June 1st – 2nd

I finished off my kitchen  cupboards. Jackie after work  filled the seams and only the painting to go. I will be glad when this LONG project is done as with work interruptions, golfing games and commitments it has seemed very busy. The doors worked out well. And it is rustic so makes the process a little easier. Plan now is to paint them brown then teal and then sand to look distressed. I am looking forward to seeing how it looks.

The smoke is finally gone which is nice. Jackie worked all day then we babysat Jackson. Corey came out for a bit and helped me finish while Jackie played with Jackson. We had Costco hot dogs. Boy are they juicy which is a nice way to say full of fat. Very good tasting though.

At the playground I bet you there were 25 kids all under 10 playing games which Jackson joined in. It appeared to be a chaotic game of tag with different rules that us adults couldn’t understand but the kids seemed to have a blast. I am sure Jackson loves it.

Jackson stayed out with us overnight and Jackie said he didn’t even get up until 9am. Awesome sleeper.

I had a 6 hour shift today to work. Supposedly 10 -4 but when I checked in by phoning as the new GM wants they wanted me in by 9am. I do not believe this is fair to any employee. Make the schedule and live with it. If you need extra help ask for it then not having employees phone in and changing hours last minute. I am not a fan of this. Just biding my time before I see a correction. To compound this I am working 2 to 3 times a week which is NOT what I am looking for.

I had a fun shift and it was warm out. It is fun to tease, joke and converse with a mixed bag of golfers. Even some good golfers out today with me giving away at least 6 chips. Always fun.

Took back my repaired tire to Canadian Tire for a second repair. Funny they phoned when it was ready and left a message they won’t be charging me anything extra. Made me smile as that wouldn’t have happened.

After work I came back and with Jackie we sanded the cupboards. Paint tomorrow !  Wonderful out here tonight in the warmth, quiet, and darkness of country. actually smelled more marijuana tonight then cow manure. Go figure.

Talked to Fred to see his timing on his deck and gazebo. I think we have a plan that will work.

Thought of the Day

I crunched a few numbers today on our retirement account .  Now it is time to figure out who will drive the get away car and who will wear the mask. 

June 3rd

Funny how time flies. Today is Jeff & Wendy’s 24th wedding anniversary. It seems like just yesterday. I remember it well with Jeff having a cast on his leg and needing a cart to get to the top of the hill at Midnapore Lake for the wedding ceremony. The girls Jess, Tor and Shandi loved riding in Nola Walen’s ( Ed wife from Stampede Wrestling) as she was the JP officiating and she drove them to the lake. It was a nice ceremony but as I said seems like only a short time ago.

Worked all day finishing up the electricity for the kitchen. Used a RV 30 amp cord and a waterproof junction box with a GFI receptacle. I had to do some re working on the box to make everything work.

I do have to say shopping at a big box store and wanting knowledgeable help can’t be in the same sentence. Trying to find product as they don’t seem to want to be everything that makes sense together and to get product information is like pulling teeth. I do find the paint department personnel always seem to be on the ball. I spent a long time in the electrical department trying to get the right products that will work for me. Today I was at Depot, Lowes, Canadian Tire and Woody’s. I can’t say any of them have good or even mediocre customer service. Woodys of the all is always a disaster. I ordered my parts I needed from Amazon easy peasy.  Cheaper and easier except for the few days wait. You would think stores could figure out if you stock carry stock people are going to stop going to you. Online just keeps growing. I picked up new light fixtures, RV cord, electrical box, clamps, elbows, shelving unit and plumbing connectors. It took me until noon to complete this.

First thing was a major issue. Jackie had a storage compartment lid come off in her hands. First age comes in to play and difficult to close due to location combined for a hinge failure. Our motorhome new was $225,000.00 and made by one of the best manufactures but why would they EVER think a rubber hinge would last forever. It didn’t. I tried to see if a easy fix but it is a very difficult task as it looks like a 30 ft long hinge system. I phoned my good RV repair place and she confirmed as I thought a very difficult job. To add to the dilemma is the finding the replacement part as Triple E doesn’t make Class A coaches anymore. Shauna was going to look for the parts and advise me. Fingers crossed.

Jackie got all of the mdf primed tonight and we sat outside enjoying the evening again until it got very very windy.

Thought of the Day

For those that say there is no such thing as a stupid question haven’t worked in customer service. The expectation and the delivery today are a little out of whack.

June 4th

Wind, wind go away come back another day. The wind everyday has been amazing. I am going to be guessing but I am sure at least 50kms. It is funny as it isn’t loud but the leaves constantly blowing just sound loud. Odd. The temperatures though are wonderful.

Today was my plan to put the boat in it’s position. I built a 4 x 4 platform 2ft wide beside the Saloon backside and used a screw in eyebolt and a 6 inch threaded eye through the side wall of the shed. I was lucky enough to have just enough plywood and lumber in my pile to complete it. Finished it late after noon and the boat it is rigid and secure which is nice. For aesthetics  I will find something to limit the visual impact it makes but the location works out well.

I put together my pressure washer  with it’s new parts and cleaned the roofs of the shed and gazebo best I could. The troughs were jam packed with leaves and buds. Makes a mess but when done really makes everything look better. Watered the plants until I can get time to install my irrigation system.

A nice relaxing work day.

Jackie & I headed into Strathmore to look at deck boxes and thought while there have supper and pick up some groceries.

Strathmore becomes a ghost town at 7pm. So no deck box. I decided as my Faux Outhouse would not be too visual it wasn’t worth the hassles as it does not meet the parks clearance rules. So rather than have to defend and possibly move it a 70 cu in deck box 4 x 6 is easier, less money and less hassles. Now to find it. LOL

Thought of the Day 

There is a saying ” if you don’t break the rules the rules will break you” Very true but sometimes you just have to concede and tow the line.

June 5th & 6th

It is so enjoyable out at the lot.  Quiet cool evenings and the nights are so nice. As I am writing this though a noisy pigeon is cooing away. LOL  I guess some may call that music.

I was supposed to work today but got a call from the GM that the tee sheet was on the light side. Warm day, no smoke, small breeze ideal day for golf but people must be cutting back as Heatherglen’s pricing is attractive and the course in perfect shape. So I planned a busy day. After researching best deals the deck box I wanted was at Rona Strathmore. I headed into town in the Dakota as these sheds are heavy boxes and I needed some lumber for the base. I went into the store and got everything ordered and headed out to the yard. The gate guy asks ” Did you think you need help loading the shed? ” Sure not old Totem staff. The yard guy and I whip to the sea-can at the back of the yard. Low and behold the shed I want is at the very back of a 40ft sea-can. Lucky the guy had decent strength as we both struggled getting this huge box out of the back. It was a chore but we finally did it.

