July 28

July has been a good month.  I had the pleasure of attending my cousin's son's wedding on July 5.  Before the wedding, I went to Tisdale to pick up my mom so she could attend.  At 91, she still loves to be involved in family gatherings and, of course, she is always a hit just because of her presence.  My brother, Vince, and his wife, Loretta, were also staying at my place on the wedding weekend.  I have truly been blessed in the last two years to spend more time with Vince than I have in my entire life.  You see, my gal, lives in White City, near Regina; therefore, I get to see Vince and his family on a regular basis.  Vince is truly a family treasure.  He totally invests himself in his marriage, in the lives of his grandchildren/great grandchildren, his siblings, and the life of my mother.  Vince is the grandpa who is always on call for his children's/grandchildren's/great grandchildren's/mother's needs. If they need someone to take their cat to the vet, Vince is there.  If they need a babysitter, Vince is there.  If mom needs a toilet brush, Vince is there.  Whatever the need, Vince is there and he never complains about helping out wherever there is a need.  At 70 years of age, Vince still works 3 days a week at a post retirement job.  He calls Mom everyday just to make sure she is okay and to give her news about his granddaughter's cat, Lucky.  If there is a family gathering, Vince is the one playing with the kids.  When Dad died in 2013, Vince became the new family patriarch and he fills the role well, keeping track of all the nephews and nieces.  I know my girls appreciate Vince more than he will ever know.  He texts Haley regularly to get her opinion on the Roughriders and he stays in touch with Mary to hear about the latest Luv Bug news.  In his own unassuming way, he makes a big difference in may people's lives.  It goes without saying, that I appreciate all my siblings.  I am grateful for every last screwed up, sarcastic, quirky, imperfect, grouchy, bossy, one of them.  But I digress... On July 12, I attended Craven for the first time in my life.  What a spectacle! I got to see Meaghan Patrick, Gord Bamford, Lonestar, and Jake Owen.  Twas a great day.  I behaved, but I did get to yell my usual standard..."More Cowbells!!"  For the rest of July, I have been busy playing ball, golfing, maintaining the yard, and spending time at the lake with my crew.  Dustin and Haley have a new wake/surf boat where we have spent many enjoyable hours on Memorial Lake.  I actually get to sleep in a place other than the shed now that Haley and Dustin have a cabin.  I have also had the opportunity to spend ample time with my Luv Bug.  She is motoring around now with ease.  She has learned to bum scoot down stairs and climb onto furniture.  She is learning new words everyday.  One of her favourite words is "Pieces", the name of Haley and Dustin's female dog.  Luvisa generalizes the name, "Pieces", to any four legged beast.  The teeth are continuing to appear regularly so she has her days when she is a bit out of sorts, but overall, she is a contented child.  This is, of course, a credit to Mary and Morgan's parenting.  I spent last week at the lake with Mary and Luvisa.  Because of teething, The Bug was up during the night crying because of teething discomfort.  I was amazed and thankful for Mary's calm demeanour as she quietly soothed Luvisa with a comforting voice until the baby fell asleep again.  Luv's hair is coming in red as red hair can be.  Sometimes she has all the feistiness unfairly associated with red heads; however, she usually does have her Grandpa Alvin's calm nature. Ha!  Everyone asks where the red hair comes from and the answers is: my mom.  This is a great source of pride for Mom.  On the horizon for the next few weeks is a week at the lake with my crew and a date with Garth Brooks on August 9. Until then....

July 4

As always ... a great day to be alive.  Life is good here.  I haven't been playing much hockey this month.  Seems criminal to be in a cold rink when the sun is shining brightly.  I have been concentrating on playing ball Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  What a great bunch of people!  Whatever the age, be it 60 or 85, everyone goes out and plays their best with differing degrees of success.  Some of the best players are in their 70s and 80s.  They are my true heroes.  As much as I love what Kawhi did for the Raptors, I have more admiration for the old guys and gals who stay active well into their golden years.  The main thing is they have fun and support one another.
The highlights of June were camping in the Cypress Hills (Alberta side) with my gal.  We were tenting just like in the old days.  One night, the temperature dropped to 2 degrees.  It was frosty!  Other highlights for the month of June were:
1.  I made a cameo appearance at Dalmeny High School Grad.  I accompanied the guest speaker on ukulele.  The students were hoping I would lead "Going on a Lion Hunt" one more time.
2.  I went to Tisdale on June 4 to bring my mom into Saskatoon for a wedding.  My brother and his wife were also at my place for the wedding weekend.  Time spent with family becomes more precious than ever as I get older.
My plans for the rest of July is to spend time at the lake with my crew.  My gal and I plan on taking in a couple of music events including Garth Brooks in August.  I may also join three old Kelvington buddies for a golf weekend in Ontario.  That's all for now.