Gorgeous Lake (and Harvest) Weather

We finally made the decision to 'make a break' for the lake last week. Even though I was offered weekend work at the Hardware, I decided to head north instead. I finished up my cleaning routines on Friday night and then only had the paper delivery for Saturday morning. Once the papers were delivered we hit the road.

The traffic was minimal so early in the morning as most of the major traffic travelling on Friday evening. We made great time and arrived at the cabin around 10:15 a.m. The weather got warmer the more we drove. The sun was out and the wind was down. Craig arrived about an hour and a half after us.

Craig and I got to work and put the chain saw to work and got some dead falls cut up for firewood. We then got a smoke going and sat around the fire and chatted the afternoon away. For supper we fired up the BBQ and had a steak, potato and trimmings. It was an early to bed evening as we both had been up bright and early.

Sunday was about the same, except I let Craig do the work and I just got to sit and supervise. The weather was just great and we wished we could stay, but of course I had papers bright and early Monday morning. We departed at 5:10 p.m. arriving home at 7:30 p.m.

It was just a nice little get away for a only a short time, but it was worthwhile. I'm not sure whether we'll get another chance this coming fall or not. It would be nice. I'm hoping I don't have to make a quick one day trip to draining the water and close up for the winter. With the long weekend coming up, maybe we'll get another chance to head north. The weather is supposed to be staying nice and warm.

We'll see...

New Hound

It looks like there is a new hound in the family...

Pat & Ron returned from Alvena with a new addition to Craig's house. The name is something like 'Jamongie' (but don't quote me on the spelling as I just don't watch too many kids shows anymore). Thanks to Julia for the name :)

Here a few pics of the new critter . . .

There's An Echo In The House

I was out of town yesterday doing a bit of computer work. When I came back I detected a distinct echo in the house. It appears the son finally (!) retrieved a few of his belongings from my basement.

With the departure of a few of Craig's belongings and the movement of a couch and chair to the local landfill (ie dump) my basement is getting to look a little barren.

I'm sure not complaining though as we hardly ever go down into the dungeon as it is. It just makes it a bit easier to run the vacuum around with the less furniture.

Great Day

The weather today was just perfect. With the temp sitting around +25 and just a wee bit of a breeze, what more could a guy want? Especially when I was able to get out on the golf course today for a nice leisurely round with my son and my niece.

Sure I didn't have one of my best rounds, but the company was great and the weather was just the best and as a bonus, my niece improved her game quite a bit on only her second attempt at the game called golf. I sure would like to thank Larry for letting us borrow his clubs so the niece could play today.

Even without golfing today I would have walked around the course just for the exercise on any day that we had weather as nice as today.

As I told Sam after golf today, 'Wednesday the weather is supposed to be even better than today so we are definitely going to go around the course again tomorrow'.

After all, who knows how many more times I'll be able to swat that little white ball around for the rest of the year before there is cover of white all over the ground?

New Past-time

All winter long, my friends in the curling league kept bugging me that I needed something to do in the summer leisure hours. Of course to them that meant golf. My thoughts were that golf was just about on par as watching 'paint dry'. It is just something that had never interested me in my whole life.

Along came spring and those glorious days of early summer. James convinced me that I should at least take 'a walk-a-bout' of the golf course and give it a whirl. After a lot of convincing on James part, I finally relented and said that I would give it a try.

James and I are both left handed golfers, so I was able to borrow his clubs. The long and short of it was that he 'kicked my ass' on the course, but he did plant the seed that this might be something that I might like. Craig came out of the city and once again convinced me to give it a try out on the links. Once again, Craig also is a left shot, so we were good to go and we headed out and gave it another go. Once again I got my assed kicked as I was such a horrible new golfer. However, I do believe the seed was planted and I really did enjoy 'walking about' on the course and just generally being outside.

After numerous outings (many, many, by myself), I now feel a bit more comfortable out on the course. Of course Tiger Woods definitely has nothing to worry about from me, but at least I'm not making a fool of myself.

This past weekend, I headed out on the course with James and then tonite I was out again with Craig. I'm satisfied that I at least made my goal for the year in that I surpassed both of my 'teachers' in a round.




Now granted both James and Craig probably had a 'crappy day/game' on the day of these rounds, but to me the important thing is that I didn't have to hang my head after I got my ass kicked one more time. We all have bad games, but for both of these games/rounds at least I had a better score than my teachers.

