May 1st    14 months of Enjoying Retirement

Up earlier than normal today as I had to take the Wrangler in for an oil change and service inspection.  Funny how these garages always try to up sell the service. I have 26K on it and they want to change all diff fluids. You can guess what I said. My Dad a incredible mechanic used to say ( you have fluid closed in a case with no dirt having access the only thing that can happen is excessive heat breaking down the oil) Oil today is even a better grade than years ago. Perhaps at 50 to 75 km I may get it changed. I also wanted a touch up paint for the hardtop as before my special racking when lifting  and lowering the boat Jackie just didn’t have the strength and we have a couple of touch ups required. The parts guy says after searching the computer he is sorry but Jeep doesn’t make that touch up. After a little discussion and us both agreeing that that is illogical I said thank you and will order the product I need that Jeep makes on line. Everyone has to learn their job but it does get a little frustrating at times dealing with a newbie or a slow person. LOL. Is it politically correct to say slow person ? I think so.   Had a great conversation with my shuttle driver over the upcoming election. If the polls are correct Alberta could be in a very rough ride if the NDP wins a minority govt. Look at every province that has had a NDP party rule and it is the standard spend and tax program that bankrupts them. When a new party takes over and governs correct they come back to life ie Sask. The NDP is a socialist party, all for unions, higher taxes and high spending on health care and education. It caters to idealistic, feminist,environmentalist,activist, socialism, unionism  and uses the philosophy of a tax grab but provide over service thinking that that government isn’t spending . My ultimate hope still is for a Wildrose minority or at least a coalition between the WR and NDP to form a functioning government. That won’t be easy as you have far left and far right. A little scary for Alberta as the votes this time are not for someone( party) but against someone. Wildrose voters do no sway from your vote thinking you need to vote PC to save the province from the NDP. A rightly cause but if you vote as you know is right and some of the old PC voters come aboard we could have a minority WR gov’t.  DON’T trust what the polls are saying. Look at the last election. Remember the ONLY stronghold NDP has is in Edmonton and if the rest of the province votes “normal” they will not win. I won’t make a comment about Edmonton and why they are they way they are.  Rachael is a strong speaker, very articulate, smart charismatic person just has a WAY WAY to far to the left thinking that will bankrupt Alberta. In a downturn you DO NOT fool with royalties.You don’t tax large businesses more and expect them to hire more people. There are some great ideas and some horrible she can bring:

1. Getting rid of the flat Alberta tax ( bad idea to begin with)
2. More taxes to the top 10% income earners
3. Job Creation credit – good idea
4. Min wage increase- NO not now
5. Ban corporate donations to political parties
6. Eliminate the health levy- IT should never have been gone int he first place. Let people share some of the cost
7. NDP will not support any piepline project

My only complaint about the WR party is they don’t want to rebuild the Kananaskas  golf course . It is an iconic course and a tourist destination.

These are just a few things. To end it all. VOTE SMART not NDP.

My a/c guy for the condo just showed up so hopefully only a small bill for this. In a condo you need a/c as the heat builds up especially with in floor heating and without a lot of draw through of air it creeps up and stays up.

May 2nd – May 3rd

Honeywell was excellent. The unit only needed to be recharged and we had one small leak from a joint. Caused by the moving of the unit while the balconies were being worked on. Sure is nice to have a cool place. It is not good for any fridge, a/c or deep freeze to be left not running. They are designed to run for years but with no use the refrigerant goes bad and every one can seize up. ( I leave my Arizona fridge on all long, I need to do the same for my BBQ fridge and will next year)  All fixed now for a couple hundred so I am relatively happy.

Installed the batteries in the motor home. Can’t understand but this year it was easier than I ever remember. Must be the “new” light me as lifting those 60 lbs blocks 4 ft up and over the opening to get them in isn’t easy.  Removed the cover for the year and will wrap it up later outside with Jackie as it is 40ft long and 30ft wide so is heavy and cumbersome to fold up. I store it downstairs in our locker.  Motor home wintered well and is ready for summerizing this week.

Went to the Turner Valley AGM meeting. Interesting meeting with all of the data they gave us. They hope to include a mandatory restaurant,golf shop charge to help the club and get it’s members  to spend some money there. I am all for this. They also want to start a no show charge which again is a great idea. Good meeting. In the meeting we look out and it is snowing. May and snow again ! I didn’t golf as it was a little cool.

Drove up to Charlie the accountant to get all of the paper work for Peter’s taxes. Long drive but needed to get it properly done. Quick trip up an down.  Stopped to get Dave’s & Erin’s taxes for Jackie to complete them. Erin was actually hospitalized with the flu ( thought originally was meningitis). Didn’t stay as I was scared to get sick. Other than the normal grocery shopping and house cleaning etc not much happened this weekend. I have a few games booked for this upcoming week. Unfortunately Jeff is very busy with school  so I won’t get to play to often with him until he is done. After my last men’s league score I want to practice practice. I want to get more consistent as scoring a 76 and a 99 within two weeks of each other sucks. I have played two games with glasses without good results so may revert back.I  will go out single ( as everyone is working LOL ) and men’s league, and with Jackie.  I will get a hold of Paul and Garth to see what I can arrange with them.

Plan is to relax and watch the game hopefully with a better result tonight and go to bed to get up early for a early morning game.

Thought of the Day 

I like to call in sick to work at places where I’ve never held a job. Then when the manager tells me I don’t work there, I tell them I’d like to. But not today, as I’m sick.

May 4th  ALL THINGS STAR WARS DAY

Well the game didn’t exactly turn out how anyone wanted. We knew the Ducks were a good team but they have made us look a little weak for two games. They have dominated 4 out of 6 periods. I hope the Flames can pull one off back at home in the Sea of Red.  I think most people feel a little disappointed and are just hoping they can turn it around. Getting back all of the our players would help.

Up early as I had a early tee time this morning. It is very nice to see the bright sunshine and see the snow covered mountains in the background. We live in a beautiful part of the world. I was under time pressure today as we had a meeting with our financial planner set for 3pm. The course had a hour frost delay but due to people not showing up or leaving we got bumped up and only started 1o mins late.I was hooked up with three great guys. All younger retired guys. A school teacher, a renovation guy and a gas man. All had the right idea to retire as soon a possible. So we had 4 guys in their mid to late fifties all golfing rather than working. Life is good. Fun guys that made the day a very nice time. All of similar skill levels also which was fun. I golfed better today getting a 86 but am not, just up to par. ( pardon the pun) . We all walked the course and the only pain I can say ( excuse) was my elbow still is quite painful. I don’t believe it effects my score but does hurt.Wonderful temperature that made it easy to walk and not be to hot or cold. No lost balls just the odd mistake including me leaving my favorite wedge on the driving range and having to wait to use it on the back nine only. Scored 4 better on the back nine so the wedge does help. I think I may have converted one of the guys to become a full member. At our meeting on Saturday the average price per round for full members was $36.00 per round for Turner Valley  which is a very very nice course. GREAT VALUE and I am very happy I joined a few years ago as the initiation fee keeps going up.

Hurried back to Calgary to meet with Patrick our financial planner. We went over our last years expenditures and our projected expenses and he is going to formulate a plan of withdrawal’s that give us the tax benefit. I expect to spend less this year than last as we have learned a few things and will make wiser decisions on others.Having said that I am extremely pleased with the returns Patrick managed as our principle grew not shrank based on our spending needs. We were lucky as Jackie earned income last year and we had “cash” saved a fair amount to access rather than pull from investments. We will see how this year goes.

Peter’s retirement home is under lock down as the flu is making it’s rounds. Luckily he is not one of them and hopefully will stay that way. No visitors allowed.

Tomorrow will be the most interesting day in Alberta politics for at least 44 years. I am going to assume no one will vote PC. So the choice is between the Wildrose and NDP. Just one thought. Why would any Albertan vote for a party that will not support a pipeline out of Alberta. We are a OIL province !! Think before you vote but vote !!

“PENNYWISE TIPS”

Everyone needs a financial  planner on their side. There is too much to know with registered, non registered, taxes, withdrawals, LIF, RRSP,TFSA,RIF,LRSP etc.  They have the knowledge needed. Just make sure your guy is not paid on “selling” you things to benefit his salary instead of having your best interests at heart.

