May 1st–2nd

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 27 degrees & smoky, Calgary 25 degrees.”

Finally, spring is here and odd enough, from winter temperatures right into summer temperatures. No complaints at all with this but it took a long time coming.

Just a couple of things:

1-The Flames fire a coach who won the league’s Coach of the Year award last year because some lazy millionaire, new players, thought he was too difficult to work with. Unbelievable poor management and disappointing. Typical over paid whining player. They should trade Huberdeau immediately to the Ducks.

2- Adidas drops Dustin Johnston because he joined LIV.

3- Michael Jordon drops NIKE with their new Dylan Mulvaney promotion

4- Bars and patrons dropping BUD Light with their new Dylan Mulvaney promotion

What this all says to me is everyone is a way to sensitive. Darryl’s firing is a reflection on our society’s way of thinking. Tough love when dealing with overpaid privileged athletes is the only way they will perform. I feel for all the coaches and have no respect for the players that whine.

The LIV controversy is beyond dumb. Every sport has had break away leagues and have figured a way to make it work. WHL was integrated with the NHL. the NL and AL baseball merged and became one league, NFL has had XFL and others. It will work out and corporations and players are overreacting. The Saudia murder money reasoning is just an excuse.

Dylan has made a name for her/him self for sure. The woke part of our society doesn’t like the push back. Jordon is allowed to have his beliefs, but we have a harder time now accepting that, than any alternative. It will be a HUGE loss for Nike. Dylan again and not his/hers fault has resulted in Bud light being kicked out of bars and people refusing to buy it. Sales are already down 21%

I don’t get it. The figure is just a promotional marketing gimmick with them thinking the general population is on their side, but they found out different. How is them putting a figure on a beer can or in an ad hurt or upset you. If you like Bud LIght drink it and don’t think about a marketing campaign. If you like Air Jordans look for the company that Michael will sell his patient to and everything will be fine.

JUST RELAX ! LOL

Today we are golfing with the Graces at McKenzie. With 25-degree weather it will be awesome.

We met the Graces at the course along with Daisy today. It is good to keep her familiar with us golfing. As usual she was marvelous. Such a good girl.

Absolute perfect weather and the course was in great shape. The golf only mediocre today. Jeff consistently had great drives but struggled chipping and putting. Wendy had some monster drives but overall was just a little off. Jackie only had one drive go haywire on her and she played quite well. Two games in row at 101. If she could only remove one triple she would break that magic mark. I wanted better but putting today killed me with 4 holes with 3 putts on. I ended up with an 83 and due all to the putts and the 18th hole where it took me a couple of shots to get out of a deep sand bunker. I need to get a little better at sand.

Daisy and us had a very nice evening supper on the deck. The waiter and the inside staff made an error on their daily specials. Wendy and I ordered the supper special, but the computer-generated order gave the cook the lunch special to make. Someone forgot to update the software. So instead of the BBQ Chicken Burger we received the Monte Cristo. I have never had one of these before, but it was great. We could have sent them back but decided to go with it. I really liked it. It is sort of like a club sandwich with French toast as the bread. Large portions !

After supper we headed to Jacksons first ball game. I never liked ball and watching it on TV, it is very boring. This baseball was not. The kids had great pitching, catching and hits. The most exciting thing was it came down to the last inning with Jackson’s team winning by one run. I thought it may end in a tie but the last guy on Jacks’ team was walked which brought home the winning runner. I enjoyed it especially in the warm weather.

Jackson did extremely well. He had to be nervous after taking a ball to the eye, but he swung hard every time. And won’t you know it the first time at bat the ball hits his fingers on the bat. That had to hurt but it didn’t faze him.

Always nice to get the win and see Jackson loving the game.

My first league golf game will be this Thursday which I am looking forward to.

Jackie had to take Audrey to the doctor today and I had an appointment also, so it was a personal fix up day. And such a beautiful day outside wasted being inside and waiting. Oh well as the sayings goes, always tomorrow.

I talked to my Mom in Edmonton and she had a good weekend with a special trip for a Weiner roast out to Alfred’s place. It sucks to age and have no cartilage left in one knee and swollen legs making it extremely hard to climb stairs for her. The muscle loss of when she was laid up in the hospital just never recovered. A lesson for all of us to keep moving even if walking in the house as mobility is extremely important for a quality of life. Sit or lay down and muscles shrink, strength leaves and flexibility diminishes.

Updated this, checked out FB, pre-scheduled a bunch more joke emails, paid more bills and more bills, received and paid our taxes for last year, and perhaps watch the Oiler’s tonight without telling anybody.

Oops they are on Wednesday night!!

Love the weather. I BBQed wonderful pork chops tonight and along with mashed potatoes and salad made for great summertime meal.

Thought of the Day

If you failed to succeed which one, have you done?

May 3rd

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 29 degrees, Calgary 27 degrees”

Wow, talk about perfect weather. Officially it we set the all-time high record of 27 degrees, but my Jeep temp gauge indicated 30 degrees. Stay at this until Nov 1st with rain the odd night it would be perfect.