It is a 70 cu ft shed made for large garbage cans. It has a piston opening lid and two front doors to access the interior. It fit perfect behind my Saloon. I made the base with 2 x 6 and 5/8 PWF plywood base. One sheet now costs $60. Pricing keeps going up. Very sturdy base done and then start the assembly. I had Jackie’s help after work and we completed the project including moving stuff into it. It works perfect for storage of my 12 inch miter saw with base, the table saw, compressor and after I get a another shelf in it some gardening stuff. Love it !

Finished up and headed to Heatherglen for an afternoon golf game with Jeff. We finished 18 holes in under 3 hours. Wonderfully warm and a fun night golfing. A decent night for both of us with Jeff breaking 90 and myself with an 81. It could have been so much better. Wings and beer after at the Bull to cap off a wonderful day.

Early morning rise to head to Turner Valley for my men’s league. I NEED A SPORT PSYCHOLOGIST. The organizer laughed when he saw my score and said ” Did you succumb to the pressure? ” Answer yes. I have an issue when playing in this men’s league similar to my men’s league in Mesa that I do poorly. Having said that I did finish in the top ten money earners in Mesa. Shot an 81 than next day a 94 is illogical and frustrating. I know exactly what happened that thru me. First hole and I hit it long but right. No trouble but in some trees with no under bush so a punch shot out or even maybe a clear path 100 yards to the green. We could NOT find my ball. Three playing partners not watching and I lose a ball having to shoot 4 a long ways away from the green. Thanks guys with old eyes. lol This is a ball that SHOULD NEVER have been lost. Taking an 8 on the first hole I could not recover and struggled the first nine. Back nine was ok.

I had three fun guys to play with today which still made it a fun outing.

After golf I went out to Oasis and met Jackie out there. We did a lot of discussing on the Saloon Bunkie and I think we have finalized the interior layout. Closet, bathroom and davenport living room with a fireplace and closet. Tight but it will work. Shabby chic clean white design theme.

A light rain carried on. I love the sound of it on the roof.

Remember D Day today.

Thought of the Day 

If a deaf person goes to the court house for a trial is it still called a hearing ?

June 7th

Mom & Dad’s wedding anniversary today. Not exactly positive but I am going to say  this would have been their 67th  year if Dad was still here.

Rained all night and still raining. It was only 6 degrees in June. Correction car gauge said 4 degrees. I attempted to work outside in my shed or gazebo but too cold. It will wait for another day.

I am having a difficult time with the repair of my storage door on the motorhome. First attempt was my favorite RV repair place Wild Mountain RV. I talked to Shauna and she was going to check into getting the part and get back to me. Three days later I phoned and talked to another lady there and was told Shauna was with other customers and she would phone me back. NEVER heard from Wild Mountain. Consistent superior customer service should be every companies goal. Second attempt was to ArrKann RV near Chestermere as it was close. Very helpful until an email comes that they are not familiar with motorhomes. An RV place that fixes only trailers. Go figure !  I even have an email from the factory saying they have the hinges in stock.Third attempt is Guarantee RV where we purchased a trailer and a motorhome from. They say they can do it so fingers crossed. I will drop it off on Sunday as I have the 8 hour Marshall shift coming up tomorrow.

Checking out product this morning online and my deck box/shed from Rona was on sale. Two days after buying it. Rona was exceptional at looking after this and refunded me the $100 difference. That’s service. The money I saved I bought my electrical for the Saloon and a light for the gazebo. Nice !

Still raining. We are coming back into Calgary tonight as I have to work at 9am tomorrow, it is still raining here and too cold to work in the shed or gazebo. There are three tournaments going on tomorrow and those are rarely cancelled as the chef has pre ordered all of the food based on the quantity of poeple. It will be a three layer clothing day with winter gloves to stay warm. Rain suit perhaps to stay dry. Fun !

It is a frustrating weather year. From the time we have gotten back to Canada the weather has been crappy. Snow, cold, wind, more wind, cold , and rain. Not good. June always is the wettest month but please let us have some nice days thrown in.

Watching the news and the reporting on Premier Ford’s one year anniversary today. I just can’t figure out why people don’t get it. If you are spending more than you are bringing in you need to cut. That means less nurses, less maintenance workers, less infrastructure ,less teachers, wage reductions and on and on. Education, health care and public service are the three most expensive departments in the government. In most cases getting above average salaries and benefits. All incredible hard working dedicated people but in a scenario of cost cutting it has to be first. Hopefully in the future after the economy changes it can be slowly brought back. Biggest issue is the unions and the brainwashing that has brought on a sense that this isn’t fair yet they continue to collect their monthly dues no matter what they negotiate.

Jason Kenny recognized cutting needs here in Alberta already and even lowered the minimum wage which is a great thing. I am sure he will have protests also.There will be deeper cuts of our public sector in Alberta as they are needed. I remember many, many, years as a private sector employee getting no increases and then getting 1 to 3% for years after, years after. Myself as a salesrep in most cases the dollars sold in your territory reflected your salary so in a slow economy we took a bath with some years 25% less than the previous year all due to poor government decisions affecting business .Nothing wrong with a few years wage and hiring freeze. Slow economy usually means very small inflation. As usual we will recover again and this will be a bi-gone issue. The UCP is on the right track so far.

Speaking of watching the news. Dodgeball is now promoting bullying is the newest thing.  Wow that is stretching it. We have a way too many too-gooders making an impact on our world. It is a game that kids love. The small guy just has to be fast and quick thinking. Yes someone may get out of game first due to being a target but that is the game. We need to relax.

We know traffic cops are usually men that were picked on as children. I would like to find out how many of them played and hated Dodgeball. LOL  Next time you get stopped ask them.

Even though a dull and dreary day it was a wonderful day with getting a $100 back from Rona, I found a RV place to repair my motorhome( hopefully) and I got to relax as it was just too cool to work.

I have enjoyed having Jackie out at the lot. Even though working all day she and I got to have lunch together and talk a bit . It was nice. Looking forward to more warmer days ahead to continue having fun.

Talked to Mom today and two of my Aunts have had recent birthdays. Out of the 8 Dickson kids the 5 girls are still around. All of the Uncles have passed. All of the Aunts lost their husbands years ago. Two Aunts now over 90 and the other three all in their 80’s with Mom being 87 yrs old. Good genes on the female side. Interesting to see in the next 20 years if the average mortality rate decreases for women as the baby boomer generation has had equal or more stress than the male population with having to full time work out of the house and added responsibility in most matters. The baby boomer generation really is the first to experience this in the biggest degree.

