March 1st–3rd

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 6 degrees, Calgary 13 degrees, Mesa 26 degrees”

First, think about how fast time flies. It’s already March. We have only about 30 days before we must head home to the freezing north. I am so glad we bought a RV lot to enjoy and have something to putz around to keep busy until spring in Canada hits. I have to sand and re-stain the deck and i am going to build a a lighter better version of my sit down bar this year

Today is a special one for Jackie and I . It is 11 years ago today we officially retired from our jobs. Albeit Jackie continued to work part time which financially was great. We had great retirement parties planned by our workers and companies, received generous gifts and were sent on our way. I will say this again as it still bugs me. I should let it go. Probably not. The only negative thing retirement brought for me was my company JELD-WEN not living up to its obligations. They failed to pay out my year end bonus in March after I left. My team exceeded every sales goal in all segments of business I was responsible for. It would have been a very healthy bonus. Having said that, Karma is a wonderful thing. The VP and Director of Sales that I reported to, both were gone from the company less than a year after I did.

It was a great company to work for.

Speaking of time though. 11 years looking ahead seems like forever yet looking back a minute of time. We have done so much.

• Trip to England
• Trip to England and Wales
• Trip to France, Switzerland
• Cruise to Mediterranean
• Cruise from NYC to Quebec
• Cruise to Alaska
• Family vacation to Disneyland
• Family vacation on Koocanusa Lake houseboat
• Fly in fishing to Roe Lake
• Motorhome trip to Elk Ridge and Waskesiu
• Motorhome trip to Moose Jaw, Manitou, Cypress
• Motorhome trips to Jasper, to Waterton, Writing on the Stone, Dinosaur Park
• Fishing trips to Pinehurst, Keho, Park, Crawling Valley, Wabamun
• May Long Camping trips
• And many more

I have built so many projects over these 11 years

• Reno to Jess’s first home in Lethbridge – laminated flooring, basement, painting, yard, exterior, doors
• Reno to Jess’s second home- complete basement development, pergola, fence,
• New shed at Jessica’s Raymond home-landscaping, irrigation system,
• Staining fence at Victoria’s
• Two sheds, two decks, gazebo at Fred’s place at Pineridge
• Two decks, Saloon, gazebo, landscaping, irrigation, outdoor kitchen at Oasis
• Outdoor kitchen and decks in Mesa
• Two decks, complete interior reno at Fred’s in Mesa
• And many many more fun works !

I worked as a Marshall on a golf course for 4 years. It was fun and I really enjoyed it. However, the perk and ease of the perk became difficult, so I left that.

And there is the free time which seems not to be enough is so nice.

Have I said I love being retired !

I will say this, it is not cheap being retired and in fact quite expensive but I have no regrets in leaving work early and so far money is being spent to plan. We cut a few corners with keeping our vehicles longer than we wanted and changing to a major trip every second year. Keeping our motorhome which is now on the older side but only 60K as to replace it with it’s equal is $200 to $400K. I could move to a 5th or trailer for 75 to 100K but I will make do just fine.

This years cruise will be a money hit as we could have gone on almost three cruises for the price but it is going to be one special unique and fun trip. The 15 hour plus flight won’t be fun but to experience the French Polynesian culture will be wonderful. It is also a 3 week trip which follows my way of thinking as I could never understand why anyone would take a one week vacation and spend so much money getting anywhere and not taking longer to see everything. It is like going on a trip and an excursion costs $1000 bucks and you say no as it is too expensive. You spent 15 hours getting there. You spent 25 grand for the trip. Missing out on a chance to see or do something you may never get to again just seems asinine to me.

I always use the example of swimming with the dolphins. I think it was about $700 and I thought a little pricey but after doing it, it is something all of us remember forever. Now a $400 spa treatment with skin tightener not so good of a use of money. LOL That just made me remember our teeth whitening experience on the cruise ship. Dumb but funny now.

I am driving Miss Daisy and Jackie to the airport this evening. Daisy is staying with me while Jackie visits and checks up on her Mom and visits with the kids.

We have a cool spell happening this week with temperatures down to 21 degrees so I think I will seal the roof while Jackie is gone. A few hundred bucks and it will extend my roof life for another 10 years.

I won’t even mention the Trump/ Vance meeting with Zelensky. I did LOL

I have everyone coming this year to our annual wiener roast which was originally Bob Ferris’ idea. Pat Ferris is like Jackie’s Aunt in England and is a picnicker extraordinaire so it started off with a bang. One year Bob & I had to do by ourselves. Now I have it as a potluck roast and it works out perfect and it seems like everyone enjoys it. I know I do. We should have at least 24 this year.

I was watching the news tonight and have a couple of thoughts. I won’t say anything about the Trump incident.

I will say great weather and to have two golf courses open March 1st is amazing.

But my take was a story on retirement. I can not figure why people can not use common sense. They should use a calculator and make a decision for themselves. If you think a financial advisor has all of the answers, you will be very wrong. First, every bank and every investment company wants to hold as much money as they can. They prioritize their benefit over yours every time.

The news was talking about CPP. I will give examples again. Remember other than personal care are you going to spend more money at 65 or at 80 ? Do you have longevity in your genes. Is your personal health supporting your life span belief. The average lifespan of a Canadian today is 82 years. I won’t separate female from male as due to lack of stresses women in all societies live a little longer. Remember for every year before 65 you take the CPP it is reduced by.06 % Ok you have these thought now here are the numbers.

Total CPP Received	Start CPP Age 60	Start CPP Age 65	Start CPP Age 70
Age 60	$        7,680	$             –	$           –
Age 61	$      15,360	$             –	$           –
Age 62	$      23,040	$             –	$           –
Age 63	$      30,720	$             –	$           –
Age 64	$      38,400	$             –	$           –
Age 65	$      46,080	$      12,000	$           –
Age 66	$      53,760	$      24,000	$           –
Age 67	$      61,440	$      36,000	$           –
Age 68	$      69,120	$      48,000	$           –
Age 69	$      76,800	$      60,000	$           –
Age 70	$      84,480	$      72,000	$    17,040
Age 71	$      92,160	$      84,000	$    34,080
Age 72	$      99,840	$      96,000	$    51,120
Age 73	$    107,520	$    108,000	$    68,160
Age 74	$    115,200	$    120,000	$    85,200
Age 75	$    122,880	$    132,000	$  102,240
Age 76	$    130,560	$    144,000	$  119,280
Age 77	$    138,240	$    156,000	$  136,320
Age 78	$    145,920	$    168,000	$  153,360
Age 79	$    153,600	$    180,000	$  170,400
Age 80	$    161,280	$    192,000	$  187,440
Age 81	$    168,960	$    204,000	$  204,480
Age 82	$    176,640	$    216,000	$  221,520
Age 83	$    184,320	$    228,000	$  238,560
Age 84	$    192,000	$    240,000	$  255,600

The yellow numbers are the break even points. 60 versus 65 the break even point is 73 years old. Will spend more at 65 to 75 than on, I am pretty sure you will. If you are lucky enough not to need the money take that money and invest it at 8% which works out to $177K for the 13 years. The break even point then becomes 79 years old. Two years less than average lifespan.

The math says take it early. The logic says take it early. The math says take it early Investment companies, banks and the government say take it later. Who do you think they are looking after ? The ONLY time it is worth waiting to 65 or 70 is if you have lots of money or expect to live until 95.

But marketing wins a lot of the time.

Dust storms today which are rare but nasty with the wind. Warm winds when it is 75 above.

It is starting. The downward slide of the TSX. I predicted it to fall when tariff talk started but it held its own until just before. How much will be the question. Is the recession starting which will mean a big drop and long term downward pressure. All due to Trudeau and Trump. If either was not in power we would be so much better off. I will say this if Trump pushes the 25 % we will go into a deep retraction and our only option is a very strong retaliation. As I have said before. Stop the electric power to the east coast USA and California. Stop the oil and NG going into the states. Raise our lumber and mineral pricing double what they are. Every northern state will suffer and Trump will have to rescind to keep his power two years from now. We can not win a economic war with them. However, we sure can hurt the voters where it counts. This may result in a change.

