April 1st

Ok it is April Fool’s day. It is a funny day when you see headlines in the paper and on news and you don’t know what to believe. Come to think of it every day lately is like that.

I can’t say I am going back to work as NO ONE would believe that. I can’t say the border is closing again as that is in the past. I can’t say I won a Million Dollars as everyone would have benefitted if that happened. I can’t say Trudeau quit as no one would believe that. I can’t say I love this weather.

I was fooled once by my secretary, Jennifer Sargeant. She placed a phone message post-it note, on my desk with a number and a name Mr. Wolfe. IT WAS THE ZOO. lol

So, everyone just be careful today in what you see, what you read, and what you do.

It is April and we are not even close to spring. 26 days out of 31 that were below normal this year. I went back in my records to see my first golf game of the season in years past. Here are some of the start dates March 16th- 2021, May 6th-2020, April 18th-2019, April 6th 2018, April 18th- 2017, April 28th-2015, April 2nd-10th in 2013 and April 8th 2012. So quite a range but averages about April 15th. That is too long to wait.

I will be patient until after Easter than I think I will whip up to Invermere for two-day event if the weather doesn’t rapidly improve. The Track, Heatherglen or Speargrass are usually the first unless PIcture Butte or Claresholm get good weather.

The Flames are hanging in there and we just need a couple of wins and the Jets to stumble a bit. It is a close call to make it.

Daisy is missing her friends from Viewpoint. Luckily this morning she had one nice pup to run around with in the snow.

Speaking of Viewpoint this is just one of the reasons we love it there. This was the going away party for the season ending that we missed this year. These events are just fun.

As I said just one of the many reasons. The dances, concerts, block gatherings, golf, games nights, billiards, meeting friends and warmth. I know spring hasn’t hit yet but I am thinking about going back already.

Thought of the Day

What do you call a person that is happy on Monday morning. Retired !

April 2nd-3rd

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton COLD Calgary COLD Mesa 26 degrees”

Cold maybe an over statement but it is very chilly. Edmonton and Calgary with highs of only 3 degrees and 1 degrees. Just like March a way below seasonal.

Not a lot going on until SPRING COMES.

I worked on my budget and finished it. Between lack of return and expenses (especially inflation caused by incompetent governments) it was another hurt month. Our HOA fee for Viewpoint for 6 months is saved $4200. ( i will never complain on this), finish paying off our Disney trip, pay for our June cruise and the money saved for the golf cart it adds up fast. I did smile though as a week in Calgary, and we spent more on gas than in a month in Arizona.

The company that I worked for the longest and would put as my favorite to work for I believe only has one former fellow worker left. A gentleman that worked for me in Calgary and transferred to Regina just retired leaving only Bob Bauche in Edmonton as a ex-employee of Henderson’s.

Darren Woods in one of those guys that I made more memories with than most. When I was transferred to Calgary as the new General Manager Darren had just started in the warehouse a week or so before. I always believed promotions HAD to be within the company as an incentive to workers to be better and have a chance at advancement. This happened to me so many times and I am today internally grateful for the opportunities. Darren was one of those guys where I saw something in him. We had a rough start the first little while as with his hard work and wanting to learn he had a little attitude also. Not my proudest moment in my life but I corrected that and the two of us started on a journey of friendship and as co-workers. Darren was promoted to assistant warehouse foreman soon after, then as a truck driver for deliveries. I then promoted him to inside sales desk with the added responsibility of fleet maintenance, office supplies and warehouse supplies and a plethora of other duties which he excelled at.

The memories of Darren are amazing. On one of his first trips out in the 5 ton he got stuck in the middle of grave road (him taking a shortcut to save time) on a banned road. He paid for a tow truck himself rather than tell me. He took a load to Kelowna for me and was busted at the Golden weigh scale (the worst power tripping scale operators ever) and was forced to got to hotel to have time off as his log book was filled in wrong. I drove the 3 hours with one of my reps who had his Class 1 to pick up Darren and get he truck moving again for deliveries to customers that were expecting their product. My rep Tom Daniels made Darren sit on a plastic milk crate all the way to Kelowna and back. Tom was upset. At the time we had removed the passenger seat so we could haul Weiser locks in the cab.

At a company picnic Darren was discussing something with a warehouse guy from Newfoundland and the conversation didn’t go well. Darren picked up this 6ft tall Newfie threw him over his shoulder and walked to the creek and threw him in. Same company picnic Darren offers to help a fellow employee a tow home as the car wouldn’t start. Going up a hill just a short distance away Darren blows up his rear end. An expensive gesture of help.

In the office Darren was shredding paper for us and his tie got stuck int he shredder. To see a large man’s neck being pulled down and choked was funny. And dangerous. LOL

He was excellent at finding cost saving measures for us. But the dialing 9 in front of our phone numbers drove me nuts. But it saved us money. LOL

For years and years Darren and I along with my Asst Mgr would have jugs of beer and pounds of wings at Tam o Sha bar or later known as the Bent Elbow pub. 100 wings at a time we would order. Fun memories.

Darren left Calgary when he accepted an assistant manager job in Regina his old stomping grounds. He later become an outside rep which he worked at for at least 20 years. He is retiring to the farm life which he used to do the side.

Waking up this morning I know that feeling of the job gone, the responsibilities gone, and the pressure gone. Now to a new better life. Darren will do well in his new adventure, and I hope to see him someday to check it out.

We had Audrey over for supper. I had to wear my WINTER coat while using the BBQ outside. Jackie chose a different type of pork as the bone in chops were exorbitantly priced. They turned out great though but took longer to cook. Roasted potatoes and carrots and you can’t go wrong. Nope, you can. Jackie bought some kind of Asian cabbage salad with pickle juice that was horrible. Dry, cabbage dry, and just not tasty. And I love coleslaw, but this was far from coleslaw. The only thing common was the red cabbage, maybe. There are a lot of salads made that are not good.

The Flames are still hanging in there. Wednesday will be the do or die game. The Oilers are playing exceptional right now. The Flames NEED to make the playoffs. I do not want the emails if they don’t. LOL Take way there top two players and see what they do. !

I was checking out my VIP golf membership and they have done a remarkable job. The pricing they negotiated is exceptional. I can golf some course I love for Jackie and I less than just I in Mesa. Come on spring !

For everyone and that will be a lot of people the trip to Canada April 1st would/could have been poor with the storms going thru. I know in Viewpoint a majority of the people leave that date.

I took a trip to Golf Traders. I give these guys a 5-star rating. I had physically checked both Golftowns here in town, Ebay and Amazon plus webpages and wasn’t happy with the kind, price or shipping costs. Today I got the best of all three. Amazing service. I got a brand new Taylor-made shaft for my M1 that I have modified for Jackie to use. They took the shaft off a brand-new club and sold it to me. A $499 club and sold the shaft, adaptor and grip for $136. That is a steal. Especially getting a Taylor-made tuned 45 gram Ladies Flex. We set the loft at the highest degrees possible which will about 12 degrees. The higher loft closes the face at impact and launches higher so for a slower wing speed should give more distance. I also set the club to draw as Jackie has a tendency to push right. I am positive she will love this club after getting used to it and i can adjust as needed after a bit. BUT very impressed with Golf Traders service. !! I do have to say though they did laugh at me in my sandals in this hell frozen over temperature.

jeff & Wendy reserved a table for us for this Wednesday. It is the Jets against the Flames and will be the crucial game that decides if we make the playoffs or not for both teams. It should be a dandy of a game and nice to see the Graces after 5 months.

I booked my session with Sebastian for my spring tune-up. You know I believe chiropractors are quacks but Sebastian doing his massage heat along with deep muscle stimulation works like a dream. When I called in and gave my name the secretary goes, “Well it has been a while since we have seen you ” My response ” See how good he is ” Nothing like a good laugh in the morning. Going back to chiropractors. I went to a chiropractor for about 10 years. I had a football injury and two roll over car crashes. They NEVER fix you and just say ” See you next Saturday” Besides the crooked business practice of pumping up the billing which governments recognized and removed them from being paid by the healthcare system they are dangerous. Numerous people have died due to strokes with the neck manipulation they give. NO ONE touches my neck. This one tune up by Sebastian I should be good for the year. I believe with my new club I increased my swing speed and it pulled a long deeper muscle that needs to be released. The day after a Sebastian visit it hurts then it is heaven.

