Pictures @ Motherwell Homestead

Why does all the fun stuff happen when we are away?????

That burnt patch was caused by a lightning strike in the valley a few hundred yards behind our house. Our neighbours were home went it happened and called the fire department. Said they had never heard anything like that sound..... and we missed it. :(

Oh and here is a bonus picture.... check out who is lurking in the background at the speedway.... (insert scary "lurking shark" music here)

Ok - more pictures and stories in the coming days.  We are off to a wedding so no telling what sort of "dance moves" pictures we will come up with... if the girls let me dance.  I think they are just jealous!  :)

Cool

We just returned from a week in Dauphin visiting Sari's parents and hanging out (more about that later - pics etc), but one of the things that we had the chance to do was see these guys.... they are called "The Asham Stompers". They do a show based around the "Red River Jig" and Metis culture and it was really entertaining (even if the girls made me watch the last 30 minutes sitting in a blinding rainstorm.... it was literally coming down so hard that you could not see at times. Everyone else headed for the big tent or to their cars.... Katie, Megan and I sat in the bleachers getting soaked while the dancers danced on in the rain. It seemed only fair).

The video is sort of long (and it is not the performance we saw) but it will give you the idea.

Any "Estevan Arts Council" people reading this blog??? "Stars for Saskatchewan" anyone??????

The Pippus Brother's 2nd annual Motorcycle trip... brought to you by Hypothermia

Yes.... Hypothermia... whose motto is... "Don't worry about not being able to feel your fingers... they are probably going to fall off anyway!"  :)

In other words...... it was cold!!!  And rainy!!!   And cold!!!!

This year Kurt (aka Lenny) and I went to BC.  That would have been a great plan.... except for all the flooding..... and the rain.... and the cold.   Yes, we are the only people to plan a vacation right in the middle of a disaster area.

The night we got to Tabor, Alberta (we stopped there b/c it was raining too hard to continue on), they evacuated 75 000 people out of Calgary due to flooding.  Since that was the direction we were headed, we were not sure what was going to happen.

As it turned out, nothing happened.  We saw some flooding.  We had to ride single lane past some washed out parts of the highway, but overall the road was good and the floods really had no effect on us.

The trip took us through the Crowsnest pass, to Cranbrook, Kimberly, Creston, across Kootenay Lake on a ferry, to Kaslo and then Nelson... all the way up to Revelstoke, Golden, Lake Louise, Banff, Jasper, Hinton, Wetaskiwin, Outlook, Moose Jaw and finally home.

4005 kms later.   346748967438968943674360978 gallons of rain later.

Here are some pictures..... just for fun.

The "Great Sand Hills" in Southwestern Sask (turned out to be the "Not so Great Sand Hills".  We drove 2 hours out of our way to get there and back and all that was there was a big pile of sand!!!  Surprisingly - not that interesting!)  :)

Frank Slide 

Largest tandem axle truck ever built.... in Sparwood, BC

Old steam paddlewheeler (the "Moyie") in Kaslo, BC.  Last sailed the lake in 1957

Waiting for more modern water transportation

Moraine Lake in Banff National Park

A local resident of Jasper

Reynolds auto and air museum in Wetaskiwin

Restoration shop in the auto museum

The "Skytrail walking bridge" - obviously an old train trestle - part of the ``TransCanada trail`` in Outlook, Sk

Lastly, our bikes, in the rain, in front of one of the many ``Dive-like`` motels that we stayed in.  I don`t have a pic of it, but on the last night we paid $75 for a room with two queen beds - and that price included breakfast in the morning...... let your imagination run wild (and don`t forget the smell in the room when we first walked in....... oooh - the smell!!!!)   :)

Bottom line:  The trip would have been a lot better without the monsoon rain that hit us 6 of the 8 days.  And also if the temp had been above 7 degrees that would have been nice.  On the upside, I don`t have to feel bad anymore about owning a rain suit that I never wear (I almost had to sleep with it on!)

However, we did get to go and for that we thank our nice and understanding wives!  Next year`s trip...... Hawaii (or somewhere else hot and sunny..... like the Arabian Peninsula)

Maybe I am alone in this........

 

So the fair is in town this week.... and I am SHOCKED by the number of people who have said to me, "I am not going to the fair" or (cover your ears if you are sensitive) "I HATE the fair".

