Two Parrots

Just when we are having about the worst Winter weather ever here. . . we get this photo from Cousin Ed! He's in New Zealand at Rurakaka Beach - Two Parrots. (Maori) Ed, I'm putting a snowball in the freezer - for your next visit!

NEW & OLD

Our Family had the old green Kenwood mixer since about 1956 an it served The Poulin Family faithfully all through the years. Many, many potatoes got mashed by this machine! Sadly, we said good bye to the old machine and it's gone to old appliance Heaven; a Salvation Army Thrift Store in Surrey. We now have our new KitchenAid Artisan and Girlie is very happy. There a whole lot of baking going on, here at our house!

Big Ten

Our Little Girl is a "Big Ten Year Old" now. Angela and Friends, with little Brother, went to see the movie, "Happy Feet." There was a party with pizza and cake after.

Glasses for Angela

Angela had to get glasses today; just for reading. We hope this will stop the headaches she's been getting. I've had headaches all my life and I sure don't want my Daughter to be the same as I in this regard. Angela can see her reading material much better now. We're all happy about this. To my little nightly sneak reader, "don't fall asleep with your glasses on!"

21st Century

It's time to retire my old cell phone. It's been serving me faithfully since 1998. My new cell phone is quite a marvel. . . does everything except the dishes! Thanks go out to Brad Jefferson for helping me join the 21st Century.

Media Room

Our Media Room is starting to get set-up nicely. The addition of a 10" Sub Woofer made quite a difference to the overall sound; much better. I've used older large wooden speakers to make up the rest of the 6.1 sound and they work very well; much better than little metal or plastic speakers. Next, I'll install a real good center speaker.

New SONY 6.1 Home Theater Receive

Got this nice SONY Receiver today and will be hooking it up soon. 6.1 and 100 watts per channel - it's going to be nice! Now all I need is some good speakers.

Lesley's Nice Leather Couch

It only took 5 months, but I finally got this nice leather couch I bought from my Pal English Lesley. The darn thing will not fit down the stairs to my basement - for my Home Theater Room. . . double rats! But, hey. . . it sure is nice to lay on!

TV Stand Built

I finally finished building the stand for our Sony Wega 36 inch flatscreen TV. It was quite a task, considering I haven't done any carpentry since 1977. I had forgotten how much I dislike painting. There will be three matching shelves right above the TV to hold DVD, VCR and Sound System. My extensive collection of Video Game Systems will be below the TV, when I'm finished.

Bobby Graduates (Playschool)

They're Graduating earlier and earlier! Oh. . . and it's not Playschool, it's Pre-Kindergarten - thank you very much! Anyway, it is a terrific photo of my little Guy. Way to go, Bob!

Father's Day 2006

As my Children, Angela and Bobby, start to grow up a little - it's a real pleasure on Father's day. Their bright eyes and piping voices make me realize how lucky I am. I think a lot about my Father too. It's been six years since he passed away. I will never stop missing him. So Guys, make these day count and don't waste them. . . we are all mortal.

A Visit With Bob Johnston

I had a visit with my Friend Bob Johnston in Oliver, BC last Saturday, with Catherine, Angela and Bobby. We did get to see Bob's pretty Wife Rosanne later in the night and we saw one of his Daughters to briefly. I had not seen Bob for about 3 years and it was a real pleasure to hang out a bit with him. I had almost forgotten the sound of his voice and his most excellent laughter; this cheered me up a great deal. I was feeling a bit down because of problems with my employer. This visit with Bob was the tonic I needed to pick me up a bit. Thanks Bob!

Chantal Graduated

Last weekend our Family took a trip up to Osoyoos and Oliver to see our Darling Niece Chantal Graduate from Osoyoos Secondary School. Chantal, we hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known. With much love from Angela, Bobby, Catherine and Dale. PS: your can see more photos of Chantal at http://www.imagestation.com - just search albums for Mathieu.

Catherine had fun!

Catherine had fun yesterday at a wedding we attended (see previous post) This is such a nice photo, I just had to get it displayed.

James & Korina got Married

Catherine and I had a good time yesterday at the Wedding Reception for James & Korina Manaloto. "May God be with you and bless you. May you see your children's children. May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings. May you know nothing but happiness from this day forward." You can see more photos at imagestation.com - search albums for Manaloto.

Flying a Kite with Angela

Angela flew her new kite on Sunday out at Crescent Beach. The yellow biplane kite above her head has a five foot wingspan. . . so it's way up there!

Master Builder Bobby

Good job for only 4 years old! I have a feeling that we will be sending Bobby to the University of British Columbia Engineering Department in about 15 years.

