A new life; same as the old life?

So I have been working on improving my photography, reading the manual, taking on line courses, checking out local photo safaris that I might want to try and thinking about joining a camera club. I went to one before I left for the UK, which was pretty local, just the next town over. When I arrived, at the old people's home, sorry assisted care living facility, (I didn't know before I left home) I walked into the big man's waiting room! Now I have no problem with old, I will be one myself one of these days, and certainly in the MG club we had our share, but I was the youngest in the entire room by about 20-25 years. When I thought of joining a club, it was with the hope of meeting some people, reasonably close to me in age and interest, to attend meetings, maybe some excursions and have fun. So with the age of this group, it really wasn't for me. Last night I tried the only other local group that I could find, still 30 minutes away, but relatively local. This club seeme...

Like many of you I suffer from junk mail. Everything from "pre-approved" credit cards to catalogs and magazine offers. Whilst I am sure some of this is my fault for not ticking the right boxes on forms or websites, or inviting one company to mail me, who then sell it to others, they sure don't make it easy. Hiding the text in small print, or intentially badly wording opt out questions to catch you unawares. Of course we all know the dangers of simply throwing this stuff away, so we end up opening it, shredding parts, recycling others, etc. The good thing is that there are some ways, unfortunately some of them tedious, but we shall see if any of them are effective as I just used a bunch of them. Have a go if this is a problem for you. These links are for the US only, although I am sure similar sites exist in the UK too. Telemarketers - www.donotcall.gov or call 888-382-1222 "Preapproved" - www.optoutprescreen.com or call 888-567-8688 (you will need SSN) Catalo...

We just got back from good old blighty. Lorraine had been there for 3 weeks before I got there, and I joined her for the last 10 days; but let me go back a little, because I can't believe it is March already. Jan (Lorraine's mum) came over in December, with the plan of arriving a couple of days before the new arrival. She was to stay two months, then travel to the UK with Lorraine, and then five weeks later I would bring them back. As it turned out, Lorraine went into labour the day of Jan's arrival and so the wonderful and talented Amy stepped up, picked her up from the airport and whisked her directly to the hospital, do not pass go, do not collect $200! The two months flew by, and Jan was very helpful around the house, baby wrangling, etc In fact Lorraine had to tell her off several times for making Cooper too comfortable and not being able to wake him for feeding time. From my perspective, I discovered clothing that I had forgotten, and my wardrobes and drawers became s...

I cannot remember the last time when I had a seriously bad lower back. My upper back and shoulders are always bad and I get regular massage and chiropractory to keep them loose and mobile. However this past Friday, and I still have no idea how, I threw out my lower back to the point where I could not walk, sit or stand. I went to the local massage place and after 90 minutes of therapy I still had to crawl out of the room. They put on something call Kinesio tape which enabled me to at least get upright again, long enough to walk (ish) to the truck. I have spent most of the last 48 hours in bed and I can just about walk again, but not without pain. According to the massage lady something inocuous, which I cannot remember caused my muscles to go into protective mode and lock up in the general area of my lower left back/butt. I really hope this is a temporary thing as I have a lot planned this spring. Installing a kitchen, knee surgery the week after next and of course most importantly Cu...

As most of you all know, baseball is my sport, but I have a friend who works for the Bears who is, on occasion, able to get me some good tickets. He and some other friends are trying to convince me how good American Football is, without, I add, much success. My MIL and SIL are in town right now, and we had the opportunity to go, all four of us, to the game last night. I went to my third of the season, expecting to see the Bears get their butts kicked by Favre and Vikings who had won 12 out of 14 games this season. However, much to my surprise, and I am sure the Vikings and their fans, the Bears won the game in overtime! They started out the first half with a 16-zip lead which we all knew couldn't last. Cutler was playing well and no interceptions (yet!), and the DEEFENSE (as our American brothers call it) wasn't leaking like a sieve and letting the Vikings run all over them....that is until the third quarter. Having given up a touch down but charged down the extra point, which ...

