November 1st

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 9 degrees, Calgary 15 degrees, Mesa 31 degrees”

Well last day in Canada. And a busy one. Final packing prep and food deliveries etc.

And to add to that 1:30 pm the Flames are on TV. At 3:30 pm, the CFL quarter-finals are on TV with the best CFL team, the Stamps. At 6:00 pm, it’s the 7th Game of the World Series. Now, ‘world’ is a stretch. It is Canada versus USA, but many players from Japan, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica are included.

As the ELK are out of it again my beating is over for the CFL but I have to say Fred sure pays up fast,

Fred had Tim who is already in Viewpoint deliver my winnings to my outdoor kitchen. I notice it is very dusty. LOL

A smaller win this year with only 19 beer involved. I was going to forgo the one beer to make it an even case of 18. However, Fred paid up in full. He even added a bonus of the lone beer being huge. LOL

I thought I would add a few pics from last night here as it is a new month. The ladies, believing talking is more important than the game, decided to sit outside the room. They watched TV in the main hall. Worked out perfect. Hen talk with a lot of personal health updates and some weather thrown in is my guess.

Western Pizza was great as always. I had pre-ordered as Jackie thought it would be busy and it was CRAZY. At least ten people lined up waiting, including Skip and Dash. They were 20 minutes late for me, but that is ok. I think they were caught off guard with Halloween and the Game the same night.

A anxious game and one more to go.

The number of kids Victoria had made it clear it was a busy Halloween night for the trick & treaters. Looking at Facebook, the number was astonishing. She had over 250. Makes it fun. I am sure every neighborhood was the same.

Took my internet in Mesa off of vacation mode so we are ready when we arrive. Checked the weather and it is wonderful all of the way.

I think I am going to take Highway 89A again. I love it because it is shorter. It might be a little slower. The scenery on this drive is unmatched. It is a 100 mile stretch of the ultimate nature at it’s best. Elevation change of over 5000 ft .No one will not remember their adventure here. Marble Canyon, Oak Creek, Cliff dwellers, to mention a few.

Update so far on games.

Flames lose again. A big shake up has to happen. We can not continue to be a bottom dweller.

The Stamps

We lost ! How to you miss a extra point ! I guess like how does a baseball get stuck in the back wall. It is too bad as I was was looking forward to a Roughrider/Stamps semi final. My Stamps hat is packed but I am not going down to take it out. Darn !

We have the best looking logo’s for our teams.

The Blue Jays lost. It is shame. I have to say I rarely feel anxious living vicariously through a sports team. However, I really wanted the Jays to win. I am disappointed.

November 2nd

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 9 degrees, Calgary 9 degrees, Mesa 32 degrees”

The plan is to leave here at 6 pm. We aim to make it to Idaho Falls. That is a drive of over 10 hours. Gas stops, Tim’s stop in Lethbridge, short stop at Jess’s and hopefully a quick stop at the border.

Made it. Sitting in Idaho Falls at 7 pm in our hotel room and after picking up and eating supper.

The alarm went off at 6 am this morning. We were out of the condo and on the road by 6:30. So exactly 12 hours later we stopped. Nice to have the time change giving us that extra hour sleep.

A quick stop at Tim’s in Lethbridge and bringing the Hickens some breakfast. I do need to say the food choices were a little odd. LOL

A nice visit with the kids. Tom was just getting started at adding the wall for the loft in their house. It would be a relatively easy job except it is HIGH. Trying to hang drywall 16 ft from the floor especially with one guy will be very hard. Too bad on the timing as I could have helped him. I hope Tom gets some help or rents a lift. It will look great when done and will make the loft into a usable bedroom.

We were talking about the glass/window options and what the want is. A little confusing. In my opinion you should never use plate glass in heights with potential people below it and with kids involved. It should be tempered.

After leaving and while driving and discussing it with Jackie, we talked about plate glass, sealed units, sound dampening, and tempered glass. She googled and asked me about an item that came up from Home Depot. She found an item that I think would work. She sent it to Jessica to ask Tom if it would work with his design. Turns out it will. The Depot sells tempered deck railing glass quite cheap apprx 3 ft x 5 1/2 ft. Way to go Jackie as the price was excellent and it is tempered. Can’t wait to see the final wall done.

As I have said before, the Canadian Media are very biased. They are left leaning in their reporting. They also exasperate to sensationalize a story.

The Coutts border guard today was effective, professional, and the process timely. All good !

Wonderful great drive. Love the Flex with it’s cornering. Only issue is that small gas tank. So more stops but good for breaks and Daisy.

