Sept 1

Another wonderful day. Up early this morning as I have a golf game scheduled in Vulcan which is about hour and half south of here. One of the TV members Reg arranged for a meeting time to travel together. I arrived a little early and Reg was already there. For those that don’t know Vulcan is home of the Star Trek space ship and even had Leonard Nimoy come to visit.

We had a neat game arranged with two members of Turner Valley teamed up against two members of Vulcan trying for low net as a team and as individuals.  I loved this course. It has two distinct 9 holes. The front nine being tree lined fairways and the back nine wide open. I think it would be an easier course but today we had wind gusts I am sure at least 30 kms per hour or more. To say the least that makes golf harder. A way harder when you are two clubs different sometimes or being blown out of bounds. I found it very challenging and it sure added to the score. Yet when we were done a couple of guys scored 74’s. Amazing. If you want a nice course at a very reasonable rate  I would highly recommend this track. A real nice course with a lot of challenge.  There was a 150 yard par 3 hole that could be called ridiculous. I thought I was playing mini golf. I putted and the slope of the green brought the ball back past me farther than I stood.  Not really a fair hole.  But fun and interesting.

We stopped at the local bakery for Reg to pick up some cinnamon rolls that he remembered as being fantastic and he forgot them in my car. I had hoped he would say oh just eat them when I emailed him to let him know but he asked for them to be given to his golf partner that lives in our building to bring out to him tomorrow. Darn they looked good.

I will go start the fridge tonight so I can load for the weekend. The rainy weekend. Darn!

Thought for the Day  

So it’s raining. You aren’t sugar so enjoy it. !

Sept 2nd to 6th

Well our annual Pembina Long weekend event to get ready for. The weather looks like it is going to be another cold one. Why ? Why on a long weekend when my friends that still work take off for some enjoyment does it have to rain. Last year it rained all three days and we did were lucky to squeeze in one golf game. NO floating for the girls.

Got caught a little off guard with a surprise request to look after Jackson as his day home lady wanted another day off. I had to change my plans. For the 6 hours it was Jackson play time , running, shooting, playing pool, swimming in the hot tub etc. Luckily Tor only had to work until 2:30 so I started to get ready then.

Grocery shopped and loaded the motorhome. Filled with gas and propane and loaded up the clothes. While loading up I experienced a hail storm, then a massive rain storm and then another smaller hail storm and then sunny sky.We didn’t leave Calgary until about 5:30 pm for a 4 hour plus drive. The highway and freeway was insanely busy. We travelled at 20 kms per hour or less for miles and didn’t hit reach highway speeds until after Airdrie and even then we had near stops on the highway with rubber neckers looking at an accident or a someone getting a ticket. We didn’t arrive in Pembina until 10pm. Getting into a camping spot in the dark isn’t easy with the blind spots and you just cant see on your sides. I prefer a trailer to back in versus the blind spots on both sides especially with trees involved. We made it in with only one small issue. They installed cement curbs that made it extremely difficult not to hit with your tires. I don’t want to buy another set. Setup and slides out and had a few drinks and leave the balance of the set up for the morning. The weather forecasters were right on all weekend. They correctly predicted the rain times and the temperatures. 12 degrees was about our average high. Needless to say the women didn’t float down the river. Not only was it too cold but the river was amazingly high. It was roaring and extremely dirty water. The girls had to entertain

themselves in other ways. Paralyzers to the rescue. The new tent, lights, curtains and firepit came in very handy and were very well used all weekend as a gathering spot. We managed to golf everyday at a couple of different courses. Kieth won the weekend 2-1 which cuts into my overall lead by a very miniscule amount. The last day win he golfed the best I have seen him play and I golfed one of the worst games. I could blame it on the adverse weather conditions, the rooster tails coming off the ball as we putted and the sloppy fairways that had water sitting in them but we all to play in the same conditions. He bettered me this weekend. Our golf trip coming up will be his real test. We had some great camping meals, one fancy meal that Jenny made and a few drinks. Camp fires, gatherings, teasing and having fun sitting around talking is always on the agenda and didn’t disappoint. The ladies involved in one event making hats was pretty funny. I think  most of them had had a few

too many. Funny listening and watching them. Overall a good weekend , a fun weekend and I look forward to next year.

One the way home we hit another massive downpour. The wipers couldn’t keep up and then WHAM I look and I only have one wiper and it is not working. The drivers side wiper arm, blade etc had disappeared.  I didn’t hear it or see it fly off. Luckily the rain slowed down a bit and I was able to drive like an airplane with the wind blowing off the rain. Not easy to see but livable.

Got up this morning ready to fix everything. Up so early I forgot to take my pill. LOL   First on the agenda was the wipers as that is a must.  I discovered the whole assembly dangling below the windshield. The wipers motor had come loose and allowed the blade to bend down and get stuck. Tightened up the motor, the blade and checked the other one to find it also a little loose. A much much easier fix than I had originally anticipated.  I then had to park the Jeep near the front of the motorhome to stand on the roof rack to reach the clearance lights. Went to Napa and got a couple of bulbs and replaced these. Dried out the tent on the Jeep the whole time. Whipped to the Flying J and filled up the BBQ tank and motorhome propane tanks and took advantage of my Good Same RV sewer dump discount and paid my $2.00 to dump. I then headed to Tower Jeep for a oil change. My Express Oil change took 2 1/2 hours. GO figure.

MY RANT

Automobile Service Centres.

I think I am on the same page as most people. These shops are crooked. I feel for a lady taking a vehicle in as I am sure they end up buying and paying for a lot of unnecessary things. I understand up selling but these shops are close to being crooked. Last time I was there they indicated I needed a front end alignment. I pull the Jeep behind the motorhome and once had to back up so this I could see as a possibility. I refused it at the time as I had come for my free Express Oil change ( given when I bought the truck). They also indicated I need a brake flush. A brake flush with 40kms and very little city driving. A brake flush on a sealed fluid system. Now there maybe exceptions if you overheated the fluid or moisture contaminated the fluid but brake fluid could last forever. Perhaps a 100 kms change. Any flush is questionable as it can raise sludge from the bottom and do more harm than good. Its like a blood clot going to the heart. Funny thing is right after the advice to have an alignment I had another shop do it. Tower’s boy mechanic most likely didn’t even check the alignment but as I refused last time just added it again. Here’s one real catch. For years Mr Lube and service centres recommended change your oil every 5 kms. Now that I have the FREE oil change for life they put the sticker on indicating 10 kms. Crooked ?  Effective Jan 1 of this year my FREE oil change costs me a $ 9.95 environmental fee. What happened to my FREE.  The entire auto industry from the sales guy to the shop mechanic have questionable ethics. It is not a reputable industry and is full of shysters. Be very careful next time you go to the shop. Find a small independent shop and I think you will be surprised at the difference. BUT THAT’S JUST ME

Sept 7th

I was right !   A new study recently concluded that men that go green have lower testosterone levels and relate much more to the feminine side of everything including feelings, hurt, self worth etc. The study  indicated that most men felt “going green” would emasculate them.  I think we all can agree seeing a man coming out of his solar powered rooftop house into a Smart car really doesn’t give the impression of manliness.  Give me a castle and a raised 4 x 4 with big tires, loud pipes that gets 10 mpg you have a man.  I rest my case !

