So Sari joined a photography club. The first meeting was last night. When she got home I asked, "So was it just like you pictured it?" (Ba dump bump!) :)
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Seriously though.... she did join the club and I am glad for two reasons..... (1) She needs to do something fun and for herself. The silly girl (read: nice girl) spends most of her time doing stuff for others so it is nice to see her doing something for herself.... (2) She is a really good photographer. I can't wait to see what she learns.... comes up with.... etc.
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In other Sari news...... Click here to read the newspaper article about her program at Hillcrest (for those who live out of town and did not get to see it)
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It was "Concert Ticket giveaway day" here today..... I had two tickets to BNL with Alan Doyle from "Great Big Sea" as the opening act in Saskatoon. I won them on the radio and it turns out they are for a Wednesday night concert and we can't make it, so I gave them away on my Twitter account... but sadly for you they are gone.
Why am I telling you this? Well, if had followed me on Twitter you would have had a shot at them. Therefore, you should follow me. You can find me under the very confusing name..... @timpippus I know that may be hard to remember but.......
My kids tease me for being on Twitter. They call me a "White girl" as if that is some sort of insult. When I remind them that they themselves are "white girls" they just stare at me. I am not sure what that means.
Anyway, the point is I have a twitter account and the content is just like this blog only in 140 characters at a time.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Blog 8: Two pictures and a Story
There are days when I really miss having little kids. Don't get me wrong, I love my girls and I have enjoyed every stage along the way. It is just that there is something special about little kids.
Like the fact that I probably could have conned one of them into thinking that raking up this pile of leaves was fun..
Now they are all grown up and too smart for that and I have to do it myself. :( #Dadproblems
Secondly, I do not know how accurate this picture is, but I have seen other ones that are similar. Interesting!
And, lastly, a story.
Last Thursday I was sitting in my office and suddenly I could smell this really strong sewer smell. In fact, it was so strong that I was convinced that raw sewage was backing up in to the basement somewhere.
A quick check downstairs revealed nothing, so I went upstairs and looked around. Eventually, I came to the washrooms near the fellowship hall. I walked in and lifted the lid to the one toilet and found that the entire underside of the lid was soaked and all the water had been blown out of the toilet and all around the room (thus leaving us with an open sewer line and the smell). I checked the ladies' washroom and found the exact same thing.
Now, city workers were doing something about a block away and my guess is that somehow they back pressured the sewer line and blew all the water out of our toilets in one big, soaking splash.
So, why am I telling you this? Well, life can be hard and it is easy to think that you never catch a break. If you start feeling like that this week, just remember... you could have been sitting in those washrooms at 2 pm last Thursday. :)
Like the fact that I probably could have conned one of them into thinking that raking up this pile of leaves was fun..
Secondly, I do not know how accurate this picture is, but I have seen other ones that are similar. Interesting!
Last Thursday I was sitting in my office and suddenly I could smell this really strong sewer smell. In fact, it was so strong that I was convinced that raw sewage was backing up in to the basement somewhere.
A quick check downstairs revealed nothing, so I went upstairs and looked around. Eventually, I came to the washrooms near the fellowship hall. I walked in and lifted the lid to the one toilet and found that the entire underside of the lid was soaked and all the water had been blown out of the toilet and all around the room (thus leaving us with an open sewer line and the smell). I checked the ladies' washroom and found the exact same thing.
Now, city workers were doing something about a block away and my guess is that somehow they back pressured the sewer line and blew all the water out of our toilets in one big, soaking splash.
So, why am I telling you this? Well, life can be hard and it is easy to think that you never catch a break. If you start feeling like that this week, just remember... you could have been sitting in those washrooms at 2 pm last Thursday. :)
Blog 7: Listen to this
You may not normally listen to Christian music (I don't most of the time either), but if you have four minutes you should listen to this song. It is one of my favourites right now. Something everyone needs to know.....
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Blog 6: A Walk in the Park
As opposed to yesterday when we went separate ways, today we went together. Here is some of what we saw......
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Blog 5: In the Eye of the Beholder
We are a "Do most things together" family. Today was an exception, though. Today, we all spent time in nature and we all saw things that we considered beautiful, it is just that the girls went one way and I went the other.
The girls went for a hike at the dam.
