August 1st

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton yy8p degrees, Calgary 32 degrees”

Could you ask for a nicer summer day. The perfect te mperature with it being warm and a nice cool breeze. Spectacular !

As there was a tournament on today we had an earlier tee time than normal. Having said early which I don’t care for it was wonderful and we finished in 3 hours and 45 minutes so all was great.

I am not pleased with my overall score but I did finish in my foursome the second low net score, the second low gross score, won money from Donn, Rick and Larry P, had the most pars, second most birdies and am just waiting to see where I find myself on the money list for our total group today. I think I will do ok.

It was ok making 5th on the money list today. Two bad holes or would have been even better.

It is a fun group on a hard course that was a lot of fun to play with today and I can hear all of those Toonies jingling in my pocket.

I whipped to the post office to pick up some fly traps for Oasis and I don’t know what is happening but it is odd. I saw so many young girls, mid aged ladies and young guys SOOOO white it hurt my eyes. Come on, the summer is just about over and if you are still that white and just uncovering now, why?

As with everything we have swung the pendulum a way too far and people are afraid of the sun. Yes it may cause skin cancer with over exposure but it is still a very small minute amount of people that get skin cancer. There are three major types of skin cancer — basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma and is one of the most common cancers worldwide but is very treatable and in most cases not life threatening. People are dying from Vitamin D deficiency due to this fear. It causes muscle pain, fatigue, cardiovascular disease, bone pain, and asthma symptoms and is associated with cognitive decline. The longest living people in the world are from HOT climates spending the bulk of their time in the sun. We need to be cautious but not ridiculous and if you are BRIGHT WHITE please be kind to our eyes when walking around.

August 2nd to 4th

The weather for the last few days can be described as unusual with warm and cold events happening. Overall a lot cooler than we have had with at some times what I would consider and call cold. Enough I had to break down and put on a light jacket last night.

It has been a relaxing couple of days and busy at times.

It is nice and quiet at Oasis it just makes it relaxing. The main reason of our extended stay this time was to ready for a family get together on Sunday to celebrate Jackson 13th birthday.

13 years flies by and we have had so much fun over the years. Jackson was a strong kid and exceptionally clever. Babysitting him when he was a baby was great. Jackson was able to walk on his own at 9 months old which matches both Grammies and Papa’s feat. ( I need to see evidence of Jackie’s) Not too many kids accomplish that. He started talking at an exceptional young age also which made it fun. Very competitive and always trying to win. ( My favorite type of person) We have had so many different competitions in so many different games. Connect Four, Crib, Chinese Checkers, video games, billiards etc. It was all fine until he got a little older than the odd “real” loss did and can happen. Keeps me on my toes.

He loves his hockey and is quite good at it. He doesn’t have the fastest blades but has the size and understands the game better than most. He loves biking and skate boarding and he does practice a lot to get good at them.

He is a very concerning soul for others and has a lot of friends. It is amazing to think in one year he can drive a car legally.

The family is coming out to Oasis today for his birthday and I will get a few pics of the teenager to join the gang. This is the first one of the teen punk !

Wow a teenager grandson and 40 year old children makes you think about how old one is.

David arrived and stayed the night. Steak, roast potatoes, cooked beets and carrots make for a nice supper. It was nice and warm out but with lots of flies. More flies than I have ever experienced which I have no idea why. A rainstorm happened in the early evening which cooled it down so we bunkered in the gazebo for a bit. Even a little bit of lightning and thunder. Nice to get rain though but fighting with the wind and curtains wasn’t fun.

Lots of discussions on every subject until bedtime. It was enjoyable to hear another ones opinion on certain subjects. Some different opinion even though right for them. Dave is a talker so the conversation is easy fill time. Unfortunately Dave has had a hearing issue since birth and now has damaged his other ear a bit so he struggles to hear. They are loving their acreage life which is great. He has bought a lot of needed equipment to run the lot which keeps him busy. Erin along with Dave have had so much bad luck with family illnesses.

Great for Dave to take the time to come visit.

We got Dave was all set up and we headed to sleep.

Jackie got up to have a shower around 8 am and all of a sudden her phone starts pinging. Sounds like Messager messages which I have forever found annoying. When she got out of the shower she checks her phone and it was David with about 3 or 4 messages stating he needs to use the washroom. So Jackie phoned him and there was urgency setting in as he said he tried our door which was left open and he just had to pull on it, he didn’t use the portable toilet that I had filled with water, chemical and had primed that morning and he had walked all the way to our public washrooms and discovered they require a FOB to get in. So Jackie rushes to open the door and let Dave in. Dave uses our motorhome bathroom and Jackie suggest to Dave to turn on the fan in the washroom as he was doing a #2. After Dave had left the washroom I go in to take a shower and discover the fan isn’t working. He must have mistook the black fuse button for the on/off and it disabled the fan. It took a bit of figuring as I thought the power was off at first. Checked the power, fiddled with the switches to no avail. So I thought maybe the fuse was burned and I went to to remove it, discovering it loose, so I checked the fuse and found it good and tightened it up and the fan worked like a charm.

Urgency and waste removal in the human body can cause all kinds of issues so Dave had a bad or an off morning one could say. To compound it he discovered a spider in his bathroom which threw him off. Fast forward I found the spider in washroom later in the afternoon and when I squished it, it’s butt went pop. Spiders always get a bad rap. Anyone gets a bite and is unexplainable to them they blame it on a spider bite. It is the go to excuse for a bite from a multitude of insects. Why even a bite from a spider caused a man to become a spider-like super hero.

We never thought anything was wrong but we were surprised when David left around noon before the bulk of people had arrived. So he must not have had a good sleep or night. It being a short 4 hour drive home we had thought he may stay until late afternoon. Many many times over the years we have left Edmonton at 9 pm knowing it is a quick sprint home. ( I remember years ago when Audrey was getting a new home built in Millwood’s and I was supplying the interior trim I drove to Edm and back two times in one day with my truck full of moldings and doors. 14 hours of driving plus loading and unloading and gas stops made for a 18 hour day ) Love #2 Highway being able to set the cruise at 119 and no fear of a ticket.

We had Victoria, Corey, BIRTHDAY BOY JACKSON, Penny, Jessica, Atticus, August, Audrey, Alan, MaryAnn, Kristen, Shelden, Silas with Dave in the morning plus us.

For the meal we BBQ’d burgers, bacon wrapped chicken, my Grandma’s potato salad, and a bean mix along with all of the condiments and cake.

Birthday cake, singing and Jackson getting some nice gifts. He loved his beanies. Lucky kid with all of his gifts.

All of the kids went to the pool late afternoon with Silas and Kristen loving it.

Big news in that Kristen is pregnant with a due date of early Feb. I hope they consider a good name for a second or third middle name like Larry. 2 1/2 years apart is good timing between the two kids. Good on them. They are excited as is everyone else to have another kid join the group. Silos is such a cute kid.

All three boys are staying with us for a few days. After everyone left and supper we headed to the playground for hockey, your it, swings etc. Auggie and Atti join in with every group very easily. They had fun. Jackson was adamant in trying new tricks on his friggin amazing new skate board. These tricks are hard and he gets down on himself but they are difficult and requires a lot of practice.

I need to stop wearing a hat as my tan isn’t even anymore, my face is a way to white.

After a good supper and getting sleeping arrangements made, the evening was done. Jackson was awesome sleeping alone with the Hickens in the living room.

