June 1st

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 20 degrees, Calgary 21 degrees”

Finally a summer day and it is the meteorological first day day of summer so all is good. No wind, sunny and nice.

I drove out to the lot yesterday to water the grass and flowers as the irrigation system by the county still is not fixed. I used potable water for them which they frown own but here is was my logic and defense if questioned. First I am not going to allow my $200 worth plus of flowers, grass and shrubs die just because you can’t fix a leak in a timely matter. If that fails my defense is. Look I feed my dog Perrier water and you are going to complain because I used a couple of gallon of drinking well water to save my flowers. When I got out there I surprised myself as I couldn’t do a lot as the shed and storage box were locked and the keys are on the motorhome set which is still in the shop. I raked, watered, pulled weeds, talked to the neighbors for quite awhile and tilly tallied around for hours fixing this and that, that I could. Lesson learned on the keys that I will fix.

I came home and BBQ’d bacon wrapped turkey rolls which were AWESOME. Add rice and salad and wow, quite a meal.

Look back a couple of days ago what I said about Bettman. Does anyone really believe the snow job on the offside.

Too early to tell the outcome as the Oilers tend to lose the first and we all know with the refs help what happened to Calgary. Fun game to watch and I was impressed with the Connor strategy.

Drinking lots of water. Lots of water to try to make my blood work not fall below certain levels as my doctor tends to overkill on any thing of question. She is absolutely the best doctor one could have but is very by the book. We are lucky and happy to have her.

I had the most wonderful time at Sloane Centre. I was checked in quickly and then two ladies came to my room to take my blood. One young and one middle aged, both Asian. I commented it must be training day and the conversation started. They could talk and talk and were a lot of fun. The first thing the middle aged lady asks me is ” How tall are you ?” I said 6’3″ and she commented ” That is tall”. Both were 5′ 2″. The conversation turned to her kids all being 8 lbs at birth but two only grew to middle 5′ and one was almost 6′. I said ” Your husband probably though that one was the milkman’s”. She covered her face and giggled and snorted trying to say No. It was very funny. Talk turned about my girls and her kids and the trainee’s odd location of a vein to pick blood but worked perfectly. I tried to scare the young girl saying ” Oh I new one and they gave you, me. My veins twist, hide, and roll” She laughed and said I have my ways and I have to say. No bruise, no pain, except for the removal of the cotton and but done with ease. She used some side vein I didn’t even know I had. It is always a pleasure meeting and having fun with people you don’t know, most likely never see again, and allowing it to make their and my day, much better.

Jackie got Wordle in two tonight ! DARN ! I took three and it was lucky as it was a harder word.

I whipped to Sobey’s to pick up my Amazon package ( post office) as it is much easy than a condo delivery.

I then headed to McKenzie Meadows as the day was exceptional. The parking lot was so full there was not one parking space left. You take ” Stay at Home workers ” slacking off, the warm temperatures and peoples love of the game the courses are packed. And most courses are in wonderful shape. A wonderful time ! I drove the ball today wonderfully overall. Some great iron shots.

I completed my budgets for May and not good. Investments down, expenses a WAY up and no near correction that I can see in the future. May as an example had a few sticker shock items with groceries being over $1000 ( for 2 poeple) and gas being over $1400. Even the camping expenses at over $600 all add up. But it was a fun month, a cool month though and things will get back to normal again.

I had another conversation with Jackie about banking. Their system in my mind drives me crazy. In any industry and especially accounting a DEBIT is an addition to the books and a CREDIT is a subtraction. Not in the banking world as in their minds a debit is taking something out of the account and a credit is putting something in. I would hate to see the mental anguish if an accountant became a banker. They would blow up. I know it drives me nuts all of the time.

If you don’t track the dollars you can’t adjust. Just don’t let the numbers change or rob you of doing something you want because it may cost a little more.

We need to get Daisy a haircut as she is becoming quite a hippy. Sticky buds, mud etc. are not a good thing for her especially now.

Just a few headlines in the news right now, some good, some bad and some annoying.

• Depp/Heard – A strange one indeed. I lean towards Johnny knowing how strange Amber is so I like the decision. It is not good for actual victims of assault but I do think the verdict was right. 2 million to Amber for damages, ( hopefully her lawyers were less than that) and 10 million for Johnny . Far from the 150 million. Cry wolf, go psycho, and lie, lie lie and and this is what happens.
• Flair Airlines- I am very happy that Flair won it’s case. It was decided the Canadian board membership and ownership met the criteria so they are all set to fly hopefully for a long time. Great little airline.
• BC- Liberal and the NDP are destroying our country. Now in BC possession of hard drugs is no longer illegal. We are setting up ourselves for a massive drug addiction crisis in the future. We have an opioid crisis as is and we will just compound it. More suicides. Add this to the insanity of raising the minimum wage to almost $16 a hour. There will be fewer jobs as companies reduce staffing levels. There will be increases in product costs to compensate. Everyone other NDP and Liberal blindfolded supporters understand this.
• Window tint laws- Law enforcement crack down is just stupid. It does not affect visibility for a driver what so ever. The only negative is a pedestrian not being able to see the driver if they are watching them or not. At night this is not possible if the windows are tinted or not. To add to this if we want an illogical law lets ban sunglasses as the same pedestrian can’t see if the driver actually sees the pedestrian which is about as ludicrous as banning tint.

Thought of the Day

Maybe if we tell the NDP and Liberals their mind is an APP ,they may start using it.

June 2nd

“Mercury Forecast Calgary 19 degrees, Edmonton 22 degrees”

I dare say it is spring. Nice and warm, no wind and sunny.

Today was my men’s league out at Turner Valley.

The greens today were not great. I would say suck. As I said it is shame for a semi private course to have the worst greens I have golfed on this year. There is no reason for it. The issue is so many long term older members that live locally they won’t complain. They should.

Having said that though the day was fun again. I wasn’t to disappointed in my play except for the score. The greens and mistakes made just caused issues. In fact it was my highest score of the year but I didn’t play that poorly. Odd.

