Kevin's Ramblings…

So, I joined a slo-pitch league here in Crowsnest Pass. We got together a few weeks ago to see what players were interested and what not. I am playing on a team with my former neighbour, so I know someone anyway. When I was in Calgary for Hera’s vet appointment last week, I stopped in at Tuxedo Source for Sports and bought myself a glove. All I had was a first basemen’s glove, which would be fine, if I was playing first, and I doubt anyone would complain if I used it elsewhere, but I decided to get a new glove. It was pretty well worked in, not a bad glove at all, a Mizuno.

We got rained out last Thursday, all day rain day pretty well. It was rescheduled for last night. Game time was 630pm. I left the house with plenty of time and headed towards the diamonds, about 10km east of where I live.

Half way there, I discovered that I had forgotten something that is needed when playing slo-pitch – my glove. Sigh. I turned around home to get it. When I arrived, my dogs thought that I was back, of course. No, I am just forgetful, you know that. LOL

They got another biscuit each when I left, again, this time with my glove. It’s now in the truck, so I can’t forget it next time.

I arrived right before 630. Typically, I would arrive early, I am always early. Our game was well attended by both teams, better than the 6 players total who showed up for the other game. The guy who runs our team put me at second base – a great choice for me. My throwing arm and shoulder are pretty well done from all the batting practice I threw when coaching in Babe Ruth, I can make the throw from second to first, most of the time.

I was comfortable, made a few plays. It felt good. Batting? Well, that’s something else. I coached baseball for 20+ years and I tell ya, I am not used to the ball coming in at the angle it does. I am sure I will get used to it, but it will take a while. I think I will hit the batting cages the next time I am in Calgary, much needed practice.

I did get on base a couple of times, hit into fielders’ choice a few times – all in all, not horrible. Please note, I have never played slo-pitch. It will get better.

We had an extra player on the bench so she and I swapped, she went into second base. A few innings later, one person had to leave, so I was put out in the field, rover position. Thanks, just what I love, outfield. It wasn’t horrible, but I was. I am sure I will get better there as well, it’s early.

This morning, I am stiff. I am sitting at my computer desk with my Obusform back massager working its magic with heat and massage. It feels great, loosening up my stiff back. Nothing to do with my neck at the moment, but it isn’t horrible. I am sure my arm and shoulder will be sore later on.

I have no idea when our next outing is, I hope it’s not Thursday, that’s not enough recovery time.

Today was really a day of nothingness. I’ve had them before, but today was something else.

I was woken shortly after 2am by Twix, my pitbull, falling off of the bed in a heap. I immediately got up to ensure she was ok, she was. Hera even came into the room to investigate.

Well, I tried to go back to sleep, but it didn’t work. I got out of bed around 3, let the dogs out and fed them, and decided to finish my movie from the night before. I had started watching the second of The Matrix movies. I had about another hour to go.

I found a great recipe for a coffee smoothie and made one of those. I had previously brewed a pot of French vanilla hazelnut coffee, it’s amazing, and made ice cubes out of it. Ten of those, some milk, a banana, a spoonful of natural peanut butter, some chocolate and blended in my Ninja blender until smooth. So good.

Around 6, I decided to go back to bed. We’ll call it nap number one. I slept until almost 9. I puttered about, not really doing much and had a second nap at 1130. When I got up, I was still feeling tired, no idea why though and had a 3rd nap in the afternoon.

So, you can see why it was a day of pure nothingness. My only accomplishment was the smoothie.

I watched TV for the evening, a mixture of old sitcoms and the 3rd Matrix movie. I’m just about to go to bed, 1145pm.

I hope to accomplish more tomorrow, I couldn’t accomplish less, even if I wanted to.

My friend, California #1, is a fan of the Cincinnati Reds, I don’t recall why, but we all love whatever teams we love, I suppose, and most of us are loyal, to a fault. My main team is the Colorado Rockies. On that, I am not sure why, but I have been since the early 2000s sometime.

Anyway, California #1 and I have a season series bet going on the Reds/Rockies. It was $1 per game, so, the stakes aren’t what I would call high. As a bonus to me, if I win, he pays me in USD and if I win, I pay him in CDN. Good deal, right? Well, perhaps, except that the Rockies are really, really struggling this year.

I owed him $1 already, I believe it was a huge football bet, I don’t remember, so I started behind the eight ball. The teams have already played a 4-game series in Colorado, which they split 2-2, so that evened out and I still owe that $1.

