Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Visiting Friends ...


Having a great time visiting ...
reminiscing with friends ...
from long ago ...
Feels like we never left the area at all ...
always picking up from the last time we were home ...
catching up on our lives ... !!!
We decided to stop in Forest ...
having dinner at Skeeter Barlow's ...
slogan on their sign read ...
"You are always a winner ... When you have our Chicken Dinner"
It was a fabulous meal ... may re-visit for lunch ...
before heading back to the airport ...!!!!

Monday, February 25, 2013

Ice Flow ...


Watching the ice flows ...
moving down the St. Clair River ... 
There are usually more of them ...
first thing in the morning ...
then disappearing throughout the day ... 
A beautiful sight ...!!! 

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Wintery Day ...


Woke up to a cold ... snowy day ...
Mike cleaning off the car ... 
for 
Linda & I to go shopping ...
Driving over the Bluewater Bridge ...
growing up there was only one bridge ...
it was twinned in July 1997  ... 
We were heading for the shopping centre ... 
in Port Huron, USA ...
In the centre of the bridge ...
that spans the St. Clair River ... 
joining Canada & USA ...

We had a great day ...!!!! 

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Niece's Birthday ...


What special birthday for Brooke ... 
celebrating her 19th ...
The family was invited for lunch ... 
at the restaurant of her choice ... !!!

Sharing her "Brownie Explosion"...
with her sister Amy ... 
while in deep conversation ...
about her planned evening ...
with her friends ... !!!

Happy ... happy birthday Brooke ... 
have a fun ... safe ... night ...!!!

Friday, February 22, 2013

Beautiful Pink Plant ...


A beautiful flowering plant ...
starting to blossom ...
in front of  ... 
the picture window ...
at Linda & Dave's house ... 

The other 2 photos are what it will look like when it is finished blooming ... 

Information 


Plant Name
Scientific Name: Medinilla magnifica
Common Names: Rose Grape, Showy Medinilla, Malaysian Orchid, Chandelier Tree, Kapa-kapa
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial, Evergreen
Growth Habit: Shrub
Hawaii Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized ornamental garden plant is native to the Philippines.
Flower Color: Pink
Height: Up to 8 feet (2.5 m) tall
Description: The numerous, small flowers are in large, up to 18 inch (46 cm) long, pink, pendent panicles with distinctive, large, whorled, pale pink, petal-like bracts. The individual flowers have 5 pink, egg-shaped petals. The flowers are followed by grape-like clusters of small, pink ripening to purple berries. The leaves are large, up to 1 foot (30 cm) long, glossy dark green, leathery, deeply veined, sessile, opposite, and oblong to egg-shaped. The stems are square in cross section. The plants grow as either shrubs on the ground or as epiphytes on trees.
Here in Hawaii, Rose Grape is mostly a cultivated tropical plant, but it is increasingly becoming naturalized in humid, wet to mesic (moderately wet) windward areas on Oahu and the Big Island.








Thursday, February 21, 2013

Bowling Day ...

First day on holidays ... I was invited to go bowling ...
 and be a spare for one of the teams ...
We met the other bowlers for lunch ... then proceeded to bowl 3 games ...
 It had been years since I had been bowling ...
 5 pin no less ... grew up playing 10 pin ... 
the first game was my practice run at it ... scoring just over a 100 points ... 
The second game I finally managed to get a few spares and strikes ... my score was 142 ...
 placed second on the team ...
 and my third game was just over 100 again ...
 I was asked to come back next week to bowl again as this was the first time they had won 3 games in a long time ...
 Beginners luck I guess ...!!! We had a great time ...!!!

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Skating Pond




A lovely day for the family ...
to go skating at the park ...
Grandpa helping with tying up skates ...

Then watching the kids ...
racing with mom & dad ... playing tag ...
Just having fun ...
before we headed back home ...





Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Party Continues ...

February 17, 2013

Opening cards and gifts ...
after a special birthday breakfast ...
 
We were invited once again ...
for a ski adventure ...
we declined as the phone did not stop ringing ...
with friends and family ...
wishing Mike a Happy Birthday ...

Since there was still lots of food left from the party ...
I decided to invite the group back ...
(a few couples were not able to join us last night) ...
for an after ski get together ...
I whipped up a pot of minestrone soup ...
to make sure there was something hot for the them ... 
no one seemed to mind having left-overs ...
including Birthday Cake ...

It was perfect ... they devoured everything ... !!!



Monday, February 18, 2013

So Surprised ...


Mike had taken Don out to the shop  ...
to see his new truck ...
meanwhile the guests arrived at the house ...
Mike had seen a few cars ...
and figured that something was going on ...
he was surprised to see everyone ...
especially a few unexpected appearances of friends ...
coming to join in the celebration ...


Mike had a puzzled look on his face ...
when I came upstairs with the little cake ...
he wondered what that was all about ...
(I actually had gotten a Sugar Free Chocolate Cake for him) ...
after the gang singing Happy Birthday and blowing out the candle ...
I went a brought up the large cake for everyone else to enjoy ...
Mike was delighted to have his own special cake ... !!!
 
After serving the cake ...
I gave Mike his birthday card to open up ...
as you can see he was really surprised ...
this was totally unexpected ...
to be going on a trip ...
It has been four years since Mike has seen his family ...
it was time for us to go back for a visit ...



