February 1st — 11 month retirement anniversary 

Wow is time flying but are we having fun.Numerous times I have said retirement is the best time of our lives. We are enjoying the free time, the freedom, the fun, the togetherness, the activities and lifestyle we chose. I wouldn’t change a thing other than to wish we would have been a little more diligent in our last 10 years in saving a bit more.But I wouldn’t trade those dollars for this time off at the age we are now so no regrets only a wishful short thought. Finished off my January budget numbers this morning and am very happy. March 1st will be our full year but as of today we spent a full 11 months worth of living and our savings are actually up $1000.00 dollars more than we started with in March 2014. The part-time work of Jackie and the TSX recovery has been very kind to us. As I am sure for any new retiree will experience the same. Watching the PGA and Superbowl are our only plans for today.  Talked to Victoria, Jackson and Corey this morning for a bit, Jackie is doing some laundry, and we are relaxing.

February 2nd

Happy Groundhog Day

We have a contradiction here.The hogs can’t agree if we have 6 weeks of winter or not left in Canada. Being here in a warm warm climate I sort of wish for a cold cold winter in Canada but then I think of family and friends and hope the spring comes early for them. I think most would agree that they winter of 2014/15 has been exceptionally good.

 

The PGA was a very close game with a lot of players just about winning. Some amazing young golfers that are taking over. With both Tiger and Phil out by not making the cut it shows the new guard coming into it’s own. Bubba was the only real known player in the top 5. The winning shot really game down to the 18th hole. It was a lot of fun to watch. I think we will see a lot more from Brooks Koepka. I loved the reaction of Francesco’s hole in one.  This made me think last night in bed while dreaming. My calculations for Bob are off. I will need to talk to him so he is not so disappointed in his performance.  Here are the correct numbers. Odds are 1 in 10,000 shots.  He plays about 8000 shots per year yes but I forgot there are only about 4 Par 3 holes during each game . So if he even pars each one that is 12 shots per game. 10,000/12= 833. So every 833 games Bob should have a hole in one. He plays 100 game a year so every 8.3 years he should get a hole in one.  I was impressed he had two now after but looking at the new numbers even more impressed. I will need to talk to him.LOL .It is amazing what goes through the mind at night.

The Super Bowl was a good game to watch. I had no real favorite as if the Hawks won it would be nice to have a back to back win. If the Patriots won it would be great for them to add to their amazing win record. As a back and forth match it made it fun. BUT the dumbiest play in history by the Hawks. They were given the game with an amazing catch and then decided to throw being only a yard off the goal line and had it intercepted. STUPID  maybe a better word. I am sure who ever made that call  did’t sleep well . It had to come from the Coach , the offensive coach or a decision made by Wilson in the moment. Could cost someone a job . When you have Lynch in the line up and only a yard to go what were they thinking. A very relaxed, coach day yesterday.

Today on the agenda is to go to our Wells Fargo bank, remove our mailbox block, and just fiddle around doing a few small things. We may miss Fat Willy’s today to save the calorie intake for when Keith is here with our beer.

Bought a wonderful Pygmy Palm Tree ( not allowed to call it  a dwarf ), a desert red grass and a beautiful new pot for the backyard. The nursery lady gave us garlic leaves to put in the pot to keep the bunnies away. Trust me it is smelly ! Sat outside tonight to eat supper as the warm air is starting to hit with a 27 degree everyday week coming up. Should be some great weather to golf in with Keith and Jenny. We will phone them tonite to get what they would like to do and how often they want to golf. I already have the Shania Twain tickets for Thursday for them. Marked out the calender with a wet erase to keep track of the coming and goings.

Thought of the Day 

Most mistakes are made in the sincere belief it is the best thing to do. If mistakes continue then we need to question the beliefs of that person.

February 3rd 

For years I couldn’t figure out how Darlene was younger than me when her birthday

was before mine. Because we had birthdays back to back days when we were younger we combined birthday parties. Well today is Darlene’s birthday,and as she qualifies for every age related discount here it will be a big bonus for her. Most of my pictures files are at home so this is one of the few I had. This is from her wedding in 1981.

 

Happy Birthday Darlene. Happy 24 hours of Facebook notifications. May they come in abundance. Don’t let them annoy you.I am smiling because your my sister and laughing because there is nothing you can do about it. LOL

The Palm tree and desert grass lasted the night without becoming lunch for the bunnies which is good. Maybe the garlic we put in the pots works. Yahoo!  Besides it makes it smell like an Italian restaurant.  We talked to Keith & Jenny last night to get their pickup and golfing agenda arranged. Should be all set here. The Harry’s have switched to Apple products.The Key’s are Apple and the Grace’s are Apple. Why ? oh why . I WILL REMAIN ANDROID AND MICROSOFT TO THE BITTER END.

“MY RANT”

Apple products- Apple has done a wonderful marketing job. They had a few firsts to market that created a name for them and their operating system seemed to have fewer crashes than their competitor. They got into the market on the backs of KIDS with them inventing the IPOD. Put a good system together for kids and music and you have a winner. Good job on them. Second they created the IPAD. Again a wonderful tablet , portable and great for music and kids. Then the IPHONE which was another hit as it was different than the rest and worked well. 

NOW the reality of APPLE. First as everyone knows APPLES go bad and rot. NO business ever uses APPLE.  It is a music and picture dominate company and it’s system sucks for everyday business use. They have no product that compares to simple Excel or Word .Why use  a product that no company would trust or use ?You have to push the power button every time to go back or change apps. The worst thing  it is incestuous. You can’t do anything without being driven to the ITUNES or ISTORE. They trap you.They have FACETIME . You know why they call it that. As you use it it “hangs” “freezes” all of the time and all you see is a fixed picture of a face.  Anything APPLE has Android and Microsoft has just as good or better and a way easier to work with.  I give APPLE the marketing award of the century to target young kids ( music, pictures) and then seduce the parents along with them with them thinking well the kids like it and they must know what they are doing. Remember they are kids and music, text and pictures is all they are interested in. Try true multi- tasking and running multiple apps at the same time on a IPAD. How could they forget to have a guest or multi-user system.? If they ever discover who stole the bite out of the APPLE and get it back their system may be repaired.To back up my thoughts I gave away a brand new IPAD as I need a machine that is more than just a email, picture storage and music storage center.

POWER TO THE DROID !

“BUT THAT’S JUST ME”

 

Hot weather for the balance of the week. Golfing today at 2 pm . Suffering a bit with a sore sciatic nerve so walking today most likely won’t happen. I need the extra practice as I need to get rid of the slice before going to a few courses with Keith.

