Saturday, April 29

News Update

It has been another busy week on the shore of Lake Superior, and only some of us are making it above average.

Of course, the big news of the week is the reopening of the golf courses. As you may remember, I was given a golf membership, by my family, for the three courses owned by the city. My courses opened on Friday, and I played my first round of the season.

It has been a busy week of work as the annual reporting on my program is due at monthend. I managed to finish those up and send them Friday morning, and, so far, they haven't fired any of them back at me! Now my attention turns to revamping the plans for the next two years of this three year project. The plans are due by May 15th. I also have a semi-annual report to the school administrators group due on the 12th, so I'll be preparing my presentation for that event as well.

The others here have regained a healthier behaviour although there's still plenty of coughing going on. Wendy is back on her regular gym schedule, and has also begun painting next door at the church building. Erica was off to Ottawa this week—I hope she got some input into the federal budget that we're expecting next week! I have continued to suffer to a greater degree from seasonal hayfever. I finally gave up on my Reactine and moved onto Chlor-Tripolon, so we'll see how that progresses. I have been doing better in recent years, but there must be some additional issues down here on the shores of Lake Superior.

As I mentioned, I had my first golf game of the season. It did not go nearly as well as I had been imagining, visually, and dreaming! My newly refined, developed and enhanced golf swing did not reduce my game by the promised seven strokes! I shot 87—more work is needed. I'm still living with my dream of breaking 80! And I shall keep trying. There were some bright spots—my iron play was good, my putting and chipping were good. My driving was very bad! Sigh!

And that's the kind of week it has been.

Thursday, April 27

Some Assembly Required!

The lovely spring weather has inevitably awakened thoughts of outdoor cooking, so we dug our venerable barbecue out of storage. Alas! It gave evidence that not all was as it used to be, or even should be. The venturi tube was laying on the ground, and Wendy was asking if we needed it! The handles came off in my hand—I guess that's where handles should be anyway—but, they failed to do their assigned task of lifting the lid! The wheels didn't. Perhaps sometimes we do need to reinvent the wheel! Reluctantly, I faced the fact that the old barbecue was (as they say in Zambia) finished! I loaded it into the back of the truck and Wendy hauled it out to the dump. Then we began the search for a new one! We shopped the flyers that conveniently had placed a number of barbecues on special this week. What do these suppliers know about the vagaries of storage?

I eventually settled on one from Canadian Tire. Wendy settled on a different one from Superstore. (Yes, mine was the cheapest available. Now get over it!!) We went to Canadian Tire, but they had none of my pick in stock, so we headed over to Superstore and picked up the nice one they had on display.

Once we got it home, I began to unpack it, and to consider their ominous notation, "Some Assembly Required." Indeed! I am happy to tell you that the assembly instructions had been translated from the original Korean by an Egyptian who was fluent in neither language. Thus we had items called, Left Foot, Right Foot and Whee Axle! I know where my feet are, and I'm sure I have a Whee Axle somewhere! It was surprising to find there was not only a Cup, but also a Cup Support—and nicely in time for Stanley Cup playoffs, no less. They also illustrated M6 Bolts, M6 Large Bolts, M6 Small Bolts, and M4 Bolts. Pictures of the two different types of M4 Bolts revealed that one had a round head and the other had a flat head. Instructions merely called for use of an M4 Bolt!! Nuts were also supplied—M6 Nuts and M4 Nuts and M10 Nuts!! They all looked the same in the illustration, no details were given as to their size, and we had no M10 Bolts, so... At least I was pleased with their comment that, "It will takes less than 40 minutes to assembly the grill." (It would 'takes' many hours to 'reassembly' their document into English!)

However, assemble I did; and after many renditions of "Align the holes in the top front panel(6) with the holes in one of the left side support(12), screwing a M6 Bolt(A) into each pre-drilled holes" and the like, and after much more than forty minutes, I had a new barbecue.

And, armed with a fresh bottle of propane, I even grilled some hamburgers on it!

Saturday, April 22

News Update

Well, it's been a busy week here on Lake Superior, so busy in fact, that I did not even enter a single blog on this site! Yikes! And it's not like there's nothing going on in the world!

This week I completed my second round of school visits. I travelled up to Pickle Lake and also visited at Savant Lake. We have schools in each location. Things were going pretty much okay at the schools, but that's only one part of touring. The more hazardous areas are food and lodging. We had found a wonderful restaurant in Red Lake last week, but we were looking forward with some trepidation to what awaited us in Pickle Lake. We tried to put off the disaster by lunching at Ignace on the way up, and planning to lunch there again on the way back. Alas, the inevitable could only be avoided so long! There are no other options for meals in Pickle Lake, but we eventually did discover that there are two different cooks working shifts at the Winston. Thus, if we hurried back for lunch, we managed to get two decent meals before Chef Greasy Spoon took over. Suppers were an unmitigated disaster. We tried a variety of options, but finally considered that our best bet would be to have two pieces of pie and call it a night!

Wendy and I have been contemplating some improvements here at home. We're planning an arbor (aka trellis, pergola) for the deck attached to my office. We've even checked some books out of the library to assist. So, once I get my paperwork caught up, we hope to get it built.

Kristian and Wendy had doctor's appointments this week. The doctor was pleased about Kristian's weight gain, although he's still tall and slim, just like his grandparents! Wendy has continued her gym work with great determination. I've continued my golf lessons with equal determination. I even made it to the driving range today. Let's just say that more work remains to be done!

Eric and Erica have both suffered with illness, and both are on the mend, but not quite well. I have also been suffering some illness, but am feeling pretty well now, except for some coughing.

