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 with the 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 in 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 is 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 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 it, 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. Next year it is on them. lol

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 around. 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 lights 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 and amazing 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 they did not consume lot. Maybe 16 people may be down to a rotisserie chicken only. A group heavily influenced by media.

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. I thought it was a brilliant idea to use the hidden word as clue but the group seemed not impressed. The same thing happened when I blew out just about all of the candles and they penalized me. Grinches !

12 hours later I am feeling a little tired 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 !

December 22nd-24th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -16 degrees, Calgary -19 degrees, Mesa 27 degrees”

First thing this morning a windchill of -33 degrees for Daisy’s walk. She actually did very well today spending a bit of time outside with the help of her new booties.

It remains close to that 60 degrees temperature swing. This is between what we are experiencing and what we would like to experience in Mesa.

I read the manuals and tried out our new Ninji. LOVE IT and we will use it a lot. I love the warming function. I like the different temperatures and timing sides for cooking time and heat. Loads of functions.

First time using it for crispy bacon. 10/10. Fast, crispy, easy clean up. I am looking forward to roast potatoes and carrots being done.

A lazy day per say. I went out and finished all of the last Christmas shopping and cards. I thought it would be busy but it was quite nice with only limited traffic. I am all done but I have it pretty easy compared to Jackie. Having said she buys little stuff for people that she really doesn’t need to. It makes her happy so.

I picked up all of the groceries for our Christmas dinner complete with the turkey. It is not Christmas with a decorated tree no matter what size and a turkey meal. This year will be only the second year ever where we have a very small gathering for actual Christmas Day and meal. We usually have between 15 and 20 to cook for with this year only 3 to 5 people. We had a blast celebrating early Christmas with the kids this year. The Hickens are in Raymond for Christmas and Victoria is working but Jackson and Corey may come here for supper.

Doesn’t Christmas time bring up such wonderful memories. It is probably the most fun day in a kids life. As children it was wonderful as every year we drove out to Niton Junction and stayed at my Grandparents house. No running water and a outdoor toilet at least 100 yards from the house. Without a lie it was colder and a lot more snow then than ever now. We would ride the stoneboat behind the horses in the field. Some years, the snow was 3 ft deep. The Uncles would use their trucks to break trails to the house. Then the relatives that would come in cars could get closer. One year, we took the horses and hay wagon. We went out to the highway to pick up Aunt Dorothy or Aunt Jean. That was a long ways but the main road was completely drifted in. We would cut a tree and nail it to a blank on each Christmas Eve. Some Christmas dinners I bet Grandma cooked for 40 people at least. Done on a wood stove.

One year I was wearing my visor (that Jackie bought me) in the house. My Grandma went to grab it off. I put my hand to protect it. Accidentally, I gave Grandma a black eye that she had for the whole Christmas time.

With wood heat Grandad would put some coal in the stove to keep the house from freezing and get up early and stoke the stove and add wood. We were not allowed up until Grandad had the fire going and a little heat. Grandma was up at 5 or 6 am to get the turkeys ready for a early afternoon feast.

We had some fun Christmas’s out there. When they got older and moved into Edson we still made the trek there every Eve. There were years when I was driving out there the blizzards were so bad you had no idea where the road was. While fun and very nice I missed the outdoor toilet. LOL Yah right !

Christmas for us when first married was always a rushed time. We would get up at 6 am with the kids and open gifts. Rush out to the acreage and have Christmas lunch a full turkey dinner with my family. Then off to Audrey’s for Christmas supper and gathering. Next morning off to Peter’s place for a get together. I knew a casserole was coming at Peter’s as that was Carol’s go to.

In hindsight while very nice intimate Christmas with just our little family would have been nice. We didn’t get that until the kids were a lot older.

Some wonderful memories of Christmas at every place over the years.

At Sobey’s today it was a zoo. Not one person bringing out a cart full of groceries but everyone with smaller bags full of stuff. Last minute stuff just like we were. Daisy had fun just watching the chaos. People didn’t appear to be smiling. Too cold.

Here is my smaller bag of groceries with $100 worth in it.

It is too bad it decided to snow last night as everyone traveling today will have it a little slippery. A little snow is 10x worse than a large dump as it just ices up the roads. Large dump the graders and sanding trucks get out fast.

Another memory. Coming back from Red Deer, the roads were terrible. The cops closed the highway. A cop drove a pilot car all the way to Airdie. We lined up behind him and went about 50 kph all the way. Another cop would take a whack of cars about 1 hr later or so depending on quantity of vehicles. Kept the accident incidences down.

Christmas Eve and off to Audrey’s for the evening. We picked up supper and had an enjoyable Christmas Eve. We didn’t solve any world issues.

Audrey had her new “VEST” on. MaryAnn said the arms are still coming.