Gas below $3 a gallon at most stations. That is great !

Daisy loved looking for cows out of the window. Every time a field with livestock she would go so excited to see them.

The sunrise and sunset today was spectacular. Full moon in a couple of days happening.

The temperature is cool in Idaho Falls at only 10 degrees. However, there are big winds that makes it feel a lot cooler.

I entered a hockey pool in Edmonton for a few years until the organizer screwed me up. Keith Harry won it two years ago and finished in second place last year. I didn’t do as well. Corey entered it also and has finished in the top 10 most years. I entered it a few years ago. The organizer accepted my money transfer. However, he didn’t enter me in the pool. Mistakes happen. Next year the exact same thing happened. One mistake can happen. Second time same error is it a competence issue? I can forgive one mistake. It’s hard to understand the same error repeated. I do not accept trying for a third mistake. A mistake made especially when money is involved is just wrong. A pool lets say of 20 people at $20 is $400. If you have $380 someone didn’t submit the money. If you have $400 but only 19 people it requires a check. Seems pretty easy. NOW this year the exact same mistake happens to Keith. This organizer is a insurance agent. Would you trust your insurance with him ?

Jackie gets Wordle in TWO !! sick !

Best Western Idaho Falls at only $110 with free breakfast, king size bed and nice. They do use a cleaner with a strong smell but it is nice to have a room spotlessly clean. You get used to the smell relatively fast.

Jackie went for a walk beside the river with Daisy. She ran into a flock of ducks and didn’t know what do to.

We picked Carl Jr’s for supper. I would give it a 6 out of 10. Good but nothing special or unique. Good tasting but middle of the pack as far as burgers go or in Jackie’s case a chicken sandwich.

I said to Jackie we should stop at Vegas. It is a 21 hour flight to Fiji and it is a 21 hour drive to Mesa. Vegas loves 21.

We made a decision to go the Vegas route this time. Traffic was light. We would hit Phoenix at the perfect timing to miss rush hour.

Our next stop with easy traffic and scenic drive was in Mesquite. We have stayed at the Holiday Inn Express numerous times. We like it because it is reasonable and nice. Our other choice has been Casa Blanca’s. It looks wonderful, but the rooms are very dated. The whole complex has a dirty feel with the heavy smell of smoke in the Casino. Great food specials though and huge buffet.

Jackie booked the Holiday Inn. Upon arriving, we discovered it had become a Hampton Inn and Suites. An old super large complex had become the Holiday Inn. It become the Holiday Inn in April and is under a major renovation. Scaffolding still on the outside. This complex has huge meeting rooms, pool, pickle ball courts, and basketball courts. There are also horseshoe pits, a large kids arcade, and a very well equipped gym. Additionally, it features a conference center and what looks like a separate arena or hockey rink. Even a baseball diamond. NOW when it is DONE it should nice. I is not renovated inside the rooms to 5 star but it is done very well. Once done it will be nice and most likely not in our price range anymore. We got a special deal which was good.

Victoria was bugging me about praying for ONE more Flames win. I was actually reaching for the sky in appreciation of a cold beer and a hot sun.

I checked it’s history and it has gone broke twice before so hopefully this time they have it right. It is a huge piece of property with loads of land. They paid 24 million for it and i can’t imagine the renovation costs.

It worked well for us for everything.

A better than average continental breakfast was great.

The further south on Interstate 15 the busier the highway, Everyone knows the road thru Salt Lake. It is 12 lanes wide, 70 mph and sleepy Mormons with squiggly traffic lines.

I had a good laugh with Jackie. Jokingly, I said I felt I needed to enter Beaver UT and have a massage, maybe with a happy ending. I wanted to get my feet pedicured or perhaps a chest /back wax. Alternatively, finding a back or side road would be great because the stress is so high. NOT

I love the 80 mph with squiggly lines and the incredible amount of traffic.

When I become old thinking and tentative to drive anywhere, they should put me to sleep as something has gone horrible wrong in my brain. I would drive my motorhome pulling my Jeep and smile on this road.

Usually it is a stream of Canadian license plates on the #15 but not this year. It was odd and all of the hotels were appearing to be empty.

We had about a 15 min delay in Vegas with heavy traffic than a free highway again.

The cooler works out well. When we stop for gas we just pull out lunch and couple of drink and carry on.

Daisy as usual had a great trip. She loves a new bed each night to roll around in.

Arrived at our second home. Love it here. The roads have been freshly paved and the place is looking very clean and tidy.

Had a few meet and greets with our neighbors and started to unpack. It is amazing how much you can fit into a car.

