Wa?????

So I am playing squash with Paul Quilliams at the Leisure Centre tonight and I break my racquet. Now, this is a cheap old thing that I have had for probably 3 or more years. It has all kinds of dents and scrapes in it, the head is all bent out of shape and the grip is well worn out. Tonight several of the strings broke.

So I run into the locker room, throw the old racquet in the garbage can, get the other racquet that I have been carrying around forever (just in case this happened) and head back out to finish our game.

When I came back into the locker room, I look and someone took my old racquet!!!! Right out of the garbage can!!!! Wa????? I mean, it wasn't worth re-stringing (it would cost more to re-string it than replace it) and it had of no value at all.

The only logical explanation is that someone took it because it used to belong to me!!!!!

Maybe I have a stalker who was just waiting to go through the trash to pick up whatever worn out, broken, stinky thing that I throw away next!!!! I mean, I can see a whole new income stream here....... orange peels, old shoes, receipts from the gas station (those actually have my name on them even!!!!)..... the list of things is virtually endless. Maybe I should start putting towels around my neck and throwing them into the crowd like Elvis used to do (I wonder how much people would pay for a sweat soaked towel from me??????)

Anyway - if you are my stalker - this note is for you.......... send me an email listing the sorts of items that you are really interested in and I will send you a price list. If you act quickly (because I can't do this all day), I may even autograph a few of the items for you.

(I wonder if I should be investing in some "people" - you know like "I will have my people call your people" sort of thing. I have always wanted to have "people" or a "posse" or some "homeboys" or even a few "hangers on"........ that might be fun! Send your resume today! Space is filling fast!) :)

Not that Blogworthy

I bet that title really has you excited to read this, huh? However, that is the truth. Things are great! Life is good - just not really worth typing out for you. We have just been doing normal family stuff (as in "stuff families normally do".... I am not calling our family normal) :)


Katie had a V-ball tourney this weekend, so we spent some time over there (V-ball is done now - I may post pics sometime). Sari has been scrapbooking, to a card making thing and a craft show in town. Megan has been hanging out with buddies. I went to Weyburn for a hockey game last week, then I ended up taking my Korean buddy to his first hockey game last week (that was fun!).


I am loving having a heated garage to work in..... changed oil in the motorcycle today and put it away, tore the snow blower apart, just generally goofed around out there all day.


See - just not that interesting, but that is good. I was thinking today about how nice it is to have a family to hang out with on a Saturday. When I first moved here, I would go coach hockey at 8 in the morning and then just hang out by myself all day - just killing time. It is nice not to have to kill time waiting for something to happen, because - even if it makes sort of boring reading - it is still fun. Little things are the big things, right?

Deep thoughts (Part 0943946)

Confidence is that feeling you have just before you fully understand the situation.

Some Halloween pics

Jasmine picture

Here is a picture of Jasmine receiving her award from the premier. More pics to follow (maybe).

Supper with the Premier

Given my extended family's run-ins with the law... a date with a government official is usually not a good thing - but last night it was for me. I was invited to have supper with the Premier (and others) at Government House in Regina.


Jasmine Erickson, a young lady who grew up in our church, was one of five recipients of the "Saskatchewan Youth Award" this year and so she was invited to a presentation ceremony and supper. What does that have to do with me?


Well, when the selection committee was talking about the supper, they were wondering who they should have come and say "grace" before the meal - then they noticed that Jasmine had been really involved in her local church, so they called her and asked if she would like her minister to be part of the evening. Graciously, she said, "sure" so the Premier's Protocol Office called and asked if I would be interested in participating in the evening.


It was very cool - for many reasons. First of all, I have known Jasmine since she was a year old (she has graduated from a performing arts college now - so that is a while). She is very special to us.


Secondly, it was nice to meet the Premier, Brad Wall. He was very humble and warm and engaging. When he first came up to us, I was prepared to address him as "Mr. Premier" (as one should) and then he stuck out his hand and said, "Hi, I am Brad!" When he heard my name he said, "Oh, you are the one saying grace tonight. Do you know the Pastor of the Church of God in Estevan? He was my counselor at camp when I was a kid"...... he was very impressive in that he did not think he was impressive (I even emailed him today to tell him how nice the evening was and he wrote back to me two hours later - remembered our conversation, remembered that I was with Jasmine's group - very impressive)


Anyway, the Honourable Dr. Gordon L. Barnhart, Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan was there - he was very nice too. It was interesting to watch all the "pomp" surrounding him - he did not carry the book with his speech in it (an attendant did), we stood until he was seated, he left the room before the rest of us, we could not sing during the playing of "O Canada/God save the Queen" when he entered - but we were encouraged to sing later - all very interesting.


Other MLAs were there - the leader of the Opposition (Dwain Lingenfelter) - the Chief Justice of Saskatchewan (he and his wife were at our table) - the speaker of the house, etc, etc.