Perfect breakfast sauage & egg muffins by the store where a big hit. They all slept in till 9 am at least.

Hours spent at the pool with Jackie jumping in and hours at the playground.

Throw in Uno games with me maintaining my middle name of Uno.

Lots of play time at the park. Atti found a girlfriend that would not leave him alone. She was 6 and her name was Faith. The female version of Atti to a tee. She would ask to get anything and would back talk the boys perfectly. Even Jackie was asked to do things for her. It was very entertaining watching the two of them interacting.The two of them being Atti and his girlfreind Faith.

Lots of diving, loads of jumping and swimming. I am going to get new good goggles for the kids to use next time.

PIzza for supper tonight, Tornado warnings. Movies, treats, ice cream treats etc it was a good day.

I covered up my car as if it hails it will protect it, a little bit. Doppler shows a mean cell and phone alerts over and over again. Thunder getting loud.

The swimming pond looking nice after the reno removing the cattails and adding the rock border.

Indoor movie night tonight.

It rained quite heavy but only small hail. It did squish the flowers with the hail and water weight,

I had a small leak on the bedroom window. The outdoor kitchen butts up against it so I took a blanket to stop the water from hitting the window direct, I parked about three inches to close and the roof line hits the window base directly. The next day I pulled in the slide and removed the weep hole covers and cleaned them out. My thoughts are that the wood fiber from the cedar roofing had plugged them, Put everything away and used face Kleenex with the garden hose direct pressure on the top center and bottom of the window and running in and out to check and no leaks. My hopes are the weep holes were filled and with the extra water from the roof the window couldn’t handle it. If this does not fix it it means the nasty job of pulling the window out and recaulking. Time will tell now. Fingers crossed but all indications are my premonition was correct.

August 7th

Mercury Forecast Edmonton 22 degrees, Calgary 18 degrees ”

The hail storm caused a lot of damage again including shutting down the airport with two terminals damaged. Tons of houses again with siding ripped off and shingles needing replaced.

I do not understand how dumb insurance companies are. Vinyl sided houses should pay a premium insurance fee and let it be substantial. They are a fire hazard and small hail damage receptive. This will make builders change to James Hardie siding a cement based siding that will not damage even though it costs more. Same with shingles make it building code to use a hail resistant not bullet proof but a lot better shingle.

Cars, windows, siding with a huge bill again. It does not appear the planes got up in time to seed the clouds. It had to be a pop up storm as the seeding does work well.

Feels like our summer is over with the last few days of cold weather. 14 above in August is not right. Even out at the lot there was noticeable reduction in the amount of people at the resort. Rain and cold does not make for fun.

I think they router bit the bullet so I have to send it back for a new one after I do one more test.

Little dogs have to be careful out at Oasis lately with a family of huge owls sitting around.

Thought of the Day

What happens when spiders get involved in a love triangle? They end up spinning a tangled web.

August 8th-9th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 25 degrees, Calgary 23 degrees”

On the cooler side but nice temperatures to work in or golf with. A light jacket for the breeze or late in the afternoon but still quite nice. It looks like our summer is over and we will have this fall like temps for a bit. We need to have a Indian Summer happen.

Golfing with men’s league today. I guess I will start with I did not win any money. I did not golf well and the results are no money. I did not lose one ball yet still scored horrible. I sure wish I could go back to my old driver shaft yet we don’t know what it was so i need to live and make this work. Too much concentration on one thing hurts the game.

The biggest issue this week and some past is I CANNOT GOLF ONCE A WEEK AND EXCEL. I have to golf or practice at least 3 times to get better or remain consistent. I have another week of missing that practice coming up as we are heading up to Wabamun Lake. I look forward to the fishing, games, drinks and company of the Keys so will be a fun week.

Never mind not winning any money I lost each section and had to hand out $6 to my playing partners.

Good thing for great weather, wonderful golf course, and friendly wagers as the day was a blast. I have to be more consistent.

Driving by a couple of Brew Pubs, smoke houses coming home they were very busy. Let me go on record here by saying I believe the IPA brewhouse business will soon disappear like the Bagel businesses in the 2000’s. It is a fad of drinking bad tasting beer but with a cool factor that will end.

Watching the Olympics and Big Brother was a nice evening. There were some dumb mistakes made on BB last night. Cedric was so dumb not putting up Quinn right off the bat. He played Tucker which I think will come back to bite him and yet when American voted to put up Quinn in the house didn’t vote him out. There is something going on we are not privy to. Kenny the wimp would have bowed out in two weeks anyway himself. Can you imagine him as a cop? The season has been weak for action until last nights chaos which is great.

Drove out with a laptop and ethernet cable to bypass the router and check for a a signal. I did all functions again by unplugging the router to reboot, unplugging the POE box to reset, I manually check on the antenna on the roof and had a strong signal there and opened the modem box to check connections. Nothing worked.

Xplornet has been good to us for 7 years with no service calls. They want $7.50 per month for a service contract and then no cost for a tech to come. I do not like this marketing scheme. For 7 years x the $90 per year we have saved $630 so far so I figured the $150 service call once wouldn’t kill me so I booked after going thru a whole procedure again with the agent. I have to say this that today with the agent was one of the best service calls I have experienced from a company for a long time, I would hire that girl “Rebecca” in a moment. She tried everything and no success.

My mind just wouldn’t let go so i pulled the Cat 6 wires out of the POE switch and I smelled “burned” rubber and looking at the end of of the Cat 6 wire it was burned. You can’t deal with Xplornet as they use a third party so I searched for product for a bit but there is a lot of different kinds available. Alan was a data specialist with Telus and on his won so I gave him a call and he suggested to try Memory Express. Memory fixed my laptop years ago and it was a hole. Today a huge bright super electronic store. Not only full of inventory but a large contingent of staff. And knowledgeable staff. Most impressed. We found a new POE switch with about .5 volts less which really doesn’t matter for $19.99. I bought a 10ft Cat 6 wire also to replace the burnt one.

I whipped out and set about installing the wires to the POE switch box, modem and router. Two minutes later lights are flashing on the router and we have success. I won’t count the gas but $20 versus $150 is not a bad deal and even better when you take into account the over $600 I have saved.

I went to cancel my service call and wouldn’t you know it. I have to phone in only. LOL

My morning was taking back my Amazon order error on their part. They have made it very easy and only 5 minutes at Staples to return to Amazon. That was great. Except now waiting for the dollars to come back to my card.

Then off to the car wash. Got it all done and I needed a new chamois cloth as mine had fallen into shreds so I bought one from the office. Not the best one but real leather it said. I tried to use it and it left a lot of yellow material all over my clean Jeep. I took it into the carwash and the young lad there was very apologetic and he was at no fault. Great service to be concerned like that with a suggestion to see if it worked and a free re wash of 10min. He suggested to soak and soak it and wring it over and over. It squished out a lot of yellow dye but finally became semi decent and I returned to use it. Not perfect but hopefully next time much better and i will power wash it before using it.

Two wonderful people in the service industry going over and beyond expectations.

Thought of the Day

When you assume negative intent, you’re angry. If you take away that anger and assume positive intent, you will be amazed.

Further to this, companies should not focus on the competition but focus on the customer and the competition will not know what happened.

August 10th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 27 degrees, Calgary 25 degrees:”

A week of cooler weather coming up but livable and nice to do most things. A relax causal day today.

Daisy loved her dog park event today. Surprising it wasn’t that busy. Only one dog that wanted to play even though Daisy wasn’t in the most playful mood today also.

