October 1st – 4th

I will mark the weather forecast as a mix of summer and fall temperatures. I know it was very warm and today bitterly cold.

WOW does time fly by. I looked and I haven’t had time to write since the beginning of October. Crazy busy and 4 days so i will miss somethings as I am going by memory. I will mix all of the days into one block. I think I will work backwards to help with the memories.

Today was my last day at Turner Valley golfing. As it is a semi private course they always close early to keep the greens in great shape and give time for the close down of the season. My normal foursome played to day. First let me say it was COLD. No perhaps FREEZING would be a better term to use. I have played in cool and a little cold weather but today just seemed ridiculous. My fingers were white and shivers would happen. The phone said 7 degrees feels like 3 but I think it was colder than that. My group of golfers SUCKED today with three out of the four players over 100. My only over 100 game of the season. Cold hands, multiple layers of clothes and issues happened for everyone. Darn, luckily due to capping my score lowers enough to be below 100. Some pretty lousy golf today. BUT with everyone playing so lousy I won money on the corner game and my net/ gross individual game so all is good. Turner Valley Golf is over.

Jessica and boys arrived this morning and I saw them going thru the front door and ran to the front of the elevator. When the doors opened I screamed and Jess and boys yelled scared stiff. Good thing she didn’t drop my ice cap. The neighbor stuck her head out of the door to seem what happened. LOL Little Atti jumped and screamed, Jess jumped and August appeared to be unfazed buy the scream.

Fun boys to talk to and tease.

Love young kids. Years ago when August got into my Jeep he says ” Papa where are your back doors? Today the kids say to Jackie ” Where did you get this Lego it looks 100 years old and we have never seen it before?” Some of these Lego and building bricks are from when I was a kid. That would make them 60 years old, LOL

I worked out at the lot all day in decent temperatures closing the place. I will say about 7 hours and not quite done yet. Every year I have one day where I feel stupid. To winterize this motorhome is a nightmare EVERY year. As I have said before I have a hot water heater bypass, a water filtration system bypass, a city water/ tank valve, a pickup valve and a tank valve. Every year running in and out of the motorhome to make sure everything is working and to get the system pressurized with antifreeze gest me. All done. I raised the levelers, pulled in the slides, cleaned out the fridge, clothes and pantry, filled it with Stabloc and ran both the engine and generator. And moved it to a new spot on the tires. I put the solar charger on the carriage batteries and filled all the batteries with distilled water. I emptied the sewer and grey water plus put away the power, cable and water hose for it.

Then, started on the outside. I tarped all of the furniture, piled the tables and benches and used my air gun to nail strips to the posts to make sure the wind didn’t get at the tarps. I put all of the cushions away, moved the TV into the shed, and emptied both fridges.

I think I have about another 2 hours or so and then all done for the year. The weather is fantastic for Thanksgiving and we have held numerous We have had numerous Thanksgivings at our lot and this year would be beautiful but we are a little too busy to make that happen. We are heading up to Edmonton to have a feast at my sisters place.

When I returned from the lot I was told we were meeting the kids at Boston Pizza. Our family for at least 20 years went to Boston Pizza every Friday. Jess had a work meeting so brought the kids along with her so we were lucky enough to have the whole family together. Jessica, Atticus, August, Victoria, Corey, Jackson, Jackie and I. the Boston menu has changed dramatically over the years for the worse but I had great steak with salad supper. the kids were funny in their ordering. Atti had chicken wings and mashed potatoes. Auggie chicken fingers and Jackson a chicken burger. They order like adults. Even the mascot at the restaurant loved the boys. It was nice to all get together again.

Jeff, Wendy and us headed to Spirit River golf course today. The temperature was nice which was perfect for golf and our enjoyment. The Canada golfing season is ending so you would think we should be at our best but that wasn’t the case for most of us. I did end up with a 84 but it was a battle. Jackie had to pee so didn’t golf the last couple of holes. The golfing was just off for the group. I lost one ball straight down the centre of the fairway due to being covered by I leaf. I assume.

Driving out on Highway 8 to the course the mountains now snow covered, look awesome.

After a fun day of golfing we went to Paul’s Pizza. This place is famous for their pizza but Jeff was the only one that chose that. It looked good but I would have chose the meat lovers which is the “signature” pizza. I had the veal cutlets with a stuffed potato, gravy vegetables and salad and it was superb. Good Caesar drinks also. Jackie stepped out of her comfort zone and ordered something very wild for herself. Baked potato loaded with Caesar salad. LOL No chicken on the salad.

We had a low key day on Sunday where I watched the Ryder Cup and didn’t do a whole lot. Nice.

We had Audrey over for supper tonight. Getting to cook, it is always nice as you get to cook what you like. 1 inch thick bone in porkchops, mashed potatoes, peas, honey glazed carrots, creamed corn, gravy and garlic bread. Yummy ! One of my favorite meals.

When Tia first got here it was a fight for attention from Audrey. Pushing up against, rolling over, and kisses. I think both the dogs and Audrey loved it.

Audrey brought Tia as she is looking after her while Alan & MaryAnn are away. Daisy loves Tia.

I have to fit this in here. Jeff & Wendy with Wendy not even being 60 yet are becoming GREAT GRANDPARENTS. Yes you read that correct as in GREAT Grandparents. That is four generations of humans all before 60. I know many many people that are not even Grandparents by 60. Some not even parents. These two go getters. Congratulations to them.

Thought of the Day

So now cocaine is legal in Oregon, but straws aren’t.  That must be frustrating. Yep that is what our world is coming to.

October 5th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 8 degrees, Calgary 10 degrees”

You read that right. Fall is here in a big way.

Today I paid a whack of expensive bills. It is getting to be a little carried away.

“Mini Rant “

I will just give a couple of quick thoughts. People are greedy, dumb, lazy and feel entitled in todays world. The unions are destroying our standard of living and the young people and unionized professions do not get it. You ask for a 40% raise you don’t think that will raise the cost of your product. It increases inflation overall in a huge degree. It is getting dumb. I have nothing against anyone that belongs to a union and as I have said before I wish I had the luxury of a union pension but do not ever complain about the price of anything as you are part of the problem.

Unions, CEO pay and corporate greed have put us into a bad way.

Ford and GM should move the bulk of their production to other plants asap. Idle the US and Canada plants until the workers take a reasonable wage. Even after the settlement continue to use Mexico with it’s much lower costs as the go to manufacturing facilities. I am Pro USA and Canada but not with a 45% wage increase expectation.

Today at Home Depot I had an interesting conversation with a factory rep. I was picking up some bolts for my wind deflector on the Jeep as I had to cut off a bolt and I have to say, the Depot fastening section was dismal. In the bolt section 8ft wide I would say less than half of the bins had inventory. Horrible ! I had to twist the rep making up an order. I asked him if he was away on vacation for a month or two as the shelves are empty. WAIT here it comes. His response ” You can’t blame me for us not getting our containers on time with the strike that went on in BC” Made me laugh. A load of sales bullshit !

A couple of things on this. First if your warehousing inventory can not handle a small disruption in delivery you are not managing it very well. Second if you only have one supplier and they are a import company from another country shame on you. The strike ended mid July and three months later still no stock. Sorry don’t buy that.

I found alternate sizing etc not want I wanted but they will work and bolted it all up again.

I wasn’t happy with my insurance company’s stance on our motorhome not allowing us to put it into storage for 6 months but I lived with it until I now as it is time for storage insurance again.. I have been with Primmum insurance thru numerous agents for 30 plus years. Today I decided to take a stance myself. TD insurance is the latest carrier. No store front, just online or on the phone. 30 years plus and I have had made numerous calls to keep the pricing in line. Loyalty and a long term customer is immeasurable.