Well the golfing didn’t turn out as planned. Beautiful weather, great course,  lousy golfers. I did not slice once today yet had the worst score of the year. Jackie just wasn’t up to par today pardon the pun. I scored a 97 and she had a 110. I can make excuses like my sciatic nerve is killing me but I play every game in some kind of pain.

Either physical or mental. LOL  Just was one of those days where nothing went right. But as they say a bad day at golf is still better than a good day at work.

Confirmed our group camping spot and golf course for May long weekend and send a notice out. Talked to my sister for her birthday wishes. Getting ready for a great day tomorrow to celebrate my birthday. I can’t seem to shake it but I am getting younger every year. Unusual I know but I guess I am one of those lucky ones. Why I even saw a new hair pop out.. Wait it was out of my ear so that doesn’t  count.

Thought of the Day 

Isn’t it odd that people don’t believe the internet on a lot of stuff but they will turn on the TV and take everything literally as the truth.

February 4th 

What a great day. On this day a few years ago Larry Kim Willard was born. Yes you read right. My middle name is Kim. My great great Grandad must have been Chinese. I have conquered a lot being Asian such as being a good driver. Being Asian and being so tall.  Notice there are no short cuts on my naming. I am not a Lawrence ( I prefer LARRY and Lawrence is a female French name) and my middle name is Kim not Kimberly and we don’t know if our real last name is Willard as even our Grandad’s name was Weller. Perhaps I am of royal descent and my ancestors needed to hide us from the evil common people or years ago we went under the witness protection program.

Here is a sequential picture library of Larry growing up:

 

It’s like I hit that magic number and keep getting younger each year.Just look at the difference since I retired.  I really feel for some of my friends as I know how they are struggling with the age thing.  I just like being myself. I did notice one grey chest hair though.

Here’s to another year younger !!!

We went to the Olive Garden for my birthday supper. Love the bread sticks and the salads. Even had the two waiters sing me a Happy Birthday

song.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thought of the Day

No matter how big your house is, how much your car cost, where you have traveled , how big your bank account is, our graves will always be the same size. Stay humble.LOL

February 5th

Up earlier than we have been for while getting ready for a great golf game at the

Arizona Golf club. We will see how many houses Keith and I can hit as it is his first game of the year.  Turns out we had a great game.

We didn’t hit one house and both Keith & I finished with the same ball. Drives overall were perfect. Score didn’t indicate such overall but very pleased.  It was the hottest we have seen since coming with hitting 85 degrees at 4pm. The perfect weather to be in Arizona.  Today was our big concert day . The concert was fabulous with both Shania and Tim playing some great songs. Everyone loved the tight pants on Tim. Everyone loved the tight pants on Shania.

The hall was completely packed at the sold out venue. They said they are on tour doing 20 shows in 28 days. Busy people. Their band was exceptional and the sound was perfect. After walking home we sat outside and enjoyed the warmth of the evening at the patio table with Bob & Pat. You really can’t have a better day than a round of golf, plenty of sunshine, a great concert and fun listening to and talking to friends.

Thought of the Day

I’m outdoorsy in that I like to drink on outside patio’s.

February 6th 

Another great day to wake up to. Thanks. Having breakfast on the patio in the morning. Having smoothies. Went for a walk to visit the new  show homes which are fantastic. They really have  a nice design , are priced very well and are selling extremely fast. The new phase 3 only has a few lots left. If they would have had this model we would have bought one of these. We all had a lunch  and then headed to Mesa Market place. For a Friday it was the busiest I have ever seen it. This is an amazing place. Keith bought two wonderful Mexican lamps  that I will bring home with me. Laser cut metal , lacquered, and unique designs. Had a few   beer and some wine with Bob & Pat on the deck. Some great tasting wine that was a mongrel of mixes.  Later on we walked to the pool and had a swim with Keith & Jenny , sat in the hot tub and talked to a few Saskatchewan residents. Half of the park is from Saskatchewan. This couple has it made as they were 55 year old retiree’s  and have a pension plan that paid them close to 60% of their last working salary. As he said he has been shocked at the reduction of expenses compared to when he was working and they are thoroughly enjoying their new life. Getting ready for our big golf day at Longbow tomorrow in the 80 degree sunshine on a wonderful course.

February 7th 

Another wonderful day here in Paradise. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping. Keith & Jenny  slept in today as the relaxation sets in from working life. Had our morning smoothies, went for a pleasurable walk around the park and just relaxed this morning. Had our lunch and then headed to golf course while the girls headed out to shop. Longbow Golf course is a fantastic golf course. The only comment could be is the amount of airplane traffic over the course. We probably saw

50 planes fly over us during our game. Perfect fairways and fast fast greens that were very tricky. Our scores were not the best but only due to putting. They had a golf fest on with a lot of draws to enter and and we all got a free round of golf at

Longbow. I talked to a guy from Cochrane that had a booth of golf carts he was fabricating. On display he had a 32 ford coupe with a fake motor and engine sounds coming from the car. Wanted 19K but it looked amazing.

We received a call from Victoria who had in turn received a call from our caretaker of our Calgary unit. Our condo had a mass break in of the storage units downstairs. Corey went and did an inspection and sent some pictures . From what I can tell we are missing all of our fishing equipment and the pressure washer for sure. Boat motor, seats and wheels are still there as they were too big to move and the cargo carrier still there which is odd and the Jeep top is still there. Punks !!  I have had so many things stolen over the years I am amazed. When we get back we will need to do an inventory and claim as for now I will only inform the insurance company. I hate thieves stealing a little bit. Take everything so I can replace it all with the deductible instead of $1000 buck worth of stuff and me paying $500 deduct and increased premiums. Until we get home right now it looks like about $1500 bucks worth of stuff.

A short list of stolen things Jackie & I have experienced:

1. Our bedding plants dug right out of the ground in Mayfield
2. Two leather jackets ( one out of the car and one at the airport)
3. Two incidences of a car break in and losing two radar detectors
4. Stolen wallet out of car and music cd’s
5. Jeep Cherokee stolen from LRT station.
6. Dodge Ram stolen from our house
7. Christmas lights stolen twice. Took complete cords, flood lights and strings
8. Extension plug in cords from outside
9. Beer and wine out of the cooler camping
10. Cell phone and power drill kit from condo basement
11. Pressure washer and fishing equipment

A small country town may  be the place to move to. Large urban cities are a haven for crooks.

