Merry Christmas 2016 –

So we are rolling up to that time of year again –in looking back at the year – this has been one with some new starts and continuing previous passions.

Mick finished his third year of Software Engineering at U of C and moved out of the apartment that he was in close to the university (as the rent was going up significantly) and he found a large one bedroom basement suite halfway between the University and SAIT and is the first apartment that he started out on his own.  Mick spent much of winter semester and early part of summer – applying for and seeking out internship opportunities.  The downturn in the Alberta / Calgary economy made that a difficulty thing – as many companies were downsizing and laying off engineers.  However, after much persistence on his part he was able to secure a one year internship with a Computer / Internet Software security company.  It was somewhat ironic – that the skills that helped him secure the position was a programming language that he was self-taught – not something he learned through university.  Mick started his position at the beginning of September – and seems to be fitting in well and enjoying the work.  They have normally had computer science interns and are seeing a positive difference in having someone come in from an engineering perspective. He enjoys having money coming in as he has been on a very strict budget for a long time.  The company seems to be impressed with what he is capable of doing and are already asking him how long he has to go back to university for to finish his degree – hopefully that bodes well for his future.

Keelan continues his apprenticeship at Dixon’s Service Center– and has more than enough hours in for his second and third year apprenticeship.  He is looking at returning to the college in the spring of 2017 for his next session.   In the meantime, he continues to live at home / paying enough rent to partially subsidize what he eats – and is spoiling himself a little bit.  Over the summer he purchased a right hand drive Subaru B4 – twin turbo sedan.  Looks nice and has lots of zip (Randy said it was like his Audi but for 1/10th the price).  Deb thinks that the funniest story is when he took his car to the outdoor archery range and one of the archers was complaining that her brother and boyfriend always say “vroom vroom” when driving and asked Keelan if he did this as well. Keelan said nope, smiled a little, and pushed his auto start … they all heard this deep rumble and the boys gathered to take a look under the hood.   He is a conservative driver – and although loves the passing power – drives defensively and is content at going the speed limit.  He also has purchased himself a brand new snow board for the first time and other goodies – always discerning in his choices. He too is enjoying the ability to have a little cash for those extras (and the endless tools that come with being a mechanic. Keelan renewed his connection with archery – taking on coaching of the younger recurve shooters – and assisting with setting up shoots.

Deb has started her third year of work at the hospital in-patient psychiatric unit as a social worker.  The days are busy and she always seems to be putting in more hours than she is scheduled for – and reports that the time flies by.   Deb enjoys being a part of an active curling team – and this year placed first in the C division of the Creston Valentines Bonspiel and at the first Shades of Green ladies bonspiel in Cranbrook, they have finally learned that where the skip places the broom is “more than just a suggestion”  as one player was quoted only 2 years ago. This fall she volunteered at a Grand Slam of Curling event that was hosted in Cranbrook – putting in hours manning the bar in the social house.

Pat continues to work as a project manager for the Ministry – and continues to keep track of the number of weeks of work that he has left until he retires.   He still takes pride in the work he does – but is now at the point where he ready to leave when his time is done.  Many of the colleagues that he has worked with over the years are already retiring and several have passed away he is starting to feel like one of the dinosaurs.  Pat managed to torque his left knee moving a couch out of Mick’s basement suite at the end of August – and despite regular application of anti-inflammatories – it did not get better.  Although it did not slow him down (much), he did take it easy one our holidays, and stayed away from any rock scrabbling or hiking on uneven ground.  He has just found out that the specialist is recommending arthroscopic surgery to see if it can be repaired.  Until then he continues to limp along.  He also continues with his hobby / habit / addiction of collecting and sampling bourbon.   His little bar in basement boast over 45 different bourbons.  Thankfully he is not into the expensive ones – and keeps his “sampling” to one glass a night – if that.

And now for our adventures.   Pat managed to find another travel partner – Shawn (a gentleman that he worked with who lives in Prince George) and the two of them flew south in May for a couple of weeks.  The reported purpose of the trip was to take the Scion Xb (that is now registered in Kentucky) from our cabin at Cadiz to a new storage facility that Pat found just a couple of miles away from the airport in Cincinnati (located in Northern Kentucky) which is a distance of about 3 1/2 hours.   However, Pat being true to form and loving to be the tour guide – the trip involved flying into Nashville and traveling via Memphis, down the Delta Blues Highway to New Orleans, on through the Redneck Riviera, to Chattanooga and on to Atlanta before dropping Shane off and then travelling on to Cincinnati to put the car into storage.  Wonderful time, great music, good food and Shane and Pat will probably be planning other trips together.

