Take a guess. I took this photo today. Was I on Mars? Traversing the Gobi Desert? Landing on the moon? You tell me. A clarifying photo/answer will be provided next week, as well as the announcement of any and all winning guesses.*
Sunday, 15 August 2010
What is this?
Take a guess. I took this photo today. Was I on Mars? Traversing the Gobi Desert? Landing on the moon? You tell me. A clarifying photo/answer will be provided next week, as well as the announcement of any and all winning guesses.*
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Charred 2x4
Before we left for holidays, I tried to turn off the water in our condo and noticed that the stud which the hot water line is tied to was a bit black. It looks like the heat from the pipe has slowly burned the stud away (maybe by about a quarter inch in 15 years). Should I be concerned?
Vacation it Twas
Hello! We are back from our mighty vacation. Here are some pictures and random memories.
The border wait was not two hours as I had suspected; in fact it was only 2 minutes! We drove south to Seattle and then east on the I-90. Our first stop was Wanapum State Park. Before we got there I noticed all kinds of neat wind turbines dotting the countryside. A word of advice: if you notice your campground is in close proximity to a wind turbine, do not pitch your tent there.
Our next stop was a forestry site somewhere near the middle of nowhere, Montana. It was very beautiful and quiet. Kate started to get a bit clingy and did not seem to be fond of car rides anymore. I took this neat picture of a pine needle. :)
We continued driving towards Yellowstone Park but had trouble soon after hitting the road. I drove over a piece of metal of some sort and slashed the front passenger side tire wide open. So, on the side of the highway, I unloaded our trunk of its meticulously-packed camping gear, removed the spare tire (which I had remembered to inflate before we left), and changed the tire. While it is about the right size of a spare (not a spacesaver), the rim is not quite right so there was a bit of a gap between the discs and the rim. Hmm. But it drove fine about 100 miles to Butte, where we located a WalMart Tire Centre.
Unfortunately WalMart didn't have our odd tire size, but we were directed to another place that did, and they changed it fairly quickly, and we went shopping for a few groceries at the Butte Safeway, and were on our way. We had a long drive to the park and we were behind a bit, but we made it to our campsite before nightfall. The campsites were crammed close together so our neighbours were quite close; otherwise it was a very nice campsite.
Kate was not doing so well, still clingy, whiny, etc. After a couple of very cold nights in the tent we took her to the medical clinic beside Old Faithful. She had blood in her ear so we suspected an ear infection, and the doctor confirmed this and gave us some antibiotics. Kate had a fever and was not going to sleep quietly through the night so we booked a shifty hotel in West Yellowstone for a couple of nights. And yes, we saw Old Faithful too! Our friend Rachel from Denver stayed with us as well on her way up to Glacier Park.
We headed north and saw Mammoth Springs on our way out of Yellowstone Park. We found a sweet motel in a podunk town and the next day we made it to Didsbury, Alberta, where Michelle's parents live. We enjoyed almost a week staying with them and also with my brother-in-law, Michael. Kate loved playing on the farm with the cats, and I helped build a floor for a shed.
Despite the challenges and setbacks that we encountered, I found that there was always Grace in every situation. We were never beyond despair. It was great to get into a new space for awhile and see God's beautiful handiwork. Thanks to God for his Grace!
The border wait was not two hours as I had suspected; in fact it was only 2 minutes! We drove south to Seattle and then east on the I-90. Our first stop was Wanapum State Park. Before we got there I noticed all kinds of neat wind turbines dotting the countryside. A word of advice: if you notice your campground is in close proximity to a wind turbine, do not pitch your tent there.
Our next stop was a forestry site somewhere near the middle of nowhere, Montana. It was very beautiful and quiet. Kate started to get a bit clingy and did not seem to be fond of car rides anymore. I took this neat picture of a pine needle. :)We continued driving towards Yellowstone Park but had trouble soon after hitting the road. I drove over a piece of metal of some sort and slashed the front passenger side tire wide open. So, on the side of the highway, I unloaded our trunk of its meticulously-packed camping gear, removed the spare tire (which I had remembered to inflate before we left), and changed the tire. While it is about the right size of a spare (not a spacesaver), the rim is not quite right so there was a bit of a gap between the discs and the rim. Hmm. But it drove fine about 100 miles to Butte, where we located a WalMart Tire Centre.
Unfortunately WalMart didn't have our odd tire size, but we were directed to another place that did, and they changed it fairly quickly, and we went shopping for a few groceries at the Butte Safeway, and were on our way. We had a long drive to the park and we were behind a bit, but we made it to our campsite before nightfall. The campsites were crammed close together so our neighbours were quite close; otherwise it was a very nice campsite.
Kate was not doing so well, still clingy, whiny, etc. After a couple of very cold nights in the tent we took her to the medical clinic beside Old Faithful. She had blood in her ear so we suspected an ear infection, and the doctor confirmed this and gave us some antibiotics. Kate had a fever and was not going to sleep quietly through the night so we booked a shifty hotel in West Yellowstone for a couple of nights. And yes, we saw Old Faithful too! Our friend Rachel from Denver stayed with us as well on her way up to Glacier Park.