The series has now moved to Cincinnati this weekend, the first game was yesterday. The Rockies just came from Miami and they actually beat the Marlins on the road, it was their 3rd road win (might have been 4 but I am pretty sure it was 3), so, last night, playing on the road, going for back-to-back road wins, I didn’t think they stood that much of a chance, so, I didn’t turn the game on.

I was napping actually. When I looked, it was the 5th inning and the Rockies were down 8-0. How nice… I am glad I didn’t turn the game on, as it would have been turned off with a score like that. It finished as an 11-5 final, I think, meaning that I now owe $2.

California #1 wants a loonie and a toonie – the names that we’ve given to the $1 and $2 coins. Originally, he was trash-talking about the Rockies losing all of the games in the series (7) plus the $1 I owed him for a total of $8, he wanted one of our blue $5 bills, plus the loonie and toonie. Well, the Rockies might suck, but they’ve been decent at home, they actually have a winning record.

There is an afternoon game today which I will turn on – how long it stays on depends on how well they do, of course. I might be down $3 after today, might just owe that $1, but, winning road games so close together seems unlikely. I’d bet that he’s going to see his toonie and loonie when it’s all said and done after tomorrow.

Today, I am making banana bread French toast for the neighbour and her BF. It’s amazing, if you’ve never tried it. Should be a good day. Well, until baseball starts, I suppose.

Yesterday was a stay at home type of day. It was gray and cloudy and we had rain on and off and heavy at times. Thursdays are also market day in Blairmore, so I did head out in the afternoon (after a great nap) to get some baked goods. Another week inside and then the market heads outside to the park it’s normally in.

I am thinking they are going to try to make people wear masks outside and I don’t think it’s going to go over too well. I could be wrong, they may not be totally insane, but I have a feeling. I can assure you, I will not be wearing a mask outside and I will attend the market – they can go to hell if they think most people (and vendors) will wear a mask outside. 🙂

I started watching the Astros at the Red Sox game shortly after 5. Grienke was pitching and I enjoy seeing him pitch. He wasn’t on last night, none of the pitchers were, from either team. I turned the game off in the 5th inning, I think it was. It was sloppy, ugly baseball, similar to watching a crappy house league game. Nope, no thanks. The Astros did end up losing as well, so I am glad I turned it off, it was painful. I did not turn the Rockies game on. They won the previous night on the road and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they would not be able to win 2 games in a row on the road. I was correct, they got hammered. I think they’ve won a total of 3 road games this season. Not a great record, by any means.

So, I watched some Modern Family on Netflix. I am catching up on episodes that I have never seen. Love the show, great writing, good acting and characters who are believably.

Well, it’s Friday, end of the work-week. Enjoy the weekend.

Yesterday was house cleaning day. I don’t clean the house myself, I have a cleaner come in, typically every 2-3 weeks. I hate washing floors, cleaning bathrooms and dusting. I typically get a fair amount done around the house when she’s here, it’s great, yesterday was no exception.

I have been here for almost 2 years now, love the house and have no intention of leaving any time soon. I have finally put various pictures and what not up on the walls. I have a Doctorate in Procrastination, so, I had to take advantage of that and not get it done in ages. Why? No idea. It looks good in here anyway.

I made breakfast for us – just something nice that I do. Home fries (although they call them hash browns in Alberta and make fun of me calling them home fries), scrambled eggs and bacon with rye toast, along with French vanilla / hazelnut coffee that is amazing. We were both absolutely stuffed. I wasn’t hungry until after 8pm last night.

So, the house is nice and clean and things are setup the way that I like them.

Blondie ate Hera’s bowl of food with the pain medication on it. I have trained the dogs NOT to eat out of each others dishes, but, I guess the smell/taste of the pain meds was too much to resist, it’s apparently honey flavour. I called the vet to ensure Blondie would be OK and yes, no harm, except to Hera who doesn’t get her pain meds.

I watched the Astros / Red Sox game, second of a 3-game set and the Astros hammered the Sox, again. Good to see and, of course, I trolled my few Red Sox friends. They finish off the series tonight. The Rockies won a rare road game and beat the Marlins 4-3, I was happy to see they held the lead and won, happy and surprised.

Not too much else going on, we’ve had rainy weather the last few days and it is pouring this morning. No walks today, I suppose. I am supposed to play slo-pitch tonight as well, I presume that may get rained out, depending on how long it rains and how much we get. The ground is pretty dry so it may soak in quickly. I have recovered from last week anyway, feel good. I bought a new glove for it on Tuesday, so I am looking forward to using it.

Well, the week is more than half way done, enjoy.

