November 1st – November 19th

Turns out I had the day Fred wanted to leave to Mesa wrong. Darn it ended up that i was moving Audrey & Michael. Have I said that I hate moving. Jackie and I arrived early and started the process. Trust me when I say that moving older people and the way they think sometimes isn’t easy. I only wish I don’t become old in my ways. Jackie and Audrey packed while Michael and I moved the heavy stuff up the stairs. Have I said I hate moving.  Alan and Maryann arrived albeit late to help also. We worked all day and with everyone’s help had the place looking pretty good by the end of the day.

Fred arrived and sure enough it was snowing for  our drive. We loaded everything up and headed on the highway.As early as Fred arrived he had to leave his place by 5 am in the morning. We had a bit of snowing weather and fog until about High River and then the roads were good. Luckily at the border we had no traffic so it was a easy pass thru time wise and we continued on the way. It is amazing how cheap the gas is in the USA. It is a little annoying that they pay 50 per litre and we pay over a buck.

The drive was relatively easy with Fred driving for about 6 hours and myself driving for another 6 hours. I had a snow storm for about an two hours of my leg to drive thru and then we stopped in Idaho Falls for the night.As Fred was a platinum member of Best Western we stayed there for a good rate and even received special cookies from the desk clerk. Fred isn’t a  loud snoring at all so I had a great sleep and I believe he did too. Jackie and I have stayed in Idaho Falls a couple of times and my memory let me  down a bit. First I didn’t believe the GPS as I knew where the hotel was and headed straight there.  Talking about supper spots before checking in I said I remember a Olive Garden and Smitty’s. I thought a Outback also but couldn’t remember where it was at.Turns out the hotel I thought was another BW and they had two in town with the second one being very close to the Outback. Checked in and headed over to a great supper of pork tenderloin cooked to perfection. A great supper.  Our free breakfast opened at 6 am so we hurried down had our meal and hit the road by 6:30am. A uneventful drive with Fred driving the first 6 hours again I the other 6 hours. Had supper in Wickenburg and Fred drove the last hour into Phoenix.We used the 303 freeway which worked out very well for us shortening our trip by at least an hour.

The days past quick. Trips to Safeway, trips to Home Depot, phone calls to organize internet, flooring, cupboards, paving stones etc . We checked out Mel’s place and bought the needed material to repair the vent and roof. Checked out Tim’s place and installed a lock and ran water etc to check it all out to make sure it was ok. Worked on charging the batteries of the golf cart, towed it to my place and charged it all night. I think the batteries are toast though but time will tell. Beer, whiskey, great food, and outside warmth make for a good time.

More trips to Home Depot, Mobile Depot, Harbor Freight and we should be ready to demolish. The demolition went okay. If they wouldn’t have used a screw with a head called “church” we would have had a much easier time. No bits to be found to fit this head so Fred ground a bit that worked semi ok. It added a lot of extra time. Being a old hardware guy I never heard of that head.We completely demo’d the cabinets and loaded them to haul away. Removed all of the baseboards in the home. We did have our issues with the screws though that caused a bit of repair for us in the ceiling and walls but nothing major and won’t take much time to repair. 9 am in morning the dump opens for our first load. We will return and get the flooring up and take another load before 11 am. Paving stone Mexican help will be installing the pavers at 7:30 am also tomorrow. After lunch our new cabinets are supposed to arrive and we can start the install. We have a good day’s of work with the plumbing changes and electrical changes we need to do. Booked a spot for the pest control company to do both homes. Ordered the laminate for Monday delivery. New appliances are to be delivered Monday also along with the pickup of the old ones.

Pricked my finger on a screw and I bled. Taking a baby aspirin a

day I don’t know if that is good as the doctor thinks. My blood is so thin it wouldn’t stop bleeding. Can’t be a good thing. Ate to much today so better work really hard tomorrow. Golf cart barely got me to Fred’s place before it ran out of charge but tonight coming home even with the lights on it did ok. Maybe just maybe the batteries will come back.

 

Tomorrow after the flooring is out it will be a clean slate to start to work on. I am excited as to how well it will look. It’s going to be nice with all white cabinets, grey/brown laminate flooring, new counter top and new hardware plus a fabulous sink and faucet. Next picture will be after the the cabinets are in.

Well well. The Oiler’s lose another player. First Eberle now McFly. The Oiler’s just don’t get it. You can’t have a young boy play in a man’s game and not get hurt. Too many of their picks get wrecked due to the team putting them on the ice when they are just not ready. It is bordering on child abuse really.  I thought he was playing great getting 12 points in 12 games though.

 

 

Thought of the Day 

No matter your budget, there is a 0% chance that it will cover everything you hope to do.

Another busy day with starting work at 8:30 and working until around 5pm.  First order of business was taking the old cabinets with a full load to the dump. We came home and started removing all of the flooring out of the place. Amazing how heavy vinyl flooring is. We removed all of the baseboards and numbered them for reinstall. Not one broken corner or anything which is great. Loaded up the truck with another full load of flooring and headed to the dump again. Came back and got the tools needed to fix Mel’s place. We used the angle grinder to make a aluminum vent cap work on his roof. After jimmying this it fit on perfect and is done. Fred filled and tabbed a few shingles from the damage of the neighbors canopy being uplifted and all is good. Blackjack is a wonderful tool. Ran the water the whole time we were there as his hot water tank was full of scanky water over the season. I empty mine each year and have never had

this issue. We had it run for at least a hour to get clear and odor free water.  Then off to Tim’s place where we worked on the

door. Finally after cutting the spindle down a bit and adding a lube spray  the lock is working correct. There must be two different widths of patio doors. Ran Tim’s water also to make it smell better. Back to Fred’s place to get the flooring that was glued down off which took quite a while. Ran to Home Depot and picked up and unloaded two full pallets of cabinets for the kitchen. Enough work for today. Treat now is Fat Willys for a beer and food. Tomorrow will come soon enough and the install begins. Tonight is Fish Friday at Fat Willy’s and we had a new waitress that was excellent. She really took care of us making sure we had a great experience. She

thought we were friends of the bar manager.  Can you believe a jug of beer here is still $8.00 a jug, What a deal. I am full of beer and need to start hanging cabinets in the morning at 9 am so off to home I go. It is amazing how many new homes they have sold in phase 3. I would say at least 30 or more. Odd as the dollar is weak but people love the park and are willing to pay the money to have a great life here.

Tomorrow hanging the cabinets will be the test on how well everything goes, I am looking forward to to it being a good day. The 1800 block is up and running on all cylinders with the wine and beer parties all ready everywhere. I would say the bulk of the block are here already. I would say 800 block has about 50 percent being here already. I love Mesa ! It seems like we have been here a long time already when we really have only worked hard for three days. I love being retired !