Sunday, February 17, 2013

Happy 60th Birthday ...

 
Happy Birthday Mike ... !!!
Invited a few friends for a surprise party ...
to come and help Mike celebrate ...
his 60th Birthday ...

Photos of this joyous event to follow ...



Saturday, February 16, 2013

Kub Kar ...


This kit was a project for the Cubs ...
that Craig ...
had to build and get ready for the races ...

We just happened to be there ...
the night before the races ...
Craig's car needed to have a little more weight ...
so daddy and grandpa ...
helped Craig glue on ...
a 3gm washer on the bottom of the car ...
 
Saturday morning at the Cub Hall ...
cars all lined up ...
and the races were on ...
Craig car was in the middle of the pack ...
when the race finished ...
his car needed a few adjustments ...
Grandpa helped out ...
and then he was blowing them away ...
(a little too late to for the outcome of the races)

It was an exciting morning for Craig ... !!!


Friday, February 15, 2013

Love My Roses ...


It was a wonderful Valentine's Day ...
was so spoiled ...
A dozen white roses and one red rose ...
a beautiful card ...
new outfit ... jeans and a purse ...

I was so delighted that I didn't have to cook dinner either ...
a special treat ...
mom invited us to spend dinner with her ...
and then it was an evening of song ...
singing with the choir ...
What a wonderful day ...  filled with love ... hugs  ... and kisses ... !!!!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Somebody's Happy ...

 
An exciting weekend ... spending a few days looking ... for a new truck ...
of course we ended up getting the last one we looked at ...
it pays to try them all out ...
to know exactly what you want ...

It was an enjoyable drive home for Mike ...
smiling from ear to ear ...


Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The Ski Group ...

 
A great photo of the group ...
cross-country skiing ...
up on Baker Mountain ...
on another beautiful sunny day ...
Oh the view from up here ... !!!!



Monday, February 11, 2013

Ella's Painting ...

A Little Angel ...


This is Ella's painting that she had done at school ...

A special Christmas present ... for her mom & dad ... !!

Sunday, February 10, 2013

On The Lake ...


On the way home ...
spotted this bright red ...
fishing hut ...
A beautiful sunny day ...
for someone to spend it on the lake ...
ice-fishing ...

  
So peaceful ... !!!


Saturday, February 9, 2013

Hot Potatoe ...

Reaching into the bag of potatoes ...
the first one I picked ...
reminded me of a heart ...
Being February ... Heart Month ...
I wonder how many things ...
resemble this shape ... !!!


Friday, February 8, 2013

All Done ...


Another couple of hours ...
and we were done with putting this wall bed unit together ...
secured to the wall with brackets ...
last of the trim in place ...
and covering the bed frame with plywood ...
then placing the mattress onto the bed ...
In total it probably took us 8 hrs to assemble this unit ...
 
Completed wall unit ...
bed tucked away ...
until it is needed for the extra visitors ...
it looks so neat and tidy ...
and
now there is a place for treasures ...
(that are still packed away) ...
to be displayed ...

A job well done ...
for a couple  of rookies ... !!!


Thursday, February 7, 2013

Day #2 Bed Construction ...


We started late in the afternoon on assembling more pieces on the bed ...
Mike had to remove some of the ceiling tiles ...
in order for us to stand it upright ...
and to attach the crown mouldings ...
just not quite enough room to work on the top of it ...
Next will be to fasten it to the wall ...
 with heavy duty brackets ...
 
Started to  put the cubby shelving unit together ...
wanting to make sure it would fit in the corner ...
beside the bed ...

Thinking it should be completed in one more day ... !!!


Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Day 1 with the Puzzle ...

 
Oh my ... all the little pieces ... brackets and SCREWS ... 
hundreds of them ...
we started on the bed part of the unit ...
late this afternoon ...
my job was to place the screws into the pre-drilled holes ...
and Mike went along with the hammer drill ...
(thank goodness for power tools)
we would still be there if we had to put them all in with a screwdriver ...
amazed at how many screw holes there are ...
should take us a couple days to finish ...


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Boxes Finally Delivered ...


We have been waiting for this delivery for a few days ...
apparently it did a side trip to the West Kootenays ...
and finally made it back to our neck of the woods today ...
Four large boxes ... of the Wall Bed pieces ...weighing almost 600 lbs ...
 are in the garage ... waiting now for assembly ...
 this is a huge puzzle we will be putting together ...
hundreds of pieces ...
Excited to get this project started ... and hopefully will look just like the picture ...
I'm sure it's going to take quite a few days ...
of probably blood ... sweat and tears  .... !!!
BUT ... so worth it ... !!!


Monday, February 4, 2013

Another Fabulous Day ...



We were invited to go snowshoeing ...
(our first time)
up the Ha Ha Creek Forestry Road ...
Mike went with a group of skiers & snowshoers ...
and I went cross country from the house ... with Bonnie ...
3.5 km ... meeting up with the gang ...
hiking across the Ha Ha Creek bridge up to the main road ...

 
All of us having a great day ...
out in the fresh air ...
ready to head back down the road ...
to our next destination ...
the Super Bowl Party House ...
for appetizers ... drinks ... and a wonderful dinner ... !!!