I left for the lot first thing in the morning and stayed until supper time. I was careful with my back as my first league golf game is tomorrow. Having said that I was up and down more than a new brides pants trying to get to sanitize the water system.

We have had the motorhome for 7 years now and every spring and fall I scratch my head winterizing and summerizing. It has 5 valves/bypass’s and the order never seems the same or work. This time two issues, a screen filter needed cleaning and the water filter cannister was one turn to loose plus moving valves every which way to get them to work.

I sanitized the feed hose, the holding tank and the entire water system with bleach and water. I ran the water until no antifreeze residue or bleach smell. Having said that I have ran water years past for 4 hours and you still get some residue.

I cleaned up leaves, trimmed a bunch of the bushes which are just starting to show growth spurts and edged the lawn.

I worked on starting the hot water heating both gas and electric, started up the a/c unit and ran both furnaces. I will start the fridge up next time and have it set for power with gas backup in case the power ever goes off.

Amazing how fast time flies with steady work all day except for a 1/2 lunch break.

Today is also Fred Key’s 69th birthday. I got to bug home as he now cuts the grass at Pineridge Golf course every day. Sweet job starting at 5 or 6 in the morning and working for three or four hours. Just in time for breakfast served by Terry when he gets home. Fred will like this job and you know the grass the will be cut perfectly.

For me I couldn’t handle that early thing but Fred gets up then with or without the job.

Secretly watching the Oilers and it look like a good series ahead.

I will make a Costco shop for the lot and us next week in prep for the long weekend and the season. I still need to clean the BBQ as I ran out of time.

There is a fire ban in Wheatland County right now but as private resort we are exempt for the time being. I can see that changing if we don’t get any rain.

May 4th-5th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 26 degrees, Calgary 28 degrees”

Summer temperatures and wonderful. In fact, Alberta broke 34 highest temperature records. Being about 10 degrees above average is awesome.

Today was my first golf game at my home course Turner Valley for my men’s league. I would say this year the course is in better shape than I have ever seen at the start of the season. It was a wonderful today to be playing at TV as I love the course, set up layout and in great shape makes for a fun day.

I have forever said Turner Valley plays harder than 90% of the courses in the Calgary area. Tree lines fairways are not forgiving at all. Smaller greens than most and a tough layout. I have consistently scored higher here than anywhere but love the course and wouldn’t want that to change for anything.

28 degrees and no wind today was perfect. I took one extra pill today as my back hasn’t got to the point yet of being great. I was golfing with Donn Smith, Rick Quine and Larry Poirer. I have golfed with Larry a lot and he is always one guy I want to beat. He is a better golfer than I so I always look forward to the challenge. If I could eliminate a few mistakes, I golfed wonderfully today. It just feels so nice when everything come together. I BEAT LARRY easily by 6 strokes but better yet I took his money and my playing partners all lost to me. Add to this I won close to $100 for my flight with LOW GROSS, LOW NET, 2 DUECES, and a NET EAGLE SKIN.

It was a fun day. Great playing partners and nice return on my money. It was my best score on this course, and I could have easily been at least three strokes less except for the odd bad break or dumb error. But I am very happy with the results.

I watched the Oiler game, and they did well.

Today Jeff & I were out at the Lakeside Golf course. Another warm day but halfway through our golf it started to blow big time and did affect the outcome big time. LOL

Jackie & Wendy went shopping for clothes for the upcoming cruise.

We were paired up with two ladies. They were good enough players and were easy to get along with playing partners. There is a saying ” It is a small world” and it came to fruition today. The one lady was the team manager for Shandi’s son Elias hockey team. She made me smile to myself as she was the perfect mix of Fran Drescher (voice) and Roseann Barr. I said to Jeff if she was my wife, I may have to commit suicide. Besides the voice, the exuberance, aggressive nature and super outgoing personality she would be hard to handle. Having said that they two of them had fun, were entertaining and made for a good golf day. I would say she would make an excellent team manager and would get things done right!

There are so many women where the voice is just for just no other word irritating. News reporters, actors and women you just run into. It is like a male voice to low that makes one seem unintelligent, the shrieking or high female voice grinds like fingernails on a chalkboard. LOL

A fun day golfing with wind and sun and great Caesars after golf. How can you go wrong ? Thier Caesars were awesome topped with a piece of meat, pickle and bean. Yes !

May 6th to 10th

“Mercury Forecast Mixed bag but mostly nice a day or two of rain”

I have been very busy and just haven’t had time to update everything so I will make a few days into one and may not be order.

We took Jackson to his ball game and had a blast. I enjoy watching kids ball. Jackson is going to be a good ball player.

