Paris & London

During our recent vacation, here we were on the way to Paris and London. Anyone who E-mails me with the precise location of this photo and our destination at the time, not counting those who live at that destination, will get a prize! 

In-Laws' 40th Anniversary

Today is my in-laws' fortieth anniversary. Here's a picture of the happy couple taken on 16 July 1966. We had a great celebration dinner yesterday with family and friends, with our children and nieces and nephews (i.e. the grandchildren) providing live music: flute, piano, violin, clarinet.

Long Beach

Today our youngest daughter turns 9! Here's a shot of her at Long Beach two days ago during our three-day trip to Vancouver Island with two other families - a great vacation! Rathtrevor Beach with its crabs and clams, Cathedral Grove and its huge trees, and strong winds on BC Ferries were other highlights.

Another Happy Eloquip Customer

Today, in Langley BC, we experienced serious mechanical breakdown with some of our Eloquip equipment built in 1995. Within moments of our service call (about 15 seconds, to be precise), a representative from the national production facility in Elora, Ontario was on site evaluating repair options and after picking up a part from the local hardware store, we'll be on the road for another 10 years of heavy industrial use. 

Opoe's Clivia is blooming!

My wife's maternal grandmother ("Opoe"), a Dutch immigrant in the early 1950s, took a Clivia miniata from Holland. Three years ago, we obtained a small shoot from it; it survived the move, and today we noticed that it has a bud! We've moved it to a prominent position in the family room, and are looking forward to its opening over the next few weeks.

Pictures on the wall and The Giver

After having packed up our pictures over a year ago for our move, and having lived in our new home for seven months (and before that renting a furnished house), we have just put pictures on the walls. It makes a real difference, but I'm not surprised. Being surrounded by images of our (distant) family members, of ourselves in earlier stages of life, gifts received, our university diplomas, and even some artwork, helps place ourselves in our context and gives us encouragement. The aesthetic dimension of our life has been taken up a notch, and we thank the Creator of beauty. I just read Lois Lowry's The Giver to our two oldest kids, and having pictures allows us to see beyond, to pass on memories, and to dispense with "sameness".

My sister-in-law's new blog

One of my seven sisters-in-law just started a blog - hopefully she'll keep it up during their upcoming vacation!

r0 Sigma self-portrait

I thought this was a cool self-portrait I took while my wife and I were walking with Paul & Lynn in Newberg, Oregon on Easter Sunday 2006. The original photo had all four of us, but I didn't get their permission to post them along with me here. Besides, then it wouldn't be a self-portrait anymore.