Twenty Years of Computing

It has been 20 years since I bought my first computer; an ATARI 520ST. Those who knew me at that time thought that I was the least likely person to buy a Personal Computer. Few people had Personal Computers back in 1986. It cost $1,600.00 (quite a lot of money then) to buy. The operating system was on a floppy disk that you had to load at start-up. It had 512 kilobytes of memory - that's 1/2 a megabyte! I could add another 512 kilobytes of memory for only $1,000.00! It had no hard Drive. It had a colour monitor. It was a marvel! My Mom was even afraid to touch it. . . thought it would "take over." I sure learned a lot.

What I didn't realize at that time that PC's were just coming out of Infancy and taking the first Baby Steps; to become Humanity's greatest tool. Every Industry has been changed amazingly.

Remember that we are still essentially at the beginning of the Computer Age. I wonder what will happen in the next 20 years.

Swedish Balls

We finally got rid of the two ugly white round "Swedish Ball" light fixtures in our kitchen. I installed two track lights with three flood lights in each one. We can see stuff in our kitchen now - even some things we didn't even know was there!

Angela and the Cossacks

Angela asked today, "what are Cossacks?" Here's some information: COSSACKS: Centuries ago the forefathers of the present day Cossacks settled in the steppes of the southeastern corner of Europe, bordering on the Black Sea and the Caucasian Mountains on the south, the Caspian Sea and the river Volga on the east, the forests of the Great Russian Plain on the north and the river Dniester on the west. Since the dawn of civilization these steppes had been crossed again and again by the peoples of the Great Migration. The original Cossacks were the product of an intermixture of all these peoples with the previous settlers of the Slavic race. Byzantine writers of the Tenth Century described the Cossacks as a separate people who lived on the river Don, and called them "the brave and strong people." In old Russian chronicles they were similarly described for the first time in 1261. The Don Cossacks fought on the side of the Russian Grand Duke Dimitry against the Tartars in 1380. In all the records of that period the Cossacks were described as a series of independent communities, loosely bound into larger units of a military character, entirely separate from the Russian State.

Later on, the Don Cossacks moved to Canada. They changed their last name to "Charlton" and all became Insurance Brokers. It is well known that they are only bloodthirsty at bar-b-ques. They would rather eat their own babies than part with their money and they are very fond of their babies. They make the very best friends to have, aside from their tendency to kiss you on occasion. They seek out Mates from Transylvania and have lots of babies. Unlike the Franco-Anglo Cossacks, they do not get fat in their old age. Their motto, which is secretly written on the underside of their desks, is: "crush enemies, have them driven before you, hear the lamentation of their women."

Another New Range

Our (replacement) new kitchen range arrived this evening. Hopefully, we will be problem free with this one. I'll quit complaining now. We're fortunate just to be able to get a new stove, have our own kitchen, and have food to cook. Lots of people in the World don't have any of these things. One half of the people in the World have never even used a telephone in their lives! So our Family will give thanks (Catherine's Department) for our many blessings.

Sears came through (sort of)

We went to see the manager of the Sears Appliance Department (Surrey Guildford) today. He still refused to replace our stove. We told him that we didn't want a defective range and we considered having to install a whole new controll panel a major defect and we wanted the stove replaced. The manager repeated that Sears has a "new" policy that they do not replace. . . they repair. I pointed out to him that our receipt said, "satisfaction guaranteed, or money refunded." I said that we were not satisfied, and we wanted our money back. He agreed to refund our money and we are getting a full refund from Sears in about 10 days.

We thanked him and then bought and paid for another new range, exactly the same model and price, as the original stove - right on the spot! It gets here on Wednesday.

It's all been a big pain in the ass, not to mention our bank account. Sears should have farted in their haste to replace our new range in the first place. They did "come through" for us, but only after a few days of wrangling with them.

The ironic thing about all of this is that our original salesman told us that Sears would replace the new range if there was a major problem with it, like the control panel stops working.

The moral of the story; get it in writing!

New Kitchen Range Kaput

Catherine used the self-cleaning feature on our new range yesterday for the first time. The stove quite working afterwards. Sears service came out to look at and said it needs a new control panel and it will take 30 days for the part to arrive. This in a major defect and they said they will not replace the stove, or refund our money. This is a "new policy." They will LET US HAVE a loaner until ours is repaired. We've had this stove for two days less than a month. We're going to see the Sears Store Manager tomorrow. I'm going to show him our receipt form Sears, which says, "satisfaction guaranteed or money refunded." More to follow. . .

ICBC Well Done

Here's a copy of an email I sent to some of my friends at ICBC:

" I've been paying attention to News Reports about ICBC's most excellent claims service to Autoplan Clients affected by the BC Ferry sinking. Well done guys! It a is terrible accident, but the people at ICBC are handling their part with class and deserve recognition and praise. This reflects what we are doing together; providing the best service anywhere. Thank you. Yours very truly, Dale"

Missing Tita Vicki

Bobby says that he misses Tita Vicki and that he wants a photo of her here that he can see whenever he wants. Bobby also wants a photo of Tita Vickie on his juice cup (we'll have to work on that).

