Wednesday 30 December 2020

Footwear - the struggle is real


Shoes (and boots) are so tempting to buy. After all, you don't have to get undressed to try them on, there are soooo many styles and occasions for use. Until we both had well paying, steady jobs (~40yo) I wore cheap shoes (Woolco, Zellers then Walmart). I'm easy on shoes and have no foot problems. I'm still easy on shoes and have no foot problems but my purchasing style has changed. I had a lot to learn before I could really afford to make that change.

Wednesday 25 November 2020

The Fall Pandemic Response Edition

Welp, the foretold surge is well underway with provincial governments stepping in to keep public health access in place by curtailing activities. Alexa has been telling us the weather is dreary and we had already planned to not travel for Christmas - although apparently that wasn't the case for other family members.

Our city has been under SK mandated 4 weeks restrictions that started last week. Private gatherings up to 5 people or 2 households; mandatory masks in public spaces and shorter restaurant hours. SK has been updating their requirements. At first, masking was for towns over 5K but 2 days later included everywhere. Today there will be another update and our fitness instructor is ready to go it from home again.

When I was working and and giving risk assessment training, I always mentioned everyone's risk tolerance was different and for any tasks you have to accommodate the person with the lowest risk tolerance - now I have to walk that walk as Fred is much less tolerant of health risk and seems to be very sensitive to affecting other people's health. He always stayed home from work if he was sick at all and one reason he won't travel now is because he doesn't want to affect anyone, including first responders if we were in an accident. I'm comfortable going out and wearing a mask etc (aka well on my way to complacency).

I am so thankful for where we are in life. Were I still working it would be a huge source of conflict as it's difficult to work from home and that workplace hasn't shut down or slowed down at all. We have a large house with lots of yard (even now covered), great neighbours and a nice park for walking Bennie. Our internet connection is awesome so I can do zoom classes, on line seminars and video chats. Do I miss meeting and gathering? Sure but this will end. Canadians won't get vaccine access as quickly as some places because a Conservative government privatized vaccine production (which promptly fled to a more profitable market) but Canadians will get the vaccination and we'll be first in line.

Be calm, be kind, be safe. Wash your hands and wear a mask.

Saturday 21 November 2020

iPhone Mini first impressions

I unexpectedly upgraded my phone when I dropped and smashed the screen. Against my better judgment, Fred repaired the screen with the intention of getting used to Android and, maybe, using it until a phone he liked came out. As luck would have it, the iPhone 12mini came out as his iPhone SE became totally unusable - the SE2020 had no appeal. After a failed attempt to move the SIM from his old iPhone to the S8, he ordered the mini from the Apple Store.

It's a very nice phone, GREAT size and I can see the appeal of face unlock. It was quick and easy to transfer everything from his old phone. While he loves the size, he's not that fond of the glass back and it's an opinion we share. My favourite phone was the Galaxy Nexus because you could through that phone down the stairs and it would be unscathed. Glass backs are slippery and made worse by increasing phone size. Ergonomics can only do so much.

It's good to see smaller phones with decent specs being made. I was concerned about replacing the S8 and the Note 10 is smaller than anything new from Samsung. I suppose I could lose a ton of features (I use) and fall back to a Pixel but I hope that's not a concern for a few years. Phones just keep getting bigger and I hate the glass back. IF I had to migrate to an iPhone, at least I could get widgets.

In the meantime, the new phone is a hit. All the stuff from the S8 (MarioKartšŸ˜) was moved over so he's only using one phone now. All he has to do is set up a home screen. 

Thursday 12 November 2020

A book and 2 apps

I routinely escape my doom scrolling (now with REDDIT - oh no!) by reading books and writing reviews on Amazon and/or Goodreads. This time I'm putting the review here! By coincidence I've also added 2 new apps to my phone so I thought I would include a first impression of them as well.

Wednesday 11 November 2020

Could be a l-o-n-g winter

 

Avalanche for clearing solar panels 
I was on a Zoom workout the other day talking about what this city has to offer with it being so dependent on oil. I was saying what it doesn't have - mountains, ocean/lake/river, long summers when someone asked me why I'm still here? In large part it's because it's a good place to travel from. 

