happy holidays

Hey all,

Just want to wish everyone a happy holiday season. Sorry I missed wishing you a “merry Christmas” but I wasn’t at my computer to do so. I just returned from a short but wonderful Christmas break in Saskatoon where the rest of my crew had been residing for the last three weeks. Yeah!
Angela and the kiddos took off on December 4th for colder climates with less snow (but plenty of warm hearts) and I stayed behind to work, both at my job and on the house (and on a side project that you will hear more about in the future). And after two weeks I was supposed to catch a flight out to S’toon for the holidays. Unfortunately that flight was delayed for two days due to weather and cheek space (a seat for my seat) but last Friday evening (21st) we were re-united with big hugs and lots of “papa, papa’s”. It was then a four day flury of family Christmas get-together’s, with a short (3hr) shopping trip and a visit to church to see friends (Hi! nice to see you all) thrown in. We followed that up with a 14 hour trip back to mild, snowy Trail where we are hosting Angela’s bro and sis-in-law for the next several days. So it’s bound to be a great several days filled with games and snow and snowboarding (or skiing) and general mayhem.

So, have as great a time with your family as we had and are having with ours. God bless and we’ll see you in the new year.

The worst Christmas gift ever

It was the winter of 1985/86 and man was there snow. Everywhere. It came early and in abundance. (We have a photo from late winter of us going to my grandparent’s farm near Blaine Lake and the snow was six feet high on both sides of the road.)

My dad was an independent construction contractor whose livelihood depended upon the weather being good. So when the weather was bad he didn’t get much work. As you can imagine, with all that snow it was difficult for my dad to find work, so any money that came in went to pay the bills. In fact it was only because of the generosity of a friend of Dad’s that we had any money at all for Christmas gifts, and, if I remember correctly, he was given that money on Christmas Eve. Well, with only a few hours to shop and a few dollars to spend, dad went searching for presents, and the one thing his two boys really wanted was a battery operated monster truck (Not the remote control kind, just the kind where you turn it on and let it go). Dad came home that evening with presents under his arm, and as was our Christmas tradition, we celebrated that evening by eating a nice meal, reading the Christmas story, and opening presents (I think we always did it on Christmas Eve because my parents wanted to sleep in on Christmas Day – that’s my theory anyway). Our evening was simple but nice until it came time to open our presents. I can’t really remember what else we were given, but I do remember one gift. The worst Christmas gift ever. Our parents handed my brother and I one box each and we both tore into them. Inside was a battery operated car that turned around when it ran into the wall. It was perfect for 4 and 5 year old boys… except we weren’t 4 and 5. We were 12 and 13, and this was not what we had hoped for. I was quiet and tried to be polite but my brother couldn’t contain himself. He ran to his bedroom crying all the way. Everything fell apart at that point… my mom got upset with my dad, I tried out the car, my brother was mad and hurt and still crying, and my dad felt heartbroken for buying a gift so awful and unwanted.

Every year now we think back to “The Christmas from Hell” and “The Worst Christmas Gift Ever” and we all make a few jokes and laugh. It helps us to remember how good we have it now. But I know that deep down it still hurts my dad a little, and you know what… it still hurts me a little too.

and so it continues…

renovations, that is.

The home improvements have continued at a rapid pace since plumbovation. However, currently it’s been all about the aesthetics. Really this just means that I’ve been doing gobs of painting. So far I’ve painted the dining room, living room, and all the bedrooms. I still have more to do (in the new year), but I’ve taken a big bite out of the main living areas so I’m a happy camper.
In the next few days I’m hoping to take care of the two gaping holes in our kitchen ceiling as well as a few other holes from the plumbing work and maybe even paint the kitchen wall too. We’ll see how it goes though.

So, for those of you who have been wondering why there are larger gaps in between posts lately, there it is.

Now, if you’ll excuse me…

Quick Update: I’ve managed to get the kitchen ceiling repaired and primed and the kitchen wall repainted as well… sorry that I don’t have pictures, the camera isn’t here for me to use.

As well, I’ve also done a few other surprise improvements. These will be revealed later. Ha, Ha, Ha (as I throw my head back and laugh in a sinister manner).

Snow and the goofy girl