JFF 2017

Just For Fun (or in this year's case - Just Frigidly Freezing!)

With temperatures reaching -19 deg C for some of the games.  It was certainly a matter of mind over numb hands and toes!

This is the Swansea Hockey Association House league annual tournament.  They don't keep score (well the do, but they don't put it up on the score board), but they do keep track of who has scored.  The limit is 2 goals per player per game.  Then it is up to the secondary and third level scoring to step it up.

I actually got Kieran into this really late.  As in after the first game late.  The website said the JFF was full.

Luckily Bohdan's team had a spot on his roster and he was able to join and play.

Kieran didn't really care if he did play or not, but it was certainly better than staying at home and watching YouTube videos.   I was just taking care of his eyes.  He used to have better than 20/20 vision.  Now i think it's just 20/20.

I had played shinny that afternoon in -8 deg C temps and i didn't need the hand/toe warmers, but I did have liner glovers on.   Although it felt like I didn't really need them.
And I couldn't get a good feel for the puck on my stick.

But some of these kids like #11 Green here had hand warmers in the palm of his hands.  Guess I was just making an excuse for having hands of stone.

When I took Kieran to his first game that evening it didn't feel too cold (-8 deg C, but no sun) so no liner gloves and no toe warmers.  Man was that a mistake.

After the game he looked at me with some ice cold shock in his eyes saying he didn't want to do this again!  Then coach Bohdan came around and thanked him for coming out and asked if he had fun.  Kieran being the good kid, was shivering as he nodded.  His hands were blocks of ice.

One parent gave her glove to him to warm them up.  I thought they were my gloves! Because they were identical to the ones I was wearing.  We were both coincidentally cyclists, so lobster gloves are a lifesaver in the winter.  Better dexterity than mitts but warmer than gloves.  So I gave Kieran mine to warm up his hands, and thanked her for hers as I handed them back so we wouldn't accidentally get our gloves mixed up.

There was the lone kid spectator watching her brother and friends freeze their extremities on the ice as they played their games.
Well it was better than staying home and possibly getting the flu from her mom. Ha.

Kieran scored 2 or 3 goals.  And that's always a great confidence booster when you are playing any sport.  If you feel like you are improving and contribute to a team, that's something money can NOT buy.

The jersey and socks he got from this tourney were awesome!  really nice socks.  I just got a new pair like these for myself.    And he got them for free and he got to play 5 games!
I wished I could be in his position.

After his last game which was beautiful with the falling snow, but kids were falling left right and centre even after I got his skates sharpened.  On top of that losing the puck in the snow! I could hear them yelling "Where's the PUCK?!"
It was so fun.  For us parents.
Remember it's Just for Fun.
He got to play with his buddies (Grant, Luke, Matt, Zach)
.  And this was a much higher skill level than his house league since it was open to more skilled players outside of the league on Dec 2.  Their goalie Taylor was a so awesome!  Same with Abigail.  Felt like I was watching future Team Canada National players!

It will certainly help Kieran with his hockey skills.  He's getting better every year.  Last year he was knocking in pucks with his skate.  Obviously no kicking motion, but this year he's already found the back of the net 4 or 5 times and 2 or more assists in house league.  And he had a one timer in the slot area, and a couple of rebounds from being in the right place and right time, and a load of other chances.  He's definitely improved.

When he has the puck in the corner he doesn't just blindly whack at the puck, his head is up looking for team mates in the slot to pass to.  There's no panic in this kid.  I think that's just because, he couldn't care less if they win or lose.  But hey, it's just a game, this isn't the NHL.  It's all for Fun.  And learning to enjoy the winter months here in the Great White North.

And they went undefeated.  This last game was exciting.  It was tied up with seconds to go by the orange team, by a player that we loaned them because they only had 7 players at the start of the game.  But it made for a much fairer and fun game.