I'm sure James or Craig will have a better score than me in the future rounds, but at least in my mind I know I can hold my own. As I said above, I know Tiger et al have nothing to fear from me, but I at least have nothing to be ashamed about when I hit the links with my family and/or friends.

With that being said, yesterday (September 16th), Craig and I took Shar-Lee out for a round of golf. Like myself, Shar-Lee had never golfed in her life and was a bit apprehensive of 'giving it a try'. Being that this is only my first year, I certainly knew her feeling well and attempted to alleviate her apprehensions. On her first go at the course, Shar-Lee had an 82. Certainly not a course record, but I personally know people that are higher than that and have been golfing for many years. As we went around the holes, I could see that Shar-Lee was getting better and better with her strokes. She has great form and with a bit of practice I know she'll be able to have some respectable scores and give Craig, James or I a run for our money.

The nice part of living in a small town is that our golf course is not crowded and there is not a lot of pressure from oncoming golfers to 'get on with it'. You can take your time and try to ensure you are ready to hit the ball to the best of your ability. For a grand total of $5.00 a round or $45.00 for the year, there just is no better place to learn the game of golf. Sure we don't have grass greens, but at least you can learn the basics and when you do get a bit more experience you can then attempt the more ambitious courses that the cities have.

However, for a beginner, there just is nothing better than a small town course in my estimation. . .

Now We'll Get Nice Weather

On Wednesday Craig and I travelled north to the cabin with the intent on closing it up for the winter. James was up on the weekend and had most everything stowed away, however, I still needed to blow out the water lines and a few other things.

The plan was to head north right after I finished my papers, pick up Craig at 9 and then 'truck on' north. I got my papers done and headed out and arrived at Craig's at about 8:45 a.m. (a bit early, but about normal for me). I parked and waited, and waited, and waited. I was getting a bit antsy, but about 9:10 a.m. Craig did stroll out. Like normal he had slept in a bit. No real problem as we had the whole day to 'do our thing'.

One quick stop at Canadian Tire to pick up mouse bait and moth balls and we were heading north. As we travelled the day got nicer and nicer with the temperature getting into the 'nice level'.

We had a quick stop in PA for a 'Tim's' break and then continued on. When we stepped out of the car at the lake the weather was just gorgeous. Just one of those days you could sit around outside and just do nothing. No bugs to worry about, no wind and lots of sun. But of course we had a few things to do.

Within a couple hours we had it all done and were ready to head back south. I remarked to Craig that with the weather at present we could just stay and just have a nice day. But then we figured we'd better not as someone would get crabby, so we packed up the car and started for home.

The traffic was about normal with no weekend idiots out on the byways, so we were able to travel along with no stress. Once we got to Toon Town we decided we should have some lunch/dinner. I suggested Gibson's and Craig agreed. We arrived a the restaurant at about 3:45 pm so it certainly wasn't busy. A nice cold Coors and some great 'fish and chips' and lunch was done.

I then dropped Craig off and headed southbound for home. A bit tired from being up so early for the papers, but at least we had everything done at the lake and the joint should be tucked in for the upcoming winter months.

Seeing how the 'cabin' is all closed up now, I'm sure we'll get some great fall weather. It never fails. Case in point, Sandra and I went golfing this afternoon (I golfed, Sandra spotted). The temperature was about 24 - 25 C and just a great round (weather wise). It was a bit windy, but nothing too bad. I won't comment on the golf as it wasn't one of my best rounds. I haven't been out for a while so I was a little rusty. Still all in all it was great to be able to get out and walk around the course.

I sure am hoping that there is plenty of nice weather left so I can get lots more golfing in this year. After all, it is a long winter and so I'll get rusty as all get out. But then in a month or so the curling starts, so I'll be happy once again.

I'll take golf and the outdoors over curling any day, but they both are great past times. . . Also I then get a bit of the exercise that I everyone needs.

Someone's New Toy !

While I was out on the golf course the other day I happened to glance over at the sis-in-law's house. There was a car parked out front that looked a little familiar. As Ron and I were golfing we commented on it amongst ourselves and actually thought it was Renee's car, however, I didn't really think so as it just didn't look right.

