July 1st-2nd

Canada Day !

Covid wrecks Canada Day.

Well for us it was different one. I enjoy the celebrations and get togethers. We had some great times down at Ft Calgary and Eau Claire. Typically Cor & Tor were working so we celebrated with Jackson riding horse, pancake breakfast, wading pool etc or seating on a patio. This year not so much.

We were up fairly early and headed to met Alan at Victoria’s place. We loaded up the two desk to take to Audrey’s place. I tried to sell these on Kijiji years ago with no luck. Very expensive old antique secretary desk and a beautiful knurl post desk that Peter owned. When I checked based on the condition, the year as indicated by the design it would appear the one desk was worth at least $1000. It worked out perfect as no one wanted or could use them for years until Audrey moved into her new place and had room. They look fantastic in her place, are made of solid wood  and with beautiful craftsmanship. Like it was meant to be as it clear up some room for Victoria also as they have been in her basement for at least 7 years. Since Peter sold his house. Everything has a way of working out.

We then worked packing boxes and moving stuff around in Audrey’s basement. All done until we know a date to move the boxes into the garage.

I whipped to pick up Fish & Chips for supper tonight which were awesome. Huge portions which was nice. It still mystifies me how a Halibut fish can be more expensive than a steak. Sea Fish & Chips carries Cod, Haddock and Halibut. We both chose the Cod as it is less fishy tasting and smelling. It was great but not quite as flaky as Halibut.  Wonderful supper.

A little binge watching of Ozark and another Canada Day has come and went. Big party next year.

A earlier tee time than usual today out at Turner. The weatherman promised 20 degrees and sun and DID NOT deliver. I had shorts on and it was on the cool side. That Turner course gets me every time. I had the same thing happen at Whirlwind until I decided to play smart and lay up or hit different irons. Again today lost balls just off the fairway and shooting 4. One yard off the fairway I do not think is fair golf. Too expensive to fix also. So again shooting in the low 90’s with no money coming my way. Again if I could remove the holes where I lost a ball it would have been a good score in the low 80’s. It is starting to annoy me too much.  When I know and have done so well in the past to be stuck now thinking too much at the tee isn’t good. YET I am determined to have a great game there.

I played today with a 80 yr old that shot one over his age. He scored a 81. Replacement parts in his body worked perfect. He hit from the back tees with me and wasn’t that much shorter off the tee. Awesome game for him.

No money today for me again ! Lost balls killed me . Remove 4 holes a great score. But a fun fun day !!

Great surprise tonight as minutes before I was starting supper we had an invite for roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and green peas. Audrey made us a great meal.

Thought of the Day !

I cant help but notice that awesome ends with me and ugly starts with U. Just seemed odd.

July 3rd

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 40 degrees, Calgary 24 degrees, Edmonton 23 degrees”

It is sunny out so lets hope the weatherman gets it right today.

As the USA struggles with the Covid crisis it appears more and more likely we will not be heading to Arizona for the winter. I said before we will head to Van Island to enjoy ourselves differently if needed.

It was funny as I was talking to this guy at the golf course about this and he commented ” But you have a house down there. Isn’t that a huge waste of money? ” Made me smile. Small thinking. Cheap thinking. It is like the guy that that drives 5 miles to save 2 cents a litre on gas. Like the guy that won’t pay to go to the top of the hill as it is too expensive while on holidays not considering he may never be back. We all pay taxes, we all pay insurance which I consider a waste of money. To spend any amount on enjoying life ( you only get one) is never a waste. We may not ( jury still out) be able to use it this year but we have had 13 years wonderful years of use and possibly 25 more years. One hiccup does not make me think of it as a waste. I have always considered it an investment in ourselves. Not once did I consider resale, depreciation, or costs. An investment in yourself has an unlimited value. We bought this while still working to pay for it and to  only have the cost of the HOA each month which is quite reasonable considering what we get.  Now if only I was rich it would feel better but that is nobodies fault but our own as we could have and should have saved a lot more without sacrificing our enjoyment.

This makes me think of the younger generation again. When we bought our first house we needed a 10% unencumbered cash down payment. Today you only need 5% and can use RRSP amounts to draw from and pay back. Yet they all complain they can’t afford to buy a house. It is because they go out to dinner 4 times a week, buy lunch, want a 60 inch TV, want brand name clothes etc etc.  Every generation before struggled but had different expectations. I always hear the excuse “the house pricing is so high” . IT IS ALL RELATIVE see below.

2020 average median couple income $98,400 with a average median house price $400,000 with interest rates 3.27% = monthly payment $ 1953.49 which is 23% of income

1980  average median income was $ 55,061 with a median house price of  $152,000 with interest rates of 17%  = monthly payment $2185.45 which is 47% of income with a 25% drop in pricing happening up to 1985.

I remember in 1980 we when our mortgage was over 20%. The high interest rates killed the housing and from 1980 to 1985 the pricing just kept dropping. We were lucky as on our first home after spending tons on reno’s and after three years we received exactly what we paid minus fees. Nice loss. Lots of people just walked away from their home. But our next house we did well on as the market increased from 1985 to 1988 with strong inflation.

It is all about expectation and wants not about the facts. It is much easier today to be a home owner than ever. There is always the debate which is better the stock market or housing. This is a difficult one as it depends on the person and their aversion to risk. Stocks have greater and faster returns but housing allows equity to be built and borrowed against to buy stocks to get the best of both worlds. I would say to use both but there is nothing better than pride of ownership that you just can’t get renting.

Jackie was getting her face done today so I went golfing with Jeff & Wendy. We were joined by a nice gentleman that managed Rent to Own stores. It was only his second time golfing this year. Todays golfing was mixed. Jeff had his issues but Wendy played the best I have ever seen with awesome shots and minimal do overs. I witnessed at least 3 legit pars in a row from her. I played decent but got caught up with a 3 putt on two holes and two lost balls causing the 84 score which is too high for this course. I had 7 realistic birdie shots that ended up as none on the scorecard. A beautiful day with warm sun and a slight breeze to keep the mosquitoes away.

It was a little longer than normal game as the tee sheet was full. Get back to work you guys !!! LOL

After golf I was hoping Jeff & Wendy would want to have a beer on a patio deck but they were busy. They are very caring grandparents as they had to babysit a 15 yr old grandson. I was bugging them a 15 yr old years ago could have been married and working and you are babysitting !  The kid will know he is loved to be babysat at 15 and or he will rebel in despair. Sneaking a beer, or toke and girlfriends I thought was on the agenda for most 15 yr olds not being babysat.

