August 1st

Another smoky warm day coming up. We have to get ready for the week out at Oasis. Groceries, clothes etc.

I worked on my budget this morning. We have been so lucky with the stock market all year even though it is scary being at all time highs. Highs can become lows quickly. Once retired without pensions you do NOT want a market downturn. As the market has increased and with Jackie still earning some money we have been able to live without reducing the pot too much. That is the biggest mind set change going from watching the investment grow to seeing it shrinking each month due to withdrawals. Buy a car or take a trip then you really see the impact. But as I have always said, to die with a lot of money left in the bank is a waste of a good time. It is finding that balance between when you think you will run out and how long you actually live. Our investor and us have always being on a different page about this. Spend while you are able to and relax with the enjoyment of friends gathering, local outings etc when you are older that doesn’t require a lot of money. There are a lots of retirement “rules” like the 4 percent rule withdrawal, the times 25 rule, including the many rule of thumbs but they are all based on investor businesses attempting to “sell” you an idea. Each individual has to figure out what is right for them. Pick a living age ( common to use 85 or 90) pick a withdrawal structure that lasts that long and live on that. Keep it simple. There is most likely a “rule” about withdrawal segments but we plan to spend 60% between 65 and 75, 30% from 75 to 85 and 10% after that. The only unknown is healthcare and personal care if something happens. One can be cognizant of the possibility but to save for what if’s seems redundant to me. Worst case scenario you end up living in a government subsidized senior home in some small village in rural Alberta which isn’t a bad thing. I think the government should provide senior care homes for everyone ( just like schools) that only costs the patrons CPP and OAS and the balance as a government expense. If you have the money you can pay for your room at a facility you want. We legislate that kids have to go to school at 6 years of age, perhaps we legislate seniors at 85 must go into care centers were they have care, medical attention, can have an active social life, programs to add physical activity and educational programs to help with cognitive decline. Make participation mandatory as old people have a tendency to isolate themselves which is unhealthy. Centers like the Westman Village here in Calgary are wonderful for people but on the expensive side. I will need to add this to my future plans. Bucket list item- be the shuffleboard champion of 2045 in a senior home.

I looked at my bucket list I made up in 2014 when I retired and I still have lots to do. Covid wrecked two years for us. I am thinking we need to rebook our cruise for the fall of 2022 very soon that was cancelled. We still have ticket flight vouchers for all the kids we need to use up if Covid would go away. They expire December 31st of this year.

It is funny. I am starting to get annoyed at the unvaccinated. I support their decision as we all should be allowed to make choices concerning our bodies and medicines but this is causing huge harm to the economies, potential death to others and is selfish.

Wait until the unvaccinated want to travel, go to a movie, a bar, a theater, cruise etc and they wouldn’t be allowed, to see if it changes their mind. Imagine a family where everyone is needled except for the Dad and they want to go away but can’t. This is going to cause all sorts of societal issues. Interesting how the industry handles children under 12 until then also. Screwed up world we live in.

We readied ourselves to have a small family gathering out at Oasis as we are taking care of Jackson all week. We loaded up the Flex and it was very full with clothes, golf clubs, chairs, a a week full of food. Stopped and picked up Audrey and headed out.

Victoria, Corey met us out at the lot after picking up KFC which was by Jackson’s request. I never thought of but some refer to KFC as Kid Fattening Centers. Sad but true. I love KFC for a one or two events per year. Same as Chinese.

This kid Jackson is no longer a little kid. Corey and I found that out when trying to give him the bumps. ( he likes it) The thing is, Jackson is a hunk of kid but very fit and not over weight at all for his age. Once his builds muscle he will be a force.

Eating our meal and enjoying the conversation was fun. Jackson is so appreciative of his gifts and he received so many he really liked. His favorite was a custom skateboard. He also received a skateboard holding back pack. He received an amazing 6ft wide kite, a great book to read, a huge pillow he had to sleep on the first night, a stainless steel ring and a folding knife. He gets so excited when he opens presents and it is very refreshing to see the excitement.

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Of course he had to try it out so a good thing our new basketball court was finished.

Daisy only wanted to sleep with Jackson and spent all night with him. A fur collar of sorts. She loved it for some reason and so did Jackson I think.

Hours at the pool. This kid loves water. Jackie and I took turns in the pool with him and spent the time with Daisy in the shade on the time off.

He has become quite a swimmer. In a race I now have to make sure to throttle right to win as he can catch you off guard. What he does amazing is float. He can literally float for hours without moving a muscle. The only other person I know that could do this was my Mom. My feet keep sinking.

Here is a sad story. I am 6ft 3 in. He is 4ft 8 in and he beat in a free throw contest. I played basketball in high school and even when we first married in a community league. A 10 year kid beat me. Getting old sucks. LOL For real beat me. The hoop wasn’t at regulation height and I kept hitting the back of the ring and popping it out. He kept his ball going swish. Sick kid ! It is not like a singe game as we played best of three. I may need my eyesight checked.

Lucky for us Cor and Tor came out for supper again for Jackson’s actual birthday and brought us Arby’s for supper. I forgot how much I like this food. The Baked Potato from Arby’s is awesome. I had a loaded one and Jackie the Sour cream and chive.

Later in the afternoon Auggie, Atti and Jess made a surprise visit. Jackson was very happy to see them as he had just had a visit on the weekend when they went to Waterton. Nice surprise.

The three boys had a blast playing together. It is funny watching kids play especially when there is a age disparity. Kids being kids the odd one gets hurt or feelings get hurt. They always work it out it in the end and they love being together. Now that Atti is old enough he is right in the mix.

Playing in the pond and playing in the pool was on the agenda. Kids and water. The pond has a nice beach with slide, dock and the water being from the canal is relatively warm and clear. I am sure they could spend hours.

After playing for a quite a while we put on a movie outside in the gazebo. It was so warm out it was amazing. The movie we picked was very funny and good but had a way too much vulgarity in it. I do not understand why the producers think this is ok. It really doesn’t happen in the real world. It is sort of a pet peeve of mine. Atti feel asleep within 15 minutes but Auggie hung on. we actually had to end it before finished as it was 11:30pm.

Everyone slept in the motorhome last night. I think because of it being so late we didn’t think about getting the shed ready. It all went well. The kids slept in until 9am as did the adults. I don’t know if Jess’s back is sore or not but she didn’t complain. Next time we will use the shed if they want.

I have a lot of pictures to load but my phone is dead.

Jackie made scrambled eggs and I cooked the bacon outside on the BBQ. I love breakfasts. The kids all had a good fill.

It was hectic with everyone here but is was neat. Nice for Jess to spend the night.

Pool time and pond time again on the agenda. The boys even managed to lose the blow up shark in the pond. LOL It floated away and they were unable to retrieve it. I recovered it later in the evening.

Jess and the boys took off home about 3pm. They are a nice family with Atti being a card and a half. Love his attitude and rationale. ” I need ice cream now” LOL

Larry and Anita Geddes came for a visit this afternoon as they were doing there mini road trip. It was a great visit to see them again. Larry and Anita are two nice people. And they brought the best camping dog ever, Maggie with them. We had very nice evening. I had a perfect sized loin roast ready to cook for supper but they had commitments. It is funny not seeing them for while it is just like we saw them last week. We solved all of the worlds problems. Fun times.

Special note: Larry has gone Ford also buying an Edge. I like these and his is a fully loaded one. I am sure he will like it as much or better than his Jeep. He doesn’t care for black but it is still my favorite color even though they are more work.

After supper which was excellent but I forget to make the gravy. Would of went from a 4 to a 5 if I had gravy. I am really starting to like the Little Potato Company product with the seasoning as they cook fast and are delicious.

We headed to the pond to get the floating toy and Jackson spend another hour or more in the pond. There were only two kids in the pool all night. Jackson and the young girl both were very active going down the slide, snorkeling, jumping and regular swimming. The pond water temperature is close to 80 degrees.

