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.

The title of this blog "The Three Secrets" came about because one of my post-retirement jobs is that of a firearms instructor and the three secrets are a fundamental part of my curriculum. These three secrets are "Sight Alignment", "Sight Picture", and "Trigger Control" - and if you don't think they really are secrets, then just observe the performance of almost any shooters at your local gun range. I am currently working to progress from the category of Instructor to that of Range Master and I hope to be there by April of this year - wish me luck! Here is a picture of me "in action":

Today is the day I started my Blog - so much to learn, but I am fortunate in that my daughter-in-law is here to help me learn the ropes. My intention is to develop this blog to serve as a record of activities in several areas of interest to me: family, work, and hobbies. Hey, it can only get better as I gain experience!