Thought of the day 

The Alphabet has 26 letters so if the Plan A doesn’t work we have 25 more tries. I will let you know tomorrow how the cabinet install goes. 

Well quite a day today. Starting at 9 am and ended at 5 pm for the work. First was the removal of the laminate in the Arizona room which Fred started doing at 6 am and hauling it to Mel’s place for his storage shed to have a wonderful floor. While at Mel’s we fixed his fascia which had come loose with TEX screws. Then on to the days chore of the cupboards. First I will spoil the surprise as  we were able to completely install every cabinet which I thought would take two days. It wasn’t easy by any stretch and quite tiring but we did it. We hung a ledger board for the top cabinets and used cabinet screws which helped a  lot. One mistake that I don’t like but we can fix is the corner cabinet. As the hot water heater is in the corner our first thoughts were we would have a nightmare. After a lot of deliberation, measuring and juggling things around we cut the cabinet to fit. It requires a huge surgical

cut to make the heater fit. I measured numerous times before we cut and checked again and again to see if it was going to work and we cut. The round cut unfortunately turned out to be about 3 inches

to big on the radius. So the look in the cabinet isn’t the best as of yet. Now it doesn’t really matter as the corner cabinet is useless anyway for storage for anything large but I would have liked the cut to be closer. I am committed to a fix of this before we leave and to come up a solution I like better.. It is only a personal thing but I want it to be better from the inside of the cabinet, From the outside it is perfect. Having said that what we thought would be extremely difficult turned out to be only half ass bad.  Everything else went up pretty square and plumb so I am happy with that. It is quite a chore especially in the heat to get this all done and I am glad it went well as first thoughts of the corner were not pretty.

Fred crawled under the unit and disconnected the stove wire and we will run it to the new location when the stove gets here. Fred is very good with electricity but he works with everything hot. We had one small shock that blew the breaker but Fred survived. I like to wire with ALL of the power off to be save. Having said that though he is very clever with the power aspect and is fast and thorough.

The Mexican workers just about finished the pad beside the drive way today and it is looking great.

After our hard work day Fred I and ordered Pizza and watched a great movie called “Training Day” with Ethan Hawke and Denzel. The pizza deliver man recognized the movie right away. Excellent movie and supper. Fred left early as we big day tomorrow again with recycling delivery and tree trimming as the main focus. With enough time left we will start on the counter top.

It is funny working with Fred. He doesn’t like things on the floor while working and I like everything close and in one spot on the floor. I am sure we could have been done a hour earlier if I hadn’t had to look everywhere for the tools that had been picked up from the floor. LOL  It was a day long epic battle that ended up being a fun event to kid each other about.

Fun project but a lot of work. It is starting to look fantastic. Tomorrow another day that will end up with cuts, scratches and pain I am sure.

Thought of the Day

Did you know that banging your head against the wall burns a 150 calories a hour.

It is Sunday and time for a Sunday special breakfast. Fred and I enjoyed a perfect bacon, eggs, toast, tomato and cheese breakfast. Then we started on my trees. I literally had to yell TIMBER as 8 ft branches were dropping with 2 inch long spikes. One hit me on the head. These trees are dangerous. Worked at getting the fruit trees done and will work on the others later after getting a large hedge trimmer. I need to cut out the large branches and just use it for the greenery. Got out the leaf blower, cleaned up the debris and pressure washed the patio and sides of the house. Uncovered the outdoor kitchen and I have to say it does look impressive . I am very happy with it. Pumped up the tires on the bike and am just waiting for the patio to dry to move out the patio furniture. Just need to move the one post in front of it as soon a is come up with a plan.Today we have decided to rest and take it easy after lunch as we have a busy day tomorrow. Very nice sitting outside in the high 70’s relaxing and enjoying the warmth. Have I said I love Arizona. Muscles are quite sore today along with the back but it should be ok by tomorrow. Our palm tree didn’t survive the summer season. It appears bunny’ s got into the pot kicked out all of the dirt and the sprinkler head was out of the pot which means it didn’t get any water the entire summer. Next year I will make sure our caretaker checks this each visit. He should have caught it but didn’t. What do you expect for $15 a month. LOL   There are a lot of people already here and getting busier each day as the snowbirds start to hit. I know both our block and Fred’s are 90% here already.

Looks like Jessica & Penny are getting their fence done before winter which is great for them with Nellie. Good on them for taking on the project with their friends.

I do know one thing though. I wouldn’t want to be a single person at this age. It would be quite lonely as it is fun to talk about the days events with that special person at days end. Plus I don’t eat as well, don’t exercise as much and drink too much when left on my own. Looking forward to having Jackie down here with me next month.

Thought of the Day

My parents spanked me as a child. Now I suffer from a psychological condition know as “respect for others ” 

Another busy busy day with a little change both for the good and bad. We took another load to the dump and while unloaded the 8ft long branches from my Lemon tree a branch fell and with their two inch long spikes stuck into my forehead. An injured finger now a hole in the head. This work is dangerous. Had to go for a drive to pay for the flooring as the company wouldn’t accept a Canadian visa with the owner being at the store. I thought I knew the way there as I have been there a couple times last year and once I have been somewhere once I usually get back there. Well the road system played a trick on me and the short cut i knew became, ask the GPS and take 10 minutes more. Made it there and went to look at the flooring purchased. We ended with a color and type of laminate that looks fantastic. Lucky as it was a discontinued model at a great great price.It was also made in the USA which is good and is 5 inch wide strips versus the 8 inch which have a greater tendency to buckle and warp. Then off to the Home Depot. Two hours to pick up everything we needed. IT was a nightmare trying to find everything as it was spread out all over the store with no rhyme or reason. After asking numerous times where something was we picked up most everything. Monday night so we headed to Fat Willy’s for the $6 hamburger special. Great deal. Saw Pat & Bob there but it was to cold for them outside on the patio so we didn’t  get a chance to talk to them. And Bob had his vest on even.