And that's the kind of week it's been here on Lake Superior...

Saturday, April 15

News Update Happy Easter!

We've had another week here on the shore of Lake Superior. I've been travelling most of the week up to Red Lake to visit another of my schools. Red Lake is about six hundred clicks northwest of Thunder Bay. To get there we drove west past Dryden to Vermillion Bay, and then north two hundred clicks. It's a very pretty spot, and I'm looking forward to a return trip in June when I can try out their golf course! The work at the school went very well, but there remains a lot to do as we try to enhance their collection and use of student data.

I got back from Red Lake on Thursday afternoon, and promptly went to bed as I'm feeling the onset of a cold. Both Good Friday and Easter Monday are holidays down here, so I'll have a chance to keep rested over the weekend, and hopefully stop my cold in its tracks (if you can visualize that!). On Saturday we had a lovely Easter weekend luncheon at Trav & Sylvia's new house. Trav is all moved in, but he has been experiencing some breathing difficulties due to an allergic reaction to the house. We suspect it's the cats that lived there before. At any rate, he is finding the need for some antihistamines at least until the place gets cleaned out. The place is looking pretty good so far.

Kristian has had another week of growing! He now has six teeth, and enjoys grinding them together to the chagrin of his mother. She's afraid his face will get stuck in a permanent grimace!
Erica has had a week of battling a cold, so she even had to cancel one of her school visits. Our group works with ten school boards here in northwestern Ontario. Erica provides overall management and accounting for the group. We also have a variety of project officers and consultants who provide educational leadership and support, which is where I come in.

Wendy has continued dedication to her exercise program at the gym. Some days she tries a different exercise or machine and comes home sore! I've pretty much diverted from gym work to outdoor work at the nearby golf course and recreation complex. Now that I've started hitting balls, my golf stroke is not nearly as good as I visualized it!!

Anyway, that's the kind of week it's been.

Sunday, April 9

OLD AGE IS A GIFT!

Thank you, Laura.

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder it, and let her know.
Old Age, I decided, is a gift.
Mirror_SadToSay2.gifI am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body... the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror, but I don't agonize over those things for long.
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to overeat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
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Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 A.M., and sleep until noon?
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I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love... I will.
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I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the bikini set.
They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten... and I eventually remember the important things.
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Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when a beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
2cant=find=in-purse7.gifI am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. I can say "no" and mean it. I can say "yes" and mean it.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day.
Author Unknown

Saturday, April 8

News Update

We've continued to enjoy good weather here on Lake Superior. I made a trip up to Armstrong in the middle of the week to visit the school there. I was disappointed with what I found there as far as technological infrastructure is concerned. It will be necessary to install a school computer network in preparation for greater data storage and use. Then, too, they're looking at staff changes at the end of the year with a new principal and some new teachers expected, so that leads to other kinds of uncertainty.

Travis and Sylvia took possession of their house this week. We helped Travis move in on Saturday. Wendy, Rauni (Sylvia's mom) and Sylvia spent a lot of elbow grease and time getting things cleaned up. The house looks pretty good with mainly hardwood floors both upstairs and down. There is room for development and improvement over time. The back yard is nice and fully enclosed.

I managed to continue my preparation for the golf season with more dry swinging and walking. I also hit a few balls, so that was revealing. I found that when I was looking up to see how the ball was doing, it wasn't doing well! Someone should make a golf tip about that! Other than that, my imaginary play went very well, but with a ball in play—not so good. The courses are drying out well, so I hope they open soon.

Erica travelled out to Red Lake this week and came back with a cold. Erin has also been suffering with a cold, and has not been able to find any medication to take due to her nursing. Kristian is doing well, growing tall and slim. He now has two teeth on the bottom and it looks like four on the top. He likes to grind them together.

And that's the kind of week it's been here.

Tuesday, April 4

THIS IS GOOD!

The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.
Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!"
To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off. And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad of me to do this."
"No" his friend replied, "This is good!"
"What do you mean, "This is good?" How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
"If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you."

Situations may not always seem pleasant while we are in them, but the promise of God is clear. If we love Him and live our lives according to His precepts, even that which seems to be bleak and hopeless will be turned by God for His glory and our benefit.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

Saturday, April 1

News Update

It has been a busy week here on Lake Superior. The end of the month marks government fiscal year end, so there was a lot of miscellany to cover. Thus there were meetings and considerations and configerations, followed by more of the same. However, it eventually came together fairly well. I also had a trip to Toronto to meet with the other MISA leaders for the province, and to get a dose of encouragement to get our financial affairs in order and prepare our annual reports. So that will occupy my time for the next couple of weeks. I also have some school trips each week to complete, so I shall easily be able to find a way to occupy myself.

The weather has been very nice. Spring is here, and we're enjoying seeing the greening grass. We even had three days of rain this week. The fairways are available, although sopping wet! I have received news from back in Dauphin that the Cougar is coming along nicely and nearly ready for painting. I shall look forward to seeing it with new rear quarter panels and all cleaned up and repainted.

Everyone here continues to do well. Kristian appears to have another tooth, this one on the top. So he's been fussing a bit as that develops. Wendy has continued with her work outs at the gym, while I have mostly transferred my exercise to walking and golfing outdoors. And my golf continues to improve, just as I predicted it would (until an actual golf ball appears). I am visualizing perfectly! Travis has finished his current job at the university, and is looking for something for over the summer. Some of that activity will be refurbishing the house he and Sylvia are buying.

And that's the kind of week it's been.