A Mens' Group

Sunday, July 1/01
Canada day, cloudy with showers + 20
I continue to clean out the apartment in my effort to ready myself for the move to the south side on Aug. 1. The collection of items that have been setting for six years that I have not used or will not use is amazing. I do not struggle as much as I used to, in deciding that these items are better used now by other people than possibly by my boys in the future.
Good Will and the Value Village people are the recipients of the boxes and bags that I am collecting. Pure trash is going into the garbage bin. I am repacking the boxes that Cory left before his move to Toronto. I asked him what to do with the box of car magazines that he left with me. He said that he would call Clayton and Marshall and have me deliver the box if Danielle was agreeable. It will be an interesting meeting.
The chain and rifle I will deliver to Cheryl, for Terry and use on the farm. Paintings, books and decorative items I will pack mid month. I will start changing the address with my contacts during the month. Pick up of the sofa, chair and bed by Good Will is arranged for the end of the month. I still do not know if I will hire some movers or do it myself. I will decide by the end of the first week. My testosterone is kicking in here.
Susan attended a Chinese/ Vietnamese wedding last night with a friend. Very different and extravagant, she said.
Warren and Sally drove up north to participate in a sweat lodge for the weekend. He is trying very hard to make this work with Sally. His single mindedness about her is quite remarkable.
Friday night, Susan and I bought some flowers and plants after we had visited the Elk Island Park for a afternoon of walking. I planted them alongside the little blue flower that is starting to bloom in my planter. I was able to fix the storm day spring that Luke and his friends had broken while Susan was away on her trip.
Holly continues to suggest that she and Jason are moving to Edmonton, after he quits the RCMP. Only for six months but I feel that it will have a greater disruption in Susan’s life than she imagines.
Traffic is good in the house with some serious people coming through and making inquiries. Trent and Donna, some rich young adults love the house and want to build it within two years when the lot they desire becomes available. They still do not understand that many things change in the period of two years. I will look forward to helping them build a house at that time.

Monday, July 2, sunny, +22, winds Sunny, hot and breezy.
Traffic was light but some serious people are looking for a bungalow that has already been built.
Went over to Susan's to relax, wash the car and then went to see the fireworks at Millwoods.
Susan worked on the garden and puttered around the yard by herself. She is taking Friday's off for the rest of the summer because of the overtime work she did during the last year.
I talked to Cheryl this morning; she is busy getting her rooms ready for occupancy during the Worlds Games and for future tenants. Daryl has been gone golfing for ten days, returning tonight, an event anticipated greatly by Cheryl. Her new job is hectic, with a few loose ends to complete but basically a good position.
Mother is angry about a statement I made regarding a thrown knife in my youth that I made when we went out to the Casino.
The day had good traffic with a couple of interested people, Ray on the Richmond and a return by Regina and her friend on the Cascade. She is serious about having the Cascade built on the golf course with the Atrium built as a room for her piano. She has the money and only will have to sell her home but it will be a negotiation to the last. The young lady who bought from another home builder brought her mom and dad in to see the home. They have a house south of Sherwood Park but were a little interested in this home. Maybe something will happen in the future.
Winds have picked up so probably no flying. I have not heard from Warren so I expect we will not play squash unless he calls later. I expect that he does not remember the hours that I work.

