Christmas 2004

Christmas 2004
Originally uploaded by mtplanet.

For those who did not see it, or for those who can't get enough of it, here is our Christmas photo!

9/11 Once Again

Definitely a few sites worth checking out. Great photos and analysis.

Visit HUNT THE BOEING.

elijah on shelf
Originally uploaded by mtplanet.

For just a moment in time, Elijah thought he was a plant.

A Tough Spot

eli in chair
Originally uploaded by mtplanet.

With no assistance from anyone, Elijah found himself "in the chair".

Eat n' Sleep

Eat n' Sleep
Originally uploaded by mtplanet.

Elijah is demonstrating that the primal needs of sustinance and rest can indeed be combined.

Strangling the Tap Guy

So I walked into a public washroom today, carrying Elijah in one arm, and a full bladder in the other. After doing what I felt I had to, I approached the sink to sanitze my hand.

Now, I do not normally advocate violence, but I periodically allow my mind to entertain aggressive thought patterns. Take the washroom experience I had today; one minute I am pleased about losing a little weight and the next moment I am filled with rage.

Why the sudden surge of ill-will? Clearly the individual that designed the spring-loaded water taps NEVER found himself carrying a child through a washroom with dirty floors.

Later,

my

Great beer discovery

I know that many who grew up in mennonite prairie towns consider beer to be the elixir of the devil, a drink best consumed in abundance down some dirt road in the dark. Yes, I too grew tired of the regular drunk guys showing up at the outdoor rink slurring and puking, but I have been able to move past these images and really enjoy beer.

Anyway, part of this blog will be a critique of beers from time to time. This week I sampled Holsten Festbock and was thoroughly impressed. At 7% it is considered a strong beer, but it did not have the powerful aftertaste oftten associated with these types. Served in a 500ml can, the size is perfect for the evenings where one beer is too few, and two would just be a little much.

Anyway, try it out if you like a dark beer and let me know what you think.

9/11 Question Revisited

I guess I am not the only one slightly perplexed over the irregularities surrounding Flight 77 supposedly hitting the Pentagon. (See January 8 post)

A friend sent me a related link yesterday, and I found it interesting and entertaining.

If you are at all interested in this topic, this Flash presentation is worth your while.

Check it out here.

New Year's, Cake, and -25

Bake more cakes...in fact start with one and then bake more.

In a nutshell, that is my New Year's resolution. Concise, tangible, and beautifully edible.

"Myron, have you NEVER baked a cake?" you might now be asking.

Well those who know of my public schooling, also know that Home Ec was offered from grades 7-9. Surely cake was one of the lesson plans. If you did indeed venture down this little path of reason, you would almost have been correct in assuming I had baked at least one cake before this year. Almost correct...

Jim, Angelo, Jeremy Plett and I were a cooking group, and yes baking a cake was one of the tasks set before us. One member cracked the eggs, another measured the flour, and somebody else probably poured the milk. I did none of these things. No, I was busy cutting up pieces of eraser to imbed in the batter of the neighbouring group's cake.

I did not learn to bake a cake that day, but rather I had the pleasure of watching the other cooking group chew into futility, eat a great piece of cake made by my group, and at the end of the day earn a whopping -25%.

Anyway, in the fashion of Gladys Friesen, I baked a chocolate cake this week and topped it with whipped cream.

This evening i baked another.

Have a nice evening, I'm off to eat cake. Oh... I almost forgot...my other resolution was to shed a few pounds.

cheers,

my

It is Jeremy that we need to blame...I mean thank.

I probably should have mentioned this as my very first entry. The other day my good friend Jeremy was over when I asked him how hard it would be to set up a website.

"3 minutes," he replied promptly and passively.

Figuring he had put little or no thought into his response I passed him off.

Three minutes later I had a website.

Jeremy is my friend. Inside of one week he brought a fine imported beer over for a little sample, undressed me from hockey gear and rushed me to the hospital after I separated my shoulder, AND helped me set up this blog. I challenge anyone to top that friend contribution. Jeremy and Tannis, along with their incredibly cute girls Ivy and Ella, moved to Summerland this year and it instantly doubled our local friend base. They will be featured on this blog from time to time.

