Farewell Sweet Carla!!

Four years ago, we bought Katelyn a car and a best friend... a 2004 Olds Alero that she named "Carla". 

Last night, Carla's time with us came to an end when she discovered that she did not know how to swim in the flood waters in front of our house.

Here is a picture of Carla with my truck named "Summer" (Summer was also transported to the nearest automotive health facility for further observation).

And Katelyn's eulogy to her faithful buddy..... (In case you cannot understand all that she is saying, I will post a transcript below)

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of one of the dearest members of the Pippus fleet! Carla Alero Pippus went peacefully to the golden parkade in the sky during last night's storm! Carla was a resilient little coup who loved going for long drives on gravel roads! She was a faithful automobile that loved to skate gracefully on icy winter roads and she always made sure you made it home safe and sound! I will miss you my darling Carla! R.I.P dear friend! 💕😢

Please come back again!

When I typed "Having fun" into my search bar, this is one of the images that came up....

That seems like it sums up our last month or so.... we are having fun with all the things we are doing, but we seem to be on the run.

In the midst of enjoying our summer, I will slow down enough to blog a little bit - so please keep checking back once in a while.  We really do have lots of stuff to share when we get around to it. 

Hope you are having a great summer too!

So this is Happening (Post 15 of 30)

It is starting!!!  From the paper..... look bottom left.

Sunday stuff (Bonus post)

Yaaayyy - Sort of (Blog 14 of 30)

I made the news.... and the tree that fell missed everything.... so that is good, right?  Click on photo for story

Ooops (Blog 13 of 30)

Interesting pic in the Canadian Tire flyer this week.... according to the hoses, the pump for this pool is underground!!!

What will they think of next???? (Maybe they will think to check their photoshopping problems) :)

My Hat Came Back (Blog 12 of 30)

I do not consider myself a hoarder.  I don't have a lot of junk.  However, I do think that if you own something, you should take care of it and keep track of it.  Therefore......

- I still have the green hair brush that I bought when I was in grade 7 (I told someone this recently and they said, "Is that where your hair is?"..... ha ha ha!!!)   :(

- When I go to the leisure centre I still use the same lock that I used when I played basketball in grade 10

- Every sermon that I have ever preached in Estevan (over 26 years) has been written using the same mechanical pencil.

All that to say, I don't often lose or misplace things.

Several years ago, I won a race at the "Estevan Motor Speedway" (It was called "Faster Pastor". They put a bunch of preachers in cars and let us go).  After the race, they gave me a trophy and this hat.

Ever since I was a kid I wanted to drive a stock car and win a race, so I thought the hat was cool.  Therefore, I tossed it in the saddlebag of my motorcycle so that I would have it with me wherever I went. It is especially fun to wear it when I go to race tracks because it makes people think I know something.  :)

Two Saturdays ago, there was a car show north of town, so I jumped on my bike and rode out there.  When I got there, I flipped open my saddlebag and ..... MY HAT WAS GONE!!!!

I retraced my steps in my mind.  I wore it earlier in the day, but I was sure I put it back in the saddlebag. 

When I got home, I looked all over the house.... nothing!  

When I got the to the church building on Sunday morning.... nothing!

So I decided that the only thing that could have happened was that my saddlebag opened up while I was riding out there (I had not latched it - only the Velcro was holding it) and that my hat had got sucked out and was laying on the highway somewhere.

So - of course - after church I had to go look. 

Sari and I drove the entire 8 miles out to where the car show was.... nothing!!  Dejected, we turned around and headed back into town. 

Half-way back to town, Sara says, "THERE IS YOUR HAT!"

Now, here is the thing....

   1.  The wind was blowing 60 - 75 km/h for 24 hours straight.  The hat could have gone anywhere.
    2.  In the entire 8 mile stretch, the ditches are only mowed in two sections.  Everywhere else, the grass was over a foot high and super thick.  If my hat had landed in there, we never would have found it.  As it was, it was laying right in the middle of one of the mowed sections... sitting just as if it had been placed there waiting for us.

    3.  We had a torrential rain storm the night before, so I  figured that even if I did find the hat that it would be all mushy and wrecked.  On the contrary, I think the rain did it some good.  It is cleaner now than it has been in years. 

