June 15 - July 1, 2019 Happy Canada Day!!

Leslie and I have been keeping fairly busy with projects at both places we own right now; Bonnyville and Pineridge Resort. We have really let the blog slide lately because we are doing other things.  Lots of days I'm mowing grass or some other yard project and Leslie is either at work at the hospital or doing some other task here. We do try to have a little fun but we are a tad obsessive about getting things done! 

June 15
Happy Father's Day! I don't have "biological" kids of my own but I have been very fortunate to be part of the lives of a few "kids" in my life and they make this a happy day for me. I always get a text or call from Lisa. Graham texted when he woke up from working nights and Ryan invited us over for supper and a sleepover at his place. Sam is also coming over and it's great that they recognize me on Fathers Day. We had a great barbecue with a few adult beverages and lots of laughs afterwards. Great night but not one picture of it.
After so many dark and stormy days it was good to enjoy a nicer one.

Lots of days like this lately.

June 16
We had a quick breakfast at a new Tim Horton's in their neighbourhood and then headed for PGR with a stop in Spruce Grove for groceries. In the afternoon, Leslie's brother Dan, his wife Celia and their beagle puppy Bingley came out to PGR to see where we are and have a look around. Again we didn't take one picture of the visit. Our minds are just not on the blog, sorry guys. We had a nice supper, great visit and nice enough weather to sit outside!
June 17
I have an appointment at Stony Plain Chrysler for 8 am to get the clunk noise in my rear differential looked at again. It's been clunking for a year or more but the mechanic couldn't find the source. They are trying again because it's really bad now.
Leslie picked me up at the dealership and we went for a really good breakfast at Ricky's All Day Grill. We drove back to PGR because my truck is going to be a while even before they get it inside. It angers me that they want it dropped off at 8 but likely won't see the shop before noon?? We stopped at Home Depot for some retail therapy. We picked up some shelving and a 48" LED light bar for over my bench. Can't wait to see how that looks! Back to PGR and some garage work. I got the light installed and organized the bench area. I like it!

Nice and bright over the work area.

 Leslie put all the new plastic shelves together and screwed them to the wall so we don't knock them over on her car. She did a great job and now we can store all the stuff off the floor in case water gets in.

I called the dealership at 2:00 and I was ready to go pick up my truck if it's not in the shop. Turns out it is in the shop and they found the problem finally. Both gears in the diff are chipped and the pieces are tearing up seals etc. so the mechanic tore it apart and it's off the road for a week until the parts arrive. So glad it will be fixed this time and luckily it's all warranty!! Super bonus. This repair would be thousands of dollars.

We got some projects done and some good news on the truck so what to do now. How about sitting in the sun and a beer?

Chillin'

Hangin with my pal and Margaret too ;)

June 18

I came up with a bright idea to get my Harley out to PGR.  I would catch a ride with one of the boys I used to work with from Edmonton to B'ville. Devan is going to give me a ride so Leslie is driving me to Sherwood Park to meet him at the Flying J right on highway 16. Devan is driving his brand spankin' new Ford F150 so it was a great and very comfy trip to the house. Thanks buddy for the ride. Beauty new ride. I cut the lawn with the small push mower and that was about it.

Leslie did some shopping on the way back to PGR and got some shoes for an upcoming wedding we're going to. She enjoyed an alone day at the rig and it was a really nice day too. Sunny and 23C/73F so she could enjoy some fresh air and sunshine.

June 19 

Leslie was greeted with another morning of rain at PGR. We have had so much rain this year it's ridiculous. She was woken up by a thunder storm in the middle of the night and it continues. 

Puddles forming all around the rig.

She sent me this after supper for the days total!

June 19

Bonnyville wasn't getting any of the downpour, it's about 3 1/2 hours away to the east. I was mowing grass on the new Toro mower while Leslie was telling me about all the rain. The new mower is so much faster!! Done in just over 2 hours, so nice. I spent the afternoon getting the bike ready for my trip back to PGR on Friday. That's the least likely day for more rain.

Ready to ride!

