July 1st to 3rd

I will lump the three days into one. Weird and whacky. Hot spells, cold spells, rain. wind and tornado all happened. The events I list may not be even in order. LOL

I would say the first year in many, many, years where we did nothing for Canada Day. Usually a party. pancakes etc with Jackson or us at Oasis with people. This year not so much. Jackie was busy running around gathering things for our get together at Ghost Lake on the 2nd. Birthday cake, cookies, balloons, cards and gifts.

Daisy and I relaxed, we went to the park for a walk and drink. We drove around for entertainment.

We watched a great movie last night which is always great when you pick one and it turns out good.

We picked up Corey and Audrey for our drive out to Ghost Lake. Jackie & I when we were downsizing looked at this place. It is a reservoir lake about 30 mins west of Calgary. The area is called Cottage Club. When we looked at it they had nothing done. Three homes and no amenities so it would have been a leap of faith. What we didn’t like was no trees, barren land and too many rules like no fences, no basements, we were ok with the smaller homes, but the pricing was very high.

Our niece Kennedy & her husband Chris have one of the smaller homes near the entrance. I really like their home as it well designed and looks wonderful. With the new rules allowing basements and if we would have seen the amenities and success of the resort, we would have been happy buying there. Huge marina, private boat launch, beach, clubhouse, pool and hot tub all done exceptionally well. Today it is even more out of our wanted to spend range with some lots over 300K just for the land.

We had the clubhouse deck to ourselves which overlooked the lake and it was a warm sunny day which makes for a great day.

We were celebrating, Audrey’s 85th birthday, Chris’s 29th and we threw in a few others even if long past.

Alan & Maryann made a wonderful lunch of burgers, salads etc.

Very nice views, excellent seating, great BBQ made for a perfect spot for a gathering.

A nice day. At the ending we dropped by Kennedy’s to check out her new home. As i said it is the perfect home for a couple. About 800 sg ft each level. Very nice layout and really all you need.

I have a very funny story about Jess on our drive home but only she will know what I am talking about. It was very funny and sorry for not spilling the beans. LOL It still makes me smile when i think about the circumstance. You had to be there.

Up golfing out at Murfield today with the Jeff & Wendy. Ok it is JULY and it a high of 14 degrees with a cold wind is not HOT but downright COLD. Very high winds. Not even close to feeling like July. For the 9 holes i didnt play well and will blame the wind and cold. I know different. I was golfing so well but two games in a row poorly scares me for my money game on Thursday.

Needless to say we decided to stop after nine holes. My fingers even turned white it was so cold out. I will say between the cold and wind it was not a great score at all.

Come on warm weather !

Thought of the Day

If the world were a logical place, men would be the ones who ride
horses sidesaddle.

July 4th- 7th

Beautiful weather and a typical early summer with sun and rain

Today I headed up to Edmonton to see Mom. Jackie had a few commitments for work, so I headed out.

It is an easy 3 hour drive except for the drivers on the road. I do witness a lot of stupidity but sometimes that just adds to the fun of moving down the road. The traffic was very heavy but that is Hwy 2 nowadays. If I could get every old man and woman off the road that is over 75 years old, the traffic would move a lot better. If I could get every young girl and guy texting and talking on their phone off the road, the traffic would move a lot better. The left lane is called a passing lane for a reason not a travelling lane below the speed limit. I do miss the intuitive cruise of the Flex. So due to people driving in the wrong lane, driving to slow and the number of cars on the road I had to disengage the cruise away too much. Set your cruise at 119 kms and go or even 124 . When passing on the left DO THAT even if it means 130kms not to hold up traffic. But as always it was a fun pleasurable adventure.

I surprised myself remembering the roadways of Edmonton and made it to the hospital very quickly considering it is on the edge of downtown and the typical Edmonton driver is the worst in the province. Having said that I guess I understand not wanting to take out your front end in a 2ft deep potholes and not getting caught by the I million photo radar traps.

Mom has come a long way and is doing very well considering everything. A little crotchety but stuck in a hospital room for hours on end can drive anyone nuts.

One comment about all old people. Expectations.

Something clicks in a old person and they change. I will say this right now for the record I will not become what I see with every old person I have known or know.

I caught up on my emails, paid a whack of bills, and haven’t received my Trudeau grocery invoice yet I thought until I read the income threshold. I have no problem with dollars to low income but let’s for once help everyone. If the refund was income capped on the high it would make more sense to me.

Daisy and i had a wonderful day sitting on the patio watching people on a warm day. Even though in my mind i am wondering about my flowers and fridge at the lot as every time we get high heat the power goes out from everyone using the a/c. I sure couldn’t plug in my EV there. Lol Never say never but i will never plug a car in for charging.

Jackie got back with painted nails and fingers which look great. But I noticed her feet were awful white. Haven’t seen the sun this year, I am thinking. For her birthday Jackie took Audrey out to get painted. I have said this before. Any color other than red or pink is really a waste of money. Get your nails done and have no one know they are done doesn’t make sense to me.

