May 1st 

“Mercury Forecast   Mesa 37 degrees, Calgary 16 degrees, Edmonton 16 degrees”

We have had a nice week of weather. Very nice.

As soon as the weather smartened up I became quite busy. A lot better than just sitting around.

Yesterday I thought I better finish up the girls sprinkler system. A quote for their backyard sprinklers of 5000 sg ft is $ 6400 bucks. I did the entire yard for around $600. I rented the digger from Home Depot and installed 300ft of 3/4 poly pipe 12″ down. I had to guess as the girls didn’t and still don’t have a landscaping plan where plants are etc. I used three different zones with 9 heads. I have 4 heads on one line, 2 heads on one and 3 on the other. I can expand any of them if needed. I am very pleased with the coverage with only the far corner not getting any water. I can add a rotor spray to make up the difference if needed but the girls are ok with it as it. I used full circle and half circle 4″ pop up Hunter professional heads that are wonderful. The control box can be $100 like I did or $400 bucks for a full auto system. I could get a battery auto system for about $150. But I went manual. It is a 2 second job to turn a valve. My first attempt in my control box worked but it had a leak as poly pipe doesn’t bend and the fittings had a lot of pressure on them. I went with short 5/8 flex hose and this now works out perfect. I have  a Plan C if I get anymore leaks and that would be to find a 3/4 barbed poly to 5/8 hose barbed nipples if I can find them. My plan b seems to be perfect though.

I drove down mid day and it was like a cartoon tug boat in choppy water. My little Jeep was being blown all over the road with the 60km winds. It doesn’t stop down there. I found if I set the cruise at 119 I could comfortable move all over the road.

It was another gorgeous day and nice to work outside. I think I am done for now at least on the sprinkler system. Another fridge with a ice maker issue. I reset the maker but didn’t hear or see any change. Luckily it is a new unit that should be covered under warranty.

Daisy LarE had a great night. She is getting much much better. She just received her second shots and has one more lot of them before we can let walk on the ground or be near other dogs. That is  long time to wait and little dogs don’t get to learn to socialize very well until then.

I had another Walmart grocery experience turn out wonderful this morning so sanitized and put all of them away.

We are finally opening up a bit of our businesses. I think we are two weeks early do this. Human nature is people will forgo all normal procedures we have been doing and we will end up having huge spikes. Somethings opening are needed but a little early in my opinion. Shut down completely would have been better. I am hoping people continue to be smart and we can sit at a restaurant for a Caesar and wings  without fear.

My first golf game is on Wednesday at Heatherglen. That will be interesting not hitting a ball until the first tee after 1 1/2 months.

I would hope all us are smart enough to know after this Covid that as a country we as the people of Canada HAVE to make every effort to NOT buy anything from China if possible. Buy local, buy made in Canada, USA, Mexico, Korea etc but try to not buy from China. That is very difficult in todays world for two reasons. We have let them dominate the manufacturing and people for reason are CHEAP. You will pay more as the labor costs from any other country are higher but if a Canadian company you will get a better product and support a company that pays taxes.

It was 1: 30 by then so I got lazy and decided to stay home today rather than work at the lot and do my April budget. NO gas, NO golf, No dining out and hurray away under budget even with the  purchases of a mutt. That is nice to see. I expect the same for May is why I cancelled my withdrawals for May hoping the stock market will come back even a little more.

Thought of the Day 

A budget really is a mathematical confirmation of your suspicions.

May 2nd 

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 38 degrees  Calgary 19 degrees Edmonton 20 degrees”

Beautiful day today. 10:30 in the morning as I write this. Daisy sleeping behind the couch, Jackie sleeping while holding a book in the chair all because some cute little dog wanted out of bed at 5:30 this morning. 3 pee pad successes this morning which is good. She is 98% of the time with poop and about 80% with pee. Bad aim some times not knowing where her bum is relative to the pad edge.

Watched a few more episodes of the Ozark last night. I find this a very good series and always entertaining.

We had the worst Premier in history with Notley and we replaced her before this current pandemic which is a wonderful thing but we were very unlucky with getting to replace Trudeau our worst Prime Minister in history. I do think slowly the younger generation is getting it and realizing what an idiot the guy is. He is an embarrassment to Canada and is destroying our country.

BUT having said that he or his advisors are pretty clever, They just about gave full control to Morneau with a bill over payouts but luckily it got caught by the PC’s. Now he passing a stupid gun bill and this with a minority government.

EVERYONE will agree that assault rifles have no place in our general population. They are war machines only. Passing a law to make them illegal though is just stupid. Waste of time and money especially if he offers a buy back of 600 million.  Trudeau is so naïve and stupid that it is amazing. Spend half of that by beefing up the security on guns coming into Canada at the border would be a much smarter move. Stop the guns before they hit the streets.Making drugs illegal sure eliminated them didn’t it. One can say if it saves one life it is worth it. Less guns less chance of deaths. All true but what most forget is even if illegal it is not going to stop the flow of these getting into the hands of the undesirable. Very very very few legal registered weapons are involved in mass shootings. Legal owners are good people and respect the law. Making drunk driving illegal doesn’t stop people from doing it. It is a waste of taxpayers money and politicians time to create, write, read, pass and enforce such a dumb bill that doesn’t address the real issue.

IF YOU WANT TO STOP GUN VOILENCE you do not allow manufacturing of these guns to exist in abundance of the army’s need. Every manufactured gun has to be traced and accounted for. The only source of ammunition is from a specific military warehouse and again tracked and accounted for. Leave the legal owners of any kind of  gun alone.

Guns do not kill people. People kill people.

I guess we could make knifes, swords, hatchets, axes , Kool-Aide and wet noodles illegal also to help.Hint- Jones killed 919 people by having them drink Kool-Aide

I see a lot of restrictions coming up on face mask compliance but try buying them anywhere. Sanitizer, toilet paper, Lysol wipes, and face masks the holy grail of Covid 19 for the general public.  I can get face masks on Amazon coming in June at a triple the price deal. To comply a simple dust mask works but they are non existent. I would pay a stupid price just to get some as stores and facilities start to enforce it as policy.

Covid 19 

Something to make you think. 

Fact:

Alberta  Pop  4.4 million     5300 cases  rate .120%

BC   Pop   5.1 million 2100 cases  rate .041% 

USA        Pop  360 million 1.14 million cases    rate    .316

China      Pop  1.4 billion      85000 cases   rate . 007

Vietnam  Pop  96 million  270 cases rate  .00027

Spain        Pop 47 million  217,000 cases rate    .461%

Does the Asian population have a built up immunity due to eating wild and tame raw meat for decades, dirty conditions, immunity due to SARS and MERS exposure ?  Just look at Vietnam with only 270 cases and China’s numbers. BC has a large Asian population.  Things do not add up. Possible DNA protected manufactured contagion ?  Something is off here.

All I can say is I am glad my middle name is KIM as I feel safe with my build in immunity.

Today Jackie and I spent the afternoon at Victoria’s place with Jackson. This social distancing sucks but it was fun watching and conversing with them and it was especially nice sitting in the sun. Hazel was exceptional with Daisy as she sniffed her thru her kennel fabric. Jackson told us plenty of jokes and stories which is fun. We had Tim’s in the backyard. How Canadian is that ?

MEMORIES 

Funny story here: Victoria had a bad experience with Ewok’s as a child and it has affected her to this day. Ewok’s are soft and cuddly and cute but very scary for Tor. We went to a Disney Skating performance in Edmonton at the Coliseum when the girls were about 2 or 3 years old. Victoria had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the performance so I went to take her. We were right at ice level and this skating Ewok flew by and hit me over the head with a large fluffy hammer. It petrified Tor, she screamed, wiggled and tried to get away and  lost her shoe in the process. She has never been comfortable around stuffed or costumed characters ever since. Put on an IKEA moose mask she will tremble. Bring her near a dressed up clown she will cry. Jess with twin empathy has close to the same fears. For these girls don’t ever say you see a wasp as they would jump out of boat ( did that) jump out of a moving car ( did that). KIDS !!