Got up this morning and Thursday still looks like a day to write off with a high of 11 degrees and rain all day. Faced with this dilemma what do I do. Go golfing NOW while it is nice out. TV and Heather had events going on with limited Tee times so I decided to check out McKenzie. Too expensive for this course and fairly busy. Drove to Blue Devil and semi busy but there pricing is ridiculous. I sort of hope that their revenues decline enough for them to realize they are away out of line in pricing. So I drove to Boulder. Only about 10 cars in the lot and only $45. 00 with a cart. That is normal pricing. Senior pricing. I was hooked up with two young guys that looked like golfers. I soon found out not so much. I golfed wonderful today. I cant figure out how one day it sucks and the next I am happy. Ended up with a 81 which should have been lower except for at least 4 cup outs. Drove great in fact wonderful leaving the young guys at least 50 yards behind. I am beginning to like open course much better than Turner Valley. I haven’t gone an round without losing a ball or two. We need to clear out more bushes so at least there is a chance to get back to the fairway. Or I need to get better. LOL  It was a fun day in the warmth and sun enjoying golf and laughing at some of the things that happen on the course. Great day.

I checked the oil in the motorhome and it is a little dirty for my liking so arranged a change on Friday. A simple oil change makes engines last a lot longer. I have put a lot of miles on it this year and have had a few heavy pulls.  Usually it lasts the entire year but not this time. Just thinking about the trips this year. 1300 kms Jasper,500 Lethbridge,450 kms Park Lake, 450 kms Park Lake, 400 kms Keho Lake, 500 kms Lethbridge,900 kms Pembina, 1100 kms Athabasca, 800 kms Camrose . I think that is it but most likely missed one or two. I have the Columbia Valley trip still coming and the Crawling Valley trip still on the agenda which could add another 12 to 1500 kilometers.

Time to start supper. I am thinking pork chops in a mushroom sauce with mashed potatoes and sweet peas. Sounds good . LOL

Booked my return flight from Phoenix in Dec and will book our return flight for after Christmas right away. I am going to use up some Aeroplan miles before they expire. As we are not rushed to be anywhere we wont mind the multiple stop flight. Get a chance to visit an Irish pub in a airport.

It is hard to use points. They have no flights for me book. They need to have a better system. I think I will use the points and book well in advance for our trip to Wales in the spring. Weather is looking a little better for tomorrow.

September 8th

I had a 9am tee time today with my men’s group. I thought for sure with the negative weather reports we would be in for a nasty day. For our start it was about 8 degrees but not raining. That is a good thing. Very little wind so it didn’t feel bad at all. My Under Amour shirt with a light jacket was perfect. My playing partners today were some of the best in our group. I was playing with a  7, a 9 and a 10 handicapper. What usually happens when I play with great golfers is I try to hit the ball too hard and screw everything up. I made every effort to try to remember not to do that and only had one slice but yet it resulted in a lost ball.  These guys are good with two of them shooting a 72 an 76 respectively. That is fantastic golf and they make it look so easy. What is a piss off is they are older than me and outdrive me on most holes. Very good around the green. I am not happy with my score again but not displeased with the way I golfed.  Lost the one ball and took a triple boogie on two holes. Remove those and I am happy. The first hole I shoot and had to reload as I didn’t see my ball come down but luckily it was in a sand trap hidden from view. I shoot then discover as I had to use the wrong club I had left a few clubs on the range. Rushed back to the range and then rushed back to my group. All that rushing and I took the triple. Darn. I am positive before the season is over I will golf 18 holes at TV without loosing a ball. I noticed on a web page that rates golf courses they gave Turner a rating of 18. Next sentence they state the average course is rated a 10. That I believe. Fun day, great partners, good golfing overall and a lot of fun. Plus I won $10 for a snip. I had two birdies and could have had three but we got hailed out on the 16th hole. Ten minutes later we were fine to carry on but I missed the chance for the 4 foot birdie shot.

IPhone people today are my easy target. How could a new phone not come with ear phone jacks. What were they thinking. Bluetooth sets are easy to lose and people like the buds. OH well I guess until they find that missing piece of the Apple you cant expect to much.

Oilers were in the new arena today including Wayne. He is the best !!. Edmonton is very fortunate to get this arena and it is nice to see them play it up so much. Word of caution. IF the Oilers ( I believe they will) miss the playoffs this year they will set a all time NHL record of missing 11 consecutive years in a row. Go Edmonton. I like Edmonton as a second choice team but wouldn’t it be nice if they missed the playoffs by one point. LOL How ironic that the Flames get to spoil the party by beating the Oiler’s for the first home game Oct 12th.  Go FLAMES Go

I was going to golf with Jeff tonight and was fearful of the weather. I was right. It is windy out 20kms gust and only 8 degrees. Wouldn’t be fun to play in.

Booked return flights in December for Mel and I. Fred booked the hotels for on our way down to Mesa in November and I e transferred my share to Fred suing todays exchange rate. We will split the gas going down.

Productive day

Thought of the Day

I can airmail a golf ball better than most, my problem is I don’t always put the right address on it.

Sept 9 to Sept 18th

 

 

Picked up the motorhome from it’s oil change and it is now ready for our week of camping and golfing in South West Alberta.  We had originally thought of going to Kimberly again and golfing there but after a little discussion we have settled on South West Alberta. The golfing is a lot less expensive and with some amazing courses. We will stay in Lost Lemon Campground in Coleman and play the Crowsnest. On target right now but up for change is the PIncher Creek, Waterton, Cardston, and Fernie. I love the Crowsnest course and the Cardston course. Cardston is built in the coulee with some amazing elevations. Mormon country so no beer on the course.Where ever we golf it will be fun, the card games and crib games which I plan to dominate will be fun and the adventure awesome. This time of the year you can’t beat the mountains as they are dusted with snow and the leaves are golden and still on the trees. We have a little stream right behind our campsite I may see if I can snag a trout. I am bringing my laptop but am unsure of wifi connections or not.

We have a few life events we need to watch. Amanda, Keith & Jenny’s daughter is due a week after our trip so we need to stay in contact as they may need to exit quick. This is Amanda’s first baby and will be the third grandkid. Peter, Jackie’s Dad was in the hospital on Friday but released with low hemoglobin levels so we will need to make sure to monitor that also.