Today is Audreys birthdate. Another gathering. Lol Jess & Tor have taught people that everyone can have a week long celebration. I prefer a steak dinner One Time for the occasion and that be that.

During our discussion at Audrey’s house a few things came up. First the fact that some men and three that I know of, like having a manicure/pedicure or at least were pressured into it by their wife’s and they feel the need to say they wanted it. THIS IS WRONG. First, we were created perfectly that if the need ever arose, we would create a callous. This protects and allows perfect balance, and our body expects this to happen. Your balance, your back alignment and your walking ability without pain will be drastically reduced compared to removing natures cure. The second part of this unbeknownst to most people is a war against maleness. As time has gone on the male human has become more feminine every generation for the last 5 decades. They are succumbing to feminism pushing them to wear pink, shave parts that aren’t meant to be, wearing cologne, massages, manicure, yoga, frosting, hi lites, feelings, waxing, pedicures, expressing deep emotions, line dancing and on and on. Masculinity is being asked to be vulnerable. This transformation has, however, led to a confusion for males and females. The Victorian ideals of traditional gender roles may have largely been rolled back, but social expectations of the so-called “stronger sex” have not. A man can still be expected to provide a shoulder to cry on, and he is often the family provider, even if he no longer has to hunt wild animals with a club and then expected to cry and be sensitive to the needs of everyone. This is confusing for women as they no longer are seeing the male as the provider. safeguard and provider and equally as confusing for the males as they don’t know what the expectation is.

What could be happening is there is a chemical “astrazine” and it’s in most people’s water. It is a commonly used herbicide. This is leading to increased levels of femininity among men because it’s causing their estrogen levels to skyrocket. This causes health issues such as gynecomastia, heart issues, loss of muscle mass, and mental disorders among men. We also see an epidemic of increasingly emasculated men across America who lack those masculine traits that have built pretty much all of civilization. Is this some plot by the Russians or Chinese to keep us as a western society weak and docile? Probably not, but we should not allow astrazine to remain in our water supply.

The gap between a gay man and a real man ( that both men and women really want) is getting closer together.

For the good of all mankind, men must resist this underground war by the feminists that are taking advantage of the situation and be MEN.

The only push back I see today are beards. It is the only thing they can control.

The other topic I found interesting is food. The internet is full of misinformation and the public fall hook and sinker.

There are so many diets. Atkins, Paleo Dukan, Whole 30, Dubrow, Wild, Fasting, Dash, and 99 more I could list. Short term and some long term if the goal is weight reduction do work. Are they good for you ? In most cases not really as something has changed to make them work. Either carbs, sugar, or protein will be reduced and could affect your overall health and long term screw up your metabolism forever. I don’t understand how the concept of everything in moderation isn’t pushed. Wait MONEY. If you eat relatively healthy and eat in moderation you can control your weight and not limit your body of needed minerals, vitamins or energy. Simple calories in calories out with a relatively healthy diet is a lot healthier.

This brings up the old adage of rice versus potatoes. Popular belief of most people is rice is better from you. That is a myth. Potato is healthier than rice due to its higher percentage of vitamins, minerals and fiber. The added nutrients help benefit the heart, digestion, gut and the immune system. Potato has fewer calories and carbohydrates than rice which is better for weight loss. If you think logical about it the bulk of the Asian community in the world is short. Rice is the main staple due to access and availability. For generations they have been malnourished.

Today we are seeing all kinds of negative things about sugar, aspartame, red meat etc. The media grabs a hold of something and goes nuts. For YEARS we were told eggs cause high cholesterol now we you never hear nothing about it and it was never true. For years people switched to margarine instead of butter until the scientists discover margarine is one molecule away from plastic. Butter is a dairy product made by churning cream. Conversely, margarine is a product designed to imitate butter. While butter is mainly composed of dairy fat, margarine is typically produced from vegetable oils.

Put simply, modern margarine is a highly processed food product made from vegetable oils, while butter is basically concentrated dairy fat.

Your choice. I know we are butter people. I believe anything natural and not processed is always better.

We have Celiac, Crohn’s, lactose intolerance, fish sensitive, nut allegoric, gluten sensitive and the list goes on. People want a label to make them feel validated. Doctors want to give the label to help people understand they may have something to explain things. I believe with due diligence, experimenting and slow reintroduction many can overcome their issues. Some have no chance but many can.

This reminds me when Jackie started changing our smoothie to Lactose milk. For months every day I would have a gut ache. I finally figured out first what she was doing and second what the cause of my pain was. I stopped the smoothies and after about a week I started to feel wonderful again. It was odd as during this transition I would have an ice cap and get diarrhea. After a week no pain and perfect gut using NORMAL milk or in the case of an Ice Cap, cream. I do miss my NORMAL smoothies as they are great for nutrients and losing weight.

Interesting study I saw today from a friend where they are investigating that dementia may be associated with dehydration. Seems to be an easy fix if that is proven. I will wait and see where this goes as big pharma will never let this to published.