A fun day !

Thought of the Day 

Your mission of you choose to accept it , is to find a face mask to purchase.

May 3rd

“Mercury Forecast   Mesa 34 degrees, Calgary 14 degrees, Edmonton 17 degrees”

Jackie & I spent most of the day out at the lot. While it was relatively warm it felt cooler as the strong winds were prevalent. This was Daisy LarE’s first adventure out there and she loved it. We set up her barrier on the deck so she could see us while we worked. We accomplished a fair amount today. I stained the above ground flower box and the flower box in front of the shed. The brush I used last year only took a few swipes and it softened right up. I really like the final looks. Now just have to wait until the weather allows bedding plants but typically it is May Long Weekend. Jackie finished up removing all of the remaining gravel so I am ready for picking up soil, installing my sprinkler system and the sod. Next weeks project plus throwing in a couple of golf games.

I told you we have the smartest dog in the world. Today she took it upon herself to use her carrier as a hammock. Nice and soft and spongy with no visual restrictions.

May the 4th be with you

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 34 degrees  Calgary 8 degrees Edmonton 12 degrees with both cities having clouds speaking moistly today ” Edmonton’s are spitting up white phlegm 

What if the Covid 19 asymptotic cases we hear about all were tested positive falsely ?

Why are  we now seeing Murder Hornets in BC from Asian ships that are going to destroy our honey bee population that is already in distress ?

What about the poor people living in Ft Mac ? Floods now causing a disaster just a few years later than the fires that destroyed the town, Throw in the Pandemic .

Why are people feeling isolation overload when you consider how minor of a inconvenience it really is compared to so many other things?

Can we really beleive what the news is stating and over stating ?  Fake news and over stating are rampant to create news.

Why do we keep showing number of cases as it is irrelevant? We only need to know hospitalization and deaths. To have a minor case of anything doesn’t mean anything.

Does anyone believe we will get back to normal ?  I think things have changed forever. If you remember after 9/11 all of the differences, this pandemic will change the way we live forever a lot more.

Are we being played ?  86 normal flu deaths in Alberta up to the end of March in 2018 with a vaccine available. We have 95 Covid deaths and have shut the province down. SOMETHING IS NOT RIGHT

Whipped the Buick in for a rock chip repair. Easy Glass gives free repairs if you bought the windsheild from them. I have used it a lot.  I remember when those tents in the parking lot used to charge $25 a chip now they are up to $90 and want you to buy a membership. Please !

Today west of Edmonton this is how it looked. May snow brings June flowers right ?

We have isolated due to the Covid now we are being quarantined due to isolated showers.

What gives ?  This ugly weather. At least no snow but still not fun to work or golf in.

How bad is it that I had to put on a winter jacket and toque on to go for a walk with Daisy LarE . 7 degrees and feels like 4 degrees in May and further more I see minus temperatures coming up.

I think I am cursed on air conditioning.   I replaced the evaporator on the Buick , I have had the unit on our condo repaired numerous times, I had a new compressor put in Mesa, I have a new evaporator for the Dakota to replace and I replaced the evaporator in the Jeep Jan 2019. The Jeep is going back in tomorrow  for no a/c. New core last year and no a/c. Has to be a seal or pin hole in a hose. I will never not have a/c as we use it 10 months out of the year. I couldn’t sleep and I would drive like some of these half asleep people I see on the road if I didn’t have it.

This is how dumb Canada is and you know who decides our policy, someone named Trudeau. A wonderful smart Canadian from the east coast is helping out Alberta. Irving Oil is going to start shipping Alberta oil from BC down thru the Panama Canal and back up to New Brunswick to be refined all on ships.  All Trudeau had to do was force Quebec to have the Energy East pipeline go thru their province instead of this wayward way. All the credit to Irving Oil to make this commitment to use Canadian Oil instead of buying US oil or Saudi oil. True Canadian spirit and willing to pay more to support Canada. James Irving is Canada’s 4th richest person and should be our Prime Minister !

Thought of the Day 

Today Jackie asked me for a book mark. Married for 40 years and she still doesnt know my name is Larry 

May 5th-6th

“Mercury Forecast  38 degrees  Calgary 17 degrees Edmonton 18 degrees” 

Cinco De Mayo  Day.

Interesting that Mexico gets to celebrate beating the French Army in their war in 1862 and us in Canada give the French everything even though we beat them just as soundly in 1760. Having a dual language country is insane. It costs a fortune in our economy with the extra costs of dual language on all packaging. Plus I find it a little annoying to listen to speeches in my own country and not understand what is being said. I guess I could learn it but that is far far from my reality. LOL  I am 100% percent for maintaining a culture but not at the expense of others. We have lots of different nationalities that exist and promote their uniqueness without infringing on others.

The Jeep compressor has a leak. I am sure from Day 1 this was the issue. No chance for a warranty claim. So I priced it out and it was $1300. I can get a made in the USA compressor for $273 bucks so may drive the Jeep down to Mesa this fall.

Victoria had an appointment today so we had to social distance babysit Jackson today. This is such a nice kid with a horrible haircut. Even Jackson thinks it looks like a Dumb & Dumber haircut but he sort of likes it as he doesn’t have to go to school and it is a Covid hairdo. I never cared for parents making their kids have Iroquois  haircuts or coloring of the hair. The kid thinks it is different and maybe cool but feels he or she is really doing it for their parents. A bowl cut should never exist. It is like a bobcut on a women when they have long pieces coming up from the back to the front. A hairdresser should be ashamed to do this to a woman. NO MAN likes it trust me.

Jackson had a great time playing with Daisy LarE for hours. She didn’t sleep the whole time he was here she was so excited. At first she was hesitant than warmed up big time. Good for her and Jackson as they had fun.

Just finished getting the windshield on the Buick fixed and I took a hit on the Jeep. I need to get this in asap before it spreads.

Today was my first golf game of the 2020 season in Canada.

Golf is sure different but it is golf and it is fun. I golfed with Jeff, Wendy and Larry. The greens were fantastic. I thought with longer tee time spreads the game would have went fast but it still took us 4.5 hours to complete. This  game wasn’t good. A way to many mistakes. Pars were hard to come by and only one birdie. I lost the overall to Larry. But I wasn’t displeased with no warm up and a 6 week layoff and the first game is really a practice session. I do have say today was the best I ever seen Wendy play. Wonderful tee shots, good second shots and great putting. She had  to have fun playing like that.

The temperature was a perfect 16 degrees but with the wind it felt a lot cooler. But not complaining at all. FUN FUN day !!

Thought of the Day 

Scientists say the world is made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons. They forgot to mention morons. 

May 7th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 40 degrees Calgary 17 degrees and Edmonton 19 degrees”

A warm day but overcast as a system is coming bringing our highs down to single digit.

“Random Thoughts “

STOP SUPPORTING MCDONALDS– rather than work  with their current suppliers and bite the bullet a bit they jumped ship and are buying all of their BEEF from the USA instead of Canada. That is not supporting the local community. As a person buying please decide what you want to support.

SUPPORT WENDY’s they buy Canadian beef and choose to work with suppliers even though that means some outages of burgers at their stores. That is commitment and as the buying public we should remember this.

SUPPORT ANY COUNTRY OTHER THAN CHINA– The only way in todays world we have a chance to control China’s dominance is by supporting local, Canadian and other countries taking away the control and reliance of so many industries from China. This COVID has to have taught us a lesion that I hope we don’t squander.

Whipped out to the lot with Jackie this morning and picked up the Dakota. I have 10,000 pounds of paving stones to pick up and lay at Victoria’s house. I will take them in 5 trips and even at 2k per trip that is over weight. I am sure the springs can handle it but the tires worry me. It is only a short drive a 30 min drive at city speed so should be ok. Lifting them out of the truck is another story. They got a good buy from a liquation place here in Calgary. Huge area to cover at 800 sq ft but will look great when done. Lots of work though.

