December 15th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 5 degrees, Calgary 14 degrees, Mesa 28 degrees”

WIND

Off to Raymond to see Atti’s Christmas concert. We should use a lot of gas. We will be bucking the wind the whole way. Although the winds have subsided down to 50kmph, they still impact our journey.

Lots of remnants of the damage that happened. We saw 4 semi turned over on the highway. Luckily for us it was not bad at all. The little Jeep just bopped and hopped along the highway. The ECO light never came on once. Sorry it did once when we were passing a truck and he was blocking the wind for us.

We surprised the kids by meeting them at school. Wow what a chaotic mess of kids. It is a little unbelievable to me that kids are sent to school. The home bell rings. Little kids as young as 5 and 6 are told to go home. They just run outside. The school abolishes all responsibility of them at the bell. Maybe it is a work to order mandate. What ever I do think it is wrong.

We found Atti and Auggie and both of them and numerous other kids running around with no coats on. It wasn’t that warm.

We visited at Jess & Pen’s place for awhile. Jackie even took a spin on Atti’s electric bike. Dangerous for a kid but more dangerous for Jackie NOT wearing a helmet and hitting 30 kmph. Bad Grammy

Then we headed to Subway. Yes Subway but no other choice. It is not even close between Subway and Blimpies in taste. and WOW over $8 now for a 6 inch sub.

The school did an awesome job with the stage setting, chairs, lighting and sound system. Once again Raymond showed off.

It was decent sized class of about 20 kids. 20 kids only ??? I loved the teachers quiet control as she played conductor plus instructor and was awesome. She had them dancing , singing and playing instruments. They did about 6 songs which was great. An awesome Christmas concert that we thoroughly enjoyed. Margy and Tom joined in the fan club.

Now Atti secretly loved the concert, Won’t admit it. Didn’t smile a lot. Wasn’t that enthusiastic about it. Having said that I saw him smirk when he saw all of us smiling and clapping at him.

The one older kid playing guitar should not have been held so many grades though.

A fun concert to watch and Atti did so well.

Tom did a fantastic job of building in the girls loft wall. Looks fantastic and a lot of work. He still refers to using a double pane unit for the divide windows rather the tempered units Jackie found. I agree they are quieter as they are insulated glass units IGU with an air space. However, they would have cost a LOT more money and there is a long wait to get them. But most importantly it would have been dangerous and against building code. Any window in a house that is over 9 sq ft needs careful consideration. These windows are 24 sq ft. If the bottom edge is less than 18 inches from the floor, top edge more than 36 inches from the floor, and a walking surface is less than 3ft away, it can be hazardous hence tempered glass. I was pleased tempered was used and will feel safe with the windows being there.

Tom & I against the girls in Crib and the lucky girls win. What ?

An easy drive home. picked up Daisy and went to bed.

Thought of the Day

A school play or concert is where you come for the plot and stay for the accidental comedy

December 17th-

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -16 degrees, Calgary -13 degrees, Mesa 24 degrees”

Jackie took Daisy for a early morning walk as she has a saloon appointment today. Luckily she did her business fast in the cold and Jackie drove her.

I picked her up a few hours later and she is beautiful. A little shorter beard and she looks younger and smells awesome. Wait until tomorrow when she goes outside in the cold.

She thinks she is a princess now !

I started wrapping gifts today. I like the square boxes the best as they are the easiest. I got a few done but am taking a quick break as I have joined the ROF union. ( retired old fart) and I have to follow the established rules.

I prefer wrapped gifts as a Christmas bag is just a lazy way of gifting unless the gift is some real odd ball shape. Having said that I have done this myself over the years lots, taking the easy way. But i like the wrap !

Then I looked outside and said DARN! Why wasn’t this yesterday. Supposedly a heavy snow fall warning but it looks pretty minor. This type if weather makes driving enjoyable. You actually have to pay attention and hang on to the steering wheel. The mini storm lasted for about an hour than back to normal. We had just the typical boring drive back and forth yesterday except for the rolled trucks which was the only interesting event. I missed this mini event.

“Memories”

Driving for over 50 years now I have driven on some pretty interesting roads. In all of those years only twice have a not gone or turned around and came home. There were Christmas eve’s driving out to Edson you couldn’t see any ditch. You just drove down the highway centre and judged the ditches by other lights. There were times driving to Ft Mac. For hours you could not see more than 4 ft in front of your hood. I always went. The two times I didn’t was recently with Atti and Auggi in the Jeep. We had a huge dump and Volker Stevin did not get enough equipment on the highway soon enough. We had babysat the boys. I was returning them to Claresholm. However, I got as far as Okotoks and decided to return. It wasn’t due to blinding snow or icy highway. The ice was buildup so high on the lanes and not plowed. I couldn’t drive over 40kmph as it was too rough in the Jeep. The other time I was driving to set up a display in Bruderheim. I got near to Crossfield and then turned back. I was doing this because the sales rep was not committed enough to expedite the process. I had promised the customer. I phoned the customer and headed out the next day.

