Happy Times

Belated birthday wishes to niece Lynn.  Hope that you had a really good day!

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Mardi and I played our anniversary golf game yesterday.  The first time we've played Scenic Woods since our first date, and our first game together anywhere this year since our return from Florida in March.  We took along Mr. and Mrs. Cupid - Ed and Rose, to complete the circle.  

Good friends and a great time.  The weather was mild and the scenery was lovely.

I'd forgotten how much water there was on the course - ponds and streams everywhere.  But, somehow I managed to avoid all of them and, for the first time this year, I broke 100.  What a great day!

And, to complete the celebration, we now have a new mayor!  Goodbye to Andrea - hello and good luck to Keenan.

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Today's excitement was the demolition of our balcony doors.......

.........the correction for the sag in the building.....

.........and the installation of our new doors and windows.

The picture doesn't show it, but the interior surfaces are white.  It looks much cleaner then the old brown, and the doors work properly!

Interestingly, the work language of the crew was Russian.  They were from the Ukraine, Khazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan.  Knew their job and did it well.

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So, I've had two days off work.  Not feeling guilty, but I do have some work to complete before Mother Nature makes me quit.  So, tomorrow it's back on the job.

Elbows up.  Buy Canadian.  Stay well.

Sod, Sad and Sexy.

 Enlarging the hydrant garden gave me enough sod to finally finish repairing the infertile clay path left behind when a drain line was installed.  The damage began at the near corner of the black tarp in the background.

By next spring it should be just fine.

Now it's back to cleaning up the weeds, bushes and saplings growing under the Pines along the driveway.  Lots of fun (not)!

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What Elon Musk (and whoever he may have talked to) did to the Ukraine by shutting down their Starshield intelligence system, is precisely why I think that it would be a big mistake for Canada to buy any more F-35 fighter jets.  We would own the planes, but the U.S. would control the technology that makes them effective and Lockheed Martin (and whoever they may talk to) could shut it down anytime, making them virtually useless.  Billions of dollars wasted!  Putting our sovereignty at risk.  Go Gripen!

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The first date that Mardi and I had was a golf game at Scenic Woods on October 31, 2003.  I quickly fell in love (took her a couple of weeks - she's pretty slow).

We plan to repeat that event on Monday (both the golf and the in love part).  Fond memories!  Don't care who wins.

This will be the first time that Mardi and I have golfed together since we returned from Florida in March.  Won't take that long next year.  I'm giving up the Thursday Dofasco league and Mardi and I plan to golf together once each week, weather permitting.

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Elbows up.  Buy Canadian.  Stay well.

Dolly Day

Birthday greetings today to Mardi's niece Rhiannon, and to Gary's son Jason.  Enjoy the day!

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Yesterday, Mardi and the ladies finished up their golf season with golf and a banquet at Southbrook.  The theme was in honour of Dolly Parton.

I think that they had a good time.  Love the boots!

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 I worked on a different garden in the past two days.  As the Pine trees spread it becomes a challenge to get the mower through.  The garden by the hydrant had reached that point so it was time to close things off.

I've cleaned up and expanded the garden.  The grass on either side will be removed over the next few days.

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Elbows up. Buy Canadian.  Stay well.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

 Some folks are having a hard time trying to figure out why President Trump is so nasty toward Canada.  But it's pretty simple really.  

He has two fantasy dreams.  The first is to become the "Monarch Of The Americas".  He has Venezuela under his thumb and he thinks he has control of Greenland.  Canada is the crown jewel of his quest.

We are not in a simple trade war and Prime Minister Carney made that clear in Alberta.

"Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney warned Thursday that the United States is trying to break Canada so it can “own us” as he urged oil-rich Alberta not to begin a process toward separation in Monday’s referendum".

Don't expect Donald to let up.  Just gird your loins for a nasty fight.

Yesterday, he revved up a Kentucky rally by claiming that Canada 
"steals" 90 billion dollars a year from the U.S. ( a bit scary because, if they are gullible, we will transit Kentucky in March on our way home from New Orleans, but back to the story).  That amount is their trade deficit with us - it was not stolen, they got full value for their money. 