They missed a wonderful evening sitting on a patio with Paralyzers, cold beer and awesome food. I had had the Ginger Beef Noodle Bowl and it was wonderful. We were very lucky that Victoria joined us on the patio. Wonderful warm sunshine and fun conversation.  Always a fun time with Tor listening to her stories. We tried to fix the world but we didn’t want hurt anyone’s feelings. Everyone is so sensitive nowadays. So we will only talk behind their backs. LOL

Thought of the Day 

It always surprises me that golf brings the inner child out in so many people. Being child like is the only explanation that explains the frequent inability to count past 5.  It is funny as I notice drinkers have the same counting issue. 

July 4th

” Mercury Forecast  Mesa 40 degrees, Calgary 20 degrees, Edmonton 20 degrees”

Learn something new everyday is a great saying and very true to a degree.  Today after having the same phone for 6 years now I discover a easy text font size change method. 6 years it took. LOL

Up and out of the house first thing to head to Sobey’s to pick up some food for the birthday party out at Oasis tomorrow. I got lucky and Pork Loin was on sale so I picked up two nice roasts plus a sirloin roast for lunch. The store was empty which was nice so it didn’t take long for everything to be picked up.

Pork Loin, Sirloin roast, my wonderful Grandma’s potato salad, and Fred’s home made coleslaw and a French baguette should fill everyone up for a summer meal.

Daisy was wonderful today with her training.

We prepped everything for tomorrow to save time and not to be rushed. Did the roast, potatoes, veggies and sauce. Jackie did a lot of the work today which was nice. Everything looks perfect.

We headed out to the lot to get everything fixed up. It was absolutely wonderful out with the warmth and sun. A little breezy but that kept the mosquitos away. First thing ,as for about a 1/2 hour we thought it may rain but that blew right on by, I cut the lawn. Cleaned up, burned the dead wood in the firepit, and cleaned up the flowers etc.

We had a few walks with Daisy where she met many fur friends and human friends.  When we took our twins out when they were babies we had so many stops with people loving them and calling them cute. Now Daisy gets that. Everyone loves her as she runs up wiggling and happy. She even met another Shorkie that was only a few days younger. They played and had a lot of fun. She met a very young Taco Bell dog. It had to weigh maybe 1 pound.  Daisy had a very fun day.

Jackie and I did our stuff and then had a very enjoyable afternoon/ evening sitting on the deck enjoying the place. This brings about a RANT

MY RANT

A new family moved in last weekend and were out at their lot for the first time. Younger family. They decided to wreck our enjoyment. The country is for peace & quiet, solitude, reflection and admiration of nature NOT for LOUD MUSIC blaring out of trailer speakers on the side of their unit. We now have two families on our block that are ignorant human beings being selfish and rude without any thought to others well being and peace & quiet.  Jackie & I left early as it is just annoying. Try reading a book with music beating on and I don’t care what genre is playing.

There are very few things that get my ire but here are my top three in order of annoyance.

1. MUSIC–  should never be played loud enough that neighbors can hear it. Supposed music lovers think it is their duty to spread their music to the world. Music should not be played in a car where the windows are vibrating it is so loud. We don’t want to hear it. Music should never be played at a campground. You are camping in nature and if you don’t like that stop camping as no one will miss you. If you are so mentally insecure you require music to calm you, you need to see a doctor and take a pill. Music should never be played on a golf course. Music has been used as torture and brainwashing for decades, why, because it works. It riles people into rioting, it can make someone fall asleep, and it can calm someone down that is fearful of something or it can entice someone to kill in extreme circumstances. Music is a stimulate like caffeine. And addictive. A lot of people use music to block out the world. Others like the attention it gives them and have no consideration of others. Play it but keep it to yourself and there is no issue except for me having to help pay for your hearing aids when you get older.
2. FOUL LANGUAGE – I have said this before. Someone that curses when angry has  weak will power and control. Someone that swears in normal conversation in most cases is uneducated, is very insecure with themselves or just hasn’t developed the language skills needed to converse normally. To use foul language to pretend you are tough or cool is just pathetic. Some use it as an attention getter . Now that I think of it I actually feel sorry for these people and I think they are crying out for help in their own weird way. Give them a hug and let them know it will be ok .
3. SLOW DRIVERS– Quite annoying but easily handled with bumper riding , cutting in close or speeding by closely. There should be a ticket for slow driving with double the fine versus speeding as it is actually more dangerous. Anything less than the limit is too slow. As I have said before a mandatory test for everyone should be had every 5 years. If you can’t back up 200 ft or parallel park lose your license. If during the testing you can’t maintain the speed limit lose your license. We all know the two groups of people that consistently are the perpetrators of this. Get them off the road and it will be safer for all of us.

It was a very nice day. Enjoyable sitting in the sun and relaxing.

Thought of the Day 

Something is hurting you – That is why you need foul language, loud music ,pot or whiskey 

July 5th 

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 44 degrees, Calgary 21 degrees Edmonton 20 degrees”

Finally a nice summer day. Nicest of the year with no wind, and warm sunshine all day. Just beautiful.

Special day today as two family members have their birthday. Dave’s wife Erin and Audrey both celebrate birthdays today.

For Audrey’s birthday we had everyone out at our lot. Victoria, Jackson, Sheldon, Kristen, Kennedy, Chris, Alan, MaryAnn and 5 dogs. This is funny as dogs like grass and my grass area is pretty small. So after they leave I soak it with water to dilute the nitrogen in their pee so it doesn’t burn the grass. HINT  Dog owners if your dog is burning your grass it is most likely dehydrated and by giving it more water it won’t wreck your lawn.

We have plenty of room for everyone to sit which makes it nice besides the setting and being outside.

I heated up the two pork loins and large beef sirloin roast. They were awesome.  We had potato salad ( Grandma’s recipe)  a baguette, and Fred’s coleslaw that everyone loved. Add the dessert of birthday cake and  it is a meal. I thought the meal was awesome and hopefully everyone else enjoyed it.

I had plastic gloves to prepare the food. We gave each family a large spoon to dish out their own food so no contact from anyone else, we had hand sanitizer and paper towel as they picked up their plates and I had a portable sink with soap and paper towel to use prior to coming up for food.  It is an odd world but it all worked out fine.

Audrey appeared to have a good time and was with us from 10am to 9pm.

I think our relaxing of the rules may cause issues. The pool has a limit of people in it but other than that it is giver er full tilt.  The kids were having a blast in the pool. Jackson is a lot stronger this year so his swimming is that much better. He flies across the pool and is even getting the  hang of breathing under his raised arm. He had blast in the pool.

Even the playground was packed and we all know how many hands touch those bars.

I am biased but Jackson is such a sweet kid playing Connect 4 with me and hide and seek around the campground. He stayed after his Mom left and we thoroughly enjoyed him entertaining us.