25,001.57 CAD 25,001.57 CAD

Today’s Change-391.88 decrease-1.54%decrease

Carol, Russ and I had a blast in the pool hall. Carol found this game called Cut Throat and it was exceptional. A lot of fun. The premise was to have your balls left on the table to win and you shoot the others down. It turned out fairly even with I think each of us winning two games but Carol by far had the shots of day. Some amazing shots. Lots of fun.

Back to our place were I had shrimp with sauce, turkey sausage, 3 different types of cheese, pickles, bread with oil and balsamic dipping, celery and carrot sticks with ranch and peanuts mixed with chocolate covered raisins.

A nice after gaming snack.

I completely washed the roof. It is close to needing new shingles as the granules are loose and falling off the asphalt. It is 17 yrs old ( average shingle life is 15 to 30 yrs depending on type and conditions) so I found a sealer product that I can coat the shingles with that waterproofs the roof, seals and cools the roof with it’s reflective properties. Not as appealing looking as new shingles but 1/10th the cost and works perfect. Up both days and ready to apply. I think I can do it for $800 versus $8000 for replacement.

I will start first thing in the morning and have one coat done by 3 or so is my plan. Plans maybe on hold as it is sprinkling out right now.

This morning Daisy found this little wiener/chihuahua mix dog to run with so she was happy. Daisy refuses to run on the grass though.

Golden Globes were a little understated but still fun to see the weirdo’s of Hollywood.

A Karen and a male equivalent both got up on the wrong side of the bed as they easily angered over a young rambunctious dog charging at their dog in the park. People !!

Cooler week with only highs between 18 and 24 then hot on the weekend again.

Whipped to the airport with Daisy to pick up Ian. I think Daisy thought her Mom was coming home but even though very disappointed still gave lot of kisses to Ian.

Ian was so very kind and took me out for supper tonight. We went to Outbacks which was fabulous with a wonderful server. Loved my meal and we even saved morsels for Daisy.

As I said earlier the wind is blowing and the sprinkles are a happening so my early start may be off.

Thought of the Day

I woke up and looked in the mirror and said to myself. Why me, I have to live with another day of being gorgeous.

March 04

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 5 degrees, Calgary 5 degrees, Mesa 21 degrees”

Up early and out to the park. Loads of dogs again but Daisy is anti social and just watches them and only goes up the owners to get pet. None of her favorites there and some big dogs. Today two bulldogs who are brothers and owned by the same guy got into a fight and had to be pulled apart. Over a toy LOL But it is funny seeing the reaction of other owners when this happens. Some nice people to talk to but there are some “weird” owners there. A lady AGAIN sprayed the dirt as she didn’t like the dust the dog’s were raising running around. Over protective owners that just cause problems.

9:30 am I start. I wanted to get one side done today.

I bought $200 worth ( 5 gallons) of Lanco Urethanizer which is a 100% acrylic + urethane blend of high performance components,urethane ceramic rubberized elastomeric roof and wall membrane sealer just to get a feel for coverage and then bought $600 more. It is a highly durable, fiber reinforced roof coating with superior adhesion properties. The ceramic composition of this product will significantly lower interior temperature of structures by reflecting 79% of the suns’ rays and reducing heat by 89%. Urethanizer™ will not crack, crumble or peel off, withstanding severe weather and total joint movements. It will provide a seamless, waterproof and weather protective seal tightly adhered to the roof surface. My shingles were a little far gone compared to what I thought they would be. A lot of granules were loose and had fallen off. The roof in this shape should be replaced. It had architectural shingles which are 235 pounds per square versus the standard 210 pound 3 tab shingle which is a lot better with longer warranty. Shingles range from 15 yr to 35 yr warranty, These are mid grade shingle so most likely 20 or 25 yr warranty. Having said that in the adverse weather conditions shingles face in Arizona I bet there is a caveat of only 10 or 15 years.

So replace or repair. I think I will get this done for less than $900 all in. The neighbors had theirs done last year for just over $6K. Our is bigger. This Lanco product has a 20 year warranty so even if I get 10 years out of it I am ahead of the game and happy.

I thought it would be easier. But the uneven shingles due to design and absorbing the product took double as long and double as much product. I know after 6 hours my back and arms are killing me. AND I am only 5/8 done the first coat. I think about another 4 hours. But I quit today around 3:30 pm as I ran out of back pain endurance. Plus I have to golf at 9am tomorrow.

I am very pleased with it.

The neighbor lady sent Jackie a picture of me on the roof saying they are watching me. Funny as if I fall watching doesn’t help. lol

I had to add an additional cost to my roofing project. My first pair of running shoes blew a sole. I duck taped them but then the entire sole from the other one fell off. Heat kills things. So I used my second pair, quite old also, but as expected they got product on them.

The product goes on blue and dries pure white. The picture below is 5 hours of work.

Came in rested and cleaned up and ready to watch Trumps speech. He is right about a lot of things but his approach is insane and he is going to destroy the economy of Canada and USA. And not to help Ukraine is just stupid. He should be paid back what he spent to help them with mineral rights , loans etc but to all of a sudden pause the help is condemning Ukraine to annihilation. I am glad the EU is stepping up to help.

The world should all condemn Trump and in unity fight his trade wars leaving him on a island by himself and isolate American from everything. I would have no problem if Ford turned off the power to the east coast states as with BC to California. Turn the tap off on the pipelines and NG especially while it is cold. We can not win against a tyrant but we sure can wake the people up and in 2 yrs time a vote for change would happen. Trumps ideas are great in most cases but there are a lot better ways to achieve success than by strong arming everyone.

His speech tonight I hope is enlightening and a glimmer of hope he has had second thoughts.

Well as I said his ideas are correct, his approach brutal. I will say what he has done in 45 days is unbelievable. The one thing I did not want to hear was his threat of returning the same amount of any retaliatory tariffs. Things could get real expensive. I do think it is a wake call for us to remove our inter provincial barriers to build pipelines and become more self reliant in all industries. There is no sector going untouched as farmers, auto and oil plus auto manufacturers are going to be beaten up pretty bad. I foresee a long protracted recession is evitable.

Up early and out of the house by 7:30 am for my men’s league out of the park. I picked up my friend George that has golfed in this league for at least 10 years. About George. He is a medical doctor from Thunder Bay. 76 yrs old and still works reading EKG’s, scans and xray’s while in Arizona. Super nice guy and fun to talk on close to our two hour drive back and forth. He has more degrees than anyone I know and in so many areas of medicine and experienced including Chief of Staff at the hospital. I got to bug him plenty times on my Statin theory. LOL. Unfortunately, his wife couldn’t find the interaction and group activities she liked. They decided to sell their place a couple of days ago and sold it fast. Another guy I will miss as next week is his last week. He is hopeful he can convince his wife to rent for a month or so each year.

I had a great group today with a pilot for Ontario, a gentleman from Minnesota, and a guy from Calgary. We all played pretty good and missed so many chances at birdies. Not good enough though as we only won one Triad. Enough money won that I moved up the top ten money list to 8th spot. I only have two more golf outings so hopefully two good games to move up even more. Looking at I am hoping for 4th or 5th spot.

Daisy has a little difference in her schedule but she gets used to things quite fast. Her bowel movements due to odd times are the only concerning issue. Having said that everything is fine.

This morning at the park on her regular schedule it starting to sprinkle so we had to leave. I was hoping the weather would hold but sprinkles today and rain tomorrow so I can’t complete my roof. Darn !

Memorial service today for 75 Viewpoint residents that passed away last year. And people wonder why we have so many homes for sale. It happens every year. They released doves into the air.

Here is picture of men’s group that I play with every Wednesday for more than 10 years.

The gentleman on the left is our organizer and he is amazing. Bill is an accountant by trade from Saskatoon and he is the most organized man ever. He is like 82 years old and shot a 78 yesterday. A great group of guys. Brad beside me is 6ft 7in tall and drives a Porsche convertible. Needs it for head room. LOL

A very diverse group of people. Business owners, retirees, unique individuals, professionals all retired golfing together. A short list of some of the group , an accountant, optometrist, wealth manager, doctor, oil & gas executive, pilot, a NFR Bull Rider Champion, an auctioneer, school teacher, farmers, small business owner, liquor distributor etc.