Checked out Tim’s place as the power was just turned on. Opened a window to air out the place and made sure all the pee traps were full and the water was running clear.Tried to use our bike but again the tire went flat so I will need to get a new tube for it.  Started on the stove wiring. Fred is good at wiring and the 220 Volt wiring which I though would take us a couple of hours Fred finished quite quickly. Then to put a new box and plug into the

cupboards for the range hood microwave combo. Having to use 12/ 2 wire was odd and little harder. It is amazing the different building codes in the world. I can say we are very lucky to have such a strict policy as the codes here are just to lax.  Another easy move and the electrical was done in only a couple of hours completely.Next was the install of the Microwave. First I have to say the instructions are very weak , non descriptive and too generic as they are trying to have one sheet for all applications. We struggled with this and it took a way to long. We even had a nut clip fall into the oven and we had to take it apart to get it out. Finally got it all fixed but to install ( mount on wall and cupboard) took us about 2 hours which should have been half of that. Secured the last cabinet. Installed the toe kicks on all of the

cupboards. While out picking up products we stopped at a restaurant called the Village Inn. Great place as I will back. It is an upscale Denny’s specializing in pies. Great salad and sandwich. Had the truck get washed in and out which helped relax Fred as it is the only clean thing he has during the renovation. Our next adventure was cutting the 3/4 particle board for the kitchen cupboards.  This stuff is just plain heavy ! Our first circular saw was a less expensive model and the bottom plate was aligned off so we couldn’t use it. We borrowed one from the neighbor which worked out great. A couple of hours of cutting, measuring and we have the counter top ready to glue

and screw in the morning. The flooring showed up and we put it into the Arizona room to acclimatize. I love the coloring of it.  Ordered in Chinese food tonight as we tired after quite a day.  Excellent food.

Thought of the Day 

It does not take much strength to do things, but it requires a great deal of strength to decide what to do and do it well .Success is the delivery of a product that meets expectation.

Another long day but very productive. Started at 9 am today and worked until about 7 pm. Completed the production of the counter top with the screwing and gluing done. Laid the laminate top and the edge on the small insert piece. Plumbing all done under the counter and finished the install of the sink and tap. It was a good day with a lot done and very few issues which was nice. It is starting to look great. After tomorrow it should like a new home with the flooring complete, re install the base and start on finishing the bulk heads and end section of the cupboards. Busy busy day and a very early start tomorrow coming up.

The sink and faucet is gorgeous. It is very modern, will function well and looks great in the kitchen. A great choice as it is large and deep and fits perfectly in the units.

It is amazing to me how long certain thing take to get done. It is fun working with another guy that is creative, smart and thinks about things. Fred works hard with no breaks . I little rammy but sure gets things done !!!

Finished the day with our left over Chinese food which was awesome. We watched a few episodes of Arrow on Netflix. This is a fantastic show that is very well done and entertaining to watch.

Very early morning getting to Fred’s place by 7 am. Our work today was from 7 am to 4:30 pm. Another very productive day with the downspout done , the water lines corrected on the sink, full truckload of tree branches ready for another load to the dump with all of the trees pruned now,all of the furniture moved out and moved in again after the floors were laid , and all of the baseboards installed. The home is coming together. Still on our list. Left side bulk head to complete, right side bulk head to build, backer board to be installed with metal edging,stove side panel , electrical box extensions, baseboard in the closet and hallway,casing around kitchen window and the work is done. Fred plans to prime all of the panel wood bulk heads before we leave. We have planned a nothing to do

day  on Sunday and on Wednesday the day before we leave.

Today was the first day I was tired, A way way to early to be getting up. A good sleep tonight and a good amount of work done tomorrow will be great.

Thought of the Day 

Age is only important if you are wine or cheese but the I think my body is telling me different.

Had an excellent sleep as the busy schedule was catching up to me. Another trip to Home Depot and Lowe’s for product and returns. Another good day. Installed the counter edge molding and caulk which really finished up the counter.Installed the 3/4 quarter round on the base of the cupboards. Finished the baseboards in the bedroom, hallway, and closet.  Installed casing around the kitchen window which made a huge change to the looks.  Installed the end wall board to divide the stove from the room.  At the end of tomorrow I am sure we will be close to seeing the end except for finishing touches and paint which Terry will be doing with Fred’s help. Hope fully a productive day tomorrow doing a lot ot time consuming projects like the install of the handles. Need a quick trip back to the Depot as we are going to change out the backer board for blue drywall.

Thought of the Day

No matter what you are doing there is light at the end of tunnel and it may seem like a lot of work or hard to get to but just keeping working toward to it and everything positive will happen.

Another full day. Finished off the bulk heads which was the most  difficult thing today to do. Just need a bit of trim mold on the right side. Left side just needs primed. Finished off the molding in the bedroom and bathroom. Finished off the end butt board next to the stove. Then off to start on the cabinet pulls and handles. Getting these even is always difficult but my template worked again quite well. While all of this was going on we were interrupted twice. Once for being young and with a truck we were asked to help move a refrigerator from one home to another. We even had to move it to the backyard. I am sure the sellers of the fridge had a bit of “old age disease”  as they were a little confused and anxious over this. Good deed done. Then we had to cut a puzzle board out for a neighbor. All good and another good day with the end getting closer other than prime and paint and backsplash. Fred made us a great supper and we watched a few episodes of Arrow which is a great show to watch.

Started our relax Sunday with a breakfast sausage , poached eggs and toast. Great way to start. Then on 1800 block Mel’s potential future girlfriend needed help. So Fred and I drove down a few homes to trim her bush. Finished trimming her bush in a few minutes with it looking shaped, neat and tidy. Came home to relax. I put new spikes on my golf shoes ( I had to steal a couple from Jackie’s shoe to complete) . Charged my golf cart battery again, found the correct remote and found my special tees and markers. First golf game in over two weeks so hopefully will go ok.  I was going to get our the Christmas stuff but it decided to pour out. Good way to save labor on a exterior power wash. I will work on the Christmas stuff Monday or Wednesday when I get time.

“MY RANT”

I was watching a bit of TV on the Paris attacks. Got me thinking how utterly stupid our new Prime Minister is allowing 25,000 immigrants in from Syria. Now is the time to close the borders not open them to potential radicalized extremists. Maybe only one but it isn’t worth the risk until the world gets a better handle on this. I do like France’s immediate reaction of bombing Syria with jet after jet.  The rest of the world including Russia has to step up. Russia is in a odd place as they had a plane dropped by ISIS and they also supply the same group with their AK47 rifles. Interesting to know what Putin thinks. Too bad that Obama is such a weak leader. The only reason to consider allowing immigrants into Canada is, that  it is the humanitarian thing to do for the Syrian people. But is it the humanitarian thing to do to put Canadian citizens in danger. I think NOT.

Fred and I were invited to supper at Ken & Pats which is nice. We wouldn’t turn that down. Great meal and Pat wanted to play the game called Dice or Bones which is fun. She beat all of us guys !!!!

Thought of the Day

Sometimes one has to be isolated, practice self preservation and allow themselves not be all forgiving or open to protect their own interests and people. There is a right time for everything.

