July 1st–2nd

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 24 degrees Calgary 20 degrees rain Mesa 41 degrees”

I think we all should be ecstatic that we are in Canada versus any other place in the world. Remove Trudeau out of the picture and we have the best country considering our standard of living, health care, education, tolerance etc. It is a country built of immigrants heavily weighted to Europe but we all mixed well. The new immigrants I can’t say the same unfortunately. I love Canada and I am proud to be Canadian.

It is unfortunate that Canada Day doesn’t get prime weather. Today is cooler, overcast and rain starting in 18 minutes. Victoria headed to Lethbridge for Canada Day celebrations as Raymond does a fantastic job with the community event. The doppler shows a fair amount of rain down there so hopefully it will be ok. I added Mesa today just to show what good summer weather should look like.

I did a portion of my monthly budget this morning and it is always interesting to see the ebbs and flows of income, cash balances and net worth changes. We need the TSX to maintain at it’s current levels without a hiccup. Asset growth has been good with higher values in Mesa, RV lot doubling in value and used vehicle pricing being quite strong. I base my monthly values on the Kelly Blue Book which is relatively current but understated and MLS realtor.

Today was a beautiful summer like day. Warm in the morning, nice mid day then a storm rolls in. Fairly windy, loads of rain and some smaller hail. Very typical but inconvenient for some, but nice to have the rain with the warmth.

I was out at the lot until I saw the black sky so started to head home. It was an experience. There are so many people that SHOULD NOT have a drivers license. I could see the storm head approaching and I had drivers driving at 20kms per hour due to a little rain. Turn your wipers on high, be careful with excess water on the road but you can in most cases still drive the speed limit. No reason to potentially cause accidents with stupidity of driving excessively below the speed limit. I did make a drivers error knowingly as I went thru a yellow light turning red as I was only a few blocks away from home and didn’t to want get peppered with hail while waiting.

I still think drivers license retesting should be done every 5 years. If a person can not back up at least 200 ft, parallel park or be able to keep up to traffic flow and know the rules and exhibit proper etiquette the license should be revoked.

I rebuilt my septic tank platform as it had rotted out. I replaced a few boards and screwed up a couple of 4 x4 boards. I planted a couple of extra geraniums I had bought at a clearance and I snap tied up my new surge protector. I dropped the levelers and pulled out the slides. I dead headed all of the plants, cut off the 1000 suckers and trimmed the bushes.

The lot is looking great and after Thursday’s golf I will spend a lot more time out there.

Our Daisy is only 4 years old but being the kind of breed she is with a overbite and cross bite the potential of tooth issues is prevalent. Jackie is exceptional at cleaning and brushing her teeth but it is impossible to keep the back ones clean as she doesn’t use them. Today $1500 later for the removal of three teeth she is laying beside me bewildered as to what is going on. Being put to sleep causing confusion for humans and dogs. Hopefully no puking and the pills kill the pain. It is like watching your child go thru a painful time. The vet figures another tooth issues in about 4 years due to her mouth.

Here is where we are lucky. When we bought her we bought puppy insurance which is going to cover the bulk of this. So lucky lately as the Flex repair was covered now Daisy’s expense.

I could work all day for a week to get what I want done.

A fun day and summer is here. Pool today was even busy !

Lots of Utube videos and I believe it is a grip change that is causing me to slice again. I cant wait until Wed try out my theory.

Thought of the Day

Isn’t it funny how day to day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different.

July 3rd

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 21 degrees, Calgary 17 degrees”

I went out first thing this morning in my golf clothes for the day to buy dog food for Daisy. First dogs are expensive. $100 bill for treats and food for a itty bitty dog.

While out I discovered I could not trust the weatherman and on arrival at home changed into pants for today. Good thing.

At the course I had to layer up, add a toque for the cold and wind and winter mitts to keep my fingers from going white.

THIS IS JULY AND IT SUPPOSED TO BE SUMMER. WE HAVE YET TO HAVE SPRING so I guess I am just being impatient.

Speargrass Golf is sure spending a lot of money on the course. Paved the paths, new carts with GPS and now a new clubhouse being built. Nice. I may have to golf more often as it is so close.

We all expected a day around 17 degrees, slight breeze and no rain. We got drizzle on the course, rain on the way out, 30 kmph winds and maybe 14 degrees. Cold !

Golfing due to wind, cold, lack of focus and stiff muscles did not work out to low scores, Sad to have a great day planned, nice course, fun friends and then have mother nature spoil it.

We stopped in for supper at the clubhouse and as usual the food did not disappoint. Plus we had our waitress from last year that makes the best Caesars.

Jackie tweaked her neck and did not golf the last few holes. In fact as the night went on it began to get more painful for her. A stiff neck can be very painful. I am sure the cause is her cell phone time. You are leaning your neck for hours and holding that cell towards your head.

Cold packs and hot packs plus a few topical applications and pills hopefully relieves it.

Daisy still on pain killers spent the day with Audrey which I am sure was good for both of them.

Thought of the Day

Golf is called golf as all of the other four letter words were used up

July 4th -5th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 26 degrees, Calgary 24 degrees”

Golf today at TV with my men’s group.

I have not had a good golf game since coming back to Canada. I still think my driver shaft is the root cause but not all of it. Sore muscles, only golfing about 6 times, missing a week or two of not golfing and once a week golf all have made an impact.

Today though my threesome that even has a single digit handicapper in it everyone sucked. Our group scores were 94, 94 and 95. We are in three different flights with Larry finishing in last place in his, Donn finished last place in his and I finished in 9th out of 12. No money for any of us. Larry scores a 78 last week and a 94 this week you just have to say “WTH” We had fun, the weather was good the course exceptional which is all that really matters. I have to do better !! No right and quite disappointing as to what has gone wrong.

Today was Audrey birthday so we met Alan at her place and cleaned her car and installed a new garden water hose for her. The dogs loved the lazy day. Tia and Daisy like the blanket .

