Wednesday, January 16, 2008

This blog is turning into what I said it would not

Hello all,

Well, its been almost 2 months since I have posted an entry so here goes. Since I last posted anything We went to Ottawa for Christmas and had the opportunity to go to Montreal and see the sights and enjoy some poutine and Montreal smoked meat sandwiches. (Sorry Matt and Joel, I didnt have time to get ahold of you). Anyways in Montreal we saw all of the major sights and were able to stop at a little hole in the wall pub where we enjoyed some cappuccinos. The pub carried an ambiance of what you would expect a pub in the 16th century, all stone with wooden beams holding up a shiplap roof. The whole time that we were there I half expected either the black knight or a group of hobbits to burst into the room at any second. We also has some time to check out a few art galleries, Notre Dame, St. Catherine's street and Olympic Stadium. Although we did get to see quite a bit, everything we saw, we saw quickly as we only got to stay for a few hours. The rest of our time over the nine days was spent playing games, visiting and eating at the Kahle household in Ottawa.

On our way home we were met with a pleasant surprise as well. We tried to get our boarding passes from the automated kiosk and the machine said that there was a problem. I thought that maybe it was just the machine and tried the kiosk right next to it. Same thing. So I went up to the "automatic check in help desk" (the line of which was easily 200 people shorter than the one where you actually give your luggage to the airline). The lady who was at the desk informed me that the belts that take the luggage down to the planes were broken and that we would not be able to make our connecting flight in Toronto. The ray of sunshine she offered us though was a flight that left at the exact same time that was direct to Calgary and we would be flying first class! For once an airline complication went our way!

Since then we hosted a four course dinner for New Years and we have been getting back into the daily grind of life.

Now here comes the part that my title for this entry pertains. Once upon a time I said that this blog was not going to be used as a vehicle to broadcast my child to the blogging nation. But seeing as she takes up a lot of time in my life, and she has changed a lot since my last entry here are a few pictures of her.



Saturday, November 24, 2007

Ruth's Chris

Hello All,

Over the past few months I have been working on a the recently opened "Ruth's Chris Steakhouse". It is now open in the +15 level of the Calgary tower and is serving some of the best steak in the city (also the most expensive steak in the city). I started in May doing color/sheen finish matching and getting our finish approved. From then up until a couple weeks ago I spent every day doing the staining and lacquering for the job. The end result is in the pictures that I will be posting on this entry. Both I and our shop are extremely pleased with the end result, as are the owners of the restaurant. So if you are ever in Calgary stop by and check out our work!


So here are some booths in the main dining area


Here's some of the ceiling louvers that can be found throughout the restaurant (the ceiling used to be glass)


Here is another view of the main dining area everything that is wood I did the finishing on


Here is the hallway at the main entrance


Here is one of the wine racks, there are several of these throughout the restaurant



Here is another wine rack



One of the bathrooms (the stall dividers are also mahogany)



One of the hallways, all of the private rooms and halls are clad with mahogany wainscotting like this

So that is Ruth's Chris steakhouse in a nutshell. Cheers!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Well its been two months since my last post so I thought that since there seems to be a lull in activity I would update those who still have an interest in this blog and the Heagy family's lives. Our lives have been a buzz of activity for the past couple months. Since around the time Emma was born I have been working a minimum of 50 hours a week at my job trying to get the finishing done for the restaurant that we are working on. The restaurant is called Ruth's Chris. Some of you may have heard of it. It is a steakhouse chain that was started by a lady named Ruth (obviously) in the States and eating there has come to be a prime dining experience. The location where we are building the restaurant is on the +15 level of the Calgary tower. I have been staining and lacquering the mahogany for the restaurant since May and it will be opening with a VIP dinner on November 1st. It is now getting to the last couple days before we have to be out and we are busier than ever trying to get the last pieces into place. Stay tuned for pictures of the finished product.

This past Friday Jenn, Emma and I attended what is becoming an annual event. For the last two years we have been getting together with friends and carving pumpkins the weekend before Halloween. As you can see from the photos that are posted below some people have become quite creative with their pumpkin carving. There were some traditionalists in the crowd, but it seemed for the most part that we had some "non traditional" carvings.

A Happy non-threatening pumpkin


Another happy jack-o-lantern
















A Scary jack-o-lantern.
















An autobot jack-o-lantern. If you don't know what that is, chances are you are living under a rock.















Aloha the hula pumpkin creation courtesy of Ryan and Leighton Healey (not Heagy)




















Rider Pride and Spiderman















Darth Vader, yeah thats right.














