February 1st

” Mercury Forecast  Mesa 26 degrees, Calgary 5 degrees snow fall warning , Edmonton  6 degrees”

Pretty nice weather everywhere. Here it was wonderful, Hot sunny and no wind.

Up early and at Fred’s place to work on his shed. We got a fair amount accomplished today. The roof was completely done with oak laminate flooring and looks great, Going 5″ at a time takes time. We then got the underside of the balcony shelf covered in laminate also. We cut the window trim out of the laminate. Naturally you waste an hour picking up and loading at Home Depot which we did well. We then got all of the sheets of 3/16 white 1/4 pegboard up.

Tomorrow will be the 1/4 white hardboard panels and flooring paint to get done.

At noon we went to the Bratwurst dinner. For a cheap price pretty good but I don’t think I will attend again. Had to be 1000 people there. Not the traditional “hotdog” party that I like. To pay and have to stand in a line and eat in huge hall a hotdog isn’t something I care to do. It also interrupted our work time. The problem is give a old fart a chance to win a used golf cart for $6 they jump all over it.

We worked up to supper time and Terry made us an awesome meal. I would say my 2nd or 3rd most favorite meal. ( full turkey dinner is #1) Seasoned pork roast with roast potatoes and veggies. Add the gravy and we had a fabulous meal. And it was excellent.

We had a few games of Dice tonight which was fun. Ended up I won 2 games and Jackie 1 game.

I was going to go back to the bar to watch the Oiler game tonight but we are going out a few times next week and have too many times last week so decided not to. If I was betting I would say Edmonton most likely will win tonight as we have won 3 in row over them. It’s their due.

Thought of the Day

Every winning streak has to end sometime.

February 2nd 

” Mercury Forecast  Mesa 26 degrees  Calgary – 1 degrees Edmonton -3  degrees snow “

Balzac Billie is predicting and early spring which is great if true. Even without a predication we all know spring will come and if he is right that even makes it better.

Ok the Flames lost. As I thought and if I had to bet I would have said they would lose. Here is why. They have already won the series winning three straight against Edmonton. The second game was first place so lots of pride on the line. The third game was purely revenge driven trying to get back at Tkachuk and another loss. The game last night while important as a 4 point game wasn’t an emotional or dire one. Yes the Oilers stuck it to us good and all it did is reinforce that the city and team are continually pro-violence and pro bullying even going as far as having their goalie egg Talbot into a fight. Now the real games are coming up as a team that loses two or three in a row could fall out of a playoff spot. Interesting division with some good teams.

We finished off the primed White Hardboard walls today. Luckily Ralph stopped by and was able to help us finish off the overhead loft. We painted the floor and the shed is looking great. Once we get the tools up and shelves in it will be a nice storage place for stuff.

Super Bowl at Ralphs today. Ralph & Tracy had 12 people over for the game. The amount of food we had was incredible. Excellent home made chicken wings that were awesome. We had pulled pork sandwiches and incredible deserts. Full.

A typical boring Super Bowl game. I only watch NFL once a year and today confirmed the why. The game only got good with 5 minutes left as it become any ones to win. That part was great. Otherwise you are watching 2 yard plays over and over again. It was nice that Kansas City won as they have only one win to their name prior. I like going for the underdog.

I have to say there was NOTHING spectacular about the commercials which in Canada we are not allowed to see. At least nothing that stands out.

A fun evening sitting outside in the warmth enjoying the game and company.

I met a gentleman tonight at Ralphs that has a interesting story. He is quite wealthy as he showed me numerous pictures of his house, man cave and car selection. He just turned 65 years old and has been told he has one to two years to live so he is staying here in Arizona for the winter as he is from Edmonton. He has a 1964 Malibu with a LS1 engine convertible. He has a 1962 Impala bubble top completely tricked out and a 1970 428 Twister Special Mustang fastback. Only 96 of these cars were ever produced. His man cave is unbelievable.  A very nice guy. Here is the perfect example of not knowing what tomorrow brings and to wait or to not enjoy yourself as you want to save more can result in missing out on life. If only we could find cures for some of these things.

Thought of the Day 

Nobody who ever gave their best and lost has any regrets.

February 3rd

” Mercury Forecast  Mesa 18 degrees, Calgary -10  degrees snow Edmonton -9 degrees”

First it is my sister Darlene’s birthday today. Anytime you are over 60 and heading to 70 it may not be the celebration you are looking for. But she is just that old. A come back can always be I will never be as old as you to someone older but every age to each person is different. Some 60 years old are like 90 and some 6o years old are like 50 years old. I am so lucky to be on younger than my age.

Happy Birthday Darlene !

VERY DISSAPOINTED IN OUR BLOCK at Viewpoint. The vote came in from our block and I am not pleased with it. Only 50% of the units voted and just over 50% wanted to change to having only two block parties a year. THIS IS A COMMUNITY and if you want to stay in your house and not socialize with people MOVE OUT of here.  There are lots of blocks that have  a weekly get together and we are deciding to meet twice a year as a potluck as it is so much work. Please. It is basically say hi and bye parties only. You send an email to 32 units to people in their 70’s and 80’s and expect an answer back within a time frame you know it isn’t going to happen.My passive aggressive tendencies are rising and I have a plan. I am going to buy a PARTY HERE SIGN  BYOB and put it on my driveway once a week to allow people on our block that like to meet each other to come over. I will on purpose have a different Christmas display than most of the block as togetherness and support is absent here. I spent over $700 of my own money over 10 years to create a block directory with pictures for each unit, and for what, if the block isn’t cohesive . This will be the last update I do on this. I am disappointed and shocked.

Not to wish ill on anyone but some of the nay-sayers on the block need to move on. To come to a park designed for socializing, gathering, activities etc and hibernate in your house is stupid. I understand with age people have a tendency to isolate themselves and they are free to do that but don’t impose your imprisonment on the block. Just don’t come to the parties, we won’t miss you !!  Oh well one of lives mysterious things that people don’t like people when they get older.

Thought of the Day

A man may climb Mt Everest by himself but when he gets to the top he plants a flag of his country !!  

You know your getting old when all you hear about is aches, pains, pills and complaining about everything and trying to keep to yourselves instead of getting out and seeing new people and the world.

February 4th,

” Mercury Forecast  Mesa 12 degrees Calgary -1 degrees Edmonton -2 degrees”

Jeff, Wendy and Jackie and I had a great time golfing at Apache Creek. Loved this place with it’s green fairways and desert bordering the entire thing. Lots of sand/ gravel to hit off of. It was cooler but nice and little breezy. The greens caused  a lot of issues with extra putting. It was odd today as I kept pulling left. Long huge drives but left in the desert and the odd time not able to find it. Pulling left is ok as it is isn’t far off and is the perfect correction to the slice.

A fun day golfing and warm enough to wear shorts so how can you complain.

A have to find the time to enter my budget numbers for January. This week is a little busy.

Well Feb 4th is always a good day. It happens to be my birthday and feeling younger every year is awesome. I have no arthritis, no knee pain, no stomach issues, no headaches and no underlying medical issues other than taking BP pills. The odd day my back gets to me but I live with it and it doesn’t affect me to much all. I love getting up pain free and feeling great.

Happy Birthday to me. I forget the actual number but it sure isn’t old.

My plans for today are to help Fred built his shelves and cabinets for his shed and then to go out with Jackie to see the movie Bad Guys for Life which will be fun. No supper just the pop and popcorn as we have been eating out and too big too much. I cant say what the evening  plans are as I am spontaneous . LOL

Finished off the shelving, laid down all of the plywood, build the workbench in between and did the trim work in the corners. The shed is starting to look great. I stayed until about 3pm and then came to get ready to go out. Fred will stain the shelving and uprights and paint the door trim and start loading it back up with tools on Wednesday.

I am being picked up at 6:30 tomorrow for my men’s league golf. It was cold today, enough so I had to break down and wear socks in my sandals, but tomorrow when we start golfing it is only 3 degrees above zero or less. I expect a frost delay.

You want action, car chases, gun shooting, violence ( for you Edmonton people) and humor you need to go to this movie.  Some funny lines in it and a great ending for future upcoming movies.

Came home to a neat yard sign for my outdoor kitchen from Jeff & Wendy. They left it on our table while we were out. I will install it on Thursday.

