Posted on August 8, 2012 by dfolstad58

Time it was to reblog this because August 6 was the anniversary of our first date — 33 years ago.

dfolstad58's avatarLife and Random Thinking

I can’t say the exact date I met my wife Sue. I remember I met her at a campfire near Todd mountain at a church group weekend. She looked nice in jeans though and she must have made an impression.  I state that assertion because not long afterward I had a dream and she was in it on August 5, 1979 but I no longer remember the dream.  I still remember the date of the dream because the next day I was motivated to take her out on our first date.

Sue was working at a gas station just outside of Kamloops then, and I was working at finance company. The first part of the day wasn’t a “date” but we met at a dock to go waterskiing with another friend.  Sue told me much later that she was testing me at the dock as she kept wandering around and…

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Salty Breeze, Sunsets, and Parksville

Posted on August 8, 2012 by dfolstad58

Our friends, Klaus & Kamla, shared their holiday in Parksville, B.C. this year with Sue & I.  We had a great time.

We met them on the BC ferry in Tsawassen and crossed over to Nanaimo.

 

The ferry in Nanaimo was met by buckets of rain, but we forged ahead – soon we had left the rain behind. The rain is obviously what keeps Vancouver island so green.

 

The week went by quickly, visiting, relaxing, reading, road trips most days, kayaking, breakfast every day was a Chef Klaus kreation, and we had really nice break.

 

Something special about the salty air, and we hadn’t enjoyed it for awhile. The view outside the unit where we stayed was “slammin” (that’s good right?).

 

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle (Photo credit: kansasphoto)

Whether the tide was in or out, looking out on Craig Bay was relaxing, and we were fortunate to see eagles, and herons.  I could sat out on the deck and just relaxed another month it was so great but we kept buying chocolate nanaimo bars and another week of nanaimo bars for me and they would have charged me double for the ferry back to the mainland.

 

A wonderful rest, with good friends. The summer of 2012 has already been special.

Comments, likes, etc can be added at the bottom. 😉

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Guess what? We won!

Posted on August 7, 2012 by dfolstad58

I am sure there are many people like me, people who enter contests, never expecting to get a phone call or an email telling them they won. But it happened to me……. I won a contest, one of three grand prizes and this is what happened.

Some time back, I remember being online and seeing a contest for possibly winning a trip to either Vancouver, Montreal, or Toronto. You had to send a picture with your name and that is what sets the contest apart in my mind. I had to pick a picture that showed EDGE in either food, fashion or design. Food is the only one of the three I can pretend to know, so I looked in my pictures for something with edge, something to do with food. I came across a very neat picture of the bobbleheads from my daughter’s wedding.

The bobbleheads were a huge smash hit because they resembled Mandy and Tyler and were both funny and I hope edgy.  I promptly forgot all about entering that contest until I got the call.

A few weeks ago, the phone is ringing and I check the area code as I am opt to do, wondering whether or not to answer when I don’t recognize the area code.  I did, and I’m glad I did.

The call started with me being cautious, confirming whom I was and answering fairly innocuous questions, but as the call went on, and on I was starting to really believe I had won something especially after I did the mathematical question that had adding, subtracting, dividing and multiplying and then being told when I needed to be available to qualify, and did I have a valid drivers licence etc.

The details of the prize were all revealed, I had the exciting news to reveal to my wife, and soon the paper was all concluded and there was nothing to be done but to look forward to a fun and exciting experience.

Yes, it was a fun, exciting and special experience as we were treated like royalty,  dining, and driving a sublime 2013 Ford Edge. (ooh did I like that vehicle!) I keep thinking about how nice it would be to take long road trip in that Ford Edge,  as it was so relaxing to drive.

Sue and I were treated to a weekend in Vancouver of not only delicious food, pastry, and relaxation but we also got to be the celebrities of the day which was a nice treat.

Arriving Thursday late we met the contest representative, Tala, who congratulated us, and   provided us with our itinerary for the gala weekend.  The itinerary is included in the pictures below.

We had a really nice time on our weekend thanks to the generous folks who organized the contest, the fine people at Ford who made it all happen and loaned me their beautiful red 2013 Edge for a few hours, and especially the fine people on the spot for about 12 hours that day who did the filming, wardrobe, pictures, sound, hair, clothes, jewelry for Sue – for a slew of reasons we enjoyed our weekend, and EDGE experience.

It was like a 32nd wedding anniversary weekend for us plus I had celebrated just a few weeks before my 25th anniversary for my kidney transplant so it was so wonderful for us to get away from our busy daily lives and be spoiled a little, or a lot. (smile)

Thanks again to everyone from Sue and I both, we had a grand time !

So the message here is that you never know what the day can unfold, and maybe soon you will get a phone call or email – I hope so, and good luck!

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Now this is Jet Ski-ing!

Posted on July 19, 2012 by dfolstad58

Any break from the everyday routine is swell but when you actually leave work behind – even better.  I planned a break this summer, and like finding $20 in a jacket I hadn’t worn for a year- some very serendipitous news came my way. 

Suffice to say, off and away for a quick break,  but will soon return and when I return – all will be revealed, with pictures. In the meantime, and in between times, practice random  kindness just to see what karma it brings you, why not?

Enjoy this youtube – it is so sweet and fun!

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Attitude is all you control

Posted on July 18, 2012 by dfolstad58
Attitude (A8)

Attitude (A8) (Photo credit: Siddy Lam)

My next speech for me for Toastmasters I am going to try to a humorous speech and this is going to be a challenge for me so I am going to start right away to start drafting that speech.

Talking about “attitude” is easy though ~ because this is a lesson that I understand. So much of what happens in life is handed to us and we have no control over it or it has happened and there is no way to “undo it”.

So there you are, you are in an unhappy place ~ what are  you going to do? You can complain, You can do all sorts of things but in the better sense for your own health and sanity ~ it is best to just move on.  A friend of mine says “It could be worse” – and she is right, in most cases, it could definitely be worse.

Count your blessing, take a lesson from life, and move on. You will be happier for not wasting your time and energy in a way that only makes you more unhappy.

I do, and you also – have much to be thankful for- let’s focus on those things.

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I miss the music of the 70’s

Posted on July 18, 2012 by dfolstad58
Band on the Run

Band on the Run (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Burton Cummings, BTO (Bachman Turner Overdrive), Three Dog Night, Paul McCartney (Wings), Elton John, Aerosmith, Rolling Stones – There was some great music in the 70’s.

 

I know there is some great music since and before but for me, this was the time when I really had the time and the inclination to pay attention to music.

 

Maybe because I was young and fairly footloose so I could listen to music and in a sense I was sheltered from all the things of life. I had school and a part time job and no responsibilities other than that.

 

Let me know what your favorite music of the 1970’s was, I would love to know the songs you remember.

 

As I write this the songs are going through my mind so I would love to compare.  Anyone remember “Crocodile Rock?”

 

 

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