My group with Chris, Joe, and Dave celebrating another birdie.

Set up the chairs today at 3pm.

Frank Sinatra concert tonight with songs from Tom Jones etc. Should be no panties thrown on stage at Tom tonight as most will have Granny or Depends on. The smallest concert this year so I assume this type of music is not a big draw and rightly so. I may not attend and just go to tear down the chairs.

This meme below made me laugh. When Mom used to get upset it was ” Larry KIM ” . Then I thought about Jackie with no middle name. It had to be confusing for her and her parents. I have what I would consider not the perfect middle name hence my identifying as Lawrence Anthony Willard but to have no middle name. LOL

I can hear, “well I did nothing wrong “, I know that not to be true or ,” my parents never got mad at me” ,I know that not to be true. Confusion LOL

A FOX News report today with the headline :

Canadians are ‘fed up,’ says Alberta lawyer leading delegation to Washington for statehood talks

A CBC report :

Mayor of Alberta town says there’s nothing he can do about ‘Let’s join the USA!’ billboard

As I said I didn’t attend the whole concert as Frank Sinatra is just boring. But I will say this the guy was very good with a great voice and showmanship. Come fly with me and My Way where exceptional.

Daisy is starting to hog the bed without Jackie here.

Thought of the Day

You only live once, and the way I live, once is enough. Frank Sinatra

March 7th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 8 degrees, Calgary 11 degrees, Mesa 10 degrees”

I think this is a first that I can remember. Mesa cooler than Calgary. This is only the third day of rain this season. Today the most rain as it was a all day event. Up to .80 of an inch. Golf course closed and all golfing not happening. The wind doesn’t help the temperature. Fingers crossed that next week is warm for our year ending wiener roast gathering. I think this will be our 6th annual.

I really wanted to get my roof done. I am hoping it will be dry enough to try to get done tomorrow. I think about 5 hours more before the second coat.

So Daisy and i will have a stay at home day. I had to turn the furnace on as it was too cool in the house. I could finish my Feb budget numbers but I will do that in Calgary when we get back as I am sure the courses won’t be open yet.

The world is changing and perhaps for ever and we need to adjust. We are going to be completely isolated. The dark reality that we are facing is a world wherein the trade and security relationships with our primary “partner” and closest neighbour is in tatters, our Trans-Atlantic relationships are strained by both distance and perceived irrelevance to European priorities, and for the first time in our lifetimes, the biggest threat to our economic security and independence is arising from the south. Further complicating our isolation would be the U.S. to turn its back on the collective defence assurances provided by NATO leaving Canada as the only remaining member outside of Europe. We have reduced our military to nothing so we could never defend our country, we are so far away from other trading partners it is hard to do business and the USA cannot be counted on for anything. We must become much more independent and self sufficient. Our own manufacturing of medicines, chips, equipment etc Wishful thinking. It is amazing to me that the Liberals are even close never mind leading in some polls. Crazy !

Drove to pick up Jackie tonight with Daisy. I think this time she knows who we are picking up. I left about an 1/2 earlier than needed and good thing as for the second time this year the entrance was closed off. I had to stop on the side of #202 which is an extremely busy highway to set my GPS for an alternate route. The behind way access is confusing with all of the left and right turns. Plus being black out to see the signs doesn’t help. Made it but not easy and waited in the cell lot. Jackie’s plane was just a little early. An easy pick up and Daisy kissing her all of the way home. Daisy will push her over to her side of the bed tonight for sure.

I cleaned up this morning so I will see how many things don’t meet the std. LOL

Thought of the Day

Jackie and I always compromise. I admit I am wrong and she agrees with me

March 9th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 3 degrees, Calgary 12 degrees, Mesa 24 degrees,”

Nice day today but I can’t finish my roof with the potential of rain on Tuesday. I have to have a three day window to complete.

Daisy had her usual routine today with her Mommy. She wanted to take the cart but had to walk. Jackie said she did good and met all of her walking friends.

Lots of action across the street today with the firetruck/ ambulance and security guard at the neighbors. It is like a mini circus how people congregate to find out what is happening. I figure the professionals are there let them do their job.

Here are a couple of sad statements.

Just recently our neighbor at Oasis RV Park had a heart attack and passed away. That in itself can be a good thing if you are near your end of life but this guy was only 50 yrs old with a good 35 years left and was taken away to early. He just became a grandfather and leaves a beautiful family. This is the third gentleman in the 8 years we have been at Oasis that has had a heart attack and passed away on our block.

Good friends that we have known since we moved to Calgary and had a lot of fun with at get togethers and camping are struggling with the same issue. Joe had a heart attack a year ago and has struggled to regain his health at only 65 yrs old. He has damaged his heart and had sepsis that he has not being able to overcome and has been sent home with only a slight hope of recovery.

What this says and indicates or should to everyone is not to take time and your life for granted as the amount of time and healthy living you have is unknown. Make sure you are enjoying life in the moment.

This afternoon billiards once again was a lot of fun with Russ & Carol. We played our normal game with guys against girls and modified it to one ball sunk only. Russ & I were lucky and played well winning the bulk of games with some very close ones in the mix.

Carol had deviled eggs tonight which I love. At our potlucks they are always present with abundance but now that people think eggs are expensive no one brings them. It was great to have them.

Carol & Russ after consideration have put their place up for sale. Russ’s vertigo and with the limiting of what you can do swayed them to sale and look at renting for a shorter period of time in the following years. They have priced their unit right so hoping for them a fast sale. Unfortunate for us as they are a fun enjoyable couple that we have known for at least 10 years.

Thought of the Day

Moving on is simple. It is what we leave behind that is hard.

March 10th

The TSX again took a big hit. Too much uncertainty and ‘scared” investors. I would be interesting to know how many calls investors have received from clients that are worried.

There is a saying ” People are like sheep as they can be easily led and manipulated.” I say this because, just like Covid, the new era of Trump makes people become strange. When Covid happened people were panicking, People scurried home, fear over came them, they listened to uninformed children, parents or doom day sayers and left in droves. Jackie & I were left here alone and only left when Trudeau said we had to come back before he closed the border.

The same thing is happening with Trump mania. People are “like sheep” and one person says the world is ending and all hell breaks loose. There are people selling homes as they believe Trump is going to cause them issues. He is stupid not insane as the snowbirds are a huge part of the economy in Arizona, Florida and Nevada. The new I94 is a minor inconvenience that makes sense for a country to want to know who and how long someone is going to be in the country. A simple online registration with border checks. It is like when they introduced the new dog registration. The amount of blow back for a a simple online registration is unbelievable. Now it is forgotten as everyone found there was nothing to it.

Fred’s brother Tim now has decided to put his place up for sale and is moving fast and quick. He sold his car, sold his e bike and golf cart already. He is leaving in a week and half even if it doesn’t sell yet. We bought ours for a lifestyle. Even in the worst-case scenario, if I had to walk away with nothing, I would consider it a great investment in fun, enjoyment, and relaxation and a wonderful 17 years of interaction with friends and acquaintances. There will always be a US buyer but perhaps not at the price you wanted.

Midterms will reign in Trump’s powers. Having said I hear very few people complaining about a entrance fee, tourist tax from Europe countries yet a simple online registration is a big deal. Too many old people chatting together and getting worked up is not a good thing.

It is an easy subject to get people’s blood pressure up. I might just enjoy that. LOL

Golfing today with Sandy Ian and Doug which will be fun. Ian makes me hit the ball hard as he is a long hitter. Good to push the limits as long as no big slice. Time will tell.

Ian is an amazing golfer. He had 5 birdies in the first 9 holes and ended up with a 68. Ian plays to a zero or scratch so ended with a net 68. Denis also had a net 68 but Bob was hot today with a net 66. Now any time net in the 60’s is good but to be a 68 gross is amazing. My highlight today as the scoring was bad was I won the closest to the pin contest and $7 that goes with it. It was as close as 3 flag pins away which some would consider close to a hole in one. LOL

Sandy is slowly getting his strength back which is nice to see but the treatments have affected his stamina for sure. I am glad he is being so positive about it as the inconvenience and awkwardness of having a bag is small compared to not being here. I love golfing and visiting with Sandy as he is just a nice guy.