Love this retired life !!

After another Raptor win Trump may have a moratorium on not allowing non USA teams to play basketball or baseball in the USA leagues.

I hope everyone remembered D Day this weekend. It is amazing to me the courage of the young men on all sides. Remembering from a history book when the boats filled with men were heading to shore the fold down ramp was like a shield protecting the soldiers from bullets and when dropped the young men were picked off like a circus game. Soldiers said the bullets sounded like a typewriter with the hits. The actual number of casualties even today isn’t established but historians put it at about 10,000 for the Germans and 10,000 for the allied troops. As a country we did not do enough for the veterans. If the standard pension is $1500 ( CPP and OAS) I think a veteran that went to war ( any war) should have or should receive at least double that. They literally put their lives up for everyone else. Amazing. Any veteran now would be at least 92 years old of WWII.

Thought of the Day

Anyone else notice how most people only do good things to put it on social media ?

June 8th

9 am start this morning at Heatherglen. We had three tournaments going on plus many multiple tee time groups. The first tournament was the only one that made me busy. Fun great guys with a few ladies thrown in with the bulk of them non golfers. One group in particular was extremely slow. First time around a talk to see if they could keep up. Second time I asked them to miss a short Par 3 as they were two holes behind. Funny thing the one good golfer believed as they weren’t holding up the group behind them it was ok to go slow. EVERYONE should know “Keep up the group in front of you” It doesn’t matter where the group behind is. Third time as they were playing Best Ball I dropped a ball at the 100 yard marker and asked them to shoot from there again to try to get them to keep pace. Nothing worked. We had to ask the cook to delay their dinner. It took them 5.5 hours to finish a best ball tournament. The balance of the groups were pretty good. The odd driving on a Par 3, getting lost to their hole and lost clubs but overall the balance of the day went fairly well. I had a lot of fun with so many people. One group in a tournament came up to me to ask about how to mark the scores. They were confused and I wasn’t informed so between all of us they decided to enter NET scores. Wrong !  Typically a mark or dot indicates a hole with a handicap on it. Some of the players have had this on score cards in other tournaments as have I. But it is wrong as GROSS was supposed to be entered and a computer would do the calculation. This team will have a screwed up card. Too bad. A full 8 hour shift is a long day but due to the “fun” with the people I liked it. I dressed with three layers today as it was supposed to be only 13 degrees and possible showers. A bit nicer but not by much and we watched the storm clouds just miss us twice.

Babysitting Jackson tonight.

Thought of the Day 

No matter how clear of instruction you give people will still make mistakes.

June 9th

Happy Anniversary Victoria & Corey. Married now for 12 years. I remember the day well. Even though hurting the pocket book the marriage of your children is one of the special days you never forget. We were so lucky to have had both daughters meet and marry wonderful partners. To organize a wedding is a lot of work but the reward of seeing everyone especially your children have the time of your their life’s is fantastic. Victoria’s wedding was held at Crystal Ridge in Okotoks which was a great venue. Victoria was the first grandkid on both sides of the family to get married. ( Tor & Jess also were the first grandkids on both sides) Cor & Tor’s friends and wedding party were awesome as was family friend Jeff Grace in his Master of Ceremonies duties. It was a lot of fun. I am sure Victoria and Corey are shocked how fast it went by. The best part of marriage is finding that person. That person that laughs at your jokes. Is there for you no matter what. A warm body for the cold nights. A friend to talk to and share experiences. I love being married and watching the relationship between Victoria and Corey I can tell they fell the same.

Live and love long !!!

Work load today was to whip out to the lot and ready the motorhome to take in to Guarantee RV. We bought our first motorhome from these guys years ago. They were helpful and here is hoping they can do the job. Fingers crossed.

I had to get it ready, pull in slides, drain grey and sewer, clear out broken bin, move stuff into the shed and hook up the Jeep plus clear out the fridge. Took a few hours. Guarantee is at Calaway Park so it is a long way to go. Speaking of Calaway I don’t remember the parking lot being so full. Good for them. Got it there and filled out my forms and dropped off my keys. While there I looked a 2019 Southwind. On sale for $189,000. Not a bad price when I consider ours was $225,000 in 2007. It didn’t have as many options but was beautiful in looks and design. Now to just wait until they phone. I am out of town and busy until Friday so they do have time to look at it.

Thought of Day 

There is a saying  “tying the knot when getting married” They forgot to mention your legs being hog tied also. LOL

June 10th -12th

First thing is good news. I heard from Guarantee RV and they can fix the hinging system, Like I thought they have to remove the entire bottom portion under the hinging. Each cargo bin and hot water heater, I guessed at a $1000 to repair and their quote came in at $1200. I hate the dollar amount but very glad they came through. $200 worth of parts and $1000 worth of labor. They have a shop rate of $170 which when you consider the mechanic maybe is making $40 a hour it always seems too high for me. Having said that I am very pleased with Guarantee’s communication, commitment and  service level.  They were excellent to deal with when we bought our motorhome and were very generous on our trade in travel trailer. If I remember correct they gave us $6k more than what Woody’s offered.

I am hoping for a relatively quick turn around and I will be very pleased and relieved.

The weather for this next few days is and was awesome awesome.  My Player Host shift was cancelled on Monday due to lack of tee times so I headed to help Fred earlier than planned. First I picked up 2 gallons of stain at Sherwin for $39.92. Regular $65 a gallon so a super deal. Headed out and picked up a couple of tools and left.

Fred & Terry had quite a bit done by the time I got there. We finished off squaring the deck. putting the stringers in and blocking. We got the picture frame done also so a very good start. Temperature was very nice and only a small army of mosquitos.  The deck already looks great and adds a lot of appeal.

Second day up early and started and worked until about 6 pm. Then tiredness crept in. But we completely finished the deck and 75 % of the gazebo.  They bought a modern design one 12 x 12 and I love it. Gives it a unique look and design. As usual there are 1000 bolts to put in with a Alan wrench. We broke the rules and used our drills clutched a way down. We both have Sojaq gazebos and the reviews are always excellent on them. I love mine but it has a few tweaks the manufacturer could have done as does this one. The roof panels don’t lock they just overlap which is fine except for aesthetics. The only real issue was the extremely poor instructions. No words just pictures and poorly done. Three bars we put up and then took down and re installed due to poor instructions.  If Fred & I struggle comprehending the process for install I can only imagine a newbie to construction. We worked all day again and quit at supper as we were tired. Another good day !