OoOOOOhHHHhhh A scary spider pumpkin














A cat and the moon















Ryan Healey with a dremel tool carving his Hula girl















Also back by incredibly popular demand. Emma Heagy. Sorry to the folks who have been requesting updated pics. I have been busy.




Monday, August 27, 2007

Busy

Hello all,

First I would like to apologize for the lack of posts over the last while. Our house has been bustling with the business of a new baby and all the things that come with that. We have had lots of company coming by, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Friends to see baby Emma and of course to see Jenn and how she has been holding up. I would like to thank everyone who has lent a helping hand over the last three weeks.(You know who you are) Your time and generosity are appreciated more than you could imagine. Emma seems to be changing every day, her face is filling in more and she looks less and less like a newborn every time I come home from work. It may seem a bit cliche but is really is amazing to watch.

Another event that has taken me away from blogging was that Jenn and I had the privilege of attending Andrew and Amanda's wedding! It was a great wedding, very personal, warm, and of course there was lots of great food. The Riders also won while the reception was happening. It was actually kind of funny, Emma was acting up a bit so I took her out to the car to give her a bottle and as I was walking through the parking lot every few cars there were people out listening to the game on the radio. Ahh Rider fans.

In short, that is what we have been up to. I will post a few pictures of Emma at the end of this post to satisfy the demands that I have had lately for new pictures.







Friday, August 10, 2007

More pictures of Emma!

Well here are a couple more pictures folks. Don't worry. This blog has not become a place to exploit the new addition to our family. Nor will it become the blog where all it is is pictures of Emma, even though she is the greatest baby ever. But until I have something different to write, here are the pictures.










Monday, August 6, 2007

August 5th 2007






Well readers, the time has finally come where I can announce....drum roll please...................I said drum roll please......ITS A GIRL!!!!

At 1:06 on Sunday afternoon Emma Elizabeth Heagy made her debut onto the stage of planet earth. More specifically, into a room in Rockyview General Hospital. At birth she weighed 6lbs 3oz (2805 grams) and is absolutely beautiful. Not in just an "every baby is beautiful" or an "only a face a mother could love" kind of way either. She is genuinely beautiful and is a real treat to have as part of our newly developing family.

Jenn went through labor like a real trooper, refusing any narcotics she went through the entire process "au natural". No not naked, just with no use of painkillers. On Saturday night Amy, Jerry, and Liz were over to play some games and at around 11:30 we decided to call it a night and Jenn and I packed our hospital bag, you know, just in case seeing as Emma was due the next day. No sooner had we finished packing the bag and gone to bed had Jenn started feeling contractions. Falling asleep almost instantly I had no idea Jenn was in labor. I also had no idea for the next 3 hours or so. Jenn was gently trying to wake me up from 1 until 4 by rubbing my back. I thought that she was being kind and thoughtful towards me after a week of work. I was wrong. At around 4am Jenn was slightly more forceful with me and said "Ryan, wake up. I have been having contractions for 3 hours. I think we need to go to the hospital soon." So I got out of bed and we watched TV for about an hour while I timed her contractions. We left for the hospital at about 5am. At the hospital we went through emergency (as it was late and we had to) and they sent us up to the maternity ward. After going through maternity triage and then to a labor room, and some hard work and determination on Jenn's part Emma was born! On her due date no less. Only 1% of people actually are born on their due date! The hospital held Jenn for 24 hours but we are home now and are trying to figure out how to be parents. It is very exciting! Here are some pictures. The opening pic and the first pic following this are taken within 5 minutes or less of Emma's entrance into the world!





Thursday, July 26, 2007

The Search is Over


Hello readers,

The search is over to replace the old Sunfire. The idea of a new car remains bittersweet. Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to be driving a new car but there are things like paying for the car and trying to find it in a parking lot after years of looking for a different car. The car that has replaced my Sunfire is a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS. It looks exactly like the one in the picture (I think, I technically have not seen the car yet as it will be delivered sometime in August). We went and looked at a couple of different kinds of cars and the Lancer seemed to fit our budget as well as option preferences. The biggest thing that we were looking for was a car that was reliable and that had four doors. We did not want a red, black or white car, and we wanted a car with a decent warranty. So there it is. Our new car.

In other news, we have been graced with quite a few visitors over the past couple of weekends. Last weekend Ma and Pa Heagy along with Kyle came to visit ( I think they came more to see their unborn grandbaby than to see us, but that is fine), shortly after they left Matt Yeomans stopped in for a quick visit on his way to whitehorse, and then finally this week Anna-Lee (aka Lilo) came to see Jenn for a few days on her way to Vancouver. So we have been very busy visiting , catching up and laughing alot. I hope that when the baby actually comes (t-minus 10 days until the due date) people will not stop coming to see us.