Then the wind starting coming up. I hurried home as I had made my wind sensor disabled on my auto awning and it was getting quite windy. A storm is brewing it appears and yet as I write this 3 hours later nothing but the wind. At least blew the wind to the east. LOL

We walked over to the library and picked out three movies we thought would be ok. “Grownups” was the choice for tonight watching. It was and ok movie with the odd funny spot but not great. Perfect idea and actors to make it special but it failed in most cases. Still interesting to watch on a beautiful night.

Thought of the Day

They begin the evening news with ‘Good Evening,’ then proceed to tell you why it isn’t.

August 5th-6th

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 38 degrees, Edmonton 28 degrees, Calgary 30 degrees”

Another whooping out at Turner Valley Golf Course. A wonderful day, perfect weather, super course conditions, good back and sore muscle non existent aided by pills and still the same results. Four relatively good golfers with handicaps from 12 to 17 and the low score of the group was 93. Unbelievable that my net would normally be my gross. I can’t figure out the why. I have tried numerous things most of them ending up hurting me versus helping me. Move up a tee box and I lose numerous balls in water traps etc as the holes are too short. Swing easy and I mishit the ball. Try a lower different club and things go wrong. It does not meet my minds eye. A few years ago a 84 score I would be upset at on this course. Now I can’t break 90. Luckily for me I am not the only one. Great grouping again of nice guys. Between the under bush ( the main culprit) and very tricky greens to score well everything has to work perfect. NEXT TIME LOL

I didn’t stay after golf as we had promised Jackson a skateboard park in Strathmore. A nice small park. I have to say our visit in Strathmore you sure can tell it is small town friendly. Jackson had lessons per say from a 28 yr old expert that was awesome. Jackson tried a lot of new tricks and did really well. Ollie’s, flips, and even jumped two flights of stairs. The young man helped with feet placement and technical info to make the tricks work. Jackson even had his own “Angels” watching him do his tricks. A couple of young girls were lucky enough to have a date with boarders while we were there. Domino Pizza even delivered to the park for the big dates. When we were leaving the girls wanted to pet “cute” Daisy. She sure is an attention getter. Bat and eyelash and people swoon. I think a young guy should buy a small cute dog as he sure could end meeting the girls easily.

Jackson skated and tried tricks for a couple of hours or more. He is very happy with his progress and the encouragement and accolades of a young skater dude. The guy was impressed with Jackson’s results knowing he is just a beginner. This guy was 28 yrs old and skating for 15 years. He was a big help and a very nice young guy.

It was fun listening to the two talk with Jackson knowing all of the terminology and people involved in the sport and this young man also including watching the same Utube videos. A good day for Jackson.

I didn’t really see the rationale behind skate boarding until I noticed this. The young girls were watching Jackson doing his tricks. Take a young action hero you will find groupies. LOL

Jackie and I had a lot of fun watching him play and learn. Always scared of a fall and this did happen often but he every time just shook them off. He has some kind of fancy knee and elbow pads that his Aunts bought him for his birthday that a few kids asked where to get them as they wanted them. He just smiles.

I beat him at his own game. Punch buggy. I saw it then realized as he was running towards me what he was trying to do. Wham Papa wins !

Small towns are just friendly.

After packing up and heading out we made a quick stop at DQ. Jackson asked for some long named Blizzard. I have been teased about my ordering abilities for a day now. Wonder Women Cookie Dough Collison Blizzard small. I stammered a bit due to memory. The gallery was all over me. Then I order mine and they start laughing again. I Asked for a Choco Brownie Extreme Mini pronouncing it not like they thought. LOL Funny guys !

We didn’t get home until at least 10 pm. Another movie night success and then bed.

What a perfect night for a sleep. Cool breeze thru the window hitting out heads was awesome. Jackson, Daisy, Jackie and I DID NOT GET OUT OF BED until 10 am. Yes it was nice.

For a very late breakfast I made French Toast. I love French toast but with icing sugar they are even better. Oh well we are camping.

A very relaxing day as Jackson was mellow and didn’t want to golf or swim today but was happy checking out the UTUBE for boarding.

Multiple walks during the day were nice. Daisy met numerous people and pets so she was happy so a good day.

Pork Loin, cheese and mustard on a Pretzel Bun for lunch along with pickles is one of my favorites and Jackson ate his all up. Love cold pork.

The girls food truck business is going strong. They have done so well and are brilliant marketers and promoters. I do feel bad they have had to deal with PRAIRIE DOG BREWING’s mean spirited and nasty ways. I feel extremely surprised how cruel, and nasty they are. I have never seen another company like this in my 40 years of business.

I understand completely wanting to protect your brand and trademarks. But in this case they just will not accept they are wrong. But this is a company that prints a blog filled with inaccurate and manipulative information and states we always are truthful so you know how they think.

What I really dislike is the management of this company using social media and followers to harass and bully the food truck. Most people understand the girls are dealing with a personality that is unreasonable but the media bullying and the attacks by their follower’s is unfair and uncalled for. The girls have been very patient and have remained quiet and let the company bury itself. Audrey after leaving a support posting was even personally attacked by a Brewing follower. She did very well defending herself which should never have happened. I know I would have not being so patient. Them filing for Facebook and Instagram take downs is unbelievable. Booking every imaginable name for a food truck on Instagram for future use should never be allowed.

I have difficulty understanding how dumb they are when they run a “big business”.

Can anyone think these are confusing or similar ?

PRAIRIE DOG BREWING versus PRAIRIE DOGZ FOOD TRUCK

Only ONE MENU item out of the Brewing Companies extensive bar menu being Pretzel Bites that overlaps.

So completely different names, totally different logo’s, very different menu’s, geographically separated by 3 hours and they think there is problem and have caused a lot of grief over nothing.

I am confused how they can be confused. LOL

Thought of the Day

War does not determine who is right – only who is left.

August 7th

” Mercury Forecast Mesa 41 degrees, Edmonton, 22 degrees, Calgary 26 degrees”

A wonderful sleep last night. The cool air blowing thru the windows was like heaven. Daisy puts her face right up to the screen and loves the breeze. She sleeps like a dog all night. Comfortable bed, comfortable mattress, great temperature, quiet and dark make for a nice sleep.

Victoria, Jackson and a couple of his buds are coming out for a small birthday gathering. Jackie bought Artisan 12″ sub buns which were odd as you had to bake them in the oven and cool to have them ready. Made me think of the bread making at Blimpies we did. They were fantastic tasting. Each kid got to create their own sub. Kids are fussy. I know I was as a kid and it must have driven my parents nuts between being fussy and allergies as there was not a lot I wasn’t allergic to.

Three kids making subs and NOT one wanting mustard. I consider mustard a MUST have for any dog, hamburger, sandwich etc. Very little experimenting with different types of meat other than ham. Italian meats and even bologna taste wonderful. They were happy which is the only thing that matters. Throw in pop, water, juices, chips and you have the perfect kids meal.

I made an error. Alan & MaryAnn’s children did not like ice cream or cake for some reason. Parental influence. LOL

We had pre-booked 1pm for the kids to be at the pool so off they headed. They were quite fortunate it wasn’t overly busy which was quite surprising considering the events going on today and how full the parking lot was. They all enjoyed their pool time and then headed to the pond. Water guns, float toys and they were set.

Let me say I am surprised at 10 year old boys. There is no thought process to figure out anything, still whiny, are snipping with each other etc. I don’t remember that with the girls and I don’t remember it as a child myself. Could have happened in both cases but no memories of such.

One very amusing, somewhat annoying, and funny was when Jackson and Jayden got on the inner tube and the current started pushing them to the other side of the pond into the cattails. Two good swimmers, a huge tractor tube, and they can’t figure out how to move the tube. Tor was yelling at them to use their feet and swim either behind the tube or in the center but they couldn’t figure the how to. Plus the girl like screaming from them you would have thought it was the end of the world. A gentleman that owned the tube swam out to “save” them. When he reached the tube he stood up. The water was thigh deep on him. LOL Crazy kids !

