January 1st

“Mercury Forecast’ Mesa 24 degrees  Calgary 2 degrees

The 2016 year in review.  Pictures that mean something to us with the fun and adventure we experienced in 2016. And only a small sampling.It was a year that was filled with great times, great friends, great travels and living the good life. Fishing 2016 was awesome at these different locations, Park Lake, Crawling Valley Reservoir, Pinehurst Lake, Buffalo Lake,Calling Lake, Keho Lake, and Crowsnest River.  I even caught my first stream trout fishing with Keith on the Crowsnest River. Camping/golf trips this year were amazing going to Jasper, Fernie, Coleman, Sparwood, Athabasca, Keho, Sundre, Camrose, Entwistle, Drayton Valley and Vulcan. I caught my biggest Pike and Walleye this year in my life. I golfed the most times ever in a year. I broke 80 numerous times this year and the most ever.We had Jackson’s first day of Kindergarten and August’s first birthday party to celebrate. We had fun family gatherings. It was a great year.  Time goes by too quick. I am already looking forward to 2017 to continue as a wonderful year with some set plans already. I have picked our spot for our Annual May Long Weekend trip. Our September Long Weekend Trip will be booked at Pembina again. We have Blueberry Hill booked in August. We will be enjoying Arizona from Jan to April.We are going to Wales, France, and Switzerland in June, and hoping to fish and golf even more this year.I have a backyard project at Jess & Pen’s place that will be fun.  Good health and good times for everyone in 2017.

 

2016 was a wonderful, wonderful year. I can’t wait for 2017 to be as good if not better. Jackie and I are so lucky to have such good friends, wonderful families, amazing grandkids and to be as blessed as we have. We are very thankful for everything we have.

 

Happy New Year to Everyone !! And to all the best is yet to come !!

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years. I was surprised that nothing chaotic happened in the world. A win for the good guys. Well Mariah did have a lot of difficulty with her songs. I think she was drunk.

I cooked up the Cordon Bleu from Coca Brooks and they were amazing. As good as any restaurants menu. The movie we picked was “Sully” . This movie directed by Clint Eastwood was amazing. Very well done.

AND we even managed to stay up till midnight. A low key NYE but still was fun especially with the snowfall coming down.

NO ONE was in the gym today which was odd. Where is everyone’s resolution ? LOL

Took down all of the Christmas decorations and put them away. The house looks so different now.

Thought of the Day

Today is the first page of a 365 page log book. Make the pages good with life as we live it.

January 2nd

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 14 degrees  Calgary -16  with wind chill -27

I think today was the first day in 3 years I felt a little antsy with nothing to do. Jackie went shopping with her Mom. So I read a little in the lounge, went to the gym ( I would like to say a long time but in reality probably only 1/2 hour or so) I went upstairs and played pool for another hour or so ( I won very game ) and I cleaned the shower twice. First time I thought it was great but after it dried I needed a take two. I went and got the mail. I checked out the world news, went through the Barrett Jackson docket and that was about it. Looking forward to the warmth.

I do LOVE looking out my window and seeing the neighbors all shovelling snow across the street. Over 100 people DIE each year shovelling snow. DO NOT send your husbands out to shovel snow as it is dangerous. Hire some young kid.

Getting ready for the Canadian Juniors tonight to have a good game.

Funny how as a people we think. Last year in Alberta we had 62 people die of the flu. They don’t divulge the actual age or average age which is too bad as everyone knows immune systems weaken as one ages. We are spending millions on the vaccine and TV advertising. In Chicago (one city) they had 762 murders. A visit to Chicago is 12 times more likely you will die by murder than dying of the flu here in Alberta. I think we are safe not to get the shot. Sorry needle.  Just a short note on flu death. If you checked on the stats you would find the death toll is immensely exaggerated. Heart failure, pneumonia ( which isn’t always caused by flu) , side walk falls, snow shovelling heart attack, exposure etc are used in the number. Why ? It is impossible to determine death by flu as only a fraction of the people have an autopsy done. So the government uses a computer model ( Winter deaths- summer deaths = deaths by flu)     We live in sad world. Scaring people justifies evidence free policy. The only certainty is the profit returns of the industry. We as people just blindly follow. I cant figure out how we are going to correct this as governments and  pharmaceutical companies only care about one thing and trust me it is not you. The actual number in Alberta is unknown but for sure is not 62 and most likely is around 5 or less. Does that scare you enough to inject your body with something that may hurt you more than help you. There are a lot of natural methods to build up your immunity. It isn’t the flu killing it is the lack of a strong immune system. Build that up and you may not get the flu  or at least it wont effect you so bad.I found this interesting article that backed up some of the other articles I looked at. If I had a small child or was a weakened elderly person I would consider it but for the average person not a chance.

http://flushotcanada.blogspot.ca

 

Thought of the Day

Sometimes it takes me all day to get nothing done!

January 3rd

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 17 degrees    Calgary -17 degrees wind chill -25 degrees

Watching the news this morning Red Deer ( 1 1/2 hr north of Calgary) had a wind chill of -46 degrees. That is extreme cold !!

News is always interesting – stock market will increase 5 % or they  say may decline 10-30%. Next guy stock market bullish with 20% increases. Just like the weathermen, pollsters and stock traders you can be wrong and it is like they accept no responsibility. Pollsters can determine the outcome in certain elections, weathermen can cause death by occurrences and the traders can lose millions of other people’s money. Class action suits ? LOL

Today I will get all of my stuff together for Phoenix. I need a few things washed. Only a carry on bag and laptop so flying light.  Gym on the agenda for a bit. Note to wash the Buick Thursday morning to get the salt off it.

Here is the list of the top New Years resolutions.  43% break the resolution in less than a month. 92% do not keep it for a year. 8 % are successful .  Notice out of the ten 3 are health related which is good and bad as we aren’t keeping our promises to ourselves. I can’t ever remember making a resolution and never felt just because it is Jan 1 I needed to start anything. I corrected  anything when needed or felt as needed not by the calendar.  I thought I would grade Jackie and I on this list using a scale out of 10 with 10 being the achieved or the best

1	Lose Weight                                      Larry   10   Jackie    8
2	Getting Organized                           Larry 7    Jackie 10
3	Spend Less, Save More                   Larry 8   Jackie 10
4	Enjoy Life to the Fullest                    Larry 10  Jackie 10
5	Staying Fit and Healthy                     Larry 9  Jackie 9
6	Learn Something Exciting                 Larry 10   Jackie 8
7	Quit Smoking                                      Larry 10  Jackie 10
8	Help Others in Their Dreams            Larry 5 Jackie 8
9	Fall in Love                                            Larry 10  Jackie 10
10	Spend More Time with Family           Larry 7  Jackie 10

We scored quite well I think. It would seem to me that these resolutions should be part of everyday life but I guess people get caught up with the busyness and forget what is important. I would add only one resolution for consideration. Learn to enjoy the simple things in life. There is nothing better than a sunset on a beach or a campfire at night or a walk in the forest.

Decided to get my hair cut as the skullet was getting a little long. Love the curls though. Thinking ahead for our trip to Europe we all know they only take a bath once a week. I need to wash my hair everyday so a little shorter is much better. Did you guys know that is why France created perfume ?

Worked out in the gym again tonight. Leg is still hurting in the calf which is odd. Still got my miles done. Pulled out a few things and will finish my light packing for Mesa on Thursday.

Thought of the Day

My favorite exercise is a cross between a lunge and a crunch. I call it lunch. You know what they say. Fit Happens !

January 4th

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa  18 degrees  Calgary – 8 degrees

One more sleep !! Till the warmth.

Bad news this morning. If you remember when NewLeaf started to fly into Mesa everyone was excited. First the pricing was great and the fly in location wonderful. I stated that the WestJet announcement 2 days later was predatory. ( I would have done the same thing ) but unfortunately NewLeaf now has discontinued these flights because of that. I can understand as a new line they need to concentrate on building their business in profitable flights and Mesa may have been questionable but it is too bad as WestJet now will not offer the same lower pricing. A new study showed flight destinations that NewLeaf was servicing the pricing was down 23 %.

Hillary attending the Inauguration should be interesting. They need a Clinton only camera to watch her reactions as Trump boasts and says he is changing everything.

I had one of those “Oh NO” moments today. These moments DO NOT happen to me and yet today I experienced a “moment”. I actually forgot where I put something of importance and did not remember it ( I even replaced it thinking it was lost) until I opened the spot I put it in and saw it.  I am shocked and disappointed in myself and will play 10 more games on Lumosity to exercise my brain. I just recently took a free IQ test online which I was very happy with the results and then this happens. I need the mental stimulation of a golf game and the hand to eye coordination  of raising a cold beer on a hot deck to keep my mind active as these events cannot and will not happen again.

We all know it is a small world and that is reinforced  when we meet someone we knew that knows our uncle etc.  Victoria was reading my blog when she sees I golfed with Ken Crockett. Turns out Ken and his wife Thea workout at her Circuit training classes. This makes sense as Ken is big into bicycling during the summer.  Neat how sometimes we are connected without knowing it.

