We Need An Ark

The most important news for today is the birth of Beckett, another grandchild for Lori and Frank.  A special event indeed!

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My intentions yesterday were to cut grass, but the third recent storm flood foiled those plans.  The flooding was the worst yet - even David's pond overflowed its banks.  These storms have dropped a total of 300 mm of rain (that's 11.8 inches in old guy talk - almost a bloody foot!).  So I gardened in the wet instead.  Sorry about the muddy clothes Mardi.

Now I hope that the wet, mushy conditions will improve so that the grass can be cut tomorrow.  I have other plans for Thursday (golf) and Friday (theatre) so it's getting a bit tense because we leave on our East Coast adventure on Saturday and I don't want to leave David and the boys in a mess.  

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Mardi's son Greg was in another band event recently.  He subbed on the Kingston Police Pupes and Drums as Bass player.  And he won Best Bass in his division of the North American Piping Championship.  

Congratulations Greg!

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Today we headed to Port Dover to meet Bonnie and Steve for lunch and theatre.  We ate at Callahan's on their deck....

.......and enjoyed "Liars At A Funeral" at the Lighthouse Theatre.  A nice day!

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The Blue Jays came out of the trade deadline with more starting pitchers than going in.  Didn't last long.  Yesavage came out of the game after just two innings with a knee issue.  They're losing as I write this and I think I'll skip the ending tonight.

Stay well.

Old Dirt

 A couple of years ago, a contractor installed a new drain line along the edge of the hill down front.  Unfortunately, after the drain line and a bunch of gravel went in, there was only room for the soil that came out of the trench last. 

So now, Trillium Hill has its own version of the  Cheltenham Badlands  - 450 million year old clay.  Even weeds can't survive in that environment.

As the trees along the driveway grow and I need to expand the footprint of the gardens, I use the sod that I remove to repair the wasteland.  Last year I fixed about 40 feet of the project.  Still have about 100 feet to go, but we'll get there eventually.

The clay is so hard that I had to use an adze to dig out enough to make room for the grass.  Worked up a sweat and the contacts for my heart monitor wouldn't stay on so I had to call it a day after a couple of hours.

 Pretty disappointing!😂😌

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The Blue Jays have now won three games in a row.  Just two days to the trade deadline and they could be buyers (if they have a lot of faith in the team) or sellers (to gain something from the players whose contracts end this season, if they don't have that faith).

Should be interesting.

Stay well.

Bird Of Play

 I headed to the greenhouse this morning, intending to cut grass.  But Mother Nature had other ideas.

And this gives new meaning to the words "loading dock".

Launch the boat David!

I did manage to cut the hill section of the grass, did some gardening, and moved some sod.  But the humidity was hard to deal with, so I decided to finish up by doing some work on the "cottage".

My new friend will let me know which way the wind is blowing.

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Blue Jays lost 8 - 6 to the Washington Nationals (formerly the Expos) but the result was set in the first inning when starter Shane Beiber was pulled after just two outs.  He had walked six batters and allowed 4 runs.  Not much fun to watch.

Stay well.

 

I Thought That 50 Was A Beer

 Mardi and I attended a special celebration today, marking 50 years that Rose has put up with Ed.

The theme was Caribbean, so most folks dressed up, as did Maureen and Matt.....

................and Mardi and me.

The three Strecker daughters did a marvelous job of toasting their parents.  It was a wonderful day.

Many of you may have heard this story, but I'm repeating it anyway.  Ed's daughter Christine used to run dinner/dances in support of Autism and my wife and I usually attended.

One day I took some laundry into Britannia Cleaners and Ed asked me if we would be able to attend the next dance.  I told him that I would love to, but Jean and I had separated, so I needed a date.......and if she could golf that would be even better.

He paused for a moment and then asked "Do you know Mardi Bullivant?"  I knew who she was but we had never had a conversation.  In any event I called Mardi, we golfed and attended the dinner/dance and she hasn't been able to get rid of me since.

Thank you Ed!  You and Rose are special friends. Congratulations on your amazing 50 years.

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Mardi's Drum Major son Greg participated in the Fort Henry Tattoo.  Good looking guy!

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Jays lost.

Stay well.

This And That

 Belated birthday wishes to Barry whose birthday was yesterday, the 24th.  And today it's Andrea's turn (Mardi's business partner).  All the best to both.

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I don't know how many of you tuned in to CNN's White House Correspondents Dinner, but it was worth the watch.

They honoured 8 media folk and I think it was 7 of them who got their award due to a Donald Trump expose.  The details were read by Wolf Blitzer who never cracked a smile while eviserating the President.

Fun to watch.

The Donald then took over and went on for an hour and four minutes.  The audience was dead silent for most of his tirade, bored and waiting for it to finish.  Very little applause.  And he threw out a "joke" that got no reaction and he couldn't believe it.  Totally out to lunch!

Nevertheless, I do believe that he will ignore the midterm results and begin his dictatorship at the end of this year.  A King will be born.

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Had my annual heart doctor visit yesterday.  Echocardiogram, EKG, and blood test.

Results good so far, but now I have to wear a heart monitor for 14 days just to make sure.

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Kathryn and Anna joined us tonight for dinner and cards.  Uno is easy, but can be nasty.  Especially when it's family 😉😇.

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Dylan Cease pitched another one hitter tonight, completing a nine inning shutout with 120 pitches.  And a few Jays scored runs!

Stay well.

 Birthday greetings today to Gary's daughter Jacquie.  All the best!

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Today was my weekly golf day at Chippewa Creek Golf Course. and the weather, cool at first, turned into a beautiful day.  Which we ruined of course by trying to golf.

Matt couldn't make it so we invited John Buckley.  He came with special muffins for us that Rada had baked (that's really the only reason that we invite him 😁😁).  Thanks Rada!

Besides the delicious muffins, I do have two special moments to savour.

On the par four first hole of the Red Falcon nine I scored my first birdie of the year.

And on the par three sixth hole - only 132 yards - I flubbed my tee shot and it went about 90 yards.  But, incredibly, my shot went further than the other three guys!  And I parred it!

They all beat my total score, but you have to take your victories when you can.

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One other odd thing happened today.  The Blue Jays won a game.  Amazing!

Stay well.

I'm Back

 Sorry folks, but your blog holiday is over.  I have my computer back.

Apparently, some malware was able to bypass the virus protection, but it's now fixed (and paid for).

But you didn't miss a lot.  Just digging in the dirt, cutting grass, watching the Blue Jays lose.  Exciting stuff!

But the Blue Jays did one really nice thing by recognizing the players from the 1992 and 1993 World Series champion teams.  A parade of those players who could attend preceded one of their games.  And "Touch 'Em All Joe" Carter had a monument unveiled......

..........and received his own home run jacket.

Nicely done!

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We did have some visitors along the way.  Kathryn made a visit on Saturday, and Mardi's son Greg took A.J., Michelle, Reggie, Mardi and me to dinner at the Powerhouse yesterday.

You know, I'm really beginning to like the kid a lot!

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Spent a couple of hours this morning at O.C.C., the eye clinic in Mississauga.  My eye pressure is where the glaucoma doctor wants it to be, and my reattched retina is holding nicely.  

Good to carry on.  Next visit in December.  Thank you OHIP!

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Closed out my day watching another Blue Jays disaster.  They'll be dismantling the team in the next couple of weeks before the trade deadline.  Hope they keep the good young ones.

Stay well.