The banquet hall at Government house only seats about 80 people - so it was a rather small crowd - everyone included (dignitaries and guests) - so we really got a chance to visit.


And the food..... Yyyyyyuuuummmmmm!!!!! Butter nut squash soup, Beef Bourguignon, Roasted potatoes, asparagus.... gingerbread and raspberries for desert!! If you ever get invited - go hungry! :)


Anyway - I said my prayer and I got to meet and talk to some very interesting people. Most of all, though, I was proud to be there with Brent, Angel, Norma and Jasmine. What a great memory and what a blessing to be included in the lives of people that we love. It was wonderful!


I did not take a camera with me, but several in our group did, so I will post some pictures later.

Grandpa McMillan

Willie McMillan passed away today. He was 95 years old.


Thinking about him today, I am glad that I knew him. He was kind and gentle. Always friendly. Always ready to beat you at a game of horseshoes (and he did that a lot). He always went out of his way to say "hi" to me and to encourage me. He was always there doing his part - often in the background - but you could count on him.


Someone today called him a great "Christian warrior". Many have mentioned how much his example meant to them and how he encouraged others just by the way he lived.


I never heard "Grandpa" give a sermon (not that I remember anyway) - but just knowing him and even thinking about him today has taught me some valuable lessons.


A man named Eugene Peterson once wrote a book called "A long Obedience in the same Direction". That would be a good title for Willie McMillan's biography. Not flashy - not loud - just quietly going the right way - for a long, long time.


I am glad that I got to walk alongside of him for a while.

Is this a bad thing?

I decided to go to noon hockey today - for the first time in about a year. On the way over to the rink I see a hockey buddy named "Larry" and he tells me that we are playing at the "Civic" today - so I turn around and follow him over there.

Larry was saying that lots of guys had been showing up - so I was ready to go - but when we got to rink there was no one there. Undeterred, we went out and just skated around while we waited for the other guys to show up..... and we waited.... and waited..... and waited. Finally I got bored and left.

Turns out that we were at the wrong rink! After I left a rink rat dude asked Larry what he was doing out on the ice - we were supposed to be at the other rink (where - by the way - six other guys were waiting for us to show up)

Nice security there hey? Two guys walk in - open a change room - skate around the ice shooting pucks for most of an hour and finally someone decides to come out and see what on earth is going on. "City employees care!" - I think that should be their motto. :)

Possible bad thing #1 from this mix-up..... in spite of the fact that I was skating alone (basically) and just shooting pucks around - I was tired and sweating after only 15 minutes. So either it was really hot in there - or taking almost a year off is not the best thing for your hockey career.

Possible bad thing #2..... Sari has outlawed my hockey equipment! It is sitting in a room in the basement of the house drying out and she claims that she can smell it upstairs! In fact, I have been told that I have to take it out to the garage - now is that fair? Do I make her take her scrap-booking stuff to the garage? Do I? NO! (Granted - it may not smell quite as bad as the hockey equipment but the point remains).

Just because I literally have not washed any of it (not even the shirt I wear underneath it) in about 10 years is no reason to get all picky! Think of it as being "Environmentally friendly" - think of all the water I am saving by not washing it!!!

Women - they just don't understand. :)

From the "Better late than Never" file

So - I got it wrong! The Pro-life ladies weren't being rude..... they were just delaying their "Thank you".


They came by with a card, some dish soap, some paper towels (to replace what they used - even though I told them that they did not need to do that) and took out an ad in the paper thanking us for the use of the building. Seems they were just "focused" on that Wednesday. :)


It was nice of them though. I guess I should have waited before slandering them on this blog (good thing not too many people read it). :)


Stay tuned for another story where I learned something I needed to - the hard way -coming tomorrow (Or maybe in a day or two. The plague is sweeping through our household - I am the only one left standing so far - so we will see).

A life lesson learned

So I learned something yesterday......


Do not leave fifteen 65 year old Pro-life women standing outside your church building in the rain. In fact, if you have done that, it may be best not to stop to let them in - just keep driving right by the building and pretend that you do not see them. Trust me, it is for your own good!


We agreed to host the "Pro-life Soup and Sandwich Fund-raising lunch" yesterday, so I told the ladies that I would be here at 8:30 to let them in the building. Well, I got caught behind a train, so I did not show up until 8:40....... you should have seen it!!! Here are all these old ladies running all over the place - trying every door on the building - looking up and down the street - shaking their heads...... I thought they were going to start smashing the windows and lighting bonfires or something.... they were worked up!!!! :)


Anyway - I opened the door and it was like opening the flood gates on a dam.... they went rushing in like I had just pulled the plug in a sink! They ran all over the place - charged into my office and took it over with their coats, purses, boxes.... it was completely bizarre!


Then they started making sandwiches and they were scrapping and arguing with one another ("No that is too much mayonnaise!"... "That coffee is too strong", etc, etc).