Wordle in 3 for me 4 for Jackie, Yahoo !

Thought of the Day

A chiropractor can’t fix crazy but they can adjust it !

April 4th – 7th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 2 degrees, Calgary 2 degrees and Mesa 17 degrees”

The weather is hitting over 30 degrees every day starting tomorrow in Mesa . Nice ! The weather is hitting close to 20 in Edm/Cal this weekend. Nice ! And about time. Hopefully the snow will melt.

Watching the Master pre show a bit and I am impressed with the format and the discussion about LIV in the tournament. The pairings are done very equal and thought about controversary is taken into account. It is about GOLF and nice to see. I am hoping for a LIV player win. Dustin, Brooks, or Cameron or one of the others. I would have liked to attend this course once.

The interview with Tiger was awesome. He is so much better at interviews and people friendly. He could win and I would love that. Anyone but whining Rory but cheering for a LIV player or Woods.

Good thing for the Masters as being stuck in this hell frozen over is not fun. I feel for people that are stuck here all winter and retired as there is only so many things you can do. I think I will go clean the truck downstairs in the wash bay. I can’t go to the lot due to the excessive snow so my back of the Jeep is stuffed with stuff to put away.

MINI RANT

POLITICS

A couple of current issues that are asinine.

TRUMP– What is happening in NYC is unbelievable. To try to convict a President of the USA with election tampering by him paying off his hookers is just a witch hunt. The USA has become so divided and polarized and this kind of thing only exasperates the nation. TRUMP is crooked by most moral people’s standards, but what the judicial system and Democrats are doing should be considered criminal.

NOTLEY NDP- I have a very high tolerance of people and systems but Notley and her supporters deserve a whack on the side of the head to wake up. My disdain for unions, socialists and environmentalists is reaching new heights. What baffles me is how intelligent people fall for this. It is greed, narcissism, not considering anyone but themselves and lack of common sense. Free education, 20 kids to a class, 1 doctor to every 100 patients, tax the rich, defund the cops, pilots thinking they need more than 200K to have decent salary, raising the min wage etc are all utopian thoughts but not reality that we can afford. If one NDP/LIB supporter says they are paying too much for anything a lightning bolt should strike them down. Her campaign to try to take down Smith is unreal. The scary part between the younger voter and the unionists she is still in a scary position to win. Trust me the first time was extremely bad for Alberta this time would be a way worse.

TRUDEAU- The USA may have the dumbest President ever in power, and the last one a crook but with good ideas, but Canada wins the prize for the stupidest, most incompetent leader EVER. Highest inflation in 40 years and he adds to it with a new carbon tax that does nothing to reduce emissions. Trump may have tried to cover his mistakes, but Trudeau is just as bad.

• Conflict of interest by going on a vacation to a lobbyist Aga Khan’s private island
• Costumes in India that were an embarrassment for the world and inviting an convicted attempted murderer Jaspal Atwar of an Indian politician to dinner.
• Elbows female member of parliament
• SNC Laval scandal and firing good politicians that dared to stand up against him
• $6000 a night hotel room in London
• Forgetting to mention Alberta in a Canada Day speech
• Canada debt !!

There are many more, but it appears no one wants to think for themselves and follow looking for the holy grail.

Enough said as I hate to waste time on politics, but I have to as I am being affected as much or more than anyone else.

I went grocery shopping today and was shocked at the price. Carbon tax up food goes up and poeple don’t get it. Wages go up, the service or product goes up and poeple don’t catch on. It is a vicious circle.

I will turn my attention to hockey as the next few games are crucial. The Oilers are playing extremely well. The Flames are playing ok but we need to win the last 5 games to be sure and even then, it is not a given.

I washed and cleaned out the Jeep. Shined up the tires and body parts and it is looking good. I do need to find a fix to the paint I scuffed removing poplar buds.

Just a poor, poor performance by the Flames. As a coach how do you get a multi-millionaire excited to try hard. It hard to watch with the lack of effort. As a realist I know we don’t have the talent to win the cup but with hard work, teamwork and effort we can do a lot better. I hate to admit it, but it looks like an Oiler support playoff for me. I just hate the mightier than thou attitude of the fans. If Mc David and or Leon left the team they would suck even more than us.

Here is an interesting article in the Phoenix newspaper.

And it was. I went thru 4 tanks of propane for the patio heater and even then, it was too cool to spend a lot of time outside. Having said that we only had about 4 games cancelled due to rain, and we were able to still enjoy the sun albeit a cool sun. I am looking forward to a “normal” Mesa wintering this fall/spring. No covid issues and getting back to great weather. Normal taken a long time to achieve. Plus we need inflation to go away. Things this year were ridiculously expensive including golf. My VIP golf membership is excellent compared to the USA pricing. Even Viewpoint this year for a non-resident was over $100 rack rate. Things overall have changed as pricing in Canada is now pretty close to the USA when exchange is factored in on just about everything except for alcohol.

I can’t wait to hit the course in Canada again. Unless the weather really gets warm every course, I checked is the 14th to 21st first day opening. That is average to late, but I want it sooner. LOL

The Masters and Easter on the weekend isn’t good as I will miss most of it as we have people coming here on Saturday and we are in Edmonton on Sunday.

Big game with the Flames and Jets. This is a do or die game.

The Flames finally played decent winning the most important game of the season so far this year. It puts them in a tie for the last wildcard spot but the Jets have 4 games left and us only three. So, every game with these teams playing is critical. Still fingers crossed.

Jackie and I met the Graces at Dixon’s. We like this spot as they have lots of TV’s, great food and they let you reserve a table. And Jeff always seem to get his favorite table. They know him. He also has been very lucky here winning over the years a Flames Jersey and a Juniors jersey.

It has been close to 6 months since I have seen them, so it was nice to catch up. Hopefully lots of golf in our near future when spring finally hits.

Jeff and Wendy attend Yoga classes now and by listening to them it has been wonderful for as it has worked as a calming influence over any conflicts, they may experience.

It was a fun night with plenty of beer, good food and wonderful conversation.

This must be a new hand signal that I am unaware off. I think she is saying bring me two more.

I will let everyone guess what Jackie ordered for a meal. Yes, you are right!! lol

Most assume the infamous pizza was invented by the Italians. However, about 2700 years ago, the Greeks invented a flat bread called ‘Plankuntos’, in ancient Greece that is considered the first pizza. I mention this as that is what the Graces had and Jeff loves being Greek.

Today is Master’s Day. I never liked the format having to go from channel to channel with all of the special coverage. One thing is they talk a way too much instead of us watching the players. Love this course as it is hard !

I finished watching the Masters for today. Tiger is sitting at 55th spot after his round. He needs 50 or less to make the cut but 50% of the field is still playing. A little tentative. Mike Weir, Freddie Couples and Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm all have had good rounds. I am still hoping for a LIV player, Woods or Scottie Scheffler to win. I really enjoy watching this game and it is great to have the top players in the world at one tournament,

If you look at back in time, I have forever said don’t buy cheap and China products if possible. It is difficult to do as most things on Amazon or even in our stores are from China now. But I try. I have seen so much failure of product on cheap goods. Chinese tires, suspension parts like ball joints, camping equipment etc over and over again.

Today I used parchment paper from the cupboard. Compliments Brand instead of a brand name. If you are familiar with this paper, it is safe to use in the oven up to 450 degrees. Not today as when cooking my bacon in the oven at 350 degrees the paper starts to burn. Needless to say, fire alarms went off, dog went running, doors and windows rushed to get open and waving a glove in front of the detector ALL because of a defective inferior quality product. Not right.

Ps. My bacon turned out perfect as this is the ONLY way to make great bacon with no mess. A little noisy this time though. LOL Bagged it all up and 6 seconds in the microwave you have perfection real bacon.

Finally, a semi nice day which I could call a somewhat spring day. Shopping for groceries today for the weekend. This will be the FIRST Easter that we have done a turkey in years. Got lazy and timing for the everyone was involved. A turkey meal is my favorite meal of any.