I took a visit to AMA and sat down with a wonderful young lady and went thru what I want, what I have and asked for a quote. Apple to Apple as the coverage was what I needed. It took us about 2 hours as I have never seen a company so thorough. It worried me a bit as she had showing on the computer the date I received my license, the date I lost my license and even ever insurance claim I have ever made. I am thinking there goes my deal. She forgave me for driving infractions due to being young and stupid. LOL

At the end of everything, get this, I SAVED $600 A YEAR ON THE MOTORHOME ALONE!

They did want a 5% surcharge for monthly billing so I paid it up front but WOW ! I was switching out of spite ( 30 plus years with my insurance ) and even if the difference was $200 but I am very happy and looking forward to seeing what kind of deal I can make on my other cars and house. Do not take a loyal customer for granted.

One of my old school mates and old neighbor recently died. Darrell sat at our table at our 45th high school reunion . Very nice guy, fun guy and died a way to young. It goes back to you never know when your time is up so live wisely.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/en-ca/obituaries/barrhead-ab/darrell-troock-11445839

A reminder to us all how short live is. Only the good die young.

Darrell lived two lots west of us on Osborne Acres. They were one of the first families to move into the new section. Wayne, Darrell’s brother was the young guy my Mom drove to the hospital when a dog bit his ear off. His Dad Oliver, whom we called Mr.Troock as he was a big man but a gentle giant, was also our boy scout leader at our den in Spruce Grove.

Thought of the Day

Someone said “30 years ago”, and my mind went “Ah yes! The 1970s”, but they meant 1993, and now I need to lie down.

October 6th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 20 degrees, Calgary 21 degrees”

A glorious fall day with the sun and warmth. It looks like a postcard outside.

A trip today to Costco for Thanksgiving stuff. Gas today was 1.25 which is awesome so I filled up. The filling method for cars works great with a long lineup taking no time at all. You always get that one OLD person or slow thinking person that struggles with the pump but they have made it so easy. Tap with your Costco card and fill should take no longer than a couple of minutes.

Old people were my nemesis today. At the pumpkin pie area this old lady starts talking to me and told me her whole life story. Alone now, going to her kids place for Thanksgiving, used to make the pies but a can of pumpkin now is more than a big pie from Costco so she just whipped in to get one. Time consuming to be polite, engage and listen but the worst is maneuvering down the aisle ways with old people walking at a slugs pace, stopping to read the ingredients on every package, confused where they are at and stopping their carts in the middle of the row. I now understand why they have senior days as they are hoping most will shop that day so the other customers are not affected. Nothing wrong with moving slow but stay out of the way of normal people. The scary part is most of them drove to the store.

Young women with kids fit into the same category.

The store was extra busy with it being a long weekend but the tellers put thru people very fast.

On my way out I stopped and had a hotdog, a huge dog, and a pop for $1.50 at the cafe. How can you beat that ?

Covid has changed me a bit. I now dislike it when there is no hand sanitizer stations. I had to eat my hot dog wrapped up in a napkin to feel clean. Darn !

Two times in a row on the Stony Trail where I have had to follow a cop ahead of me. If he would look in his rear view mirror he would see the line of cars all lined up behind him. I think cop cars should be allowed to travel at least 10 over the limit not to hold up the traffic like they do.

I love fall weather and the looks. Today people are out, wearing shorts, and are super friendly overall.

I played WORDLE and got in two which is very very good. I didn’t want Jackie to feel bad so I offered her a wonderful supper to console her. Baked potato (loaded), deluxe garden salad, a flour breaded chicken breast fried, and garlic bread. I forgot to put the bread in the BBQ Darn ! Wonderful supper then Jackie does WORDLE. Gets it in ONE !!! Unbelievable and I can’t get take my supper back. Two is super great. One is like a hole in one. Rare ! I have it only once but 17 times in two ! She is the big Weiner !

RANDOM THOUGHT Could there be a conspiracy to control the population by killing off the seniors of the world. Covid, dementia, but most recently vaccine after vaccine. The target is always seniors, there is a vaccine for everything and NO ONE really knows the side affects and long term affects or kill rate. RSV ( new vaccine) Covid ( new and untested) Shingles, annual flu vaccine, Pneumonia vaccine and on and on. What if just one side affect causes dementia, or heart issues. Just saying ! On the other side of it we vaccinated a billion people with the covid vaccine and the death total didn’t increase, yet !

Thought of the Day

I woke up this morning determined to drink less, eat right, and exercise.  But that was 12 hours ago when I was younger and full of hope.

October 7th-9th

Set a record for highest temperature ever in Calgary today hitting 25 degrees. It is a super summer day.

I have ever said I love being retired.

Today was Jackson’s first hockey game of the season. We arrived at the area a little early so I said to Jackie lets go to a Tim’s and get a drink. I checked for the nearest one and it was only 7 minutes away. On our way we passed it as it was a little hidden in the back. Jackie remembered where another one was which was only a few minutes again. Got our drinks and headed to the arena.

This arena is beside a large building in Bonaventure that years ago we supplied the Canexel siding for. I do not know if it was an install issue ( i believe it was as the siding always looked wavy) but it did have defective paint on it. Canexel siding is a beautiful product that looks like real wood. Unfortunately they painted it with a solid color paint and now the building looks like the shits. Take a great product, get unlucky with a defect and totally wreck it with a cover up job.

The ice rink behind is nice but very limited seating.

Jackson played, I thought quite well. His team outplayed the other team the entire game but unfortunately they lost. The other team just capitalized on the opportunities that they were given. I fun game to watch. It is the beginning of the season so as conditioning improves it will be even better. Fun day

Up and out of the house to drop off the dog and heading to Edmonton for Thanksgiving. Darlene. my sister in Edmonton is an amazing cook and one of the best meal makers ever. Awesome baker too.

As always the meal was spectacular and she makes it a full meal. This year was turkey, glazed ham, mashed potatoes, my Grandmas recipe for stuffing, corn, peas with carrots, perogies, green bean salad, buns, gravy, pickles, along with pumpkin pie. This is the first time I remember with no deviled eggs. Darn !

Due to work scheduling issues we had less people this year but still a sizable meal required. Alfred, Mary, Graham, Miranda, Destiny, Gage, Jessie, Darlene, Jim, Kayla, Christian, Gabriel, Kari, Garrett, Mom, Jackie and I all enjoyed another gathering and meal.

Here is my Mom at 91 years old with her youngest great grandson Gabriel at 3 months old.

In the afternoon Jackie & I whipped to Mom’s place and pulled out the plywood and carried it downstairs and cut it all up to take away. I reset her motion sensor night lights hopefully correct as it is hard to judge in the day.

Light traffic on the highway was nice. I filled up at Shell in Leduc at a pump price of $1.34 and after using my AMA card only got billed $1.31. That is sweet.

We got home just before midnight which was good after picking up Daisy ,who we were told was wonderful.

This morning we were having a group together for a brunch. Today at the condo we had Jessica, Atticus, August, Penny, Corey, Jackson, Sheldon, Kristin, Silos, Audrey along with Jackie & I. Again work schedules and commitments kept the amount of people down. I loved the meal with sausage patties, Hashbrowns, Ham and egg rollups, and Spinach frittatas. A fun gathering. Between the lights being on, the people, the oven on, and the heat outside the a/c couldn’t keep up and it was warm in the place.

Kudo’s to Corey as he was the best smelling person in our house. Some fancy French guy cologne.

We all walked to the 7/11 to have Slurpee’s and then to the park to play.