This is what the Calgary Stampede has come to. Jackson having fun.

It was a wonderful relaxing day for everyone  and Audrey hopefully had a nice family gathering celebrating her birthday even without hugging.

Thought of the Day 

Why is birthday cake the only food you can blow on and spit on and everyone rushes to get a piece. ?

July 6th

“Mercury Forecast   Mesa 44 degrees  Calgary 25 degrees, Edmonton 25 degrees “

The weather today was wonderful. Finally summer like and beautiful.

Jackie’s contract wraps up for a while today with just few hours tomorrow to clean up everything.

I went golfing today with Jeff, Wendy and Kelly at Heatherglen. Today was a good day. Two lost balls but everyone agreed they were somewhere in the fairway. The second cut today was really long and the ball would just snuggle down and hid. I didn’t count them as lost balls. Other than that I had some wonderful hits,  Some shots amazed me. A couple of birdies, lots of birdie tries, and putted very well. Only a couple of mistakes that didn’t hurt me much. Took a double on one hole. Nice to make most greens in regulation. The greens today were fast. Turner Valleys are so much slower it takes a bit to get used to. Heather’s is stimping at 9-10 each day.

You all have heard of bad Dad jokes, well Wendy had a good bad one today. I knew I hit the green by couldn’t see my ball so I state ” I can’t see myself” Her reply ” Do you need a mirror”  Moan !

Thought of the  Day 

In golf there is always a chance you will be better tomorrow than today. Keep saying that 

July 7th

“Mercury Forecast   Mesa 43 degrees, Calgary 17 degrees rain showers  Edmonton 19  degrees with rain showers”

This is one of my favorite pictures. He looks so good, handsome, much older and very cool.

This reminds of my first Western Buckle I bought while working at Sterling Dist.  It was a large rectangle brass buckle with a large fly fish hook on it. My shtick when wearing it was ” Out trolling tonight ”

Today I was out  at Turner Valley. The weather was overcast and cloudy but was supposed to be clear and nice until late afternoon. The clouds actually kept it a lot cooler than predicted.  But they were correct on the storm.

It poured rain on the 15th hole and lasted for the entire hole pouring down. I was ready to quit when the sun broke through and after about 20 mins of rain it was quite nice. The way I was playing today I should have quit. Turner Valley plays hard. The greens are so much slower than Heatherglen’s it is very hard to adjust. I didn’t putt well or play well at all. The course was very busy and having to wait on ever hole does affect your concentration. Along with music in the cart.  It was a fun day though and very enjoyable except for the scoring. Turner needs a marshall to move some of the old old regulars along.

I had a small glitch in my computer system. I switched to the new EDGE browser and things are not quite like I like them. Change sometimes is not always for the better. Even Scotia bank changed their web page now and it is some what Mickey Mouse looking compared to what they previously had. Don’t change just because. Perhaps some will like the change but I prefer the old way in both cases.

ANYWAYS what it resulted in was me losing a couple of days of verbiage and pics so I will reload and start over but it will be a lot more condensed mostly due to memory. LOL

JULY 8TH TO 11TH 

“Mercury Forecast – rain, rain and some warm weather mixed in for the  last few days”

Here is one important video for you all to watch. Why we let this happen is beyond me and hopefully soon the younger voter especially in the west will realize what they are doing. The NDP is as guilty by propping up this idiot.

https://www.facebook.com/michellerempelmp/videos/303546751013843/UzpfSTU3OTA1NTQ3NjoxMDE1ODU0NDcxOTc2NTQ3Nw/

He will fall soon ! The unfortunate part is no party is ready to lead if it happens so everyone is just letting it happen.

It rained most of the day so we did a few things around the house and then headed out to the lot to get our license plate number for the registration at the Bow Valley Prov park campsite. This is an amazing provincial park only about 1 hr out of Calgary in the mountains beside the the Bow River. I took that picture and worked a bit around the lot cleaning up branches, spraying weeds, cut the grass and relaxed. We had a few walks dodging water puddles with Daisy and she met numerous fur friends and us talking to neighbors every few feet. It was a nice relaxing quiet day.

On Thursday it was my men’s league in the morning. High expectations poor results. 3 great guys again to golf with. Two of them scored over 100. I want to beat this course and get a score I am happy with there. At TV anything below 84 I would be happy with only because it is a difficult course. The first nine holes I ended up with a 40 and I was happy this was going to be the day. This 40 could have easily been a 38 as I missed to 2- 3ft putts for birdies. Then comes my nemesis hole #12. I have lost a ball every round I have played there this year on this hole. I was extra careful and it still happened. Next time a iron off the tee. I took an 8 so I know the overall score now will not be great. My mind works in mysterious ways. As soon as I have a hiccup I cant recover and took another 7 and 8. Odd and another screwed up day at TV with the scoring .Next week.

We have been Telus forever. In fact we still have a telusplanet.net email address.  We have Telus internet, TV, land line and mobile plans. Our Telus bills are close to $400 a month. Telus recently bought ADT Security and Audrey wanted a system for her house. A long story short. I talked to 10 different people over multiple calls to get this accomplished.  Covid is a factor as I could hear kids in the background of two reps that were from overseas but that should never be an excuse for poor service. Finally the 10th person after an escalation up to the loyalty department was helpful. At the end of it all I received a SUPER deal for Audrey with everything I asked for and at a price I wanted so koodo’s to Telus for stepping up. Their cancellation fee is high ( but reduced for me) but I understand they have about $500 worth of equipment they need recovery from.

The old saying honey attracts more flies than vinegar comes to fruition again.   Even though Telus gave me a “special” deal they retained a customer, satisfied a customer and built a rapport of trust that comes back in profits for years in the future.

I would say Daisy is hitting 98 % on the potty training. Her communication skills are poor so we are leading the success but I am ok with that as I hate yappy dogs and Daisy is amazingly quiet.

9 am we met Tor and Jackson for a Stampede Pancake breakfast. Not your usual one due to Covid but still a lot of fun with a drive thru event. Very energetic hosts and well organized with plenty of pancakes and a huge sausage. Well done !  You lined up and they gave your breakfasts in a box with the amount of meals needed per car. They asked you leave the immediate area so not to overcrowd.  We found this sun/ shade area which worked out perfect. Great meal and lots of fun considering. Ps all free.

We met Jeff & Wendy at Heatherglen today. A warm sunny beautiful day.  It was a fun day golfing. Jeff had a way better day today and Wendy golfed her normal good game. Jackie was rusty but still did well. Her thumbs hurt and when ever pain is involved you change the way you do things. I had a decent game.  It is funny as I can swing so much more freely at Heatherglen than TV as I know I can still find my ball under the trees not lost in the under bush.