It was an odd day golfing for me as it was weird that on at least 14 holes I felt dizzy like low blood pressure and had to concentrate not to pass out. I don’t like that. It happened before until they changed to lower blood pressure meds but today for so long was weird. I am going to chalk it up to the heat and not enough water.

Golf cart parade today to celebrate the USA/Canada shuffleboard tournament on. Neat seeing the two countries flags on every cart.

7 days until St Patty’s and our traditional green beer on the deck. Just missing Fred & Terry. Fred & I may have been on the deck close to 17 years with the exception of one Covid year. I only kept records from 2014 so I know at least 11 years.

We had a video call today from the Key’s and wow are they brown. Or should I say black. Lots of sun. They seem to be enjoying themselves which is awesome. I know Fred, and I am amazed he is not bored to death. I know I would be. A vacation that is slower for two weeks is excellent but the same pace for three months maybe something else. But a lot of nice things for them, They have a laundry service for $10 a week and maid each week. That is pretty nice plus they are eating out more as the pricing is extremely affordable.

The park has started to have a local ice cream truck make the rounds up and down the streets. Awesome and huge ice cream sandwiches for us today. Don’t you just love that music.

Homes are selling fast in Viewpoint which is good. Today we discovered two of the three homes on our block have been sold. Only one left which is priced right and a nice unit just haven’t found the right guy yet. March is always the busy month as sellers want out before the next pad fee is due and buyers want possession to get in shape before they come back in the fall. Nice to see the activity.

We had our neighbor Ian over for supper tonight. Always interesting and fun to talk with him as he has had an amazing life. A very clever gentleman.

BBQ’d pork chops, mashed potatoes with gravy, roasted carrots, fried onions and mushrooms with ending with pumpkin pie for dessert.

It was so nice sitting outside and conversing. Little brat Daisy though scratched Ian’s arm trying to play with him.

Fun night.

Thought of the Day

Good friends don’t judge each other. They judge other people together.

March 12th-13th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -3 degrees, Calgary 4 degrees, Mesa 24 degrees”

Up early and on the freeway heading to my men’s league I love. The rain is coming as it did last night but for us today overcast and warm only.

I had a great foursome again today. Mixed bag of Canadian’s. A city manager from Abbotsford, a show display business owner from Okotoks and a gentleman from Sherwood Park. Only one of us played good with three of us struggling. I made too many errors and had three horrible shots. A 280 yard drive then a wedge to the green and a shank. Lost ball in the bush. It happened on three straight holes and after that you are scared to hit a wedge. Losing balls kills the scoring and kills the confidence. I drove very well today with some fantastic long hits but approach shots and chips were not good. Still fun and won money again and in the top ten so not too too displeased.

Top 10 Money Winners
Brant Hurlburt $270.00
Buckey Buckley $260.00
Steve Miller $205.92
Frank Pizzuto $195.50
Joe Marconi $194.00
Ron Dowling $162.75
Sammy Zabawa $152.50
Mike Wehking $147.50
Ross Hewett $141.00
Larry Willard $140.92

My last game of the season with this group is on the 26th and is a SNIPS game so that could change the money drastically.

A gentleman I golfed with last week from Calgary approached me after the game. He handed me a business card. The card was from a couple he met on the practice green. It was from a gentleman, Peter Vantriet that I golf with every Thursday at Turner . How a per chance meeting on a green can turn to knowing someone is amazing. A small world.

I am watching the weather. I want to get my roof done.

Rain last night and today is supposed to be wet and windy.

Jackie & Daisy’s walk was perfect and they were lucky or wet. Jackie’s luck carried on as she got back about 2:30 pm and the wind started and the rain.

We whipped up to the dance hall and set up just over 400 chairs for the concert tonight. First my thoughts on this. We have at least 4000 people here in the park and 400 tickets sold at $35 is ridiculous. For the price and high quality shows with this type of attendance is just dumb.

At the beginning of the year the normal ” Old and Senile” attitude took hold and due to pad fee increases and a mishap that caused the park to lose it’s liquor license people started yapping on different social media and mouth to mouth to boycott these to make a point to Viewpoint management.

You boycott your own entertainment and risk the park doesn’t make any money and lose them is asinine.

Your rent, pad fee is going going up every year that is life, that is allowing wage increases to the staff and the park to make a fair profit. The liquor license was unfortunate but will be fixed just not yet and if you can’t do without a drink for two hours you are in trouble.

The concert . Tonight’s concert was exceptional, spectacular the best performance of the year. I put this one first and Toby second. The sound, the instrumentalists, the singer and the dancers all were amazing.

Had to cover the cart seat as it was pouring but got home without any wetness.

Our annual wiener roast was scheduled for tomorrow. I changed it to next week because it is too cold tomorrow. I am glad as last year we were rained out and had to run to Lyle’s house for cover. Too hectic. We have had a few cold ones so the weather is 25 above next week so I went with that. The change resulted in three couples having other commitments. That always happens, especially this time of year, as windups galore are happening.

With this rain you know higher elevations are going to get snow. These are the 4 Peak Mountains to the north/east of us right beside the Superstitions.

Two different views but both spectacular as this was the sunset last night after the rain.

Thought of the Day

I am sure the universe is full of intelligent people. Fake news,

March 14th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -9 degrees, Calgary -5 degrees, Mesa 13 degrees”

A cool cool day with rain and wind.

Pants and a light jacket and we hit the course with my VP group. Not a lot of golfers and we finished pretty early.

Some pretty good golfing today with three guys below net par. I had a so so today. One lost ball and a too many missed putts but on VP it is expected. Hole number 11 is a 313 yard straight fairway. I landed right beside the green but as luck would have only a par. Some great drives but the score just higher than i like.

A fun day and we did not get wet golfing or at the after golf gathering.

Still lots of concern over the new regulations. I keep telling people do not panic it is no big deal to fill out a e form. All of this with a procedure and system in place for next year will be simple. Only fair that a country wants to know who is coming and going. Be thankful there isn’t a tourist fee like Europe or England or even K country now. That would have been a good idea.

Pouring rain again so no roof tomorrow. Plan is now to start early Sunday and work until 2:30 then to the pool hall. I think I can complete the first coat by then.

i found our route we are taking back in a couple of weeks.

Looking forward to going the reverse direction on this.

Garage Sale day so lots of carts out and about. Nothing we need but Jackie did find a nice Aztec runner cheap so all is good. I did get a large paint stir stick.

I went up on the roof before noon and applied another 5 gallon pail. I calculate it is $100 a hour paint job. LOL

I will get up on the roof tomorrow and finish the last pail. Takes about 2 to 3 hours per pail. Then start the second coat next week. I am hoping only two to three more pails ( $600) and then I will be done and saved around 6 to 7 thousand bucks by doing it myself and not reshingling.

It is funny how some companies just need to help to expand. Talking to a friend today on propane and he suggested a new place near us that fills a tank for $12 where the normal is around $20. Sure enough this small business which only does propane is wonderful. Only found out about it by word of mouth. Then one of my favorite places, Mobile Depot, which doesn’t have the best service. I admit this openly. And, it has a competitor nearby that has everything they do at a great price and good service. I need to check them out. Plus a new sports place called Scheels that is a Bass Pro competitor that I have to check out. All excellent choices that can save me some money. Scheels being a ESOP company has my loyalty any day.

Watching the news and seeing some polls, it is insane that Mark Carney is in the polls as close as he is. In all forms it would be worse than Trudeau. A smart man, a man with financial wisdom, a man that earned his way but a horrible choice as a leader of Canada. he is more woke, he is more green, he is more anti-oil, he is tricky deceitful and underhanded bordering on crooked than Trudeau ever was.

If you’re looking for a leader who will put Canada first, Mark Carney is not your guy. I say this even as Carney is many things that Justin Trudeau is not — brainy, experienced in business, and from Western Canada.