I took the Jeep in to Easy Glass to fix that windshield so all set to go again.

That Dakota is now 22 years old and it rides like a new car with how quiet it is.( at 25 yrs they can be classified as a antique) The automatic shifts hard but other than that you sure would not know it has 300k on it.  If it had been in no accidents and taken care of a little better it would be a great second vehicle. I really like this truck. I have a new heater core and evaporator core to install this summer on it.

A good little truck !

The GREEN Party and the BLOC should be charged with treason. To blatantly state the oil industry is dead and not to help them is making a statement that is a direct slight to Canada. I am positive the environmentalist, and anti oil groups love this. They do not have a CLUE how the oil industry works and is needed in everyday life. How these people get any support is beyond me. All I can say is the division between reality and green initiatives is getting further apart.

The Lethbridge police force is taking a direct hit from Captain Kirk over their take down of a storm trooper that was just a advertising stunt. To bloody the nose and with full guns drawn a girl in a plastic costume with a plastic gun is a little radical. The news then shows a few years back where a Lethbridge cop rather than fill out the paper work of shooting his gun drives back and forth with his car over a deer to kill it.

Can’t wait for National Caesar day this May 17th. This should be a national paid holiday for everyone. Where is national Ice Cap day ?

Thought of the Day 

Removing the stay at home orders doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. It just means they have room for you in the ICU. 

May 8th-May 9th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 39 degrees  Calgary 11 degrees showers Edmonton 16 degrees, rain”

I just got out of the shower when Victoria phoned saying her truck wouldn’t start at Walmart where she was picking up her groceries. The description she was giving I knew her battery was completely dead. On arrival I tried to pull in from the front space but was too far away. As luck would have it her battery is on the opposite side and shorter battery cables still were an issue but pulling up right tight they just reached. It started right away. At her house I put the charger on it and it is dead showing nothing. The cables are clean and it is a no maintenance battery so not much you can do. My hope is the auto charge going from 2amp to 12amp will charge it back up. She said there were no lights left on so very odd it all of sudden it would just go total dead. A few hours of charging and we will see. Either a bad alternator or a poor battery.

The temperature is 7 degrees with a mist happening. I was going out to the lot today but with it being so cold I said forget it. My hands were cold and the wind was biting working outside on the battery.  Anything I need to do can wait. Bad enough we were quarantined for so long but now to be trapped due to weather is not fair. LOL

I stopped for gas at Esso on my way home and had an interesting experience. At the pump I used my credit card. It would not work. Tried another card and the same thing. So I went in and talked the young lady. Very apologetic she was as I paid at the till. The machine failed to work again so I went to another machine. Success. At the pump all of sudden I hear over the speaker ” Sir we made an error in entry so you will need to come back after filling as the difference won’t be credited back to your card”  I rounded off the number and went in to collect my cash. Again very apologetic. It was like she was expecting someone to be mad at her. It was all out of her control and the sequence and the chain of events actually was quite funny having to walk back and forth the multiple times. Worst part is I had to sanitize everything again. LOL

Miss Daisy is wild. She won’t leave me alone and wants to keep play biting me. She has sharp teeth and gets riled and takes a while to settle. She is fun though. If only she would hit the pee pad. Slowly getting better. They say a 8 week pup needs to pee every 2 hours. Her pee is about the size of a quarter on the pad. LOL

This opening up a little is a also a little scary. So many people are literal and will take this the wrong way. I think they should have given it another two weeks before starting up. If the cases start to jump they are going to shut it down again fast. Our cases have fallen to mid 50 per day and down each day so why not wait until they are even lower. I am positive it is a mistake as I already know of people not staying at home, I  see people not distancing and people in contact with others when they are not supposed to be. We are as guilty as some but still cautious. We had to babysit Jackson due to circumstance but kept him in his own little area and were never closer than 6 ft to him. We also sanitized everything we gave to him and after he left sanitized everything he touched. Yes it odd but until this virus is slowed it is needed. I do know the minute a patio is open for chicken wings and a Caesar I will be there making sure to keep our distance and armed with my hand sanitizer. Come on summer warmth and patio’s.

It is quite ironic as I have everything done to invite our neighbors over to the Saloon to celebrate it’s opening and we can’t.

There are too many cars on the road. I am afraid the easing of restrictions is going to become a nightmare. Too many people are not staying at home.

I went over to Corey’s place to help move the paving stones. We had 120 stones weighing 80 pounds each and having to carry them about 50ft.

I got lucky and Tor bought me Harvey’s for supper. Surprise that Jackson ordered his burger just the same as Corey and I which is loaded. He loved it. I guess his tastes are becoming much more refined.

We got all 5 pallets moved now just need to wait to get the area dug out by bobcat or by hand which ever way they choose. Then gravel sand and lay them down. They will look awesome.

Daisy decided she could sleep into 6:30 this morning.  That is not a good time to get up EVER !

Dull , very cool day today. The odd flicker of sun comes out onced and while. Not a lot on the agenda today as I am not going to freeze out putting in an irrigation system. Weekends are busier also so will still wait.

I had another great experience with a Walmart grocery pickup. Their system is so easy and works fantastic. Order $50 worth of food and pick a slot time usually 5 to 7 days in advance. Make a grocery list on a sheet of paper for the week then the night before add to your existing order everything you need. The odd time you have to wait for it to load or hit the add to button or it starts a new cart.Their produce and meat departments have been exceptional. Their pickup time commitments unbelievably great. This order was pick up between 1 and 2 and was the latest time after  a email that it was picked came at 1:30. No longer than 5 minutes after arriving it was at our car.

I figured it would happen and it is. What has happened to STAY AT HOME. Walmart was a zoo with shoppers. The lot was jammed with cars and the streets extremely busy. Calgary already is the hot spot for Covid and this is only going to add to it. Dumb !

Ordered a wonderful apple pie that I am looking forward to having tonight !!

Thought of the Day 

You have to think of Apple Pie as a serving of daily fruit 

May 10th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 40 degrees, Calgary 8 degrees snow , Edmonton 9 degrees”

This is May right ?  It got a little cold last night being anywhere from -2 to -4 depending on what liar of a weatherman you wanted to trust. The motorhome is summerized already so any time prolonged periods of that cold is scary.

This is wonderful day to celebrate Mother’s. I think everyone would agree they are the best and without a good one life would not have been so nice. Someone that loves unconditionally, someone that can guide you thru your learning years and someone you can talk to for just about anything for the daughters anyways plus no yelling, no screaming, no loss of control, good judgement, sense of humor, being able to let you grow up and being aware of what is going on is what you would like in the perfect mother. Few can be perfect but it is the trying and caring that counts or so we say.

An odd year to celebrate but everyone will do the best they can.

Be it Mothers Day I let Jackie sleep in today. I was up at 5:45 with the mutt. I took her for a walk outside at 6:30 in the snow. She likes it falling in her face. Only 2 above when we were outside and this is May. Played for a hour or so and then she decided to go back to sleep at about 7:30. I laid down on the coach and tried to do the same. I am not a morning person and as I type this I notice my shirt is put on inside out. Oh well I can get an extra few days wear out of it this way. LOL

Jackie came out at 9am. I have to say it is the fanciest , freshest I have seen her for awhile. Proof that early morning rising is not good for anyone.

Mothers Day is a big day for breakfast restaurants and evening supper outings.  Not this year. There a few offerings of curbside meals that will do well but near the same. A huge loss of revenue and a loss of togetherness for families.

Who didn’t give Mother nature the time she deserved today. She is pissed.

HOW DUMB ARE PEOPLE !!

Edmonton has 500 cases  Calgary has 4200 cases with similar populations and you wonder why. This is the Costco in Calgary on Saturday. There is no EXCUSE for this. We need to get a way more strict.