After golf we went to Berwicks. I love patio decks, cold beer and bar food. I am never fuzzy as I enjoy or can live with most meals but this time when receiving “flat beer” it was not good. I remember years ago Jeff & I after golf would go to Original Joe’s. We repeatedly told them their beer is too warm. They lost two guys forever as after about three times we found another spot. I received two pints of “dead beer” today and next time will go to bottled beer as they must have an in-experienced bar manager. Never serve flat beer.

Another great retirement day in the books.

Jackie went out with Audrey birthday party shopping. I stayed home with Daisy were we walked a couple of times and relaxed.  For supper I cooked a nice rack of ribs ( am I allowed to say rack?) and we enjoyed a great meal.

Thought of the Day 

Stampede thought- the only good reason to ride a bull is to meet a nurse.

July 12th 

We all say time flies but 5 years today for August. He is such a cute unique kid.  He gets all kind of attention due to his good looks but his personality is one that fits him to a tee being such a quiet shy kid.

It was a beautiful sunny warm day without any wind.  We picked up Jackson & Tor for the drive down.

A quick stop at the DQ for a large ice cream cake with the Minecraft theme. Awesome cake.

It was a nice family birthday and with the restrictions was still great. Mack brought a large water slide playset, they had two pools plus all of the boys toys in the garage. It is so nice having a huge yard. And it is looking great.

Loads of presents and fun for August. We were spoiled with Pizza for lunch and Penny’s super Caesar salad and great wings and rib ends. These pieces of meat were amazing.

We had a few Crib games in the shade which was fun.

Daisy had the time of her life. She met her best friend Rosy. Rosy is about a year old. I was a little tentative as first as Daisy was so little compared to Rosy and Olive. She was being knocked over and turned up side every few minutes. Then she came to her own. She chased, and played, bit and wrestled with Rosy for at least 8 hours. Running full out in circles. She normally is awake for a couple of hours then sleeps but not today. She went full out for the entire day. I thought she would be sleeping for 12 hours that night but that wasn’t to be either.

We had Penny, Jessica, Atticus, Victoria, Jackson, Tom, Kecia, Mack, Maverick, Ellie, Navy, Dodger and Margy along with birthday boy August.  Great party and a fun day. We didn’t leave until after 9pm.

The boys got a little carried away with slime though.

Arrived back in Calgary just as the fantastic final fireworks were happening. People were stopping on the side of the highway before the valley to watch them.

Corey had to work so Hazel had a long day with us being gone but she was perfect. She should have come for the ride.

Thought of the Day 

5 years old is scary. There is only 5 years left to be able to count your age on your fingers.

April 13-14th

Mercury Forecast   Mesa 45 degrees Calgary 24 degrees Edmonton 23 degrees”

Two full days of wonderful weather. Although there was a tornado in Nanton on our way back from Lethbridge.

It was Jessica and Penny’s 7th Wedding Anniversary today. Their wedding was exceptional and I still remember the work involved. They had a unique semi outdoor wedding. I rented a truck and we picked up chairs and more chairs plus other wedding stuff at a rental place. It took a while organizing everything from the backdrop, lighting, etc. The venue was awesome and the meal that Penny’s relative catered was exceptional. I even had to make an additional run to the liquor store before the night was over. Surprised me as a large portion were Mormon that I didn’t think would be big drinkers. Wonderful wedding !!

I was bugging Penny why she didn’t hold August in instead of having him one day before their wedding anniversary.

Seven years sure does go by fast. Congratulations. Seven years, two kids, new house, new RV . I think they are becoming mature adults. LOL

Up this morning and headed out to the lot. I pulled the motor home out of our spot. We are so lucky the neighbor has a parking spot right across the lane otherwise I would have a lot more difficult time getting in and out.

Strathmore for an oil change. Then a car wash. No foam brush so I headed back and started to hand wash using a wet cloth, chamois, and terry cloth. It is a big motor home. LOL. I have been experiencing golfer elbow for the last week or so so had to keep switching hands. A few sticky buds that I can’t get off. I polished the aluminum rims and cleaned the tires. I used window cleaner on the windows front and sides and in and out. While cleaning inside I saw a moth but couldn’t find it. Hopefully not laying eggs.  I tightened up and adjusted the drivers windshield wiper.  Moved stuff around for our trip and cleaned out any excess stuff and am ready to load up with food and head to the mountains.

It was a wonderful day working outside in the warm sun. Tired arms and back but very relaxing enjoyable day.

Just before supper we took Daisy LarE for her second cut.  Her hairdresser did an awesome job. He commented she has the softest finest hair he has ever cut. She looks amazing and is so soft plus smelling great.

Thought of the Day 

“Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.”

July 15th- 16th

“Mercury Forecast-  Mesa  42 degrees, Calgary 27 degrees, Edmonton 25  degrees thunderstorm” 

Fourth day in 2020 over 25 degrees. I would not call that global warming.

A earlier than normal tee time at Heatherglen this morning with Jeff & Wendy. The weather was perfect. First time where the parking lot wasn’t full. See rant below :

The first nine was a struggle then the back nine was wonderful. I had 7 par’s in a row on the back nine. Only one double. I ended up with a 83 which I should have done better as I had 4 holes where a 3 putt happened and I lost one ball. Today everyone golfed well. Jeff had some great drives and Wendy played well overall. I was impressed with Jackie’s performance as she had great drives and chip shots today. Could have broke 100 with a few more lucky shots.

It is always a fun day on the course with the Grace’s. Daisy LarE was with us for the whole round.  She sits in between us  on the seat and waits for us to putt each time. I sneak her when we are safe to have a pee and a little walk far from the pro shop. I think she enjoys the time with us.

We decided to stop at Tommy Fields for a drink on the hot patio.  We stopped at home and put Daisy LarE into her wire cage room. Luckily again the place was not busy so we had a lots of spacing on the patio. I had a Philly Cheese steak and Jackie some kind of noodle salad. It looked good but man did her breathe smell bad ALL night. Cold glasses and beer were a treat in the sun.

Ending of another fun filled day with friendship, food, golf, warmth and cold beer.

Daisy likes her walks at night. She pees than runs straight at you demanding a treat. Since starting to walk her she has done very well with her training.

I had to take the Buick in with the check engine light on. I HATE environmentalists.  They have destroyed the auto industry. This time it was an intake boot with a hole in it so the fuel to air mixture was off. The car ran perfect but codes due to a system designed all based on emissions. For $1200 later we have it back working but driving no different.  Starting to get a few too many repairs but I like to keep my vehicles in tip top shape on the Buick. Cars are so expensive with huge depreciation.