I remember another time when I was meeting a rep near Trochu and the rep hit the ditch and plugged his vehicle so bad it had to sit in a garage to thaw the packed snow for days. That was a commitment to get to customer on a promise. I got to bug him on that for years.

I enjoy what some would call adverse conditions. Drives me nuts when I hear people taking side roads, roads too icy to go, a skiff of snow fell so I can’t come etc

A reporter was standing outside with no wind and light snow. She stated it was almost impossible to be outside today. You just have to smile. They also stated a 100 car crash on QE 11. I don’t understand that and would suggest she meant to say 100 vehicles were impacted by a crash. The storm was for 1 hour max. Very little snow . But with poor visibility and poor drivers it could have been ugly out there for a bit.

Then we changed the channel and the truth came out. 100 vehicles stopped on the highway due to the visibility not all smashed together. Having said a highway closure and lots of accidents stating dozens crashed not hundreds.

In the news one can only conclude it is not safe to be a parent anymore. There have been numerous incidents lately including the latest Reiner case and Deer Run Calgary case where parents are getting murdered by their own children.

Today is my brother-in-law’s birthday. Alan Huggett.

I used to email roast to celebrate people’s birthdays. I have done so for 30 years or more, particularly for my staff. I felt it connected everyone and was always in good fun and if someone couldn’t take a ribbing they have pretty thin skin and I should get rid if them. A test of sorts.

The world has changed. I have people that I can’t send jokes to. ( whittled down to about 60 people left) Some people want to protect their privacy. Some believe big brother is watching. I have to be careful in my posting for overly sensitive people nowadays. I have to be cautious of content and ideology. Some are too adamant and unwilling to accept a difference of opinion. I rather enjoy a difference and a discussion but some just can’t handle it. As I said for over 30 years, I have sent a daily joke to my group. This group includes friends and co-workers.

So, I now limit my celebratory messages and rarely do so anymore.

The world is going to hell in a hand basket.

I throw all that aside today. I didn’t send my typical email but choose this method instead as I don’t do this for many any more. But I enjoy bugging Alan.

I have known Alan for 50 years. We have camped over the years even when he was 13 yrs old. We have fished together. We have vacationed together. We have competed against each other. I have had a lot of fun with him over the years. Now there are some huge differences between us that I have to just ignore. He voted NDP but it is a free country and anyone can make a mistake. Alan could be called a metro sex male. He is manly by being fairly muscular and hairy. YET he waxes, lasers, shaves it from all parts of his body. He enjoys massages. I am not sure what kind he gets to “enjoy” them. He goes for manicures and pedicures. I would not be surprised if he meditates and does yoga also. He goes for bone manipulation which even the government now does not recognize as legit and will not pay for. He will drive 5 miles to save 2 cents on gas yet will pay 5K for some tooth repair for his vanity. He splits his meals. I am not sure if this is to save on cost or for diet reasons when at a restaurant. He has absorbed so much hand sanitizer he glows. He is afraid of vitamin D. He lost or had his blankie taken away when he was young and now uses Tia, his dog, as such. His worse trait is his lack of loyalty to his home town by calling himself an Oiler fan

Having said all of that. He makes me sick as he is somewhat of a natural athlete and excels at most sports. BUT with his new age thinking it has come back to bite him. He has suffered serious injuries playing Bocci ball enough to require attention. He has suffered injuries from Pickleball enough to require special attention. THESE GAMES ARE DESIGNED FOR OLD PEOPLE.

I will keep him as my BIL. He is funny with a sharp sense of humor (not English at all). I enjoy beating him at games so it gives me my fix.

Here is a quick list of things that I remember in short form

• Anchor on boat almost killing us
• 75 Jackfish in one day
• Water skiing and almost hitting the dock.
• Motor gang incident
• Pants down
• Frozen propane bottles with pregnant MaryAnn
• Intellivison for hours and hours
• Ping pong battles
• Power pole
• Penticton
• He-man brain washing
• Ferrots
• Moving people NUMEROUS times
• Wearing pink sweats every chance he got

Have a Birthday ! Enjoy !

You always see these “NICE” birthday wishes. It is like going to a funeral. Have you EVER heard of anyone having a eulogy and saying one bad thing about the dead person. Doesn’t happen. Why are we all so “nice” and we give a wish when it is always fluff.