Reminds me of the time I put a photo on my blog of myself golfing with Ryan Smyth of the Oilers which I knew was Victoria’s favorite player. Perhaps I could draw a stick man on my arm ( as a form of tattoo) which I know will make Jessica envious.

My new haircut isn’t exactly what I wanted. I guess sometimes the terminology isn’t understood or perhaps impossible to achieve. Oh well at a .5 of an inch per month and give it a year  I will be  beautiful once again. I did notice some people hating me because I was beautiful though so this new style may help with that for a while.

Wow what a game between USA and Russia. I was hoping the Russian’s would pull it off but the USA won. I wanted a Russia/Canada gold game. Second round shoot out to determine. Some amazing players and plays made this an entertaining game. I just hope the Canada/ Sweden game is as good.

We went over to Corey, Victoria and Jackson’s before leaving and to watch the game. We picked up some Subway subs for supper and headed. I don’t eat very many subs anymore but man do I remember the difference between Blimpie Subs and Subway or even Mr Sub. NO COMPARISON.  It’s too bad Blimpie didn’t remain in Canada as their subs are so so much better tasting.  That Blimpie 5 year adventure in our life’s was amazing.

Had a lot of fun playing with Jackson one more time before leaving. We were shown pictures, trophies, game pucks, played games and kidded each other.

The game turned out great, not quite the game of the USA/USSR game but a good game. The coach deserves an award for pulling Ingram after two goals as he just sucked. That was the move that allowed Canada to come back and win. Fun game to watch and a fun night playing with Jackson as we won’t see them for a while.

Registered for my first golf game back in the men’s league on Wednesday which is good and moved money into our US dollar account to use for the next few months while we are away.

Thought of the Day

A boy has a way of making a man out of his father and a boy out of his Papa. !

January 5th

On the way to Phoenix. Tried phoning Telus and was informed of a 1 hour wait to talk to a agent to suspend service while we are gone. Tried their internet Chat service which has worked in the past very well. I was informed that I was the 45th person in the queue. I would say corporate needs to look at hiring people if they are this busy to allow what one would call acceptable customer service levels.

Victoria picked us up Tim’s for our last taste for a while. Victoria and Jackson took us to the airport to drop us off. When we left the little guy wasn’t happy and shed a few tears.  He is the nicest and cutest kid ever. We love spending time with Jackson and August and it makes you feel good but quite sad to see this reaction. At least we know we had some kind of impact. Love the reaction when we see him again though. Last time running thru the airport to meet me with a big hug is priceless. This summer we will spend more time with Jackson and August which will be very enjoyable. That is something to look forward to in a big way. Funny though after a day with them I am dead tired but had a very fun time.

Flight was on time. Calgary’s new airport is fantastic and the new technology added sure makes travel easier. Sort of neat now how they take your picture and it gets printed on a slip for security. Security again was excellent and fast. Great restaurants including one by Wolfgang Puck. Only small suggestion would be to put more seats near the final boarding gate. They seem to attempt to hold everyone in the main area where all of the services are and want people to go to their gate just before boarding hence the lack of seating. They have huge empty spaces where the seating could have gone.

WestJet was very generous to us on this trip and the flight attendee didn’t even charge us for our picked food. He just generously stated “no problem”.  That was very nice. Must have been the new haircut. We also had three seats for the two of us which is another good thing. First time flying into Phoenix where we  experienced air bumps which was odd.

Fred & Terry picked us up right on time. We most likely kept them waiting a bit as it is a long walk from our landing area to the outside pickup spot. Standing outside at 7 pm in 18 degrees is wonderful. Still at 9pm on our way home at 17 degrees.

Walking into our home is so nice. It just instantly feels like home. So much nicer than renting, hotel, etc. A good feeling and one of the best decisions we made ever.

Good and bad hockey night. Good – the Flames win again. Bad- the Oilers win again and the worst, Canadian Juniors lost to the USA. In hindsight the US team I think overall was better but you still want your home team to win. Our biggest problem was our goaltending.

I know everyone says they had the best Dad but I DID have. 7 years ago today we lost a special person.

This man was the most gentle, quiet, giving, unselfish, loving person I have known. He is still one of the smartest guys I know. Mechanic, machinist, welder, carpenter, plumber, inventor he did it all and did it very well. He built his own homes and ran a service station. Other kids may have had a parent drive them to hockey for a bit each week, but my Dad spent countless hours on my cars every week. I mean countless hours. You just don’t realize how much one does for you. I could phone Dad and get an answer from him on any problem I was running into with electrical, car, plumbing etc. He always had an answer or if not a suggestion to help. This is man that never swore, rarely drank, and never a man to anger.I am so grateful to have his violin sitting in our living room as a reminder of him everyday. I miss my Dad as I am sure most people do losing a parent but I do have to say it is one thing to lose a parent but it is another to lose a Super Dad. He was amazing and was a huge factor in how I am today as a person.

Thought of the Day

Time changes things, time makes things better, but time doesn’t erase the wonderful memories of time spent with one you love. Miss you Dad.

 

January 6th

“Mercury Forecast” Mesa 20 degrees with full sun  Calgary -16 degrees  with snow

Wow is it wonderful to be in the sun. Had my breakfast. Used the Chat service and fixed up Telus. Had our Koodo plans changed.  Used the blower to clean the patio. Washed the patio. Cleaned the outdoor kitchen. Wiped the doors and windows. Cleaned and washed the Jeep. Took off the roof of the Jeep. Put out all of the cushions and decorations on the side patio and back patio. Ate lunch in the warmth on the patio. Sat on the front deck enjoying the warmth and rocked.  Fixed up the storage area with all of my stuff to return to Canada and put the stuff we need up to the top. Picked up the drill to install a few decorations from Fred’s place. Conversed with numerous neighbors as it was our first day back. Sun tanned on the back deck until my face started turning red. Made plans to have pizza and beer at Fred’s place tonight.

I see another shooting at the Ft Lauderdale Airport.They instantly blame Canada for allowing a gun in the luggage. It is like they need someone to blame.  If he CAME in on a Canada flight it would amaze me as everything in a checked bag is supposed to be x rayed. A gun and bullets are pretty easy to see. I will watch how this story unfolds.

Jackie got everything all fixed up inside so we are set to enjoy.

Just so you know I don’t stop thinking of you guys back home here is something to help you find humour in the cold and snow.

Thought of the Day

Keep cool and use sunscreen

January 7th

” Mercury Forecast ”  Mesa 20 degrees Calgary -15 degrees

I see on the news this morning they changed the story and the shooter at the airport flew in from Anchorage not Canada. This is welcoming news as we don’t want a wall built between Canada and the States. The relationship between the two countries is going to be a little strained coming up anyways. We are putting tariff’s on drywall, they wont abide by the lumber agreement, we need them to allow the XL pipeline, we have beef we need to sell them and we produce a lot of vehicles that could potential have tariffs put on them to ship to the USA. Could get a little messy.

I received my OWN money back from the NDP today. $150 direct deposit. I have no idea on the formula used but I should have received the max at my income level. LOL   So NICE of them to give me MY money back before I even spent it and as you should know the cost of this tax is going to be 20 fold what they have calculated.  I am positive this wont change one voters mind as they will understand the lunacy of the tax and will not be bought.

Notley Destroys Province

Had a great time with Fred, Terry and Tim. Can’t beat pizza, beer, whiskey, and friends. We didn’t solve any world issues but we had a lot of fun. Before supper I watched Tim & Fred struggle installing new headlamps in his Harley Davidson F350. Engineers again just don’t make it easy to repair anything. Unfortunately  new clips were needed so Tim will get them completed back in Saskatoon. Looks great though having the bright white lights.

Thought of the Day

Never trust a mechanic that drives new cars.  Either they are charging to much for their work or they cant keep a old car running. Or perhaps both.

January 7th

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 20 degrees Calgary -16 degrees

Slept in a little later this morning as we had no particular plans for today. First order of business was fixing up a few things around the house. Jackie moved pictures and hung new ones. Broke one mini blind so will need to make a Lowes run to replace. I charged up my GPS for golf and started charging my cart battery. After 6 hours I was worried about my battery being damaged by the heat over the summer. I emailed ParCaddy but didn’t hear back as of yet as the battery is $399.00 ea and is one year past warranty.After 10 hours wham the green  light comes on and I am happy.  We headed off shopping to pick up a few things. We got lucky and were able to pick up most everything on our list. Having said that coming home to cook supper I discovered we didn’t have any spices. I must have hid them well. I will fix that next trip.

We went for a stroll and walked over to the new area and were shocked. Since November they have sold at least another 50 homes in the new area. Checked out the new pool area and again wonderfully surprised. The fire pits, BBQ and pools were awesome and including a new gym area. Very very nice. Booked a tee time as a first game 2017 practise round as I have my men’s league coming up and want to do well there. First game tomorrow at 1:30pm.  Fred & Terry have a block party to attend on Monday so Jackie and I will golf  and then head to Fat Willy’s ourselves. Love Fat’s.

