Bugs Palace!

FINALLY the US Steel lockout is OVER! Vote last night was tight, but they decided in favor of the latest offer. Now everyone can get back to work and life can hopefully get back to normal. I know it was hard, but watching my old man do whatever it takes to make ends meet during the lockout shows just what it takes to be a man who provides for his family. Hopefully I never have to be in that situation. But If I am, I hope to have the strength to handle it as well as Dad did. It may have nearly killed him as he can’t work like he’s 20 anymore, but he is still standing. I think he deserves a visit to the mouse house. Only 40 days to go!

Katie and Brian’s house is coming closer to completion. Seems to be more of a never ending project then my bug, but it’s getting there. Nearly livable now. Hopefully another couple weeks and all will be done.. Or at least enough to move them and their new fur-babies in. Oh, right. The fur-babies. They adopted a pair of spaniels. CUTE little buggers. Archie and Reggie. Both black with typical spaniel looks. Did I mention cute?

As mentioned above, Florida trip is coming up soon! As is Katie/Brians wedding. Where did this summer go? At least both the wedding and trip are nearly sorted all out. Both should be a good time. Can’t wait!  After seeing the kids in the Disney store last night, I’m afraid they may totally lose their minds in the Magic  Kingdom.

With the trips coming soon, that means summer is coming to an end 🙁  Despite all attempts to slow down time, school is fast approaching (my little baby is starting Gr1… Seriously).  We had a lot of fun this summer. Didn’t do nearly as much as we’d have liked but it was fun anyways. Also go to knock out a couple ballparks on the MLB list. 36 hour tour and we can now knock Baltimore Oriels (Camden Yards) and Pittsburgh Pirates (PNC Park). Wish the kids could have made the trip, but I’m pretty sure they had more fun with Grandma then they would have in the Jeep for nearly 30 hours solid over 2 days.

Been able to do lots of driving in the bug this summer. So nice finally being appraised, insured and have the car at a point where I can simply go to the garage, hop in, turn the key and go. Makes all these years of tinkering worth it. Only real tasks left to do are to add bumpers, new carb(s), new exhaust and some interior additions. Hopefully get at least the bumpers knocked out this winter officially finishing the exterior look I have had in mind all these years.

Nothing new to report from the rest of the fleet. MINI, Wrangler, and CBR seem to behaving. Jeep gave a little troubles this summer, but warranty fixed that right up. It’s really funny owning a convertible and a motorcycle. As soon as you buy ‘open’ vehicles you find yourself becoming a meteorologist. ANY day in the open air : Is a good day. When was the last time you seen a motorcycle or a Jeep outside the shrinks office? Exactly 😉

Enough for now. Time to shower up and head over to the park for the town end-of-summer festival.  Until next time. GO YANKS GO.

Bad blogger.. I was doing so well with my 1-2 posts per month and then the summer time hit and I fell off the tracks.

First up : The bug has officially been apraised and set up with some classic insurance. Saves a great deal of money per month and more importantly I am fully covered in the event something terrible happens to my old girl. Have been lucky enough to do a bunch of driving around haldimand/norfolk and also made it into Burlington for a TurboTuesday last month. Looking around for some Cruise nights coming up later this summer on Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon nights. Be nice to do some more driving around and seeing more classics.  Happy enough with the suspension. It’s behaved fairly well at the current height and still looks awesome. This winter: add bumpers and maybe a new carb and exhaust. Time and money will tell.

Next up : Pool liner. After limping buy and patching the patches in Mom and Dads pool, we finally decided to rip out the old liner and install a new one. LOTS of work but made easier with help from pretty much the whole family and Alex. Looks great, the sand has been rebanked to add a better ledge to walk around and all in all it came out quite good for a bunch of rookies. Since then, any day about 20degrees my kids have either been in swimming and playing.

Speaking of swimming : swimming lessons started mid-July. Both kids went for 30 minutes a day for 2 weeks. Amazing watching how much my little sponges can learn in such short period of time. Both have done everything they have been shown and even jumped off the diving boards. Abby even jumped off the high-dive. They have 2 more weeks coming up mid-August. Looking forward to it.

Play Center:  I have been busy in the backyard once again. This time I started the first phase of the kids new play-ground. Phase 1 is the frame work as well as a pair of swings hanging below for the kids to enjoy. I have started working on Phase 2 but they wont be able to use it till next summer as it’s pretty high up and I would feel better if they were a bit older. Specifically Joey, as he tends to be a bit too daring. So for now the floor of their balcony is done, but I won’t be adding the ladder, railing or opening up the fort portion until next spring. Can’t wait to get it done. Kids are stoked.

House stuff :  Not too much to report on the house. Painted the upstairs bathroom a nice greeny colour. Looks good. Seems wierd as it has been white since we built the house, but I like it. We picked up the last pieces of the puzzle for the basement bathroom. Hoping to find a weekend with Dad being free to come over and help plumb the toilet and sink. With Katie and Brians house needing to be done, it may be a little while yet. Poor old man doesn’t know if he’s coming or going these days. US Steel has to get back to work – NOW.

Yep. US Steel is still on work stoppage. About 4-5 months now. Getting a little ridiculous. Hoping they resolve things soon. They are talking at least now, so hopefully it will come to an end before September hits.

Will get back to my 1-2 posts per month again now. Hopefully I won’t slip again.

I know I’ve missed something but for now, that’s it.

Until next time..

Been a bit crazy over the past month.  Sorry for the delay.

Beetle is road worth and good to go! I`m still tweaking the front suspension to get it right where I want it, but it`s nearly there. Hopefully one more adjustment and it will be perfect. Next up — bumpers.

Bike is running well. Summer is here and its getting lots of use. Hopefully this time next year, I will be ready to go to my m2 exit. Odds are I could do it now, but i`d feel better with another season under my belt before I try. Especially since I`ve only had this bike since October.  Also, I need to tweak the exhaust on the CBR to be a bit shorter. Right now the muffler covers the tail lights more then I would like. Hopefully I can make it flush, or even a bit shorter then the seat lip where it is now.

We had another wonderful Fathers day weekend + Grandpas birthday. Nearly everyone came and it was a typical – full of fun and food family shindig. Love these days.

Speaking of birthdays – my little man is OFFICALLY 3. He has such a sweet heart and a big personality. Little dude means the world to me. How`d I get so lucky to have two of the most amazing kids on the planet. I must be doing something right.

US Steel is STILL on lockout. So Dad and Grant are still out of work. I pray this ends soon. There is no good going to come from this work stoppage. The sooner both sides see that and can come to an agreement – the better.

This past weekend (Canada Day) we all spent the weekend stripping out the old liner from Mom and Dads pool, put new sand in, smoothed everything down and finally put in a new liner. Considering the only real instruction we had was me watching Youtube + a couple conversations with a buddy of mine , it all came together pretty well I think.

I`ve been on a roll  uploading photos over the past few weeks. Still a bunch more to come. Once they are all uploaded I am going to have to spend some time re-aligning the galleries. I really don`t like the way it is now. It`s usable, but had to find what you want quickly. Once it`s sorted, I will finally get my parents Box-o-Photos`s all scanned and uploaded as well.. This summer  — it will happen.

That’s it for now. Hopefully get back to my bi-weekly updates. Until next time…….