When the kids were leaving, AGAIN I got Atti good. I yelled as the elevator door opened and he was shocked, hands in the air and a loud scream. I never get tired of that. It still makes me smile when Jackson got me good though. It is a great feeling to be scared. I actually laughed thinking about the look on Atti’s face when I was going to bed.

The end to another Thanksgiving with awesome food and family.

New laptop and Google photos isn’t syncing correctly so more to load after i get it figured out.

Here is Audrey with 3 children, 5 grand daughters and 4 great grandsons. Funny how that works out.

So here is what I find real funny. Mom at 91 yrs old becoming a new Great Grandparent, Audrey at 85 becoming a new Great Grandparent and Jeff & Wendy with Wendy not even 60 yet becoming a Great Grandparent. LOL

Timing is everything.

Thought of the Day

Someone said, “Nothing rhymes with orange.”  I said, “No, it doesn’t.

October 10th -11th

” Mercury Forecast winter is coming. Rain and high of 10 degrees on the 11th”

I whipped out to the lot to finish off everything. I worked out there all day and am done or so I thought until Jackie asks me one question and I had forgotten to do it. I put Bounce sheets all over to have the extra protection for mice so one more trip. EVERYTHING else is done. You don’t realize how much work closing up for the winter is. That is two full days of work.

Here is why women get held back, glass ceilings exist and they do not get promoted as fast as men.

There were 29 comments between individuals. Suggestions of fines etc. Yes it caused an inconvenience, yes everyone didn’t follow directions, and yes people had to do a LITTLE extra work. Suck it up, quit treating people like children, try to manage communications better for next time but get off the anger and lashing out trip.

I had mine done not due to being instructed to but by using common sense with the timing.

This is so similar to board members that drive me nuts as they are typically short older men with short mans syndrome that want to feel what it is like to have power.( Hence why RCMP had a height min requirement) and old bitchy women.

Look at the world, the mess we are in and understand this type behavior is unacceptable and causes wars. Perhaps we all need to look what is happening. Our society is trying to be nicer, eliminate discipline , be kinder, be more open to things and yet we are worse off than 10 years ago by far with humans KILLING humans in all parts of the world. It is just sad how little caring for a human live certain parts of the world have. Oh to add to this mess, 1100 drugs deaths in Alberta so far this year. With a strong deterrent these drugs dealers would be out of business but we are too kind.

We are so lucky to be born in Canada. We can watch the news and then go back to our nice life. Not fair but so fortunate.

Today also was Jeff Grace’s birthday. We have known Jeff since 1992 when kids played soccer together. I stood up at Jeff’s wedding and he was Victoria’s MC at her wedding. We have golfed 100’s of times together and have had a blast doing different things. This is one of those not so important birthdays other to than to say” Lived another year” so a low key celebration. Having said that we are going out for dinner and later playing Queens where Jeff & I will kill the girls.

Here are a few random pictures of some of fun times.

Fun times ! Now being retired even more times.

We were supposed to be golfing today but the rain started and it didn’t stop plus it is cold out. Hopefully not the last game of the year in Canada.

Thought of the Day

We will celebrate tonight with a couple of adult beverages …… Metamucil and Ensure.

October 12th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 17 degrees, Calgary 12 degrees rain”

A wonderful fall day with it being overcast and wet, yet beautiful to visualize. The colors on the trees are amazing.

First thing is to talk about is the NHL season openers. What a night and who would have thought such a wonderful outcome. Some would say perfect. There is so much hype behind the Oilers as they have the makings of a great team if they could fill a few spots and get their stars heads out of the clouds. Let me say they are my second favorite team but every time listening to the announcers or Connor/ Leon talk it tends to make me want to vomit. HUGE expectations with the changes they made yet no goalie or defense moves, that will make any difference over last year.

They were PLUMMELED LAST NIGHT and could do nothing right. Talk about taking away your goalie confidence the first game. Talk about a slap on the face to the over confident stars. It was disaster of a game . Having said that the next game I am sure will be a different scenario as they realize the media propaganda about them being good and letting it go to their heads doesn’t score goals and they actually have to work hard.

Now down in Calgary a total different story. A hard working team that knows what they have to do to win. They may surprise a few people with the success this year but all things have to be firing and a little luck if we want the cup. The first game of the season is the season tone setter and the Flames are off to a good start. After 10 games is when we will see how all of the teams look like. But GO FLAMES GO

Jeff and Wendy game over and we had a great night. Always fun to laugh and drink with some friends. And play games.

Tonight was QUEENS night which is game the Graces taught us. I really like the game as it is played in teams and I will say right here Jeff & I are the KINGS OF QUEENS. We were the Flames of the game and the girls the Oilers as they were pummeled.

I love this game but it is a Saskatchewan game and has a lot of ” homemade rules ” that are not always logically. I don’t mind rules, but they need to be logical and make common sense. I wrote about some of them before but another odd scenario occurred. You are allowed to use your wild cards to add to your piles. ie we use two decks so there are 8 Jacks. You can use a wild card to increase this and get the 10 points from doing so.

There are only two Queen of Spades worth 100 points so my plan is to use my wild cards to add to this counting as 100 points each not as a Queen for 10 points. I know where this will go but it matches the precedent set by allowing to add to the Jacks. It will get throw back but it fits the common sense thinking. I am known to “bend” the rules to my benefit, that is life. LOL

Example –

When we had Blimpies we would hang a banner stating our special on subs every Monday night for Tuesdays Twoonie sale on the front porch. The KFC store complained and the city bylaw officer issued us a warning stating the bylaw and offence /fine. I researched the bylaws and sure enough for aesthetics and consistency the city did not allow a business to hang banners. BUT a few paragraphs later they allow a company flag that is tethered/ anchored by two points only. A quick photograph of my new company flag anchored in two points attached to an email and sent to the city resulted us using our banner/flag for as long as we had the business. Common sense.

I have used common sense thinking in fighting 100’s of speeding tickets with very good success. It is sort of like “common law” versus labour law.

We had a blast playing, especially Jeff & I .

I made up a charcuterie plate with some amazing cheeses and meats. I loved the Genoa salami with the peppercorns in it.

Wendy brought the left over homemade birthday cake for Jeff which was awesome. Moist fluffy and maple icing so how can you not like it.

So a fun night, Daisy loved seeing the Graces here, a fun games night, the men winning, and the correct results in hockey. Life is good.

I wont go into details about the war overseas but it is just sad. Maybe later. LOL

I made up a sign and posted it on the board downstairs for the rental of my underground parking space. I rent it each year for $100 a month when we are away. No more than two hours later another sign goes up for a space at $75 from Monica. Made me smile !

Dear Monica, you saw my sign and thought you will undercut the pricing. LOL After many many years of selling I have learned the value in something and it is not just price. A salesman that has to sell on price alone is not a great salesperson. So many other things have to come into the equation like, quality, delivery, personality, likeability, options, warranty, country of origin etc. Unfortunately I can’t meet the potential customer in this case so I need to rely on my hope of high demand. I won’t lower my pricing for a couple of reasons. Value, demand and pride. She shouldn’t have done that. She could have matched my pricing. To resort to undercutting makes me laugh.

What I am going to do is a handwritten add-on to my sign stating ” Comes with 5 months FREE gym membership ” Our building has a gym in it. LOL

I see masks are coming back with the uptick in Covid and RSV. I like the approach of leaving it up to the individual or company rather than being forced.

Thought of the Day

After watching how some people wore their masks, I understand why contraception fails.

October 13th-14th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 12 degrees Calgary 9 degrees”

Overcast and rain showers but COLD. Only a few more days before we head south to the warmth. Yes !