Alan & Maryann headed to Africa today so we can’t get them to check on the situation. Yes I said Africa. Tanzania in fact. Wonderful to see a lion in it’s natural habitat but I prefer the zoo environment compared to the risk of robbery, death and illness to see wildlife. The average wage in Tanzania is $1.25 per day. To them a TIMEX watch is a fortune and who cares if the arm is still attached to it.  37.5% of the population ( that is 18 million people out of the 50 million living there ) are receiving antiretroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS. I sure hope they have a stringent hand washing program in the restaurants and inspect for any cuts, lesions etc on an employees hands. Masks to keep the odd drop of salvia from hitting your plate. Everyone has their idea of a fun place to visit. Not my idea of fun !   In fact the Canadian Govt Travel website has a HIGH degree of Caution put in place Sept 6th for Tanzania. Rising Crime rate and threat of terrorism.https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/tanzania?_ga=1.253067274.266697745.1473460836

I would like to see Mount Kilimanjaro though.

And they thought camping was roughing it. Wait until you are in a  third world country. LOL

I think I will stay with the zoo.

We had Peter over for his birthday and watched the Stamps win another game. W are just that good. Jackson Tor and Corey also made the visit. It was a good gathering especially as we had Peter’s favorite KFC which is one of my favorites.

Sad that we have celebrities using their star power trying to influence public opinion. Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the “environmentalist’s” ( notice the word contains “mental”) that is trying to convince the world that as humans we are destroying the planet and fast.  Wonder what he would be thinking the last time we had the big thaw.  I won’t go into facts that dispute all of this propaganda but wish the public would be allowed to make their own informed decision. Stop creating man made Co2 and the worlds economy stops existing and we enter the cave age again. Global warming is primarily a problem of too much carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere—which acts as a blanket, trapping heat and warming the planet. As we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas for energy or cut down and burn forests to create pastures and plantations, carbon accumulates and overloads our atmosphere. Certain waste management and agricultural practices aggravate the problem by releasing other potent global warming gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide. That is the problem. A cow shits in the field and we have contributed to the cause. We turn on our lights from a coal powered generator we have added more. Drive to the 7/11 oh no more issues.  The oceans we have in this world absorb at least 30% off all of Co2. Plants absorb another 30% percent. If Leonardo DiCaprio would say we need to slow down clear cutting I would agree. But he just spouts ” we as humans are destroying the planet”  This from a guy that believes a Chinook Wind is the scariest example of global warming he has ever seen. LOL   We need to be cognizant of the environment but we need to be a realist that we are going to add Co2 to live and even without humans on this planet huge amounts of Co2 emissions are created. People forget decomposition and ocean release created Co2 is much much greater than any percent we as humans create.

Off to the grocery store in my gas powered low gas mileage Jeep. Funny I don’t feel guilty what so ever. I think I will even speed adding to the problem. Bad on me. LOL

They say timing is everything. Alan & Maryann in Tanzania while the chaos is happening with the earthquake. Lucky also that the quake is 1400 kms north of the capital Dodama.

Left on our trip and on Highway 22 after Longview we ran into a snow storm. The snow was collecting on the sides and was quite heavy wet slush. SNOW !!  Outside temperature at 2 degrees and my ICE warning light kept flashing. Luckily a hour south and better and a way up to 4 degrees.

Arriving at Lost Lemon in Blairmore the Turtle Mountain was dusted with snow and it was still cold. Set all up, talked to the Harry’s for awhile, had lunch and decided to go fishing in the stream in our campground. Fingers were frozen and toes. Keith caught the only trout. I won’t mention the size as size doesn’t matter but it was a trout and it was caught in the stream.

Decided looking at the weather Fernie was our golf destination as it was 14 and sunny tomorrow and our tee off book coupons will work. Tuesday the weather is back into the high teens and twenties which is great. Toes will warm up soon.

Had some Fred pickles 2016 patch and they are excellent. Crisp, tarty and great tasting.

Thought of the Day

Is it wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly?

September 12th

I cant believe what happened last night. The girls actually TIED us playing cribbage. We will need a tie breaker tonight. They did extremely well. No, let me reword that. They had horseshoes up their butts as their luck was unbelievable. I do have to say though they were the only team to experience a SKUNK.  Tonight we will crush them. Funny thing last night as Jackie, Jenny and I all made a mathematical error. I said go on 13 ( thinking we were at 23) Jackie played a 7 and excited she yells 27 for two. Her math was correct in getting 31 but the number 7 was stuck in her head. Jenny laid down a 10 and states 3.  Burp.Now I had a couple of rums so mistakes could happen but I am not sure of the girls reasoning. I sure hope they counted their points correct. LOL. Kieth escaped with out making an error at all. I should have used three fingers instead of two for the drinks.

Very cool last night with the fireplace running most of the night. Using the grounds electrical instead of my propane is always a good thing.

Booked our golf for Fernie today which is supposed to be 14 above so we will be ok with the weather.

Here is a picture of Jackson’s first day of Kindergarten. He is one cute kid. Tor and Cor wanted him to get a new haircut for school and asked him what kind of haircut he would like. His answer is priceless. ” I would like a haircut like Papa’s with it being short in the middle and longer on the sides”  They had to convince him this isn’t one of the most asked for haircuts and he might want to consider short on the sides and longer in the middle. He is great kid and funny LOL and recognizes a fashion trend that older men like but hasn’t really caught on with the young generation as of yet. Notice the awesome sign his Mom made up for him. I do have one issue though that I will work on with Jackson. He says he wants to be a policeman. Any career but a cop please unless it is an investigator.  I am sure it is because of the gun and car. Why not a hose and a red large truck. Or Forest Ranger. The process of becoming a cop is to first be a traffic cop and work your way up. I am positive the bulk of the traffic cops were kids that were bullied in school and need to feel good about themselves and became cops to have power. Notice most traffic cops are small men with large ego’s. Hence all of the problems with the cops in the states and us with our want to be cops the Alberta Sheriff’s. Please don’t become a cop.

Ps cold feet I think it has caused my nose to run.  Think not of ill and disease and thou shall defeat the foe within. I always would quote this to our kids. Moral of the quote is ” if you think or believe you are sick, ill or have a little pain chances are you will be ”

Fernie Golf Club was our course today. First let me say I believe everyone passes by Fernie and is missing a nice course. We passed by the Crowsnest Pass course for years and people pass by Fernie just the same. STOP it is a nice course. Not the elevation of the typical mountain course but a very nice fun course to play.  Unfortunately it was one of my off days and Keith beat me on the score card. I cant figure out why one day I golf great the next horrible. Not really upset as it was a new course but it is not a hard course. If I would have scored low 80’s I would have been happy. Oh well tomorrow is Sparwood so hopefully a comeback there. Fernie has a lot of movement on the greens which caused a few issues. Fun Fun day with it hitting 14 degrees in the sun so not bad at all. In fact we all thought 14 was warm as we dressed for it being colder.