No one other than those turning 14, 16, 18, 21 or 65 years old are HAPPY it is their birthday. We say Happy Birthday knowing full well they are hating it. They say thank you knowing full well you know that they know they are really aren’t happy about it.

Thought of the Day

Not every birthday is happy — some are just well-decorated with frosting and denial

December 18th -19th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -12 degrees, Calgary 0 degrees. Mesa 23 degrees”

Yep it is winter. Well not quite, still 3 days away. Loved the mini storm yesterday. Today it is just a normal winter day. Colder than I like by about 20 degrees LOL.

Only 26 days left before we get back to our warm home away from home. I should set up a count down clock.

Daisy was confused this morning. Jackie had an early doctors appointment so Daisy stayed with me waiting to go out. Waiting is probably the wrong word to use. The news was done so I started dressing her up while she was pre-shaking knowing she was being forced to go outside when Jackie arrived back home. Jackie took her out and I was surprised with her new haircut she managed to stay out quite awhile.

Not much today on the agenda. I booked our family get together at Toscana’s for Saturday night. I checked for a confirmation date with my surgeon but they haven’t filled the April dates as of yet. I paid some bills, I have a doctors appointment this evening. ( still wait in car for phone call to come in, put on new facemask, put on booty’s) . All required and a waste just for a prescription refill. Waste of the doctors time, my time, and filling a needed spot for someone that may really need to see the doctor ! But I will go along quietly not to upset the apple cart. Good doctors like the one we have are hard to replace.

Turns out my wait tonight was perfect. Only 5 minutes behind schedule. I have to say “I HATE GOING TO THE DOCTOR” I am held prisoner to the medical system. If I want a prescription, I have to see a doctor. I’ve had the same drug for over 30 years so why ?

As I have said before, we have a hardworking and a very concerned doctor. She may be somewhat over reactive, but we know how hard it is to find a new one, so I bite my tongue and smile. I know somewhere in the conversation Statins will come up and I will sit silent and not acknowledge anything. She knows my feelings but like it is mandatory she brings it up each time. When I am quiet she then moves on to something else. As I have said, it will come out someday soon, of being the biggest scams ever played on the human race. The term “Doctor” has changed over the years . Today it is a loose term. If you come in the office with a rash you are directed to a Dermatologist, have a heart pain you are directed to a Cardiologist. You get my drift. They are basically a referral program which escalates costs. They now have a computer program where, lets take for example GFR numbers and plug it in and the software depending on the number entered suggests a solution. ie below 60 this drug and treatment, above 60 this drug and treatment. I guarantee the software program was designed by the pharmaceutical companies. The doctor is guided to a solution by the program not their own knowledge.

I got my prescription with a refill this time. Now I have to deal with the insurance company to get both filled. Ninety days isn’t enough to last while in Phoenix.

As I said I am held hostage to a stupid system driven by maximizing monetary gains not health benefits.

We watched the finale of Survivor and this year the correct person won. It is one of our favorite shows.

Off to a hockey game for Jackson tonight. It was excellent with the correct team winning. The ref tonight was a little off. Typically they are exceptional but he made some blatant errors tonight. It is one thing to have a young inexperienced ref but this guy was older.

I don’t know who was involved with the picking of the third uniform but it is ugly. The name color on the back is barely visible. The numbers look like paste on. They do not have what I thought was a league mandated stop sign on the back to warn the kids against boarding. Maybe now with Jackson being in full contact it isn’t required. And PINK. Let’s subconsciously emasculate the boys.

The game was fun to watch. It was great to see Jackson play so well. It was very nice to see Cor & Tor for the first time in about 2 months. One thing I noticed though. The mothers of the opposing team are organized and very thoughtful. A lady was offering warm hot dogs to every kid on the team and coaches. She had some kind of wiener warmer and it looked fantastic. The Wolverine Mom’s need to step up their game as I saw our team looking enviously at them. A late game with us not getting to bed until after 11:30pm.

Remember to take to go to the bathroom before midnight on Dec 31st. You don’t to carry that shit over to 2026.

Feels like MINUS 31 this morning for Jackie & Daisy’s walk. It was quick. LOL

I see on Facebook they confirmed the 100 car pile up on Hwy 2 was AI generated. It is going to become difficult to figure out real truth soon. So many things now are exploited due to AI and confusing people.

Off to Shoppers to see about my pills and insurance company. Wonderful lady at the drug counter helped me. She tagged my order out of country The insurance allowed 4 months of pills. It was enough to get back to Canada and use the balance of the refill. I had the best experience first getting a refill from my doctor. The drug store and insurance company were “normal” this time also .Love it!