That brings up cholesterol pills. I won’t go into this as it is the biggest scam ever played on the human race and I could write pages and pages on it. One comment on it though. I take 20 intelligent salesguys and put them in room and give a presentation for one hour, hand out leaflets, have recommendations and testimonies, give a free gift and every one of them will come out of that room and believe they are selling the best widget in the world. A doctor will read an article or attend a seminar both provided by big pharma and have the exact same experience without doing ANY due diligence themselves.

Think about this. Why does a heart specialist live no longer than anyone else. Why don’t normal doctors outlive us. Why is heart disease with stroke and heart attacks still the number one killer. Sales of Lipitor in 2020 in the USA alone are over ONE TRILLION dollars per year. Do you really think they are going to backtrack on this? Just do your own research on one thing. Leading cause of death by previous years and today. HEART and it hasn’t changed so is the 1 trillion dollar per year wonder drug really working ? NOT

I had my men’s league today. Not a good day golfing. If I remove TWO holes, I would be happy, but I got killed on two holes only. At least 10 birdie chances but taking a 9 on hole kills the overall score. Next time. It was a new renovated hole that just opened, and it looked different and it sure played different.

I finished off my little chores out at the lot today. Nice out and wonderfully warm. Re glued the granite stove cover, fixed and I believe permanently the pantry door. I ended up using Plan Z. Checked and changed an irrigation head. Dead headed plants and cut the grass and general cleanup.

We looked after Jackson tonight as the Waldie’s were early Stampeding. Always a fun time with Jackson.

I can understand why the batting is so hard. We played “ball” in the field and took turns batting and pitching. It is hard to hit that ball.

Thought of the Day

I am neither for nor against apathy

July 8th-9th

“Mercury Forecast SUMMER 28 degrees and thunder storms ”

Today is August’s birthday. The little guy turned 8 years old. He is one of the cutest kids on the planet and should be in the movies. Besides his good looks he is very smart and a nice boy.

He had a gathering of family and friends and had a themed birthday party of Nerf war.

I have never so many cool Nerf guns EVER. Automatic load on long clips like a Rambo gun etc. These kids had an absolute blast running around shooting everything that moved. Even the 5 dogs had a fun day.

Nerf wars, running, presents, pizza and cake plus water sprinkler running makes for a fun day. Adult wise we had Jessica, Penny, Victoria, Corey, Audrey, Rick, and us along with Penny’s Dad Tom and Penny’s new stepmom.

We had to sit in the shade as it was hot out.

A fun day, fun gathering and enjoyable.

Jackie finally was able to spend a whole day at the lot with me. We have been home since late March but with family commitments, cruise, camping it is only her second day out there. Very busy and it continues as for the last half of July coming up, we have babysitting, wedding, baby shower in Edmonton, doctors’ appointments, a stay for two days in Edmonton, golf , Jackson’s golf school, Regal Building Stampede BBQ etc so will be one busy month. Come on August. A slow warm summer month of relaxation.

It is ready for company now. August & Atti will be staying out there with us next weekend as Jess & Pen celebrate 10yr married.

WID has cut off the water AGAIN. No campfires and no irrigation. I find this bothersome, as flowers are expensive, and I like green grass. I can see a reduction not elimination. Water perhaps Mon and Friday day only but we accept zero water. Not good. I filled my water barrel for the flowers and will use some for the grass. Hopefully some rain to fix this up. I don’t consider this a dry span whatso ever.

A nice day getting most everything done. Two days in a row with Daisy getting no sleep which will make her sleep very well tonight. With so many commitments it isn’t worth staying out there with the time involved and gas.

Here is list of commitments.

Monday- Heatherglen golf school for Jackson at 9am pick up noon — Audrey doctor appointment at 2pm

Tuesday- Heatherglen golf school for Jackson at 9am with a pick up of noon–Nanton golf tournament leaving at 11am returning 7 pm– Audrey doctor appointment at 3pm

Wednesday– Larry’s doctor appointment at 10 am– River Spirit Golf game with the Graces at 12:30pm returning about 7pm

Thursday- Stampede BBQ at Regal at noon

Friday – Raymond AB to pick up the kids to bring back to Oasis.

Sat & Sunday- Babysitting August and Atti

Monday – head to Edmonton return Tuesday/Wednesday

Plus throw in a good 20 hours or more of contract work for Jackie for the week

And every day coming up similar. LOL So yes, I am looking forward to some quieter time.

Thought of the Day

One nice thing about egotists: they don’t talk about other people.

July 10th to 19th

Just too busy to post and using a phone is like having a computer with one hand and half a brain. I am back on the 18th and now just need to catch up a bit although in a shorter form than doing it daily.

I dropped off Jackson at Heatherglen Golf for his golfing lessons this morning. This place sure has changed since I worked there. Now only 18 holes, only three people left I worked with and no restaurant. I don’t know how they manage tournaments now. First day classes were on chipping and putting. Jackson loved his time there. I did think for 3hrs x 2 days it was priced a way too much but what isn’t today. Plus, it gives him something to do during summer break and he likes it.

The rest of the day was cleanup, catchup etc.