Along the way from Edmonton I had asked Devan to stop at Stawnichys Butcher Shop in Mundare so I could grab some ribs for my dinner while I was here. He's never stopped there so I bought him a rack of ribs as a thank you for the ride. They are delicious.

My dinner that night, I ate the other half of ribs too.

It's been raining off and on all day at PGR, the rain gauge is full now at 3 inches. Leslie is dumping the gauge so she can measure more rain. Glad I'm in Bville!

June 20

With the rain still continuing Leslie made a batch of soup and she made some muffins, all Keto friendly food. She's been doing awesome on this diet and she's lost over 15 pounds so far ! She looks great and she says she feels better too without all the carbs? I couldn't live without bread :)

Mixed berry muffins from almond flour and coconut oil.

Leslie packed an overnight bag and headed for her sister's place in the afternoon. Leslie and Lorin are having dinner with Leslie's old school pals from elementary school. Lorin is not drinking and is doing the driving, good thing I bet. Les has known these girls for 48 years! (since grade 4) They still try to meet up at least once per year to laugh their heads off and have a couple drinks. Dinner lasted close to 3 hours while they chatted and laughed. She tells me they drank lots of water ;) 

*Best infield ever! We played softball together for years too. First base-Michelle, second-Lornel, third-Wendy, shortstop-me. :)

L:R  Lorin, Leslie, Wendy, Lornel & Michelle. 

The weather in B'ville was not as bad so I spent my day mowing the hard to reach areas with the push mower and roto-tilling some weeds by the trees. I wanted to go for a Harley ride in the afternoon and I made it part way to Cold lake before it looked like I was going to get soaked so I turned around. Left the rain gear in the garage!!

I turned around early, don't want to get wet.

June 21

Leslie and her sister had a leisurely start to their day and then Lorin went in to work. Les drove back out to PGR and the rig and just did the usual stuff. At least no rain today! It totalled over 3 inches in 36 hours. 

I loaded all my gear on the bike and got ready to leave by 10:00. One last look at my awesome lawn lol.

Grass is nicely cut.....

Garden is weed free. Life is good.

The weather held out perfectly for my ride with no rain but it was cool. That's alright though. I stopped in St. Albert at a McD's for some cheeseburgers and a coffee. It was crazy loud inside so I just ate beside the bike with 2 seagulls watching my every move lol.

A Mcd's pit stop.

I pulled into PGR after 2 pm and unloaded all the stuff on the bike. That was a long first ride and my butt is sore haha. We just relaxed the rest of the day and that evening we watched the Edmonton Eskimos beat up on the BC Lions football team. The quarterback, Mike Reilly, moved from Edmonton to BC this off season and this was his first meeting with his old team. Took a beating I must say. Our winter travel buddies Randy & Shelley Hamilton know Mike Reilly personally and they were watching as well so we had a running text message going trash talking each other. Bittersweet victory for Edmonton as Reilly was dominated by the Edmonton defence. He can afford it now though. It's a nice contract.

June 22

It's another chore day at PGR, our focus now is more about landscaping and the lot itself. We need a couple loads of gravel soon. That will have to wait for a few weeks until we get back from B'ville again. I have a plan to run a 15k trail race on the 29th but my legs are really stiff and I am having trouble with my left hamstring again. Old guy issues I think? I booked a massage to see if they can work out the muscle stiffness. So we hopped in Leslie's car and drove to Stony Plain and I had a deep tissue massage on my legs for an hour while Leslie went for groceries and a beer/wine stop. We tried to book her in as well but they didn't have an opening. The massage therapist, Audrey-Lynn did a great job and my legs are a little sore but should feel better tomorrow hopefully.

When we got back to PGR we finally got a chance to sit on our neighbours deck and have a happy hour with them for the first time this year. Great to finally visit with Andre, Lynn and their son Patrick. After a few beverages we went home for supper and relaxed inside for the night.

June 23 

My legs do in fact feel better, yayy!! We spent the day doing yardwork and chores, nothing fun.

June 24

My truck won't be ready for a few more days but I can get a loaner from the shop for a few days. Leslie needs to go back to B'ville for work tomorrow so I need to have a car. With all the rain the Harley just isn't enough.

