August Projects

August was spent enjoying some of the hot weather and golfing but I had a few projects on the go.
I touched up a few things on the motorhome.

 Overhauled the tow car dolly trailer and sold it on Kijiji.

 Our spot on the beach.

Winnipeg Anniversary Reunion

In mid July we drove to Winnipeg to celebrates Barb's parents 65th wedding anniversary.  This was an occasion for a Hawkins family reunion.

Barb and her siblings having fun.

They grow really big pumpkins out west.  They are heavy too.

The work between travels

 

After returning from Europe it's back to retirement work.  Replacing the brick window sills with stone.  Never thought retirement would be such hard work.

River Cruise through Germany

A high priority on the bucket list was a river cruise through Europe.  This was checked off in June as a dream fulfilled.  We spent three days in Munich.  Then took a train to Passau where we boarded the ship for a 10 day cruise to Basel.  After that we flew to Berlin and spent time with various friends/relatives in various places in the north of Germany.  We had an amazing trip.

 

 The Ship

 The Route

The Beer

3D Printer keeps printing

Dr. Who?

Happiness is sharing Easter Kinder eggs with grandkids.

Had a great Florida visit

We drove down in the snow on February 21st.  We dad to go to the south end of Georgia before all traces of the snow disappeared.  Florida was welcoming with 80 degree weather.

My sister has a wonderful place in Naples.

The weather in Naples usually hit 80 during the day.  The ocean temperature was about 69F.  A bit chilly but swimmable.  The community had a great heated pool.

Going home we stopped by Cocoa Beach and the Kennedy Space Center.

Next stop was St. Augustine where I charged up with a drink out of the "Fountain of Youth"

It was a cold day there but the scenery made up for it.



The 3D Printer is working

Nothing too fancy yet just trying things out. This will be an interesting hobby.

A few pictures of the trip

The British ship 'Thompson Dream' left Jamaica on the 27th of January.

 

 We did a jungle cruise in Cost Rica

 Took a scenic railway from the Atlantic to the Pacific and back in Panama.

Took a horse carriage around the old city of Cartagena

 

 Did some parasailing with my mother in Jamaica.

 Some lazy river drifting with Barb.

 

 Admired the flowers and sunsets in Jamaica.

Away on the 27th of January to the sunny south.

I went with Barbara and my mother on a cruise from Jamaica to Costa Rica, Columbia and Panama.  Then stayed in a resort on Jamaica for another week.  It was wonderful.

Hurrah. The 3D printer arrived today.

Many pieces arrived in a box.  No assembly instruction included but I found extensive instructions on the website at PrinterBot with videos.  Hmmm.. I found this notice in the box.

Dear valued customer,

Pb regrets to inform you we are all out of our metal spool rack for aluminum handles.  Your in luck, once our new stock comes in we will be sending out everyone their new handles.

Hopefully this is not a critical part.  Next update with completed assembly.

Now getting all the "stuff" back into the room

All the 'stuff' except piano back into the room.

Where all the "stuff" was stored.

First house project completed

New paint and new floor completed.  Now it's managing the stuff going back into the room.  No time to start another room before heading down to southern climates.  Besides I need to get the 3D printer set up when it arrives.

This is how it looked a couple of days ago.

A Surprise Retirement Party

I was surprised with a retirement party cleverly arranged by Barb and family on January 10th .  It was supposed to be a guys night out with my sons for a movie and some beer afterward.  It was a wonderful surprise.

The kids had a great time

Over-The-Hill*Opoly

Help with gift opening and Bucket list suggestion reading

Some ancient work history

Barb

First week spent on redoing floor and painting walls and ceiling on living room.