We got unlucky this year not being able to book the amenity room, so we have everyone in our condo which helped make the decision easier. I remember one year in Mesa when I was there by myself, I went to Denny for their special turkey meal and it was awesome.

The Masters ( so far) is working out just perfect. A LIV player winning, Brooks Koepka, Rory missing the cut ( already done) and Tiger making the cut ( right on the line and final cut will be tomorrow)

I dislike the delay but when you have trees falling down on the course it is a little dangerous for people.

It had been a fun game to watch, but I would rather be outside playing myself. Darn this hell frozen over location.

Cleaned up the Jeep, went over my maintenance records, got a few things ready for the weekend but still a low key day.

Jackie got wordle in two and I failed which is only my second time. Darn! Just didn’t get the right letters and nothing clicked. I had a streak going beating her and then she takes a turn running away. She is too good at the is game and keeps me on my toes.

Hopefully next week I can make a trip to the lot to see how things are.

Thought of the Day

” Spring is summer in the sun and winter in the shade “

April 8th-9th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 17 degrees, Calgary 14 degrees, Mesa 30 degrees.”

A couple of weather things. First this will be the last Mesa temp as everyday now will be 30 degrees plus. And checking Edm vrs Calgary they are warming than us every day for the week coming up.

It is amazing how fast the snow is starting to melt. You can notice a huge difference in the fields.

Here is my Turner Valley Golf course today and you can see brown starting to peak thru and two guys working on the greens/tarps which is a good sign.

It is Easter weekend. As a society it amazes me how we forget what we are celebrating but instead just think of it as a long weekend. I do think of turkey dinner every Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas though.

Speaking of turkey, we are having poeple over today for Easter and NOT serving turkey. First time for everything but we are heading to Edmonton (the Waldie’s, Hicken’s and us) and two turkey dinners back-to-back isn’t really needed. We have done that for years, but a change is as good as a rest they say. One of the main reasons for not having turkey was we were not able to book the amenity room, so it gets a little busy in the condo with so many people. Next year! So, we are making it easier on ourselves by having a much, much smaller meal, quicker easier, not so much room needed. dishes etc. That is what happens as a family grows. The boys though will miss the room for fun and running around.

I am looking forward to turkey dinner in Edmonton. Happy Easter to everyone. Just one thought. Between marketing and pagans, it is unfortunate the real meaning of Christmas and Easter has been diluted by Santa and the Bunny.

I watched the Masters first thing and all is good. Rory missed the cut. Yahoo! Tiger made the cut and tied the record for most consecutive cuts made, and a LIV player Brooks is leading the pack. My perfect finish would be Koepka, Rahm, Reed or Scheffler and Tiger making top ten. It was pouring rain today and Rahm in the conditions, was amazing. Wearing sweaters though seemed odd instead of rain gear. Fun to watch and the fans were out in force. Hardy !!

Everyone knows March 21st is the OFFICIAL first day of spring. Having said that TODAY is actually the first day it felt like spring. Sitting outside was heaven and missed as the last time we had warmth and sun was March 21st. That is 18 days ago in Mesa AZ. 3 weeks if by workdays. Sad. But today was wonderful. Even Daisy felt at home at her northern home.

I am positive I will find somewhere to golf next week. Yahoo ! I have my deep muscle stimulation on Wed that will pain me for a day and then hopefully full free hard swing.

I can barely wait. 18 days in Canada with no golf seems like an eternity.

Jess and Penny unfortunately had to cancel and the whole fam damily was ill. Good move not to spread it around.

It turned out nice with the amount we had space wise, food wise and gathering. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. We even manage to squeeze in some billiards after the party in the amenity room had left.

Baby Silas received a lot of attention. He is a cute boy and know Victoria would be sure to love holding him. I was scared he may puke on her work uniform as she had a night shift to go to.

We had Jackie & I, Audrey, Alan & MaryAnn, Danielle & Justin, Kristin & Sheldon, Victoria & Corey, Jackson & Silas with us.

This was the first time we met Danielle’s new boyfriend.

Alan & MaryAnn brought and used their Ninji air fryer and wow does that thing work good. I may need to get one.

It was a nice gathering and nice to see these people as it has been 5 months for most of them. Doesn’t seem like it but it was. Missing was Kennedy, Chris and Jess & Pen and kids.

The meal turned out great albeit not turkey. In hindsight next time if not turkey I think a roast beef or pork loin as they are easy. But in today’s world EXPENSIVE.

In the morning up early to drop off Daisy with Audrey and to head to Edmonton for one of the best turkey meal chefs there is and Mom’s 91st birthday.

Everyone knows the work involved in a large meal for 20 people Darlene not only makes one of the best meals she also makes it appear easy. Add the complication of having to pick up her cat at the Vet just before meal time. A $3k vet bill which is another story. She uses our Grandma’s tradition stuffing recipe which everyone loves and goes overboard with side dishes. There is no way you will not overeat this meal. I don’t even know what some of them were. I am a traditionalist liking turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, dressing, and lots of gravy.

I can attest to overeating looking at the weigh scale this morning. I have two or three days of reduced calories to get back to my ” number” as it is too easy to just let it creep up.

Beside Easter, not seeing people in 5 months it was also my Mom’s 91st birthday. We have Kayla below that is expecting in June which will be Darlene’s first grandchild.

We had a game of Charades which was hilarious. Boys against the girls. The boys won! There was some rule bending which was funny. First Garrett is up and he has a two-word clue ” Basketball Player” He starts to act out and I guess Basketball which he in turn says ” Yep Basketball Player” We took the point. Then Darlene is acting out another two-word clue and someone guesses Teeth Floss. They TRIED to take that for Dental Floss. It is a new medical terminology that I haven’t heard of. LOL Kari up and her clue is Folding laundry and they TRIED to take it as a point with sorting laundry. You have to watch these guys. !! Needless to say it was fun.

It was a great gathering, wonderful, wonderful, food and a nice visit. The traffic coming home was light.

The Masters turned out pretty good. THREE of the top 5 players were LIV. It has to shut up the PGA thinking they have the best players. Whining Rory missed the cut and has been very quiet. I like Rahm, wished Brooks would have won though but the LIV showing was amazing. I love the fact Phil is second which will shut up a lot of nay sayers also. Tiger made the cut which was great so over all a great tournament.

The Flames are slowly being extinguished. They suck and do not put the best effort up. Our fate now is in the hands of the Jets and Nash to lose. It could have been easy now it is pins and needles.

Today the Flame was extinguished. One player over 30 goals and the replacements all were not near expectations. Markstrom was very poor the whole season.

I hate to admit it, but I will watch the Oilers. They have been playing spectacular lately.

Wordle in 4 for both of us.

Thought of the Day

The Flames took to heart the saying that there is more to life than winning.

April 10th -11th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 3 degrees and snow, Calgary 13 degrees”

I spent 2 hours on the phone fixing up insurance for the spring on vehicles and homes. I will say I was dealing with a new immigrant that didn’t help anything. He was from England with a heavy accent. One would think with the technology we have today it would a few simple buttons and done. Last year I moved the motorhome over to winter insurance and according to my new guy it wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Finally, after the full 2 hours dealing with reinstating and cancelling etc I end up with insurance a little better than before but at $34 a month more. Changing the motorhome with liability, collision and windshield and getting the proper deductibles etc took time. Lots of questions. I have the boat, motor, gazebo and tools out at lot that have to covered plus we have a 1-million-dollar ryder for worldwide coverage if we rent of have an issue. There new ” gimmick” is they don’t have storage anymore but as we realize it is recreation vehicle, so we rate it as use for 9 mths but spread the bill out over 12. A good sale gimmick for sure. LOL I call Bull #@$ but you have no option other than change companies.

Then our AHS system with doctor billing. Due to covid I haven’t had an annual checkup for a couple of years, so went to book an appointment. Any issue you have or concern you have to book another appointment. The doctor will not allow two items on one visit. Our system is need of repair. Now my doctor is superb, but she is a rule follower. Two visits when one could have covered off everything is just plain dumb. Maybe stupid is a better word.