Alan and I whipped to Subway. Wow have subs gone up. A 6 inch sub is now $8.49. A 3 inch round $3.49. That is sick !!

Thought of the Day

People think it is the responsibility of the man when dating to pay the bill for food when going out and why it is called Men’U. I think it is to be shared or split and why it is called Me’N’U

July 6th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 25 degrees, Calgary 24 degrees”

Well the summer weather is here.

Last night after Audrey’s we stopped by the Graces as Wendy had some potion for Jackie’s neck. It was a nice visit on the back deck. Their daughter and boyfriend from BC arrived just about the same so we had a great visit. Taylor is getting so mature now. Age does that and fun to see her become a successful young lady living far away from her parents.

The backyard grass at Jeff’s place looks awesome as it is lush and green. Along with the green lawn the fence gives the large backyard a great look.

I whipped out to the lot to do a few things. I spent a few hours adding heads and adjusting the flow. The irrigation was on so the timing was perfect as I got fairly wet getting it done but dried quickly. Now if this weather would only last three months straight with the odd rain storm at night it would be wonderful.

The deck is starting to peel. I was hoping to wait until next year but I think I have to sand and re-stain hopefully with a way better product. Darn green people !!

A very enjoyable nice day getting things done.

Thought of the day

— “No one leaves here alive. So please stop treating yourself as an afterthought. Eat delicious food. Walk in the sun. Jump into the sea. Speak the truth that you carry in your heart like a hidden treasure. Be silly. Be good. Be weird. There is no time for anything else. – Anthony Hopkins

July 8th-9th

I am not even going to state the mercury forecast today as it is FINALLY SUMMER.

We had a birthday gathering at Audrey’s as we had a few people with recent occasions. Audrey, Alan, MaryAnn, Danielle, Justin, Corey, Jackson, Jessica, August, Atticus and Jackie & I were in attendance.

You have to love KFC for occasions like this.

We were very lucky there are so many trees behind Audrey’s deck as in the house, and a portion of the deck, were just too hot. Sitting outside in the shade of the trees was wonderful with the cool grass and breeze.

This afternoon due to Victoria being part of the group of first responders that get a deal for entrance to the Stampede we all went.

First of all the parking spot we got was amazing. Corey new of this place and it was no more than a 2 blocks away and easy to get into and out of and a spot was open for us. Great find. Standard parking fee $20.

The grounds were busy but when I checked the attendance records we were lucky to get an off day with a smaller crowd as we are tracking for a record number of people. It has been a lot of years ( 20 maybe) since we went to the grounds. I do like it. I do have to say it was only the second time this year where there was a small bead of perspiration on my forehead.

Here is my take :

• First of all the overall pricing structure is Ridiculous. The parking at $20 has been the standard for a few years but that is where it ends. The food pricing is insane. $10 hotdogs, $8 popcorn, $50 for two beer, two water and a mixer, lotto tickets are being pushed for $100 but the most expensive thing are the games and rides. You could not afford to sent your kid for the day. To throw ONE ball or dart at a balloon or stacked pins is $10 per throw. Just dumb. I KNOW IF THEY REDUCED THAT THEY COULD MAKE A LOT MORE MONEY OVERALL but they are caught up in the frenzy to increase everything. A WAY WAY TOO EXPENSIVE WITH VERY LITTLE VALUE OR RETURN. I feel for the parents and kids.
• The Grandstand show was SPECTACULAR. For anyone coming to this for the first time they have to be impressed. Gord Gilles as the host was great, the dancers had great routines, music was loud and exciting, the Hudson Brother’s band was impressive, the cage ball of motorbikes cool, the flame lady hot, but the best part was the drones and fireworks. I loved the Indigenous relay races also. Those are fast horses and great horseman and ladies. Amazing.
• Funny how the demographics of the crowd changed. At 5pm 75% of the crowd were 12-15 year old want to be cowgirls ( no idea where all of the young boys were) but at midnight it was 75% 40 -65 yr old couples.
• Had some mini doughnuts ( not impressed as we had a bad bunch or wrong kiosk) We had corndogs which were wonderful and large, along with perogies and sausage that were great. Popcorn, mac & cheese, ice cream, beer, water all were consumed.

The host asked by clapping to indicate the home of the audience. It was amazing how many out of country people were there and just as impressive how many from other provinces.

It was fun day. We both thoroughly enjoyed the grandstand show and I like the excitement of the carnival.

I thought this was quite interesting.

Did You Know? The History of the Middle Finger…

Well, now…,.. here’s something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to share with my intelligent friends in the hopes that they too, will feel blessed in having gained more knowledge. History is way more fun when you know more fun facts about it, don’t you agree?

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers. Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future. This famous English longbow was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as ‘plucking the yew’ (or ‘pluck yew’), Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew!

Over the decades Americans have since changed up the words , the ‘pluck yew’ is now “f**K you” and the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute! It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as ‘giving the bird.’ And yew thought yew knew every plucking thing.

A Global news report also made me laugh as I found it to be quite interesting.

“Edmonton actually has some of the highest rates of methamphetamine in wastewater of any city in Canada, so we know there’s very high use of that drug here. That drug impairs peoples behavior and their ability to make good decisions,” said Singh.

And we finally have the answer to the Oiler support and the NDP vote. LOL

Thought of the Day

Rodeo is about life lessons, and not just about belt buckles and winning. There is so much you can learn from a horse and a cow that you can’t learn from football or hockey. It is a real mans and lady sport.

July 9th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 34 degrees, Calgary 34 degrees”

Love it, finally summer sun for us to enjoy.

We slept in until 8 am this morning as Jackie had a work phone call.