Friday the 13th is an interesting day.

FACT- most people have no idea where Friday the 13th came from and most think of Freddie and the movie or scary events or it being a unlucky day. Friday the 13th’s true real meaning is actually from the Bible. Based on the Last Supper of Jesus there were 13 people seated at the table and he was crucified on the cross on Friday. So 13 is associated with this terrible event. Many buildings do not have a 13th floor. No wants that number. Other than 666 the number 13th is most unused number. Then Hollywood took it upon themselves and made the movie creating it to mean scary which lives on today.

We jumped on the scary wagon and headed to Raymond with Jackson to visit twith Jessica, Penny and the boys at then head to Creepy Hollows. This place is beyond awesome. I would say at least 2 acres of scary things. Haunted mansion, haunted hall, forest pathways, huge graveyard, zombies in cars, stores, shacks, hot dogs, campfire, live band etc. It is a first class scare feast.

Atticus did not want to go in at first. After some convincing by Penny he finally came in and had a blast. It is all in good fun not real scary or gory. Great actors and amazing props. Best ever. I was very impressed with it. It is only 2 hours from Calgary but more than worth the drive and admission.

We were lucky enough to have Penny make us Chili before leaving which was very good. It is one of those go to foods where everyone has their own recipe. Penny does it right with adding corn.

Jackson had a hockey game next morning at 11am so we were a little worried we would tire him out as we didn’t get home until after midnight.

His team played excellent and Jackson played wonderfully. He made numerous super passes and got one assist on a direct pass to a team mate. He scored a remarkable goal with a move to deke out the goalie right from EA Sports

Darn, Lexi missed the cut off but she sure played well. Getting into the 60’s from the men’s tee is an incredible feat. I just wished she would have played on the weekend. So close to making it.

Google Photos sync with gallery and camera is still not working. I have attempted so many different things. I will keep trying to figure this out. I think it is the New Win 11 program.

Thought of the Day

For those of you that don’t want Alexa or Siri listening in on your conversation, they are making a male version….it doesn’t listen to anything.

October 15/16th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 16/12 degrees, Calgary 18/13 degrees”

4 MORE DAYS UNTIL WARM WEATHER IN MESA

It is that mixed bag of weather as fall and winter try merging.

Today was my last day in 2023 golfing with my Turner Valley group. As our home course is closed we whipped down to Claresholm. Great 2 for 1 deal that Larry P had. This course is set up for me to excel on. But it didn’t happen. I drove amazingly. 280 to 300 yards each time and having to use a wedge in. Short wedges were I skulled a few and missed a few put the putting was the issue. It is what killed all of our group making the scores higher than wanted. The greens were killer fast. The greens not only being the fastest I have played this year but the movement on them was unbelievable. We were all three putting often. It is shame to play so well and still not get rewarded with a good score card. I did lose a ball where my partners did not watch and a wedge into the sun disappeared. I lifted my head and sun killed me and the rest of the group could not follow it. We looked all around but to no avail. Penalties hurt. I was disappointed in the scoring but putting is critical.

It was a nice and warm fun day. It was the last day the course was open and the kitchen did an awesome job of managing the food. No burgers, no fries, no wraps left to sell. We had a quick beer ( limited kinds) and headed to Casa Roma. Super busy night with the rodeo just ending and it was full of cowboys. It took a long timing coming but it was excellent food. A great ending to a fun golf season with this group. Next year I am looking forward to winning more money as my partners become more aged. LOL

I whipped to Shoppers to order my pills that I have to fight to get from my doctor due to the stupid pay schedule and insurance companies strange thinking. I will pick them up and need to have another doctor visit to get another prescription with refill so she can make money and I am covered.

Out at the lot today I finished off everything and we are all set for the winter to hit next week. No one out at the lot today and everyone’s place looks closed up.

Packed up the balcony chairs, rugs and planters at the condo when I returned so getting closer. I think I will start filling my suitcase so not to forget anything.

The 15th is also Keith & Jennifer Harry’s 35th wedding anniversary. Some may wonder why 35 years when they have three kids older than that. I am thinking they started to feel awkward having so many kids out of wedlock and Jenny finding out she was prego again felt the need to get married before Carmen was born. I guess one way of looking at it is Carmen is the only non-bastard child of the family. LOL I remember the wedding like yesterday. Jenny’s Dad’s big Lincoln car, Jason losing the wedding ring in the backseat, he made really cute ring bearer and they had most likely the best looking BESTMAN ever to attend a wedding. Saxony Hotel in Edmonton was great venue.

Pictures of 35 years ago are hard to come by LOL . Happy Anniversary Mr & Mrs Harry.

Here is one picture I am sending to my friend’s as a reminder after a Oilers disastrous opening 2023/2024 season start, that they need more guys like this guy to work hard.

Letting our food run down and limited amount left I decided to stop and pick up food for supper tonight. I decided on Chinese Food. Am I allowed to say that today ? Peking Express was excellent. Everyone knows that you can only have Chinese once or twice a year. Our last time was December 24th in Mesa.

Wordle in 3 Jackie in 4 tonight. Love this game.

Thought of the Day

Apparently exercise helps you with decision making.  It’s true.  I went for a run this afternoon and decided I’m never going again

0ctober 17th-18th

“Mercury Forecast next few days 18 to 20 and then next week highs of -2 degrees “

I think I have Google photos working now. It will take a few test from each phone and laptop to ensure. Why ever time a new system comes into play they have to screw things up. I could have went with a WIN10 system like I had but chose the new one WIN11 which has so far not being that nice to me.

Can’t get Jackie’s phone yet to sync.

I have finished packing, moved everything currently needed to the Flex and will move the clubs etc when we are done golfing on Thursday.

I went to the store for a milk that Jackie needed and to the liquor store for a case of Canadian beer that our neighbor wanted in Mesa. I chose Kokanee as I am sure Molsons and Labatts most likely sell into the states. I hope he likes it.

I won’t bring up the line up at the till today and who was holding up the line at Sobey’s. I wonder if they ever think to themselves ” I am slow”

The Flames played well enough to win but lost in the shoot out. At least one point. I would like the Oilers to lose a few more before they start to play the way they are capable of and will play sometime.

One last game of golf in Canada for 2023. I am predicting a score of 77 for me and 98 for Jackie as the course is a little long. Here is hoping. !

The Stamps have to win the next game if they want in playoffs so a great idea to make it Fan Appreciation Night to get a big crowd.

Most people in business understand certain terminology. One term today that comes to mind is Revenue Per Person. This is an important number as the customer is already in your place of business and you want to maximize the sale. McDonalds excels at this with ” Would you like a fry with that or is that a combo” It is the easiest business strategy to change that effects the bottom line huge. Today I had to buy 15 beer versus the 12 I wanted. A simple technique to increase the per person revenue and bottom line.

I lost a good friend today. Gary White was only 83 years old. I knew this man from 1976 when he was working for Western Canada Hardware and I was with Sterling Dist. I lost contact for years after both of our companies closed and in different cities. In 1991 when I transferred to Calgary I met him again. He managed a large Hometown Lumber and two of the largest Beaver Lumber outlets in Calgary then moved over to manage Regal Building Materials. Brilliant mind, kind, compassionate and loved by staff ,customers and vendors. He was just one of those good guys. One of my old sales reps, Mike Lopachuk used to call him GOD. I golfed with him numerous times, made many many business deals with him and always enjoyed him. He even stayed at our house in Mesa a few years ago. He was one of those guys I didn’t have to see everyday but when we did it was like no time had passed. I will miss him ! I had a few guys in the building industry I respected and looked up to and Gary was one of them.

