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.

Dec 16, 2010

Wow ! It has been a busy week here. On Sunday after service Wendy and I drove to Calgary and met Bob and Kristy at Ika. Bob has to work until the 22nd. so he brought Kristy down and she is staying until Christmas. Sure is good to have her around. On Monday I had a dentist appointment so that took care of most of the morning. Then I met with Pastor Pete and Wayne for prayer at 11:30am. We meet every week for prayer at the church. Tuesday morning Kristy and I  took Madison into Lethbridge for a bath and a good brushing and got her nails trimmed. After dropping her off Kristy and I went to Smitty's restaurant for breakfast and enjoyed that. Then we went to Wall Mart and bought a couple things . We picked up Madison and brought her home and then Wendy, Kristy and I headed into to Lethbridge again and went to Tanya house. I took Kellen out for lunch at Mac Donald's near where Wendy works. He was really happy about going out with Pa Pa for lunch. I usually take all the grand kids out to lunch for their birthday but we were away when Kellen birthday came up . He sure is a cute little guy and after lunch he got his very own Mac Flurry with smarties.I asked him if he wanted one and he said you mean my very own . I think he thanked me 3 or 4 times. He is such a good little boy. I just love him. He is a bit like his mom and will talk your ear off. I'm half deaf so didn't hear it all but got most of it.
Then yesterday Wendy had to work. I had to play at 2 pm. at Piyami Lodge with Barry. Kristy came along to listen.After we played for about an hour and a half they served all the people, Christmas goodies and drinks. It was quite a large crowd about 45 to 5o people. Most of them live right there  at the lodge. Then after we got home from that we waited for Wendy to get home and went to Pastor Pete and Mary's for supper. That was fun. We got home about 8pm. and then a fellow from church (Dan) came over and we played a bit of music. He got a new guitar and wanted me to hear him play. He does play very well.

Today Wendy went to work again and about 9 am. Kristy and I went into Lethbridge again as Kristy needed to buy a few things at Park Place Mall. Wendy came home at noon . She wasn't feeling that great.  At 1 Wendy and Kristy and I went to church and prayed for about an hour and a half for my son in-law's Dad Jorge Santana. They found out early this week that he had a fairly large tumor in his neck the was wrapped around the brain stem in his neck and needed an operation right away.WE got work this evening that the took out most of the tumor and that he seems to be fine and can move both arms and legs.Praise the Lord.
God has been so good to our family.Jorge Dad is only 53 or 54 years old.
 They said it was a very risky operation and it could have left him paralyzed. We  are all thanking Jesus for giving the doctors the wisdom and knowledge to do this operation. We  serve a gracious God.(Jesus Christ).
Well it is snowing just a little bit but if it snows more I might have to get out the tractor eh? It is getting late and I didn't get to take a nap today. ha ha.

May God bless you all and may you all have a MERRY CHRISTMAS. I am going to post a picture of my grand kids. They sure are a cute bunch.

Dec.4, 2010

Well here it is December already. Where did the year go? It just seems that it has gone by so fast but when I really think about it I guess we have had a busy year. The first big thing was the earthquake in Chile that kept us wondering for a while. Then Mandy and Jorge and Josiah came here and little Levi was born into the family. Then they went back to Chile and Wendy went with them for 3 weeks. Then Wendy went to Mexico with Adriana, Kristy and Bob after they came home from South Africa. After they came home we went to Texas for a week with Tanya and Tom and little Sophie. I kinda don't remember much about our summer. Seems I was alone most of it. Oh well that how life is I guess.
I have also been busy playing a few gigs with Barry and that has been fun. We just played for a dance a week or so ago at the Moose Club in Lethbridge.and that was lots of fun also. This week has been real busy. Wendy has been working lots of hours and then on Wednesday Wendy had a Women Christmas party at the church and last night Wendy and I went to the Seniors Christmas Dinner her in Picture Butte.We left about 9:20pm. and walked around town because they were having Midnight madness her in Butt.  We only went to 4 or 5 shops. We bought some stuff at Home Hardware and then to Berts and bought a couple of roast and got home about 10:45.pm.
This morning I went to the church at 7am. and got things ready for a Men's breakfast at 8:30.am. We had 15 guys that came for breakfast.We served pan cakes and sausages and fruit.
I am getting excited about Christmas. Tanya,Tom and the kids are coming on the 23 and staying until the 26 and Kristy and Bob will be her also. Love it when everyone is here. This year we will miss Mandy, Jorge and the 2 boys.
Well it is 2:45am.  and here I am at this silly old computer. Not sure why I can't sleep but been awake since 1:30am.  Must be getting old eh?

Well God Bless you all and have a great day.