Third day the other portion of the roof went up so easy compared to yesterday we were shocked. We completed the roof in a couple of hours.  Installed the screens and curtains. One issue was either Terry hid the box or the gable end screens weren’t sent so we didn’t install them.

I worked hard and long, was fed very well with good food,good rye ,cold beer and a few crib games. Another project done !!

Jackie was very busy babysitting Atticus and August for three days. She is pretty good at finding things to do including going to the lake this time as it was so nice out. I am sure she will be tired tonight though.

Looks like Attitcus must have been a little under the weather with cough medicine on the counter and this picture.

 

Another week gone by like that.

Travelling on Hwy 2 I found the perfect rabbit. We were travelling along nicely at 140 kmph ,which is what the 2019 speed limit should be, and I see we gather a bunch of coyotes behind us in line like a pack. I always rear view mirror check as I don’t ever what to be snuck up on. Right at Innisfail the rabbit and I notice a ” want to be cop” Sheriff sitting on the off ramp so we slow down as fast as possible with braking. The whole pack slows down and watching in my mirror I see the “want to be”  come after us. I am always a little tentative as I have illegal smoked windows and they like to add to the revenue stream by handing out multiple tickets if they can. The cop comes up, puts his cherries on and pulls over the last guy to join our train. I laughed to myself as it was a prefect example of profiling. He stops the convertible Mustang instead of the Jeep or Taurus. Note to self. Never be the last guy in the train. LOL

Busy sports week with the Open, the NBA finals and the NHL finals. Great for the sport fanatic.

Thought of the Day 

I  got pulled over for speeding near Thunder Lake AB with Jackie . The cop comes to the window and asks ” Do you know how fast you were going?  I say ” No, I was too busy watching the fuzz on the road”  We both had a laugh as the poplar fuzz that year was incredible. I can’t remember for  sure but I hope he least reduced it a bit. LOL

June 13th-14th

I  am going to say today is the best day of weather in 2019. It hit 30 degrees with full sun and no wind. My men’s league is on today so no excuses. Or so I thought. I was playing with 3 nice guys today each with different golf strengths.  One of the guys was mister steady short and in the middle of the fairway. One with consistent straight drives and good chipping. One with a long ball hitter and good iron work.  I was very disappointed again. I CAN NOT score well at TV. The fairways and greens are exceptional, the yardage is fine but I cant seem to get it done. Today another 93 which is horrible. The 9 on one hole didn’t help. If I “removed” out 4 to 5 strokes for that hole I would have been about 88 which is still a way to high. I need to golf more as once a week like last week isn’t enough yet I am to busy it seems as it is. I didn’t win any money on a snips or deuce either. No excuses. Next week.

I had a unique experience today at the club. The club about two years ago decided for members they would provide ice, water, and cups with lids and straws for free. I said at the time it was a poor decision as they lose all bottled water revenue. Finally someone figured out besides the lost revenue it was costing over 2K in year in cups, lids and straws. I can say I am happy they were clever enough to figure it out but it took long enough and should never of happened in the first place. So management told staff NOT to give members plastic glasses for thier own water now. Here is where communication is key and give full details.

A restaurant employee took the advise literally. I bought a soda pop bottle for $2.50 and asked for a glass with ice to go with it. Notice I said I paid and was told I couldn’t have a glass of ice. How any employee can be so literal and not use common sense is beyond me. A fountain pop comes with ice and glass. Peanuts come with a plastic cup if we are so concerned about plastic . Don’t sell fountain pop or use cardboard cups if it a huge environmental issue. I find it funny how common sense has left us as a society. It just seemed odd to get hassled for something that in business would be considered normal.

From now on I will order a fountain pop with glass and ice to save the hassle. LOL

Came home and watched the US OPEN golf. That is one nice  course

Raptors win. A great game and fun to watch plus great to rub into the USA.

I got to sleep in today as did Jackie as it is our anniversary. Amazing how 39 years flies by. It seems like yesterday yet it does seem forever. I love being married and nothing is nicer than having a partner that is beautiful, very smart and a best friend.  It is scary the speed that it went by though.

We were going to go someplace for our anniversary but after a busy week and a few things to get done we stayed at home.

We headed out to Boulder Creek for a fun afternoon golfing together. Jackie has not golfed a lot so struggled a bit and her thumb caused her pain which didn’t help. The weather turned out absolutely perfect for us and the course was in perfect shape. They had a huge rainstorm this morning so we were asked to use cart path only. I sort of like this as you can get your 10K steps in and still have a seat to rest the back. It works perfect for me. I scored very well today ending with a 77. I am starting to think perhaps Turner Valley isn’t the best place for me play. I consistently score below 80 at Boulder, Heatherglen, McKenzie and Speargrass and have had 5 games in a row at TV over 93 .  It is all do to do with Turner not offering punch shots out from under trees. There are too many willow trees and low hanging spruce instead of removing the lower branches and clearing out the willows. I lose too many balls at TV where I lose none on these other courses. Making birdies and pars is lot more fun than boogies and doubles plus quads due to lost balls. And they don’t want to give a glass of ice on a hot day with your $2.50 pop. LOL

After golf we drove into Langdon to go out for supper at Il Bricco. This authentic Italian restaurant is always amazing. Again tonight a 5 out of 5. For a Calgarian it is worth the drive. We both had spectacular meals and thoroughly enjoyed the ambience.

A wonderful anniversary day !

Thought of the Day 

The secret to a long marriage is just shouting “What ? ” from another room when you actually did hear it the first time. The out !

My most brilliant achievement was my ability to convince Jackie to marry me.

Funny thing about that is Jackie nor I ever remember asking or being asked to be married. Yet it happened.

June 15th

Jackie had some repair and run around for Audrey to do so I headed out to the lot. An absolutely beautiful day.

Oasis had a huge windstorm that dropped a lot of leaves, branches and even toppled over one large tree. I cleaned up our yard and luckily no damage. A bird nest fell out of our huge Popular tree and two baby Robin’s died on the ground. Gross picking them up.