Water gun fights, sliding, jumping and swimming is always fun.

Jackson when with just us is an incredibly well behaved child and a lot of fun, but get him with cousins or friends his personality completely changes. I really can’t explain or understand the reason why but it is not good.

The three of them had a very fun time though. They had make your own subs which they liked, they had pool time, they had pond time, water fights, water slide and jumping into the water, volleyball game , they had birthday cake for desert and lots of play time so I would think they all enjoyed it.

When behaving, LOL, all three were very nice kids. I have to say young girls are much easier to entertain.

Victoria and the kids left around 4:30pm. Jackie & I walked, rested, enjoyed the quiet outside ( one a/c going a few trailers away for no reason) and watched the water sprinkler do their work. Our work is done !

Thought of the Day

There’s a fine line between cuddling and…holding someone down so they can’t get away

August 8th

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 42 degrees, Edmonton 19 degrees, Calgary 17 degrees.”

This was the first day in a long long time where it was cool. The evening was cool as was the sleep time. Nice for a change and sort of welcomed.

Last night/yesterday was a big social event here at the park with a fund raiser golf tournament, a catered pig roast, and dance with a band. Super successful and well organized. We have some great people in the park.

We loaded up Jackson’s bike and clubs and decided to head to town as we needed some groceries and Jackie had some stuff do for her Mom. Jackie did the laundry while “fixing” herself up after showering and hair washing in the big shower. I watched a bit of the PGA and then headed back to Oasis with Daisy. We went for two long walks, adjusting irrigation heads AGAIN. They can’t seem to have consistent pressure with each time massively different. I closed off a head to my Clematis as it was turning yellow. Too much water I think. I love and hate these things. I think I have planted at least 6 plants and they die every time. I research and do what they say but they die ! This one doesn’t look again. Epson salt treatment next week for it if teh reduction in water doesn’t help.

I spent an hour in the closet adjusting and moving the locks to keep the doors from moving when travelling. I think I still need to shim the strike plate on the pantry pullout door as it doesn’t hold. But teh closet works perfect now.

Daisy and I walked the park a couple of times and met loads of people. Lots of barking dogs as we passed. Having said that though I am surprised in how few people are out here right now. I am impressed with how many nice looking lots lately as people work on them. That is the difference between, year lease, rentals and actual ownership. It makes a huge difference.

I had a smaller supper on the BBQ which I enjoyed and am just relaxing after my closet work.

Here are a few throwback pics to August 2nd that Jessica sent me. I think all three of our grandkids could make it big in the modelling world.

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In the first picture the boys loved the riding horses. Our neighbor here at Oasis bought these for our hitching post. I haven’t calculated a boarding cost yet. They don’t eat much. The boys and Jess slept on the motorhome floor all warm and snuggly. Our beach at the pond looks wonderful in this picture. Like my caption says we need a Palm tree to get that tropical feeling. The three boys next pic enjoying the pool. Water and kids keep them busy but does make you need to watch every moment. Atti on another fake horse with that smile.

Just a wonderful day and evening. It sure is a lot cooler menaing I even had to put on a light jacket for a our late walk.

Thought of the Day

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine

August 9th

” Mercury Forecast Mesa 33 degrees, Edmonton 29 degrees, Calgary 26 degrees ”

Last night was cool and refreshing. The low got down to 11 degrees. I had to stay under the covers. LOL But it sure is nice with day highs reaching high 20’s and lows low teens at night, it is perfect. Everyone had a great sleep.

I was happy with my project work today. I rebuild my power supply box to keep the connections dry from rain. I use a 30 amp splitter after the surge protector. One runs to the shed the other to the motorhome. When I squeezed the Y connector too tight I noticed I could create a fault on the surge guard. So I made it about a 1 inch wider and 2 in taller and everything fits in nicely now.

I organized the shed shelves again. I cut the grass. I dead headed all of the plants and trimmed my Sand Cherry bush and Lavender plants. Makes them more dense and better color for next year. Other than the poor quality geraniums we bought everything is looking great. Well except for my Clematis. I closed off the sprinkler head and will watch it for a few day to see if it gets it’s color back. I installed a ledger board on the back of the shed to hang under the eave all of my long gardening stuff like rake, shovel, brooms, ladder etc. It is much neater and looks fine. The back side is a shed. LOL

The temperature continues to climb and is very warm.

I booked my Jeep in for it’s brake job on Wednesday with a new company that I got a good deal on. We will see how that goes. Kal Tire was awesome for my tires but refused to do my brakes and only change pads. I have changed pads only many many times and no issue if the rotor is smooth and not warped. This new company committed to doing it my way. I was going to do it myself again but with no cement floor, no floor jack, no ramps and no compression tool ( c- clamps work fine but this is a two piece caliber which makes that more challenging) so I decided let someone else do it.

I booked a golf game late afternoon for Jackie and I out at Speargrass on Tuesday.

I fixed up Mom’s accounts again at BNS moving between Momentum and Power and renewing a GIC. She should be fixed for the balance of the year. When she decided she wanted to go to a seniors home I calculated her expenditures, income, costs etc and did four different scenarios based on how long she was going to live and at what spend rate and interest rate. She is set for her life to live there. It was a very good decision on her part. I was impressed that she recognized when to stop driving and sold her car and when it was the proper time to sell the acreage. When I did my calculations which were done in 2014 which is 7 years ago I was out by 10K only. She did very well and I calculated pretty good. She can feel secure in knowing her money will safely last her. Having said that for the last year being Covid it was pretty hard to spend money. LOL

It is break time as I sit on the deck under the RV awning with Daisy while Jackie punches the clock away inside the motorhome. You sure need a lot of water to stay feeling hydrated.

I fiddle farted around with a lot of things. I didn’t accomplish anything noticeable other than the shed storage on the back wall but still it was a productive day.

Thought of the Day

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

August 10th

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 33 degrees, Edmonton 23 degrees, Calgary 22 degrees”

Supposed to hit 22 degrees but it is very cool right now. It is only 13 degrees. Very windy. We have been spoiled by the warm summer as this feels cold. I didn’t even bring pants with me to the lot. Sweatpants but that doesn’t work for golf.

Daisy and I took a few walks around the park this morning. She loves it and I always like to see what other people are doing to their lots. She meets plenty of dogs and I get to talk to numerous people so a fun filled walk every time.

I worked on my July budget sheets and am about 1/2 done for now.

At about 3pm it started to warm up a bit and the wind subsided. At 5pm it was dead calm and a balmy 25 degrees. Today’s golfing was a lot of fun. We were paired up with a young Asian lady for the first nine. Here is a young girl ( guess 25 yrs) that golfs 5 times a week. She is member at Speargrass. Ginger played from the same tees as I did. While not near as long she was very consistent with a power fade on every drive. She was a very good golfer and a nice partner. We played as a twosome for the back nine. Even with it being busy and one slow foursome ahead of us we finished in under 4 hours. Daisy as usual was awesome and sat and watched the whole time. I played the back nine very very well but had a few missed shots on the front otherwise it would have been a great game. Most of my front trouble was Par 3’s not hitting one single green. The course was immaculate and the greens superb. I really like Turner for the views, the isolation and separation of the fairways but am getting very disgruntled with it as I can’t score well on it. Mostly due to under bush and willows. One foot off the fairway you should NOT be penalized. At Speargrass I can hit the ball further and even straighter as I am not afraid of losing it. It sure is making me think for next year. Could have been a 70’s score if not for the front Par 3’s. They had very difficult hole placements today also. It was so nice out it was unbelievable.

Daisy looks a little frazzled. Must have been the wind.

After golf we sat on the deck which was lovely. Daisy sat in her bag right with us. We had chicken wings and salad that were amazing. No kidding one of the best chicken wing meals I have had. Maybe a long time since I had them. LOL 10 out of 10 from me on the wings. They were amazing.