Hate the fair?????

Isn't that the moral equivalent to kicking puppies down the stairs?????

I mean where else can you eat a bunch of garbage, be spun around until you want to be sick, smell carnies (and believe me - there is a smell) and blow over $400 in less than two hours?????  Come on!!!!

The fair used to be THE EVENT when I was a kid.  I loved riding the rides (I still do in fact.... wanna go right now???).  I loved the lights at night.  There was just something about being on the midway.

Now, I will admit that as I walked around Estevan's fair this year I thought, "This does not feel quite the same".  Not sure why.  Maybe it lacked the sound of rock music blasting out of the rides.... maybe it was just a little too small this year.... maybe it was that I was at a meeting and by the time I got there most of the crowd had left...... whatever the case, I am still glad I went and I still like the fair.

I am not being judgmental toward those who did not go.  In fact, I will admit to the fact that I was shocked at what the night cost us this year, so if you bailed based on finances, I get that.  

However, I think it was worth the $4 admission just to people watch and to walk around and visit with 1/2 the town (Seriously, you could not go two feet without seeing someone you knew - small towns, right?)

The thing is, I just cannot remember a year when so many people said, "I am not going".

So..... do you like the fair at all?   If not, why not?   

On the bright side (for me) when I got there the admission gate was closed, so I got in for free.   Then, as we walked the midway, I found 25 cents..... so I actually made money at the fair this year (If you don't include the pile of cash the girls blew through).

It was sort of a success story anyway!  :)

Anyone wanna go to the Isle of Man??????

Best Escalator Ever! :)

Ba ha ha!!!!!

Things you are not prepared to see

Our baby has her "learner's license"..... what the wa?

Ready to rip????

Going to BC in less than two weeks.... hope I remember how this all goes back together!

Oooh - I think that left a mark!

A present from the highway just south of Stoughton.

Hard to see in the pictures, but the bruise is bigger than a softball.

Thankful for glass coverage now!  Good call Sari!!!!  :)

Stay Alive at 5:05 (AKA "Survivor Regina")

 

(Please note:  The above image - while an inaccurate physical depiction of Regina's Ring Road - is an EXACT image of the feelings about that road portrayed in the following story).



A week ago, I went to Bethune (a little town northwest of Regina) for a funeral.  As no one else was going with me, I decided to take my motorcycle.

The funeral was at 2 in the afternoon and after visiting and coffee and whatever, it was almost 5 o'clock as I rolled back into Regina.

Coming down north Albert I thought, "Ya know, I should take the Ring Road and avoid the 5 o'clock rush hour" (such as it is in Regina), so I hung a right and sped off..... and that is when it all started.

First, I got stopped by a train.  A TRAIN!!!! On the Ring Road.  Wa???? I thought waiting 30 minutes for a train while sitting stopped dead on the busiest road in town only happened in Estevan.

By the time the train was gone, we had a pile of cars in every lane..... some going fast.... others barely moving..... some wanting to merge in.... some out.  In order to get going (and not get run over), I had to weave in and out of traffic like some sort of weaving thing (I tried to come up with a good simile there.... but I couldn't.... so you supply one).

As I crossed Victoria Avenue I thought "I will keep going to Arcola Avenue, get off there, cross back over Ring Road and then get gas at the Shell on the other side" (I was starting to get low on fuel).

Just then, 86743896789678936464 people came up off of Victoria and merged onto the Ring.  In fact there was so many of them that there was no way I could force my way across from the far left lane to get to the Arcola off ramp.

"No problem" I thought.  "I will just go down to the Wascana Parkway, get off, swing around and get back to Arcola."   However, when I got there a bunch of people were coming out of the university, so I decided to just keep riding north. 

Eventually (after weaving in and out of traffic again) I came to College Avenue and thought, "Why don't I go down there, get on Arcola, cross the Ring and then get gas" (by now the fuel was getting really low).  So I did that.... but when I got to Arcola I discovered that there are NO LIGHTS AT COLLEGE AND ARCOLA!!!!   NO LIGHTS!!!!  And there was a line of 867894367894578967894567 cars both on College and Arcola.