It is funny how we give thousands to new immigrants with Trudeau’s bleeding heart, and we don’t look after our veterans or seniors. The reason I bring this up is I need a root canal and crown and it is going to cost me close to $2k. Paying taxes, into pensions etc for 40 years plus I believe this type of dentistry work should be paid for. Yes, it is a socialist way of thought but people that do not have the money for this can’t survive without the work. It is a essential need to have good teeth to live. It should be part of our universal health care. That is where a benefit package that remains after retiring is a wonderful thing. Rare in today’s world

I hate taking pills and try not to every chance I get but about 4 days ago I had such severe pain I couldn’t stand it. I succumbed to the need for relief. I left a message for a emergency appointment on Sunday but couldn’t get in until today. And funny thing is the dentist office changed my timing for 2p to 9:45 by phone call yesterday and as we were golfing, I didn’t look at my phone. At 9:45 the office phoned, and I was over there by 9:50. So I didn’t have a lot of prep time. LOL

It turned out my tooth is abscessed, and I need a root canal and a crown to fix it. The dental assistant is awesome. We were laughing trying to find where a root canal fits into the pain scale. The consensus was kidney stones, gout, birthing then root canal. The doctor says root canals get a bad rap and depending on the case are not that bad. SURE !

So I am on antibiotics until Monday then the ordeal which is supposed to be at least an hour or more. They are hoping for one appointment, but I may have to go back again. The cost of dentistry is ridiculous, but I think about the pain, and I will pay it. LOL .

The Graces and us played out at Murfield Lake today. The weather forecast was iffy, but it turned relatively nice. In fact, it got hot, and we were down to shirts only. Then we hit hole 13 and the downpour started. It was raining too hard to continue. I do have to say we got soaked. I like this course and it is fun to play and the price is more than right. IF we would have finished prorated scoring would have been 78 for me and 101 for Jackie. But we will never know. LOL

I would say everyone had pretty good game today. More good shots than normal for each. Jeff’s drives are getting pretty good. Wendy as normal drove good. If both work on the irons and chipping the scores would really come down. Jackie’s “hurt” is from second shots and putting. Drives are good and chips are awesome.

We ran into the clubhouse early for supper soaked. I like the “short” menu of this place as it has every option needed. The chicken burger and beef burger looked fantastic and the salad that Jackie had was great. I ordered the fish & chips to try to eat with one side of my mouth as my tooth was painful. It worked but the fish was the store-bought Captain Highlander and was not good. So one less item of the menu to order.

I parked beside Jeff’s car on arrival. Unloading the clubs into our car Jackie says ” I looks like Jeff moved” as the Caddie wasn’t beside us anymore. It turns out they brought the CRV and were parked a full row away. I got to bug them about a ” bland” car Caddie or CRV where no knows it is yours or stands out. Jeff’s old Caddie was a beautiful red color I knew Jeff was in the lot or driving down the road. Both of their cars now, are greyish which is a common color. Why this stands out for me, is when I bought my Jeep ( RED) a neighbor bought the exact same one and one of my kids confused it with mine. Next week I put on new mags, fog lights, and a roof rack so no one could ever confuse it or for it to look anyone else’s. I always wanted something different, and unique that stood out. Over the years I have ‘Modified” many cars to be just that way. It would be interesting to watch at a shopping mall how many people search for their car because it is like everyone else’s. A CRV, Rav 4, XT4, BMW, they all look the same now.

I went out the lot today and worked all day until I was forced out by the rain/hail. I have most things done now so should be ready for the long weekend. It started to rain so I had to put everything away and pack up quickly.

On the way home it started to hail so much the road turned white. Hard enough in fact I had to stop on the side of the road.

I had two cancel the second order of medal for our long weekend Olympics. How a order cans it for 5 days and still not a have a ship date is beyond me. I think they are punishing me for dropping Prime. I found it too expensive and no value to me. We use Netflix not Prime, I am not a music guy, and we do not order a lot lot from Amazon as it is mostly Chinese. I canceled the order and headed to the Dollar store. This was a huge store on 130 ave and WOW it is a nice store with a lot of super deals. One could save a lot of money by shopping here for certain things. No medals but I picked up BBQ sponges, scrub brushes and glove for the sewer so a great experience. Over to Canadian Tire and no medal but I check at the Party City booth and they said their main store on Mcleod had them. Sure, enough I picked them up, less expensive than Amazon but only Gold medal not silver and bronze. I hate participation medals anyways, so this works out perfect. You win you get gold. You finish second you are the first loser and get NOTHING.

It took me 45 ins to drive a 10 min drive with the amount of water and hail on the streets. Deerfoot was stopped with no accidents just stupid drivers getting pulled all over with excess water on the roadway.

Since I am not allowed to join the Oiler band wagon, I get to diss them. They sucked tonight and as usual eliminate Connor and Leon they lose. They are not a Cup contender, but I like watching them so hopefully they make it a few more games.

I have been killing it at Wordle with a 2, a few 3’s and 4’s. Jackie had my number for a bit but it is pretty close now. Fun stupid game. LOL

The Oilers pulled it off by playing very well.

We took in one of Jackson’s ball games last night. They are fun to watch. When we walked into the park Victoria was sitting with Hazel and Corey right behind the back catcher but it has a high 15 ft fence to catch the balls. I said to them you are right in the strike zone for a fowl ball. They said no problem. Turns out I think they are trying to KILL me. A foul ball comes over the top, Tor and Jackie say or warn nothing, Corey says it is behind us but as I watched it fell fast. I jumped out of my chair and sure enough it hit smack in the middle of my chair. Attempted murder if I got a good lawyer. Great reaction time considering multiple Tylenol and a strong antibiotic in my body. Jackson after the game laughed about it.