Thought of the Day 

A thief is a thief whether  they steal a pencil from work OR MY STUFF !!! Thieving bastards deserve to lose a finger as punishment.

February 8th 

The girls picked us up at the golf course after a day of successful shopping. They made us a wonderful spaghetti supper. Later on we had an epic battle in the pool hall. Jackie & Jenny at one table and Keith & I at another. We have about 15 tables in the hall.  It ended up the girls with a tie and Keith winning 6-4 over me. Next time !!  We were the only people in the hall at 11 pm at night. Although at 11 pm you don’t see very many people awake in the park period. We lost a neighbor on our block. A single gentlemen that lives here year round and is a caretaker for others passed away in his house. The cops, EMT’s etc were here for hours doing their investigation.

Today is tourist day with us taking Keith & Jenny to the Ghost town and then for lunch Tortilla Flats. Should have the Wrangler for this drive to make it fun as the road is very narrow and windy with a lot of sharp corners going up into the Superstition Mountains.  Another 83 degree day forecast here in Paradise for our trip.Our first adventure was the Gold Mine Tour. We paid for our tickets and decided to enter the mine. We were giving our tickets and no instructions. We headed down the dark shaft until we hit the elevator door. Struggled to figure out how to use the door but finally got it open. Inside the dimly lite elevator we pushed buttons and moved handles without much success. We wondered what kind of tour did we spend our money on. Finally a button that worked and i figured out their system. Noise and a roll screen made it feel and look like we were going down. Having figured that out we knew the other side door of the elevator had to open. Got that opened but the exit was pitch black and we couldn’t find any light switch. All of this time being below ground in a dark space we were a little tentative in trusting the dark exit. Laughing  we decided that this tour sucked and we better head up and find out what we were supposed to do. As we exited a group of people were bunched together awaiting a mine tour holding sticks. They all looked at us a little odd. We checked in with the box office and told him our situation. He laughed and asked if we touched any buttons. ( we are guys, we touched buttons). We got it all figured out. We needed  sticks in case we got lost in the mine, and we were to have an experienced tour guide take us down into the mine. Where we entered the dark mine there was a huge sign stating ” DO NOT ENTER” overhead. Who puts a sign overhead when you have to watch your steps going down. ( we didn’t see the sign). In the meantime while we were  in the mine the girls had spoken to a few of the tourists waiting for the mine tour and told them we were already in the mine. ( why they looked at us coming back out) . It was a fun experience. IF we had only found the one light switch we would have had our own tour. LOL

Next experience was the mystery house. The story goes a miner due to an earthquake when his house half fell into the earth adapted to living in his slanted house.  It is amazing how the eyes and mind fool each other. I could not get up out of chair at the slant.

 

 

Saw the gunfight, Keith bought some trinkets, visited the snakes and rode the train.

After staying at the Ghost town for a couple of hours we headed up the mountains to Tortilla Flats. Again the Apache Trail is one of those “must drive” highways in the USA. Beautiful.

 

Had some lunch browsed and enjoyed the scenery . Unique  bathrooms and bar there. Dollars on the wall and picture taking in the bathroom stalls. Even a Calgary Stampede

sign on the wall.

 

 

 

You know the saying you learn something new everyday. Today I discovered from Jenny that a sewing kit always includes a needle threader. It is a tool to make threading the the needle easy. It works like a charm. Amazing what they think of and how well it works and what you can learn every day.

Had a few games of dice ( a new game Fred & Terry taught us) with Jenny winning every one except the last one. She was able to get out with a lot of lucky throws. Had our late evening swim and hot tub and then Keith & I went to the pool hall. As usual we were the  only guys in there as it was past 10 o’clock. HUGE room with loads of tables. Had quite a few games. Today was also Saskatchewan Day in the park. Loads of green suited people.

Talking to Bob & Pat who were going to the party the comment came up that Saskatchewan has more than the RoughRiders. ( we struggled for a few minutes then thought of potash) Later we added lots of great wooded area and lakes.

Thought of the Day 

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 36
inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you may live in Saskatchewan

February 9th

Golfed today.Used our power push carts .Now that may be pushing it a bit. Jackie & Jenny had pretty good games. Keith & I not so much. I experienced a  3 putt on 6 holes with the tricky greens. So no talking about this golf game. It is done.  Next

After golfing we returned home and moved over to Bob & Pats place for a dinner invite. It was like going to a “fancy” outdoor bistro. We were greeted and ushered to the “lounge” area for drinks and snacks.  We then moved over to the “dining” area where we had colorful napkins and fancy plate settings. Then the meal. There are a lot of words to describe this. Amazing, incredible,delicious,fancy cuisine to name a few. The presentation and food tastes were unbelievable. We had baked salmon, lemon chicken, a special rice dish,carrots, asparagus, pizza bread and Caesar salad. The salmon was the best salmon I have every had.  To finish we then had homemade apple pie cake which was incredible. Topped off with ice cream. If only we would have had Breyers Ice Cream .We then once more solved all of the worlds problems over a few more drinks. Finished up as Pat had to get up for a 8am tee time. Keith having a “few” drinks I thought this maybe my chance to take a billiard game win. He won 3-2 games. First time we had company in the hall as we had 4 young kids in there that must have been visiting their grandparents. AND it was past midnight !!

Talked to the police , our insurance ,and our management company on the break in and as usual we have contradiction and confusion. It really doesn’t have to be this way if people would know their job. Hopefully get that fixed up quick. The hard part is getting the information needed being away.

Thought of the Day

I don’t need a fancy party to be happy, just good friends, good food and good laughs. I’m happy. I’m content. I’m pleased. Last night was fantastic.

February  10th.