I had fun, the guys all played relatively well with Larry P playing exceptionally but the best part of the day I played well enough on the correct holes to win money from each team member. My pocket was over filled with Loonies.

I whipped home earlier than normal and went to pick up the motorhome. As it was supper time I stopped at McDonalds. Rare to say poor service from these guys but I ran into a poor place this time. They took your order then said they were waiting on fries and asked you to park up front. Well there were 10 cars waiting and no parking space. A kid would come out and would have to go from car to car to ask what their order was. Chaos. I waited and waited then decided as the RV place was closing soon I need to go so jumped out and went inside and asked for just my burger. Chaos again inside. Finally a “manager” gave me my burger and fry even though I said I will take it without the fry and don’t need any money back. So I got my order even thru the chaos and headed to the motorhome.

They were unable ( not their forte) to fix the wipers but they changed out my leveler springs so all good. I think I have a plan to fix the wipers. A small piece of iron and I will screw and weld together with JB WELD and I think it will work perfect.

Busy roads tonight. I am so glad to live in south Calgary. It seems like a different city up there in Northern Calgary. I though we were leaving tonight but we leave in the morning to Raymond.

We are looking after the kids while Jessica & Penny are having a house party. We booked a campsite in Raymond and will have the boys stay overnight with us. I am looking forward to getting a hotdog from Coulee Dogs and Dough

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=21b24a6dd22e28e1524cce8bd86aad461ca0d9ffbd885b9818f00341bd072e7eJmltdHM9MTY1NDIzMTM5MiZpZ3VpZD1iZWQxYjk4Ny1iOWI4LTQ2ODktODFmMi0wOTlkMDllZjhkOTcmaW5zaWQ9NTIxNw&ptn=3&fclid=ac336cc6-e2f7-11ec-8efe-0ee878db0d23&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZmFjZWJvb2suY29tL2NvdWxlZWRvZ3NhbmRkb3VnaC8&ntb=1

Just a short trip to Raymond as next week is busy with doctor appointments, Daisy haircuts and couple of golf games. The following Friday we are heading to Glennifer Lake.

June 2-5th

“Mercury Forecast not spring weather yet. cold and rain everywhere”

We got all loaded up and started our adventure to Raymond. It was a very nice drive until we just about got to Lethbridge. We were forced to a side road along beside the highway. This was a gravel road and DUSTY! Wow with the traffic of Highway 2 on a dry gravel road made the entire skyline hazy. I felt sorry for a motorcyclist in front of us. It was so dusty you could hardly see. It took miles until we see the accident. Here is a semi that dumped it’s load of hay bales on the highway and they had a tractor re-loading onto another truck. Dangerous to have been following that truck. I was impressed how the motorhome kept the dust out of the cabin and the bins.

We arrive in Raymond and head to Perrett Lake campground. It is full service site and right at lake side for $25 which is a deal. A very nice campground and all booked on-line. After getting all set up we headed to Jess & Pens. We worked there the balance of the day and worked all day Saturday getting things done. I will list what we did to give you an idea of what was done.

• We painted the window trim on shed
• We stained the astragal and bar on the barside door opening.
• We stained two large flower boxes.
• Flowers were planted in the garden boxes and planter in front of shed.
• We raked up the bark mulch and fixed up the mulch in the area in front of the shed.
• We hung patio lights around the back door carport / overhang.
• We hung solar mini lights along the chain link fence and around the stage area.
• Corey and I build a “stage” area with pallets, a sign, a blanket and the lights which I thought looked wonderful. ( the sign was missing THE so we had to refer to it just as PLACE)
• Jess & Cor hauled and organized firewood ( expensive also)
• Corey cut and trimmed the grass with a touch up and closer trim in a lot of areas.
• We placed coolers and loaded them with drinks we had and ice in all of them.
• We had to pop up canopies to set up and the chairs and mats.
• Jackie made sure no dog poop was left anywhere.
• I backed in the Coulee Dog & Dough truck into quite a tight spot.
• The girls prepped for the truck business.
• We power washed the back yard , the house, garage and new brick area Jess had laid down.
• Jackie fixed up the mulch in front
  

I most likely missed a lot but these things come to mind. I had whipped to Home Hdwe to get some stain. I picked up the exact same stuff as last year but when I went to use it it looked maple not walnut. I stirred and shaked but no change. I took it back and we opened another can. The exact same thing. An error in production or labelling is our guess. The young girl helping me color matched my stain for me and we were all set.

Two artist were booked for Jess & Pen’s PLACE. They had Michael Bernard Fitzgerald and Angel. Check them out as they are good. A bus arrived with a lot of guests and other just kept coming. I do not have an exact count but I am going to say just over 60 guests. It is too bad it started to rain but it didn’t damper anyone spirits. We had people with umbrella’s, two 10 x 10 canopies, people were in the garage, house and shed watching.

Amanda, Shayla and Justin came down from Edmonton and a young lady from Vancouver were the out of town guests. Michael is from the Calgary area.

Awesome music, wonderful tasting hot dogs, nice venue made for a great night. Jackie and I took the kids to the campground right after the Oiler LOSS. Talking to the girls it was a fun time. In fact 5 am bed time for some. How does this happen in a dry town.

The kids were awesome and in fact slept in until close to 10am.

Jackie & I made them eggs and bacon for breakfast plus smoothies. I felt like a short order cook at a restaurant as I was informed the bacon had to be crispy. Pressure on now. LOL It was beautiful in the morning, no bugs, warm and sunny so we ate outside.

We packed all up, stopped at Jess’s for a bit and then headed as a hail storm warning was beeping on the phones. I still don’t have working wipers so had to hurry home. Everyone was pretty tired at the house as 5 am getting to bed is LATE. Fun times to be young.

Oh, I forgot to mention there was a hockey game on TV during the concert. I saw a few disheartened fans drinking beer more than normal. Oh to be an Edmontonian today it must hurt. The Elk get destroyed by the Stamps and the Oilers one game away from elimination. If that happens it does mean the Oil won one more game than the Flames in the 2022 playoffs. Both teams not achieving the only goal of the Cup

RainX as suggested by Larry G is awesome as we hit rain, and I was able to see pretty good without any wipers, Amazing stuff.