I think we are done except those last minutes things that pop up to leave.

Wordle in two today for me just waiting on Jackie’s results. That’s a couple of two’s in the last week. Yahoo !

Jackie and I today made a couple of pumpkin pies using up some supplies. I made an error but they still look wonderful. You were supposed to cook at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I forgot to change the temperature. Oops.

Lots of correspondence on Gary White passing away. He was a well liked man. I will miss him.

I did a rethink and booked our hotel rooms. I have to say the hotel industry needs a audit done on their business practices. You think you have the hotel but it is a third party site so at least at home it is much easier to discern the difference and even then I won’t say easy. So we are booked into Idaho Falls which is about 11 hours away and then Washington which is about 7 hours away depending on Salt Lake traffic. That will leave about a 7 hour third day trip. Semi decent hotel rates considering what is happening. The dog always cost us a bit more as in $25 more for a room each night. Lots of taxes on hotel rooms. LOL But the rooms were reasonable. I would like to leave early the first day as border and passes can be an issue.

The weather is changing fast for Calgary to winter so our timing is good. I did notice the so called experts are now saying a mild winter for Western Canada. It makes it much easier to take but it doesn’t matter if it is -40 outside or plus 2 you still are limited as to what you can do. We are so lucky to be able to go to Mesa and will for as long as the money and health allow us to. It is such a precarious situation as you don’t want to outlive your money but you don’t want to miss out on opportunities while you can as age comes quickly upon people. I think 75 yrs old is the age to do a recheck on your situation and make any needed changes. At that age your ability to do some things is a lot different.

I have to start thinking about May Long 2024 weekend as getting reservations is always very difficult. I am leaning towards going back to the same spot as this year as it worked out so well. Never have we been in the same spot back to back but for ease, the likeability and central location it presents itself well.

The world is a crazy place. Russia and China talking. N Korea providing weapons to Russia, Israel bombing a hospital and blaming the Hamas ( others say Hamas error) regional players getting involved which isn’t good, never mind Poland and Venezuela plus the protests all over the world. Weird times ! Scary times !

I love the hype behind Trudeau protecting the CPP. He lost his case on Bill 69 to Danielle Smith which is very good for Canada. The other provinces should be paying for the bill as it helps everyone. The CPP tactic by the govt is only due to the fact they are afraid of us winning again. Yes the rest of Canada will be hurt by our actions but where have they been to help us. Quebec and BC are roque states that hate Alberta and do nothing to help us by fighting pipelines, taxes, programs etc. Sometimes one self has to be more important than someone else.

Off to visit Alan & MaryAnn this evening to hear about their trip. Daisy will love to see Tia again. LOL

We took the small portion of the new Stony Trail today. When this is done it will be excellent . This short cut still saved us a few minutes.

A fun gathering with Alan, Maryann, Danielle, Justin, Audrey and us. It was fun talking about different things. I did miss the information on their recent trip though which I was looking forward to hearing. Next time maybe.

Alan & MaryAnn’s place is looking wonderful. They make more changes constantly than anyone I know. I am going to say they have painted the entire inside at least 10 times. This time the new windows, power blinds and furniture look amazing. It really modernizes the place and makes it look magazine worthy. I do wish he would have asked me about windows before buying though. The installation job looks wonderful but i don’t know the methodology used behind the casings.

People look at a window and very few understand the critical impact they have on the visual impact of the home but most importantly the performance properties. Sound dampening, cold transfer, R value, longevity, heat transfer should all be considered. A window is basically a HOLE IN A WALL. A lot of people use the dollars paid as a guide to purchase. Just a few quick things to think about if you are buying windows. It is an investment with a great return. Which way the window faces. How close to traffic are you. How large is the opening. Do you want to replace a window with less cost as the home will be sold or do you want to invest in a product that provides a better lifestyle. Consideration has to be given to R Value, Tripane versus Dual, Low E, aesthetics, air chambers, warm edge, Argon, and spacer bars. Each category has a less expensive option. Super spacer bar versus aluminum bar with the alum allowing for cold transfer, space between panes as the narrower the space the more cold transfer, warranty- none , 25 yrs or lifetime and is it transferrable, thermal block built into the structure etc. In my mind as it is a OPENING in the wall and the best window, results in better living , lower energy bills and a much quieter home that is the way to go.. Window technology is amazing and a fun part of the window business. There is self cleaning glass, auto obscure glass and so many more neat features. I am 10 years out of it now and I forget a few of the functions and terms but it is still a fun business.

Alan did an amazing reno on the bathroom downstairs. I would state first class. The tiling and the glass doors are incredible. Good job is under stating the workmanship. He even started to do a smaller section of Poly B piping replacement with the bathroom reno. As everyone knows that is a nightmare with multiple drywall holes required and lots of work crimping Pex pipe. It is at least a 10K job for a contractor to do a whole house.

I love the “new ” look again in their home.

I also had fun talking to Justin about his truck. He likes back roading and has a nice Tacoma with a lift kit and a few add-ons. I like someone that loves his vehicle. That is one thing I hate about being retired. The lack of funds to go out and buy the vehicle you really want.

A wrong exit on a unfamiliar road on the way home caused me to take a bit of grief from my passengers. One mistake !!

Thought of the Day

Now that Covid has everyone washing their hands correctly…next week…Turn Signals.

October 19th-20th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 18/14 degrees, Calgary 20/10 degrees, Mesa 38 degrees“

The last day and half of fall weather then winter hits both Edmonton and Calgary and Mesa carries on being just wonderful.

We finished off the year just right, golfing with Jeff & Wendy. We golfed at Speargrass which is a course I love ( Two Hole in Ones on this course). It started off beautifully warm and calm and by the 10th hole we were experiencing 40 to 50 kms winds. That makes it tough to golf and not a lot of fun. I mean WINDY. Take the wind out of the equation though I still 3 putted 7 of the first 9 holes. Putting for a bird and ending up with a bogie. I have to figure that out. I am sure it is my glasses but I like wearing them for the long shots. Most of my playing partners other than Jackie can’t see the ball and in a lot of the cases you need another set of eyes on it. It sort of is a unwritten rule in golf to watch your playing partners ball. Even the pro’s have numerous ball spotters.

It was very windy and standing over the ball was a challenge in itself.

When you need someone to hold you down from flying away you know it is windy.

We quit with about 5 holes left and decided to go eat. Wendy made a reservation at ll Bricco one our favorite Italian restaurants. We love the ambience as it looks like you are in Italy with a fireplace and wonderful opera style music being played. But most importantly the food. The chef, Andre was trained in Italy and Spain and is amazing. Everyone’s food was spectacular and the pricing is reasonable. The ONLY thing that could make an experience here better is if the chef had a little bit more of a outgoing personality. He is intense. Pretty neat though that chef cooks and serves you.

We love the place and if anyone wants to have a wonderful evening the trip is worth more than you would ever think. Langdon is only about 20 minutes out of Calgary.

Today is all about packing, cleaning and being ready for tomorrow’s exit of Canada.

Thought of the Day

My warning to my friend’s that stay in Canada for the winter. “Never catch a snowflake with your tongue until all of the birds have flown south”.

October 21st

There may be limited postings until we arrive. I am excited again to be able to enjoy our home away from home in Mesa AZ. Still averaging around 35 degrees so just about right. The El Nino that has moved in hopefully won’t effect us this year. We had a cooler season than normal last year and it could happen again. Hope not. Having said that I will take 14 degrees with a heater sitting outside a lot more than stuck inside with -35 degrees.

We will see how many of our golf group arrive in October.

