Football, Road Rage, Herding Dogs & Thanksgiving!

.......and that's just in the past couple of days.

Chronologically speaking, the title sums up our activities of late.

FOOTBALL:

The new "Terry Fox"  statues to replace the previous display at BC Place Stadium

The previous roof was most recently replaced with this +$570 million retractable system.

Pre-game activities on the Terry Fox Plaza

Our BC Lions football team in warm up.

We were meeting the Calgary Stampeders to determine who would take the lead as the No 1 CFL team (Canadian Football League) in the West Division.  This is a photo of the second largest LED TV screen in North America.  The largest is in a stadium in the US mid-west.  I believe it is in Milwaukee. 

They got the crowd excited.....

Our great coach - and the winning-est coach in CFL history - seen here waving to some patrons in the stands.

Our team is introduced as the players run from the Lions Den!

The crowd was hungry for a win

Good friend Rick invited me to attend the game.  And what a game!  It was a nail biter till the dying seconds.  The following is a brief synopsis from an eastern Canada based newspaper.

Toronto Sun Newspaper :

Paul McCallum, the B.C. Lions’ ageless 41-year-old kicker, stepped up and nailed a 53-yard field goal for a 33-31 victory as time expired Saturday night. McCallum fell to the turf at new B.C. Place Stadium and was mobbed by teammates as the crowd of 30,622 went wild. Just another night in the CFL. “I knew what I did wrong on the kick before,” said McCallum of the 45-yard attempt Taylor took back. “So I knew what I had to do right.” 

The Lions (8-6) extended their win streak to seven games and take over top spot in the West Division.

We're No. 1 - well, in the Western Division for the time being!

Above L-R:  My friend Rick, his daughter's friend, and his daughter, Emma @ the CFL Football game.  Not sure why they would want of photo with me though!  It was a fun game to attend....and the girls had a fun time too.

 

Rick wanted a photo of me with his daughter and friend.  WHY?

What does road rage have to do with tires?

ROAD RAGE:
While I was enjoying the afternoon and evening at the football game in downtown Vancouver, Jeanette and good friend Marg were in Fort Langley enjoying the annual Cranberries Festival.  Jeanette chose to park at the Fort parking lot.  As she approached the angle parking spot, a road raged younger fella - along with his wife  - madly drove against a one way to overtake Jeanette who had signaled and was preparing to park.  He tried to block her entry as he tried to reverse into the spot.  Because he had driven to the parking spot against a one way, he could not angle park.  He had to reverse into the spot.  Jeanette was there first and proceeded to park.

Well, the idiot went completely nutty; yelling, honking his horn, swearing, cussing, threatening, etc. Jeanette and Marg quietly walked off.  They are not the type to cuss and argue, nor to add fuel to a raging dispute. They both wondered if our vehicle could suffer the wrath of their fury though.  Well, they were right! Upon their return the front passenger tire was flat.

The spare tire that was installed by the BCAA (British Columbia Automobile Association) technician.

Yep, the road rage and crazed young couple slashed our front passenger tire.  They used an ice pick or a switch blade and pierced the side wall.  The tire cannot be repaired. So, off we go to shop for two new front tires.  May as well replace both because there is about a 50% thread wear. 

Yesterday afternoon, Jeanette and I rode out to the parking lot to see if there may have been some cameras that could show the perpetrators in action.  There were two cameras but they were pointing away from our vehicle.  Too bad.  I would have loved to have the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) show up at that couple's home and haul their sorry a_ _ _s off to the crowbar hotel or, at the very least, file a formal charge.  Life will deal them the necessary penalties if they do not change their attitudes.

HERDING DOGS:

Well trained herding dogs - and their handlers -  were vying for trophies

 Jeanette had read a newspaper article about this interesting event that was being held at the Thunderbird Show Park near our place on Sunday.  We chose to take it in.  We weren't sure what to expect but let's just say that it was a really interesting event.

These highly trained dogs were incredibly talented.  Talk about listening and following their handlers commands?  Unbelievable!

This was the second annual event which brought together some of the most talented dogs and trainers from the Pacific Northwest region - including Oregon, Washington State, Montana and from as far west as Manitoba, in Canada.

