Time flies

This photo was taken six years ago (2015) on our way to a week vacation in Cuba. Time flies...

Hilary, Shayd and Poncho are back in Vancouver. Carly and Mark are resting and relaxing in their place in Stoney Creek. We gained a few pounds the past week with all the eating and sweets....

Christmas 2021

Mary put on a nice breakfast spread today after Carly & Mark + Hilary & Shayd both stayed overnight. Hilary and Shayd are staying for a week with us and brought little Poncho.

Puzzles again

The winter season with its many cold days outside is a good time for challenging puzzles once you live the retired life. Keeps the brain going. This replica of a Van Gogh painting was a tough one and took me about two weeks. Once I get started, I become a bit obsessed with getting it done. With 3-4 hours on average each day, this one was completed today.

Activities

This time of the year the 11 Niagara Rotary Clubs organize the annual TV Auction (nowadays all on-line) which is the main fundraiser netting around $200,000 (all proceeds are during the year donated to local charities and international Rotary development projects). I volunteered some of my time during the four days that winning bidders can pick up their items. The lady in the photo above purchased 62 items, wow... Smooth logistical process with Rotary volunteers guiding the bidders through the pick up process with a variety of check points. My task was to find the items for the bidders on the tables.

At home we regularly have Opa Vandenboom over for a few games of Rummikub. Yesterday I had to take my puzzle activities off the table to make room, but I have the puzzle organized on boards which I can easily pick up and move....

Wintertime again so good period to spend some indoor time with puzzles. This one is a reproduction of a Van Gogh painting. Real challenging one to put together...

Impressed

Mark and Carly had already impressed me last year when they did a lot of renovation work in the house they bought together a year ago. But now I am even more impressed seeing what they have done with their bathroom. They had fantastic guidance of Tom, one of Mary's friends, but they did most of the work themselves from plumbing to tiles. With respect to Mark, finally a Nolle with some handyman skills, interest and most of all patience to learn such skills.