This week will be a blast...

...in more ways than one! Lots of progress has been made on our lot, excavation is complete and the bedrock is completely exposed (and there is lots of it). Blasting will take place this week. We finally received our construction permit last Thursday so all is in order. The pads for our house have been positioned and Matt and Casey will start building this week.

This past Thursday was my retirement dinner. It was a very nice evening spent with good friends and colleagues, filled with emotions. I was presented with a beautiful, limited edition ( number 12 of 20), lithograph of Robert Bateman, signed by the man himself, a solitary loon on a peaceful lake. It will have a special place in our new home. Since I wanted to add my own touch to the evening, I had prepared a parody of the Green Acres show in a video format, with slides and lyrics typical of our new Huntsville lifestyle and mimicking Eddy Albert and Eva Gabor. It was very funny, totally unexpected and everyone enjoyed it. Of course, there was also a serious side to the evening, with speeches from Michel, my boss, and myself. Although I had prepared for this, I did not expect to be so emotional. But, in the end, I said what I wanted to say, with the last words being for Russell, who has given me unconditional love, support and encouragement throughout my whole career. A video was also shown with various employees speaking and sending me retirement wishes. There will be a day, soon I hope, where I will be able to watch this video without crying.

So this week marks my last week at the office, with my last day being Friday, September 23, 2011. No doubt it will be another emotional week... but it will be a blast to finally be able to say that I am now a retiree! When I write my next post, that is exactly what I will be.

I attach a video of Huntsville, taken on Saturday. Enjoy and have a good week.