Parked and unloaded the motorhome and came home for supper.

It was a very fun weekend !

Thought of the Day

Appreciate all you have in life; you always have more than you think. I think it’s even better to go beyond that and simply appreciate life itself. It’s hard to enjoy each day until you’re thankful for what you have.

June 6th-8th

“Mercury Forecast Lousy weather continues for 2022”

With rain for the next two days not a lot on the plate.

I picked up some stuff at the Depot and headed out to the lot. I worked from 10am to 4pm. Just thinking about this hits a nerve. The RV repair shop says they couldn’t fix my wipers. I had a plan which I hoped would work. Without the proper tools, one totaled arm, working in a cavity that isn’t meant to be worked in. TRIPLE E made the highest quality motorhomes but the wipers I will say are not close to high quality. I used a aluminum bar and cut and inserted into the broken piece. I had to drill three holes for bolts to secure the pieces together. I had to be a pretzel to get into the space and they make drills too big. I got all of the holes drilled and everything lines up which took hours. My original plan was to do this and then disassemble and apply an epoxy glue. After the length of time and the difficulty this took I decided to give this a go. I also noticed the factory had forgotten two bolts on the wiper motor which were putting a binding force on the rods. All said and done it took me 6 hours and was very difficult. What annoys me is I was willing to pay a mechanic with tools and knowledge but they failed me. My hip, bruised, cut, back bending backwards into a one foot space and my elbow that is still injured from Mesa are killing me.

The wipers are working perfect now. My hope is for ever but time will tell.

I was lucky no rain. I quit at 4pm and the neighbors invited me over for a afternoon Caesar. How could I refuse ?

Oiler game on tonight which was a must see. I will keep this short as people in Edmonton are quite depressed. The ups and downs they experienced this year had to be hard to take.

What I find ironic is we are both out of the playoffs, the Oilers with one more win than us during the 2022 playoffs but the Flames get to raise the Divisional Champion banner. Life is fair and good.

That is what happens when you are a two man team and you have worn out your best players during the season to get into the playoffs and to beat the Flames. I will say Connor is one amazing hockey player. I will also say Connor is going to become one much better golfer with his extra practice.

It was a lot of fun AGAIN to bug the Edmonton fans. I am actually starting to feel sorry for them. Wait sorry I was wrong. LOL

Groceries, paying bills, Covid question for the doctor and getting a few things done today as it is dreary and cooler.

Daisy went in for her haircut today so looking forward to seeing the new her as she was a way to messy with her long hair.

When I picked her up she was/is a different dog. I am sure she feels great but she is UGLY.

We met Jeff & Wendy at McKenzie Meadows for golfing and Jackie dropped off Daisy at Audrey’s. It was an over cast day but nice and warm. It was also a very fun day. There was some good golf and a few errant ones. I played quite well including two birdies.

Jeff even had birdie juice along so a bonus. I like his positive thinking.

I had to skip the 18th hole as I had a doctors appt and getting one in a decent time isn’t easy so you take what is offered. Wendy asked the Marshall to drive me to my car but when I arrived I realized I had left my phone in the cart with Jackie. I ran out to the 18th waving my hands like crazy as I didn’t want to be late for my appt. Jeff, Wendy and Jackie on the 18th tee box and I am beside the green arm waving like mad and NO ONE sees me. Finally going for their second shot Jackie notices the phone in the cart and knows I need that to get into to see my doctor. Plus she was golfing and talking on the phone. LOL

I rush as I know I have to go thru construction but luckily I arrived in perfect time. I was afraid my blood pressure was thru the roof with the stress but wow it came in at 122/72. That is fantastic and I believe I could go off the pills but the doctor says with a lower GFR why cause any issues and carry on taking them. No side affects so I am ok with that. I already am on the lowest dose they have. Retired and weight loss sure make a huge difference.

June 9th

Today was my men’s league at Turner. Finally a summer day with it hitting 24 degrees. AND very little wind. Not one lost ball but putting and chipping killed me so not a good score. I had a lot of pars but the doubles eat those up fast. I didn’t lose a buck and I didn’t win one. The course today was in good shape. Funny how one day it is putting the next driving or something else. I am waiting for a break out score here. I am hoping.

Came home after golf and started making my chili for the family campout. No electricity at our sites so the slow cooker which we always use is out. Thought is to make it tonight and bag it, refrigerate and then reheat on Saturday. I love the smell of cooking it.

There are certain events in your life that etched in stone. Childs birth, parents death, driver license, child’s wedding to name a few.

For those that don’t know Crystal is the traditional gift for a 15 yr anniversary. No one wants Crystal so the modern version is a time piece or red ruby. Sort of cool that this is their 15th and they got married at Crystal Ridge. It was a beautiful wedding. We had Kieth & Jenny’s help for set up and we had Jeff Grace as their m/c. When these guys got married they were fortunate to have Peter & Carol, Audrey, and my Mom & Dad all attend.

I will say and I am sure they will confirm that time flies by so fast. 15 years ago. It was a lot of work, some money and a lot of fun arranging this wedding. I loved it. We had the same great experience when Jessica got married a few years later.

We were lucky enough to be with Corey & Tor when he proposed on a trip to Vegas in front of the Bellagio Hotel.

15 year Anniversary for Corey & Victoria Waldie.

Thought of the Day

You can’t take life to seriously as you will never get out alive.

June 10th

I will start the same as I will end this segment and say we had a absolute beautiful and wonderful enjoyable weekend.

We got all loaded up and waited for Victoria to deliver Jackson to us before we headed out. It was a nice drive but we ran into a few rain showers and I had to put my wiper repair to the test. Passed with flying colors and hopefully remains like that now, for ever. I decided to use the Bowden route rather than Innisfail route which for us was great. I had used Google Maps before leaving to see the route but the difference between maps and reality bit us.