We meet this Afghan dog on our walk. Afghan from Afghanistan who knew. Pretty cool dogs.

BBQ supper of chicken breast, corn on the cob, baked potato, garlic toast and a salad hit the spot. Tough spuds tonight taking a full 65 min at 450 degrees. Awesome supper and nice relaxed day.

Ps cancelled my service appointment with Xplornet but you don’t get a confirmation. Fail !

Jackson made me smile as a 2024 Corvette was on the neighbors driveway and he sent a pic to me to show me how nice it is. Two things, big mistake to buy at 2024 model with 670 horsepower when the 2025 model will have over 1000 hp. Second I am not a fan of the mid engine design. It think it looks a little ugly and the attempt to look like a supercar fails. I much prefer the C7 or C6 design and still like my C3 shark design 77 Vette.

Thought of the Day

The older I get, the more I truly realize just how precious life is, and that not everyone gets to age. Not everyone gets to be 65 and have wrinkles. But I do. And that’s something to be thankful for, not something to be ashamed of or shy away from. Accept it and don’t dwell on as 65 is the new 40. Accept who you are, unless you are a serial killer.

August 11- 16th

There must be some word for describing an event after the fact instead of from the beginning . Our week was AWESOME, and FUN.

I picked up the motorhome and brought it into town to get ready. Man are the bugs bad with the windshield just covered. Got the clothes ready and just need a few groceries. And for Jackie to be ready. LOL

Heading up North for a fun time. Golf, fishing, games, food, drinking, camping and fun with friends. I am not sure on wifi or internet or even data but I will see. If not we should be back Friday. I may try to post from my phone a bit and add to it later.

As Jackie was booked to help Audrey with a dentist appointment, and has some catch up bank work I decided to leave early, have Jackie bring the Jeep up when she is ready and to stop in and see Mom.

As usual the highway was busy but not Friday or long weekend busy. In the motorhome I set the cruise at 110 and have a relaxing drive with 90% of the cars passing me and me never having to re-adjust my cruise as it was not super busy. There are very few kilometers of pavement without frost lines. I am thinking to try to up the pressure in the Firestone Air Rite bag system to see the result. I usually keep them about 25 psi but will try going up to 40 psi or so to see the difference.

I arrived and caught Mom doing laundry again but it was just about done. We had a nice visit. Other than being extremely weak and tired she is doing ok. Aging isn’t fun with multiple conditions affecting her. The strokes, arthritis, TIA’s and osteoporosis and tooth issues with having to have 5 removed but you will NEVER hear complain about a pain. Amazing. She is at the point in her life that it is not the most enjoyable anymore. On a selfish side we all want loved ones to live long but live a enjoyable life and sometimes that just isn’t the case. Great visit and Jackie shows up about 5pm.

I ordered supper from the Canadian Brewhouse with Mom having Shepherds Pie, I had the Clubhouse and guess what Jackie had? You most likely guessed it. LOL

We left and headed west on Hwy 16a. A HORRIBLE highway as every second vehicle is a gravel truck. Take Highway 16 and every third is a gravel truck. I bet they sell everyone glass insurance in Spruce Grove and Stony. I would find a back road as these highways can only be described as ridiculous. We lived east of the Grove and never experienced this. But it is crazy and dangerous. In fact opposite of what I believe and preach I took a back highway to avoid this #759 thru Tomahawk on the way home and guess what every 4th vehicle a gravel truck. We managed to avoid any hits and hurried back to Highway 2 to get to a Highway that is much easier and safer to drive on.

It was getting late so we decided to stop at a rest stop west of Stony. I asked if we could stay overnight at the General Store and was told it is county land you can stay up to a week if you want. LOL General Store, Gas, and ice cream how can you go wrong.

You can.

6 am in the morning a whole paving crew shows up for work right beside our motorhome and between the laughing, loud voices, engines running and unloading equipment it was a early morning. We filled up with gas and headed out. LOL

We arrived at Pineridge RV & Golf Resort. I will state this right now. This is a first class place that is exceptionally clean and well run. Super nice sites and large with a good mix of RV versus Park Models. I will also say Fred & Terry’s place is one of the nicest if not the nicest looking lot in the complex. We built good looking sheds, decks and a Gazebo. With all of the landscaping done and yard maintenance it is amazing.

Here is one hiccup. It is a resort that’s premise is to sell lots not be a for rent campground . The lot they gave us was the second most difficult lot in 40 years of camping to maneuver in. Would have been no issue with a trailer or 5th but with a motorhome you can NEVER have the levelling jacks lift the rear wheels off the ground as the parking brake is your mechanism to hold the unit in place and not bend your jacks or run down into a valley etc. It was at an incredible incline. A 10 to 15 minute set up took us over an hour. I had to actually park it with the back end in the bush and put three levels of 2 x 8 ( 4 1/2) under the rear tires to try to get it semi level. Some ask why is level so important. It is extremely important as you do not want your slides to bind, you can’t have the rear tires off the ground as you have no emergency brake then and you can bend, break your hydraulic leveling system and the most important reason for all RV’s ( as the rear tire is just for motorhomes) is that you can not be more than 3 degree side to side or 6 degrees front to back out of plumb or your fridge will fail and result in permanent damage which can happen in as little as an hour. RV fridges use gravity rather than a compressor and if not level the chemical/coolant can not circulate and may cause an airlock. I have a phone app that I use and put on the counter that tells me exactly how many degrees out I am.

The worst site ever was Twin Jacks near Banff.

I finally got it it level but then could not take out the awning and my power cord was too short. Black tank miles away.

Our area was so quiet and secluded it was wonderful, Fred had paid a deposit and in fact paid for our sites so I had to e transfer him money.

Fred even organized getting us a golf cart to use.

Drinks, sitting the sun, catching up on things just makes for a fun time. Fred and Terry cooked us the most amazing meal. On the rotisserie he BBQ’d a roast beef, he pulled two potato plants out and we had a huge amount of fresh spuds along with a bunch of fresh carrots all out of his garden 10 ft away. Fresh tastes so good.

It was a superb meal and sitting outside protected from flies etc with it being quite warm it was perfect. Fred is one good cook and he loves his meat which is my favorite. He also is a rub guy instead of a sauce which is perfect.

Three finger drinks but great tasting were abundant. Going ahead of myself again for Jackie to have three days in a row of drinking is very rare, Good on her.

I have to inform you all that Fred and I were blitzed tonight in the game arena. The girls won ( or cheated I am not sure) EVERY game tonight.

I love the fresh cool air coming thru the window feels so nice and results in such great sleeps. Daisy loves her nose right at the screen between us.

Jackie and Terry were off golfing in Terry’s ladies league first thing this morning and Fred & I loaded up and headed to the lake. Daisy stayed in the a/c motorhome. Luckily Jackie got home with hours to spare but the a/c kicked off. When I got home I had to do some checking into what went wrong. The breaker blew as I had to use an additional 25ft cord to get to the power post. 50 ft and the loss of amperage over that distance with the a/c working for hours, hot, caused it to flip is my hope. I will get up on the roof in the next bit and pull of the cover and clean the entire unit as it may have just got too hot. A quick reset and back to a cold RV. It always is a worry though leaving a dog in the unit if this happens as years ago the power went out in the entire campsite and Samson was in one hot trailer by the time we got back.