The moral(s) of the story.....

  a.  Use the things you like.  There is no point keeping things on shelves or in drawers.  Even if it had been lost forever, I would have been happy that I lost it because I was using it.

  b.  Sometimes things work out in your favor, so don't give up.  If I had not gone to look, I never would have found it.

  c.  Don't tell everyone you know that you are going to drive 8 miles out of town looking for a hat that maybe blew out of your saddlebag and maybe landed in a ditch somewhere after it has been out in a monsoon season rain storm because they are going to look at you like you have completely lost your mind!!!

   d.  Certainly don't tell them that when you found it, you put it on your head and happily wore it back into town..... that is gross!

But I am happy I did.  :)
 

A Small Town Tradition (Blog 11 of 30)

One of the things that I love about living in a small city is that some of the old time traditions still live on. 

For example, it is still a big deal when the fair comes to town.  Sari and went and  walked the midway this evening and we saw half the town out there... and I like that.  I like living in a place where you see people that you know.  I like that kids from Hillcrest (both current and past) run up to Sara excited to see her.  I like that I run into guys from hockey or from the speedway.

Obviously, big cities have a lot more to offer, but small towns are hard to beat when it comes to relationships... and that is one thing that makes the yearly fair fun.

Well, that and caramel apples!  :)

Grad Photos (Blog 10 of 30)

We had a good time Friday night with the first part of the Megan Grad Photo shoot.  Thanks to Adam and Trinda for making it a fun night!  


There will me more to come over the next couple of weeks, but here is a start......

Some new friends (Blog 9 of 30)

We were out exploring tonight and came across these little guys.....

Sunday Stuff (Bonus post)

Progress or The reason I have not written a more interesting blog (blog 8 of 30)

When I was a kid, I drove old junky cars all the time.  The good part about that was that at least you could fix them.  If you needed to change the thermostat, you could do it in like 30 minutes - tops!

On the weekend, the belt on Katelyn's car broke.  I got a new one and went to put it on only to realize that I needed a special tool.  Thanks to a friend, I found someone who would loan me one.  What could be better???  $21 for a belt and she would be back on the road in no time.

THREE AND A HALF HOURS LATER I finally got the belt on!!!!  But not before I had to take the front passenger side tire off.... take away all the plastic ick underneath the car..... contort myself like a circus performer.... and become very frustrated.

Even the magical "special tool" did not work!  I could not for the life of me get it in the right spot to make it work.  After several hours, I just quit and went to bed.

But I am determined (or stubborn) and went back at it today..... and I finally got the belt on..... but I had to create my own "special tool" to do it.

So, the moral is either......

    A.  Things are regressing not progressing (On an old car you can change an alternator belt in 10 minutes).

    B.  Good things happen when you keep trying

    C.  I am obviously too cheap to pay someone who knows what they are doing to fix something and would rather tear up his arms, get mad and take a couple of years off of his life expectancy simply to save the $120 the shop would have charged him to do this.

    D.  There is no feeling like fixing something yourself.

Maybe it is all of the above!  :)

Ps. I do have a really good story to tell you.... it is called "The Hat came back".  I just have not had time to do it yet, but keep checking back.  It will make you laugh, then cry, then smile, then laugh and cry at the same time and then leave you wondering why you bothered to keep checking back here just for that..... I promise!  :)

Cars and Quilts: Parts of our weekend (Blog 7 of 30)

I did not get pictures of everything that happened this past week (and I am going to tell more stories from it tomorrow), but for now here are a few updates.

Saturday afternoon I went to a car show north of town.  Met some friends out there... saw lots of cool stuff.... other than the wind it was fun.  Here is a not so great picture, but it will do.....

Then we had races at the speedway that night.  A buddy of ours who owns an advertising company needed someone to drive his souvenir van out to the track, so I got volunteered.  It was quite the ride.

Races ended up being windy and somewhat cold so the crowd was small again - which is really too bad.  However, we did do what they call a Calcutta race (all classes of cars out at the same time).  My job was to line the hobby stocks up in turn one, so this what that looked like....

And here is what the race itself looked like from inside corner one......

And lastly - but most importantly (It is only last b/c it was last chronologically) - every year our congregation always does a Grad banquet.  One of the traditional gifts is a handmade quilt.  Here is Megan with hers......

As I said, that is not the whole story but it is a start.  Come back tomorrow for part 2.