I caught up on a few things and then readied for our golf game with Jeff & Wendy. I always look forward to these,

Today we were at Rivers Spirit and I will say it is like being at a mountain course as it just feels like you are in the mountains and so private. It is a long course at 6500 yards but the layout is fantastic with upper fairways then down in the valley with elevated tees and tree lined holes. I golfed pretty well today but lucky Jackie was with me finding my balls a few times hidden only a foot or two off the fairway. I had a right power fade all day but still kept the ball in play. Putted decent and chipped quite well, Numerous birdie shots but no luck there. Scoring low 80s is good but still not as where I should be at yet. My driver movement right is annoying.

Jackie half golfed today due to her neck injury but excelled at chipping and made numerous long putts and short putts.

Time away from the game hurt the Graces today but they had a fun time with it.

This course has struggled with their kitchen so we decided to come back to Calgary and we decided on a new for us restaurant called Blowers & Grafton. Their specialty is Halifax style foods.

Most people recognize we only get a hand full of days with sun and warmth in Calgary so a patio any chance you can is heaven. I was glad everyone agreed to sit outside and enjoy ourselves instead of being stuck in a a/c dark room.

I thought their menu was great with a lot of different choices. Jeff, Wendy and I had the Fish & Chips which was Atlantic Cod and was extremely good. They use Keith’s beer batter and with large portions it was awesome and as good as any I have had. Jackie had a wonderful looking salad with chicken called Wild Blueberry and uses blueberry balsamic as the dressing.

Jeff & I had the traditional French Fries which were fantastic but Wendy tried their ” chips” which really are kettle chips and in my opinion not near as good and in fact odd to offer. A kettle chip actually tasted bland. Certain traditional food items should not be played with. Wendy liked them though.

No regular beer on tap which is an oddity. No frosted or chilled glasses and they do not use traditional Caesar rim spices for their drinks. Celery was good though.

So it is a hard one. Out of 5 for each with 5 being the best.

• Food- # 5 fantastic fish & chips and great salads. Limited kinds of food we had to judge but what we had was perfect
• Drinks- #2 Not to have regular beer on tap, not to have chilled or frosted glasses and not to have a “great Caesar drink is too bad
• Decor- # 5 the outside deck is one of the nicest I have seen in Calgary. It has wind protection, sun protection, heaters and lighting. First class.
• Pricing- #2.5 Some drinks were stupid pricing as Jackie’s Mule was $14.95, food pricing overall on the pricy side ( ie adding chicken to salad $7) Happy hour pricing on food ok but just brings it to what I would say is the correct level

Now the question. I do not think I will be back as the deficiencies out way the advantages. Cold beer on tap is a must ( IPA is not good beer) , good Caesars are needed and the service only mediocre. I would take a place like Bobby’s Pub any day.

Another wonderful fun day of golfing and socializing in the warmth. Your muscles are so relaxed when it is warmer. In fact only warm not hot as I even took my hat off to try to even out my tan on my head. One small drop of perspiration only on my forehead.

Thought of the Day

Don’t forget to drink water and get some sun . We are basically a house plant with more complicated emotions.

July 10th–11th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 34 degrees, Calgary 35 degrees”

Yahoo ! not for the Stampede but for getting finally summer weather. In fact tonight on my way home from the lot it read 39 degrees on my Jeep gauge. Love it !

I went out this morning and a spent all day working out there, I stopped and picked up a new Clematis and I will try again after two fails in the same spot. I much different one this time with huge leaves, larger veins and large flowers. the last two have been Jackman’s this time New Love so we will see how it makes out. They are fickle until established and not being able to give daily care makes it harder to protect its roots and water correctly. Plus Clematis Wilt is always prevalent.

I cut the grass, trimmed the bushes and deadheaded the flowers and reset the heads to hopefully have the best scenario.

Our neighbor across the road lost her husband and has been too busy to come out so I thought I am as well rake her lawn and cut her grass to make her lot look better. There was a huge amount of branches and twigs on her lawn. I was going to borrow a lawnmower but I thought why not do it myself. She has a fairly big lot and cutting 8 inch swaths takes awhile. Made me have memories of my Grandad when he had a single blade plough that he pulled behind his horses and the hours it took him to plow a field that was acres.

The pic shows my massive lawnmower.

It took me some time to get it done but I am happy with results. She most likely has close to 20 bags of leaves/twigs to load as I piled them up to back fence. I was going to water but couldn’t find a sprinkler anywhere in her yard.

Fixed up the shed and talked to a few neighbors and the day was done.

It was the first day where I actually had a small sweat happen on my back and neck along with my brow. Not hot but just nicely warmed.

Coming home bugs were sick. The windshield was covered in bugs as you could hear them hitting when driving. Wet spring and now hot it will be bug season now.

We had a text about 10pm from a neighbor at our lot that said she could hear a beep from our motorhome so we decided to head out and check it out. It turns out the buildup of heat made the carbon monoxide detector go off. Just a reset and hopefully not again as the heat can build up easily in these temps.

A early tee time today which was nice. Having no driving range isn’t good as you don’t really get to warm up but that is the reality for now.

First hole and slice right not a great start. Then I started to golf quite well until a dumb error. I hit a tree and we could not find my ball and I ended up taking a 9 on the hole. 5 pars and birdie and end the 9 holes with a 46 but I let my blow up hole get to me as when that happens you know you are out of the money and things went south. Darn, the course is wonderful, the guys fun to play with but no money today again even with a birdie as someone else on the same hole also got one. No snips or deuces and finished mid pack. NO MONEY WON again, !!!!

Turner Valley Golf Course is amazing but causes me issues most times with its tight fairways and veery difficult greens.

Thought of the Day

We learn so many things from golf—how to suffer, for instance

July 12th–13th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 25 degrees, Calgary 26 degrees”

Love the temps and I see we have another 10 days of wonderful warm weather coming up. I prefer the 30 degrees for a hot day but 25 if working outside is perfect. 30 degrees for golfing is prime.

Today is our Grandson August 9th birthday. Yes I know his birthday is in July and he is named August but I had nothing to do with that. I asked for him to be named Larry Jr. LOL

This kid is beyond good looking and could be a model or movie star with his good looks. Add to that his sharp mind he is special. He is far advanced in his thinking and actions for his age. Loves games but does like to win. Fearless in his response of teasing as he has an answer for everything. Awesome kid and only one year away from double digits which is unbelievable.

