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Being as this was the first marriage for both Carla  and I we had a few things to work out.

Such as, does the toilet seat go up or down. We decided that if we both left it with the lid down that was the best because, if I left the seat up and Carla sat on the ice cold porcelain the middle of the night , she would scream and wake me up and if we left it down and it got wet ,it was very unpleasant to sit on.

We spent a lot of time deciding who’s pictures went on what wall. It is a very small house.

Next came the discussion, over where our dog be allowed in the house. (when we got one)

Carla said it be allowed only in the kitchen (8ft. by 8ft.) and in the 4 by 6  room  outside our bedroom door

I thought it should be able to go every where except on the furniture.

Two years later we got Snorkel at 10 weeks old, black lab and great Dane mix.

To Be Continued… Don

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We  to possession of the house. Then came moving day. To help , I in listed a few guys from Cambie Roofing and some from Marine roofing and My friend ‘s  teenage sons and her cube van. what a great team, In order to get the couches and bed out, Brian took charge and ordered up a rope to lower them from the balcony to the trucks. hear this Carla decided to visit a friend because she cold not watch. Every thing got to the truck safety and unharmed.

Apond reaching the house, we removed the railings of the balcony so we could pass the stuff into the house . In a short manner we completed the job.

We continued the family tradition of having KFC and Beers.

The biggest decision Carla and I had next was who’s paintings went where and why we were using all her furniture.

 It was obvious to Carla all her furniture was good and mine was junk. ( Hey Guys I bet you never heard that one before.) In the end it all worked itself out. And life went on.

To Be Continued… Don

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As we start our life together, I have to put all my good stuff in storage because we are combining to households into one.

We start looking for a house. Carla wanted an apartment but I told her the way they were building them            nowadays. We looked in afew areas but saw nothing we liked. We decided the Queensborough area was for us. It was a short commute to work, the house were priced a little lower and it had potential for the future.

After looking at about 10 houses, one caught our eye.  We were taking a second look and put in an offer. Our real estate agent went up stairs and did the offer while we were still downstairs. With a little back and forth We came to a deal. Carla and I danced around and hugged and kiss.

It was a small house on a large lot. Just renovated and very cute. We were so happy.

To Be Continued… Don

After appropriate length of being Engaged, We got married April 10. The wedding was at my mother’s house.

It was attended by Me and my best man Brian, his wife and two of their children Tyler and Casey.

Carla’s family was her mum and dad,her two sisters and their husbands and her nephew, Montie.

After the ceremony and pictures, We had dinner at Seasons in the Park. We bought our own wedding cake.

It was an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.

After dinner( which my mother paid for) we drove to Snoqualmie Falls. What a wonderful place, the falls were magnificent and the lodge and food were great.

Three days later we were home now living in Carla’s apartment. We started to look for a house to buy.

To Be Continued… Don

April 16 We started dating , Carla said ” I had 1 year to make up my mind.”

We did all the usual things a couple in their forties do, scuba diving, going to dinners and movies.

I got invited to come to Cormorant Island for Christmas and to meet the Whole Family all at once.

I had great time and everybody was so nice. By January I had made up my mind.

So ,on a cold snowy January the 4, on the way to Carla’s apartment, I detoured into the parking lot of our baseball park and stopped in front of gate”B” and asked Carla to marry me. (Carla being a big CUBS fan)

She said,Yes!  I was now praying my van was not stuck in the snow. God was with us and I made it out onto the road.

To Be Continued…

Yes, the next time I saw Carla, we were in the same marine biology class at the Vancouver aquarium. I got her phone number and when I had afew to muster up courage, I would phone her. We started diving together and one day when we were going diving, it was too stormy for safe diving. So we went to a restaurant for lunch instead. That’s the day Carla realized that she was attracted to me!!!    We began dating …..

To be continued….    Don

I apologize for not posting, I have been slightly off track since Brian,
my closes friend for 40 years died suddenly. In about 1month he went from
looking and acting fine to dead. I knew Brian had health issues,
but that is not what took him. And this on top of one of our dogs dying
Jan.2 (Veddar- named after Eddie Veddar by my nephew)
You be glad to know I haven’t had even 1 drink, although I sure feel like it some times.

Enough of sad tales, I hope You ,your family and friends are in good health
and getting by in these trying times.  Don

P.S.
Today is my 61 birthday

I needed something to do since I was not drinking as much. First I took a class in hiking, little too much work. I always love swimming and snorkeling, so I tried scuba diving. I love it ! I spent all my free time and all my money on it. Dived with a lot of great people.

One day I was diving with a buddy, at a dive site call Kelvin’s Grove . I met a guy I had dived with. He introduced me to his dive buddy CARLA, they were rushing back to his car to get a smoke.

The next time I saw Carla, We were in the same class at the Aquarium.

To Be Continued…

The idea of having a girl friend persisted for about a years before I made up my mind that I was going to have one.

 I just about stopped drinking and doing drugs. I knew one thing I did not want a barfly for a girlfriend because I would have to buy her drinks . I figured if anybody was drinking my money it would be me.

The only women I knew were My friend’s Wife’s and girlfriends and a few from the bars. But I was very shy, so meeting them was hard.

I started taking night school classes . I meet many very nice ladies but nun were interested in me or I just did not notice.

Finally I managed to ask one to go out. To my surprise, she said yes. She was very nice, smart and beautiful, but she though I should share her with her other men friends. So much for her, I never liked the idea of sharing a women.

Next I was leaving a class and as I passed the bus stop I noticed a Lady from my class. I stopped and offered her a ride.  At the next class I drove her home and she invited me in for coffee. After that I took her home After class and had coffee. Then I saw her  a couple of times a week.

 About a month later  I spent the night. 8 years between sleepovers is a long time. I dated her for a couple of years, and then I moved in with her. After a couple of more years I moved out.

 I had several lady friend over the next couple of years but finally I dated her again.

Until I met my future wife.  To Be Continued… Don

I had now position myself for the finial slide to the bottom. I was living with someone and his friends, who drank and drank more. I just couldn’t seem to keep up , no matter how hard I tried 

At first it  was great, my brother worked afternoon shift and I worked days, I did not see during the week But I had someone to drink with on the weekends. We had 3 TVs set up to watch football and all our friend dropped by. We drank and smoked dope and watched and talk football or hockey.

I drank more and more . Then there was the bars. Mostly it was the biker’s bar. I would drink all my money and then walk the 5 miles home. I would get home at3 AM and then the dogs wanted to go for a walk. So I would put a couple of beers in my pocket6s  and away we would go. My dog knew it was his job to protect me if he wanted to go for a walk. As I stagger and stumbled along I would met other people out walking. As they approached me, my dog would leap out of the darkness and stand in front of me  and growl loudly. Any idea of harming me and taking the beer  would instantly disappear at the sight of my 85lb black dog. They would move off my side walk and go around, as my brother little Irish Setter would sniff them for food. It always made me laugh.

One day I got the idea I would like to have a girlfriend.   To Be Continued… Don