Señor Kwas

Grandpa...What have you been doing???

2007-12-30T13:25:00.000-08:00

Well by looking at the counter on my Blog I see that everyone has pretty well given up on me.....but I do have an excuse though....I"M GOING BLIND AND CAN"T SEE THE SCREEN......no...okay how about I WAS CAPTURED BY ALIENS AND TAKEN TO ANOTHER PLANET....no? Okay then...I'm just lazy..... all right!! So here goes 2 months of information in one posting. ................................................................................................................................. Oct saw Grandpa hit another milestone in his life...yes I turned 59. So what does a guy do for his 59th birthday...well I took a walk down the street and I ran into this 4 legged Mexican senorita who invited me over to her house for a party, after a few Tequila's she started to look prettycute. Little did I know but she was only after my Sombrero. Oh well even though I didn't win her heart I had a terrific Mexican supper with all the trim'ns and fix'ns. ................................................................................................................................. Next on the schedule was Gramma's birthday.......present. I had promised to take her on a weekend excursion and so opening up the bank account, I splurged and we were off to Vegreville .... yea right, do you think I would be writing this if that was where I took her. We packed up the MDX and headed for Jasper..or just outside of Jasper, a resort just at the Jasper park gate called the Overlander Lodge. No telephones, no radios, no shops and yes.....NO TV. Truly this was a test of marritable strength. But all in all it was a great weekend of relaxing, playing Yatzee and touring Jasper town in the winter. The scenery was spectacular and the food outstanding and we will definitely do this again. If any of you are looking for a place to leave the helter skelter life behind for a few days I would highly recommend this lodge...we were treated like royalty (see our photo album for more pics). I even ran into an old school mate of mine back in high school.......we just called him Blacky. Gramma really enjoyed the beautiful details of the room and surroundings as well as the relaxing atmosphere...there were no timelines or schedule to meet...just do what you want and enjoy. This may even be an excellent spot to have a family Christmas one year as we are only 30 minutes from Jaspers Marmot Basin skiing. ................................................................................................................................. What's next you ask???? Well its back in the MDX and we are off to where the gentle west winds blow and RIP the shingles off your house, blow the barbecue from your deck and whip up blinding snow storms....yes we are in Lethbridge. Tracy, Aimee and Amanda abandoned their families and headed out on a road trip to Portland Oregon to see an episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" (that's their story anyways) and do some serious shopping which I'm sure was the real reason as Jason received a call from Master Card informing him the there were large purchases going on his card in Portland. But this left the door open for Grandma and Grandpa to spend some quality time with Dom and Liam....and did we have fun!! From skating to shopping and going to MacDonalds for dinners (Shhh ... Domi, don't tell them) we filled in a week of activities with no problems. When the girls got back they looked like groupies all dress up the same but from the stories they told it sounded like they had a fabulous time....we are trying to make this road trip an annual event. ................................................................................................................................. From Lethbridge we travel back to Morinville and the arrival of Christmas . Christmas's are changing Grandpa and Grandma...at one time we were excited to get presents and try and figure out what they were.....now our excitement comes from watching our grandchildren open their presents and seeing the glow in their faces. This year we started celebrating at Amanda and Jeremy's home on Christmas Eve (see photo album - Christmas 2007) and once again we were treated to an array of food that never seem to stop coming. I truly believe that Amanda will carry on from Great Grandma Kwasny as she loves to cook and does such a great job of it. After engorging ourselves with food and basically unable to move we retired to the living room where Jeremy played Santa and passed out the gifts.....I think everyone got what they want and more. Even Winnie participated in the festivities and opened all her own gift which followed with a slobbering thank you kiss. With the food still heavy in our stomachs we needed to wear some of it off so what better way then a challenging game of Wii......Grandma really got into the games and actually did fairly well at it. Even Grandpa impressed the crowd with his bowling skills.....not only are these games a ton of fun but there is definitely and an large exercise value in them so you will see one on in the Grandparent home in the near future. On a sad note I need tell you of the loss of one of our family members traditions....yes...Amanda has given into an artificial tree (much to Jeremy's delight) and although the there is not the aroma of pine in the Maas house during Christmas, there is also not the one million pine needle on the floor either. Even though the tree was an impostor.....it still was decorated with taste and looked fabulous. Enough of Christmas Eve...lets move on to Christmas Day. ................................................................................................................................. Christmas Day was held at Grandma and Grandpa's home with the dissecting of a 20 lb turkey and all the fixing to go with it. Grandma once more out did herself and we were again retiring to couches throughout the house to digest our supper. Earlier that day when everyone had arrived we could hold Dominic back no longer so we let him loose to open gifts and you could feel the excitement of the season as he would open each present and then come out with comments like "WOW I really wanted that" or "Buzz Lightyear...to infinity and beyond!" Maybe kids today do get more then I did for Christmas but you can still see the spirit of Christmas in them as their eyes light up from opening their presents and that's what makes this a special time of the year. We all got our turn at gift opening and once again we were all spoiled with everything we needed and more, even our little Liam. ................................................................................................................................. But don't think that this is the end of the Christmas festivities...we still have one story left. On Saturday Dominic and Liam asked if they could go swimming (see photo album - Christmas Swim Party) so it was off to the new built sports mega plex in St Albert for an afternoon of swimming, water sliding and all the other water activities you could think of. Needless to say that all who participated in the water events had a terrific day and I even seen Grandpa George making his way around the pool in an inner tube. This gave the grandkids to opportunity to wear off some energy and from what I heard they slept very well that night. This Christmas has given Grandma and myself a lot of pleasure and fun and the only regret that we have is that we could not have all of our family here to share it with us.......but that is why Christmas comes every year......soon we will.
Merry Christmas too all....and too all a Good Night! (I promise to stay up todate now....really)