Happy Birthday August

Off to Lethbridge for August’s birthday along with Jackson for a fun birthday party.

The weather was spectacular.

August had a wonderful birthday party. He has some very well behaved and nice friends that joined him.

Jess & Pen had a Extreme Gaming truck come and the kids could go and play video games including VR. It had a/c and cool lighting and loads of screens. Very friendly staffing to help. The boys had a blast in it. Add the trampoline, laser tag fights and the gym time in the garage it was a perfect party.

August had his choice for supper and Chinese food won. Small town Chinese is always awesome.

August made a killing with the money for presents plus some very nice gifts.

A fun day for everyone.

On our way home I decided to take Mayor MaGrath thru Lethbridge and had perfect timing. Thousands of people lined both sides of the street and kept waving to us as we were driving by. They must love the Ford Flex.

It is the Lethbridge Street Wheeler weekend so hundreds of nice classic and unique cars cruising the streets. We witnessed multiple burnouts along the way. Only one cop with a stopped car. I wish they would get real and ease up bit. Let go of the ego and what is right all of time doesn’t always work. It was a fun slow cruise for us.

The bugs on the way home were insane. You could hear and see your windshield filling up as we were driving. Hot sun and rain makes for loads of bugs.

Another day in the books.

Today again with great weather. Today is Jessica and Penny’s 11th year anniversary. August 9 now 11 years for them. Time does go fast !

I remember the wedding very well as it was a lot of work. Hauling a 100 plus chairs, picking up liquor and setting up the wedding venue including lights etc in the heat as it was a hot one. They and us did a great job of making it all work. I loved the venue, the set up for the ceremony was awesome and the food was spectacular.

Their one bridesmaid Cathy had her kids at Augusts party.

Lots going on today.

What a beautiful nice day with absolutely the perfect temperature. I booked my camping spot in Raymond at Perrott Lake to work on the shed and will leave on Wednesday morning as I have a dentist appointment and golf on Tuesday. Lethbridge is supposed to be 36 degrees or warmer each day so the muscles will be relaxed and the water will be drunk as the shed is in full sun and some heavy doors to install.

Customer service- GONE out of the window. Yet the odd time you get surprised. I wanted a couple of bags of Ice Melt with Calcium Chlorate . I would prefer the raw material but I haven’t found a place to buy it other in Okotoks. A lot of people don’t know but is a fantastic dust suppression agent and the golf carts raise a way too much dust.

I looked on line and Home Depot had lots in stock and I needed a few other things for Lethbridge coming up so whipped there. I couldn’t find the bin location so I went to customer service. Ten minutes later after talking to two zombies I had to give up. You can not have missing inventory to that degree but they were adamant they had none. Hard to understand the lack of effort on these employees part. I had a few things in my cart already but thought I would phone Rona across the street to the seasonal section and was answered by a young lady. Cordial, pleasant and helpful she said she would look and told me she would bring me two bags down from the back. I said I would be there in 2 minutes. LOL

I left my full cart at Home Depot with my stuff and drove over .

I arrived and she was just loading it up on her fork truck. Nice younger lady and was surprised to learn what I wanted it for. She provided excellent customer service. I picked up my other stuff and on my way.

While shopping I had a regret as I saw an almost correct window slider that I could have used as the bar access while the girls were spending the money to build their shed.

I never supported Rona much during my career as they were hard to deal with, we didn’t have many corporate deals with them, they were basically a eastern based from Quebec and i never used them to buy personal stuff perhaps as they were Quebec based but after today I think I will move a lot of my business over to support our Canadian company. Thank you young lady in seasonal at 130st.

Walking in the stores it is funny how the market has changed, JW has lost a lot of Depot business but has gained a lot of Rona business. Rona did have piles of Chinese made interior doors that were interesting and interesting to see if they perform and sell well. There was a USA company Lifetyle doors that sold these years ago but never made an impact.

Fitness guru Richard Simmons dies today at 76 years old. Just about made it the average longevity age for a man in the USA. I could say it is an example of exercise not helping but he was a fat guy 268 pounds before losing it. Who knows the damage. We most likely will not know the cause of death as one news media said natural causes and another said skin cancer. No matter he sure made a name for himself and was a character

Donald Trump had an assassin attempt today, It appeared he felt it on his ear but the news will let us know. Supposedly two dead. I am a little surprised as the left wing socialist Democrats usually are less violent than far right people. You hate to see this but the way the world thinks today it was bound to happen as even Canada people can no longer talk, discuss anything without someone’s feelings getting hurt, or backlash etc. It amazes me as I love to discuss with others of different wrong opinions.

Canada loses and takes 4th place in soccer. Painful to watch as they only had to hang on for about 4 minutes and couldn’t do it. Still exceptional performance.

Thought of the Day

It is odd how violence and humor so often go together isn’t it ?

July 15th to July 21st

First the weather is spectacular . I will update this as able as I know the campground which is basically in city limits does not have data or cell coverage. Just one of those weird odd spots, Same a Sandy McNabb which is odd.

Jackie and I had a very enjoyable time out there.

I readied the place to leave, we went for a couple of walks, talked to few neighbors and had a great left over supper.

Then I packed up my tools. I did not bring my router and large miter saw but every tool that is made is with me. The list is a way tooooo long. But nothing worse than missing something that is needed.

I expect a full 4 or 5 days to get everything done. Especially in the warmer than normal temps which are expected to be about 36 to 38 degrees and full sun. Early morning and late evenings will be used mostly.

The back of Jeep is actually weighted down.