I, on the other hand, jumped on my motorcycle and rode a little over an hour to a stock car race outside of Manor, Sask. A bunch of Estevan buddies were racing there, it was 25 degrees out and (to me) it was definitely a beautiful way to spend a fall day.
The day ended with a golden sunset over a slicked up dirt track. Who says Saskatchewan isn't beautiful??? :)
The girls went for a hike at the dam.
I, on the other hand, jumped on my motorcycle and rode a little over an hour to a stock car race outside of Manor, Sask. A bunch of Estevan buddies were racing there, it was 25 degrees out and (to me) it was definitely a beautiful way to spend a fall day.
The day ended with a golden sunset over a slicked up dirt track. Who says Saskatchewan isn't beautiful??? :)
Friday, September 25, 2015
Blog 4: Catastrophic Failure
Those who follow this blog will know that a buddy of mine and I spent almost every Friday last winter pulling, rebuilding and re-installing the engine in a Dodge Durango. This was the happy result...
We test drove it and it was beautiful. Sounded good... ran good... perfect.
Then my buddy went on vacation for a week so the SUV sat in his garage. Upon his return he drove it to the car wash, cleaned it up and was heading home something started to knock... then get louder.... then a big bang.... then some smoke.... then he was on fire at the side of the road..... then he called me and we towed it back to his place.
That was 6 months ago. Today we pulled the engine again to see if we could salvage it.... I don't think that we can. Have a look.....
First, there is this little hole on one side......
Then there is this bigger hole on the other side......
Then there are all these pieces in the oil pan......
Then four of the pistons and connecting rods look like this......
So after inspection, we still don't really know what happened but it looks like one of the connecting rods was cracked (We replaced one of the rods when we rebuilt it but did not really look at the others) and broke and then broke the ones beside it and then they broke those beside them, etc. In any case, she is toast. Pistons are split and laying all over the place. The bottom of two cylinders are broken off and we found a piston wrist pin in the oil pan.
The sad part is that it was running so nice!!!! Well I guess the really sad part is that we spend all winter on it and only drove it about 20 kms.
The good news is that we now have an open bay in the shop. Anyone want to hire us??????? :)
We test drove it and it was beautiful. Sounded good... ran good... perfect.
Then my buddy went on vacation for a week so the SUV sat in his garage. Upon his return he drove it to the car wash, cleaned it up and was heading home something started to knock... then get louder.... then a big bang.... then some smoke.... then he was on fire at the side of the road..... then he called me and we towed it back to his place.
That was 6 months ago. Today we pulled the engine again to see if we could salvage it.... I don't think that we can. Have a look.....
First, there is this little hole on one side......
Then there is this bigger hole on the other side......
Then there are all these pieces in the oil pan......
Then four of the pistons and connecting rods look like this......
The sad part is that it was running so nice!!!! Well I guess the really sad part is that we spend all winter on it and only drove it about 20 kms.
The good news is that we now have an open bay in the shop. Anyone want to hire us??????? :)
Thursday, September 24, 2015
Blog Day 3: One thing that is sort of cool and another that is just weird
No the title does not refer to Sara and me (though I will let you guess which one of us is "cool" and which one is "weird").
Tonight's feature includes this cool picture of the new and old home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders (just because I liked it).....
And then my buddy Justin sent me this video. These things are weird, but kinda cool at the same time. Even more cool would be getting a whole bunch of these things and racing them. Estevan Motor Speedway I am thinking about you. Forget "Faster Pastor" how about "Faster Picnic-er". Could be fun!!! :)
(Ps. Jump ahead to the 2 minute mark where he puts an umbrella in the table, picks up some buddies and goes for a cruise on the street.... that is worth seeing)
Have a good Friday!
Tonight's feature includes this cool picture of the new and old home of the Saskatchewan Roughriders (just because I liked it).....
And then my buddy Justin sent me this video. These things are weird, but kinda cool at the same time. Even more cool would be getting a whole bunch of these things and racing them. Estevan Motor Speedway I am thinking about you. Forget "Faster Pastor" how about "Faster Picnic-er". Could be fun!!! :)
(Ps. Jump ahead to the 2 minute mark where he puts an umbrella in the table, picks up some buddies and goes for a cruise on the street.... that is worth seeing)
Have a good Friday!
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
30 Blogs day 2: Sari doing good things
Someone recently said, "You know school is back in when you see Mrs. Pippus in the paper". Sari is in our local paper about every other week. This time she got an entire page.
