonika Rascals, the Kompanions and The Harmonicaires. We used to do some crazy gigs but it was always a lot of fun. Oh well enough about that guess I should get supper on . Wendy will be home soon. I see if I can find a couple of pictures of the Old Rascals
Have a great day and God Bless you all.

Well here I am at at this silly old computer and it is 2:42am. Wed. 2012. What am I doing up you might ask? Darn good question and I am not sure but just couldn't sleep and was afraid I would wake Wendy up so slid out of bed and came down her to the old computer. We went to bed about 10:30pm. but I seemed to be awake about ever hour. I should be tired as I had a busy day yesterday.
Got up at 6:15am. Tuesday morning. We have a prayer group that gets together every Tuesday at 7:15am. I usually go buy some doughnuts at the bakers here in town .They open at 6:30am. Then I go to the church and make coffee for the guys so they have hot coffee when they get there. This morning we only had 8 guys. Usually we get 9 or 10. We pray for our church and church family and any other request that the men have. They are an awesome bunch of men with a real  Heart for a God. We try to be finished about 8:30 but most of the time it goes past 9am.
I came home right after and got a phone call from a company that ordered a canopy and running boards for my truck to tell me that they were in. He asked when I could bring in my truck and I said how about right now? He hesitated for a minute and then said can you hold on for a sec. and I'll see how busy the guys are. He came back on in a minute or 2 and said the guys said they can do it right away so come on in, it will only take about 2 hours. So off I went to Lethbridge. It takes about 18 minutes to get there. When I got there he said that it might take a little longer because the guys go for lunch at noon. I got there about 10 am. and the guy said to be safe maybe come back about 2pm. So that meant 4 hours not 2. Oh well I walked across the street to Zeller's and wondered around there for a while and then Canadian Tire is in the same building so checked that out. I couldn't find anything in either store to buy so went and sat in the little mall for about half an hour and they called at 1pm. and said come and get my truck.
Walked back and picked up Gizmo. Had to pay of course. (Boy he sure looks different) but nice. all decked out with the canopy and new shinny running boards.
Drove home and had lunch at Eddies restaurant here in Picture Butte. Then came home and put a coat of Clear Coat on a counter that I am building Kristy and Bob for their kitchen. Finished that and then put the plywood on the top and screwed that down. Ran to Home Hardware and got 4 corner irons and some screws for the counter and put them on. Then I cut the Arborite  for the top and prepared that with contact cement. While It was drying I cut a back splash and shaped a piece of pine for the front edge. Put the arborite on and cut more for the back splash and put that on. I got a call from the church that they had a problem there so I walked to the church to see if I could help there. Came back and cleaned up the shop(Garage) so Wendy could put her car in when she got home. Figured I'd call it a day and as it was getting to 7pm I was getting hungry also. So that was my day.. I put a couple of pictures of Gizmoe on here so you can see the (NEW LOOK.)
Well that's all for now. I pray that you will all have a great day and God Bless you all.

April19,2012
Guess it is time I updated this old Blog eh?? Well today should be a good day to do this. I am not feeling so great because I had another treatment yesterday. I just got instructions from my wife to just put my feet up as it is not so nice outside. A bit of rain at the moment. Well my feet are not exactly up but  typing shouldn't be to much of a strain on me eh? I don't remember what I talked about on my last blog.
God has been so good to us and I found out yesterday that the last PSA test was really good. It is back to 0 which is normal. The doctor is saying that the treatments are doing the job but I think the Lord is allowing the treatments to do the job.
Well I do have some good news. Last week Wendy and I went truck shopping. We have been looking for about 2 weeks I guess. We looked at quite a few really nice ones and then a week ago on Monday we went to Davis GMC in Lethbridge to look at one we looked at before but didn't drive and was in our limit of what we were thinking of spending. When we got there Russ the salesman informed us that they had sold the one we were interested in. We thanked him and decided to leave but being a good salesman he said (hey) let me show you another one I have with about the same mileage but just a little bit higher. We said no thanks. that we were ok but he said that they were having a sale on and that this one had been marked down for the show to almost what the other one was and was 2 years newer and has about the same mileage.(93000)klms. Well you know how that works so off we go to look at this one. It was a Red Dodge Ram with a Hemi (V-8) with a quad cab. I must say at first sight it was a right pretty looking truck. Well we took it for a drive and fell in love with it. So to continue the story I (We) are the proud owners of this pretty Red Dodge. Old Bert was a nice pickup but didn't have much power and no power steering and just a small cab. We wanted something bigger and I had old Bert for 10 or 11 years, so it was time to get something that will pull our old trailer. I really love driving the new truck which needs a new name. The grand kids really like it to.
Well God is good. Sitting here writing this silly old blog and I am feeling much better. I feel like a good old cup of Old Earl grey tea. Yesterday I went to Lethbridge and ordered running boards and a cap for it.