So I waited and waited and then I closed my eyes and forced myself into a lane.  Finally on Arcola, I crossed the Ring and took a left on University Park Drive..... then I realized that the gas station was on Prince of Wales not University Park!!!

Now you may be wondering..... "Why did you HAVE to go to THAT gas station when there are like 67487849 gas stations in Regina?"

Truth be told: I drove by tons of gas stations along the way to that specific Shell.  Why?   Well, I had decided that I was going to THAT station and I was not going to let a bunch of pinheads driving like morons deter me from doing what I said I was going to do.

So - the long and the short of it...... by trying to avoid the "Regina Rush Hour" I ended up spending and entire hour (literally) trying to get out of Regina.  Not to mention the number of times that I almost kicked people's car doors as they cut me off, etc.

So - what I am trying to say is...... that was the best part of the trip!!!!  It was like a combination cannonball run/death race!  :)

I may plan every motorcycle trip to Regina for 5:05 pm. 

Hmmmm

 One of the grocery stores in town used to have a sign from "The Orkin man" hanging on the front door.  The sign stated that the store had been checked and that it was "rodent free".

I noticed the other day that the sign is gone.

I am not sure which situation disturbs me more.... (a) The fact that there had to be a sign in the first place (I sort of think that "rodent free" would be something you should just be able to assume about your grocery store)... or (b) that the sign is missing completely now (What is that supposed to tell me?)

Maybe it is time to plant a garden or something.  :)

Check this out!

Hey, if you get "The Discovery Channel" on your TV, you need to check out a show called "North America".

If you liked shows liked shows like "Planet Earth", you will like this too.

Click here and check it out!

Ummm - do you think we could spread out a little??? (Updated)

This picture reminds me of when I coached 6 and 7 year old kids in hockey.... wherever the puck went, so did they..... in one big herd.

I guess the old "Go west young man" saying still applies, no?
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After I posted that picture, I was trying to identify cities in the mid-west and so I went in search of another picture and came up with this......

So maybe the first one was taken just around sunset in the western states, meaning that not all the lights were on yet.  That would make it look much more imbalanced.  The second shot shows much more detail and likely is more accurate.

Both are interesting none the less (and you get a more accurate picture of Canada in the second one as well)

Happy Birthday Megan!

So, it is Megan's birthday today.... a time of more growing up.   :(

Don't get me wrong:  I love my girls and every stage with them has been lots of fun.  I mean that.... every stage!  Especially now that they are young ladies, it is fun to joke with them...do things with them... to hear about their friends and their days..... it is just a cool experience.   As I write this, Megan is out with her mom and she is driving for the first time!  OUR BABY IS DRIVING!!!!  LEGALLY!!!!

But I sometimes miss the little kids.... watching them to learn to ride their bikes.... playing catch in the green space behind the house... playing on the jungle gym and the swings at the school playground.... going to plays and track days at school..... cute little dresses and shoes.... ponytails.... and (in Megan's case) hair that stood up straight and all over the place for the first year or more no matter what you did to it.  :)

I may be biased...... but I think we have two of the nicest, sweetest, kindest, most beautiful, Godly girls in the world living in our house (mostly thanks to their beautiful, kind, sweet, nice mother) and as much as I am enjoying watching them grow up.... I am not at the same time.

So "Happy Birthday Megan" (and to you too Katie.... I was not blogging when your birthday came around).   I am proud of you both.  I love who you are and who you are becoming.

But don't grow up too fast, k?    I am not ready to let my "Little girls" go just yet!  :)

 

 

Yeehaw - Motorcycle Grandma

So what did you do for your mom on mother's day?

I threw my mom on the back of my motorcycle (at her request) and took her for a rip around town and then out to Bienfait and back.

Wiping out and killing her on mother's day would not have been a good thing - so I am glad that did not happen!  :)

Here is some pictorial evidence..... Good job Mom!  That is a cool memory!  :)

A New Shirt for Katelyn

A few days ago, I showed you a picture of me wearing my new "IMCA" shirt at the speedway (Look below if you missed it), so I thought that I would show you Katie's new shirt.

She is smiling because yesterday was payday!  :)

I am not sure that she will have this job very long, though, as she sort of got it under false pretenses.

Home Hardware's slogan is "Home owners helping home owners... with expert advice!"

But Katie isn't a home owner (Sssssshhhhhhhhh!!!!)