I went out to the lot today and spent most of the day there. I put stuff away, cleaned up a bit and did a few spring things. I started up the motorhome and let it run for about 45 minutes to charge the batteries and started the Genset to charge the coach batteries. The snow is about 90 percent done but still too wet to pick up leaves from the fall. Daisy and I walked around the park. Getting to the gate i punched in the new code. Didn’t work. Used the old code. Tried the new code with star and number and still didn’t work then I remembered we switched to FOB’s. I had to search and found mine and all done !

Funny how after 6 months you can forget the system. I remember coming to Arizona and luckily remembering the code for that door.

It was still cool out some would say cold, so I didn’t get a lot done but it was an enjoyable day getting some things as much as I did.

I booked my first golf game for 2023 in Alberta for Monday in Claresholm. Most of the courses don’t open until the 17th to 21st. It will be interesting how the time off has affected me and if my back can handle it. Sebastion is tomorrow so hopefully his magic will be smooth.

Today is NATIONAL PET DAY. Congratulation Daisy you make every day special for us.

She has been in an airplane, has golfed at least 100 times with us, sat on a patio while we eat, been in every store imaginable, thousands of miles in the car, multiple hotels and a few dog parks. She is one of a kind.

This is her standard sitting spot in the cart.

Another scandal and this time Chinese influence and Trudeau will just let it slip off his back again. Amazing.

I am not happy with the DIRTY tactics by the NDP Alberta somehow getting hold of a private conversation phone all. That should be investigated. I accept difference in anything, but it just baffles me how poeple support the NDP.

Jackie and I are taking the girls tonight to Boston Pizza for a family night which will nice. I think we will need a “boys” table with Atti, Auggie and Jack as salt etc, seems to become a projectile. My Mom buys us Boston gift cards every year and they sure come in handy for gatherings like this.

It was sort of a last-minute impromptu thing for Jess and the boys to come for a quick visit which was nice. Boston Pizza as usual, the food, drink and service was excellent. The boys were exceptionally well behaved maybe due to being shocked at the science center. They are all feeling a lot better now after a week of illness.

Everyone had a different type of dish and they all were excellent. The cold Boston sized draft was very cold and great. A fun short get together!

Thought of the Day

Never make eye contact while eating a banana.

April 12th -14th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 11 degrees, Calgary 6 degrees. ”

Another way of putting the weather is ” It is $*^ cold ” . Ridiculous.

Jackie had a teeth cleaning and teeth flossing to attend this morning. I had my appointment with Sebastian. I left a bit early to stop and Tim’s and arrived early at the clinic. I walk up to the door and the clinic is gone. MOVED and no one told me and I didn’t know. First, I had to go back into my memory bank to make sure I didn’t make a mistake and I was positive I was at the right place. I opened the door of the For Lease and asked the rep. Yep, they moved but luckily for me only to a new place one floor up. Good thing it was a close move otherwise I would have been late.

So I was twisted into a pretzel, re arranged, heat pads, and deep muscle needling. After all of this I am not sure it worked as I still feel the muscle soreness. I will be sore for another day but I didn’t feel a muscle twinge like normally when I get the needles stabbing into me. Hopefully I am wrong as Sebastian is a god send for me for many years. Maybe another session which would be a rarity.

Jackie had one cavity so another visit for her coming up. LOL I hate dentists.

Ok the Flames are out. I sent my message stating my disbelief and with no excuses as I could go on and on and stating I would cheer for the Oilers the 4 games before they were eliminated.

My friend Bob Kindrachuk had the best come backs I have seen in a long time.

Dear Larry,

Thank you for your interest in our team.

I’m sorry sir, but our bandwagon fills up at the beginning of the year and holds strong throughout.

We are currently not accepting any new fans, especially from Calgary. You can correct this issue by simply signing on to be a full-time fan, just like ANYONE would that was BORN AND RAISED here.

Thanks for the interest.

Hope  to see you next year !

Just send me a picture of you in full Oiler colors for consideration of your application to join a winning team

Thank you

ALL OILER FANS

Now that is the best I have seen. Made me laugh!

I spent the entire day out at the lot. What a day with the weather. It started out very cool. Then it warmed up enough I had to take my coat off. A couple of hours later it was a blizzard coming down. Then it never warmed up. Welcome to spring in Calgary

I started to clean up the lot. It ended up with me bagging another 10 full Home Depot lot bags. These are huge and take a lot of leaves. I used the leaf blower and leaf rake to make piles and then bagged. I could fit 6 bags to take to the dump so I decided rather than another trip I would burn the rest. That takes a long time and creates quite a smoke fest.

I now need to empty the firepit. LOL

6 hours of bagging, raking, blowing and I am glad my back held out. It did ok. Very tight again and lots of heat when I got home but not too much pain.

I went out today and ran into two people that took some time in talking with. In the garage downstairs I ran into Larry whom I am golfing with on Monday. Nice to catch up on his winter events including a trip to Hawaii. I want to beat him net to net on Monday ! The 3 weeks off for me will hurt but I am hopeful.

I also ran into at Canadian Tire, John Penner. This is a guy I dealt with from Beaver Lumber corporate office for years.

The driving range at McKenzie Meadows was busy. I see the tarps are still on the course so a bit yet before they open it. Nice to see people out practicing and getting that muscle memory working.

” Memories”

It is funny what you think of when out for a walk with the dog. I was fixated on looking at windows in the different homes. I was left disappointed as the bulk of the builders go ” builder grade” which means very few upgrades. Along with the windows I was looking at garage doors and remembering the “sale” pitch for both products.

Aesthetics of anything is personal but, in most cases, there is a general agreement.

I will take the garage door first. In most home styles in Calgary 50% to 75% of the visual appearance of the front of your house is determined by the garage door as it is front and center. For a person wanting to upgrade the appeal of the house it is the easiest and least costly thing to upgrade. Frugality is most often the culprit of appreciative house appeal.

Take a look at these three samples. For just a few bucks more the impact you can have on your house is huge. Remember at least 25% to 50% of the square visual footage of your home for 4K more the impact you will have and on a product that can last 25 years.

Windows in a home are one of the top five most expensive features of your home yet we treat them like a commodity and want just the minimum. It is again very important to remember the impact a window can have. Firstly, the appearance of the house, and then the efficiency of the window along with longevity and livability. Anyone understanding the valve of money over time proposition is in a good place to understand the importance of a window decision. I have seen window packages over 200K that we have sold and window packages for as little as 10k that do the job. Every industry has good, better, best products to appease the masses. But I personal believe 90% of the population will fall someplace between better and best if things are explained to them correctly. Windows have a huge impact in the looks of your home and again the square footage demands them to be appealing. This could go long, so I will try to make it quick and easy.

• Visual appearance. An important factor in determining your choice. Color is important and if you want anything other than white/almond it will cost more but it will look a lot better. Picture versus fixed sash is another big decision. It used to drive me nuts with people choose a casement beside a picture window. It just looks dumb, yet every middle of the row builder goes that route. Grids, grills or SDL bars exponentially increase the appearance of your windows and should always be a consideration.
• Performance and efficiency Extremely important decision especially in today’s world of high heating costs. Typical window construction consists of single pane, dual pane and tri-pane glass options. Today a dual pane window offers 3 to 3.8 R value while a Tri-pane offers an R Value of 7 to 8. Tri-pane costs on average 15 to 20 percent more but you are getting a window with double the R value and the opportunity for a lot more. Add Low E coatings and Argon gas and the window lets in light, keeps the cold out, the warmth in, warmer surrounding area and protects against UV damage and most forget the substantial sound damping properties of Tri-pane. Double the comfort for 20% more. Luckily builders like Jayman in Calgary now recognize this and it has become their standard. Casement always over slider should always be the consideration not only for performance but looks. If a U Factor or value isn’t mentioned the rep didn’t do a very good job or wasn’t knowledgeable in windows.

Two examples of a window that has appeal. The first is a vertical slider but the casement would look just like that. Yet everyday people in my opinion are not doing themselves any favors and are missing a huge opportunity to enhance their home street appeal and comfortability.

Next time when walking check out your neighborhood to see the difference between plain glass, or windows with internal or SDL bars and the difference it makes.