A cold day golfing today and after three weeks of no golf I was a little rusty.  Started to golf with a older Chinese couple and a gentleman from Lethbridge. The couple only golfed three holes then gave up stating it was to cold for them. It was only 13 degrees which is the coldest I have ever golfed in Arizona. I golfed well and golfed bad. Ended up with a 79 but I was slicing and having to shoot back to the green from other fairways. I was happy with the score but on a tight course I  would have been killed . The guy from Lethbridge turns out to be the owner of Sun City Realty.His storefront  is only two stores down from Purely Inspired. Nice guy.   Still a fun day of golfing. Picked up a new tube for the bike as it kept going flat. The off to the Fat Willy’s for the special burger night. While i was

golfing Fred managed to prime the bulk heads and walls where needed. We will install the new drywall for the backsplash tomorrow. We then we will be done until January.

Had the Critter Gitter spray this morning.  Went to  the Depot for a return and to pick up the three small moldings and 1/4 drywall backer board to use. Worked on the drywall which is another dusty event. We are getting tired of dusty !!. Cut all of the pieces and installed them. They are ready now for a mesh backed tile that Terry wil need to pick out when she is here in January. A nice tile that ties the reddish brown flooring with the tan brown counter top will look fantastic. The cupboards look great and I am happy with the final result. A bit of Dap and painting and they will pop. They make quite a difference as you can tell opening up and making the kitchen seems a lot bigger. Plus they are a whole lot brighter . Finished off the pieces of molding, cleaned up and noticed the time had got away from us. Fred suggested after cleaning up we have a lunch / supper combo.  So we headed off the Wells Fargo bank as I need cash for my shuttle ride to the airport on Thursday . I transferred money from the BNS to WF and withdrew the dollars I needed. We decided as a last meal we would go the Golden Buffet. We ate tooooooo much but the food is extremely well done here and the combo meal timing didn’t help. To have ” homemade” food and the choices they offer at the price they charge is amazing. Now here is a smart company offering a senior discount as they know full well most older people don’t eat a lot other than the huge fat pigs out there. Nice to have every thing done as with any job near the end the pleasure of doing the job lessens. This was a big job with the destruction and renovation taking the two of us over a 100 hours to complete. Tomorrow is relax day and get ready day for leaving. I will install our Christmas decorations , clean up, throw out any excess food and garbage and then be set to travel on Thursday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thought  of the Day 

Not sure if I have free time tomorrow or just forgetting everything I need to do.

Picked up my park pass from the office today. Moved things around outside. Still cool with it only being about 10 above. Put out our limited Christmas decorations. Albeit we don’t confirm to the block standard as they want lighted reefs facing north & south while I use a reef hi-lited by a flood light and hanging what I believe is the correct way. I was never one to

conform. LOL   Miss not have a vehicle but I will wait until we get back to get a small pre- lite tree and decorations. Maybe even cheaper as it will only be a few days before Christmas but the supply may be limited. We need to have a tree for Santa with August and Jackson being here.  Wiped down the entire floor, put out the recycle cans, washed a few of my clothes and cleaned up a bit.  Just waiting until tonite so I can adjust them and see what they look like. Quickly trimmed the trees again. Saw water in my pots in the back so the sprinkler system I built was working it is just that the bunnies ripped out the heads. I will replace them once and add chicken wire when we leave next spring. I will also ask the caretaker to watch them. I can’t wait to get back here with Jackie and relax. Nothing like reading, listening to music and sitting in my chairs outside. I see how the sun has affected Peter and the gentleman we moved his fridge had the same thing. He called it basal cell carcinoma. It is not pretty so I have made the decision to take extra care. Last year I started to wear a hat every time when outside and not worry about getting a tan. A tan is in effect already damage to the skin. I think I have everything I need to do before leaving done. Just bringing back my laptop, and the clothes on my back.

Thought of the Day 

The Second Amendment of the US Constitution that give people the right to bear arms maybe just the right way to think after all. If the Paris attacks had happened  in Arizona or Texas you can be sure the result would have been different as there would have been a lot of “soft targets” actually carrying weapons and shooting back which would have saved a lot of lives. Some would say violence breeds violence but in extreme cases like this it solves a issue that few can understand.Those who trade Liberty for security have neither 

Had a gathering of a few couples on their deck tonight. I will say it one more time. Older people like to create stress, and cause anxiety for themselves by complaining about everything. It is like a negative gene overtakes people as they age. I have said to Jackie if she finds me ever becoming like that shoot me please. They can be the nicest people yet they get afflicted and can’t break the cycle. It is an addiction, a habit just like drugs or drinking and a mindset that requires discipline to break.Complaints about the park fees, dinner shows ending to quickly, lack of food at events, drivers, parking, amenities,security deposits, customer service, management lack of response etc.  It upsets them for no reason at all. AND most of the issues are perceived, imagined, or very minuscule in the big picture. I say if you want to complain all of the time LEAVE THE PARK, don’t shop somewhere, stay off the streets, don’t buy another from the store you felt treated you bad, or better yet internalize it and don’t tell anyone . Suffer your own doing. You end up only hurting yourself. You cannot find a nicer, well organized, well cared for subdivision anywhere. There is absolutely no way for anyone to be bored unless they choose to as the amenities are abundant. You can’t go on a special two week trip for the annual cost yet people complain. If you are struggling financially perhaps staying in Canada is your option that you can make into very enjoyable stay if you look for things to do.

Let’s just complain about the weather only please.

Thought of the Day 

There are some people who always seems angry, continuously look for conflict, and are never happy with any situation. They live to complain and let everyone know about every little issue that negatively affects them. And the negativity seems to follow them.

I am sorry but that isn’t the way I want to live. I want people around me that are excited about life, enjoy small moments, laugh at incidences, look forward to something better and make due or compromise with integrity everyday. Life is a way to short not to have pleasure everyday.

I have had a great couple of weeks here working with Fred. While hard work and long it is fun.Missed having Jackie here though. I guess my only comment would be ( not complaint LOL) is that I don’t like to drink everyday. I love the taste of a cold beer after working on a hot day but I just don’t want it everyday. After my liver episode I am very cognizant of how much I drink. I have to watch this when we get back in December as the area seems fraught with people that enjoy the cold one just a  little too much. They forget they are retired not on a short vacation and need to jam everything in.

Travelling tomorrow and arrive in Calgary late at night so won’t be posting until Friday.