The trees are fully overgrown and difficult to get to the front door. So I though for today I would just trim an opening.

A rarity. A unthinkable thing happened. I forgot the shed keys and mailbox keys In Calgary. I will need to pry it off. I checked with Tim to see if Fred had a key left with him but to no avail. Lucky for me Tim came in the morning and we chopped it off with a sawsall.

Our neighbor let us use his drive pad to park as our cart was in the way.

8 am start to 4 pm work day today. I have to say it did wear me down a bit.

First thing was prepping the golf cart. Got it off the stands and moved it. Then started tree trimming. I have three large trees. The lemon tree grows at least 8 feet each year. It has to be cut off. And has thorns three inches long.

I got all three of my trees done and trimmed up the bushes along my fence. So while trimming, I thought I may as well help my neighbor. He struggles with his trees because he is ill a lot of the time. I then went across the street and trimmed Ian’s two front trees.

I spoke with our next door neighbor about our shared trees. He hired a Mexican crew to do theirs. They wanted $800 but he talked them down to half of that. I said us two can have it done in an hour if he wanted. So Jackie, Donna, Randy and I started and it took about an hour plus cleanup still to come. Good money savings. Randy & Donna just had a close friend fall off a ladder. I think they may have been tentative climbing up high.

We have about 30 homes on our block. We have seen a huge turnover in people since 2007 ( 19 years ago). You figure a seniors gathering place people age out. They experience health issues. People need to budget their money. They look at doing other things. Then, some people die.

The last 4 or 5 years has been the biggest turnover, and it seems 2026 will be another huge year. Unfortunately, there are some really nice and some close to us people that are leaving. Our friends Russ & Carol listed their home and it sold right away. It is combination of health issues and insurance issues. Our neighbor right across the street Ian is selling his unit this year. This is one of nicest and smartest guys I know. He is 89 years old. He had a few health issues. He has decided to sell. He will only come for a limited time to his brother-in-law’s place, which is also in the park. Next to Ian’s is Deanna and Terry’s place. They are two wonderful people. They struggle with getting insurance because Terry is a transplant patient and has issues. We lost the Dirty Board champion Denis and Anita as they just recently sold also.

Sad to lose so many great people but interesting to see who the new people are. Our block has been hit hard with people dying from cancer.

It is odd because I still consider us relatively young. However, we are the second longest residence on the block. Only Ardon & Florence have been here longer than us. They bought in 1995 and ourselves in 2007. We have a goal. LOL

It is unbelievable to me being here for 18 years total and 11 years being here all winter. I wish everyone could experience this lifestyle as I am positive you live longer doing this.

Thought of the Day

There is no place like your second home !

November 6th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 1 degrees, Calgary 14 degrees, Mesa 29 degrees,”

Another busy day getting things up and running. A good day with Jackie working very hard all day long. We got the back deck all pressured washed including the cushions. Pressure washed the patio, outdoor kitchen and from deck and chairs. Wiped and cleaned the furniture and the outdoor kitchen. Washed all of the outdoor rugs and hung the curtains. Pressure washed the house and railings plus washed the golf cart.

We got all of the decorations set up, rugs placed, beer fridge stocked up and outside TV all set up.

I sent out a message to my golf group. I firmly believe it is imperative for people to accept and embrace change as it is inevitable. And we as a group are changing again. Ron P is the only remaining member of the original group. We had a steady group for the last 5 years or so. We had a few new members and some members played in different leagues. It looks like 2026 our group has big changes again. Denis has decided to leave our group and go with a large group in the park. Jim has sold his place and will not be here. Mike has decided to only play once a week with us. A smaller group is easier to handle but it was fun with more people. There are a few people I have not heard from yet. We may add two golfers who have played with us a few times over the years wanting to play more.

A nice visit with Mike & Deb then a few beer at Dave & Sandy’s house. This Arizona life is hard to get used to.

Funny thing. I thought I left a set of keys at home. I knew it would be a weird thing for me to do. As a result, I had to cut off my padlock. Tonight, I find the keys in my coat jacket. Oh well. LOL

After working all day we decided to have Fat Willy’s for supper. I had the Stir Fry with spicy sweet chili sauce and it was awesome. Guess what Jackie had ? Nice to enjoy a wonderful supper after a long day working.

Thought of the Day

Change is the spice of life. Without it everything would be pretty bland.

November 7th

‘Mercury Forecast Edmonton 3 degrees, Calgary 6 degrees, Mesa 32 degrees”

Not to rub it in but Edmonton got snow today and Calgary a skiff. Winter is coming. Yet looking ahead next week Calgary has a 15 degree weather day coming up. Can’t have that happen.