Incidentally, if you want to see what a real blog looks like, check his out here. I will bid farewell to you now, becase unless you are family you will never bother with my site again.

A Complicated Kindness

I only purchased a few meager gifts for Tracey this Christmas and for that I am probably not a model husband. That said, I did make a quality purchase: 'A Complicated Kindness' by Miriam Toews. Here is but one short excerpt:

"The place Trudie travelled to most often was the church basement. The women have to spend a lot of time there. If they don't they go to hell."

...RFC...

A view out our front window.

icicles_frontyard
Originally uploaded by mtplanet.

Tracey snapped this shot today and I just had to include it. We have a ton of snow on our roof and it is melting next to the shingles. This causes water to seep out from underneath forming massive icicles.

A wintery view of our house.

house_winter_05
Originally uploaded by mtplanet.

I thought I would include this photo for the people that have not visited us in BC. Particulalry for the people who wriite from NZ asking about our place, this is a picture of our house after a heavy snow fall.

Cool snow formation

snow_on_post
Originally uploaded by mtplanet.

Received a fair bit of snow over the past few days. I took a picture of one our fence posts.

9/11 Question

Over the Christmas break I was having a drink with a few friends, people who seem pretty keen on the latest news, and I asked them if they recall hearing anything about the plane that hit the Pentagon on 9/11. Nope. I asked if thhey had any clear recollection of seeing photos or footage of this plane or the wreckage. Nope. They asked why I was asking and I simply said that I had thought about it recently and wondered why we seldom hear about that part oof thhe 9/11 attack.

Fast forward to today...

I visit a certain surplus clothing store in Kelowna occasionaly and today was one of those times. Shortly into my visit with the shop's owner, he asked me, "Do you ever wonder about the plane that supposedly hit thhe Pentagon on 9/11?"

"Yes! I was just talking about that to some one the other day!" was my response.

Well...it so happens that a number of people are wondering about that plane.

A number of websites exist where people in the know concering planes, engines, and crash sites are asking some pretty important questions. Here is one I found today. along with this site.

It just seems odd to me that a plane slams into the heart of the US defense administration, and we hardly ever hear of it, revisit the casualties issue, or see updates on the repairs. Is there going to be a monument placed at that crash site?
Maybe an airliner never hit the Pentagon, and if not then a major lie has been passed onto the American public. No...a lie that big cannot occur without an outcry.

I think I am going to do a little more investigating on this one. Oh...I just remembered something Adolf Hitler once wrote: How lucky rulers are that people do not think.

I Refuse to Label my Kid

Elijah TV
Originally uploaded by mtplanet.

I have been quite critical of schools that are very quick to categorize students. Whether it is ADD, ADHD, IAS, Behaviourly Challenged, or any other 'syndrome of the year', I have seen too many educators leap at the opportunity to brand a student in order to make up for the fact they as a professional teacher seem unable to make a connection.

My anti-labelling position has come in handy this week. I have decided to remain consistent in my approach and NOT declare that I have a defiant child. As a FTP (first time parent), yesterday I received my baptism in having my wishes absolutely neglected by my 9.5 month old son. Elijah has discovered the buttons on the TV and enjoys pressing them. This activity has become far more entertaining since he realised that we do not want him touching the buttons. He now bolts for the TV at nearly every opportunity, crawling as fast as he can and awaiting the voice of disapproval. As soon as we make a sound he speeds up, starts to giggle, and gives a shoulder check in anticipation that he will be picked up.

Yesterday I decided to let him get to the buttons while I grabbed my camera. The photo seen here is his signature facial expression should he be successful in getting to the TV. As Tracey aptly pointed out the other day, he is not necessarily doing it because he's not allowed, instead he is simply seeking attention. Yes...that's it attention - a perfect explanation. Stay tuned for this excuse with his first run-in with the police.

Christmas Photo

This Christmas Elijah was stoked as he was often surrounded by women. At both the Plett and Reimer gatherings, he as the only male great grandson.

opening day!

Canada wins WJHC wow! What a thrashing.