We were actually down by 2 quick goals.  Then Red came on and took the lead.  The format of the JFF is 2 min shifts and no icing and you have to leave the puck where it is when your shift is done.  Then it's a mad scramble to get the puck at the beginning of your shift.  It's quite exciting and fast.

After his first game, Kieran didn't want to play again.
But after his last game, and with hand and toe warmers and liner gloves, he said he would do this again.  If you are prepared for the cold.  It's all good.  If you are not, well it's just cold.
I'm glad he got to experience this tournament.  Two games a day, old and new friends, experience of being on a team, and the awesome feeling of contributing when you score or get the puck out of your zone.
You just can't buy these memories.

Photos of Freezing FUN!

It's Christmas time

I forgot I had this photo.
I think it's the only one I have of our mom.  It was certainly a great surprise.  And uber thoughtful.
It's been a long time, and I've just gotten used to her not being around that I don't bother remembering.  Not having photos up certainly helps in that department.  The only photos I have are on this blog.

It's not displayed anywhere.  I think it was in the back basement somewhere near my hockey equipment.  She's making sure i don't injury myself, and that my equipment doesn't stink.

Tresa says it smells, but i've smelled stinky gear.  Mine smells like fresh air.  And not Farm Fresh Air!

Remember it's the season for love and giving.
Not marketing and sales.

Thinking about the sick and less fortunate.

And those not sick should count themselves lucky.
Like these two.

Criscoe xmas

Violin Xmas concert 2017

We learned our lesson, after last year's concert and someone mistakenly taking Kieran's violin books for a month.

This year, I scanned the sheet music from the songs he was playing from the books and printed them out and put them in the binder.

This way we had less to bring and less to worry about.

I don't know what it is about this asian parent.  He's always in our way.  I know he got a front row seat but he always seems to spread himself as wide as possible and obstruct our vantage point.

He also always parks his volvo on the sidewalk waiting for the kids during group lessons.  One of these Christmas' he's gonna get a yellow ticket present from the City.

Won't say who snitched, or notified the city.
Just saying, you can't keep doing this stuff without karma getting you.

Kieran played almost all of the songs except for the Viola songs and the last 2 on the list.

That was good, because he's certainly capable, IF and WHEN he practices.
Which is why we get him to perform for family.
It's good practice.

Dorothy always does this XMAS concert at the Grenadier Retirement home  in the BWV, and it's nice.  Nice for the parents and the residents and they were very appreciative of the concert with a Christmas song theme.

Christmas time catch up!

This is the reason we meet every year.
For probably everyone else in the world, this is probably a pretty lame excuse to meet.  To play a video game for the privilege of getting your name on a plate to glue to the side of a trophy and then brag for the next year.  And we are 1 year behind because the King of Re-gifting got the chicken pox that one year.

We don't see each other enough!
We'll have everyone come over one time just to have all the wives and kids together.
Tresa always puts on a great spread.
She loves her home and her kitchen.
I'm glad cuz it was a lot of effort.
It certainly wasn't rushed.
It's well thought out and every inch of space is used.
It's cozy, and it's home.

And we have a pretty sweet set up in the basement.
PS4 + Big Screen + cooler with beers.  Can't ask for much more.  But we do get a lot more.

It's always fun getting together.  And it's fun getting rid of stuff we don't want any more and giving it a new home.  I'm sure the conversations at our house is a bit different than any other location.

I look forward to these games
every year.  Seems like we just played it a few months ago, but it's already a year later.  A year closer to mid-century.
Pretty scary.  But 50 is the new 30.
I'm just looking forward to get past the next few years of Kieran's schooling.
But hey, a good education, and environment is important to success in life.  But so is lying on a beach somewhere with nannies looking after your kids. And your spouse is on some conference call in the late evenings while you were getting your beauty sleep and snoring up a storm, worthy of a CPAP machine.

That's the real dream.  One day it will become reality.  Just not in my immediate future.  I just hope it's in my future.
Any future is possible, you just have to make it happen.

