Are we having fun yet?

Carroll, Grandpa, Jean and Pieter.  We are having fun in spite of our muscles feeling like old dried out leather strips suddenly asked to stretch.  Last week Pieter and I went bowling.  This week, after the muscles in the back of our legs recovered, the "girls" joined us.  We played five pin because the balls is much smaller and therefore lighter.  Took us awhile to discover the sweet spot that gives strikes.  I expect it will take much longer to get the ball to that exact spot with any kind of regularity.

Bowling used to be a popular sport.  Judging by the empty lanes on this Friday afternoon, and the greatly reduced times of seeing bowling on TV, I conclude bowling needs a revival.   Carroll and I bowled in a league in our early marriage days.  Pieter and Jean both bowled with teams from work.  Cost is a factor today, like $48 for four persons for two games, including shoes.  As previously noted, the exercise is good.  The game also provided us a different social interaction as it's good to get out together.

Notice I haven't said anything about scores.  After throwing our first few balls, we decided that we came for fun and not to get uptight about every gutter ball.  When our scores can withstand scrutiny then they will be available for publication.  I can divulge that Pieter had the very respectable high score of 194, and   we all bowled strike(s).

What's to learn in this little outing?  Repeating activities from the past can bring back memories of good times.  Social activities improve the mind and the spirit.  If you haven't used a muscle lately, it hurts the next day, but with persistence, that muscle quickly regains its elasticity and serves its purpose.  What part of your body has lost its elasticity and purpose: mind, muscle, spirit, social, creative or emotional?  Have a merry tune-up and enjoy giving the abounding love of Valentine's Day.

2 writing courses

Sunday, August 26, 2018

After a long hiatus, I've decided to try blogging again. I'll still include photos of family and what we're doing, but my focus will be more on what I'm doing with my life and the wisdom men of my age are supposed to have.

Carroll and I stayed at the apartment of Amelia and Quoc for two nights this past week. Rebecca and John joined us. Between the end of a delicious dinner and Quoc's birthday cake, we went for a walk. I had fun walking in the middle of First Avenue East, the main highway link into downtown Vancouver. Normally this road keeps four lanes filled with noisy trucks and cars but not while a pipeline was replaced and the street repaved. Neighbours are planning a lunch party the next day with tables down the middle of this thoroughfare.

Perhaps time away from home with family makes it easier for me to share an insight that has been growing recently. Back home, I'm faced with my reality of personal weaknesses.

We all make mistakes and choices that bring sorrow and regret. That's a given in this world of ours. I tend towards discouragement when frustration sets in, usually with myself and my weaknesses. While I'm working on those weaknesses I like the thought I read recently that more important than failure is how we react to failure. The suggestion was made that we try to jump from failure to failure with enthusiasm, not discouragement. When I get blocked in my desires I tend to shut down and do nothing, like watch TV. I'm not happy when I'm doing nothing. So what to do?

One of my strengths is persistence; so I keep trying. What I'm trying to change is to quit letting weaknesses stop me from enjoying life. Example, when I can't get my computer program to do what I need, instead of getting all frustrated, go on to something different, knowing that I'll come back to it tomorrow with a fresh perspective--like checking the help feature. That something different can be fun or easy, time with other people or a different task I know I can accomplish without frustration.

So I don't give up but accept that I'm not going to succeed on this task right now. I go on to something else where I can generate a feeling of enjoyment or accomplishment. Then I'm likely to get back to the difficult task sooner without getting all frustrated. Life is simple and it's complicated. I have more to say about happiness--later.

Expensive homes

The Demographia International Housing Affordability Study was released Jan. 25th.  It confirmed that homes here and in Vancouver are too expensive for an ordinary family to buy.  In all the world, only Hong Kong has more expensive housing than Vancouver.  Some median house prices are listed as:  Vancouver - $678,500; Abbotsford - $443,700; Victoria - $417,300; Kelowna - 385,100; Toronto - $406,400; Saskatoon - $274,700; and Calgary - $353,700.  The writers of this report use this information to argue against restrictions on land use; saying that prices are down in places like Atlanta and Houston because they have less intrusive policies on land use.

If you are interested in economic policies, I recommend you check out Jay's blog, The Seen and the Unseen, at:  http://www.theseenandtheunseen.com/

Doesn't look like any of my children are buying a first-time home any time soon.  Sorry.  I have always thought that the best investment Mom and I ever made was the purchase of our home (except for our children of course).  We always put a higher percentage of our income into our home than we needed to because we thought owning our own home was so important.  It worked for us but these days I don't know if the rules have changed or not.

On a closely related topic, I attended a meeting at our local library (organized by the Friends of the Library to which we belong) where I listened to Carl Zanon who told us how to go on line to find the bcassessment.ca site where we could compare our recently mailed property assessments to those of our neighbours.  Not every property is fairly assessed.  Gratefully our property, assessed below our local median, is in the lower range of our neighbours.  Another way to compare is in how much our assessment changes in comparison to others.  Locally, the assessments have gone down in value an average of 2%.  Ours went down 5%, so that is good for us too--as long as we aren't selling, and we aren't.

My bit of wisdom: Be patient and watch closely.  Like anything else, prudent use of money, money management, or wise purchases, all take effort to research and sort out.  Decisions require more wisdom than most of us have so ask for help from others, and in the end ask Heavenly Father.