MY RANT

COVID and mostly the younger generation. 

Our Covid cases are rising again with a large spike due to stupidity, lack of caring, respect and consideration. The beaches are packed with sun worshippers with no spacing. There are large gatherings without any consideration of the Covid. The bars get packed, with dancing, laughing drunks shouting moistly and we wonder why the spike. Large group protestors with nothing better to do than infect each other and in turn spread the virus. We will need to shut down the economy again if the infection rate increases. In Trudeau’s normal stupidity to give CERB money freely is a huge mistake. The golf courses are packed, we have families camping in every campground as they are being paid to stay away from work and think this Covid is wonderful to have time off with the kids. People coughing ONCE and staying home and saying they need to quarantine when in reality they just love sitting at home. Injustice and equality will never disappear completely. If you want to march in protests for dreams that only exist in utopia go ahead but it has to be accepted that in the real world this will exist but if you work hard, get a good education and stop being so sensitive we can have a great place to live in. To demand equality by affirmative action just leads to poor hires. Hire the best for the job no matter the who.   It is a sad world today.  I am so glad to be out of the business world because in 5 years with all of the bleeding hearts, socialist, environmentalists, and movements it will be a disaster and these same people will be going what went wrong.

Now I love the fact Edmonton has to change their name just because it is Edmonton.

I absolutely hate the reason and rationale behind it. The Edmonton fans should immediately change insurance companies and drop Belairdirect. In fact all CFL fans should.  It is very simple. Hit back at stupidity by being a conscious buyer as to what your supplier is doing and just don’t buy from them.  There are plenty of insurance companies that want your business. I ask you why you want to support a Quebec/ Ontario company anyways. If Belair had been Albertan we would not have seen this. Or better yet help Kenny get us government insurance.

To change the Eskimo name is ludicrous and is just another stupid action caused by people that really have no clue about the real world. This is not an a derogatory name at all. This nicety, someone’s feelings will get hurt, it is racist, it it prejudiced, it is sexist has gone to far. History is meant to remember, to learn from, not to think it is to be removed from the books because something bad happened. I never hear of a Irish movement or a Chinese movement or Jewish movement and trust me these people were treated horrible on arrival to North America.

Ok so after all of that I have to say I delight in the fact they are going to have a name change. I am thinking Extreme but it is Edmonton so perhaps Edmonton Electric Green & Yellows. LOL

My men’s league this morning and my love hate relationship with Turner carries on. My second highest score of the year after having a 83 with one lost ball and 4- 3 putts yesterday. Heatherglen has no under bush. The greens stimp at 10. TV you go one foot off the fairway it is a lost ball. While the greens are exceptionally nice they are slow due to the type of grass. It does affect my putting huge but it is every thing up to getting on the green that is hurting me. I have to lay off a full swing speed as I am afraid of losing a ball and guess what happens. I lose a ball. I used to play this course in the low 80’s every time for years and this year I have broken 90 only once. I have a week off golf so hopefully I can figure this out. I think I am going to go out to TV with Jackie with no pressure and see what happens.

Thought of the Day

The difference between a score of 80 or 90 is defined as success or failure. 10 strokes make a huge difference.

July 17th

“Mercury Forecast    Mesa 40 degrees, Calgary 24 degrees Edmonton 23 degrees light rain “

First thing on our agenda today was a Costco trip. Arriving around 9 am and I was shocked the parking lot was empty and the store very few people shopping. This was nice. Everyone was wearing masks and being empty made shopping easier and less tentative with being close to people.

It is amazing how few groceries you get for $480. Each item just adds up quick. Having said that meat was the largest portion with ribs, steaks,pork chops, chicken breasts, turkey meat and chicken wings.

What amazed me is we walked out without buying something extra we didn’t really need.

Home to unpack and sanitize everything. Got everything put away and headed to CEra Management as Jackie’s FOB stopped working. I guess 13 years isn’t all that bad.

Came home and wouldn’t you know it. It didn’t work. Quite funny as I do struggle as to why people given a job can’t do it right the first time.

Jackie emailed and the lady is going to program it again remotely.

Off to Audrey’s as Telus was installing the security system today. The first Telus installer that phoned was a little confused we when stated we ordered installed not virtual DYI installed. This was a $450 free incentive in our negotiations and we expected it. Luckily another agent came about and it appears only because the guy due to Covid didn’t want to come into homes. Our agent turned out to be wonderful. Strong accent but efficient and knowledgeable.  It took 2.5 hours for the professional to install. This is a easy system to operate and now Audrey can see and talk to who ever is at her door plus have the alarm and security  with sensors and motion detection for the house. It is easily operated by the monitor panel or by the phone app. This is a smart system that would be excellent for snowbirds as it can be used for monitoring freezing, temperatures, water leaks, turning off lights, unlocking your door etc. We just set the basics.

Rogers Place getting flooding is odd. Bad timing but they are sure they can get it fixed up quickly.  Must have been some kind of rainstorm and a very bad design to have this happen. Perhaps the ICE district just melted.

Huge rainbow tonight after a small rainstorm passed through.

Thought of the Day

The ICE district just made me think about the Oilers. You know the Oilers would stop losing if they could play the Oilers. Perhaps a bathing suit for the playoffs is needed as it appears the ice has melted.

July 18/19th

“Mercury Forecast – Mesa  43 degrees, Calgary 24 degrees, Edmonton 22 degrees”

Each day with this nice weather we get or are supposed to get a thunder storm and most  evenings we do.

Today was a fun day. Corey was working and Victoria had a special event going on so we looked after Jackson. He is such a nice boy it is unbelievable. Over thinks and is slightly tainted in his way thinking being around adults all of the time. It is funny how parents and their friends have an influence over kids until they get to a certain age and start thinking for themselves. A portion of the learning does stay with them.  Think about poor Greta.

First on our agenda was the driving range. Jackson I think is a natural athlete. I worked with him on his swing. He has a great swing speed for a kid and consistently hits the driver 100 yards. He does have too much of a backswing to control. He had fun and with different clubs went thru 75 balls. Then off the putting green.  He practiced and got better and better. Just before leaving I thought we would have a competition from 50ft away to see who could get it closest . Jackson on his first attempt holes it.  I lost LOL

Then football was our choice. He can actually spiral throw the ball very well and far. I want my golfer elbow to heal so Jackie threw it back and forth with him.

We had long conversations sitting in the grass with him.

I whipped out to the lot to pick up the motor home. It was very busy out there including the idiotic music lovers. It is very peaceful and quiet all week. It is the weekend so no real expectations of quiet but I really do enjoy the week days. I do know sometime during the summer the neighbors have a two week vacation at their lot. We will leave. LOL

I got everything all loaded up and headed to the condo. Jackie worked like mad getting everything ready and I finished off my to do list. Everything is looking good and got a parking spot right outside our door.