Leslie packed her stuff in the car and she drove me to Chrysler for my loaner. A very brightly decal covered shop vehicle. It's a Chrysler 200 so it's small but hey it's free and really good on gas. Both of us are driving to Sherwood Park to see my sister Donna and my brother in law Dennis who you might remember lived in Penticton. Well they have decided to move back to Alberta for a variety of reasons and bought a place in Sherwood Park. They live close to their daughter Kerry and the grandkids, Brody and Jetson. We are going to check out their new townhouse but the furniture is still en route so it won't be a long stay. Turns out the sump pump in the basement failed 2 days before they took possession so the former owner has a company repairing the basement while they are waiting for their stuff. At least it didn't happen right after their possession date and cost them a bunch of money to fix.

Nice place guys and hopefully all the repairs go smoothly and you get moved in without a hitch.

We said so long to all the gang and I said good by to Leslie too. She headed for B'ville getting ready for a few days at work while Margaret and I headed back to PGR for supper and relaxing. Of course with the afternoon heating we get thunder storms going west. It poured really hard on my way home and with the small car it was a little weird. I was hydroplaning a little so it was slow going for a few miles but it soon stopped.

Here comes the storm!

Had to slow down for the wall of water.

By the time I got back to PGR the sun was poking through the clouds again and the evening turned out pretty nice. So nice, in fact, I was motivated to go for a trail run around the golf course. My legs feel way better after the massage and there are no golfers on the course tonight so I figured why not go for a run. By following the cart paths and the edge of the fairways I got in about 7km or a little less than 5 miles on a beautiful manicured grass running track!

Took this shot on my run, you can see the water on the fairway.

Leslie had a rainy trip to our house in B'ville and then spent her evening getting her supper and some lunches ready for her work tomorrow. She went downstairs for a little Netflix before bed and that was her day in a nutshell.

June 25, 26
Leslie worked both days and didn't do much else really. Sort of a work, eat, have a bubble bath and off to bed kind of couple days.

I didn't do very much either except that on Tuesday morning I woke up with a sore throat and was angry because I want run a 15k trail race on Saturday and having a cold right now would not be good. I was gargling with Listerine and eating soup to fight it off.
Wednesday morning it felt like I had swallowed a bunch of razor blades and I hardly slept because my throat was killing me. It was bad enough to make me do something I don't do very often... I went to a walk in clinic in Stony Plain to see a doctor and get some meds. Can't hardly swallow or talk. The doc gave me a prescription for antibiotics and the pharmacist told me that by the time I got 3 of these pills in me my throat should feel much better. We'll see.
June 27
 Leslie is working the early shift from 7:00 to 3:15 and then she is driving back to PGR after work. It's a long day but she wants to be back.
Well I had a terrible night of fever and chills with almost no sleep and my throat is on fire! I got up at 7:00 and called Leslie just after 8:00. I can't hardly speak and I'm freezing. Taking Margaret outside was a major accomplishment. My throat is swollen up so bad Leslie can barely understand me. I know I have to go to the hospital but I am so tired I don't want to go anywhere. Leslie is thinking it's either an allergic reaction to the meds or strep throat, either way my throat my throat is so swollen I have to go. Ugghh! Long story shortened, I ended up in the hospital emergency room for the day. They actually stuck a needle in the back of my throat and drained an abscess full of nasty infection!! Yes, that was as creepy as it sounds. They gave me IV antibiotics and told me not to bother with the pills anymore.

You can see how swollen the left side of my neck was.

I got out at 4:30 or so to go home and I do feel much better. Poor Les was trying to work a busy day in Bonnyville and stay up to speed on me so she had a rough day too. She got off work early at 2:30 and booked it straight back to PGR. Leslie had also talked to our neighbour at PGR, Vera, to let Margaret out of the rig in the afternoon. Thanks Vera!!! if you are reading this.
I was so glad to be home and Margaret was happy to see me but not as much as we both were happy to see Leslie walk in around 6ish! She made me home made chicken soup, so good and lots of veggies and garlic. We had to go back at 9 pm to the hospital for another IV. They want to do a few by IV and then 10 days of pills. When we got back we all went to bed. Big day for everyone.
June 28
Thankfully everyone slept good all night. We are driving back to the hospital for 9 am and another IV. I am supposed to see a different doctor after my IV and he will decide how we are going to proceed. He ordered a second, different kind of IV antibiotic for this morning.  This one is only once per day instead of three times per day. Way less driving when you have a 95km (57 mile) round trip each time. Back in tomorrow morning for another one and then start the pills for 10 days. That should shake out the infection.