A great game and Jackson’s team now has won 4 in row. He really likes ball. As I said after the first practice they win/loss condition is all about batting. Pros average say 30% but the kids are more like 3 %. The pitchers throw quick but the hand eye for hitting isn’t just there yet. Corey had a great idea to go to a batting cage. The coach should organize this as an event as it would make a big difference if he could get the hit numbers up.

Thought of the Day

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered??

May 11th to 13th

“Mercury Forecast SUMMER !”

Today was my men’s league at Turner Valley. Great expectations after last week. I will say this. I golfed extremely well. I won over $20 bucks again. I had 10 pars and one birdie but got killed on two holes.

The first hole I fell victim to was harassment from my fellow golfing partners. I had a choice to chip it out to the fairway or take a risk and attempt over trees to the fairway. One of my rare hooks off the drive. I “normally” would have punched it back to the fairway and hope for a boogie. But being harassed I went for it and ended up deep in the trees. I ended up with a 9 on the hole. The second hole I will shoulder the blame but with a caveat. My silver tee box is a way left and back compared to the other golfer’s white tee box. So, I pulled my club, and my partner took the cart to his tee. I needed a light 9 iron shot and used a 6 iron ending a mile past the Par 3 green. My club markings are difficult to decipher between the two and in most cases I double check the “slope” of the blade against one another to determine a 9 versus 6. As the cart was gone, I didn’t do that. That won’t happen again. I took a 7 on a Par 3. I remove those two holes and it would have been a 70’s score or just over. Next time !!

Jackie and I drove up to Edmonton to visit with Mom for Mother’s Day. The road was very busy as is normal nowadays.

” I AM MOVING TO LEDUC. PLASTIC STRAWS AT TIM’S AND $1.35 A LITRE GAS”

We had a very nice visit with Mom. We arrived about 1 pm and left about 7pm. We accomplished a few chores Mom wanted done which was perfect timing for Mother Day. Jackie was like Molly Maid. Jackie cleaned the patio chairs, flooring and plants. The chairs and couch were also vacuumed. We cleaned out her vacuum and Jackie did the kitchen while I dusted the walls. She was very pleased.

We asked her want she wanted for supper and her choice was a homemade pork chop. Not that easy to find. I found a place near Mayfield Common called Refinery. I plugged it into Google Maps saying it was 14 minutes away.

Edmonton traffic is ridiculous. The poorest road systems ever as all of the money was spent on bike paths. Huge potholes and heavy heavy traffic. In fact, 1 google 14 min drive was 30 minutes. There is a caveat to this though as the address and google didn’t like each other. Mayfield Common is a convoluted mall and difficult entry and exits points. I had to phone to find it after searching everyone and Maps saying you have arrived. Funny enough the poor girl I got didn’t have a clue how to give directions. She said she was beside a Royal Bank. No Royal Bank in Mayfield Common. GPS showed a Royal but across the Mayfield Rd with a meridian. Finally, I see it and wow what a difficult route to get there. Rush hour and u turns don’t go together.

Then back to Mom’s in heavy traffic, dodging huge sink holes and a poor road system hoping my food was cold.

The food was fantastic. Mom says she didn’t like her carrots as they were a little under cooked. I love them that way. I hate mushy carrots and a little hardness crunch to me is perfect. She ate them all though. LOL My hot turkey and Jackie’s, you guessed it Caeser Salad were awesome as was Mom’s pork chop meal.

An easy drive home, too many cops but with light traffic was perfect until you spot one. And they wonder why poeple have lost respect for their cat and mouse games. All about the money and nothing about the safety. This highway could easily be a120kmph highway.

Daisy had a fun day at Audreys with a couple of walks and a chance to sleep and relax after watching bunnies all day.

Oilers lost ! I have said forever a TWO MAN team will never win the CUP. They have had a good run with some entertaining hockey if you like power play goals the main type the Oilers get with McDavid. Calgary is going thru a rework. I think it is time in Edmonton to fire Holland as he has made so many mistakes including Jack Campbell. Woodcroft need to be fired asap. He used Connor and Leon so much on the powerplay and the ice time they have nothing left in the tank. Nurse needs to be traded as asap. They have a lot of issue. Hymen didn’t break until the playoffs so they could keep him. BUT a total rework has to be in the cards.

Today Jackie & I spent all day out at the lot. We worked at getting everything ready for the weekend. I fixed my Ladder Golf game. Cleaned and adjusted everything. Jackie vacuumed and cleaned the inside. Pulled the slides in, raised the levelers, and packed up everything. All ready to remove and load on Wednesday.

A extremely busy week that I am getting annoyed with. I have a dentist appointment on Monday for a root canal and crown, a golf game on Tuesday, a doctor appointment for another issue on Wednesday, a golf game at Turner with my men’s league and then leaving for the long weekend and week after camping.

I could fix the AHS system in a jiffy. One issue per doctor visit is just stupid ! They get paid per visit so I don’t blame them but how dumb for an example if you have a sore knee and an earache they will only look at the ear and next week come back for the knee. AND won’t write a prescription as that is another visit.