This dog will respond even without verbal commands.  She just knows what her master expects from her facial expressions or the movement of the herding stick.  Most, if not all, of you RV owners with dogs would have enjoyed this event.

THANKSGIVING: 

Thanks for dropping by.  Happy Thanksgiving to all.

.....STUFF OF LATE.....

Mt. Baker, Washington State, as seen from near our home in Canada.

Between rains, these past few days, Jeanette and I spent some time in our back yard moving trees, removing dead or near dead ones (there were three of those) and generally shaping it to Jeanette's vision. This will continue to be a work in progress in the coming months and years.

One tree moved from where the new shed will go, to another special place in the yard.

The crane truck firm that we retained to move the shed - from 20 miles away  - to our yard, came by to survey one more time.  It will take some careful planning and even more careful driving on the part of the truck driver/operator to remove and place the shed in our back yard.  Stay tuned for that!

I took a load of dead trees, pruned limbs, and general refuse, to the local recycling and transfer station.

We have a great recycling and trash transfer station near by.  I am amazed at how organized and clean this facility is.

During a late afternoon walk in our neighbourhood, I caught a photo of this retiree flying a kite.  Maybe he took someones advice seriously and agreed to 'go fly a kite!'  And he was really experienced too.  He made that kite do some pretty impressive things.

Fraser Valley farm market....and a great breakfast spot.

It was a bright, sunny, fall day, this past Sunday.  We took advantage to motorcycle out into the Fraser Valley and southeast towards Cultus Lake.  We so often ride by this farm market but we had never stopped in before.  Well, what a gem!  We enjoyed a great $10 breakfast ($5 each), coffee included.  To think that we had cruised by here so many times before but it seemed we were always pressed for time.  Not this time.  Hurray for that!

Cultus Lake in early fall.

What a contrast Cultus Lake was from only four weeks ago.  There were few people on the beach walk...and parking was aplenty.  We counted three boats on the water v. hundreds and hundreds only one month back.

Remember these benches made famous when Vancouver hosted the 1986 World Expo?

This bench brought back wonderful memories of my time spent producing TV programs during the 1986 World's Fair.  These benches can be found dotting many parks around British Columbia.

Peaceful, quiet and serene.

One family taking in the sights.

Several flocks of geese were seen taking flight southward.

What a treat it was for us to walk the beach free of people noises.  With the exception of one boat pulling a skier in the distance, the only sounds were nature oriented.  Geese were taking flight, squirrels were busy preparing for winter, and the local wave runner rental place had two fellas removing dock bumpers and ramps from the dock.  We pretty much had the place to ourselves.

The Apple Barn - Farm

On the way back from Cultus Lake, Jeanette wanted to drop in to the Apple Barn.  It is located in south Abbotsford, near the USA border. I had not been there before....but I sure wish I had.  What a gem for kids of all ages.  Jeanette took our kids here when they were little. It's open to the public on weekends and open only to school groups during the week.

With pumpkin season in full swing, the fall event was not to be missed.

This is an operating apple farm with a corn maze, petting zoo, a juice making facility, pony rides, air bag jumping facility, hay rides, apple orchard for apple picking, and just a fantastic place for families to enjoy the great outdoors while taking in the country flavour.

Kids could pick and weigh the pumpkins they wanted to buy and take home.

I checked in on the goats and lambs, bunnies, pot bellied pigs, and more.

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Jeanette checked out the cider and juice making facility on site.  Very interesting!

There were hundreds of vehicles in the parking and overflow too!  The farm has no shortage of wagons to haul kids and farm produce.

I was pleasantly surprised to find hundreds of families taking in the outdoor fun this place provides.  It's free too!  Other than minimal charges for pony rides and the giant airbag jumping facility, this place affords a superb outdoor experience.  Kids can buy a bag and fill it up with any of the six or more varieties of apples.  They can work their way through a superb corn maze, pet the goats, lambs and miniature ponies, taste the free apple juice samples, run, jump, play or relax in a lively outdoor setting.

How amazing to me that I did not hear any kids crying!  I sure heard a lot of laughing and hooting though!  This place is far too distracting for kids to cry.  It offers far too much fun.  I didn't see any stressed out parents either.

No shortage of food stuffs.