Another wonderful day in paradise.

First thing this morning I helped Randy. We whipped two garbage cans full of thorny tree limbs to the garbage. We also filled 4 large tarps, each 4 x 4 x 4, with thorny tree limbs.

Only minor scratches today.

Then when Jackie got back from her walk we headed to Fry’s for a first grocery shop. You knew the bill would be big. We tried the Fry’s Mega store for the first time and I have to say I love it. It is huge in size with vast selection of a lot of different stations and amenities.

You never get everything on the first shop and lo and behold we forgot the worst item. Jackie is shaking as she realizing she has none left. HER TEA !! lol

On our walk around the neighborhood last night we stopped and and saw Dave & Sandy. They added a new dog to their family, A miniature herd dog like Olive. A quick visit turned into a short sit down. After three beers and solving all of the world issues, we left.

Unpacked all of the groceries and headed over to Ian’s to install a new smoke detector in his place. What was supposed to be a ten-minute job turned into a 20-minute one due to a small issue. However, it is all good and all done.

I then started to clean up and organize the shed a bit. Funny as I love 32 degrees but working in a sweat shop shed it felt hot. Put up new lights and sorted out tools.

Sat down and Jackie got me again getting Wordle in 2. Took me three.

Still working on the golf group changes and who is and who is not playing. Close to being done. A little smaller group this year unless Ian and Sandy join in.

It is funny. Two couples of our golf group were fingerprinted. They also had their photo taken at the border crossing. It goes back to what I have said before in people having opinions on the teachers strike. DO YOUR RESEARCH and know your facts not trusting hear say and fear mongering. It is only a self induced procedure that did not need to happen that they had to experience this. Having said that it makes the entrance to a foreign country easy and official. You can’t blame a country for wanting to know who is coming into it. I follow the Canadian Snowbird Assoc and the postings I see from people are insane. It is not a complicated process. Register your dog with the CDC 7 days before crossing. Then, you are good for entry or exit for 6 months. Enter the US as you always do. If you have an active I94 with an exit date you are good until then. If you don’t have an active I94, buy one for $30 at the border. Then, register with photo and fingerprinting. If you are staying over 30 days, register a G325R online when you get to your destination. Do this before the 30 days is up when you are at your place of stay in the USA. Then, you are good for your 6 months. It is fairly simple. Just another hiccup and small detail. Why it causes so much angst is beyond me.

All of Europe is starting the same procedures.

Filled in the Alberta Government survey to raise the speed limited on divided highways. I hope it happens as it is a way past time. We reduced it in 1977 when we went from 65 mph to 100 kph. This was a decrease of 3 mph. The auto technology is leaps and bounds ahead of the cars we drove back then. Hope it changes. I can hear the do -gooders yell at the extra gas used. What they won’t tell you is the reduction in collisions that will result from better traffic flow. Plus the reduction of traffic on the road as some drivers will look for side roads and bypasses.

First golf game of this season in Arizona is on Monday. Jackie has started getting her ladies all organized so we should be back to a regular schedule. I will need to get up at 6 am twice a week to book due to change. If they answer the phone quickly, I can go back to bed and fall asleep quite easily.

Sat outside tonight and had a wonderful BBQ supper of pork chops, loaded baked potatoes and an awesome garden salad.

This is the first time in 18 years of coming here we have seen a few flying bugs and mosquito’s. Odd to say the least.

A memory in Google Photo’s came up today. Shocking to think 10 years ago today Fred and I worked like mad renovating his place. It was a total renovation. We added new cupboards, new countertops, and new flooring. We also installed a new backsplash and new doors. It turned out wonderfully.

Memories are a wonderful thing. We worked every day, hard. Drinks and great suppers and right back at it the next day . Three weeks of uninterrupted work and I am sure everyone that saw the final product loved it.

It was a lot of fun.

When are people going to wake up. Carney’s new budget now will cost us over 1 BILLION a week in interest alone to manage our debt. It is crazy. I don’t mind manageable debt or budget deficits but it is getting crazy. The general public are only considering themselves and their current situation and want every thing for nothing. Some one has to have the courage to stop the wage increases. They must stop the handouts to other countries. It is crucial to stop the social nets and reel everything back in.

A growing economy covers up the need to do this. It allows spending. However, the left wing and environmentalists will not allow it.

Had to make an emergency trip to get tea !! Jackie was starting to shake.

