Iron Cookies

Even with a busy life I make time for blood donations. One of the longest stretches I went was right after Sprout was born, and that was about 6 months long. This stretch was 2 months long, the normal minimum.

Tonight was my 34th donation. Sailed through it no problem too. The guy who did the iron test commented that the droplet sunk very quickly. Good iron levels are a good thing.

After donating, I skipped the cookies after downing a couple glasses of Iced Tea. I ended up having home made brownies and cookies. Mmmm, much better than Oreo’s and Fudgeo’s.

Eating Fin

Fish are weird creatures. I have 3 Tiger Barbs (one considerably larger than the other two), and they are great fish since they are so active. They are considered semi aggressive though, and I have had a few die on me. Wikipedia notes that they can be nippers if there are not enough of them. One of the ones I have now looked close to death a couple times. I thought that since it was hanging in one of the tank corners and not eating.

This morning I went to feed the fish, and noticed that the two smaller Barbs were not in good shape. One had a missing caudal fin, and the other was missing most of the same fin. When I fed the fish after work, these two were just hanging out in the corner together, and did not eat any of the food I dropped in the tank.

Tonight these two are trying to swim around the tank without much success. I’m thinking that they are expending a lot of energy going nowhere, and are not eating. Not long now.

Fathers Day Note 2007

Today is Fathers Day, and like last year I am reflecting on the past year with Sprout. My first reaction is where does the time go? Was it really a year already? 2 years ago we learned we were expecting?

Astonishment aside, being a dad is one of the best things I have done in my life. It is incredibly rewarding in the simplest of ways. Watching Sprout learn and grow, helping shape the course of his life, teaching him new games, tricks, jokes, and skills, and participating in his triumphs and achievements. Truth be told, the difficult parts (like refusals to get into seats, or the tantrums of a tired/hungry boy) are something to learn from as well.

I spend hours watching him play (not playing with him). I love to see how he plays, and how his mind works. While horsing around with him I can get him laughing the deepest belly laugh he can muster. His smile and laughter brighten my darkest mood. When I am with Sox and Sprout, I rarely think about work. I love cuddling with him first thing in the morning, and having him curl up into me at night while I sing to him before bed. Meal time with Sprout is always fun too (except when he starts throwing food directly at me).

I love being a dad. I love my wife, my son, and my family. Fathers day is perfect for reflecting on all of this.

Espresso Idea

Sox and I splurged recently and got ourselves our first espresso machine. We actually got one as a wedding gift, but returned it since it wasn’t the right kind (we learned that after putting one on our registry).

A friend told me that Starbucks was selling their Barista machines for close to half price. Seemed like a good idea, and so far has been. I’ve been enjoying Americano’s every day now, and have made a couple latte’s as well. Mmmm. Now to figure out where to get great beans, and is convenient to get those beans. So far Serious Coffee Espresso roast isn’t cutting it.

Lost Weekend

I got an email from the Canmore organizers recently:

I just returned form a venue trip a week ago. The Canmore Nordic Centre continues its refurbishment project, with the main lodge under construction. We will again be staging the event in the biathlon area. The Food & Beverage and Washrooms, plus showers from the main lodge will be lost for this year. The good news it that the new lodge is much bigger and will add to events in the future. Good news… the Food & Beverage folks will be setting up down in the biathlon area. Additional washrooms are being brought in to off set the loss of the main lodge.

I am definitely glad I bailed. No showers at all, temporary food setup, porta-johns for the whole weekend? I’ve also heard of potential floods in the area, meaning the trails are probably pretty saturated right now.

That just doesn’t sounds like an awesome time to me.

Ambitious Difference

Yesterday was yard work day. Sox’s dad was down for a visit, so we enlisted him to help us rework the back yard. The goals were pretty ambitious. There was a lot of clean up to do, new flower beds to create, a new fence to install, and the apple tree needed a good pruning.

With a lot of hard work out in the rain, we managed to get almost everything done. The remaining things to do Sox and I can handle on our own. I am pretty amazed with how it has all turned out. The back yard is now divided with a dog side, and a people side. This is going to allow us to let Sprout roam around without fear of doggie ‘landmines’. The new/clean flower bed look great, and if we stay on top of the weeds, will look great for a long time. The trimming made such a huge difference to the look and feel of the yard. Throughout the day I made 4 trips to the municipal yard, and each time my truck was full to capacity.

My only disappointment was that we didn’t get to the ivy patch. By myself, this will take another day’s work, and probably another 3 truck loads of crap to the yard.

Read on for the before and after pics.

Before



The back bed.



The back corner.



The back side yard.



The back walkway.

After



The back bed.



Cleaned up flower bed.



The new fence.



The back walkway.