Key words you need to know when buying windows. Tri-pane versus dual pane, U value and R value, Argon, air space, spacer bar, warranty, internal grid bars, simulated mullion bars, sound, Low E,. Ask about each and you should be able to make a good decision.

Wordle in three for me and Jackie in 4. She has beaten me the last few nights so nice for a win.

Mashed potatoes, carrots, salad, pork chops and grave make a wondeful tasty supper.

Thought of the Day

I am so poor I can’t even Pay attention.

April 15th– 17th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 15 degrees Calgary 13 degrees ”

A relatively nice day. It took a long time to warm up and still felt quite cool.

Today Jackie & I decided to have a relaxing day and go for a drive and walk.

We picked up Audrey and lunch and went to Fish Creek Park and walked thru the park and sat on a bench at the river watching the fisherman. Not one fish caught that we saw but I really liked the optimism with so many of the guys bringing a net with them. Some looked like true fly guys others using a standard spin cast reel. Some with waders and some throwing from shore. Fun to watch but I would have liked to see a fish caught.

Years ago, Jeff and I fished that river floating down it for four hours and never had a bite. Fred fishes it once and almost caught a record breaker. Go figure. Today for a few hours nothing.

We then headed down to Diamond Valley for a nice drive in the country. The mountains this time of year are amazing. Edmontonians may have a hockey team still playing but they just NEVER get to experience the joy of looking at these at our steps.

Lots of changes on the way yet the town hasn’t begun to change the signage as of yet. Driving by my golf course I see the huge change to Hole 10 which I hope make sit better but not wreck it as it was our iconic premier hole. I may have to use a different club now.

We drove out to Sandy McNab but didn’t make it there. I didn’t realize it is in K country and we now need a pass. I do not mind the pass and a user pay but they have to make it more convenient. We tried to buy it online at the entrance to K Country and no service . Go figure.

I checked the forecast and no other word but SAD. Other than today NOT ONE day above 13 degrees all the way until May. I should have gone golfing today as tomorrow being booked the wind is supposed to be at 60 kph. Not sure yet if doable. Plus 10 feels like 7 isn’t great either.

Jackie and I drove down to McKenzie to use the range. We had a little obstacle as they were moving large beams for the bridge to go across teh river on that road and were struggling. We had to take a very long ways around, but we made it.

As expected, it was busy.

First, I will say again, I love my new driver. My back pain is numb, not sharp so no problems shooting a bucket of balls. My session went very well. I was striking the ball crisp and accurate. The distance was off but that is just an elevation and ground roll adjustment. The 60 degrees wasn’t perfect today with the odd shank but on the course, I usually club up to a more comfortable PW or SW.

Jackie was swinging perfect today. We did a few adjustments for tee height and ball position, and she was striking it sweet. Her new Driver that I had refurbished was working perfect and I am excited to see it work on the course. I am talking sweet hits and good to keep the muscle memory working and loose.

A fun afternoon at the range and drive around.

I was disappointed this morning as we had a tee time booked for golf at Claresholm as it was the first course to open.

We checked the weather and at 98 kph wind gusts and with 8 degrees not contusive to golfing at all. Cancelled

Then about 10 am checking the weather Calgary was hitting 9 degrees and only 40kph wind gusts. So as a last moment decision Jeff & I decided to head to Speargrass to see how we faired. We had such short notice we arrived 10 min before we tee’d off.

Ok it was windy. Ok it was real real windy. It is difficult to judge how well you really played under these conditions, but we had fun. Surprising there were quite a few poeple out playing. I had to wear earmuffs and a togue and my inner ear still hurts. The ball flight was brutal. Good hit and the wind would blow it 50 yards in a direction not wanted. Too far, too short etc. and lost water balls made the score higher than wanted. Livable but high 80’s is not wanted. I thought Jeff for his first game in 6 months played quite well. It was so windy you could land two feet from the hole and by the time you walked to your ball the wind would blow it 15 ft.

The greens were exceptional and the fairways in perfect shape.

It was the fun about being out not the score. For a quick play VIP worked wonderful and the price thru them is amazing.

The waitress has been there for years and makes great Caeser’s. I chose beer for today though. Next time on the deck the Caeser will be ordered.

A great day. Sore ear. LOL

Oilers tonight. I am torn between 4 straight losses and the Oilers winning. Should be a fun game to watch.

Thought of the Day

I don’t believe old age is the cause of forgetting things. I think it is because there are too many dumbs thing to remember.

April 18th-19th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 13 degrees, Calgary 9 degrees”

Ok as I said I am not allowed to cheer for the Oilers but secretly I do to a degree. I want them to win, not the Cup or more games than Calgary but to win enough to help relieve some of the delusional thinking the typical Oiler fan lives thru. It is not healthy for them and I have seen how a losing team has affected a few of my friends and or even relatives.

Edmonton has forever taken the backseat to Calgary in just about everything except for sports teams. Edmonton has had some great successes in hockey and football until the last 10 years. When you struggle with an identity and have to live vicariously thru your cities sports teams and they are lose more often than not it causes depression, anxiety, and acting out in bad behavior.

With what happened in last nights game the whole city should be embarrassed to show the world how they act out as a spoiled child in a tantrum. YOU LOST A HOCKET GAME !!

The result of last night now means game two on Wednesday is really a Game 7. If Edmonton loses the odds of them taking the series is pretty low. The lost both first games last year in the rounds and survived but the fans showed their impatience and lack of maturity too quickly this year.

The one biggest thing the blinded Oiler fan forgets is McDavid’s overblown stats and unrealistic expectations they have of him. 50% of HIS POINTS ARE POWERPLAY POINTS and in playoff hockey that is not as easy to get a point.

I said to Jackie I am not sure if I want the Oilers to lose 4 straight or win a coupel of series.

The events of last night helped me decide that the Oilers need to lose 4 straight and perhaps, MAYBE, the fan base will temper themselves and act like a mature knowledgeable, hockey loving fan, instead of getting caught up in the mass mob mentality and excitement of a potential game win. What is odd is the Oilers mob mentality and the NDP mob mentality both happen in Edmonton, and both are orange.

Finalized a bit more of our cruise. We decided due to parking costs, longer drive time, and availability we would fly. I booked the most expensive hotel we have ever stayed at. Even more than Geneva, Switzerland or Paris France, on the waterfront in Van BC. There were some math calculations to rationalize this along with convenience.

• 1200 mile return drive which is 20 hours of driving. Lets say value of $600 at min wage for two people. Time is valuable and this rate is ridiculous, but I will use it for argument’s sake.
• 20 mpg at $6.00 per gallon average = 1200/20=60 gal x 6 = $360 worth of gas
• Parking at cruise terminal is $34 per day x 11 days = $374 worth of parking
• Hotel at whatever cost you could get a bit of town so let’s say $300 for the cheap one
• So we have a total of $1634 and a lot of wasted time and inconvenience.

VERSUS

Fancy hotel right at cruise terminal $650 plus air fare $700 including airport shuttle and short walk to ship and 2 hours of our time flying. So, the rational in doing it this way is $1634 to drive compared to $1410 with no inconveniencing or wasted time and it is our anniversary, so it makes sense spending less and getting more. To sleep at $650 for one night though, it better have a great bed. LOL And no free breakfast.

Note: Even if we value our free time as ZERO which NO ONE should ever do. it would be $1034 to drive compared to $1350 to fly. $300 more for convenience, travel comfort, beyond luxury accommodation and location, free time to explore Van BC, to have shuttles and it all organized and guaranteed in case of flight delays, strikes, or car breakdowns etc is more than worth it to me.

I was very fortunate while working the owner of our company when we had a trade show in Van BC every year (before WRLA starting rotating cities) we always were booked into the Pan Pacific which was my first choice of hotel as it is right beside the cruise terminal but their pricing there was just a little TOO high at, with tax just over $1000 a night. In 1991 I remember paying over $100 for breakfast before going to the trade show at the Pan. Good thing for a expense account.

Looking forward to it and talking to Jeff & Wendy it looks like they are all set to go.

Jackie & I love cruising. Our favorite way to travel for a few reasons. You can see a different country every day and never unpack and pack, you are professionally catered to with excursions to see the best of the best for each stop, the food is 5 star and abundant with buffet, casual dining, or fancy dining and the entertainment is superb and varied.