Just two quick pictures of family at home in Lethbridge and Calgary. You know that setting a good example for your grand kids takes all of the fun out of being older. So have FUN !!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 20th

Random Thoughts :

• Gone for close to three weeks I expected to see Jackie wrapped in Saran Wrap meeting me at the door when I got home. Didn’t happen
• Snow on the ground when I landed. What with this ? It is nice knowing that in a month I head back to the warmth.
• Food at airports to get anything decent is quite expensive. Captive audience so they push the limits. Good business for them and planning but does hurt the wallet.
• Nice to sleep in my own bed last night. Always good to come home.
• Gained about 5 pounds even with the workload due to beer and junk food. Should be gone by Tuesday
• Nice flight with very few people on board. Security wasn’t anything more than normal and using the phone boarding pass sure saves not having to keep track of a piece of paper.
• Need to get groceries with healthy food on the list. LOL  ( love the three weeks though)
• Uber for Calgary could be a good thing. Cost of taxi from the airport home is now $80.00
• Made doctor’s appointment to squeeze in before leaving again.
• Baby sitting Jackson tonight as Cor & Tor have a Christmas party to attend.
• How much fun it is going to be AGAIN to watch the Stamps destroy the Eskimo’s this Sunday.
  

  Go Stamps Go  Stamp that Igloo into the ground

• Bought groceries for the week with a lot of healthy, delicious items to loose the extra pounds quick.Lots of salads, cordon blue, Johnson sausages,chicken breasts etc
• I won’t make my 100 games of golf this year. Should finish around 80 games with the last ten days of December still to come.
• Proud Canadian and Albertan , ashamed of our governments
• I love it when all of the stars align. Oiler’s in last place and the Stamps kicking the Esks to the curb in the Western Final. All is good and normal.

Made a spreadsheet that I have to preserve and update each trip to keep accurate times, days, etc of our visits to the USA. With the American IRS a Canadian is only allowed to spend 120 days average per year over three years. They use a formula -current year- full days, last year 1/3 days and two years ago 1/6 days.  I spent 134 days in 2015 but only 64 in 2014 so I am still working well under their number. I could fill out a IRS 8840 form that would allow me to stay the 180 days per year but I prefer not to have anything to do with the revenue department. Their laws ( similar to the “world series baseball” make you pay on your worldwide income if you exceed their limit. Time will tell but for now I am happy with the 120 days.

Thought of the Day 

Perhaps the trick is stop thinking of it as my money but refer to it as “our” money. ( gov’t & me)

November 21st

Wonderful to be home until I look outside.  Bought groceries and a fair amount as Jackie I think is a little like me when she is left alone, she doesn’t eat the best. I bought a few different items to make the meals interesting this week so we will see how that goes. Chicken Cordon Blue for Sunday game night. My package from Edmonton arrived from a good friend that I will work on Sunday getting organized. Bob K graciously sent me 5 Weiser Smart Key padlocks. I have about 20 keys on my key chain with all of the different padlocks I have ( as I seem to be a target of thieves over the years)and now I will be able to have a strong lock and I can key them all to a house key which will eliminate some Master lock keys, Brinks keys etc. A couple more of these and all of my storage lockers ( 4 locks) my boat motor ( 2 locks) my bike locks ( 1 lock) will be keyed the same. Much appreciated.

Babysat Jackson last night and visited with Jessica & Penny along with August. Jackson is great kid and we had a lot of fun with him. The best part is telling “true” stories at bedtime. He loves this and it is fun hearing his stories. August is getting to be very strong and is growing quickly. It was a fun night. Jackson told his parents when he woke up that we were making fun of Farley ( their family pet) and it upset him. You got to love kids. But yes we were sort of making fun of Farley. Poor Farley is only 10 years old but has Cushings disease and is looking very very rough. The poor pup is experiencing all of the bad symptoms with losing his hair, pot belly, increased thirst and and being hungry all of the time. He has difficulty in walking and has become quite deaf. Poor Farley looks very very very rough and we hurt Jackson’s feeling’s laughing about Farley.  I don’t believe they can cure Cushings but I don’t believe the pet is in any direct pain.

 

We had a family get together last night at

Alan’s as a pre Christmas event, Kennedy’s birthday and a Bon Voyage to Audrey & Michael. Alan & Maryann made an excellent meal with a huge prime rib roast that tasted fantastic.The meal was perfect and the roast was one of the best I have had. They cooked it a neat way with searing and then low heat for a long long time which made it very juicy.

It is funny when you get everyone together how loud the voices become. We had Alan, Maryann, Danielle, Carter,Kennedy, Adam, Corey, Victoria,Jackson,Audrey, Micheal,Penny, Jessica, August and Jackie & I. It fills the house.

I decided to do a test to get to Alan’s place. They live in the NW and us in the SE two opposite sides of the city. It is like going to another town especially when you get close to their house and see the amount of snow they have on the ground. They are a lot closer to the mountains and a lot higher in elevation.. I took the 201 Ring road which was exactly 61 kilometers and took 41 minutes. On the way back we took Sarcee, Glenmore and Deerfoot which was 40 kilometers and took us 35 minutes. So timing not much different even though the potential for holdups and long red lights is on the Sarcee route but quite a difference in distance.

We had a long visit with the guys and even had supper there with the left overs. Great visit.

We have decided this year not to put up our Christmas decorations as we would only have them up two weeks and would need to bring them back down before we leave. We will decorate a small tree in Arizona that will be fun with the family.

Thought of the Day

Remember as far as anyone knows we are a nice normal family. Shhhh !! Quite temperamental though. You know half temper, half mental.

November 22nd

Had a great sleep in this morning. Enjoyed my morning smoothie and noticed I have dropped two of the 5 pounds I gained on my 3 week adventure. All is good.

Put my new padlocks on the storage rooms and threw away four keys. Starting to reduce the weight and confusion each time I try to open something. LOL  I saved one to use for the boat motor when we are out fishing. Weiser needs to make bike locks also and that would reduce a few more keys. I could use thin security cables but would then need another two locks. I can make due. Love the new locks. I know this product got a bad rap on the internet due to what some believe was a failure with being able to break into them so easy which may or may not be justified but most thefts are done by teenagers that don’t have a clue or the time to waste to try to jimmy rig a lock.  Love them.

Had Peter for supper and had the chance to continue to bug him while the football game

was on as he is an old Edmonton fan. Unfortunately he had the last laugh. I could make excuses and rationalize the loss but when it comes down to it we lost and they won. I do like the fact I have a team I like that I can cheer for on Grey Cup Day.

Go Eskimo’s Go

 

The weather coming up for the next two looks nasty with up to 10 inches of snow coming in the next two days. Darn, I really want to get on the road early with all of the workers . NOT. I think I will just watch the news and enjoy myself. Is that bad.?