After a unique supper “taco’s in a bag” which were excellent we settled into Crib. Jenny made these and they are different, less messy. easy and a fun supper. We will have them in the future as I am sure every kid will think these are neat. You buy small bags of Taco chips, break them up a bit, cut off the end of the bag( length ways works best) and fill them with lettuce, hamburger meat, pace, sour cream, tomatoes and BAM you have a taco in bag that tastes great and is fun. Keith and I as partners again dominated winning the night at crib.We again included a skunk which is always nice to get against an opponent. The girls I don’t believe were happy but it was a fun night. Luck is involved with crib but you do need to know when to fold them and when to hold them and get the cut. Fun night. Strong rum. Winning ! and talking.

Fun day !

Thought of the Day

Women spend more time wondering what men are thinking than men spend thinking.

Sept 13th

Todays cast is supposed to be 18 degrees which is excellent. Our tee time is at noon which is a little too early as it doesn’t reach 18 until 1 or 2pm. We will have a nice day and shorts are required today. Hopefully today I will golf normal. My back and shoulders are very tight but no excuse as you just have to play through. Tonight after golf I am cooking a pork roast for supper for everyone. Can’t beat a pork roast, mashed potatoes and gravy and peas. It will taste especially good after a great golf game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sun was out in the morning and the sky was blue. It was still cooler in fact cold enough to freeze the water line coming into Keith’s unit. Frost was on the ground . The temperature started rising quickly and by the time we were ready to leave it was around 10 degrees. Today was the Sparwood course. I loved this course. I actually liked it better than Fernie as it is has the feeling of a mountainous course. Lots of elevations and thick large tree lined fairways. Arriving at the course I forgot my shoes so had to use my sandals. I don’t believe it made a difference. Today I golfed quite well. I didn’t lose a ball until the last hole. Darn. I drove well, second shots were good but and here is the but, the greens on this course are killers. I don’t think I can remember another course with as difficult greens as this course except maybe Priddis. They all were quite fast and very sloped.  All of the good drives didn’t matter as I three putted on 8 holes. That hurts. Keith’s driver today let him down but he putted decent considering and we ended up tied on the scorecard. I love this course though and will make sure to come back as I see a campground only a short distance away. We have used our Tee time book at every course  so far which has saved us a lot of money. One thing to mention is this Sparwood course has the look of a Trickle Creek course. It is nice , scenic and hard. Love it !  The girls enjoyed the course also and agreed that the elevations make it more of a mountain course than Fernie and more scenic.

Arriving back at the campground Keith went fishing and I started supper of our pork lion roast cooked with spices and beer. Mashed potatoes and peas with a salad. Keith ended up catching nothing. The supper turned out wonderful. My second favorite meal after a full turkey meal.

After supper it was a rematch of crib again. The girls this trip have played better than I can remember but the guys won again still holding our lead but close close calls just about every game which I would rather not have.

Watched the season finale of Amazing Race Canada and the right team won. The Enoch team would have been nice to win but they ended up third. Great challenges and great participants.

Tomorrow is Crowsnest Pass course in the 22 degree weather. I am looking forward to the course and am hopeful of a great result. I need everything to come together.

I am cooking a big campers breakfast tomorrow for everyone which is what camping is all about.

Thought of the Day

Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes

Sept 14th

Sunny, blue skies.  Woke up and Kieth was working away on his unit.  His power cord shorted out and blew the breaker and shorted out the post. We headed to Home Hardware  to pick up a new end piece for his heavy duty cord. The lady at Home Hdwe was fantastic and found the end piece we needed. Hooked it all up and were a little confused as the breakers weren’t working but finally got it all to work. Power to everything.

Made a campers breakfast with hash browns, eggs and bacon. Peppers and onions , cheese and tomatoes are amazing. I love the campers breakfast when travelling. It was awesome.

Off golfing to Crowsnest Golf Course. This course is extremely nice. First the pro shop staffing are amazing. The guy at the counter checked Jenny & I in and even allowed us to reuse our 2 for 1 coupons. I ran upstairs to get some drinks and the server runs to me to help. I gave her a larger than normal tip as I was up and out in two minutes with extra ice and drinks. Two nines that are totally different.  The 2016 Larry versus Harry golf  event is tied on the overall score. Keith has 4 wins, Larry has 3 wins and one tie. Tomorrow will be the test. Tied score and I need to win one to tie the wins up. Today again the putting killed us. These greens are amazing the slope on them especially the old nine holes.  Kieth won today. Boy I hate to say that but he did quite well. Again not unhappy overall except putting. I haven’t figured out if it is me or the greens are just a way more difficult than I am used to. A one foot putt, no a 6 inch is no guarantee with such large degrees of slope. Makes it fun though.

Tricky tricky greens again. The ladies golfed extremely well overall. Great drives, nice chip shots and some great putts. I was impressed with the increase in skill level and the understanding of slope and speed for them. Very very well played.

Keith whipped to the store to pick up some broccoli. Keith and Jenny have started having broccoli 4 days a week. I did notice when Keith took a leak in the bush the ground looked a lot greener. Keith had bacon this morning so I know they haven’t become vegan. I wonder how many ways you can cook broccoli ? Does it really make your pee green and smell ? Is to much broccoli bad for you?

Broccoli in fact is the BEST veggie you can have and has numerous documentations of the health benefits from it. Good on them .

Tried to book Pincher Creek Golf for tomorrow but no answer so we are booked into Sparwood tomorrow. We are experiencing a heat wave and enjoying every moment of it. I love September camping with the cool nights, warm days, the colors of the leaves and the lack of people in the sites and courses. It is very pleasurable. The girls are taking tomorrow off while Keith and I  go it alone.

I went fishing after supper again. Saw one follow my hook but no bites. I then had my hook snag on the bottom in the rocks and when I yanked on the rod it snapped. This was my favorite rod. It was a beautiful Berkley Cherrywood  bought from Sterling Dist when I worked there in 1977. It was a wonderful rod but I guess like everything else, time takes it’s toll.  Sad though as I loved that rod as it was the top of the line rod in it’s day as wholesale sporting is cheap compared to retail.  I then thought I would put my reel on my Dad’s pistol grip rod to use. This rod wasn’t a great one but I thought it would work out. Turns out installing the reel the rod clamp snapped. Two rods down in the same day with NO fish. What is going on. ? I now need to replace my rod and pick up a pistol grip rod as I prefer these with a closed face to cast with.

Outside fixing my fishing equipment a gentleman starts talking about fishing and we have a great long discussion. He gave me a few of his favorite spots in Northern Alberta he likes to fish at. He has seen or caught some amazing fish. Everyone has heard of fish stories but somehow I believe him.

Thought of the Day

I wonder if I should buy a new putter. My old one doesn’t float very well.

Sept 15th

Woke up to bright sun and warmth again. You got to love the fall. The sun still has a lot of heat in it when it hits you direct. Slept in a bit , had a shower in the coach and smoothie and all set to go. Keith went fishing this morning with his camera as he is sure he is going to catch one. I already was dressed up for golf so relaxed instead. Keith actually caught 3 trout so the count is 4 for Keith and none for me.