Up this morning after our great night. No hangovers for anyone as Bob’s wine choice was excellent. The girls readied themselves for shopping and Keith and I for another game of golf. We went to San Marcos which just underwent a 3.9 mil renovation. I give this course excellent marks now except for not having a driving range. See revised review. Keith yesterday had an unusual experience. As he leaned on his FTi driver the shaft snapped. So today we were up early to driver shop. He ended up getting a new  Slider ( my favorite new driver if I was to buy one) . Keith not having a range to practice on hit the club fantastic and I believe even longer than his old one. I struggled for a few holes and then the back nine scored a 44 with a triple. Five three putts again killed my score.  We golfed with two flight attendants. YES !   I know what you are thinking. They were guys . Darn.  They were playing for hugs. Amazing golfers hitting the ball a mile. Just another wonderful day at 84 degrees and blue sky. Finished up and sat on the patio with a jug of beer. Our waitress being a native Arizonian had the whitest legs I have ever seen. Correction Kieth’s and Fred’s legs come close and possibly whiter. Made our way home, have our booked tee time for tomorrow and the girls made supper for us. Today they also squeezed  lemons and made an awesome lemonade. Now we can use up our 100 lemons on the tree. This lemonade is beyond great.  Having a wonderful BBQ rib supper with all of the fixings. Had another great swim, hot tub adventure and talked to a couple from Medicine Hat in the tub. The ladies sister was in the tub along with us and we talked a bit about her husband. At 70 years old he has moderate Alzheimer’s already and is very difficult to take care of. They are spending as much time here as possible until they can no longer come due to his condition. A horrible disease. This is just another example of waiting to long to retire ( waited until 65) and only had 4 years of retirement enjoyment before he really is affected.

Thought of the Day 

Always concede the fourth putt.

February 11th 

Got ready a little earlier than normal as we had a fairly early tee time at Kokopelli Golf course. The fairways and greens were fantastic. It is a well designed course, lots of water and strategically placed bunkers. More rolling hills than normal for a desert course and slanted fairways running into water ponds. Not a great score AGAIN, but a lot of fun and nice course. After golfing Keith & Jenny packed up everything, loaded the car up and we headed to the Olive Garden for salad and bread sticks as their last meal. They sadly changed into pants and shoes to go out for supper. Olive  Garden is a great place to eat. After eating we headed up to the airport and said our good byes. We had an excellent time with Keith & Jenny. They are pretty self sufficient people getting up to make their coffee and require very little attention and very pliable as to what they want to do. Early risers though but we couldn’t hear them. They got up in the middle of the night without us hearing them and slept so quietly we didn’t know they were here. Their snoring was in tune.Not too many air line passengers enjoy babies on flights .But in discussion we found out  Jenny likes young kids on board to entertain her. If there are babies on board next time I  fly I would like Jenny on board  to keep them quiet. I prefer the quiet adult time on a plane vs 3 hours of a baby crying. I hated it the one time I said beside a lactating Mom. First the crying then the exposed breast. Perhaps jealous. LOL

Keith & Jenny are getting back to Edmonton just as the weather is getting a little better. Lucky for them. We had a great time, golfing, visiting, playing billiards, playing dice, eating at home and out , doing the tourist thing and driving around. Costs increase a lot and weight having friends with all of the extra golf, entertainment ,activities,food ,gas etc but so does the fun fun so you can’t go wrong with spending a little more to enjoy life a lot.

Thought of the Day

True friends are those who came into your life, saw the most negative part of you, but are not ready to leave you, no matter how contagious you are to them.

February 12th 

Found the Constable name and badge number and emailed the Calgary Police to add our name to the list on the case number filed for the thefts in our building. Talked to our management company to get the info. Very helpful person assigned to our building now. BUT as with the last theft I had in the underground parking of our building the camera’s were not working. I will write a letter to the board as this is unacceptable. Charge me $5 a month for new camera’s is a lot better than having thousands stolen and not being able to catch the culprit. Not happy with this.

A packed day today. Jackie golfs with her ladies this morning at 11 am. We have a pot luck to go to at 4 pm and then at 7 pm we are going to the Barbara Streisand concert. While Jackie was golfing I went and got the truck washed, picked up some groceries and got home and made a 2 gallon jug of Lemonade. Had to make it with brown sugar which darkens it but the taste is still wonderful and I believe even better.Have to love fresh squeezed lemons. Our potluck was nice with us using the meeting room at the North Pool. We sat outside in the sun and enjoyed an all you can eat pizza event accompanied with Caesar salad and home made strawberry short cake.  A street gathering like this is fun getting to know your neighbors. We then took the walk home and then off to the main concert hall for our concert.

This Barbra Streisand  concert was unbelievable. She was amazing , the halls sound was incredible and her band first class. This is one talented lady with an amazing stage presence and singing ability.

 

 

She was so good it may have  brought a small tear to my eye when she

sang “You don’t bring me flowers anymore”.  I didn’t realize what a mega superstar she is with amount of awards she has won in so many categorizes. I think this was one of the best concerts I have seen.  We had an unexpected intermission during the concert as one older gentleman collapsed to the floor and we had to wait for the EMT to arrive and fix him up and move him out. It was handled very well.  I paid for the prime seats and they were that being only three rows off the stage and when she walked down into the audience she was right there. Even had wonderfully made Caeser’s by the bartender. Good old Regina boy.During the show she asked about wedding anniversaries and we had a tie with two couples being married 65 years being the longest.   Great night.

February 13th

Wow went to bed after the concert and slept. After nine and just got up. Yesterday at the grocery store BP was 109/79 so I think one more time and I will cut my pills in half. Lost weight with all of the walking and less drinking the last two days. A bit of golf practice today, a few things around the house and that is about it. Went to the driving range to try to fix the slice and work on iron shots. Went through a full basket of practice balls and had mixed results. Also  went to the chipping green and practiced short shots to try to get closer to the pin. Unfortunately the rough grass was longer than on a normal course so it was difficult to get a feel. Practiced putting  also on the green as in Arizona the greens have more undulation than we experience in Alberta and can add to the score quite quickly.Stopped at Target to buy our Premium Grade used Titleist and Nike golf balls . Saves a lot and the balls are in prefect shape. Either they get lost, scuffed from the path or gravel or just start to look bad so always need extra balls. Picked up some lamps from the Mesa market that Keith had ordered. Nice looking lamps. Washed and filled up the car for our trip tomorrow to Casa Grande.

February 14th  Valentine’s Day

I assume you all bought your loved ones something for Valentine’s Day. Odd though as it is centered around guys buying girls flowers, candy and cards. I won’t say what the girls offer for Valentine’s Day. Interesting to know that stat. LOL  Opened the cards and had some wonderful chocolate.  Watched the CTV news to catch up on what is going on. It appears the Prentice government is at least trying to do something right. The unions in Alberta have had it too good with achieving benefits and salaries considerably higher than the average worker.  This is not to say they don’t work hard or have a larger workload than they used to have but reality is they are being paid generously especially compared to the non-union employee.A government  imposed cut has to happen. One of the disappointing areas that needs to be adjusted is the city mayor and councilor salaries also.  No one wants to have their salary cut and there will be objections but when you consider the salary and benefits I am positive we will not lose one person from the payroll. They have to know how good they have it. Any one in the petroleum industry would love to have a 5% reduction as they are getting hit with a 15% staff reduction which is no salary for a whole lot of people. Time will tell how much Prentice does. I don’t mind cuts as long as prudence is done on wasteful spending across the board.