Just like eating these expired cookies.
Butter lasts forever, don't it?
Guess who brought it.

I've never seen refugee/immigrant family sized Toblerone bars before.   Must be something new in our country and their open door/welcome mat policy.  These bars are humongous, and come with free dental and insulin.

My gift bag was looking pretty good.
Beer from some other place outside of N.Amer.
Some kids snacks.
I'll have to check the best before date.
Some great music CD.
Unused soap from a Super 8 in India.

The Air Canada earbuds were nice.
I can always use those.  If they work.


The bento box will be handy for sure.
Since I work from home.
I can pack a lunch and pretend to go the office and reheat my lunch, just like regular commuters.

This next one is a bit odd.
Maybe it's a hint or something.
Guess who gave it.
I'm not the only one who got it.
so did everyone else.
His name sounds like Baloney.

Actually he said it's a tooth brush.
I just hope it's not used.

Thanks Tresa for doing everything today.  Everyone loves your hospitality.
Especially Moi.

But it was time to get down to business.  Plus it was getting late and Derrick needed to get up bright and early at the crack of 10am to get to work.

It was tense.  Glad I had a lot of tall boys in the cooler.  It helped me loosen up.
For Derrick it loosened up his bladder.
Every intermission was a bladder exercise.

Game 1 wasn't even close.  8-4 for R&T.
You know it's coming, and you can see it, but those ol' Sega moves still work!

Game 2 was tight.  Even throughout 2 periods.
22 shots apiece!  But that's where the similarities ended.
R&T almost doubled the time on the attack.  And the 3rd period collapse resulted in a 5-3 win.

Game 3 D&H came out swinging.  Bowling over our goalie every chance they got, running into the net minder, playing the garbage style game that only they do best.  Down 3-0 late in the 3rd frame, R&T scored to make a game of it, putting some pressure on them, but unable to get another, losing 1-3.

Game 4 was an all out scoring fest.  R&T scored first, putting D&H back on the defensive.  Playing catch up is a difficult way to win a game.  But they wouldn't go away.  Keeping the game within reach.  It was close.  It almost could've gone either way late in the 3rd period.  The momentum was on their side, but they kept peppering the goalie, while R&T managed to use their passing and Sega moves to put some insurance goals and win 9-6.

You could sense defeat was imminent, but being down 3 games to 1.  D&H have come back before.  It was do or die time, but before we battled agin, it was time for a bladder intermission.  Again.

Game 5.  R&T knew what to expect.  We expected D&H to run interference on our goalie.  But a quick goal put them back on their heels.  It also got them talking to themselves again.  Putting doubt in their heads.  Could they come back?  Or would they crack under the immense pressure of playing from behind, AGAIN!  They were definitely putting the pressure on, the shots were there, but they weren't going in.

D&H just couldn't stop from being steam rolled by the scoring efficiency of the R&T train that was arriving at the station.
They were done like a mangled ureter.  This was back to back wins. TWO THERE IT IS!
Could this be a dynasty in the making, like in years past (before the CUP)?
It could be.


A new layer to the Cup.
A new plate.

2016 CUP Champions
Tony and Garces!

That's why we look so happy.
Cuz it sucks to lose.

Chalk it up, Fuzzball

Tereza got this chalkboard paint at Homesense, long ago.  And I've been dying to make use of it.
I wanted to do what my cousin did and paint a piece of metal and paint it with chalkboard paint and put it downstairs by the kitchen.

This was sort of a test.
We had these metal umbra pin board, but they they hang like a picture frame.  And I remember that they would fall off the screws all the time.

So I drilled holes and anchored them to the wall using some plastic anchors, washers and panhead screws.
It's so much more secure.  When you pin something it doesn't move and feel like it's gonna fall to the ground.

I taped it so that the paint was 2" around the pin boards.  I wasn't originally going to paint all the way down to the baseboards but it looked odd with that unpainted section, so I ended up doing that.  And it looks great!

