58 Years!

 A significant event to celebrate today - the 58th anniversary of Jill and Gary Parker.  Awesome!  First of all, you have to live a long time, and then you have to stay in love as well (of course Jill had to be a saint to make that possible - nuff said).  

Most of the world can't duplicate that achievement!  Mardi and I are happy with just 20 and counting.

Our dear friends are celebrating with a family vacation in Portugal that includes their kids with their significant others, and their two beautiful granddaughters.  Well done my good friends!

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Despite the overnight rain, I was able to cut the grass at the greenhouse today.  While I accomplished that, Mardi was tending to Boston Fern baskets, which are now ready for sale.

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Tomorrow I plan to book our Florida vacation for 2025.  Don't know which President will be in charge by then.  Should be interesting.

We also have cards and dinner planned with Maureen and Matt.  And I will try to squeeze a massage at the Ontario College of Health and Technology somewhere in that time frame.  Boy, it's difficult being popular!

Stay well my friends.

Mixed Feelings

 We had a quiet weekend.  Yesterday we attended the visitation for Lona Dykshoorn, a close friend of Mardi's since their children were young.

A beautiful lady both inside and out.  She was slowly taken from us by Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Paul and Lona were also members of the Optimist Club and we spent many enjoyable hours in their company.  She has been, and will be, missed.

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Today was a more positive one.  I got to golf with son David (and my friends) for the first time this year.  And they paid me to play with them!  

We pay for Dog Meats (land closest on a par three green and make par) which I somehow did twice today, while no one else managed to even hit the green.  Not a normal result for sure.

Then, I came closest to my predicted score.  These two feats let me come home $32 richer.  

Thanks guys 😊!  See you next week!

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And tonight, the Blue Jays won, looking like a real team for a change.  After a couple of recent debacles I was ready to give up on them (I don't have the blind patience of a Maple Leaf fan who is prepared to keep taking it on the chin - sorry Steve).  Exciting and fun to watch tonight.

Tomorrow it's back to cutting grass.  Stay well.

Gardening

Back to work today.   Mardi was with me and spent a couple of hours cleaning and rewinding Passion Flowers in the greenhouse, while I worked outside.  'Twas a cold but sunny day.  Worked in a parka.

My routine these days, when the lawns don't need attention, will be to dig up and move a wagon load of sod from the tree line, and then work on the gardens.

That's what happened today.  And this is the garden that got the attention.  A wagon load of weeds, grass and debris removed, and two bags of mulch added.  The Day Lilies are coming along nicely.

More of the same planned for tomorrow.

Stay well.

Beautiful Scars

 I took the day off today.  Spent a sleepless night with nerve pain in my right arm and then got up to a cool, wet day.  So I vegged out for most of the day.

But not all of it.  Headed to the bank to pay the balance of my income tax and it was really amazing!  By the time the cashier had hit the entry button, Trudeau had already spent it.  Can't wait to get rid of that meathead!

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Tonight we headed to Theatre Aquarius to see Tom Wilson's musical, "Beautiful Scars".  Well worth seeing!

It's a moving recount of his search for identity after being adopted.  Well written and very well performed.  He eventually discovers his Mohawk ancestry and the mother who was forced to give him up.

I expected it to have a dark side, but it was well balanced and, in the end, positive.  Powerful music and excellent voices.

I bought a copy of his book before we left the theatre.

The show carries on until May 11.  Check it out.

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And we enjoyed a full moon on the ride home.  Sort of capped the night off properly.

Stay well.

Steaks and Sod

 For her birthday, Mardi and I enjoyed dinner at Chuck's Roadhouse last night.  Chose that spot because their steaks are the best tasting beef that I've had in years.  Worth checking out!

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Managed to put in three hours at the greenhouse today, but only one of those hours dealing with sod - the old body has its limits.  My agenda for this year includes a lot more sod removal, but I've got the rest of the summer to pick away at it.

And, if I complete the agenda, it will be another three or four years before it needs to be done again.  That's fortunate because, although I hate to admit it, this is probably the last year that I will be interested in digging and moving sod.   

Fortunately, there's lots of lawns, gardens and odd jobs to keep me busy.

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Back at it tomorrow.

Stay well.