Trump claims that the U.S. doesn't need anything from Canada.  In that case the solution is easy.  All he has to do is stop buying our goods!  Shut off our oil, stop buying potash for his farmers, stop buying our critical minerals.  Easy, peasy.  Some Republican with guts should tell the man.

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His second fantasy dream is to win the Nobel Peace Prize.  And he is prepared to sacrifice the Ukraine to achieve that goal.  He knows that Russia will not give up, so he's trying to put pressure on (abandon) the Ukraine so that they have to concede defeat.  Then he can claim that he achieved "peace".

He will eventually claim victory in Iran and claim peace there as well, although I don't know how you can take credit for peace in a war that you started which hasn't really ended.  But logic doesn't matter to him.

Just keep those two fantasies in mind when you are trying to decode what he is up to.

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Is anyone planning a backyard ice rink this winter?  If so, you should head for the greenhouse and pick up some free plastic for your project.

Most pieces are 60 by 25 feet.  If you need firewood, take the skid too.

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At their first meeting of our new club year, the Optimist BOD voted on our sponsorship budget for the upcoming year.  We plan to disperse $35,000 between now and the end of September next year, and here’s a list of the organizations that we intend to support with those funds:

Saltfleet High School,

Stoney Creek Santa Claus Parade,

Santa Honorarium and Kids Breakfast Items,

Stoney Creek Community Food Bank Fall,

Stoney Creek Community Food Bank Winter,

Stoney Creek Community Food  Bank Spring,

HPL Summer Reading Program,

Stoney Creek Legion Remembrance Day Poppy Fund,

Central Ontario Leadership Seminar - 3 Students,

Optimist International Junior World of Golf Hole Sponsor, Sponsorship up to 2 golfers,

Stoney Creek Optimist Little League-field repairs & equipment,

Junior Optimist Club,

Hamilton Challenger Baseball,

Diabetes Canada - Camp,

Stoney Creek Girl's Hockey,

Saltfleet Stoney Creek Soccer Club,

T.E.A.D. (the therapeutic horse rides),

Orchard Park Secondary School Robotics Team 2056,

Food 4 Kids,

Canadian Children Optimist Foundation,

Habitat for Humanity - Hamilton (Youth Program),

Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum,

Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice/Camp Keaton,

Essay writing Prize,

Orchard Park Secondary School/S.S.H.O.P.S.S,

St. John Henry Newman Catholic Secondary School,

713 Thunderbolt Squadron/Sponsoring Committee,

OI Programs,

New Hope Community Bikes,

Hamilton City Foundation for Student success,

Glancaster Bombers U11A,

Andres - Stoney Creek Baseball,

Playocracy.

In October we gave $1,000 to the Food Bank and this $500 cheque to Habitat For Humanity who are building housing where the Stoney Creek Masonic Hall was located.

So, you all know what is coming next!  My appeal for your support of our Christmas Turkey Roll.  The same amount as last year - $20 will get you seven circles on a card (I like to spread them over several cards to improve the chances of winning more than one turkey gift card).

And, if you want even more excitement, come on out to the Turkey Roll and participate in the Turkey Races.  Crazy fun!

If you would like to help us, you can e-transfer $20 to Mardi.  I've challenged our other members to bring in more money than me, so I do need your help to be victorious again.  If you can, I would appreciate it - as would the organizations that will be helped.

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Elbows up.  Buy Canadian.  Stay well.

There's More

 I wanted yesterday's blog to feature just Calvin and his dad, but that wasn't the only interesting aspect of the Museum visit.

We met 11 year old Kenneth, an encyclopedia of aircraft knowledge.  He spent hours on the tarmac photographing the planes, and he knew the names of all of them.  Interesting young lad to talk to.  His dad patiently stood around and let him take as much time as he wanted to chase his flying dream.  A future pilot I'm sure.

And we watched as folks took flights in the active planes.

And, while we were waiting for Calvin to return from his flight I did my own Lancaster "trip".

Definitely a day to remember.

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My dad experience was different than Calvin's but the emotions were probably similar.  Shortly after I began work at Dofasco I passed through the Tin Mill and the area where dad was fatally burned.  A stop and think moment!

