Out with the old in with the New!

It's here, the last day of 2006. It's really snuck up on me this year, but looking forward to 2007 and all the opportunities and adventures it will present.

I typically do not make any Resolutions, at least in the past but I have seen a need to change much of how I do things. The atypical diet and activity being very high on the list. I have not been taking advantage of this wonderful area in which we live. I have fallen into this "sit at home" rut, and in falling into that rut all other issues that surround inactivity have also caught up with me. The usual weight and strength loss, a reduction in the amount I read/study and learn, the drive that has taken me so far both personally and in my interests has faltered. I know that forcing myself out of this comfort zone that I am in will not be easy but will bring many unseen benefits to me.

The past year has not all been a rut, with many fantastic visitors to us, many good times and memories. We also had some great trips...

• Camping on Queen Charlotte's Islands
• Spending a fabulous week on Quadra Island
• Visiting friends and family in Prince George, Hazelton, and Terrace
• Many day trips to Duncan, Nanaimo, and other points here on the Island

We have spent much time working on improving our house, as many of you have seen either in person on through previous Blog updates. The three biggest improvements being the installation of the Blaze King wood stove in January 06. 90% completion of full wall-to-wall ceramic tile, and the removal and rebuilding of our back deck. It has been a very busy year and very productive in addition to these we also fully Tiger'ized our bathroom (T -I -double Grrr'd  ;-) ) as well as redoing our laundry room.  While this has taken a big step forward in Home improvements, as any of you homeowners know there is always more to do. 
2007 list as it stands now...

• Final Tiling
• Lose the textured 1970's walls  fill, sand, prep and paint
• Molding, both floor and crown
• Lighting in hallway, Kitchen, living room and dining room
• Pot hanger install in kitchen
• Sunroom expansion off dining room
• Possible skylight in living room
• Front Fence and Gate replacement
• Expansion of Driveway to allow cars to park near the front yard (this will lead to maybe building a garage/workshop in 08)
• Re-Roof the house and Sunroom, (needs soffit, and everstrough replacement too)
• Landscaping back yard

The other big activity I will be focusing on is improving my Skill-set in the technology field with focus on Security, OS integration, Linux, and several applications that have my interest. I see that there seems to finally be a drive to recruit staff to focus on the security side, I guess the Corporation and Governments have finally seen their bottom dollars getting hit by these breaches. It has always interested me and I have been able to gain much insight and experience in this via web resources. I do need to further my skills on the Server-side of the house, or rather to continue to develop them.  I have many ongoing projects that will utilize these types of skills and will be a work in progress.

Since we now have the Canon DSLR I am scheduling many hikes, starting with Day hikes around the Southern part of the Island, of course this will allow me to get out there as well as increasing my Photography skills. As well as using my software to edit the pictures when complete. I have already printed out several pictures that I am impressed with, mostly the composition has grabbed me. As usual my primary interest with the camera is wildlife and scenery type shots. I will need to invest in a decent Mono-pod and perhaps a better/bigger camera bag, (the one I purchased is already full with the 70mm-300mm lens, hood and filters.), I suppose I could try to get a lens case to attach to the bag to create space. I will need to carry both the tripod and mono-pod though, as once you are doing any tightly composed shots the camera shake is always more pronounced on these shots. I was shooting some deer in the field yesterday there was 5-7 of them but with the zoom I could not get a clear shot.

I am also playing with the idea of selling my FJ1200, I am very interested in getting a BMW F650 GS Dakar , of course every time I get back on my FJ I have so much fun on it that I then question why I would sell. We will see though.  How about one of these instead?

Wishing you all, Friends, Family and anyone who reads my Blog, the best Health, Happiness, and future in 2007!


EOF - LC