In the cargo rack is a table saw, air compressor and miter saw. As I am not a professional carpenter and do not have to use my tools too often my tools are older, less expensive and repaired. Buy an expensive blade and a $200 table saw cuts just as good as a $800 one. It does not perform overall equally though. The three pieces here one is 40 yrs old, one is 15 years old and one is 20 years old. All still work well. The 40 yr old miter saw I bought from Trail Building Supplies in Edmonton when I worked at Sterling Dist. It has built so many decks, fences, lin ft of moldings it is ridiculous.

The back of the Jeep is full to the roof.

I hooked up the Jeep and headed to the condo and parked in my favorite spot as I wanted to block my wonderful street view for our neighbor and I.. I parked the Jeep downstairs and backed into my spot and covered my tools. I know it is not an exactly SAFE spot but if I lose them I will replace them with NEW better equipment. I only have had stolen two drills and a cell phone from downstairs so far. Isn’t it a shame to have to lock everything up all of time.

Trump just had his case dismissed on the documents cover up . Hate to say it but it pays to get shot. The way it is going I think Trump ( if he doesn’t get shot ) will win by a landslide over Biden ( if they don’t put him in a dementia ward). To many weird politicians being elected and hostile attitudes by too many countries make it a little scary right now.

I had my dentist appointment today which went well. All of the 3d surround and side x-rays showed everything is perfect. I follow my own schedule for maintenance as just like the medical doctors and car dealerships profit over necessity and common sense is their mantra. They would like two cleans per year. I get one cleaning every two years and have had no cavities. I am quite sure I would have my two baby teeth still if I hadn’t allowed them to pick, probe, and use floss on them, loosening them in the process. I had pineapple fluoride this time and man this stuff makes you feel funny, I do not like it.

Then off the golf course. Darcy Ranch this time and I love this course. Turner is exceptional but this course is it’s equal. I had the choice between 6000 yards and 64oo yards so today decided to go with the less distance. Without tree lined fairways it just fits my eye I guess as today NOT one slice or even power fade. Some wonderful drives the bulk of them being very good. The front nine resulted in 7 Pars. Everyone in regulation with a birdie putt that did not come to fruition. Just missed the putts by inches. I can live with 3 over on nine. Hole one I had a 215 yard second shot that landed 4 ft from the pin, Par .The next nine a little poorer performance. My back hurts a bit, you get a little worn down, a bit of bad luck and the score jumps up. Low 80’s I am not going to complain about.

The whole group I thought did quite well. I know Jackie had some amazing shots.

It hit over 30 degrees but it was nice out with it being overcast, and a slight breeze. No sweating today but I drink more water than usual and felt a little weak.

We stayed in the clubhouse for dinner which was great. Jeff had Gnocchi, and Wendy had lobster Ravioli while Jackie went for her usual and I had the beef dip.

A superb day, fun golfing and dining out was excellent. Love it.

81 degrees in a house is not good for anyone and Audrey finally broke down and went to turn her a/c on. Air conditioning is like a refrigerator, where they are designed to run for decades without issues. It is easier on the unit and less costly to keep your house cool rather than waiting for the a/c to drop the temp in your house by 5 to 10 degrees. They do cost a bit per month to run but much better than suffering in the heat and causing health or sleep issues.

As I have said we run our a/c in Calgary from April 1 to Oct 31 st for the last 17 years. We keep it a 73 degrees and it runs when it needs and is wonderful on hot days. We run our a/c in Mesa from Jan 1 to Dec 31st every year for the last 17 years also with only one repair. During the summer it is set for 90 degrees and during the winter 72 degrees. Now car a/c I have had my issues but it is on every time I am in the car except for when we come back in December.

All ready to rumble as we head to Raymond first thing in the am.

Sunday 7pm we are home.

I will start with the weather. As you know we had an absolute horrible spring weather pattern and July 1 happens and SUMMER. Days on end of 30 degrees is wonderful. I love it. Having said that, working outside this week at 32 to 35 degrees without a breeze it was hot. No perspiration but down right sweat beads. I am so lucky my perspiration doesn’t smell !

I have never drank so much water in my life. Jessica bought at least 48 more plus what she had originally, we had 24, plus Diet Pepsi. With the heat working outside in the direct sunlight, it wasn’t easy. We were so fortunate that Jessica supplied us with a canopy to cut wood or build under which the shade which helped tremendously. Still the the heat which I love was a bit much. There I said it. It was a little too much for working but for golfing, camping, walking, at the lake etc absolutely heaven. The a/c in the motorhome and Jessica’s house was much appreciated with it hitting over 37 degrees one day.

I knew going in it would be a few days work. It was that and more and I didn’t get everything done I wanted, but will wait for a bit until it cools down to work outside again.

Daisy had the time of her life. She got to travel with us, sleep right between our heads in the cool air, and she played for hours with her dog friends, Hazel, Olive, Rudy and Jasper. She loved Jasper who is a poodle mix. The running around, chasing was hilarious and Jasper is still a full nutted stud. Daisy is a flirt.

Help required. I was extremely fortunate to have some help each day. Not the experienced help of a Fred or Corey but energic and willing to learn help with a edge of caution with me hearing ” rest or have a water every few minutes ” The heat must have affected my hearing. I will say this my helpers were awesome and added to the “fun”. I know what Jackie is capable of as she has helped me million times and we get things done. Jessica dug right in and helped. Drywall scoring may not be her or Victoria’s forte. My sheet was a little broke. LOL

Victoria was a huge help learning to use the impact driver, drill, orbital sander, being my eyes for door gapping, and is still on the curve with drywall scoring and breaking.

Everyone was excellent in bringing me tools, bits, screws, water etc as it saves a huge amount of up and down and steps in the heat.

Jackie and I worked outside for forty plus hours in 4.5 days. I think that is amazing considering the heat. I thought we would work a few hours in the morning and a few hours after 6pm and rest during the midday heat but with lots to do we worked at least 8 hours straight each day and some days more than that.

Jackie and I talked about how long it took and what we did visually. I knew it would take time as we had to re-create two new rough openings with proper framing for headers and sizing plus a lot of trim work, lay flooring, build an exterior frame from scratch and two bars doors. Time just flies and trust me we took very few and short breaks as it was constant working.