Thought of the Day

 Choosing not to vote is a vote for the status quo.

May 5th

Corey last night had food lodged in his esophagus so Victoria took to the hospital while Jackie and I watched Jackson sleep. As usual the emergency wait times were long with Corey not getting back home again until 4:30am.  They will be a tired couple today. Hopefully the doctors can find something to help as it can not be a good feeling to have blockage of food in the passage way. This isn’t the first time so something is wrong. I hardly chew my food so I would be in big trouble if my esophagus wasn’t working right. Perhaps my large pieces of food have exercised it and stretched it enough I will have no issues.

Received our tax refund back ( boy are those guys fast) so will have enough to live on for 3 or 4 mths with out having to withdraw from our savings.

I need to go to Michael’s today to get some paint to touch up Mom’s decorative metal flower as it has a couple of rust spots on it and will make it look just that much better. May wash the motor home and measure my boat seats for my new fish finder plywood holder I am going to build. I want a plywood holder that slips over the seat that holds the battery and fish finder and has storage holders for other fishing stuff like the pliers and a hole for holding the net upright. I will take a picture when I am done.  Should work great, I hope.

 

Hockey game tonight which we all hope Calgary wins but more importantly plays well. Cheer loud guys !!

And most importantly GO VOTE.  Just one more time . The PC’s have to go, the NDP is not the right party for Alberta ever and the Wildrose while newer and inexperienced will do a better job. Vote smart !

Well , the vote didn’t turn out like I had hoped. I am glad the PC’s were sent a message but the WR as the government would have been a lot better. I will guarantee that the majority of NDP voters do NOT have a clue what the parties policies are.  Their own candidates now MLA’s don’t even know as they were still in school. Remember the NDP win’s in Quebec.We could  have  four very tough years. The large businesses are not going to be happy. ( more taxes)The OIL companies which are the bread & butter of Alberta are going to be very upset. To not support pipelines in Alberta is ridiculous. To tax big business and drive business out of the province is just as ridiculous. To revisit oil royalties when the pricing is so low and drive the business again to Saskatchewan is ridiculous. I like Notley as she is smart, articulate  and is very level headed except for the party policy. No NDP party has stayed in power for long with their spend and tax policy and socialist system.

Good thing  though we have a new government that a has a strong opposition. I believe people voted for the leader not the party platform which will come to bite us. Look at some of the candidates  the NDP has. A student now will be a MLA deciding our future.  Four years of no growth, high employment and higher taxes.  Interesting what the rest of the country thinks. Lower equalization payments will hurt them also. Interesting times ahead with a governing party not knowing what to do and an opposition party in the same boat.

I have always said Karma is a wonderful thing. After what Jim Prentice did to Danielle Smith ( her now being out of politics and her at fault also) it is only fitting for it to happen to him.

Calgary Flames-How is it possible that wasn’t a goal !!!!!!!!!!!   Looked like another Tampa like payoff to the league. It was black and white.Johnny Hockey comes thru again. They are sure fun to watch. Amazing game and can’t wait for the next one on Friday.

Thought of the Day 

Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.Politicians and diapers should be changed frequently and all for the same reason.

May 6th 

Well our vote is our vote.  Look at the TSX drop today as the OIL companies are scared. Those who voted NDP must think CEO’s are dumb as they react to the vote !!We are going to have a tough time ahead.  Newbies that don’t have a clue. The bulk of NDP candidates are young young women. There is a saying “When hell freezes over”   IT IS SNOWING IN EDMONTON TODAY. Ironic. LOL   Can’t say I am impressed with the Calgary vote but same goes for them.  Unions will love this. Environmentalists will love this. Women will love this. Social ideologists will love this.  Education and medical institutions are loving this. Where is the money going to come from ? Get ready for a boom Saskatchewan. It is also ironic that a have not province like Quebec is also supporting a socialist government. Wonder why ?   Being retired I don’t have to worry about reaching sales  goals or profit goals ( a economy that is stale makes this difficult) but I need the TSX to do well.  Increased taxes and royalty changes will hurt them, they won’t hire, their profits will be down ( 2% for sure as they pay more tax) and our economy will sputter. The price of oil luckily rose a bit in the last while which is good.

Golfed today in the cold. It was only 9 degrees which caused the course to have only a few golfers on it. I didn’t do well though getting a 87.  Hopefully tomorrow with a little warmer temp I hope to score better as I have my men’s snip game. Just lack of concentration ( some lack of skill,LOL)  But a cold day golfing is still better than a warm day at work.

Kudos to Stephen Harper in getting BILL C-51 passed. It amazes me how people can get upset at a government that is only trying to protect us. There is nothing in the bill to be controversial if paranoia didn’t affect certain groups of people.  IF we had a govt that was corrupt some abuse of power could happen but this is Canada and we just had a govt that allows our “secret service” to protect us from terrorists. We should have had masses of people demanding this bill. Uninformed people again getting carried away. What people forget is the caveat that requires CSIS to get a court order whenever its proposed disruption violates the charter of rights or breaches Canadian law in any way.

We had our condo meeting again tonight and the balcony repairs estimate was too low so we are getting hit with another assessment of  7K. There goes our deluxe abroad vacation.  That’s ok though as I love spending my time in Mesa in the winter and a  trip to Europe isn’t our highest priority. Good thing Jackie’s contract is still on though.

Thought of the Day

Europe has a lot of stereotypes anyways.- French are arrogant, rude, and frivolous; Poles are unintelligent; British have bad teeth and a superiority complex; Germans are humorless, beer-drinking megalomaniacs; Italians are loud, uncouth gangsters, Greeks are hairy baboons etc. Why would I what to go there again?

 May 7th

Up at 7:30am to golf with my men’s league today. This golfing is becoming like work. LOL NOT!   It was supposed to be cool out but turned out very nice. My partners today all were low handicappers. I golfed very well today just didn’t have a good final score due to 2 holes that blew up and a way to many 3 putts. No one played close to their handicap even though both of partners won first and second net low score money. We only had one birdie in our group.  Fun group, great golf course, good golfing and just a lot of fun.  Talking to everybody in our group after golf and no one voted for the NDP. It is amazing how the split vote, the urban vote,  and the younger population  put them in power. No one is happy with a lot of joking about their policies. My hope is 4 years goes by with not to much damage or debt.

Watched the Players while in our windup and Tiger hitting the ball wild again. Remember another women has just broken up with him. LOL Or is it an injury ? He could be off balance with a sperm buildup in one nut not having a woman friend right now. Hopefully he feels better tomorrow.

Jeff has us a front table again at the Dixon’s bar to watch the game which will be fun tomorrow night. GO FLAMES GO  . I would consider this the pivotal game.

Thought of the Day 

People say you can’t live without love, but I think oxygen is more important. Just saying. 

Random thought-  how do porcupines procreate ?

May 8th 

Funny world we live in.  We release into the public a self confessed murderer and convicted of providing materials for terrorism,and planting mines. Now the do -gooders  are happy he is released from prison. Ever hear of “cell” in the population, every hear of “radicalization” of young people, every hear of brainwashing. What would make anyone believe he is different today. Remember the name Omar Khadr as I am sure some time in the future it will be in the public again in a bad way.  People need to have second chances sometimes but a convicted murderer and terrorist believer does not.  Not in today’s climate.

Picked up my touch up paint at Big 4. Paid $18 for it while on line it was $11.99 usd. Too much of a difference but I didn’t want to wait.  Washed the Jeep this morning and used the paint. Turned out great so looks like new. I ran out of Armor All though .It makes the Jeep look great with the plastic fenders and tires done.  Paid some bills.  Fixed the cuckoo clock timing and printed off some receipts.  An easy day today. Love it !

Watching the Players tournament today. Tiger just didn’t well again. I think he will make the cut though. But our David Hearns is right there.Tied for second. Let’s all hope he continues as a Canadian win would be awesome.

Here is my picture taken on the 17th hole at the Players. Odd I don’t remember but I am sure I landed on the green. LOL   I do know I had a lot of fun at the tournament and golfing numerous Florida courses. I played the Sawgrass course quite well.  A fun trip that I won’t forget ( except if I made the green or not,LOL) First time I went to a Brazilian Steak House which is another amazing experience.  Most cities now have one and it is a great unique experience. Got to love meat.