How nice to enjoy a fresh corn on the cob, popcorn, hot dogs, mini doughnuts and more!...or mom and dad could bring a lunch and sit at any of the numerous picnic tables provided.

I couldn't pass up some healthy foods.  I purchased a bag of freshly made mini doughnuts!!!! Sure tasted great!  I cannot remember the last time I had mini-doughnuts....but it's certainly been many, many years!  I made up for that!

Not surprising to me, I followed Jeanette as she headed off into one field and, sure enough, she found a pumpkin patch.  I'm sure she was pondering how we could get one of these back home on the motorcycle.

Pick your pumpkin!

Entrance to the corn maze.

The wooden structure above is an elevated goat run.

This giant air bag jumping place was very popular.

All of this fall stuff had me thinking about heading to the US southwest...!   We have twelve plus weeks before that will happen.  Sure would love to leave earlier though!  We have too many events and activities planned - including Christmas.  Maybe next fall?  January 2012 cannot come soon enough though!

Thank your for dropping by.

Home Works!

The leaves are quickly morphing from green to red and yellow.

The title pretty well sums up this blog.  It was a lovely fall day - a perfect one to catch up on some home works.

The next project on my handlers list was to level off a site in the north west corner of our yard in preparation for an 8' X 10' garden shed.

Bright and sunny day.

After reading several blogs and reading the morning edition of the Vancouver Sun newspaper, I readied for the task ahead.  The first task was to cut six wooden pegs from some 2 X 3 boards.  I would use those to square the area for the 8X10 shed.

Circular saw to make some pegs.

Required tools for the job.

The slope in the back yard corner - from front to back - drops down between 6 and 8 inches.  The back side supporting concrete blocks would have to rest above grade and the front and middle blocks would have to be dug into the ground.  Pick, ax (for roots), shovel, rake and more tools would be required.  I loaded them up into the wheelbarrow and proceeded to the back yard.

Making sure every corner is level - front to back - back to front - corner to corner - etc.

While I was busy digging, leveling, digging some more, leveling some more and hauling in some heavy concrete blocks, I did not bother with photographs.  Suffice it to say that the task did take all of five hours.  It was bull work....but the workout was well worth the effort.  I burned many calories and sweated buckets too.

Big, heavy, concrete blocks for the back of the shed.

For those of you who are wondering about the 1X4 boards, I am merely using those for leveling purposes.....and  to make sure the blocks (front to back) line up properly.  When the shed arrives, it will be placed directly on the blocks.

The middle blocks had to be dug in more than the back blocks. The front blocks are dug even deeper and jot out ever so slightly above grade.

 Once the shed is in place and the exterior finished with siding to match our home, the blocks won't be seen.  The building will be completely skirted and finished.

Sure had to did deep and hard in places to get the job done.  Good exercise though.

Once the shed is in place, new crushed rock will fill the front, sides and back.

Once I was satisfied that all blocks were securely in place and level from every which way, it's now time to call the crane truck company that will move the 8' X 10' wooden framed shed from White Rock to our place here in south Langley.

You read right.  The garden shed is being moved from another home to ours.  Madeleine, a good friend of ours, does not want the garden shed in her yard.  She already has a lovely 10 X 20 garden shed so this second one will be leaving her yard for ours in the coming days.

The finished garden shed will sit behind this foliage near the fence and cedars in the corner.

The shed that Madeleine has given us is a stick built 8 ft. X 10 ft. X 8 foot high building with hip roof, framed 16" on centre and finished in plywood with a metal door.   The shed is solidly built on 6X6 treated posts with a wooden floor.

Once it arrives here, the shed will be re-shingled to match our existing house roof, soffits will be installed, a new window will be built into the east facing wall, new matching vinyl siding will cover the existing plywood walls, and new gutters and drains will be installed too.

A few trees and plants had to be removed before I could start the project. When the truck crane company chooses to move the building I will be at the ready with the camera at both ends of the project.  The company claims to be able to use a truck boom to move the shed off Madeleine's property from the street, over a fence and on to a truck deck.  At our place, the truck will rest on our driveway and they will boom the shed all the way back - about 70 feet back.  The 5th wheel will be removed for that process.....and, although they claim to be able to go over it with the boom and shed attached, I will not take that chance.    Stay tuned.  Sure glad this part of the job is done though.