Usually we have a spring trip to carry us through the cold but not this year. So what are we doing instead?

workout space
Our lifestyle has seen minimal change in the large scheme of things! I am very lucky my exercise instructor is on board for Zoom workouts. I can participate from home and those of us who do often have a bit of a chat before or after - not that different than class (but different). We're converting our travel fund to a much less thrilling appliance replacement and home improvement. On one hand not exciting, on the other, new tools like the avalanche and area rugs and stuff.

Bennie is definitely as saving grace. Whether walking him around the yard or around the park he keeps us on our toes by being randomly the best attentive dog ever to the best barker ever. He keeps people at a distance (of 2 m) while giving us something to talk about. We also chat with neighbours as we see them. Even food options haven't changed that much. We have time to cook and have been keeping the pantry full so we can eat what strikes us. We're also doing drive-thru so...


Having parents in their 80s really helps us recognize just how fortunate we are. While they all live in their own homes, none of them are particularly tech savvy so it's difficult to video call or suggest virtual activities that we take for granted. Fred's parents are going out for coffee and stuff while my dad is mostly staying home - a difference in mobility and locations. My dad is in the Fraser Health Region in BC while in-laws are in Alberta South Zone. We are in Saskatchewan NW2 zone. Exposures are low enough in our area that we get warned of exposure events and I can check my Google timeline to see if I'm affected. We minimize in store shopping and wear a mask when inside public spaces. We may start wearing a mask outside as well as trails narrow due to snow.  I find it mystifying that people can bemoan the effects of the pandemic on the economy/leisure activities while refusing to take the simple step of wearing a maskšŸ¤·‍♀️ 

Once the pandemic is resolved in a year or so, we plan to increase our traveling so that's really something to look forward to! How far ahead are you looking? 

Saturday 17 October 2020

Echo Show First Impressions

 

We've had both Amazon and Google speakers and have, in the end, decided to go with Amazon. A large reason is because we can have different trigger words for different devices, essential with an open floor plan. Alexa doesn't say thank you like Google but also has fewer accidental triggers. We opted for the 5" model that was on sale for Prime days. 

Friday 2 October 2020

Definitely Autumn

 

Days are getting shorter so we are getting up later - the joys of retirement! We have been s-o-o-o-o lucky this year. After snow in September for 2 years in a row - with the cold staying last year - this year has been a gift. It's been windy, but warm enough to do a lot of stuff outside. There's been a lot of P.E. (biking, canoeing and Frisbee golf) from the schools and even band practice! Our workout in the park went to the end of September.

Monday 21 September 2020

Winter is coming...

 

Summer is winding down. It was very late in arriving (max solar credits in AUGUST!) but at least isn't early in leaving. We've had some time to adjust to pandemic rules but it will be an adjustment as winter activities kick in.

Sunday 13 September 2020

Getting Book Recommendations

 

Living in this time is just ... challenging. The news out of the US is (and always has been) overwhelming and it's a challenge to get out of that bubble and look local. Scrolling through social feeds is just too easy and often feels futile. If you can't affect where you live with your vote, worrying about the US is worse. To that end - since I'm a reader, I'm looking towards fiction to read.

Monday 31 August 2020

Techcopalypse, Bennie vs the voles and summer's end

 
It's been a frustrating few days between Google Home speakers being on the blink and Bennie barking at bricks.

First up the tech frustration. Our Google home + mini network has always been mildly irritating but manageable. I took a mini out for my dad and deleted our "home" by mistake...pro tip - never do this. I got it working again but it wouldn't recognize each voice and said neither of our homes are supported for two accounts. Then it wouldn't network them together then...I disconnected the Home in the kitchen and said screw it - we always have a phone nearby. Now the mini will control the basement stuff, I use an Echo Dot to manage my space and we've order a wall mount for the kitchen tablet to get it off the counter. We use it for recipes. I'll leave it on split screen so we can have two apps open all the time and install the plugs with built in USB ports so it's always plugged in. There is a reason I'm not eager to get smart kitchen appliances.