Thought of the Day

A diet is the penalty we pay for exceeding the feed limit.

May 9th

We had our usual table booked a few feet away from the big screen right in front. A GREAT game to watch. A fun game to watch with both teams playing well. Unfortunately the young guys ( remember we are in a rebuild stage) made two costly errors. A give away in front of the net and a dumb penalty to end the second period that came back to bite us. Disappointed in the outcome but not the effort. We are in a tough battle now but there has been a few comebacks from a 3-1 to still win.  We can only hope.

Still full from last nights events with beef dip, Dublin dippers, chicken wings and beer and beer. Good thing I walked the course twice this week. LOL

Driving up to Edmonton for a short visit and taking Mom out for supper today for Mothers Day. I touched up her flower she bought in Mesa and will give to her for her balcony. She chose a great looking one and with the touch ups it looks fantastic. I think next year I will get a couple for ourselves.  Mom choose a great color to go with her decor.

We will drive back today to be home for tomorrow’s BIG DAY.  A beautiful day for a drive as it is bright and sunny.

 

May 10th 

Well we all know what day it is. Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Mothers out there. It is by all accounts the most important job in the world. For anyone that isn’t a Mother it is the biggest thing in your life to look forward to. Mother’s are the nurses, the councilors, the maids, the drivers, the cooks, the faith givers, the sounding boards, the crying shoulder to lean on, and are the glue to most families. To raise a child has to be the best gift we as humans receive. So celebrate today!

We had a beautiful drive up to Edmonton. The road traffic was light, the sun was shining and it was relatively warm. Made our usual stops on the way to visit Mom. Dropped of the Harry’s lamps at their house that Keith bought at the Mesa Market. Love the looks of the Mexican, Western style metal art work lamps.  Had a nice visit with Mom n her new place. Her apartment looks fantastic with it’s modern looking design. We went to Lowes to buy a room darkening blind that I will install behind the light filtering one to darken the room for sleep. I will make a trip up there in the next bit to install it and a system to hide her TV cords.  Jackie, Mom and I headed to the Keg for a Mother Day Meal. I love the Keg and as usual they didn’t disappoint. A Keg Caesar is  always good and you can’t go the the Keg and not have a steak. Mom loved her loaded baked potato as at her place they don’t feed them to many potato’s that way. A great meal and visit and headed home for Mother’s Day here in Calgary. A warmed cinnamon bun and a smoothie in bed for the Mother of my kids and a colorful golf skort ( she is still earning money so I bought a gift as we decided  otherwise it is just a waste of money)   We will find out this am what the girls plans are.

Thought of the Day 

Mom, only a Mother as perfect as you could have a son as perfect as me. LOL

May 11th

A nice day ahead and lot’s of plans. First the Mother Day thing. Made our breakfast and drinks for Jackie to enjoy in bed. She read and sipped until mid morning. Opened her card and gift which I was very happy with as again my choice fit her perfect and looked great on her.  I read a bit, watched the Players a bit , washed the

Jeep and relaxed. Wasn’t that a great ending to the Players. Awesome that Ricky won especially with the media building up the hype about being over rated. That 17th hole is a fun hole to watch and Ricky killed it.

Jessica & Penny were coming to meet us at Corey & Victoria’s house for lunch and a visit. We all had a great get together and lunch. Penny is looking quite prego now but looks great. ( she did fall asleep on the couch for a bit but as she is pregnant that is ok, LOL)   We all had a lot of fun playing with Jackson and visiting. We lost Farley ( Tor’s dog) for while and had to do a neighborhood search to find and recover him. Luckily he only ended up next door.

Victoria, Corey and Jackson along with Jackie and I headed out to the golf course. I even wore my PINK JW shirt that Laura Kirk sent me years ago for Mothers’s Day but had to put a cover on as it was a little cool. But i did wear my Players hat for the game. We played a nine and dine. It was a lot of fun with Jackson being our cart driver for the holes. He is starting to get idea of turning the wheel in the right directions.  Again at supper we had fun listening to Jackson. I asked him ” So what do you want to be when you grow up ?”  His response ” Well I want to be a policeman and a robber” My response ” Well that is one way to keep yourself busy”  It is a lot fun to have a little kid that is bright and humorous in the group. He was very good playing all nine holes with us. I can say Mckenzie Meadows is a very easy course compared to my home course. My course demands you to be a better golfer.

Then home to watch the game. I think everyone in Calgary and I am sure anyone that understands hockey will say Calgary did well. A team that was supposed to finish near the bottom of the league ( makes the playoffs and second round) to play so well all year. The Ducks talent pool was just a little better than ours. The young players made a couple of costly mistakes that took there toll. But it was great hockey to watch and a lot of fun. Thanks Calgary for being such an entertaining team all year. As a team in transition ( rebuilding ) we only hope next year is as good as we continue our search for another cup win.

Thought of the Day

It is better to have lost than never to have tried. The never quit team !!!

“PENNYWISE TIPS”

1. Make sure as a couple you are both on the same page with all purchases, spending and saving. It will not work if only one of you has the buy in.
2. Make sure you have power of attorney’s on financial powers and medical powers.
3. Remember joint line of credit history is only on the person that is listed first on the report. As a young couple it is imperative that each have established credit scores.
4. 50/50 sounds like an ideologist  dream but in reality really isn’t fair. The splitting of bills if that is your solution for you should be split proportionate to income. One person shouldn’t be left feeling the poor mouse. Jackie & I always pooled and and split as needed so we didn’t need to deal with a more cumbersome method.
5. Make a joint plan on spending and saving. You will SAVE more if you have a plan even if you were unable to follow thru exactly.

May 11th 

What ? Snow!  Woke up earlier this morning as the garage was been cleaned and we all needed to park on the street by 7:30am.  Large fluffy flakes were falling. It stuck to the cars and grass for about an hour than vanished. I was going to get the RV ready today but I don’t want to get it dirty so will wait until tomorrow. Isn’t retirement great that I can decide that instead of having to rush things. Golf tonight which will be cooler ( 14 degrees) but still will be fun. Just fiddled around, worked on the computer and email ( got to send out my jokes) and fixed things up around the house.

Met Jeff at Turner  and we started around 4:50 to golf. Both of us had good nights. Jeff golfed quite well with the usual mistakes that happen but he drove very well and putted decent. I golfed very well with a lot of pars but still got caught with 3 holes that blew up. I can break 80 on TV if I can go a whole round without a blowup hole otherwise I am sitting high 80’s or low 90’s depending on how bad the holes were. I had a 4 over and 2 – 3 over and still managed to break 90.  We were going to support the clubhouse as the food has really got quite good there but they closed the stove down at 8pm so we headed to the bar where we know it is open and they have those great Diamond Burgers. Fun night and just the start of the season so I can see plenty more ahead.  Jeff drove into the golf course today with their Acura instead of the usual Caddy. The entire rear end was missing. I don’t know for sure but perhaps Wendy had a unfortunate circumstance happen. Usually if it is the rear end it is the other guys fault which means the other guy pays to get it fixed but I believe they are getting it repaired themselves. Perhaps a backing up incident. Funny looking seeing a car missing it’s entire rear though. Funnier that Jeff had to drive it >LOL  I will bug him next time.

Watched the Voice tonight and man are those singers amazing. They are all great but I am leaning that India be the next one eliminated. Miss waiting for hockey games to be coming up.

May 12th

Watched TV a bit in bed this morning. Funny news that happens all over the world. A lady has a baby on board a Air Canada flight and claims she didn’t know she was pregnant. Come on. If the insurance companies buy that we are in trouble. I Think she is saying that just to get the medical covered as she knew if she told the insurance company she was 9 months in she wouldn’t be covered and her doctor would have said no flying.

Poor Nepal getting hit with another earthquake. People are scared to sleep inside and I don’t blame them. It must be horrible to be there and have everything gone and still have the fear of more hurt possibly to come.