Grandpa's Garden

2007-10-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

Riddle: What do get when you mix a Grandpa with dirt? ... A dirty old man! .... with a beautiful fall garden. Yes the seasons are changing and we have to say good bye to the vibrant plant of summer and say hello to the gorgeous colors of fall. For Grandpa this year was a good one for the garden....we christened "Kwasny Creek" and planted a whole bunch of green sticks that soon blossomed into beautiful plants and now are displaying an array golds, reds, yellows and browns. I even have to admit that I never thought they would grow that quickly and that beautiful....I can hardly wait till next year as it should be a jungle back there.

A Fall Poem for Tracy:

Where have all the warm days gone
Faded away like the dawn
The cool winds blow along the ridge
Thank god I don't live in Lethbridge

When is Thankgiving coming??

2007-10-22T16:01:00.000-07:00

"WHAT!!!.....It's over. Well...what did we get to eat?? TURKEY!!!...oh man...that's my favorite and I can't remember eating it, Grandpa is getting upset that people aren't keeping him informed on what's happening in his life."

"Winnie, I thought I could count on you but all you did was keep feeding me drinks."

Well I'm pretty sure I had a good time and I do remember feeling pretty darn full after the meal. Speaking of the meal, who did all the cooking and carving....ohhhh Jeremy again. That seems to be par for the course in this house. And what were Amanda and Winnie doing you ask..... Yep slacking off as usual.

Just wait...I think it's coming back to me....yes I remember a beautifully set table with wine and cute little pumpkins, yes it was a very nice thanksgiving and I can hardly wait till next year.......if I remember the date.

Garage sales and birthdays

2007-09-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well it's been days, ..... okay weeks, alright almost a month since I have written anything on our blog because there has been nothing to write about...........yeah right!!

First of all I finally have a room in the house that I can call my own (for a couple months anyways). Yes the spare room has been emptied and all the garbage....opps garage sales stuff is gone to someone else's spare room. Although I have to say it was a money making event (not profitable) but money making. Cheryl, Amanda and Grandma Grunsky pooled their resources together and spent the Saturday showing off their sales skills ( a little B.S. as well) and sold a ton of useless junk......although I did shed a tear when my Studio Lab speakers went. Man....you just can't find speakers like that anymore, anyways they are gone along with 2 tons of other stuff and the basement looks empty now.

It was a gorgeous day for the sale and there was a terrific turnout of people as the whole town of Morinville was having garage sales that weekend. We all were given special jobs to do for the day (by you know who) .... my job was to carry out stuff and setup all the stuff, explain to people what the stuff was, cram the stuff into their Smart Cars, rearrange the stuff on the tables periodically so that they would look full and take orders about the stuff from Cheryl......Amanda's job was to look pretty and Grandma watched the money....what was Cheryls job you ask........now you should know better then ask that question......GIVING ME ORDERS ON THE STUFF, as well as counting the money. Over all it was very successful and what was left over went to a charity group in town and they did very good as well. You know the funny thing is that it has been about a month since the garage sale took place and the basement is already starting to fill up again, also Grandma's car went home with more stuff then she came with.