After golfing we started back to Ron's and as soon as we got on the road I knew why the car looked familiar. It was mine. Now this is all well and good except I had drove the truck over as it is easier getting my golf clubs in and out. So how did my car arrive out front of Pat and Ron's.

Just one guess and I'm sure everyone can figure it out. Yup, Sandra decided she'd go for a drive. Of course she doesn't have a driver's licence any longer as after her stroke she had her's taken away.

After a stern talking to, we got to thinking maybe it was time to get her some mode of transportation to get around town. If we are going out of town, then I do all the driving. While around town, I usually walk everywhere I go, but it is a bit more difficult for Sam.

Anyhow, on Tuesday we took a quick drive over to Hawarden and looked around at Quick Save Canada. They have mobility scooters, golf carts etc at a decent price. What we came up with was the 'One Person Golf Cart'.



Now this is no speed demon as top speed is only about 6 miles per hour or maybe a bit faster. It also has forward and reverse along with headlights and it actually has tail lights. Under the seat is lockable storable for a purse or whatever and there is room on the back for groceries (or golf bag etc). But it sure is better than walking, especially for someone who has trouble walking.




We went over to Hawarden today and it picked the cart up. I just put it in the utility trailer and drove home. When we got home I just drove into the alley and unhooked the trailer. Then I put the cart at the back of the trailer and lifted up the front. The cart rolled off just slicker than all get out.

After we got everything figured out, Sam couldn't wait to go for a spin down the road. She must have gotten it figured out okay as before I knew it she was off down the road for coffee at the cafe.

This should definitly give her some more freedom to get around :)

Crappy Rumour

I know I haven't been posting too much of late, but darn I've just been busy as all get out. Some days I think I should go back to work just so I can get a few days of rest on my days off :(

It would appear that someone decided to start a nasty rumour that my health was not the best. Sorry to hear that, but maybe you should ask me before you decide to start spreading a false-hood.

As I said above, I have been super busy with computer work, truckin back and forth to the city for Sam and oh yah, doing some nice spring yard work.

I am definitely not having any health problems to preclude me getting on the computer. Just a lack of time.....

Yucky Weather

We managed to miss most of the crappy weather that hit the province this weekend until this evening. Around 6 pm it started to rain, then it turned to freezing rain and then it turned to snow. The temperature dropped from 10 C at 3 pm to -5 at about 6 pm. All and all it is just a crappy situation outside, but it is certainly better than what they have been getting to the north of us up in the North Battleford area. It is winter up in that country once again.

One nice thing was that Craig came out for his days off. The plan was to have Julia come visit for the next few days, however, Julia is a bit under the weather so Nicole felt it was better if she stayed in Regina this time. Craig still came though. James had purchased a nice roast from Tim down in Davidson, so he brought it over and I cooked it up and we had a nice roast supper after watching a bit of Stanley Cup playoff hockey.

Hey the weather is crappy, but hockey is meant for the winter so it fit right in...

They Still Taste Great !

It isn't very often I get to snack on a donut now that we live out in the sticks. Today we had visitors and they brought a box of Tim Horton's finest to snack on while we had a coffee.

When we lived in Regina, I used to get the donuts quite often at work. Some visitor would bring in either some Robin's or Tim Horton's usually on a daily basis. Heck, after a while you do get a bit tired of eating them, but then you'd go on days off. The next week when you were back on shift a new batch would make it's way to the consoles to munch away on.

After we moved here, we didn't have the luxury of visitors bringing along treats. Sure we stopped a few times when we were in the city and brought some home. The only problem was then we had to eat the whole box and normally they got stale before we got through eating them. For me, one or maybe two in a row is about all I can eat. The sugar and what not gets to be a bit much. After awhile we just didn't bother stopping any longer.

So today when the visitors popped in with the distinctive box I immediately put the coffee pot on and got the table ready. I sure was not disappointed as the TH's tasted just great with a 'cup of mud'. As we all munched away on our donuts, we got up to date with the recent happenings as well.

A nice visit was had and now we are 'good to go' with the Tim Horton's for the next while. Of course we would never turn down a nice fresh donut if anyone ever wants to bring some by. I can always find room for 'one more' of life's little pleasures :)

Hard To Get Motivated

It has been awhile since I last actually sat down and played with the keys. There have been a few things going on in my small world that have caused me a bit of grief of late. Nothing major, just a few disagreements with the way others feel our life should be lived to what we feel our life should be. Hey, it's our life, we should be able to live it how we want to so 'take a hike'!