February 5th and 6th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 18 degrees , Calgary 3 degrees Edmonton 3 degrees”

Converting back and forth between metric and imperial is a little bit if a pain. I prefer kilometers as it only make sense a I minute per kilometer. 100 = 1 hour. Plus when someone says it is 250 kilometers away it is an instant ( 2.5 hrs) away otherwise you are using times tables again. Same with temperature. To have freezing on the Fahrenheit scale at 32 is dumb. It makes a lot more sense as above zero and below zero than has meaning with metric. We have been metric so long now that when someone says 72 degrees I know it is warm but not really how warm without converting it back. Everyone knows the real formula for conversion but to do it  in your head takes time and isnt easy so remember  for ease C to F  x 2 + 30  and F to C  is -30 divide by 2.  ie 72 degrees  F -30= 43/2= 21.5 degrees.  

Up at 6 o’clock today for my Whirlwind trip. Sandy phoned to check on frost delays but couldn’t get an answer. On arrival we find out we have a 1.5 hour delay. So for the first time I had a great breakfast and coffee. It was nice.

We left Viewpoint it was 3 degrees and arriving at the course it was -3 degrees. At sunrise it is the coldest always for some reason. It slowly works it way up but for today our high only got to 15 degrees. I can say it was cold. I didn’t bring my fall golfing equipment so I had to layer up.

I didn’t win any money and have fallen out of the top ten money list.  I could use the three layers of clothes, the cold stiffness, my white hands etc but I just played bad. Having poor drives, poor chips and putts. My Captain did excellent but myself and the higher capper didn’t win on the holes we needed to. So I fun fun day golfing in the cold weather.

I got home and jumped into the warm shower and got ready to go out. Tonight we were having a three person birthday party as Wendy just had her 60th, I just had mine and Tracy’s is about a week away.

Our reservation was in Scottsdale which about an hour away so we left at 4pm to hopefully beat the rush hour. We did arriving early at the restaurant. Tracy & Ralph picked the spot and it was excellent.

It is authentic Italian with nice decor and ambience. We really enjoyed the place. The food was above average and very well priced. The sauce was to die for and portion sizing large. Fresh hot bread with a olive parsley dip was amazing. A lot of the group had the seafood and pasta dish but I choose the meatballs and spaghetti as I am a tradionalist. It was amazing. We all enjoyed our meals, drinks and even the Limoncello was great. A fun evening.

After supper we headed to Fred’s and played DICE. A few three finger drinks again and a few games made for a fun night. Terry even made a home made Birthday carrot cake which was awesome.

I received some wonderful gifts. A awesome  dinner bell, a grill closed/ open sign, a kitchen towel and salt & pepper shakers, some golf balls, and a Lucky Clover hat.

It was a fun day golfing, it was a wonderful meal with friends and an excellent time playing cards and wishing people Happy Birthday

Jackie took off golfing this morning with her ladies group. I installed the grill sign and bell and the Valentines decor outside. I also filled the car up with gas, bought a few groceries and checked out the Dollar Store.

I need to start & finish my Jan budget but I am feeling a little lazy today and after getting these few things done am just relaxing.

Thought of the Day 

Always remember you are NEVER as old as tomorrow so enjoy your day today ! 

January 7th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 2 degrees  Calgary 2 degrees snow  Edmonton 2 degrees “

What a wonderful sunny day today. Not a cloud in the sky. Jackie was up and out of the house by 7:45 for her walk as usual.

I paid some bills and checked out the local Calgary and Phoenix news.

Golfing today had Jeff with his partner Ron S and I was paired with Kirk. Today was an ok day. Any day the score is below 80 I am happy. Only one slice off the drive and some great second shots along with good putts overall. Jeff had an off day today which you always hate to see but happens to everyone. Kirk and I won the front none, the back nine and the overall so money in our pockets. It was a little tentative today as Ron had two birdies on the back and Jeff had two holes with 2 strokes on it. We got lucky as everything worked out for us with halfing the holes. It was a fun day of teasing, heckling and getting into each others head. This makes it fun and I am very happy that Jeff handles this well. Some players if a player moves or coughs or says something gets upset as they believe it affects their shot. I will say unless it is a very loud sudden noise it should not affect anything. If it does, it means you were not concentrating hard enough on what you are doing.

We all had a blast today golfing. The frost caused a delay for our start but we still finished in a little over 4.5 hours. Great day finished off with a nice visit at Kirks place to discuss the bad shots and for Kirk and I to collect our money. We all got to enjoy 3 birdie shots today. Like Mother’s Milk.

Just relaxing tonight watching Tv and a walk around the park with just about a full moon tonight.

Thought of the Day 

Talk BIRDIE to me ! 

February 8th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 23 degrees  Calgary -2 snow Edmonton -2 degrees”

I have a few small projects to get done today. I need to silicone one elbow on my gutter, silicone the back corner smart trim, rip to size and install a barn wood shelf and build a bracket to slant the heat deflector on my patio heater. Time consuming and perhaps a couple of trips to the Depot but fun projects.

Important Flames game tonight as it is a 4 pointer and with a win and a Oiler loss jump us back into third.

I will watch a bit of golf today go NICK !

First on the agenda was the shelf. I used my old barn wood plank and recut to size. It was so old and petrified the blade was smoking as we cut through. Turned out awesome as it gave it the burnt look which adds to the character.  We whipped to Home Depot to get some materials.

I found some neat brown brackets that had the contempary/traditional look that worked out perfect. Fred and I installed the shelf and it looks fabulous and I am very happy with it. I had to move up my dinner bell but it all works perfect.

Next project was to slant my deflector on the patio heater. Girls need heat and this thing gives out heat at 40,000 BTU but it is pushed straight down so the two people close to it get awful hot. Slanting the deflector really moves the heat away at least 6 to 8 ft. I did a test. A simple project turned out a little more difficult as the Depot only carried coarse thread ready rod and the heater had fine thread inserts. I bought a 5/16 tap and we tapped out the holes to coarse thread and it worked perfect. Using ready rod we installed two rods 5 inches and one rod at 3 inches. Gave us a great slant. Reassembled everything and after a test we are more than happy.

Another fun day doing project work.

After work we had a few games of crib with Fred & Terry. My middle name is Crib again.  The boys dominated. Winning EVERY game until the girls gave up.  Then on to Crazy Marbles. The girls fluked off a win. We were so far ahead that it is unbelievable that they won but they did.

I came back and cooked up some wonderful chicken breasts on the grill that Jackie & I enjoyed outside having a wonderful supper watching a bit of golf and news.

Fred finished putting away the tools and the shed is done. This shed has just about every tool you can think of or ever need. It sure comes in handy and now being organized looks wonderful and easy to find anything.

 

Thought of the Day 

Who knew the toughest part of being an adult was having to figure out what to have for supper every night for the rest of your life.

February 9th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 23 degrees Calgary 2 degrees  Edmonton 3 degrees snow”

Reading the news this morning on a article about the havoc the Coronovirus is having on the NHL as 75% of the hockey sticks come from China and are not being shipped right now. HOW DUMB is this that we have multi millionaires buying sticks from China. Both CCM and Sherwood make sticks in Canada. USA has a manufacturer and we have rich hockey players saving a buck and getting them from China. The NHL wants us to spend $100 on a ticket to support them and they don’t even support our own country. That is just sad and disappointing.  Trudeau should put a tariff on sticks. !!

I will always choose made in anywhere over China in anything I buy. I have to back up. I DO ask for Chinese windshields for the Wrangler as it goes thru one or two a year and they are half price. The pit badly as they use a softer glass but due to the design and slope of the truck it does save me a lot of money. I have to back up one more time. I have bought quite a few tools from Harbor Freight and they have worked out very well due to price. But anyone that has a high usage on would not buy them.

I think the “BUY LOCAL” has to become more prominent in our minds as we will lose all manufacturing. To spend a few extra bucks to quality and support a business that is paying taxes and employing people you would think would make sense for everyone.

Coronavirus appears to be difficult to control as the symptoms are not typical of a normal flu. Fever seems to be most common and people are spreading the germs thru contact not the typical sneezing and coughing. It is odd how every year these viruses come around. If you are in good health your immune system can fight it. If you are weakened you could be at risk.  Even the numbers have now surpassed the SARS episode the numbers are still EXTREMELY low. 800 deaths in the world is nothing.  We had over 300 deaths from Opioid poisonings in Alberta last year alone. The media needs a story so the flavor of the month is Coronavirus.  It will disappear as soon as we have something else to talk about. Come on Trump do something . LOL

Jeff & Wendy had a surprise visit from her brother so they were unable to come with us to Tortilla Flats. It worked out as Ralph and Tracy weren’t doing anything so hopped in for a ride. This HWY 88 is awesome having 147 turns in it within about 20 miles.  No shoulders and no guard rails with 100 ft drops. Unfortunately going both ways as it was busy today I never got to experience the real pleasure of driving this. Still a wonderful drive. The bar and outside patio was packed but luckily we were able to find a table to eat. They have a huge train smoker and sell awesome ribs and burgers. Bright sunny day.