Carney comes across as an accomplished man who was born in the Northwest Territories, grew up playing minor hockey in Edmonton and has done his city proud in many ways. The pros that are actually cons are he lived in Ottawa and London, where he was governor of the respective national banks. He lived in New York City, where he’s both the United Nations special envoy on climate action and finance and chair of the board of the huge international corporation Bloomberg. His community in Davos, Switzerland, where he and fellow Europeans (he also has U.K. and Irish citizenship) make up the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, and Toronto, where he’s chair of the Canadian multi-national Brookfield Asset Management, with its US$900 billion in assets. Carney has also said he sees himself he’s a member of the same social movement as radical climate activist Greta Thunberg. Since 2020 he’s been a close adviser of Trudeau, first informally, then last September as the special adviser and chair of a Liberal party task force on economic growth. We know how well that has gone. His trick of stating no more carbon tax sounds good until you look at and realize it is just a small portion to appease voters as it is only the retail portion not the manufacturing at all. He has been on a war path against oil and gas his whole career. Google NET ZERO Banking an initiative led by Carney. He would be a disaster for Alberta again. I just hope people do their research before voting. DO NOT TRUST THE MEDIA but your own sense of right and wrong and think about future generations. I was shocked by the naivety and one could say stupidity of us electing Notley and we can not make a similar mistake with this federal election. It always seem the radical left, unions, environmentalist, woke, socialist types get out and vote and the majority of centerists or right leaning become complacent and our country suffers.

Thought of the day

Politics is the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first

March 16th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -5 degrees, Calgary 3 degrees, Mesa 23 degree”

Up, ate, looked at the news and started to work.

Up on the roof and as it was a cooler day only hitting 23 degrees it was perfect. Less water bottles on the roof for me. It is easy work but hard hard on the back.

What I didn’t like was the fact that lifting a 60 pound pail of adhesive over my head and onto the roof is not as easy as it once was. Used to be easy but not so anymore and I find that annoying.

I finished off the first coat and got half of one half of the second coat done. The second coat goes on much easier. I have used $800 USD of product so far and I think I can get away with another $200 for sure and perhaps a smaller pail size to finish.

I am very happy with my decision to go this route. Much more work than thought but that is ok as the results are I saved at least 6 to 7 thousand, will have a waterproof membrane, have a reflective heat coating on which will cut a/c costs during the hot summer and will be good for at least 10 to 15 years more.

One more day up there and I should be done.

Funny how change happens everyday in our lives. Not always welcomed but inevitable. My organizer Phil at Turner Valley for my Thursday golf league is steeping down. I have golfed in his league since 2014 so 11 years and he has done an amazing of organizing the 40 plus guys, Always fun time and enjoyable. He put a lot of work into this without getting a lot of help from the clubhouse.

Today my men’s league in Arizona that Bob Ferris got me into years ago has the same scenario with Bill leaving. I golfed random from 2007 to 2014 and every Wednesday from 2014 to now while we are here.

These guys give up at least 4 to 5 hours a week and have the headaches and hassles of dealing with no shows ( which I HATE), cancellations, and dealing with the pro shops for tee times plus making up teams etc. A lot of work.

My hope is a replacement for both steps up and we carry on. No matter who, HUGE shoes to fill.

Off to the pool hall now.

I have to check the news. Something has happened, the world axis has moved, the stars are not aligned, something in the air. Something. Russ and I win the first game then the girls dominated. I think it was 5 or 6 games in a row. Russ and I did fine. However, a combo of luck and a lot of great shots from the ladies ensured there dominance. I would give Jackie the title of Player of the Night.

There is a saying Happy Wife, Happy Life and the way the girls were smiling I think Russ & I accomplished our task.

Jackie made up steak bites tonight for our Happy Hour ( literally) and Ian joined us. Ian had a Costco shop and extra steak that Jackie used up. I thought they were wonderful along with everything else.

A fun night sitting around talking enjoying the warm evening.

I found it funny as Ian was leaving. We were looking at my dirty black colored car caused by the recent rain and dust in the air. I asked him what color his new Genesis is. Turns out it was white. I asked him “Is white really a color ” and I saw him smile and give me a look. I bug anyone that buys a white car this. White is NOT a color. You will not find it on a color chart or the spectrum. It is a shade that lightens all others. It is achromatic meaning it had no real color. Most don’t believe me until they look it up.

One conclusion I have made about friends and acquaintances is that people who like or have white cars are also Apple users. I don’t think it is a coincidence. There has to be some connection. Everyone knows they can’t trust Apple as they can’t even find the missing bite out of the Apple in their logo and their followers are blind loyal to a insidious incestuous company. Why and how is this connected with the belief white is a color and white is their preference. Notice how Mac computers are white. Things that make you go um !

Second last week and a busy one. Roof, billiards and Happy hour today. Patty Day parade, Patty’s Day on patio at noon with green beer, Patty’s Day party with Jackie’s golfing girls on Monday, Yoga, ladies golf and Wiener Roast on Tuesday, Rovers Golf and supper with Ian on Wednesday, Ladies golf , chair setup, Motown Concert , chair take down on Thursday, Yoga and VP golf on Friday. So a busy week. Love it !

Thought of the Day

March 17th St Patty’s Day

Unbelievable. The PGA lets the little leprechaun weld some power and have the playoffs on St Patty’s Day. This little leprechaun should have been disqualified and thrown out of the tournament due to unprofessional behavior ( AGAIN) and he wins on his day. If not disqualified he should have charged with assault or theft of the phone. Why McIlroy ? I was so hoping Spaun could pull it off but when you have the whole leprechaun magically world behind you it would have been a daunting task.

Oh well, we have leaders of the world acting idiotic, we may as well have the worst role model in golf for our kids to look up to.

What a day. I will list our events then expand on that. 10 am parade, a car show, green beer and lunch on the patio, music band on the deck and block party, bean bag baseball game. Lots of drinks and lots of fun.

There were 75 carts in the parade handing out candy, horns a blaring and drinks in hand. Throw in the odd car and the train load full it was a fun parade.

This young lady at 104 yrs old sat and watched the entire parade, waving to each entry. This same lady just a few years ago golfed with Jackie.

This year we had some beautiful entries in the car show. I would guess one Barracuda with a hemi was a $400 K car. Every brand and kind all done up very nice and some wonderful custom rods.

Then off to the main event of green beer on the patio. A little background on this. Fred & I since 2007 have been coming down to Arizona in March and whipped up to Fat Willy’s. We actually missed two, I thought one but they left early the year Covid hit and we couldn’t come down the following year. We have had Mel, Tim, Jeff, Ralph and many others join us over the years. I always looked forward to it. These year we 10 people at our table. We had a large table and had noticeably two empty seats saved for Fred & Terry but they are off in Mexico having green beer and roadkill taco’s or roadkill Shepherds pie. Change is inevitable but we sure did, and will miss them, as I think I have about 15 years more on the deck in me. Green beer is supposed to be good for you.

Many JUGS of green beer. JUGS are the accepted normal term for large pitchers here in Arizona with no innuendo intended or present.

Then off to a block party which was a lot of fun. Over 50 people all listening to a few of the local people playing and singing Irish songs. Vocalist, accordion, guitar, flute and drummer were all excellent. Jackie golfs with Marge that hosted it.

The after music event was bean bag baseball men against the women. The luck of the Irish upon the men as we dominated the game. Loads of fun !

Too much beer and fun today as we headed home to rest before sleep. LOL

Another Patty’s Day in the books.

Thought of the Day

Let’s sham-rock and roll.

March 18th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 4 degrees, Calgary 3 degrees, Mesa 21 degrees”

The weather the last week limited my time on my roof with the small amounts of rain every third day or so. Now I see I am pressured the other way with a warm consistent week. This weekend, I want to be done.

This morning Jackie whipped out to yoga a way way to early. I woke up but as soon as she left Daisy & I accidentally fell asleep again. In fact we didn’t get up until 9 am. The green beer got to me. I had my breakfast, watched the news and did some catching up.

I sent a whack of “joke” emails with presetting the dates. I have sent a joke a day for at least 20 years everyday to my group of email friends. While working they seem to be abundant but now a little short of supply. I think I am about 16 days ahead right now. The caliper has slipped to Dad jokes instead of risque or real funny jokes though. I case that is what happens when the contributors either leave their workplace or have died.

Here is one typical “Girl, are you a pirate? Because I treasure your chest.”