It was a good week this one. First for someone you don’t know to consider you very handsome and to hear that is wonderful. Second to have a younger guy comment at the gas station ” That is a good looking Jeep” ends the week on a high note.

Thought of the Day

Everyone talks about getting back to normal. Trust me the normal you saw in 2019 will NEVER be back. Get use to the new normal as it is here to stay for a long long time with certain restrictions FOREVER. ! 

July 20th – 25th 

First motor home trip for Daisy LarE so we will see how she likes that. First time for her also in her bike carriage. Here is hoping she is camper because if she isn’t she will have a hard time. I want her to sit on our knee while watching the campfire, go for long walks, love riding in her bike carriage and remember her potty training. I am guessing I will be outside quite often but I don’t mind that. A quick nap in the day more than makes up for that inconvenience. Early morning coffee is lovely when it is cool and quiet.

No internet so will let you know when we get back.

Daisy- Jackie had sent her breeder a picture of a update of Daisy. She used it for her Facebook site and then commented Daisy was a internet star with many commenting on her cuteness.

https://www.facebook.com/Alberta-Freedom-Puppies-and-Pets-1537845323196666

Besides being cute she is a killer dog. Tonight we were sitting with the deck door open when a fly came and went to the window. Daisy attacked it, batting it with her paws and killed it and was wanting to eat it. She is mean !

We had an excellent time with pretty nice weather.

Our first trip out in the motor home with Daisy. We didn’t know how she was going react but it was awesome. She wasn’t timid about the movement and loved looking out the large windshield at the bikes or cars passing us. The perfect motor home traveler.

I took 22x to Bragg Creek and then to Hwy 1. Covid sure has made the roads busy with so many people not working. The drive out was easy and a nice trip. We stopped at Middle Lake to have lunch and while Jackie was making sandwiches Daisy and I scoped out the lake and paths. First time for her for the wild life with the smells and she loved it. Jackie was a little nervous as there was a bear warning sign as we entered the picnic area, but I saw her kill that fly so felt safe. Daisy had a blast enjoying the walk and stopped every few feet for another interesting smell. When we arrived at the picnic area we were the only people there but when we were about to leave they were flocking to area in droves. Get back to work please.

As we entered the Provincial Park ( Bow Valley) a sign read FULL. Amazing mid week and full. This campground is a perfect sample of a nice Provincial Campground with large trees and private and well spaced sites. Beautiful. In the mountains and only a hour out of the city . Our first time there as we normally headed to Kananaskis. That is sure a perk of Calgary having so many beautiful parks so close to the city. One hour and you are in high mountains with clear lakes. Not your typical northern lake as they all have rocky shores, are colder, and clearer with in most cases trout not pike or walleye.

On arrival I went into register and have to say the store here is the best camp store EVER.It is better than a Canadian Tire. I told the clerk the manager deserves an award with the selection of products and placement. Amazing store.  I picked up some ice  and a couple bundles of wood. I will be back just to buy something as everyone should support this store. Well done !

We missed our turn into the B area so had to go all the way around C and back. We had a perfect secluded large site. The unpacking which can take awhile is enjoyable other than my stupid back killing me. I leveled it, hooked up water and power, pulled the slides out, set up the tent gazebo and moved the table, hooked up the stove and BBQ, put out the mat, strung the rope lighting, hooked up the ice maker,removed the bikes, set up the bike chariot, got out the chairs and cushions, and then looked at it all and said “ Well Done”

It was a warm day with no wind. Our campsite due to the location afforded us lots of shade which was nice. After about an hour Larry & Anita arrived. We hadn’t seen them for awhile but they both looked great. Always nice to visit with friends when camping.

The four of us after everyone was finished setting up went for a nice long walk around the park. We saw every kind of unit including a lot of tents which are the real campers. We had a few drinks and conversed and then we both started to make our supper. In Larry & Anita’s case dinner even though it was 6 pm. Glamping !

Costco porkchops are excellent. Thick and juicy along with sliced potatoes in tin foil along with a salad makes for a great meal. This is my favorite camping meal other than breakfasts.

Larry came over for a few drinks and we sat around the campfire. It is nice reminiscing about years ago. My first contact with Larry was in 1991 when only about a month or so after I transferred to Calgary as the branch manager Larry was transferred to Medicine Hat as the branch manager there. We both had excellent rookie years and were very rewarded with bonuses and a wonderful managers meeting in Van BC with $100 per ounce Cognac. I would tell the story again but it was a time in life I will never forget and one perhaps that Larry may want to.

Sitting around a campfire is a wonderful life experience that many never get to have or have no opportunity to. Very enjoyable.  Time flew by and it was late in the night before we knew it. Somehow there was a 10 minute time difference between my time and Larry’s.

Daisy was the perfect camper dog again and we didn’t get up until 8:30. I took her for a morning walk and she loves the sights and sounds and chasing the chipmunks.  She slept like a baby and was quiet all night. It turned out her standard procedure was fall asleep fast in her gated area and then about 2 am have a pee or poop and jump into our bed and snuggle on our pillows with us until morning. We and Daisy enjoyed it  and she followed the pattern the entire time.

Larry & Anita and us went for a little tour around today. Our first stop was the Rafter 6 Ranch. This was an iconic location for movies, weddings, sleigh rides and horse trail rides. They got themselves in a financial situation and couldn’t recover so the property changed hands after decades of the same family running  it. It is shame as the wonderful main house, bar, hotel has been burned down or torn down when it should have been labeled a historical site. The property is very run down but it looks like they are still trying to sell trail rides.

I especially remember Rafter 6 as when Larry was working with me it is the place I sent him and Anita for his 25^th work anniversary. Our company didn’t promote special occasions like this but I felt it absolutely necessary if you wanted to build loyalty and team moral to engage in these types of awards. I managed to get a few bucks from corporate on top of my contribution and we gave Larry & Anita a few days on this working ranch at the main hotel and with trail rides for them. They enjoyed the experience as it was different and unexpected.

The girls and us also had a wonderful Christmas sleigh ride adventure there one year.

We then headed into Canmore and had a walk about downtown and a stop at Tim’s for Ice Caps and tea. Canmore is a beautiful town with that Alpine feel about it. Lots of flowers,log homes and western style fronts on buildings. It has the highest home prices in Alberta due to its proximity to Banff and the restriction on Banff add homes. Loads drive to Banff everyday.