Wednesday, July 4 -Independence Day in the USA- hot and windy, clear +31
I went for my monthly massage from Odette today. She found a little muscle tension in the right leg calve and Achilles heal area from my old injury. We had good discussion today about life, dreams and death. I managed to share with her some of my life story and she hers with me. Unmarried, no children professional woman; it was a pleasant discussion.
Susan said that Bob (her brother in law) was injured in a water skiing accident in BC. He injured a vertebrae in his lower back. Could have been paralyzed but all he ended up with is a sore back and therapy. I hope he slow down and takes some time off before he returns to work. I am not confident that he will. Louise is showing a brave face, but she is very concerned. Susan is also. Things happen so quickly.
The squash games with Warren went well. The games continue to be very invigorating. We are to play on Saturday again.
I passed along the prices and information to a client from Regina last night, with a follow up phone call to confirm and answer some questions about the sale of her home. I talked to a banker about contacting a mutual client and to stress the fact that he is still looking to build a house on the new land he has found east of Sherwood Park. I would expect Dennis from Slave Lake to show up tonight to discuss the house.
Had lunch with mother today, she was not as grumpy as she was over the phone. Her visit to the doctor was not a comfortable visit and I expect this has made her mood a bit more caustic. Terry, his drinking and eating has not made it any easier for mother. She is even criticizing where Cheryl is working and how far away it is from Edmonton.
The world continues to turn.
Tried to go flying on Tuesday morning but all the planes were booked out; perhaps on Friday.
Everett is doing some work in High Prairie. This is a location that would be interesting to fly up to.
Warren and Sally enjoyed the sweat lodge over the weekend. He seemed a little more relaxed about life and his work.
Dana is getting more work. He is a little surprised when I said that I was moving. He had talked to some school friends and suggested they might be calling me to get some information about work.
Susan seems to be concerned about Gail, a neighbor and her actions relating to her kids. I would expect that it is as a concerned friend that she has this confusion. Not much else.
The discussion with Odette was an interesting sojourn. After the discussion about the vertebrae and possible outcome to rehab we got into a discussion about responsibility and opportunities. She is a good listener, asks relevant and specific questions. She thanked me for sharing the information and thoughts I had with her. An interesting woman with great hands, although I have no intimate thoughts about her.
Talked to a manager from large home building company last night. He said that they were building a house a day this year. Quite a production. What opportunity for success and problems. Our production of 39 units pales in comparison on the total number side, but financially is equivalent in compensation. The number of problems we have is insignificant in comparison.

Monday, July 9, hot and a little breezy, sunny + 29
Thursday was a great day.
Traffic was good with a couple of people quite interested in the showhome.
Finally I managed to get a haircut.
Vicky is no longer with the hair salon; Kim was the lucky girl who got to give me a hair cut
Everyone but Hector showed up for the group.
Warren discussed Sally as usual. Peter was able to take some criticism at work and not feel threatened. I talked about something? - The lack of sales and the ability to continue and not get depressed.
Everett was quite excited about the new vision he has in dealing with his wife and the sharing that he sees as necessary. This he learned from his Excellence Course that he is taking over the year.
Susan has been quite busy with work and personal concerns. She is arranging a different type of communication with her dad, who has gone completely deaf. They are using a telephone answering machine, to be able to get the complete information that is sent to him.
Bob is quite sore and has difficulty walking but is coming home next week. A friend is flying into BC so he can drive the truck and trailer home. Louise is not able to do the driving. He will be on pain killers and rehab for a while I would think. It is great that he is not seriously hurt so his back will heal and regain mobility with therapy. Small wonders.
Susan has been visiting and dealing with suggestions from her daughter regarding Mathew's speech problems and the possibility of them coming to Edmonton for specialists. This is causing Luke and Susan some sleepless nights. The confusion and dynamic changes that will occur if Holly and son move in will be dramatic. Luke will have a great deal of difficulty in adjusting to this development. But it is a part of growing up. This could be the encouragement for him to move out and get some life experience. I think Holly is tired of being a grown up and is looking at a way of being taken care of. Jason, her husband, will not let her become a little girl again.
His leaving the RCMP and moving into Alberta to be closer to civilization is going to cause a great deal of problems for everyone involved.
The weekend proved interesting. I missed a message from Warren regarding our squash game time but I did not get too frustrated by being late. I managed to win 5 of 6 games some how. Maybe it was the stress and mental speed.
Friday I took a 172 up for a flight to a location in the east of the province and back. I played with the GPS to establish the direction to Slave Lake. I will have to check out on the new Cessna Skyhawk so we can travel up to see Everett's work in High Prairie and the Roth home in Slave Lake. Finding these places will be a lot easier with the GPS than by dead reckoning.
In the evening, I attended the drivers meeting for the World Games.
We will be starting about the 21 of July and driving to the 15 of Aug.
My packing continues. A little each day, with a clean up as I go along. I will do more after I get some boxes from Susan on Monday.
While cleaning and packing I managed to break the glass top of my kitchen table. After all these years, I have had this table since Linda and I bought it on the farm. A slight sharp hit from the tape machine and it cracked across the middle. I will check the cost of buying a new top, but I would imagine that I can buy a total wood table for the same price. It is time for a new kitchen table I would think.
The picnic in the park with Susan was nice. We met after my work and her nap, ate, talked and then went for a long walk. She told me, but did not show me her new tattoo, that was in the making for 2 years.
She is quite proud of it. She is taking control of her life again. This is nice to see.
Gail, a neighbor, and her concerns of control with her daughters continue to weigh on her.
Susan is going to have a talk with Luke to allow him a better understanding of his role in the upcoming months- with Holly, his job applications, and his education. Susan is fairly easy content with herself although I gave her a hard time by mocking her when she was putting to much emphasis on some events in her life. She attended another wedding on Saturday, which turned out quite long and boring, but highlighted by great amounts of food, merriment and a guy hitting on her, by telling poor jokes.
Holly and Mathew are arriving from the north next Saturday to stay with Susan for a couple of days, then Bon, a west coast friend, and her fellow are stopping in for a couple days and the summer continues. All in all it is working out quite well, not having to go over and see her to much. It relieves the pressure and allows both of us to do what ever we wish. It is a nice easy feeling. No guilt and abandonment issues are apparent at this time.
A couple, who had a Rocksolid home built in 1982, now desire to have another built in Lewis estates. The came over on Saturday, we talked about lots on Sunday, they came by to look at them on Monday. Later they asked John to call them to confirm a few things. They will bring their daughter over on the weekend to see the area and we will proceed. This will move along to another sale, one that was not in the loop as of last week. Another couple, who had a Rocksolid home built for them in the 90’s, really love the showhome. I sent them home to think about making an offer sometime in the near future. I expect I did the correct thing by not writing them up immediately. If and when they come back, they will be serious.
The weather forecast is for hotter weather over the next several days. The rains and thunderstorms should be spectacular.