We arrived about 11:20 and stayed until around 2:30pm. The band today was awesome. Super good sound and fantastic audience interaction. Very enjoyable.

Only one really strange occurrence. The band starts to play a line dance song. Remember this is a outside eating patio. This GUY ( I will say that loosely) started to line dance all by himself in a small space between the tables. It is the weirdest thing to see. I was so embarrassed for him that I couldn’t take a picture. Our  monitor Karen was dressed up as a cowgirl with a water gun. She was shooting him trying to get him to stop. After the song she came up to Jackie & I and whispered ” I have never ever seen a man line dancing by himself before” It is wrong in so many ways. Line dancing is meant for single ladies, gay guys, lonely ladies and no one else. He did not appear to be drunk. Mental illness is a scary thing.

Around 1:30 pm or so Jeff & Wendy came with her brother & wife. It is a great place to bring a guest as it is a unique place and a fun place to see.  I am sure they would have like it.

This is Tracy in the ladies washroom.

On the way home we stopped at Canyon Lake to check out the boats. We are planning to rent a 12 man pontoon boat to fish and relax all day. It is as cheap as a golf game so not a bad deal. This will be fun.

Oscars tonight !!

Thought of the  Day 

Did you know that LINE DANCING was created by a women waiting in line for the washroom.

February 10th

” Mercury Forecast  Mesa 22 degrees , Calgary  1 degrees, Edmonton  1 degrees”

Snow coming for Edmonton the next few days and showers for us tonight. It is funny as they say showers but it 1/10th of an inch. LOL  Tuesday though we may get 1 inch.

The Oscars as always were fun to watch. Only a few political comments which was good. Some wonderful dresses and some dumb ones. Kristen Wigs was horrible. No weird antics and some funny lines from the winners and presenters. The opening act Janelle and Eminem were fantastic and even the Billie Eilish did a great job with Yesterday.

Today we are golfing at Johnson Ranch which is a very nice course.

The day turned out wonderful, bright, sunny and warm. A few clouds came in later but it was a perfect day to golf.  Johnson Ranch is a great course. It plays long with most Par 4’s being over 400 and the Par 5’s over 500 yards. The greens were perfect and quick. Fairways were wide enough and hazards were fair and not that difficult.  I had a real strong first nine and had to work a little a harder on the back but ending up with a 83 on a long and course taht I am not familiar with is ok.

I was very impressed with some of  the shots the Wendy & Jackie had. I thought Jackie played extremely well today with great drives and nice chips shots. Again this is a longer course including elevated mountain side tee boxes and some tricky holes.

Jeff had an off day struggling with his drives which makes the whole day a lot harder. He also had a Jumping Cholla attack him. These things hurt. It was hard to pull out of him as the needle appears to be barbed. Good thing it was only one small clump that got him.

On the way home we stopped at Red Robins for supper. I love Red’s and we haven’t had them in Calgary for years. As usual the burger was awesome. Jackie & Wendy had their famous milkshakes. It was a a nice change and very enjoyable.

Had a chuckle at supper over two things. First with all of choices Jackie choose Vanilla. That is daring and adventurous. I teased her and the waitress which was a very nice young girl. Second, Jackie was called Ma’am twice today by our waitress and our golf attendee. Southerners, courtesy, being polite, or age related is the question.

As we were leaving it had started to rain. The doppler radar was correct again. The news channel thought it would rain around 3pm but the radar was showing strong evidence of the system not hitting until 7pm. I have found that the weatherman will talking must accidently spit on the rain gauge and then predict a rain fall.  I will the check the radar in morning as currently they are calling for rain and cool all day.

Thought of the Day 

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. Fool me 92,000 times you are a weatherman.

February 11th 

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa  15 degrees,  Calgary 6 degrees snow, Edmonton  2 degrees snow”

An interesting article on Steve Jobs and his thoughts on his life.

Treat yourself well, and cherish others. As we get older we are smarter, and we slowly realize that the watch is worth $30 or $300 – both of which show the same time. Whether we carry a purse worth $30 or $300 – the money in the wallets are the same. Whether we drive a car worth $150,000, or a car worth $30,000 – the road and distance are the same, we reach the same destination. If we drink a bottle worth $300 or wine worth $10 – the “stroller” will be the same. If the house we live in is 300 square meters, or 3000 square meters – the loneliness is the same.”

“Your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world. Whether you’re flying first class, or economy class – if the plane crashes, you crash with it.”

So, I hope you understand that when you have friends or someone to talk to – this is true happiness! 

It goes to the fact money doesn’t buy happiness but more importantly make sure to enjoy yourself NOW as we never know what the future holds. Things always have a way of working out.

It rained quite a bit last night and the temperatures are remaining cool today.

I walked to the office to borrow the hole punch again to finish off the block directory. I punched and organized taking a couple of hours up. Funny as in 12 years of being here we had very few changes of ownership. In the last two years massive changes. Unfortunately with the  change the block togetherness and cohesiveness has disappeared. It was good talking to everyone on the block as I handed out updates as all are very friendly people but friendly people that don’t want to spend any time with one another going to block parties. Perhaps by next year I may feel compelled to continue with the books but right now I consider it my last hurrah.

I exported all of my banking info to excel spread sheets to do my January budget today after lunch.

Finished the January budget. Not unexpected to be over as we had the air flights for the kids coming and a major repair to the Buick hit the books. That puts it $3K out on two items. What did surprise me is the grocery bill for January being over $1k. That is high for us just being the two of us. We all know how cheap, veggies, milk, eggs, and booze is here so buying all of the extra stuff for company coming over peanuts, salsa, chips etc must have added up quick. One could say money well spent.

A fun night for Tracy’s birthday get together. Fred, Terry, Ralph, Tracy, Wendy, Jeff, Eldon and Cindy all came over. Terry made an awesome Lemon Cake which we all loved. Jackie made the best Bruschetta ever.  Later in the evening we played DICE with Tracy winning twice and Terry winning once.

I got to bed at 11:30pm. That is late for me as I have to wake up at 6:30 for a 7am pickup to golf. The drinking was just the right amount as I slept like a baby and dind’t have to come to pee until morning. Wonderful.

Thought of the Day 

There is a saying “Early to bed , early to rise makes you healthy and wise.”  I didn’t follow it. LOL

February 12th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 19 degrees , Calgary -8 degrees Edmonton -13 degrees “

The weather this year has been very odd. While the day time temperatures  are great the evening and night time temperatures are lower than what we are used to.

Jumped into the car this morning and it was 6 degrees. By the time we got to the golf course it was only 3 degrees. Having to wear extra clothes isn’t conducive to swinging free. I also had to use my pocket warmers this morning.

My team today was three Americans. Two from North Dakota and another from Minnesota. It was a fun team and another wonderful golf experience. Being cold, stiff and three good golfers I was a little apprehensive at the beginning. It ended up I was the low score of the team. I am happy with a net 67 on anyday. Turns out we were lucky on the Traids also. We expected to win one segment but ended up low score on three segments.  $145 is a good haul. I moved back into the Top Ten Money list and into 7th spot out of the 48 golfers.

I got home and headed to the back deck to sit in the sun and relax. Ok I slept. LOL

Another fun wonderful day in paradise.

Thought of the Day 

Born to Bogey !

February 14th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 23 degrees Calgary 1 degrees  Edmonton – 7 degrees, snow “

Valentines Day !

Interesting fact on Valentines Day. It is the second most copulating day for couples.  Wedding night tops them all with 48% of all couples and Valentine’s Day at 32 percent. But think about it a wedding night is once in your life but Valentines Day happens every year. Squeaky beds can be heard all thru the nation. It is funny how a marketing ploy contributes to this. Love, cards, hearts, outings, dates, chocolate etc all tend to lead to intimacy ?

I did my part by buying a beautiful dozen of roses and card.  Hoping LOL  As long as we don’t get to full of Chinese food.

I missed the 13th day. I went over to Fred’s place and spent the whole day pulling off the window casings and interior jambs. We whipped to the Depot and picked up the new stock and started working. We installed the new jamb liners and put the casing back on. I didn’t sleep perfect last night as there was one mitre on one window I could have got tighter but Fred didn’t want take it back off. I would have but he was ok with it and is exceptional with dap and mud. The windows look real good now compared to when we started. I like the look.