Driving around town with the top off is fun. Hair get’s a little messy so will need to wear a hat when travelling but I want to a little suntan on the head. Need to buy a decent pair of eyeglasses to golf with.Driving I have my clip-ons.

A nice relaxing day enjoying ourselves in the sun.

Thought of the Day

All that we are is the result of what we thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.

January 8th

“Mercury Forecast” Mesa 24 degrees  Calgary -16 degrees

Wonderful day ahead of us.  The sun is shining brightly and the birds are singing wildly.   I readied everything for our 1:30pm o’clock tee time. Loaded up the golf carts, made sure we had balls, tees and power to the carts. Had a wonderful relaxing lunch on the deck in the warmth.  I have had a sore shoulder for the last few days which is odd. I live with a painful back everyday of my life but the shoulder pain hurts and is newer. Unfortunately it is my shoulder with the broken bicep muscle. I never complain, almost never but this one hurts. Volteran to the rescue.

Walked over the course enjoying the saying hi 20 times to different people and conversing with a few of them. Odd that on a Sunday and hot outside the course wasn’t packed but we had two empty tee times in front of us and none behind us for a bit. So we headed out to a wonderful FIRST game of 2017. After nine holes we were joined by a gentleman. Golfing after missing a month does make a difference. Jackie golfed quite well ending up with a 103. I had great and bad moments and ended up on the high side but a 86. Short game distance and ball striking the biggest difference with a about 4 chunks and 4 missed birdie putts from 4 feet away. The chunky is unusual for me but the fairways were so lush that my divots were huge and the club dug in and stopped so I ended up short too often.  I can walk 18 holes easily and love doing it but my shoulder/back got so sore around the 14th hole it was a difficult last few holes. First time in long time the pain got the best of me. On our walk back the neighbor comes out and is laughing saying I am looking like I am struggling to walk. He was right. LOL

The gentleman we were golfing with has is own blog were he tells real stories from his past. I don’t know how he can fill pages with these but he enjoys the blogging and does it to fill time in his retirement. He was out practising by himself as his wife keeps beating him at golf and he wants to improve. An ok golfer, about 60 years old but if his wife is a 8 handicapper like he said he will need to golf everyday for a year to come closer. Only 200  yards off the tee and so so short game. He has a lofty goal.

In pain, we got home just in time to start watching the Globe Awards. I like watching the stars and the fashion part of it.  It appears the theme this year is small globes exposed with plunging necklines. Looks very nice but I am sure not to comfortable having to make sure everything is in its proper place all of the time. It is like when I used to wear short demin cutoffs.  It was a fun show to watch but with a lot of unknown films showcased. I didn’t care for the political innuendo. I don’t believe this is the platform for personal beliefs to be made public. I respect the fact they have strong opinions ( even though they are wrong) but the awards should be about the awards and the people involved and the industry not politics.  I feel their pain as we endure incompetent politicians also but again not voiced within this format.

Thought of the Day

What is the difference between coffee and your opinion ? 

I asked for a coffee !

January 9th

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 20 degrees Calgary -19 degrees & snowy

Another wonderful day. It was a little cloudy today which keeps the heat down but makes it a little dull. Got up, fixed up the golf carts, brought in the garbage, loaded bags into the Jeep, checked on GPS watch , checked out the news and had my smoothie. It is amazing how time flies. Jackie had a few calls concerning work this morning and then we readied ourselves to golf for the second time. Shotgun start at 1pm today.

The Viewpoint Golf Club is like night and day with their organization. They must have new management. Super organized, great time savings ideas and staff all on the same page. The chaos driving out to the starting holes did not happen as everyone knew where to line up and where to go. Good on them. The course was very green and looks great. The greens are a little slower than November as they are a little fuzzier but still excellent. Today we were golfing with a Winnipeg gentleman from 1800 block. a fun guy that could sure talk. A pretty good golfer that was a lot of fun to play with. Todays golf went ok again but not great. Sore shoulder as we were riding today didn’t come into play. Jackie scored a few points higher but still had a good game. I had 13 pars and ended with a 84 with a little bad luck and a few screwed up shots. Darn!

Just as we got to the last hole it started to sprinkle which was very lucky for us. Put everything away and headed in to Fat Willy’s for Burger Night. They have super burgers, large, and taste fantastic. Very filling but quite a treat. Love Fat Willy’s.  A couple of beer, super sized burger, and a day of golf how can it get any better?

Headed home to watch the Bachelor show. Nick likes to kiss. I don’t really care for the instant gratification and sexualization of everything in the show but it is still stupid TV to watch for an hour.

Received an invite to a retiree ScotiaBanker golf tournament at the Western Sky golf course which will be a lot of fun. Looking forward to it.

 

Thought of the Day

You can only be young once but you can always be immature.

January 10th -11th

I won’t mention the weather today as I see severe cold warnings for Calgary and Edmonton again. The only thing I will say is I had to put on sunscreen to keep from burning. Enough said.

Having sold wholesale building supplies for over 40 years I accomplished a first today. I have installed windows, I have installed interior pre-hungs, I have installed interior knock down units, I have installed double door units,exterior prehungs and garden doors but in 40 years I never installed a pocket door. Now I believe every person selling ANYTHING should be a user of the product and understand the final settings, procedures etc in order to sell with knowledge. I failed at waiting until I retired to do this one job. Pocket doors are a little scary for people as they look complicated and people can’t figure out the process. Fred and I’s mission for today was to conquer the fear, wade in and get the job done. We removed three pocket doors and re-installed three pocket doors. Not easy but not really that difficult. We started at 9 am and it took us until 6 pm including picking up the product etc.  The retail stores down here suck. Both Home Depot and Lowes didn’t carry product we needed again.  I refuse to use pocket locks that require cutting out the stile of the door. No warranty should be given for such an install. Lowes and HD did not carry these. They had multiple brands ( no weiser) but no round pocket locks. I gave my LOCK expert ED Buhnai a call and finding a Schalage lock comparable was no easy task. We installed the doors and relied on online shopping to purchase three Kwikset models. Next the stores didn’t carry the simple door guide that mounts on the floor near the exit of the wall. We managed to use the old again with a screw through it that worked out perfect. We had to fiddle around with door sizing as the space required custom sized units 2/2 x 75″ and we didn’t want to wait so we had to cutdown each door and restile it. The new product in the space compared to flat prefinished looks fantastic. They look awesome and overall not that difficult once we figured out the tricks and there are tricks needed. We also installed a new patio door lock in the Arizona room. Another wonderful day with lots accomplished. We were lucky enough with working there all day Terry had chicken wings at lunch for us and a wonderful BBQ pork chop , rice, salad supper. Salt & Vinegar chicken wings are awesome.Ending the night in great conversation and Fred giving me three finger drinks again. I had to leave at 9 pm ( midnight it is called here) as I was getting tipsy and needed to be fresh for my men’s league in the morning.

Didn’t have a great sleep as Jackie was restless, and grinding her teeth and I was a little restless also. Must have been the caffeine but that never normally effects me.Up and at it in the morning. It was a little cool on the freeway this am doing the 130 kms  per hour at 8am.  I had a coat and the heater turned on full blast.  8 am temperature was only 11 degrees.Turned out we were delayed this morning. By tee time the warmth starting hitting us. A new game this week with the three hole ends for team scores and a snips game also. I was very happy with the way I golfed today . If I wouldn’t have taken a triple on a par four I would have had an 80.  But ending with a 83 on a much more difficult course than Viewpoint I was pleased. Especially as I missed at least 4 birdie putts from close range.Next time. My team ended up winning one three hole end and I won a snip. I was bunched in the 10 handicap and lower group (scratch to 10 cap) today which my other birdie must have been beat with a net 2. Still money in my pocket by the two wins.

Whipped to Walmart to pickup a USB cable for the printer as Jackie’s security software wouldn’t hook up over Wi-Fi and she had to print off, scan, sign and return a document.

Grocery shopping and another fun day completed.

Another wonderful day in paradise. I will watch the Trump highlights tonight on the news.

Thought of the Day

A LION would never cheat on his wife, but a TIGER wood.

January 12-13th

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 22  Calgary -4 degrees

Love the heat, love the warmth and love retirement. Today was Jackie’s ladies league golfing. This league is very well organised with some fun ladies involved. If you heard the expression sparkplug it would describe some of these ladies. Speaking of sparkplugs Fred ordered on line a set of sparkplugs from Walmart as they had the best deal. First time in a long time where on line ordering has gone wrong as he only received one plug not a set. One expensive plug so now he has to deal with a third party to fix this up.

Trimmed all of the trees between Bob’s and our homes. This is a big chore as they have grown up to 20 ft tall and 15 feet wide and requires a lot of cutting. With Fred’s help we trimmed them all and loaded them up. Swept the patio and cleaned out from under the trees and another project done until just before we leave which will require another full trim. I trim the fruit trees and other bushes weekly while here. Headed to the dump to unload.

