One time when Elaine and I were visiting Janny while she was teaching at Pierceland, I was going to assemble a microwave stand for her. I had a project to do while Elaine and Janny were out somewhere.
Everything was going well until I came to one part where the holes were too small for the size of screws. No problem I just drilled the holes out larger. Then when I was finishing up the last piece had large holes in it and the remaining screws were too small. Oops I should have used these screws on the previous piece and saved the larger screws. My solution was to drill extra holes to fit the small screws.
This has gotten to be a running joke in the family. Janny still teases me about "drilling extra holes" or if I was going to visit her I would say "I'll bring my drill along in case I need to drill extra holes."
Then after I got my trach last year Janny says "How appropriate, they had to drill extra holes." I am sure I will never hear the end of this.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Classic Hockey Pictures
When I was young I collected hockey pictures that came from Beehive Syrup. I still have them in a binder. I have 29 pictures from about 1962/63 to 1967, mostly of Toronto Maple Leafs that I was a fan of in that era as I previously posted about the Leafs last Stanley Cup win in 1967.
The upper two pictures are of Tim Horton and George Armstrong of the Leafs. Most young people now only know of Tim Horton as a donut chain. The pictures in this style were made up to 1964. The lower two pictures are of Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull. Bobby Hull is shown here promoting Beehive Syrup. The picture style for Bobby Hull was used from 1964 to 1967.
The St. Lawrence Starch Company in Port Credit Ontario that made Beehive Syrup first started the hockey picture promotion in 1934. The players themselves got little or nothing for the pictures other than a few cans of syrup. The company discontinued the pictures in 1967 due to NHL expansion and the newly formed NHL Players Association wanting royalties for the players.
To get 29 pictures, I must have got my Mom to buy a lot of syrup because you could send for one picture with each proof of purchase. As a marketing promotion for the company it must have worked because to this day I will hardly use any kind of syrup other than Beehive corn syrup.Thursday, January 22, 2009
Photo Repair
Recently I have been trying my hand at repairing old photos. The photos above are the original for the picture of my grandparents in my previous post. I have been using ArcSoft PhotoStudio 5.5 than came free with my Canon scanner.Sometimes I have done photo changes just for fun, like the picture I posted of my Mother where in the background I removed a bathroom door sign and light switch and "repainted" the wall behind her. And then I had some fun with the picture I posted for Christopher's birthday.
This week Elaine had to get a new ID photo for her driver's licence. I kept telling her I could make some "improvements" to her photo, but she was suspicious of me. Later she asked "Where is my driver's licence?" and she came into the computer room and saw me just take it out of the scanner. Oops, caught in the act!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
My Grandparents
This picture is of my father's parents Alex and Anna Kaczur probably taken in the 1930s. Alex died in 1939 at the age of 63. Anna lived to the age of 88 and died in 1967.
My grandparents came from the village of Jaworzec in Galicia which is now in the SE of Poland. At the time they lived there it was part of the pre-WWI Austria. My grandparents were married in 1899 and then my grandfather came to Pennsylvania USA in 1900. My grandmother followed later in 1904. The spelling of the family name was changed when they became US citizens in 1921.
The family ethnic background is referred to as Rusyn, or Carpatho-Rusyn, or Lemko which are pastoral farmers that inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. Many people of this group identify themselves as Ukrainian but it has also been identified as a distinct ethnic group. The villages in the area were destroyed by Stalin in 1947 (long after my grandparents left) and people resettled to Russia. I have found some interesting websites about the history of Jaworzec and this area. I have also been studying maps of the area (click on map page 90 for Jaworzec.)
My grandparents settled in the US on a farm near Starford in western Pennsylvania. They were very poor but hard-working people. My grandfather worked in the coal mines as well as farming. My grandmother had 10 children (with 2 that died in infancy or childhood) and worked in the garden as well as in the field. She was very small (well under 5 feet tall) but must have been quite strong.
I of course never saw my grandfather but I did see my grandmother when we went to the US by train when I was 4 years old. In that post you can see a picture of what my grandmother looked like in the 1950s.