Off to my men’s league today and then home to our love bed ! LOL

I should have worn red today for Valentine’s. Karma got me today on the course.  It was a tough day out there. Drives were a little off. BUT the kicker was in 18 holes I had 8 holes with 3 putts. That is bad and brutal putting. It was a shocker but it kept happening and happening. Racks up easy as one in two and still a bogey or worse. Ron had a struggle with putting today also which is rare for him. Jeff just didn’t have a good day today as everything went south. We have all had those days.  I won some money so that is good. Had fun in the warmth and with my team so all is great.

Had a short after party at Bob’s place. I headed home and ordered our Chinese takeout. A great Chinese restaurant J+M’s on Elsworth supplied us with delicious food. One of the best.

Edmonton makes my day so many times.  It is so easy to make fun of the city and it’s fans as they struggle with an inferiority complex towards Calgary. I had to send an email to rub it in.

I have to say I rather enjoy the banter and teasing. What makes it especially rewarding is so many friends get a little excited over it and I sit back and smile. It makes my day. LOL  I am sure I will get many return emails again that I look forward to. After sending it I thought to myself it may not be the NDP issue but concussion due to the pot holes in the streets. LOL

Great Chinese food and movie make for a nice Valentine Day.

Thought of the Day 

If LOVE is blind why is lingerie so popular ?

February 15th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 23 degrees  Calgary 3 degrees Edmonton -7 degrees “

Fred picked me up and we headed to Harbor Freight and the swap meet. I need a pair of scissors and wanted a dowel jig but they didn’t have any. Fred ended up using my phone coupon and bought a $68 set of bits for $8. I got two replacement quik clamps on sale for $4.

This swap meet has some interesting old stuff. Fred picked up two Craftsman wood chisels with the resin handles and all they need is a sharpen. I found a old saddle that I will bring Jackie to look at for $29 that we may buy.

It is always a fun walk through to see the interesting stuff.

I came home and relaxed watching golf on TV and sitting outside in the sun for a bit until I felt a little sun heat. Tiger had bad day unfortunately but I really like Kutcher so still fun to watch. This course is playing hard for the guys. I still say a course like Turner Valley is a lot more difficult than some of these ” professional” course ( other than length) with it’s fairways edged with bush and no chance of punching out. Every course has some trees on it but they are all open below the trees.

Jackie went to the gym and then off to her party singing practice. Her golf group has a year has a going away party coming up and Jackie will be singing in front of everyone. This should be fun.

Only a couple of comments came back from my Edmonton friends. I think they are just too beaten up and depressed with everything going on. It must be a horrible feeling to have a player like Kassian on your loved team and feel ashamed for his behavior and the city’s support of the bad behavior.  Most likely the same feeling knowing how your city is disrespecting the Indigenous.   How many times has someone called another FAT and the fat person laughs so everyone thinks it is ok to do it. Any name that is not demeaning would be great. The Edmonton Extreme as an example so it saves a logo change.

In fact I received more “way to go ” ” you are right” “we are with you ” from others than blow back from the Edmonton Oiler and Eskimo fans. Depression on their part perhaps ?

For as long as my Edmonton friends need support and guidance I will be here to help them. This could be a life long commitment on my part but they need the help. 

Jeff & Wendy are coming over tonight after supper for some cards and conversation. I am hoping my middle name is still CRIB tonight.

Reading an article on Trudeau’s refusal to stop the blockades I thought it very fitting to nick name him the “UN-PRIME MINISTER”.  Remember the 7-UP ad campaign of being the Un-Cola. Very fitting as he continues to show us why he will be considered the worst Prime Minister in history.

As usual we have enough Chinese food left over’s for a full other meal. So tonight heated up Chinese which is awesome !  I only have a dust mask to wear to look the part which should work.

Thought of the Day

Why are older people starting to eat health foods ? Don’t they realize they need all of the preservatives they can get !

February 16th

” Mercury Forecast  Mesa 23 degrees, Calgary 2 degrees, Edmonton -8 degrees snow”

It appears Edmonton is being hit with a lot of snow. What the news says and what actually happens in most cases is a lot different though. At least the temperatures are staying relatively warm. The weather for next week here is awesome  as everyday is over 75 degrees.  Nice also that the evenings are started to stay a lot warmer out.

Jeff & Wendy came over for drinks and games last night. We sat outside until 11pm playing. It was a tale of woe last night as Wendy my partner and I lost 6 straight games. The cards just kept coming to Jeff & Jackie over and over again. I hate to lose but it still fun playing. It is the bragging though that is hard to take. You would have thought they won an Olympic Gold Medal.  Next time !

I watched the Genesis Golf tournament today outside and what an event. Talk about hard putting for everyone. It’s a shame Tiger did so poorly but I am sure he still will be great coming up. The leaderboard kept flipping back and forth so made for an exciting last few holes.

I had to play around with the hot water tank today. No hot water. I reset the breaker and still not working. I removed the panel and reset the temperature control. Still no hot. I turned everything off again not to shock myself , reset both the breaker and control and turned the temperature control up and success. I could hear the element heating up. Hopefully fixed. If not it means a new element which is only $20 but a pain to do which is why they charge $300 to change it out. Fingers crossed. I think the water shutdown we had the back flow allowed the tank to empty and element may have overheated. We will see.

Fred came over for supper as Terry is out of town. I BBQ’d a pork loin roast my way with lots of garlic, Montreal spice, pepper and salt, sealed and moistened with a couple cans of beer. Mashed potato’s , carrots and peas with gravy was excellent. Fred brought over a Lime Meringue Pie which was awesome.

I am thinking the world has been hit with a meteor and tilted a little and has thrown the whole world in a dizzy. Lost AGAIN tonight with Jackie winning twice and Fred once and to add to insult I just made it over the double skunk line the last game. I am in disbelieve. I am sure something has gone wrong. I am starting to dislike the game of crib. NOT but a little annoyed at my bad luck. You need the cards to win , a little skill to decide on the cards but you need luck.

To further reinforce my thinking of the world going astray the Oilers are in first place winning again with multiple players missing. Unbelievable.

I am confused.

Thought of the Day 

When the world gives you lemons make grapefruit juice. Sit back and let the world figure that out.

February 17th- 18th

” Mercury Forecast  Mesa 26 degrees, Calgary -4 degrees snow, Edmonton – 14 degrees”

I woke up this morning and I started thinking to myself how lucky we are. We are loving it in Arizona, the weather is remarkable, lots of friends here, enjoying different things and living the good life as they say.

Having said that the world is in a mess right now which is too bad.

1. Coronavirus
2.  Locus eating Africa
3.  Flu season hitting countries hard this year
4.  Oiler’s in first place
5.  Blockage of rail again hitting economy hard
6.  Bad governments in Canada, USA, England, Korea, China, Russia, Israel and the entire middle east and the list goes on
7.  Socialists and environmentalists destroying the economies
8.  Division in Canada fairly similar to the USA that isn’t going away
9.  Spike in Cancer rates
10.  Falling longevity rates

You hate to live in bubble but you do need to remember how lucky we really are.

I booked a tee time for Jeff & Wendy along with us at Foothills Golf Club. This is in a fancy neighborhood with million dollar homes overlooking the course. Years back I bet this was the go to course. The clubhouse, lockers etc now are a little dated but you can tell it used to be a first class course. The course was awesome with nice elevations, 9.5 speed on the greens and green lush fairways. This course played long with 180 to 200 Par 3’s and 400+ Par’4 abundant. Everyone played quite well. Jackie thought her drives were suspect but I didn’t see that. Jeff had drive trouble at first then found his rhythm and had some great drives. To have done better I needed better wedge play. I remember at least 5 or more holes coming in at less than 125 yards and not hitting the green. Add the Par 3 misses and it caused trouble.

It hit 26 degrees out with no wind and full sun so was the perfect golfing weather.

We stopped at BuddyZ for supper. Great pizza’s and I had wonderful spaghetti with meatballs. Not quite as good as Arrivaderci but still a good go at it.

Coming home the GPS as it was the new section of the 202 didn’t pick the road. I thought I had but missed it by one stop sign to enter the freeway. I rather enjoyed the drive but as the Bachelor was starting Jackie was quite antsy. Everyone has priorities. LOL

Starting working on my Christmas decorations today. I used 3/4 MDF and 1/4 MDF which I think will be fine as they are only out for a month and only the odd rain storm. I am sure the paint will seal it enough. A lot scrolling with the jigsaw. The original Bear was made using a scroll saw and I had to use a jig. I think it turned out pretty good. I painted all of the pieces and put a couple of coats on them. I still need to go to Hobby Lobby and get a set of eyes and white vinyl stick on pieces for the claws. When I am done it will 2 sided. The only one on the block.