Early yesterday morning, Hera and I loaded up into The Beast to head to Calgary for her vet appointment. Blondie and Twix were not overly impressed that I was going somewhere with only Hera, but it is just far easier to take one dog when only one dog is having an appointment.

It was raining lightly, but it was supposed to clear by afternoon. So, we headed out. As I got down the street, I went to turn the windshield wipers on, as looking through beveled glass or something, they did not turn on. No motor sounds, nothing. Hmmmm…

Well, I knew I could not drive to Calgary like this, that would not work, so we went around the block and returned home. I guess Hera was going to get one last ride in the truck. She seemed confused that I wanted her to get out of the car, but she obliged and followed me to the truck and happily jumped in. Off we went.

I will add, that when I purchased the car, I did have a safety check done. It wasn’t needed necessarily for registering the car, but I wanted it for peace of mind. No note about the wipers not working and when I test drove it, I didn’t think to try the wipers – it was a warm and clear day. Anyway, I have a buddy who’s a mechanic so he will take a look – it may be something as simply as a fuse.

So, Hera and I headed to Calgary. It was a good drive. We arrived at the Vet and I went to go in, door is locked. Now, when the dogs went for their annual check-up back in November, there was a recording when you called the clinic and the people on the phone made it clear that due to “covid” protocols, they were not allowing owners in the clinic. OK, I accepted it back then, we were in the middle of the “scamdemic”.

This time around, there was no recording, no mention from the receptionist and no notice on the door of the clinic, other than to call them when you arrive. I was not please, to say the least. I want to be present when my dog is being examined. I called, and let the receptionist know that I wasn’t happy and wanted the owner of the clinic (my regular vet) to call me when he was back (hopefully today). I let them take Hera in, grudgingly, I wasn’t going to go all the way to Calgary and not have her checked out.

I did send an email to the owner of the clinic though, outlining my concerns and letting him know that I am strongly considering not returning. I understand being safe, but I believe this is overboard. With proper questions to clients, I think their risk is low, to say the least.

So, I expect to get a call back today at some point – I want to get his side of things before I make any decisions.

Anyway, the vet who looked at Hera called me to talk about her findings. She believes Hera has a tear in a ligament in her knee. It might be a sprain, but, there is movement in the knee that should not be there. They did blood-work so that they’d know if she had any kidney or liver issues that might cause issues with the pain meds they wanted to put her on. No issues there.

If it is a tear, Hera will need surgery. It’s not cheap, about $3500. I can get it cheaper in Montana, so, that will depend on when the US border opens. The next step is to sedate Hera so that they can do x-rays / MRI to verify it’s a tear. If she’s not better in two weeks, we will need to proceed with that. If she’s stopped limping then we will assume it was a strain – I am hopeful. The worst case scenario, that I don’t even want to comprehend, is that it could be cancer. I will cross that road, should I ever come to it, but I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that.

So, Hera is on pain meds, she’s comfortable. I need to keep her quiet, no running around, walks on leash only. She will complain a bit when her sisters are running free and she isn’t, but, it’s for her own good, not that she will understand that.

Please send Hera your well wishes, she can use them. So can I. Thanks.

I went skeet shooting yesterday in Kananaskis, just off of Highway 532, off of Highway 22 in Southern Alberta. It was a perfect day for it really, 12C and cloudy. We did have a tiny bit of rain, but not enough to put a damper on anything.

I don’t, as yet, have my PAL so my buddy picked up shells for me to use. I have scheduled my course for August after I return from Ontario. It will likely take a few months to come in, so, I presume I will have it for early 2022.

I am a pretty good shot, the shotgun holds 5 shells and I typically hit 3 or 4 out of 5 shots. Not bad for someone who doesn’t regularly do this. The shells are 250 for $90, so it’s not an overly expensive hobby. Of course, once I buy a gun, the price will go up. For now, I can borrow which is great.

I headed home after about 4 hours, it was a good outing. It’s only an hour drive from home, about the same time that it takes the guys to get there from Calgary.

I discovered that Modern Family is available on Netflix and watched it starting from the beginning. I have not seen most of the episodes, so this is all new to me. The writing is great, I am going to enjoy it over the next few weeks/months. I also, finally, had someone come over and cut my grass and do the weed whacking. I have spoken to so many people who have said they can do it, then they back out for whatever reason. Well, he actually showed up and it took him about an hour – did a great job too, the yard looks great. Nice to have it done. I will continue to use this guy for sure. I simply posted another ad on the local Crowsnest Pass page on Facebook and this guys girlfriend responded. Well, it’s done and he’ll continue doing it this summer. I hate, absolutely hate, yard work, so this will work well.