I was impressed with Jess gathering materials for me to have on arrival. Can you believe Home Depot nor Rona carry Cedar in their stores. That is beyond dumb so Jess had to drive to Coaldale to get it from Prairie Cedar which is the place we got all of the cedar from for their pergola a few years back when they were in Lethbridge. She did awesome plus all of the help during construction.

When I got to the second slab door and I saw she found the rabbited jamb for the slab I was delighted. It was all pre-machined which didn’t match the door so I had to make new hinge pockets etc. A little putty , a lot of work and time consuming and then to assemble and then I was surprised. It was 1 3/8 not 1 3/4 rabbited as needed. I calculated I should have enough “meat ” for the strike to still work but I may need an a double adjustable strike to make it work. Lining up the hinging, adjusting header length and no sill wasn’t the perfect scenario. So pockets didn’t line up ( no big deal that a bit of spackle can not fix) I have forever cut my header 1/4 longer but on this door the gap turned out a little wider ( Tor did a great job of gap sighting for me ) so I surfaced mounted the strike and it worked out perfectly. It is not easy to assemble a heavy door unit on the ground by yourself with no factory machining on the jamb to match the door. I still have to find a sill threshold for it and install from the surface. I had planned on making it an outswing but with the direction of the wind and rain to help seal I went in swing. Not my preference as you now have to close the door to turn on the lights. I have to keep saying to myself “it is a shed” and it makes no sense to spend another $150 for jamb and sill that is proper. This will work perfect and look great. The two new fiberglass doors make a huge difference. I rebuilt the two bar doors which I think will perform great and look good. The flooring that Jessica picked was easy to lay and looks amazing. We went for a Classic Contemporary Modern wall treatment. I am hoping they decide to go WHITE inside as the flooring and cedar trim will look wonderful. They are leaning towards black which I think will look great but I prefer the lighter brighter in a small space.

Saturday night we cleaned up the tools and did a bit of yard work . I need to go to Lethbridge Irrigation and get a new 20 ft 360 degree head . I started the underground irrigation and the east side line works perfect ( could use some fine adjustments) the right side due to the half pike can’t be used but the center line has one broken head that looks like the lawn mower was set too low. A $10 fix but an hours worth of work.

We camped at Perrott Lake only about 7 minutes away from Jessica’s house which was great. I knew we had full service for two nights so only filled my fresh water 1/4 full as when we moved I could fill it there.

I do not make too many errors or mistakes but I have to accept a few on this camping trip portion. The sewer was a little hose stretch away so I had Jackie man the knife and I the end of the hose. She pulls the knife and sewer sprayed a bit and she reacted so quick it was amazing to jump out of the way and close the knife instantly. Re tightened and try two. The hose comes right of the coupling and sewer flies but again Jackie with cat like timing stopped it. Chinese products should not be allowed without stringent quality control. We washed up the grounds to make it nice for the next units coming in and moved over to our un-serviced site. The sewer episode threw my plans to fill with water. A few sites over and I start the pump and no water. The check valve on the fresh water tank was left open so no water and 200 ft to nearest water with only a 100 ft of hose so we made due as we were not spending a lot of time there. The campsite had showers near us so we only needed water for flushing. It was just an oddity but a reality.

The entire experience even though very tiring due to the heat was a lot of fun with the family there. Victoria and Jackson spent one night at the lake with us and Jessica and Victoria with Jackie as helpers it was fun.

Margy, one lunch made us a croissant with chicken salad in it that was to die for. If someone would have told me a chicken salad with grapes in it I would say you must be kidding. Man was it good.

So I lot of work, very hot, fun working with kids and another project just about done. Phase two when it cools down.

WE DID IT !

Jackie made a very interesting point about pain. With this amount of work any thing could begin to hurt. Motion is a lotion is so true. We both felt just fine except for one night when she wakes me screaming as she had an extremely painful leg cramp happen. ( too much water not enough salt)

MOTION IS A LOTION

This saying will stick with me forever as if people would just let go of the pain and get up and move everything will feel that much better.

This pic below has my co workers busy working, Rudy supervising, shows our tent for shade that helped tremendously and new doors in place just needing painting/staining.

I am shocked to see Jackie with a coat on pulling nails. The old doors just didn’t cut it.

The gauge today in other words says hot. I took the motorhome out to the lot and spent the day putting tools away, cutting grass etc. I stopped and put the jacks down and looked at the gauge.

Thought of the Day

This weather reminds of those girls in high school. Quit showing off we know you are hot.

July 23-24th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 28 degrees, Calgary 34 degrees”

I think most would agree we have had a beautiful stretch of weather in July. Unfortunately the smoke is settling in a bit but it is not bad. A nice breeze which makes it feel a lot cooler is happening also.

Up early this morning as Jackie was driving Victoria to work as the Buick was experiencing an issue. When Tor left Raymond I talked to her and said your catalytic convertor is sure rattling. These things can rattle for a long time with no real issue other than a check engine light and perhaps use a bit more gas or they can collapse inside and plug completely which will result in NO power or engine not starting. Thanks to the stupid green people of the world our automobiles are inundated with green shit that only cause problems. Sensor after sensor to meet emission rules all started from the west coast of the USA state that lives a different world.

Having said that, on Tors way home her car was chugging and she had no power to go over 20 mph. Failed convertor. The Buick has 4 which to replace are about 3K or if one only replace 1K

Jackie had a hectic day. Jackie got up early and drove Tor to work. She came back and we waited until after rush hour and she drove me to pick up the Buick and take it to a shop. I got about 1/4 way there and it was on it’s last legs with sensors shutting it down and unable to go10 mph and lugging. I found a safe spot before the #201 and had AMA tow it with myself riding with the driver.

Awesome service once again.

