Catch up

This is the new kat, Keeko.(Oops this is Shoko)

Well looking back on my last post of 5 years ago, a lot ha happened, we moved homes, to a newer house, we lost Keeko the last picture in my previous post. We got Shoko (Little one in Japanese). I got steady work after the job I mentioned in the oil sands, I went to work for Peter Kiewit Sons for 4 years, and worked on a Run of the River job here in BC, the was transfered back to the oil sands at FortMcMurray, Alberta.

Retirement and other stories

Well it has been a while since I was on here, it will take a while to catch up. I have been busy working towards retirement, or semi-retirement. It occurred a couple of weeks back, I was laid off from my full time job, not that I was unhappy about that. My wife and I had already decided that when the job finished I would spend some more time at home so here I am.
The last few years have been busy and I was away form home a lot, but the up side it was good for my retirement fund.
The big news was in November / December, My wife Jean and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary by going to Hawaii for 2 weeks, more on that later.

New Job

I have traveled from my home in North Central BC to North East Alberta, Fort McMurray. I have a new safety job at one of the oil sands extraction facilities north of this city. For a middle of winter trip through mountain passes the roads where great bare and dry.

I left home a few days early to ensure no problems or delays. Also I have a brother and family in Edmonton, so I had to visit. I got to see kids that I haven't seen in years. The kids are all great, this includes a few new additions to the family in the form of kids and significant others. The visit was wonderful, my brother Ed and his wife Marilyn where very gracious hosts. I am still eating the "road" snack that Marilyn made for me on the 5 hour trip from Edmonton to Fort McMurray.

Snowy and warm

This is Keeko watching me shovel snow on a warm (- 3 Celsius or 26.6 F) she does love to sit on the top of fences and roofs if she can get up there. It has snowed about 6 to 8 inches in the last few days. Yes I still use inches not the metric stuff. My wife Jean and I took both cats for a walk later on as it stayed warm and sunny most of the day. In fact the drive way is mostly bare because the sun was warn enough to melt the snow. They are both (cats not Jean) now having a snooze after the walk.

In a previous post I mentioned about my wife Jean taking the cats for a walk without a leash.
Some times they follow, some times they lead. Jean is the smiling face it the front. The water in the background is the Fraser River. This was taken last summer, this area is now covered in ice and snow. Jean has been back down there recently and fell and broke a small bone in her leg, vows not to go down there until the ice and snow are gone. During this trip, while Jean and I where sitting looking across the river, Jean said look at the dog ( a black form) moving along the far bank. I got quite a chuckle out of that, it was a black bear looking for food.

The second of my kids

This is Keeko, she is a Birman cross, we got her from the local SPCA, 4 years ago. She is the alpha female cat of this house. Keeko is the dainty lady cat, very shy with new people, and hides if the door bell rings. But her and Kali both enjoy going for walks with my wife down to and along the Fraser River several blocks away. These walks are done with out leashes of any kind.

One of My Kids

This is one of our two kids, Kali is a Flame Point Siamese, White with orange highlights. Kali loves to be "driven" about on my wifes walker. I will get a picture out of the other cat Keeko when I find or take a good picture of her.