Picked up the motor home for it’s spring readiness day. I washed the entire motorhome. Polished the rims. My elbow hurts more washing the RV than golfing. Changed the oil in the generator, cleaned the fridge burner, cleaned out the furnace area and started everything up. Checked the fridge, checked the stove, the furnace, didn’t do the A/C though, and then started to sanitize the system. I flushed out the entire plumbing system for along time with city water then I filled the tank with water and bleach and let it sit for a while while doing other things around the RV. Flushed out the tank twice and then ran the lines again until my grey water was full. Tap water is clean and with no smell or film so everything is good. Checking when I got home next year I will remember to use more bleach. I used 1 litre to 75 gallons which they are saying needs more bleach. Next year !. Everything is a go and ready for the weekend other than reload the blankets and food.  Tonight I will pick up Corey’s unit with my Cherokee and start installing the Patty-o-Room.  Great day !!

Thought of the Day 

Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you chose. Anything less is a form of slavery. Did you chose this morning to go to work rather than enjoy life ? 

May 13th

As previous on crazy news.See the idiot on the news make sexual explicit comments into a reporters mike on TV. Good for her to challenge the situation. Found out today the public company the guy worked for at 6 figures was fired for misconduct.  I believe the guy should have been fined and perhaps even sentenced criminally also. Some would say “but he was on his own time unless he was wearing company logo’d shirts or attending using company seats”.   BUT if anyone is aware of this guy working for this company it does tarnish the image of the company having someone like that working there. Perhaps this public firing will result in better behavior by a lot of people.   Manners and respect seem to be disappearing. I blame a lot of this on our “new” way of thinking on punishment, feelings, and leniency.

I went over to Victoria’s place today after lunch at Boston Pizza with a friend Of Jackie’s from the bank. The place was empty which was sort of nice. Had a great meal as usual.

Charged up Corey’s RV battery. Picked weeds in the front yard and Corey arrived home early as the housing market is slowing and he didn’t have any work for the balance of the day. Housing starts have fallen 50% in Calgary in April. We drove out and picked up his trailer from storage and worked on it for most of the day. Filled the propane tanks and sanitized the water tank with bleach. Sanitized and cleared out all of the plumbing lines. Measured and drilled for the Patty O Room.I love these

things. If it is raining you can spend time outside shielded from the wind and rain with the flaps down, or if it is buggy out you are protected from the mosquitoes with the screening and flaps up and if you have company you can have a full room for them to sleep in and heated with either a electric ceramic heater or from the furnace by leaving the trailer door open. They are awesome and we used it for years numerous numerous times with our kids.A queen air mattress works well in it. I can see them getting a lot of use from this for years especially as Jackson gets older and wants a friend along.

I have a early 8:20 tee time tomorrow for my Men’s league. That means getting up at 7 am or earlier. That is all wrong for a retired guy.

Thought of the Day

Camping- where you spend a small fortune to live like a homeless person. 

May 14th 

Up early this morning at 7 am.  Looked outside and saw the rain.  This is my men’s league morning and I don’t care to golf in the rain. ( there is plenty of sunshine days coming this summer)  So up early and out to drive to Turner to see if the rain was affecting the course. At 8 am and 5 degrees and still raining at the course I decided not to golf. I had misplaced my rain gear, togue and mitts which would have made a cool day. Out of the 30 golfers 23 did decide to carry on. That’s commitment. Having the luxury of going south in the winter I do not need to get in as much golf as I can as the weather there is always great and I will pick and choose here in Calgary.

Went to Safeway and bought all of the groceries we need for the weekend. First time out this weekend so I know we will be missing stuff. It takes a bit to discover what you have and don’t have. As long as the furnace works, we have enough food and enough dry time to enjoy a campfire it will be a good weekend. Hopefully we can get our golf games in.

Arrived home to find Jackson was visiting us due to circumstance.  This kid is great fun but wears me down. We played hide & seek, cop & robber, lego, domino’s , played in the gym, more hide & seek,put our feet in the hot tub, and more games. It is a lot of fun but is very tiring especially when you are awake earlier than normal. And this was with Jackson not feeling well.

Thought of the Day 

Admission to Papa’s and Grammy’s house —  ONE BIG HUG 

May Long weekend. No internet so will post everything on Tuesday with pictures and stories. 

May 14-18th  LONG WEEKEND    

I love the May long weekend and have been camping on this weekend for years. We started when we were teenagers , sleeping in tents. Lots of beer and steaks. We started the girls camping at a very young age and in fact had them in their playpen in the middle of the tent. We then moved up to tent trailer ( I still like these as they are very roomy with two queen beds being pulled out plus the table bed) . We had some very cool and snowy weekends in that. After that we camped in luxury with a 20 ft trailer, then a 30ft trailer and today a 29ft motorhome. I love the cool fresh air at night, the camp fires and the cooking outdoors.

We arrived early out at the  Three Hills Campground and Golf course to check out the place as I had booked it only by seeing it on the internet. Turned out to be a great place. The typical campground in the prairies with a few poplar trees thrown in for looks and protection and to annoy everyone with the sticky pollen shells falling on to the cars, awnings, and tracking in the units. The golf course I would say is fantastic and would be a awesome course if they could expand it to 18 holes in the coulee. But as it is, it is wonderful and was in perfect shape. It is in a

large coulee with a winding creek on 50% of the holes and tall fescue on the edges. The course can eat you up quick if you aren’t straight. We were all set up before people starting arriving.  A couple of new units this year with Ron getting a 32 ft brand new 5th wheel ( super deal on it) and Fred selling his motor home and buying a 27 ft 5 th wheel which he made an amazing deal on. Very nice units. We also had a lot of grand kids this year ( 6 grand kids total) which was fun to see the kids play and have fun. They had a blast and i think every Grandparent or parent would say they all were exceptionally well behaved especially considering one day they were contained in their units for most of it. This

year we had, Ron, Merle,Jason, Caden, Keith, Jenny, Jason, Stephanie, Braille,Ryley, Amanda, Justin, Fred, Terry, Amanda,Kate, Scarlett, Victoria, Corey, Jackson, Penny, Jessica, Jackie and I.  The kids loved  the camping and sitting around the fire on Friday night as it

was warm and a lot of fun. Good thing everyone is always prepared and no one

was cold. We got lucky and Ron saw a free firewood sign at a construction site in Three Hills so we loaded up the truck with good spruce framing cut offs that burnt extremely well and provided the needed heat in the evening and roasting spot for hotdogs and smores.

Saturday it was raining. It rained the entire day and evening with solid rain and showers continuously. People spend time indoors playing games, a group went to the Drumheller Museum and three checked

out the gopher museum in Torrington but it was closed yet for the season. One of those cold wet days. Sunday morning the typical smell of bacon in the air as everyone enjoyed the best breakfast you can have by being cooked outside.  Then our first round of golf.  A little cool at about 7 degrees but manageable with it raising about a degree a hour.  Great golf course !  In perfect shape !  First game golfed ok and scored an 87.  A new course so not perfect golf for anyone but overall very good for each person. Caden rode with his Papa the entire 18 holes and had a lot of fun hitting the ball, and putting when he had a chance. A very nice well behaved young boy. We then had our annual potluck supper which I love, a few others do also,  but I am not sure of the entire group so I may not organize this for next year. I guess some of them aren’t used to the structure or system. As part of the potluck Fred brought us from his home stores  pickled carrots, beets, and homemade pickles. Awesome tasting !! Anything homemade is usually great.In Arizona these potlucks are just about a weekly event at our resort and a great social event and interesting food choices with all of the great cooks out there.Our potluck this year  I thought was quite good with the food accessories, salad choices, condiments and deserts that everyone brought. But I may try something different by having a social meal time with each bringing there own meal which may work better, eliminate the confusion, and timing issues and still be fun being together. We will see.

I also need to figure out a better way to handle tee times as we had a lot of cancellations this year. We did have inclement weather but it is very unfair to the course. Saturday rain absolutely falls under the category of inclement and is no issue what so ever. It just is unfair to the course weather permitting not to give at least 24 hours notice.  Think of it like ordering a pizza for pick up and then not going to get it.Or a special order “anything” and not picking it up. It is a direct hit to their pocket book as lost revenue. Some companies have a 25% restocking charge as some golf courses have a cancellation fee to be paid. Luckily when I talked to Kevin the owner he understood due to the weather all though we did have two reasonable days. I would be willing to pay a cancellation fee to “make it right”. May have to make it a non-golf weekend ( which lends to a lot nicer campgrounds)with anyone wanting to golf driving to the nearest course  for an available tee time booked in foursomes by a team member. Or go to some dinky non busy courses with campgrounds to be safe.