Loaded all of the wood cutoffs, all of the tree branches including a lot of branches of the trees I trimmed beside our parking spot of the motorhome. I had to borrow a lighter from the neighbor as the motorhome isn’t there and he even included a bottle of BBQ fuel to use. I broke up all of my plywood and OSB panels small enough to fit into the firepit and had a roaring fire. Later it become a huge smudge fire. LOL

Installed the new gazebo overhead light by hardwiring it into my kitchen lights. I installed the last light in the kitchen. I installed my swing arm for the TV and mounted the TV. The cord was 1ft short of making it to my waterproof plug so had to come up with a plan B. I installed another receptacle nearer the TV on the inside. Had just enough wire. Moved the wiring around and went for a test. Everything working perfect EXCEPT the worst case scenario the range hood wasn’t working. I didn’t plan a access panel and enclosed the unit as whole. A nightmare to take apart as I had to remove barn wood also to lower the bottom panel.  I usually use glue but as I was putting this panel up under the cabinet by myself I didn’t when I made it which turned out to be very lucky. I NEVER use the new modern system of pushing in the wire for a receptacle as I like the bend the wire and tighten around the screw. Turns out the wire pulled out when I was shoving in the plug. Working on my back under a cabinet I didn’t notice it. The only plug I have EVER used the “NEW” method and I will never again. Lesson learned. I used old normal system and all is working perfect after wasting a good hour ripping things apart. Nothing beats the true and tried method.

Jackie completed the kitchen with our farmyard distressed cupboard painting and I LOVE IT. I really like my outdoor kitchen in Arizona I built but I like this one even better.

DONE ANOTHER PROJECT ! One more thing off my to do list. Love it.

We stayed out at the lot until 11pm it was so nice out. Miss having the motorhome to sleep in.

Thought of the Day 

The hardest project to ever work on is YOU ! 

June 16th 

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO EVERYONE !

 

Losing a parent isn’t always the easiest as a reality sets in you are alone in this world.

A Dad is special. No one can replace them. They are unique in their thinking, their behavior and the way they teach.

I was so lucky to have my Dad until he was 89 years old. One of the smartest, wisest, kindest man I have ever known. I am so blessed to have inherited or learned a lot of his traits of, patience, being able to figure out how to do most things, creativity and hopefully be a kind person. He lived in time when Grade 9 was all that was really offered and yet he was an accomplished machinist, mechanic, welder, plumber, carpenter and electrician. He could make a Buick water pump work on Chev, he built three homes himself ( one without power tools for the majority of the build) he built his own boat, he built his own truck camper and on and on.

Always thinking of him as he was my go to guy for help and advise.

Peter was a true English guy. Stern, strict by the rules. I enjoyed Peter as he was very clever and listening to him with his side of things always was interesting. He was hard working as a new Canadian, a expert gardener and loved his cold beer.  He was also a good cook . Jackie spent a lot of time with Peter in his last 5 years of life which was very good for both of them.

Heading out to the lot today to plant flowers !!

Just a wonderful warm day. Jackie and I spent the balance if the day there. We planted our grasses and perennials and filled our pots with annuals. I would like more geraniums as they are my favorite and lucky enough we have some room for them Other than the odd year for our patio flowers it has been 12 years since we spent money on flowers. A few hundred dollars disappeared just like that. Our soil out there is like rock so digging in isn’t easy. We planted and had pizza and pop for supper while enjoying the warmth and sunshine. Looks good !

Thought of the Day 

A few Dad memories–

• Fishing all day, whistling in the boat and having ham & cheese sandwiches with root beer
• Dads horse rides on his crossed legs
• Hours and hours repairing my cars in the garage
• The wonderful laugh at anything funny
• Rocking back & forth in our Vauxhall to make a steep hill
• Camping trips, BC Trips
• Getting advise even as a older person on anything I was working on
• See the results of dandelion wine

June 17th-20th

Up early to head out to Heatherglen for my shift. For a 25 degree day and not be fully packed is odd. I beleive it is the sign of the times. The course is in remarkable shape, the greens the best in Calgary and the pricing is right for the value but not full today. I had the ladies league which is always fun. A new cart delivery and a sign making situation was about all of my events outside of the norm.  It was a fun nice warm day.

After work Victoria, Jackson, Jackie headed out Oasis . We had a KFC supper without a lot of utensils as the motorhome is still gone. KFC like Chinese the odd time is a wonderful meal.

We went golfing for the first time at Oasis. Jackson played every hole every shot. Let me say I was very impressed with how far and good he hit the ball. It was awesome ! I think he had a wonderful time.

It was a fun night golfing with Tor & Jackson for father’s day. We were so lucky that a storm passed right around us and we stayed warm and dry. Great Day !!

Ps Jackson brought home a new pet Caterpillar from the lot. Leaves and twigs in a KFC dish and his buddy made it home.

I sprained my ankle a few days ago and the odd time with movement a burst of pain runs up my leg and I feel like I could fall down. I worked through that as we walked the golf course and my back from working the last few days is hurting a way more than normal made golfing a difficult task tonight. Lots of Volteran and i should be as good as new tomorrow. That stuff is amazing.

I really enjoyed golfing with Tor, Jackson and Jackie and as I said before most impressed with Jackson’s ability.

I lost a couple of days posting not being saved so I will just add some highlights as I remember.

I worked out at the lot everyday. I built new front steps between the planter and second deck. I built steps between the main deck and the Saloon. I built a L shaped slated privacy fence to hide the boat from the neighbors view. I built a large second shelf in the deck box. This worked out great as I now have my 12″ miter saw, my table saw, my smaller chop/miter saw, my pressure washer, my air compressor and garden tools plus chemicals all neatly in it. This cleans up the spacing in the Saloon where I will only have about a 4ft shelving unit for misc tools and equipment. It will all be hidden behind home made barn doors. I also started the wiring. This I find a little annoying as I forget the process of making a white wire as a black hot wire to wire. So I just use more wire which works out perfect but in a house would result in a lot more cost. I got all of the boxes in place and started drilling holes but my bit was too dull. It has cut a lot of wiring holes over the years plus many other uses . I will get a new bit and finish that up. Getting closer. Finish up wiring, insulate, vapour barrier, and drywall/shiplap.

I little bit of a pain in the ass not having our motorhome there as it is a long ways to the washroom.

I went golfing with Isaiah and Jeff at McKenzie Meadows on Tuesday night. It has been a long long time since I took a pill for backpain but I had to tonight. After spraying my back with a freezing agent and along with the pill my back was wonderful. Add a couple of beer to the mix and it felt perfect.  First thing about McKenzie. The greens are HORRIBLE and they charged full price. That is just not right. Love the course, has a good slope rating but all 18 greens should be an embarrassment to the club. All they need to do is state when checking in they are sorry but they had a bad winter and to compensate we are reducing the rate by 25 bucks. I will not be playing McKenzie again until maybe late fall IF the greens come back.