A nice Christmas Eve

Thought of the Day

Christmas Eve is the only night adults willingly stay up late, stress-eat cookies, and call it “tradition” instead of “poor life choices.

December 25th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -18 degrees, Calgary -9 degrees, Mesa 23 degrees”

What we thought was going to be a relaxing low key Christmas morning took a turn.

First my Mom this morning was taken to the hospital in ambulance with a possible stroke. We will find all of the information a little later.

Then Jackie’s Mom called because she had a bleeding nose. She might also have had eye bleeding. Jackie quickly went there to take her to urgent care or call the ambulance. It is probably a good lesson for everyone to remember. Do not pick your nose, especially in the winter with the dryness. And make sure you have your humidifier on. Buy a cheap hygrometer for about $10. This way, you can adjust as the temperature swings. This number can change quickly.

So a little excitement for sure. And people say getting old is living the golden years. Might require a little Brasso to get that shine back.

We did have a great early morning though before the chaos. Spoiled with presents and thoughts. Very nice.

The golf bag is sure to take a few strokes off my score and the golf outfit is sure to add a few strokes. LOL

Just putting stuff away then will start look at getting started for our turkey meal.

I am using my new Air Fryer for the turkey and ham today. Since it a small group a perfect time to test it out. Plan is turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, carrots, peas, corn, buns, and cranberry sauce.

Jackie headed to Audrey’s in the morning and I knew it would be a long day. Jackson & Corey came over and we had talked a lot and watched the NFL games on. They are just two nice people.

I started cooking. I will say this the times stated and the time to cook was a way off. I double checked numerous webpages and the air fryer ended up taking double as long. As it was a small group and no real time set it was easy to adjust everything.

The results were good. Easy to do but only if you have a small gathering. Any size bird over 5 pounds would not fit.

Everything was ready. The settings were out. We were sitting down to eat when Jackie came through the door. Perfect timing.

Back to the chaos part. Audrey ended up at the Urgent Care and was treated in a very timely manner. I would say in and out in about 6 hours. That is good. bad blood bleed from nose and resulting even seepage from eye due to pressure.

As I said it is two-fold lesson for people. First, you never pick your nose in the winter. Second, make sure your humidifier is on and set. This will keep your place with enough humidity to prevent dry skin, bleeding noses, etc. A nose can bleed even without picking it in the winter. People don’t realize that Calgary winters are drier than the Sahara desert. Winter and humidity every year drove me nuts. People complaining their windows were frosting up. Place a cold sheet of glass on one side and a hot sheet on the other. Add moisture to the air, and you are going to get condensation. Most frames/ sill are PVC so damage unless it runs down to the drywall. Even Tripane windows get condensation and are not the fault of the window.

I keep ours right now at about 24% which is comfortable and just the slightest condensation.

The second event was my Mom heading the hospital in an ambulance. Luckily after staying there the better part of the day she was released. All of the testing wasn’t conclusion yet it seemed someone thought face drooping and weak side of body.

She got home and then back to the hospital this morning. I think she is just old and has no strength left in her legs. The staff are figuring something is wrong as she can’t get up. Pride and embarrassment will not allow to accept the fact that at 94 yrs old her body no longer works.

So many people younger also but mostly older become stagnant and their muscle mass leaves them. If you take a 12-hour day and spend 10 hours in a chair, you will lose muscle mass. You will also lose flexibility every day. It is a silent killer. I know myself. If I don’t climb our stairs for a week, I am short of breath. The change is noticeable compared to what I was, and my legs tire quickly. This is compounded as one ages as everyone has that tendency to do less movement. We will find out the facts when there this weekend.

So most likely the oddest Christmas ever in the books. Timing is everything. I am sure it happens to many people. It seems inevitable when someone is leaving on a vacation or a special day, someone gets sick or hurt. Something goes wrong to change the plans or, at the very least, makes the event different.

I may be prejudice but the meal was great. I would say even awesome. Now the turkey breast is not as good as a complete turkey. However, with hot gravy and sides, it was very good.

I know I was full.

I will make the excuse for Jackie not smiling. She was a busy girl and didn’t have time to get ready etc. But she got to wear her crown and pretend she was princess again. Got lucky to get home in time for supper.

It was a different Christmas but still fun and nice to have Jackson & Corey over.

Thought of the Day

Christmas calories are like snowflakes — they disappear when you ignore them.

December 26th-27th

COLD in fact -33 with the windchill this morning.

The guys down south are getting some pretty good scores in. I am sure when I recalculate the capping it will go down for a few of them.

We have watched three movies in a row that have awesome. Last nights Play Date was hilarious. Nice when that happens.

The IIHF World Junior Game was fun to watch and a good game. No longer is Canada a powerhouse as the field is now pretty even across every country. My wish would we win again against int he final game against USA. A great rivalry.