Thought of the Day

There is a saying ” There are only a few things in this world that tea can’t fix”

November 8th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 4 degrees, Calgary 6 degrees, Mesa 29 degrees”

A cooler day today but still wonderful. Quite of an expensive day today. Our washer/dryer combo calved on us. The drum came off it’s axis. It is 18 yrs old though. So I took it out and got the model number and researched the fix. It has 4 shock absorbers and springs that hold and balance the drum. I can not buy the parts anymore. The factory discontinued them. Even the aftermarket parts people did not have them. So that means a new one.

Age is a factor and heavy loads causing stress is usually the cause. Normally a few hundred to fix but not this time.

We checked out as many places as we knew of and ended up choosing Lowes. How about this, we order today and they will deliver the new one tomorrow. As a combo more money and smaller as it is an apartment size and hopefully lasts another 15 years.

Sort of bad timing as we have a fair amount of large bills lately. Golf passes, new tires on Flex, top up on HOA, air flights for Christmas, travel, grocery stock up etc etc. Good things points are available . LOL

Had a huge scorpion show up today near the back deck. Not exaggerating but at least 3 inches long. A big one. I used a metal rod to cut it half. This one would have hurt if it had a bite on us. That is the second one so Home Depot for more scorpion killer spray.

Wordle in TW0 for me. !!

Scary game for the CFL Western Final. Keith was having a get together on 1800 block. We tried to get together with Tim. We received an unofficial invite to attend. After shopping, we decided to have a low key watch ourselves because it is a 1800 block gathering.

A nice supper and nice evening watching the game. The CFL has a free app so we mirrored from Jackie’s phone to the big screen.

I thought for sure the Rider coach made two bad decisions. I believed these mistakes would cost the game. However, a hail Mary changed the outcome, and the Riders are Grey Cup bound. The last time the Riders won was in 2013 so a hopefully 12 years later another one. A long wait with amazing fans.

A nail biter for sure !

Thought of the Day

Waiting is the art of doing nothing, but with style

November 9th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 6 degrees, Calgary 6 degrees, Mesa 32 degrees”

Gorgeous day.

First thing this morning I went over to Ian’s as he had a bird nesting in his carport pan. I used a long extendable rod with a homemade end on it. I pulled out a ton of sticks, feathers, string grass, etc. Bloody birds. He had three missing foam triangles to keep this from happening.

I whipped to Home Depot as I needed furnace filters but they don’t carry the triangle blocking. Mobile Depot does but they close on Sundays. I checked out the sheets of stryo but they wanted too much money and only had 4 x 8 sheets. They had pink 2 x 2 sheets though.

I picked up a container of Scorpion Killer. Now Home Depot has a pretty good inventory system. I found the aisle and bin and checked and checked and could not find it. A middle aged lady employed by Depot came along and we started our search. We had no luck at first. Then she got on her hands and knees. She found it on the bottom row, pushed all the way to the back.

I stopped and got the car washed.

I came home and waited for a our Lowes delivery. These guys arrived and they are organized. We got the old one out and the new one in about an hour. Not much design change over the 17 years. More electronics but looks very similar.

While they were here Jackie said save the Styrofoam from the washer to use for Ian’s panel covers. I was impressed with the idea as it was brilliant. Turns out Audrey thought of it while talking to Jackie. Awesome idea.

When the guys left I pulled one down and used it as a template and it worked out perfect.

We had to cancel our billiard outing which was disappointing but we will get that in soon. Lowes gave a 4 hour window and took about an hour for the install.

Who would have thought that the Oiler’s would be in second last place? The Flames are in last place this year. I sure hope the Flames can put together a string of wins.

Daisy likes the cool corner of the cement and walls. While we are outside it is her favorite spot. The heat gets to her.

This morning, Jackie said she had a whack of dogs to play with at the park. It would have tired her a bit.

Thought of the Day

If your dog thinks you are the greatest person in the world don’t ask for a second opinion.

November 10th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 12 degrees, Calgary 13 degrees, Mesa 31 degrees”

Wow what a beautiful day. Up at 6 am and starting to book tee times. The phone rang and rang. I tried numerous times. Then a lady picks it up. She is quite hostile and says, “We do not start taking tee times until 6:30 am.” I phoned at 6:32 and got through. Now I know LOL .

I went back to bed for a bit and laid down but really didn’t sleep. Breakfast and then off to the course. Because it is early, the course was not fully booked. Many people are still to come, and some are not coming.

First golf game of the 2025 winter season.