Hard at Work! (Blog 6 of 30)

I have taken a few days off from blogging because I have been super busy, but now I have a bunch of stuff to share - so come back often over the next few days.


Here is the start..... an action shot of me being a track official at the "Estevan Motor Speedway".  As you can tell by the popcorn in my hand, I take my job very seriously!  :) 


Actually, it was sort of serious.... Jim tried to steal a couple of handfuls when I wasn't looking!  (Thanks to Angel for the photo)

Wanna Buy a Town??? (Blog 5 of 30)

If you happen to have about a million bucks kicking around, this beauty could be yours.....

Coming this Sunday (Bonus post)

Day of Caring (Blog 4 of 30)

Every year the United Way does what they call "The Day of Caring" where they match up volunteers who want to work with those who could use some help with various projects.  The simple goal is to build community and help one another.


This year, Sara rounded up some kids (actually the kids had to apply to her, write out a summary of why they wanted to help, etc) and volunteered.   They ended up being assigned to the "Estevan Humane Society".  They had a great day cleaning stuff, sorting things and playing with the animals (Sari almost brought home a new dog!!!)  :(


Anyway, hers was the only group of school kids there and that got others thinking about involving their schools next year. 


She was really proud of the kids that went with her. Good workers.... good representatives of Hillcrest.... good kids.


Good Job!

The Letter (Blog 3 of 30)

Every preacher I have ever know has received "the letter" from someone (Some of them have received many letters).

It is an occupational hazard that goes along with stating an opinion or belief in a public forum.... someone at some point is going to disagree with you.

The trick is that most of the time they do not have the guts to disagree with you in person and nor will they get up in front of everyone and state their case (like the preacher has to do), so they leave you a nasty note..... sometimes they even have the guts to sign it - though "anonymous" is often the author.


With the advent of email, blogs, texting and other social media platforms it is even easier to shoot your mouth off and not bear any responsibility for what you have said or who you run over in the process.


For the record, I have not had many letters like the ones I am describing. Our church has been very kind to me and my family and we have learned to deal with disagreements in a healthy way.


However, this morning, I walked into my office and there on my desk sat this great, big, long note with handwriting that was so disjointed and weird looking that it was obviously written by a crazy person who was in a big hurry to tell me how stupid I am.


At first, I was shocked!  As I said, our group is so good to me and my family that I could not believe someone had written me a "letter".


Then I was angry!  HOW DARE SOMEONE DO THIS TO ME WHEN I AM WORKING MY GUTS OUT HERE????  COME AND TALK TO ME LIKE A MAN IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO DISCUSS AND STOP HIDING BEHIND A STUPID PIECE OF PAPER!!!


Then I was confused......   How did anyone get into my office????   All the doors were locked and no one else has a key.


Then I realized......  I left that letter on my desk!!!!!! 


It was my pile of notes for my sermon this week.... and it was not nasty at all.... in fact it was quite uplifting! 


The thing is that I never leave junk in the middle of my desk, so when I saw that pile of papers I automatically assumed the worst. 


This experience has taught me two things...... 
     a.  I may be a little more edgy and defensive than I need to be
     b.  I may need a little more sleep or drink less coffee or something.


So all's well that ends well, right?


But I did make sure to clean up my desk and put everything away so that it does not happen again tomorrow!  :)

Healthy or Hindering???? (Blog 2 of 30)

I saw a  lady who was out jogging tonight.  She had her Ipod strapped to her arm, her earbuds in and she was obviously listening to music as she ran.  

Then, when she came to the corner, lost in her own music/running world and oblivious to the world around her, she ran right out in front of the car in front of me and almost got hit.

So the question is: Is she being healthy because she is out jogging..... or is she being unhealthy by putting her life at risk by running as if she is the only person in the world???

Sometimes it is better just to stay on the couch and watch TV.  :)

Fun for Everyone (Post 1 of 30)

It seems I need the motivation that comes from the challenge of trying to blog every day.  If I just write when I feel like it, I rarely do it.

Therefore, I am starting another "30 blogs in 30 days" which will be good because June should have a bunch of interesting things to document.

We will start with this..... Every once in a while in the summer we cancel our formal Sunday night class and go over to Calvin and Mary's for a pot luck BBQ/visiting time.  Tonight was the first one of this year and it had a really good turn out.  Weather was good..... lots of food.... what more could you ask for?