I tell you, Addy is growing up faster than you would ever think possible. She is smart as they come. She is toilet training and talking 10 to the dozen! Some of the stuff she comes out with, makes you wonder..today she says "I'm going to call Cooper James Coops!" This month of course, Cooper was born, see below for more links to pictures, Lorraine's mother came into town for a couple of months, and we got the Christmas tree, put it up with the decorations, etc. Just a busy month! Addison loves to help with everything, she helped to bring the tree back, helped Lorraine with some baking for pies with the Thanksgiving leftovers, and even helped decide exactly where all of the ornaments would go on the tree. Click here for pictures of the tree cutting, decorating, etc. Click here for pictures of Coops in the hospital & his first few days home

Well here he is folks..in all his glory!

is here, weighing in at 9lb 12oz, and 22in long, a big lad! Born at 6:46pm today December 8th by C-section..more to follow

We are now homeowners in the US! Yay!

My postings seem to be getting less and less regular as life itself takes over! The holiday season is fast approaching with Thanksgiving tomorrow, and the sales, although again this year, despite the economy, I am not overly impressed with the deals. The weather has been exceptionally mild here with temps still in the 50s and last weekend I was out putting up the Christmas lights in a t-shirt, and in the same breath I was preparing my snow blower for the inevitable. Jan and Mads are coming for Christmas, with Jan actually coming for two months. We figured with the two kids now, it is going to be difficult for Lorraine to travel on her own. The plan is that Jan comes here, baby arrives, we wait until the two month check up, then she and Lorraine fly with both kids, and then I join them for a bit and fly back with Lorraine. So Charlie, I will be bringing my clubs and looking for some spring time golf! Speaking of the baby, Cooper James will be coming along very soon....December 10th is t...

Q. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why? A. 21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary. Q. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why? A. 21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1. Q. Why are his gloves wet? A. His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle. Q. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time; and if not, why not? A. He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder. Q. How often are the guards changed? A. Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. Q. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to? A. For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and hi...

Don't usually post many of these things, but this one was cool..isn't technology fabulous? Click on this link and follow the instructions below Place your cursor at the top of the photo, you will notice it is 6:10 PM. Slide the mouse down the screen, slowly over the photo without pressing any of the mouse buttons. Do not click right or left. Night time appears, the lights come on, and at 7:40 PM, it's dark! Very, very cool.

So I have been busy as you probably surmised from my lack of writing. Lorraine and Cooper continue to progress well, and we are on track for an early December delivery. MIL and SIL (the giver of the new rain coat on the left) will be coming over, for varying times, MIL for two whole months, how will I cope. Just kidding Jan, you know you are always welcome. The idea is that Jan stays until Cooper is cleared to travel, then they all go back to the UK for a few weeks. I will join them towards the end and fly back with Lorraine and the kids, so basically she has travel assistance both directions. We will have to do it like that for a while until both kids are more independent I guess. We have been busy cramming in all sorts of activities, including Halloween, a trip to Six Flags, Brookfield Zoo and for me, my first ever Bears game. Of course I sliced up my fingers, Addy had a birthday and there was all manner of other things going on. Addy had a few friends around for her birthday and spe...

There is a fabulous commercial for Pepsi Max , which has the tag line, "real men can take anything except the taste of diet cola." Well this weekend, I found out just how true that can be, although I prefer Coke Zero to Pepsi products :-) Attached are several pictures of my finger, post table saw mash up. I was building my bar for the family room, and whilst ripping a piece of stud lumber to width, the wood kicked, fingers slipped, and the rest as they say is history. Click here for more pictures.

As Addison grows up, I am continually amazed by her intellectual abilities. She is small for her size, in the 25th percentile last time we checked, but her mental abilities are off the charts. I am sure most parents think this about their kids, and who knows, maybe I am no different. However, when you read the articles, guidance, etc, and it says that typical 4-5 year olds can say a couple hundred words and can form sentences with 5-6 words, and she is already doing that....well you can see where I am going with this! She already knows pretty much all of the colours, can count to twelve, and knows about 8-10 letters and words associated with them. She can recite in total "Fe Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman, be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread", and almost all the words and actions to Insy Winsy Spider! Of course along with such cognisance (I blame/credit Lorraine depending on if she is being annoying or cute :-) comes the annoyi...