We finished in 3.5 hours which is great. The warmth at 31 degrees was wonderful. No muscle pain, no back pain, muscles loose and just a slight presence of perspiration on the forehead. Now to the golf. Everything else perfect, the score not so much. Everyone played well but the greens have just been over seeded so not in great shape and slow. That hurt everyone. The low gross today was 71 from Ian. He makes it look so easy. I had some bad luck. I missed too many putts. It’s my first game at 2 over cap, which I can live with. Next game I would like to be 9 strokes less.

We went over to Bob’s place after golf. He is in a nice rental unit this year. I was in some pretty impressive company today. One guest was an ex-owner of a car dealership, another an ex-owner of a tire shop. We also had the owner of an ambulance company.

It was a fun foursome.

Amazon deliveries galore today. LOL Love my new watch band. I have a Seiko watch. I won it at least 25 years ago. I have switched the face out and numerous bands. It still looks perfect and tells time accurately and hopefully will carry on. I like wearing a watch I don’t have to be real careful with now. I have my fancy Citizen Eco Drive watch that I wear for special occasions. Similar with my rings that I only wear on special occasions.

When I retired ( 12 yrs ago in March) I gave away all of my business suits. I told Jackie that now at this age, I should buy one more suit. I hate to wear suits now. Funerals and memorials are going to be happening is my rationale. I wore a suit and tie from 1975 to about 2006 then we went to business causal . I remember wearing a fancy suit while counting nails at lumber yards. This was in the back warehouse where it was dusty and dirty to get a big order. I provided the customer with his inventory levels and set max/min. Then, I made my own order up for them after a trust was established. It has been wonderful attending funerals and weddings without one but it maybe time to at least get one.

The concept of public and private schools is a great way to provide quality education. Public and private medical care ensures quality medical services. The private system frees up space in the public system for both students and for operations. Tim who lives in Saskatoon needs a couple of knee replacements. It is over a 2 yr wait in the queue. He contacted a private knee surgery clinic in Calgary. He is getting a new knee the first of Jan. That is quick. He not only removes two years of incapacitating pain but also frees up room in the public system. This allows someone else to get closer to a surgery date. A public educational and medical system is only better due to the availability of a private system.

Jackie did laundry today and was mesmerized by our new machine. She was rubbing the knobs and admiring the quietness of it.

Daisy and us went for a long walk tonight. At least 20 above at 8 pm.

Thought of the Day

I play in the low 80’s. When it is cooler that that I don’t want to.

November 11th-12th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 10 degrees, Calgary 12 degrees, Mesa 32 degrees”

REMEMBRANCE DAY

In our family we had our Uncle Bruce killed overseas. Uncle Roy and Uncle Truman both served with Roy being well decorated including the Purple Heart. My Dad served in the RCOC. In those days, the rule allowed the eldest boy of a family on a farm to avoid joining the army. These were on my Dad’s side. On my Mom’s side the eldest Uncle got to stay on the farm and the other two Uncles were too young. To put the timing into perspective, my Dad would be 104 yrs old today if he were alive. He joined the military too late to be sent overseas.

It is good that so many people are attempting to keep the memories of this horrible event alive. This effort helps ensure it never happens again. Yet we still have dumb wars all over the planet.

Specials on for Veterans day and early Black Friday. Jackie has a angst over shoes and mattresses. For the whole time I have known her she worries over and stresses about shoes. The arch, the support, the comfort etc She has had a lot of shoes in her life. Same with a mattress. She never feels any mattress is a good mattress. You are supposed to be asleep how can you feel any difference. Daisy must have taken up too much room last night. We were on the hunt for a new mattress today. We went from a double to a king. Now the sizing is nice but not really needed and our current mattress is wonderful. Best I have slept on.

What a great deal! We got a King mattress by Sealy with special coils. It comes with a bed frame that has an electric lift on one end. Free delivery, free bed frame and $100 to haul away the old one. A perfectly good one but it seems no one wants a used one.

Tonight Sandy & Dave came over a games night. At 8 pm it still was 32 degrees outside. I will say this, I did not win a single game. Apparently, the Flames and I are on the same winning streak.

I got my revenge. I served beer in an ice cold Calgary Flames glass. Tor got these glasses for me for my birthday. Dave is a dedicated Oiler fan.

Fun night. Daisy loved it with Zoey and Lizzie visiting her. Lizzy and her played for the whole time and as I write this Daisy is passed out on my feet.

A fun Arizona night.

Flames lose again.

Wordle in 6 for Jackie and 5 for me. A hard word.