Not much to else to write about so guess I close for today. God Bless you all and have a great day.

Another beautiful day. It started off busy but slowed down a bit about noon. Showered and quickly got dressed and thought to myself that I would go into Lethbridge early and grab a egg Mc Muffen and a coffee. I didn't want to make to much noise at home because Wendy was sleeping. She got home about 4:30 this morning from work and I didn't want to wake her. I had to be at UDAC church at 9am for practice so thought that I had lots of time. Jumped into my truck , making sure I had my Harmonicas  and me and Bert took off.. 20 minutes later walked into Mc D's and ordered an egg mc muffen meal. The guy said that will be $5.39. Reached for my wallet and yup you guessed it I didn't have it. sigh. So I quickly jumped back into old Bert and headed home. Got home grabbed my wallet and jumped back into Old Bert and headed back to Lethbridge and then thought that I might not have time to get something  to eat so I pushed down on that little peddle and off we went. Of course bucking a head wind of about 70 miles per hour old Bert didn't  do so well but we got back to Mc D's about 8;46 so I do did get my egg mc muffen and a coffee. Wolfed it down jumped back into old Bert and off we went to UDAC. I got there about 9:02 .

We played and things went well.Tom was playing the guitar. I got to see most of the kids and Tanya and then Jumped back into Old Bert and came home. Had a tail wind so I had to get off the gas a bit or old Bert would have been speeding. Wendy made me some soup for lunch and I sat on the couch and yup you guessed it I don't think I was much company for a while. But then Wendy said well Sunday should be a day of rest so that made me feel better.haha.
Wendy made some Lemon tarts and I think I ate to many of those. After Wendy went to work I went out into our Sun Room and read my Bible for a while. Then I just got thinking about summer and how pretty our back yard is in the summer. Then I got a call and had to go open the doors of the church for the youth. Came home watched a little TV and then had to go back down to the church and lock the doors.sigh.
Came down stairs and  played a bit on my harmonica and then thought about blogging so here I am setting here at this old computer.
Well God is good and I am looking forward to tomorrow.
Bless you all and have a great evening.

Had a busy day. Coffee with the guys at 8:30am. then went fishing at 10:30am. Never got a bite. If the fish ain't biting then I ain't fishing. Was home at 1pm. got lunch and then worked outside in our back yard raking up leaves and little branches for our willow tree and put them down back by the gate, moved some wood from the garden to the trailer and used the tractor with the blade to level out our garden where the trees were. Then took a shower grabbed  a bit to eat and packed my harmonica's and went and played at UDAC Alliance and got home at 10;pm. I'm playing there tomorrow morning for the service with the worship team. Think it is time to go to bed. Wendy is working tonight again until 4 am. I have to be at UDAC at 9 tomorrow morning.

Hope you all had a Blessed day and God Bless you tonight.

Well here is is almost April. I have been sick most of the time since we got back with a cough that I can't seem to get rid of. I went back to the doctor today. I think it has him puzzled. I seem to be getting a bit better but still cough quite often.

I was feeling pretty good on March 22 nd. and I did my first SOLO gig at the Old timers  Senior Club here in Picture Butte. The guy I used to play with hasn't had any job lately. Anyway the people seem to enjoy my playing. I downloaded some background sound tracts and then just played them on my (NEW Ipod ) through my amp. It sounded good and I was happy with that. Wendy did all the downloading and she sat it up for me. Don't know what I would do with out her. She is a real sweetie. She even operated the Ipod for me at the Senior center that night. I'll get it one of these days but I am a little slow at it. I'm getting better everyday at it and am really enjoying that little thing. Oh well me and the new technology don't get along so well some times but I'm learning.