After the lunch - they just bailed out. No "Thank you" no "It was very nice of you to allow us to use your building" - nothing! They just left..... it was sort of like a big snowstorm that just rolled in and then rolled out and was gone.


I survived the storm though. Good thing they are "Pro-life" - I may have been in real trouble otherwise! :)

Wisdom

"I know for sure that man’s best friend is his dog. If you doubt me, lock your dog and your wife in the bathroom for thirty minutes, open the door and notice which one is happy to see you"

- Phil Callaway

:)

Newtown, North Dakota (Part 2)

So the summer started and ended with a motorcycle ride to Newtown, North Dakota. The first time, in the spring, it was just Paul and me. This time, it was Paul, me, Dennis and a buddy of his named Dan - so our bike gang is growing exponentially - next time we will need 16 guys to go (4 x 4) but we would settle for doubling the number again - so 8 of you call Paul and tell him that you are in (Out of that group we should get 4 more who can go). We need a few more guys if we are going to start a rumble outside the Newtown "Tasty Freeze" (not a bad place to eat by the way - if you are ever there).

Anyway, we rode just about 500 kms - which by the way, is enough distance on an old Honda (not to mention - on an old rider like me!) :) We had beautiful weather and (as you can also see below) this time we brought a map (you may remember that last time Paul and I got a little off course). :)

Anyway - it was a nice day and a nice way to end the summer (it is rainy and cold here today with snow in the forecast).

PS. Thanks for the pics Paul!

Recent events

So - a quick run down of the week....


I rode my Motorcycle to Moose Jaw on Friday so that I could meet up with my brother, sister and brother in law...... then we went to Saskatoon to take in the NHL exhibition game between the Calgary Flames and the New York Islanders. Here is a pic from our seat......


Other than that - things are just going on like normal. We have one girl in V-ball (no pics of that yet as they just started today) and the other one ran her first Cross Country meet today. Here is what she looked like after running in +30 temps.......

You have waited long enough - more garage pics

Ok - Ok..... I know you want to see more of the garage...... it is not quite done, - still tons more to put up (Stock car racing pictures, things on the pegboard, etc) but it feels a lot more like home to me than it did before (which - Sari says - is a good thing b/c it may become my home if I don't smarten up) :)


Note things hanging on the walls rather than being tripped over
Pegboard filled with stuff - for easy access (thanks to Carol Barnard - who gave me all the hooks from Stan's pegboard before she moved - that makes me think of him when I am out there now)
Looking toward the front - finally a home for my tools boxes - cabinets - etc
Across toward the door
Note the lockers on the side of this shelf - the Leisure Center was getting rid of a bunch of old lockers - they were in a dumpster - so after playing tennis one day I asked about them and the girl said "Take as many as you like" - I took four. The best part.... they were from the "Girl's locker room" - no sweaty, smelly boy stuff in there! :)
For more pictures of the garage...... please send $14.95 (plus shipping and handling) to my home address (Come on - you know you wanna!) :)

And they said it wasn't worth my time.....

Every week the newspaper sends a reporter to the stock car track to cover the races. While there, he or she takes a random shot of the crowd. From that random shot, they somehow choose someone - whom they circle - and print the picture in the paper. If you are chosen out of the 1500 or so people at the races that night and your picture appears in the paper, you win a free pizza. Check this out...........

Now there are several really good things about this picture.........

1. I win a free pizza (as previously mentioned)

2. I have not been to the races in over a month and yet this picture appeared last night (somebody likes me!!!!!)

3. The only other identifiable person in the picture is my buddy "Shady" Shane. I think it is really funny that he came that close to winning - but didn't (I have offered to share the free pizza with him)

So there you have it - I have spent countless nights freezing on the stands at the stock car track - not to mention hundreds and hundreds of dollars - and I get a $15 dollar pizza......... and to think... some of you thought I was wasting my time out there! Ha! :)

A Week in MJ and Buffalo Pound

At the end of August, we spent a week camping at Buffalo Pound and hanging out with everyone in Moose Jaw. It was really nice to see everyone and to get to spend so much time together. We even got to go tubing behind Lenny's boat (but we did not get pictures of that - even though he dumped me in the lake) - anyway - here are some of the pictures that we did take - just so you get an idea of what it was like.

Camp site.....
We did all the touristy things that we never get to do when we are there for like 2 days (this was Megan's favorite)
We climbed some hills (I can't tell you how many pictures I have of the lake from the top of this hill - one from every summer of my life almost - this one with my girls - one of them is taking the picture)Down by the lake....

Garage Painting

So I waited like 6 months since I finished sheeting the garage and no one has come to paint it - so I guess it is up to me. Here is the start of the primer coat... more updates to come (just for you garage update fans!) :)

As you can see there is much more to do - you have not missed all the fun yet - come on down!

Think about this

I will post some holiday pictures and things soon, but for now.... think about this:


"No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery." :)

Summer is Wonderful