I have a few to do things on my list this year:

• Fix up and modernize our golf cart
• Look at a new couch and dining table
• Repair and modify my outdoor kitchen roof.
• Install LED lighting around the patio for playing cards.
• Relax, golf, play games, socialize, and enjoy

I will make some notes and add to it later as on the phone it is not easy to work with.

Ok we made it. First of all let me say talk about getting lucky with the weather. We are sitting here with a week of 30 plus temperatures coming up and Calgary is in a snowfall warning. And some wonder why we love it here so much.

You can see how the temperatures kept creeping up. Landing in Mesa at 32 degrees.

We left our house at 7am on the nose and landed in Idaho Falls at just before 5pm. We had to stop at Tim’s to get our last fix before leaving. We were very lucky with the border as it was only about 15 to 20 mins waiting time. The guard we had was a great guy with a personality so perhaps well trained.

We experienced zero construction issues which is one benefit of travelling on a weekend. Today I set the cruise control at 142 kms or 89 mph. On the odd corner as we were packed and stuff could move and Jackie was beside me I had to drop it a bit as the corner was a little tight.

Daisy as usual was excellent yet just a bit anxious for awhile. We made excellent time considering the more than normal amount of pee breaks and gas stops. Some breaks I welcomed this time.

Best Western Driftwood is a nice hotel that is older but renovated. We have stayed here numerous times. Beautiful flowers, close to places to eat and right on the river and pathway. We walked the path and whipped into a Craft beer pub and ordered us supper to sit at a table beside the river. The young waiter when I asked for a take out beer laughed and said he would do it but I would get a ticket. No beer ! LOL The flowers around the hotel were wonderful.

While ordering I noticed Jackie talking to this lady and her pup outside. 15 min wait for the food and when I walked out and crossed the street to the river path to sit down at a table the lady followed. Now Jackie when she starts to talk to someone can go on. Perhaps better worded, does go on. I completely finished my meal and Jackie is still talking. Here is a lady that can see we are trying to eat, I am eating and Jackie has her food open and ready but is too polite to try to stop the conversation. It turns out this lady is a yoga instructor that just opened a new shop and is trying to get new customers and is just a little too over zealous.

We could see snow on Idaho mountains already. I was pushing the speed limit all of the way and we only saw one cop car. This section of the Interstate is pretty quiet. It is like Hwy 2 with Calgary to Edmonton very busy and Coutts to Calgary dead.

A wonderful free buffet breakfast this morning. These are always great and a nice perk. Jackie took a early morning Daisy walk by the river and we hit the road at 9am. Again we made excellent time with no delays arriving at 4:30 pm. The roads today were a lot more busy. We did see one bad accident which for us was good as every cop car was there and not on the highway bugging me. I pumped up the speed a little today setting it at 145 kph. No construction delays and just the gas and pee breaks.

For lunch we stopped for gas and something to eat. Travelling with a person that has food issues make it’s more difficult. We decided to stop at McDonalds. No salads and nothing that worked for Jackie so we had to head on further down the road. I don’t believe there is anywhere I couldn’t find something on the menu I liked. LOL ( a total fish food spot would be difficult)

We ended up stopping at the Sourdough Bakery rest stop where we stopped with with the kids 8 years ago that we loved. Great salads and I loved my sandwich! Gas was $3.89 which is higher than Montana.

We arrived at our hotel Holiday Inn in Washington. It was 29 degrees out and beautiful. We went for a long walk with the dog. Just a beautiful night. There is no eatery near the hotel so we decided to pick up food and bring it back to the room. Google and we picked a place near called the Black Bear Restaurant. I went in and noticed they had a outside patio. I asked if it was dog friendly patio and turns out it was but they had no server for it. She then offers us that we could bring our dog in if she stayed right with us. Amazing. We were allowed a dog in the pub. We put Daisy in her carry bag and she sat right beside us at our table. Love it !

And awesome food !! I had the hot turkey special and it was incredible. Jackie went a way out there and had “breakfast”

Wordle for Jackie in 4 and 6 for myself. One of those words that just didn’t happen. The 12v Cooler we use in the car works wonderful as we had water and pop plus snacks in it. I was watching the news and McDavid is out! They are saying two weeks which means missing the outdoor Classic and most likely a lot of losses. The Oilers are in turmoil which is surprising a lot of people. Unfortunately the Flames lost big also.

A wonderful hotel with great comfort. BUT it was not a good night for sleeping. We decided to go to bed a little earlier than normal which didn’t result in sleep. Our room was a adjoining room. There was NO sound dampening properties at ALL. NONE ! Besides the disrespectful youth banging the doors and yelling in the hallway the TV sounded like it was in our room not theirs. It is a HUGE mistake in design on the hotels part as you can’t blame someone for watching TV. Needless to say I didn’t sleep well. Jackie had ear plugs so was a little better off. Funny thing is I turned the AC low so the fan would run more often to cover the noise which sounded like jet plane taking off and then a hit in the ribs from Jackie as she says I was snoring. I don’t understand that as getting up in the morning I was very tired and knew i didn’t sleep well. Perhaps just a second of deep sleep and then a hit again.

I didn’t want to complain or contact the front desk as it is more of a design fault than a customer fault.

Great breakfast and today they had cheese omelets which is what Jackie had for supper. LOL I do love the sausages they have.

No rush today as it was only a 7 hour drive. Again we were very lucky as we had no tie ups in Vegas or on any highway. Again today pushing the speed limit. I had to slow a bit on Hwy 93 as the cops were out in full force.

We stopped at Safeway in Kingman for gas and lunch. I went in to use the washroom but it was busy so thought I will just wait until the next stop.

That was a mistake. By the time we got to the next stop I was in pain. I think that is the first time ever. Again a lot of construction at Wickenburg and a bit of delay but nothing to long. The #10 in Phoenix was packed. Man, that is one busy highway.

Some look at water and sand and call it beautiful. I can look at this and say it is beautiful.

We arrived around 4 pm which was nice to get things done. We started to get organized and put some stuff away. As it was getting a little long in the day I whipped to Bashaws and just picked up supper and a couple of things. Roast chicken is always good and enough stuff for breakfast

Jackie was up and out the door with Daisy by 7am. Daisy’s first day of the dog park and walk around the park.

First thing was a quick trip to drop Fred at his car where he had to have a issue fixed. The 202 was relatively empty so the trip was quick. What was thought as a tranny issue turned out to be a adjuster tension pulley on the serpentine belt. With the tow and a fix it still was a $850 bill.

The first day was busy. I started on the patio. Taking off the covers and organizing. Our bug spray was late and was done while I was driving Fred. That means no pressure washing for a couple of days so as not to wash the spray away. Having said that I am washing the patio as it is concrete and needed done first to make everything work well as soon as possible.

I washed all of the tarps, table, chairs and outdoor kitchen. I pressure washed the rugs and everything that was around or in the patio. I then started to place everything. I got the entire patio completely done. I will leave the back patio for a day or two for the bug spray to set in.

We had zero crickets or scorpions in the house this year. But it appears they are around everywhere. We had two neighbors have live scorpions in their homes. One was bit and the other scared out of the room. The scorpions for years stayed near the gate but have started to move up into the park. Covid gave them a huge boast as people didn’t spray for crickets which is what scorpions love to eat.

I fixed my side fence that had a bit of wind damage and reinstalled my lattice in the back patio that was blown out of it’s trim work by the wind. I will leave my outdoor kitchen roof for another day as I have to remove it all and redo.

I trimmed the Palm tree and squared up the bush in front. I have a tree guy coming on the 29th. I prepay and it was supposed to be done in August. But the orange tree was calling so I trimmed it all up also. Only the huge lemon tree left.