Speaking of AHS listening to the news tonight I am disappointed and shocked in Albertans. There should be NO WAY Notley is even in the running. We cannot go down the socialist woke money giving ways of Racheal. It shouldn’t even be a close race. So many countries in turmoil as societies bleeding heart socialist movements gain a following. I am so glad that a lot of the decisions made do not affect me but will affect my kids and grandkids greatly. Like I said the next time a NDP supporter says they can’t afford a house, want more money, go on strike, are in a toxic work environment, go on strike to laze at home under the guise of “working from home” or say they hate that pricing is going up, I sure hope a lightning bolt strikes them.

I received the code and instructions today for our group campsite. One last email for a reminder and instructions.

Thought of the Day

Why do you have to “put your two cents in”… but it’s only a “penny for your thoughts”? Where’s that extra penny going?(taxes)

May 14-15th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 29 degrees, Calgary 26 degrees”

No other word for the weather other than PERFECT. I could say we could use rain at night but that is pushing it. Beautiful days ahead.

Mother’s Day Sunday. I made a call to Mom today after our visit and she has company today so that is good.

Jackie & I along with Audrey and the Waldie’s all met down at Fish Creek Park for a Mothers Day picnic. It was very nice with perfect weather and great food. Diets and special needs kill me. So many poeple really are not enjoying their food due to misconceptions of health, weight loss or of side effects perceived or real to a point. That makes food picnics and get togethers a little more difficult. When we make a family meal I make the meal ” Normal” and people can eat around it. Having said all that Jackie is good putting stuff together that everyone can or will try. Much more work ! I did make turkey burgers last time which I think is a waste of the BBQ gas.

We sat at a nice picnic table and had lunch and conversation. It was very warm and sunny but with a overriding cool wind that caused us issues keeping everything on the table. We took a short walk down the path to Annie’s for ice cream cones which was excellent. Even Ice Cream is getting expensive. LOL

Lots of good shows on TV tonight we had to get in. Sullivans Crossing one of my new favorite shows had a 2-hour finale, we had the American Idol semifinals on and the Oiler game which by now everyone knows how it went.

I won’t talk much about the Oilers as the fans are in mourning. The Edmonton fan base though is getting a pretty bad reputation after a previous game where they threw beer mugs etc on the ice and last night fighting in the stands was rampant. Doesn’t look on the city as a whole. They are a poor team with 2 stars and they lost so just suck it up.

Fun day today. I had my root canal at 8:30 am. It took 2 hours and I still have two appointments left. Smoke coming out of my mouth, sore jaw, frozen face but no pain yet, until the freezing leaves is awesome. I need a cap next week and then a crown on top of that as soon as I can. $$$$

I took Daisy for a walk but as it was warm out she didn’t get to excited over it. I was just taking my mind off my frozen tingling face. I would rather have this than pain any day. Our dentist has the best staff of any place I have been to. Love them and they make it seem so nice while pulling bills out of my wallet. Insurance covered $1000 of the bill today which is awesome, but I think I max’d out already and still two appointments left.

So now I am just waiting to be able to eat without chewing on my lips or face and for the pain to start as the freezing leaves. LOL

Wordle in TWO Yahoo That is unbeatable.

Thought of the Day

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

May 16th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 24 degrees, Calgary 23 degrees “

We woke up this morning at it smelled like we were out camping. We have a air exchanger in the hallway and it brings “fresh” air in from outside. Well guess what the air is SMOKE.

It was odd looking outside and seeing the darkness that has a orange hue seemed strange. The sky was quite smoke filled and it was breezy.

My tooth is filling pretty good. I think most of the pain is gum pain from needles and not the abscess. I know I could drink hot coffee and cold water today which was awesome.

The Graces and us were scheduled to go golfing today. Wendy texted and said she was out and Jackie agreed. I was going golfing if Jeff said yes or no as I have done before but luckily Jeff agreed.

I have to say. It was a wonderful day. A slight breeze with the odd gust thrown in but very minor and in fact half of what we have played in prior. Slightly hazy with smoke but not enough to impact your breathing or your eyes. This surprised me as I was expecting sore eyes and a raspy throat.

It appeared a lot of people thought like Jackie and Wendy as there were very few golfers on the course. In fact, Jeff & I finished 9 nines in 1.5 hours.

To the golf. Perhaps due to lack of pressures or performance anxiety or just one of those days but Jeff golfed his best this year that I have seen. His drives were exceptional with some spectacular with distance and direction. His irons overall were consistently a way better and on the front 9 his putter was the Jeff of old with long wonderful putts that dropped. Best this year on all fronts. I played pretty decent today with only one hole that I wasn’t the happiest with. I used supersoft balls today for the first time. I would say distance and control awesome. On the greens not so much. They just feel soft and I ended up with many birdie shots becoming pars coming up short over and over again. I have to do some research on this. I am not unhappy with an 82 but it should have, could have, been much better.

It was a very fun day golfing. I thoroughly enjoyed it and ended with a nice supper in the restaurant. One day early for National Caeser day though. Darn.