I dropped it off, gave my sad sob story and request and contacted Jackie to pick me up. She was with Jackson dropping him off to look at his braces. I walked from Mcleod Trail to 4th street to a Wendy’s and had lunch and waited for her. Uphill a quite a ways to walk around 20 minutes.

We then picked up Jackson and lunch for him and dropped him off at home.

Jackie worked from home for a few homes and then the shop phoned which was a call I did not want. I had taken it to a shop that I had used for Jessica’s car with great results. As the Buick has 300,000kms on it the decision was made to remove the convertor which allows the car to run perfect but with the check engine light to remain on and release ONE MINUTE more particle of particulate in the air. A fair, smart, logical shop owner that helped us solve an issue at a fraction of the cost.

Dirty vehicles drive me nuts ( I used to wash my 67 Camaro everyday when coming into town from the acreages dirty roads )so Jackie and I took both the Flex and Enclave thru the Bubbles Car wash. First a spectacular job done but a massively exorbitant cost. The Enclave was so dirty though that they drove it to a building away to their detail shop to try to get it up to spec to release it to me. Again awesome job but extremely expensive and the last time we will visit Bubbles. Now I just have to find the time for the Jeep. I have been a little lax on it with using it so much as a work truck. I loved the looks of the Flex ( except for not having my front windows tinted yet) when it came out of the car wash. Ford did a poor job of their paint though as we have so many white spots from rock chips on the grill.

We came home had supper and then Jackie went grocery shopping for us and Audrey.

She had one busy day but it was at least quite a productive one.

Paid some bills and got ready for golfing with Jeff & Wendy at McKenzie. We should have a great day as it is only hitting 33 degrees and with a smoke layer and no full sun. Looking forward to the golf and the get together after. I am thinking steak sandwich with salad. Yum ! I think we will eat inside today though with the smoke.

LIFE IS GOOD.

The golf was fun, The course perhaps due to smoke in the air was not that busy which was nice as we finished in 4 hours.

Today everyone golfed pretty good. Wendy broke 100 which is as we know only 55% of all the golfers consistently do. To break 100 is not that easy when you break the numbers down, If you are one over on every hole you would end up with a 90 so that means you only took worse than a bogie on 10 holes.

Jeff overall did quite well and Jackie excelled at chipping again. I took too many 3 putts which killed my score ending with a 85 on a easy course. Putting is king,

Each of our after golf meals were excellent but the creme de la creme was the frosted mugs with draft beer.

A fun afternoon with friends, golf and food.

We have a week booked with the Keys in August and we have a week booked with the Harry’s in September. Looking forward to them and the camping, fishing golfing along with the games involved.

5 MONTHS UNTIL CHRISTMAS EVE that is how fast time is going.

Thought of the Day

Time doesn’t fly when you’re having fun; it zooms.

July 25th-26th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 20 degrees, Calgary 24 degrees”

I used the temps from Friday but Thursday was not much different. BUT I will say this, it felt COLD outside and in fact one of my fingers turned white. You go from a nice temperature of 32 degrees to 22 degrees it feels cold. In fact golfing in my league I had to put on a light overcoat.

It was a funny day golfing. Just a couple of blow up hole skilled the score again. Turner is horrible for me with that. Eight pars or better and still get a bad score. i have a love hate relationship as this course is HARD compared to most I have played. It has water in wrong places, narrow fairways, smaller greens and very undulated greens. I will beat it sooner or later.

Having said that out of the group I finished 6th in the money list today. I will take that but could have done so much better. i think we about 24 golfers today.

Out to the lot this morning and worked all day. The flowers and grass are doing wonderful this year. I was going to stay out this weekend but weekends are busy and I prefer the quiet sometimes.

I laid down my calcium chlorate today and had numerous people stopping to check to see what it is. I will see in the next few days how it works and if more is required or someone complains. You should walk your dog around it as if they get on their paws and lick them it is not good for them Now this is a sodium/calcium mix that some people use when canning veggies. My hope it works perfect as the carts are the biggest culprit and speeders so I placed it the right width. I may need to shrink the width.

I came home and between Jackie and i we made a wonderful supper. Loaded baked potatoes, herb & garlic seasoned porkchops, garlic toast and an awesome side salad. One of my favorite meals !!

We are watching the Olympic games opening tonight. I am impressed with Paris and the format which was unique and wonderful. Loved it. Celine really ? Lady G awesome and everything else exceptional.

I enjoy watching the sports so with our favorite programs thrown in we will watch a little more TV than normal.

Thought of the Day

I understand Thailand has found a way to hide Adam apples.  tracheal shaving

July 27th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 24 degrees, Calgary 23 degrees”

It felt cold today being overcast, showers in the am and breeze in the afternoon. Jackie was busy all day with family commitments so Daisy and I went to the dog park for one spin around and then for her to watch my swing path at the driving range. She is a good coach. I am getting things dialed in pretty good just need to have that break 80 score at Turner. I am golfing on Tuesday at Heritage which is a quirky course so low 80’s is fine and I would be happy with but this Thursday at TV I will do it.!!!

The news is full of sad stories tonight.

Jasper which I like better than Banff suffering the burn losses and it just wont look the same for decades. I hope the tourists come back quickly for them and they rebuild quickly. There goes our insurance rates up again to help recoup insurance companies losses.

Our Canadian Women’s soccer team embarrassing our country is so wrong. It tarnishes our name so much worldwide. We have Trudeau making us look like idiots now the women’s team making us look like cheats. Add to that the Junior’s Hockey team sex scandal and we are becoming more like the States than we should ever be, SAD !

I watched a bit of the Olympics and a bit of the LPGA game late afternoon which was nice to do.

Luckily our warmth is coming back right away as I d not care for this colder temperatures.

Thought of the Day

A summer poem for you all. Man it is cold outside. The end

July 28th

Mercury Forecast Edmonton degrees Calgary 24 degrees”

A little on the cool side but very nice. Jackie was busy for the morning but we ended up going out to Oasis around 1pm.