November 21, 2010

Wow it has been over a month since I posted anything on here.Not sure I can remember back that far. ha ha.
Well lets see how good my memory is.
Well Wendy had a great time in Mexico with Adria, Kristy and Bob. I think they had 8 others that went on the trip with them. She really enjoyed it and has posted a blog about it with some pictures.
Tanya, Tom and little Sophia and Wendy and I went to Texas at the end of October for a week to a conference there with Paul Washer and Voddie Bauchman  Not sure of the spelling but think it is close. We had a great time and I really enjoyed spending the time with Tanya and Tom. Since they got married we really haven't gone anywhere with them so it was fun. The weather in Texas was really warm and I liked that. I gained 9 lbs. while we were there. We found some real good restaurants while we were there. The conference was great and I enjoy that too. We stayed in a town called Humble .The conference was only 3 days so we got to go see a bit of Dallas which was only about an hour away from our hotel. We got to see the space center and  the Reliance football field.
Wendy has been working lots since we got home. Then our weather here has turned cold so I haven't done much. I did clean out our garage so Wendy can park the car in there at night. That saves a lot of scraping and brushing the snow off. I have been doing a few things at the church. Patched  some drywall. Saturday I went and helped put up some props for our Christmas play that will happening about the middle of Dec.
Oh I put the plow on my little tractor and pushed a bit of snow last week when the snow came. It was almost to much for the little tractor. We got about 8 or 9 inches I guess. It is snowing again today and as soon as I finish here I am going out and plow again. Wendy has made me promise not to shovel. I did shovel a bit the first day it snowed and suffered for a few day with chest pains. She was a bit upset with me over that.
I have been feeling pretty good but the cold weather really affects me. I have to go get my flu shot soon. Was going to get it about 2 weeks ago but caught a cold so couldn't go.
I have been playing a few gigs with Barry and have been enjoying that. On Saturday we played for a dance at the Moose Hall in Lethbridge.  Wendy was off so she went with me and listened. We played from 7 pm. until about 11.40 pm. Normally we do 1 hour or 2 hour gigs so this was a long one for me but the people liked us and we got lots of compliments and they stayed and danced until about 11:30. Yesterday I went to church and played on the worship team. That is always fun and we have an awesome worship team. Usually there is 8 or 9 of us. We had a really good crow on Sunday. I think about 85 or so people. Our little church is really growing and that is great to see.
Well I guess that is it for now have a great day and may God Bless you all.

Saturday Oct. 16, 2010

Well I guess it is about time I wrote something here eh?  Wendy, Adria, Kristy and Bob left for Mexico on Thursday the 7th. Friday I cleaned the church and when I finished I realized that it was not my turn until next week. ha ha. I came down with a runny nose on Saturday so I didn't play with the Worship team on Sunday. I went and prayed at 9:45 am with the prayer team. I got up early and made stuffing for the turkey and got everything ready so I could put the old bird in the oven as soon as church was finished. Tanya and Tom supplied the turkey. Sunday afternoon Tanya , Tom and the kids came over and we had a Turkey supper on thanksgiving day here at my house.  I came down with a bit of a cold on Monday  so that kept me in the house a bit. Didn't do much for a few days except hang around the house and watch TV. Thursday I felt a bit better and went into Lethbridge to get some Earl Grey Tea and a few other things. Friday I felt pretty good so went and cleaned the church again (my turn this time ) Marg and Lawrence came and helped me. It has been a pretty slow week for me and with Wendy gone it seemed longer. Tanya's kids have been a bit sick so I didn't want to go over there to often. Last night I was thinking what I could cook for supper when Tanya called and asked if I would like to go with them to supper at Rickey's so I quickly got ready and headed out.
There was a shooting in Shawnasee( not sure how to spell it )and some guy was killed so there  was a bit of  traffic getting through there. Then there was a large tractor and some Hugh equipment on the road and that took a little time to get by (quite common here at harvest time) but finally got to Tanya's and we went to supper. The kids were really good and the food was great. Came home about 9:30 pm. and was going to watch a bit of TV but I woke up about 11pm. and went to bed. Ha ha. I do that quite often lately. Must be old age eh?
This morning I went for coffee and well here I am at this silly old computer trying to remember what I did last week. Like I said Wendy is coming home on Sunday so guess I should clean the house up a bit. Not much to do, A few dishes and maybe vacuum a bit. It sure will be good to have her back home. Then on next Thursday we are heading to Texas with Tanya, Tom and Sophia to a conference with Voddie Bauchmen and Paul Washer. The conference is only 3 days and then we are going to hang around Texas for a few days before coming home. It will be the first time we have gone anywhere with Tanya and Tom in a long time. Sounds like fun so want to make the most of it right? She has found a couple of families to take the kids for a few days and then Kristy and Bob are coming down and watch them until we get back.The kids are all excited over that and I know Kristy and Bob will have fun with them. Not to sure what we will do in Texas but I'm sure Tom will figure something out.  Maybe check out a football stadium or something . It will be fun just hanging out with them anyway.
Well that's it for today . God Bless you all and have a great day.

September 30,2010

Today was a busy day and I didn't feel that great. Didn't sleep much last night and don't know why. I went to bed a bit to early maybe. I think it was about 9:30 when I got home from practice at Barrys and Wendy was already in bed. Yesterday afternoon she cut her thumb really bad. Split her left thumb with one of my Stanley utility knives. It is cut from the top of her thumb all the way down the center to the quick and pretty deep. Anyway she didn't sleep to well, I don't think because she moaned a lot. I woke up at 1:11am. and couldn't get back to sleep so I came down to the old computer and did some of the things that I should have done for the last two weeks and finially went back to bed about 5:10am.
Tanya and the kids came over early and Wendy and Tanya went out in the garage and painted some chairs that Wendy bought at the auction last Saturday with Kristy.
I didn't do much today just laid around and chatted with the kids. I just didn't seem to have a lot of energy. At 5 pm. I drove to Coaldale as we had to play at the Pemmican lodge in Lethbridge and Barry was going to be running late so I picked up some of his equipment and his wife Gwen and met him at Tim Horten in Lethbridge. We had coffee and he grabbed a bite and we went and play from 7 until 8:30pm. We had fun and it was a real good evening for both of us. We had about 40 people that we played for and they all said they enjoyed it so that was good. Well here it is 11:30 and I am here at this silly old computer. Guess I should call Wendy and then go to bed or I will be feeling bad again tomorrow.Well good night to you all and may God Bless you.