Here is my perfect camping wife. Not afraid, to not wear makeup, mixes plaid with polka-dots and designer footwear. She’s looking like a hot camper girl !

That’s what I love about Jackie.  She is not afraid to rough it, doesn’t have to have a shower and do her hair everyday, likes the camping life yet dresses up and looks like a model. If I could only convince her to love fishing ! She used to fish but now just prefers to sit in the boat and read while I fish. I am ok with that but she could have a much better experience if she trolled a bit.

Keith and I headed for Sparwood for another golf trip. It wasn’t a stellar performance by any stretch of the imagination for either of us. I guess new courses and mountain courses the expectations shouldn’t be so high. The greens are amazing and extremely difficult causing 3 putts over and over again. I was happy with the back nine having  5 pars but the doubles killed. Luckily I beat Keith and have the lead for 2016. As of today the stats are:

Total score Larry – 7  with 4 wins each and 1 tie.  Very close.

Came home and headed to the creek to fish again. Today Keith one trout and Larry one trout ( Keith with 5 , Larry with 1)  It is fun fly fishing for these. They are beautiful fish and fight quite nicely. Would be fun to get a big one. Mine today was a little bigger than some of those caught but still too small to keep as they have to be 24 inches long.

We all ate supper together. Jenny received a call from Amanda and unfortunately Keith & Jenny have to forfeit two nights stay in payment as they are rushing home in the morning. Amanda will be induced into labour. She has a small medical issue that the doctors want her to have the baby either by being induced or c section. It is about a 6 hour drive home and they should arrive in good time to be involved with Amanda’s first child. Too bad as we could have had a few more games in but such issues are important to be there with your child.

After supper and Keith finalizing his campground to leave in the morning early  we sat down to break the tie breaker in crib. All in all to tell a long story in short form Keith and I lost. There I said it. We lost to the girls and in fact got skunked. Unbelievable luck on their part.

Said our goodbyes to the Harry’s as they will be leaving very early in the morning while we are still sleeping. Knowing them they will be up at 5 am for a cigarette and leave.  I will see if Jackie wants to relax ( as she did today ) or golf with me and we will get a taxi to take us to the course. ( we left our Jeep at home as Kieth had his truck and 4 people don’t fit into the Jeep with clubs etc ) We will see what tomorrow brings including a picture of their grand boy named Larry I hope.

 

Thought of the Day

Poverty is a lot like childbirth. You know it is going to hurt but not really how much until it happens.

Sept 16th

Waking up to another bright sunny day. Relaxing having my smoothie and enjoying the warmth of the sun. Supposed to hit 23 degrees today. A little cooler over the weekend but still nice for late Sept . I received a message that I will be working on Monday as they have a big tournament going on. I like tournaments as they are always fun to Marshall. I have a few things to do next week like install my new depth finder bracket, reseal my wheelie brackets, clean up the motorhome and golf a couple of times weather permitting .The following week off to fish for a couple of days at Crawling Valley.

Fished for about an hour. Saw two , had two bites and had at least three break the surface but no hits. I couple of nibbles. I even googled trout stream fishing and as per the net used my panther martins but to no prevail. Trout are the toughest fish to catch and I understand why. They are shy, and not aggressive and are supposed to be the smartest fish we have. That I believe. Kept casting and letting the line drift. Switched hooks. Just one more cast. But nothing.

Sat in the sun and enjoyed the day Just had a relaxing day which was nice. Quite enjoyable.

Jackie & I went for a long walk and saw part of the town. It is a very unique small town.

After supper we decided to check thru the movies and picked a Nicholas Cage movie called Trapped In Paradise. I would give only a 5 out of 10 but it was still worth while watching. Cooled down considerably tonight as we have a Harvest Moon and it is shining brightly. Only a few more days until officially fall.

Thought of the Day

Just one more cast is equivalent to a woman saying I’ll be ready in 5 minutes . There is a saying good things come to those that bait. Not today !

September 17th-18th

Most importantly it is Jackie’s birthday. As most of you know I am very conscious of not hurting anyone feelings when it comes to getting old so I won’t tell you exactly Jackie’s age today. For some reason people are sensitive to this. Age brings wisdom.I will say that as a lady in her late 50’s she looks awesome. Should be a fun day as Jessica, Penny, August, Victoria, Corey, and Jackson are driving out and staying the night here in Crowsnest Pass. We will all go out for a birthday supper to the top restaurant in Blairmore. Unfortunately Keith & Jenny had to leave early. ( no baby as of yet) and Jeff & Wendy had family pictures to be taken so couldn’t come. We have booked the cabin right across from our motorhome which will work great for the kids. Corey & I may golf on Sunday which I will arrange when they get here. Should be a fun evening out. Here’s hoping she likes her present I gave her. I believe she likes life experiences now better than material things ( I still need a lot of material things so I still like that route, LOL) . We will see what her reaction is. No vehicle here so I can’t whip to Tim’s for her tea.

The weather today is a little cooler than we have had but still sunny just not so warm. Just means dressing up a little.  Jackie asked Victoria to bring along Jackson’s fishing rod to fish with Papa. He says he always catches a fish with Papa. Trout are finicky so he  maybe come disillusioned .LOL  Maybe driving a golf cart will make up for it.

Corey & Victoria and Jackson arrived. We set them up in the cabin right across from us. A wonderful cabin and it was impeccably clean. Even included satellite TV.  As they arrived quite early Corey and I headed to the Crowsnest Golf course. A little windy but not bad and only so so cool. I love this course and the second time playing sure helps to have a little course knowledge.

Club selection and ball placement if it goes where you want it is helpful.  The greens today again were a killer. I golfed ok and had some nice shots but the putts killed the score. Corey has drastically improvement and has very little trouble now with his large slice. He played very well and we had a fun time. We finished in a very good time. Jackson came and drove our cart for us and kept us entertained. And busy ! LOL . One birdie each which is not bad on a new course.

On the third hole we saw three young baby deer. There were only about 20ft away from Jackson which he thought was cool. At the snack shack the lady told us the mother was killed by coyotes and the three young one’s are on their own now. They need to be more scared of people.

Arriving back at the campground Jessica, Penny and August had arrived. We readied ourselves and headed to our reservation at the Popiel Restaurant. The night turned out wonderful with good food and service. They smoke their own meat so if you like smoked brisket, beef or pork ribs this is the place to go. Huge quantities. I like smoked but I find smoked is too much for me to have a larger quantity. I had the breaded cutlets which were awesome while a few had the Fish & Chips which they said, and it looked incredible.  Paralyzers, Ceases and Fernie beer you can’t go wrong. The girls paid for our supper for Jackie’s birthday so it was real awesome. A fun night. Both Jackson and August were extremely well behaved for our night out. We hung out a bit, had a few drinks before hitting the bed. Victoria in the cabin and Jessica in our motorhome.