We headed north and saw Mammoth Springs on our way out of Yellowstone Park. We found a sweet motel in a podunk town and the next day we made it to Didsbury, Alberta, where Michelle's parents live. We enjoyed almost a week staying with them and also with my brother-in-law, Michael. Kate loved playing on the farm with the cats, and I helped build a floor for a shed.
Despite the challenges and setbacks that we encountered, I found that there was always Grace in every situation. We were never beyond despair. It was great to get into a new space for awhile and see God's beautiful handiwork. Thanks to God for his Grace!
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Mustard Rock
Today after church we are going to pack up the car and wait at the border for 2 hours and then start driving to Yellowstone. We have a few stops on the way as well where we will set up camp. It should be interesting with a 21-month toddler; hopefully there will be time for sitting in the camping chair with a good book in the shade, too!
Last week was fairly busy (for me); I almost worked a full 40 hours! 3 days were at Columbia, 1 day was split between a side job for my friend's mom's friend/watching Kate while Michelle went to a matinee, and 1 day was contract labour for my past employer Abbey Medical--that was a hot day to work outside! 32 degrees and we're not talking fahrenheit! I had prayed for strength for such a busy week, and God graciously gave me what I asked for.
Last week was fairly busy (for me); I almost worked a full 40 hours! 3 days were at Columbia, 1 day was split between a side job for my friend's mom's friend/watching Kate while Michelle went to a matinee, and 1 day was contract labour for my past employer Abbey Medical--that was a hot day to work outside! 32 degrees and we're not talking fahrenheit! I had prayed for strength for such a busy week, and God graciously gave me what I asked for.
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Joey's Last Day
Today marks the end of a school-year of babysitting! Last September Michelle arranged to watch baby Joey during the day for her friend. Michelle took Tuesdays, and I took Thursdays. Joey is only two months younger than Kate and it has been fun to watch them grow up, reach different milestones, and learn to play together. Joey started crawling, walking, running, climbing, etc. several months before Kate did, but Kate was quicker to use her 'fine motor skills' to use a spoon, or do a puzzle. Michelle wasn't able to continue watching Joey in the spring due to her pregnancy sickness, but I continued on Thursdays.
As for me, it was strange enough in the eyes of our culture to be a stay-at-home Dad for two days a week, but to babysit someone else's kid as as well!?! Unheard of! But I enjoyed it. It gave me a chance to rest from my physically demanding job--still earning a few bucks--while having a chance to spend more time with my daughter.
Kate can't really say her own name yet, but she can say Joey's: "Dough-whee!"
It is the last Thursday of the school year today; summer vacation is coming and next September Joey will have alternate arrangements. So long, little buddy. It was good to get to know you.
Kate on Joey's last day 
As for me, it was strange enough in the eyes of our culture to be a stay-at-home Dad for two days a week, but to babysit someone else's kid as as well!?! Unheard of! But I enjoyed it. It gave me a chance to rest from my physically demanding job--still earning a few bucks--while having a chance to spend more time with my daughter.
Kate can't really say her own name yet, but she can say Joey's: "Dough-whee!"
It is the last Thursday of the school year today; summer vacation is coming and next September Joey will have alternate arrangements. So long, little buddy. It was good to get to know you.
Saturday, 19 June 2010
Norwex Car Wash
The weather was so nice today and I hadn't washed the car for more than a year so I took some norwex products and a bucket of hot water to the driveway area and gave the 'ol car a scrub. Wow did the windows look shiny! It worked really well and I didn't need a hose...however the paint job is getting kind of beat up so it can only look so good...maybe a wax would help...maybe a norWAX, ha ha.
Michelle is doing quite a bit better (almost 14 weeks pregnant), thanks God! We got out to watch a slopitch game on Wednesday and that was a lot of fun--we knew a lot more people on the team and in the stands than we had expected! Kate liked stepping up and down the bleachers too. Last night we got out for our first date in about 2 months, dinner at BP and we watched the A-Team at Silvercity.
In my continuing health soap opera--er, saga--I have discovered that I seam to be mildly lactose intolerant...so much for all my milk protein! Goats milk seems fine though. I had suspected it a long time ago but my symptoms weren't too severe so I wrote it off as something else.
Michelle is doing quite a bit better (almost 14 weeks pregnant), thanks God! We got out to watch a slopitch game on Wednesday and that was a lot of fun--we knew a lot more people on the team and in the stands than we had expected! Kate liked stepping up and down the bleachers too. Last night we got out for our first date in about 2 months, dinner at BP and we watched the A-Team at Silvercity.
In my continuing health soap opera--er, saga--I have discovered that I seam to be mildly lactose intolerant...so much for all my milk protein! Goats milk seems fine though. I had suspected it a long time ago but my symptoms weren't too severe so I wrote it off as something else.
Saturday, 5 June 2010
What Kate Did
Kate is usually getting her nose into something these days. As long as she has her nap and goes to bed at a decent hour we all get along! Michelle is doing a bit better lately so that is good! We experienced the goodness of the church lately with different people helping out with Kate when I was at work and Michelle couldn't take care of her. I'm doing pretty good too. Just don't mess with my schedule too much and I'm happy. :) Baby Potts seems to be doing alright too; Michelle heard the heartbeat at her midwife appointment last week. Lately Baby Potts likes California rolls and is not too fond of chicken.
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