Took the 45 min drive out to John & Anita’s place in Casa Grande. Anita made us a quick pizza lunch which was great and then we headed to the Mission Royale Golf course. This is a wonderful course plays easy in a way but is also quite difficult in a way. I have a history of hitting a house on this course so was a little tentative. I was fairly happy with the drives only slicing two but was still able to play them and a couple of duff drives but still went 150 – 200 yards. Played OK but still a long way from last year. It will come. I think John was throwing my game yesterday as he kept looking at me longingly in the cart. At his house he even presented me with the largest box of Valentine chocolates. My chocolates were much bigger than Jackie’s or Anita’s.

Back at their place we had a wonderful supper. Anita makes it look so easy to have a great meal fast. John cooked the huge steaks just perfect .  He also made us Caesars using a special sauce instead of Tabasco which made the drink taste great. Their backyard can only be described as perfect. It looks like a tropical oasis with it’s lighting, kidney pool, water fall, fireplace, palm trees and outdoor kitchen. Right out of a magazine.  They really don’t have to go anywhere as right in the backyard is the perfect get away. It is beautiful and would be very very nice to have. It was a very nice visit and a lot of fun. We didn’t get back to our place and into bed until at least 1am. Thanks John !  Tired !  Didn’t help the stat!

Thought of the Day

 I was going to be romantically spontaneous on this particular day of romantic expression with my wife but was distracted by John all day

February 15th 

Slept in as we got to bed so late last night. Being Sunday and the day before company arrives we decided to have a lounge day today. Did a few things around the house, watched a bit of golf, had some great meals on the patio, read a lot, and relaxed. Jackie went and picked up a few more groceries guessing what we need for different people’s tastes. Watched the two hour special of the Bachelor show . I love the humor of Carly the cruise ship singer. Girls sure like drama. Makes it a interesting show to watch and could be described as addictive.  Jackie also did a lot of cleaning and dusting in the house along with moving pictures, lamps, and ornaments. She  just like to move things. Picking up Darlene, Mom and Kari tomorrow as they are staying a week. Mayan ruins, Santan Flats Bar, Ghost Town, Tortilla Flats are a few of the events we will attend.

Thought of the Day

Retired- young at heart. Older in other places

February 16th

Got up early to pick up the family at the airport. We were just about ready to leave when the phone rung. It was Darlene. Their plane arrived 1 hour earlier than expected. Luckily we are only 20-25 minutes away so hopped in our car and headed down  to the airport. Darlene,Mom and Kari were standing on the curb right where they said they were. Amazing that the flight was that much early. I guess with cheap gas the pilots are allowed to step on the pedal plus with the air stream behind them made extraordinary time. Headed home, set them up in their room and then went for a walk around a park.  Showed them our facilities including the pools, gym, billiard hall, hot tubs, and then moved up to the north pool and watched the Viewpoint ladies softball team play a game. Kari even took this picture of a local

snake in the park. Look how close she got.It is fun to watch 70 + 80 year olds play ball. Both Darlene and Kari  actually sun-burnt themselves a bit while outside. Another 80 degree day with lots of sun. Ate outside an early lunch, did our site seeing   as the company has been up since 3 am. Around 4 pm we headed up to Fat Willy’s for our Burger Special Monday’s.  Everyone ordered a burger and everyone  completely ate up the 8 oz burger.

Can’t beat a deck with burgers and beer. Darlene, Kari and I went to the pool for a swim and hot tub dip and arrived home around 10 pm with Mom & Jackie already in bed. Had to sneak in. Struggled with the lights on the micro wave but we didn’t wake anyone up we think.

Tomorrow is the girls shopping day at the outlet malls. I will be the chauffeur  for them.

 

 

February 17th 

The big shopping day. First let me explain. I have NEVER being at a outlet shopping mall nor have any desire to go but fulfilling my obligations I volunteered to be the driver. Our first stop was the the “Outlets of Anthem”. Every factory outlet store

you can think of plus more. Great mall with all exterior entrances. I did manage to work my way into IZOD as the deals were great but having to wait for the dressing room I left the store. No more

shopping !. The girls had a great time bringing packages back to the vehicle from the different stores. Supposedly good deals. Remember what I said in my budget tips. ONLY buy what you need not what you want. The girls though were thrilled with their finds.It ended up with the 4 ladies ending up with 11 BRA’s. Yes I was along for an event. After quite a few hours of shopping with a small

lunch break in it we headed for another mall. The ladies again came out with bargains of things from a store called Scrubs plus More. Again good deals. Headed to another store SAS Shoes as Mom needed some new shoes and discovered it has closed. So we will hit another location another day. Headed home in the rush hour traffic and struggled to find something that was not frozen to eat. Ended up Jackie was quite creative with a Spaghetti Alfredo mix with

hamburger which was great.

Talked to Jess & Pen today and they relayed quite excited that the baby on the way is a girl. So we will have a grandson and grand daughter in the near future.On Facebook Darlene showed us video from Victoria       showing a

video of Jackson talking about having a baby girl added to the family. He wasn’t thrilled and wanted a boy!  Kids are funny.

I wonder if they have thought of the name Lari, or Larre, or Larrie, Lara . Sounds like a winning name to me.

Full day and I had fun watching the shoppers and sitting in the sun talking to every husband whose wife was in the stores shopping.Met two Canadians one from Winnipeg and one from Regina. A couple of older gents from the States sitting in the sun on a bench patiently waiting. It definitely a gender thing. Guys waste money on golf, women on shopping . I guess it is equal.

Went to the pool around 10:30 pm. First time we have seen two younger women in actual two piece bikinis. What is this place coming to ! Hot tubs were hot hot tonight.

Thought of the Day 

It was a very up lifting day for the women. Shopping and 11 brassieres later.

February 18th 

Having a bigger breakfast than we would normally have as our company is used to that. Bacon & eggs and toast. Come March the smoothie breakfasts again and will lose an extra pounds from company. Today we see the Casa Grande Ruins. We will take a picnic lunch with us to have and to share with the scorpions and snakes. Another beautiful day hitting the perfect 75 degrees again with no cloud.