Jackie was dealing with Big Lots for the last week but they are non-committal on the product. It appears they bulk buy, buy sell offs and discount stuff so will not confirm the decoration the block wants will or will not be available.  You know if it is on a boat coming from China someone will know what is ordered but their head office would not commit. It is another frustrating event  to orchestrate as indecisive older people are the worst. Then you add “cheap” to gets hard to get everyone on board. We only had 19 units commit to them which isn’t block unity.

Fred had a brilliant idea to wrap the outside edge with LED lights which I like and am going to try. Amazon to the rescue.

I started at 10am and finished at 7pm with only a lunch stop, Depot stop and 1/2 hr stop for a windshield chip repair. I have often said the customer service levels in the States are 10x better than what we experience in Calgary. Again today from receiving to my phone call to finishing the job A & E Auto Glass was exceptional.  When I went to the front desk to pay the gentleman said NO CHARGE. I ask why ? He said “Discount Tire repairs tires n/c and look how big they are so we are not charging”    That is service as they try to grow their company. If I need a windshield you know where I am going. Nice !

https://a-eautoglass.com/

Finished up my project for today and am just sitting outside enjoying the warmth. Into the 80’s this week for a couple of days. Yahoo !

I am golfing tomorrow morning early so will finish off my Santa Bear in the afternoon.

Thought of the Day  

Great saying.— It takes months to find a customer but only seconds to lose one !

February 19th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 27 degrees, Calgary 3 degrees, Edmonton -3 degrees “

Gorgeous day and the first standing outside at 6:30am waiting for my ride it was warm. Warm weather, lots of practice, great group of guys, wonderful course everything should be great.

NOT SO MUCH. As a team we sucked. All four of us had extremely bad days. Our captain a single handicapper shot 89 and the rest of us in the 90’s. Everyone was in the desert looking for balls, everyone was missing the greens, everyone was missing putts. It is the first time I was really disappointed in my play and our team as we were far from winning any money. Now one can say that is golf but I have a certain expectation and I was far from meeting that. I should not have struggle days like that. No excuses.  Having said that we had a fun time but quite mellow as birdie shots were missing and excitement from great shots wasn’t there. Our ” Good shot” was when one of us hit the green or advanced the ball even if not struck great. Darn !

I came home and sat out back in the heat. It was wonderful. Crying to myself. LOL  I hope it is a one of that only happens rarely. I pulled  a muscle from working on the decorations didn’t help as I twisted funny getting up and it didn’t disappear over night. I love the heat on the back deck. I had a large chicken caeser salad  for a late lunch so not very hungry for tonight. I will work on the decorations when Jackie is golfing tomorrow and hopefully finish off the Bear. Requires a quick trip to the Hobby Lobby for a set of eyes and white vinyl.

Thought of the Day

You know when you are getting older as you are slowed down by a little pain versus the cops.

February 20th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 28 degrees, Calgary 10 degrees , Edmonton 6 degrees”

Pretty nice temperatures everywhere. Today in Mesa full sun and hot at 28 degrees.

I started to install my cut outs on my Santa Bear. Fred came over in a bit to help. I installed the paws both front and back, the fur on the collar and trim work, the hat pom, and the sign. Looks wonderful. I just need to find a fancy writer for my Merry Christmas sign. We then headed to Hobby Lobby. WOW what a store. It is like Michaels on steroids. Amazing store. I picked up my vinyl sheets and eyes for the bear.

I had to text Fred as we were in different area’s of the store. I saw him walking at the far end of store and good thing for text to guide him to the right place.

It was just too nice out and the patio deck was was calling. Fred, Jeff and I headed to Fat’s to sit on the deck. Wonderful warmth and with a waitress with attitude which was fun.

Funny, I don’t know how the Grace’s can live with their phones not being turned on. I tried Jeff’s phone and it goes to voice mail instantly, can’t receive a text and no email. That would be hard. Real hard. I would find it very difficult to “live” without being connected. Let me correct that even if it cost me a couple of hundred a month I would buy a plan that works. Even on our Mediterranean cruise we paid extra to get the internet at the ports. It is also dangerous not to have as if anything happened to one person they couldn’t get a hold of each other. Our plan is $167 a month and gives us everything we need and we never never reach the limit. I give them full credit in making due but I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. LOL  Having said that I hate the costs of being connected. $167 for phones, $40 for internet in Mesa, $160 for phone, TV and internet n Calgary and $50 for internet at Oasis each month. $ 417 a month just to watch TV and surf and communicate. Necessary evil. Google is my best friend. LOL Speaking of phones it still amazes me the success of Apple phones when compared to the much advanced Samsung smart phones. Apple has created such a loyal following and fan base. If only they would try something new to realize there is something much better out there. Both my girls luckily switched from Apple to Samsung. No matter what app or trick Apple has the android platform has better, faster, easier and a less incestuous program. I do have to say though the IPAD I gave to Jackson that I won and gifted to him is now at least 8 years old and still works like a charm.  I do miss Blackberry though.

I phoned the house to get a hold of Jeff and then whipped up with Fred to go to the deck. A lot of fun. At Fred’s Jeff received a text ( as we changed his phone to accept normal things) that Wendy had forgot her keys and was locked out. Lucky we did. LOL So we headed to let her in.

Just leaving to the wind up party for the organizer of the golf outings for the girls. Vic & Dianne each year put on a nice party for the ladies golf group suppling pizza and drinks for everyone. They have sold there place so this was sort of the last hurrah.  There was a nice speech from Vic to Dianne and Jackie gave a presentation as well. A larger group. We also sang Happy Birthday  to the oldest golfer of the group who is turning 100 this year. She still golfs but now rides the cart to her ball rather than walk. She is something.

Four ladies plus the addition of Harriet ( the 100 yr old) entertained us with a song. It was very well done with great lyrics and good singing to the tune of Bad Moon Rising. The funniest thing was Harriet did all of the actions with the song. ” Our boobs they are a falling” made her lift them up.  The younger girls didn’t.She even used a walker as a prop to enhance the reality of the lyrics but she doesn’t use one herself. A fun moment.

After enjoying a few drinks and socializing we walked down to Fred’s place. We played Marbles with the guys against the girls. The unthinkable happened and the girls with incredible luck won. Luck of the cards that fell into their hands as it is usually  difficult to get out but they had what they needed. This is fun game and is always fun to play. A easy game for anyone to learn. Going back in the game I made one mistake turning my turn that I would like back. Wouldn’t have changed the game drastically but you just never know. You can tell when someone errors or when the cards determine a move you don’t want to make. It was a fun time with a wrong result.

Fun day, afternoon,  and evening. This is the Good Life.

Thought of the Day

You always learn more from a game you lose than one you won.  

February 21st 

“Mercury Forecast   Mesa 24 degrees, Calgary 7 degrees, Edmonton 9 degrees  snow”

Another wonderful day in paradise.

I picked up Jeff and we headed to the Viewpoint Golf Course.  My golfing partners today were Jeff, Ron P and Ken G. My team partner was Jeff. I will start by stating Jeff and I killed them. We took their money and it was fun. Jeff golfed the best I have seen him for a long long time with great drives, better irons and amazing putts. It was fun to watch and when someone is doing well and confidence builds they just seem to get it done right and with a little gusto.  I have never seen him return to the cart so fast after a shot. We won the front nine, the back nine and the overall. Money in the pocket. It came down to the last hole for the back nine. Everyone stroked on the hole which is good way to end. My drive was 75 yards off the 357 yard Par 4.  It came down to the last guy putting which was Ron probably the best putter of us four. A little 4 footer for the win and he lips out. Jeff and My victory.

Kirk and Ron S half way through the game I noticed they put on a light jacket. I had to comment that they are aging right in front of my eyes. A jacket in the heat and playing from the white tees. At least it wasn’t a vest. Fun to tease and these guys are very good at giving it back.

Our after golf gathering was at Ron S place. He had out meat, cheese, crackers, devilled eggs and oysters. I had to keep reminding them that they are a aphrodisiac. I didn’t want them coming home with a certain expectation to be squashed. I think he is trying to make the rest of look bad with chips and nuts. LOL

A very fun day golfing. Great group of guys.

Thought of the Day 

Eating a raw oyster is like French kissing a mermaid. 