A first time for everything. I ordered a Caesar as last time with Jeff & Wendy they made super good Caesars. Get this, the waitress brings me out a canned Caesar. Talk about disappointment. I don’t know if the girls are underaged or no bartending experience but it sure was a shock and funny. It actually tasted ok but not as good as the last one.

We got back to the RV and took Daisy for more walks to work a poop loose. It took awhile and we put on a lot of miles.

At 8 pm it still was 21 degrees out. Up early in the am for an appointment for the Jeep. Who makes these early appointments ?

A wonderful warm sunny fun time day. Life is good.

Thought of the Day

Golf tip – To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target

August 11th–12th

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 33 degrees, Edmonton 22 degrees, Calgary 23 degrees”

Up earlier than I have been for a long time as I had an appointment at this garage I found on Groupon. It is a smaller independent garage whose shop rate is a lot less than average and is not a upsell shop like most dealers. He didn’t try even once to upsell me which is what I like. Most often new rotors are mandatory or recommended along with a brake flush etc. He did what I asked for and in and out in one hour. That is service. I will use him for more stuff.

Daisy and I went for a walk while the Jeep was being repaired. At the end of our walk we just sat on the grass and looked at people. There were not a lot of sidewalks around us so it was difficult finding a place to walk. Especially with her as if she sees anything she wants to jump and meet them.

I then whipped over to Bubbles. 9 years since a thorough cleaning and it has been used heavily as a work truck and I hate dirty or messy vehicles so I paid for a premium clean. Shampooing all of the rugs, seats, carpet, steaming the dash, side panels and roof panels , all the glass, and steaming the crooks and crannies in the interior. They had 4 people working on it including an older Asian lady that was the lead hand so I knew I would get a great job. It took just a little over two hours with 4 of them working constantly. The trucks interior looks like BRAND NEW. Expensive, expensive but worth it. They don’t dress the fenders or boards so I did them when I got home. It looks good. Just a new windshield when it gets into my line of vision and a power polish on the hood and it will good to go.

Life is funny. This week has been a bad one. Mom is in the hospital as she has multiple compression fractures in her back. With a diagnoses of severe osteoporosis there is very little they can do except for pills to allow pain management. Fractures will heal themselves in a couple of months but being old and weaker bones it will take a long time. It just adds to the difficulty in getting back to normal.

Our neighbor across from us at Oasis died last night. He was in his mid 60’s and a fun teasing, enjoyable guy to talk to. Tom & Susan were here before us. I used to buy him a case of beer each year as they were very kind in designing their lot so I could pull the motorhome out of ours a way easier. He was diagnosed with cancer just last Monday. So the blessing is a very short time of illness but it is sad so young and such a nice guy. It happens too often. Tom did have years of retirement enjoyment though. A former Union Rep for CP Rail so he had to do a lot of travelling to do. He had the personality he would have excelled at this job. We will miss him.

On a selfish not I hate losing nice neighbors either by dying or moving. This too happens too often.

Daisy getting no sleep at all this morning is passed out big time under the chair.

I watered Tom’s new lawn and flowers tonight and got soaked. I bought a Made in China sprayer and it leaked and sprayed everywhere. Lesson learned and my new sprayer may cost double but will work. I figured with the amount of usage a cheap one would do. NOT .

Multiple walks around the park with Daisy. It is just a friendly place. We met a new dog that loved Daisy ( boy pup a few months old) and they played for quite a while. The younger lady owner drives a convertible Roush Mustang. Nice car !

The weather is unbelievable. Today 25 degrees, a slight breeze, no smoke and blue clear skies with the sun shining brightly.

Today was my Men’s league at Turner Valley.

The good and the bad.

• I played the course and DID NOT lose ONE ball. For this course, that for me is an amazing accomplishment. I tried a stronger grib ( for non golfers that does not mean tighter grip on the handle) . It worked unbelievable and my drives all day were awesome.
• I lost AGAIN to an 85 year old by 5 strokes.

If my drives go well usually I score excellent. This was the third time golfing where I tried using my glasses. I am sold on them for golfing but question them for putting. The course did have the Club Championships on it today so the greens were shaved, fast and pin placements in more difficult positions. Long story short I had a great long game, good short game, and horrible putting. I need to change that. Disastrous putting. On two Par 5 holes I was on the green in two ( which is very very good) and then experienced a 5 putt and a 4 putt. I don’t ever remember a 5 putt before. Putting for an eagle ending up with a score of 8 sucks. But the putting adventure continued with 3 putts on numerous greens. For the last few holes I took my glasses off before putting to see if made a difference but it takes a long time for your eyes to adjust and I didn’t notice any real difference. So I will carry on with the glasses as I liked them on the course and move back to my blade putter for while. A heavier putter isn’t good on fast greens and at any time Turner’s greens have a lot of slope. A funny game as I was hitting the ball wonderfully and then to score horrible. I like my shot on hole 11 which is a short Par 5 of 475 yards. Good drive and then 228 yards to the green, I hit my hybrid perfect and it flew over the hill to the hidden green. My partner and I didn’t see anyone but unfortunately they were there and my ball ended up at the back of the green. Good thing it missed them. 10 ft putts for birdie’s and money but missed those on the Par 3’s and 4’s. Next game back to my blade and I will see if any difference.

The part that hurts is this 85 yr old beating me again. He is amazing. He had new lenses for his eyes put in about 5 years ago and doesn’t wear glasses except for close up reading only. Beside being able to hit it a great distance, in good shape, great eyes and making no mistakes he is a neat character. Always wears Play Loud golf shorts in cold or heat. He is sun tanned just like George Hamilton the actor used to be. He needs the Vitamin D for his sex life. Quite a character.

Our after golf get together was wonderful. I had veal cutlets which I love but it came with white gravy. I prefer brown gravy by far. So another menu item off the my list.

Super day, fun day, great golf shots, not one lost ball, horrible putting, great golfing companions made for a wonderful summer day. I enjoyed it even if I took a whipping.

Lots of walks with Daisy on my return around the park. Lots of trees being trimmed and cut down as they are a little dangerous with the wind. In fact I just had a 8ft branch fall down about 3 inches in diameter. You would not want that on your head. Scared me a bit when it fell. Reminded me of the time Jackie just about killed me.

Thought of the Day

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter

August 13th

“Mercury Forecast – Mesa 36 degrees, Edmonton 32 degrees Calgary 33 degrees”

Wow the first time this year where I will say it is warm out. Perhaps even too warm out. Jackie and I took the dog for a walk and I said about half way. It is hot out. Too hot. No breeze, blue skies and bright sun and the air was suffocating. I am shocked but will admit it when it is too hot. Jackie was working all day so I had the a/c on for her. It was much needed.

I hate to complain but the parks power sucks. Today we were down to 104 volts. It kicks off a 105 to protect the electrically motors in the fridge or a/c. So I unplugged and turned on the genset. If the park could maintain the voltage I could live with 30 amp but they can’t. Newbie campers come and turn on the a/c, electric water heater, microwave etc and the infrastructure can’t handle it. Quite annoying. 300 sites with a smaller contribution of each we should fix the power. But we have a new water trampoline for the kids to keep cool. LOL

Everyone knows it is a small world but today another case to prove it. I was talking to our neighbor right next door to us to make sure the generator wasn’t too noisy for them and I discover he worked with Pat Ferris in Saskatoon. A neighbor living in Airdre with a lot in Oasis right beside us knows very well our next door neighbor we had in Mesa from Saskatoon. He actually worked with Pat. That is a small world. Bill & Bev Heath are great neighbors as were Pat & Bob and they know each other. I HAVE SAID ALL ALONG THAT EVERYONE FROM SASKATWECHAN IS EITHER RELATED OR KNOWS EACH OTHER. A small world indeed. And extra neat today being Pat’s birthday, Friday the13th and knowing Bill both our neighbors. That is cool.