A nice easy drive thru the desert to the ruins. It is a National Park so they charge you $5.00 which is very fair .For anyone that studies history , human migration and tribes among the continents and ancient architecture would love this place. It is very interesting how three separate peoples of the world all discovered a way of

keeping time similarly. These Hohokam people built a structure that they used to as a calender,observatory,and to tell time just like the

Stonehenge in England. They built holes into the wall so when the sun lined up just right they new when the solstice was each year and other holes when the sun lined up told them the time of the year and full moons etc. Amazing people and very similar to the Mayan culture. Odd how these societies just disappeared though.

We had a picnic outside , visited the interpretive centre and visited the ruins. We then went on a SAS store hunt and finally found one not closed but they didn’t

have the shoes Mom was looking for. She did pick up a great looking dish for her place to bring home from an antique store right beside SAS. Then home to a pork loin supper with brown sugar glazed carrots, salad, roasted potatoes, and gravy. I even burned my arm on the oven door so you know it was hectic getting everything done on time.

Ended the night with a long walk around the complex around 10 pm in the warm  night. Lot’s of stars to see as the night is dark and the sky clear.

Thought of the Day

If you think about it if the Mayan’s were so good at predicting the future why are the Mayan’s not controlling the world  today ?

February 19th 

Today was a down day.  Kari & Darlene went to the pool to swim and suntan. Mom and I walked up to the pool and found the girls laying in the shade with only their legs getting any sun. You should see how brown their legs are. LOL. It was a slower pool day so they had the chairs and pool mainly to themselves. We walked around the park , made some lemonade, sat around the table, sun tanned in the backyard, and talked. A nice slow day .

Around 4 pm we decided to  head to one of our favorite spots , “San Tan Flats”.                                       This is a outdoor ,

dirt floor, picnic table , firepits , music stage and amazing food. It was a warm night to sit outside. Mom had a white vest on which was scary with the picnic tables, smoke, and the amount of BBQ sauce on the ribs.

 

She ended the night without a single mark on her vest. Everyone had the ribs which are fantastic. Add the loaded baked potato,corn, and bread and you have a very filling meal that is know through out the valley as one of the best rib places. The owner is a political voice and has signage all around about freedoms and rights including a lot about his fight to have dancing in the county outside while serving alcohol.  Love this place.

Thought of the Day 

If you were a 99 lb person and ate  1 lb of nachos would that make them 1% Nacho ?

February 20th 

Bigger breakfast ( eating toooooo much, oh well next week) and readied up for the day. Our first stop today was the Target store. While the women shopped I sat in the in-store restaurant and had a popcorn and soda pop. It was great and the time taken seemed very short. Then off to Famous Footwear. After that we needed to pick up  some groceries so Jackie headed in and we went for a short  drive to sight see. We drove a long ways and tried to get back in about 3/4 hr. Ended up being an hour but Jackie still wasn’t done. It takes her a long time to shop for groceries. LOL.  Back home for a quick lunch then off to one of my favorite spots the Mesa Market. We spent  all day there until close. Mom bought a manufactured color flower bouquet. It will look great on her deck. We will return it with us in April. Darlene and Kari found jewelry,license plates and a few other things . I love this place and saw a few things for us to go back to get later. I think this year before we leave we will visit and pick up a few Christmas presents to bring back with us.A good day. Had a great supper, watched a movie and went to the pool. How much better can it get. ( well golf squeezed in is nice).

Tomorrow the big day at the Ghost Town and Tortilla Flats.

Thought of the Day

I hate last minute shopping ,it’s always unsuccessful, as I run out of time.But it does save money.

 Got up and readied for today’s adventure. Mom then suggested we go out for breakfast instead of having it home. So we quickly changed our plans and decided a big

breakfast, snack lunch and then supper at home.  We decided to go to the Waffle House which is a American breakfast establishment.  I loved the place, the food was perfect, the service very quick and the pricing reasonable. I did notice a few facial changes from some in our party but after the meal I believe everyone was thoroughly satisfied. The only negative could be it is a diner experience not a fine dining breakfast spot. Real food, real people, real life.  I should have been in marketing. After breakfast we

headed to the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine town. This is an awesome place.Mom, Darlene and Kari all bought the package deal which includes the train

ride, the gold mine tour and the mystery house tour. Mom did excellent especially in the mystery tour house as it can cause nausea with the way it plays with your sense of balance.

Up to downtown for the gun fights,shop the general stores and visit the candy shop. Had a great time at the Gold Mine.   We then headed into the Superstition Mountains to see Tortilla Flats. Great drive up the Apache Trail which is one of the “Must Drive Highways” in the USA and it was excellent. Had to follow a large motor bike from Washington that had an older guy driving that had to much bike. They need to test people on the size of bikes they have. This guy was the slowest driver and had to brake on every hard corner. I had to tailgate him a bit as the traffic was backing up behind us. Finally he decided to pull off and braked hard before leaving the pavement. Old guys, big bikes bad combo. It is like putting a 70 yr old in a Vette. Why?  I promise not to be that guy. I have driven Beartooth and Apache Trails. Still need to do the Pacific coast and Road to the Sun even though the highway to the sun road we have driven is listed as one of the most beautiful. Stopped at Tortilla Flats and saw more gunfights, listened to a great band and had a ice cream cone. Lots of gunfights today. Great day with everyone having a nice time.

Thought of the Day 

I know what you’re thinking. “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?

— Dirty Harry

February 22nd

Up early to take Mom, Kari and Darlene back to the airport. We hope they all had a wonderful time here in Arizona. I was impressed with Mom being able to go on the mine tour, the tilted house and the train ride plus walk around for most  of the day at Ghost Town.  It is funny how one forgets how old someone is. She also walked the entire Mesa Market the prior day. She also though had her rests and doesn’t quite have the stamina she used to have just a few years back. Age has caught up a bit. She did very well . It is to bad about her shoulder and elbow as they do really affect her ability to carry things.

Here is a picture of the flowers I will bring back with us she bought at the Market. They look great on our deck and will look fantastic on hers when we bring them home with us and pot them. Water required-none.

It is funny how different people are in the sun. Mom can’t spend any time in it without burning and even burns through clothes. Kari is ghost white and burns extremely easy and only spent a few minutes of the week in the sun, and Darlene burns, freckles like lego build a tan all over her and I require no suntan oil except for the top of my perfect bald head. Jackie turns a wonderful brown color but is prone to heat rash.

Today , a rest and relax day. Jackie moved a few things around and made the decor

of the house look even better, I chopped off some longer arms  of some Desert art we had which I think drastically improved the look of it and hung it up outside. Looking at this picture next Friday at the market I am going to change  the outside to lamp to a Mexican sconce.