The world is an angry place right now as are the desert plants. I usually see 1 inch or a bit longer thorns but this year 3 inches plus. They are just mean. This is from my orange tree which is usually less mean than the lemon.

We went over to Fred & Terry’s place for a gathering and supper. Terry made us a wonderful Mexican fajita night. I assembled a great Fajita. It was an excellent visit and fun night sitting outside at 8 am and it being over 20 degrees. Wonderful. Daisy was so happy to see them again. She even remembered her pee spot to go to.

Fred suggested a car wash and I took the Flex there. These guys did an amazing job. I have never seen so many bugs on the car coming down here, ever. Nice to have that done. I stopped at Auto Zone for inside cleaning rags and tire shine. The car is looking good except I still need to get the windows tinted. It will just complete the look.

I started to “fix” up the golf cart. I removed the ” old person” enclosure, and I removed the extra dash board. This alone made a huge difference. I will order the rear seat and extras as soon as I get time to research them out.

Loads of talks with neighbors which is always fun but a little time consuming.

Tonight after grocery shopping Jackie and I put all of our clothes away. Hanging them up in the closet and drawers. This did result in an additional to do list item as she wants and additional shelf added in the closet. The outdoor kitchen roof then this.

I think by the end of tomorrow I will have everything done hopefully except for the kitchen. I may start to take it apart.

I can’t get the pictures from Jackie’s phone to sync yet Darn ! It is some setting on her phone that is the issue. It is being used so much it is hard to get time with it to fix it.

Have I said I love Mesa !

Thought of the Day

We all have been giving a present labeled, ‘From Mom and Dad’, and I know darn well Dad has no idea what’s inside.

October 26th

“ Mercury Forecast Edmonton -4 degrees, Calgary -2 degrees Mesa 29 degrees”

Another full day. The water was off yesterday for repair so I turned the hot water heater off. This am I started to shower and needless to say it was a little cool. After showering I ran outside and turned the heater back on. Cool start.

More ugly news with a mass shooting in Maine. It is amazing to me how many whackos we have in this world. Here is a guy, trained in guns, in a mental hospital this summer, hears voices in his head and we allow him to keep his gun. I don’t have an answer but we do need to consider incarceration for a period for a full diagnostics of what is wrong and can it be fixed. Too many mental guys causing too much pain to society.

GOOD NEWS today though as Trudeau sucking up and is removing the carbon tax this winter for home heating. Also they announced a 4% increase to CPP for 2024. Perhaps we all should strike and ask for 40%. lol Remove seniors out of the economy and it will get hurt. The makers of Gleichen alone could go broke.

I power washed the back deck, installed our desert decor, washed the cushions, and installed our back patio furniture. I am disappointed in this set as we paid close to $1200 bucks for it and the resin lattice has broken pieces already. It is in the sun only for 5 months a year.

I washed the side of the house, completed repairs to my side fence, trimmed Randy’s tree that was encroaching on our side where I want to park the golf cart. I have two full garbage cans of trimming from the bush, orange tree and hackberry tree. I will strap them to the back of the cart and take to the dump in the morning.

I then removed the entire roof structure of the outdoor kitchen as it was damaged, bend it in half and will haul it away also.

The parking spot for the cart is working out good. I just need two sidewalk blocks and then I am set.

Drove Daisy and picked her up from her hair appointment. She looks wonderful.

I have to rebuild my roof along with washing the windows and then I am done.

I will manually transfer some pics I want to use on my blog tonight from Jackie’s phone. DONE finally.

Wordle in 6 for me. A stupid word that I am unfamiliar with. I had to try different combos in the hopes that something would work. Makes it scary as I do not want the fail.

A question for my Oiler friends. Is it too early to be thinking about 2024 NHL draft lottery? Just wondering!

A nice long walk tonight. I love the 70 plus temps to go for a walk.

There are so many new homes moved into the Phase 1 area which is our area. Odd though as they are for sale as usually the park puts them in the rental pool for a couple of years first. Nice to see the old units gone and new ones all fixed up.

Thought of the Day

Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are

October 27th

“Mercury Forecast Calgary -11s” degrees, Edmonton -5 degrees, Mesa 30 degree”

A wonderful day again. Jackie was up very early this morning and i followed. A quick breakfast and then started loading up the golf cart for a few dump trips. I loaded up the garbage can using a rachet strap and headed up to the dump. On the way I run into Fred and he whips and picks up the other can full of trimmings. We lined up at the gate as it opens on the nose at 9 am. An old lady comes around with a cart full of bushes and attempts to push in from the us. I loved Fred’s response when he says you need to get to the back of the line. She was not happy. LOL We whipped back and loaded the cart up with all of the metal from my outdoor kitchen. A lot of bent aluminum.

The balance of the day I worked outside organizing, blowing the gravel with leaves, fixing up the shed etc. I can say I am all done except for the new roof over the kitchen,

I took a spin to Mobile Depot to check my options. And things are EXPENSIVE. So I will rebuild stronger but not with some of the more expensive products. A small patio cover the size i needed was $ 850 so my idea will be just fine. I am hoping a few hundred.

I did up a estimate and qty sheet to get the product I need.

I ordered the new rear seat for the golf cart and will install it when it arrives.

Paid bills which always seem higher now and more often.

I went to the post office and and main office and picked up my welcome package.

Wordle in TWO for me and four for Jackie.

It was a wonderful evening sitting outside and having a BBQ supper. Spiced pork chops, potatoes and peas along with a wonderful garden salad. Jackie picked up this new Italian dressing and it was amazing.

And here she is acting old. Sleep is meant for a bed. LOL

Not fully asleep as the mouth is not fully open.

Here she is taking a break late afternoon sitting behind the sun shades. 80 degrees and it feels 10 degrees cooler behind them. I love this spot.

Another wonderful day in the books. A walk in the dark, up and down the park, using our legs, until our heart begs, please stop the pace, it isn’t a race, Jackie making her goal, Daisy with us the poor soul. I am a poet and don’t know and make a rhyme every time.

Thought of the Day

Now that I have lived through a plague, I totally understand why Italian renaissance paintings are full of fat people lying on couches.

October 28th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 1 degrees, Calgary 1 degrees, Mesa 30 degrees”

Jackie and Daisy went a full 8 kilometers today. But Daisy cheats and asked to get picked up at night and in the morning if there is something she doesn’t like. That is a lot of steps.

I worked cleaning up a few things and trying to come up with a plan that does not cost a fortune for my outdoor kitchen. I think I am on Plan D now.

Jackie washed and cleaned all of the windows inside and outside today. Her muscles will feel it tomorrow.

My first part order from Amazon arrived and I did the installation. Trying to find center with a loose steering box isn’t easy and not perfect but I love the new looks. Step ONE was the removal of the Granny curtains ( wind protection canvas) This is Step TWO which is new steering wheel. Step THREE arrives tomorrow which is the new red & black seat covers that I have to install. On Wednesday is Step FOUR of installing a rear flip down seat and bar for clubs. This allows for 4 people and a two second flip down to have a cargo carrier available. Step FIVE is new wheels and rims. Step SIX is to paint the striping on it and Step Seven maybe a lift kit and then it will be done, it will look great and it will come handy. I just need the batteries to last about three years or so.

Speaking about sport watching. The Oilers are in second last place in the ENTIRE league and Calgary is in third last place. Only one team worse than our Alberta teams. And we have the Heritage Classic tomorrow with these teams. LOL

It’s more than a little ironic how playing in a stadium synonymous with defeat — home of the longest losing streak in North American pro sports ( formerly known as the Eskimo’s) — is exactly what the Edmonton Oilers need right now. The Oilers do not want to go down that road but it is bad karma.