I love Fred’s boat. Close to 40 mph and stable and just right sized. Mid week and windy we did not have a lot of people on the lake. The wind carried on all day while fishing which was about 7 hours total. It is a relaxing day to fish but catching them does add to the pleasure. It was Fred’s day. He caught one right away and then lost his Rapala. He replaced it with green mid sized Rapala and kept catching fish. I caught one fairly soon then struggled. I would change my hook every hour to try to find a winner but no luck. Even spoons the old favorite and staple wasn’t working. Long story short. Fred 11.5 fish Larry 1 fish. I say 11.5 as one of Fred’s was a smelt and close in size to my hook but it had gills and eyes so Fred counted it. LOL I know I would have, LOL

The waves at times were white capped and the swells at times 3ft. It was a struggle all day for Fred driving the boat. He trolled with the big motor and the small motor down. We used the small one only for a bit as it couldn’t push the boat with the waves.

Yet it was very warm and in fact Fred burned his face. First time ever he did not wear sunglasses which is much needed on water with sun. The smoke lifted and it got hot but still windy with only a small lull.

Wabamun Lake did not produce like usual as normally we would have had 30 each. Plus this time they were 90 percent Northern Pike where we typically get 90% Walleye. I think the water movement was our biggest issue but MAN it was a fun day out on the water.

Here is my token picture of nature. These guys are amazing swooping down and with a wing span of at least 5 ft or more.

No white caps at this time but you can see the roughness.

Arriving at the dock 4 teenagers were fishing from the it. Not allowed and dumb as boats have to dock and exit the lake. We run up to the dock and the guys scattered. I pulled the Explorer around and backed up to load the boat. I pulled beside a guy trying to load his boat but Fred wanted to be a little further way so I moved over one more space. Not only was the trailer backed in perfectly straight but Fred did a remarkable job getting the boat up on the trailer. We left the water before the other guy. Fred has the loading down to a science.

Terry joined a support group for watching your weight and food intake. She has lost a fair bit of weight and is looking good and different. It is amazing how pounds change a person. Good for her, so she left to go to her meeting for an hour and that gave the perfect time to ready our meal.

Tonight Jackie and I cooked the meal along with the dishes etc. Loaded baked potatoes, bone in chops, carrots, salad and garlic toast. A little harder on a different grill but everything turned out fine.

Capital letters coming up. FRED & I KILLED THE GIRLS TONIGHT AT EVERY GAME WE PLAYED!!!

Winning is much better. LOL

We even kept Fred up past his bedtime.

Fred & Terry were dog sitting for Jen & Troy so Larry and Lucy were out here. Cute and funny dogs. They did not like Daisy. I was surprised with my namesake Larry the sausage dog. He is a little horn dog. Good thing he is cute.

Early morning rise and off to the Pineridge golf course with Terry & Fred. I believe this is still the only one 12 hole course in Alberta. It was to become a fad in Canada and the USA but I don’t think it caught on. Having said that this is a nice course and lots of fun to play. It was extremely well kept. Unfortunately the greens were just plugged but everything about the course is great. And tough with it being narrow, long and smaller greens. Fred works cutting the grass on this course so you know it will be right.

After golf we went to the restaurant at the clubhouse. This place used to be remarkable but new owners have taken over and changed it from family/pub style food to Mexican. Everyone enjoyed their meals though. I prefer the old menu but they still had some great choices. Being Mexican I tried the Fajita dish. While good and no complaints not near as good as a Mexican themed place should serve. Montana’s, Chili’s all have better but I did like this. They make great Caesars, and Margaritas. Jackie’s Mule was perfect also. Good food, wonderful outside patio, good friends and nice weather just make for a awesome day.

I lost two golf balls but golfed semi ok. Fred only lost one ball. Terry has made remarkable progress in her golfing prowess. Jackie hit it perfect all day. The greens being punched caused us a few issues but as always it has to be done. We did come up short quite often.

Maybe the Mexican theme food helped the Keys decide to winter in Mexico this upcoming year they liked it so much. I am not sure on authentic Mexican food as dog and rat has been known to be passed off as chicken quite often.

Watching the news.

Thoughts, ageism ? 17 seniors DIE in Carberry MB and we barely hear about it and 16 hockey players near Humbolt SK die and the whole country morns. Just seems odd to me.

CPP, CNN, Air Canada all threatening to strike. I have said it before UNIONS are the CANCER of businesses. The entitled, socialist thinking younger generation that do not worry about paying for anything flock to the unions, NDP and Liberal governments waiting for handouts. As a country we are so far in debt it is sick. We will vote in a Conservative government that has no choice but to cut and people will whine.

Ronald Reagan years ago forced all the air traffic controllers back to work after they went on strike. They had the option to go back to work or be fired. He fired 11,359 controllers. The rail lines are an essential service for goods and can destroy our economy if they are allowed to strike. Yes we will struggle for a bit but we can not allow this happen. Autoworkers, airlines, dock workers, mail service, steelworkers, health professionals , educators, rail union workers, all need to be brought back to a real world and given the choice. In todays world there is NO reason for anything more than a 3 to 5% increase. The other issues are just whining to make it not seem it is about money. I would suggest to offer as best as possible each item and give no raise.

Wordle in 4, Jackie in 3. One of those days where one letter different makes too many different words.

I took the motorhome out to the lot today. It was raining so I couldn’t get a lot accomplished. I repaired a few things, hooked up what I thought needed to be fixed and cleaned up a bit. A lot of people out at the lot today.

Coming in when we were leaving I had a 2 liter of milk on the front floor of the Jeep. The cap wasn’t on tight and it spilled. Needless to say it stank especially with the heat we experienced.

I took it to a carwash but they no longer have the foaming rug cleaner. So a quick trip to Canadian Tire. I washed it downstairs. It worked great but the brush keeps falling off. I washed both the Weathertec and carpet liner on both sides, and vacuumed it out. A little vanilla spray and like new again.

A catchup night for Big Brother tonight. My guys are still hanging in there. A dumb show but we like it.

Thought of the Day

Having fun with friends is a a great use of time and makes you forget about time.

August 17th–19th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 23 degrees, Calgary 23 degrees,”

Those weather girls lied to us again. They indicated slight chance of a shower but a warm day. We had a downpour and a cooler day and then a hot day hitting 30 degrees on the 19th. Nice

Jackie was helping Audrey today so I went downstairs and continued to clean the Jeep. Amour-all on all of the fenders and tires make it look great. Sprayed a shot of vanilla again as it still has a slight odor inside. Good looking truck with only one thing I would like to fix. A few years ago I rubbed too hard getting sap off the hood so it dulled the paint. A cut and polish is needed.

Jackie & I drove Jackson and his friend to the skate park today, It was perfect as there were 4 other guys there all about 13 yrs old. A new gang called Boarders was formed and they gelled. We watched them for a bit doing a few tricks. Jackson now looks very comfortable on his board.

THE GANG !

A Dad came up with his kids to pet Daisy and he had 4 Slurpee’s in his hands. We laughed as that was us 35 yrs ago.

I smiled to myself as we leaving after telling Jackson and Suld to just phone us when they want picked up as I turned away from the group and gave Jackson some cash in case it rained to go to the DQ and he hid it from his friends and quickly pocketed it while being very appreciative of the gesture. Either he didn’t want to be robbed or to pay for his friends. LOL

We got about half way home it and it poured. Another smile and it will interesting to see what he did.

Glad we took the Flex as my Jeep is all polished up and it would be a shame to get it dirty so quickly.