They will get better. LOL

Jackie got home and took Daisy for her morning walk and run.

She got ready to go golfing and I got ready to go out. I whipped and picked up another $200 pail ready to do another portion. I stopped and filled up as I have my men’s group tomorrow.

On our returns we stopped at Safeway and picked up some needed for our wiener roast.

Off to the wiener roast. We were very lucky. Our original spot, with the date change, was already booked. The admin office “broke” protocol. They arranged a wonderful private spot. And lucky as the wind was out tonight so we were protected. Mike provided as usual great music and wiener sticks. Barry brought stick and Denis did awesome with wood, garbage bags and water to put out the fire. We had 22 people booked with 20 showing up as two ladies had a going away party to go to.

A great group, a wonderful fire, fantastic potluck salads and add-ons with everyone bringing to the table perfectly.

A fun night and tradition that is at least 7 years ago. I am thinking next year to change it up and do a burger night or pizza night along with games.

It is always amazing to me how such a nice group gather at the same place. We are so fortunate to experience this.

Thought of the Day

Never let your friends feel lonely. Disturb them all of the time.

March 19th -21st

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 7 degrees, Calgary 8 degrees, Mesa 24 degrees”

It has been a hectic week so a little behind and will just catch the highlights.

They say everyone has a doppelganger in this world. I swear I was golfing with Ralph today. Kevin is from Calgary and not Italian.

A wonderful warm day of golfing with a St Albert, Okotoks and Calgary guy. We had bursts of excellence and periods of disaster today. I started with straight par after par. Then, an unlucky bounce under a tree led me to take a 7. I had a handful of lousy holes before recovering again. We played well enough to win money. I maintained my 10th place standing in the TOP 10 on the money list. My last chance to move up is next week or my last chance to fall out of the list. I am hoping for a great game and a snip win to leapfrog me up the list. I see the temperature is 96 degrees on Wednesday. You know over a 100 is very likely. Some of the older gents may be lethargic, and my muscles will be nice and loose. LOL

Up early and up on the roof and applied another $200 bucks worth of coating. I have about 100 sq ft left to do and will get it done on the weekend. And will be done before we leave and before the heat hits and the monsoons.

I cleaned up, readied the place ( my part anyways) for Jackie’s ladies golf get together. I felt sorry for the neighbor. When you get 12 senior ladies drinking wine on a warm day, it can get loud with the laughs and gaggling.

When it is warm out it is funny seeing how people find shade.

Then Daisy and I went for a drive around checking out things. I picked up my last of the coating and we spotted out our wholesale propane dealer and checked out the park.

I dropped off Daisy with the ladies a few hours later. I needed to head to set up chairs for the concert tonight. Daisy went crazy when she saw all of the attention available to her. This is why I removed her so the ladies could drink in peace.

400 chairs tonight. This is average but still on the smaller side. Some residents are organizing a boycott over issues they feel hard done by. They are so dumb as it only hurts themselves.

After getting the chairs done I whipped and picked up Jackie who had one lady left. Then, we had a get together over at Dave & Sandy’s home. It even included pizza, which saved us from having to make supper.

Off to the concert tonight which was Motown City. Fantastic performance with amazing energy and audience participation. They scouted the crowd and found the only young girl. She was 30 years old. They brought her up to the stage for a fun stint. Great music.

“Wendy” got her moment of fame and was hilarious. She had the chest shoulder shake down pat. The guys and us all enjoyed the skit on stage. Good pick and fun.

The second picture is of the chair set up gang girls all up dancing the night away. Poor lightning. And speaking of dancing there are some people that should not dance in public. There was one lady. Well, actually there were three of them. I assume they consumed way too much. Adding to that was their lack of talent. It was just bad. Our ladies did their thing nicely.

Fast easy tear down and the end of this years concert series is upon us. Fantastic concerts with only Frank Sinatra being my weak one but lots of people loved him. I thoroughly enjoy the concerts and am looking forward to next years already as they announced them already. The band Boston is my fav one coming up.

Thought of the Day

I might look like I am not busy but in my head I can’t keep up.

March 22

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 7 degrees, Calgary 7 degrees, Mesa 84 F degrees”

Gorgeous weather coming this whole week.

We were up early this morning getting ready for our March Block Party brunch special. Randy and I rushed to the main hall and gathered tables to set up. We brought them back and strategically placed them. We carried my patio table into Randy’s carport as we are setting up the food tables in the shade there. Gathered both of our chairs and a few others making at least a count of 38. I tried to use road pylons to block off our street from cars. However, new safety rules do not allow that anymore. We placed table cloths and flowers on each table and the people started arriving. Great turn out and every chair was used. A very nice block of people mixed up with different age groups and home cities. We are still a 80/20 Canadian block but the three new sales on our block are all Americans. There are the party streets, the drinkers streets, the games streets and we fit right in the middle. We planned for baseball bean bag, ladder golf and had a dart board for entertainment.

These brunch potlucks bring out the best food. Amazing food. Too much food. Awesome food, Huge variety of food. We had everything. This includes bacon, sausages, mini sausages, and pancakes. We also had various breakfast casseroles, doughnuts, and breakfast sandwiches. There was yogurt, mimosas, coffee, hot chocolate with Baileys, and potato dishes. And the list goes on and on. Incredible. We went thru 3 liters of Champagne

We had shade for the older people. Most people enjoyed the warmth of the sun and soaked up their Vit D. Then, they all left as there is a mass exodus heading home coming up.

Great conversations and a fun gathering that I would say was quite successful. Our street mayor for the last ten years sold their house. We had a going away appreciation for Bob and Georgie.

This final picture is of our group this year. Some people have left for the year, some are away, some that never come to any event and some with other plans but a nice gathering today of the “group”

The couple sitting in the shade are the longest member of the Block 800 group. Ardon and Florence have been married 68 years and have lived here full time for years and years. Then it drops down to Denis & Anita, Ian and Margaret and ourselves. We have been here for about 17 years. Our 11th year of fully snowbirding. Then there are a few in that 10 year timeframe. I think it says for itself how much people love it here.

Work putting everything back in place but a fun day.

Bill, a new neighbor who came to the brunch, is just moving in. Jackie helped him post a lot of stuff on the marketplace that he needed or wanted to get rid of. Right after our event it was a like a swarm of bees when it was posted as free. Freezer, roasting ovens pans tools etc. He was just happy to clean out his new place with some stuff even though very nice he did not want. Jackie came home with a nice sized and great looking gravy boat. We needed that.

With the political climate, and the CDN dollar down there are some sweetheart deals in the park right now. It is a great time for people to buy. Prices are right, and they will only increase again in 2 to 4 years.

As I have said, I can not go on a holiday for three or four weeks for 10K. I can stay here for 182 days.

As of now, we plan for at least another 10 to 15 years. You can NOT beat the price and enjoyment of living here. We love the social life and lifestyle it gives us.

Thought of the Day

It is weird being the same age as old people

March 23rd

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 8 degrees, Calgary 9 degrees, Mesa 30 degrees”

This is the cool day of the week so one wonderful week in Mesa.

Jackie up and out for Daisy’s walk and I ate a quick breakfast and up on the roof. I started at 9 am and finished around noon and DONE. I would have spent a bit more time up there. However, one of the 1 gallon cans was defective. So, I didn’t use it.

If it all comes to plan, we will achieve huge savings of at least 6 to 8 thousand. Additionally, our roof should be good for 10 to 20 years more.

I am glad it it is done. Warm up there today with the reflection off the white.

I cleaned up and had lunch and a quick phone call then started spraying for weeds. After that two days of rain and the heat now things are growing like mad. I sprayed for bugs around the outside perimeter.

I then washed the grout lines on my outdoor kitchen with Muriatic acid for the efflorescence. Dangerous chemical that sure works well . Super strong smell though.

We then headed off to the pool hall. I will say this there were so many close call games but Russ & I were very victorious today. Now winning is fun but this time playing pool with the Chases I always enjoy no matter what the outcome.

Off to Russ & Carol’s and had a wonderful happy hour.

Relaxed, had supper and the close to another Arizona week.

Thought of the Day

What do you call a pool players without a stick ? Cue-less.