The streets were slick this morning. Very. I watched this young lady in her brand new Range Rover. She misjudged the corner and came sliding through. She missed the curb and avoided bending or wrecking her front suspension by inches. It was interesting to witness her facial changes from fear to relief. It was close. It was so slippery that even 4 wheel high my rear wheels would spin before the front. Locking diff’s would be nice but not practical on dryer pavement. Some Jeeps have a electronic locking differential button which would be nice. It was the white hoar frost on roads. A couple of hours it will be gone.

I wrapped more presents today.

Did you wake up happy today ?

I am happy !

It is our choice.

I love Jackie & I’s life. I love how our kids and their families turned out. I love our Arizona home, our Oasis and Silhouette. I look forward to Arizona every year. I also look forward to coming home. I look forward to gardening. I love camping. I like to go fishing. I enjoy the travelling cruising etc but sometimes just a week at a lake is just as nice. Maybe even more relaxing without airports, flights, time changes etc. I figure we have about 12 years of living life as we do now. After that, we can settle into a different pace and direction. 12 summers more is a little scary of a thought. That is why we decided years ago. It was 11 years to be exact. A lot of people retire at 65 and only have about 15 years of retirement enjoyment. We have had 11 excellent years already and still are looking at an additional 12 years. We have been extremely lucky though that Jackie subsidized our life style working part time since retirement. She is one busy girl with work commitments, retirement commitments for us and family obligations. I consider myself very fortunate.

I know I am loving golfing with her every Wednesday in Arizona this year. We just never had the time to fit that in before and it is exceptionally nice.

More gift wrapping. Jackie was busy with a family commitment and some banking. So I swept the floors. I recovered enough long grey hair to make a wig. I cleaned off the deck using a piece of cardboard. No shovel and the broom would not be strong enough to move the snow. Turned out decent. Emptied the dishwasher. I was ready to go down to the gym. I changed my mind because my muscles are still sore from Arizona for some reason. I think the extreme cold is a factor also as one tightens their neck/back muscles with the cold it tightens the entire muscle system.

Jackie and I headed out to the Dollar Store and Sobey’s. Hopefully picked up everything we need for our get together on Sat/Sun.

Next adventure Cor & Tor’s place for a pre-pre Christmas gathering. The drawing card was also the Jake Paul fight to watch. At least this time it seemed to be more of a fight than the Tyson one. Our Canadian girl was great but got beat by a better fighter. I think most people would say Joshu was good and a nice guy.

Atti, Auggi and Jackson all opened one small Christmas gift.

The Waldies brought in Chinese food which was awesome. I love Chinese once or twice a year. We used to have a tradition with the Harry’s of having Chinese every NYE.

i had a good laugh when I asked Jackson if he had a cold as his voice was so raspy. No cold. It is changing LOL. I loved his kids voice. Time goes by too quick.

A fun night and the close to another day.

One last thought about today. Man is it COLD outside.

Thought of the Day

We gathered to watch a fight, someone yelled ‘Hit him harder!’ — at the TV. The fighter didn’t hear her, but the neighbor looked like he was about to call the cops.

December 20th-21st

No need to say it is cold outside. After all it the day before the first day of winter.

Daisy had her paw mitts put on and headed out with Jackie for a walk this morning. Jackie said she didn’t mind her mitts at all but she was shivering even with her coat on. New haircut and -31 degrees will do that to you.

She didn’t even try to get out of bed this morning as I was blowing on her belly. Belly rubs and hot air blows she loves.

I will start with a ending comment. What a day !

This morning we traveled over to Victoria & Corey’s place for our pre-Christmas get together.

Corey made everyone pancakes, sausages, and bacon. I guess I would say brunch as the “grown kids” were up past almost 4 am playing games etc.

A great start to the day !

Then the chaos of Christmas present opening. Everyone opened gifts I think everyone was very happy with what they received. I know Jackie and I are ecstatic with our Ninji Dual Foodi air fryer/combo. I know it will be put to very very good use. Add in the YETI cold/hot thermos’s and we have it made. Very very nice.

We had kids and adults all opening the gifts and playing with them simultaneously

Corey new apron will protect him from any over spill from the grill.

Why not scare Mom with a mask and reindeer horns.

Will even popped up. August’s new clothes look awesome. Jackson’s new keyboard is amazing. Everyone’s seemed to love their gifts which is nice. And no returns to be had.

A special WWE wrestling match event was on and the Oiler’s were on. I have to say the Oilers lost.

A super fun and nice Christmas gathering with our immediate family.

We spent the day visiting. We were just chillin because I think the late night is affecting these 40-year-olds now.