I dropped off Jackson for his driver and iron lessons on Tuesday. He was so proud as he hit some wonderful drives. We have golfed with him and witnessed this. I think when he gets a little older, he will be a long hitter. He has the power and the will to hit hard. First thing to learn is contact and worry about direction after that. Without swing speed you will get no distance. Nothing to do with strength whatso ever all to do with effort and contact. A LPGA lady can hit it 300 yards.

Jackson was being picked up by Jackie as I had my Turner Valley guys exchange game at Nanton Golf Club. We have played this course many times over years but this time it was in very poor shape. Fairways and greens were poor. SIMILAR TO MY GAME. Too many this year. Larry P played very well and took my money along with Ricks. I expected better on this course. I have about three poor games all of late and will need to get back on track.

Best part of the game today was the meal in the clubhouse. Nanton has always had great food. It started to pour just as we loading up our clubs so we got very lucky.

jackie was busy after picking Jack up with family commitments.

A early doctor appointment for myself and the rush home to go golfing with Jeff and Wendy at River Spirit. Now THIS COURSE IS IN GOOD SHAPE. It reminds me of K country golf. It is a beautiful course. And everyone played well. Jeffs new driver was working well. If he bought a hybrid for long second shots i think he would do even better. Wendy had some wonderful drives and Jackie played exceptional golf all around. She ended up with a 102 true score. I was very pleased with my game but took a beating again on two holes. An 85 with two lost balls of the tee again. I had so many birdie chances and long drives today. We knew the food was limited at the clubhouse so we ended up going to the National at West Hills. GREAT FOOD but the best thing overall are their Caesars. The best I have had in a long time. Great day of golf and supper with friends.

Today was my Regal Building BBQ. I love their Stampede get together. They have done this for years and this was the biggest with at over 1000 burgers handed out. The Pontiac car club had a great car show at the event and the addition of fun games like bell ringing and nerf shooting was fun. Racheal Bonnie Barry Susan Aaron Matt and my fav guy Gary White were all helping out. A fun event. Always nice to be retired for close to 10 years and to still receive an invite to a customer event.

We loaded up the car, picked up Jack and headed for our Oasis and then down to pick up Auggie and Atti as we were babysitting them all weekend as Jess and Pen were off to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

Time sure flies with it being their 10th. I remember it like yesterday. I also remember it being a lot of work. Luckily, we had some great help. I also remember the meal cooked by Pens aunt being amazing. Plus, I loved the venue.

A few houses later and two kids later they still are one of the nicest couples around.

I will say this. Looking after boys versus girls is night and day. I prefer 1 million times over girls rather than boys. With girls paper and crayons and they are set for hours. Boys like fighting being antagonistic, bothering each other etc. Although generational discipline changes and societal changes have allowed different behaviors.

We had a fun time but it is steady work. The pool and pond are wonderful venues for kids. We spent a lot of time there. Jackson and August are fun at games with so many Chinese Checker and connect 4 games being played. Movies every night outside in the gazebo were fun. I loved the movie Pixels. The boys are very good at checkers and connect 4 so it made it fun. Everyone loved playing the games. It was so warm out we really enjoyed the movies outside in the gazebo. I will say it is tiring. LOL

Ironic in a way to babysit grandkids three days then babysit a parent for two days.

This brings up an important point. NO MATTER the situation one must protect their OWN time as the GOLDEN YEARS are between 60 and 75 years old. You over commit or put yourself in a situation of constant need you yourself will MISS the best years of your life. I remember Jackie’s stepmom not wanting to go on a vacation as she was looking after her aunt and felt she couldn’t leave. Carol ended up dying very early herself and gave away years of enjoyment for herself and husband.

Off to Lethbridge to drop off the boys and then home for a sleep. First thing in the morning off to Edmonton to pick up Mom from the hospital. She was already for us and we ventured to her home. I will put this in here. I am am SURE GLAD we live in Calgary as the Edmonton drivers are the worst. I think they must be paid by the hour so they want to take as much time as possible getting anywhere. Besides dodging huge potholes trying to maintain a decent speed is difficult.

Mom has gained a lot of strength back and is doing pretty good. I went to Home Depot and put bed risers under for her to make it easier to get out of bed and they worked great. We tried to get to do her normal routine to make sure she can without help and she did well. HomeCare is awesome with committing to a weekly bath, daily compression socks and bed making which is a big help.

It is the nature of things how we age. At 85 yrs old Mom was pulling a bow and arrow and camping with us now a walker and difficulty doing most tasks. The road we will all travel at some time. The biggest difference for me is I will REFUSE to ask for or expect help. The conversion from self-sufficient adult to senior needing someone to wipe their ass or feed them is horrible. Luckily, we are not there yet with anyone. Having said that the biggest pet peeve I have with seniors and even the general population on the whole, is the lack of effort. Instead of trying hard, the ask for help goes out when in most cases it could be done perhaps with difficulty but the satisfaction of doing without help has to count for something and eases the burden or perceived commitment of anyone else.

The saying I used in our staff room and Jess &Tor bug me about always comes to mind.

” Thinkith not of ill and disease and thou shall defeat the foe within.”

I hated sick days!