Jackie recieved a beautiful rising Phoenix from Jess & Pen and two nice necklaces from Tor that Jackson picked out.  Very nice gifts.

Thoughts of the Day 

The large kid says to his Mom ” Happy Mothers Day, I am sorry I wrecked your vagina ” 

May 11th-May 12th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 37 degrees, Calgary 8 degrees, Edmonton 11 degrees “

Wouldn’t you know it. As I was looking up the weather today I see the May Long Weekend weather is looking wonderful. It has been a few years since this has happened. Annoying that we had to cancel but the group felt at the time unsafe. We could have gone with restrictions. Now that restrictions have been lifted it is like do anything you want. The surprise opening of the golf courses happened so we still could have golfed. The zoo decided to open as a drive thru venue which would be ok but not the real experience. A fire ban in place and social distancing happening but we still could have a had a fun time at least getting together. The sky is falling approach always lends itself to missing out on good times. Oh well next year.  I may change the May campout and not organize anything and have people book themselves to gather if they want. Things change !

Today was cooler only hitting 9 degrees. It was warm out and then very cool out. I would sweat then get a chill working. I filled the new plantar box in front of the shed. I lined and filled the new planter box in the front. I tilled the soil and laid down about 2 inches of black dirt in both designated green grass areas. I decided to go with real sod rather than turf as I was afraid of holes by sparks from the fire pit. I installed all of the 1/2 main line tubing for the watering system by digging down and burying it under the gravel. Next are all of the feeder tubes and drip heads to install.

Still a nice day working away in solitude.

Another cool day before the warmth starts for a couple of days at least. This morning the Bobcat operator was at Tor’s removing the soil for the new stone. It is amazing how good these guys get with these. He did a fantastic job. I would have liked it another 1inch lower but this guy and I have to trust his knowledge says that the stones should never be level or lower than the grass as water will sit on it and slowly they will sink as the water pushes out the sand.

Headed out to the lot. Started to install my spaghetti lines for the pots and planters. Installed the mini sprayers for the lawn. Hooked up the water connections. Still a few lines to bury and heads to install. Another 4 to 5 hours should be done the irrigation system. I am not a fan of the barbed hook insert so hopefully no leaks.

Corey tonight is using his shovel to do the final levelling and edge cutting. After golf tomorrow I will help wheelbarrow the gravel in. I had to whip to Princess Auto for a new tire tube for my wheel barrow. Wow have they ever fixed up ” retailed it up” inside this store. It looks great. I just wish they could price their product like Harbor Freight. Most probably made in the same factories.

Got the wheelbarrow all fixed for some gravel and sand hauling.

Thought of the Day 

A small leak can sink a big ship.

May 13th-14th

“Mercury forecast  Mesa 32 degrees Calgary 13 degrees Edmonton 9 degrees”

First the weather. Both days it was sunny but turned out a lot cooler than you would think. I was happy with my decision to wear pants today to golf with Jeff & Wendy. Supposed to hit 16 degrees but with the wind it was chilly.

It was a fun day golfing with the Grace’s and Jackie. Everyone had an enjoyable time even with all of the “rules” . The golf experience is different with spacing, no reaching for the ball in the hole, one person per cart and no services but no one will complain as it is just nice to be able to do it.

Scoring always the true test to how the game went. I had one super nine and one poorer nine. I still say it will take a few games to get back to Arizona shape. Everyone had some great shots and some whacky ones like-

• Jackie hit her ball and it headed straight into the trees. It hit a large tree and bounced straight back and went thru just like football posts a Y in another tree. Quite a trick shot.
• On the last hole I hit my ball out of the trees and it hits dead on to the trunk of a tree. Ricochet backs and hits another tree and then straight back at me at 100 mph. I had to duck and dodge to keep from getting hit.

This was our first time bringing Daisy LarE with us golfing. She was amazing and didn’t make a sound for the full 4 hours. Not a whimper.  She just watched us and slept. Wonderful. She had one experience that was quite funny. I parked the cart each time so she could see us putt and not think we were gone. I had to do a U-turn to make this happen.  Doing this and her shifting her weight the bag rolled out of the cart. Now it is only 6 inches off the ground but being in the carrier and flipping it had to be an experience. A little cuddle and she was all set to go back in. A little scary but also very funny. She was awesome and it was a great test for us and her.

I really miss the beer and wings after golf so with that gone headed home.

I changed my clothes, had supper and took off to Victoria’s. We set down the weed barrier and started wheelbarrow and wheelbarrow of gravel base.  With Corey and I we moved all of the gravel before 9pm and had it quite level. Gravel was step one.

I came home and we watched the season finale of Survivor.  I would have voted for Michelle but Tony took most of the votes. It was a good season this year with lots of twists.

Today was golfing for the first time at Turner Valley.  They are pretty organized with a good system.

Todays playing partners were Larry, Rick and Huw. The course was in remarkable shape. I would say the best in 10 years. I had a wonderful front nine that could have been so much better. I would have been in the 30’s if not for a triple boogie on a Par 3 and I  missed many birdie putts.

Even overall for the first game here no complaints. Remove four holes and I could have been in the 70’s.

A real shortage of carts with one person per cart. My cart on the 13th hole ran out of power. Corey from the pro shop ran a new one out to me. Awesome.

Great day with lots of sun but the wind still was cool.

Thought of the Day 

Quite picking on us. Why is Calgary and Brooks the last ones to have beer in a restaurant.?

May 15th-18th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 38 degrees Calgary 21 degrees Edmonton 21 degrees” Long Weekend average 

I was booked to play with Jeff & Wendy today at Heatherglen. As I have previously said the course is in wonderful shape.  They mixed up the tee sheet a bit but we got it all fixed up. Due to a frost delay we starting about 20 min late but today was the longest golf game in along time. It is ironic as Larry & I golfed Turner Valley in 3 hr and 20 mins just the day before and it is a much more difficult course with today taking just over 5 hours.  It was one of those days were things didn’t go great. I ended up mid 80 instead of low 80’s or less and Jeff had one of his poorest games. Just the littlest thing or change and you shot can change dramatically. Wendy drive well but also didn’t have her best game. So a very fun nice day golfing just didn’t score well.

After golf I hurried home and then over to Tor’s to move and pack 3 yards of gravel. We got it all moved and tamped down and it is looking pretty good.

Daisy let us sleep in until 6:30 which was great and the latest we have slept in since we got her.

Today was moving and levelling all of the sand for the stones. We ran out of sand and had to implement a Plan B which was to reduce the sand from 1 3/4 height to 1 inch in the hopes of being able to spread  it everywhere we needed it.  We got this all done and then started to move the pavers into place making sure they were level as possible and plumb to one another. Moving 120 pavers and placing them again isn’t the easiest on the back. I was there at 9am and we worked until about  6pm. Everything turned out wonderful except for little hiccup. We did such a good job of laying down the sand I was shocked that after tampering them down we had 5 of them crack. I was a little surprised to see them made with aggregate rather solid cement. I am sure these must make for a weaker paver stone. So we had to replace these 5 which isn’t that easy. Cutting them with so much stone in the them I thought would be more difficult but the rental cement cutter did awesome. We got it all done and it looks wonderful. Victoria and Corey filled the cracks with paving stone sand and all is good. Victoria carried an 80 pound bag from the front of the house to back by herself. That is pretty strong for a little person.

I forgot to take any pictures but will get some. Just a few things for Tor & Cor do to finish up the project. They need a small amount of pea gravel for around the patio. They need to clean up the yard and roto-rack it and fill in the dead spots with lawn repair and seed and it will start to look great. A few flower boxes and it will look fantastic.

Victoria with Ali’s help made us a wonderful supper tonight. It was nice to have a home cooked meal after working hard all day. Tomorrow morning will be the challenge getting out of bed.

A hard work day but still a fun day and step one of a back yard transition that I hope they complete.