Fiddled around, measured for some privacy screens for our back deck and then settled in to watch the PGA golf. I was glad Dustin just about won to get the bad rep off his back. I am sure the Gretzky family was pleased. Having a playoff is always fun to watch.

Then it was Oscar night. I like watching these events. I find it fun to see the stars ,the dresses and the jokes.The Grand Budapest Hotel won a way too many awards.Jackie and I watched about 1/2 hr of this movie and walked out. IT IS A HORRIBLE MOVIE and yet again was giving a lot of awards. Critics are the worst to judge a movie by.Patrick Harris did a great job . Some funny moments and some awkward moments. Lady Gaga sang and was fantastic and seeing Julie Andrews appear after the song was excellent.

Jennifer is always one of my  favorites. She looks fantastic and her dress is always incredible.Breast taking really.

The most important event that happened at the Oscars was when one of the writers of the movie Birdman in their acceptance speech gave thanks to his dog Larry. If parents aren’t going to name their kids Larry at least the movie stars recognize a good name and are naming their loved pets Larry.

After having our light supper we went for a long walk. Working on getting  under my max number again.

Thought of the Day

If women really wanted to impress men with the way they dress they would just wear the designer “naked”.

February 23rd

Not quite a beautiful day in paradise. A little cloudy day with a few showers thrown in here and there. Jackie was very busy sweeping, vacuuming, and washing today after having company. Place looks great. I went to the Mobile Home Depot store as they have the aluminum posts I need to add on to my rear deck enclosure. I ordered the two privacy screens and picked up the posts and brackets. Tomorrow as it is day off golf I will install the brackets and posts and have it ready for March 5th when the screens arrive. A little cutting, measuring and leveling and  I will be done. I will look at the outside lamps at Lowe’s also plus trim the trees a bit. Have to be careful with the trim as the fruit trees are starting to blossom. I will look at a platform (base) system as I am going to build a outdoor BBQ island encompassing a fridge and room to enclose the recycle and garbage bins in. Thought is steel studs with hardi-board or Durarock sheets attached and I will stucco it and add a slate top. The base is the only difficult thing as I need it to be structurally sound and not sink in the ground.

Had a tee time today at Western Sky Golf course. Super twilight deal at $36.00 with cart and gps at 2:00 and finished all 18 holes with plenty of time to spare before dark hit. This is a very nice course and I have booked there again for Wednesday. We both had ok games. Starting to have good thing happen but missed at least 6- 4 ft putts that would have dramatically changed the score to be excellent instead of good.

Monday night just wouldn’t be Monday without Willy’s. No patio tonight as it was a little cool out. Love their burgers !!  Hated the calories and fat levels but it is Fat Willy’s burger night and the next few days will be great to get rid of any extra weight.  All is good.  Finished our great meal and then headed home to watch “The Bachelor” He sent the wrong girl home !

Phoned Mom and she seemed in very good spirits and said she had a great time in Phoenix. We hoped she had.  Fairly busy week coming up with Jackie & I golfing Wed, Jackie golfing Thursday, lunch on Friday and then Jackie heading home to Calgary on Friday night for a bit.

Thought of the Day

I love it that I don’t have to shovel sunshine ! To my fellow Albertan’s remember the months of the most inches of snowfall are March and April.

February 24th 

A little cloudy but still quite warm.  Work clothes on and out to the back to install my brackets. Cut and measured and installed all of the beams needed and will install the privacy screens on March 5th when they arrive. The structure is starting to look great. Went to Lowe’s and picked up the bits and pieces I needed to finish off the irrigation system for the new grasses, palm tree and pots. All done for now. Jackie and I on completion were sitting in the sun at the back when Bob came over  for a visit. Pulled up a chair and I had a Mexican beer Tecate provided by Bob. I liked it as it was quite smooth and refreshing.That is three types of Mexican beer I like. No I don’t want to move there or even visit there. Another Canadian tourist killed there on vacation. Not your typical safe place to visit yet thousands go there due to the price. Be safe don’t go. It was nice to have a sunny spot until 5:30 pm in the back tonight. I think we will get good use of the space. Perhaps my water fall will still happen. Noticed  a steady increase in the gas pump pricing here In Phoenix. In January the lowest we paid was $1.74 and today the highest at $2.21. It sure makes a difference on a fill. We had another wonderful day !

“MY RANT”  

 VESTS-

• When should you wear them ?
• Who should wear them?
• Why do people wear them?
• What are they ?
• Where should they be worn ?

 Questions need answered. I am asking. Ok here we go. FIRST who wears them. I have come to the conclusion that everyone male and female over 60 wears wears one of these. I think at the beginning they thought it was stylish but realized it kept them warm.A security blanket of sorts.Young people wear them to cover muffin tops and rolls. Over 60 it seems the body thermostat breaks and people are cold all of the time. So if you see someone wearing a vest rest assured they are most likely OLD. SECOND who should be allowed to wear one. Cops should have bullet proof vests, cowboys should have vests to protect their organs when bull riding and leather vests cause they just look cool, anyone in a boat if they don’t want to drown, and cross walk guards as they need them to be seen.Bikers are allowed as we can’t tell them not to. No one else.THIRD is why would you want to wear a vest. If you are cold what makes you think your bare arms are going to stay warm. Who has warm arms and a cold torso.Wear a coat ! If it is hot out why wear a vest just put on your t shirt. Maybe it’s like having a ton of blankets on and you putting one leg out or you letting your nose freeze from out of the covers. Confusing to me.  FOURTH is the when. THERE is no time when a person should wear a vest. A sweater vest would be the absolute emasculation object.Another thing I have to watch out for as I age. If someone sees me in a vest please hit me. Really please. 

 

Thought of the Day 

I think vests are all about protection. You know what I mean? Like a life vest protects you from drowning and bulletproof vests protect you from getting shot and the sweater vest protects you from pretty girls. I think a vest and a bowtie achieve similar results.

 

 

 

February  25th

Wow up at 8 am as the phone rang. It was Jackie’s golf girls arranging their upcoming day. Their golf tournament is 50’s themed so some of them are wearing poodle skirts.This should look great on the course. Jackie doesn’t do poodle yet.