While getting mom settled and her going for supper Jackie & I took the opportunity to have some alone time and went to the Canadian Brewhouse. First of all, what a menu!! The inside was noisy and busy so went out to the patio. Turns out Jackie got a wet ass from the cushions. LOL Our food was delicious, and we had a fun time. Our waitress was a young girl 25 yrs old and hated technology and didn’t care for their new IPAD ordering system. 25 yrs old and she liked old school way of doing things. LOL

We had a nice drive back and stopped to pick up Daisy. Audrey likes having her and for us it works out great knowing she is safe and likes going there. She is treated like a queen at Audrey’s. She is happy to see us, but she is also very happy when she goes back. It makes it a lot easier on us having her looked after and a lot easier on her not going to a strange place, but we can make most situations work if needed.

Off to Turner Valley for my Men’s league. Today will be the day.

My high hopes were dashed quickly. My whole group had an off day. And I lost a few bucks to my teammates and made no money in the game. Chipping and putting !!!!!!

I played with a retired RCMP officer. A very nice guy. Ralph is 76 years old and does he golf good. I was driving off the tee around 260 to 280 yards every shot today and Ralph was only about 20 to 30 yard shorter. That is amazing.

Worst part is a I LOST TO A 76 YR OLD golfer today by one stroke. Darn ! It was a fun group but it took longer than normal as we were following a tournament of drunk roofers.

Great day with it hitting 29 degrees and no wind. Lovely

Thought of the Day

Is it just me, or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?

July 21 st – 24th

“ Mercury Forecast Edmonton 28 degrees, Calgary 30 degrees”

Heat warnings all over the country. Mesa had been over 110 degrees for a record 20 days and counting. The a/c bill is a little higher than normal. LOL

We had our annual financial planner meeting. Retired almost 10 years now it is concerning how the money evaporates. Having said that due to Jackie working contract we are still ok but the next ten years will be the greatest reduction in dollars as we are now using up registered dollars.

I will give this warning. DO NOT PUT THE BULK OF YOUR MONEY IN RRSP’s. The logic behind saving tax dollars while in a higher bracket and then paying the tax at a lower bracket is fine ONLY if you are able to contribute to the RRSP and still save a lot in non-registered. It is in the governments and banks best interest to sell you on RRSP’s. In a few years I am required by law to RRIF the dollars, so we did it early and set our own withdraw rate.

We do not want to limit our lifestyle at this point, but we are spending the same amount as when we were working which is odd. We are having fun even though the “experts” believe you should only spent 70% due to work expenses like travel, clothes, lunch etc.

What they forget is the extra time and choices of what to do with your time. Golf for two per game is $200, a visit to Edmonton or Raymond is $100, a dinner out is $120, and a two- or three-week vacation cruise is 10K to 15K.

In hindsight we should not have bought a condo and instead should have gone for a small home out of town. We chose not to do that as the travel back and forth to Calgary would be a killer. Even living in town, we are putting on 25k kms on the Flex plus another 14k kms per year on the Jeep. The condo works wonderful for winter travel or even summer travel as we can close the doors and leave and not have to worry about freezing up etc but between Silhouette, Oasis and Viewpoint we have a $1925 a month HOA bill with a 13% increase coming to Mesa and a 4% to Calgary. I do not want to sell the condo as we could live at Oasis all summer due to when we are older, we need a place to live that makes sense.

The stock market and interest rate increase is good which has been a saving grace for our investments.

The one concern I have is the increase in pricing on everything and we all know it won’t go down. As long as we have unions demanding stupid wage increases, Liberal/NDP backed policies to spend more money things will continues to increase.

So, having said all that I am relatively pleased with our spending for the first 9.5 years of retirement. As I said the next 10 years will be the more difficult to take as it will be our largest spend segment. We have two cruise vacations potentially to come, one vehicle, things are away more expensive, and Jackie will not be working plus the biggest factor the extra pressure on the accounts with the tax burden.

I know the new increase on golf pricing in Arizona isn’t good. I know the HOA increases, one at 13% isn’t good. But as I have forever said, nothing is worse than not doing something due to a perceived value or being frugal instead of enjoying the moment as that moment could end very quickly and to miss it would be a shame. I may feel different in 10 years. LOL

Jackie came out to the lot after looking after her Mom and we had a wonderful time relaxing in the sun. And I hate to say it but it was warm out.

I removed all of the gravel and placed the polymeric sand in the joints of my patio stones. With it being warm out it was the first time in years where I could feel the sweat running down my face and back. I normally only perspire. Not today. I set up the sand but I was one bag short. I like the looks of it and think it will work out better than the small pebbles getting in the way. Jackie brought out an extra bag after taking care of Audrey. She didn’t get a cart at Home Depot and carried the bag along with Daisy. Tough girl. Only a 35-pound bag but slippery with-it being plastic.

I made myself my favorite drink after working. If I have to say so myself other than the lack of garnish much better than most bars. Just the right amount of Tabasco, Worchester and wham, excellence. One of the best things that a lot of the bars screw up on is the rim salt. OFFICIAL Caesar blend rim is sooo much better than Lowry’s red salt a lot of them use.