MAY LONG WEEKEND !!!

Wouldn’t you know it. A May long weekend and we are not camping with great weather. Very odd for both to happen. We have been married for 40 years and I would bet we have camped at least 30 out of the 40 years on the May Long. Covid scared the group this year as we had a great venue but nobody was willing to take the chance.  To have good weather on the May weekend is in itself a rarity. We have had some fun and unique experiences and here are a couple I recall.

• Alan & MaryAnn went camping with us and for them it is rare thing to do at North Buck lake. As luck would have it, it was a ugly cold weekend.  We were in a tent trailer at the time without a furnace. We went into Boyle Co-op and bought a large roll of vapour barrier and with poles made a perfect smoke shack tent structure so we could be outside out of the wind a warm with the fire going. I bought a whack of wood from the Boyle sawmill as they were selling their cutoffs. It was a cold weekend.
• On a Rocky Mountain trip we dry camped down by the river.  Rain and snow happened. So much snow ( 4 inches) that in the morning when leaving the trailer Jeff opened the door and with the sagged awning ended up ripping the thing.  It was a good thing I had a 4 x 4 Jeep that pulled the trailer as people could not climb the hill in the mud to leave the camping spot.  Four wheel low and we just made it out.
• In the tent trailer again in Kananaskis Country we had a cold snowy night. Ears were freezing at night. We woke up to a cup of water froze solid on the counter top it was so cold. Every experience the girls were awesome.
• In Bashaw campground we had a beautiful warm day and all went to bed late in the evening without any idea what was coming. We wake up in the morning to 4 inches of snow. It ended up ripping Ron awning which he had to replace and these things are about $1200.
• In Alder Flats Raven resort we were having a perfect afternoon when a wild quick storm hit. A lot of hail accumulated very quickly and everyone was in panic mode to get their stuff put away and the awning down. I was about 2 min too late as my arm snapped due to the excessive weight of hail on the canvas.
• Kananaskis country again with Alan & MaryAnn with MaryAnn being pregnant it got so cold outside my propane tanks froze solid. Not heat for the night. Alan & I had to unhook them and drive them to a service station to get thawed, checked and refilled. It was cold that night.
• Just outside of Camrose we had another cold weekend with each day not being great. We wagon wheeled our units to stop the wind and to have a community center area. The power here was so bad we are so lucky not to have destroyed our electronics. Trying to cook in the microwave was impossible. The DVD player moved at 1/2 speed/ Low voltage like this isn’t good on electronics.  The kids had fun here with water puddles and finding worms. It was a cold, windy weekend.

These are just a few that come to mind. May Long weekend can be wonderful or it can be extremely cold and we have experienced both but I would say the colder ones win out in the amount of times. Inevitably we run into fire bans many many years.

This year the weather is spectacular and we aren’t camping. I was all for social distancing and still going camping but only Corey out of group was willing to go.  Darn ! And tomorrow is National Casear day and resteraunts aren’t open. What is this world coming to?

Oh well I helped out Corey on his yard and should be able to complete my yard tomorrow. I am looking ahead for next week’s weather to golf and it sucks. Covid self isolation and bad weather sucks.

I laid my sod and dirt for our RV lot. I finished off installing the underground irrigation system with the exception of a couple of heads as Lowes didn’t have any stock. I am sure it is not panic buying but just a poor purchasing agent. I will get them from the Depot tomorrow. I fertilized it but the lot irrigation water isn’t on until June 1st. I water a bit but will go out tomorrow and use my watering can to do more. I would hate to burn it as I just laid it. Jackie cleaned the entire motorhome plus helped me put out and organize all of the furniture from under the tarps. I put up the balance of our outside decor items and we are set to stay out.

I have hesitated as Daisy isn’t 100 percent trained as of yet. I think we won’t have a over night there with her until she is able to go for walks and pee on the grass.

We stopped at Tor’s house on our way home to see the finished product. Unfortunately not done but perhaps for Corey a welcomed rest instead of working each day. He was just placing a bit of pea gravel around the patio which is looking great. They did make a dump run.

I will help him tomorrow as there isn’t a lot to do but just time consuming waiting at the stores for things.

Poor Jackson. Victoria let a friend who is NOT a hairdresser work on his hair and gave him a horrible cut.  Most likely the worst cut I have ever seen. He didn’t mind it too much but anyone that saw it would say it was the perfect Dumb & Dumber haircut. A bowl cut !   But this weekend for some reason the same girl was allowed to recut his hair. The first cut was horrible but livable this one is a horrible horrible mess with shaved sides and uneven bangs and long hairs flopping from the top. I feel for the kid as he thinks it must be ok if adults are doing it and they know my parents. It is not alright. He needs a ride to Raymond for a professional to try to make it a little better but unfortunately it is only time now that will make this hack job semi normal. Good thing for no school.  I know NO adult would let someone with no skill work on their hair if they had to go out. I think this could be a Covid challenge contest. Jackson should get to cut her hair to be fair.

The weather all week sucks so we won’t be golfing. I have my men’s league on Thursday That I am hoping we will be ok with but I would rather not if raining if a bit. There will lots of good days still coming.

The END OF A MAY LONGWEEKEND like no other. I love camping, the quiet nights with just the sounds of the country, the campfires at night, and the socializing as a group.

I hope everyone remembered National Caesar Day this weekend as a lot of times it doesn’t fall within the weekend. I really like the taste of  Clamato juice.

Couldn’t open the Saloon to the neighbors this weekend due to Covid restrictions but soon we will have them over for a few drinks and giggles.

Jessica always has been exceptional with dogs both as a kid and as an adult with her own. Unfortunately she has had to make a very difficult decision. Her newest dog Katie which is a beautiful dog and well behaved  has some temperament aggression issues. She has had three biting incidences. It appears she transfers her fear or aggression to  anyone near her. I am very proud of Jessica as everyone knows your dog becomes like a kid that is loved and to have no other choice than to give her away would be very heart wrenching. Rather than putting her down moving her to a new home gives her a whole new chance on a very good life.  Dave , Jackie’s brother is exceptional with dogs and lives on an acreage and graciously said he would love to have her. Katie will have two fur friends and lots of space to run around in and a new master that is good at training and control. Plus no children. It should be a win, win for everyone albeit very sad for Jessica but again she made the correct decision with two little boys. Once a dog bites and repeats it is evitable it will happen again.

Anyone watch LIVE GOLF this weekend. Yes sports is coming back. First live golf game for a long while.

Thought of the Day 

You see a sign ” Today is cancelled” and it reminds you of everything you are missing out lately.

Footnote:  sitting on the patio of a bar, chicken wings, ice cold beer in a mug, wonderful Caesar drinks, going to a movie, going to a restaurant for a meal with friends, bowling, get to togethers just to name a few.

May 19th -20th

” Mercury Forecast-  Mesa 32 degrees, Calgary 11 degrees rain, Edmonton 18 degrees” 

The lousy ” spring” weather  is continuing for at least three days if not four. Rain just keeps coming down.

I just cancelled my Men’s league golf as 7 degrees as a high tomorrow with 20 mil of rain is no fun to golf in.

I spent both days out at the lot fixing things up. Completed and tested my irrigation system and it works like a charm. Now we can leave for a couple of weeks and more and come back to green grass and pretty flowers. All the pots are hooked up , all the flower boxes, all of the shrubs and the lawn portion. The park irrigation doesn’t start until June 1st so I will need to adjust all of the heads then.

Hooked up the electrical to the Saloon.

I cleaned up and organized all of the tools in the shed. I trimmed the outside edges of our lot and trimmed off all of the shooters of the berry trees.  Two very productive days.

I need a new anode rod for the water heater so will pick one up tomorrow to take out to the motorhome.

I sure hope all of those environmentalists are rethinking their stance. Every piece of plastic and plexiglass that is protecting people from catching Covid is made from oil by-products. Even the surgical masks need oil by-products. I hope they begin to see how far out of reality they are.