Sure do miss my dog but that another story. We put old Matty down about a week before we left for Chile. She was about 16 and was having trouble with her back legs and was almost totally blind. She had trouble going up and down our few steps that she had to do get in the house. Starting to tear up so lets just say that I sure do miss her.

Wendy has been working so much since we got back. I don't see much of her. Not only long shifts but crazy ones too. A lot of people have been calling in sick so she had got lots of hours in. She works so much and then comes home and goes walking for 2 klms. almost every night.

Wendy and I are leading a Truth Project Program and next week is our last session. We have an awesome bunch of people doing it with us. God has just been working in all of us through this program. There is 6 couples counting us. What and awesome church family they are.

Well not much more to say so I close for now. God Bless you all and have a great day.

Well I guess it is time to Blog. Wow I haven't done this in a long time. Well we went to Chile back in January 18th. to visit Mandy, Jorge and the 2 boys, Josiah and Levi. We were there for 6 weeks. We really enjoyed the time we spent with them.
Things are done a bit different in Chile. For breakfast they have fresh bread called pan, served with Jam, Cheese and sometimes sandwich meat, and of course Tea, coffee and juice.  Lunch is their big meal of the day and then supper is bread (fresh) jam, cheese and again lunch meat. After lunch most people take a nap . The local stores close until 4pm.or 4:30pm.
While we were there the temperature was really hi. I think it got up to39 C. was the highest. When it is in the 30's you can't stay out in the sun to long and you must use sunscreen or you burn really bad.
Mandy and Jorge live right next to the Church. They have a nice house . Jorge and the men of the church built it this past year. I think they moved into it last August.
While we were there I put trim around some windows and doors . Jorge and I put up a handrail for the stairs. Jorge and I built a wood shed to hold the winter wood and I put together some cabinets and made a cabinet for his tools.
Josiah loves to play soccer  and he would tire me out almost every day kicking the ball. Levi love to play with little cars which he calls Auto's and we would play for hours. He never tires. The first thing he says in the mornings is Auto's. He tries to play soccer with Josiah but he is kind of small and only being 2 he kicks the ball allover instead of straight ahead.  Josiah gets a bit upset with him but he will learn soon. I sure do miss them boys. We had lots of fun while we were there.
We met all the people of the church. We even went on a church picnic and they BBQ ed a pig.Not being able to speak Spanish I had to get Mandy or Jorge  to translate but the men soon learned sign language . ha ha.
The 4th week we were there we took 5 days and went to a little town about 5 hours away from Yumbel to Pokon. We went to a couple of other towns but I can't spell them. We had fun and enjoyed some of the beaches and took a boat cruise one afternoon. Wendy had her wallet stolen and that caused a bit of trouble but when we got home from the cruise Jorge called the police and they had found her wallet  in a trash can with all the credit cards. The money of course was missing. Fortunately she only had about $8o dollars in it.

The people that go to the church in Yumbel are a real caring bunch of people. They don't have a lot of money but share what ever they have with those that need it. I just loved them all. They are all just a little family.

We got home March 1st. and of course the temp. was a bit different.but really not to cold.
Well that's all for now . God Bless you all and have a great day.

Today is January 10, 2012

Guess it is time to do a bit f Blogging  and up date this thing.  Well this morning I woke up about 5:45am and realized that the power has been off for a while. My watch and Wendy's clock said 5:45 but all the electric clocks said 12:58am.  I thought well we had a power failure sometime in the night and then found that we also didn't have any water. I had to put our old dog Madison out. Then I saw that she had messed on the floor. She is 16 1/2 years old and has lost some of the use of her back legs and now seems to not be able to control her self.  We have been talking about putting her down but that is easier said then done. I never thought that I could get so attached to a dog.The thought of putting her to sleep for good is not an easier thing to do. I worry that she is hurting but  she doesn't complain so how do you know? We are planning to go to Chile in a about 8 day and I don't think she would survive the kennels for 6 weeks. I just let her out of the garage and she fell twice going toward the back garden. This morning I called the vet and have an appointment at 4:30 pm to have her put down.

There is going to be a few sad, sad days around here.  I sure will miss her. She has been a real good dog and a faithful old hound. Guess I'll have to learn to chase my own frizz-be  or ball eh??

 Well I had better get going as the roads are not that great after this silly little snow we had this morning. sigh.