I went to bed early, 9pm and didn’t get up until 6am this morning – I must have needed it. I did wake up a few times, but basically slept about 8 hours. Not bad at all.

Tomorrow, Hera and I are heading to Calgary at 730 for a 10am vet appointment. She is still limping, she did something to her leg and it isn’t going away on it’s own so I want to ensure there is nothing wrong. She doesn’t appear to be in pain anyway, so that’s good. I will leave Blondie and Twix at home and have Crowsnest Pet Care let them out around noon. I suspect that we will be home by 1pm or so – presuming I don’t do any running around in Calgary. We will be taking the Beast of a car, so it will be my first longer trip in it. I need to remember to bring CDs since I don’t know exactly how the radio works in it – gotta figure that out, one of these days.

Here’s to a good week for us all.

Saturday was really a day of nothingness.

I was woken earlier than I wanted to get up seeing as I didn’t go to bed on Friday night until nearly midnight, which is WAY past my bedtime. I was woken to the sound of Hera, my German Shepherd, puking. For those who have dogs, you will know this is a sound that wakes you up completely and instantly.

So, out to the living room I go and let the dogs out. Hera was nice enough to puke on the couch, good thing it’s leather. A quick clean-up and all is well. Poor Hera, no idea why she puked but there wasn’t anything weird in it at least.

I puttered around the house not doing a lot, this and that on the computer, drinking coffee, eating cereal, a typical Saturday morning perhaps. I decided to go for a nap around 10:30 or so and slept really well for nearly 3 hours. That is an epic nap. I wanted to watch the Astros/Jays game and remembered that I had signed up for a VPN account with PureVPN and I could use that to allow MLB.tv to show me the otherwise blacked-out Jays.

On Friday, the Astros hammered the Jays 13-1 and on Saturday, I think the Jays wanted some revenge and they got it, the final was 6-1, I turned the game off when it was 5-0, I figure it was not the Astros day. The Rockies played in the evening, it’s rarely their day, they lost to the A’s for the second straight day. I did not watch.

I recently subscribed to Netflix, again, and this time around, the selection looks to be far better than it was 2 years ago (or so) when I last subscribed. I watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, although I have seen it numerous times before. Good movie, I recall that I saw it in the theatre way back in 1986 when I was visiting Chilliwack, BC with my Mom, brother and sister in law, my brother and I went, one of the few things we’ve ever done together.

I went to bed at 9, I was tired, even though I had an epic nap. Such is life, I suppose.

Today, I am leaving around 9am to head out with some buddies to do some skeet shooting. We last went in February, so todays weather should be better. It’s supposed to be cloudy but no rain and temps in the low teens. I can handle that (for any American readers, that would be low 50s F). I was impressed the last time with my shooting, I was hitting about 4 out of 5 skeets. I plan on getting my PAL this year some time and then buying a shotgun so I don’t have to borrow my buddies all the time and get him to buy ammo for me, and then store the ammo for me – I am sure he will appreciate it as well.

Enjoy the day.

I didn’t wake up until after 6am yesterday, which is rather odd to say the least since I normally wake up between 3am-4am lately. It was sort of nice to sleep in. I know most people would not consider 6am sleeping in, but, believe me, it was.

I was a bit sore from slo-pitch on Thursday night. I have an Obusform back massager on my chair, it does wonders. I hurt my back way back when I was 24 and have been careful with my back ever since. I have not (knock on wood) had a back flair-up in about 6 years now, which is great. I am sure the massager helps.

Yesterday was more of a laid back day. I did make a run to the dump. I had to dispose of a bed frame that I purchased, sight-unseen. I etransferred the money to the seller before I saw it, I was going to have a friend pick it up for me and hold onto it until the next time I was in Calgary. I had forgotten that he has a “play truck” with a very small bed, it wouldn’t fit, the seller said she’d hold it until the following Thursday when I was supposed to be in Calgary. I pushed my trip up since the weather forecast was calling for bad weather that Thursday, so on the Sunday, I loaded the dogs into the truck and we headed to Calgary.

As soon as I saw the frame, I should have told her to use the $25 I sent her and dispose of the bed, it was really cheaply made, but, I figured I could fix the end slats and headboard slats that had come off and make use of the bed. When I got it home and unloaded it, more slats came off and part of the headboard broke – it was REALLY cheaply made, particle board and cheap at that.

Anyway, at that time, I knew I was not going to be able to use it and it’s sat outside since. Well, it’s now at the dump, where it belonged all along.