 Tomorrow is Mardi's birthday.  It's hard to believe, but we've now been together for just over one quarter of her life (of course, she's still a spring chicken).

When I pointed out the above fact to her, Mardi said "it seems longer than that" 😕

We laugh together, make life easy for each other, and stay positive.

I'm a happy man!  Thanks my love!  Enjoy your day.

And thanks to Ed (the matchmaker).

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Gardening

Enjoyed some cake at the greenhouse to celebrate the birthday of Allison, one of David's young ladies, .  Her actual birthday is Sunday, which happens to also be the birthday of another famous lady, whom I happen to live with.  But you'll be hearing more about that later.

Then, I did some miscellaneous jobs at the greenhouse.  Took a cart wheel to Ace Tire for a new tube (Barbara and Jo-Anne, I had a nice chat with Gary while I waited for his guy to do the work).

Monica won't be happy to hear that I broke up a Cactus plant and created eight new ones.  Used thick gloves and a wrench to separate them so I didn't suffer Monica's thorn fate.  They'll be ready for next year's sales.  

And finally, went back to the sod moving project.  Once I get to the other side of the trees I'll be ready for the spent Tulip plants.

A later project will be moving the Daffodils when they are finished for the year.  They're slowly being surrounded as the pine trees spread, so I'll widen the gardens and move them out a foot or two.

That should last maybe four years before it needs to be repeated, which may not be my problem to worry about😴.

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If we can stay awake we'll watch the Blue Jays play in San Diego tonight.

Stay well.

Wings

 Dug sod for an hour or so before my body told me to give it up.  I'm giving the pine trees a bit more room to spread and also preparing for the chance that some tulip plants may expire before they sell.  Planted there, they'll make things look better next year.

The sod is being reused back of the rink to fill in some low spots.

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Tonight we headed to Teddy's in Grimsby to meet with Al and Liz, and Gary and Jill, for wings and things.  I was afraid to take a picture - I was sure that Al would break the camera.  Sorry about that.

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Nothing special planned for tomorrow.  I may take a day or so off from the blog.

Stay well.

A Day Off

 It's Matt's turn to celebrate old age today.  All the best my friend.   Your birthday hint will appear below.

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The day started out dreary, damp and breezy, so I dumped my gardening plans and took the day off.

Mardi and I had lunch with Joyce.  We tried Chuck's Roadhouse on Centennial Parkway.  

A nice visit, and the steaks were great.

We didn't try the ribs, but they have a rib special on Wednesdays.  A full rack for $15.99, the normal price of half a rack.  Go for it Matt.

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Blue Jays lost to the Yankees, but their home stand was great and they are starting to look like the team we expected.

Stay well.

Routine

 Cut a couple of acres of grass.

Watched the Blue Jays win against the Yankees.

Beautiful day.

Stay well.

Keeping Tabs On Friends

 The Monday golf group started the season today - with a bowling match!  Pretty sad results!  Sort of sets the tone for our golf scores this season.

But we did enjoy a nice lunch together at Jake's Grill and Oyster House.

Our golf season opens on Monday at Cambridge Golf Course.  Who cares about the scores?   It's just nice to get together with my friends again.  

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While I was there, Calvin gave me a gift for Mardi.

Almost five pounds of aluminum tabs.  A wonderful contribution to the wheelchair project that Mardi is helping with.  Thanks Calvin!

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Tomorrow it's back to work.

Stay well.

A Fig Forest

 Today we celebrate the birthday of Sean Cowie, the husband of my niece Robin.  Judy, please pass on our best wishes.

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Finished my painting today.  

Then I grabbed some tulips from the garden centre that were too open to be saleable and fixed up one of the front gardens.

They'll keep the garden looking decent until the perennial Veronica can get going - they're only up about a half inch right now.

Then I cut the front lawns.  While I was doing that, Mardi was working in the fig forest, cleaning plants.

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Watching TV the last four days has been pretty good.  

Four days of the Masters golf tournament in which the pros displayed amazing skill.  A tough course made almost impossible due to high winds, yet they did their best to tame it.  Scheffler won, going away.  Incredible skill.

Then, the Blue Jays won two of three against the Colorado Rockies. 

Nice to watch. 