Thought of the Day

If you are just playing a game for winning or losing , your playing for the wrong reasons

November 12th

” Mercury Forecast Edmonton 7 degrees, Calgary 7 degrees, Mesa 31 degrees”

Our resort had some ceremonies yesterday and we had some today. Today’s gathering was awesome with a full band, trumpets and bugle. The emcee asked for each group of the military to stand for applause. The overall attendance was down because it was not on the 11th. We are also missing a lot of the Canadians. There was only one US Marine that stood and two only Canadian Veterans. The largest group was widows of military vets second was the Navy.

The reading of the poem Flanders Field was nice and the presentation of the quilts of valor was special. There was one war vet with a Purple Heart. The bulk of the veterans were from the Vietnam war.

Then off to golf. This year as my men’s league out of the park is dissolved I plan to golf with Jackie every Wednesday. Today we had to make a decision because it was over 30 degrees. Daisy’s hair is a little longer, as she does not get a haircut until we get back to Canada. Because of this, we would not take her. No breeze so a little warm and having cart path only it was a good decision.

It was an ok day on the course. I was struggling with a slice more today than normal but didn’t lose any balls. Jackie played very well ending up with 103 no gimmies or mulligans. I ended up with 81 only due to some poor shots. Hole 18 a 465 yard Par 5 and my second shot was 140 yards. An easy wedge and bam into the pond. Penalty and still took a par but dumb. On Hole 5, a 327 yard Par 4, I was 45 yards off the green. I skulled it but still salvaged a par. Too bad a fun day. Have to work on that slice again.

What a deal. Today Jackie & I with a power cart golfed for $84. Sweet.

We came home and had a nice Italian supper and the end to another day in paradise.

A walk tonight to the post office for a delivery slip from Macy’s. Then a sleep on the most comfortable bed we have ever owned. This bed is being thrown away and we will have a king size Sealy bed to break in. Now Jackie can hide it is so big.

Why do men golf ? It is top ten !

A fun day and a nice day with the memorial service.

Thought of the Day

Their stories teach us that honor is not a statue but a life lived for others

November 13th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 6 degrees, Calgary 16 degrees, Mesa 31 degrees “

Up this morning and paying bills.

Readied the place for the delivery and Jackie got ready to go golfing with her ladies.

Two nice guys arrive with our new bed. First thing on the agenda was for them to remove the current bed and box spring. The young guy walks into the bedroom and says” This is the old mattress ? it looks like brand new” My response ” Yep but my wife wanted a bigger one” Laughter !!

They took extra caution not to drag it and carried it and the box spring out to the truck. That is all they were supposed to take. I would have to get rid of the frame and headboard which also were like brand new. He looked at the frame and said he will take it. Then I showed him the headboard. It took a little convincing but he agreed to take it also. Yes, saves me the hassle.

Great customer service again. I have to say the American companies sure are good at training staff.

I am going to install a wainscoting across the room wall rather than a headboard similar to below.

Daisy and I headed to Lowe’s to return the extra dryer cord and pick up some padlocks and tree paint.

That done I started on the some surgeon work on the trees. I cleaned up the cuts, bumps, and new sprouts. I also cut out some under limbs that were crossing one another. Next it took a 1/2 gallon of paint.

These thorns on these trees are just nasty !! All done packed up and took all afternoon.

Ian across the street and Deanna right beside him just had the real-estate agent put up the For Sale signs. Darn !

Thought of the Day

If you become seriously depressed, try drinking a gallon of water just before you go to bed. That will give you a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

November 14/15th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 2 degrees, Calgary 9 degrees, Mesa 28 degrees,”

I watched Global News Calgary this morning. Unfortunately this corporation has become very left leaning and continues to report lop sided toward NDP Policy. The teacher fiasco was bad enough. Today, they spent a huge amount of time finding people in support of a minimum wage increase. The NDP wants this increase to be in place. It lends itself to the base of voters that support the socialist ideas of the party.

Not being kind. While I support, respect and recognize everyone’s right to vote for the party of their choice but it still amazes me how stupid people are, NDP supporters and Nenshi especially. Stupid may be harsh but it seems to fit. Alberta minimum wage unfortunately is the lowest in west. The NDP announce this and flood the media with the info and people get upset. First if you want a FREE market place there should be NO minimum wage . A healthy free market place will determine the salaries needed. You increase the min wage it increases absolutely everything. Inflation on all products, services and increased unemployment. Once you raise the min you have to raise everyone’s salary within your company to keep everyone happy. Ie you are currently paying someone $1 over min. Raise the min and you don’t think this individual will want more to feel better. We have a 17% youth unemployment rate in Alberta right now. Companies will lay off and downsize the labor within their companies to try to maintain profits. Less opportunity for a job, higher unemployment and less customer service due to lack of staff. It is asinine to even consider this at this time. Even if our economy was running on all cylinders increasing the min wage is not a good idea. Ironic isn’t that the most successful provinces have the lowest min wage.