Headed home and dressed up and then over to pick up Audrey for a family gathering but most importantly Atticus’s birthday supper. In 2025 Jackie & I took the whole family out for supper for each grandkids birthday. We had Jackson’s at Japanese Village, August’s at Moxie and Atti chose Toscana for the Italian experience.

I will set the story up.

December 20th in Calgary it was a cold December day. The temperature was hovering around -15 for the day and cooler with the wind chill. The Willard clan is not known as an Italian family. However, due to their olive skin, they could be easily mistaken as such.

It was a gathering of 10 people seated in the center of the restaurant. One would think it would be dark and dimly light but it was a modern motif Italian hangout. There was an eerie feeling hanging over everyone as the mafia presence seemed to emanate from the entire space. We were seated and the service was exceptional. Everyone thought it was going to be a great night. Then things turned real ugly. A old white haired man with a pale look started to meander towards out table. No one thought anything of it until he lunged towards the table in what looked like a drunken stupor. No reaction from anyone and then he collapsed towards Jessica & Audrey. Jessica risked her life and thwarted the unprovoked, what appeared to be, attack by placing herself between the mafia ring leader and Audrey. She took the blunt force of a 260 pound man falling to the ground as he smacked right into her head and neck. She could have PTSD from not only the resulted injury to her neck but the attack itself. The man collapses to the floor. A Mafia hit ? Food poison? Terrorist attack ? Someone out to get a member of the Willard group. No one knew what was going on. Penny rushes to the fallen man. Victoria immediately dials 911. Audrey is in shock. People are rushing blindly. In Calgary, at a restaurant where we just wanted a quiet supper all hell is breaking loose. Firetrucks arrrive, and check the guy out. No bullet holes , no needle puncture wound. Heavy sweating but coherent. EMT arrives and check him out. No one is leaving the place. No cops. No one trying to hide. The EMT put him on a gurney and haul him away. Are we witness to a hit ? Did the guy just eat to much and have a heart attack? Too much Sambuca ?

It went something like that.

A long story short, when a man collapses in a restaurant, injuries himself and Jessica in a fall and lays on the floor until the EMT comes, it makes for a fun night. Those Italians.

The meals tonight as usual were amazing. The portions are like ordering in the USA . HUGE. Everyone was stuffed. Most did not finish. The server loved to tease birthday boy Atticus. He ate a lot.

Add to the fun when I was boxing up Atti’s food I spilled my drink. A rare occurrence but it happens. Speaking of drinks they make a good Caesar.

Due to all of the chaos happening our waiter gave us four free appetizers. In hindsight that even made us fuller. The best Calamari I have had though.

I tried to be discreet as I didn’t want any mob members to see I was taking pics. You can see the EMT people right behind Audrey working on the guy. Ambulance waiting outside for him.

I have seen a dead guy being carried off a cruise ship before. We had to wait. This is the first time I’ve seen a maybe dead guy at a restaurant. Who knew eating out could be such a big event. But our wait it did result in free appies.

The Flames were awesome tonight !!

A quick stop at home to put on warm clothes, dropped off Audrey and headed to Spruce Meadows. Years ago when you could drive thru the place it was wonderful. Now you have to walk and for no other word SPECTACULAR !!

I went thinking we would see lights on a trees but it was a way more than that. Trees galore, firepits, huts, mini doughnuts, bars, mazes, gift shops and light and more lights. It was an incredible sight to see.

A wonderful breakfast. A fantastic day opening gifts and talking. An exceptional meal with an event and a spectacular light show and event at Spruce Meadows.

A wonderful day !

Thought of the Day

Children are a great comfort to everyone when older, and they help us reach it faster too.

December 21st

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -21 degrees, Calgary -15 degrees, Mesa 28 degrees”

I will start by stating what wonderful day.

Jackie & I started at 9 am to get ready for today. Bringing out chairs, covering the tables, vacuuming,, dusting and general cleanup.

Then off to making sandwiches. Egg salad and ham & cheese on raisin bread heated. I will say they were amazing. MaryAnn brought a bundle of excellent food with her. There was plenty to eat. But as usual with this group did not consume lot.

We had Dave, Alan & MaryAnn, Corey & Victoria, Jessica & Penny, Justin & Danielle, Audrey, Kennedy, Jackson, Atticus, August and us. So 16 of us.

Good food but the laughs. games, and get together was even better.

Victoria did a lot of organizing and we played a lot of games that were fun. Skilled games and then a game from Jackson called Imposter. We had a blast.

12 hours later I am feeling a little worn out and I never had a late night like some people.

It was a lot of fun !!

Thought of the Day

Christmas calories don’t count. Santa said so !