Meet Bill virtually again. Bill and Bev say hello.

I am in somewhat of dismay how HOT it is as going outside as it takes your breath away. My phone says 33 degrees and no breeze or smoke just bright sun. I love heat but am worn out today. I did look at my huge lawn to cut but said another day. It can wait.

I will take this over rain or cool weather any day but it does lessen your resolve.

August 14 to 19th

Road trip to Twin Butte for the County Fair then off to Seba Beach for some Walleye hunting, golfing and a birthday celebration

Our trip to Twin Butte was awesome. A little on the smoky side with our eyes and throat being bothered and more traffic on Hwy 2 south than I have ever seen. Twin Butte is a hamlet with 6 homes and a population of 10 people so one may wonder why go there. First Jessica & Penny were invited to attend their first ever Annual County Fair. There is a large trading area including Waterton that this hamlet can draw from. Let me say I was impressed with the organization of the event and the attendance especially considering first time and no signage on the main road. I am sure it will grow as the years go by and getting in at the ground floor is good thing.

The young girl in charge of the goats was awesome. Not only extremely knowledgeable about the goats, very informative and extremely friendly. The boys and the other kids loved this pen.

The cowboys with their dogs were amazing. Daisy is very smart but these dogs are Einstein reincarnated. Unbelievable what they know, how they listen and watch their owners for direction. The group even had a a/c van similar to what is used for sled dogs for them.

They had two bands to play music for us that were wonderful. The one group had six violinist in it. Great music, super singing and just the right volume for a change. I enjoyed them very much.

I looked up and was shocked. I thought it was a time warp. Some of you may not know this but my home town where I was born had 10 houses only. Not much bigger than Twin Butte. All of my cousins lived with a 10 mile radius of the hamlet and 75% of them were red heads. Today red heads with beards to fit the small town cowboy image. I thought for sure this was one of my 100 plus relatives from the Niton/ Edson area. The young couple were great dancers.

Kids love movement and this little guy kept smiling the whole time.

August and Atticus are neat little boys with wonderful personalities. They loved playing with the goats and welcomed the chance to pet the ponies. Yet they were tentative to ride them. Jessica couldn’t convince them otherwise. They still had a great time and enjoyed the ponies.

The greasy pig contest was the big hit. People swarmed to get a view of the kids running after the piglets. It was funny to watch the kids chasing them. And not one animal activist was present.

I will say this, it sure was not like the greasy pigs contests I have seen before. Years ago it was axle grease and oil. They didn’t use piglets they used a nice sized young hog. But a fun event for everyone and the kids loved the chase.

There were four awesome food trucks in attendance. Coulee Dogs, Waffle Wagon, Hungarian Food and a fudge truck.

I had my MAKE MY OWN dog which was my PURIST version of a hotdog. Smoky, mustard, relish and onion. Wow is an understatement. I chose well. Those buns.!

A hot day but the smoke kept it to a reasonable 33 degrees. A fun fun day that we both fully enjoyed. A very nice drive down and back and since it was later plus needing a bit of food, and with Jackie needing to help her Mom, we stayed in the condo for the night. That was a change but also welcomed to enjoy a huge long shower and get the few things done we needed.

I had booked a site at Pine Ridge for us to visit, golf and fish with Fred this week. We received a call from Terry as she had to take Fred into the hospital as he had gall stone pain. That supposedly is one of those pains equal to gout and both being much more painful than childbirth. We decided to cancel not knowing how long Fred would be in and it turns out his stint is longer than expected. So we cancelled our spots and will see about rebooking later. We are all wishing him a speedy recovery.

We relaxed out at the lot, fixing up things, cleaning up things, going for walks and enjoying ourselves.

We had our neighbors come over for drinks tonight and it was the latest we have stayed up for a long time. Rick and Michelle are very nice people but after a couple of drinks they are hilarious. I laughed so much my muscles hurt. The story telling with visual effects was great. Daisy was in love with Rick and wouldn’t leave him alone. She consistently wanted to jump on his lap and kiss him. It was a very fun evening. It stayed warm out until midnight at least.

Jackie was up early for work and I started my own project work. I am in Papa Bear mode and upset over the treatment PRAIRIE DOG BREWING has levied against Jess & Pen’s food truck. In my opinion I have never seen such an arrogant, manipulative, mean spirited and obsessed company in my life. I have always resisted the social media platforms as I dislike the format, concept, troll mentality and security issues but today I created a “one time” use Instagram and Facebook accounts to combat the attacks on the girls. I am extremely proud of the girls approach which I consider very professional and cultured. I am positive I would not of been of the same ilk. Jess wrote and posted the perfect article with her new name change and the reasons why etc. After seeing it and the rhetoric died down I decided to take a wait and see mode. If the media trolls and idiots stopped I didn’t want to rehash everything again with them. It quieted down which was awesome as I am ready and willing with an eye for an eye combat plan. Then one idiot troll and another commented on the girls new page. I reacted by commenting on his personal Facebook page as I hate the public viewing of laundry.

• While I understand your allegiance to your friends I encourage you to base your beliefs on facts. Gerad’s blog is full of misleading and inaccurate information. I see you recently commented a snide bully remark on the food trucks newly named webpage. The name change only occurred due to emotional distress not infringement of any kind. You must have commented without reading their article. I respectfully ask you to please refrain from such rude , bullying comments.
• “Bullying does not only hurt the victim, but the perpetrator also, and maybe more deeply and more permanently. You learn nothing very profound about yourself simply by being bullied; but by bullying someone else you learn something you can never forget.” Sally Rooney

I am confident he will hide in his gopher hole as bullying is not acceptable in any format.

I noticed a few hours later all comments were removed. There is only one guy left from a couple weeks ago that I will leave alone as he did say please and was respectful.

I am ready if the stupidity doesn’t stop. There only two ways to stop bullies. Fight back hard or ignore and hopes it stops. So far the second option is working.

This company even has the gall to post this to LINKEDIN which is not the format for media propaganda. Amazing. I have responded hopefully strong enough to shut this down. In my opinion PRAIRIE DOG BREWING has a compulsive obsessive disorder that goes beyond words. There was no reason AT ALL to make their case if they felt strongly about it, public. The went full media, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIN, blog post, news media, and encourage participation of their followers.

Jessica’s posting was so well written that even if you are a supporter of the Brewing company you should question your allegiance. Please just use common sense and think about the reality of the situation, take out the emotion and feelings of loyalty and understand the trademark infringement criteria and I believe most reasonable people will say this has gone away overboard.

I don’t want to dislike a brewery as I love wings and beer and I like a lot of things this company does but to go so much overboard on this issue that isn’t trademark infringement is amazing to me. They do have too much time on their hands to be so involved in this.

After work Jackie, Daisy and I headed to Speargrass for another round of golf. Daisy is amazing. The weather was nice with it only being 25 degrees and overcast due to the smoke and clouds coming in.

We golfed as a twosome which was nice. We didn’t finish until about 7:30 but under 4 hours. Looking at the storm clouds we decided to do takeout rather than sit on the deck. It turned out to be a good decision as getting home it was starting to rain. My beef dip was awesome. It was too late to BBQ so we chose to go takeout. I actually love Speargrass, long, tall grass but no trees, nice variation of holes and with VIP Jackie and I can golf cheaper than one person with cart at Turner Valley or any other course. For $78 Jackie & I golf with a cart. Most courses are $50 to $75 plus cart for one person. Plus it is 8 minutes away. A great day . Another fun day.

It rained hard from 9pm all night and even this morning it was still raining. We actually slept in a bit as it was cool and wonderful sounding with the rain hitting the roof. I have lots of catch up computer work to do today.

I am happy with what I accomplished today. Some good things happened. Some seeds. Some victories and some fails.

A nice day for computer work as it rained for a long time and the ground is soaked. Daisy had some wet walks but still loved it.