It was nice and quiet out at the lot. I spent the entire day and only saw one other person. Lots of bird sounds, farm dogs barking, cows mooing and the odd whiff of the cows makes it nice to feel like you are in the country.

Thought of the Day 

I was always taught if you have nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all. And some people wonder why I am so quiet. 

May 21st 

“Mercury Forecast   Mesa 32 degrees Calgary 7 degrees RAIN  Edmonton 8 degrees rain”

We haven’t had spring yet. We have been locked in our homes. We can golf but we can’t due to the weather. But the positive on all of this is the cost savings. LOL

It rained for most of the day yesterday and today is supposed to rain heavier all day. And by looking outside they got this right.

Looking at the weather last night I cancelled my men’s league at Turner Valley. There was no hope of it being good enough to golf in.

Funny when I cancelled the organizer emailed me back ” I thought you were an all weather guy” I had to correct him telling me I am a all weather guy hurts as I am a JELD-WEN guy. I said I prefer to be called a fair weather guy. ”  It was a funny neat comment from him. Turns out he had to cancel the entire event anyways as the weather guys got it right.

I feel for companies today. I am positive there are thousands of employees taking advantage of the situation by saying they came in contact, they had a sneeze, they know someone etc to suggest they need to stay at home from work.  Some people are just lazy and take advantage of everything.

“Memories”

I may have said this before but I hate people taking advantage of others and companies. I had three relatives working in the Calgary door shop all from Poland that had the same lawyer, doctor etc as new immigrants. While and when these guys were at work they were awesome. But at a lawyers or doctors suggestion or a push from them personally they would miss work and in my mind unnecessarily. I tried all kinds of incentives, talks, 3 step warnings etc to work with them. I had them get doctors notes as one deterrent . On one occasion it got to me and I phoned and talked to the doctor direct. I suggested to him he was the cause of a loss of a job for one of his clients and he was being fraudulent in giving notes without just cause.  It put an end to the missed work for ever and in fact they showed up everyday and I even had to send them home the odd time as they were ill.

I always made every WCB claimant work under the  light duties program. I would make them file paper work, photo copy, clean up what ever. In most cases they were miraculously cured and back at their regular job in short time and saved us a claim.

If some one came to work ill and asked to go home I had no issue with that. I did not like the morning call to tell me they are not feeling well and that conversation wouldn’t go over well. I didn’t care if your dog died, you were not well, needed a break or whatever if you asked me and explained it to me it would be no issue but don’t try to take advantage or be lazy . One guy doing that makes everyone else’s job that much more difficult

THINK NOT OF ILL AND DISEASE AND THOU SHALL DEFEAT THE FOE WITHIN.

Plan today is to pick up a new anode rod for the motorhome and get an oil change. Timing is everything I dislike the entire day without a vehicle just for a change so I won’t put in the shop this time.

I got everything done I wanted. Mr Lube did a good job and I was impressed I didn’t have to hear about all of their offerings of flushes. Remember these are a scam !  I went with synthetic oil as it is getting up on mileage.

Picked up a anode rod at Woody’s.  It appeared the wrong size but the clerk was adamant they universal. I stopped at Canadian Tire and thought I would check out there RV section. Sure enough they had two sizes of anode rod. a 3/4 and 1/2″. My is the 1/2 so I will need to make another stop back at Woody’s. It would be so nice to have a Campers World in Canada. Tonight though I found a new Canadian company that look promising that is a RV specialist.  https://www.rvpartscanada.com

This summer is looking a little strange. BC doesn’t want Albertans and Sask says no to Albertans camping there. So I guess we will be staying in our own province. That is a good thing except finding a spot anywhere could be an issue. I haven’t been to Slave Lake or Cold Lake area camping which I will need to check out. I may look at an electric motor and hit the mountain lakes for trout.

I will go out to the lot to install the sink and put out the cushions under the gazebo.

Thought of the Day 

I like a dogs attitude. If you can’t eat it or play with it, pee on it and run away.

May 22-May 23rd

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 36 degrees, Calgary 9 degrees rain, Edmonton 7 degrees rain”

Still more rain today.  Where is our sun, where is our heat, where is our summer ?   Can’t golf, can’t work outside so it is getting a little annoying. I may go out and install the bathroom sink in the Saloon.

This morning we headed out to the lot as the girls and kids were coming out. It was overcast when we left town and only 10 degrees. It was cooler for most of the day until late afternoon and then the sun came out and it was wonderful. The day was a lot of fun. We weren’t completely ready  for company yet but everything turned out wonderful.

The boys all brought their bikes out which was excellent for them as they circled the campground numerous times. Jackson was great with the two younger guys waiting and helping them bike also. Atti needed a bit of adult help to keep up. They had a fun day !

I think Jessica is giving weenie roasting lessons. I have to say I didn’t see one perfectly cooked hotdog. LOL

I didn’t realize my girls were so short. Their Grandad was 6 ft 1″, their Nana was 5ft 10″, their Dad 6′ 3″ and their Mom 5′ 6 1/2″ she stretches every inch for hers , their other Granddad was about 5’8″ and Magra about 5’3″. but it appears the girls didn’t quite get there .LOL  They do say good things come in small packages.  I do enjoy their little  laughter and little humour.

It was a fun visit for everyone to get together and enjoy it except for having to remember social distancing.

If you are going to cook a hotdog you better take this serious. They had a blast and ate well. In fact Atti had 5 Whippit cookies. LOL

It is always nice when the girls get together. They have fun and we fun listening to them banter, tease and joke. I am sure by the time they reach 40 they might get my enhanced, advanced and incredible humour. There is the odd delay but I am sure soon it will click for them. After all they at least think they funny. So so in a manner that only they understand.

The funniest thing happened today. Victoria and Corey were standing in  front of  the shed and sun shadows reflected on the side their profiles perfectly.

After the kids left Jackie and I rested in the sun and relaxed and let Daisy roam the lot. Not the best idea as she was covered in sticky popular buds everywhere. These thing are a real pain. Next week I am going to  try to blow them onto the road with a leave blower and or pressure washer if I can.

She didn’t sleep much today so hopefully she will have a good sleep tonight. I do know she wasn’t happy getting the buds cut out of her hair and paws.

Thought of the Day 

Hanging out with grown up kids is like visiting the best parts of your life !

May 24th 

“Mercury Forecast   Mesa 32 degrees, Calgary 19 degrees, Edmonton 23 degrees ” 

What a beautiful day. Sunny and warm.  The lack of sleep yesterday did us well as Daisy LarE didn’t get out of our bed until 8am. Yes Yes . We may need to keep her awake everyday. LOL

I headed out to the lot with my bathroom sink. I put it together and only need to drill a hole and get a small piece of PVC pipe for the drain. Both the potty and sink fit in nicely and will be great for any guest that is staying overnight.  The washroom looks good and will be nicely functioning.  Only odd thing is they didn’t give a basin plug with it. I don’t care for that so will need to see if Canadian Tire has one that will fit.

I finished up the irrigation system except for adding the timer. The park only turns on the irrigation every second day and for a set amount of time. My plan is set the timer for everyday to come on. If the water is on my will be on if not it won’t. Should work out.

If you have a large yard you need a riding mower to cut the grass. If you have a big yard you need a self-propelled lawnmower and if you have a regular yard a standard mower works fine. A small yard and electric mower works best and a real small yard a manual push mower can work. If you have a tiny yard you need a tiny lawnmower. My new lawnmower is a edge trimmer, a weed whacker and lawnmower in one. 3 in 1. Takes me 2 seconds to convert it by slipping the trimmer in and auto lock the trimmer to the lawnmower base. Should take me about 5 minutes to cut the lawn and about 10 min to trim everywhere. I moved to a condo NOT to cut lawn as I was the one that had to have the greenest lawn on the block requiring two cuts a week or more. I really like the new grass and the new mower is awesome.