Feeling much better and my neck isn't swollen up.

Leslie used my hospital time to grab a few groceries and some plants for the flower garden she wants to work on today. I have the loaner car with me because my truck is ready to be picked up today. Awesome! The timing worked great. I got my prescription and went to the Chrysler dealer for my truck right when Leslie and Margaret pulled in. They explained all the work they had done on my rear diff and we all headed home to PGR. 
Leslie got to work on her flower beds and I helped for a little bit by running the small 2 stroke rototiller we have. I headed in for a nap. Pretty low energy.

She does great work! Looks really nice. There is another one behind our rig.

Leslie had a busy day and the flower beds look fantastic. Then she made us a nice supper and we just relaxed watching TV. We called it a day around 9:30. Even Margaret was beat lol.

Is it bedtime yet??

June 29

This morning is my last IV and then start the pills. I decided that, seeing it was such a nice morning,  I would take the Harley. It's cheap on fuel. Leslie gets to relax a little longer but she has gardens and weeding on her mind. She won't be sitting for long, I know that much. By the time I got back she had the other flower bed all weeded and ready for roto-tilling. She planted the shrubs and flowers and I loaded some junk in the truck for a run to the dump. Or should I say our "date"lol. We're going out for lunch after at RV Pub & Grill, our usual dump date stop. I turned right out of PGR and drove down the beach. We soon realized that the farmers market was on Saturday morning again. Note to self, don't drive a dually down a narrow road during the farmers market!! What a gong show that was.

Forgot to take pics of our date too. The pub was packed when we got there. Farmers market brings out a lot of people. They were a little slow but still had great food. With full bellies we went back to the rig for a little lie down. The rest of the day was more like that. Just a few little jobs and relaxing.

June 30

We are driving into Sherwood Park today to Donna & Dennis's place. My nephew Kevin and his wife Lisa are driving up from Calgary for the night to see the new townhouse and visit with the whole family. The movers arrived yesterday so the house is a little"full" of boxes and packing paper. Unbelievable how much paper the mover used!! Stacks of it. 

The plan was to move over to Kerry and Byron's house where they have more room and less boxes. We drove over there and Kerry put out some yummy snacks for us all and we got a chance to visit with everybody. It's embarrassing but again we didn't take one picture. We really need to get back in the blog mode for pics! Sorry guys.

We jumped back in the car and drove back to PGR for the first annual Canada Day barbecue for our little community called The Ridge. It's a chance to get to now some neighbours and the condo association is supplying burgers and hot dogs, chips and soda. At least we remembered to take pics of this.

I think we need one of these in the future.

Sitting with our neighbours and their kids.

The oil company barbecue! Complete with a rockin' stereo.

The back box is a sub woofer!

Part of The Ridge social committee.

July 1

HAPPY CANADA DAY !!!!

Well it was a good thing we got a chance to celebrate a little yesterday because it's raining...... again. We feel sorry for the folks that are packing up to go home this morning. It's pouring out there.

We are staying dry and having a leisurely morning and I am working on a blog post. Something we don't do much of anymore sadly.

Hard at it! Margaret .... not so much lol.

The rain almost stopped so we're taking Margaret for a walk. Good to get out for a little walk even if it's a little damp. We're not going to melt.

Everyone with their rain coats on !

We used the rest of the day to prep and pack up for another trip to Bonnyville tomorrow with the trailer too this time. We will be staying at Cold Lake Provincial Park for an upcoming wedding for my old work buddy Taylor and his fiancee, Caitlin. Looking forward to that!

We'll post this and try again from B'ville to get updated. At least we're in the same month again!

Cheers everybody.