A wonderful BBQ supper of roasted potatoes, carrots and porkchops. I love BBQ supper a lot compared to most other meals.

Our Global news out here works perfect which is nice to be able to see news live. I am not liking the way Covid is rising in Albert and Arizona. It is a little worrisome. Alberta today had the highest number of new cases in three months hitting almost 700 new cases and 6000 active cases. Arizona had 5060 new cases on Wednesday with a daily average close to 3m for the week. Considering AB is 4.4 million and AZ is 7.2 million. So you can see AZ is not looking good at the moment.

Loved the rain and much needed but the walks for the dog are a little more difficult.

In the trees next door we have two huge OWLS visiting. I am not sure if they are nesting but very cool to see them just sitting there. Big birds and hard to spot in the trees.

Thought of the Day

You’re never too old to learn something stupid

August 19th–20th

“Mercury Forecast – Mesa 35 degrees, Edmonton 19 degrees, Calgary 15 degrees”

Windy today and a chance of rain. My men’s league is on today but I cancelled and did not get back in. It looked like there was room but the organizer sent out a update sheet and missed myself but did get a couple of other changes so timing is everything. I am sort of happy about it though as I just came in from walking the dog and my hands are cold. I don’t need any additional handicaps when playing Turner Valley.

At the Twin Butte fair the local UCP MLA Joseph Schow who does a wonderful job promoting and critiquing small businesses did a piece on the girls.

I believe the rhetoric of infringement has ceased. I see no more posts on Instagram or Facebook and the LinkedIn articles have all been removed. There was no common sense or business putting personal propaganda or supporting it, having only one side of the story and a story that was misleading, on this form of media. One gentleman actually removed his entire profile. To have a “professional” in this case an accountant that is a friend of the bar owners post a document that is only one side of the story and factually incorrect in so many areas is someone that allowed friendship to take precedence over professionalism. Even though I had to instigate it I am impressed that it was all removed. I discovered later he actually blocked me. I also discovered by the Alberta registry he is a director of Prairie Dog and owner of his own accounting firm. Hopefully his common sense kicks in and he realizes that friendship cannot take precedence over professional conduct. My feeling was of surprise he would post an infringement article that is full of inaccurate and misleading information under his own name.

The girls can now carry on growing their newly named Food Truck business and have fun with it without the stresses that the Brewing company burdened them with.

I think I will leave the accounts up and running as there times where it is handy but I will not be an active participant.

My hands are still cool from my walk.

Fred is still in the hospital and it looks like it is a gall bladder removal surgery required. He just had a double hernia surgery 3 or 4 weeks ago. Aging is fun. We are all hoping he gets this done asap and gets back on his feet. I am sure this has been an issue for years as steak or a heavy meal always affected Fred’s digestive system. Bad timing to have both things done so close together.

Covid is getting scary again across the world. Over 800 new cases In Alberta the highest since May but today news reports all were unvaccinated. The only way to stop this is to rapidly get everyone double jabbed asap including children. I am tired of this but all we can do is wait, practice safe measures and hope. It is only 60 days before we want to head south. This year for some reason has flown by. I do not like that.

This last week was the first week since I retired where I relaxed and enjoyed the quiet. No commitments, putting off things to do and just walking the dog, visiting and enjoying. It was nice.

This morning I was off to the registry to verify information for Blue Cross. I was impressed that they are using the virtual line up QR Code system. Some old people or anyone without a smart phone may struggle with this. I scanned the code and I had a 95 minute wait.

I decided to head off to Bay to get a new watch band. It appears these things only last about a year. The young watch maker had to trim the band a bit due to sizing but it came all together for $30 bucks and 1/2 hr wait.

I still had time left so I stopped at Popeye’s for lunch. Those Chicken Sandwiches are beyond GREAT. Love them.

Back to waiting in front of the registry office watching many people struggling with the system. I hate to say it but one blond young girl played the part perfect. It ended up the check in lady wrote her name on a piece of paper to get her in the que. People just don’t read signage as many many were turned away. I like the system. You can see where you are in the que and do other things while waiting.

On my way home I stopped at the McKenzie driving range. Sunny to start and rain during, then sunny when I was done. LOL. Good practice and every time not only good for the muscles but a learning experience. Plus I got to try my new waterproof jacket which worked perfect. I can slice perfect with the driver and can pull left perfect with the irons. What ever happened to straight.

Another well spent relaxing day in the books.

Thought of the Day

In filling out my application, where it says, ‘In case of emergency, notify:’ I put “DOCTOR.” Should be ok !

August 21st-23rd

“ Mercury Forecast Mesa 38 degrees, Edmonton 22 degrees, Calgary 17 degrees”

Up early this morning and headed to Tim’s for breakfast and then off to Jacksons football game. He is very good at this sport. He had some awesome catches, a touchdown and pulled the flags of a very fast kid. Great running and getting into the clear. It was another fun morning.

A nice walk with Daisy on our return just before it started to rain.

I booked a golf game with Jeff & Wendy who are back from BC at a course I have never golfed before. I tried a couple of others but no openings so I am looking forward to this new course. Price is right and the course looks awesome. Lots of water though. Should be a fun day

Jackie worked like a mad woman cleaning the house, Daisy slept and I went for a few groceries.

Back home I prepared to cook a wonderful BBQ meal. I love the grill for food. Tonight it was bacon wrapped chicken breast for Jackie and Sirloin steak for myself. Cooked to perfection if I have to say myself. Baby roasted herb & chive potatoes with onions, red peppers and carrots all cooked in tin foil.

A few good shows on Tv made for a good day.

Rain and storm is suppose to hit this afternoon but right now perfect, so Jackie, Alan, MaryAnn, Audrey and I went for a visit at Sikome Lake. It was wonderful sitting outside in the sun and warmth. I drove the Jeep as I was aware of the potential storm which is always risky of hail and the Flex doesn’t need any dents.

A very funny incident. Alan’s little dog Tia was in her bag on a chair in the middle of the group. Alan had opened her bag to allow her to look around a few minutes prior. Daisy was on her leash walking around. Then she sees a dog. Daisy runs full force toward the dog and has her leash wrapped around Tia’s chair. Daisy runs and the chair goes flying. The dog bag goes flying up in the air and poor little Tia is a Mexican plane flying throw the air. It was comical to see, scary as an injury could have happened but Tia and Daisy were all perfect. Alan may have twitched his back jumping out of his chair. It was one of those very funny moments that happens.

The park was busier than I have seen for a long time with people walking and biking around. A speeding cop car in the mix and a gentleman that possible could have been Michael. Impossible for two people to dress the same way.

We get home and it sprinkles but we get a message from Alan the north received a fair amount of hail. Not damaging by the looks but always the potential

I spent two hours plus last night creating a QR code for the girls food truck menu. I completed it and sent it to Jess for any revisions and to be the admin person. I used the wrong email address as I had to use the website’s internal system which doesn’t connect to your contact list. I didn’t save the data. So long story short, all gone !!

First thing this morning I started again and it took less time as I was a little familiar with the nuances of the webpage. It was a lot of fun.

I loved creating and linking intricate Excel books. I love playing with Word, Power point,and Access. I even attended a course on a cruise for a day on Moviemaker. NO ONE has been able to compete with Microsoft in it’s office format. Google sheets, Apple Numbers, Quip, Smartsheet all fall short. I do not like how Office has become an annual prescription now instead of a one time download though. So I am still using my Office 2007 version which works perfect and is FREE for now.

Creating this QR code menu was a lot of fun.

Jessica now will modify and enhance or change it as needed. Takes two minutes to change pricing, or add and delete a item.

I am hoping the girls like it and use it. If not I still had fa lot fun doing it.

Next year they could look at a QR scan with a cart to place a order. Saves time and easy for everyone. But baby steps for now.

Now people can scan and this allows them to show their family to get what they want instead of staring at the menu board trying to decide. Women in particular. LOL

A balmy temperature of 11 degrees so a great catch up day on my computer.

