Not a lot going on around here… just wondering when winter will end and spring begin; and it’s May already!! We have tried to do yard work but it’s nearly impossible under these weather conditions - most days very cold and windy ☹ . We have seen lows of 0 C and winds gusting to 100 kph. The grass is nice and green, the trees have started budding, and I am still having to wear a parka when I go out to walk Doug the Dog!!. Hopefully soon it will warm up and we can get around to cleaning up the yard and planting some flowers, etc. . …And 3 months today will be our cruise to Alaska… that should be fun!! Nothing like going to Alaska for a cruise after freezing our butts off for the last 6 months!! We would like to change to somewhere warmer… and we don’t really feel comfortable with going to the U.S. with all the tariff and immigration problems going on… but we are constrained to that week in August and haven’t found any substitutes yet ☹.
The ceasefire that Donald Trump is trying to broker is a joke. While Ukraine has agreed to the terms set out by the U.S. Russia keeps asking for impossible amendments to the treaty. Now Russia in a cynical attempt for peace wants a 3 day ceasefire over their Victory Day celebrations that begin on May 9th. Putin has no intention of acceding to any ceasefire; he will say that any violations of the ceasefire were caused by Ukraine. Putin’s ‘parade ceasefire’ is a farce: there have been 734 attacks in the last 12 hours. Poland, and the Baltic States are still expecting an invasion in September of this year – probably in one of the smaller states in order for Russia to assess the reaction of Nato Countries to Article 5 ☹. Germany is planning for Russia to conduct a full scale attack of Europe within the next five years. Let’s forecast for WW III. Meanwhile, Ukraine has had some success in destroying military targets in Russia … and in the last couple of days they have attacked Moscow with drones, as well as destroying radar systems in Kursk and Crimea. Speaking of drones, Ukrainian naval drone boats downed two Su-30 fighter jets in the Black Sea last week – this is the first time ever that a drone boat has destroyed aircraft using AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.
President Donald Trump continues to terrorize the world with his tariffs. He imposes super high tariffs one day…. And the next will change his mind. His latest foray is imposing a 100% tariff on films not made in the U.S. . This could potentially devastate the Canadian film industry. But then again, even the so-called ‘experts’ have no idea how this tariff could be implemented as how would you determine the American content of each film? In other Trump news ….. ah, forget it – it’s impossible to keep up with the idiotic antics of this clown…yes, I said it – the President of the United States is a clown ….and all he’s doing is making the lives of millions of workers miserable.
The Canadian election was held on April 28. The Liberals, under Mark Carney, won 169 seats – 3 shy of gaining a majority. Both the leaders of the NDP and the Progressive Conservative parties failed to win their seats. Singh of the NDP is stepping down as leader while Polievre of the PCs will be running in another election in Alberta where the recent winner is stepping down to allow Polievre to gain a seat in Parliament. Even if Polievre wins he probably won’t be able to take his seat until September. Without a seat he is unable to debate in the House of Commons on any matter. Mark Carney is doing a great job as the new prime minister…. And in a recent meeting with Trump of the U.S. didn’t back down and held his ground on tariffs and Canada becoming the U.S. 51st state.
The ceasefire of the war in the Middle East that started Jan 15 is still ongoing – sometimes ☹. Israel has destroyed 80 % of Rafah as they expand the Gaza offensive. They have also approved a plan to ‘capture’ Gaza – this will displace most Palestinians still living there. The latest Israeli air strike against Gaza resulted in the death of at least 92 people ☹.
In a new development in Asia India and Pakistan are on the brink of war following the death of at least 26 tourists last month in Kashmir – a region that is administered by both the Indians and Pakistanis. This past Wednesday India retaliated by firing missiles into the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Pakistan-run Kashmir killing at least 26 people in what Pakistan is calling an act of war. The situation threatens to escalate rapidly – both countries have nuclear weapons which could prove a little problematic.
Pope Francis died on Easter Sunday… just hours after celebrating the mass from his balcony. The College of Cardinals are currently in Conclave to determine who the next pope will be.
Update: Cardinal Robert Prevost of the U.S. has been chosen as the new pope.
As we have been home all month since the last cruise a lot of home cooking has been going on – new recipes and old ones - Chicken Curries; Smoked Meat and Chicken Paninis; Smoked Bacon Wrapped Meat Loaf; Steaks; hamburgers; sausages with gravy and mashed potatoes; Beef Rendang; Sweet and Sour Pork with Pineapple; Homemade Meatball Subs; Poulet au Porto (a Julia Child recipe); and many others 😊
On the Netflix front: We have been watching several seasons and episodes of ‘Black Mirror’, a British sci-fi horror series. Half the episodes are amazing and intriguing stories; the other half are mehhhhhh 😊. We tried watching ‘Ransom Canyon’, an American cowboy romance drama about 3 oil dynasty families fighting it out amongst themselves. Very poorly written and acted it comes off as a cheap rip-off of ‘Yellowstone’. We have watched Season 1 and most of Season 2 of ‘You’, an American series about ‘Joe’, a charming but deeply flawed man who becomes increasingly obsessed with the women he falls for. The show explores themes of manipulation, obsession, and the lengths people will go to for love – including kidnapping and murder. The show tends to drag on a bit, but it is well written and acted, and there are lots of intriguing twists and turns along the way.
On to Sports:
On the NHL front – It’s the playoffs and the Maple Leafs won the first series 4-2 against the Ottawa Senators and are now playing Florida Panthers in the quarterfinals and are now 2 / 0 😊. The Montreal Canadians were eliminated against the Washington Capitals ☹. Out West Winnipeg squeaked out 4-3 against St. Louis and are now playing the Dallas Stars – Dallas is leading 1-0. Edmonton eliminated Los Angeles and ware now playing the Las Vegas Golden Knights - Edmonton leads 1- 0 😊.
On the MLB front – 29 games into the regular season and the Toronto Blue Jays are 16 – 18 and 2 1/2 games behind league leader New York Yankees. In the AL West it’s Seattle in first place 20-14 ) 1 game ahead of the Oakland Athletics.
On to golf … Last week was the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at McKinney Texas. Four Canadians were entered – Mackenzie Hughes, Taylor Pendrith, Ben Silverman, and Adam Svensson – and all 4 didn’t make the cut ☹. Scottie Scheffler won his first PGA tournament of the year in a record -31 and took home $1.782 Million U.S. . This week will be the Myrtle Beach Classic – 3 Canadians are entered: Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Svensson, and Ben Silverman. Another signature event will on this week as well – Truist Championship in Philadelphia – 3 Canadians are entered: Corey Connors, Adam Hadwin, and Nick Taylor.
NFL news – not a lot going on until training camps begin.
Have a great and safe month … we will see you in a bit!! 😊