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Stay well. 

They Also Serve Who Sit And Wait

 Did some more painting this morning.  Just one more coat and I can take off my paint duds.

Then I repaired a bench that was collapsing as a result of husbands sitting there waiting for their wives to finish shopping.

Decided that they deserved something better, so I brought in two Muskoka chairs and a small table.

From there they can see when their wives finish shopping and, in the meantime, watch Henry in the corner put together his flower arrangements.  Maybe they'll buy one for their sweetheart.  That's a win/win!

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Stay well.

High Society

 Today we have two birthday girls.  Daughter-in-law Sue and 21 year old  granddaughter Reggie.  Best wishes to both!

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We enjoyed two social events today.  First off, Barb Gallina joined us for lunch.  We had a very nice visit.

Tonight, Pat and Carol dropped in for card and dice games.  Lots of laughs.

Oh, and I'm still painting.

Stay well.

Optimism

 More of the same this morning.  Some painting and some gardening.

Tonight we attended our Optimist meeting which was election night for the officers who take over in October.  And based on the results, the club should be in line for another successful year.

But the highlight of the night was the presentation of the Soup Can trophy to the winner of the Soup Fest, a new event this year.  Guy Pancoast, on the right, was the winner.

Quite a trophy!

Our club will soon celebrate its 70th year of serving the community.  A significant milestone.

Stay well.

On to Tomorrow

 Nothing exciting to report.  Did some more painting and started on one of the gardens out front.  But I do want to acknowledge the birthday of my nephew, Stefan Murray.  All the best Stefan.

Stay well folks.  Despite what the Pentecostals say, the world is not ending, eclipse or not.

A Wacky Eclipse

 Today's birthday boy is A.J. who is celebrating in Mexico.  All the best to Mardi's younger son.

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The sign is finished.  From this...........

...........to this (the S in Wednesday is supposed to be dark green - it will happen.)

I decided that if you're going to have a Wacky sale, you should also have a wacky sign.  My expectation is that more people will notice it and drive in on that special sale day.

David marks down items that have too much inventory, end of run plants, and those that are looking a bit tired.  Check it out - you know what day!

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We got lucky with the eclipse.  The cloud cover was sporadic but we saw what had been advertised.

There was quite a gathering outside the Shoreliner.

My phone camera let in too much light so this is the picture I got during the full eclipse.

But another resident had a newer, better phone and sent the following to us.

Pretty neat!  I hope that the rest of you had similar luck with the weather.

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Stay well.

Another One

 

Does anyone need a spare charging cable for an Acer computer?  Free to a good home.

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Sue and David invited Mardi and me to their family celebration of Sean's 30th birthday.

Malcolm and Sarah-Jean made it home for the event.  Ewen joined in by phone video.

The celebrity (reluctantly) enjoyed the attention.

Grandpa was proud.  A special night with my new boss and his family.  (Sorry about the bruise on my lip - either I got in a fight at Chuggies last night or a chicken wing attacked me - I have no knowledge of the event.)

Next week Mardi and I have five more family birthdays to celebrate.  July must have been a fun month for our folks 😇.

Stay well my friends.

The Birthday Boy

 Well, it's been a great birthday!  The sun was shining for the first time in a few days - and Mardi let me win at cards - what a sweetheart!

Then I spent an hour and a half at the greenhouse painting the sign.  Had to do it.

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Barry Kopysh reminded me this morning that my theme song is Murray McLauglin's "Why Hang Up Your Spurs".  It's inspirational and it fits my philosophy perfectly.  If you're not familiar with it, I'll bore you with the lyrics.

"Love's sweet flower sometimes withers away,  and this light of mine can start to fade.           Old wounds hurt more on rainy days, but you can't stop trying to find love again.      

 Why hang up your spurs when there's somewhere to ride, when there's pure sweet love to be had from life?  Editor's note: thank you Mardi.                                                           What doesn't kill you makes you stronger inside, like an old oak tree that just refuses to die, why hang them up when you can ride?  

When people die they get laid in the ground, some are dead inside and still walking around.  There's an open door that can be found, don't you rush to help that sun go on down.              

