I figure today is as good of a day for an update as any other. Hard to believe that it has been 4 years since the terrorist attacks on the USA. Hope everyone took sometime today to think about the men, women and children who lost their lives. Especially the emergency response crews that gave their lives trying to save others.

Last Thursday ended my first strike. Our union was able to reach a settlement which was good enough to accept, and the members agreed and we went back to work as of Friday morning. 8 days without pay definitely hurt. Hopefully we will get caught back up after I receive the retro pay which is coming to me in October. In the end, I am just glad to be back to work. I never thought I’d say that.

Also last week, Katie went in to get her ankle fixed. Finally. Poor kid injured it several years ago playing baseball, and it is still bothering her to this day. Last week the surgeons went in and cleaned up some scar tissue to try and help the ankle heal better. Hopefully this will give her some relief once the pain from the surgery goes away.

Friday night Shannon and I had a small party at our place. We had a great time. Thanks to everyone who came out. I love you guys!

I can’t let this update go by without saying a HUGE thanks to my parents. Especially my Mom. Over the past couple weeks of me being on strike, they have helped out absolutely any way they could. Last weekend while I was working some major overtime at ALNC and running around doing some other obligations, Mom and Dad came over and cut the grass and removed all the weeds from the yard. Our place looks fantastic. Then when I asked Mom Thursday night, “what should we make for super?” for the party Friday night. She not only gave a suggestion but offered to cook it for us. Good thing she did cause there’s no way we would have been able to get things together between work and the time people came over. We had enough roast beef, salads and potatoes to feed an entire army. And judging by how much was eaten Friday night, I can assure you that everyone LOVED it. Thanks again soooo very much Mom.

Saturday night Shannon and I went to Mississauga for Ken and Vans wedding reception. Much like Friday night, we had an excellent time. Food wasn’t my cup of tea. Thirteen courses, and most of them were fish. I hate fish, so you can imagine how much I was able to eat. After the dinner the party picked up, and we had a great time. Congrats Ken/Van. Hope you guys have as great of a life together as Shannon and I have.

Lastly, it looks like the beetle not going to the body shop due to the strike may have been a blessing in disguise. After speaking to Alex (who spoke to his brother Paul), it looks like they are going to be doing the paint and body work on the car. From what I’ve heard around. Paul’s body skills are top notch, and if they put 1/4 of the attention into the paint work that Alex normally puts into spraying kitchens, this thing is going to look AWESOME. Hopefully the car will be at their place before the end of the month. I won’t get it back as quickly as the shop in Brantford, but the extra time they will have with the car will allow them to do it in their off time and also allow them to get the car perfect.

Bugs out.