Lots of Daisy walks and I managed to salvage my middle name CRIB when Jackie on our first game skunked me, by coming back strong. I do love the cool breeze coming thru the windows at night. Only one site with a wild party. It still amazes me how people think getting stupid drunk is fun. It still amazes me how many unintelligent people there are in the world that they use profanity for a noun, vowel and adjective in every sentence. They have such a lack of vocabulary it is shocking. Besides the lack of intelligence, it also says to me a lack of control.

I have a couple of things again to fix. My shower head holder needs replaced as it broke. I can’t find the exact one so will need one to cover up the old holes. I also need to replace a GFI plug on the outside of our motorhome as it is not working. I also have to repair/replace my grey water line and think I am going to go with ABS fixed line and an adaptor to the sewer line. It is funny as I am getting a little tired of always having to “fix” things. I like to create or make new things but having to repair is tiring.

Next week is starting to slow down a bit. An early birthday party for Jackson on Monday out at the lot, 2 golf games, and a wedding on Saturday so a couple of free days to get things done or relax.

The irrigation still off at the lot is crazy. Hard to keep grass and flowers looking good with no water. As I said before I can see a restriction but not a complete elimination. My water barrel is working out good I just need to finalize the trough to barrel connection. Once it is dry though I will be in a tough spot.

I have watched Pickleball quite a bit here as our new net and court is ready. I will say this. I understand why OLD people flock to this game. It is in between Table Tennis and Tennis. I am pretty decent at tennis and spectacular at table tennis. I played every lunch hour at school and every lunch break in the warehouse at Sterlings. Table tennis is a way too fast for old people. Tennis is a way to strenuous for old people. So they invented Pickleball a combo of those. Very slow, no chance for injury as it is under hand served and played as doubles to eliminate any strenuous activity. The scoring system is dumb with 2-1-1 equating to 2 points serving 1 point and first server. The kitchen area is also weird.

So, I will say this. If you want a couple’s game that does not require a lot of energy, no fear of injury, play against another old couple and limited skill or strength required, Pickleball is it.

This weather is amazing. Stay like this (rain at night once or twice a week would be nice) we all would be in heaven. This is summer weather where it is warm, not hot and sunny and beautiful. Love it.

Thought of the Day

What do you call a woman standing in the middle of a pickleball court ?

Annette

July 24th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 28 degrees, Calgary 36 degrees.”

Wow summer is here. I do not want to hear any complaints on this beautiful weather. How can anyone? It is perfect. It is listed as 34 as a high but at 4pm at Oasis it is 36 degrees and may hit 37. Nice !

First day I turned on the a/c as Jackie had some computer work to do. I removed and at risk my surge protector but the complex doesn’t have a lot of poeple out here so should be ok. Hopefully !

Probably the second time in the last 8 years we have used our a/c and it isn’t as cold as it should be, but I am thinking the unit isn’t big enough and we didn’t give a lot of time to make it cold in the motorhome.

A wonderful morning coffee and a social media site experience on the deck. I was feeling a little dejected as my mean wife beat me at crib last night and won’t let me forget. I will get her back.

A long Daisy walk and relaxation.

Victoria and Jackson’s posse arrived to help him celebrate his birthday. It isn’t until next week but his friends were all leaving on vacation, so it made sense to have it early.

We had subs and chips for lunch and then pool time. With the warm temps the pool is like a bathtub temperature wise. I figured very busy, but we got lucky, and the kids had a blast. Cannonballs after cannonballs.

Ice cream cones have to be done and the Tiger ice cream took a big hit.

Then they were heading back to town for Sushi and a Barbie movie. I won’t tell anybody as these two things set one up for a lot of teasing from peers.

Ok I have to say this. 3 twelve-year-old boys wanting to see the Barbie movie !!

The new Mission Impossible just came out and they pick Barbie. It is a new world after all. I can see a 15 yr old boy taking his girlfriend to it for points but for three guys to pick it seems very odd to me. Remember what I said about emasculation of the male species.

I am sure the boys had a blast today and hopefully the sushi and movie are good.

Thought of the Day

How can there be self-help groups?

July 25th-26th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 24 degrees, Calgary 28 degrees”.

I spent at least two hours cleaning the Jeep. Washed, waxed, vacuum, Armorall etc. It looks great except my damage I did to the hood removing popular sap. Shitty sticky buds and I rubbed them with a sponge that dulled the paint in spots. It is a good-looking vehicle. It is now 11 years old and we had plans to replace after ten years but in retirement money is not easy to come by so I will keep it until it starts to nickel and dime me. I love the 2023 Colorado AT4 trucks which would be my choice today. The Jeep only has 150kms on it so it should last another 4 or 5 yrs no problem.

Some random thoughts.

First Jackie said someone mentioned this and I agree wholeheartedly. What is wrong with people’s color perception. The new automobile colors are horrible, dull grey, dull green, off white, dull blue. It is like army colors on a street vehicle. Talk about dull and dreary. You cannot beat RED, YELLOW, Dark GREEN, BLUE and BLACK. The new colors are so dull they look like a paint job from 10 years ago that is sun worn.