Why hang up your spurs when there's somewhere to ride, when there's pure sweet love to be had from life?  There's a time for worry - that's after you die.  The time for loving is when you're still alive.  Why hang them up when you can ride?"

Murray wrote that following a near death experience due to a heart doctor's mistake.  He returned to song writing and performing and hasn't looked back.  

And it motivates me to keep moving, one step at a time.  Yes, the clock is ticking but, I'm going to ignore it as long as I can!

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To finish the day, my sweetie took me out for dinner😍😍 to Chuggies for wings (it's that culture thing again).  And other folks were there.

                                                                                                           

I'm a lucky man!  Great kids, super grandkids, a wonderful great granddaughter, and the love of my life, Mardi.  Add my friends and who could ask for more?

Life  is good.  

Stay well.

Culture

 The painting continues on the parts of the Wacky Wednesday sign.  I have assured Sean that it will be ready for this coming Wednesday.

And today I gave the Open sign a quick touchup.  It needs to be replaced as well, but the touchup will do until I build a replacement.

In between coats of paint I have been doing a clean up in Aisle One.  Some stuff needs to find a proper place.

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One of the things we've done since our return from Florida is to get back into "culture" mode.  

So far we've booked a night at Teddy's bar in Grimsby with Al, Liz, Gary and Jill.  Now that's culture!

A night at Theatre Aquarius to see Beautiful Scars, the Tom Wilson documentary.  My girls would appreciate this one.

"Oblivious to a secret deeply held by his parents, Tom Wilson’s search for identity started on East Hamilton Mountain in the 1960s and 1970s.

For decades after, Tom carved out a life for himself in the shadows, battling demons along the way as he waited for the secret of who he was and where he came from to reveal itself. And when it did, it swept up the St. Lawrence River to Kahnaw’a:ke Mohawk territory and exposed a story generations in the making. 

The musical is a story of loss, love, and forgiveness that will leave you spellbound to the final note."

Then it will be, What's Susan's Secret, at Binbrook Little Theatre.

The Canadian Orpheus Male Choir with Rada and John.

Doris and Ivy In The Home, a Norm Foster play at Lighthouse Theatre in Port Colborne.

Haven't picked a date yet, but we will also be heading to Kincardine at least once, to enjoy Doc Jewett's Swing Band.

And that doesn't include my high society cultural activities like bowling and golf!

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I'm tired out just thinking about it all!

Stay well.

Parking Lot, New Home Site, Shooting Gallery

 'Twas an interesting morning!

I visited the S.C. Library in search of eclipse glasses, was told they were out of stock, and was referred to Battlefield House.  On the way I passed the corner of Mountain Avenue and King Street and saw that it was all taped off, with multiple police vehicles including a forensics truck blocking the corner off.

Got the glasses at Battlefield House and headed to the greenhouse.

Just now got a Hamilton Spectator headline advising that there had been a shooting at that corner.  Man and wife in their 50's evaded shots fired from a passing Honda Civic.  Yikes!

Downtown Stoney Creek!  And that was within a few yards of where I used to live (which became a parking lot and is now destined to become part of Andrea Horwath's new "mayor power" homes, but that's another story)!  Times have certainly changed!

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That's all the news for today folks.  You're welcome.

Stay well.

Cards

 The biggest excitement for me today was getting a free massage!

We occasionally book a massage at the Ontario College of Health and Technology to ease the aches and pains of getting old.  Usually there is a modest charge for having a student work on you.  But today, it was free.  Nice!

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While I was at the greenhouse painting the wood for the new sign, Mardi was visiting Jo-Anne Kempe for games of Skip-Bo.  You see, she's not content with kicking my ass at that game.  She has to seek out other victims.  Sorry Jo-Anne.

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Stay well and watch out for the card shark.

A Housewarming

 

Today's birthday celebration takes place on Vancouver Island as Mardi's granddaughter Chloe celebrates her 21st.  Have a good time young lady!

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Mardi, Sean and I were invited for lunch today with Sue and David in their new home.  They finished renovating and moved in while we were away.

A nice visit and good food.  Thanks Sue, especially for the date squares!

The only unhappy camper was Charlie.

Sorry Charlie.  Your invitation was obviously an April Fool's joke.

See you at the greenhouse buddy!

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Take care and stay well folks.