 

August in our motorhome was amazing. He is such a well behaved and fun boy. I have never seen him grumpy. He is serious though as he studies everything. Jackson and August get along very well and seem to have a neat connection.

Waking up I made a large campers breakfast. Missing a few items as it was our last day ( peppers, green onions) but it still was great. I like making this and everyone normally likes to eat it. Took Jackson down  to the river and he tried to catch a trout but no luck. Trout fishing due to technic etc is hard for kids and adults. Jessica & Penny had to head back early so we cleaned up, loaded up everything and headed to Crowsnest for one more round of golf. Victoria today golfed incredible. For her second time this year her drives and shots were amazing.  A little windy today and huge storm heading our way but the temperature wasn’t bad at all. We finished before getting wet. Another nice day eating, relaxing, family and golfing. The greens again were the score killers. But still fun and a wonderful course to play. We had lunch in the sun on the deck overlooking the course and with the mountains in the background. Fast food and  tasty tasty food.

Stopped at Tim’s a block away and then headed out. Large wind gusts, rain for the first few miles and the wind carried on the whole way home. Eats a bit more gas and the fingers get sore holding the steering wheel a little tighter but manageable. The sign said 45kms gusts as we entered Cowboy Trail.

Cleaned out the motorhome and relaxed a bit.

Got a message that Kieth & Jenny’s daughter had their little boy. Didn’t name it Larry which I don’t understand but it looks like mother Amanda and baby Parker are doing well. I won’t let Keith know how many fish I caught without him there or how many birdies, that happened on the courses while he was sitting in the waiting room so not to upset him. You would have thought even as a middle third name Larry would work. The name is going to disappear if some of these younger generation couples don’t start using the good old names.

Thought of the Day

At least they didn’t give their  baby a dumb name and even a dumber way to spell it ! Causing your kid all kinds of issues. Oh your so original !!    The name Larry meaning Laurel Crowned is a wonderful name to consider people !!!

A crown of laurels is a wreath or garland of laurel leaves worn in ancient Greek and Roman times as a symbol of victory or status. The laurel tree was sacred to the god Apollo, and a wreath of laurel leaves was given as the prize at the Pythian games, a forerunner of the modern Olympic games held in honor of Apollo.  I relate all of my success to the meaning of my name. Something to consider ?

September 19th -20th

It has been a long time since I have had to Marshall as my shifts have been cancelled due to bad weather at least 8 times. Today was a beautiful day. It was a smaller tournament today with only 52 players but because of previous years experience with the group the need of a Marshall was decided. Over all the tournament players behaved themselves relatively well. A fun golf tournament is meant as a pleasurable release and bonding time for employees so some shenanigans will happen. These types of tournaments also have a lot of beginner golfers  that don’t know the rules. I was little surprised at my golf courses apprehension of the group based on their history.  I believe part of the issue is at the beginning of the tournament if someone would address the group and give the rules of the course and expectations and welcome them to a fun day we would reduce a lot of the incidents of driving carts in restricted areas, close to the greens and tee box and not jumping on the side or back of the cart. Explaining the alcohol rules which is always a contentious issue. ( to reiterate the drinking of alcohol not purchased on the course is an Alberta Liquor Control board rule not the courses)  So I had a few incidents ( driving on the tee box , by a newbie, driving right up to the green, standing on the side of the cart and back of the cart, and one accident where a cart got damaged) Every time someone was instructed they listened and reacted very well. I would like to see the pre- tournament intro though. I did this myself last year but at this event the GM didn’t want this done for some reason. He was a little tentative of the group. Overall a fun day, a great group to talk to and a lot of fun. And the course made great beer sales and had a successful tournament.

I have an injured foot and finger both cut out of stupidity that are annoying . I need the finger to heal before my last golf game at Turner Valley on Thursday. I have to eat light today as I have a doctors appointment and like to be as light as possible to meet her BMI expectations. I have been able to maintain my 35-40 pounds less for 3 years now but vary 2 – 3 pounds on any given day depending on beer drank, and food ate.  I feel great, wish I was younger, not to have the odd back ache and elbow ache, but am enjoying retired life immensely. Amazing how time flies when you are having fun.

Went grocery shopping today to fill up the fridge again as we were gone for the week. Paid all of the bills that were due and will look at installing my transducer bracket today if it is not pouring.

Took my tools to the boat and started to fix my transducer. I had a suction cupped clamp and the cup did not work at all, falling off every time I used it. I bought a piece of aluminum ( would have liked it wider but they didn’t have) cut it to length and drilled holes to accommodate the transducer and quick release pins.  The pins need to be released if pulling up to the shore as the transducer is mounted to be below the hull. I did a bit of research on the location and there are as normal numerous different ideas about placement to get the best readings. I think mine will work great. I hope.  Turbulence and water flow seem to be the two biggest issues. Next week I will know.

Ordered my cords for the night/day pleated shade in the motorhome. I had one fixed for $100 previously and the cord cost me $10.00 for this one so the labour must be very time sensitive. I U tubed it and should be no problem even thought the string pattern is very convoluted.

I have a cracked screen door slide that I went to Woodys to try to buy but no luck. It appears mine as it is 2 inches deep to cover the motorhome door handle is very hard to find. I searched the net for a while and no luck but only because suppliers and even Ebay sellers aren’t smart enough to post the depth. You would think when selling anything all dimensions would be given. I will continue to look but may wait until I get to Mesa and have Campers World do the work for me.

For anyone that owns an RV these screen door slides are always a pain. Everyone I know hates them and sitting around the campfire we have often said if we could invent a way to make these work better we would get rich. Well some body just made our lives easier. For between 7 and 12 bucks you can get this and not have the hassles of the screen door slide issue. Amazing how none of us thought of this. LOL

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/screen-door-opener/35177

It would take a lot of sales at this price point though to get rich. Another lost opportunity lol

Thought of the Day

Brilliant minds discuss idea’s,

Average minds discuss events,

Small minds discuss people

September 21 -22nd

Paid some bills, went to the motorhome to do a little organizing and relaxed a bit today preparing myself for my doctor’s appointment. I hate any kind of doctors appointment especially these types as they are the annual physical.

First know one likes their testicles squeezed. They have feelings you know. Ouch ! Women complain about a breast being squeezed for a mamo. Breasts are made of fat. Balls are hard objects inside a sack. It is pain when squeezed. Ouch ! Hey, I have seen the NutCracker and it is not even the Christmas season. Then comes the hand covered in a plastic glove. More ouch ! Not a nice feeling or event. I am sure a doctor doesn’t like this also.The rest of it is easy, the heavy breathes, the feeling around for swollen lymph nodes, ears checked etc. Then we get into the discussion about cholesterol. I have dropped my numbers in half from years ago with diet and weight loss but due to a heart defect , age, parental history, calcification considered to be mild to moderate they want it down to 2. I refuse to take Statins as I am 99% positive they are not good for people and are the biggest money making scam every pulled on the general public. If I die of a heart attack sooner than I would like I guess I am wrong but I may have died of something else or of a heart attack even on the statin. THEY ARE WRONG !  I wont rant but do your own diligence.  I have the lab work to do and a horrible but better than the other option poop test to do. Life !!!