I also stopped at Back Country Butchers in Cowley. Texas Twinkies were freshly made and I bought some for myself and some for my neighbour. A Texas Twinkie is a chicken breast stuffed with a cream cheese stuffed jalapeno pepper all wrapped in bacon. They are really good and they are really big. One is definitely a meal.

My last stop for the day was Canadian Tire in Fernie, BC. It’s always a nice drive there, a neighbour joined me but she could not find what she was looking for. I returned a drill that I didn’t end up needing.

I started watching the Rockies game, the Astros were also playing, but were playing in Buffalo (against the Jays) so I could not watch since Jays games are blacked out on MLB.tv in Canada, that makes sense, doesn’t it? I turned off the Rockies game pretty early, when they were down 5-0 – I don’t recall what the final was, but it was a loss. It was against the AL West leading A’s though, so I am not surprised they lost. They’ve been doing a fair amount of that.

I watched a movie that came highly recommended instead. A Fistful of Dollars staring Clint Eastwood, from the late 60’s. I watched it because it was Clint who is one of my favourite actors and directors, but wow, it was a bad movie. The lines were awful, dubbing was pathetic and the acting was awful – but it was the 60’s. There were no special effects, at all and I would guess it was made with about a $40 budget. Oh well, I suppose I survived. It is one in a series of movies that includes For a Few More Dollars and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. I am not sure if I will watch the next two, I am sure they will be painful, but I might. Sorry, Clint, not your best work. LOL

After that, I was scrolling through Netflix and saw a movie that I had heard nothing but bad things about. Based on Stephen King’s series, The Dark Tower, I decided to give it a go, even though the reviews were bad. Once you accept that it does not follow the books (there were 7 books in total, how can a 90 minute movie possibly follow 7 books?), it was actually quite good. Lots of action and references to the original books for sure, I really enjoyed it, as a stand-alone film. I would still love to see someone do a mini-series and more closely follow the book series, but I am sure that would cost a small fortune. I am glad I watched it, one of the better movies I have seen recently.

I remember reading that the choice for Roland, the Gunslinger was not right – in the book, Roland was a middle-aged white guy, and it was important that he was white as there were references to that in the second book of the series. In the movie, Idris Elba was the lead character of Roland, a black dude that I had never heard of before and he was excellent in the role. His being black did not have any bearing on this movie, at all and he did a great job. The other main character, Jake Chambers was played by a young British actor, Tom Taylor – he did a great job as well, I had also not heard of this actor. All in all, it was a great stand-alone movie, just don’t expect it to follow the books and you’ll be fine, I am not sure why it was so negatively received. It ended in such a way that a sequel, or series of movies could follow, but, unfortunately, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I think initially, they were going to make more, but, people are fickle, I suppose. Now, Tom Taylor is 4 or 5 years older and would be tough for him to play a 14 year old… Still, I hope someone tackles a mini-series, it would be great.

The day ended late, after 11:30 and I was still awake by midnight, although not much after that time. For some reason, I still woke up at 4am and dog-puking sounds made me get up all that much quicker. That’s what I like doing, first thing on a Saturday morning, cleaning up dog puke. Poor Hera… She seems fine now, so who knows.

Well, hopefully your Saturday didn’t start with dog puke and hopefully it doesn’t involve it at all – enjoy the day.

My former neighbour posted on one of the Facebook groups I follow about slo-pitch in Crowsnest Pass. I have never played slo-pitch before, but I figured it would be a great way to meet some people this coming summer, so I went out last night.

I did ask before going if there’d be people my age(ish), as I didn’t really want to play with a group of 20-somethings. He assured me that there would be a few, so that was good. It was a mixture of young and middle-aged players. It was a good time.

I missed one easy pop-up on the infield when I was playing second base. I will blame the wind, and believe me, it is windy in the pass. Anyway, I redeemed myself in the outfield by making 2 catches on two balls hit to me. I don’t know who would want to play outfield though, way too much running.

I’d like to apologize to any players who I’ve put into the outfield and hate it – I don’t blame you. LOL

I am definitely not used to a ball coming in on the angle that it does – it’s slow, hence the name slo-pitch. I had a few weak hits, one ball left the infield. I am sure I will improve, with time.

I am a bit sore this morning. My legs are sore, I am not used to that much running. My arm and shoulder are a bit sore, but I will pretty careful as I didn’t want to further hurt my shoulder. My back is sore too, I am currently using my back massager. It seems great.

We go out again next Thursday, I am hopeful that I will recover (fully) by then.