We arrived at the Glennifer Prov Campground but after entering and driving thru we stopped at a sign to discover the group sites are far away from the campsite. Two things, most group sites are right in or beside the regular campground. Luckily we were able to do a u-turn without unhitching so all was good. Second thing there were no signs anywhere which is very poor. At the bathroom in the campground a “map” was there that showed the group sites were about a couple miles away. Again on the map it showed a T section but when we arrived close to the place it was a very nice rounded corner with an off road. Luckily Jackie spotted a small sign on a gate for us. Not to have proper signage is amazing. It has a tumbler padlock on the gate which we were given a code for. Jackie opened it up the first time and fast. After the fact I discovered others didn’t do as well. The padlock had a small black mark that is easy to miss and the numbers have to be lined up on the top row not like any normal tumbler lock using the centre row. Great idea to have a secure campsite even though in 40 years of camping a couple of apples and a bottle wine is all we have ever had stolen.

We had at our family gathering this year: Alfred, Mary, Darlene, Jim, Kari, Kayla, Christian, Graham, Abagail, Echo, Gage, Jessie, Jaeden, Jackson, Jackie and I. Missing this time were Garrett, Victoria, Corey, Jessica, Penny, August, Atticus and Mom. Work commitments coming into play. Hopefully next year everyone will be able to get together.

Graham had his brand new trailer out there. Kari had her super cool rooftop tent. Kayla and Christian had a very nice tent with cover.

The group site is a flat rate and then any camper over 5 you pay more. The warden came around and asked about Kayla’s tent and made them pay. Mistake here was Jim should have just said it is my kids tent and the warden would have went away. Money grab !

We had ladder golf, Bocci ball, football, badminton, crib games, playing in the bush, tree limb jumping, biking, playing in the water so loads of entertainment in our huge open field.

June is one of the wettest months so we were very lucky. Friday was hot and sunny hitting 24 degrees and the night staying warm until midnight. Saturday was hot and sunny except for about 1 hour when a flash rain storm hit. For our potluck on Saturday night it was nice, warm and dry.

The only ” bad” weather was the hour this morning when everyone was packing up it rained and then clear sky. But we were getting wet.

A wonderful visit with family as Covid had been an issue and a nice get together for cousins and second cousins.

The potluck was great. Neat that we had traditional Willard recipes used with Grandma’s potato salad and a modified version of Mom’s Chili. On our table we had a lot of great tasting food. Potato Salad, Macaroni Salad, Chili, Pork Belly, pickles, shrimp, buns, homemade cherry pie and chocolate pie. We had homemade beer, wine and mead which I understand is a honey wine. A lot of work and everything tasted awesome.

Graham collected driftwood from the beach and we had great fires.

Having 4 boys all near the same age makes for a fun time for them. They spent 90% of their time playing outside and enjoying it.

Thought of the Day

“Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy a camper, which is kind of the same thing.”

June 13th

I am not going to give the FORECAST for a bit as it is RAIN each day this week until Friday. Alberta 2022 weather so far has been horrible. Since coming back, cold, wet, dreary, more rain, snow and WIND. I am beginning to dislike Calgary weather. We have not had a few good days in a row of good weather this year.

I was saying to Jackie it sure seems busy. And I was right. We have travelled a lot in the last bit even with the poorer weather. I haven’t been able to enjoy my lot never having the time like I would like. Soon !

I worked out at the lot fixing a few things between drying out. I couldn’t finish my irrigation as they had shut it off with it raining. Thanks. I worked on my pantry door for quite awhile. The screws had worked loose we the moving around on the roads. I drilled a few more screw holes, used larger screws and placed washers under the side striker. It appears to be working perfect now.

I then phoned Xplornet to get the router working. This is going to sound bad but EVERY company needs to hire employees that can speak English well enough to communicate. The phone calls and me outside in the pouring rain trying to get the router set didn’t go well. Then this guy like a used car salesman kept pushing a warranty charge to me. They wanted $125 for a service call. It is their equipment that I rent and they want me to pay to have it work or pay $7.50 a month for ever not to be charged. The conversation didn’t go well. I am going to see what I come up with next week. Customer service is non existent it seems. LOL

Right now I am thinking to drop them, add to my Telus plan and stream everything and use the data plan for internet. I will see.

It is pouring and the river has raised about an inch and here again our esteemed mayor declares a state of emergency. The water hasn’t even started to rise and we had 9 years of flood mitigation we have done. Panic and spend money is her forte.

June 14th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 15 degrees rain, Calgary 10 degrees and TONS of rain”

I thought I had a brilliant idea and bought Jackie a Under Armour rain proof set. I would hate to see her get wet taking out Daisy for walks in the mornings.

First on my agenda was getting my FREE LIFETIME oil change from Tower. This now is my 10th year of receiving these so the dealership is not that happy to see me. A few years ago my free become $10 when they said they were forced to charge me an environmental fee. I had a discussion on this for a bit. I believe they are trying to discourage me from using it. Today’s Express Oil took 2 hours. Try this on. A car dealership states they have no oil cans, or jugs on site to do my oil change. Their computer wasn’t working so their bulk stations won’t work. I just smile and say I will wait for you to fix your issues. I sit in the waiting room and eat as many free Tim’s doughnuts they have. LOL 2 hours later all done. Thanks I will be back in next time.

Today is Jackie & I’s 42nd Wedding Anniversary. It is a date I remember very well. A couple of interesting things happened to us that day. The photographer took a liking to Jackie and forgot to include me in very many pictures at all, we were speeding on a gravel road as we thought relatives were following us to the hotel whne we left the dance hall, Jackie walking into our hotel room and a couple naked in bed got surprised as the hotel accidently rented out our wedding suite to them also, Jackie losing her sexy lingerie in the hotel room after the chaos, the hotel ended up buying a new set for her(us), a drunk young lady pestering me and commenting to Jackie’s Dad she could have had me, ( Jackie fixed up this situation swiftly) having a keg beer gift opening party and her Dad and my best man getting drunk, and a deluxe Penticton honeymoon. Jackie’s bridesmaid showing up late and in disarray. Her brother Alan struggling with the candles at the ceremony, an angel looking singer, Jim Kruse & Darrell Desault being our bartenders/keg crackers and my extremely poor writing causing issues for my Uncle George to read as our m/c. We survived and still are going. I love being married ! 42 years is a long time but it has been good.