The only cons to a cruise are- the stop times in each port could be longer but we haven’t really felt like we missed a lot, the exposure with 4000 people in a small area of Norwalk or Corona, motion sickness, and smaller rooms as it is ship. To my knowledge of any people, I know, that have travelled this way, none have experienced any of this. We saw one dead guy in Italy that held us up at port for a while but other than that no issues whatsoever. One con that some people love is the two formal nights. I find them a little pretentious and not worth the hassle. We semi dress up for one night and then sneak up to the buffet for the second snob night. Yet we looked forward to it the first cruise. Times change. LOL

43 more days before setting sail again !

I have a Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail and NY Strawberry Cheesecake every night we go to the dining room. It is also the only place where Jackie & I actually have wine with supper as they cork it and bring it back the next night if you didn’t finish the bottle.

Thought of the Day

Did you hear about the red cruise ship and the blue cruise ship that crashed at sea.

All of the passengers were marooned.!

April 19th-21st

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 9 degrees, Calgary HELL FROZEN OVER or 6 degrees with snow”

It is mid-April and maybe one day we have had that you could call spring weather. I realize it is spring and volatile but please Mr. Sunshine come out.

“MY RANT”

I guess with the NEW WORLD things get shook up. Between the socialist left leaning, the green environmentalists, the woke segment, and the young entitled it is becoming difficult to create a calm and prospering society. Everyone wants something for nothing.

Having said that if you are union supporter, a federal worker, nurse, teacher, railway worker, pilot etc and say one word about things being expensive and disliking inflation, I hope a lightning bolt comes from the sky and strikes you. There are many of these people that don’t agree with their union.

We have WESTJET pilots voting for strike. I used to love Westjet but as time has gone along, they changed from a discount carrier to a full fledge mainstream carrier. The got bought out by Onex and when you go from an ” employee owned” mentality and a way of doing business to a large corporation that puts profit before poeple not only are employees impacted but the public. I witnessed what Onex can do to a company when they bought JELDWEN. I feel for the employees to a point but when you have pilots wanting to strike for job protection and pay along with scheduling I say fire them all or let them strike. Onex has deep pockets and give it long enough the workers will rethink their position. You cannot pay the same salary at Swoop as Westjet due to the fact of one being a discount line. Swoop has shorter runs and turn arounds which is the incentive to work for less. It is common sense. The pilots want the same as their American counterparts. Again, how stupid are they with 350 million people versus 37 million poeple, huge population spots and shorter runs plus the dollar difference. Add to this, pilots are extremely well paid already Scheduling issues is whining. You fly to Paris you will not be home that night. You knew that going in. I try not to fly Westjet as much as possible and the gullibility of their pilots only help me believe my decision is right. I also hope Lynx and Flair makes huge gains with this upheaval.

Federal worker strike- Again fire them all. 13% increase over three years. Stupid. Let’s just add to inflation more. Historically inflation targets are 2% and we will get here again. If they wanted a 6% increase I would say greedy but could accept it. They were offered a 8% increase over 4 years which by any stretch is excellent and they refused it. The bulk of these jobs salaries are between 45k to 60K so are the standard middle class working salaries. Scary as you know how Trudeau throws money around. I would class the needed jobs to run the government as “essential service” and live with the slow down and let the rest walk the line forever until they accept the fair offer.

Unions are the cancer of business. They create lazy, entitled, workers not afraid to get fired as they believe the union will protect them. Any non-union shop out produces a union shop with less documentation, red tape and hassles. Unions in the 1930’s were needed but today with minimum wages, safety regulations, employee regulations, and human rights legislation, they are redundant.

Mob mentality is prevalent as the shop stewards and union leaders coerce the sheep into believing they are being hard done by.

Leave them on the picket lines for as long as possible. The union strike pay funds are very limited and give it a bit of time they will be asking for a reasonable offer.

I guess we just have to watch how it all unfolds again. Let the lightning strikes happen as most federal workers are not income generators which means the taxpayer will again foot the bill which will only drive inflation costs up. Luckily certain countries like the USA and the UK have caught on to the negative impacts of unions and union membership has dropped from a high of 25% of the workforce to less than 10% today.

I love the fact Fox News paid out the fines for bringing fake news to the public. Perhaps it will help other outlets report news and not mislead the public. We need even our local news stations to learn how to report without a bias. It is hard to listen to them sometimes. Get rid of the Mount Royal ” experts” as they suck and are so left leaning biased it is embarrassing.

I contacted Blue Cross and a benefit for seniors that DOES NOT include physiotherapy coverage just seems wrong. Massage, heat, muscle stretches etc should be the first item for seniors but Blue Cross doesn’t think it is needed. That is just wrong.

I went to the registry office today and they are still using the QR scan queue line system. I watched so many new Canadians and old people struggle, it made the wait, fun. They get up to the door and see this huge sign DO NOT ENTER and instructions on how to use the code. Well, some with no phones, and others without the skill or knowledge to make it work. I guess it is an example of how some people just don’t keep up to date with things. I love QR codes and even created my own for Jessica’s hot dog truck menu. What the registry office they just need to have another large sign stating if you needed help step in and we will help you. They have a lady inside the door that manages the online queue line and she will register for you. You can’t sit inside and wait but she will come out and yell your name if you stay close. The wait today was 55 min. You guessed it, short staffed. Amazing we have this everywhere and we still have people on EI. The pandemic has destroyed work ethic as poeple believe working at home is the only job they want. And they can quiet quit and still get paid.

I had a wonderful lady to deal with and finished off what I needed. Not to my satisfaction but it will do. To get what I want I would have to change my last name and that would be cumbersome. Being a W last name, it is a December renewal and you can’t change that. I thought I would wait to re-register the RV now but the expiry still has to be December no matter what. I did buy 2 years’ worth so good for awhile. There are so many incidents and procedures we could change to make things easier, but we choose not to. The same thing happened with my drivers license as it expired in Feb and I had to get Victoria to mail it to me in Mesa. A simple solution is to pick a date for expiry and prorate it to that date. They are already prorating to end in Dec anyways, but we all know that won’t happen.

I also wanted to renew my license for 5 years to keep that off the plate and it turned out harder than needed also. I went home and got the documentation I needed but on return the queue wait was 150 minutes. Then I got thinking it may not arrive in the mail with the confusion.

I went and picked up dog food hoping it would shorten but no luck, so I cancelled for today. My time is valuable. LOL

Wow talk about inflation. Dog food, treat and toothpaste for Daisy was $100.

Re loaded Golf Genius for this year’s Turner Valley league and can’t wait to get out there playing and winning some money.

I booked golf thru our VIP program for Monday with the Graces for the first game of year which will be fun.

Taxes are being worked on by Jackie at night. Hopefully the e-file tax returns are not delayed due to the strike. Maybe the strikers pay will be delayed also. LOL

Oilers tonight and as I said it is game 7 for Edmonton. Lose and they are out.

It hit a high of 7 degrees today. That is our new spring weather normal.

I have to send out an update on our May Long camping trip in the next day or so. I think everyone will have fun as the location is central, huge and conducive to group camping. It is a Greek Theme again this year as we are holding the May Long Olympics among us. We will have Bocco Ball, Horseshoes, CornHole, Beer Golf, ladder golf, and as many other kids/adult games the group can come with, and I will have medals to hand to the WINNERS. The winners of the kids division and the winner of the adult will receive them. The others will just have to accept they LOST but relish in the fact they did get to participate.

We will try to play one day of golf at Alberta Springs or Innisfail. The potluck meal being Greek again will be excellent. Lots of choices from Gyro, Lamb, Souvlaki, Keftethes, Spinache pIe, and on and on. Even pizza fits the theme or a simple Greek Salad not Ceasar. That make me think Keith should make his wonderful drinks again. LOL Being the Olympics people could stretch and bring any food from any country. LOL

I am looking forward to this. The kids will have a blast and us adults as supervisors or participants will have a fun time. Crib games, lots of three finger drinks, and staring at a fire will make for a great weekend. Here is hoping the weather is decent.