Mom had another TIA ( mini stroke) and is set back again. She takes a beating with these making her weaker and weaker. The second day she is talking much better now but doesn’t have enough strength to go down for her meals as of yet. We are so lucky as a family she choose to be in the right kind of place to get looked after when needed, have three meals cooked for her each day ( got very fuzzy in her old age) and to have her place cleaned weekly plus getting shower/bath help. I have to say for her to recognize the time to give up her drivers license, move from her home of 50 yrs plus into a senior home all on her timing and wishes is admirable and made her aging that much easier for our family. She is 92 years old.

These senior places get a bad rap but half of it is due to the facility itself. Mom still is in the independent living and only needs help with a few things. What the general public doesn’t like is when walking into a facility and all you see are decrepit, drooling , sleeping people in wheelchairs hanging around the front entrance as it looks horrible. Independent living and Care living should be separated. Different entrance extra.

I would have no problem going into one of these facilities when older but would for sure check it out fully as separation is something I would want, need and expect. I would not want the two mixed. It is not right. It is a cost thing that too many facilities jump to get on. Pretty easy to have separate floors, or building, separate kitchen etc especially for the amount they charge which is exorbitant. The government subsidized pricing is what the general public should be paying.

Wordle in 3 for me and Jackie in 5 . Yahoo !

Out at the lot is wonderful. The walks, the coolness at night along with the quiet is wonderful. Daisy loves all of the action with the carts, people and dogs passing by. I love the solitude and when meeting the odd person out here the friendliness.

Our little heavenly Oasis.

I fixed, repaired a bunch of little things.

Yahoo, I have the Firestick TV all working and we even watched Big Brother last night. I have one other program on it I need to figure out. Pretty nice to watch live TV without paying for multiple services.

Jackie and I just relaxing at home at Oasis.

Fred re-gifted this thing to me and I love it. The perfect block party item. I can bring 6 ice cold beer with me to the party in a easy to carry and continually cooling carry-on. The center ice pack goes in the freezer then slips in. Love it !

I haven’t golfed a lot in the last three weeks and I have noticed I have deteriorated rapidly. Mostly due to inconsistency and mental fortitude managing my returned slice that causes anxiety on the tee. To fix this I am golfing three days in a row this week and will see what happens. I am looking forward to winning some money two out of the three days. I am getting tired of UTUBE and FB posts to fix this.

Ps I had to start up the A/C today as the motorhome for Jackie and lunch as it was just a little too hot for comfort.

2024 has had me dealing with old friends from JELD-WEN more than normal. Earlier this year a friend that has a beautiful home on the sea side of Van BC was having issues with water penetration. This was a very expensive Douglas/Fir wood package from Willmar Windows. I had numerous people attempting to find information and a solution and finally one of best service techs out of Edmonton Ryan Knisely provided the perfect solution. These were the Cadillac of wood windows but the intense wind driven water off the ocean was penetrating. I had the line drawings etc but the plant couldn’t come up with a viable option. Ryan’s experience and knowledge came thru big time and my friend addressed the windows as needed and success. No more than a month ago Jeff & Wendy were told they would have to replace their bay window to fix air/water penetration. I looked at the window and asked another ex JW employee that is excellent at his job here in Calgary to come look at them. Complete new weatherstripping, hardware, casement adjustments and a $3K save. John Tooley is another clever technician that finds a workable solution. I had a friend I golf with wanting new windows for his entire apartment complex ( he is the boards president) so I contacted Romi Sharma a friend and ex employee at JW to see about help. He was on vacation so I contacted John Trabysh who worked in our Edmonton office to get things started. John is one of those “good” guys with his work ethic and just being a nice guy. I always enjoyed my visits to Edmonton’s sale office to see him. When Romi got back he started gathering info and working at getting a quote. For this job we used A to Z Windows for the install. JJ the owner is a great guy and does an excellent job and has been a great customer for years. This was one of those cases were JJ’s ex wife and business partner came into the sales office to look at a window supplier and I sat down and met with her. She left the office with a commitment to buy her products from us. They became an excellent account and have rapidly expanded their business.

Today my golf friend phoned to say “Thanks ” as he decided to go with A to Z and JW windows. Great job by Romi, JJ from A to Z and with John’s help to secure this.

It was funny talking to Romi today as windows have become like Iphones as today they have a JW8500 series. 10 years ago we had a JW2000 and JW3500 series. LOL Each version better. I know JW had/has one of the best if not the best window in the industry and I know corporate wise they are doing excellent nearing 4 billion in sales and a EBITDA of 8.6% which both are great yet when I look at the Canadian operations I am confused as I had 22 sales reps working for me and today they have 2 only for the same territory ( Alberta). Odd as I see a lot of JW windows out there. I need to look at the JW financials to see JW Canada numbers. I do know at the time we had a targeted EBITDA of 15 % to get paid our bonuses.

MEMORIES

A 1% reduction in profit margin resulted in a milestone month in my second month as General Manager.

Thought of the Day

If you want different results don’t do the same things.

August 20th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 28 degrees, Calgary 26 degrees”

Time sure is flying by fast. At least one isn’t bored.

We had to park our vehicles up top as the condo board had arranged for the under ground garage to be swept. It was to be swept earlier in the year ( but still later than normal) and the water restrictions happened so it was cancelled. Today was the make up day. Ok here is where again a board is just dumb. It was not swept since winter and we only have 2 1/2 months before winter again which will bring in snow ice and dirt and we are paying for cleaning to last only this short short time. Either leave it until EARLY spring or have each resident sweep their spot up to the cages and then have it removed with the spring sweep, It just seems like a waste for 2 to 3 months max. Waste of money !

Today I was golfing at a course where I have never golfed before. It is only a 10 yr old course but I have heard good things about it from numerous people. Turner Valley is about 35 minutes away and this course was only 43 minutes away. Livingstone Golf course is a gem. Now I say 43 minutes and it would have been but lo & behold on HWY 1 the TransCanada highway the police had their lights on and were following a group of Indigenous flagbearers walking on the shoulder. Traffic was backed up for at least 5 miles or more. A less busy highway maybe a better option.

Arriving at the course the clubhouse, cafe all are wonderful log cabins and the staff very friendly and helpful. Extremely organized with carts etc. It was a busy day with a full tee sheet according to the Marshall.

This is only a 9 hole course but it looks and feels like a mountain course. You would swear it is Kananaskis or a BC Valley course. The layout is exceptional and challenging plus priced right. Very glad we decided to play there and try it out.

I am still struggling with a slice that I can’t shake. 2 lost balls ( 4 strokes) on the first nine and still ended up with a 41 . I played ever shot wonderful, except for the slice off the tee. I need to fix this. The second nine the slice killed me on a couple of holes again and one error. Overall playing well but stroke and distance penalties are killing me.

It was a lot of fun with great guys, hidden gem of a course and exceptional weather.

Jackie got me good in Wordle tonight. Her eyes were hurting after her beauty regime of tattooed bottom and top eye liner so I felt sorry for her.

Once in awhile but rarely, very rarely I fell asleep on the couch and Jackie took Daisy for a walk without me waking up. Two unbelievable events happened.