Fact: Oysters can be male or female. It is this property that is concerning to the human male adult that eats them as it can adjust ones hormone levels the wrong way.

February 21st

” Mercury Forecast – Mesa 20 degrees- rain , Calgary 3 degrees, Edmonton 2 degrees “

It rained out a lot last night and carried on for most of the day. A rain day should mean a relax day but that didn’t happen. In a moment I will tell you what kept me busy.

Most importantly today is our daughter-in-laws birthday. Penny is turning 36 today. Odd seeing your kids and spouses aging right in front of you so fast. We are very lucky to have Penny in the family as she is one of a kind with kindness, caring, concern and worry for others like no other. With red hair one would think a temper but there is no evidence of that what so ever. Her hair I did notice is starting to Patina which is fitting as her nickname is Copper.

We video chatted this morning and we waited until 9:30 as we thought she might get to sleep in. We caught her still in bed. LOL  We misjudged the time.

Finished my project today. have working on my Santa Bear for two days. It requires a lot of jig sawing making paws, paws, a nose, end of a nose, claws, collars etc. You can see all of the cuts out of the MDF needed. Plus the painting which is always my least favorite.

I had to assemble it , align everything and even wiggle eyes that glow in the dark. The most difficult thing was to try to print Merry Christmas as I have bad writing and Jackie didn’t want to do it. I printed off a 8 x 11 sheet with the letters and pushed real hard tracing them to make an imprint in the wood. Then to color it in.

I am a very careful guy with safety etc and rarely have an accident. Today I tipped over my paint can which took at least an hour to clean up off the deck. Darn.

This is the original that I refreshed with paint, and self adhesive vinyl.  New lettering and touch up.

Now that I did all of the work we have a two sided Santa Bear for Christmas. I used ceiling stipple on mdf to create the fur look and glow in the dark wiggle eyes.If you look careful I also installed LED strip lightning which I love.

The green paint is gone over the H now. Here it is all lite up. The silhouette is cool but doesn’t let enough light show off the features so still will require a small spot light.

A lot of patience required and a lot of hours but it was fun . My next thing is a NOEL sign made with barn wood and a Christmas ball wreath.

Thought of the Day 

I always finish my proje

February 23rd 

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 18 degrees, Calgary 1 degrees snow, Edmonton 3 degrees”

We actually slept in a bit today which was nice.

First order of business was cleaning up the tools and paint etc from my Bear project. I put the Bear down until December of this year.

I watched a bit of the PGA golf Mexico. That is a tight and skilled leaderboard. The only real loser was Dustin as it appears he has lost his touch completely. These golfers are amazing and a lot of fun to watch their skill level.

Then off the gym. Jackie did a long workout. I ran the treadmill and a few weights. I find now that my blood pressure had dropped I get dizzy if I exert myself to much. I think I will monitor at Safeway and reduce it to 2mg a day. Retirement, lack of stress, and moving either excerise, golf or just doing a project have really reduced it. I try using salt and alcohol  to raise it. LOL

Beautiful day out for a walk around the park.

We came home and watched the final holes of the game. Great golf.

Just a short comic that really hits the nail on the head or the bump on the road as some say.

 

But the bicycle paths are smooth and new. LOL

We went for a walk around the park tonight, looked at the guided tours available, checked the mailbox and then watched  a couple of shows on TV. A nice relaxing evening.

Thought of the Day 

I always remember the saying ” If someone doesn’t make fun of you they really aren’t your friend.”

February 24th

“Mercury forecast – Mesa 21 degrees, Calgary -2 degrees, Edmonton -4  degrees”

Being a General Manager and a Regional Manager for the majority of my career I had to do a lot of organizing of events wither it be sales meetings, client meetings, work meetings, company events, planning meetings, and budget meetings. I considered myself quite efficient in communicating the plan, time, requirements and getting input from others. Everyone has a weakness and I recognized a long time ago for me it was frustration and patience with others indecisiveness ,response time, lack of accountability, procrastination and involvement. I will say I always hated meetings overall as I believe they are the biggest waste of productive employee time there is but unfortunately a necessary evil. A lot of people need meetings to feel included and be part of the process. A generalization but women in particular require this. I tried doing ” mini” meetings as I found them better.

The reason I bring this up is age must be getting to me. I still like and enjoy organizing events, adventure trips, golf excursions, camping trips and block parties etc but I am beginning to find them a little more challenging to enjoy. Unlike trained business people the responses, the commitment , the lack of technology skill, the lack of urgency makes a simple process so much more difficult.

Examples of this is our blocks decision on the party frequency with only 53% responding. Other events like May Long weekend, birthday parties, Sept long weekend, and simple golf games are becoming increasingly more difficult to get consensus on in a expeditious manner. It is funny as I fully understand a no or unavailable answer but hate the no response or acknowledgement of receipt . In a lot of cases there are deposits at risk and reputational risk. My planning may become for a much smaller group like Jackie & I. LOL

Stock market took a big hit today due to the Coronovirus. It is starting to spread. It could have been controlled but China did not act fast enough and now it could become a pandemic . Still small death rates so not alarming yet. The Black Plague killed 200 million people in the 14th century so we have a long ways to go. Media is blowing it up more than they need also.

If Sanders wins the nomination it will be a pretty easy win for Trump. I can not believe the Dems are voting for a socialist as strong as Bernie is. He will destroy the economy but young kids will get free education and medical. Make the kids pay for education ! You earn a degree you earn a higher paycheck. That is the way it is supposed to be.  But put governance on the institutions so the tuition rates are controlled.

Frontier Tech as pulled out of submitting an application. OUCH another Canada/ Alberta hit all due to Trudeau. We need a non-confidence vote asap ! Would you invest 20 billion knowing the resistance to oil and the federal government’s position on supporting oil. Thanks once again Trudeau.

Beautiful sunny warm day to golf. Today we are Superstition Springs. Nice course but plays a little tough with the water and fairways sloping into it. Just makes it a little more challenging.

It was tough. I like Superstition but it is a little quirky. Too many non traditional holes. 90 degrees holes, grass bunkers in fairway, lots of water with sloped fairways running down to it and lots of large bunkered greens. The course was in good shape and the greens were nice. We finished the 18th hole even though it was getting a little dark, Everyone agreed it was a harder course. Jeff again had a pretty good day and see drastic improvement in his performance the last few games. Everyone else had good games with the odd bad shots thrown in. I was a little disappointed in the score overall.

We decided to go to Fat Willy’s for burger night. We didn’t arrive until close to 7pm which turned out to be a good thing as the crowds were gone. As usual our $7 burgers were awesome. You can’t beat the quality, taste and the pricing. Plus the jugs ( yes I said jugs again) of beer with frosted glasses were awesome. Order another jug and get new frosted glasses. Awesome!

I bugged Jeff & Wendy on their lack of responses to emails. I loved Jeff’s answer ”  You take verbal responses still ? ”

Fun company, fun golf, great meal equates to a fun day.

Thought of the Day 

Life expectancy would go up by leaps and bounds if a greens and veggies smelled as good as a  burger.

February 25

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 21 degrees, Calgary 1 degrees  Edmonton -2 degrees “

As always the news is interesting. Never good news but still interesting.

1. Coronavirus starting to get out of control.
2. Stock markets plummeting
3.  Frontier/Teck withdrawal
4.  Notley has become unstable blaming Kenny for Teck loss
5.  Saunders winning caucuses

 

Some good news:

1.  Kenny wins court case against Federal government’s carbon tax
2.  Weinstein charged as guilty on 2 accounts.
3.  Basic exemption increase goes into effect
4.  New bill to penalize protestors.
5.  Flames and Oilers in point battle every night with some good additional players.
6.  Another huge new artic spa opening west of Calgary at Harmony.

An easy day today. I have a couple of projects to start but may wait a bit.

I hope anyone that voted for the NDP and Trudeau reads this and understands the implications of both of these governments agenda’s. Alberta is in a huge struggle to survive and I feel bad for the younger kids having to deal with this all due to climate change motives that are misguided. If we had a booming economy we wouldn’t be needing cutbacks and every kid coming out of university would have a job waiting for them. We would be begging for teachers, nurses and doctors.

https://www.660citynews.com/2020/02/24/major-downtown-office-tower-completely-empty-renx-report/

I must be really climatized as I went outside and the wind is cold. It is already 18 above but with the wind chill it feels like 10 above.

Today was relax day. I measured a few things for some upcoming projects that I need to get done and designed and planned in my head.

