Bugs Palace!

Christmas is nearly here. One week from today we’ll be ripping into presents and hopefully having a great day. Shopping is about 90% done at this point. Tree is standing and to be decorated today. Not doing to badly considering how busy the last few weeks have been. One point to note is I think our current tree is the new record holder coming in at 12′ 7″ from the floor to the tip top. Love it@

Work has been super busy the last month. Imaging every single principal laptop as well as each schools mobile carts (aka 14-40 laptops depending on the school). Going to be very nice come Friday and our two week break begins.

New piece to install in the subaru came in a few weeks back. Finally picked up a reverse camera to work with my head unit. Shouldn’t be too bad of an install however really cold weather and lack of ambition have slowed down the install. Hoping for a mild day over the break to get this done. Otherwise, the subie is just doing its job being a bad-ass all-wheel-drive snowy road eating little monster. Few cars can come close to the Subaru line when it comes it winter driving. Certainly not invincible, but holds on like few others can.

Some fresh drywall work being done on the stairwell to the basement. We bought a nice couch from a couple friends of ours and were determined to get it into the basement. Couple ambitious attempts, a door frame and several destroyed sections of drywall and we finally gave up. Now I have a bunch of work to do to hide the carnage of the failed attempt. Hopefully get it sorted out by the end of the holidays as well.

Finally since my last update, I’ve spent some time as a single father again. Shannon was away for a few days in Notawasaga for a work conference and then again for nearly a week in British Columbia visiting her brother. Thank God for my wonderful children. They couldn’t have been better behaved and easier for me to look after. Love these kids and how wonderfully they have grown over the years into amazing little people. Shannon and I must be doing something right. Shes home now, thankfully. As good as the kids were, we still missed Shannon quite a bit! Even if I did have to run to Toronto at 2am to get the spare keys to her after she misplaced hers during the trip.

Bucket list item for Shannon has officially been checked off. We set off on the Saturday morning and drove 10-12 hours (including stops for dinner, etc) on our way to Wisconsin. Pretty much straight to bed and a good nights rest before getting up on the Sunday morning to head into Green Bay. It was a pretty amazing day, even for someone like me who is only a recent Packer fan. The tailgating, the 10’s of thousdands of people randomly walking around. A street full of vendors which had to be 2-3km on non-stop Packer stuff to buy. Adn then there is the stadium. Now, its no Old Yankee stadium, but the ghosts and history of teams past are in full force. Despite losing the game, we still had a pretty epic day. Back to bed that night in Wisconsin again before heading home on the long drive home on Monday.

House update: Bulkhead is complete. Just needs some paint work done. It’s fully functional now tho! Closest door is complete but the door. Hoping to pick one up on payday and paint it along with the bulkhead. Lastly I’ve gutted the shed and built all new shelves for it. Now have spots for wheels and tires for 2 vehicles, a full section for all our camping gear and plenty of other usable spots. This weekend i’ll organize it all and call it job-done.

Bug is officially in hibernation mode. Not quite ready to do the same for the bike yet. 18degree November days will hopefully continue for a while. Hoping to ride for a bit more before putting it to sleep too. Subaru is now sitting on its winter wheels. Not the bed condition paint, but they are BRIGHT neon yellow/green colour. LOVE them. Inspires me to have my summer wheels powder coated properly.

Schools back in full swing and boy am I ready for next summer 🙂 Between printing issues and portable devices, things have been a touch chaotic. We’ve got a good team and I know we’ll get through it – we always do.. Just sucks being in the middle of the mess while it’s happening. With October being here things are now settling down to more of a dull roar. Still a bit nuts and feeling like I can’t catch a break, but still feel progress is being made.

Big congratulations to my cousin Linda and her Husband Cory for tying the knot ! It was a beautiful service and an amazing day. We are so very happy for the both of you and wish you all the best! My selfish favorite part of the day was seeing both my monkeys up on the dance floor and shakin’ their booties!

Also in Wilson news – congrats to Mal and Tom on the birth of their second baby girl! Frances Ruby June was born on October 6th – 6lbs 13oz. Can’t wait to meet her! She is going to be one spoiled little sister!

The beetle is done and home! I couldn’t be happier with the results. The really do finish off the exterior of the car. While in the shop, Paul took the time to cut/buff the paint for me. Thanks again! Hopefully get that fender replaced this winter and some of my other little tasks checked off before next spring so I can finally start showing it off at some local meets and shows!

Baseball playoffs are in full swing! (Pun intended). Sadly the Yankees didn’t make the cut this year. Given the injuries and the barn sale we had of players this year  I am not surprised. I’ve got a feeling this and next winter will be a bit of a shopping spree. Hopefully they continue on this course of no-long-contracts and keeping the age young! We seen a glimpse of the baby-bombers this year and it’s promising. The good news is the Blue Jays are in the playoffs and making some noise! They won the best wildcard game i’ve ever seen last week and now are in the verge of sweeping the Rangers to move on to the ALCS. I will always be a Yankee fan, but anyone who knows me knows that I will always have a soft spot for the Jays. Bandwagon ticket in hand, lets go blue jays!

Finally, after what feels like a lifetime, Shannon has finally completed her OPPI accreditation! Years of paper work, logs, courses and exams and she has finally done it! I am beyond proud of her for sticking with it all these years and getting it done! Congratulations again Shannon! Love you very much!