Had a great day golfing. I played very well and could have really scored well except of the odd putt miss and one lost ball. I did score the lowest of my grouping which is nice. Turner Valley is a wonderful course and I consider it hard course to score really well. It will happen where I have that perfect game at Turner Valley. I golfed with a couple of great guys one from the Vulcan golf course. The drizzle came and went but there was no wind and the temperature stayed around the 9 to 10 degree mark. It was a great day to golf !

Today was the perfect example of how important it is to have a few practise shots on the driving range. The last few games I have pulling my irons left and couldn’t figure out why. At the range I discovered if I place the ball one inch further forward in my stance . Perfection !!

Booked my one appointment for next Friday on line.

Thought of the Day

I love playing golf in the rain because no one can see me crying .

September 23rd

The first full day of fall 2016. I think the fall is my favorite time of year.  I enjoy the colors, the crispness in the morning, the warmth of the sun mid day any cool evenings.

My blind company phoned to let me know my cords had arrived. I left in the morning to pick them up and finished the job around 5pm this evening. I had one fixed a while back and it cost me over $100 for the smallest one in the motorhome. I decided to do it myself. Using U TUBE and carefully marking down the cord system it take a long time to do these. The larger one with four strings is even more convoluted. I carefully took it all part and drew a diagram to put it back together. The night and day pleated shades are great but are a complicated draw cord system.  Got both of them finished in about 6 hours and saved at least 300 to 400 bucks so happy. And they work and look great. Nice not to be to discombobulated by the cord sequence.

Job went well and all happy with the results. I used 40 feet of cord to fix these two blinds.

Thought of the Day

I can’t believe I worked that hard to be so poor.

September 24th

Paid for the house insurance in Mesa today. Expensive compared to insurance costs here in Canada.  Need this there as the USA as  most would agree are lawsuit happy.

It look like today is sports day.

Watched Dustin a bit. He is playing very very well. Too bad about the screw up late but he is still tied for the lead. He is good !! I would like him to win the FedEx Cup. Right now he is my favorite player and should be rated number 1. I have to do a little research to find the calculation for that as no one has been as steady as him in the last while.

What a Stamps game. Good for Winnipeg as they really made it a game and gave everyone a scare. A super field goal 50 yards plus to end the game is always exciting. Two good teams one just a little better. Go Stamps Go !

Russia against Canada World Hockey Game is going to be awesome and starts right after the football game. First goal by Crosby short handed was amazing. I am not a real sports fan but today is Sports Day so what can I say.

I washed the Jeep, loaded up the boat carrier, loaded up the boat motor and boxes I need so I am all set to hook up the motorhome Sunday Night. I will leave Monday morning for  another great fishing trip with Larry and hopefully Rob can join us for fishing or socializing. Larry is bringing his own smoked meat for supper one night which will be great. It was ribs last time he served us and they were awesome. Weather is gong to be great, just need the fishing to be great also.

Visited Jackson with Jackie for a bit today to play guns, and hero’s which was fun. He thinks he can scare me but who do you think wins this one. LOL

September 25th

A very nice warm day. Hooking up the Jeep and getting the motorhome ready for the morning leave. Had Jackie help him put the boat on and strapped it down. Bought the few groceries I need for the couple of days. Fooled myself and started the fridge and forgot to open the propane tank. The coolness didn’t last long but it was cool enough. Opened the tank a few hours later and everything good. Unusual for me to not double check.

Had a wonderful mashed potato and meatloaf supper. I really like meatloaf. Peter visited us tonight and he was in very good spirits and was quite conversational. Good to see.

Thought of the Day

Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught .

September 26th-Sept 28th

The weather is just too good not to go fishing. No blogging until most likely Thursday. Last chance this year for the big one.

I think after fishing I am going to try to golf 5 days in a row to see what that feels like. Note : Arnold Palmer died to day at 87. Here is a guy that walked 18 holes everyday of his life and only gets 6 extra years over the average lifespan. Maybe exercise isn’t what they think it is ?

I left about 9am in the morning. It was a beautiful sunny morning with no wind. I took the 22x highway and then decided to turn up to Strathmore to pick up Tim’s. Parking here is a little difficult but we managed to find a spot and ran in. The trip to Crawling Valley was only about 1 1/2hrs so it was a shorter drive.

This campground is wonderful. They have added a lot of newer sites with only about 4ft tall trees which are ok but we got lucky and were in the older part with large spruce and popular trees. Plus we had the lake view. I would say there were only about 4 or 5 units camping another 5 or so that were seasonal people with there units still there.  I bought a marine slip so we didn’t have to load and unload each day. I stopped to load up with water and Larry Geddes arrived 5 minutes later. Perfect timing. We set up camp and then unloaded the boat.  We headed out on the lake and it was wonderful. The water was perfectly smooth and the temperature around 23 degrees. Surprising for mid week to have about 6 boats out on the lake. Everyone enjoying their retirement I guess. Have I said how much I enjoy being retired ? My transducer worked perfect and I am happy. Love it and much needed in this lake as it goes from 50 ft deep to 3 ft deep instantly with a lot of stories of people losing props. Nice also that it didn’t have a lot of weeds in it which makes it much easier to troll.

10 minutes in I catch a nice 3 pound walleye. 10 minutes later Larry catches another 3 pound walleye. We studied a billboard at the lake on Walleye sizing. Interesting that Walleye grow very slowly and spawn very late.

It takes 6 years for a Walleye to spawn and in 6 years they are only about 22 inches. 24 inches is a 5 pounder and 8 years. A 3 to 4  pounder is a very nice sized Walleye. We continued on catching fish at a steady pace then it went dead. They just stopped biting. We lost count but I caught the last fish of the day which I believe put me one ahead. But who’s counting ?   Odd as last year at this place all we caught were Jackfish. This year only 2 Jacks and the rest all Walleye. I do have to say though I prefer the fight of a Jack any day to a Walleye. Coming in late from the water in the evening Larry then prepared his ribs and fixings for supper. Larry smokes a lot of meat and these ribs were amazing. Remember we had smoked meat in the Crowsnest Pass and I liked it but the meat was a way way to smoky to eat any quantity .

These were perfect with the spice rub and perfect amount of smoking. Larry made some of his mother’s potato salad recipe which was good. I love my Mom’s recipe and call it the best but thoroughly enjoyed Larry’s recipe. It was a wonderful meal. A few drinks, and a great time around the campfire.  Then inside for a few games of crib. Remember my middle name is Crib.  I had a very good night on the board. Very good night. LOL Up in the morning and I made the usual large campers breakfast which I love when camping. After eating we headed out to get the big one. The fishing was very slow this morning quite opposite of yesterday. After being on the water for about 2 hours the wind really started to pick up. I kept to near the shore line and started to head back trying to find a protected cove.