I'm glad I didn't frame it with wood like I had first dreamt it up.
This is simpler and way cleaner and lighter.  And easier.

Kieran walked in to see what I was up to and he looked at it and said "I like this!"

For sure we'll do the one in the main floor soon.
This section of wall has the metallic paint.  It's really paint filled with iron filings.  It sucks.  Don't do it.  Waste of money.  The iron filings don't spread evenly so magnets don't stick well.

Biggest DIY scam ever.
Well at the time.  Not sure if they actually still sell it at HD.

The pan head screws with the big flat washers look great!  They have a number embossed into them and I like it!  Makes it seem a bit industrial.



This went up fast too.
I had to help coach Kieran's hockey team tonight. The Snappers Fish Market. So I was glad I wasn't scrambling.

Kieran scored 2 goals.  The first I saw.  It was a break away up the left side that he slid under the goalie.  He was flying tonight.  The 2nd goal I missed.  I was managing the Defensive pairings so I was focused on managing their time.  It was cold and didn't want them to be overworked.

He told me he also got 2 assists.
Man 4 point night!

Scoring and playmaking.
The team we played, is prob the weakest in the division.  So rebalancing will happen before our next game in Jan.

I had a great time being behind the bench.  I love being on the ice with the kids!  It's awesome.


I'm happy to finally get these magnets up.
The piranha fish, the cat and LasVegas!

Also, Kieran's flower that he pressed back in Casa.

I wanted to have that displayed.
Even though he did it for Fishey when he was alive.

Looks awesome!

I love it.

Merry Christmas!

GO FISH!

Thermostatic, it's Fantastic

...When it works.
Lately our shower was not so hot.
It was just warm.  Which is fine.  But It wasn't putting out HOT HOT HOT water.  Even with the thermostatic valve adjusted to the hottest possible water setting.

We have a Grohe shower everything.  Lots of plumbing stuff in our house is Grohe, cuz it's german and cuz it works fantastic.
This thermostatic valve is designed to maintain the temperature of the water no matter who flushes the toilet or does the dishes or whatever.
It's basically designed to prevent scalding.  Which i've personally encountered while taking a shower while staying at our friend's place in HK.

In those situations you can side step the water coming out of the shower and adjust the temp, but he had those full body jets showers and I was getting scalding hot water in places where the sun don't shine.

he told me not to touch the adjustment on their on demand tankless water heater.  But I didn't listen.  Just like those characters in the movies that have to go into the basement to check out what made that racket.  Can't they hear the dramatic music and all the people in the audience saying, "don't go in there stupid!"

Anyways.  When this works, it's amazing.
This valve has a sensor that automatically mixes the hot and cold water to achieve the desired water temperature.
It's terrific. But when it doesn't, it's like, why complicate things?
But I get the Germans and their ingenuity.
They are undeniably good.
I'm not sure why the valve goes bad.
I did take the old one out and flushed the system.
But it didn't change how it was behaving.
So I discovered this has a 5 yr warranty.


I made a call to Grohe Canada to see if there was something else I could do.  In the end Grohe sent me a new one and it arrived 5 days later from Chicago.

I am tempted to send this back to them to tell me what i could have done to keep it working longer.  That is, indefinitely.  But hopefully this one lasts much longer than the original.
We were just 4.5yrs into the 5yr window.
This valve is $204.00 US.  From what I saw online.
German engineering is not cheap.
Just ask all the BMW owners that take their car into the dealership for maintenance.

Did you know that if you install a new battery yourself in a BMW, you still need to bring it into BMW to reset the computer?  it's true.
Otherwise your new battery will get fried within a few weeks. As the battery ages, the BMW computer will compensate by upping the current to the battery to maintain a high cranking output.

The car computer still thinks the battery is old.  After replacing the battery, you need to reset the computer.  And I think you can only do that at the BMW dealership.  These Germans are clever.