Sorry for being so late with this, but Happy New Year to everyone. Our New Years Eve was fairly uneventful, just the way I like it. We stayed in with the kids, watched a movie, and played some cards. Everyone stayed up to watch midnight come and go and usher in 2010. Now we’re just winding down from the holidays, with just one more Christmas pot luck coming up this weekend.
I also have a fair bit of pictures from Christmas that I need to upload, so I’ll get around to that asap and post a notification when it’s done.
~MikeR.
Posted on 6 January '10 by mike, under Family. No Comments.
Another Christmas has come and gone. All of the anticipation and excitement leading up to that one day, and sadly it’s over before you know it.
I consider Christmas to be all about the kids. I wasn’t always like this, but now that I’m older it’s far more exciting to see the magic in their eyes than to wonder what’s in that carefully wrapped box addressed to me. I still enjoy sitting down and watching all of the Christmas specials (I made sure to watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Garfield’s Christmas Special, and Merry Christmas Charlie Brown) but it’s not quite the same without one or more of the kids sitting there with me. I’ve always been a nostalgic sort, but Christmas is one time that I can not sit there and wish I was young again and just enjoy the “atmosphere”. It was also nice because everyone was here this Christmas; last year it was just Lisa, Nikkole, and I.
I think the kids got just about everything they wanted. Austen got more tools than he knows what to do with and has decided to separate them into garage tools and basement tools. Matthew got Wrath of the Lich King, an Action Replay for his Nintendo DS (it’s like the old Game Genie for the NES), the big WoW miniature starter set, and a bunch of other stuff he really wanted. Nikkole got her pink Nintendo DS with a game (actually two!). Santa also brought them new sleds since the ones we had got thrown out during our move as they were in really rough condition.
Lisa got a brand new pair of super comfy slippers and a new book. Included with the book was a printout of a web page from Sears.ca showing a stand-up mixer. Sadly, when I ordered it Sears was out of stock (despite their website saying otherwise) so it had to get delivered. Estimated date; January 12, 2010. Fortunately I received a phone call yesterday and it’s in so I will go pick it up today. She was so excited about it… I had hinted about getting something from Sears, but made sure I steered her away from the mixer idea completely.
I believe I was really lucky this year, as I received a brand new red metal tool chest from Lisa. I’ve wanted one for quite some time but they are just so expensive, or so I thought. I also got a veritable slew of new books; The Infernal City, the second and third omnibus’ of Gotrek and Felix, The Ghost King, and Dog River Confidential. I’m seven pages away from finishing The Infernal City and will move on to the second omnibus soon.
I can’t wait for next Christmas. 
~MikeR.
Posted on 29 December '09 by mike, under Books, Family. 2 Comments.
This year we’re hosting Christmas dinner, what with having moved into a brand new house and having bought a nice big dining table and chairs. I think Lisa is a little nervous.
This weekend we invited my friend Chris over for Sunday dinner so that she could have a practice run. Saturday we bought a chicken and let it thaw. Sunday after Lisa got back from an art expo she went straight to work. Sweet Nikkole helped a lot, actually getting her hands nice and dirty stuffing the bird. She was so proud that she actually worked up the nerve to do it! All afternoon the house smelled incredible. Potatoes boiled, vegetables steamed, and the chicken baked perfectly in a convection oven. I even made the gravy (albeit a bit too thick, I think molasses would have thinned it out).
All in all, it went very well and I think she is (we are?) prepared for what’s to come.
Having mentioned the art expo, Lisa bought a nice piece of art for our front foyer. We have a little “cubby” by the front door across from the dining room/den and we hung it in there. It looks fabulous. She also got the business card of a fellow that does granite work. I’m looking to get something special made in the future that involves three small squares of granite with rough edges, and Dwarf runes carved onto a polished surface. I think it would look really good if done properly and actually be something significant to both myself (being such a Dwarf fan) and the family.
~MikeR.
Posted on 9 November '09 by mike, under Family, House. No Comments.
Well, we officially give up possession of our current home at 15 Stewin as of this coming Wednesday at midnight. We have made some good memories there and I will miss it, although Mike says that he won’t. It was the first house that Mike and I bought together, it is where we spent 4 years of our lives together, along with our children and the dog. I am both sad and happy to be leaving the only area of Winnipeg I have ever lived in, it is where most of my friends are and of course my parents still live in Transcona.
I am way more excited than sad looking towards the future and the closer our new house gets to completion the happier I am. Nikkole is looking forward to going into the grade 2 – 3 split at Ryerson Elementary and Austen will be going into grade 9 at Acadia Junior High come September.
In the meantime we are living in Fort Richmond at my in-laws house. It is taking some getting used to, I have to say. My sister-in-law is being a gracious hostess and I hope that we can all make it the next few months with as little clashing as possible. Thank you very much to Connie and Lothar who have vacated the property and moved out to the lake so that we can take over their house and not be homeless while we wait for our house. Their sacrifice is greatly appreciated.
It is going to be a great adventure and I am all looking forward to it!
Posted on 23 August '09 by lisa, under Family, House, Job, School. No Comments.
“Moving Day” has come and gone. Well, more like “Moving Week” really. I had the joy of spending my last week of summer vacation away from work moving furniture and boxes upon boxes out of our house.
On August 10, PODS dropped off a 16 foot container wherein we were going to store our larger and sturdier worldly possessions. It worked out quite well. Podzilla, while perhaps not the most elaborate creation, is still pretty neat to watch in action when the container is being loaded/unloaded from the truck. So, there I was Monday to Sunday every day hauling stuff out of the house. Who knew a single family could collect so much stuff over the course of just a few years?
Of course, the weather was absolutely incredible all last week. Perhaps even the best it’s been all summer! Too bad I was too busy to enjoy it, but at least Matthew was able to go out to the lake with the grandparents and enjoy the weather there while I sweated away, soaking like a rag in a bucket of water. Oh well… at the end of it all, the PODS container is completely full, and so is my parents garage. We just have to go back a little later this week (probably tomorrow) to pick up the barbeque, lawn mower, trampoline, and a couple of other items from inside the house. Getting the meter readings at the end of next week will be the final thing to do, and we’ll be out completely.
As to our new house, it’s coming along. Lisa and I stopped by yesterday evening and while the doors were locked, we were able to look in through the windows. The subfloor is almost completely in, and the door kits are stacked in the dining room. The garage pad has been poured, and the chicken wire is up on the exterior for the scratch coat. It all can’t get done fast enough for me.
Well, vacation is over and I’m back to work. Sigh…
~MikeR.
Posted on 17 August '09 by mike, under Family, House. No Comments.