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When I was having lunch at the Centennial Peace Garden on Friday I watched the geese.  When they did their bottoms up routine it reminded me of the TV commercial where people are sticking their heads into the sand or a closet to avoid a vaccine.

A couple of Muskoka chairs at the greenhouse were no longer being used, which I thought was a waste, so I created a quiet space by the pond for Sean and Alex to sit with their dog Bear.

I may take a beer break there myself!

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There were eleven police cars, including the canine unit, at the apartment building up the street this morning.  Apparently a shooting in our neighbourhood.  Scary stuff!

One final comment:

It's important!

Elbows up.  Buy Canadian.  Stay well.

Bravery

 Today I abandoned my Head Gardener duds and transitioned to War Correspondent gear........

..............so that I could report on a special occasion.

During World War Two, thousands of amphibous bombers were made in the U.S. and in Canada.  They were designated as PBY5's and were called Catalinas in the U.S. and Cansos in Canada.

Canada made 730 of them.  They served on both coasts and many were flown to the U.K., through dangerous areas of the Atlantic patrolled by the Germans, to participate in the war effort.  It's cruising speed was just 117 mph, so it was very vulnerable to enemy fire.

A hero named Wilbur Wong was a Flight Engineer on many of those planes as they made that trip.

His son Calvin provided the following information:

"There isn't very much to go on in regards to our Father's activities during the war.  Dad was in a civilian organization created during the war called the RAF Ferry Command.  This organization's duties were to fly aircraft to England to support the war effort.  At the beginning of the war, new aircraft were disassembled and loaded onboard ships to transfer them overseas.  Unfortunately the ships became targets for German uboats which affected deliveries so the Ferry Command was established to fly the new aircraft to England.  Flying itself was not that secure as to keep the weight of the aircraft down to extend its range, the aircraft were not armed and if they encountered enemy aircraft, they were sitting ducks.  Dad was a Flight Engineer and was responsible for the mechanical operation of the aircraft.  Our Mother said that she did not know any specifics of his flights as he was bound my secrecy and he was notified of his flights by telegram ordering him to report to his base at Dorval Airport in Montreal.  He flew on many different aircraft but the PBY5 was his favourite.  I still have some of his maintenance notes which he used as a quick reference in carrying out his duties.  Many of my Father's crewmates were Americans as they were not allowed to fight in the war before the United States entered the war.  The Americans were allowed to fly in Ferry Command because the Ferry Command was technically a civilian organization and not the military.

Dad did tell me about some of the locations which he flew to.  Most of his flights were through Gander to Prestwick with some flights out of Bermuda.  One encounter with a German aircraft forced the crew to fly into a large cloud bank to avoid the enemy as they had no armaments to protect themselves."

Today, Calvin emulated his father with a ride in the Warplane Heritage Foundation's PBY5 Canso.

Meeting the captain.......

......ready to board...........

..........on his way.....

............and safely back from a trip to Niagara Falls.

Quite a day - with lots of meaning for our friend!

Elbows up.  Stay well.

Special Friends

 This morning we serenaded Mardi's brother Steve with a Happy Birthday song.  All the best Steve!

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The Oak trees are all planted.  I won't live long enough to see them amount to much, but my grandkids will be able to appreciate "Grandpa's Oak Alley".

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We will have a military escort on our trip to Florida in January.  In exchange for the week we will be spending with Greg in Mexico in November, he will be joining us for the drive to Florida and will stay for several days.  Looking forward to both trips!

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Word is that the Alberta separatists met with U.S. people and promised things like a rail line to Alaska and cheaper precious metals if the U.S. helped them in their separatist quest.  That sounds like treason to me!

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Today was probably the swan song of our golf season.  Once again, Al arranged our annual trip to MontHill for golf.  Nine of us played and Mardi and I were joined by Calvin.

Following the golf we all headed for the Erie Beach Hotel for dinner.

Amazingly, our waitress Rose, took the orders for four of us, was sent to another table to take their order, came back to finish with us, all without taking any notes.  And she delivered perfectly.  Pretty incredible memory.

All in all, a very fine day.  Thanks Al!

Elbows up.  Stay well.