After the garage sale was over we needed to have some fun......so what better way then to throw a party and it just so happens that a few members of our family had reasons to celebrate. Amanda and Jeremy were celebrating their 2nd anniversary, not sure if life is going the way Jeremy had planned. I believe he had visions of motor bike riding and working with tools all day and then coming home to enjoy beer and Nachos that his wife had ready for him ..... this is what she promised him. But like all guys he never got it in writing and so instead he seems to be spending a lot of time behind the counter with a dish towel in his hands. This phenomena has reached epidemic per portions amongst men and hopefully our up coming boys will be able to change the trend. Even Winnie feels the pain of her master's dilemma and begs Amanda to spare him some time for her. With this in mind we ask all the Kwasny men out there to bow your head for a minute of silence for our lost brother, "Jeremy..... may your dish towel always be dry, your house be scattered and mesy, your walks with Winnie long and your wife at an out of town conference for a week".

Well I did say that a few members of our family had reasons to celebrate.....Cheryl turned 55 years old and Grandma Grunsky finally made it to 75 years old, so there was more then enough reasons to head to a fancy restaurant and partake in some exquisite food. So we got granny and Cheryl all gussied up (which took the better part of the day, but well worth it), bundled everyone into vehicles and headed downtown Edmonton to the LaRonde Revolving Restaurant. We all indulged in the fine cuisine and took in the breath taking view of Edmonton from the 21st story of the LaRonde Hotel....WOW what a view. We all enjoyed Champagne and orange juice and a wonderful buffet with all the fixin's, it was a great time. And to top it all off we even got to sing Happy Birthday to Grandma and make her blush.
Well not to be out done by the LaRonde, Amanda put on her own version of a family birthday party by delighting us with candles and crystal and an array of East Indian dishes, topping the evening off with her own special individual coffee flavored birthday cakes. We ate until we could not put any more food into our bodies and then we ate some more. Great food and conversation was enjoyed by all and we can hardly wait till next year to see what she has in store. Once again Jeremy got stuck on kitchen duty.

Through out this week of garage sales and festivities my wife was also lavished with gifts and cards. By the smile on her face you can see that she was in heaven and enjoying every minute of it.

Well you only get to celebrate 55 once in your life so you might as well make the best of it. Well all this selling, eating, partying and taking pictures has tuckered me out so I'll need to take a nap as I'm going to be 59 in October ....WAIT...that means I get a birthday party ... YAHOO. Now I expect all that the others got and more so you all had better get planning .... and if your stuck for idea's, I'll give you a hint of what I am looking for....... Don't be cheap now.......

Heritage Day in Edmonton

2007-08-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

August brings 2 things in Alberta....hot weather and the Heritage Day Festival and so the Kwasny's and the Maas's went looking for their long lost relatives in Edmonton and here is what
we found. We were treated to +30 C temperatures, thousands of people and food that was almost as good as Gigi K's...don't tell her I said that! We started out around noon and did not stop until 5 pm and still we did not see every booth.....this is one big event and it draws on every nation in the world it seems. Being that I am such a good navigator (not sure who I got the training from) mom and Amanda took the map away from me and gave it Jeremy to lead us around...he didn't do to bad for a rookie. Grandma found a new friend although I'm not sure who had the most makeup on....opps, maybe I should take that back, but Grandpa also found a cute little papoose and was she ever cute and boy could she dance. The whole day was filled with great traditional costumes, dancing, singing and fantastic food. We gorged ourselves on Elephant ears, Grand Marnier crepes and other dishes that I couldn't even pronounce or spell but were as delicious as that smelled. Overall though the booth we enjoyed the most was the African children's dancing (check out their video in the photo album) as these kids keep this tempo up all day, in the heat and never disappointed anyone.....they are truly a remarkable people. On the other hand after walking in the heat for over 5 hour and drinking about 10 bottles of water the four of us were bagged and ready for home, so it was back on the bus and homeward bound after a fabulous day of ethnic delights and entertainment....(check the Heritage photo albums for more pics and videos)

A visit from Dom and Liam

2007-08-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

Well Grandma and Grandpa have just finished a terrific week with Dom and Liam and we are now in depression....again. It was so nice to have our 2 Alberta grandchildren stay with us and to wake up every morning to the chipper voices of our two little boys. We had no problems at all with these two little gaffers (although we had to keep their parents under our thumb periodically) and Grandpa enjoyed playing soccer, football and throwing the balls up on the roof with Dom while Grandma latched on to Liam and it was hard to get a snuggle in. Amanda, Jeremy, George, Jean and Amy came over for a barbecue on Tuesday and we initiated the Centro 6000 with hamburgers and corn....tasted pretty good if I do say so myself. Gigi K also got into the act and was telling Liam all about her adventures and he listened intensely to everyword. But like all good things sooner or later they have to come to an end and our house seems like it is so empty now with everyone gone. But that only means one thing........another invitation to all of you to come and visit and enjoy the hospitality of the Chateau Kwasny....(check out our Photo Album for more pics and videos).