I want the Flames to win badly. LOL

The park has brought in a large number of new units to our phase. Nice to see the rejuvenation of the park. Odd as this time they are selling them before putting them in the rental pool. Typically they rent them out for about three years then sell them. ( some tax rule ) They also spent the extra 12K per unit to have them ground set not raised. The park has spent a lot of money fixing up things which is always nice to see. You can’t ever please ” old ” people though but I am very happy with the differences and a lot of younger 60’s aged people moving in.

I have booked golf and have three golfers for our first game of the winter season. Most have yet to arrive but I expect to hear from a few at the end of the month. Golfing with Jim and Denis will be a blast as they are great guys on the course. I am looking forward to seeing them and golfing again. It will only be 10 days without golf but it seems much longer. A mid day tee time at 30 degrees plus will make these guys sweat. I may perspire a bit.

The Flames Oilers game was a bust. The 30th and 31st place teams in the league of 32 teams both sucked. The Oilers on paper and skill wise are better than the Flames but are playing extremely poor. Calgary with less skilled players need to play hard ot have a chance and we lazy. Too soft of coach !

The Oilers won and it might be the catalyst they needed to win a few games. My hopes are that we trade some players away and try to have hardworking want to be there players to make it fun to watch as this game was bad.

The one good thing was being able to sit outside and watch it in the warmth.

Our poor little Atticus. As a rambunctious boy he jumped off the cabinet and fractured ( for those that don’t know a fracture is a break in the medical world) hit the bean bag for his landing but his leg took the blunt of the force. Logical to think a bean bag landing is safe . LOL I always thought a fracture was like a splinter but doctors like to use fracture to sound more professional than saying broke. It has two cracks in the tibia so full leg cast over the knee, no weight for a month and it should heal just fine. That has to hurt. So lucky not to have surgery with bolts or plates.

FULL DISCLOSURE- I have never broke ( no fancy words for me) a single bone in my body. I have only received minimal stitches in my life. I am going to say 10 max. I have had one “surgery” with a small incision at the belly button for a biopsy. That is it. So I really can’t say what kind of pain one would experience with a break but it makes me shiver to think about it. Poor Atti ! The pain would be worse than childbirth and near touching on Gout pain I assume.

You can see the break quite easily.

The cast is made over the knee so he can’t bend it. A plan I am sure so he can not put his weight on it. The first time going to the washroom will be interesting. Plaster of Paris must be in short supply with the way they made this cast. Supposedly people say under the cast gets itchy and drives people nuts.

He will like the attention for a day or so then reality will sink in and it will suck. Jess & Pen will be tired. Lots of IPad and Tv watching.

Tim Keys who just bought a place on 1800 block arrived and I had a visit with him. He bought a older unit and is in the process of fixing it up. We will see what he wants to do with it and how much money he wants to spend. I am think 10K and everything could be done and looking good with our labor. New cupboards, flooring, paint, and removal of some of the built in cabinets will make a huge difference. A large Arizona room with a full bath and laundry in the back is excellent and only a bit of paint.

World Series is all tied up. Pricing for a Arizona game is $1000 a ticket. I do not care for baseball and I would never pay near that for ANY sport watching. It does bother me they call it World Series when no other country other than our Jays are involved.

Thought of the Day

My idea of a Super Bowl is a toilet that cleans itself.

October 30th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 2 degrees, Calgary 3 degrees, Mesa 27 degrees”

Just a wonderful day. My first golf day this winter season today. First, the course was in excellent shape and the pricing I thought excellent. It is still the less expensive rate until Nov 1st or Jan 1st but only $61 with a cart. Love that !

Not playing for a couple of weeks did result in not perfect play. The front nine I played decent actually beating my playing partner by 1. The back nine a few issues and losing by 6. Higher than I wanted for sure but it will come. Not one lost ball just errors getting used to having to use longer clubs , No issue with lose muscles with the warmth. Everyone knows the putting issues on VP but I was semi pleased with that. Next time and more golfers today emailed they are in.

I did lose money today.

My tree came while I was golfing so that is great. Looks great and saves my back and arms from being scratched and cut.

My seat covers arrived and look great.

A wonderful BBQ’d sirloin steak, salad and garlic toast and sitting outside just can’t be beat. Have i said I love Mesa !!

Diamond Backs lose tonight which is too bad.

Thought of the Day

The correct term for gluten-free, sugarless, vegan brownies is ‘compost’

October 31st Halloween

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 6 degrees, Calgary 8 degrees, Mesa 28 degrees”

This time of year in AZ is wonderful as it doesn’t get hot and yet cools down enough at night The evenings are light light jacket only. The sun sets though at 5:45 which is early.

Who doesn’t like Halloween ? A celebration that is loads of fun for the kids and has slowly become a big persons fun time also with the bars and dances everywhere participating. Some consider it controversial due to the idea of spirit worshipping yet it was an original church idea were a vigil would be held to prepare the worshippers with prayers and fasting before honoring of the saints and a day to remember the dead which got all twisted up.

Today it is just a fun candy gathering event, a chance for adults to act like kids. A fun fun day . Here are a few Halloween pictures from years ago and today with our family.

Always a fun time for the kids. I put the one pic of Atti in there as he is in his wheelchair this year. No, not going as a handicapped person. Not supposed to say that but some thought that didn’t they. LOL His clown outfit in the chair will look wonderful.

A little disappointed in our park. Not one kid came to the door and I had candy. A huge turnout for the dance with some incredible costumes as per pics. A few homes decorated.

I have a pet peeve about customer service in todays world. Today I experienced the best possible customer service you could ever ask for. I bought a surge protector for the motorhome ( ps everyone needs one if they camp a lot, no need for this expensive one) at Campers World. A Surge Guard protector worth $349.99. I have had issues the last couple seasons with it shutting down the power with a open ground fault. ( dangerous fault called hotskin fault as your trailer skin can become electrified.) I sent a few emails and then yesterday requested a Return Authorization for diagnosis, repair or replacement. Today the customer service department informed me they are sending me a brand new one free and I do not have to pay for or ship the old one back. That is great service so I will do my part and highly recommend Surge Guard manufactured by Southwire in the USA. Great products and great service.

It is odd so many people I know have gall bladder issues. I am beginning to think it is operation the medical field can make money on so it is pushed instantly rather than deal with the what caused the gall bladder to fail. Stones can be removed without removing the complete organ. It is like tonsils and adenoids. SO MANY KIDS have had this unnecessary operation. We can live without these organs and a few more but why not find out the causse instead of the drastic action. I am saying this as Alfred is in the hospital to have his yanked. Jessica, Victoria, MaryAnn, Audrey, Fred just to name a few that used this weight loss method. I would bet money that another option could have been available. I know the doctors wanted to remove Jess & Tor tonsils and I refused to let them. Today they have no issues ( that I know of). Like allergies, asthma etc kids grow out of the issues. Tonsils and adenoids shrink with age. Gall stones dissolve. I do know it had to be painful for Alfred to submit to the hospital.

Our medical system has become like mechanics. Rip it out or replace it we don’t have time to fix it.

Trees are all done. I fixed a few things around the house, outside light and outside water bib and calculated numerous times different ways to fix my kitchen. Still no solution and i have a headache.

I have this huge bird with a hooked beak staring at me only 4ft away while I type. Possessed I think !

Thought of the Day

Courage is knowing it might hurt, and doing it anyway.  Stupidity is the same.  And that’s why life is hard.