The girls sat outside while Larry & I played crib at the picnic table in the gazebo. Here is my story and i am sticking to it. Larry officially wins as we played three games with Larry winning two. But I was able to convince him for one more game so the series ended up tied but I will give the official win to Larry. Next time.

The gazebo works perfect at protecting us from bugs while staying outside late in the night. The darkness, the smell and sounds of the forest are awesome.

We enjoyed bike rides around the park and numerous walking trips with the dogs. Maggie likes Daisy but puts her in place as the senior of the two. Daisy will learn her hyper personality may not be accepted by everyone she meets. Maggie sort of just ignored her and the odd time told Daisy what goes. This confuses Daisy as she thinks everyone should love her and play with her.

Daisy liking the wind when I went fast made me remember when the girls were 3 years old with no helmets I tied their low rider trikes behind my bike and pulled them around the neighborhood going very fast. Very lucky we didn’t crash or tip.

Everyone enjoyed the walks we had a few times each day. The dogs and us both received our exercise and for us Daisy was learning to do her business all of the time outside.

She got within two feet of a chipmunk today and was confused when it fled up a tree. It does keep her alert looking for them and birds to attack. She just stares into the forest hoping for a sighting.

The park managers here are wonderful people. They stopped by and stayed quite awhile. Can they talk. They are full time RV’s and have a Triple E motorhome so wanted to look and talk about our and theirs experiences. We all agreed they are the best brand in the market and wish they still made them. They loved that Larry was parked across from us and we both had Commanders. As i said they could talk, were a lot of fun and enjoyable visiting. Like the rest of the snowbird world they are confused what they are going to do this winter. Their plan the last four years was to work at the park all summer and winter in Arizona in their RV. They said they could be staying with family this winter. They even suggested a park on the island to look at for us this winter. They liked what Larry did with his flooring in his motor home.

This afternoon Jackie made Paralyzers  for herself and Anita.

After that drink we didn’t see Anita for the rest of the night. LOL

The sky is darkening a bit as I write this but no rain yet but it is in the forecast. Night time rain is ok as we have had absolutely beautiful weather every day here.

Walked down to the river and it is high and flowing very fast. One would have to be quite careful when near it. It is nice to see the green blue coloring of clear water in the river. That along with the mountains cannot be beat. No Boreal forest, no desert, compares to a treed RV lot at the bottom of a mountain range beside a green water river.

A steak cooked to perfection for supper tonight was great.

Checking the news today I see the Eskimos have decided to change their name but want to be called EE Team until an official name is announced. I will say this on behalf of all large breasted women that the term Double E is offensive and derogatory. What are they thinking ?

Rain just started and there is nothing better than the sound of rain on a camper roof while sitting in the dry and comfortable inside. Even the dog finds it comforting.

I have a small leak on the relief valve of the hot water which I will replace when back at the lot. I may look for a drain plug also with the andode rod built into it. I know they make them but I have the smaller sized rod which isn’t that common. Atwood liked to play games by changing the sizing. I will search.

My firewood is getting wet. Darn but it is so dry to begin with will only take a few minutes longer to get going. Nice we can have campfires in such a forested area.

Thursday Tor & Jackson came out for a visit which was nice. Here is an amazing kid. We gave him some money and sent him into the general store as they have limited people at a time in the store and Jackson comes out with plastic toy soldiers instead of candy or ice cream. That is a great kid.

He needs a new bike but is adamant his current one is alright. It is too small for him and on long bike rides he gets too tired as it is single speed, small wheeled and no gears. He needs at least a 20″ Mountain bike instead of a small motocross style style.

Daisy got in her fun waking up Jackson in morning.

Jackson was our FIRE CAPTAIN all night while we had Larry’s sister and husband visiting us.  Pretty nice that they brought us all pizza for supper. “Dinner” in the Geddes case. Campground pizza is a good thing and not normally done. It was a fun evening. Jackson performed very well taking care of our fire.

It was a very enjoyable quiet stay in a great campground that worked out well with teaching Daisy the ways and us getting away. Have I said I hate Covid.

We left Friday afternoon and headed home. We thought we would stop at Bragg Creek’s Prov Campground for lunch. This is a very nice spot. We pulled in and Jackie started making us sandwiches. A quick walk to the river and look see around.

Here is where things went wrong. We all know the saying make sure not to put anything heavy in the upper cabinets or bins or so I thought everyone knew. I sat down on the back chair and Jackie started to make sandwiches. She went to open the overhead cupboard and a FULL bottle of wine DROPS RIGHT on to my HEAD. Ouch isn’t a word I would use. I can’t think of a stronger word. Concussion possibility. It nailed me good. I stood up grabbing my head in pain and then dropped to the floor. A little drama on my part as Jackie and Jackson thought the worse. LOL   Big bump, big headache, sore eye and dull brain but still semi ok.

Now I will have an excuse for my actions as I have a wife induced brain injury.

I may need to contact the police as it could be considered attempted murder.

After a wait I was ok enough to drive. Risk takers they were with almost killing me and then trusting I don’t pass out behind the wheel of a 22,000 lb motor home pulling a Jeep.

We made it safely to the lot and started to set up but not fully. We were going to leave and head back to Calgary but Audrey and Victoria both texted saying they were getting hail. We thought we would wait out the storm and watched the radar with hopes we would only get the outside edge of the storm. Well if we only got the outside edge it would have been a nasty full storm. It blew and rained plus hailed so much you couldn’t hear yourself think in the motor home. There were walnut sized hails, approaching golf ball sized. After the storm I surveyed the area for damaged. Our beautiful flowers are pretty much destroyed along with piles of leaves and smaller branches all over the ground. Luckily no damage to the Jeep or motor-home, the gazebo or Saloon.

We have had the absolute worst weather this year than ever.  An incredible amount of rain days, cold days and numerous hail storms causing over a billion in damage. And the storm season is far from over. This coming week looks fabulous though. About time.

I will pluck the flowers and fertilize and in about a week or so they will come back strong. I need to take the blower out there to get rid of the fallen leaves.

I ordered three new struts from Amazon today.  I have two coming from ca. and one from .com as that is all they had. I discovered the one door that is failing actually had the wrong struts on it so it must have replaced at some time and they installed 20 pound instead of the 60 pound like it was supposed to have.

I installed the tire covers and windshield covers and cleaned up the yard as best as possible for now.

Jackie made Chicken Wings and a veggie plate for supper and it was delicious.

Thought of the Day 

I think she tried to kill me but decided she would miss me too much. Now she has to take care of a brain damaged husband.

July 26th-27th

“Mercury Forecast – Mesa 45 degrees, Calgary 29 degrees, Edmonton 31 degrees”

Finally summer. A whole week coming up with no rain and nice warm days. I love summer. Nothing feels better than the sun on your skin. Vitamin D is great. Having said that though I have one spot I need the doctor to check out.