Fred & Terry have booked their flights to Arizona this year already so you know it is getting closer to that time. Jackie & I will need to come up with a plan very soon. My leaving Canada is contingent on weather. If it remains nice Nov 1st is fine and if the weather turns and looks like it will remain iffy as early as Oct 15 is perfect. I look forward to each year going south not only for the weather but I really enjoy the lifestyle. You take wonderful weather, lots of golf, events, dances and visiting with friends. We are lucky this year the Keys are staying until Jan 1st so we will need to get lots of game nights in, as following years we will miss them dearly. 17 years together in Mesa have been the best with Fred & I having had so many fun times, driving down, projects, get togethers and social events. Time changes everything and change in Mesa has been abundant. We miss Pat & Bob Ferris every year. We miss the get togethers with Ralph & Tracy along with Mel no longer there. Our block has changed dramatically as people’s lives change. I still know it is the best bang for your buck to enjoy a warm winter and have the socialization that is important. Both Jackie & I have wonderful golf group friends plus now Jackie is a yoga guru with her ladies group.

I do know this year we will make special arrangements to celebrate Atticus’s birthday early with us as we feel bad we miss his birthday each year. A winter baby is not the best time. LOL

Thought of the Day

You may delay but time will not, so make good use of it and protect it.

August 22-23

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 20/23 degrees, Calgary 20/23 degrees”

A little on the cold side and cold enough that wearing pants was needed to golf today. Where did our summer go?

Jackie and I went to the clubhouse early as we would not be finished until 8 pm or later golfing. I have forever as a kid and adult never ate supper that late. Jackie can’t tolerate it and I do not like it. I like supper at 6 pm. Eating at 8pm is not only difficult to handle energy wise it is quite bad for your health. There is a saying eat Breakfast like a king, Dinner as a Prince and Supper as a Pauper and for good reason. Eating late is bad for calorie retention, stomach issues and sleeping issues. So we went early and had a wonderful meal right between dinner and supper time. After the golf we stopped in with the Graces who wanted to eat late and had a drink and shared an appy.

It is always fun to discuss the stories of our weeks adventures which for them included a trip to the lake and Med Hat.

Golfing today was nice with a light jacket on. The entire group golfed pretty decent. I was happy playing from the blues with a 41 on the front and not one slice. Unfortunately I got hit with two slices on the back and lost two balls. Darn again. But quite happy with the golf overall. Jackie golfed quite well with a 102 and that is with taking a 9 on one hole. It was another fun golf adventure with the Graces.

Plus today Wendy made a joke that was one of the best. We were discussing golfing shoes as both Jackie & I’s golf shoes backs had broken down. Sketchers are lousy shoes. I had a pair of Adidas that lasted me ten years for golfing. Sketchers only two years. So as were talking Wendy suggests. ” Perhaps if you had a pedicure you heels wouldn’t rub the backs off and your shoes would last longer” I found it hilarious. You may have had to be there and know that I think pedicures are just wrong for a man to get done.

Daisy was spoiled at Audrey’s. I put some of her treats in a baggie to take thinking she would have extra to keep at Audrey place. She must have been such a well behaved dog she received the entire baggie of treats. LOL

Jackie when out spotted Jackson on his bike with is friends. He did not see her at first but had his helmet on ( one friend did not) and walked his bike across the road. He is a good kid.

News today was quite a mix. Interesting story on the luxury yacht that sank. I still think it was not a accident when you look at who was on board and how it sank. Boeing can’t do anything right. The DNC is interesting to watch. I have no issue with people supporting any party they feel that is right for them but the Dems are a NDP/Liberal clone. Give millions away , free student loans, carbon taxes, raise taxes on corporations, green initiatives etc that the left leaning socialist welfare people lean towards. Lots of great agenda items but not for a healthy sustainable economy. The Republicans desperately need a leader change as there is a energy around the Dems now with Oprah, Hollywood celebrity support, black and immigrant support. I think Trumps only hope is a very aggressive platform that people will support. We are lucky for the moment and can only hope Trudeau stays to try to win another term. ( he will lose big time)

The summer is slipping away so fast. So far this year my take is this. a horrible spring weather wise. July 1st came and a beautiful summer all the way today so lets see what fall brings. I do know the weather experts are predicting a colder and more snow than normal winter already. The same experts are also predicting a warmer than normal winter in Arizona this year.

I had my men’s league today in another glorious weather day. I did not win money. I did not care for my score but I golfed pretty well overall. Actually with the three days in row, feel and touch shots were a lot better. One slice that got me. Just to many errors and the course was set up for a tournament right before us so the pin placement was a little difficult.

A very fun afternoon golfing with three good guys. I always look froward to Thursday’s for the group to play together. Today only one of us scored well.

FUN !

Just before lunch today we headed to AMA for passport pictures ( free being a AMA member) . Do you know how hard it is not to smile. I had to do a retake. LOL Both Jackie and I’s pics turned out ok considering we needed to appear grumpy.

Then off the Passport Office. I didn’t remember the system so when we arrived we filled out our paperwork on site. I could have done it on line and saved about 20 mins or so. They move a lot of people thru there albeit not quickly but everyone knows it is going to be a 1 to 2 hour wait. And fast delivery as the lady said they will send them out Sept 9th.

Took and had the Flex stone chip fixed. Once again Jackie did not dodge the flying stone coming at her and let it hit her windshield. It was a smaller one but had a few slivers coming off so dangerous and hopefully it wont run. The lady doing the repair did not instill confidence in me stating this was just a summer time job while off school and she has only being doing this 3 months. Everyone has to learn but I sure hope I got her at her best work.

I walked down the hallway of our condo and I thought I was on a cruise ship. This is the typical celebratory decorations you see on a cruise for a birthday, anniversary or honeymoon. Good on the person !

Another doctors appointment for a medication prescription that is like pulling teeth. Shouldn’t be this way. Blood pressure pills are not like an addictive pain killer so unless something changes make the pills available for a year at a time not 3 months. Another example of money over common sense and need. Pay the doctors a salary they deserve and need, not to have this happen and think about how much more care can be provided with all of the open care spots.

Let me first say our family doctor of 33 years is wonderful. No one could ever say she rushes people thru her appointments. She is very caring and thoughtful. But she is a rule follower. Still today , booties over the shoes, masks, and sanitization. I love the fact she likes to get things done. She apologized over a delay in an appointment, no fault of hers and says she will try again to complete the task. She wants to make sure to take care of you but sometimes just a little too much. I had high cholesterol years ago and went on a Statin soon to discover not only negative side effects like muscle pain but a year of hell with testing that proved a possible diagnoses incorrect. After doing hours, hours and days of research but admittedly not a doctor, I have concluded that the statin scam is the biggest medical hoax ever pulled on mankind. With the internet it is iffy as opinions are not facts but you can take data itself and decipher it. I stopped taking Statins and after a year of blood letting and multiple tests like Cat scan, Pet scan, biopsy, ultrasound, nuclear blood test I was 100% perfect, not so much to begin with. Each time we have a discussion on Statins and after 15 years or so now she mentions it but doesn’t “push” it. Today again and my response was ” Dr, I am less than 5% over the target number ” and have remained there over 10 years. I lost 40 pounds at that time and changed my eating habits substantially. I promise I won’t blame you if I die from a heart attack.

I will never take the pill and actually now in todays world after 75 yrs old unless a heart attack they don’t even test your levels anymore. Same with mammograms and PSA tests. I guess they figure no use anymore.

I never push my thoughts on this to anyone as each person has to decide themselves. I will say and show a couple of things though. Heart disease is still the number one killer in the world and big pharma brings in 20 billion a year in sales on statins. Why ?? Dementia is rampant in the last few years. Our brains are made up of 25 % cholesterol.