Tonight we decided to go out for supper. The Keg is closed for reno’s so we thought Boston for the ease but at the last moment choose the Toscana Italian Grill in Mahogany. 783 reviews with a 5/5 rating should be good. Turns out I would give it a 5.5 out of 5. The décor is great, the service impeccable and the food absolutely wonderful. I love Italian and this one has fantastic food if not better than most. 2 ounce Caesars and one of better Caesar salads I have had plus Jackie’s salad was a thing of beauty. Hy’s steakhouse when they used to make the salad right in front of you was the best.

So a great supper for our occasion.

We came home full and watched a not so good movie with Bruce Willis( good thing for him to stop acting) made in 2022 A Day to Die and another celebration over.

Thought of the Day

Marriage Tip ” Your wife does what she wants and you do what your wife wants ”

June 15th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 15 degrees wind/rain Calgary 15 degrees wind/rain”

It is nuts the weather. 6 days before summer and we have yet to have spring. There is flooding around Calgary and a lot of wind damage with consistently hitting 50 to 80 kms per hour winds. Even northern Alberta is getting it.

We were planning a trip up to Edmonton this week but with the poor weather, rain and wind especially we decided to not go and wait for a better time. Can’t fish in the wind and stuck inside isn’t as much fun as being able to be outside.

Lots to do anyways as it has been a busy time.

I entered my drug prescription into the Blue Cross webpage as I haven’t left my number with Shoppers yet. I love this Alberta Blue Cross for seniors. Manulife paid 8 bucks towards my pills and Alta Blue Cross paid the remaining $23. Awesome. Stop complaining people our health system is excellent. Turning 65 DOES HAVE it’s benefits.

The wind and rain is causing all kinds of issues. Here is a picture of a neighbors lot out at our Oasis RV Resort. We haven’t had time yet to inspect ours.

I have one burned out headlight on the Jeep. The lense has taken two bullet holes from rocks so replacing the bulb only is not an option. The shop I bought my light package from ( just over $1000) is now broke and closed. I checked to see if I could find a match for my lights but the company seems to have discontinued my 10 yr old series. I phoned another company here in town and was quoted $875 for two new lights. I paid $1000 for 4 when I last bought them which included my two PIA lights. I ordered nice ( Chinese made though) from Amazon LED lights for $150 and I will install them myself. A little convoluted though as I need a separate fused hot wire for the driving lights that I will need to run from them to the fuse block on a switched fuse connection.

For the $625 savings it is a no brainer. Things are getting expensive !

Thought of the Day

Age mellows some people; others it makes rotten

June 16th–17th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 19 degrees, Calgary 19 degrees”

The rain has stopped, the skies are still black, showers randomly happening and still wind, a way too much. There is still more to come. It appears Edmonton’s weather got a lot better also. I always hate to change plans but we can find a much better time to visit and fish. Wind and potential storms are not good.

I took the Jeep in today for it’s annual windshield replacement. As with everything the price is higher. 2 years ago $150, last year $170 and this year $200. With the flat upright window it is classified as a replace every year item. A cost of owning a Jeep.

I have used the same glass company for years Easy Glass. A few of my sales reps used him also for their cars so over the years have had a lot of dealings with them. Always, great pricing, friendly service and great work. The owners are just nice poeple. Driving home it was amazing seeing thru a clear shield.

Zoomed in to the RV Parks monthly board meeting. It is amazing to me how someone thinks they are doing a great job by asking for a new rule every meeting. Drives me nuts!

Wordle today took me 4 attempts and was tricky. Gets the mind a thinking.

Went for a walk and the drops were starting again and a phone weather alert of possible thunderstorm with high winds and hail. Again !

Sure enough a light show of lighting and nice thunder.

We are heading for another recession. One could make their money safe and miss the hurt but it is very difficult to judge the market in and out. Bite the bullet, take a hit and hope for a fast recovery. This one could be bad with the war, Covid and the monetary policies of two extremely weak leaders in Trudeau and Biden. We have already dropped significantly and more to come. 20 % drop so to put that in perspective if you had 1 million dollars now you only have 800K. AND it is still going lower.

Wendy couldn’t golf today so Jackie backed out. I met Jeff at Lakeside. I like this course as the greens are always great and the fairways generous. The day was a nice day with some sun and some breeze but pleasant to golf in. We were hooked up with a young guy that a fun guy to golf with.

I have to say that it was the best I have played in Canada this year and my lowest score in Canada this year. There was only one hole taking a double on that I wasn’t pleased with my shots. Greens in regulation was common and in fact I had 8 birdie putts where I missed everyone of them but saved the par. I love golfing like that. I went to the range just before golfing and as usual worked like a charm making things loose.

Jeff & I stayed after for a quick supper and drink. I noticed Jeff didn’t finish his supper so he may not have liked it. PS ordering noodles or rice at a restaurant isn’t something I would do as it is rice after all, bland, boring, no taste, anyone can cook, filler at best. My Philly Cheese Steak was awesome.

This place has killer Caesar’s with a slice of meat, asparagus and olive as a garnish. They use Lowry’s seasoning salt though which isn’t my fav but will do.

A very fun day golfing, a great score and fun people to golf with.

PLUS no rain yet but tonight looks dark.

Thought of the Day

The most important shot in golf is the next one

June 18th-19th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 22 degrees, Calgary 22 degrees”

That time of year where the heat builds up and with the moisture you can get a bad storm. This happens just about everyday in June. Two nights in a row and even hail on Saturday night.

I worked all day out at the lot. I weeded the garden with some veggies being two inches or more out of the ground. Leeks seems to be behind schedule. I installed my new sliding door catch on the sliding mirror doors in the motorhome. I cut the grass, trimmed the area, pulled weeds and cut of shooters. I tidied up the neighbors lot at the same time. The temperature was beautiful out. I put on a new head, set the timer and hooked up completely my irrigation system. I now just need to monitor the water output not to over water the flowers. The yard looks great. The ORANGE cleaner I bought works perfectly on the sticky buds so I cleaned all of the chairs and table and now with a upcoming rain should be great. Sticky bud season is over.