Missing Lesley

Angela says that she misses Lesley and wants a photo here that she can look at whenever she wants. Me, I miss both of "My Girls" Carrie and Lesley.

Cave Man Food

The Tangonan Family; Rommel, Lisa, Mariz and cutie little baby Christiano came over here for dinner last night (Krishna missing) I cooked-up a pile of nice big & meaty beef ribs (cave man food) with tasty dipping sause. Oh, it was good. . . hardly any growling during dinner!

New Monitor

Went garage sailing today and found a Samsung SyncMaster 955DF 19 inch Flat Screen CRT monitor for only $10.00 - and it works great! Screen looks nice. Much larger looking than the old 17 monitor.

Goodbye To An Old Friend

Our hearts go out to the Family of Leticia Bayoneta. Leti passed away on March 12, 2006. Catherine went to pay our respects this evening. We're quite sad as Leti was always good to us. "As Long As Hearts Remember."

Bobby got a Haircut

Bobby got a short haircut like Dad's. The Men of the family are sure clean cut, handsome Dudes!

Ed and Desma getting Married

Our congratulations and best wishes go out to Ed and Desma who are getting married on March 22, 2006 over in Scotland. "May joy and peace surround you both, Contentment latch your door,and happiness be with you now and God bless you evermore." (Traditional Scottish Wedding Blessing) With love from Angela, Bobby, Catherine and Dale Poulin.

Bobby's Music Video

Bobby is very serious about watching his music video on the PC. (no chicken pox on face)

Really Short Haircut

Went out today and got what is possibly the shortest haircut I've ever had in my life.

Garage Sailing

It's still a little early in the year for garage sales, but I went out anyway. Found a nice bedroom reading lamp and a Sony Playstation (one) system with a few games. I went to Future Shop and bought Angela and Bobby the latest Harry Potter - Goblet of Fire - Special Edition. We're all going to watch it together after dinner. Bobby's chicken pox is not too bad. He's a little Trooper and doesn't complain.

Girlie's New Range

There's happy baking going on in our kitchen now! Smooth top, convection oven and electronic/digital controls. . . I must admit that this is one nice stove.

Bobby is not chicken!

Bobby starts Spring Break with a case of Chicken Pox (poor little guy) But he says that he's not chicken and he dosen't smell like chicken either!

Angela's School Science Fair.

Angela was chosen as a Grade 4 Finalist in her School Science Fair last week. Everyone liked her demonstration of how laser light is not visible until the light hits something (a glass jar full of jell-o) The speech she made-up herself was excellent and her display was very unique. We are very proud of our little girl.

Copied over from old blog

Date: Monday, January 30, 2006
Time: 08:25:22 PM
Comments:
hello everybody!! hope all is well with all of you, sure would like to get together with all you poulins, we all have a lot to catch up on, maybe this summer we could have a party or something like that, bye for now chris

Copied over from old blog

Date: Monday, February 20, 2006
Time: 05:39:29 PM
Comments:
Hi Chris & Family! We will be up in the Okanagan on the weekend of June 10th 2006. We have been invited up by Danielle 'cause Chantal is Graduating Grade 12! (How time flys by) We hope to see you guys then, as this sounds like a good reason to have a party. Cheers, Dale

Copied over from old blog

Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Time: 02:54:35 PM
Comments:
Hi all, maybe i can get off this island for that june 10 date. Will sure try. tc all

Copied over from old blog

From: Dale
Date: Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Time: 08:33:45 PM
Comments:
Happy Birthday to Mike on his 60th birthday today! Tony say: "bullsh*t, he's older than that!" I said 1946 sounds about right. So, Mike. . . what's the truth? When and where were you born and when did you come to Canada?

Copied over from old blog

From: Dale
Date: Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Time: 08:42:42 PM
Comments:
Mike, Tony and Kevan said to wish you: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Copied over from old blog

From: mike and diana
Date: Friday, March 03, 2006
Time: 08:59:11 AM
Comments:
Your right dale, born in 1946 and came to canada in 1947. thanks all for the birthday wishes. talk at you later, mike and di

Copied over from old blog

From: Dale and Family
Date: Saturday, March 04, 2006
Time: 10:39:45 PM
Comments:
Could there have been someone else who has just had a rather auspicious and important birthday? Yes, it’s Diane! Friday, March the 3rd. Which one is it, Diane? 35? HAPPY BIRTHDAY (only a little late)

Copied over from old blog

From: Diana
Date: Monday, March 06, 2006
Time: 06:38:03 PM
Comments:
Hi Dale: thank you for the nice compliment add about 18 years to that and you are right. Say hi to Girlie and the kids.

diana