It appears the Graces are all ready for Alaska too which will be a fun trip.

Thought of the Day

Why is “bra” singular and “panties” plural? Must be a women thing.

May 17th -18th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 22 degrees, Calgary 21 degrees”

A nice ” summer” day. A bit of smoke but not bad at all.

I whipped out first thing this morning and worked on the motorhome. It is all ready. I hooked up the Jeep and drove into Strathmore to wash it. They have a great big rig wash where you can walk along a platform to wash the top part. $48 later done and needed with dirt from all winter and buds. Looks nice a shiny again. Just a few popular buds I will work on. I topped off the gas with Premium to balance out the sitting all winter and Stablock in it. A 1/4 tank and $300 bucks later. Filled our propane bottles since we are not allowed campfires to use for our fire pits. Even propane now at $1.50 is pricy.

Drove home and got lucky to park in front of the condo. Just clothes and food tonight and tomorrow and we will be off. We have the long weekend booked at Gleniffer Lake and then Cypress Park for the balance of the week. Alan & Mary Ann are coming to Cypress with us for their time. I did not prebook as this time of year there are always site free. I am thinking the Alberta side with the lake and amenities versus the isolation on the Sask side. I see a UNO domination on my part in the future.

Just some random comments—–

Newscast shows 140 violations and a 100km speeding ticket in Calgary for street racing. This is just the typical COPS of today doing their power tripping for MONEY. These kids are in an industrial area. INDUSTRIAL AREA at night. NO traffic and the only harm caused would be to their own cars or selves. No Race City or free drag strip what do they expect. Leave the kids alone to have fun. Get your ego boost from somewhere else and stop trying to generate income. I have raced 100 times in an industrial area in west Edmonton and numerous times on the street. I guarantee you ever one of these kids is a better driver than half of the drivers on the road. Busy street not ok but on the outskirts no problem. The cops wonder why as a society they have lost respect when it all comes down to how they approach their duties. Block a street off and let the kids play would be my go to. Sad !

“Memories”

One night in Edmonton these two pretty girls pull up beside me at a red light in a very nice car. I can’t remember what kind. We both hit the floorboards with the gas pedal. Tires smoking and the race is on. It was a close race. All of a sudden, a cop’s lights start flashing and he makes both of us pull over to the side. Careless driving charges for both of us. I enjoyed the young girl hassling the cop stating her boyfriend was a lawyer and he would be defending both of us. It didn’t happen. LOL A nice discussion and drinks with the girls though at a fast food joint after. They were a little older and it could have even been her boyfriend’s car to be that fast.

I think the lies are slowly catching up to Racheal. The debate hopefully clears a lot up. Smith is far from perfect but the difference to Alberta between the two parties is vast. I just hope the young voter, the unionists, the socialists and the City of Edmonton citizens really think about what they are doing and what will happen again if the Notley wins. She is bad for Alberta and Canada.

There is a famous quote by Churchill which most would agree was a very influential and brilliant man ” IF YOU AREN’T A LIBERAL/socialist WHEN YOU ARE 25 YOU HAVE NO HEART. IF YOU ARE NOT A CONSERVATIVE BY 35 YOU HAVE NO BRAIN.” So, I guess the world has battled this for many years. Young, uniformed people, new immigrants, wanting everything for nothing until they get a little wiser than realizing it comes with a price. That price has to be paid by their children and society as a whole. The worst part of this is people like Trudeau and Notley playing with these types of people with the promises.

My last Men’s league play for about three weeks with our motorhome trip and cruise coming up. Good and bad today. First, I did ok against our side game with our foursome but lost $2. Larry P played very well today.

It was one of those days where I played decent but didn’t score well but still was successful. I took an 8 on one hole with a water ball twice. So, I finished with an 86 which if I remove the 4 extra strokes is a 82 which I can live with and am ok with but lo and behold everyone in my flight sucked today so I finished in FIRST place and won more money. A good year so far just have to keep it up and hope no blow-up holes next time. Due to max handicapping when the score is entered in it is an 84 which on Turner I can live with easily. Next time no blow up and a low score please. LOL

The greens which much better today but still more movement than other course I have played. I enjoy my group and I love to win the money !

Jackie & I finished loading the motorhome except a few things in the am and we will be set to go. One just has to remember if you forget something don’t worry, as long as you have the pops and chips, no junk food you will be all right.( inside joke)

I had a doctor’s appointment and drove right by a high school when the kids were getting out. WOW I feel bad for the teenager boys of today. Watching these kids ( I might add no respect for drivers as they continue to walk across with the no walk sign on and traffic can’t turn. I forced my way in.LOL) it made me feel bad. It was like I was watching homeless street people. Baggy baggy pants, hoodies, sloppy jackets, tears in the jeans and loose oversized shirts. Mind you the boys were no better. I feel bad for them as when I went to school the girls were pretty. Nice make up, time spent on their hair do, tight fitting jeans with flares or bell bottoms, body snug blouses or tube tops, no bras, crop shirts and tight fitting demin shorts. They all looked good not matter what body shape. NOT SO MUCH today. I feel sorry for the boys and the girls with no zest to want to make themselves look presentable. Wait until they go for a job interview. Wait, they all want to work from home.

