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.