“By 2050, more than 153 million people could have dementia, up from 57 million in 2019, experts are warning. The predicted rise is largely down to ageing and growing populations. But unhealthy lifestyles contribute too, the researchers say in The Lancet Public Health journal..

After 2013, the number of individuals who used statins increased by 149%, from 37 million in 2012–2013 to 92 million users in 2018–2019. 

Statins have become one of the most widely prescribed medications in the world, with global sales estimated to be over $20 billion annually.

20 billion spent and the death rate hasn’t really dropped, accounts for 34% of all deaths and dementia through the roof. Go figure. Something does not add up.

Data is real numbers but can be read and deciphered many ways. Here is an example of statin data research. 100 people given statins 10 die from heart issues, 100 people given a placebo 20 die from heart issues. They CLAIM a 50% reduction in heart issues by using 20 placebo to 10 statin. It is REALLY a 5 % reduction with 200 people studied and a 10 person difference in deaths. If you knew for a fact it was a 5% difference and the side effects would you take it.

The main take away message I believe, is the following. Statins do not prevent fatal heart attacks or strokes. They can only delay them. They delay them by about one or two days per year of treatment. Take a Statin for 20 years and add 40 days to your life if you are able to remember them.

Someone with neuropathy should look at their statin use.

Enough of that, but look at these above snippets, look at the stats, who doesn’t know someone with dementia, find out of they are taking a statin, no one will touch a 20 billion dollar golden egg, research yourself and I am sure you will be surprised.

.Here are few things being pushed and implemented by our left leaning government that unions demanded. Public Service Alliance of Canada, representing federal government workers, advocate’s for the use of pronouns in the workplace and wails for taxpayer dollars to cover gender-neutral washroom renovations. The Canadian Union of Public Employees calls for the “regularization” of illegal immigrants and the creation of race based seats at the bargaining table, while fully embracing the discriminatory, politically charged mission of “anti-racism.” Their contemptible demands hamstring this country and deserve to be laughed out of the room. If only they were and yet Liberals and NDP support this type of behavior. I am REALLY surprised the feds stepped in but like it. Now if they refuse to work FIRE everyone of them. 70% of Canada’s workforce is private that doesn’t belong to a union will support the move. The economy will struggle but at some point the ” regular” worker and Canada has to stand up to these threats, intimation and attempt to stop the stupidity. Next time anyone complains about the price of anything one word should come to mind. UNIONS. Away past their usefulness.

I would like to see Canada/Alberta move to a more private business model to help reduce incidents like this, for the medical industry, the education system, and the health system. For Alberta private medical clinics, private schools, our own pension plan, our own police force, and our own insurance model would be a HUGE benefit.

Lots of lightning tonight and a few cracks of thunder. Just as Jackie was closing our patio door a large clap happens and she JUMPED. It was funny to watch, I love that Daisy pays no mind whatsoever. Dogs are funny as if someone says ” Who’s at the door” real excited the dog will become that. If a thunder storm happens and you “baby” your dog thinking they are afraid, guess what they will be afraid.

We have a meeting tomorrow at Oasis as it looks like they want to move forward with a electrical upgrade. I want to go to the meeting to see what kind of special assessment we are going to be hit with. It is needed so everyone needs to just suck it up and get it done. The plan is to meter each site and have 50 amp service at each. During the hot weekends it is much needed. I hope only a couple grand but it could be a lot more.

Thought of the Day

Money does not buy happiness but at least you can afford to be in comfort.

August 24th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 22 degrees, Calgary 23 degrees”

WOW is it windy. All day 30 to 50 kph gusts. I love the sound of leaves blowing but today a bit much. Plus out at Oasis the fear of branches falling is high.

We came out early as the park was doing a info meeting on our power project. Unfortunately the main question wasn’t mentioned. HOW MUCH? I guess we will need to wait but i would have thought this would be the most concerning item for people to make a decision. I am hoping less than 3k but rumor has it as high as 5k. Time will tell but it is needed.

Auggie & Atti were dropped off as the girls had a concert to go to in Drumheller at the amphitheater.

With the wind there were less people around and in fact the boys had the beach to themselves.

The playground had very few kids also.

My 33 yr old timer that i used on my underground sprinkler system in Shawnessy and here finally failed. I could not get it to work anymore. DARN. You would think they would last longer than that. I will replace.

Too windy for a weiner roast and no hamburger buns we decided on pizza. A little costly from our store but sure handy and semi decent.

Ice cream for dessert.

August beat Papa at Chinese Checkers. Should I let him sleep in the motorhome tonight .lol LEGIT WIN.

Uno and Chinese Checker games galore. One loss but still kept my middle name of Master Larry Uno Kim Checkers Willard. It is getting a little scary as both of them hone their skills and I am at risk of luck helping them. Last loss to Atticus was with having a wild card as his last card. Love it.

I burned all of my leaves and small branches that fell during the wind yesterday. I will clean the pit out after the fire is out and ashes cold.

Plenty of smoke with green limbs and leaves.

I hate the stain on my deck but I have decided to wait for spring to completely sand and re-stain with a product that is harmful to the environment but actually WORKS.

The boys slept well last night, played games, and watched a couple of movies.

I am sure I well be well smoked after today but nice to have the crap burned.

Jackie made pancakes, eggs and bacon for breakfast so everyone is full.

Just a beautiful day with NO wind and I see next week for golf is looking great. My threshold sill for Jessica’s shed is supposed to be on Monday so if it arrives I will try to sneak down next week. Hopefully painted inside, light is there and fridge so I can get close to completing it. I do love this shed and I may break down and install the hurricane hangers.

Came back to town tonight, showered to be less smelly and had a nice supper and a Big Brother watch.

Busy week as here are the plans.

Monday install new timer, maintenance on the motorhome( no Jackie as I need to go on the roof and under it) buy candy for 200 kids, and liquor for 100 adults. Pick up Halloween decorations and choice new addition.

Tuesday – golfing with the Graces and out for a nice evening supper with friends at 5 pm. lol

Wednesday – Raymond all day if threshold sill shows up.

Thursday – Turner Valley men’s golfing group

Friday, ready the lot for Halloween, make 200 plus candy packs.

August 26th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 26 degrees, Calgary 25 degrees”

Couldn’t ask for a nicer cool fall day.

First thing this morning I headed to the Wholesale Club to pick up the candy for our Oasis Halloween event coming up this weekend. I typically buy for around 200 kids and if we have any left over we give it to Tor to use. But we average that many most years. $1 per kid and I picked up a nice selection so one night this week Jackie and I will be bagging candy. Chocolate bars, toffee, suckers, bubble gum the kids will like the bags. It is so much easy to control the quantity having individual bags all made up. I picked up 100 shooter glasses also for the big kids. If we run short we will have to do some fast dish washing. Just figuring out what to serve this year and it’s pretend name.

Each year we add one more decor item for our Halloween theme. This year a sickly looking young girl with blood and stitches. A mouse to scare people when taking a shot and table cloths.

I then whipped over to Canadian Tire as after research they had the best deal on the timer I needed. I love Canadian Tire and overall their self brand products are pretty good quality for Chinese stuff.

I found it and checked the packaging for info and no where does it say how many and what kind of batteries it uses. I checked the package thoroughly , I checked the webpage and couldn’t find anything so I took it to the customer service desk. The young lady searched everywhere and finally unbeknownst to me it is made by Melnor and she used that page to state it takes 3 Double A batteries. I grabbed a 4 pack of Duracell and headed to the lot.