Of course I always find the month of February to be a dull month. I've had enough of winter by now and we were not lucky enough to take a holiday to the sunny south or anything like that. I just want it to get over with so we can get onto March and hopefully the start of some warmer weather and the start of some new 'green' surroundings. As I sit typing on Feb 29th the weather is not really that bad. The temperature is -2.2 C according to my weather station. However, I just returned from walking down town to check the mail and let me tell you the wind makes the temperature feel a lot cooler than it is.

Even this morning when I did the papers it was only -14.5 C but it just felt cooler. There was very little wind, but it seems the humidity is high which makes the air feel cooler as far as I'm concerned. This morning my papers were delivered late, so I was doing the route in double time to try to make up some time. Maybe that is why it felt cooler on my face than the temperature indicated it should be :)

Another reason to look forward to the end of February is that the T4 slips must be out by March 1st. That means that I can get my income tax sent away. I was looking forward to viewing the tax programs this year due to the new pension splitting capability that is new for 2007. This does seem to help Sam and I as the way it looks now we should be getting a refund a little larger than normal.

With the refund on the horizon, we felt we could splurge and buy ourselves a new 50" Samsung HD plasma TV. While we were at it, we went whole hog and got a 1200 watt Samsung home theatre system to go with the new new TV. Definitely a larger picture than the old 27" we had. It did take a few days to get used to the larger size, but now I/we really like it. I guess our next project will be to upgrade our satellite dish and PVR to HD but I thought I'd leave that until the weather was a bit warmer. It will be so much easier when the temps are warmer to run new wiring and install the new dish.

I'm still curling every Monday and doing a little better than I was last year. This year I moved up to play 3rd which was a bit more than I wanted to do but so far it seems to be okay. I've learned quite a bit. Thankfully the players that are skips are really good at explaining the 'why fors' and the 'how comes' to a new person. I have actually won a few games this year which is a lot better than last year at about this time. I think we only have about 3 more weeks to go and the curling will be done for another year. In one way that makes it sad as you just know fewer people will be out next year. The good thing is that this normally means the weather is getting too warm for the ice, so that means the snow should be melting soon outdoors. :)

Otherwise, it is just same old same old. Just taking life easy and looking forward to the spring/summer to be able to spend a lot more time outdoors in the flower bed or with the bbq. Don't even get me started about going north to the lake country. That's too early to even think about!

Visitors

With the weather we have been having for the last week or so being actually crappy in that it is so dull and grey all the time, it was so nice to receive a phone call this morning from Fred. Fred and mom decided they would be coming out to see us today as they needed to buy some bottled water at our local hardware store. Of course when mom comes to town she always wants to visit the local grocery store to see what is on sale this week.

Shortly after dinner I saw the blue bomb streaming by heading downtown. About 15-20 minutes later mom and Fred arrived. It was coffee time.

As we were sitting chatting away this van pulled up and parked in the front of the house. The van looked familiar yet I couldn't place who's it was. There was a woman reaching in the side door doing something. A few minutes later I saw what she was doing. She was putting a coat on a young child. The woman and child started walking up to our door and then I knew who it was.

Shar-Lee and her daughter were coming to visit. The family was on their way to Saskatoon from Weyburn and it was a washroom break for the young daughter. Shar-Lee's daughter headed for the washroom and Shar-Lee, Sandra, mom, Fred and I had a quick 3 minute visit after a quick introduction. Then they were off to the big city with all the lights and greater variety of stores to do some Christmas shopping in and watch the Grey Cup on a big screen TV. Even though it was such a short visit, it sure was nice to have Shar-Lee drop by.

Around 4:00 p.m. mom was getting antsy and I knew she was ready to hit the highway once again and head for home. Mom has this terrible fear of running into a deer along the highway so she always wants to depart in daylight hours. Actually I don't blame her with the amount of deer carcasses you see along the stretch of they highway into the city. It seems as if every time we go to the city and return you see 10-12 dead deer along this stretch. From what I saw last spring when the deer were yarding up, I know there are a lot of deer in this area. Of course at present time the deer are a bit stupid due to it being the rutting time for them. You never know when one is going to dart in front of your vehicle or into the side of your vehicle. Both normally cause a heck of a lot of damage to your vehicle.