Next up the barking. We checked and didn't see anything so we thought Bennie was just barking at bugs - ignoring that he doesn't bark at them, just stares. He barks at bigger things. I finally saw a vole being barked out of it's space so now we're getting them out of the back yard by spraying caster oil and dish soap. They've probably been collecting bird seed. Lots of birds have been passing through the yard as they migrate.

And Fall is definitely on the way as the days get so much shorter and the wind is cooler. This year we actually had a hot spell and we're hoping for at least a warm spell in September. THIS is when I'll notice the effects of the pandemic. I'm not going back to the gym to workout so I'm hoping the multiplex figures out how to broadcast live classes. We also really look forward to our holiday in March which is unlikely to happen. Oh well, maybe COVID-19 (or our behaviour) will evolve to be less contagious. Someone on social media suggested it could become like mononucleosis - always present but mostly asymptomatic.

Saturday 8 August 2020

Today is Ice Cream making day!

 I had asked for the ice cream making attachment for my KitchenAid a couple years ago. In true lazy fashion, I only got the bowl in the freezer this year and am finally going to make a 3 ingredient vegan recipe! I say 3 ingredient but I infused a can of coconut milk with a cardamon pod and bit of vanilla pod I had hanging around a drawer. Can't hurt right?

 

Friday 17 July 2020

Having an Aging Parent

Some people age slowly and some people struggle losing one ability at a time. If you're lucky you have agood family doctor. My dad has a good family doctor.
Dad and Bennie 2019
A few years ago Dad's doctor recommended he do an end of life plan. I went with him as you have to bring a family member to witness. Today I called to make sure it's on record. Dad just got out of hospital and went back in only a few days later.

Aging has not been fun for him. I don't see him often so I really notice hes changes. His hearing is still correctable using hearing aids but his vision is mostly gone. He's very negative (who can blame him) and anxious about all his loss of ability. Sad because he's a very social person. Once he stabilizes from this we'll get a plan in place to improve quality of life for him and his wife.

His family doctor is in total agreement. Don't wait for an event to find you and your doctor aren't on the same page.

Sunday 5 July 2020

Travel in a time of Pandemic



When my Dad was take by ambulance to the hospital with a cardiac event we had choices to make around traveling. 

One thing about traveling when COVID - 19 is it's so new. If you test positive away from home you have to isolate somewhere that isn't home. Even if you don't get sick enough for a hospital stay, where are you going to be stored, for an indefinite amount of time, while away from  home if you do get symptoms? A big consideration for us was if we got sick dad wouldn't be able to come home.

Since mid-March I've been in 5 stores with 3 of them being since late May. If I went alone that would mean flying since it's a 15 hour drive. If flying I would have an airport transit in a city that keeps having flare ups. In the en, we decided to drive. We did a ton of cooking, put our masks in the car, Bennie went to the kennel we were going to leave him at for our (canceled) trip to the Cook Islands, we had someone come check the house and water plants and we were off in the Macan.

PCM
Range at 3/4 tank
The trip out went smoothly and we got amazing gas mileage. We stopped twice for gas and once for a drive thru coffee (they wore masks and physical distancing was in place). We had made Vietnamese salad rolls for the trip and they were the perfect light food for long sitting periods. We used to leave super early but this time didn't leave until 8 am. We got in later but didn't start the trip fighting to wake up.

Once out there, we stayed in at my dad's, only saw his wife and went for walks in the rain. We knew we wouldn't be able to see Dad in hospital but wanted to be available if things took a turn for the worse. Fortunately, oxygen brought him around and he's booked for TAVI - he had been waiting for it but it's been bumped up. Once he had a date and wearing pyjamas instead of a gown - we went home. We'll go back in August if we don't have big (>50 that end up non-traceable) outbreaks here or out there and non-essential inter-provincial travel is allowed.