Kieth made everyone that wanted one, a wonderful Caeser  with every garnish you could think of. Some garnishes I didn’t know go in that drink. LOL He only made me two though. Sort of like giving a kid a lick of an ice cream cone then taking it away.

We experienced high winds though just about everyday. We had awning take downs a few times as the wind picked up. While Keith was visiting the museum Fred & I had to take his down and while I was golfing Mel & Fred brought mine in. It appears everyone is experiencing the same issue with them not rolling up straight which makes them difficult to close.  Having Jessica & Penny one night and Jessica & Penny and Jackson the other night our motor home’s furnace got a workout. They like it HOT. I prefer the cool fresh air with lots of blankets but with  Penny being pregnant we needed concessions along with Jackson not staying covered . I am looking forward to a cool night in the condo to get that refreshing cool sleep. LOL

It was great to have everyone all together and hopefully they all had some fun. Would have been better with perfect weather but our history of May doesn’t lend itself to having great weather. 40 years camping perhaps only 10 good years.

It seems other parts of Canada had a bad weekend of weather also. Larry Geddes at Cypress Park texted they received snow and I know Winnipeg received lots. So overall with two good days ( windy and cool though ) we were lucky.

Monday morning golf was another event. It was a little warmer around 8 degrees and slowly climbing but very very windy. The wind got me. Perfect shot ,the wind would catch it and you would be short or it would go to another fairway. Or a mile to far.We all were faced with the situation but I didn’t handle the wind well. Every one had a high score except Jason who had a 88. The rest of us were close to or over 100 as it caused a lot of grief. I need to be better at handling the adversity. Something to work on as it is all mental and after a few bad holes you need to just forget it and push thru.

The kids had a lot of fun playing in the park and grounds with a plethora of games and riding their bikes around.

 

I had a lot of fun antagonizing  others over Flames vs Oilers and Calgary City vs Edmonton and the mess with the NDP.  I will leave the Flames issue alone as we all know who finished last a few times and who made the playoffs but the city thing I have to address. First I have to say that I found out some of my Edmonton friends actually voted NDP so their judgement may be skewed a bit so do their choices of a city to live in become the same ? I don’t need to diss the NDP as the stock market, employment rates, and Alberta bred recession will be their telling story and in just a few weeks we have already seen some of that.  There was talk about quality of life, festivals, roads , amenities, bike paths  etc. Here are some verified facts:

Calgary “The Heart of the New West”

1. #7 most sunshine days in a year in Canada only behind southern Alberta cities and some Sask cities.
2. It is an EPIC Centre :
   • Ranked #1 (Forbes) Emerging World City
   • Retail mega of Canada. 37% above the national average in spending
   • Canada’s Most Wired City ( Macleans)
   • #3 Global Cities on Prosperity ( Conference board of Canada)
   • #4 Top Metro Award ( Site Selection Magazine)
   • #28 in the World Business Competitiveness ( Global Financial Index)
   • # 1 Economic Performer in Canada
3. Ranked #1  Best Place in Canada to Work ( Globe & Mail)
4. Ranked 5th best Place in the World on livability.
5. Proximity to the mountains, skiing, hiking, climbing,camping, beauty, Banff, National Parks
6. 500 parks and reserves including the largest Prov park ( Fish Creek) within city limits in Canada.
7. Youngest population in Canada with 41% between 20-44yrs old. Average age 36. Makes for a very urban modern thinking cosmopolitan white collar city.
8. Calgary has the highest personal income levels per capita and more millionaires per capita than anywhere in Canada.
9. #2 in Canada for corporate Head Office locations
10. Largest indoor walkway in the inner core in Canada. PED15
11. The LARGEST pathway system in NORTH AMERICA
12. Highest percentage of home ownership in Canada
13. Ranked number #7 in the world for quality of life.
14. Greatest outdoor show in the World
15. Home of the longest airport runway and tallest control tower in Canada ( still under construction)
16. Chinooks, numerous winters with no snow.

There really isn’t a comparison but here goes;

Edmonton ( Home of the second largest shopping Mall )

1. Ranked  #3  most livable location in Canada behind Calgary and Ottawa ( based on amenities,real estate ,house pricing, culture diversity and the mall)
2. Home of the longest stretch of urban parkland anywhere in North America. ( this is nice but enough to say Edmonton is great ?) I do really like the River Valley system and the city has done a good job in protecting it.
3. Edmonton has an advanced bus network and light rail system.
4. Edmonton attracts many immigrant workers as it is a blue collar oil and gas manufacturing and distribution center. 25% of the population due to this belongs to the visible minority along with 5% First Nations.
5. PetroChemical is the largest major industry for now. The NDP will change this.
6. Pizza 73 and Booster Juice were born there.
7. Housing pricing very inexpensive as the city attempts to entice people to the city.
8. Crimes rates in Edmonton are above average for Canadian cities. 50% higher than Calgary and Montreal and double that of Toronto a city with 6 million residents.
9. Uof A was rated the #121st best university in the world.
10. Lowest gas pricing in Canada
11. West Edmonton Mall
12. Home of the City of Festivals as an attempt to entertain the population and change any thoughts of leaving. Great marketing and well attended events
13. More potholes per mile of roadway within the city limits of any city west of Winnipeg.

Lucky Edmonton got picked to be the best place to VISIT in 2015 by the National Geographic Magazine.  VISIT one key word, not to live or stay. National Geographic another key word. This magazine’s forte is jungles with apes, monkeys and tribes. What do you think their knowledge of picking a urban spot to visit is ?

So there you have it. Really two cities not in the same league. I was born and raised in Edmonton and liked it while there but I didn’t know any better. After moving to Calgary it was like a whole new world.I like Edmonton but it is not even close to Calgary in so many ways. I do like St Albert and if I HAD to move up north that would be my only choice.  I think most people would agree. I guess the influx of people to Calgary VS Edmonton suggests the same thing. ( pop of Calgary 1.2 million vs 877K for Edmonton “2014 numbers”)   I REST MY CASE

Another fun wonderful May Long weekend in the books.

Thought of the Day 

You have to love where you live as sometimes there is no choice.  It is ok to live in a less desirable  place you just need to be a realist and accept your choice. Yes, acceptance is a choice—a hard one most definitely, but in the end, it’s a choice that only we can make at any given situation of our lives.

May 19th

I had plans to wax, polish and correct my awning today but as Jackie is still ill I am going to take Peter for his doctors appointment. So I will hang around the house first thing and then as you all know the appointment will take up a few hours. It is funny why doctors believe our time waiting in their office isn’t valuable.I always thought a booked time for appointment should mean that time or close to is your time. Oh well. LOL

A beautiful week coming up with the weather being very nice. I have three golf games arranged, I will shine up the motor home, and make my fish finder over seat carrier. We were thinking about buying a newer and a little bigger motor home but I always have second thoughts. I only have 43,000 kilometers this one, I can’t go any faster on the highway to get somewhere, I will sleep the same in both, we will have a bit more room when the kids come,  and will have the additional 50K  making interest instead of sitting in the storage lot, so I go back and forth on this right now. If I could find a unit for around 70-80K I may bite.

Picked up Peter and took him to his skin specialist. We could use Peter as the perfect spokesman for skin care. He used to suntan without SPF protection years ago and it caught up to him. The top of his head had to have a sizable section cut out and he had multiple lesions all over. Also his arms have heavy sun damaged. His doctor has done an amazing job of controlling it and repairing it the best possible. Today was only three liquid nitrogen sprays. Peter was in great spirits, was very talkative and very agile. Probably the best I have seen him in a while. The only thing I hated is the smell of the home he is in and his room. Open a window and get some fresh air in there. Horrible. Dead skin cells , bodily fluids, decaying bodies do not smell good at all. I hate getting older.

I stopped and picked up my wax for the motor home to polish it up. Picked up the tire shine for the Jeeps. So work is ready for tomorrow.