It is nice and quiet out here. Fixed up some stuff and enjoyed it all.

Jess sent pics today of the shed painted. I love it. Makes it look modern, cool and like a mini house. Looks wonderful.

I will return to fix the pathway, install a new sprinkler head and install deadbolts. I love the looks of this thing.

Even Daisy got her own ice cream cone from the store tonight. She was in heaven.

BBQ Ribs potatoes carrots and beets were amazing tonight for supper.

8pm and 25 degrees out in the sun with no wind is unbelievable and so nice.

My calcium chlorate sodium chlorate mix is working well. Very little dust rising at all. GREAT !

July 29th-31st

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 26 degrees, Calgary 26 degrees “

There is great weather like hitting 30 to 32 degrees and then there is PERFECT weather weather being 25 to 28 degrees. It is wonderful.

Daisy is loving all of the walks she gets at Oasis and the cool air coming thru the window at night as she is sleeping on Jackie’s pillow. So nice that a high of 26 to 28 is reached and still the 13 to 17 degrees at night.

No campfires which is a drag.

Jackie worked a far amount in her ” new office” which was comfy. It also allowed her to have breaks for a walk of visit so she got a lot of work done but still got be involved .

I put another layer of chlorate down and it is working perfect. I noticed one lady drove between my dust block areas. Two ways to fix that. Either I will park on the lot across from us to prevent this or lay down more chlorate to cover the whole road. I had wanted to leave an area for the dog walkers but there always has to be that Karen that wants it her way.

I down loaded the CTV and Global app for our TV but they suck. Either the app does not coincide with the regular line up or these two channels are not very good. I want to watch TV without another huge monthly cost.

Golfing with Jeff & Wendy today at Heritage which will be fun. A later than normal start as Wendy had an eye appointment. She thinks her eyes are causing her to miss putts when I said it was all in the alignment. Her eyes will have adjusted by tee off, hopefully.

It was not stellar golf for anyone. Heritage is a quirky course with strange holes , blind holes and course management required. Nobody played well except for perhaps Jeff as he said he did have one of his lower scoring games. I played ok but if I would have counted using the ” real” rule of a lost ball with 2 strokes it would have been ugly. Mid 80’s but not accurate. I pulled LEFT on every drive today and got myself in trouble. I never go left but my new grip does eliminate slices. LOL

A nice after golf meal inside. We were going to sit on the nice patio but it had just been resealed and with the hot sun on it it smelled bad. I don’t know how people could stand it.

A nice waitress and decent food today. A shortened menu from what I remember but adequate. Cold glasses and beer, and with “Normal” beer on tap was excellent. Jackie had eaten earlier so only had dessert, I had the Beef Dip which was great, Wendy had their burger which looked delicious and Jeff a small personal pizza that looked and smelled great. In fact only piece of pizza left to take home. Small pizza but beer is filling. Jeff loves the dried peppers on his pizza and used a lot of it.

Speaking about a eye exam. I had a wonderful shot and hit the center of the fairway. I parked my cart and when I went to find my ball and it was missing. Wendy shot my ball. Not the first time. I had a great laugh on this as I got to tease her every time after that, perhaps her ball was mine and in fact my Srixon ball actually identifies as Titleist. LOL

There is an old golf saying. If you find it hard to meet new people just pick up the wrong ball on the fairway and you will meet new people very fast.

A fun fun day, awesome weather, lots of laughs and some frustration on the course and a great day with friends so a wonderful golf day.

In the parking lot near us was a R8 V10 Audi. ( $250K) Very nice and super fast cars that I knew Jason Cameron loves so I had to bug him and sent a pic of it to him. I would love to drive this thing.

The Heritage course is where the people with money must play. Ferrari, Audi R8, Mercedes, BMW, another Mercedes, Cadillac, Jaguar etc is all you see in the lot and all by its self my Jeep. LOL I golf it once a year maybe.

That reminds of a something I learned a long time ago. Drive up in a BMW owning $150K to the bank on it and people think you are rich. Drive up in a Jeep with $150K in the bank and owing nothing people think you are poor. And this newer generation has even pushed this further. Canadians are in more debt than any other G7 country and are in fact 170 percent of disposable income in debt. A combination of government policy and the attitude of wanting everything. Soon some Liberal or NDP’er will suggest debt forgiveness as a policy similar to Biden’s student loan forgiveness. Dumbest thing ever. Jackie & I when we were first married never even had a credit card. We had to save or do without. a lot of without.

Paying bills, checking accounts as it is the end of the month.

First time in 2024 where the a/c bill for Arizona is over $120 and this is with the a/c set 90 degrees. So many days over 40 this year. It always is high for June July and August so no real surprise. The way I look at is at least I know the a/c is still working. LOL August already which is sick as it has gone by so fast and really only 3 months before we are back in AZ. Inflation has hit the States as bad as we experience it, it still is less expensive to live there than here plus the huge benefit of being warm, going outside and moving all day instead of being a couch potato and having to do the exercise of shoveling snow. I can pay for a full year and live there 6 months for less than a 3 week vacation to a hotspot. You know which option I will take.

I whipped to Costco for some stuff for this weekend. Costco shoppers baffle me. Yes a lot of the items cost less but you have to bring a pickup truck as the case qty to get the savings is ridiculous. There are so many items I did not put in my cart due to this. Besides the potential food waste that most likely would happen I do believe if you buy bulk you will eat bulk. Interesting survey to see what percentage of Costco shoppers are over weight.

I got my few things I needed, and some extra along with gas in no time at all but every time in the store is an experience.

Slow, no beyond slow walkers, limping walkers, old farts, young mothers that can’t drive a cart and handle two brats, staring into space shoppers, back end wide load shoppers, they all come to Costco. I enjoy the challenge of moving quickly in and around all of them. It was funny and enjoyable.

Whipped over to PetSmart and dog food was on sale so I bought a case as we use this and Daisy only gets it if we give to her.

Just another perfect temperature day.