March 24-25th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 10/6 degrees, Calgary 12/8 degrees, Mesa 33/37 degrees”

Great day. You walk outside and feel the hot heat. The air is dead and warm.

Jackie had her going away party for her yoga group at Fat’s for breakfast. She left early, so I got up and took Daisy to the park. Only big dogs and a little on the warm side so she didn’t run very much.

Jackie & I helped Ian ready his place as he is leaving tomorrow. We will drive him to airport.

There is not a lot on the to do list today. I am relaxing with Daisy in the shade. I am also drinking lots of water as you do feel parched.

One comment about our election.

I am shocked that the Liberal’s are polling close to and in some cases ahead of the Conservatives. Everyone’s vote counts. Everyone has an opinion. However, electing a snake in sheep’s clothing, Carney, would be disastrous in this case. I knew a few people that voted the NDP in the provincial election and I struggled to understand the rationale ( as there was no real one other than change) but luckily we corrected that and are miles ahead but still have on the books some stupid laws that should have never happened.. There is only one choice this year in the Federal election. I just hope people do their research and do not get swayed. And, even with a Conservative win we are going to have a tough 2 to 4 years which is shame. Enough said.

The one thing I like in Canada is we are not so anal and aggressive to someone that votes different. There is no reason for such action. Politics and religion, no matter the choice, are not that important in the big scheme of things. I like Catholics even if they worship a false god. LOL

A wonderful supper tonight at the Olive Garden. Ian, Jackie and I all had wonderful meals. Angel hair, rigatoni with Italian sausage and steak with pasta along with the normal great salad and bread sticks.

A fun evening as Ian is one of those guys with a brilliant mind. Listening to the stories of some of his adventures is amazing.

At 8 pm it is still 27 degrees outside ( 87 degrees ) and wonderful.

Jackie got up early. She took Daisy for her business and walk. Daisy has a hair appointment today. We need to drive Ian to the airport.

Turns out the appointment was a different time than expected so worked out even better. We dropped off Daisy and then headed home and picked up Ian and I drove him. A workday and mid day so no traffic on the road or at the terminal which was nice.

I got home and we headed up to the hall to get our free hotdog, chips, and donut. The park was having an appreciation day which was excellent. We sat in the shade. We were eating and watching the band entertain us. We also bought an ice cream from the food truck.

Very nice.

I will say this. After the music, we headed to pick up Daisy. Then we sat outside on the patio. I think it is the first time ever where the air just feels too hot to sit outside. I came in to the A/C. Shocking, but we have a party for a vet to attend at 4pm so I want to feel refreshed not worn out.

We grabbed our chairs and headed to a special presentation of a Honor Quilt. The Viewpoint Quilters made two unbelievable quilts. Bob on our block was one of the honorees. He served 23 years in the Canadian Army. His brother Rick is a retired RCMP. It is neat that the two of them are only a block away from each other. Both are getting an honorary quilt presentation. They were both told it was a early birthday celebration. They arranged for them to travel in carts up the party with bagpipe music playing. To their surprise, a lot of people gathered not for a birthday but for a special presentation.

Lots of people, awesome food, shade and a wonderful presentation to honor two well deserving individuals.

I golf tomorrow and Jackie Thursday so we will need a lot of water.

Thought of the Day

When it hits 100 degrees I am not sure if you need sunscreen and a hat or a fire extinguisher

March 26th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 5 degrees snow, Calgary 6 degrees, Mesa 35 degrees”

A wonderful day being our daughters 42nd birthday. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful girls. Here is a posting I used this year.

42 yrs and 8 months ago I had the most amazing romantic encounter with Jackie Willard. My outstanding performance that night that few can match resulted in Jessica Laine Hicken and Victoria Laine Waldie being conceived. As it was possible the incredible performance happened on a rear seat in the back lane of Edmonton we decided to give them the same middle name Laine as a memento.

Today is the birthday of our identical twin daughters. We are so lucky to have two of the most beautiful, caring, loving, intelligent young ladies as our daughters. They are the best Mom’s to our grandkids and both found the perfect spouse as a match.

Having twins was not easy but was twice the fun also. Here are a few things that I love to remember.

• I was watching our new installed Super Channel at 2 am when Jackie yells from the bedroom her water broke. Dead tired and the movie still on I asked if we are ok to wait until the morning. “ Life lesson”

• The doctor DID NOT KNOW we were having twins (unbelievable) and Jackie had to have an emergency C section. Nurses, doctor, NO ONE knew twins until they cut her open and the hand that was dangling out was not attached to the body they pulled out.

• A lot of swear words and the song Yankee Doodle Dandy will be stuck in the attending nurses heads forever.

• I had to sell my beloved Corvette to get the girls home as two baby seats do not fit and in those days a seat was a plastic tray really.

• The amount of attention we would get on a food run or shopping was insane.

• A diaper service with 200 diapers per week and cases of Enfalac were our life. The amount of baby bottles in the fridge was crazy. ( before the service Jackie had 12 cloth diapers that had our wash machine going steady)

• Victoria knocking out her front tooth TWICE.

• Jessica running into the drywall corner bead and permanently denting her cheek

• Jessica falling into a campfire and scaring her arm

• Jessica putting a bobby pin in an electrical plug. Scary !

• Victoria slamming her fingers in the car door and it closing.

• Victoria jumping on a grocery cart of a stranger and going for a ride before realizing.

• Both girls falling down the stairs at their daycare.

• Jumping out of cars and boats due to a bee in proximity

• Carving their initials in the window at daycare and thinking they won’t get caught.

• A full wall crayon art in our bedroom.

• Black tongue, limo, choking incident, rear window blowout ,moose collision, tongue piercing, bike hitting car, pooping in the backyard, hotel movie rating, hockey game turn around, gun and skeleton story, water slides, “Stupid is a bad word you know” , Stratosphere rides, Slurpee . You guys explain.

The Happiest of Birthdays to you both. Enjoy the celebrations as I know it will go on forever .

Change is inevitable, as they say. It sure changes things, and a lot of the time, not for the better. As I mentioned earlier, my golf organizer for my snips game at Turner Valley decided he was tired of it. It is a lot of work that Phil has done 10 years plus, but luckily for us someone stepped up. Today was my golf organizers last day of organizing our Rover group. Bill has done this for ten years plus also. Unfortunately, the software is complex. Running it may be even proprietary. No one else is going to lead it. So the end to one of my favorite groups to play golf with.

Bill sent a list of the winnings and I was relatively happy. I finished in the top 10 of the money list and top 7 in games played. There have been a lot of different players and up to 72 players on some Wednesday’s in this event and some tough courses.

Sad that it is ending.

I am not sure if I like change as much as I used to. Losing Fred & Terry, Bob & Pat, Russ & Carol, Ralph & Tracy from the park, losing my Rover group and the change at my Turner Valley group plus too many people we know that are being affected in what they can do, due to medical issues or fear of things.

All I can say is I am going to continue to enjoy Viewpoint, enjoy my golf, enjoy my friends and all of changes for as long as we can.

Thought of the Day

Life is like underwear, change is good

March 27th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -1 degrees snow , Calgary 3 degrees, Mesa 35 degrees”

Quite a day.

Up early and ready for it. Right on time, my caretaker Jack arrives. We go over the things I need done, want done, and he can do. We also finalized the pay for the year.

I then started on the dishwasher as it hasn’t been draining properly. In the middle of my work, my next appointment for our a/c inspection arrives. This is to make sure everything is kosher with it for the year. Everything checked out perfect.

This gentleman is one of kind that Fred hooked me up with. His van is beaten up and had a collision to the rear end. He wrote on it ” This is what happens when you text and drive”. He is dirty. He walks in pain. He has a long ponytail. He knows his stuff. Talking to him the poor guy just lost his house to a fire without insurance. He was appreciative to have my house and our neighbors to do. Plus the tip made him smile. I like him, like his knowledge and he is not the typical rip off artist some large companies become. And he still has R22 Freon which I prefer over the new R134 friendly stuff. Funny how just one atom added can make a product different. It uses a different oil. If I hired a large company, they would give me an excuse. They would insist on changing the compressor to handle the new product. I hope my guy lives to 100.