Having an RV is one of the most rewarding things we have ever done. The simple pleasure of a roaring fire, the sights and scenery of any spot you visit, the luxury of having your shower, bed, clothes,kitchen and TV all along with you. MoneySense suggests that Rv’ing is 78% cheaper than a hotel vacation. We are very lucky that a lot of our friends also have units so we can go camping quite easily plus Jackie & I alone or with our kids have gone numerous places that are incredible. Keith took his RV across Canada with 4 young kids in tow. We have been to so many lakes, golf courses with campgrounds and just travelling around that we will remember for ever. It is a good life style and hopefully we have about 20 more easy years. I know driving a motorhome or pulling a unit is not difficult. I could drive 12 hour days in the motorhome in my captain’s chair. This year we have a lot of things on the agenda to see and places to just visit.

May 20th

Thanks Jackie for giving me your summer cold. I never catch anything and this time my nose keeps running and I can’t catch it either. Oh well a few throat lozenges , a couple of aspirin, nose spray I will be as good as ever.

Up and out the door to work on the motorhome. Took it to the car wash and spend $30 on it. I needed to power wash the roof ( and my power washer was recently stolen) which took at least 1 hour on my hands and knees scrubbing and washing. Polished the chrome rims, and started to wax the exterior. I got sucked in to a wax at Canadian Tire that I would not recommend. It looks blotchy and streaky even after power buffing. I will get the correct stuff and start over. Only about 2 hours wasted.Scrubbed off the water stain from the iron water we had in Three Hills and drove it back as it was time to golf.

Met Garth, Jeff and Paul at Heatherglen for our golf night. Everyone golfed reasonable ok with the odd hole screwing up the scores. Paul had an 83 , Larry 86, Jeff 99 and Garth 105. Lots of extra strokes due to lost balls.  A warm very fun night and looking forward to it again next week.  Jeff & I stopped off for wings & beer at the Bull which we haven’t had for a long long time. Excellent !!   Take my medicine and head to bed as my tee time is 8 in the morning with a 30 min drive. But I will get home just in time for a afternoon nap. LOL  Got to love it .

“MY RANT”

4500 tickets given out on the long weekend. Come on people can’t you see it is a money grab and nothing else. IT IS NOT A SAFETY ISSUE. I need to organize a demonstration against excessive use of force. NDP people love demonstration’s so I may get a response. Just use common sense for one moment and say to yourself. If 4500 people are speeding perhaps the limit is to low. It is amazing to me how we just suck up those costs and don’t complain. There are NUMEROUS roads in Alberta where the limit is to low. Look at BC raising the limits on their highways and they go thru the mountains. There is NO proof that raising the limit raising the incidence. Speed doesn’t kill, stupidity and recklessness do. 

May 21st

A early rise when you are not used to it hurts. Especially when you are not feeling well. I took the Vicks, and NyQuil and nose drops. Out the door and to my Men’s league golf game.  We were a threesome today and had a great group of equal skill. But everyone of us didn’t have luck on our side. A 300 yard drive and end up under a spruce tree. A great chip shot and end up rolling off the back and another second shot and rolling into tall grass. We all took a lot of extra penalty strokes.It is the only way to get better to make you make every shot as perfect as you need it. I haven’t scored well on TV this year yet like I used to.  Good things come to those that wait. Still a lot of fun. Today was with two retired engineers. One has a place in Apache Junction which is very close to us.

Our organizer showed me his favorite car. He has a 409 Chevie but he has a Z06 Vette with a Edelbrock supercharger on it. Beautiful car. I would love that one on the quarter mile. The new ones though have an 8 speed auto that is faster than the

manual. This is a 11.5 street car out of the showroom. Now he would be running over 650 hp . If he can keep the tires from breaking loose ( traction control ,launch control) only work at the start he would be breaking into the 10’s. Beautiful car. For anyone that wants to know a supercharger system is worth over 10k itself. If I had a car today worthy it is worth every penny.

I have my first shift this weekend coming up as a Marshal. Should be a lot of fun !

Darn cold just won’t go away as of yet. More medicine.The lack of oxygen alone is difficult as the nose is blocked.

Thought of the Day

Man Flu ( mean flu): An illness that causes the male species to be sicker and more helpless than any other family member. In females ; A cold 

May 22nd

Paid some bills, checked all of the accounts and sent a few emails. It is wonderful outside and I can’t use my deck. I wish they would hurry up. A $16K bill and over a year construction for a 5 x 20 deck is ridiculous. I miss sitting on the patio. I had lot’s of plans today but have decided to take it easy and just fiddle around cleaning the Jeep etc. We are going to the deck at Turner Valley Golf course for supper and a nine and dine golf game with Jeff & Wendy. Should be fun !

I am pretty good at figuring out most anything . A project, a electrical problem, mechanical, household, financial , mathematical etc but I can not figure out golf. I can go out and play wonderful one day and horrible the next. I can score a 76 one day and a 99 the very next day. I could rapidly bring down my handicap to single digit if I played MacKenzie or Blue Devil but I don’t want to as a tight treed course dictates a better golfer. I am going to start doing more practicing at the range. I can draw my irons, I can fade my driver, I can shoot straight most shots but with the driver , long irons and hybrids I am not sure every time where the ball will end up. I have slowed my club head speed up to 10mph which has helped but still that inconsistent slice drive pops up. This week at Turner it was very frustrating as a 300 yd drive perfect would end up near a spruce tree or a bush and I could only pop it out. Another perfect drive and it would roll out of the fairway into the tall bushes. I had 5 holes like that plus the odd missed putt or chip to far away from the hole resulting in a deuce or triple.  I thought I would see an improvement sooner. Darn !!  Nice part about having a higher cap is if I have one of my good games during men’s league I should be in the run for the money. Need to play Heather, McKenzie or Blue Devil a bit more to feel the confidence with a low score. LOL

Off to the course on a nice sunny day for a FISH & CHIP night and a round of golf.

Thought of the Day

Funny thing about people,
They sacrifice their physical & mental health in order to make money and live a certain lifestyle.
Then they sacrifice money to recuperate their health.
And then they are so anxious about the future that they do not enjoy the present;
the result being that they do not live in the present or the future;
they live as if they are never going to die, and then die without never really living.

May 23rd 

Had a very low key day as this cold just doesn’t want leave me. So I didn’t do much of anything for most of the day. Jackie worked until 4:30. Talking to a lady in our condo her small dog was attacked by two large German Shepherds.  Luckily only a surface scratch that bled but nothing major other than the mental stress for the dog and owner. I am all for putting a ban on high risk dogs and very very high fines for dog attacks. In the last few weeks we have had a couple of dogs killed and one young girl attacked.There should be no second chance. A dog bites the dog has to bite it himself immediately. The sad part about all of this is in most cases it is the owners fault they have an aggressive pet.People like to “shock” or “show off” their tough dog as a way of building themselves up. Spiked collars, laughing when the dog growls, encouraging the dog to “go get him “, play fighting with toys all contribute to an aggressive behavior by the owner and dogs. Then when the dog does something wrong the dog has to pay the ultimate price. A fine of $5k for a bite I believe would be reasonable. If your dog growls at other dogs when on a walk do not take them to off leash area.

A wonderful fun Friday night.  We had a beautiful evening with a temperature of about 24 degrees. We sat on the deck and enjoyed a beer with hamburgers and fish & chips. The food at the course was excellent. Jeff had a bison burger which he loves.

Golfing was great in the warmth with everyone doing ok. I was happy with 5 pars on the nine holes

and no blow up holes. We golfed until about 9:30 and it stayed warm the entire time. We will have to do this more as it is a fun evening. Great food, great weather, great course,great beer and great friends makes for a fun night. The only issue I had all night was having to suck up the snot while bending over the putting every time.Most likely cost me strokes.

I had to to a little research on fish vs burger for nutritional value. Not much difference.

Hamburger 512 calories  42% Fat 27.4 g of fat, 8 g of saturated fat and 29% of your cholesterol total

Battered Fish  500 calories, 36% Fat, 24 g of fat, 4 g of saturated fat, 24% of your cholesterol total

Both not good for you. But the sodium in the burger at 34% of your daily total would make it a poorer choice. Either way not good but sure is good to the taste.