Those amongst you who are Disney aficionados will recognize the post title. We recently returned from a long weekend in the Disney capital of the world, Orlando FL. My sister Kimberley has been a huge fan of Disney forever, but had never had the opportunity to visit, and so she decided to save her pennies and pounds, and hundreds and splash on a two week vacation in "The place where dreams come true" She emailed and mentioned this and we agreed to meet for a few days to catch up as it is only a short flight from Chicago, and we already had some accommodation that we needed to use (long story). So it was set, or so we thought! Closer to the date she emailed and they, she and her boyfriend at the time Scott, had decided that they would get married whilst they were in Orlando, as you do! The trip quickly turned into a wedding, with flower girl (Addison), witnesses (Lorraine & I), etc. We hung out for a few days together over the weekend, went to Animal Kingdom (met my brothe...

Everyone in the world knows Johnnie Walker Whisky, I am sure. However, even the worldly wise, like my boss, may not know that it is actually a brand born and bred in my home town Kilmarnock and continues there to this day, although possibly not for much longer . History Of The Brand (Purloined from other resources linked below) Originally known as Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky, the brand is a legacy left by John 'Johnnie' Walker after he started to sell whisky in his grocer's shop in Ayrshire, Scotland. The brand became popular, but it was his son Alexander Walker and grandson Alexander Walker II who were largely responsible for establishing the whisky as a widely popular brand. Walker died in 1857, but his legacy was assured as the Walker family developed the business and grew the Johnnie Walker brand to become world famous. Alexander Walker first introduced the iconic square bottle in 1870. The other identifying characteristic of the bottle is the label, which is applied...

I am sure you are all getting sick of seeing pictures of Addison by now, but I don't care..she is just so damned photogenic. So there are more here , and here . She has her own incredible personality, which is mostly good, although of course there are a few things that don't jive well, like throwing a fit when she doesn't get her way. The naughty spot is getting some usage at the moment. One of the things she has started to do, for the last couple of months, and I think she learned this one from me, is what she calls her "special kiss". She takes your face in her hands and plants one on you! Baby CJ is progressing well, we have another scan next week, so I will post the pics of that. Addison seems to be OK with the idea so far. She knows his name and where he is. Lorraine has been talking about singing to him and so now Addison pulls up Lorraine's shirt to let him hear. After a few minutes she pulls it back down as he is "getting cold" Lorraine is ve...

Similarly to my recent post about city trips, we haven't taken advantage recently of the host of local free events. Most of the local towns and cities have a lot going on in the summer, I guess because the weather is not condusive (read frickin' cold) in the winter! From concerts, to "Taste Of" events, to Arts & Crafts festivals. A couple of weeks ago, we went back to the old village where we lived for two years to enjoy their free Friday lunchtime concerts, although the term concert is rather loose, as often it is really more of a DJ spinning some tunes. Nevertheless it is an opportunity to get outside on a beautiful sunny day and enjoy the weather; and whaddayaknow, this time actually was a band, and a pretty decent one at that! They also had the obligitary fire engine for the kids to climb on. As usual more pictures are available here . We ate some sandwiches, hung out with the other friends and their families for a brief time until it was time to go back to n...

I am fast realising that I am an old dog..I know many of you have likely thought that for years! Spending most of the weekend laid up with a dodgy knee, and not remembering what I did to cause it, doesn't help! Well, this old dog has been taking snapshots with expensive cameras for years now and has decided that it's about time to learn some new tricks. Of course being Scottish, I am trying to do it for free. I do like the look and structure of the courses these guys offer, but I don't know yet if I am committed enough, or honestly have the time to warrant the fees. They do have some excellent tutorials/articles though that are worth a look, like this one about airshows for example. I did find this website , which seems to have a bunch of free training in photography and many other topics. It has assignments and quizzes and a message board in case you need questions or support, so I am giving it a go.