New shoes, new dress, new tie, new jacket whatever. Why do people, spend a fortune to attend a special event that only happens maybe once every few years. I wore a suit from 1975 until about 2004 when we changed our policy to dress or company logo golf shirts. I gave all my suits away when I retired except for one but it is from when I was 40 pounds heavy so doesn’t fit too well. LOL I make every effort NOT to wear a suit again. In fact, I better tell someone when I die, I better not be put in a suit!! People like sheep follow traditions or trends and to wear a suit in the summer especially with a tie is punishment. Women needing new shoes or dresses for every new event is marketing gone mad or lack of self-esteem. Why should we care if someone has a fancier dress or suit etc. (My Mom dresses up with makeup and fancy clothes to go down to meals in her senior home. I would wear sweatpants LOL) We are a funny group.

One of the best warmest nicest summers I can remember for a long time.

I picked up some stuff at Woody’s RV and saw this on the shelf. Two things. It is not gag gift. Second if someone actually has to use this, they should be in a facility with locked doors never mind driving a RV.

I think the cops should ticket someone with this as distracted driving would be happening.

Just a beautiful day golfing. A cool 24 degrees and a slight breeze. Today we were golfing at River Spirit which is one of my favorite courses to play. It wasn’t the perfect golf day score wise but the perfect fun golf day, so all is good. I lost a couple of balls which killed the score. We all fun but I have seen a lot better golf with this group.

A wonderful day golfing with Jeff & Wendy. I won’t say much about the golf as it was out of the norm for everyone. The first nine I took at 41 which I can live with easily but he second nine a 48. Everyone was a little off. I think Wendy was the most consistent today with her drives being very good on every hole.

The Graces seemed to like to place their ball near the sprinkler. LOL

The course had their sprinklers on a few holes which caused a few issues.

We decided to go to Windsor Rose in Legacy for supper. Great menu, good pricing, and great food with a nice patio which was good.

The Windsor Rose Pub served up some great food and fun times on the patio for us. The service a little slow but decent. Jackie and I had to wait a bit for the Graces to get there as they must have taken a different route.

Daisy was left alone for the 8 hours and was perfect. We wanted her to experience a longer time away so we can leave her for the wedding coming up .

Great day, fun times. Life is good

Thought of the Day

We did some financial planning recently and it looks like I can retire at 67
and live comfortably for 11 minutes.

July 27th 28th

“Mercury Forecast Keep the heat coming but a little rain would be nice “

The Barbie Movie-

The movie is targeting youth and if we want to believe it or not young minds are open to be swayed and influenced. Who ever thought masculinity should be called toxic is sick. Make every one of these people fight in the next war so everyone can have their rights and see what they say then. Modern masculinity is different than prior generations but as in most cases feminists have swung the pendulum too far. All I can say is book your appointments early at the hair saloon, massage parlor, line dancing lessons, pedicure and manicure shops as they are becoming inundated with emasculated males. The pricing will go up and the bookings will be hard to get. As I have said prior, and these males believe it is ok and on their own accord and are not understanding the silent war.

The next ten years is going to be a lot different.

Critic quote ” It’s a takedown of toxic masculinity tied up with a pretty pink wrapper Critic quote ” Critics hype ‘Barbie’ as a stunning ‘takedown’ of toxic masculinity and ‘a master’s thesis on feminism’

Ps I fell victim myself as I trimmed my chest hair yesterday. LOL In my case not to conform but to get rid of the grey (reminder I am getting older) and to be able to close my shirt buttons without pulling hair.

A wonderful day at Turner Valley today. I can say other than three holes I was pretty happy. Birdie, pars and the odd mistake or miss but the three holes again got me. I need to play 18 holes. I won money today so all is good but IF I would smarten up and not have the blow ups it could be big money.

I ran into and had a nice conversation with a gentleman from Viewpoint. Roy for years had one of the nicest homes on the block, but most would remember him for his clothing. He always dressed up like Stewart Payne. Still today looking great. Amazing memory as he asked me how Jackie was.

Luckily rain this evening so the flowers will get some moisture out at the lot.

I have been winning lately at Wordle usually 3 to 4 tries with two days in a row at TWO.

July 29th

“Mercury Forecast Calgary 24 degrees Edmonton 21 degrees “

The perfect summer day.

Today the big buildup to Kristen’s wedding comes to head. People panicking to get new clothes, shoes, hair, painted nails etc will all be able to relax and enjoy themselves as the event gets under way.

Kristen and Sheldon are two of the nicest people. Very caring, friendly, interesting people. I forgot to mention emotional. It would be hard to find anyone that can say negative word about them as they just carry themselves with grace and compassion.

Kristin is my niece from Jackie’s brother David in Edmonton. I might mention nice to have an Edmonton couple choose a Calgary wedding venue.