First time since March to watch live golf. THE MATCH with Tiger,Phil, Peyton and Tom Brady is wonderful. The banter back and forth is hilarous. Too nice to be inside but I had too. It was a fun watch.

Thought of the Day 

Do you remember being asked to bring gym clothes to school ? Who was Jim anyways that he couldn’t bring his own.

May 25th/26th

“Mercury Forecast  Mesa 38 degrees, Calgary 16 degrees, Edmonton 18 degrees”

The first day to wear shorts golfing. That is amazing that it is almost June and we have had no hot weather. It was a beautiful day and no wind so the perfect day to golf. I was meeting Jeff & Wendy today at Heatherglen. We were tagged up with a gentleman that owns a company that does piping for the oil industry. He was quite funny. In his Polish accent. ” No work, so I golf” That is one thing I am wanting to change. So many people not working the courses are busier than normal. Get back to work and let us retired guys golf without it being too busy. LOL

Golf is a funny game as one day everything goes well the next day nothing works. Today Wendy had a good day ( not her best I have seen) and Jeff had a difficult day. I had a relatively good day. A few mistakes but overall good. I had a few albatross chances, made a few birdies and a lot of pars just the odd double that got to me. Any time when I get close to breaking 80 I am happy. It still is odd not to shake hands at the end of the game.  It was a fun enjoyable day and even the clubhouse snack shack is now open.

Right after the game I met Alan & MaryAnn and Jackie at the Hollaway Memorial Tree Garden as it has been two years since Peter left us. The weather was nice even though it started to cool down and cloud over with the odd spit of the sky alter on. Alan & MaryAnn picked us up McDonalds for supper and we had a nice visit on the picnic tables beside the Bow Valley Ranche House. They wouldn’t let us help them with the payment and returned my money. I will get them back.

I always do.

I hid a $20 bill in Fred’s Mesa bathroom and he has yet to find it and that must be at least 18 months ago.

During the walk I let Daisy down on the paved road where I could watch her and pull her leash back if needed. She loved walking by herself and teased Tia all the way. Tia was awesome and didn’t mind Daisy at all. Tia was walking nicely and Daisy hopped beside her. It was a cute few moments.

A nice gathering, time for reflection and a nice gathering with Alan & MaryAnn. Thanks again for supper.

Walmart curbside pick up must be slowing down a but with the restrictions lifted as I was able to get a spot only two days out. This system works so well I am going to continue  to use Walmart for a lot of our groceries in the future. Easy, fast, saves time and their meat and produce quality is exceptional. Plus the add-ons as you walk down the aisle don’t happen. LOL  I will pick up my tomatoes myself as I am a little fussy with these.

A stop at Lowes and Depot today again as one store is out of stock again. The buyers really do a poor job overall at the big box stores. A way too many outages. I picked up 1/4 barbed shutoffs, a gear clamp and a garden hose. The garden hose is being returned next trip. The end connector leaks right from the factory and on a $40 hose I don’t want to put a new end on.

Out at the lot I installed the shutoffs, gear clamp and tested my system and adjusted where needed and I have to change out two 360 to two 180 degrees. The shutoffs were funny. I originally thought why are these not working. They cost like $2 so I wasn’t too upset but disappointed. Then a thought popped into my head and did a blow test through one of them. I then discovered rather than a ball or slide control you have to screw down the valve multiple turns and yahoo they work. It is a funny world but happy my valves are working correctly. Who would have thought ?

Installed the TV and DVD in gazebo and all of the solar lights around the yard. I am hoping they all are still working after the winter. When I got the gear clamp I picked up a few more flowers for the yard. How can I not have Daisies on our lot. I bought Purple Daisies and they look awesome. I water the new lawn again hoping it starts to green up soon. They sod I bought was quite dormant compared to Jessica’s sod that greened up very quickly. I installed my two horseshoes on the planter and worked until just about supper time. I very enjoyable sunny day that turned dark and wet on the way back to town.

Watching the news tonight it is very apparent how lucky we are to have a responsible government running Alberta unlike some other places. Good governance makes all of the difference in just about everything. Hinshaw is an amazing calming influence and is very diligent in her decision making.  To also have an Minister of Education and Health Minister that are willing to stand up for Albertans and make cuts is appreciated. To have two external audits of both departments bring forward a lot discrepancies, mismanagement and self indulgence and act on it, is what is needed in all jurisdictions. Even with the pressures of oil pricing, wealthy connected environmentalists, Covid, anti oil activists and socialist NDP supporters Kenny has done a remarkable job moving Alberta forward choosing a great team in unprecedented times.

A thought just hit me. If you see any professional with a Graduation Year 2020 certificate on the wall just remember they didn’t finish their schooling. They were given a free pass. I think we should see the passing grade on the certificate of every professional.  Would you rather a brain surgeon with a mark of 98% or 51% open your skull.

Thought of the Day 

If you are scared of Coronona why not buy a Budweiser! 

May 27th-May 28th

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 42 degrees, Calgary 21 degrees, Edmonton 19 degrees”

Australia is being targeted by the Chinese because the asked for an investigation into the Covid crisis.  The Chinese have banned Australian beef and tariffs on barley etc.

As a world we have to stand up the aggression of a bully. If that means short term financial pain it has to be sacrificed.  Trudeau the biggest wimp in politics will be no help. I bet you Meng is released as we have already being threatened.  United Nations and allies have to stand together. Tariffs, consumers choosing to buy from anywhere but China, and manufacturing in our own country even if it at a higher cost has to be done. the biggest scare to every nation other than normal trade is the pharmaceutical industry is dominated and controlled by the Chinese and would take a long time to get up and running in each country. IT IS TIME we get SMARTER. We have for so long been price conscious but we have to get past that and buy local or from emerging free nations. IT IS TIME.

It is a brilliant country in their approach in way. Control the market, bully the market to your way of thinking, espionage, steal trade secrets, don’t worry about human rights or the environment and most importantly buy other countries debt up and finance projects with your labor in foreign  countries.  Say what you will about Trump but he understands and is trying to do something about it.

The Oilers are laughing. James Neal missed his 21 goals only because the league shutdown early and they are claiming they do not own the Flames a third round pick due to this. I have to side with the Oilers here. We are not going to say Ovechkin had a 50 goal season if we pro rate the season so we shouldn’t do the same for Neal. The Oiler’s get lucky again !!  Hey but we have Lucic who is going to score a bundle against the JETS. Lol Calgary fans can feel good though as the experts are predicting a 5 game win for Chicago over Edmonton and a possible 6 or 7 game stretch for the Jets versus Calgary.

Golfing today with Jeff & Wendy was a fun day. There were great shots and there were poor shots. Overall everyone did ok. I wasn’t displeased with my game but the odd mistake took it’s toll on the overall score. The girls both had wonderful drives. Jeff had an off day driving but still ended up with a decent round. Nice again to be out golfing in the warmth even with all of the covid issues happening.

Daisy again golfed with us all day without any issues. She is an amazing little girl. Tomorrow after her shots we can let her on the  ground which she will love and we will like as she can learn to pee outside.

After golf we decided to have supper and cold beer on the patio. First time in Canada in 2020 and it was wonderful. The sun was shining even though with the breeze a little on the cooler side but I would still call it warm, Odd with the server wearing masks and gloves and the delivery of food in cardboard boxes but the food was excellent and the frosted mugs with beer were fantastic. Patio, cold beer, hot food and good company are one of the good things in life.

Up this morning and heading out to Turner Valley. Today I was golfing with two new members. Nice to see new members . This year is the courses 90th year so they had a special member drive for $90. I paid $3500 over 10 years ago. More members means more money and revenue so it is a good thing. He also was a wonderful golfer as a 1 handicapper. Sweet swing. A fun warm day. The ball I started with I ended with and on Turner that is a feat. The chips were where I went wrong with skulls and mishits along with too many missed putts.