This socialist agenda on wages, education, and health services is slowly eroding our economy. In turn, it is affecting our province’s ability to function. One more time. A strong economy will determine the wages as companies compete for employees. You can’t protest against oil and coal and then expect huge wage increases. In the late 80’s when I called on Ft Mac as a sale rep the McDonalds in Ft Mac store was paying $18 a hour to compete for laborers wanting to got to Suncor to make $20. Suncor was a ways out of town.

Remember a few things when looking at these numbers. Alberta has no PST. We have a lower cost of living than a lot of provinces.

WOW what a busy day.

Jackie took Daisy out for a walk this morning while I readied for my groups golf outing. We had 7 players today so starting to get our group all together.

I was up a 6 : 30 am this morning to book next weeks times. Unfortunately the courses phone queue system was not working. I tried and tried and at 7 finally got thru. They had to do it manually and I ended up with 11:30 not the 9 :30 tee time we like. Viewpoint needs to look at a better booking system. It is what it is.

Then off to golf at our 9 : 30 tee. I started off playing very well. In fact I was one over after nine with a score of 37. Then a few mistakes and bad luck happened. I still finished second in the gross scoring in our group. I finished first in the net scoring with a 66. Kirk won $6 on Hole #3. I won $6 on hole number #14 with a closest to the pin shot. A good day golfing and fun.

We all met back at my place for a after golf gathering. Jackie had meat & cheese and snacks all put out.

Cleaned up and then headed to the pool hall for our billiard games with Russ & Carol. Their possession date is Dec 1st. We need to get our fix of playing pool with them before they leave. Today was ladies night as Russ and I lost. So many close shots missed.

We came home changed clothes and headed up to the welcome dance. It was a lot of fun with Sandy & Dave, Marg & Joel, Dennis & Moe, and Dwayne & Linda all being there.

The band was good and the hall was full. Tropical theme.

I said to Jackie it is funny to see all of these old people dancing. It’s like a kindergarten class for old people. And we fit in.

We stayed until the end which was just after Arizona midnight.

Up this morning to help Ian get ready for the annual garage sale event. I will say this the amount of golf carts driving around is down at least 75%. Years ago it was chaos today not so much. Change happens.

One year Jackie bought us a fireplace for our Saloon, and a overhead stainless steel fan for our outdoor kitchen. This year nothing luckily.

Jackie sent out an email for our Christmas light install coming up. Hopefully a good amount of volunteers to help. It is about a 3 hr job putting up 30 home lights.

Arizona winter temperatures starting to happen next week with highs of 18 degrees for a few days. Add in a bit of rain.

Thought of the Day

Dancing like nobody is watching- cause everyone is too busy trying to catch their breath.

November 16th

“Mercury Forecast Edmonton 4 degrees, Calgary 7 degrees, Mesa 23 degrees”

Wow is time flying by.

It was odd listening to the rain that hit last night. A short drizzle than a downpour and then gone. Good thing I covered up the golf cart to make sure the seat stayed dry.

A cooler day being a little overcast but still very nice.

First thing was working on the washer this morning. About 5 years ago, I managed to buy a gasket kit. I also bought a seal kit. I took them out on the deck and replaced them all. A appliance repair company told me the dishwasher needed to be replaced. Worked perfect until last year when I had to replace the drain solenoid. Took a bit but once again working perfect. This year it wasn’t draining properly. So I worked on it again, cleaning out the filters and hose. I believe it is up and running again. A dishwasher being 18 years old is a long time. It is especially true when it is subjected to so much heat all summer. The heat is hard on seals and gaskets.

Then off to watch the Roughriders. What a game and luckily the Riders won. I can imagine the party in Regina.

We were invited over to Chuck & Darlene’s place for the game. They had about 30 attendees this year. Great food with a nice variety of items. Plus a fun time watching the game. Chuck’s place is on 1800 block. Tim, Keith, Chuck, Darlene, Dan, Jan, Linda, Denis, Moe, Cindy, and Greg were part the of guest list.

Another nail biter of a game but a good result this time.

I wore my Stamps hat to show my loyalty but was all for the Riders winning.

This is the feet of a gentleman from the Rock. Have you ever seen any so white. I want him to put a toe tag on and wear it .

Bob and Ellen won three of the quarters so made some nice money in our football square game.

A fun night watching the game. Another day in paradise.

Wordle in 2.

Thought of the Day

Winning is like finding that perfect parking spot. A small victory that brings joy