As we were up we started doing a few things that we needed done. Our Home Depot Gutter installation guy showed up right on time. We need new gutters as the current ones are totaled and the neighbor being about a foot lower than us when it rains floods his house.Funny thing I sold vinyl gutters for 15 years and had a great sales pitch and was confident in them performing well. Wrong ! Hot heat and vinyl don’t go together. I have 1″ gaps at the junctions and the trough is warped so water runs behind it instead of in it. So I am getting 5″ seamless trough installed on site in the next few days. The pricing surprised me a little as it is quite high per lin ft but it is needed and I like the warranty and reputation of the Depot to deal with. I am moving to one down pipe to run into the front street instead of another one in the back that affects the neighbor.

Picked up Bob and headed to the golf course. Western Sky golf course again gave me a deal I couldn’t refuse through GolfNow. $36.00 for 18 holes, GPS, and cart for a very good course. First hole I took a triple on and thought “oh *&$#” not another poor game. Then things started coming around and I ended up with that triple and a final score of 83. I have decided to start calling Bob ” BUBBA BOB”. This guy is amazing. We golfed with a young kid that works on the course and golfs everyday.Bob out drove this kid on every hole. On one hole it was a 335 yard drive. The man is sick. Bubba Bob is also 68 years old and I have never seen ANYONE drive like him. Even in the Pro-am’s I entered I never saw the distance combined with consistency. He scored a 77 and could have easily done better with a little luck and the odd miss not happen. The young kid quit after nine as I am sure his ego was in disbelieve. Grey Power !!  

This course has the neatest GPS on their carts. Someone needs to invent a golf ball with a gps signal. They could sell tons. Western Sky also has lighted driving range that stays open until 10 pm. Lots of lights so you can see the ball distance perfect.Great idea and was very busy.

Jackie picked us up right on time and we headed home for supper and then a long walk later in the evening.

 

Thought of the Day 

It’s about time someone combined the genius of walking sticks with the ingenuity of cattle prods to create a handy device for shocking oblivious young people who are stomping around leashed to their mp3 players , cell phones  and knocking down old people like bowling pins.Seen it too many times. 

February 26th

Jackie was picked up at 6:30 am to head out to your tournament. She is becoming quite dedicated to golf getting up that early.LOL.

As I was awake, I got ready and headed out to find an oil change facility. Had the oil changed ( wasn’t that cheap as I need a new filter). Funny thing is as I said before the customer levels from American companies is far superior to what we get in Canada. The boss made a young employee drive to Auto Zone to pick up a filter as they didn’t have mine in stock. The oil change combined with the filter wait took about 3/4 hr but they did a really good job including topping up all fluids, and vacuuming the inside of the car out will the others worked on the engine. Right next door was the carwash so I stopped in there also to get it cleaned. I checked out the pricing of a manual wax ( want to make sure car doesn’t fade in the sun) but they wanted $49 bucks. So I headed to Auto Zone and picked up a bottle of wax and tire dressing. Spent a couple of hours waxing and polishing. Turned out great but the dressing doesn’t shine like my old fav Armor All.

Then off to the Home Depot and picked up the backer board, slate tile and accessories to tile the cantilever in the backyard.Got it about half done and Jackie returned so we needed to get a quick supper and cleanup for our Barry Manilow concert.

Talking to Jackie about her golf game she had an awesome game scoring a 93 which is her lowest score ever. Great score. She brought back a very nice package of prizes as her team finished up in the standings and draws. She golfed with a lady that has a 16 handicap so you know she is a great golfer that has been married 61 years. The activity level of some of these seniors is amazing. GREAT GAME JACKIE !!!

Our tribute to Barry was fantastic. He played with a full orchestra. Three wind instruments, two guitarists, drummer, key board , three back up singers and himself at the grande piano. Some great songs and a very very well done show.

Thought of the Day 

I’m not saying my golf game went bad, but if I planted tomatoes even they would come up sliced.

February 27th

Ran to Home Depot first thing to get a few more things I needed to complete my slate project. A beautiful warm day working in the backyard. Sure gets dirty working all day . I finished installing all of the slate tiles and it is going to look great. Nice thing about slate as the tiles are different heights etc and it has a rustic look it makes for an easy install especially considering the structure I was installing on as a add-on for a/c ducting wasn’t exactly plumb or square. After the grout it will all come together. Worked the best part of the day on it. Jackie had a lunch date with one the ladies she used to work with at the bank so wasn’t home much of the day. Making the bed for the tile is like making pancake dough and as you all know about making to much. So I have a 1/4 pail left that will harden and I will take it to the dump.  Hopefully will guess better with the quantity of grout.  Finished up , rested a bit at the patio , Jackie got ready to catch the plane and we decided to head up to Fat Willy’s for Fish Friday. Awesome fish meal ( never ending) with great tarter sauce. Had our wonderful meal on the deck at Fat’s and then headed to the airport to drop Jackie off. She doesn’t arrive in Calgary until 1am. Timing is everything they say so it works out Jackie has a small contract to help out the bank while in Calgary. This will help pay for the eaves trough etc. Jackie is gone for a week so I will get a few things done here I want, golf a couple of times and relax. It is always nicer to have someone here but the short time will go by quickly. We have two cooler days coming up with it being close to 70  only and possibility of rain. Maybe my trough will be installed before then.

Thought of the Day 

 Home alone —

Expectation— Party Party !!  Reality —- Peeing with the door open 

February 28th 

For some reason having the bed all to myself didn’t  result in a great sleep. I guess it is sort of like going to a hotel the first night. Tonight I am sure it will be better. Got up this morning and had a bachelor breakfast not the regular smoothie.  As the next couple of days is going to be cool and even looks like the odd shower  I will work fast

to complete my slate tile project. I found a premix grout sanded that should work perfect. I finished all of the grouting and I think it looks great. I covered it with rocks and plastic sheets to keep the rain off it. Hopefully it will be fine.  I then  moved to the BBQ and took apart the insides to thoroughly clean it. I also wanted to get all of the measurements for the outside kitchen I want to build. The unit will perfect for me. I then moved to the next project. I smashed out the old tile ( black/white tiles) out of a metal side table. I installed a nice mix of slate and porcelain tiles in them and I think it looks fantastic. The grouting tomorrow will finish it off.  Had quite a few visits from the neighbors while working.  The day went by very fast. Made myself supper and starting working on our budget. I am not finished the final inputting of all of the numbers as my eyes and mind got tired. I will finish it tomorrow as it is supposed to be only ok out. When I say ok I mean 65 to 70 degrees but overcast of drizzle. My kind of winter.

Thought of the Day

To golf or not golf ?  What a dumb question.