Then back to the dishwasher. With any issue an investigation has to happen and a sequence arrived to fix it. You start with the obvious. So first thing is to clean out the micro and large particle filters in it. Food particles can plug these not allowing water to escape. I was remiss in doing doing this maintenance and am glad I did it now. It was bad.

It took me a long time to remove all of the interior mechanisms to accomplish this. And tricky release system both for the spray wand and filters to get them out.

I was happy in a way after removing the blade and filters. I saw this and thought it may be plugged. It seemed like a semi easy fix. Unfortunately, after reassembling everything it still did not work.

I removed the drain hose and used a coat hanger with small rag but it wasn’t plugged or excessive dirty.

It brought to mind how little things need to be taken care of and rinsing off plates before putting them in the dishwasher is the proper way.

Started it again and I could not get the discharge pump to start. You can hear it when it does and no sound. So three things. Either the impeller blade is plugged and jammed, the solenoid not working or the pump is toast. It is a matter of deduction and multi-meter to check ohms on the solenoid.

I removed the bottom plate and my discovery was complete. We smelt burning plastic the last time we used it which sometimes is a plastic dish inside or just a heat smell but this unit was burnt. There in front of my eyes was the solenoid plunger totally burnt. I imagine it could catch on fire with the heat generated as it was pretty well melted . Luckily it was obvious. My hope is this replacement will cure it as in some cases the timer may have malfunctioned keeping the solenoid open to long causing it to overheat. In some cases it is operator error as with a car engine or anything really your ears are your tool to make sure everything is correct. One small minute over or under turn on the dial and you can burn the thing out. Like holding a car key on after the engine is started.

So my research for parts starts and from my fridge part cost in Calgary I was prepared. I found the part number. A parts store had them in stock, but only in Phoenix. They were not available in the Tempe or Mesa stores. Not cheap but reasonable compared to the last parts I bought.

We are so lucky to have bought in Mesa. The greater Phoenix area, with 6 million people driving in the afternoon, is crazy. My parts store was 45 mins away. A freeway 12 lanes wide mid afternoon can’t handle it.

Sitting outside at 25 degrees at 9 pm is wonderful.

My middle name is still Crib.

Thought of the Day

15-2, 15-4 and there aint no more !

March 28th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -4 degrees ( 12 inch snow) , Calgary -1 degrees, Mesa 27 degrees”

27 degrees by anyone’s standards is warm but it is cool compared to our last few days.

We had an earlier tee time to escape the high heat of the day. Didn’t really need that but still nice.

As many people have already left the park it seems dead and the golf course was not busy at all. In fact we golfed as a twosome, 2 groups behind my VP golfers group.

It was not a stellar day for Jackie or I with the scoring. Two stupid slices and I end up with a 81 instead of in the 70’s. Jackie had some great shots but the bad ones thrown in killed her score. Still a very fun warm enjoyable golf day.

We thought it may be too warm so my personal ball retriever wasn’t along today.

Only one incident on the course today. Hole #10 a 291 yard Par 4. From the tee box I hit the sweet spot and rolled up onto the green as two ladies and two men were putting. It didn’t hit them just rolled up onto the green. They were a slower foursome all day. I needed to apologize. I drove up to them. The guy said, “We are going as fast as we can.” They were a full hole behind. Second one of the ladies yells, “You should have yelled four.” I didn’t yell because it was just a roll up. Jackie had, but from 300 yards away, old deaf people are not going to hear anyway. Always over excitable people. I think I would have responded if it had happened to me ” Nice drive “

I relate this to a few things. If you are not comfortable or capable of going the speed limit stay off the highway. If you are not capable of keeping up to the group in front of you, pick your ball up every once in awhile to keep pace. Seems simple.

Nice day on the course !

We stopped and had lunch on the deck with Barry & Mike after golfing.

Got home and it was time for Jackie’s beauty treatment. $$$$$$ I am not going to say. LOL

We will have a quick supper and then Dave & Sandy will be over for a last games night.

Sandy was the big wiener tonight winning at every game. Dice, 5 Crowns and Play Nine. Some days, fun night though. Slowly using up my excess booze before we leave. One more night if entertaining to get rid of some more.

We had a few winter pics of Alberta sent . Ugly. First pic of Fred’s place and the second at Alfred’s house.

The roads do not look good there.

Thought of the Day

If anyone receives a message from me about canned meat. Don’t answer it. It is SPAM

March 29th– March 30th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton -2 degrees, snow, Calgary -2 degrees, snow, Mesa 27 degrees”

Jackie took our Daisy for her morning run and I got up to have breakfast.

We decided to go to the Mesa Market after getting everything ready. We needed a couple of things. This included an item that Darlene wanted us to bring back. I love this place with it’s unique products and layout.

The lot was full but lucky the aisles not too packed. So we managed to get in and out in a relatively short order. Short is subjective.

Had our lunch and then I started on the dishwasher. I replaced the magnetic solenoid, trigger and spring. Removing the old one it was obvious how burnt it was. I have big hands and bad eyesight. Laying on the floor in a tight spot made it a little more cumbersome. But I got it done.

First check fail. Then you start thinking what went wrong. Easy fix. Plug it back in.

Ran thru it’s cycle and works like a charm. Happy Dance ! It could have been just the solenoid giving up. However, my worry is that the timer allows power to it for too long and overheats it. Time will tell.

I then took out the sun screens and washed them. Jackie and I got them installed in very little time. I bought these 16 years ago as the heat coming thru the window would melt the blinds. I bought the 95% UV blockage. It is wonderful as you can still see through them. They keep the place cool, albeit a lot darker. We take them off each year.

I put away my long expensive tree cutting tools. I have a long pole string tug heavy duty limb chopper and an long pole electric chain saw to cut large branches off that the neighbor borrowed and they just fit with a lot of wiggling in the side shed.

A good day getting things done. Jackie went thru a lot of the food and closets today also.

The Battle of Alberta . Great game, well played by both teams and with the best player in the world shining. Leon with 50 goals and third in the league does not get his credit when he has to play with the over hyped Mc Cry Baby. Unfortunately the Flames lose and the chances of them making the playoffs remain slim. They just need a goal scorer and they would have a great team. Fun to watch though.

I wonder if the girls thought about a arm wrestling match before the game.

We started our pre-packing. We both have suitcases packed. Boxes are sorted. Everything is ready to load for day one.

Daisy knows something is going on. She is following us like a dog.

Then off to the pool hall. Last game of the season. Each week is a blast as we have so many close games. The girls started out fast but withered. Russ & I did end up in the win column. I declare Team Russ & Larry the Viewpoint Sunday Billiard Champions.

A nice after gathering and all of our commitments and events are done so now just packing up.

Thought of the Day

Home is your place, your happy spot. We are so fortunate to have three locations that as soon as we arrive we feel at home. Oasis, Viewpoint and Cranston.

March 31st

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

End of March already and packing day is upon us. We could stay about 3 or 4 more days but since a lot of our “people” have left and it just feels like time. It could be my burning desire for a Tim’s Ice Cap

Jackie spent all day packing up. All day and still more to finish up in the am. When you are leaving a place for 6 months or more there are a lot of things that need to be done.

We hope to be on the road by 10 am . First stop Washington Utah. Looks like we will be fighting snow for a long ways on this trip.

A quote above from one of my favorite golfers. Charley Hull. This is SO TRUE. The mind is a powerful thing and stands between what we are and greatness for all of us. I have forever hated, detested and am disgusted by people that swear. To me is a sign of extreme weakness of the mind. The same goes for anger. On swearing there are a plethora of descriptive words without having to resort to vulgarity. On anger it is extremely weak mind that you can’t control your emotions. It is a learned behavior that maturity should have corrected when you were young. Or your parents should have washed your mouth out with soap. It is the same for pain and illness. ” Thinketh not of ill and disease and thou shall defeat the foe within” . I am sure my girls have this memorized. You let pain or illness control you, you lose. Charley’s Dad is a wise man.

Depending on the internet I may or may not post until we get back . All things going well we should cross the border on Thursday.

Thought of the Day

We should leave this place content with the lives we’ve lived and the people and cultures we’ve experienced. We say good bye to our American friends and know we will meet again in the fall.