By 4:15 p.m. mom and Fred had departed. It sure was nice to have the visitors drop by even it was only for a short time. It's always a welcome change in our 'so stressed out' lives :)

Sad, sad, sad . . .
The other day I was reading the newspaper and read a letter to the editor about the paper publishing the names of children participating in sports. The writer felt that last names should never be used for children in the papers.

As I was out doing my morning walk, I was thinking about this article and remembering back to when I was a whole lot younger. If for some reason you were fortunate enough to be mentioned in a local newspaper, you wanted the whole world to know who you were. You were the local 'hero' at school for the next couple days or until another person bumped you off the list with their recognition in sporting news or other school endeavours. Everyone wanted a copy of the paper to take to their grandma and grandpa and other relatives to show them how their grandchild (niece/nephew) had won recognition by getting their name in the paper.

Of course now a days, young people have to content with bullies and others who would like nothing more than to be able to find out who you are so they can intimidate the child or do other dastardly deeds to the person. What a shame our society has evolved to what it is today where it is best that the last name of little Johnny (or Susie) who hit a home run or aced the spell-a-thon can't even be put in their local newspaper for fear of retaliation.

What a sad comment on how far our society has come in 2007 :(

Wonderful Weekend

Did we ever have some wonderful weather this last weekend. On Friday I had my doubts with the amount of frost we had Friday morning, but late Friday and into the weekend, the sun came out and it was just great. What made it even better was that both Sheila, Wendell & the girls and Craig decided that they would drop out for the weekend.

Seeing as Sheila and Wendell both have to work on Thanksgiving and who knows with Craig with some of the shifts that he is working, I decided that I'd cook up a small turkey. Of course the heat of the weekend didn't help, but at least I have the air conditioning so it was fine. Sheila helped out and made some pies and we had a very nice family meal on Saturday.

The grandkids also got a treat in that Tim, Kris and Presley were in town. The girls got to visit with their cousin Presley who they don't see that often. Along with the weather being so nice, Craig and James were able to get out on the golf course and from what I heard, Craig had a great game. James not so good.

Everyone headed home yesterday and like normal, the house feels like a tomb with the lack of noise. It only takes a day or so and we are back into the 'quiet' mode, so it is no big deal.

All in all, it was a great weather weekend and it was made extra special with the kids visiting...

Staying Busy

Sheesh it has been a fairly long time since I've sat behind the keyboard of late. There are actually a few reasons for this, one being the amount of travelling I've been doing (going to and from the city). The main reason for the travelling is that I've run into a sore shoulder in the rotator area. So when I was in at my annual medical I mentioned it to my doctor who decided I should see a physiotherapist. On my first appointment for the physio the guy wasn't too hard on the shoulder. He sent me home with some exercises to do to help with the rotator muscles.

Of course once you get into to see a therapist, they want you back fairly often so they can work on you and judge if you are gaining or loosing. That has meant 2 trips a week to the city for the therapy. Of course at home I'm doing the required exercises to help strengthen up the muscle and get the blood flowing in the area. The therapist feels I probably have a small tear (or more than one) in the rotator area and that I may need surgery. Still he wants to see if the physio will help prior to surgery. For the surgery you need to visit an orthopedic surgeon and they have a fairly long waiting list.

Some days the shoulder is fine and others it hurts like the daylights. Even on the fine days if I happen to stretch or reach the wrong way, the shoulder gives me quite a jolt of pain. I try and remember not to reach or stretch that way again as it hurts, but of course you forget in a day or so and you do it again.

I have another 2 appointments this week with the physio and then the therapist will decide if it warrants continued sessions or not. I do think it has helped to a certain degree, but it is a small degree in my view.

The other thing that has kept me going is working on a bunch of computers. Fall is coming and folks are wanting to get their computers tuned up for the upcoming winter months. Of course the computer needed help all summer long, but you never want to get work done before you actually need the computer. However, for the most part, I have had no problem keeping up with the demand. What is a little maddening is when I get the computer fined tuned and it is working top notch and then get it back to the customer and they do something and it crashes the whole thing again. Trying to figure out what happened and how to rectify it so that it doesn't happen again is a guessing game at times. One such computer is one that I'm working on from a person in the city. I got it all set up and it was purring. Got it back to the customer and she found a trouble spot so the next trip into the city I fixed that up. Now it seems her younger son felt the computer was locked up or something so he powered it off and now it won't restart. So tomorrow on my trip to the city, I'll be stopping by and see if it is a quick fix or a 'bring it home' job. Hopefully it is just glitch that I can fix up on site.