If you opened the above article you can see what a disaster we have on our hands in Alberta. Today I discovered Edmonton has the second highest unemployment in Canada at 8.2%. Calgary is at 7.2% . That is unacceptable by any stretch. Calgary was hit first and hard with corporate layoffs and management restructuring and moving head offices to Dallas. Now Edmonton with the most important labor force needed for the oil market is getting killed.  Trucking, oil equipment, and  laborers all with no job to go to. Not all NDP’s fault but was the catalyst  along with Trudeau causing this chaos. It is going to take a long time to get back to semi normal. I just wish the voters would realize what a great country we COULD have with a proper government. At least Kenny is half the equation fixed. I am sure we will hear from Racheal after the throne speech with her rhetoric and blame. I like her as a person but her ideas are so whacked they are scary. She will blame unemployment on health care, educational and public workers laid off by Kenny’s policy.  Absolutely not true. We have to get more efficient on less. For the numbers people we have 400,000 people unemployed in Alberta ( that would be the third largest city in AB if all in one place) that need a economy that works to get back to work. If we add an additional 100,000 just for a number we will have a short term hurt for a long term gain and going forward we would have better healthcare, better education and more opportunities for people.  We have to fix this mess fast. After Frontier/Tech cancelled NO energy company is going to want to invest in Albert or Canada for that matter.

Thought of the Day

Bad governments are elected by good citizens that voted ill informed or with emotions not considering the impact of their vote. 

February 26th-27th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 20 degrees, Calgary 5 degrees, Edmonton  6 degrees”

The mornings are still cool. Up and ready for pickup at 6:30 am for my Men’s league.

The wind was howling at 25 kms per hour this morning. Besides the wind it made it very cool.  My group today was made up by  two Northern States guys and one Edmontonian. As a team we did not do well. Only one Triad with a negative number. As a group we didn’t do well with 54 golfers averaging 76.5. Out of the 54 players only 7 players were under cap. That is poor golfing. Our captain which is a 7 handicapper scored an 89 and us all above that. It was a funny day as it wasn’t the drives that caused me issues as they were perfect but putts and second shots. In fact I had a few drives over 300 yards with some wind help. Taking a triple on Hole 14 my nemesis hole hurt me and a few screw ups. I was happy with my golf just not the scoring. Odd.

I dropped off the top 10 money list today unfortunately. Next week.

Always an interesting drive with Sandy & George discussing  numerous things. If only they would let us solve the worlds problems.  Sandy EVEN with the wind shot a 79. Sick man considering the conditions.

One of my golfing partners said he lost $167,000.00 so far this week with the Dow drop. I feel bad for him but I think it would be like me losing $5.00. I do hate the TSX dropping 1000 pts since Monday.  It’s not a loss unless you cash in which we do a little bit each month. If you are in mutual funds just keep buying each month and you will win on the dollar cost averaging.

Came home, paid a few bills, transferred a few GIC’s for Mom and relaxed.

Terry stopped by with Troy’s Mom, Ann for a visit. Ann is staying here with the Keys for the next week so Terry was showing her around. They have a lot planned for her. Should be a fun visit.

Great day !

Temperature is rising. It is going over 80 for a couple of days later this week.

Jackie was out of the house by 7:45 am to attend a going away breakfast party. Jackie’s idea of bringing fruit Smoothie’s for everyone I thought was awesome. You add the egg dishes etc and a Smoothie you have  wonderful breakfast. Should turn out good.

My plan for today is to install angle iron on my storage unit to keep the resin doors straight as the heat has warped them a bit and I want it waterproof. My idea is with bolts washers and the angle iron I should be able to straighten it and hold it that way without adding too much weight.

A few drill holes, a bit of grinding the corners, and few bolts to install and we will see if it works.

Jackie has her ladies golf league today and we have our tribute to Canada concert tonight to attend. Should be a good day.

A busy day. First a trip to the Depot to pick up a few items I needed. Bolts, fender washers, washers, nuts, new spot light on sale, angle iron pieces, and two new light bulbs. Interesting how things are changing. This Depot has ONE only clerk on a till and that is for lumber. So buying bolts and nuts  you have to press need assistance button. It doesn’t speed up the process except reduces clerks salaries, increases customer dissatisfaction, and most likely increases store theft. Got it all done and thru the till.

I have owned one Ford in my life and it was a good vehicle but today I saw the dream truck and talked to the owner for  some time. It is a 2020 F150 Shelby Super Snake supercharged to 770 horsepower. He paid $102K for it from Peoria Ford. If I was wealthy I would buy this truck in an instant.

I headed to Fred’s and helped him install his new main power line. He had it all dug out. We pulled and moved things around and Fred installed the new one. New connection and new wires will be excellent as his wire at some time was spliced and moisture was causing it to short out. Good find.

I then headed home to finish my storage bin issue where the lid had warped due to heat. My idea I hoped would be the fix. Headed back to the Depot for 8 -1/4 inch x 2 inch bolts as the 1 inch were too short. $1.76 I had to put it thru my visa as that all that was open at self serve Home Depot. I figured let them pay the charge for their decision.

Silicone on each bolt  and my angle iron  idea worked like a charm. Like brand new. Very happy with that.

A Solar light that lasts 12 years is amazing. I replaced my old one today. The old one was still working but very dim, had a yellow lense and a sun beaten exterior. You sure cant beat the longevity.

Back to Fred’s to finish his project. All done and its works like it is supposed and he should have no more electrical issues.

Fred installed a paper holder that I suggested to him in the shed. I like these things and I stole the idea as I have one also at Oasis from Penny & Jessica.

At the Depot to find a “Normal” light bulb is like pulling teeth. I need a new one for Jackie’s work table. The environmentalist have destroyed bulb shopping. Ended up getting two LED bulbs which I don’t like. I like the glow of an incandescent light bulb. These will do. Thanks tree huggers.

We finished up the job and just sat down for a beer when Fred’s new neighbor stops by. Small world. Chuck Beems( maybe wrong) was very good friends with a girl I went to school with. Barb Edwards was a good looking girl that fell in love during high school with Miles Johnson. I actually installed a pair of shackles on Miles car a Ford Falcon to raise the rear for bigger tires for him. That must have got him the girl. I knew they had married. Chuck’s Dad lived in Winterburn which is were Barb is from and my home address but a few miles away was Winterburn acreages beside and behind the school. A good friend Tim Weir lived there. Small world is right. Nice guy and he just bought a house on 1800 block here in Viewpoint.

I came home and relaxed and made a light supper before heading out to the Canada Concert. my only hope is they DO NOT play any Celine songs. Please. I repeat pretty please.

February 28th

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 28 degrees, Calgary 7 degrees, Edmonton 5 degrees”

Supposed to be the last day of the month but it is a leap year.

Pretty nice weather in all my cities. Alberta has had a pretty mild winter. Still the cold of March to come but you know it is short lived.

OUCH the TSX continues to tumble. You know it will recover again after the media shuts up about the virus,but withdrawals when down hurt, just that much more. To drop close to 2000 points in a week is sick and represents huge dollar decreases for everyone. You CAN NOT afford to be out of the market as GIC’s etc are only paying 2 to 3 percent and I base our lifestyle at a minimum of 5% but have been receiving better than that for the last few years. For younger people with the dollar averaging it is a good thing as you are buying more shares at a lesser price. For us we do not contribute anymore it hurts as we withdraw money that can’t be recovered. Fingers crossed the stupid media keeps quiet and lets a another flu season run it’s course, we lose a few people then we carry on.

Last night we had the tribute concert to Canada. Very very well done with great singers, band and great choices of songs. It is amazing how many great songwriters and bands came out of Canada. They didn’t play any Justin Beiber which was odd. BUT they did KILL me with one Celine song. Why ?  The band was a perfect concert.

One of the girls singing though needs to have a wardrobe correction. She was wearing shorts under her short dress and they looked horrible as they could be seen below her dress line. Just not a good look.

One odd thing happened. Jackie as usual likes to clap with the music at a concert. This old fart in front of her turns around and says he can’t hear the singing with the clapping. Then the lady next to him gets up and leaves. Jackie was very reserved in her response which was surprising but I think it was due to shock. YOU ARE AT A CONCERT NOT A FUNERAL OR CHURCH. Now the clapping sound maybe have too close to his ears and he may have had hearing aids on but another example of an old grumpy person. If you know this, find a seat where your idiosyncrasies aren’t not going to have an impact on you or others. At any concert the band for audience interaction always encourages clapping as a form of engagement. Odd this guy and lady didn’t understand. Old farts !