Up early this morning and checked the weather as today is my men’s league. 8 above feels like 6 , scattered showers and breezy. Between my fingers going numb and my back seizing up I emailed and phoned the pro shop to cancel. There are many GOOD days ahead that I don’t need to golf on a miserable day. I did notice a fair group of people in my group did tee off by watching the web cam but not for me today. 19 out of about 32 players weathered the conditions.

I plan to update my budget sheets and relax today as I getting a little tired of working. Harder than actually having a real job. LOL

Thought of the Day 

A golfer standing on a tee overlooking a river says to his playing partner ” Look at those two idiots fishing in the rain”  Not for me either. LOL

June 21st

It is amazing to me the naivety of people that support the NDP. Now agreed the bulk of them are young impressionable inexperienced kids with a whack of socialist, environmentalists, and unionist public workers thrown in for good measure. For Bill 9 the real workers affected by this include nurses, social workers, hospital support staff, prison guards, teachers and conservation officers. The bill is proposing a delay in arbitrational talks. A delay nothing about cuts. It is not a removal of rights, it is simply a delay in the process until the government gets a handle on the real finances of the province. ( Having said that Kenny should immediately cut wages and services now )  The public sector wage increases should be tied to the inflation rate at the maximum. Anytime a roll back or freeze is needed due to economic factors the starting point has to revert to the day it happened and adjusted up when the situation changes. I am not a fan of the earplug situation as I find it condescending but he stated a very long and specific time frame for debate over 30 hours. When listening to the NDP whine about anything it would take it’s toll on anyone. It is a fair bill and I am glad he pushed it through. We don’t need debate and discussion, we need logical, common sense, aggressive action to get back on track. Alberta has been ravaged by the NDP with incompetent government policy and decisions and we will be hit with a few other items a lot of people won’t like until we are running at full steam again. It is so odd to me that a union employee has this “me” attitude, Lets take any company as an example. Deal is we can give you all a 10% roll back on your salary and keep everyone employed or we can lay off 10 people. Every time a union will say no to that and the poor brainwashed union employee is out walking the streets. It again defies common sense.

On a side note why would anyone in their right mind appoint a minister of health that is obese. It is not being prejudice to select someone that makes sense for a portfolio. It is like a minister for justice having a criminal background. Just don’t do it.

It is too bad Kenny allowed the ear plug situation to happen as he could have just listened for the allotted time frame, dismissed the house and left. Bill passed and carry on without the media now being able to “blow” up the situation. It was done in poor taste. I am waiting for the news to see if any further details come out of this. It is a needed bill and a first step back to prosperity.

AFTER WATCHING THE NEWS I AM CONVINCED THE WHOLE EARPLUG SCENARIO IS NOTHING BUT WHINING AGAIN FROM THE NDP. Listening to the news it appears the plugs were not used during the main debate and was done in jest. The just wanted to raise the ire of the public. We are so lucky to rid ourselves of them forever.

As per a UCP statement “This was a harmless and light-hearted attempt to boost government caucus morale after being forced to listen to the NDP’s insults, lies and over-the-top rhetoric for hours on end,”.

There are so many things we could do to help the situation. Have only ONE school board ( saves millions and millions) Have 12 month schooling – saves millions, smaller classes etc. Private health care allowed for any medical procedure wanted. Limit doctor and hospital visits unless ILL. Government funded medication to reduce exorbitant market pricing, hard landscaping for roads. Millions saved. Cut members of parliament in half. Millions. Limit winter road care and fund driver driving with money saved.  There are many many ways to save money. The current drama with fund shortage believed by the Calgary Board of Education is such a farce no media should EVER interview them. HOW can any organization make a budget or even a forecast of a shortfall when they HAVEN’T  a clue how much money they will have to work with. They should  be embarrassed in calling it a budget. Every budget has to have known income and known expenses to have any validity. Simple fix, stop making it a political issue and make your budget based on known allowances. The first year may be difficult as the school year is Sept to June and the provincial government on a different cycle. Second year it will be real !!

I highly recommend these guys.

Motorhome was ready so even though raining all day Jackie & I drove out to get it.  Looking at it, it was a wonderful job. Knowing what they had to do I was very happy.

I went to the counter to pick up the paper work and bill. The guys name was Ron Goertzen . I went to school with a guy with that name so I asked if he had relatives in Stony Plain. Small world. Turns out he used to live in Stony Plain and was in Grade 10 when I was in Grade 12.  I didn’t know him but we found a lot of people we both had known. Turns out his Dad was my Industrial Arts teacher. It is just odd and so much fun when you run into someone where you have things in common. Same town, same school, same people . Amazing. I knew he wasn’t the Ron in my grade as there was zero resemblance.  I loved my time in high school.

The wind driving out to the lot was intense.  If there is anything about the climate that has changed it is we now get wind just about every day.

I got the motor home parked and set. We looked around at the new section and came home.

Babysat Jackson tonight. This kid is so funny. Managed to reset Tor’s ice maker again. Hopefully this time it stays working a little longer, I think perhaps a blocked water line is the issue. Working perfect tonight so we will see. Hazel is such a nice quiet lovable dog . Too bad about her shedding as it is bad. I love her forcing her head against yours to get petted, A good night and back in our own bed around midnight.

Still raining !

Thought of the Day 

I don’t want to brag but I can still fit into my clothes I wore in grade 12. Actually they would be a little big as I went from a XL to Large.

June 22nd

Sun is shining through the windows. I went golfing today at Turner Valley. I want to conquer this course. Again at TV another disappointing day score wise. I felt I golfed ok. I only lost one ball. I had a few bad luck holes though.

I golfed with Larry P and Reg Maye today.  Reg is 78 years old and has severe arthritis in his hands and showed them to me a few years ago. He eats raisins soaked in Gin every morning and his arthritis in his hands is night and day different.  This is the  perfect example of what you eat and the affect it can have on your body. At 78 years old  he was our low scorer of the group today.

The course was wonderful, the greens exceptional, the weather perfect and yet another poor showing at TV. First hole on in two and three putts, second hole three putts, third hole a par 5 and second shot into the willows beside the green, lost. I had to punch out of the trees once, I had a branch hit my club on the backswing once, I hit a large tree in the center of the fairway and my ball dropped right under it with no shot, plus a few other odd shots were I screwed up on. It is funny that overall I didn’t play that bad just didn’t score that well.

