Update - December 2012!

Wow - here it is December 2012 and I've not kept my Blog updated for quite a while!

Since I last posted in 2009, my son and his wife have moved from Cobar, New South Wales, Australia, to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (left in April 2010 due to a revolt in the capital city!), then back to Australia - to Stawell in Victoria this time, leaving there in 2012 to arrive in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada.  Here are some photos of their continuing adventures:

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Stawell, Victoria, Australia:

Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada:

Return to OZ!

On 28 July 2009 I will be traveling to Australia again! This time I'm going solo and I'll be flying to four cities: Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. From Sydney I'll drive to Cobar and have a go at being Poppi the babysitter and houseboy. I'll be there for about a month and will have a chance to experience winter in deepest August! Pictures will be posted when I return - you betcha'.

My wife and I just returned from Australia - we went to visit our son, his wife, their daughter Helen (14 months old now), and their new twin sons (Jason and Erik). We had a wonderful time and kept ourselves busy around their home as they adjusted to having two new members of the family. It was the first time we had been to Australia and we worked at driving on the left side of the roads, parking our car with the rear to the kerb, and getting used to the local delicacies such as meat pies and Lamingtons. We were even able to visit Sydney for a couple of days and saw the opera house, the harbor area, and enjoyed a street market in China Town one night.

May 2008 Update

I have been very busy working as a Range Master, but I really enjoy it - more than I had anticipated. The motto "Sometimes an Instructor, but always a Student" is more meaningful to me now than before, as I am begining to realize just how much I don't know yet!

Our son, his wife, and our granddaughter are settling in at Cobar, New South Wales, Australia, and we are planning to visit them this Autumn (it will be Spring there) - we have learned that they are expecting twins in October, so we MUST visit them!

On the home front, we have upgraded our kitchen by installing new Silestone countertops - they are very nice, indeed. Also, we have (after 30 years in our home) finally replaced our old windows with new, double-paned windows - what a difference, they open and close easily and, when closed, there is no noise from outside. We decided to replace our front door and Lenore did a great job of painting it (see attached photo).

We had a great Valentine's Day this year:

Here is a picture of my granddaughter Helen - she's four and half months old and cuter than a button!!!

I had a very busy weekend - worked as an instrutor for an advanced tactics class and also took the test for Rangemaser and passed (big WOOHOO)!!! Now the work really begins as I have to become very familiar with the entire curriculum; oh well, it's something to do.