I dropped off my cargo carrier at the Graces as they to haul Taylor’s winter tires out to Van BC with them. I had a drop down welded on to be able to open the back swing door on the Jeep so I am hoping it doesn’t drag too much on the ground if they have a steep slope or speed bump. I think it will be ok. This is heavy duty carrier made our if steel rathe than one of those fold up aluminum ones.

We had Audrey over for supper. Costco porkchops BBQ’ d are the best so I think I can safely say it was excellent tasting. Jackie did the foreplay work by wrapping and seasoning the chops, potatoes and carrots. It was a nice evening with being able to fix up a few things for her in this digital world.

Jackie got the clothes from camping all caught up. Speaking off clothes. Larry & Anita gave me a Demin jacket with a lining. I never had but also liked Demin jackets as a younger person. I could never find one flexible enough and most importantly never with the sleeves long enough. This jacket excels at both. Thank you very much

We had an earlier than normal tee time today. It was a perfect golf day with it being about 25 and a slight breeze. The game wasn’t as good but as always was a blast. Everyone had pretty decent games just not stellar. The putting going from slower greens at TV to HG super fast greens is hard. Too many three putts  and throw in a couple of lost balls where I couldn’t find them. There are too many leaves falling down and the yellow balls fit right in. Early winter ? Still I can live with an 83.

We stopped for a quick drink on the deck. They like shade which is nice but we don’t get enough sun in my mind to hide from it. Nice cold beer and a quick bite to finish off a great day.

Thought of the Day

If you catch me smiling today it is because the sun is shining and even with the odd world life is great.

July 28th- 31st

I will just say the weather is fantastic and if I hear anybody say it is too hot I will slap them. They can comment about it being warm but not in a negative way as we DO NOT get enough warm days in a year to complain.

I had my men’s league on Thursday. Turner Valley killed me again. For some reason I just don’t golf well at TV. This time again a 43 on the back nine with one blow up hole but the front nine over 50 which I hate. I know it will come and I am going to continue to work on it. I have struggled with a slice since taking up golf but in the last year I thought I had it conquered but it has reared it’s ugly head again and i will need to work thru it again. I dislike having to hold back on my swing speed but it is needed at TV not to lose a ball. My 3 hybrid is about 230 yards which I can live with and doesn’t cause me too many issues so on some holes I may have to settle for less yards.

It was very humid outside which made the day seem warmer than what it was. My shirt was actually sticking to my body.

I delivered my cargo rack to Jeff & Wendy to carry 4 winter tires of Taylor’s out to BC. Turns out it didn’t work as their car is too low to the ground. The hitch receiver they had installed also was closed end so we couldn’t set the carrier very far in to make the holes match up. I had installed and had welded a 4 inch drop receiver to have the carrier below the spare tire.

I spent a lot of time at the lot doing a lot of things. I re-stained the slat boards and the odd deck board where the water dripped down.  I had one connection where I spent at least 3 hours trying to get it from leaking. I was going from 1/2″ PVC to 5/8 hose and I searched Lowes and Depot to find something that works. Hose thread, 1/2 OD versus 1/2 ID and the 5/8 caused the problems. BUT having said that it was the gear hose clamps that I was most disappointed in. CHEAP CHINESE junk. I would tighten them and the slots would break when they were not even that tight. I would pay double to have good ones. When I did the girls irrigation I used my impact on gear clamps which worked perfect. This time a screwdriver was too much power. Between plastic nipples and brass fittings with IPT and GHT it was a struggle. FINALLY hours wasted I have it working like a charm.

I cleaned up leaves and reorganized things. I thoroughly enjoyed having the time to do some things on my to do list that I hadn’t got around to.  I installed with small bolts and Krazy Glue, 2 metal hinges on our Bocce Ball carrying case.  This worked out perfect. I took out and worked on my Ladder Golf game. It was a struggle since new to put together. Not anymore. I had to cut down 4 cross bars to make them fit better. I also reamed out the holes for an easier assembly. I also countersunk the main cross bar as the threads were too short from factory. Guess where it was made. I installed a new baggage door pressure lift bar and still have 2 more coming from Amazon to install. I put in a fridge light bulb. I also installed a new hot water relief valve. This scared me a bit as it was very difficult to get out and when I finally did I see the threads in the hot water heater have been stretched a bit from a previous person tightening  it too tight. I used two wraps of pipe tape and luckily it went in great. It is at a slight angle instead of straight up and down but I didn’t want to to push the threads as the previous install did. When all done works perfect.

I had lots of visitors wanting to see Daisy and play with her. So much so I may have to become grumpy and scare little kids away. Two little girls about 7 years old played with her then grabbed their cups and had a tea party at our dining table. I had a hard time getting rid of them. The neighbor was laughing suggesting I was going to be the resort Grampa for all of the kids to go to. No thanks.

I pulled any weeds, plucked the flowers to dead head the plants, planted two new annuals that were on clearance and put out two new teal Adirondack chairs. Interesting as with all things the Chinese are cutting back on quality and keeping the price the same.  Thinner plastic than the previous ones. But having said that I discovered the new ones are actually Muskoka chairs which may be the difference. Hopefully they last as I had one broken old one I had to throw away only after three years.

Our back side neighbors were out today. It is funny as the three neighbors on all sides and behind these people do not care for them. They play their music all day long, too loud. They smoke grass like the end of the world is near. Their lot is a mess. They stay up late, laugh and talk extremely loud around the fire which is right beside the bedroom slide of our other neighbor’s RV.  The way they talk and teach their child makes feel uncomfortable and feel sorry for the kid. I have a great stereo in the motorhome with a woofer but my speakers face the wrong way. I turned them loud to try to give a hint with C&W music but to no avail. I need a Bose Bluetooth speaker to put under the deck.  Good thing they are out only a few weekends a year.

We finished watching the Netflix show Ozark. This is one series that I didn’t want to end. I understand there is a season 4 coming but it may take a little longer with Covid issues. I do miss the show already.

We went shopping to Ikea tonight. I was refused entrance with Daisy. Let’s see I go into Costco which is full of food, any other store, on the patio at a bar but not Ikea. Hard to boycott Ikea as their stuff is unique but they do need to revisit their policy. Canadian Tire has a sign on their door saying ” Please do not leave your dog in the hot car. We are pet friendly”  Two totally different approaches to business. That is what happens when you get too big and lose touch with your customers.

Interesting the talk about the Oilers. They win one NOTHING exhibition game and they are now going to win the cup. Please !

Thought of the Day 

Mister Rogers did not adequately prepare me for the people in my neighborhood.