No one likes to be without their computers now a days...

Air Show

After himing and hawing for the last week, we finally decided to go to the Canada Remembers Air Show on Sunday rather than the Saturday performance. As it turns out, this was not a good choice. Mind you on Saturday it was blowing and raining and not a real enjoyable air show, but at least the folks got to see some of the show.

After getting up early this morning, I headed off to the city to meet up with Craig and Fred for the air show. The plan was to hit the show at about 11:00 am which would give us plenty of time to view the static exhibits and then get ready for the opening ceremonies at 12:30 pm.

When we arrived I turned into the parking lot and there was no one manning the gate. Strange! But then I remembered last year we had to take a jog through a line of trees and the ticket booths. This time when I took the jog, there was still no one around and not another vehicle in the lot. The lot was a bit muddy and any of the low spots still had lots of water on the ground. It wouldn't be a real nice walk through this field I thought.

I did see a security fellow over nearer to the roadway so I headed over and asked him what was up. He then advised me that the show was cancelled for today due to the weather and the conditions of the parking. What can you do? Not a darn thing other than turn the truck around and go on home. You can't beat mother nature no matter how hard you try.

It is sad though as there will not be an air show next year in Saskatoon as the runaways are getting redone. So the earliest we will get to see another show will be the summer of 2009.

I dropped Fred off and headed for home and arrived just in time for lunch. Nice Sunday drive, but sure didn't accomplish anything...

Feeling Sorry For The Grandkids

At 4:00 pm I walked downtown to check the mail. My oh my is it toasty outside. Walking down the street it felt like the very air you breathed was on fire. Thankfully there was a bit of a breeze to help cool me a bit. I didn't waste any time getting back home and into the house and the air conditioned air. I then felt so sorry for my grandkids in Regina knowing that they have no air conditioning at home. I also remembered my niece in Weyburn with no air conditioning as well and certainly felt for her and her family as well.

Then I thought I'd compare a few of the weather stats for Hanley, Regina, Weyburn and for a comparison (for me), Hamilton Bermuda. It certainly is warm in all places. Regina does come out on top of the heap, but not by a lot.

Let's see:

Bermuda's temp is 27 with the humidity of 79% it feels like 38
Hanley's temp is 35 with the humidity of 30% it feels like 39
Weyburn's temp is 38 with the humidity of 20% it feels like 40
Regina's temp is 34 with the humidity of 47% it feels like 43

Believe you me, the humidity of 79% in Bermuda would be a killer for most of us 'flatlanders'. Actually a 79% is fairly low for the island country. When I lived there (1972-74) it was not uncommon to have a humidity level near the 95-98% level daily. Mind you the temps didn't waiver too much from around the 25-28 degree mark. Still all in all, the humidity just saps you. Even with a breeze it doesn't cool you down like it does when you have a lower humidity.

So now I do feel badly for the poor grandkids in Regina and only hope Wendell decided he needed to check out the mall or something to give them a break. Same same for Shar-Lee and family. A nice long stroll through the mall would probably be about right for today.

The forecast doesn't appear to have much relief for the next 5 days though.

Just think though, less than 5 months and it will be Christmas :) and hopefully we'll have some nice cool white snow.

The House Is Quiet Once Again

We had a nice visit with grand daughter Julia and her dad Craig for the last week. As a 3 1/2 year old, Julia is like the energizer bunny, just goes and goes and goes and goes . . .

On Friday we made the trip to Regina in one of the hotter days of late (aren't they all lately). We had to go right into the heart of the city in the downtown core business area so Craig could take care of some business. The temp in the truck showed it was 33 C outside and where we were parked there was no breeze. I turned the truck off after I parked, but within about 20 seconds I restarted it so we would have some air conditioning.