I got home and had a wonderful BBQ’d pork and roasted potato supper. Best thing about summer is the BBQ meals. We are so lucky having the same kind meals in Arizona all winter and having them here also in Calgary is great.  Made me think it is about time for home made potato salad ( my grandma’s recipe)

Another wonderful day in the life of a retired guy.

Thought of the Day 

I had one shot go into the parallel fairway. Little did my fellow golfers know it was a shortcut to the green. LOL

June 23 -24th

A typical June day with scattered showers. Jackie & I headed to Lethbridge to help the girls. It was a great drive down and a quick lunch stop at Tim’s was nice.  We stopped by the house before heading to find the girls and as luck would have it they had the first truckloads of small stuff with them to unload. They were busy girls. The house is so unique and so interesting that it is impossible not to love.  The new composite wood siding, the metal siding and the roof design all look fantastic. The interior is amazing with brick, T&G and the one of a kind island top. This is made by Dusty the same guy that made our Saloon sign and his work is incredible. He used butterfly joints in the miters made out of walnut that look amazing. Old school woodworking to the extreme. I don’t know if carpenters are even taught the how of these in todays world. Love it. It is close to completion so the girls decided to start moving some stuff. I believe we made 6 trips total with the trucks. Not full each load as the storage was only a few blocks away. Lifting, getting thru doors and carrying couches up a flight of stairs is not easy. I do have to say Penny is a strong girl and with Jessica’s help we managed to get beds, couches, tables etc all in and in place.  As I have said before I hate moving.  I think this is Jessica’s 6th  move so that is 12 times of moving. We did well with getting a lot of stuff moved over and no damage. The girls bought us Burger Baron for supper. I used to love Burger Baron with their red sauce but the Raymond restaurant used a mayo based sauce similar to Big Mac’s. Very good but I was disappointed in not getting the red sauce. Great fries.

A good day , a fun day and sore muscles tomorrow but enjoyable.

Rained most of the way home. Will sort of sprinkled.

Picked up the popcorn maker at Tor’s place as Jackie promised for an event out at the park. Turned out to be a great day at the lot. I placed the levelling blocks under the motorhome. I hooked up the router for the internet, hooked up the plumbing, and hooked up my new splitter at the pole. I noticed the neighbors surge protector showing a open ground which isn’t good in fact a little dangerous. I have to double check mine. I hopefully fixed my roof leak in my kitchen. I used the old system of board and batten which if wood shrinks or warps leaks will happen. I used silicone along each batten on both sides. My hopes and belief is this will work prefect. I have the shed about 75% completed with wiring. On Wednesday as I work on Tuesday I should be finished with wiring and start insulation and vapor barrier. I do have to redo my GFCI receptacle as I used only the line side and now with the kitchen wiring complete I can use the load side to protect all plugs in the kitchen and shed.

I had to buy a new spade bit which the packaging marketing read 10X faster. That is a for sure. My drill battery could only last 5 studs with the power it took and speed going thru. Wonderful bit by Makita. A little different design that is incredible.

I was happy with my progress today and enjoyed the pace and work.

Came home to a great meal. Jackie made chicken breasts in onion soup with roasted potatoes and a full salad. I love home made meals like this.

Thought of the Day 

I have enjoyed life a lot better by saying YES than by saying NO. Think about that !!

July 25th -30th

Got very busy doing things. Timing sometimes didn’t allow for me to update and sometimes I was just tired so didn’t feel like it.

Today was a relaxing warm day so had a little time. I will short form the last few days.

I worked on the 25th from 9 -3pm.  It is Men’s day at Heatherglen so always busy. The league has a great bunch of guys in it. A couple of Jackie’ s ex-workers always attend this event and on this day I met Ron Antony and Dan Kilbourne. They were right into golfing today concentrating very hard. I love to tease and joke with the guys and as a whole they are very average golfers or worse but always fun and eager to be out there. Amazingly as always a lot of golfers walking. Lost clubs was the biggest factor for me today.

After work I headed out and did more electrical work at the lot. Getting closer.  Using up a bunch of pieces I had left from kitchen and Jessica’s basement I had to put receptacle’s in places I hadn’t planned but wire is expensive now and this saved a lot.

On Wednesday I carried on with my construction of the Saloon’s interior until about 1:30pm as we had a Scotiabank meeting with our investment guru. We are lucky to have a very nice and clever guy to work with. It is always assuring to have a 3rd party verify confirm and rebuke our plans and spending. Things are going ok and after 5 years we are pleased of where we are at. He did come up with another plan to potentially save us a bit of interest money  but after discussing and a great question and scenario from Jackie made him rethink his plan after our input. Jackie is good at catching these little idiosyncrasies and lot of time catches the guy off guard. The meeting was good and as along as the market doesn’t tank we will be fine as we adjusted down our expenses by about 8K from the previous year.

Finished up the meeting and headed out to Heatherglen to golf with Jeff. Another wonderful night weather wise. We got out before the ladies league so we flew thru the course. It wasn’t the best night for scoring but I was ok with it. We had a lot of fun which is the most important thing.

We finished up early and decided to head to the Bull & Finch and had a couple of beers and a great bit to eat. Finished off the perfect night.

Woke up to a iffy day weather wise but as I missed my last Men’s night due to weather I was determined to golf. As luck would have it we had rain for about 8 holes albeit not heavy just drizzle. My one partner quit on hole 13 as he was jsut a little too soaked. The first hole is the number 3 handicap hole so if you can get a birdie on it chances are you should win a snip. A very easy birdie for me. Great drive, 100 yard wedge landing 2 feet from the hole. Don’t birdie the first hole as it could throw you. Another TV score with my ball landing numerous times 2 ft off the fairway but in bush or extra tall grass with no way to get out. I will conquer this course. I think we still had close to 20 guys finish in the rain.  As anyone knows that doesn’t help but it my mistakes and misjudgments that killing me here. Another fun day with it raining cats and dogs when I arrived home. It actually flooded the street down the road so we had fun watching the chaos of cars backing up, cops directing the cars poorly and firetrucks making sure people couldn’t get by.

A change was needed in my hours at the course on Friday morning.  I had a 8am start as the tee sheet was full and a couple of groups going out early. That is MUCH too early for a retired guy !!

Having said that it is so nice out in the morning with the sun shining and no clouds. I had some fun people out on the course today. Only one difficult guy. A old Scottish guy playing as a single complaining about the pace. ” Where I come from they would be kicked off the course, I come from the birthplace of golf and we keep pace”  You play as a single you are going to WAIT. Find some friends buddy and you won’t be waiting. LOL

It was also nice to finish early.