The wind was coming from the north and there was no protection. The waves were crashing into the weir like the ocean. Checking my phone we had wind gusts up to 43 kms and no indication of a change as a cold front was coming in. We headed back to the dock and we got WET. Every wave we hit blew over the bow and soaked us. We are not a large boat but it is very stable. Problem is large waves with a lower freeboard  you get swamped with water. We docked and noticed all of the other boats were coming in also. We only saw one boat remaining out and a little later when coming in he was fighting some pretty big waves.  Large whitecaps and rolling waves. As we were loading up another couple of guys were also getting out and I asked them how they did at the other end of the lake. Their comments were they couldn’t fish as the they were fighting the waves to much. Funny thing when we get back to our units the campsite attendee removed Larry’s picnic table. They are closing on Friday and I guess they thought he didn’t need it. LOL  Another great supper and a few drinks sitting around in the wind. Went for a walk and checked out the whole park.  As I said this is a nice park and has a wonderful marina. There was huge 30 foot yacht which I don’t know how he could use it on the lake as it is very shallow but he must. Decided to play a few more game of crib. Remember my middle name. I don’t EVER remember have the cards come like they did. A hand of 14, then another 14 point hand, then a 18 point hand. And they just kept coming game after game. I really had a great time playing crib. Larry may not have enjoyed it as much but it was fun.

Returned Wednesday afternoon as the wind didn’t die  down a lot and the temperature had dropped into the low teens with the cold front that went through.  I checked the up coming forecast and decided due to the temperatures and time of year to clean out the motorhome. It is amazing how much food you have in a unit. If I didn’t buy any food I could probably live for a couple of weeks. Albeit all junk food. Took out the bed sheets, the extra clothes and the canned products. On the way to storage I picked up some fuel stabilizer and poured it into the motorhome and started the genset. Napa Auto had a deal so with my purchase I was given a free Napa 5 gallon pail. At the storage lot with my new engine stand I filled up my new pail and it fit under the boat motor and I was able to run it until it had no gas left in the carb. Water intake was low enough to work perfect. Awesome. Tomorrow I will put everything else away.

Another wonderful trip. Great fishing, nice campground, Winning, and fun friendship. More next year.

Thought of the Day.

Old fisherman never die, they just smell that way !

September 29th

Edmonton Oilers rank 29th out of 30 teams, says NHL insider  Joe Haggerty from CSNNE.com. I was thinking they may finish one place better but I will go with his prediction. He knows hockey. At least the fans will have a nice place to see the games albeit the ticket pricing will be exorbitant but as it is new this year they will fill it then with the disappointment again sales will fall. There maybe less people to buy with the potential of mass suicides as the average fan will

not be able to once again deal with the teams lack of performance. A city lives through it’s team.

Put all of boat stuff away in the locker which takes quite a while. Took off the rack, and organized the locker a bit to fit everything in. I will take everything out when I winterize the leg and pull out the soft top to put on the Jeep for Arizona.

Had lunch then headed out to the golf course. What a beautiful day hitting 20 degrees. NO ONE on the course which I finished in 2 1/2 hours the entire 18 holes. I golfed really well but understandably as Heatherglen is a lot easier than Turner. Less slope on the greens and you don’t lose a ball unless you hit water. Having said that things just clicked overall on most shots. Any time under 80 at any course I am happy.

Timing my supper as I have to fast for 12 to 14 hours before blood work.

Watched a bit of TV and then bed. Canada does it again but this time just a little lucky. But we will take it. It is amazing, how we are so good at hockey. The other countries are very close behind us in todays world though.

Thought of the Day

Canada- Hockey is where we live, life is just the place we spend in between games

September 30th

Last day of September already. Time flies. I am hoping for a Indian Summer. Am I allowed to say that ? It is like being asked to pick up some Homo Milk and someone getting upset. Funny how we can’t say certain things anymore , YET, people are still making bald jokes. What gives ? Don’t they realize it is natures way of deciphering the different levels of intellect of the human race. Bald guys brains are so big they had to grow through their hair. It is also a sign of increased male testosterone. So single girls if you are looking for a single guy look for one with big feet, and balding and you will have a manly man.

I had an email message from an old friend that I worked with at Henderson’s/ JELD-WEN from 1987. He just recently received his retirement package and he sent me a picture of his new job which is taking care of grandkids. Way to go Mr Ken Wilkie. You look very comfortable. I am sure you will be the perfect Grandad.

First doctors appointment done and I will work on my months end budget for a few hours until I go to the appointment to get my balls busted. Ouch. Shrinkage happening just thinking about it.

Well not that bad. I had a very good looking young East Indian lady as my operator that was very curious ( sorry meant courteous)  Did any of you see that one famous Seinfeld episode with George getting a massage ?

Done and not bad.

Wonderful sunny day ! Budget done. September higher than expected but it included airfare from Phoenix in December, airfares to Phoenix for Jackie & I in January, split of hotels going to Phoenix and a few more golf games than normal while camping. Repair expenses higher than normal in the last two months with maintenance and new tires etc. Still have two new windshields to get soon. Again very lucky though as Jackie even with her time off brought in a nice income. That really helps as I looked back to our returns for the last ( just about) 3 years and they are dismal. We need to have decent returns not to use up our money too fast. It upsets me to see the defined pensions that nurses, teachers, large corps and gov’t workers get paid for by us the tax payer and have them complain about anything. Spoiled is the only word I can think off. You take two professionals in one family ( nurse and say gov’t employee) they are pulling in close to 5K or more a month in pensions plus CPP and OAS while the average joe is counting on interest returns on his saved money. We need to do something to even the playing field. I suggest a removal of the defined pension, have a contributory pension only  with a fair percentage ( not 50/50) or a huge increase in the CPP with no company pensions. The belief that a gov’t employee , teacher, nurse or large corporate employee has any more contributing benefit to our society over the sewer worker, mechanic,ditch digger, office employee is ludicrous. Funny thing is most large company and gov’t employee pensions are under funded. In the not so near future there is going to be surprises as companies can no longer afford to pay pensions to retirees at the current rate for the retirees entire life. If retired at 55 the potential pension payout could be for 35 years.  That is a long time to pay for an employee that is not working at the rate a defined pension pays.

Heading to Lethbridge to look after August and I will do some work for the girls while down there. I need to finish the fence before winter and the bathroom needs tiled.

Babysat Jackson while the girls had their nails and feet done. Lego, gym, pool table, blowing bubbles on the deck and playing at the McDonalds store all were fun.

Thought of the Day

Liking technology I asked my PVR to record The Biggest Loser. I checked and it is scheduled to record the first Oiler game of the season. I will need to look at the settings.