A Change in Weather

So as to not make everything about kids on here, the weather is the next easiest topic to write about.  On January 8th we had quite the wicked snowfall and wind.  Enough that school was cancelled and it turned out to be a miserable day with cars in the ditches, a huge pile of snow to get off the driveway, and temperatures that were well into the mid teens below zero.  Fast forward to Wednesday and Thursday, the weather has done a complete 180.  The temperatures are in the teens, and it is raining.   I don't ever remember the fluctuations like these.  I know in Calgary they get such swings due to certain winds, but here it is unusual.

Shelly and I were on the road this past weekend and had a great late afternoon and evening with my good buddy Drew and his wife.  There were lots of laughs and lies!  Of course there was great food and drink.  I see Drew often, but we hadn't had a evening with spouses in 7 or 8 years.  It was a shame a few other people couldn't attend, but the weather wasn't great and staying at home rather then driving 100km was the wise thing.  I suppose that doesn't make me wise.  No surprise.

So onto the kids.

Wally had a third birthday the other day and it was a party!  Shelly, Molly, Wally and I had an incredible hot dog and french fry dinner.  No one else made it over, nor did we invite anyone.  So it was just the four of us.  Wally opened the most stunning gifts of a pair of pants, underwear, and bubble bath soap.  The pants got puked on the next day at day care.  Wally is still in diapers, thus the underwear for now is a bust.  Finally the bubble bath soap does not live up to its intended use - to provide bubbles in a bath.  But at three years old, Wally, I am afraid, neither cares or knows the difference of any of these events.

The real highlight was the cake created.  That we all got something out of, and importantly I know Wally did too.  Shelly created a scene, well you can see the pictures, but a scene where a number of diggers arranged Smarties into the shape of a number 3.  It turned out and tasted great.  It took a few tries, but three candles were successfully blown out, and Cotton Candy ice cream was consumed too.

In the near future we will have to invite a few of Wally's friends over on an afternoon for a few hours to have a play and eat some treats.  NO TOYS OR GIFTS!  He has plenty and will not care nor realize that gift giving goes hand in hand with birthdays.  He'll learn that lesson another year.

But the best part of it all was being together, the four of us, as a family. Having a few laughs is always part of our dinner routine, as well as telling stories about the day.  We do very well to consistently eat a home cooked dinner, generally always better then tube steaks, together each night.  But on a birthday or an anniversary it feels different and has more meaning.  It seems to be more symbolical in a way that is not easy to put in words. 

Maybe the words I'd choose is that these yearly events, these milestones, are important to pass. It is not just that they arrive, but they get passed-over and people are together.  One gets that YES feeling (fist starts at forehead, elbow bent, down ward motion with arm and nod head slightly down).  We got through another one.  Keep them coming. 

Bar Up

We invited people over on New Years Eve, and when it all go settled about 12 people showed up for a flamboyant-less evening.  The big event is raising the bar.  For 360 days a year it stays hidden from view.  It is tucked away in the basement waiting for some special event or occasion to be summoned to use.  I somehow managed a water hose repair as one of them was had a 3cm split up its side.  But that will happen.
 
The whole ensemble is quite the engineering feet.  Perhaps it has been mentioned.  But tucked away under the living room is a 2x4 foot bar.  It is plumbed with water and has a sink.  It has an electrical outlet and working lights.  It has a mini refrigerator as well.  It is rigged up on an old 1980s Craftsman garage door opener.  It is counter weighted and balanced with an old steel railroad track, bricks, and different pulleys to make it all just so.  Neighbours told us back in the day people would drive past the house and purposely click their garage door openers so that the bar would raise to the surprise of Ken and Dorthy.  I think there is a bit of exaggeration in that story, but I'll go with it for flare.

So there it is and it is a fun party attraction.

So we've just been hanging  a lot around the house and haven't really gone and done too much outside and in the community.