(Whispering)  She's not even a renter!!!

I am certain that as soon as this gets out, she will get fired, so I have promised not to tell anyone if she gives me half of her first three paychecks.

Oddly, I am still waiting for my first payment.  I am sure it is just an accounting error on her part.  :)
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Seriously, though, she really likes the people there and it is a fun place to work.  Go bug her sometime.

I am confused

 

What is the deal with ice cream places?  How do they stay in business?

I mean, why would any reasonable person pay $28 for four cones when you could take that $28 and buy enough ice cream and cones to have one a day for a month or more?

I am not trying to be a Grinch here, but what is so special about having someone scoop the ice cream for you?  Is it that labour intensive that it is worth $28 to have someone do it for you?????  Is there something about someone handing your cone through a little window that magically makes it worth a lot more money?????

I understand fast food places.  Sure you could cook a burger yourself, but you don't always have your hibachi with you when you are hungry.... and you have to eat.   Nobody "needs" an ice cream cone!!!  Nobody!!!!

So - what is the deal?  Can anyone help me out here????

I will check for your responses later, because I am going to find a "Dairy Queen".  All this ice cream talk has made me realize that I NEED a Peanut Buster Parfait bad!!!!!  :)

Weeeee arrrrrrreeee ttttthhhhheeee Cccchhhhhaaaaammmmpiiionnnnssss (Well - I am anyway!)

 

I love how the brain works!

For example, you haven't heard a song in like 15 years, but as soon as you hear it on the radio your brain recovers all the words so that you can sing terribly off-key and annoy your wife and kids (At least that is what I do).

Another example:  Chess

When we were first married, Sari and I decided to learn how to play chess.  One winter, in fact, we played a lot.  Not well.... but a lot.  

Then, for some reason, we gave up..... until this past weekend!

On Sunday I ran into this guy who challenged me to a game of chess (or did I challenge him?  Either way, we decided to play).  Now, this dude is in a chess club and everything, so I was a little worried, but after a quick refresher course, it was on.

Suddenly, everything that I had learned more than 18 years ago came rushing back and I WHUPPED him bad!!!!   Like SUPER bad!!!!   Like I destroyed him!!!!

Now, some may say, "Dude, you beat a 7 year old kid at Chess!" but I say "Bah!!!" 

Did I mention the Chess Club??????  HE EVEN KNEW THE NAMES OF ALL THE PIECES!!!!!

And he may seem like a nice little boy, but when he plays Chess he turns into a VICIOUS MONSTER!!!!


I don't care what you say...... a win is a win!   :)

PS.  Thanks for teaching me to play, Caden!  It was lots of fun!

A Happy Picture

Me working as a track official at "Estevan Motor Speedway".

Come to think about it... this is a happy picture for Sari too.  Those cars go by at about 70 - 80 mph + when they really get going so if one loses control.... or a tire comes off... or some other tragic event takes place..... BAM!!!!  BIG INSURANCE PAYDAY FOR SARI!!!!!

It is win/win really.   :)

A Question

 

So today is my (Tim's) 44th birthday!

(Hard to believe, I know!  Any gifts can simply be dropped off at the house or, if they are too large to be handles alone - like a new motorcycle - I will gladly come by and give you a hand delivering them).  :)

Here is the thing though:  I don't FEEL 44. 

In fact, if you were to ask me how old I am, I would likely respond "41" (until I did the math).  I am not sure why, but I think I am 41..... or younger.... actually much younger.

When I was 22, I had a buddy who was old...  I mean really old.  Like wife, kids, house, real job.... mini-van old!!!  When I think about that now, I realize that at the time he must have been 28 or 29.

I AM 44!!!!

Now here is the thing:   I don't FEEL like a grown-up (As evidenced by the post below - you can read that later if you need proof).

I do lots of grown-up things..... I have a grown-up job where I have enormous access into people's lives (sometimes at the best times such as weddings and births... sometimes at the worse like emergency rooms and funeral homes)..... and yet I still feel like a kid.  I still feel like I am 22.

Now, I don't mean that in a bad way.... It is not like I feel immature and unprepared to handle life or anything "Dr. Phil" like that...... I have learned lots over the years. My life is great!  This is not your typical, depressing "My life is more than 1/2 over" birthday rant...... I just realize that I don't feel as old as I am.