Thought of the Day

Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

August 24th -25th

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 41 degrees, Edmonton 23 degrees, Calgary 20 degrees”

Perfect weather.

After work today Jackie & I headed out to Muirfield Lakes Golf Course.

It is 20 minutes out of the city limits from the east side. From our house about 45 minutes which is close enough to easily whip out there. I have never golfed there and really haven’t heard much about it. I liked the photo’s and really liked the pricing. They have got it right. With our VIP membership Jackie & I golfed a beautiful semi private 18 hole golf course for $66. That is for two people and cart.

I hate to use the term love but I lOVED this course. It is beautiful, has some very scenic holes, has some longer holes and was in immaculate shape. The greens were perfect but spongy though. Super nice course.

We met Jeff & Wendy out there as they just got back from BC. I am sure they looked much darker. Perhaps like smoked meat.

The Grace’s with a short absence played great. I think today was the best I have seen Jackie golf this year. A legit score under 100 which for her is awesome. I played very well and again reaffirms my like for a course that is more fair rather than lined with willows or tall grass. There was one real short Par 4 hole of 280 yards where I landed in the sand trap behind the green. It is not very often you get such a short hole. The course plays at 6100 yards so is a great length course.

The course has a pace of play at 3:48 but we took just about 4.5 hours to play. It wasn’t busy but we were behind a beginner golfer and two walkers. I take an issue with walkers if they can’t keep pace. Beginners should ALWAYS pick up their play if they are not keeping up to to the group in front of them. Or let a group play through.

Great weather, nice course and friends golfing together I don’t mind the waiting to a degree.

We decided to have a late supper at the clubhouse after golfing. They had a stuffed chicken special that was wonderful. We sat outside on the patio with a overhead heater which was great and so nice to enjoy socializing safely.

A very fun day .

After doing my small amount of computer work I headed out to the lot to do a few things and pick up my tools to finish the electrical on the girls shed. I cut the grass, picked flowers, sprayed weeds, covered furniture and tidied up the shed.

I stopped in at Home Depot to pick up a drywall dimpler and replace my blades on all of my equipment as most of them were at their end of use, A little dull. A less expensive tool performs just as good as an expensive one if it has a sharp blade. I have moved a lot of my power tools over to Harbour Freight brands with my limited use and am extremely happy. I still need a planer which I will get next trip to Mesa.

The CEO of Pfizer on the news today stating it maybe a yearly shot for Covid stinks ! All it does is continue to show big pharma wanting to make profits. 33 billion so far from Covid. Remember this is the maker of Lipitor which now can be a generic drug so they lost the big money here. And we know Viagra isn’t the cash cow they wanted. I am not a anti-vaxer by any means but this is wrong. A vaccine was created for a lot of diseases that was a one time shot. What is different ? Strange and wrong.

Thought of the Day

I have to say being retired is the best ! I think all of my friends still working may enjoy this. The difference between the Pope and your boss is, the Pope only expects you to kiss his ring.

August 26th-27th

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 44 degrees, Edmonton 22 degrees, Calgary 18 degrees”

It is almost September so the cool nights do happen. I actually really enjoy fall weather with warm days and cool evenings. It is a period of unsettled weather we have for the next few days. The rain is nice but a little too late to do anything except help for next year. It is shame fall is about to happen. Due to Covid I believe the year has flown by. I do know it will not be remembered by me as a great year as we haven’t done a lot of things I would like to do. Other than golf which I really like. Covid and commitments have hampered us a lot. I still have my fingers crossed the border opens in September as our winter other than still being careful of Covid hopefully will be semi normal. I am thinking though we may be dealing with Covid for years if not forever. We don’t mask and hide for a seasonal flu yet the media and governments have instilled fear into all of us with Covid. Yes a way more deaths 52 compared to 2000 but the majority of deaths are older compromised people. I am looking for normalcy to come back a bit. I like block parties, concerts, get togethers etc.

It was my men’s league today again. I will start with I did not win any money and in fact lost money on our side bets. It was a beautiful day and fun guys again to golf with. I can honestly now say I DO NOT LIKE THE TURNER VALLEY GOLF COURSE. The hazards are in the wrong place, fairways are too narrow in spots, fairways end and one foot in your ball is lost in grass and or under bush. It plays difficult. I can not swing full speed with my driver on a lot of holes and have to use irons or hybrids on others. I don’t care for that.

• Hole One- I have to swing 3/4 speed otherwise I am in the water to the right of the fairway. Simple solution is put the tee box back further.
• Hole Two- short hole dog leg left. Right side willows and trees, rear of green under bush, left side fairways tall trees, very narrow fairway
• Hole Three- no issues except right side of green willows and under bush. 5 yards right of green lost ball.
• Hole Four- dogleg right- straight drive and you are in willows lost.
• Hole Eight- only 240 yards to pond. Have to use iron or short hybrid
• Hole 10- 5 yards too long on back of green lost ball.
• Hole 12- dogleg right. Narrow fairway, trees on right lost ball
• Hole 14- Par 5 and you have to use iron off the tee not to go into pond. Narrow path between tall grasses and pond
• Hole 15- Only 240 yards to pond Have to use hybrid, narrow narrow fairway lined by trees.
• Hole 16 trees lined both sides and narrow right at the 260-280 yard mark with sloped fairway that pushes ball right into bushes.

Conclusion- The course doesn’t work for me. I enjoy my league friends very much and the quality of course but not the beatings it gives me. I scored a 80 and then a TV score of 96. It is just not right.

I had a great conversation and meal at Turner after our game which is part of the fun.

Up this morning and headed out to the lot. I replaced all of my blades on my saws. I need one more to complete my task. Circular, table, miter, oscillating and jig saw all received new blades. Cleaned all of them and put them away in their spots.

I helped the neighbor by lending my angle grinder with a mason blade to cut his pavers for his sidewalk. It turned out looking great. The proper tool makes all of the difference in the world.

With the fire ban lifted I started to burn the boxes and boxes of left over Blimpie paper work. I would guess at least 150 pounds of paper to burn. It was very interesting looking at some of the stuff I was burning from sales, purchase agreements, awards and financials. A tremendous amount of work but a great learning experience and a lot of fun.

“MEMORIES”

Opening a store from conception to finalization to selling it is something we will never forget. Looking at the paperwork today brought back many many memories of the experience. Anytime you invest $200,000 plus it makes you think and worry a bit. A franchise is a huge help as they have a system and structure in place that makes it much easier. Having said that as Blimpie was new to Canada it wasn’t fully developed yet which meant us looking for a location, getting quotes on the renovation and ordering our own equipment. It was hectic but a lot of fun. After all of our hard work I wanted our store to do well. I looked through all of the paperwork and correspondence for advertising and it was a lot. I designed the ad, created the pull ins, we established the pricing and off we went. We set the record for a Grand Opening Sales week. People were lined up out the door everyday for a week. ( that was a mistake as it was overwhelming and should only have been perhaps 3 days) Wow was it busy. We were lucky with Audrey being involved, help from MaryAnn, help from Darlene and Mom dressing up in our mascot outfit.

Looking at the ad today I would change a couple of things. But it sure worked. I had a small ad each day one week prior announcing we were coming in the paper. The on location spot radio station had poor reception in the valley so he didn’t work out. Marshall worked at Regal Building is how I knew him and was the the Scottish Games strongest man in Canada.

We won four awards which was fantastic as Blimpie had 2000 stores in 15 different countries at the time. We still have the glass awards but I must have burned the other two.

A very interesting time. A lot of work as we both still worked full time. Audrey, Jessica and Victoria were instrumental in it running so well.

After 5 years though we were happy to sell it off. That was another interesting time as we sold it without a lawyer. Jackie and I plagiarized so many documents as it shocked us the amount documentation required to dissolve a corporation and sell the assets. Good for Google and we sat on pins and needles waiting for the new owners lawyers to give it the ok. That was stressful.