I am not old, I really never feel old, I never say I am old but today walking with a cooler, a bag full of clothes, another bag and some loose stuff from the front door to the motorhome my muscles had fatigue. That is annoying. About a block walk around the building to the front street and yes, a little heavy but fatigue/pain is stupid and annoying.

I will attempt to update as I can using my phone which isn’t easy to do and fill in when I get back .

Thought of the Day

Why do doctors leave the room while you change??? They’re going to see you naked anyway.

May 19th to May 25th

“Mercury Forecast was between 22 degrees and 31 degrees”

First, I will say this was the best May Long Weekend weather ever. We have camped together on the May Long for at least 42 years. Missed a few with Blimpies, and a couple due to kids or weather but always went out in a pup tent, tent, a tent trailer, travel trailer or a motorhome. Of the 42 years we may have had 35 of them with iffy weather. Not this year with every day being exceptional.

This was the gauge on the way up to the park.

I am going out on the limb, but I will say this was the most fun long weekend ever. I thought our go cart, mini golf, golf weekend couldn’t be topped but our Olympics this year was awesome and enjoyed by everyone.

This year was a smaller group and I think this will become the normal, but we had Keith & Jenny, Jason & Steph, Justin & Amanda, Stewart & Carrie, Carmen, Parker, Ryilee and Braille, Cory & Victoria, Jackson, Jessica & Penny, August, Atticus, and Jackie & Larry. That is 15 adults and 7 kids plus 6 dogs.

The group site was perfect as we circled it and played our games in the open field. We had a round robin elimination event of Bocci, Corn Hole, Ladder Golf, Horseshoes and Disc golf. All were fun with Disc being the hardest for most.

I have to go on record that I and my partner were robbed. My partner Steph is most likely the most athletic person in attendance, but we lost in the semifinals in two events. Robbed and I demand a recount.

Keith & Jackie (the team with the oldest combined age, shame on you young kids) was the big winner. They won two events and the overall event. Carrie & Alan won two events also.

Jason was the best round robin organizer I have ever seen so it was so nice to have him lead the charge.

Everything went off without a hitch.

We had a Medal ceremony where I presented the kids with their medals and the adult winners with theirs. I broke my rule of participation medals but only for the kids.

Our potluck theme was Greek and wow did we have some good food. There was no reward for food but Jason’s donairs were amazing. We had Greek salad, Ceasar drinks, pasta, chicken skewers, ham, devilled eggs, pita bites with sauces, doughnuts, and many other wonderful tasting foods. I was full as everyone was.

It was very warm out but also quite smoky. We fit into our schedule a game of golf that no one had signed up for that turned out to be a lot of fun. Surprising, nice course but not cheap. It is $75 with cart per person but Keith had coupons that we each paid $50. I was going to say something as the girl over charged us by $12.50 each but we were lucky enough to get a tee and for Keith to use his coupons. ( $75 x 4= $300 and with a 2 for one would $150 /4 =$37.50)
Cool course. Surprising amount of water on the course that hurt and Jason won the overall. This young guy can hit the ball further than anyone I have played with for a long time. On one hole a 285-yard Par 4 I was one yard short of the green and he was 10 yards past it. Great hits and he played very well, the shit head !!

The dogs absolutely loved the open space to play in. They are supposed to be leashed but we had them running around and responsible owners picking up after them all day.

The Ranger came and asked us to leash up once. Darn !

The kids loved the mud, water and beach and played on it and in it for hours. Jackson even found a bone that the Ranger took for inspection as it looked like a human femur bone. Makes it fun for the kids.

We even squeezed in a birthday gathering for Kristen along with her fiancé Sheldon and baby Silas joining her. They came down for a few hours with Dave.

After a wonderful May Long we headed to our new spot we last moment choose. Dinasaur Prov Park near Brooks.

It is funny as a born and raised Albertan I never heard of this park and have never been there. Last year we went to a park we haven’t been to Writing On The Stone and it was amazing. This park by far beats out Drumheller and Writing on the Stone. No other words but incredible.

The campsites are spectacular, the scenery unmatched and the cleanliness, quiet, the pricing, the amenities, and customer service unbelievable.

As I said the customer service was amazing. We checked in and paid and the next morning looking at my bank notification I noticed I was charged incorrectly. I didn’t know if Mary Ann had a wrong charge or I so I had to wait to check the web page. This is the only downfall as there is no data or cell service unless you go up to the store. That is just an oddity in today’s world. Needless to say, Jackie was driving, walking and visiting the store often and it wasn’t close.

I went to the counter and the manager helped me with my situation. Not only did he give me the difference charged in error (finger input error) he insisted I get a free bag of wood. This is the kind of employee I liked at Henderson’s or Blimpies and I would back them up every time. Funny enough a couple of days later getting a ice cream cone another young lad mixes up my waffle with a regular cone in error. He gets my cone, removed the ice cream and puts in the proper waffle and adds another free scoop. This manager deserves an award for training his staff to be proactive. Now some would say they shouldn’t make mistakes, but I feel everyone can and how they handle and learn from it, is priceless.

