Chore of the day

Today we got a phone call from one of the tenants. It seems they have a leaky something under kitchen sink....something to do with rusted out threads on a pipe..although they were not able to understand when I asked if that was on the basket or the U part of the drain. The tenant told me to have "my fix it man" call and maybe he would understand the problem better. I tried calling Adrian but he didn't seem to be available to answer the phone let alone go make the repair, so Chris and I gathered a few tools and headed for London. As I suspected it was the sink basket that had the problem (the threaded area was actually broken totally off the basket) so we went to Rona on next block and picked up a replacement. Back at the unit, it took very little time for Chris to get the old basket off and I helped him install the new one. I also took advantage of being there to give out notices of rent increase which will be effective on July 1st. Luckily all tenants were home to receive their paperwork and sign off on new smoke detectors and CO2 detectors which we also installed in all units. After all this is was well past dinner time so we stopped for take out at Manchuria Gardens and brought home a Chinese feast which we enjoyed onight and will finish off for lunch tommorrow.

Chris' latest GF

Here are Chris and Krista posing for picture taken in lunchroom at school.

They dated at beginning of January for 5 days and are currently back together again for at least the past week.

Krista apparently loves acting and drama....seems like she made the right choice of boyfriend by picking Chris! Our lives are certainly never without drama, thanks to him. Update..Feb20th..Chris and Krista broke up again. Luckily he is away this weekend, camping and doing winter training with cadets so he has no time to feel badly about this.

Family Day outing #2

At the top of the hydro post, if you click to enlarge, you can see a red tailed hawk just taking off in flight. The first picture is also a Red Tailed hawk in flight and you can enlarge for a better view.

These pictures were taken today. Deb and I drove Chris to meet his girlfriend for a date to watch the Mall Cop movie. After she arrived and they headed into theatre, we went to Springwater conservation area with hopes of walking the beautiful trails there. We were disappointed to find the trails still very icy and snow covered so after a short attempt we headed into Alymer in search of clearer pathways. We strolled in a park along the river there and got these shots of hawks close by there. Chris was thrilled to have been left without parental eyes watching him, watching the movie. We were happy to get fresh air and birdwatching in. I guess it was another happy family day. LOL

Family Day 2009

We decided to take advantage of the nicer weather today and get outside for part of this long weekend celebrating "Family Day". The top picture of Dusty was actually taken a few weeks ago but we love the curly tongue look she has there. Next is picture of various ducks, Eiders, Mallards and likely others, floating in lake Erie near Morpeth. We spent some time watching a pair of Golden eagles trying to catch a seagull midair but they were too far out over the lake for a good picture. The eagles seemed to be herding the gull away from shore and took turns chasing the poor bird. We are pretty sure the eagles would have eventually enjoyed lunch by overtaking the smaller bird by tiring it out. It was too bad they had to go so far out that we lost sight of them even with binoculars. Finally we made it to Rondeau Park where we had planned to hike the southern trail in search of golden or bald eagles. The shots of Chris illustrate our typical "family" hike. You can see that Dusty is at the end of her long lead and Chris is very far ahead of that....both act like typical teens who want nothing to do with us old folks tagging along behind them. Final shot is Chris patiently waiting beside the car while texting a friend using his cell phone. His first question after we got into the car "How long will it take to get home?" He was anxious to call latest girlfriend. :-)

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE FOR ENLARGED VIEWING

Chris' fireman adventures

Here are a few pictures Chris had taken of himself and one of the trucks during his recent training session as a West Lorne Jr. firefighter. It seems like a great program. The adult leaders, who are volunteer firemen, train the youth in gear handling and safety issues that real firefighters need to know on the job. This program was set up with the purpose of giving these kids some training and at same time sparking their interest in serving the community so that they might decide to join our volunteer department when they reach the age of 18. Of course in typical Chris fashion, he has now gone overboard on idea and has decided that he should give up plans of military life and instead become a volunteer fireman....this despite the many times we have tried to explain the difference between "career" and "volunteer" service. We just hope he figures that all out before he finishes high school!