This thing is like programing the rocket ship going to the moon. And they make the instruction sheet writing so small I had to use my magnifying glass app. It can be programmed for two different zones to have 4 different start times automatically watering 24 times per day for 7 days. I think I am ready now to push the button for programing the NASA spaceship. BUT before I was able to work on this I put my 4 brand new batteries in and struggled to get anything to work. Numerous tries and I figure my timer is a dud. I don’t know what I was thinking but I thought I would try a few older batteries from the cupboard and Yahoo it worked like a charm. NUTS that a brand new package of Duracell batteries with a 10 year shelf life warranty had ZERO power.

I hooked up all of my hoses and timer and time will tell how I make out. LOL

On my way home I stopped at Canadian Tire to return my batteries. No credit or return exchange only. Finally after explaining my circumstance the 70 kms total I travelled I suggested I need to talk to the manager as I do not need another set of bad batteries. She said she will do it, this time, but it is against policy. I got my credit card refund. I love Canadian Tire and understand the policy but exceptions and circumstances happen that policy should be adjusted, What impressed me most was the young girl taking the initiative to please a customer and taking ownership of the sale and bending policy. She is the kind of girl I would have loved to be working for me. Any rep that made a poor or questionable decision I backed up completely. They learned and the customer was happy and hopefully retained. Two times I remember cost us $40k each. One at Home Hdwe in Ft Mac and one home builder, Homes by Us here in Calgary.

So a great day and a far amount done.

Thought of the Day

The customer may not always be right, in fact a lot of time wrong, but it is extremely important to remember they are the CUSTOMER and most importantly they are the manager of your pay cheque

August 27th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 23 degrees, Calgary 25 degrees “

Well another wonderful day but not forecasted by the weather experts, We were supposed to get up 50 to 80 kph winds and we got maybe 10 kph at the most. We were to be cloud covered yet we experienced a relatively sunny day.

Today we were at Wintergreen Golf which is a beautiful course just outside the city in Bragg Creek. It is a exceptionally nice course, plays long and I would say quite difficult. Having said that all four of us today golfed lousy. Jeff, Wendy, Jackie and I all struggled today and were not up to par. Nothing seemed to work consistent for anyone. I would say overall not score wise but shot wise it was one of my worst days.

There is a saying about a bad day golfing is still better than a good day at work. I will say this is far from the truth. There are excuses to be had but I can’t figure out what my issue is. I guess that is consistent with everyone. LOL

One of the nice things about a country course is the wildlife. Two whitetails and a baby deer. I would have thought fawn’s were born in the spring so they would be big enough not to miss their Mom’s when shot during hunting season October/ November. This fawn still had his spots. You have to look closely behind Jackie to see him.

Still, it was a fun day with great weather and the course not very busy. Awesome.

After golfing we headed into Bragg Creek to the Bavarian Tavern. I was hoping for the Italian Farmhouse but this place was fantastic. Decor- 10/10, service 10/10, food 10/10 Caesar 10/10 Beer 1/10. Amazing place but a 1 out of 10 for beer choices. How do you have a tavern and not sell one kind of “normal beer”. As this was the start of our experience I thought Oh No ! Then no mashed potatoes. Oh No ! So I chose a beef tenderloin medallion with fried potatoes and shredded cabbage. The dish was beyond good. Amazingly good. Everyone raved about their choices. The dessert Apple Strudel was fantastic. And their Caesar’s were one of a kind good and exceptionally good. This to my knowledge was the first Caesar I have had that had 1 oz of vodka and 1 oz of gin in it. I loved the taste. The menu is not huge so one may struggle trying new things but I would for sure recommend this place and go back again.

Looking at the weather warning coming I am sure we are being fooled again. I see people panicking covering things, tying them down on Facebook especially at out RV Lot. We are going to get 1.5 inches of rain. Not a reason to panic. They state up to 80kph winds which is bad but I will wait to see if that happens as our 50 kph did not happen today.

Thought of the Day

The saying Wait an hour for weather in Calgary to change is so true so we can forgive the meteorologist.

August 28th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 17 degrees w/rain, Calgary 11 degrees w/rain”

Weather forecasting, the only job where we sort of expect your decision to be wrong.

AND IT WAS. The winds did not happen with maybe reaching 20 to 3o from the 80 kmph predicted, Light rain far from the 1 to 2 inches predicted.

Oh well it at least got everyone’s attention. Snow this morning at Lake Louise. It is coming. A high of just over the single digit and lows in lower single digits,

But it is a dreary day.

Romi emailed and let me know my sill/threshold was in. I phoned to make arrangements and get the address. When I arrived I was surprised as it was in an office above AAA Doors an old millwork customer. I made a surprise visit to Charlie the owner. He gives me a big hug then grabs my hand and holding it takes me all thru their office to meet people. I met Ricky who now works for Charlie that had his own start up company. I helped Charlie get started in Calgary around 2002 or so. No one would sell to him but he was a legit business and I helped him. From 5 employees to away over 50 now I would say he was very successful. He is just one of those nice guys. A few months after I retired ( 10 yrs now) Charlie phoned me early in the morning while I was in Mesa laying in bed to offer me a job. It is always fun to revisit and always nice to be so welcomed.

I got my sill and then stopped at Home depot to pick up some weatherstripping for Jessica’s shed. As she didn’t buy kerfed jamb I will install surface mount stripping to keep rain and snow out. I could use my oscillating and attempt a kerf with the jamb installed but it is not easy so this will work fine. Wow is stripping ever ridiculously expensive. I bought the three piece set plus the box sweep and a garage sweep to use for the bar doors and it was $100.

I have alerts set up on all of my visa/credit/debit cards and as I am working on this I get a text saying a $320 bill was paid to a SCC Sundance. I hate short form and acronyms. Why not just give a decent description of the company. I had to deep think, real deep and you think perhaps an error than it clicks. Service Canada Centre and passport charges. How dumb not to use a name I would have known immediately.

I started to make our Halloween candy packs. Jackie took a break from her work work and helped as we made 200 packs with 2 chocolate bars, 1 large Tootsie Roll, 2 bubble gums, and 1 sucker. So we have 200 premade and if busier than we think I have backup for another 50 or more loose. It takes time putting this together.

Daisy is just having a lazy day watching us work.

The rainbow tonight was the best ever. The pic does not do it justice as it was a full half circle and bright.

Big Brother producers allowing Tucker to get kicked off the show is a mistake. The ratings will plummet. Oh well !

Thought of the Day

When you clean out your vacuum cleaner you become a vacuum cleaner.

August 29th-30th

My TV group today with fantastic weather. The course is in perfect shape. I have been struggling for awhile now with a slice. Today two slices that cost me strokes. TV is a hard course. Plus the fact I am not just playing well. I do not know the reason why but I am finding it quite annoying. Thinking too much playing golf is a killer. My next game is with the Graces at Muirfield and I want a 70’s score or at least low 80’s.

No matter what I have a lot of fun with my group and look forward to each week playing there. It is too bad Jeff didn’t join years ago as it is a course you can play weekly or more and never get tired of. Plus the restaurant now is exceptional.

Hurried out to the lot today and readied it for the long weekend. I picked up all of the Halloween decor from Tor’s and checked it all out. I will do the final set up on Saturday morning after our resort pancake breakfast.

I bought cable for our hanging creatures but next year I need a couple of quick connects as it is tied up to the outdoor kitchen and my Jeep. I can’t move my Jeep without at least a 10 minute removal of the cable. But my idea worked out perfect.