“MY RANT”

Our wonderful Premier made another step to destroy Alberta. By 2030 coal mines for electricity in Alberta won’t exist. Can you imagine the cost of power then ? Do you know how many employees plants like Genesis employ’s ? I am positive NO ONE in this government did their research on this. Our coal beds in Alberta that we use for power generation are from the best coal in the world. Coal is organic and is made from decayed plant material.We do not use sulfur ridden coal like other provinces and countries.Our coal burns relatively clean. Yet we are being lumped into the same pot. IT is not even close.No one even considers the fact that our oceans absorb most of the CO2 generated. Caps on emission for our tar sands !!Another knife into the chest. I am so glad I am not in the workforce. All of the workers in Alberta will be hit hard as the economy will not respond to all of the factors that the NDP and Liberals have hit it with. I feel sorry for all of the younger employees and families in Alberta. Wait no I don’t as they are the group that voted these idiots in. Not everyone can work for a union or be a government employee. We are in for a tough 4 years and hopefully when voted out we can recover quickly. We all just got hit with a $50 a month new tax or more as the gas pump price increase and your heating bills rise and wait for your electricity bill in a few years. Thanks ! What baffles me the so called experts calling this “climate change” Dumb ! Our climate changes every second we live. The Earth’s climate has changed throughout history. Just in the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacial advance and retreat, with the abrupt end of the last ice age about 7,000 years ago marking the beginning of the modern climate era — and of human civilization. Most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives. I wish the socialist do-gooders, environmentalist want a be’s and band wagon jumpers would do some research before making rash decisions or following blindly. She wants to reduce methane emissions by 45% . Doesn’t she release our second biggest contributor to our economy in Alberta is cattle. Where do you think the largest percentage of  methane comes from ? Wetlands the other producer of methane is needed to run a natural eco system. Amazing !!!  Does she expect the cattle rancher to have a pooper scooper like a dog owner and clean up right away. What about the waste we use as fertilizer on the fields ?  Instead why don’t they find ways to capture the methane and use it as fuel efficiently.Next she will stop drilling for natural gas as the potential of coal bed methane is there on every drill. It is not a good time to be an Albertan and the situation is only going to get worse with these programs. I bet everyone wishes they were in union to be safe !  The worse part union employee’s as a whole as the least productive and unmotivated employee’s in the workforce. Some refer it to the “spoiled child syndrome”

The weather coming up for the next two looks nasty with up to 10 inches of snow coming in the next two days. Darn I really want to get on the road early with all of the workers . NOT. I think I will just watch the news and enjoy myself. Is that bad.?

Thought of the Day

No one really knows what to say in the losers locker room. I guess you could blame the officials, give up and go home. Or you can learn from what happened and come back to win  the next year.

“Pennywise Tip”

Watch your pennies as the economy in the next few years in Alberta is going to be a disaster. I don’t want to say I told you so. The worst part about that is, it compounds the issue as the spending dries up the economy shrinks but you do need to look after yourself. If you belong to a union,  you better be stepping up to the plate and spending like mad to help the majority of other Albertan’s survive. 

November 23rd

Lucky so far with no snow on the ground even though looking outside I can see it look quite dull and ominous. Looking a little colder outside today also.

We watched the AMA awards last night. Some good performances. Now I strongly dislike Celine  but her tribute to France was very well done. Even the Beb put on a good show. Great lip syncing job while the water was pouring over his head. Did anyone notice ? Lot’s of Canadians winning and participating.  Weeknd ,Celine, Justin, Alanis to name a few. JLo looked awesome and is an amazing dancer. She is 46 years old and looks incredible. The Prince made a cameo and looks a lot different than years ago but again you have to remember he is close to 60 years old.

A short list to do today. I think I will do some house work, start up the Cherokee as it hasn’t ran for well over a month and clean up a few loose ends. Nothing big today on the agenda. Lost another pound this morning so a couple more and I will be back to my new normal.

Helped fix Audrey up with her phone. Downloaded apps she needed and went over a few features. Just need to bookmark the Telus Webmail page for her.

November 24th

I must have lost my mind for a minute 3 months ago. What retired guy is willing to take a blood donor appointment at 9 am downtown ? The snow and wind hit us last night. We woke

up to at least 3 inches of snow on the ground. It normally takes me about 20-25 min to get downtown so today I thought I would give it 1 hour. I arrived right on time ! I won’t go into the driving on the road ( look at past rants to understand how I feel about poor drivers) but the roads were jam packed with accidents everywhere. And it wasn’t slippery as we had enough snow to make it a little sticky along with a good sanding job. As  luck would have it I ended up getting a volunteer nurse that had to be 100 years old ( most likely 65+) She forgot things, she left the blood packs at the counter and had to go back to get them and then she settled me into my bed for the donation. 3 mins later just before the needle poke she runs up and has to remove me as my blood pressure was 1 point to high. So off to the room to get a retake which came in just fine. Nice that people are so giving to volunteer but  certain people can’t manage what is going on.The nurse taking my blood and I had a good laugh together talking about the old nurse running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off. Some of you city folk may have not ever seen this but I can tell you it is amazing. They run around like wild for about 2 or 3 minutes while their head is still  squealing on the ground. It is a perfect saying and description of this older nurse. LOL   I had a fantastic Russian nurse that knew what she was doing and found the vein perfect with no issues.She said it is easy to find just deeper beneath the skin then most. Events and incidences like this make my day. I enjoy the excitement and hustle when people are trying to fix their errors, seeing the panic and wanting to get it right. Like watching a poor driver skid or spin from a stop light. I take pleasure in the oddest things. LOL

Picked up a few groceries , a 649 ticket and will have an easy afternoon until my I see my family doctor this evening. I will spray wash the Jeep to get the salt off it.

“Pennywise Tip”

Quick lesson. If you want to become a millionaire without a huge income, your not going to look like a millionaire. People who save 10% of their net income typically don’t spend money on a fancy car or upscale home. People who wear expensive suits, drink fine wines, and drive fancy cars aren’t necessarily wealthy. Most average millionaires drive Chevy’s and drink Budweiser. Wealth is what you accumulate not what you spend. So next time your average friend buys a new BMW or goes on an exotic vacation let the little guy on your shoulder say to you. ” Yes i would like that too but I know it will feel better long term when I look at my bank balance”  The only consideration needed is not to let frugality wreck your chances of enjoyment. One only live once and we don’t know know for how long. Imagine,One Million in the bank and waiting to long to use it.One great idea is to buy a home you can pay off in 15 years. Don’t get caught up in having the huge fancy home to show off. After 15 years ( maybe 20) all that money goes to RRSP and you will be on your way. The pitfall and friend is time. Retirement will seem so far away but trust me it comes up quickly. Trust compounding interest as it seems slow but once the numbers get higher it starts to look like it is accelerating. Today’s interest rates hurt but at 6% see below what you can accomplish. You will be a millionaire at 65 if you  use this plan and reinvest the RRSP refund each year. This is at only 6% return starting at 25 years old.