So the question(s):

1.  Do you feel as old as you are?  (In other words, "Do you feel like an adult?")

2.  If you do, when did that happen?  At an age?  A significant event?  It just happened??  (In answering, please remember that this is a "family blog")

I have always said that birthdays are silly (Congratulations - you were born out of no effort or choice of your own!!!) and I still think that is true.  Maybe that is why I think I have only had 41 of them.... or 36..... or 22..... or whatever.

Happy Birthday to Me!  :)

The Grocery Store Excursion

So Sari and Megs abandoned us today without so much as a scrap of food in the house (Ok - truth be told she offered not only to stock the fridge with food but also to cook a bunch of meals and leave them for us - we declined because we wanted to pretend to be responsible and capable adults... which may have been a mistake), so Katie and I had to go grocery shopping.

This trip included talking in several strange accents (my favorite being the "Queen's voice" that I do when I imitate Katelyn's Princess tendencies.... "Weeeeee shall not be spoken to about manual labour.  Dusting the living room is beneath US!!!!"    She tends to like to speak in an excellent "Scottish" accent, but sometimes she mixes in a little "East Indian" (we are not sure why).

The trip also included Kaite saying out loud while standing by the "roasted chicken heater upper thinger".... (Think "Princess voice")  "I shall only select the chicken that speaks to me... it must speak my name to be worthy of my notice!"   When she said this, an older man, probably in his mid to late sixties, who was standing on the other side of the display thing, literally leaned forward, moved three of the chickens and so that he could peer through the maze of remaining chickens and get a look at the person who would say such a thing.

In fact, it was not the only weird look we got.

Most people smiled at us.... one person laughed at something Katelyn said.... a dude at the meat counter engaged us in random conversation.... and then there was a lady over by the eggs who at first looked at us the way a dog listens to a high pitched sound (head tilled.... odd expression on her face).... then she smiled at us in one of those, "Please don't hurt me" smiles.

And we laughed a lot!!!

Oh - and we bought some semi-healthy food too.

I don't know why Sari complains about grocery shopping.  I found it quite entertaining.  :)

An "incident" with the law!

After a flurry of requests (ok - two in three days - but in my books that is a flurry), I am back to blogging.  I will not promise "30 blogs in 30 days" - it is too nice outside to guarantee that I will want to sit at a computer every day - but I will promise to write regularly.  Oh - and please comment too - it is more fun that way.  To get us started, a story from several months ago... one that I only now feel free to share..... duh da da da!!!)   :)
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A couple of weeks ago when Sari was on a school trip to Saskatoon, I got up a little early, looked out the window and saw a guy sitting in a little car in front of our house.  I didn't think a lot about it.

However, 1/2 hour later he was still there.

An hour later, he was still there.

When the kids went out to get in their car, I watched from the window to make sure they got in and got away safely (who knows right?).  Then I went to the garage, got in my truck, drove around front, parked behind the guy and while pretending to talk on my cell phone, wrote down his license plate number..... just in case.

When I drove off, he had been sitting there for more than an hour and a half - just hanging out.  Who knows how long he actually sat there, or what he was doing, but when I came home for lunch he was gone.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and Sari calls me.... "That car that was sitting in front of the house that day, what did it look like?"   When I described it she said, "I think he is sitting out there again" (this time at about 8:30 at night).

She decided to phone the police.

They were there in a matter of minutes.... lights flashing lighting up the whole block.  The cop gets out, talks to the guy for a while and then COMES WALKING UP OUR SIDEWALK!!!

Sari is like, "NO YOU BONEHEAD!!! NOW HE WILL KNOW WHO RATTED HIM OUT AND HE IS GOING TO COME IN AND KILL US AFTER YOU LEAVE!!!"

The cop comes to the door and says, "Are you the one who called in the suspicious car?"

Sari said, "Yes"

He said, "Well, you don't have to worry.  He is one of us, but he is not after you"...... and then he turns around and leaves.

Now, that raises two points......

1.  Considering the lengthy record that the "Pippus" family has with law enforcement, it is a good day when the police come to your door and say, "We are not here for you".  :)

2.  What is going on in our neighbourhood that needs this kind of surveillance? 

Estevan.... never a dull moment!  :)