After 15 minutes I had to get out and replug the parking meter. I tried to convince Sandra it was her turn, but she wasn't having any of that. Julia just looked at me as if I was daft when I suggested she do it. Her poor little arms wouldn't even reach the meter let alone be able to plug the thing. But give me A for effort as I tried. With no takers I climbed out and was hit by the blast furnace. Sheesh was that warm.

With Craig's business taken care of, we travelled to the north end of Regina to meet with Nicole and do the exchange of Julia. Believe me when I say we didn't dawdle outside the truck too long.

I did manage to get Julia and Craig to pose for a pic or two, but I was having a hard time getting them in sync. One would look away just as I took the pic or the other one would close their eyes just as the flash went off. With a little effort I was able to finally get one shot that I figure I could use on the blog.

Here's Julia and her dad Craig:



I'll have to try and get a pic of the other 3 scallywag grand daughters the next time they are up visiting. Trying to get those 3 dynamos to sit still for a pic can be quite hard at times, but we'll definitely make the effort.

So Far, So Good

Sandra heard from Kay once again this past week. It was nice to get an update and see that she is indeed at home and recovering. From what I gather, Kay's life is about what it has been for the last number of years (to our knowledge). That being a difficult life, but then she was responsible for making her life what it is. No one forced her to choose that lifestyle that she choose. Sure she has had some tough breaks throughout the last number of years, but then what family hasn't faced these same tough breaks.

At least it is gratifying to hear that she is trying to get back to her former lifestyle. It would appear the original call was just that Kay was feeling a bit sorry for herself and wanted a bit of sympathy. There is nothing wrong with that at all. It is always so nice to be able to pour your troubles out to someone else and receive some kind words in return. From my experiences throughout the years, it helps some people when they are able to unload some of their troubles, even for a few moments.

The main thing is that Kay is mending physically and appears to be moving towards getting on with her life in whatever direction she has chosen. With that we most likely will not hear from her too often in the future. But at least she has our number or knows how to get a hold of her sister in the future if needed. That's about all we can do/expect for the time being.

How The Times Have Changed

This weekend we decided to change the dining room around. As it turned out, I needed a stand for 'my cookbooks'. That meant I lost a stand in the bedroom that I was using for my clock radio and other sundry junk.

Well I found a new stand to use, but it did not have a drawer attached, so I had to rearrange my allocated 3 drawers out of 15 available in the bedroom. Guess who gets the rest?

Needless to say, I had to go through one of my drawers and reallocate the space available. While doing this I came upon a cheque book register from 1972 with some interesting details inside. Of course in 1972, Sandra and I were residing in Bermuda. Now just in case anyone can't remember back this far. Our Canadian dollar was worth a way more than a USA dollar. I of course got paid my salary while in Bermuda in US dollars.

A few entries in the cheque book registry jumped right out at me. My mid month pay for June 1972 was $310.00 US. Now, you have to remember I was also getting 'Foreign Service Allowance' at the time to allow that I was living outside of Canada. Then taking the exchange on our CDN dollar to the US dollar, I figure I was getting paid about $200.00 for about 15 days of work or about $100.00 a week. Taking that $100 per week at a 40 hour work week (how I wish), that would work out to be about $2.50 an hour.

Now you have to remember in the military you don't have such a thing as a normal 40 hour week. You work until the work is done. So of course you end up working more than 40 hours a week. You had your normal 'office' work and then you had your fire picket, guard duty, etc to add to your hours. The pay didn't increase and there was no such thing as overtime.

I then reflected that 5 years later I resigned from the military to take a job with the RCMP at a salary that was less than I was making in the military in 1972. I think the starting salary for my RCMP employment was $2.25 an hour. As well, Sandra and I had made the choice that one of us would not work until the children were old enough to look after themselves. That left Sandra as the stay at home mom and I was the one 'on the job'.

On $2.25 an hour, we managed to buy our first house in North Battleford, buy a brand new car (1977 Plymouth Colt) and generally got along just fine. Now a day, the young folks need at least $8.00 an hour to even look at a job. Preferably the new workers want at least $15 to $18 per hour before they even look at the job before they'll commit to working. 40 hours a week of actually working are just not in the realm of reality nowadays. Some folks will probably be at the work location for 40 hours a week, but there are coffee breaks, meal breaks, bathroom breaks, smoke breaks, etc to dwindle away the actual hours of work.

The cost of living certainly have increased.

Yup, the times have changed and I can certainly reflect on getting older...