Over the summer – Deb was able to squeeze in her annual girls kayaking trip – albeit this year being a bit more relaxed – staying at a stationary camp. They were able to pack additional food and sleep on a real mattress (although in the back of a truck).  They added a new kayaker Marianne who toughed out some long days and told great stories.  Just Deb from our family attended the week-long Reed family vacation at Loon Lake as Keelan had to work and Mick was enjoying a few precious days home in Cranbrook before starting his internship. It was very different as the annual trip started when Keelan was just a year old.  The week started with a lot of rain and cold but they got creative with tarps and were able to stay dry until the weather cleared up.

In the fall, Deb and Pat took a trip south – 14 days alone together.  They have not spent this much time together since before the boys were born.  There were some initial apprehensions as to whether they would be able to spend this much time in the confined space of a vehicle and tent trailer – and jokes made that there were plenty of places between bayous and alligators in which bodies could be disposed of …   They flew to Cincinnati to pick up the Scion and then over to Indianapolis to pick a small tent trailer that the Scion could pull.  From there they poked their way down through Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia – with no set plans or reservations – finding campgrounds along the way.  Their only time schedule was that they had to be in Atlanta at the end of September to meet Keelan who was flying down and Deb was flying home.  Again great food, discovery of a wonderful wine (finished off in Bourbon Barrels), and finding some great campgrounds – one of which was less than 7 miles from Beale Street in Memphis.  We ended up at Stone Mountain Park – a massive recreational area that in addition to the famous Confederate carving on the mountain – has hiking trails, paddle wheels, steam trains, golf courses and a phenomenal laser light show.

Once Keelan arrived – the three of us went up to Old Car City – the world’s largest classic car junkyard – with over 4000 cars on 34 acres.   The cars are all overgrown with grass, trees and moss – and there are upwards of 7 miles of trails to walk through.  We spent over 4 hours touring the site – taking many pictures.   The next morning Deb flew home and Pat and Keelan’s adventure started off with a Georgia Tech / Miami Hurricane College football game – along with 85,000 other fans.  Keelan’s first experience with tailgating and dealing with big crowds. This was followed up with taking the trip back to Cadiz and putting the trailer in the garage for storage and picking up the tent and cots.  From there we circumnavigated back and forth based on spur of the moment planning. They drove two top motorcycle roads  (Cherohala Skyway and “The Snake – from Mountain City to Bristol TN)  now the Scion may not be as nimble as a motorcycle – but it was a lot of fun.  We also did a lot of hikes (Chimney Rock, Cumberland Gap and Falls, Smokey Mountains, Hendrik Motor Sports Garage, Natural Tunnel, and portions of the Appalachian Trail.    Dad was careful with his hurt knee – wearing a brace – and Keelan took it easy on him so he was able to do most things.  Again the trip seemed to be filled with lots of food – and Keelan was even able to get a day in where he was able to have sausage gravy for all three meals.   The trip finished off with them storing the Scion back in Cincinnati and flying home.

This year saw the completion of cabin renovations- garage with loft was built – albeit a little shorter than planned. As you may remember we had the hole dug in the fall and the integrity between it and the cabin was compromised over the winter so when they tried to push back the last couple of feet it began to crumble. The contractor made the safe decision to shorten the garage rather than risk the cabin.  Once again the color of the cabin is definite blue although now it is sided in metal. Both siding and roof are different shades of blue, however the way they looked in a 2 inch sample vs on the cabin is decidedly different. Although both blues are nice, either would have been better with black or slate grey instead of together… Oh well it is a cabin.  The garage quickly filled up with all of the tools (and for the winter the kayaks and canoe) and Pat and Keelan are consistently in battle as to whose garage it is and who gets to organize it.  Speaking or organization, we spent most weekends out at the cabin unpacking and reorganizing so that we can see what we have and what we can get rid of… somehow 9 sleeping bags, 5 tents etc. seems a little like overkill, good thing we usually buy second hand!! Now we just need space to have a garage sale.

We are in the process of finalizing a return trip to Cuba for next year.   This time we will be going with our friends from Creston – and are slightly upscaling our accommodation.  We are also going for two weeks – and are for the most part are just going to be relaxing on the beach.   We also have holidays scheduled for October – but at this time it just dates – and will have to see what inspiration hits us as the time gets closer.  For those of you that find the paper version of our annual missive a bit archaic – the letter (and previous ones) are available on

http://spiritridge.info/wp/category/christmas/

Seasons Greeting – take care and stay healthy   – the Reed / Boyle clan.