Age                         NET income          RRSP Mthly contribution         Tax refund

25                              33K                           275                                           861

35                             42K                            351                                          1324

45                             54K                            454                                           1907

I like the www.retirementadvisor.ca web page.  You can adjust and keep going back to the first page to change returns etc. I input income wanted and use 100% in retirement income as my gauge but if you are younger input the correct numbers. Check the data page and adjust 

Good luck and remember save, save as much as can, but live your life well. Don’t feel guilty if can’t save enough and don’t feel guilty if you feel you had to go to Bali. Adjust. Enjoy yourself , don’t be cheap, but remember you could be here for up to 100 years. 

If only I would have known then what I know now. 

November 25th

Had my doctors appointment last night. It’s like going to the garage with your car. Inevitability they find something wrong. Doctor’s are the same always looking for something to find in a average group of numbers that you are out on. I have removed stress from my life ( working) I have lost 40 pounds, I move now more than ever,I walk the golf course when in Phoenix, I have reduced my alcohol, I have drastically improved my cholesterol numbers then other things pop up. With the heart issue I have they have unrealistic numbers to obtain without drugging yourself. I refuse to take Lipitor as I am positive it is a sham and all marketing driven with no long proof of results other than the side effects. I little more exercise, watch the food type intake a little better and I will live with the outcome. The other off numbers time will tell. I have the best doctor you can have, concerned, hard working and easy to work with but perhaps she worries just a little too much. My numbers may be unique to me. LOL

Picked up my blood pressure pills but was only allowed 100 days by the insurance company. So I will need to arrange a pick up again mid trip to get these. We only have a 90 day out of the country policy anyways so I may come back for a week mid trip. Cost of extra insurance versus round trip air fare will be close if I can find deals like I had to come back this time.

Vacuuming, taking garbage, removing empty bottles etc are my chores for today. Jackie is still working very hard with some nights well after 7 pm to finish off some of her reports.

Put our Jackson picture magnet on the fridge. That kid is just so cute.

Worked on charging the batteries for the Cherokee and RV. It is amazing how fast they decline with no use. Hard on them.  Left the Cherokee to charge overnight at Toria’s place. I will go over there in the morning to see how they came back. I used to like Dad’s hydrometer as it was accurate not  having to rely on digital. I will charge the other two if everything goes good with the charge overnight.

Jackson & Tor invited us to see a movie with them tonight as Corey was working late. Off to see the The Good Dinosaur . You can’t beat a Pixar Disney movie. First I was surprised at the quantity of people that were at the movie that didn’t have kids with them. Young and old.  What a great movie !  It is so well done. Jackson behaved absolutely wonderful. As we were early as this was the first night we got the back row where the big boys sit.Had supper and popcorn and drinks at the movie. Jackosn was a little tired by the end of the movie as it ended late but we all had a fun night !!

Thought of the Day 

Spelling certain words is difficoult challanging  hard. 

November 26th

Jackie left early to help Audrey & Michael finish the small details before they leave for 5 months to Wales and to drive them to the airport.

The Cherokee battery is fine again the the RV battery is at full charge. I moved the chargers over to Corey’s two RV batteries. Batteries discharge quite fast as both my and Cor’s battery only registered low charge. It hurts a  battery to deep discharge them I will talk to Corey to see if we can charge them up each month to keep them in good order as batteries are expensive.

Fueled up today as gas was only 88.9 cents which is the lowest we have been for a while. Checked my lotto tickets and cashed in my one free play. Washed the Wrangler to remove the salt off it. As I have said before I would rather them not salt the road and make people learn how to drive.

Another big layoff on the news today with Atco Gas laying off 400 more people. So far in 2015 there have been 18000 people laid off mostly in the oil and gas in Alberta. And this is just the ones the government knows about as companies have to divulge if they lay off over 50 people. Most likely at least another 2000 more under that mark. Not good. It is amazing to me how Notley is so dumb. Carbon tax, higher taxes, $15 min wage, 20K unemployed, closing coal plants ( will make ghost towns of Hanna, and Wabamun as examples) plus the cost to close and rebuild new plants and none of this is going to hurt the average Albertan. Atco is most likely trying to send a message to the NDP as they are the owners of the Forestburg and Hanna coal power stations. Coal produces 60% of our power in Alberta and we are going to shut them down. I sure hope she eats lots of beans as we will need lots of wind power to make this up. Some thought Stelmac or Redford would go down in history as the worst premier. I think Rachael has that honor even from those that mistakenly voted for her in error. I can see a voter turnout of 80 % and the NDP gone next election. Unfortunately plans are long term and to retract sometimes is difficult without huge economic repercussions.

The most important thing is to work with what we have. Everyone has to try to understand the other point of view even if it is wrong and hope that some good will come of it. There is good to the idea’s just not the timing or implementation.  A brilliant idea is stupid if implemented at the wrong time.

A wonderful sunny winter day today. That’s the nice thing about an Albertan winter. Even though it is cold outside it still is nice looking and feels good to feel the sun on you. We used to be called the Sunshine Province until we received a new name Wildrose which is our official flower. Both names are fitting as Alberta receives 2600 hours per year of sunshine. Northern Alberta gets about 18 hours of daylight in the summer.

Thought of the Day 

Never hold a fart in. They can travel up your spine,into your brain, and that’s were shitty idea’s come from.

November 27th

A sunny winter day today. Had my smoothie and watched a bit of TV in the morning. Got up and headed to the grocery store for groceries. Picked up everything I think we need plus a but extra. LOL

Rinsed off the Wrangler. Drove the Cherokee about 5 miles to keep the battery charged. I will remove the battery cable when I put in the garage when we leave to Phoenix.  Hopefully the battery will last then as it slowly discharges over time.

Babysat Jackson for a while and had a blast. Running down the hallways, playing ball in the gym, lifting weights and riding the treadmill. Lots of fun and he tired me out. He tried getting away from me without his long vibrating lip kiss but i caught him and made him pay. He squeals like a pig but loves it. I enjoy the degree of torture it is also. It is sort of like the habit I have of smacking Jackie in the ass.