Jackie is off tot he urgent car with Audrey. These places are NOT safe place to go to with the amount of flu happening. Putting 30 sick people in a small room makes sense to who ? I think a unit for illness and a unit for injury should be separate.

My Mom is still in the hospital and we will whip up there tomorrow.

Now the ugliness of winter sets in until we leave. We have the trip up to Edmonton. There are 2 days of year end budgeting. We also have to take down the tree and decor. We will see the Battle of Alberta game, World JR, and Jackson’s tournament and that is about it.

One more time. I CANNOT understand how a family can live with ONE CAR. I think it is insane. It is unfair and it is unjust. No matter what cost savings it is not worth it. I believe it holds one person hostage, you accomplish a lot less and their are risks that can come up. There is no way EVER that this will happen to Jackie & I. I live with but hate when we are here from AZ but know it is short term. I can not believe that two people would agree on this.

Even if one vehicle was an older one at least have it available. That is my complaint for today, LOL

I swept the floors and the outside deck today. Put away the table extension and cleaned up a bit.

Struggling to find anything good to eat and with no car not able to fix that easily.

Good memories of our sponsorship of the Junior Canada Team.

What a day for me and sports. 3 out of 3 wins. Flames, World Jrs and Jackson’s team. Things are right in the world

Canada got lucky tonight. A win in OT is better than the loss but why is Latvia our nemesis every year. Good game to watch.

Jacksons game was amazing. His team won 6 to 0. Jackson was the heart and hustle award winner tonight with the gold chain and hard hat. A wonderful game and fun game to watch.

And a wonderful earned win against the Oiler”s tonight. All is good.

Thought of the Day

We need to teach our young hockey players about banking. They need to hand out more checks .

December 28th-30th

“Mercury Forecast going from -30 to plus 3 and one wonders why people are sick”

We dropped Daisy off at Audrey’s and headed to Edmonton to see Mom. It was supposed to be our Christmas get together. However, she had to go back to the hospital. She will be in for a few days, or more if they transfer her to the Glenrose.

The traffic was light. A little slippery until about Olds. Only 5 idiots in the ditch so not bad. Then the highway was relatively good until about Leduc. Edmonton has a lot of snow and with the drifting the roads slicked up.

Old age is not fun. Mom is 94 yrs old. Her mind works perfect but her body is toast. Between osteoporosis destroying her back, she rolls over in bed and breaks ribs, her wrists broken years ago and never healed right and her shoulder she is limited as to what she can do. Her knees should have been replaced 15 years ago. I will say this one tough cookie, Farm girl tough.

This event is going to be difficult to overcome as she maybe no longer able to walk. Using a wheelchair requires a lot of help to get and out etc.

The bedpan they give to pee and poop in is ridiculous. No one could do it yet the expectation is there. I couldn’t.

The beds lined up the hallways with EMT workers having to stay with the patient is stupid. Numerous ambulances all waiting instead of helping others in need. I understand the transfer of info but in today’s world that should be done very quickly.

We had a long visit with her, then headed over to Darlene to visit with them and Alfred.

On the way I stopped to pick up some pizza. I talked to another guy there waiting. I joked that Edmonton must have spent all of their money on bike paths. They must not have any graders. Their main roads are a disaster. We had a good laugh and funny enough he went to JP High school. I was handing the pizza’s to Jackie in the Jeep when he opens the store door and laughing says ” You are complaining about the roads and you drive a Jeep and points at his Jeep” . Funny connection.

A little slower coming home as the temperature was raising and the roads became slick. A few times the hind end slipped sideways and I had to pull it into 4 x 4 . In four wheel high you should not drive over 100 kph for any distance so a little longer. But the ECO was on which doesn’t happen often and I had a full 1/4 tank left.

I have that gout feeling in my toe/foot but left all of my pills in Mesa. I had an idea to whip out to Oasis to see if I had some there.

Everything was great out there. One wheel cover off but it is frozen so I was unable to fix that. I searched and thought I won the lotto. 6 pills. I headed back and a few blocks away decided to check my goodies. I had to laugh and cry. Yes I had 6 blue pills but they turned out to be TYBACK not gout inflammatory pills. Good try.

Daisy had a trip just enjoying another new adventure.

Headed to Sobey’s for pure cherry juice and ginger ale. This along with gallons of water hopefully will help. Otherwise it is a long with sick people in a clinic for a two minute visit.

The news once again likes to portray a surge of flu cases. Drives me crazy how people flock to urgent care with a flu. In 99.9 % of cases you are not going to die. Treat yourself and quite spreading it to others. These centers are for people that need help with issues not a cold.

Another pretty good night. Canada Juniors with a dominant win. Calgary with a well earned win and unfortunately the Oiler’s lucked out a win. So almost perfect.