Lots of protests against GMO foods lately and specifically Monsanto the agricultural /biotechnology seed giant. Here is a company that helps us feed the world by modifying our food to withstand drought and disease with no side effect to the user. RoundUp scares people though. We can produce a WAY more food faster for the world, and have a tremendously smaller carbon footprint. Other benefits, such as decreased insecticide applications, also are benefits recognized by consumers and environmentalists. Yet the same people that call them selves environmentalist are the same people that are protesting. Odd to me as it seems certain people just want to take up any cause even though the causes are contradictory to each other. LOL . That’s what makes the world go around though. Ever watch a herd of cows. They all follow blindly. Humans are very similar jumping on band wagons with little research. Not counted as GMO we have been inter breeding ie ( peaches & cream corn, etc)our food source for decades and no one complained. 

Jackie and Victoria went over to the nursery and picked up three wonderful trees that will look great in Tor’s backyard especially in a couple of years when they have grown a bit. Corey figures he will dig the holes tomorrow after he finishes golfing. Hopefully he remembers where the utilities lines are as one tree has a far sized pot. Just a beautiful summer day with lots of sun and very warm.

Thought of the Day 

EAT RIGHT, STAY FIT- DIE ANYWAYS

Question – why are there no fat stick men ? 

May 24th 

Up and at it earlier than normal to eat breakfast and get ready for my first day at work. My start time was 11 oclock but as it was the first day and I needed to get a few things done like get a company shirt I wanted to be there at 10:30.  Ran into Corey & Shawn just finishing up as I arrived.They were one of the few on so early.  I received my shirt, got a course layout map and received the full tee sheets.  My order of business was to be the starter as they were running two times simultaneously from the Creek & the Hills tees. It was very busy. I had a blast doing this talking to the customers, arranging for them to tee up and adjusting the tee times as needed. Most fun working for a long time. I thought I had attended a trade show for three days though as my voice was getting rash with all of the fun and conversing that was going on. A lot of nice people out there. Worked as the starter for about 3 hours then after the tee time rush headed out to the course. There are a few holes where the course gets backed up. Holes # 4 and #6 on the Grove piled up all day as they are too short and being a par 4.  Spend a lot of my time discussing things with the golfers. Nobody was upset about the minor delay. Most people  understood and were patient. Having said that, about the back up on those two holes, the rest of course ran very smoothly. Heatherglen is extremely diligent and uses a great software system to track bottle necks and potential issues. They do a great job. Only issue I had was the cart not being able to go where I needed due to GPS restrictions. Good thing I had a map to find alternate ways. I had a very fun day and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Thought of the Day 

My two favorite things golf and fishing. But golfing has one one advantage over a fishing. You don’t have to produce anything to prove your story.

May 25th 

I was very very fortunate to be invited to a charity tournament  called “Drive for Thrive” which will help fund a rehabilitation clinic for recovering cancer patients. From first hand experience some of the guests explained the amazing job that was done to help them. For a worthy cause and especially so as the organizer of the tournament Colin Robertson used to be a VP with Totem Building Supplies. I felt a little bad as most of the invitees were business management of companies that were able to donate large dollars or sponsored the event. I could not.  As an inaugural event it was very well planned and seemed to fly without any major hiccups. Our foursome of Ray Laberge (retired Totem Mgr ) Mike Powell (CEO of Burnco) and Ken Crockett ( VP of Star Building) were a fun group of guys. If you know these guys you know they are all very nice guys with an acute business sense. Ray bought us all “Mulligans” and we guessed our team would come in at -7 as a score as an event to win a prize. I was disappointed in my performance but overall ever one played ok with us ending up at -5 which most likely is the middle of the pack scoring. Ken when he drove straight, the ball went incredible distances , Mike was quite steady and Ray

had some nice to the green shots and putts. One event a “speed hole” where the object was to have each person hit the ball in turn and hole out as soon as possible was a lot of fun. Mike drove straight and long, Ken ran full speed to catch up to it and hit a great short shot just off the green and Ray hit a amazing  chip on to the green and I putted it in for a 59 second time. I thought we could be in the running for this prize but someone did it in 32 seconds.Years ago on this same course ( different hole) same event my team did it, in what I remember at 9 secs as the first shot hit the green ( par 4) and it was putted in. I sent a message to my friend to verify to make sure I remembered correct.

A great course, good food, awesome foursome, very nice prizes and a very worthy cause. I miss not having the expense account or marketing budget to help out on. This tournament was held at the Sundre Golf Club which if you haven’t played you should. It is owned by the TOTEM group as is Grey Wolf  in BC.They have spent a pile on this course to make it one of the nicest courses in central Alberta. Fantastic greens. green fairways, wonderful clubhouse and very scenic and quiet. It is heavily tree lined and on the narrow side for me to score well. But they cut all of the under bush out and mulched it so you still have a play even if you slice into the woods.

It could only be described as a wonderful day getting to see old business associates I haven’t seen for a long time and hopefully raising satisfying dollars for the cause . Lots of FUN!

Thought of the Day 

No one has ever become poor from giving .

May 27th

Very important day. Today is the 6th year Anniversary of my HOLE IN ONE !  And I am playing tonight so who knows .

Up and at it this morning. I have to go to Canadian Tire for a new WIM card, propane hose and find a new Coleman regulator for my BBQ.

I got everything done I needed. Bought the new regulator and hose from Coleman direct. Tried for the warranty replacement but they wouldn’t bite. I am hoping this will fix my pressure issue with the Roadtrip. The hose was defective and didn’t shut of the gas and believe this affected the regulator and I couldn’t get it to unstick. Next trip will be the tell tell.  Bought my new fishing license and renewed my WIM card for another 5 years.  Picked up the new fishing regulation book. This thing is a mile thick and every lake has a different rule which is little scary as you never know ( if you don’t read first) what the rules are for each lake. I noticed that a lot of the lakes are allowing bait now which I always thought was illegal. Poor wiggling worms. LOL

Had our weekly golf get together at Heatherglen. This is the first time I took advantage of my perks which are amazing and not only for me but for the other members of our group. A wonderful sunny day and a lot of fun golfing. Paul ( he is a sick golfer) made a 79 and made it look easy. I was relatively happy but am still missing to many 3 putts and had 4 drives that were shorted out. Garth didn’t make it this week but Jeff, Paul and I still had a great time. Jeff and I’s chicken wings and beer were fantastic as usual. We got a “new” waitress and we had a bit of confusion. We have gone to the Bull for years and have always ordered the wings by the pound. NOT this time we needed to order them in 10’s. I think our newbie was just confused. Then Jeff ordered a pint of beer and I ordered a mug of beer. Both came the same size. Newbie again explains they are the same and only Guinness comes in pints. A pint  is 16 oz. Our “mugs” of beer were only 14 oz. You tell me if you think a bar would have two different glasses 2 oz bigger than one another. Everyone has to learn their job. LOL

Thought of the Day  

Do the carbs in beer count for a healthy diet ?

May 28th 

Wow, up at 6:30 to golf in my men’s league. This is like work. LOL. Weather forecast called for rain and rain and a high of 12 degrees.  Being that I missed once I drove out to the course to see how bad.  I don’t have enough fingers on my hands to count how many times it has being raining at home at at the course nothing.  Suited up as it was cool. Under Amour deserves a medal. Their clothes are amazing. I had a UA tee on under a golf shirt and my light wind breaker and I was warm. Switched to my toque  which kept me really warm. NO RAIN. it was amazing as all around us we saw the clouds and we never got a drop. The older gentleman Gary wore his shorts the whole time. The sky was very very hazy and the eyes stung as the air was full of smoke. As the weather and winds were coming from Edmonton and the north bringing us the smoke filled sky. So a great golf day. I golfed I think ( except putting ) the best I have ever golfed. Everything ( except putting)worked for the first 15 holes and then I took a 8, 8 and a 7. Lost balls. Too bad as I was very very happy.. Great bunch on guys again, a reasonable day and fun time.