November 28th

You have to give the NDP credit. They keep pushing. So they have alienated the oil industry and will continue to drive them out of our province, they have decimated the coal industry with the closure announcements,  they have destroyed the profitability of small business with unreasonable wage demands, they have raised substantially the taxes of every Albertan , they have hurt the pocket book of every Albertan and NOW they are attacking the farmers. Their BILL 6 will kill the small family farmer. Anyone that has worked in a health & safety environment knows it is a huge detriment to running a business and really doesn’t save people. I wasted so much time holding safety meeting ( rules ) that we could have spent selling product and making money instead of wasting time. Ask the floor layer that has to wear a hard hat into a finished building.  Ask a carpenter that has to wear earplugs to use his drill. The plumber having to put on a orange vest to go to the bathroom.This bureaucracy will kill the ma + pa farm yards. Very soon we could have a complete revolt as the only people liking the NDP are gov’t workers, medical workers, educational workers and union workers. Now people are starting to understand the impact of  their policies. I like what the one farm lady said. Spend the money on education not regulation. Sometimes you have to accept the fact that people are going to get hurt and no one can regulate against stupidity or a simple accident. This all started with the tragic death of the two girls recently. Even the parents recognize things sometimes happen and no amount of education or regulation will stop it. Let’s legislate that no kid gets to go outside. That way it will be safer.

Forgetting that, it is a wonderful sunny day here  in Calgary with above average temperatures. I don’t have a lot to do on my list so I have an easy two and half weeks. I could find a few longer things to work on but they can wait until I get back.

Looked in the mirror this morning and scared myself. It is amazing how we change. Most people for a quarter of their life wish they were older. I must be in the quarter that wishes they were younger. You gain incredible wisdom with age, lose a bit of strength and endurance, but to lose my ridiculously good looks hurts. LOL

Life is neat. To see the changes in your children and others is amazing. Here is a picture of

our daughter Victoria’s table set for a Christmas gathering with friends tonight. Aww she is becoming so sophisticated with name plagues and everything. Looks awesome.  Much better than the tea parties she had as a child. Soon she will be listening to opera and drinking fine wine.  As they get older and are approaching mid thirties things change and they are starting to appreciate the finer things in life. They may even be playing Christmas music in the background. Micheal Buble I expect.

I do know for sure Jessica’s life is changing with the addition to the family and new home. It is always fun to watch the changes. Life is amazing. Life is good.

Went Christmas shopping with Jackie today. The stores were only moderately busy. Lots of stock left in them. As our plan is now NOT spend very much at Christmas time it makes it easier and harder in a way. Christmas spending used to be an expensive deal but hopefully this year within reason. It shouldn’t be about the presents anyways. The only pricier presents will be for Jackie, Jackson and August.   It will a different Christmas this year with us being in Mesa but I think it will be a real fun one with our whole immediate family. We will pay for them to visit a few tourist spots and stop in a few classic eateries.

Here is our current growing family. Proud of the them all and very lucky to be able to enjoy them everyday.  Left to right:

Corey, Jackson,Victoria, Larry, Jackie,Jessica, August, Penny

 

Great looking family, You can see Jess & I must have thought something was very funny, Jackie and her sexy look, both young ones looking right at the camera. Do my pants seem pulled up to high.Must be my age and these ones are newer. LOL  Penny’s sly grin, Victoria and Corey looking coy.

November 29th

Will be adding Olive Oil to our smoothie for the next 5 months. I want to see if the claims on cholesterol are accurate even with the high fat content. It is one of those foods that has pages and pages giving it all sorts of claims to help with one’s health.  It is worth a try. The best way would be to use olive oil as sub for other fats but my caloric intake can handle a a couple of hundred extra.

Worked on the November budget to speed up the process when I do it on Tuesday. Numbers are looking ok and being just below budget but still a bigger month with the assessment of 3K having it’s last installment. Finally that is done as $16,000 could have bought a lot of holiday. The just blueskinned our posts so our deck should be done in about a week or so weather permitting. Two years with out the deck is along time.

Having a pork loin roast with all of the trimmings tonight with Peter while we watch the game. Hopefully a good game and even though it is Edmonton I do hope the western team wins. I also noticed today the Oiler’s have caught up to us in the standings. The Flames and Oilers are tied for LAST PLACE in the entire LEAGUE. The battle of Alberta ain’t what it used to be. LOL

Turned out to be a great meal as my rub ( spices, honey, mustard, and brown sugar) was excellent. And the Eskimo’s won in a fun game to watch. I am glad as I have quite a few friends living in Edmonton who really needed this. You could see the despair in their eyes as they have had to struggle with no joy in watching their sport teams. Ten years since the Esks had a chance and ironic as the Oiler’s have missed the playoffs for another 10 years and I was worried for a few of them. You know the saying about living vicariously through your teams and the strain of being a consistent loser for them wasn’t easy on them. So a win finally will really help them be in a better place. You Edmontonians just watch driving to work in the morning will be breeze with everyone in a good mood.

Thought of the Day 

Good things come to those that wait.

November 30th

Riots at the Climate Change Summit. Who would have thought. ?  Goes to show you how the world is split in thoughts. Trudeau talks like a slick used car salesman there. Canada represents 2% of all the carbon emissions in the world and we are destroying our economy while India and China continue to build factory’s to supply us EVERYTHING. with no thought of emissions.The only guy with any real sense of what is going on is Brad Wall. Climate change is not even 100% substantiated by science. The issue is with all of the do- gooder hypocrites that want press. Neil Young, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, Rachael Notley,  etc etc. Did anyone figure out what the carbon footprint is to hold a meeting in Paris. The jet fuel, the electricity, etc . It’s actually quite funny. Some protectors of the ideology  say “Well it takes time to change , and we can’t just close coal plants, stop using cars etc until we have the infrastructure to support the change”  I say BULL and it is cop out as it is not real. Yes we can do a lot to change put we can do it with reason not like what is happening now. It is like a stampede that just gathers additional people in the run as they think it is right. Truth be known these climate change environmentalist thinking followers  are caught up in the hype and brainwashed no different then the jihadists or the Jim Jones followers at Jonestown. Have you ever noticed how dedicated to a sports team. or company, or organization people become. It is the same phenomenon.

I like a reporter today in the paper’s comment on the Oilers and Flames. We both suck but Edmonton has a new slogan to try to appease the angry fans. ” Another Year of Celebrating 10 Years of Rebuilding ” Pretty funny !!

Hung the bikes, brought up the Christmas wrap, closed up the lockers, love my new WEISER smart key padlocks and moved a few things around.

Went shopping to Walmart for a couple of missing items. Scissors, tape etc . Worked a little on the budget and did a few things around the house.

Have I said lately how much I enjoy RETIREMENT. These days I don’t have a lot to do ( i would like a few more things) but I find enough never to be bored. Sort of in a holding pattern waiting to go south. I might add I really hate shopping for presents. If I knew what to buy it would be great but the idea is the headache. LOL  Someone should pick up that and use it a Christmas commercial slogan somehow.

Wrapped up the few smaller presents we have.

Thought of the Day 

Just waiting for another two weeks for new schedule.