We trimmed out the Patio door with casing. We started to lower the sun screen privacy curtain in the back of Fred’s. Takes a far amount of time but we got one section completed.

Picked up Bob & Pat at the airport as they were arriving back for the season. As they fly standby being a retired  Air Canada employee we need to wait for a text to make sure they made the plane. I arrived and while waiting  noticed a changed cell lot electronic board. It now only says on route or baggage at carousel. I waited for the sign to turn to baggage and headed to the predetermined door. Wham they were there making everything turn out prefect. Funny driving home with Bob in the rear seat and with no roof. Bob’s longer hair blowing forward made him look like a Bieber look alike or a shaggy dog hanging his head out of the window. We had some fun with this. I didn’t realize how little room a person has in my backset but there is definitely not a lot of leg room as Bob is at least 6ft 2 inch.

We assembled a new bed that Fred & Terry had ordered. A very neat idea and system as the box spring comes in pieces and we needed to assemble it. Great item and fits perfect in the bedroom. Headed to Harbour Freight and picked up a 12K ton winch for Tim which Fred will bring back in the spring. Got a super deal on a new circular saw as the previous one had a bent guide on it. Harbour was very cordial and very accommodating with a credit and re purchasing deal. Picked up a new jigsaw as the current one looks like someone dropped it or placed a heavy load on it. The outside casing was broken. I have power tools that look brand new from 20 years ago and they will last if you take care of them. An odd one.

Quick visit to Lowes for a new mini blind, a easy install and the end of another day !

Watch Tv tonight, walk and relax.

Phoned and talked to my Mom. She hates the cold weather as she won’t drive which is a good decision as at 85 it is a little more difficult to handle things. I do wish she would sound happier as she seems to dislike the food at her complex and some policies. I stayed there for three days of meals and thought they were excellent but she seems to really dislike them. I do know she isn’t eating proper and it is because of her being a lot too picky. A meal served to 100 people is never going to be as good as a family small dinner. Impossible but the they still can be good meals. Older peoples likes and wants change. The food they can eat  also has to change as they can’t handle spicy or greasy food as well. That is why it is important to have HOT chicken wings once a week to keep your gut accustomed to hot food. lol Her vertigo is still happening which isn’t good and hopefully will disappear soon and stay away. I try to help her understand she can move anywhere she likes if she isn’t really pleased.

Thought of the Day

If you realised how powerful your thoughts are you would never think another negative thought in your life.

January 14th

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 21 degrees  Calgary  1 degrees

As I often have said it amazes me how people take up causes without doing research and how people have a tendency to be followers of current trends, fashions, and causes.  I don’t want to sound prejudiced but most of the issues are caused by younger people trying to do what they believe is right without any real knowledge of the facts.The environmentalist’s that promote and lobby big businesses and  governments are suffocating our economy and we have a general population buying into the “trend” blindly. We need to as a people stand up against these groups. Green is killing us.  Listen to this video and really, really think about what is said and hopefully you will judge the situation and take action. We can’t let groups like Green Peace, the Green Party, Trudeau’s climate change signing, NDP’s carbon tax etc slowly destroy our way of life.

https://safeshare.tv/x/ss586368f685448

I had my renewal for WordPress come up.( my blog page) I was sent an email from them stating the card on file had failed. I contacted them on their on-line Chat. The email sent to me had an old card number on it and the card on file with them was different but current. So after explaining the situation ( received email with a different card stating failed when the card on file was correct and active) the women on the chat line stated I needed to update my information. I repeat. (received email with a different card stating failed when the card on file was correct and active) Why not just charge the credit card you have on file ?  She looked at my message and then replied. ” I believe everything should be fine but here is a link to update your card.” LOL  First “I believe” is not a good answer. I went into my profile and changed my card to another ( lower credit limit) and paid for it direct rather than wait for the renewal date. My passive aggressive side got the best of me. LOL  Funny thing is the WordPress agents job title is Happiness Agent.  I didn’t feel happy. Customer service training is a hard skill for a lot of people to get right. ” I believe” is NEVER a correct answer to give a customer.  Got it all fixed and I am happy now !  I quite enjoy dealing with small issues like this. Keeps my heart at a good pace, my mind thinking to win the battle and I enjoy the banter and confrontation. And I won.

A little overcast today. A relax day today with nothing on the agenda other than Fred & Terry coming over for supper tonight. A little to cool to sit outside tonight with it being overcast so we will sit inside. Hopefully crib luck will be with me tonight.

Thought of the Day

Truth sounds like hate to those that Hate the truth.

January 15th

“Mercury Forecast” Mesa 14 degrees  Calgary 6 degrees

Sunday here in Mesa is a cool day overcast rainy day. The temperature spread between Calgary and Mesa isn’t enough. LOL   Having said that the grass is green, the golf course is full, the birds are singing all waiting for that sun to come out from behind the clouds.

Had a great time with Fred & Terry last night. Our Shepard’s Pie turned out fantastic and was enjoyed by everyone. You had to know with Fred being Irish Shepard’s Pie is one of his favorites. Again it is Cottage Pie but so not to confuse people I use the common term. Good meal and company.

We had a couple games of Dice with Jackie winning both games. This game takes a lot of luck to win going “out” with the correct roll of the dice. In most cases everyone ends up trying for the perfect number to get out. Then on to crib. It was the traditional men against ladies tournament. The first game Fred and I SKUNKED the girls. Always nice. But they came back to win two games in a row so we left the night as a tie even though the skunk should be at least a .5 count better you would think. We will let them have their tie.

Well it had to happen. I kept my age and birthday from people most of my business life. It wasn’t until maybe the last couple of years that someone figured out my real age. Larry Geddes ” Sherlock” somehow figured it out.  In 2017 I will turn an age that I hate. Turning 60 is not a good age to turn. I have always being the youngest of my peers in most everything I did. That may continue here in Mesa but what advantage is it to be the youngest and still be 60. 60 is old. Fred & Terry as Terry is leaving on Tuesday and Fred at the end of January bought me an early birthday present. I have to say first of all it is a very nice gift. If anyone has read my past blogs they will know I get great pleasure in teasing old people about wearing vests. It seems to me all older people take to wearing vests.  Figure this out. Everyone knows that your extremities are the most affected by cold. Your fingers and toes will fall off  but your torso will remain intact. Soooo why a vest that keeps your torso warm and lets your arms and fingers freeze be so welcomed by these older people. I have heard that it keeps the kidneys warm. Anyways Fred & Terry gave me my FIRST fleece vest complete with a Corvette, Route 66 sign and AZ logo on it. It is quite nice. I think I may start wearing this everyday just to bug people and it will perhaps even allow my senior discounts to happen easier. I do have to say it was very very funny to open up the gift and see this.

Again think what is the purpose of a vest. I can see the use of a bullet proof vest, I can see the purpose of bright red hunting vest, I can see the purpose of a fishing vest.  I think I will use my vest to attract all of the OLD women letting my guns show. ( one broken one mind you) LOL  That has to be the real purpose and I don’t think too effective as the guns have have become pistols and the women blind.

Today we will go to the store for a bit, relax, watch golf, movie, and enjoy the peace and quiet.

Thought of the Day

Perhaps I can change society and make a man wearing a  vest to women, what  women wearing lingerie is to men. I could get rich.

January 16th

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 16 degrees  Calgary  4 degrees

We had our rain off and on all day yesterday and it was cold outside. This morning the sky is ominous but the sun is shining brightly.  We are off golfing with Fred & Terry in about 2 hours from now. After golf we head to Fat Willy’s for burger night and a jug of beer.

Yesterday a man cold hit me. Yes first of all it is odd for me to catch a cold but second for it to be of the man cold variety is really odd. Hard to breathe, running nose and full head filling. The problem is shaking hands with so many people here the germs spread like wildfire. Nasal spray and Kleenix and rest time it should be ok in a few days. Such a rare thing for me.

Man Cold :

A rare strain of flu so powerful and so deadly it can only be matched by the Bubonic Plague and Aids. In all cases much more painful than childbirth. A incurable virus which has adapted to only effect the “XY” gene found in men. The virus attacks the immune system 10,000 times harder than the average flu virus, causing excruciating pain for the victim. Man Flu has no cure and prayers can save the forsaken life of the infected. The often deadly virus is mostly laughed at by women who luckily cannot contract “Man Flu”

Watched Justin Thomas kill the golf field yesterday. Set and tied all time records. Just a great game to see and nice to see his friends like Speith celebrate with him. Amazing golfer being 145 pounds light and hitting the  ball on average 308 yards. A perfect example of technique not brute strength being the source of the distance. LPGA women are another example of this.  Always fun to see a young kid do so well so quickly.

Funny how you remember certain things that you have experienced much more vividly than others. As humans we remember things back to about  5 years of age but mostly remember the story being told and retold over again back to that period. I am going to put a few of mine and Jackie’s memories under this header which will be a combo of remembered events and remembered told events.