I hit the heavy rain on the way home. Heavy rain is probably the hardest to see thru when driving. Well maybe heavy fog worse. LOL

An extremely difficult Wordle today with both of taking 5 shots before getting it. I like the challenge but come on make it a word we know. Still fun.

It is FATHERS DAY today. I am lucky as Jackie made me breakfast and I even received a small gift from her me being the father of her kids. LOL Very nice. I watched the OPEN in bed for awhile.

The skyline appears odd. It doesn’t know if it is going to pour or be nice so hard to do much.

Happy Fathers Day to my Dad and Jackie’s Dad.

There is a bias towards Dad’s compared to Mom’s. The Mom’s in most cases seem to get more attention, more accolades, more recognition to the support of the family. I think it is due to the emotional side of relationships. Dad maybe ” Get up your not really hurt” while Mom maybe ” Are you all right let me fix that” . Some would say the cause of decline of our civilization as we know it. LOL The Dad contribution is more of skills internship, life lessons in hard knocks, strength etc.

I was very lucky to have the best Dad ever. I am sure a lot of kids think that also but I know it.

Happy Fathers Day Dad and Peter.

I was talking to Jess today and she reminded of something very funny. My Dad when something went wrong and need fixed he would say ” I think the bull pin jumped the heifer shaft ” I sort of carried on with it as I liked it and the funny thing is Jessica remembered it. I may need to start saying that again. LOL

I checked out our investments today and only one word OUCH ! Maybe two words OUCH OUCH !

I went to the Top Gun Maverick movie with Corey, Victoria, and Jackson for Father’s Day. Very nice. First the movie was awesome. You really didn’t need to see the first show in 1986 as there were very few tie-ins but it would help understand overall. Tom looks awesome for turning 60 in a couple of weeks. He is in amazing shape. In the first movie they had a very good looking young lady, Kelly McGillis as his love interest but for this movie they chose a much younger Jennifer Connelly.

Jennifer is a beautiful woman. Kelly unfortunately for her did not age well. Top Gun even though in both cases is a action movie it is the back drop for a love interest for Tom. A very very good movie ! And it wasn’t packed which was nice for Covid safety.

We came home and watched the US Open. I just find it ironic that a British guys comes to the USA to play due to the money and yet people are upset with players playing in the LIV tournaments. Calling the kettle black.

The last few Wordle puzzles have been a little more difficult than usual. I had a lucky night and made in two. It has happened a few times now but usually 4. Odds are like a hole in one I should get once sometime.

Thought of the Day

Poeple like watching sunsets. I love to watch lightning and heavy rain.

June 20th to 22nd

“Mercury Forecast – MIXED BAG RAIN, THUNDER, RAIN AND SOME SUN THROWN IN”

Time goes by fast. I have been busy and and neglected to enter for a couple of days. So it will mixed up and perhaps not in order but will cover most things. This week has been mixed up from the start.

I went out to the lot and worked the whole day. It was quite nice out and I accomplished quite a few things. I love it out there during the week as it is so quiet and peaceful. During July and August it is a little busier but still sparse.

We met Jeff & Wendy at McKenzie for a round of golf. I like this course and always think I should have a great score here. Started the first nine with 3 over but a few doubles caught me on the back and ended up with a low 80’s score but we all still had a lot of fun. Jackie, had wonderful drives today. Jeff, I thought overall had good drives but irons caused issues and Wendy played pretty good overall. Nice to see her not limping as her shot in the knee appears to be working perfect.

It actually was a nice dry day and we ended up sitting on the deck for supper after. McKenzie always has great food and no different tonight. I bet everyone can guess what Jackie had for supper ? I had the steak special it was awesome. Nice cold beer, great steak and sitting in the sun with friends after golf is pretty hard to beat.

Life is good when having days like this. Love it.

I got out of the house early today as the weather showed a gorgeous day with heavy rain coming late afternoon evening.

Turned out to be a wonderful day hitting 25 degrees. It was windy but that was nice. Another great day getting things accomplished. Finally the irrigation was one so I pressure washed the gazebo in and out, the shed, deck and the chairs. I sprayed everything with Amazing Orange that needed it and the sticky buds just melt away.

I trimmed the trees, edged the lawn, cut the grass and burned all of the cutoffs. I double checked the heads for each flower pot and adjusted everything as needed so now should be all set to go.

I thought I would phone Xplornet again. This may sound racist and it is far from that but today after two previously failed attempts I had a young lady that spoke English and between her communicating and me understanding my internet was up in running within 10 minutes. The last agent just wanted to charge me $125 for a tech visit. I thanked this young lady very much, gave her the highest star rating in a review and wish more companies would understand that competent customer service reps with proper language skills are needed so their customers we experience a lot less issues. I was happy to finalize this.

Lots of social interactions today as two of our neighbors were out working away. Sat and had a beer with Bill next door which was a great visit.

By late afternoon the weather cast changed. No big storm as predicted. Rain for tomorrow which I hope is wrong as I have my men’s league out at Turner.

My Aunt at 90 years old died today. Aunt Bernice was married to my Dad’s brother Uncle Roy. My favorite uncle from Dad’s side. Mom and Dad used to travel with Aunt Bernice and Uncle Roy for years. Jackie & I borrowed his trailer most likely in 1976 for our first trip to the Okanogan. I don’t know the cause of death but she struggled with Dementia for a quite a few years. Our medicine is too good allowing people’s bodies to out life their minds.

Thought of the Day

In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on and make everyday a good day

June 23rd

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 18 degrees, Calgary 14 degrees”

It was a day. We had thunder, we had rain, we had showers, we had sun, and we had 50km wind.

I hate this on a Thursday as it is my men’s league at Turner . Needless to say I can tell you the scores were not good. I got off to a good start and then a few great holes and then a few disasters happened taking a 8 on a Par 4 and 7 on a Par 3.

It was cold enough out my Reynaud’s acted up and both hands had fingers that were pure white with no feeling.