So I now smell like a campfire big time. Even the moustache is smelly.

We were going to go out for supper but luckily for us we didn’t as it started to rain quite heavily.

Another great day in the books and nice to reminisce .

Thought of the Day

It used to be only death and taxes. Now, of course, there’s shipping and handling, too.

August 28th

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 40 degrees, Edmonton 23 degrees, Calgary 22 degrees”

Today was Jackson quarter final playoff flag football game. Talk about an exciting game. It ended up 22 to 21 with the opposing team missing a convert to win. It went back and forth with some great plays. This was Jackson’s first year and the difference between when he first started and now was night and day. Wonderfully warm and an entertaining game to watch.

After the game Jackie picked up lunch and we met at Sikome Lake. It was a nice get together with Alan, MaryAnn, Jackson, Victoria, Audrey and us.

After the evening news we took Daisy for a walk and she had a great time. She played in the dog off leash area for about a 1/2 hour , then we walked then we came back to different dogs again in the fenced in area. A lot, a lot of running she did. At this moment she is conked right out sleeping. I don’t blame her. She had a real fun night.

We did a little catch up on Netflex tonight. We still haven’t finished the series The Fosters which we really enjoy. We never binge watch.

Thought of the Day

Definition of a teenager? God’s punishment…for enjoying sex

August 29th-3oth

” Mercury Forecast Mesa 42 degrees, Edmonton 24 degrees, Calgary 23 degrees”

Talk about perfect weather with it hitting about 26 degrees, not one cloud in the sky and no wind. It was beautiful.

Jackie & I spent the entire day out at the lot. The beach, pool and golf course all were busy with it being the last weekend before school. The kids love it. Very happy with place with it’s amenities and community feeling. We visited with a couple of our neighbors and got to talk to Susan as this was the first time out for her without Tom. I will miss that guy around the park.

We had no real plan of doing anything other than picking up some stuff we needed at the condo as this week Jackie moves in with her Mom after her surgery. So we had multiple walks, many conversations with people and sat in the sun enjoying the day. People need the sun not only for the Vit D but for the emotional burst and most importantly not to look like a ghost.

For supper I BBQ’d rolled turkey breast in bacon. Fantastic tasting. They took awhile as it was from frozen and being poultry you have to make sure of hitting the correct cooked temperature. That is what makes beef so much better as it isn’t a concern. Wonderful supper and relaxing in the sun made for a fabulous day.

We tidied up the motorhome, shed and yard and took many breaks which was nice.

First thing this morning I headed to Party City to add to our Halloween collection. We use decorations that Tor has and we add to it each year and then she uses them at Halloween. Being stored in Rubbermaid containers works well. This year two more creepy hanging girl and skeleton. I will hang fish line from the motorhome to the shed and hang them. I only wish they would start Halloween at 7 pm so we at least get dusk. Everything is that much more scary at night.

I expect about 300 kids this year so I have lots of Chocolate bars, chips, and suckers. As a kid I hated getting stuff I didn’t like such as homemade apples, rice squares etc and then as I got a little older getting only one piece of candy at a house. So I always make sure to have plenty. I have 600 pieces so plan on two per kid until later then up the qty if it slows down. I also bought shot glasses for the adults and plan on Butter Rum and Rumchata rather than Jello shots.

BIG DAY TODAY IN RAYMOND

Today is the first day for August in Grade One and the Atticus is starting Kindergarten. Time flies. These kids are so cute and we hope they have a wonderful first day.

August is a very shy guy so it takes him awhile to warm up but how nice is it your cousins go to the same school.

It would so much fun to see them after school to hear about what happened. What they liked, what scared them, what they disliked and did they meet any new friends. That is so much fun to listen too.

“MEMORIES“

Grade One

Niton Junction School. As you know all of my cousins lived in the area so we went to the same school. At recess my cousin Gary and I were playing on the teeter totter the whole time. The bell rings and I am on the UP side and Gary jumps off. Down I crash right onto my ankle. I can not remember how I made it to my classroom but I remember getting off the school bus in front of our service station and not being able to walk and crying and crying on the driveway. To me this was much more traumatic then getting beaten up or anything else I remember. I don’t know why. LOL

Grade Two

Spruce Grove School .Luckily I was pretty good at school. But I was a very nervous and shy kid. We lived about two blocks from the yard. The teacher asks a question ” Who knows what a baby deer is called” I put my hand up knowing the answer but when I went to talk my voice was gone. I used to get croup and sick a way too often. This time it caught me off guard. I ran out of the classroom all the way home crying. I must have been a baby. LOL

I am sure their will be lots of excitement on arrival at home. Moments to cherish as you forget about them and time goes by a way too fast.

Speaking of cousins I found some old pictures from 2018.

Take this many cousins and looks what happens. This picture below is just my Uncle Franks and Florence family.

All of the original Dickson family men have passed. Uncle George, Uncle Roy, and Uncle Frank. All of the in law men have also passed. Uncle Ray, Uncle Rudy, Uncle Bruce , Uncle Mike and Dad. These women for their age are amazing. Aunt Dorothy and Aunt Jean both still live by themselves in large homes and drive around Edmonton everyday. Aunt Ethel and Mom need a walker now but with fractured vertebrae and a broken ankle that is pretty impressive. This is very indicative of our society where the men die much younger than women.

So now at a reunion I don’t know 95 % of the people.

What I can say though is a have very fond memories of my cousins, and visiting my Grand parents home quite often. It was a wonderful childhood and one busy house at Grandma’s when she cooked turkey dinner for over 50 people at Christmas. This was on a wood stove. And she was an amazing cook with loads of my relatives still using her recipes.

Thought of the Day

The only time the world beats a path to your door is if you’re in the bathroom.

August 31st

“Mercury Forecast Mesa 40 degrees Edmonton 17 degrees thunderstorms, Calgary 18 degrees”

Today is Bob Ferris’s birthday. Neat thing is Bob is exactly 10 years older and married 10 years longer. Best neighbor friend one could ever have. We miss him in Viewpoint and Saskatoon is a little ways away to see him.

We had a lot of fun over the years. Golfing at Whirlwind every Wednesday and Viewpoint twice a week. The sit down chats on the patio with Pat being the hostess with the mostess every time. Bob and I golfed the TPC Scottsdale right after the Waste Management game. Ps I got a birdie on the famous Hole 16. Going out for supper and sitting on the decks, playing billiards made for a very enjoyable time for 12 years we were together.

I will say it here. Happy Birthday Bob.

Golfing Kananaskis today with great weather. Play well Larry LOL

I knew and after numerous weather checks was positive we were going to have a good day golfing at Kananaskis. It is hard to get tee times here so I didn’t want to cancel. I put on shorts and was just about to leave when I decided to change to pants. A temperature of 18 above but with a strong breeze late in the afternoon and being in the mountains I thought it better to go with the pants. Could have been shorts very easily.

It was just one of those fun days golfing. Wendy played from the white tees and did very well. Some great shots. The greens were short and nice but the hole placement was mean in a lot of cases. Jeff came around on the back nine and played well. I was happy with my play only losing one ball off the tee and that was a lateral water and only took a bogie. We finished under the allowed time and received a free ball marker. We played the Mt Kidd course today which is a 132 versus 130 slope side versus Mt Lorette .

We headed back to Calgary as there was a severe weather watch on with it raining only for us. We stopped at Dixons for a steak sandwich special which was wonderful. While eating outside it started to rain then small hail so we rushed out of there to get Jeff’s Caddy into the garage.

This was the first time in Daisy life she was left alone as Jackie was with her Mom today as Audrey was getting her knee replaced. The gage was moved at least 6ft I guess by her pushing on it but she was quiet when I arrived and wasn’t stressed. Hopefully she get more used to this as when we golf in AZ she has to stay by herself a lot of the time.

Thought of the Day

Jim Baker and Jimmy Swaggert have written an impressive new book. It’s called…’Ministers do more than lay people’.