Home for a nap as the wind, and early rise beat me. Jackie is going out tonight for a get together and supper so I will just relax. I have to prepare as I need to get up early again in the a.m. as I am “working” all day as the Marshall at Heatherglen this Friday

Thought of the Day 

The most important thing when golfing in the cold is to keep your balls warm.

May 29th

The golf course phoned me late last night to inform as the weather was going to be not great on Friday they didn’t have enough tee times booked to warrant a marshal. So I didn’t have to get up early this am.So I had my smoothie in bed and watched the news and Good Morning before getting ready. Gave myself a hair cut and trim. Hasn’t anyone noticed the amazing detail and attention to create my hairstyle ?  Looked as good as it gets and headed out to work on my fish finder and rod holder project. I built a

wrap over the seat bracket that holds the fish finder, the battery and three rod holders and I am going to install a cup holder on my side. Went over to Victoria’s place to cut the wood and glue and screw. Couldn’t find a few tools but it ended up working out better anyways as the table saw always cuts straighter than a Skilsaw and guide. Used a router bit to make my holders which turned out good. Rather than paint ( and have to do that every year) I am going to varnish it tomorrow which last a long long time. I like it and believe it will work great. Time will tell.  That took most of the day up and it is amazing how fast a day can go by. We have no specific plans this weekend so I would imagine we will putt around and do the odds and ends that always pop up.

Watching the news our economy is starting to soften and businesses pulling back. We have to hope the that things go ok. While the NDP isn’t the direct cause their policies and the perception of them being anti-oil is dangerous. Rachael is doing a good job so far but I am positive if we asked the bulk of the population they would liked to have her as a minority or a union of the two wings. Politics is funny as we have to live with this mis-vote for 4 years and pray that they don’t damage us to much. For everyone’s sake I wish the oil pricing would increase to 80 bucks so everything is easier to handle. She already has given away a lot of money in her very very short term especially when she doesn’t really know the full finances as of yet.Typical  NDP spend and give give give.

Yes to Tampa Bay. It would be awesome to have Tampa against the Ducks.

Thought of the Day 

I am all ready for the summer. Fishing boat it ready,motor home is ready, I have my summer swimsuit body ready, the sun is warming up, the golf courses are waiting and it so going to be a wonderful year !!

May 30th

Wow. What a day !!!

First slept in a bit, watched the news in bed and the morning show in our lovely thick down comforter in a cool quiet bedroom. Had my smoothie breakfast in bed.

So far great!

Did a few things on the computer, paid a few bills and lazed around a bit watching the European PGA tournament.

So far great !

Got already to go golfing as we decided to golf this afternoon and eat on the deck this evening. Dressed all up, got into the Buick to drive the car around to the street to load my clubs from the Cherokee into the Buick. Drove around the corner and the Cherokee was GONE ! Not where I park it any time I use it. Why would anyone steal an older Jeep ?It had my clubs and our motor home winter cover in it. First thought stolen as we have had so many thefts. Then I sort of smiled thinking about getting a payout on the Jeep, new golf clubs ( $2000K) and a new motor home cover ( one small tear in ours).  As we were heading to the course I needed to cancel my tee time.  Thought I would drive down the street to see if the parking authority had moved it. No luck. Then I drove to the front of the building thinking I may have left in a parking spot in error. Then wham there it was illegally parked right in front of the entrance doors. No ticket ! Everything in tack.  HOW DOES ONE FORGET WHERE THEY LEFT THEIR OWN VEHICLE ?  I had come home from Victoria’s and parked there to unload all of the tools. I did it in one load and somehow forgot to go back down to move it. OH NO!

Well out to the course we headed. Getting ready to play I changed into my golf shoes. Looked down and I had two different sandals on ! HOW DOES ANYONE NOT FEEL THE DIFFERENCE OR SEE THE DIFFERENCE ?  I figured holy man this is going to be a day ! Jackie & I had a great laugh together on this. A friend stopped by and said “boy you guys are having a good time.” Him not knowing, us not telling”

Jackie and I both golfed very well. Jackie ended with a 101 which should have been under a 100. She is getting very good at chipping and putting which is making a huge difference. This is with no gimmies or mulligans. I played well ending with a 87 and I took a 8 on one hole.  Lost ball. Remove that hole ( par) I would have a 83 which I like. Oh well very soon a whole game without a hole blowup.

We golfed then sat on the patio in the beautiful sun. It was a spectacular warm night

as at 7 pm it was still 18 above and sunny. The asparagus in the Caeser was fantastic. The meal exceptional at the Turner Valley Club house. It was a great day and evening sitting on the deck enjoying the warmth and scenery.  My kind of day. AND very lucky as things are supposed to happen in three’s.  Although the day isn’t over. LOL

Doing a few stupid things like that makes you think. I pride myself in not making errors, remembering most things and not having things like this happen and I get caught twice in one day with two major things ?   Aspartame ? Senility ?  Why ? LOL

I looked up the first signs of dementia/ Alzheimers  and I am still ok. Whee !

Thought of the Day 

Lying about your age gets easier as you get older because you forgot your real age.

May 31st

A wonderful bright sunny day outside.  End  of the month so worked on my budget all morning inputting the numbers.  I am still happy with the numbers overall . Jackie’s contract has been nice, our tax return is nice and the TSX has remained somewhat ok so, so far everything is going fine and still with more cash on hand that when we retired.We are conscious of everything but have really had a wonderful retirement without a lot of sacrifices.  Having a $16 K special assessment for our deck really throws the budget though. That is a LOT of money.  Plan to patch and put away my motor home cover today. Finish off my budget, relax a bit, watch some golf, and have Peter over for supper to get him out of his place.

I heard through the grapevine that JW Millwork has plans to eliminate Weiser from their product mix. This has to be the only company in the world that is good at shrinking a company.  The list of products that they have given up distribution on is amazing.  Lines that other companies would fight tooth and nail to have as a product line. It is always an easy out to shrink the company instead of finding ways to grow the company which most people would consider normal. But if you are a VP and have to present a budget to a committee it is much easier to explain shrinking sales by a product reduction rather than have to explain a reduction in sales due to poor management, procedures and customer service. Weiser is the second largest product line JW carries after it’s own branded product. If you  did a calculation and took out the inventory dollars,  loss of the margin dollars, the turns, and the labor factor it will be extremely difficult to make this a positive thing.  The sales are a way to high and that profit dollar pays a lot of overhead. Remove Weiser and you can lose 1-2 warehouse guys, 1-2 office guys and 1-2 sales reps which then may make it a neutral return.  The reputation of having a dedicated rep that a customer dealt with for years took a hit about a year ago with dismissals. Now there will be NO need to have a rep call on a company every Friday. The reps do not have the product mix to have this make sense. The sales force can be reduced again as it will not have an impact on the customer. The call cycle can be put on to once a month or less with them just selling interior doors and windows. The main focus for every customer will be windows as it is easier product to sell and millwork sales will continue to decline. I can just hear people in the company saying they were not making enough margin, to much inventory and time spent etc on Weiser.  These same people have been promoted but have no real life business sense. I understand profit & loss statements fairly well and a large hit to the bottom line such as this product line removal will not generate more profit it will shrink the company and cause a greater loss unless overhead is substantially reduced. ( I put out close to $300K of my own money in my own business so I had better understand P+L’s a little) The Weiser line was the reason to see the customer, the reason we had a opportunity to interact with the customer, the ” lost leader” per say as it got the foot in the door to a lot of the stores and gives the opportunity to add sales of other products.

Have I said I retired at the perfect time. I DID !!                                                                                                                                                                                                    I received a picture  of Larry Geddes’s

office and a message saying he is absolutely loving the retired life.  We are very very fortunate to leave these types of things behind. A little verbiage on my part and then back to the real big picture of enjoying life,golfing, fishing, retirement, family and friends and not thinking about work. I do love my new job of being a Marshall ! Looking forward to being at the lake on June 11th .

“PENNYWISE TIP”

Remember starting in 2015 the TFSA limit has been changed from $5500 to $10,000.  I wish we would have had this available to us for years as the nice thing in retirement you don’t have to pay any tax on the withdrawals. 

Thought of the Day 

To shrink your company to grow is a unique method that has proven effective the ODD time.  Very rare but has been done. Not when the reduction is 20 % or more of your top line sales.