We went to Claresholm today. We went there to pick up Atti. He was going to give us a visit for a few days. At plus 8 the chinook winds were blowing and the sky line looked wonderful. We arrived at DQ only about 5 minutes before them. Can’t go wrong with DQ chicken strips.

Jackie picked up Jackson and the boys hit the hill with their Krazy Karpets. Funny as one young boy never saw such a thing. His Dad told him that they are old. I guess people don’t use them anymore. They work great and the boys had a blast.

Jackie once again saved the day. To make a doctor appointment with the hassle and most likely a lecture I did not want. To go to a walk in means a long wait with SICK people. She thought the new system where the pharmacist maybe able to give some pills may work. I left mine in AZ. I did not have the original bottle. I didn’t want to risk the border check. The young lady says yes. We whipped to Shoppers and I was assessed and out of the store in less than 10 minutes. This is a game changer. It is a wonderful change that no one talks about. The medical system most likely does not like it because a doctor can’t bill. A wonderful thing.

He says by the 2nd day I should notice a difference. I even asked him for back up for any future incidents and he obliged easily.

Tonight’s sunset is close to AZ kinds not as good but still awesome.

We played UNO with Jackie and Jackson winning. At Jenga Atti wins twice.

A great supper with a funny incident. Atticus put to much wasabi on his sushi. He thought is was a little too hot. I tried it and to me just a nice warm horse radish taste and heat.

A 7/11 run at 9 pm for Slurpee’s. Both Atti and Jackson bought their favorite mixes. Our girls and I had a lot of Slurpee’s when we they were young. When they were real young I had to spell Slurpee so they won’t know where I was going.

The kids actually slept in this morning and we didn’t make breakfast until 10:30. One very early morning phone call but luckily no one woke up.

French toast with scrambled eggs. Can’t beat icing sugar on French toast with cinnamon. Jackie is thinking organization and the vanilla was with the baking stuff. I searched everywhere in spice rack, pantry, cupboards and could not find it so one missing ingredient. Still very good. Atticus says second best French Toast ever. LOL

I hate to complain ever but I had to talk to Scotia Bank. I phoned them and verified what I hoped was not true. You know how I feel. Text/Messager is very similar to sending smoke signals as a way to communicate. Now I confirmed with customer service that the BNS took a huge step backwards in the new online system and the download of statements. As a business or a person that budgets to download statements to a cvs or excel or even direct to a Quick books format is invaluable. They no longer support this and ask that you use a third party software Statementsheets to convert the PDF to CVS or Excel. $20 a month and uploaded. A PDF is the worse format ever to manipulate there is. A month of transactions would take me 15 minutes now will take an hour. I phoned BNS and they seemed to just write my concerns off. I feel sorry for businesses. I do not want my banking info out in the ” space” as you have to upload to convert . We use our BNS card while in the USA so about 5 months but the balance is CIBC where they are customer friendly. The BNS card we use does not have a foreign exchange charge. Makes my budgeting much much more difficult. I do know 2025 was our biggest expense year since retiring mostly due to the South Pacific trip. Good thing the TSX has been strong.

Last day of 2025. The year has gone by too fast. Too fast. We did a lot and had a lot of fun with the odd hiccup thrown in. The hiccups for us were immediate family health issues. Here is hoping 2026 is just as great with a barrel of fun, laughs and good luck all thrown in.

Atticus loved the hill at Lake Chaparral. Crazy Calgarian’s wearing no shirts.

Jeff, Wendy, Audrey, Alan, MaryAnn and Atticus were over tonight. We brought in Chinese food which was excellent. When I went to pick it up I would bet there was 50 bags ready for Dash, Skip and pickup. Easy for Chinese food as a large rice pot will fill every order with rice. No one doesn’t get rice. Even Chinese now is as expensive as ordering a steak at a sit down restaurant.

Alana has them ready for the season. That is a real push up bra.

Jeff and Wendy stayed to bring in the New Year with a count down. Atti was on the deck yelling, fireworks were going off, music and people dancing. My hat didn’t fit.

A good night with the Canada Juniors winning, the Flames winning big and the Oiler’s losing big. A good night. A good start for 2026.

Overall 2025 was a wonderful year. We did a lot and had a lot of laughs and fun.

Check out the Year in Review Picture tab to get an idea.

I never make a New Years Resolution. So many people do this and two weeks in they fail and are disappointed. If you want a change in your life do not wait for an excuse to start. Just do it ! Nike stole this slogan.

There are a few things on my wish list for 2026.

• Family members to get healthy.
• Go camping more
• Go fishing more
• Get just that one step better to lower golf scores
• Have a few enjoyable projects to do.
• I would say try to care less about news, politics, and things out of my control.
• Is health, happiness, and prosperity to much to ask for ?

2025 Over and Out !