Seven months between updates! It was a very long and snowy winter 'round these parts and a very late-arriving spring. Finally we're having some decent weather. The Stouffville Spirit hockey season was a mixed bag. The team set a franchise record for points but crashed out in round two of the playoffs, lasting only one game longer than a year ago. It looks as if we'll be staying in town for awhile yet so if the team will have us, we'll be back calling games again in 2026-2027. It's great fun although I missed six games (including the first four playoff games) when I came down with a serious bronchitis infection. Sickest I've been in decades but all is well now. Our dog Becky is almost 15 but she's in very late innings. We get mixed signals. Her breathing can belaboured but at days' end, she'll bound up the stairs as if she was 10 years younger. But when we believe she's starting to suffer, then we'll make that terrible decision to say goodbye. If it happens before mid-summer, we'll head east to the cottage for a break, having missed out last year. But that long trip would be too much for Becky, so if she's still with us, we'll stay home.

I'm having fun with a new barbeque. Our old Weber grill finally gave out so I replaced it with a Weber kettle version. Great experiences working with charcoal for the first time in about half-a-century. After a couple of misfires, I'm getting the hang of things and the food tastes superb!