I will post the link when the story is put online, but basically she and her principal were asked to go to Weyburn and tell the board about her program and what it is doing for the students. They were so impressed that they called today and asked them to come back in October so that they can present the program to all the principals and vice-principals in the entire school division so that maybe they can implement something similar.
(Editor's note: For those who don't know, Sara runs a breakfast program, after school clubs and is basically the "mother of Hillcrest school". She creates programs that help kids grow and learn in various ways)
While there are many that help with fundraising and volunteering, it is Sara who has put this program together and it is her heart for the kids that has made it successful.
We are super proud of her and what she is doing! Obviously, other people are too. :)
(Editor's note: For those who don't know, Sara runs a breakfast program, after school clubs and is basically the "mother of Hillcrest school". She creates programs that help kids grow and learn in various ways)
While there are many that help with fundraising and volunteering, it is Sara who has put this program together and it is her heart for the kids that has made it successful.
We are super proud of her and what she is doing! Obviously, other people are too. :)
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
It is time!!!!!
It may be just the anesthesia talking (I had a wisdom tooth yanked today and I can't feel anything on the right side of face) but I think it is time.......... I am gonna try it again........
"30 Blogs in 30 (ish) Days!!!!!"
For those who have seen this before, you will know that every day for the next 30 days you will find a new post that is either funny (or at least an attempt at funny), interesting, something to do with the life of our family or just something weird that I found somewhere. Whether it is worth your time or not, there will be something new here most days (Hence the "30 ish" days part of the title..... sometimes more important things get in the way of being silly on a blog).
So wander over here once in a while. Also, feel free to use the comment section. That makes it more fun (But if you do comment, please sign your name.... Anonymous posts are annoying because it takes me forever to figure out who said what!) :)
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To get us started, let me share from pictures from the Enduro race at the "Estevan Motor Speedway".
For those who do not know, an Enduro is basically where you take an old car, kick the windows out of it, move the gas tank and the battery so they are in a safe place and then race other such cars around the track.
Usually the race is full of old junkers but check this out.......
This dude actually Enduroed his BMW. When I asked him about it he said, "It was my first car and it was getting sort of junky so I thought 'Why not?'" Only in Estevan.
Here is the starting line-up.....
This year I got to be the flagman for the race, so I had the best seat in the house to watch the carnage.
So there you go! More stories.... more pictures.... and more weirdness will follow over the next 30 days. Come on down! :)
"30 Blogs in 30 (ish) Days!!!!!"
For those who have seen this before, you will know that every day for the next 30 days you will find a new post that is either funny (or at least an attempt at funny), interesting, something to do with the life of our family or just something weird that I found somewhere. Whether it is worth your time or not, there will be something new here most days (Hence the "30 ish" days part of the title..... sometimes more important things get in the way of being silly on a blog).
So wander over here once in a while. Also, feel free to use the comment section. That makes it more fun (But if you do comment, please sign your name.... Anonymous posts are annoying because it takes me forever to figure out who said what!) :)
________________________
To get us started, let me share from pictures from the Enduro race at the "Estevan Motor Speedway".
For those who do not know, an Enduro is basically where you take an old car, kick the windows out of it, move the gas tank and the battery so they are in a safe place and then race other such cars around the track.
Usually the race is full of old junkers but check this out.......
Here is the starting line-up.....
Monday, August 31, 2015
Speedway Buddy
I don't know who this little guy is but he is at the speedway every week. I often give him on of my flags to wave and someone took our picture this week.... cute! (Sorry for all the speedway stuff on here lately. It is done now. Stay tuned for "30 blogs in 30 days" coming soon) :)
Friday, August 28, 2015
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Black Hills
We weren't going to go anywhere this summer. We were just gonna stay home. Then we decided on the spur of the moment to head down to the Black Hills. Here is some of what we saw.
A couple of pictures from Spearfish Canyon....
There was a car show going on in Deadwood.....
Sara would drive this right now..... she really liked it.....
We ate outside lots.....
As part of the car show, Deadwood hosted a street concert featuring "The Rip Chords" (think "Beach Boys" 60s car music). I grew up listening to them, so we had to go.
Of course, you have to go see these guys.....
Speaks for itself.....
We spent an afternoon at Pactola Lake. The girls swam.... too cold for me so I sat and read motorcycle magazines.