I was hesitant at first with the location chosen but it was perfect in a lot of ways except for one thing. It was The Pioneer on Stephen Ave. I thought the parking could be problematic but that turned out to be easy. I found a spot only two blocks away and cost $15 for 24 hours so that worked out great. Being on Stephen Ave was great as it allowed Edmontonian’s to see how wonderful and vibrant our downtown is and especially good as the wait time between the ceremony and evening was a few hours so everyone could find a street side patio for some appie’s and drinks. This I thought was a great.

The wedding was wonderful overall. I think everyone would have enjoyed the event in its entirety.

The tallest groomsmen EVER with one guy over 7ft tall. Beautiful dresses for the bridesmaids. The Pioneer for the ceremony worked out perfect. Sheldon’s Mom & Dad escorting him to the alter and Dave escorting Kristin. I would have preferred a longer ceremony as it is the focus of the wedding, but it was done very well. I actually love personal vows as it stretches the time and adds a dimension of intimacy.

After the vows, Corey & I scouted out a bar to find tables for about 15 people give or take. Not easy as it was busy on a nice day. I found room for 14 and had Corey and Jackson save them for people. This is always hard as like a the saying the early bird gets the worm and getting people to move and come when needed is difficult. We ended up needing more spots, but other patrons were accommodating and allowed some of our group to sit with them. Understanding how busy our waitress is, and would be, I ordered an appie at the same time as my table’s drinks. This worked out perfect as it was already late after lunch, and we were done eating when others were just receiving their order or still waiting.

Jackie was talking to this lady as I came up after parking and I didn’t recognize her. She looked familiar but I couldn’t figure her out. She took off her dark shades and I had to laugh as she was so easily recognized. It turned out to be Janet, Kristin’s Mom who I haven’t seen for at least 20 years. She looked great with an old movie star persona about her.

Cold beer and appies on a patio in the sun is a wonderful way to spend a few hours before the meal and dance.

The speeches were awesome by everyone, and Victoria did an amazing job as emcee. The meal was excellent. Most likely the best buffet I have had in a while. Roast beef cooked to perfection. They did have chicken also for the ” diet people”

On a side note. Chicken versus Roast beef. Beef has a nutritious advantage over chicken, as it contains more iron and zinc. These substances are essential for our immune systems and brain development. Marketing has grouped saturated fat into the category of trans fat, so people think they are better off eating chicken, and they miss out on the benefits of red meat. And this roast beef was exceptional.

The bar was a twoonie bar which is perfect. But they only had 4 types of craft beer available. Now I hate IPA and Craft beer. Beer was not made to add oranges or rice to. I ordered a Mexican ale and Jessica had a Japanese Ale. One with oranges and one with rice and we each tried them and both of us COULD NOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE. So, two sips out my beer for the night. $2 for a coke or $2 for a coke& rye but you can’t have too many of those and drive.

As I said the Pioneer location and building was awesome except for this one small thing. Rather than move the tables and have the dance floor upstairs the DJ set up downstairs in a small room. Too small of space, stairs for drunks to fall down and no place for people to sit down. Most people love to sit and watch the dancers. I know I do. You lose the dance floor and patrons with this.

This was a fun, very nice, awesome venue and location, excellent meal and beautiful wedding for a nice couple that went off without a hitch.

Here’s to a long and happy marriage!

A great wedding and so nice to receive a thank you for coming phone call from the bride.

Thought of the Day

Bride ” I do” Groom ” I do what she says. “

August 31st

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 24 degrees Calgary 28 degrees”

What amazing perfect summer weather. The perfect summer temps yet all you hear about is climate change. They forget we had a brutally cold and rainy spring. Not one mention of global warming then. It amazes me how we are being manipulated so easy by the media. The coverage of weather is now worldwide so we perceive a lot of activity. There has been activity for decades we just never had the reporting now like we do today. The wildfires though this year are a disaster. Hot weather, storm and mankind all contributing.

Wow July gone already, and I still feel like we haven’t enjoyed OUR summer with being so busy doing things. Hopefully August will be better. I know I have Kananaskis booked already so that is good. No internet so we will see how Jackie gets by as the addiction is real. I enjoy the net but I can leave it for weeks and not feel like I missed anything.

Today was a fun day with the Graces golfing at McKenzie. I was looking forward to a great score but ended up with a so so one due to two lost balls. Meadows is longer than a lot of courses, but I like the course the way it plays and hole layout. I have to get rid of the one or two blow up holes every time. Low 80’s is livable but I can so so much better.

I would say everyone had some excellent shots and everyone had some ugly shots.

Wendy had a birdie BUT ONLY witnessed by her cart as she rushed to shoot before we were there. LOL

It was just one of those nice fun days golfing. We stopped for supper after golfing on the patio as Mckennzie does have great food.

Jackie had a little of an upset tummy issue but powered thru the day. It was warm not hot, but I had 4 viles of blood taken 2 hours before golf so I thought I may feel a little weak, but everything was perfect. Just a little more water drinking. I later found out 4 viles is no more than a small cut so issue whatsoever.

Another day in paradise.

Thought of the Day

People scared of needles must drive nurses nuts. They have a full sleeve of tattoos then pass out giving blood.