“Memories”

Meeting your life partner.

My good friend Keith Harry used to have huge house parties at his house in Jasper Place.  I would guess on some nights over 150 people. I used to go to all of these for a fun evening and get together as hanging around with the West End group was blast. Jackie living in the same area and being friends to some of the girls that attended would show up the odd time also. You know when you see someone across the room and you are immediately intrigued and interested in them, that is what happened when I noticed Jackie at these parties. I loved her looks, the hours spent on her hair ( which I would find out later)her  figure and cute bum.Never went up and talked to her at any of these parties. Partying and finding someone you like don’t go together. Then one night Jackie comes in late to the party with a stuffed down filled jacket on. Me being my teasing, but antagonistic self I say quite loudly to Jackie ” Why don’t you take off your coat and stay awhile ?” I did this purposely knowing well enough she wore it to cover the fact she had small breasts and as guys we all knew it.  It didn’t go over well.  A few days later I ran into her coming out of a friends house and I ask nicely ” Is Kelly home ? ” She responds quite sarcastically ” What do you think, I just came out of the door ! ” She got me back good and sort of set the tone for her like or disliking me. After a few more parties and not talking to her I got her number from Keith and thought I may as well phone her as I “liked” her and it was interesting to me that she wasn’t interested in me at all. Over 6ft, long black hair, dark, handsome, beautiful car, good muscles, fair amount of money and a good sense of humour what wasn’t there to like,so I thought. So I phoned her.First her Dad answers and I say “Is Jackie there ?” Silence. More silence. Her Dad ” Yes ”  Silence . ” Can I speak to Jackie please ?” And then she was asked to the phone. He got me a few times with this. I had to use all of my charm to talk to her and to convince her I was a nice guy. She did talk to me and we set up a first date. Most likely my hardest sell in my life. LOL >>>

Golfing today was fun. I wore my new vest just to bug everyone plus also to keep a little warm when the sun went behind the clouds. Fred actually finished all 18 holes with only a few small hiccups. He also played quite well with some nice shots. It was a good day golfing with the pace and course moving very nicely. Everyone played good.  Jackie played awesome breaking 100 again with a 96 which is fantastic.  I ended up with a 79 which I was happy with and it helped with the couple of birdies and an eagle.

After golfing Pat & Bob met us for Burger night at Fat Willy’s. Love the burgers. Pat & Bob were exceptionally generous by paying for our suppers tonight. They said due to the use of the pressure washer and tree cutting but it was very very generous and much appreciated. Nice people. We stopped off at our house to print off Terry’s boarding pass and to have a night cap which was fun. Also interesting different people perspectives on different subjects like vaccines and politics.  Makes for a fun night.

Thought of the Day

150 people each year in the world die from falling coconuts.  A tropical epidemic. Don’t worry though the scientists will have a vaccine  right away for this.

January 17th

“Mercury Forecast ”  Mesa 18 degrees  Calgary 9 degrees

You go to love those Chinooks winds caused by global warming. Calgary hitting 9 degrees in January is nice. I can imagine the mess with the slush but the warmth will be welcomed. Those darn winds though have caused a wind circulation that is bringing cooler weather to Arizona. We are only 18 degrees all this week and a couple lower days with rain. Weather like that I am going to need a vest. I managed through my man cold, survived barely and am feeling quite ok rather than the odd sniff. Lucky.

I picked up my directories for the block from the neighbor and worked on them this morning fixing up the updates and organizing them to hand out at the block party. Next reprint I need I will need to deal with Sharper direct here in Phoenix. I know of one change so far. I am glad the neighbors liked these as they are neat to see each persons career, contact info and hobbies.

Fred is taking Terry to the airport this afternoon so she can get back to work so he can live retired in the life he is accustomed to. We plan to go to the Barrett Jackson show on Friday. I may even get him out to golf once more next Monday. LOL

PENNYWISE TIP

For those that have received your money back in advance from our NDP government you may as well use it wisely. Take it and put into your RRSP, TFSA or RESP and save. A simple $150 cheque in 25 years at 4% becomes just over $400.00. In your RRSP it will deduct apprx $40 from your tax bill at the end of year which if you saved that you could double your 25 year amount.  Compounding interest is our friend. Remember the 72 rule in money. Your money will double using this rule. ie  $10  @ 6% for 12 yrs your money doubles. ( 6 x12)  0r $10 @ 10% for 7.2 years to double. Unfortunately we are living in a low interest era so we are more like $10 @ 4% for 18 years to double.  Penny saved is a penny earned is good advise. 

“Memories “

One weekend in the summer Kieth, Jenny Jackie and I got this brainwave idea to ride our bikes from Edmonton out to Allan Beach for a day trip.  This is a 25 mile trek each way. Nice sunny hot day and heading to the beach should be fun. We travelled along Hwy 16 west for about 5 miles or so, when we had an accident. The highway has fairly wide shoulders on it, so we rode mostly in single file but the odd time side by side. In those days the highway really wasn’t that busy. Then it happened. Jenny and Jackie were side by side when their handlebars hooked each other and Jackie wiped out on the highway. Luckily no cars coming but the result of the accident was priceless. Jackie didn’t hurt herself which is good as helmets didn’t exist then but when she fell her tube top ( you don’t see these anymore but they looked good)  was pulled down to her waist. So I have my beautiful girlfriend standing up on the highway checking for bumps and bruises forgetting to pull up her top. Love tube tops.

Today is my big brothers birthday. It is quite funny when I think about how old he is and how time just flies by. I am starting to think too fast. To have a brother in his mid 60’s doesn’t seem possible but he is that old. Happy Birthday Alfred.

Had our billiard league tonight. Jackie’s team did quite well with a record of 5-1 while my team went 1-5. There are some new players and some good players in the league this year. My team record isn’t really indicative of how we played as we had some bad bad luck. In one game the other team had 5 balls left and we scratched on the black ball. In others I have never seen such lucky shots in my life from some of our opponents.  It is what it is but hopefully next week the luck will bounce our way.

Remember the small world thing. Man is it . Turns out the lady Jackie C organizing the tournament was my high school’s Physical Education instructor. She was only 4 years older than her students. She moved to a different school the year I began high school there but knew all of the teachers. My brother would have been there then.My pool partner tonight during conversation has a lot for sale at the Pineridge Resort ( Seba Beach area) which is where  Fred & Terry just bought their lot. It even goes one step further in that my partner Darlene and her husband Chuck know students from Stony Plain High School that I knew very well. They are good friends to Miles Johnson and Barb Edwards that were high school sweethearts. I knew Miles from school and even installed a pair of shackles on his car to raise the rear end. If I remember it correct it was a Falcon. Small small world.

Ps Man Cold still here.

Thought of the Day

It’s a small world but we run in big circles.

January 18th -19th

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 21 degrees/18 degrees    Calgary  6 degrees / 3 degrees

A couple of busy days. I had to leave early for Whirlwind as my tee time was 9 am. On the freeway if there is an accident during rush hour it can tie it up for  a long time. I do have to say without the roof, 120kms per hr, 8am and 8 degrees it is a little cool out. FYI a person getting chilled or cold is not the reason they get a cold. I had three great partners today, two from Canada and one from the Northern States. It was not a good day golfing for my group. All of us struggled. Our captain a 7 handicapper shot a 86 which is very high for him. I shoot a 91 and my other partners were higher. Now it was a new course as it was the first time I played it this year. But more than that for me it was a lot of bad luck. I had to shoot from under a tree and my ball hits a tree stake on the way out. I shoot up to the green hit a sprinkler head and my ball takes a 90 degree turn. I shoot and hit the one only single tree branch between me and the green. I landed in about 5 sand traps and every time it was right up to the edge on the bunker and extremely difficult to get out of. Plus some of these traps were fairway traps and 4 feet deep. Made for a fun day of golfing with frustration and the one of situations that happened. Great golf course, very nice team mates, great dinner and  a lot of fun. I arrived back a Viewpoint around 2:30 changed and went to help Fred with his back patio sun screening which we finished quite fast. A few cold beers to appreciate our work and a visit from neighbors. Fred had assembled a fantastic looking TV stand in the morning and it looks wonderful. Immediately looking at it I love it but the 32 inch TV is just too small. I came home and Bob calls me over for another few beer with his golfing friends. I was trying not to have alcohol as I wanted to take some cold medicine but that flew out of the window. Nasal spray only.  Watched the People’s Choice awards.

Then we booked tickets using our Aeroplan Points.