We had supper at a 50s diner.....
Played the mini-golf course that was across from our hotel.....
Sari liked this Bison. They have ones on every corner in Custer... each painted in a different theme.... this one seems to be "Cowboy Hippy"
And after 2 previous trips to Custer, I finally got to go to the "Purple Pie Place".....
We also went to Jewel Cave... Hill City.... Keystone... we shopped some... we saw Crazy Horse.... and much more. Tons of fun!
A couple of pictures from Spearfish Canyon....
There was a car show going on in Deadwood.....
Sara would drive this right now..... she really liked it.....
We ate outside lots.....
As part of the car show, Deadwood hosted a street concert featuring "The Rip Chords" (think "Beach Boys" 60s car music). I grew up listening to them, so we had to go.
Of course, you have to go see these guys.....
Speaks for itself.....
We spent an afternoon at Pactola Lake. The girls swam.... too cold for me so I sat and read motorcycle magazines.
We had supper at a 50s diner.....
And after 2 previous trips to Custer, I finally got to go to the "Purple Pie Place".....
Monday, August 17, 2015
It is ON!!!!!
Seven times!!!
That is how many times I got stung by wasps yesterday (give or take a few.... after the first 5 or so it is hard to keep track).
It isn't that I had anything against them. In fact, I did not even know that they were there, but after moving a few things in the back corner of our yard they decided to introduce themselves to me.
Before yesterday, I have lived a relatively sting-free existence and most of the ones that I have had were from bees. Wasps are a whole different ballgame though. Those things are ANGRY!!!
After the first two got me, I thought to myself "I think I have just been stung!" Those few seconds of recognition was all it took for every wasp in the world to rally and attack me. When I finally ran to Sara (after about 5 stings) I still had several wasps clinging to my shirt trying to kill me! She smacked a few more off of me, but not before they landed a few more direct hits (did you know that wasps - unlike bees - can sting you several times as their stingers are not supposed to come off??? I say "not supposed to" because, somehow, several did come off and remained lodged in my arm and my fingers). My left hand, left arm and right side were very swollen (I could not bend my fingers at one point), red and itchy!
So now I am plotting my revenge!
I have a can of Raid in my truck and I think that if I dress up in full biker gear (leather jacket, riding pants, boots, gloves, etc) then I will be fine. I will attack their ground-based nest at eleven hundred hours... a fully armed fight to the death!!
Now, some may think that I is a little pathetic that I am plotting revenge against creatures whose brains are theoretically much smaller than mine.... but (in the words of every 4 year old that has ever fought with his or her siblings".... "They started it!"
Let's just call it a "Unplanned relocation project".
One of us has to go!
That is how many times I got stung by wasps yesterday (give or take a few.... after the first 5 or so it is hard to keep track).
It isn't that I had anything against them. In fact, I did not even know that they were there, but after moving a few things in the back corner of our yard they decided to introduce themselves to me.Before yesterday, I have lived a relatively sting-free existence and most of the ones that I have had were from bees. Wasps are a whole different ballgame though. Those things are ANGRY!!!
After the first two got me, I thought to myself "I think I have just been stung!" Those few seconds of recognition was all it took for every wasp in the world to rally and attack me. When I finally ran to Sara (after about 5 stings) I still had several wasps clinging to my shirt trying to kill me! She smacked a few more off of me, but not before they landed a few more direct hits (did you know that wasps - unlike bees - can sting you several times as their stingers are not supposed to come off??? I say "not supposed to" because, somehow, several did come off and remained lodged in my arm and my fingers). My left hand, left arm and right side were very swollen (I could not bend my fingers at one point), red and itchy!
So now I am plotting my revenge!
I have a can of Raid in my truck and I think that if I dress up in full biker gear (leather jacket, riding pants, boots, gloves, etc) then I will be fine. I will attack their ground-based nest at eleven hundred hours... a fully armed fight to the death!!
Now, some may think that I is a little pathetic that I am plotting revenge against creatures whose brains are theoretically much smaller than mine.... but (in the words of every 4 year old that has ever fought with his or her siblings".... "They started it!"
Let's just call it a "Unplanned relocation project".
One of us has to go!
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Racing
That is me behind Ashlyn George (the Saskatchewanderer) on track at the Estevan Motor Speedway
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