Wednesday, July 11, cloudy, +22 calm
After the blistering hot day of Tuesday, +33, this day is quite pleasant. A record was set by the temperature. There were thunderstorms to the north last night but nothing in town.
I spent the morning still packing, got rid of the broken glass table top that I had cracked and did some laundry.
Dana and I talked on Monday night. I was checking on his mood since he was sounding a little down when he called.
Gillian called later in the evening after I had left a message for her or Cory. She has calmed down a little about the wedding and now is buying clothes for the trip and the wedding day. Cory was issued a new uniform for the company he is working at. He is happy about the situation since he can work as many hours as he wants to. The work has slowed down at the moment, although the new contract has been signed and ratified. The new work will start in about two weeks.
Dana is a little tentative about some dental work he requires but I suggested that he check out a dentist, find out what has to be done to his teeth, how much and arrange some appointments. At least this will get his mind off the boredom. He is spending time working as a volunteer expert on his friend's film for about a week. I told him that now was the time to clear up any dental problems instead of waiting till he was working full time and had not time to take off, for any tooth problems he might have. He seemed to be ok with the suggestion.
A previous client called to say that she had not built a home and was interested in the spec. bungalow that we are building at the end of the lane. She and her ex husband will drop down to see the unit on Thursday. A small but pleasant call although Susan said not to get excited about this occurrence.
George and Angela will bring their daughter to confirm the lot and type of home that they want built in Lewis Estates. It would be pleasant if the lot they were interested in would become available at the end of the week.
I managed to pack all the pictures and items in the apartment in most of the boxes. Susan will provide a few more boxes to complete the job. She is quite excited about Mathew, her grandson, coming down for a few days on the weekend. Luke purchased some cutlery in the event that he is moving out to his own apartment.
Warren was busy on Monday evening, so we are playing squash this evening, I would expect. My back has been having a few twinges and is a little bit of a nuisance.
I have managed to change most of my addresses on the mail I receive with a few places that I will have to visit in person.
I have not heard from Dennis since last Thursday. I faxed him the new price and house plan last Saturday. He is in town this week and I expect to see him at the show home this evening, even if Gary says that he would find it hard to do the work up north because of worker shortage. I will let fate handle this and take it as it goes.
I visited Sofa land, checked out the leather and cloth sofas and chairs, discussed the products with the saleslady. to get a better understanding of the product line that is available. I will have to go by the shop in the west end to see again what they have on hand and compare their prices. First of all, I will have to purchase a complete bed set and have it delivered after I move in. I will consider end tables to replace the white ones that I have on hand at the moment. When these two sales come together, it will be easier to make decisions on the price and extent of the purchases.
I called Jan to touch base with her and Alex regarding any developments on the downtown lot and to answer any questions about the house. She was still enthusiastic about the house and the lot. She felt that the house should blend into the area so some modifications will have to take place on the house- a veranda or something similar. I suggested taking photos of the house fronts that she liked, bring them in and we would accommodate their wishes. She said they would come in around July 24. Things are moving along well on this front.
Dennis R did not drop by this evening. Such is life.
I left a message for Susan to call about the location of the Reunion in Veg. on the long weekend. She hasn't called back yet so I may call her tomorrow.
Susan is more disappointed with the lack of sales than I am or that I show outwardly.