My grandparents came from the village of Jaworzec in Galicia which is now in the SE of Poland. At the time they lived there it was part of the pre-WWI Austria. My grandparents were married in 1899 and then my grandfather came to Pennsylvania USA in 1900. My grandmother followed later in 1904. The spelling of the family name was changed when they became US citizens in 1921.
The family ethnic background is referred to as Rusyn, or Carpatho-Rusyn, or Lemko which are pastoral farmers that inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. Many people of this group identify themselves as Ukrainian but it has also been identified as a distinct ethnic group. The villages in the area were destroyed by Stalin in 1947 (long after my grandparents left) and people resettled to Russia. I have found some interesting websites about the history of Jaworzec and this area. I have also been studying maps of the area (click on map page 90 for Jaworzec.)
My grandparents settled in the US on a farm near Starford in western Pennsylvania. They were very poor but hard-working people. My grandfather worked in the coal mines as well as farming. My grandmother had 10 children (with 2 that died in infancy or childhood) and worked in the garden as well as in the field. She was very small (well under 5 feet tall) but must have been quite strong.
I of course never saw my grandfather but I did see my grandmother when we went to the US by train when I was 4 years old. In that post you can see a picture of what my grandmother looked like in the 1950s.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Happy Birthday Nicole
Today is Nicole's birthday. Our favourite future daughter in law. I am continuing with my trend of posting on my blog for each birthday in the family.
Here is a picture of Mike and Nicole taken last May at the lot where their house is being built.
Happy birthday Nicole!
Here is a picture of Mike and Nicole taken last May at the lot where their house is being built.
Happy birthday Nicole!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Good Air In - Bad Air Out
It has been exactly two years now since I was first in hospital due to respiratory problems with high CO2. The lungs taking in oxygen is critical to life. But just as critical, or maybe more so, is to get rid of the CO2. High CO2 can lead to the blood becoming more and more acidic causing organ shut down and death.
I had an appointment today at the hospital for a checkup with a respiratory specialist. While there I had an arterial blood gas test. It had been a year since my last test. This is different than a normal blood test which takes blood from a vein. The blood from an artery (in my wrist) is analyzed to determine oxygen and CO2 content and PH (acidity level.) Basically the results are that my CO2 is still under control. In fact he said my oxygen level is too high! He told me to cut in half the amount of supplemental oxygen I am using. If oxygen is too high the lungs think they don't need to get rid of the CO2. I don't need to go back for another test for a year.
All in all I am very thankful to God for my health today compared to two years ago.
I had an appointment today at the hospital for a checkup with a respiratory specialist. While there I had an arterial blood gas test. It had been a year since my last test. This is different than a normal blood test which takes blood from a vein. The blood from an artery (in my wrist) is analyzed to determine oxygen and CO2 content and PH (acidity level.) Basically the results are that my CO2 is still under control. In fact he said my oxygen level is too high! He told me to cut in half the amount of supplemental oxygen I am using. If oxygen is too high the lungs think they don't need to get rid of the CO2. I don't need to go back for another test for a year.
All in all I am very thankful to God for my health today compared to two years ago.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Quotes for the New Year
I have a small pocket size journal that has a quote at the top of each page. When I looked at my new 2009 journal here are some of the quotes that I liked:
"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old one leaves." - Bill Vaughn
"Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday." - Dale Carnegie
"Smart is when you only believe half of what you hear. Brilliant is when you know which half to believe." - Orben's Current Comedy
"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old one leaves." - Bill Vaughn
"Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday." - Dale Carnegie
"Smart is when you only believe half of what you hear. Brilliant is when you know which half to believe." - Orben's Current Comedy
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy Birthday Elaine
Today is Elaine's birthday. I was trying to decide on something to post for her birthday. Just for fun here is a classic video of her "rowing" at Candle Lake. Olympic rowing is not likely in her future.
Elaine is a very cool and calm and good natured person, which is a very fortunate thing for me. She very seldom gets upset (no matter how hard I try :>) I am looking forward to many more happy and healthy years with her.
Happy Birthday Elaine.
Elaine is a very cool and calm and good natured person, which is a very fortunate thing for me. She very seldom gets upset (no matter how hard I try :>) I am looking forward to many more happy and healthy years with her.
Happy Birthday Elaine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)