The month of March has come and gone … started off as a lion, ended up as a lion. Lots of cold, strong and gusty winds, rain, snow, you name it – we had it. Soon it will be time to clean up the yard … fallen branches, pine cones, rake up dead grass, etc. . After all, I need to make sure the lawn is ready to receive all the fallen leaves in another five months 
… Probably be another 135 bag autumn. Hopefully the weather will warm up and stay warm … lately it’s been freezing one day and almost okay the next. We’ve completed our booking for the cruise on Holland America’s Konigsdam next December. Every weekend we watch YouTube videos about the ship or the ports that we are going to. There’s a couple – ‘Country Collectors’ – that have a great selection of videos that describe what to do in Mexico; they are really informative and well worth watching .
The war in Ukraine is still dragging on, although Ukraine says they are preparing for a big offensive. Bakhmut continues to be a meat grinder … the Wagner Group says that they have captured the city; Ukraine says they are holding on in order to make Russia use up their resources. Putin appears to be getting desperate … so of course he threatens with stationing nuclear weapons in Belarus. Belarus says that they are expanding their military, Russia says they will add four hundred thousand more recruits … the rhetoric, bluffs, and threats keep going on. China proposes a peace plan … that no body wants or agrees on. Hopefully all the new weaponry, ammunition, and money that Ukraine is receiving from the West will enable them to push the Russians out by the end of the year. Oh, and as I have said before; have someone kill Putin … that man is insane. Breaking news .... Pro Russian blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed and about 30 others were wounded in a bomb blast in St. Petersburg. Finland will be admitted to NATO this Tuesday after finally being ratified by Hungary and Turkey.
… We are cooking meals as always … but still restocking on a regular basis on ‘Uncle Dad’s Pizza’ and ‘Mr. Amish’ cheese and pepperettes . … For Doug of course, the boy needs his snacks . Speaking of Doug, we'll be taking him to a new veterinarian this afternoon - let's see how he makes out with that!! We’ve had beef and chicken and shrimp curries; chicken and shrimp quiche; beef pot pies; homemade meat sauce and pasta; shepherd pies; chicken cacciatore; lots of steaks and burgers; and of course, Beef Rendang.
We still occasionally watch ‘Love Boat’ on Paramount – finishing up Season 7 . Our new favorite series is ‘Ted Lasso’ on Apple TV. It’s quite good; we’ve finished Seasons 1 and 2; watching Season 3 as each episode comes on during the week. I believe Season 3 will be the final one 
. We’re waiting for the complete Season 10 (and also final) of ‘The Black List’ to be posted on Netflix. I’ve Season 3 of ‘La Reina Del Sur’ with Kate del Castillo – 60 episodes – and it was my favorite season so far… they left a bit of a teaser at the end, looks like there will be a Season 4!! I watched the final season of ‘Sky Rojo’ – that was definitely the best and most action packed of the three. I finished watching both seasons of ‘Public Enemy’ – that’s about a child serial killer released from prison after twenty years and trying to start a new life in a monastery. Quite good, and it looks like there will be a Season 3. I watched the second season of ‘Wrong Side Of The Tracks’ – better than the first. I’ve started rewatching old series; ‘Black Spot’, excellent Belgian series about a town in the Ardennes whose murder rate is six times the national average; and ‘Call My Agent’, a great French comedy series about talent agents and what they will do to secure their movie star clients.
On the NHL front -Toronto are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference but only 7 points out of second, Boston is too far ahead in first; Seattle Kraken are in free fall, they have dropped to seventh place in the Western Conference, but only 11 points behind first. Montreal has lost their last three … and are second from the bottom .
On to golf … The last six weeks has been unkind to Canadians on the PGA Tour . They have had their chances … usually in the top ten until the last day … and then choke . … Until yesterday … Corey Connors won the Valero Texas Open!! This was his second PGA win; his first, and last was also the Valero back in 2019. He takes home $1.6M U.S. for his winnings and will be playing in ‘The Masters’ next week. Nick Taylor was tied for 15th ($135.5K U.S.). Canadians in ‘The Masters’ next week will be Connors, Mike Weir (20th anniversary of his win there), Adam Svensson, and Mackenzie Hughes.
NFL news – Seattle resigned Geno Smith!! It was a pretty good deal for both Smith and the club – about $25M for three years and incentives that could add another $30M. Bobby Wagner is coming back also - $7M one year contract. The draft starting on April 20th should bring in some pretty good picks for Seattle – 2 first round and 2 second round picks. Thanks, Russell Wilson!!
Have a great and safe week … pray for Ukraine … we will see you in a bit!!