The first time I golfed TV the course was in great shape. This time they had tarps on three greens and the greens were shaggy. Coming from very fast greens to these does cause issues. I was disappointed in the shape of the greens and hope they get them fixed soon. This is one of my favorite courses for layout, beauty and difficulty.

I noticed after I turned in the score card I made a calculating error. I am pretty thorough but I added up one score incorrectly and it happened to be mine off by one. I will see if our organizer catches it. I hate errors but it is too late to correct.

I whipped out to the lot to water the grass. I have one spot that isn’t greening up for me yet. It was very poor sod to begin with so I will need to watch this one spot as I may cut it out and get one more piece to fit in.

Thought of the Day

Gardening requires lots of water mostly in the form of  perspiration.

May 29th-May 30th 

” Mercury forecast Mesa 44 degrees Calgary 21 degrees, Edmonton 18 degrees,rain”

We took Daisy for her last set of first shots this morning. Unfortunately there was some kind of mix up with the dates and we couldn’t get in. It is funny in todays world if anything goes wrong it is blamed on the Covid crisis. We have an appointment for tomorrow so not bad. Just looking forward to walking with her on the ground.

I went to take back a garden hose I bought from Home Depot and when I drove up to the store the line up was a mile long.

We need to get people back to work. There are too many people shopping, driving on the roads and at the golf courses. Busier now than ever with everyone with time on their hands. I didn’t wait as line ups are not my favorite thing to do in the best of times. Let’s get people back working !!  It was nice to go grocery shopping, or to the Depot or to the course mid day midweek and have to fairly quiet.

A quick lunch and off to Heatherglen to see what happens today. No wind, and sunny today which was the perfect day for golf. Today Jeff & Wendy and I were hooked up with a single. First our single was late and only arrived after we had already tee’d off. Turns out he was 100 and moved like a sloth. Kidding he was 80 and moved like a snail. We waited and waited for him and it never changed for at least 9 holes. I am a quick golfer and the waiting was calling on everyone’s patience. After about 9 holes he finally started to relax a bit. He was still confused, slow, driving in front of Wendy & Jeff when they were golfing and took forever to make a decision. It was painful and even though very few things affect me one does have a tendency to make you lose focus as you wait and wait and wait. Nice enough guy but it would have been nice to golf as a threesome. This is the problem today with everyone off work the tee times are all filled.

The gentleman we golfed with though did have an interesting story as he owns a fabrication company and built the steel bridge over the canal. Doing so and making a deal with Heatherglen he was a free membership for life.

Any day golfing is a good day. Everyone had good shots and bad shots. There were some struggles with each of us. I would say it was not a stellar day for Jeff and decent day for Wendy and a ok day for myself. I took a 6 on par three which I would have liked to get rid of.

To home for a great pork loin, mashed potatoes, and carrots make for a great meal.

Up this morning and headed to the Depot for my gardne hose exchange for the third time. AGAIN the line was a mile long and I said to myself I am not interested in waiting.

Picked up my timer from Tor’s and headed out to the lot. I pressure washed the entire deck, gazebo, shed and motorhome.  That was a lot of work as I washed the outside and the inside gets dirty. Wash the inside and the outside gets dirty. A little funny.

I then started the irrigation system up to set the heads. It worked perfect. I then adjusted the timer and started the system again. Everyone in the park was watering so I knew the pressure would be down so I thought some of my issue was this as the sprinkler’s were not producing. I checked everything , every line to try to figure out why my system wasn’t working. Timer, blocked, no pressure etc all came up. I started to disasemble the system trying to figure it out. Numerous tests etc and finally I discover the issue.  The screen filter was completely plugged. I cleaned it out and the system is working perfect for about 15 min and then no pressure. The fliter is plugged again. We have two water lines, one for drinking and one for other watering washing etc. This line the water is drawn from canal system. There must be no filter at the intake end or the water just carries a lot of sediment. I am now wondering my solution. I am thinking a larger drop in  line screw off filter that doesn’t plug as fast. Darn !

It hit 28 degrees which was wonderful. Luckily there was a fair strong wind which kept it nice and cool. It was perfect to work in all day.

Jackie took the Enclave in for a huge rock bull eye. Unfortunately it was too deep and too big to be repaired. It had broke thru a few layers of glass just about coming right thru the windsheild. Hopefully it doesn’t spread otherwise we will be getting a new one. These are expensive as Buick have “quiet” glass which is an additional layer to make the car quieter inside. I don’t know why Jackie wouldn’t have just swerved as she saw it coming. LOL

Daisy had her shots today and I was hoping she could start walking with us but the vet says another 5 days before she is allowed to be on the grass. It will be so nice when we can do this.

Meat lasagna for supper which was wonderful.

Reading the news this is an article that demonstrates exactly what is wrong with our country. First to trust the quality of Chinese steel and second not to support a local company is unforgiveable. We all need to stop buying Chinese and if we all make that commitment it will have a accumulative affect.    https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/local-steel-suppllier-angry-after-chinese-firm-secures-deal-on-canadian-project

MY RANT

I have said this before but I will reiterate one more time. MUSIC. I do not like people that are playing that bass in their cars Thump Thump at the lights. It give me a instant pain in the head. As a teenager is used to play my music in my car loud but it was music not just bass. I do not like people playing music on the golf course. It isn’t calming, it is distracting and wrecks the peace and quiet of the “country” feel of the course. The reason for this to come up again is  I hate people playing music at a campsite. We have two younger ladies in the neighboring site that insist on playing music all day long and night on the loud side. We are in the country. The birds, the breeze going thru the leaves, sounds are amazing. These girls have a history of this. Lucky for us they do not come out very often. Music is distracting and should be investigated as a possible cause every time we have an car accident.  The worse issue is with people thinking everyone else  wants to hear it. Go deaf yourself don’t involve everyone else. 

Off of this subject but related to these same girls and rant worthy. The lack of possible education, class and intelligence that shows through when people have to use a profanity for a verb, noun, adjective and pronoun multiply times in one sentence is profound. A person that does this is lacking vocabulary, most likely lacking confidence and feels this helps them seem stronger or has anger management issues. USE YOUR WORDS is one of the first life lessons we give a young child trying to get them to express themselves which “these people” must have failed at miserably. It is not cool ! It is vulgar sounding. It doesn’t help to emphasize and other word or action that couldn’t have explained in a normal way. It doesn’t make you sound tougher. It makes you look like a hillbilly, Tiger King lover, old school bike that is nothing but uncouth.   NO professional in any position that wants to excel at their job talks like this. Smarten up.

BUT THAT IS JUST ME !

May 31st

” Mercury Forecast  Mesa 42 degrees  Calgary 22 degrees rain  Edmonton 24  degrees  drizzle ” 

First of the month of May seems to have flown by. This even with the weather was not good for most of the month. The leaves are still coming out on some tree types that is how cold it is been. I didn’t get done as much as I wanted. The dog has kept us busy. I have golfed quite a few times though even with everything.

It wasn’t supposed to rain today but looking outside it is sprinkling and cloudy.  The last day of the month so I will work on my budget numbers.

I finished everything all up. The numbers are good with the limiting things we are allowed to do. That part is nice. Jackie working on Covid cases has been earning good money which allows me not to withdraw a large chunk from our RRSP’s which I like.

Jackie finished off everyone’s taxes she was working on which is good. Some get money back and some have to pay which is the way it is always is.  No one should ever complain about paying taxes it helps the country and they knwo they made a little money. Plus I need tehse tax payers so my buddy Trudeau keeps sending me a cheque. A little bigger cheque would be nice.

Entered another Walmart order for pickup later next week.

Doing some research on my screen filter system and finding an alternative filter that works or I just may take a chance and see if the heads can handle the sediment without plugging. They should have had a fine filter on the intake which would have solved all of the issues.

Rain rain rain today!

 

Thought of the Day

Ever watch two water drops roll down the window and pretend it is a race ?