Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Category: Family

  • Closing Up

    Closing Up

    It’s that time of year again where fall is well underway and the overnight temperatures are getting close to freezing. That means it’s time to get the cottage ready for winter.

    Boats are away for the winter

    The boys, Eric and Scott come out with me Friday night to execute the Closeup Checklist. The main focus is taking care of anything that will freeze. We empty the fridge and remove food that won’t survive 6-7 months of sitting around in the cold.

    Three big tasks are putting away the boats and cleaning up the dock, draining the water system and winterizing the septic field. We get started, after coffee ☕etc. around 9am

    The boys do all the heavy lifting while I handle septic system. I won’t get into the details but it can be a bit yuckie if you think about it too much.?

    The 3 of us move through the task quite quickly. May hands make light work.

    By about 1:30 were done and heading into Kenora to pick up lunch and drive home.

    Thanks guys, love you, Dad ❤️

  • I know a guy …

    … who likes to split wood.

    On the September long weekend Len K. tackled the wood pile and split all the logs that have been stacked up this year and from several previous years. Thanks Len!

  • Memorable Gifts

    Memorable Gifts

    The most thoughtful and memorable gift my parents ever gave me was a set of three gloves.

    This gift was so thoughtful as each glove represented a sport that I was keenly interested in.

    These were gifts on my birthday when I was in my early twenties and I still have these gloves, almost.

    The first pair are cross country ski gloves. A wool inner liner and a very supple leather outer cover.

    The second pair were for sailing. They got used sailing with friends on their boats or when skippering my Fireball. Now a days I’m using them on the Oarboard for rowing.

    Protection from lines and sheets and now oars.

    The third pair is the “almost” pair as they were stolen ☹️. This pair were Solomon down hill ski gloves made extra special by a large “S” on the back of the hand for Solomon or was it for Stewart??

    Anyway on a cool day I was riding my Honda 550F and parked it to briefly go into a store. I locked the Helmut to the bike and stuffed the gloves in the Helmut. A short time in the store and the gloves were gone when I came out. I still miss those gloves.

    The glove trio remind me of my parents love and the effort and thoughtfulness behind the gift. I remember them fondly when use these gloves many years later.

  • Easton & Clark: 2023 Christmas Concert

    On December 20, 2023 Shirley and I attended Easton and Clark’s school Christmas Concert at St. John Brebeuf School.

    The concert was an excellent Christ centred production that involved K-6 and told the traditional Christmas story in a fun kid friendly way with some contemporary twists. Our seats were in the centre of the sanctuary which provided a good view of the production but was a little far back for my camera and len. I cropped all the photos to emphasis the stage and performers which resulted in photographs like this.

    I put all the concert photos over on my flickr site at Easton & Clark Christmas Concert 2023.

    Of course we were there primarily to see Easton and Clark who were buried in with all their classmates. Here is Easton’s group. That’s him just to the left of the Rosenthal’s sign in the back row.

    Easton in the centre with the green head band.

    Similarly, Clark’s in a large group with his class.

    The good looking guy in the centre. ?

    And then there is the grand finale with everyone on stage and spilling off on both sides.

    Clark
    Easton

  • My Mom

    Every time I come to this verse I think about my Mom.

    On one of the rare times we talked about faith, it was just the two of us and she shared about driving home from the funeral of her brother Ken in Montreal. She said this verse got her through some tough time.

    “I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? (No!)

    My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!”

    ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭121‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

  • Grandkid questions

    Grandkid questions

    Grandad, what do the colored flags and spray paint on lawns and streets mean?

    Call before you dig

    Well, I knew yellow was for gas and after that I wasn’t sure. They all mean something is buried there and don’t dig in that spot unless you know what you’re doing.

    Here’s a key to the flags’ colors:

    RED – Electric Power Lines, Cables, Conduit and Lighting Cables

    YELLOW – Gas, Oil, Steam Petroleum or Gaseous Materials

    ORANGE – Communication, Cable TV, Alarm or Signal Lines, Cables or Conduit

    BLUE – Water, Irrigation and Slurry Lines

    GREEN – Sewers and Drain Lines

    PINK – Temporary Survey Markings

    WHITE – Proposed Excavation

    https://www.cedarburglightandwater.org/what-do-colored-flags-ground-mean#

  • Kayak is a Palindrome

    Kayak is a Palindrome

    Just a random fact because we gave Dane a kayak for his upcoming birthday to maximize the in-water time this summer.

    Paddle Boy

    When there are brothers you pretty much need two of these.

    Peas in a Pod? Two in a Kayak? Summer Fun!
  • Cookie Love

    Cookie Love

    The gift of love – home made custom shortbread cookies

    My sister Gail flew in from North Saanich on Vancouver Island for a visit. It’s the first time we’ve seen each other in more than two year thanks to Covid and various health concern as on both ends. The primary trigger for the visit was a sudden change in The journey resulting in my hospitalization with some pretty serious issues.

    Not only did she come for a wonderful visit with lots of deep and meaningful conversations but was bearing the above heart shaped shortbread cookies which are extremely delicious.

    I love my sister and she loves me. ❤️

  • Love of my life

  • Birthday Lego

    Birthday Lego

    For my birthday I was given several Formula 1 Racing themed gifts, one of which is a lego set of the Mercedes F1 car.

    I’ve never had a lego set of my own so this is a bit of a first. We’ve bought lots of lego for the grandkids over the years but this is my first solo build and I had a lot of fun doing it.

    Here is the result!