MY RANT

AEROPLAN –  First I have to say over the years we have used, supported and liked the Aeroplan structure and system. One point for one dollar spent. We have booked and used the points for flights to Disney World and flew first class for 5 of us. We have used points for Jackie & I , the girls and Mom & Dad to Hawaii, I used points for a retirement gift for Mike Lopachuk, and Eddie Y, and a horse riding ranch trip for Larry G, hotels in Vegas, trips to Vegas all with good luck and easy access. But over the years the program has rapidly deteriorated to be cumbersome and much more useless and inconvenient than paying for a ticket. Today I can drive to Phoenix faster than a Aeroplan trip as it has three stops and takes 24 hours.  The taxes now are higher than a competitors special rate to pay for a ticket. Today we tried to book for all of the kids to come for a visit. I had 242,000 points left which when you think of it that was $240,000 I spent on visa to accumulate them as most of them were visa points not flight points. I now have 600 points left and have Jessica, Penny, August, Jackson, Corey, and Victoria coming for a visit during their birthday which will be fun. They will be a little inconvenienced but they will get a nice trip and we will get an enjoyable visit in the sun.  So I am going to cancel my Aeroplan credit card and get a new visa with no annual fee attached. The annual fee almost pays for one flight to Phoenix. I have found their new system not user friendly, they use false advertising hooks like saying 25K points for a flight but you need two days to get there, and very very limited flights and seats. Speaking to a few people they are all experiencing the same issues and are not happy or already have left the program.

For us NO MORE AEROPLAN.

“BUT THAT’S JUST ME”

Fred being the early riser arrived even a little earlier than planned and I rushed to be ready in time. I am lucky that I am not old enough to be caught in the elderly phenomenon that makes people go to bed at 9 but get up at 6am. I prefer still 11pm to bed and 8 am to get up and push that to 8:30. lol. First we needed a few things from Depot. The USA overall have great customer service levels. But product knowledge, common sense, and in store training is non existent. At the Depot we asked 5 different people for a simple thing and they couldn’t answer. Our solution is on line shopping. It is much easier, faster and they have it in stock. One of our hard to find items today was a simple T handle for a garage door. EVERY lumberyard carries this. Not HOME DEPOT here. Picked up our moldings and a couple of other things on Fred’s list and headed home. We then headed home to unload and take off to Walmart to pick up our patio furniture. Their pickup program isn’t perfect as we waited a way to long for help. Finally we picked up our package a large box ( freight  bill stating 175 lbs and box stating 136 pounds) . This small guy states he loaded it himself onto the cart. A box 4 x 4 x 8ft and we have to wheel it right through the store rather than have an outside access door. FAIL. Got it home and worked on installing it. It went together fairly well and is fairly well built. Took awhile. Stopped for lunch made by Jackie and placed it in back patio. I think it looks wonderful and will get a picture in the sunlight. One more trip back to the Depot as we were fixing up the hot water heater switch at Mel’s place.Took Fred very little time as he is pretty handy with electricity and this time I was  happy he shut down the power. I told him if he bites it with electricity I am NOT giving him mouth to mouth. He will be a goner. Fred fixed up the internet stand and wires at Mel’s while we were there and another thing done.

The 800 block party happened tonight. I like these things as they get everyone together. Jackie was a hit with her Mexican Chiles Corn casserole. Three women asked for the recipe which was nice.   Handed out the balance of our block directory and again received nice comments on these which is always appreciated. We then had a very competitive night of bingo which was a lot of fun. Bingo , fun ? What has happened to me ? It was fun.

Came home relaxed and get ready for tomorrow. Fred & I were going to the Barrett Jackson auction but we waited until Friday and guess what they raise the pricing for the last three days to $50. Fifty bucks for me to walk around at Barrett’s is a way to much. Next year we will go earlier when the admission pricing is $20.

The Calgary family dynamics are getting better. We now have Alan, Maryann, Corey, Victoria and Jackson cheering on the Oilers and with our recent addition we now have Larry, Jackie,  Penny, Jessica, Danielle, Kennedy and August cheerleading the Flames. Here is our newest convert.

Thought of the Day

So does retirement mean never having to plan anything but bingo and golf. ? Life is great !

January 2oth

“Mercury Forecast ”   Mesa 14 degrees Calgary 7 degrees

The cold temperature is hanging on here in Mesa for the next few days with a fair amount of rain. It happens but not liked. I would assume the reservoirs love it and will provide that much more water longer. I don’t like it as it cuts into my sunshine time and golf.

Up this morning and started watching the Trump big day. I would assume it was a much watched show all day. I was actually impressed with his speech. He was very presidential and was very accommodating and  very real in his speech. IF he lives up to even a small portion of his speech USA will be a better place. Some policies on govt spending, trade and immigration makes very good sense. I hope Americans stop being so divided and help Trump do them well. It was funny as the first family sure knows how to dress.

Fred picked me up this morning and we headed to the dump with a load of cardboard and moldings. We then stopped at Mel’s place as the hot water heater wasn’t working again. Checked everything and discovered the switch wasn’t working properly but was an easy fix. A few tests of electricity and a small adjustment and it is up and running again.

We then started trimming out the three doors in Fred’s place. A little tricky with the wall locations not making it easy to case really. We had a few adjustments to make and they look wonderful. Fred’s entire place is now renovated and looks wonderful. The new furniture is in place and fits perfectly. The only thing missing is the TV that fits his cabinet. LOL

Fred dropped me off at home. I whipped to Mobile Depot to pick up a new elbow for my eaves trough and installed it and I now have no leaks near my outdoor kitchen. I watched a bit more of the inauguration and relaxed.

Starting cooking up chicken breast to have with a salad and some of Jackie’s Mexican corn casserole.

As the weather is great it will be a TV night perhaps a in house movie.

Thought of the Day

At any given moment you have the power to say to yourself, this is not how this story is going to end.

January 21-22nd

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 14 degrees  Calgary 2 degrees

Ok I am tired of the cooler weather here this year. Today as it is windy it is to cool to golf along with the chance of a shower. So we went shopping for groceries and few household items. I bought a cover for the new patio set on line. The sky looked like it could leak at anytime. We fixed up a few things around the house, watched a bit of TV and later watched a couple of movies on TV.

I had to get up around 2am and went outside to fix our curtains on the patio set as they were making a lot of noise in the wind.

I need to go on the roof to check the flashing between the unit and Arizona room as I have a small stain in the ceiling. We had this happen when first built but I think it has got a little bigger. I had the contractor install a 24″ flashing to keep the water from being forced under in the wind but it appears either strong winds or a leak may have happened. I will get the ladder and do a check to see what is happening.

Zip tied the two new couches together and installed the pillows on the back deck. As soon as the heat comes this is going to be wonderful. My new cover coming will protect the cushions from the birds pooping on them at night.

Enjoying the banter between the media and Trump. He sure is going to be a handful for them. The media sure has been deceiving people.

Getting ready for golf today which we have squeeze in as the weather is still not great for a few days again. Only a high of 17 degrees  but still very warm. Hopefully a good score  on a new course.

We were hooked up with a very nice gentleman and his daughter. This young girl was in grade nine and could she golf. Amazingly perfect golf swing with great swing speed and nice direction control. Over the period of the game once her short game and putting get better she will score really well. Her Dad had a natural draw shot which became a hook quite often but when he connected he hit it a mile. Nice sound when it hit the club. I beat him by quite a few strokes but I would love to have his draw.  Jackie did quite well but as this course was new and considerably longer than Viewpoint she scored a little higher but over all hit some wonderful shots. It was one of those off days were I struggled driving consistently but did other things well enough to come out of the game with a 86. I double boogie on 4 of the Par 3’s. I just couldn’t land on the green and score which caused the most issues for me. The weather was nice today with it being just about a perfect golf day event. A lot of fun.

After golf we decided to go out for supper to The Village which was a great meal at a reasonable price. A full day, a little wind burnt and a little sun exhausted but just one of those wonderful enjoyable days. And as I thought even using a power cart Jackie still got in her 10,000 steps.

Came home and relaxed, watched a little tv and relaxed. Rain for tomorrow Darn !!

Thought of the Day

As you walk down the fairway of life, stop and smell the roses as you only get to play one round.

Jan 23rd- 25th

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 13 degrees Calgary 0 degrees

This cold trough is sticking around until Friday when the temperatures will be above 20 degrees everyday and more. Looking forward to that as I enjoy heat much better than this coolness.

Went shopping with Fred to Costco, Safeway and the farmers market to pick up some stuff. Vegetables down here are so cheap it is amazing. 25 cents per head of lettuce. .25 cents for a large cucumbers. We both picked up a fair amount of groceries.

At Costco I picked up my new patio lights I wanted to change out. Love these and will post a picture tonight as I installed them right after I got home. I also picked up a radiant heater to take the chill off as I like to sit outside in the mornings and at night and it is a little cool to relax. Both work and look great.

Tomorrow heading out to the golf course will be cool as the high at 8am right now is around 6 to 8 degrees.

Watched the Bachelor kissing every girl and the one girl that makes the show interesting is fun to see. Watched the Trumpster do his few tricks .

A low key day but still nice to see the sun, feel the semi warmth, see no snow and relax.