On the way back we ended up detouring down Hwy 93 because if a road washout just east of Jasper. Funny since we chatted about the Icefields Parkway on the way out. since neither of us had gone on it for decades (we've never been together and we've been married well over 30 years). It's a beautiful area even in the rain.

Last time I was by here ('82), the glacier was down to the road.
.
Snow was very close to the road - we're running 20" summer radials

Rocky Mountain House area. Crown land so free camping along the reservoir.

We got home to a lush yard between rain and warm weather. It's good to be home.



Monday 25 May 2020

Bennie turns 2!



I've said this a few times before but I think Bennie is grown up and it's been quite the journey. Adding Bennie to our home was like never having had a pup before. It had been so long and puppy training has changed so much - with our first cairn, Rufus, I training in the manner of Monks of New Skete. The only obedience exercise I didn't do well was the recall and that was because we didn't use treats.

Fast forward to Bennie and the more collaborative way of training. Where are we now? One thing identified early is Bennie is hesitant in new situations and his default is to bark. Lots. So I walk him at times there are fewer people around. Luckily he likes Cheerios so they're easy to carry. He heels when he's in familiar areas and he can be attentive even when just dragging his leash. Some days he's just wound up though so leash and quick walk it is.

I think Cairns are barky dogs so we've got someone who comes to the house to look after him if it's just a couple days. We had taken him to a local kennel for a test day and that's where he'll be going when we get to travel again.

He's certainly the most attached pup we've had. He really enjoys sitting with us but also has his spaces in the house. One thing I really appreciate is when we call his name, he comes to see what we want. The is is NEW experience for us with cairns. Not sure if it's because we're home all the time or if that's just the way he is. 

I think this is the way things will settle until he gets old. A long time in the future I hope.

Friday 15 May 2020

COVID-19 the reopening



It seems that in most provinces in Canada the curve has been flatten enough to start resuming some activities. Where I am, only the "extra" activities were really closed down. Construction and manufacturing (including oil production) stayed working. Travel, leisure based activities and health initiatives deemed less lifesaving were closed. Now it's time to decide how much I will participate; we are privileged in being retired so we have a lot of flexibility.

  • Leaving the house - we already shop at less busy time but I'm very uncomfortable going into stores right now. If I can't do curbside pickup, I will wear a cloth mask. I don't wear one outside because we can easily physically distance.

  • Domestic travel - this is pretty well by car. Once group meetings for 10 people are routine with no outbreaks in the area we would travel to, we'll probably make separate trips with 2 weeks at home in between to make sure we aren't carrying anything. August for the soonest I think.

  • International travel - unlikely until there is an understanding of long term effects of this disease along with medical interventions that would either the virus from infecting to any degree. This could be a vaccination or medication. Both would be preferable.

A lot of people seem very complacent about their risk and I can understand that. We go the the South Pacific where Dengue Fever is endemic; it's blood borne, there is no cure and it can be fatal but there are several controls that can be quite effective because it's known how it's transmitted - by mosquitoes. So reduce mosquito populations by minimizing standing water to, using coils (or even fans) to keep them away from areas and wear insect repellent. 

What do we know about SARS-CoV 2 in May 2020? It's airborne, there's no cure and it can be fatal. What's the viral load for infection? We don't know yet. How do we know we might be infected? A bunch of symptoms common to a lot of routine illness and some that are unusual and intermittent. What organs does it affect? We don't know all of it but at least lungs and heart in immuno-compromised people. Is there a full recovery? Seems like it. How long are you immune after you have it? We don't know yet. Can it come back in another form like chicken pox <->shingles? We don't know yet. 

I fully expect COVID-19 to become endemic. I will not get a vaccination if one is available in 2020 because I can self isolate and I don't think there will be enough time for a full health assessment. I am too old be be a guinea pig for health.

Sunday 10 May 2020

Review - 3 items


Hope you and yours are doing as well as possible as we come out of "Stay at Home" whatever that's meant for you.

Our spending habits didn't change too much but now that it's warmer out we can implement some of the changes. Blogger has changed so formatting for the pictures will be a bit different - oh well. Read ahead to see what I think of adjustable ring video doorbell mount, a silicon cookie sheet and the phone case I'm currently using.