Jackie and Audrey were out getting their nails done while I was at work. We headed out to the lot as it was beautiful out.  We relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. I tried my Magic stick on my outside TV but with no success.

Jackie also got a unique birthday gift for Audrey. When our kids were young they mixed up the name the bit and it stuck as they called and others started calling Audrey Magra . This is her new license plate for her car.

I have an electrical issue with our motorhome where I don’t know if it is the EMS system or the pole power causing it. I beleive it maybe the hot water heater after being removed and replaced for the baggage doors maybe shorting out. Power keeps kicking out. Surge protector says abnormal ground power dedicted. EMS is blinking and stating erratic amps from 0 to 75 amps which is illogical. I hate power issues. I worked trying different things and have still come to no conclusion.

I had a text from Corey that he had an issue with the Cherokee so I promised him I would help him on Saturday.

The job was to replace the radiator after the electric fan exploded and caused damaged to the rad. NOT A EASY JOB. We started at 9 am and finished at 8pm. I feel sorry for mechanics with the stupidity of care designers. Everything is so tight and so difficult to get at. The placement of certain bolts is just plain dumb. No matter what tool you would have it wouldn’t help. And to get the rad out with the shroud and a/c rad right in front is impossible. We had quite a time trying different situations. To compound the issue to the need tp make sure you don’t damage the fins of the a/c radiator. The placement of the tranny lines and water hose is just plain stupid. After 11 hours it was done with only one little mistake. One shroud bolt wouldnt, couldn’t line up.  I had to modify to secure a bit. Filled it up with the correct antifreeze. The first vehicle I have seen with a antifreeze bleed plug. According to the instructions you are supposed to fill it through the bleed valve. So we did but it only took about half what the internet says it is supposed to hold. I let it run and watch the bleed plug release air bubbles but still wouldn’t take the full amount it is supposed to. Corey will need to watch this over the next few days.  Quite a job. I stopped at DQ for a quick supper and  headed out to the lot where Jackson was staying the night with us.

He had fun with swimming, playground time and playing connect four with us. We watched a Teen Wolf movie and hit the bed around 11pm.

Jackson slept like a log in his bed for 11 hours not waking up until I asked him at 10am. We rushed a bit to get our Free Canada Day pancake breakfast from the park. Two pancakes, two saugages, hash brown and juice was excellent. Excellent food, well organized with loads of seating in the sun or shade.

A little play time for Jackson at the park before Victoria came to pick him up as they have a family gathering at Shaun’s place this afternoon. The swimming pool today was packed packed. Visitor parking was full and pool very full. While waiting for Tor, Jackson and I were playing Connect Four. He is getting good and won a couple of times. He is catching on to the system and doing exceptionally well and planning his moves. Makes it fun !!  If people know me I will not let anyone including my own child win at anything. A win has to be earned. He won at least three games which is awesome and fun for him to beat me. Love it. !  Now if they would bring back Intellivision. LOL

A wonderful BBQ supper and relaxing on the deck in the evening was awesome. Numerous people stopped by again commenting on the lot. It is very kind of people . One couple stopped by and small world as  they bought the lot that Garth Brett used to have where he built a large bunk house. They say they think Garth is now in Edmonton. He does get around. A great sales guy !!

“Random Thoughts”

Early Retirement 

Some of the top concerns include losing social interactions at work, a loss of purpose, boredom and depression. I haven’t had any of these but people tell me about it.
That said, here are the biggest negatives of early retirement that no one likes to talk about:
1. You may suffer from an identity crisis.
One of the most common questions people ask when they first meet each other is: “What do you do for a living?”
When you’ve spent at least a decade or two working in any job, you may find it incredibly jolting to no longer be identified as the marketing expert, the investment professional or the management consultant.  I have seen this in numerous occasions with people. The lack of importance now gets to them. No one is irreplaceable no matter how good they think they are. I now like the fact that we are all just RETIRED. I remember for years when asked I felt odd to say General Manager or Regional Manager so I in most cases said I work for a large window and door company.
2) You may second-guess yourself.
When you retire young, you may find yourself questioning whether you made the right choice and regret all the money and status you forewent.
But after  5 years now, my retirement plans grew clearer and we KNOW we made the right decision. I have always said no regrets on any decision. ( well selling my 1967 Camaro RS/SS may be a close call)
3) People may treat you like a misfit.
Maybe it’s because retiring early is unconventional. Or maybe they’re secretly jealous you’re not grinding away at a day job. Whatever the reason, people won’t always give you the same amount of respect as they would to a working-class citizen. It is similar to just getting older and all of a sudden noticing the lack of attention/flirting and you don’t get any looks anymore.
4) You’ll be surprised that you aren’t that much happier.
Many people think that once they achieve financial freedom or leave a job they hate, they’ll be permanently happier. Research has found that any significant amount of elevated happiness is only short-term.
One a scale of one to 10, your happiness level is a 10 right after retiring. After 5 years and the reality of reduced income  it will revert back to our normal post-retirement baseline of happiness which for us was always on the higher scale. It is like getting a raise at work. The effect lasts two pays then you are back feeling just like you were. Motivation by salary never works.
5) You may get really, really bored.
Retiring early is like finishing the season finale of your favorite TV show. You’re glad it got a nice ending, but you’re also sad it’s over and left wondering what’s next.
You have an extra 10 to 14 hours of free time every day to fill. No big highs from a sales win or new account. It doesn’t help that none of your friends or former colleagues are able to hang out. There are no more company holiday parties or various client events. Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed those things!
Early retirement won’t solve all your problems
Here’s the truth: If you’re unhappy before you retire early, it’s likely that you’ll still be unhappy after you retire.
Retirement isn’t a crutch for all your problems. It’s better to figure out whats at the very core of your issues and fix them first. Then, have a clear vision of what you actually plan to do when you retire.
It’s important to figure out what your core issues are and fix them first. Otherwise, you’re just treating retirement as a crutch — and that rarely works out. If your plan is to relax and enjoy it won’t happen. You have to have a plan.
After 5 years of retirement, I found my groove by regularly doing things that I enjoy. I can say after 5 years I have NOT had one bored day. Most days still are to short. About a week before we head to Arizona I get antsy but not bored as I want warmth. Jackie and I have enough enjoyment activities to keep us interested and different enough to have our own. Building things, fishing, camping, golfing, board games, dining out and some travel . I thought we would do more travelling but time, money and the desire changed along with our lot and the enjoyment of RVing.

Some people struggle. I love retirement and enjoy every day. Bank account reduction really is your only issue you have to be careful with.

BUT THAT IS JUST ME