We are heading for a week of camping the week after with Alan & MaryAnn

Very impressed today by the Grade 6 class at McKenzie Highlands School.They held a “Take Action” trade fair today. Not only the presentation but the work and thought process in each booth was remarkable. Jackson & Rowan’s booth was first class and they had their presentation down perfect. Could be great salesmen in the future. These kids are well on their way to getting things done in numerous areas. Well done !

The teacher that organized this should be awarded as it was an exceptional event well planned and organized and a great learning session for the kids and parents. I need to say though I thought it was a training session for new NDP voters. But the kids loved it and they had very worthy causes to work on. Kids Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Mustard Seed, Save the Trees, Green, and on and on. Plus, it created a lot of raised dollars for each cause. Just a great event.

My favorite booth was a little different than the rest. These kids were doing a survey and presentation on the traffic circle in McKenzie. We have city counselors, engineers, MLS and MP’s with responsibility for this area and Grade 6 kids recognize the issue with the circle and are trying to do something about it. It is a convoluted circle that the engineers screwed up. They go from two lanes to enter to one lane to exit and it becomes a dangerous traffic circle. It is further complicated by having 5 exits and fire station exit also. They need to go to England as they have the know how to make these work. THIS ONE DOES NOT. The kids were taking a survey and planning to send it to the city of the general population’s thoughts on it. Great job !

These guys could be on their way to becoming great salespeople.

Jeff & Wendy invited us over for a game’s night. They had a charcuterie board with some incredible tasting cheeses.

Frosted MUGS for my beer is always the best way to have a beer. And Jeff has huge mugs. One beer makes it look like half full .But that was a easy fix.

It was a fun night of conversation and games. The only hiccup was the girls won. Yes I said it.

We played a new game which is a lot of fun. They called it Square Crib (I can’t figure out that name) but it is like playing 5 crib hands at once and trying not to help the opposing team hands. All crib is luck based with skill needed to get the most out of the cards you have been dealt, but this new game is maybe a little more luck based but also more fun in the fact of being able to “hurt” the others hands. A very good game and fun but with a bad result. Next time !

Fun night! Fun Day, even though we are in the thralls of winter.

The Oilers get a very close win which saves their skin for another day.

I picked up Corey this morning and took him to the airport as his is flying to visit his Dad in Ontario who by the sounds of it has had a major stroke and isn’t doing that well. Hopefully his Lynx flight works out good. We need Lynx and Flair to do well to help keep costs down and to replace flights that WestJet isn’t flying due to greedy pilots.

People are funny. Why would you support an airline like Westjet with the risk of no service. An airline that pays well but has whiny employees and no longer is the “cheap” line like it started out to be. We need Flair and Lynx to make the market more competitive. In Canada we get ripped on air travel and cell phone plans, yet people just revert back to their old ways.

How many people boycott Earle’s today. The public forgets and people carry on instead of doing what is right.

It is not WestJet’s fault the pilots are idiots, but do you think Westjet can keep fares down if they have to pay more to the pilots. Union mentality, NDP mentality where they think money just appears and the workers need the extra money NOT ONCE thinking, every raise, increases inflation across the board and EVERY other person gets affected by the raised flight pricing.

Driving home from the airport we saw two vehicles on Stony Trail wipe out and end up in the ditch as the roads had a layer of ice on them. I felt my back-end swerve on one underpass where it was iced. Poor drivers LOL it still snowing 4 hours later.

Almost May and I haven’t been able to begin de-winterizing our RV and lot. Sad !

I am hoping our golf game on Monday goes ahead.

Thought of the Day

Unions hurt people under the guise of protecting them.

April 22nd -24th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 11 degrees Calgary 10 degrees ”

Last night we watched the best and funniest movie I have seen in a long time . It was a movie neither of us had heard about, but we liked the actors in it so thought it would be worth a try. It was called Man from Toronto with Woody Harrilson, Kevin Hart, Ellen Barkin and Kaley Cuoco. This movie had everything in it you would want. It had a car chase, loads of gun fighting, fist fighting, love story overtures, practicable comedy, slap stick comedy and creating a sense of hoping for the underdog. I give it a 10/10 as Jackie and I laughed and groaned thru the whole thing. It is so nice to pick a movie and have it be a great one. Yet the reviews by critic’s don’t back up our feelings. Odd. Perhaps our taste is as refined as a professional critic.

Take the two best players in the NHL and put them up against 20 great TEAM players and what happens. The same old story where the Oilers have been stuck in for a long time now. They will never win a cup hoping that Connor and Leon will win every game. A great game to watch, loads of hits and close calls with LA taking another win. The series now is 2-1 for the Kings with the next game being like a Game 7 really for the Oilers. Should be a good game. It could be a long series or over if LA wins Game 4.

Finally, semi good weather ahead.

Well, quite a day today. Corey is in Ontario visiting his Dad and Victoria is working shifts so Jackie & I were looking after Jackson today. It turned out to be a full day from morning to midnight.

We dropped off Jackson at his friend’s birthday party at the Trico Centre where he got to play floor hockey for the afternoon. That is burning off energy and he loves it.

Then we picked him up and drove him to his baseball practice which was a lot of fun to watch. These coaches are the best coaches I have witnessed. Strick, tough but very very likeable and relate well to the kids. The TEACH the kids and are not worried about perfection but getting the technique right. They did an amazing job with these kids. Jackson was picked to be on this elite team having little experience so having coaches like this you could see the improvement right within the practice. Jackson is as good if not better than a lot of these experienced players. Super strong throwing arm and as good at catching. He will get better with the pointer he was given. He also got to pitch. Again, he did as well as most every player and better than a lot.

Then it was his turn to bat. Every kid got 20 chances to hit from a pitch. No kid before Jackson was able to make contact with the ball more than once. Jackson had three good contacts batting the ball well. Then our day got long. A pitch and Jackson takes a good swing at it but the ball just catches the edge of the thin neck on the bat and come straight up into his face. No chance to move. It hits straight in the eye and he falls saying “I can’t see” and blood pouring down his face. He was cut just above the eyelid and below the eyebrow. The other kids when they saw the blood were in awe. Jackson was extremely brave as they worked on him getting ice packs and trying to clean up blood. We drove him right to the emergency.

Complainers will say why 6 hours? I prefer to say they did an amazing job. Professional, very cincerned, caring and thorough. It was a busy emergency. Victoria met us at the hospital.

To make a long story short Jackson got out about midnight after receiving his x rays and THREE stitches. They made an appointment for him today to see an eye specialist for damage to the eye.

He has to refrain from activity for 2 weeks and have a follow up as he still has visual issues.

I watched LIV golf at Tor’s while babysitting the dogs and they were at the hospital. First time as we don’t have that channel. It was different but I liked it. Hard to get used to the blaring music and rowdiness but I like taking the stuffiness out of golf. It is like the Waste Management. The shorts are hard to get used to but it is a fun format.

I loaded my jokes emails for all of May so I am all set there. Paid some bills so all set there.

We went for a nice stroll around Fish Creek to the river with Daisy & Audrey. Quite a few fishing the river again but only one with a fly rod.

The river was loaded with Franklin Gull’s flying up the river and floating down a stretch, eating, then flaying back. It was quite interesting to watch.

Loads of people enjoying the park which was is nice to see.

3-1 is my hopes for tonight’s game since the Oiler’s declined my application to join the band wagon.

Ok, the Oilers, snag one they did not deserve. It is ok for the Oilers to win as long as they don’t win the cup.

The weather keeps saying warm like 16 to 18 degrees, but it feels like 12 to me. I don’t know why?

We dropped off Daisy at Audrey’s to get her used to being there as Audrey is going to look after Daisy for us in a month and we were heading out to golf at McKenzie.

The course was in exceptional shape. Our first game as a foursome golfing in Canada this year. I love this course and I can score low here.

Here are my thoughts on the golf. The scoring sucks but there was some good golf. Jeff drove the ball the best I have seen for a long time. Some great second shots but poor chipping and putting hurt him. Wendy drove the ball fantastic with some wonderful long drives. Second shot misses and the chipping, putting killed her. Jackie’s first game with her new driver but I thought she did very well with it. She has reduced her backswing to hold and direct the ball better and overall, it worked quite well. Topped shots, second shots and putting killed her.