Grandma's at it again....

2007-08-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Yep...you know it was coming sooner or later...... more furniture in the living room. You know it's amazing how stuff you can pack into a 12 X 12 room. We now own a rattan floor lamp imported from Lethbridge....very rare. Somehow I think there was a daughter in law involved here some how...not sure but I have detectives looking into it. I think it's time I took Grandma's credit card away from her....although I have to say that it does fit the decor and does a good job of lighting up the room.

Stay tuned, I'm SURE there is more to come.

Where does the talent come from...

2007-08-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Well I have to say that the jeans in this family....or is it gene's..... whatever, have been passed on successfully to the next generations....Grandma and Grandpa is very proud of their grandkids and rightly so. Dylan is carrying on Grandpa's gardening expertise and with Grandpa's help has produced a beautiful crop of impatiens. She gave Grandpa the seeds and careful instructions that seeds require dirt and water to grow and wah-laa...check these out. Not only are the flower beautiful and doing well but the pot they are planted in are tastefully decorated by the talented artist Miss Dylan Kwasny. Grandpa is so proud of his flowers that they take center stage in his garden.

Ohhh..but wait a minute...there's more. Our equally artistically talented Grandson Dominic spent days toiling in his studio....well maybe hours....okay it took him 10 minutes to produce a master piece that now hangs in the Kwasny gallery in Morinville. The colors are so masterfully blended together and each stroke dashes around the cardboard canvas as if it were on fire, intertwining with the others....I believe the artist has named this picture "a spaghetti supper gone wild". I'll bet you can't guess what the artists favorite color is? Grandma has turned down huge offers from art buyers for the abstract but these is not enough money in the world that would have us part with this treasure.

We can hardly wait to see what Jack and Liam favor us with.

La Nuit Grande

2007-07-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are not Ukranian that means "Grand Evening"....and this is what you will find when you come to the Kwas Tiki resort.
Soft romantic lighting trimmed with the rippling sound of running water (opps..just a minute, Dom this always makes me go to the potty) and classy furniture for your comfort. Everything is now in place for your dining pleasure...BUT please book in advance as there is a waiting list.....oh okay we can take you anytime. And just when you think that it can't get any better then this......you will here the inviting call from the chef...."Your hotdogs are ready!!" Yes it is the perfect vacation spot for the perfect couple. And when your done you can leave your kids as payment as we do not take cash, Visa, Master Card or Petrocanada card.

Now I know how it happened!!!

2007-07-23T19:17:00.001-07:00

Well I finally figured out how Gramma banged up the Trailblazer...yep that's right...she was driving with her head out of the vehicle, waving to everybody, probably talking on the cell phone too, I caught her coming home the same way. My only fear now is that she will be traveling down the highway, standing up through the sunroof and bang her head into an overpass...then I'll have to pay the damages to the bridge. I think we need Dylan here to tell her to DUCK!!!!

Your inheritence "Kwasny Creek"

2007-07-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Well my children, Mom and I are all out of money so your inheritance is all gone...the house is mortgaged to the hilt and the vehicles are on the verge of being repossessed. BUT we did not want you to feel that we would not leave you anything after we're gone so Mom and I have taken the last $134.63 and built you guys ....."Kwasny Creek". It is adorned with many different plants and shrubs and in the evening garden lights spring to life giving a serene religious glow to the terestual display (opps, sorry that's just the Alliance church night light coming on). Now when you come to Morinville you will be able to sit in the backyard (after you get permission from the new owner) and listen to the peaceful water gayfully trickle over the sparkling rocks and say to yourself...."how unselfish my parents are". But do not cry because we did it for you and the grandkids and I know you would much rather have a creek named after you then money and possessions....no no no..there is no need to call us, send an email, mail a letter, fax a thanks, have an airplane pull a "we love you mom and dad" banner across to sky, we are doing this out of the kindness of our hearts.