Hanging some lights for Fred today and lowering his awning to recoat a section of his roof. We managed to get all the lights hung. I cant figure out why they have to twist the wires so you cant get the lights to hang nicely. We also changed out the Red Pepper lights and hung them. Fred had some excellent LED puck lights we installed under the overhang in the back patio. I haven’t seen these at night yet but I am sure they will look awesome. Fred will work out a system to get the lights to hang straight. Should look great at night.

We had a light supper and then headed to the pool hall. At a random pick my partner turns out to be Jackie. We did ok and I am not disappointed in our win/loss record as there are some pretty good billiard players here. Our final record was 2 wins 3 losses but two of those losses were our own doing as we scratched on the black ball.  The other loss we got killed. So everything considered we did ok and it was another fun evening.

Had to go to bed early as I was being picked up at 7 am for our men’s league golf game. Turns out when we arrived we had a good hour frost delay. We had a nice breakfast special and used the driving range and putting green for a while to practice on. The temperature was supposed to be around 8 above but it was cooler to start but warmed up very fast in fact so much I was down to my golf shirt to golf in. I was prepared bringing my winter gloves and jackets but I didn’t need them. By the last nine it was over 16 degrees and sunny.

Didn’t win any money this time. I was golfing with two Saskatoon boys and a North Dakota gentleman that were a fun group to golf with. I played quite well and am happy with my play except for the scoring. I ended up with a 91. This is with 6 holes taking a 3 putt on. The greens were lighting fast and I couldn’t adjust. Putting for birdie and ending up with a boogie was quite common. So the score sucked but the play calibre I could live with. 91- 6 if not more= 85 which I could live with. Next time.

Bob and I were lucky that Sandy picked us up and drove us to the course today. Another fun day in paradise.

Today is both Corey’s and Wendy’s birthday so I sent my birthday wishes to them. I rather enjoy this innocent teasing.

Nothing on the agenda for tonight so most likely a light supper and relax. I may even have a wonderful retired person’s nap to make up the lost hours from this morning.

Thought of the Day

I am not relaxing, I am in my new NDP energy saving mode.

January 26th -27th

“Mercury Forecast ” Mesa  16 degrees  Calgary 5 degrees

The cool spell here is finally coming to an end. Starting to warm up today but the weekend and beyond has the highs in the mid twenties. This has been the coolest we have seen it for so long time. Still nice during the day with just a golf shirt but the evenings and if in the shade with a breeze a way too cool. Yes for the warmth coming up.

Fred & I headed to pick up a few groceries. We then headed to Bass Pro shops were I picked up a pistol grip fishing rod that I had broke last year. It was my favorite but it was from about 1977 as I bought it at Sterling Dist. The new one ( pistol grip is now uncommon) is nice but a lot less quality. I also bought this Rapala Rattler hook size 8 colored silver which is like Fred’s hook that he caught all of his Walleye on in Calling Lake. So I figured it has to be something special. He also bought another one. Difference though is, his is size 7 and mine is size 8. I believe size does matter and the bigger Walleye ( 8lbs+) will want a bite not a morsel so I should do very well next year. We stopped at Bass Pro’s café and had their amazing fish & chips. American sized 3 pieces. Awesome with frosted beer mugs so cold small amounts of ice formed on the top of the beer.

Fred came over for supper tonight. Homemade spaghetti & meatballs. I rolled my meatballs and made Boston Pizza sized balls mixed with cheese and jalapeño.  Browned them in a pan and then in the oven and they turned out great. Took the extra time as they were huge.Fred and Jackie didn’t eat a lot as they weren’t hungry but I enjoyed my two big balls. Love pasta !

Fred installed a new GFI receptacle at Bob & Pat’s house. Odd as these rarely become defective put the reset button wouldn’t release.

A quick trip in the dark to see Fred’s new lights, a few beer, and a few three finger rye’s again and we called it a night. Slept like a log.

Our Trumpster is still causing waves which is fun to watch. He is getting er done ! If only he wouldn’t open his mouth. lol

The temperatures are starting to rise. I headed to Costco to return my heater as it just didn’t put out. Cant have that. I then headed to Walmart to pick up my patio set cover. Filled up on gas and then went work in the back. Set up the new patio set and planted my new germaniums.

Nothing nicer than relaxing on the couch in the sun with the birds singing.  A wonderful day. Fred came by to get his boarding pass printed. He didn’t get the TSA pre-check out of Phoenix but did get the new OSS approval in Vancouver which will help on his return.

“Memories”

Our First Home 1980

Jackie and I bought our first house before we were married. We both sold our vehicles as at the time you needed a 10% down payment to buy a house and the interest was 18%. Our first house we bought was $63,000 in Mayfield a nice older district in Edmonton.  To save $6K at 19 and 22 isn’t easy so selling our cars was the faster easier way to do it. We found a wonderful  small home that we loved. We had it a year before being married and with each of us living at our parents place we started to renovate. Kieth helped us tremendously with this first house doing a lot of work and being involved with most everything. While I was on a sales call in Ft Mac, Keith and Jackie even chose, and bought our living room and kitchen furniture. Keith also helped us pick out a kingsize water bed.  I did get to pick out a TV from Krazy Kelly’s. LOL With friends help on this house before we moved in we completed :

1. All new windows
2. New eavestrough
3. New baseboards and casing c/w locks
4. New entrance door
5. New soffits
6. New shingles and vents
7. Restored hardwood flooring
8. New carpet
9. New countertop and painted cupboards.
10. New vinyl kitchen flooring
11. Painted exterior
12. Landscaped
13. New bathroom tiles

We had a lot of fun with this, but it was a lot of work and money for us. We spent a lot of money making it our own.I am still proud we did it all ourselves. Keith and I would work each night after work while Jackie would bring us supper and help on the weekends.  One of the funniest things is while having a roofing party ( I got a good price on shingles as I worked for the wholesaler and we were going to install them ourselves)  we had one of the girlfriends be our “stripper” and remove the plastic cover over the sealing tap on each shingle. Only after did I discover these slowly disintegrate over time and you don’t have to remove them. Our “stripper” was the girlfriend of one of my friends and was one of those girls that due to her huge boobs made other girls jealous. There was some tension with her on the hot roof from the other girls. LOL  Also urethane wasn’t used on hardwood flooring in those days. You had to wax it. We had painted all of the living room walls a nice off white and then needed to wax the floors. I had previously sanded them. We borrowed a floor polisher and using RED INDIAN stain/wax I was ready to get it done. Brilliant idea to apply the polish to the floor polisher and start. BAD idea. Turned on the polisher and had red wax all over every wall. Lesson learned. A great experience and a lot of fun.

Thought of the Day

Our date nights at that time  was going to a building supply centre to buy a toilet.

January 28th

“Mercury Forecast” Mesa 18 degrees Calgary  10 degrees

First what a beautiful January day for Calgary. And what a day here. Full sun and nice and warm. First thing on the agenda was to drop off Fred at the airport. We did that little early as we needed to get back to the Mesa Airport for 11am.  There was no traffic on the freeway so we ended up even a little earlier than expected. Dropped Fred off and headed south. A quick stop at Bashas as we needed a few things and being early. Then off to the Mesa Airport to pick up Kieth & Donna ( Terry’s parents). Their flight was right on time. We found their luggage fast and headed pout back to Viewpoint. On their first sight of Fred’s renovated place they were impressed. As I said everything in that house has been touched and it looks wonderful. Got them settled in and dropped off the truck at Tim’s place.

We sat on the back deck and soaked in the sun. Jackie got a little red on her neck as it was beautiful out. I love the new patio set as it is comfortable and roomy.  Life is Good !

I washed and waxed the Jeep today. Shined up real nice but did notice over the last 4 years the odd little paint scratch or chip I hate. But it is work Jeep not a showpiece so I am at peace with that. Looks great ! The 303 protection I use for the black on the fenders and tires works great and does not hurt them like Armor All .

Had a nice long walk before the sun set around the park.  Cooking my Costco 2 inch thick pork chops tonight. Little roasts really.  They are smelling wonderful.

“Memories”

After living in our first house for a while Jackie kept saying she was hearing strange noises.  Our house had a 4 ft crawl space under it with a dirt floor. She thought she was hearing cat noises. Looking thru a vent window I could see how a cat could get under there. I called up Keith and the two of us went under the house in the dark. With a flashlight we scared ourselves as there were five kittens and a mother cat. We had seen a Siamese cat around that must have been the father. These kittens were quite large by now and wild. First they had never seen light or experienced humans. We put on large leather gloves and attempted to catch them. This was not an easy task but we did manage to catch all of the young kittens. It was later in the day so I put them in our dog pen in the kitchen for the night.  Waking up in the morning there was one missing. We searched and searched for it. Finally found it hiding in the warming oven of the stove. I had a plan so in the morning I grabbed them and threw them in the trunk of my company car. Remember these things were WILD so not an easy task.  Caught the mother cat and threw her in the trunk with the kittens. It was late in the fall or early winter. I had a large Jackfish fillet in the freezer I grabbed and we headed out to my Uncle’s farm south of Stony Plain. I figured the cats could live for quite a while on this fish until they acclimatize and start finding mice etc. Threw the kittens and mother cat along with the fish into the barn and left. It was quite an experience catching these wild kittens. They were beautiful looking kittens though having a Siamese father.