I will say if I remove the score from each of my partners ,we would all say we had fun. I had some wonderful shots it is just too bad about the poor holes with very high scores.

After golf in the clubhouse sitting I had wonderful War Won Ton soup and checked out the scoring. It is amazing how some “Great” golfers can golf each week no matter the circumstance and do so well.

I was disappointed in the greens again today. Turner really needs to find out what they can do to get better greens as it is close to July and theirs are the worst I have played this year at any time.

Wordle today was one of those that required a little more thinking. The first two tries only one letter but still ended up with 4 which is about normal. I love it when they use words that aren’t easy to get yet I love it even more when I get it in two.

Thought of the Day

Often when we pick up a magazine or tune into the evening news, it appears at times that the whole world is just full of doom and gloom. As people are frantically trying to live their lives, they can’t even take a few minutes to reflect on whether they are happy or not. Be positive and you will be happy !

June 24th–26th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 16 degrees, Calgary 12 degrees RAIN”

I remember that one nice day we had this year. Come on summer, hurray up as June has been another lousy month of weather.

Rain is called for all day and as I look outside they are right.

I booked our golf at River’s Spirit which is a nice course and hopefully we get decent weather.

Jeep is booked into the service station.

The world is a crazy place. The USA is imploding with it’s politics. There are certain things that governments need to keep out of not to screw it up. The Supreme Court changing the abortion rules is dumb. They state it was not every mentioned in the constitution hence they should remove themselves from a 50 year old precedent ruling.

What everyone forgets it is not a women issue, it is a male, female, unborn issue. Each state now has the opportunity to “create” a new law that is common sense but most have chosen the wrong path in my mind.

Here is my personal take. It is a woman’s body and she should have the power to control it. BUT if a unborn child has passed a certain time threshold abortion should be the last resort. If a unborn has known conditions abortion should be an option. If it was a rape abortion should be an option. Abortion should never be a form of birth control.

If we believe abortion is wrong why do we allow birth control pills. Both take the life of a unborn just in a different time frame.

I think the States has taken a huge step backwards. Underground risky abortions will happen. I think the USA is a very troubled country and so divided it is imploding.

FINALLY summer has hit. Today was to hit 24 degrees and the next day even warmer. All week is great with the odd shower thrown in.

Nothing is nicer than sitting on the deck in the morning sun with my coffee. Heavenly. Daisy loved being out with company and watching the people, cars and events happening under her.

We were looking after Jackson starting at 2pm so the morning was pretty lazy. Nice though.

Jackson arrived and we were off. To bundle it all together I think we took three walks for blocks. We visited and had a mini picnic at a swing park which was nice.
Jackson and i stopped for Slurpees before our walk. I LOVED Slurpees as did our girls. When they were very little when I said to Jackie I am heading to the 7/11 they would yell for Slurpee’s. A little older I had to spell S L U R P E E until they caught on to that. We had a lot of Slurpee’s years ago. Now very very rarely but Jackson wanted one so we went. I really enjoyed it again. My favorite is Cream Soda mixed with Cola. Awesome tasting and not one brain freeze.

Jackson is a little big now for the parks but we still had a lot fo fun. Pushing him now is heavy !

On our way home we thought we should have PIzza for supper as we hadn’t had for a long time. We ordered from Western Pizza ( a Regina) company and they make great pizza. A meat lovers with jalapeno peppers added and I add fresh tomatoes. Tasty ! Jackie has her old favorite of Feta/ Chicken. Chicken should not be allowed on a pizza. As usual they were exceptional.

At home it was game time. Jackson for a school project designed and created an arcade game. The thought that went into this is amazing. It is a 4 in 1 arcade game and loads of fun. Needless to say my middle name is now ARCADE after playing with Jackson and Jackie. We had a lot of fun and the game is impressive.

After supper, another walk, we decided on a movie for the night. Jackson picked out a movie that was good but quite unusual. Dr Strange . Other than a plot that was convoluted it was great. Lots of action, special effects etc. We enjoyed yet, not fully understanding it but still an interesting movie to watch.

Daisy chose to sleep with Jackson ALL NIGHT. It is like we didn’t exist but I am sure Jackson loved the company in his room. It is just funny how she attaches herself to someone and totally forgets about everyone else.

Everyone had a good sleep in until at least 9am.

Victoria & Jessica as a gift ( a very expensive gift) went with us to the LAUNCHPAD here in Calgary.

This is like the USA TopGolf spots.

I will start by stating. THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY A VERY FUN EVENT TO DO.

We all had a blast. The facility is awesome, new first class and inviting. We arrived a bit early so stopped in the lounge for a drink and to order food for our suite while golfing. Everyone’s food that came was exceptional. it is a limited menu but just right with every category covered. Pizza was excellent, burger perfect and salad done right. The pricing was reasonable.

The special gaming part/TV section is neat and we had some fun competitions. One game we played was longest drive. Another game was closest to the pin. Another about 9 holes at Pebble Beach and another points game for hitting within a target. They even have a game for kids to play.

All of the drinks were reasonable priced and delivered along with food to your suite.

So I give Launch Pad 9.5 out of 10. We decided rather than pack our own clubs we would use the ” complimentary” sets offered. This is a HUGE mistake as they provide a set of STRATA clubs worth about $100. I was shocked they would be so dumb as every manufacturer would provide if not free at drastically reduced pricing for this as the potential for someone trying a set and liking them they will buy one like it. Big mistake on LaunchPad’s part.

But we still did ok with the poor clubs and had a blast. FUN TIME

Thank you very much Tor & Jess.

We came home and had a drink and fun talking in Tor’s back yard in the warmth.

LOVE SUMMER WEATHER !

Thought of the Day

You have to learn the rules of the game, then you have to play better than anyone !

June 27th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 18 degrees, Calgary 26 degrees”

SUMMER finally. We have two amazing days and one more to come. It finally feels like summer maybe here. A very long time coming. Now if we get 120 more I will be happy.

I had to add these in as I love these pics with August and Atticus plus Jess the coach for soccer this year.

Jackie had a doctors visit with Audrey and I took my Jeep in for service first thing so just had a relax day with Daisy sitting on the patio in the sun/shade. We had fun looking at everyone that passed by with her “talking’ to a few of them.