The Hoodoo’s and area are incredible and are vast. We walked every trail and were always pleased and excited to see the variances in landscape. In fact Jackie & Alan stated they walked between 15 and 18 K steps each day plus the inclines. It was fun and interesting.

MaryAnn unfortunately caught some type of flu bug and wasn’t able to join us for our walks. The dogs even loved them albeit Tia was carried quite a bit.

My middle name once again is UNO. The skill I possessed to dominate the game over and over again was a sight to see. Even with “new” rules that I will call ” Alan” rules it wasn’t close.

Alan did win a DICE game along with a game win from Jackie but that is 100 % luck whereas UNO is an art to master.

Great suppers, wonderful hikes, fun games, awesome spot made for a fun week or so.

On a side note for our trip we used 240 liters of fuel. That is only $ 347 dollars of gas and considering the distance we travelled I am happy. We travelled 705 kms total and got 7.0 miles per gallon. That is pulling fully loaded with water going up, full of sewer going to the Park and pulling the Jeep in wind at 110kms per hour.

We stopped and unloaded at Oasis before heading home. Jackie confirmed our garden spot at the store and the irrigation is on so I will try to “spring” the lot to life. I will need peat moss, manure and a rotter tiller to make the plot work but it is nice. IT will be a late start as we most likely will not plant until we get back so about three weeks behind.

A few days catchup and making sure everything is ready for Van BC.

Thought of the Day

Why is it that people say they “slept like a baby” when babies wake up like every two hours?

May 26th -29th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 27 degrees Calgary 23 degrees”

Jackie was busy with work and her Mom the last two days so I worked on making sure the lot was ready for us when we get back and looking good.

First thing was more work on my royal crown. Only 2 more appointments left to be king ! Feels funny with them grinding and smoke coming out of your mouth and feeling no pain. EXPENSIVE !

I stopped at Home Depot and picked up flowers. WOW are these expensive this year. A few planters and $200 bucks is just starting. I went with Daisy’s this year rather than my traditional geraniums which is my favorite. I spent both days planting, weeding, organizing, raking, fertilizering and making look pretty.

I really like the looks and can’t wait until they grow.

I spaced them all, planted them all and then the chore of making sure since we will be gone until June 15th that I had my irrigation system up and running. I tweaked the system, changed out a few heads and adjusted them. Issue I have is on a Saturday when everyone is drawing the pressure is lower so I can’t be precise, and I am running out of time to adjust, not being there.

I trimmed all of the trees, cut the grass, and cleaned up. Getting close to calling it open and after the cruise we will spend time out there and not drive back to the city for days except for golfing.

Lots of people at the lot with the swimming pool full, the golf course busy and even a food truck there today. This food trucks Brisket sandwich was amazing. $20 for it and fries but beyond excellent.

The neighbors pot smell was so strong today I felt dizzy. LOL

I love Oasis !

Our garden plot will late this year as it needs work but will need to wait until we get back.

Beautiful weather after a horrible spring so it is much appreciated.

I would like our cruise to just happen as I am getting tired of the hold pattern. Everything is ready. I visited the bank today to exchange money into US dollars and as usual the exchange is a killer at 1.39. You would think this would be top of the mind to fix. Great for exports but horrible for imports and we import billions each year from the USA. In 2007 we were 5 cents over par. Sad ! I asked for 5’s and 10’s for tip money for excursion guides etc.

I have to say I sweated today at the McKenzie Golf course. But no complaints. I am hitting the ball well and hope to have that carry on. Two guys I met were pretty neat old guys. They have golfed together for over 40 years. Made me think as Jeff & I would be 30 yrs at least. One old guy had a gimp arm from a stroke but still hit the ball well. The other a great golfer with a 2 handicap at one time. It was quite enjoyable and for sure the election today came up.

One thing I find odd is how NDP supporters are so sensitive and volatile while the majority of the UCP supporters are more low key and accepting. I like to stir things a bit but both were staunch UCP supporters, not over loving Smith with her faux pax’s but people have to let go of some of them as she was a radio host trying for ratings. Her walking across the floor though was a dumb move but if she hadn’t, we would be dealing with a split vote today.

Washed and shined up the Jeep today.

I will start to watch the election after the local news.

I had left over pizza for dinner so not that hungry for supper. We will weigh ourselves and see if we can commit to our goal of no more than a 5 pound weight gain on the ship. We walk the stairs on the ship, have plenty of excursions but between the buffet and the abundant meals it is a hard target to meet. We are Deck 10 so we have 8 levels up to the food court and about 3 levels down for the entertainment. Lots of stairs which is good.

We upgraded our hotel and it sure would be nice to get a free upgrade on the room. Our last cruise they gave us a mini suite which was unbelievable.

We watched a ball game with Jackson tonight. His team just seems to get better and better. Some awesome hits tonight.

A fowl ball comes over the back netting and this poor old guy watches it and tries to get out of the way and falls. He was in a walker. Luckily not hurt as far as we know. Balance and strength as aging happens sure falls off.

Thought of the Day

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?