Jeff & Wendy came over and we had a few drinks and laughs outside on the deck. We didn’t play games or cards but had a fun time conversing. I made Caesars with all of the right ingredients and they were great.  They are always fun people to have a laugh with.

That reminds me. Wendy had three costume changes last night. Arrives at the concert in pants, whips home and changes into shorts, finishes the concert and whips home and changes into pants again. She thought she was at an award ceremony with so many costume changes. It was funny but very smart on her part as the dance hall did heat up and the outside patio did cool down.

Great concert, wonderful singing and a fun time.

Below is a link to the stupidity of unions. Alberta is in survival mode and we have groups like this not believing they are part of the problem. THEY ARE THE PROBLEM. As time goes along there will be more and more backlash against the public sector. They have to get into the real working world. I would really like a mass firing and re hire only employees that understand the standard work life.  Now it is in Edmonton which is a government town which explains a little and it is a small group but it is just not right that few idiots have such a loud voice from the media.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-legislature-1.5479034

Years ago jobs like doctors, nurses and teachers were highly respected. Today only by another union member. The general public is getting pretty tired of them. Having said that years ago bankers, policeman and lawyers were also thought highly of but not as of today. All self induced. Bankers with service charges, loan management, credit ratings, policeman with shootings, traffic ticket quota’s, attitudes and lawyers with exorbitant fee schedules, attitude, and perceived as being crooked.

The time for unions is over. The time for the “ME” attitude is over. We are all in this mess together and instead of complaining about having a wage decrease, of fee change or change in anything be very very happy you have a job.  These are extremely important jobs in our society and the pride of saying ” we are playing a big part in this world making it better” should play a bigger part in the attitude of these groups. The main reason some one goes into this type of job should be because they are a person that wants help others and gets satisfaction from that. Remuneration and benefits have to align with responsibility and value but within reason. I would be very interested in knowing if the vocals are senior or junior people in their fields. Is the doctor of 30 years upset, is the nurse of 25 yrs upset or is it the younger newbies being the vocal ones with the odd older person just tagging along. I am sure it is the younger generation trying to do the right thing with believing in green but forgetting about real life .

It is to bad that every time there is a slow down we “pick” on the public sector but it is this way for a couple of reasons. First they are the largest expenditure on the budget for the government. Second with booms the salary goes too high compared to other jurisdictions and then they feel they have the justification to reduce it. Hard on the workers, upsetting for the workers everyone would agree but it has to be done to get close to balancing the budget.

None of this would be happening if our economy was strong. You can’t have a strong educational and medical system with no money and the worst part of it is the same people protesting the cutbacks of salary are the same people protesting the pipeline. They are so hypocritical. It is just sad to see. Why don’t they understand with a booming economy they would be getting raises, hiring extra help ,new machinery etc.  Our Alberta oil is not dirty energy and we are very good at environmental stewardship. Sad really !

Today hitting 80 degrees will be a fun day golfing with Jeff and my group. Only one tee time this Friday as people are away. First time ever for that. Bob S actually had to fly home as he is not doing well . He scared us last year when he just about passed out after having stints before coming down here and just about passing out on the course. We are all hoping he is ok and gets back here.

Random Thought– a mechanical or electric pump only has so many beats in it before it dies. What makes someone think that a heart ( pump) can be used under heavy load and pumping like mad is better for it.  There are so many pumps in a heart then it dies. IF WE COULD build up the heart muscle like we are lead to believe why aren’t hockey players or soccer players living to 110. Why you ask. because they used up all of their pumps.

” Across all age groups, former elite athletes survived on average 2 to 3 years longer than their brothers, but at an old age there were no significant differences in all-cause mortality. “

Hoping for a good game from Jeff and I as the conditions are wonderful.  Jeff is starting to play great which makes it nice for him as he is winning money and having fun. Playing poorly for anyone gets to them. He had a 39 on the front nine last week so here is hoping again if he is my partner only. LOL

I was partnered up with Jim against Ron & Jeff. Ok I will come right out and say it. Jim and I had to pay these guys a few bucks as we lost. Always a close call but the last hole Jim and I screwed up. I had 5 three putts again today. This course pin placement is hard with so much slope on the greens. It was a fun wonderful day on the course. Everyone struggled golfing today as the green were longer and the first cut around the greens was longer also causing everyone in the group a little trouble. First time I can say where Ron P struggled putting.  I remove my 3 putts I was happy with my game. I had numerous drives only 100 to 60 yards short of the green.

The guys came over to my place after golf for a few drinks. Jackie was across the street at a gathering. It is funny as the majority 53% didn’t want to have block parties yet 30 people show up for an imprompto “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere”  gathering. I sat with the guys and had a fun time reliving our scores and bad shots and finding solutions to all of the worlds problems.

When the guys left Jackie came over from across the street and with Jeff here we decided to get Wendy over here and order pizza from Fat Willy’s. First the pizza is great and you get a 16″ pizza fro $13.00 plus they deliver it by golf cart right to your door. I may use this service more often. LOL After supper we started to play DICE. It was a fun night. Turns out each one of of us won a game.

80 degree temperature, nice golf course, fun golf game, great after drinks, great pizza, fun games, fun friends all made for a wonderful day. Living the Good Life is awesome.

Thought of the Day 

Why don’t people realize that eating just one vegetable a week is going to protect them from the flu ?  Like how much more to you have to do to keep from getting sick .

February 29th 

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 31 degrees with heat stroke warning, Calgary 2 degrees snow  Edmonton 0 degrees with heavy snowfall warning “

Slept in a little this morning. Must have been that excitement and drinking from yesterday. Got up and went to have a shower. NO WARM water again.  We did our body wash and readied for our Chili Cook-off Burbon Festival.

To let the cat out of the bag. This was an awesome event. They 8 different stations for Chili tasting. Some hot, some very meaty and some spicy. Good chili with all different tastes. They gave you a chip to throw in a jug to vote for your favorite.

Learn something new everyday. Today I discovered that Bourbon is really just American whiskey. We make our from RYE and the Americans make theirs from corn. Jimmy Bean, Jack Daniels are two of the popular brands. They had tasting stations all in row. It appears like we have brewhouses popping up for beer everywhere they have Bourbon bars.

This event was held in the perfect park space in downtown Chandler. Besides the chili stations and Bourbon bars there was :

1. Corn hole games
2.  Axe throwing
3.  Darts
4.  Spin the wheel
5.  Ring the bell
6.  Jenga games
7.  Chili dog eating contest
8.  Huge band stage with multiple bands

Plus food trucks with all kinds of chili related food items like hotdog, nachos etc.

For those that can remember I said we saw this odd man line dancing and dancing by himself at Tortilla Flats outdoor stage. Low and behold the SAME man dancing up a storm again today. Even had the same outfit on. Being real he did have some good moves but please don’t hog the attention away from the band.  Luckily for him this time there was the odd couple up and dancing.

Jeff & Wendy had Root Beer and Orange floats that were American sized. I ordered a small ice cream cone for Jackie and I and I guarantee anywhere else these would be classified as X-Large. We did find a station where they had no chili ribs for sale that Jackie & I shared.

It was a very warm, very nice sunny fun day enjoying the chili, beer, Bourbon if you like that kind of thing and great music and games.

Fun Day

Note: why does Bourbon have a U in it and not colour, candour, flavour etc.  Odd

We got home and I rechecked the hot water and no go. I need to fix this asap. I whipped up to Fred’s place and got the element wrench and removed my old one. It was completely blown apart. I took it to the Depot and unfortunately they didn’t have the exact one. I had to take one that fits but is 200 watt less power and 6 inches shorter. Just means a longer recovery time and first heat time compared to what the original was. Installed it with a few issues as there is no drain plug . Got it all done , all installed and now just have to wait to see if it is fixed.  I am hoping for a 1/2hr to see.

Another month flying by. Goes by quick

You all have heard of the tradition that on Feb 29th leap year a girl can ask a guy to marry her. It is a old Irish tradition as St Patrick was tired of listening to women complaining they had to wait too long to be proposed to. Smart guy given them one day every four years. If a guy declined he was to pay a fine.

In a park like this you have to be careful as we all know with the easier lifestyle of a women having no stress they live quite a bit longer than a man. Hence a lot of old single women here. Gets to a little scary for those one or two single old guys or even a married guy as the lady may be deranged.  The other scary date is Nov 15th. I stay in my house to avoid any conflict. In case you didn’t know that is Sadie Hawkins Day which was invented to allow an ugly daughter a dance so she could ask a guy to dance. I will never go to these.

Thought of the Day