I did some research on a few things I have going on and updated a few things.

After my service work was done Jackie came home and drove me to pick up the Jeep.

I have everything done now according to the manufacturers recommendation not a rip off service departments idea what is right. 200K will be when I finish off the cycle.

If you remember I bought new LED head lights for the Jeep. My illegal ( not DOT approved) sealed beam halogens super whites lasted 10 yrs before taking a couple of rocks. I paid $650 for them in 2012. A couple of days ago when I phoned the replacement for them it was $850. I found a pair of Chinese LED lights super bright for $150. These things are awesome. I LOVE the looks , the pricing, and they are a way brighter than my Halogens. If a few people do not flash me I will be disappointed. Someone flashes me though, I will hit them with my PIA lights also and they will see PURPLE for a few minutes but quickly realize my lights are just that bright.

The mechanic stated that my Halo driving lights flicker a little. I couldn’t tell but if they do JP Power has a LED resistor in stock for me to use. Means having to take the grill and lights out again though.

For the old hotrodder’s out there JP Power is the old JP Automotive from Edmonton that have locations now in both cities. Between Davis and JP I have bought a lot of stuff in prior years for multiple cars. Headers, intakes, camshafts, gasket kits, 4:11 gear set, tachs, gauges,coils, air shocks and the list goes on. Nice to see a company adapt to the world and provide stuff for all of the rice burners out there. Not real horsepower but very quick.

I LOVE MY LIGHTS !

A long walk tonight in the warmth was awesome. Daisy got to meet a few friends which is her life. She now is resting cuddled up to my feet.

I can’t believe the time is flying past so quickly. I had big plans and they are disappearing fast as the calendar is in warp speed.

Thought of the Day

To shine your brightest light is to be who you really are.

June 28th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 20 degrees, Calgary 24 degrees”

Well, good weather didn’t last long. It was supposed to be up to 26 degrees but that never happened. We had decent warm temperatures, we had showers, we had rain, spots had hail, and it was windy. I guess a short summer. LOL

In fact out at Oasis RV Park, Canada Weather sent a possible tornado warnings.

Tonight while writing this it is black sky, pouring rain and very windy.

Jackie worked all morning and then we met Jeff & Wendy our at River Spirit Golf Course. I really like this course. It presents itself like you are in the mountains with it’s hills, valleys, and treed fairways. It is fair but not that wide. I would say easier than Turner Valley to play as all of the under bush has been removed. It also has a great clubhouse and outside deck area.

Golf is a funny thing. Today was a mixed bag of golf. I scored better than I played salvaging a bogie or par when I shouldn’t have. Yet having said that teh score still was high. Play wise I felt it was one of those poor days. Drives, and irons were not on. Jeff had one of his best days driving, Jackie played quite well overall and Wendy some great shots but overall off her normal self. Having said all that I had a lot of fun as I believe everyone else did also.

We only had about 1.5 holes of rain coming down.

We thought we would stay on the deck after golf and grab a beer and a bite. It was a little cool outside so after a bit we went in ( with Daisy) into the clubhouse. We had an excellent waitress but the poor girl was having a day. The cook/kitchen was doing her no favours. They had no garden salads for sale, and it was wing night and they would have been a long wait so she wanted us to change our mind. The one time when I ordered healthy food (salad and wings) they can’t supply.

Our food when it arrived and our second choice was wonderful. One of the better Caesar salads I have had.

Wendy was worried a warning that had been sent, may mean hail on her Honda. The H on the front grill might be the draw. But as I always have said, if you buy a import car they are constructed with our recycled pop cans. In fact years ago when Datson’s rusted you could see the name Coke under the paint. We all made it home before any hail hit. LOL

Great day, Daisy was excellent again and fun golfing with Jeff & Wendy

Thought of the Day

There is no such thing as bad weather- only wrong clothes.

June 29th-30th

Forecast RAIN STORM MISSING SPRING NEVER MIND SUMMER !

I whipped out to Oasis and tried to work all day. I would work for an hour then hide for a rain storm to pass, then work for 2 hours then hide for a hail storm and on and on. Hard to get any long project done. I got the garden weeded which was good. Our plants are coming along just fine. There are cheaters out there that used onion bulbs etc and have tall plants compared to our fine hair plants but growing from seed is REAL gardening. Onions are up, radishes are up, potatoes are up, and lettuce is looking good. I have to wait for another week or two to weed in between teh plants to tell teh plants from weeds.

I trimmed the lot, cut the grass, and deadheaded the pots. I cleaned the complete BBQ inside and out as I found a SOS pad. I cleaned the kitchen and re-did all of the chairs to remove the sap. Loaded up and took the garbage to the bins. I also installed the sun UV window protectors on the motorhome.

I also worked on my PIAA lights but no avail today. Hopefully just a fuse.

Still a fun day working all day.

If no one else will say I will. I am HATING 2022’s weather in Canada. We have had a horrible year. In fact it has been cold this spring our best ski hill Sunshine Village will be open all long weekend. The big melt in the mountains hasn’t even started yet. I can count on one hand the days of the year that have good.

On our walk tonight we see a huge Hummer limo let out about 10 young girls about 15 yrs old. They were all dressed up fancy. As a society we are getting this all wrong. A Garde 9 graduation SHOULD NOT include a limo. Now kindergarten grads are cute but we allowing kids to experience things a way to early. High School Grad limo are ok as it is a special occasion for decades and is age appropriate for a fun time.

First limo rides are a memorable thing and should be special and we needed push our kids to experience everything so fast.

Markets are still ugly. I always shake my head as it seems like every time we withdraw our monthly living from our investments the market is down. In 2021 we only had three down months and so far this year 5 straight months lower every month. Problem is “long term” a money managers best selling gimmick, really isn’t legit as once you are retired there are no additional monies to be added and you really only have a 20 year spend window. I am hoping if we get past the war ( hopefully by fall) , get past the Covid issues and vote out Trudeau as soon as possible we may get back on track.

Thought of the Day

Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons