National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

My personal barber trimmed my hair for the occasion, and Mardi and I donned our orange shirts today before we headed out.  Unfortunately, we couldn't hold the phone far enough away to include the logo.

 

We both got admiring comments for our shirts when we went out.  But unfortunately, most people aren't paying attention.

We have to remember that the Indigenous nations weren't conquered.  They partnered with the British Crown to preserve this country that became Canada and were granted appropriate rewards for the part that they played.  Without their help we may have recently spent four years under President Donald Trump!

Unfortunately, they were cheated out of much of what they were promised.  And then were treated with disdain.

Let's change that.  Every person matters!

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Checked for mail and handed in the keys at Kathryn's old apartment this morning.  She and Jo-Ann are tied up these days helping their mother and her husband.

After that I headed to the greenhouse.  Some watering and weeding, and then I tended to my Winter Hardy Cactus crop, weeding and moving some up to bigger pots.

Can't wait until they bloom.  I'm sure that they'll fly off the shelves when that happens.

Interesting fact:  Did you know, that even though the spikes on these plants are just tiny hairs, they can penetrate work gloves or two layers of clothes?  Just thought that I'd warn you.  Pardon me while I scratch my fingers and my stomach.

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Blue Jays won a place in the post season when the Orioles lost their game yesterday.  Today they put an exclamation mark on their accomplishment by defeating the Boston Red Sox 9 - 0.

Now they have to stay ahead of Tampa Bay and Seattle to win home field advantage in the Wild Card Series.  Go Jays Go!

Stay well.

Golf, Water and Weeds

 Golfed today with Mardi, Monica and Rose at Willow Valley.  Didn't golf very well, but it was a good weather day and I was in good company.  Mardi and I have decided that golf scores are not that important any more - having a good time with good friends is the goal.  And it was attained.

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After golf, Mardi and I headed to the greenhouse so that I could do my watering.  It's the height of Mum season and the other folks are too busy to cover for me.  The front field has started to empty.

And David is spending a lot of time in the truck making deliveries.

While I was doing my duty, Mardi and Charlie were getting reacquainted.

He's learned to "sit" and "stay" and he's growing like a weed (I'm a gardener so I know my weeds).

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Blue Jays didn't lose today - day off.

Remember, tomorrow is National Truth and Reconciliation Day.  Think about it.

Stay well.

Travel Insurance

 After searching for travel insurance for some time we finally came across a winning brand.

Previously we had used the CAA policy, and then Medipac which the Canadian Snowbirds recommend and which had saved some money.  But at our ages, and both with irregular heart beat requiring medication, the money total was getting a bit out of hand, so we were looking around.

The companies that we had used in the past both featured a similar format: a set amount for your longest trip planned, plus a second fee to cover additional repeated shorter trips (22 or 33 days each), during the year.  For example, using Medipac again would have cost us over $4,000 each in total. 

It turns out that Tour+Medi takes a different, and more sensible approach.  They sell a package that has a 15 day repeatable coverage.  And then, they top it up for longer trips (so, for our 85 day trip we didn't need an 85 day policy - just the 15 day plus a 70 day top-up.  The repeatable part costs more than CAA or Medipac, but the top-ups are much cheaper.  The end result is that we each saved about $1,000 on our policies (that young chick Mardi saved more than me).

If any of you folks are interested, contact: 

Kipp Battiston, Insurance Broker
Broker/Owner
3561 Weinbrenner Rd
Niagara Falls, ON L2G 7y20S 1P0
Toll free 1-800-526-7420
Local 1-905-262-6575
Fax (no voice) 1-866-614-8753
kipp@icecoldnorth.com
www.icecoldnorth.com

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Did my usual greenhouse duty.

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Tonight was an Optimist meeting.  It was devoted to figuring out how to get the club back to pre-Covid activity.  A few members have gone AWOL and haven't yet returned.  And a lot of the ones who have returned are getting a little long in the tooth.  We need some new blood.

A.J. is taking a second trip as President and I'm sure that he'll successfully rejuvenate the club.

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Blue Jays lost to the Yankees 3 - 8,   Yankee Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run of the season, tying Roger Maris' American League record.  And he's still got a few games to play before the season ends.  Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Stay well.

Routine stuff

 Had my annual eye check and things are much the same, except that the cataract in my right eye is still "progressing".  So I've been put on a list for cataract operations sometime after April next year, when our vacations are over.

Then, up a flight of stairs in the same building for my monthly blood checkup.  No problem there.

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Thought that we had our travel insurance worked out, but the email confirmation didn't match what we agreed with the agent on, so we have more work to do there.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

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Blue Jays lost 2 - 5 to the Yankees.  A pretty sloppy game for a team that's trying to get into the playoffs.

Stay well.

Water and Weeds

 John Buckley shared a bunch of shirt pairings and this one struck close to home.

Mardi and I haven't been together that long but we're working on it.

Just remember.  Growing old is mandatory.  Growing up is optional.

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We were supposed to golf today, but the rain wimps panicked.  Only Randy Hobson (of Hobson's Choice, of course) golfed - no rain.

When it became obvious that the morning rain was an empty threat I headed to the greenhouse.  Did a couple of jobs, but spent most of my time crawling under Pine trees to remove vines that grow up through the trees and eventually strangle them.  My work doesn't show but it's a necessary job.  Took three wagon loads of weeds back for disposal and I'm not done yet.

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Blue Jays beat the Yankees 3 - 2 in the 10th inning.  Tense and exciting.  They also prevented Aaron Judge from hitting home run number 61.

Stay well.

Nada

 Blue Jays beat Tampa Bay 7 - 1 today.  That's about all of the news.

Take care.

Yard Saling Again

 Started the day with a yard sale adventure, our first in a few weeks.  Mardi and Judy found treasures, and I discovered a microscope that David can use at the greenhouse (to look for mites and disease on plants).

Just $10 which we'll probably take out in trade for a couple of Garden Mums for our balcony.

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Then it was on to the greenhouse.  My sweetie has given me a gardener's "bench".  Good for weeding in the garden (the TH is my attempt at plant sculpture - the cross on the T still needs a bit of work)........

............or, just tip it upside down and have a rest.

Easier on the knees and on the pants.

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A word of warning, or encouragement.  September 30 is The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.  Wear your orange "Every Child Matters" shirt.  Buy one through a native source if possible because the profits go to a good cause.  But as a last resort, I noticed that Giant Tiger has them for sale.

In honour of the children who died in the residential school system it's the least we can do.

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Very unsettling to watch the devastation in the Atlantic provinces from Hurricane Fiona, particularly the Port Aux Basques area of Newfoundland.  Houses and an apartment building washed out to sea.  Incredible!

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Blue Jays won tonight 3 - 1 over the Rays.  Good work!

Theatre NIght

 Today was a great day for working outside and I got quite a bit done.  But, the best part was being invited in for coffee with Sue and her mom, Sarah, who was celebrating her 90th birthday.  What a wonderful lady!  All the best and many more Sarah!

It's also Jill Parker's birthday (number unknown) but I'm sure that she doesn't mind playing second fiddle to Sarah today.  Best wishes Jill.

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This afternoon, Mardi and I attended a Celebration of Life for Jim Smythe.  Really glad that we had a chance to see Jim on his 97th birthday this summer.

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Tonight it was off to Theatre Aquarius to see Salt Baby.  It's a story about a Six Nations woman who is 75% Indigenous but because of her light skin she has trouble determining where she belongs.

An simple, interesting set, and unfortunately a somewhat sparse crowd.

Folks missed a good show.  The Salt Lady part was the only solo performance.  The other three actors portrayed more than one character.  The best was the woman who played seven parts, including that of the grandfather spirit.

Well done and very moving.  In the end she comes to terms with her mixed bloodlines.

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Blue Jays did it again, falling 6 - 10 to the Rays.  Two more games between these teams in this series.  Fingers crossed.

Stay well.

Fall Has Arrived

 A much better day for working outside.  Dodged raindrops for a few minutes, but still managed to put in three and a half hours.  At my age that's almost full time!

The boys need the fork lift to bring in the racks of Mums and it ran out of propane this afternoon.  David was out on the truck - that's his life these days.  But Grandpa has a Costco card, so Ewen and I headed to Costco for a propane refill.

The operator is filling two of our large tanks (David, he wouldn't fill the third because there was a piece broken off the valve handle).

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Apparently, I managed better than Mardi.  Her foursome only got in six holes before they succumbed to the rain.  But they got a full round rain check so no problem.

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But, when it comes to golf, Maureen and Matt had a better day - watching the President's Cup matches live in Charlotte, North Carolina.

For the first time ever, there are two Canadians on the International team, Conners and Pendrith.  Two man team event today and the Internationals only won one of the five matches.  Not the ones that the Canadians participated in.

Three more days to go.

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The government is apparently going to drop the arriveCan app at the end of September.  Good news for us - we're heading to Wisconsin on October 3.

Now we can only hope that, for all the civil serpents who were "working" on that system, the government finds something useful for them to apply their "skills" to.

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On a weightier topic, the Blue Jays lost to the Tampa Bay Rays tonight, 5 - 10.  Pitching seems to be the current issue.

Stay well.

Boring

 Not an exciting day.

Moved some rocks.

Watered some plants.

Cut some grass.

Got chased home by the rain.

Watched the Blue Jays lose to the Phillies 3 - 4 in 10 innings.

Hope for better tomorrow.

Stay well.

Irrigation and Immigration

Headed to the greenhouse and got in a couple of hours before the heat and humidity drove me home.

The bridge over Trillium Creek is finished and the ground on either side has been cleared and levelled.  The neighbour's pond, to the left of where I'm standing, comes right up to the property line which is why the road on this side of the bridge is more to the right.

 In the background you can see two big piles of boulders that were unearthed in the process.  I added a bit to the pile by cleaning up some smaller rocks that had been left alongside the driveway.

Got a few bigger ones to go.  That's for another day.

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The U.S. has a huge immigration problem.  You can argue either way, and even understand the move made by Florida's Governor to pay the freight to fly thousands of immigrants from Texas to New York, Chicago and Washington.  Something needs to be done to resolve the problem.

But, it may end up that DeSantis will be charged with human trafficking because false promises were made to the folks who were shipped north.  Not sure what that will do to his presidential aspirations.  Stay tuned.

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Blue Jays defeated the Phillies 18 - 11.  I don't think they were playing football, but the score sure looks like it.

It will be interesting to see how tomorrow's game goes.

Stay well.

Calvin's Day

 Today was golf day at Cambridge.  David brought the big golf cart.

He had a load of Garden Mums to deliver to Brantford after the game.

It was also Calvin's birthday and we were ready!  

Calvin supplied the muscle power.

A nice way to celebrate a good friend's special day.  He's got a lot more to go - his mother is 103!

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The world said goodbye to the Queen today.

It will be interesting to see how Charles "reign" goes.

Stay well.

Greg's Visit

 Happy birthday to Ron Leach today.  We miss you on the golf course Ron. 

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Mardi's son Greg has finished his visit.  Spent some time with his dad and a few days with Mardi and me, broken up by a drive to Pennsylvania to celebrate a friend's wedding.

We had lunch at the Village Restaurant, with Greg and our fellow resident Jillian.

Mom has been a happy camper to see Greg, and vice versa.

It's off from here to Halifax for a flight simulator course to do with his new aircraft, then back to Comox.

Good luck Greg!

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Blue Jays lost 4 - 5 to the Orioles, but still in good shape for the playoffs.

Stay well.

Gluten free, dairy free, mush.

 

Today was a great day to be working outside and I had more energy than I've had for weeks.  Accomplished a lot in my two and a half hours at the greenhouse.

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Jo-Ann and Kathryn had planned a visit to play cards, but it was cancelled at the last minute.  Pastry chef Mardi had made a gluten free, dairy free cake for their visit.  As it turns out, it's probably good that they had to cancel.

The cake collapsed, the icing sagged😢.  Otherwise it was kind of tasty😏 .

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Blue Jays beat the Orioles 6 - 3 and, amazingly, the Tiger-Cats crushed the Blue Bombers 48 - 31.  A good day all round.

Stay well.

Vaccine Trial

 This morning, Mardi was a bit confused about our vaccine trial appointment time and said "I'm feeling stupid".  Which was a lie - I was standing at least five feet away and she couldn't reach me.

But we got there on time, answered some questions, had a physical exam, got our shots and waited for an hour to make sure that there was no adverse reaction.  

Got a free thermometer. ​A swag bag. ​ And $100 each.  That worked out to about $33 an hour - not a bad rate of pay for a couple of old geezers just sitting around (not so stupid after all).  

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Watered at the greenhouse but didn't get much weeding done.  The heat and humidity drove me home.

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Blue Jays beat the Orioles 6 - 3.  A good result, especially considering that it was a "bullpen" game.

Stay well.

Mundane Things

 Yesterday was a bit of a challenge.  My leg was throbbing from the 8,000 plus steps that we did on Tuesday, mostly up and down Clifton Hill.  And when we honoured Jim Smythe at the Optimist meeting I suddenly realized that besides having been the longest serving Optimist for several years, I was now also the oldest.  A bit of a downer for some reason.

But snapped back today.  The leg feels better.  Cut the grass at the greenhouse.  

The Shipton's guy showed up and led us through the issues with the air conditioner.  Looks like we will have to replace the approximately 54 year old machine.  Thankfully, the temperatures have moderated lately.

Tomorrow we get our vaccine (or placebo) shots for the RSV vaccine trial.  Get a physical as part of the process.  That's a good thing.

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Blue Jays lost 11 - 0 to the Tampa Bay Rays.  Oh well.

Keep breathing.  Stay calm.

Optimists

 Stopped at a Perkins for breakfast, then headed home.  A nice 24 hour break in the routine.

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When we got home we got word that Optimist Jim Smythe has died at age 97.  I'm really glad that Mardi and I were able to get him out to a meeting back in June.  A fine gentleman, a war veteran, and a good friend as well.

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Attended the first meeting of the new club year tonight.  Mardi stayed home to enjoy dinner with Greg.

Our net proceeds from the Winona Peach Festival weekend were just over $22,000.  That's what good weather and a wall to wall crowd can do for you.  Now it's time to start planning our next project, the Turkey Roll.

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Blue Jays won 5 - 1 over the Tampa Bay Rays.  Looking good!

Stay well.

Niagara Bound

 Dropped in to the greenhouse intending to do some watering and weeding, but ended up just saying hi to Sean.  By the time that I got there it was raining pretty steady so after a short chat I turned around and headed home.

Then, it was time to head to Niagara Falls for our Travelzoo booking at the Falls Hotel and Inn.

Did a walk to the bottom of Clifton Hill.

And then to the Niagara Distillery to enjoy our free Moonshine tasting, with corn bread - which tasted better than the Moonshine.

Next up was Casino Niagara.  I came away with a couple of dollars more than when I started, but Mardi had no luck at all.

Dinner at Remingtons, next to the hotel, was expensive but well worth it.  Excellent food and the waitress sang while we were there.

And then we headed down the street to Yank's Bar and Grill.  A family run, service oriented sports pub.  Turned the sound up for us for the Blue Jays game, the second game of a double header day.

They lost the first game 2 - 4 while we were on the road, but won the nightcap 7 - 2.

An expensive day, but a nice break in the routine.

Stay well.

Farms and Fires

 Did some more weeding today and when I was hauling the load back to dump it, I saw some Asparagus in an area that David had just cleared.

Back well before David bought the property one of the crops was Asparagus.  We've seen plants before but mostly on the back half of the property.  This is the first one on the north side of the ditch.

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Watching the Blue Jays game (they beat Tampa Bay 3 - 2) we were interrupted by the building fire alarm.  It went on for several minutes.  Three fire trucks eventually showed up..........

........but never lifted a hose.  Greg was returning from watching the football game at Chuggy's and was told that there was an issue in the garage, but the trucks left after a couple of minutes so it couldn't have been much.  We hadn't smelled smoke so we kept watching the game as did most of the building.

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Tomorrow we're off to Niagara Falls for an evening at the casino.  Keep you fingers crossed.

And stay well.

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A Funny Grandpa

 Today was a gardening day for me at Trillium Hill car wash.

Glad to see Malcolm again.  He's a Toronto boy now.

After he finished washing his car he made coffee for me and his brothers.

The tee shirt is topical.   Malcolm says he has learned that his grandfather is funny from the blog (hope that's the good meaning of "funny").

The blog is a combination of a diary, commentary on current events, and a way for my kids and grandkids to find out why I am who I am.  Seems to be working.

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Sue and Ewen took Charlie to his first owner training class today.

Trying to get Sue and Ewen trained apparently took a lot out of him.

This training program is going to be fun to watch.

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Mardi's son Greg arrived today.  He'll be staying in town for the next few days.  We'll have more to report later.

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Blue Jays lost today.  The Rangers took a 4 - 1 victory.  But the Jays have won 8 of their last 10 games.  Hope they can keep it going.

Keep breathing.

BBQ

 Did my usual at the greenhouse today.  Then, headed home to get ready for the Shoreliner BBQ.

About two hundred of the residents showed up.

Mardi's onions were a hit.  So were the desserts.

Even had a DJ.  A nice way to spend an afternoon.

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Blue Jays fended off a late inning challenge to beat the Texas Rangers 11 - 7.

Stay well.

Trompers and Troubadours

 Doc Jewett shared some photos of a Tromp we were making 16 years ago today on the Bruce Trail.

I

I have to thank Doc for including me in the group that became The Trompers, and began way back in 1984.  Over the years some of the guys have completed the Bruce Trail (I'm at about 96%, having missed a couple of outings), and we've also biked, canoed, and kayaked together.

Haven't had an outing for a while - Covid and advancing age have conspired to cause a pause.  But hiking with The Trompers gave me the courage to do the 70 mile hike through the high Andes with Sean to Machu Picchu, the exploration of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with Malcolm, and the 28 mile crossing of the Grand Canyon with Ewen.  Thanks again Doc!

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Finished the earth moving back by the septic beds, did some watering, and replenished three skids of soil along the driveway.  

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This afternoon, Mardi and I headed for Port Dover to join Bonnie and Steve for dinner at 211 Main, followed by the theatre.  The show was outstanding!  "Glory Days" was a musical tribute to the legendary artists who got their start at California's Troubadour Club - Bruce Springsteen,  The Eagles, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Linda Ronstadt - the list goes on and on.

The three feature singers, backed up by five musicians, were awesome and we would recommend the show to anyone who enjoys music from the 70's.  It will be playing in Port Colborne Sept. 21 - 25.

For the Dofasco folks, Dave Quinton stopped by as we were leaving the theatre to say hello.  I think that's the first time that I've seen Dave in almost 30 years.

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While we were out, the Blue Jays hung on to win 4 - 3 over the Texas Rangers.

Stay well.

God Save The Queen

First off, a moment of silence for our departed Queen Elizabeth. She became Queen when her father died and made life sacrifices for seventy years that are incredible to contemplate. What a lady!  

It will be interesting to see how much support the Crown gets in Canada (and elsewhere) as Charles takes over.  Personally, I will have great difficulty singing "God save our noble King" in his honour.

The Queen's death triggered some sad memories.  A week or so before her father died, three neighbourhood kids, one of whom was in my class, burned to death in a house fire.  He and I had issues, but he died going back into the house to try to save his siblings, and I had to reassess my feelings about him.  

Then the King died, and in the week that followed our father burned to death at Dofasco.  

Life changed, and I became a man at age 14.  

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Mardi and I joined Maureen and Matt at Willow Valley for a game of golf today.  A nice social visit was ruined by the damn golf course.

Full disclosure: We all played from the "forward", "family", red tees.  And Mardi beat me! (Please ignore the exclamation mark - I'm very emotional right now.)

Saw seven young turkeys on our way around the course.

 That made a total of 8 turkeys seen, including yours truly.

The following picture is for Sven.  We had three chances at Dog Meat on the 8th hole (Mardi powered through the green).  We will challenge Sven for closest to the hole (but his was in Muskoka and was probably faked).

Afterward we made our first visit to a "freshii" restaurant.  Word of warning, the Southwest Salad is pretty spicy!

After arriving home, Mardi and our upstairs neighbour Jillian cut up about fifteen pounds of onions for the Shoreliner BBQ scheduled for Saturday.  I would have helped but I already had tears in my eyes from the golf, the salad, and the death of the Queen.

Still another fifteen pounds to go so I likely won't escape entirely.

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No Blue Jays game today.  Had to watch a movie tonight.

Stay well.

Good Fortune

Helped Kathryn get the last couple of things out of her apartment this morning.  Despite the fact that she is paid up until the end of the month, the superintendent has been pressuring her for the keys, so I asked Kathryn to give them to me and I will hand them in on the 30th.  If she really needs the keys before that, perhaps we can talk about a rent refund.

She has been given my phone number - if she calls and whines I'll suggest that I'm thinking about having a few loud, obnoxious parties before the lease is up.  

At my age you have to take your fun where you find it.

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Daughter Jo-Ann is in town to help her mother while Mike is recuperating in hospital.  That has taken some pressure off Kathryn and at lunch time, while Jean was visiting at the hospital, both Jo-Ann and Kathryn were able to join me for lunch.

Nice to see Jo-Ann again.  It's been several months since my last visit to Ottawa.

My fortune cookie had two messages inside.  The first one said "You are both sociable and charming."  The second one "Improve yourself.  Practice makes perfect."  How can you improve on 'sociable and charming'?  I have a feeling I'm going to regret asking that question.

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Did a quick repair on the "Wacky Wednesday" sign at the greenhouse, watered the baskets down front and cut the grass.  Ideal temperature for working today.

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Blue Jays beat the  Orioles 4 - 1 to win 3 of the 4 games against Baltimore.  Looking good!

Tomorrow, Mardi and I are playing Willow Valley with Maureen and Matt.  Big pressure!

Stay well.

Merry Christmas

 Well, that was interesting.  Golfed today in a sweater.  Boiling hot and humid until yesterday and now we're getting an early taste of late fall.

Should be back to decent temperatures in a couple of days, but it was a bit of a shock this morning.  We teed off at 7:30 a.m. when it was hardly light out but we suffered through the cool breeze and gray skies with aplomb😏 (why do I give Al these word gifts?).

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Our air conditioner guy cancelled today's visit.  Hopefully we can line up a meeting tomorrow.  The place is comfortable for now.

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Spent a bit of time on the phone this afternoon with the Holiday Inn Club.  Our timeshare package entitles us to three free nights at one of their U.S. resorts each year.  Haven't been able to partake since Covid, but we are now booked into Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for three nights in the week before Thanksgiving.  

Other than a night in Niagara Falls this month and again next month, that will do it until we head to Jamaica at Christmas.  Do they have chimneys for Santa there?  All I want for Christmas is a better golf swing.

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Blue Jays lost to the Orioles tonight 6 - 9.

Keep warm.  Stay well.

Time For A Laugh

 In between rain showers I got in an hour and a half at the greenhouse.  Did some landscaping work back in the septic field.

You will remember that we had a weasel in the greenhouse earlier this summer.  So, I'm going to quote an item that Barry Kopysh sent to the Wordlers today:

A weasel walks into a bar and the bartender says "Wow, I've never served a weasel before.  What can I get you?"   

"Pop" goes the weasel.

Sorry about that.

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Mardi was upset this afternoon because she spelled "golf" as "gokf" in an email sent today.  I told her not to worry - that's how she plays the game.  Even at age 85 I can still duck fast!

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Blue Jays won their first game of a doubleheader against Baltimore 7 - 3.

And in the second game of their doubleheader, the last half of which was played in a steady rain, they won 8 - 4.

Looking good.

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Stay well.

Nada

 A rainy morning and an afternoon Blue Jays game kept me home today.  Jays won with a tense 9th inning save by Jordan Romano.

Stay well.

Hot and Humid

 Anna is still rocking in the internet game business.  At dinner the other night we got to congratulate her.  Keep it up Anna.

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Today was brutally hot and humid.  I only lasted an hour and a half, but I completed my watering chores and did some weeding out back.

We've shut the air off in the condo due to the vibration and the noise.  Tuesday we'll find out what needs to be done, but in the meantime it's currently 81 degrees inside.

Should be somewhat cooler tomorrow thank goodness.

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Blue Jays had a 4 - 1 victory over the Pirates tonight.  A bullpen day that worked out just fine.

Keep breathing.  Stay cool.

The Vaccine Trial

My day started by dropping my van off at Grimsby Chrysler to have the air conditioning fixed.  Got picked up by a cute chick in a red convertible for the ride home.

This picture was taken previously but the convertible and the cute chick still look the same, except that the hat is now painted red to match the car.

Then we headed to Winterberry Medical for our screening session regarding the Moderna mNRA-1345 trial.  Took about 70 minutes and had a thorough review of our medical history.  We each received $100 for this visit (with 7 more such visits/payments over the next two years).  In addition we will be paid $50 each for a great many non-visit contacts.  By the time we're finished I will have made enough money to pay for today's air conditioning repair!

They are looking for up to 500 participants at this facility.  We are #25 and #26.  So, if you are interested in participating in the study just call Jorell Gantioqui at 905-575-9004 ext. 239, or email him at Jorell.gantioqui@winterberrymedical.ca

You have to be over 60 years of age, not have any cognitive issues and not be immuno-compromised.  As I previously advised, the illness that the vaccine is aimed to prevent is Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).  Apparently, most people have been infected at least once by the time they are 2 years old.  It remains the leading cause of unaddressed severe lower respiratory tract disease and hospitalizations in infants and young children worldwide and a significant cause of lung infections in older adults.

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 As we enter the last month of this Optimist administrative year (and get closer to me asking you to support our Turkey Roll) we are reminded of the purposes of Optimist International:

• To develop optimism as a philosophy of life utilizing the tenets of the Optimist Creed;
• To promote an active interest in good government and civic affairs;
• To inspire respect for the law;
• To promote patriotism and work for international accord and friendship among all people;
• To aid and encourage the development of youth, in the belief that the giving of one’s self in service to others will advance the well-being of humankind, community life and the world.

It's hard to do all of those things and to follow the Optimist Creed, but as the world, particularly the U.S. and Canada, goes a little berserk these days it is even more important.

And, if you ever have an interest in joining an Optimist Club just give Mardi or me a call.

You are receiving these commercials because you are an important part of my life.  If you don't want to receive any further updates you have to have the courage to tell me.

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Blue Jays shut out the Pirates 4 - 0 tonight.

Stay well.

Air Conditioning Woes

Spent a few hours helping Kathryn with her move.  Was able to observe one of her complaints about the old apartment.  The recycle bins are stored below her apartment and the truck came while we were there.  When a bin had been picked up and dumped into the truck and was being put back down, the lid of one of the bins banged on her balcony (while I was standing on the balcony).  Apparently a regular occurrence (the banging Al - not me standing there).

The new place is much better and I'm sure she'll be happier there, although there was one encounter that could have gone either way.  She met a resident in the hall.  A dog was barking in a nearby unit and when the "lady" found out that Kathryn had a dog too she got a bit snarky.  Kathryn's response?  She politely said "I'm happy to meet you too."  Gave me a chuckle and pride in how she handled the situation.  Positivity, even somewhat sarcastic positivity, does work better than a nasty verbal duel that would consume too much energy!

After the move was complete Mardi and I had a late lunch with Kathryn and Anna.  A nice way to end our "visit".

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Kathryn has been a little overcome the last few days between the move, her stepfather's cancer operation. and helping get her mother to the hospital for visits, etc.  Fortunately, sister Jo-Ann is coming to help out for a few days.  It will be nice to see Jo - it's been several months.

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A couple of days after our HVAC service call, the motor has started clicking and whining.  We'll get a return visit on Tuesday to see what the issue is.

And my van air conditioning gets an overhaul tomorrow.  Yuck!

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Blue Jays didn't lose today.  A day off.

Stay well.