But should you find it in your hearts to thank us now while you still can feel free to send us your 1st and 2nd born as gifts of your appreciation....we will feed and care for them as you have done and periodically tell them that they to had wonderful parents once. Should you NOT decide to thank us with the above mentioned gifts we will continue to haunt you with visits which could last as long as 4 weeks and spoil the dickens out of our grandkids until you collapse into mental frustration.....BUT do not let me influence your decision, I'm sure you will give it serious thought......Enjoy the pic's...luv Grandpa

In memorium

2007-06-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

Friends, family and relatives ... we come together today to mark to passing of a dear old friend .... 1988 B2200. B2200 past away on Friday as a result of hemorrhaging of the front seal and body cancer. Near the end B2200 was losing 2 quarts a day and Exxon wanted drilling rights to our front yard. B2200 served his owners very well over the years and did under go major surgery a few years ago to repair a damaged heart (at a healthy cost to his owner) ...but as all other things sooner or later age catches up to you and you head for the big auto wrecker in the sky. With that we bid B2200 happy hunting and say...... HELLO 2001 B4000.......YAHOO!!!! 4.4 liters of brut power packed in an emerald green package. Air conditioning, cruise control and 4 doors kicks the day lights out of B2200. I will miss B2200 (for about 2.3 seconds) but I know life must go on and what a better way to go then in style. But wait ...... there is a problem with B4000 ..... he does not have a name. Is there anyone out there that has a name for B4000 .... if so please past it on to me so that we can officially baptize him. Yeeee Hawwww.

Grandma rides in style

2007-06-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well whatever was left of our grandkids inheritance disappeared today. Grandma broke open the piggy bank and emptied it.....but not to the displeasure of Grandpa because now he has lots of buttons to play with. Grandma will now be going to work in a new Acura MDX. Fully loaded with leather heated seats, XM radio, automatic/manual gear shift, sunroof, rear view mirrors that tilt down when in reverse, realtime tire pressure display and Blue Tooth communication. Not sure what that exactly is yet but according to the salesman, if we had a Blue Tooth cell phone the MDX would recognize it and we could have full voice activated/hands free cell phone capability through the vehicles audio system......hmmm, I might need to look into that.

You think she was strutting like a peacock before...you should see her now.....she in full bloom, tail spread out and in full color. I have to say though she made a good choice and it is well worth our kids inheritance. Once again though Grandpa can't sit in it for 6 months (the marital paper I signed 34 years ago)....I've got to find and destroy that document I signed.

But hey...I'm not jealous, I have my 1988 Mazda B2200.....what's that you said Grandma....you bought Grandpa a new vehicle too!!! Yes folks it's true, this Friday there will be a memorial service for the B2200 and Grandpa will take owner ship of a 2001 Mazda B4000...stay tuned for more developments on this breaking story. Well that's enough excitement for today.....check in tomorrow when Grandpa attempts to fire up his barbecue.

Spring has sprung and so have the flowers

2007-06-26T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a long time coming but Dylan and Grandpa's flowers have finally bloomed.
After a intense day of painting the pots at Christmas, to planting them and trying to find some dirt in the winter, our efforts have born fruit and soon Grandma and Grandpa's house will be adorned with flowers.

But the best part of this adventure was the painting of the pots....Grandpa learned alot about the tasteful art of stamp painting pots, chairs, tables and himself. Thank you Dylan, Grandpa will never forget the funtime we had.

Welcome to the KonTiki Palace

2007-06-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

Well Grandma is well into spending any inheritance that we had planned on leaving for the Grandkids , she has splurged and purchased new furniture for the house. We can now actually sit more then 2 people at one time in the living room.

Grandpa also got new furniture and strangely it looks exactly like Grandma's old stuff...it's amazing. The new ratan pieces do look very nice though and gives the room a jungle ambiance.

Also Grandma has 2 new pets now, Emma the elephant and
Zelda the zebra, they came fully house trained and so far they have been very quiet. But the first sign of trouble and it's back to the jungle for them.

The only trouble with anything that we get new in our house is that I can't touch or sit on it for 6 months....I don't know...it's some kind of secret document that I must have signed 34 years ago. You would think that there would be a statute of limitation on stuff like that.

We enjoying the new purchase very much but now we have to "accessorize" the furniture with greenery, we goin' hunting for plant (fake of course).

We'll keep you up todate on how that goes.