Thought of the Day

I am sure though these kittens wont grow up to be Tigers. I think !

January 29th

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 23 degrees Calgary 9 degrees

What a warm beautiful sunny day. Not a cloud in the sky. Sat on the back patio for awhile enjoying the warmth.  Fiddle farted around doing the odd thing around the house. Removed one dining chair padding as I want to take it to a upholstery place to see about higher density padding as the chairs are not that comfortable.

Golfed to day with a gentleman in his 40’s that was a fun guy. Great golfer. I had step up my game to outdrive him and did it very well. Some amazing drives with one of them going 350 yards with a lot of roll. The par 5’s in two were reachable today.  Our golfing partner was an immigrant working at Intel so we didn’t talk about Trump at all. Joaquin isn’t an easy name to remember but his explanation stating ” Remember the actor Joaquin Phoenix ?  Just remember I am Joaquin from Phoenix”  Made it easy. He had a hitch in his backswing like Charles Barkley but it worked for him as his drives were fantastic but his chips were amazing. Switching back to this course and it’s slower greens killed me again taking three 3 putts and two lip outs. I kept coming up short. It is funny how the mind works. Slowly adjusted. Jackie easily broke 100 again and I had an ok 82.  But what was really nice it was one of the warmest days golfing this year and the upcoming week is only getting hotter.

Trumps immigration policy is quite controversial. They knew he was going to do this. A 90 day ban isn’t the end of the world. He only wants a vetting process established that is strong and effective. It is a shame to say but it is the Muslim community that has the terrorists  among them right now so to be cautious shouldn’t be considered  radical or racist. The Muslim community should have been much more vociferous against the radicals. They need to still try to differentiate themselves from these groups.  Talk about a dumb move on Trudeau’s part. Not only piss off Trump but set up Canada for potential terrorists to enter our country with his statement that Canada will accept any turned away person that the states won’t allow. He is gem this boy. Dumb.

Horrible attack in Quebec on a mosque. Large numbers killed and injured. I feel sad this happens in Canada as we are becoming too much like other places in the world. Religion has killed so many people over the years it is unbelievable. The Catholics and Protestants have killed millions of people over the years but we seem to forget that. The only real difference I see today is that the Terrorist’s seem to target innocent people more.

Watched Jdango on TV which was good movie.  Slept like a log.

Thought of the Day

In the long term we can hope that religion will change the nature of man and reduce conflict. But history is not encouraging in this respect. The bloodiest wars in history have been religious wars.

January 30th

“Mercury Forecast” Mesa 24 degrees Calgary 1 degree

What a wonderful day. Not a cloud in the sky. On todays agenda was do a few things around the house, have a round of golf , have burger night at Fat Willy’s and watch the Bachelor. Life is good !

Paid my month end bills. Fixed up any emails needed and relaxed before getting ready. Our partners today turned out to be a gentleman from Medicine Hat and another from Sherwood Park.  Both guys were on the older side and played from the white tees. The Med Hat gentleman looked like he had the starting symptoms of Parkinson’s as his hand shook when ever he was relaxed. As soon as he grabbed the club it appeared to stop. He is a member of Med Hat Golf Club and has lived their all his life. He knew the Geddes name. He used to own an insurance company in the Hat and used to buy promotional items from a Geddes in Med Hat. Marv was a very nice guy and made it a fun day golfing. Played very well for a guy most likely late 70’s or early 80’s. I like his comment “the problem I have is I standing too close to the ball after hitting it.”The heat today was amazing. Jackie struggled a bit today but still got 106 which is decent. I drove wonderful and long today but took a triple boogie on hole 9 with a lost ball and ended up with a 80. 13 pars and birdie.  I will spend time practicing my chip shots as 30 yards out and less I am having too many skulls or not getting the ball close enough to the hole. I think a few hours a the chipping green I will fix this. Most likely on Thursday. Once you find the correct technique for yourself it is just a matter of remembering it.

Sitting on the patio at Fat Willy’s in the warmth was amazing. All week mid 70’s so perfect. Love the sunset and warmth plus the quiet outside compared to  the noisy inside is great. The delivery time of the food today was a little longer than usual but the shotgun start and end hits the kitchen with a huge amount of orders at exactly the same time. Besides why rush a wonderful night on the deck with a cold beer mug in our hands. Great burger again.

Home to watch the Bachelor.

Noticed JELD-WEN’S IPO offering is finally done. A little surprised at the small amount of money raised but I guess  $575 million is nothing to sneeze at. Onex was most likely disappointed but they still owns 60% of the company. All I can say is that Onex destroyed a great company trying to make it look good for this offering and there is very little chance of regaining the customer base. It would require a complete overall of the corporate structure. It would be fun to try and manage and restart the company again though. A huge challenge but with correct management it could be done. I buy stock on line thru Scotia Itrade and have done well but would I buy JELD-WEN stock. Not a chance, I know their inner workings and what you see today is all a façade to make the P+L look better than it actual is for the offering. It is extremely poorly managed today at all levels. This is the Canadian division which is only  a small part of the company though.

“Memories”

1977 trip

Around 1977 Kieth, Jenny along with Jackie & I decided to take a vacation to the BC interior for a couple of weeks. This was an amazing trip with lots of fun and interesting things happening. I will post each one it’s own story and relate it to the 1977 trip.  One of the funniest and scariest things happened to us in Kelowna. At the campground we were staying at they rented fishing row boats. Now Keith and Jenny that day had a little spat so Keith, Jackie and I went out fishing alone. A beautiful sunny summer day on the Okanagan Lake. Fishing away and after a few hours we see a thunder head moving in. We had the odd speed boat pull up and ask us if we needed help to get shore but we thought we had loads of time. The waves started getting bigger and bigger. Understand this was a 14 ft wooden row boat. We started to head to shore. Bigger and bigger waves and then they started to come over the stern of the boat. We rowed and rowed but we were  getting nowhere. Then the boat sank. We were around a bay from the campsite so if anyone was looking for us they couldn’t see us. Luckily we had a long rope tied to the bow that I held onto. Each large wave pushed the boat along the bottom of the lake closer to shore as I was swimming at the surface. Jackie was swimming with her purse held above the water and coughing and coughing as the waves hit her head. Kieth had the fishing equipment and was swimming to shore. Took a long time but we all finally made it to shore with dry purse, boat and equipment. We moved the boat along the shoreline to get it back to the campground when we turned the corner and saw the entire campground  was on the beach frantically looking for us. Everyone except Jenny. Jenny was still sleeping in her tent unaware of our near death experience. Lucky for us we managed to save the boat as we didn’t have enough money to pay for the damage deposit as it was expensive. An experience we will not forget.

Thought of the Day

So I am going sit right here in the sun on the patio, watch the sunset disappear and drink my cold beer ! Is that bad ?

January 31st

“Mercury Forecast”  Mesa 24 degrees Calgary  -7 degrees

Another wonderful day in paradise. Hot and sunny today. Worked on my January budget this morning. All things good. Spent a lot this month on airfares with the 5 tickets for the kids and Jackie returning to Calgary plus our new patio lounge set. Love this patio set. So over budget but money well spent. The TSX has being doing quite well ( except for last two days) which has been nice. After three years now I see where our numbers are going to be. A little higher than I like but still within line. I would love to live with the 4% rule but with the current interest rates it is a little hard to do without collecting CPP and OAS for both of us.

Found a new way to roll up my Jeep top which comes in handy as if we need it for rain or cold it can be put on in two minutes instead of 10 minutes.

Made a Costco run for the lights as gifts and picked up a few things.

Sitting on the deck is wonderful. Got really lucky as the tree trimmers were working on our street and I asked them to trim Annette’s tree. Saves me from doing this. I gave the young trimmer $15 to buy some coffee’s for the guys and everyone was happy. With their equipment it takes them 10 minutes versus my 1/2 hr plus the hassle of hauling away the trimmings. All is good.

“Memories”

Trip 1977

On this same trip another very funny thing happened. The road coming into our campground was a wonderful paved winding road. First I love the sound of squealing tires especially with the heat in Kelowna so every night coming back campground I had an enjoyable drive. We got to our campsite, ate and partied and then Jackie and I headed to our pup tent early.  It was very dark outside when I start hearing the guys shouting at me that I had a visitor. The Okanagan cops on a local residents request came to visit me. I didn’t believe them as they had had a few too many drinks and thought they were fooling me so I sluffed them off. Finally an officer comes up to the pup tent. In the normal strict cop voice he asks me if I am the driver of the Camaro. Not believing it was a cop I answered somewhat sarcastically. Luckily for me I had a decent normal officer. With a warning about speeding thru the neighborhood he left. That is a “normal” cop. I reluctantly slowed down for the next few days coming in and out of the campsite.