Thursday 19 March 2020

COVID-19 edition with handy links! #cdnpoli

Liberated from Twitter
How are you doing?

As a retiree I'm used to not structuring my day around work; as a social person, I had found many IRL activities to replace going to work and they are now unavailable. The mixed blessing is the seasonal cold weather-gloves, scarves, and lack of people around make it easy for social distancingšŸ™‚I thought I would share how I'm staying positive.

Tuesday 3 March 2020

Bennie at 22 months

Bennie's been maturing but we're still expanding experiences and working on behaviour modification.

Saturday 15 February 2020

I work owww-t!

One of the Pluspora CheckIns I led, the QOTD was when did you first start to feel your age. I read an article that physical aging occurs in spurts. (I can't find the link) Mental or not, I did some different biceps with heavier weights and can barely move my arms 3 days later. What happened to 2 day recovery?!?

Thursday 13 February 2020

One year of solar - an update

It's been a year since the switch was flipped on our roof solar array. We were among the last to be able to access the solar panel rebate program funded by the Alberta Carbon Levy. We were permitted for a 4.8 kW microgeneration system.

Friday 7 February 2020

On going "Home"

Like many people who've moved away from where they grew up, I feel like I have two homes. One where I live and one where my family lives. Whether it's age, wealth or just that I was sick, I found I didn't fit any better with family than I do with the wider culture where I live. I've been home a couple days and feeling a lot better. I think I took a day to get all the cold and travel medicine out of my system.

Wednesday 22 January 2020

Mail from the Feds duh duh duhhhhšŸŽ¹

Two things form the bulk of my mail; fliers and official communication from the Federal government. This time it's from Service Canada and since I haven't put in for a passport renewal I was puzzled. Oh yeah, this year I turn 60 - not only a time for seniors discounts but early CPP application.

Tuesday 21 January 2020

MarioKart Tour - Cabin Fever saver

Nintendo fan here! I even stood in line for the Wii back in the day and we still have 2 DSs and a bunch of games around. We did a lot of Wii Fit and Wii sports nights with friends but the most fun was MarioKart. I was super pumped to see a mobile game come out and was not disappointed. For me, the free version has hit the sweet spot of rewards while punting you back to real-world responsibilities - like Bennie! So I was really surprised to read such a negative review from Engadget.

Each race is fairly short and you can only collect a certain amount of coins and experience points before hitting the daily cap. Rubies are doled out frequently enough that you get to use the pipe without paying and you can use tickets to level up to earn more points in a race. I usually hit a wall 3 days before a tour ends - if you don't keep collecting stars, new tracks don't open. Challenges are a good range of "keep playing" points and "do tasks" to earn extra stars and coins. New Tour = several open tracks.

You can play a long time without knowing all the ins and outs. I collected tickets for ages before really exploring the menu button and using them to upgrade karts, drivers and gliders. Game mechanics are good. I tend to keep my thumb on the screen all the time even though you don't need to and it can result in unintended motions. It's a drain on the phone battery but not too bad.

This is a freemium game; you can purchase rubies and play packages as well as a monthly subscription. Coming soon is a multi-player mode which I'm meh about. I suppose for people used to countless hours playing games, this game wouldn't be appealing but for a casual gamer like myself, it's a nice break with firm disengagement opportunities.

Tuesday 14 January 2020

First cold week of Winter.

This was the first really cold week this winter. It's been so cold that Bennie doesn't spend time outside other than potty break. Once again, the storm door on the kitchen entrance makes a huge difference as we aren't getting a gust of cold air when Bennie goes in and out and there isn't a big ice build up on the window in the door.

Wednesday 8 January 2020

Wow 2020!

January and days are already getting longer. It's surprising how quickly the angle of the sun changes at this time of year. Maybe all the more noticeable because November and December are low light months. I'm not into NY resolutions but I was going to try to do the Year Compass instead I thought I'd do a look back and...change the name of the blog (with the same intermittent postingšŸ˜)