I didn’t have a great game period ending with my second highest score of 2023. It was just a matter of bad luck and lack of skill I guess. First hole- long drive, second shot in sand bunker on a PAR 5 and end up with a bogey- Second hole -long drive end up in sand bunker-bogey- 3rd hole monster drive with less than 100 yrds in and I pull it ending up with bogey. And on and on. Oh well next time.

My back/side pain is a little worrisome as it is different than I have had and even after a session with Sebastian didn’t do anything.

A wonderful Italian supper in the clubhouse. The cooks here are excellent and for a full meal salad, lasagna and toast it is less than a meal at McDonalds.

McKenzie has a great course, exceptional pricing, and a great clubhouse plus only 5 minutes away from our house.

I used the queue system at the registries today from home. It worked like a charm and I had only a short wait this time. First let me say the lady I dealt with today was wonderful. I had to have a new picture taken for my license they said. So, I we went to the camera and set up.

She had to take three pictures. You have to have your eyes open. Take two. You have to have your mouth closed and not smile. Third try lucky and she asks me to look at it. Being somewhat of a smart ass I said ” Wow I used to look like Brad Pitt but I don’t see that anymore.” She kills herself laughing and says ” But look, you look ten years younger than last time” Like a fine wine, I guess.

It is always a pleasure to have fun people to deal with.

I spent the entire day at the lot working. I cleaned up all of the mouse bait in the Saloon and motorhome. I moved out the furniture, removed the wrapping around my bar and kitchen, cleaned up leaves again, filled the batteries with distilled water, picked up twigs and moved the RV to a different flat spot on the tires. It is amazing how fast time goes. Hours and hours seemed like minutes. Again, gauge says 17 above but felt like 12 degrees. Where is our summer?

Wordle in 6, Jackie Fail tonight. First win in about 4 or 5 days for me.

Oilers tonight on TV. Off to the lot in the am with my tools, paint etc and a doctors appointment in the pm. Busy day !

April 25 to 27th

Wow time goes by fast and I didn’t update. I will make an entry in short form for the last few days but not in order.

Cleaned up the final things for our cruise. Paid a whack of bills as they never end.

I went out shopping to get a few things for the motorhome. I picked up a new sewer line, new connector, hose clamps, toilet pucks and distilled water.

I had to whip to Woody’s as Cdn Tire didn’t have the anode rod for my water heater. Woody’s is a funny place. Great on the sales and service side horrible on the parts department. We have bought two new trailers from them over the years and had service done their but for years have experienced the same culture of rudeness and lack of respect to the customers. Today at the counter the parts guy gets into a fight with a supplier and hangs up on him after some foul language. Plus, the fact it is spring and no rods is like the ice cream shop running out of cones. I did get my water filter so at least accomplished a bit here.

I had a doctor’s appointment and as I said before we have the best doctor you can get. She still is sensitive to Covid with full masking, sanitizing, and putting on booties plus having to wait in the car until you are phoned to come in. Safe environment for sure. She is thorough as usual. Unfortunately, the rules turn one appointment into several which hopefully will done in a relatively quick turnaround.

We whipped to pick up Corey at the airport form visiting his Dad. Hopefully Norm recovers quickly and starts his road to recovery.

I spent the entire day out at the lot today. Temperature was supposed to be 17 degrees but felt again like 12 degrees.

It is quite enjoyable working on things out there. I got a lot of the decor put out like my shadow figures, lanterns, solar lights and planter pots.

I raked and cut the grass and trimmed any overgrown bushes.

I installed my new sewer hose and connectors and plugged into land power to charge up all of tools batteries.

It was nice to see my neighbors out there. I no sooner talked to them and got busy when I see them pushing their golf cart. The batteries were not charged up enough or didn’t take the charge. Not an easy task to push a golf cart.

With the good weather coming I think we will see a lot of poeple out there working on their lots. Hopefully the water will be turned on soon.

While I was out at the lot Victoria and Jackie took Daisy & Hazel to the dog park at the river. Daisy had her usual running like mad act on hoping some dog would chase her. She would have for sure got in her exercise. Hazel likes the river Daisy not so much. She didn’t want to get her paws wet. lol

Jackie took Daisy to a new doggie salon for a haircut. We are happy with the new lady and Daisy looks great and did not appear to be stressed at all.

Thought of the Day

I need to find the owner of the Voodoo doll named Larry. They keep stabbing me in the back

April 28th -30th

I loaded and the web page didn’t react well and I lost a few days here. I have already moved onto May so will make these few days short.

Jeff & Wendy along with us met at Speargrass for a golf gathering. The weather was perfect with no wind and lots of sun. This is odd for Speargrass.

Once again, the course was in great shape and not overly busy which is nice. The new owners really have done a lot of improvements here. New Sprung shelter, completely paved the pathways and a new GPS system added to the carts. They have some great future ideas. I just hope they keep their pricing structure as is being one of the best deals in Calgary.

I had to take pills again as the back isn’t just coming around to where I like it. Having said that I played with minimal pain just some stiffness. Jeff on the hand did not complete the course as his leg/back wasn’t good. Pain can really affect the game.

Some great drives though from Jeff which are becoming consistent, along with some nice shots from Wendy and Jackie. Jackie scored a 101 just shy of breaking the 100 mark on a longer course. So, a pretty decent game. I was so so happy with a 83 as I knew where I screwed up. A lost ball in the fairway (center of the fairway I might add, hurts). Three birdies helps and nothing over a double which I would like to eliminate. A fun day golfing.

Sitting on the patio which is as much fun as the golf was excellent. Speargrass ALWAYS has excellent food. And the waitress that has been there for years makes wonderful Caesars. I had the Beef on the Bun which was a 9/10.

This picture was taken pre-drinks so that no one could accuse me of drinking to fast or me not getting a full glass.

Another fun day. Daisy had a nice time at Audrey’s as we acclimate her as she will staying there during our cruise.

I worked all day out at the lot with Daisy as Jackie helped her Mom shop. It was wonderful and got more things done. As soon as the water is turned on we will set to go out there. Daisy liked it as taking breaks we walked the park meeting some nice people and dogs.

Here is a short list of some things accomplished. Hooked up the power and tested most of the appliances, dropped the levelers, pulled out the slides, cut the grass, cleaned up leaves, worked on the irrigation, hooked up the new sewer line, brought out the water line, reworked my electrical surge protector location and hooked up the internet.

It took a beating to my back and I could barely move the next day.

Jackie & I went to another practice for Jackson’s baseball. He is doing fantastic and likes ball. His new face guard looks like it will work out perfect. He doesn’t appear to be scared of the ball and my unbiased opinion is one of the top 5 players.

We went over to Audrey’s and installed her new blinds for her. They are the raise lower shear and darkening pleats, and they look wonderful. They are light, look fantastic and should last a long time. Her window blind will be difficult to operate with the placement of the TV but she is hesitant in doing anything with it. Time may fix this, or the blind may just stay open or closed. It was a great choice of blinds.

American Idol was wonderful with the most talented singers ever. I really like Adam Lambert not only as a guest but as a artist. Having said that his song choice he made was not good.

A Oiler win and a Bruins loss isn’t what I wanted but it happens.

Polls on the Alberta election HAVE to be wrong. I CAN NOT see any way that enough people are doped by Racheal. We still have laws today that she put in place that are stupid and cost hunters, and farmers a lot extra. No govt does everything right but Notley being what she is a socialist, environmentalist and unionist will again be disastrous for Alberta just when we start to run surpluses again. I hate to blame the younger voter but they want everything without paying for it. Between the young vote, new Canadian vote and unionist vote we are at risk of making a difference long term.

Speaking of unions, the fed workers agree to a 12.6 % raise over 4 years versus 13.5 over three years. Both on the HIGH end. At least the agreed amount could be considered reasonable ONLY because Trudeau isn’t controlling inflation.

What should happen now is the agency should reduce the workforce down to a reasonable rate to claw back the increase. I do not understand how simple math is beyond educated people. Give a wage increase, the cost of a service or goods goes up and someone has to pay for it all impacting inflation for everyone. Historically inflation rates hover around 2% to have a growing strong economy. A raise to match inflation is just but no more unless performance related.