All the best in 2025

Once a year I buy a bottle of Taylor Fladgate Forty Year Old Tawny Port and set it aside to crack open on the last day of the year. Great stuff.

I raise a glass to what was and what will be.

Cheers.

2024 Retrospective

There is one event that dominated my year. My life was changed forever. On February 16, 2024 someone drove over the centreline from the opposing lane on a secondary highway on my way home from work. Slowly recovering from that incident has been my year.

What to do with leftover turkey

Not all that long ago I lived in a town a little outside Calgary. The business I worked at was in a small commercial strip mall. We were the end unit, beside us was a small catering company. The caterer was a red seal chef originally from India. He usually had a very small buffet for take out items on a daily basis, about four items. I got hooked on his butter chicken. The bulk of his business was catering.

Where I worked the owners, three of them, all smoked and took smoke breaks in the back alley. I usually joined them, not because I smoked )as I never smoked a day in my life), but to get out of work for a few minutes. It was a good way to keep informed.

On an infrequent occasion our neighbour the caterer would join us in the alley. One of those times was just after Christmas. He came out and said that he over-ordered turkey for Christmas catering. He had no idea what to do with them all. I made an offhand comment suggesting he make turkey samosas. He kind of stopped, mulled it over in his mind and said to himself “turkey samosas” before disappearing into his shop. A few days later he dropped into our business and had us sample freshly cooked turkey samosas. They were damn good. I bought a bag of them to eat at home. He had his sandwich board out front advertising them and was sold out in no time. 

Personally I will eat turkey leftovers no matter what you do with them. Unless it is turkey a la king. That is just wrong.

Elevator Friday - Kinsey, Saskatchewan

Provided by Dale Redekopp.

We all know what this day is about

Merry Christmas everyone!

Joy to the World

Vince Guaraldi Trio - Linus And Lucy

I can do this now

I mentioned before that I can move the pedals on a stationary bike in a circle. Now I can do it for ten minutes in a reasonably fluid motion. Considering how mangled I was months ago this is a good development.

Elevator Friday - Provost, Alberta

Thank you once again to Dale Redekopp.

Big Ole House

Big ole two storey house on the edge of town.

The property is fenced and now home to some bulls (who were enjoying a freshly broken bale of hay). Breakfast in Robsart, Saskatchewan.

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

B&B

Barn & Bales near Sunland, Alberta.

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Glenn Gould - Goldberg Variations

Windrows

Spotted aweeks ago near Ispas, Alberta.

These windrows of freshly cut hay will soon be baled into those big round bales that everyone loves.

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Elevator Friday - Val Marie, Saskatchewan

Thank you Dale Redekopp.

To sleep! Perchance to dream!

Ever since I got home from the hospital on September 11th the hardest thing for me has been to get a decent night of sleep. I could not get comfortable in any position. Lying on my left side I had to deal with my weaker left leg. On my right side I had problems trying to get comfortable due to my hip. A lot of times my knees bother me after a day of activity. I cannot seem to get myself to sleep flat on my back. When I did manage to drop off I was waking up from dreams of something trying to kill me which is disturbing. I am sure the dreams are accident related.

About a week ago I started to be able to sleep through the night. I was starting to be resigned to never sleeping well again. The last few mornings I feeling damn good when I wake up. I hope it continues.

Random sweet thoughts

I was browsing an Internet forum and a few posters were talking about buying candy when they were kids.

When I was a kid my family would visit family in rural Alberta on holidays and at one point we always had a stop at the general store. You would have a variety of stuff in jars or on shelves. Candy ranged from a few cents and up. A few cents would get you a piece of rock hard bubble gum. Kids had strong jaws in those days.

In the store you would head over to the candy rack. There was liquorice whips or pipes in jars. I bought the red ones, I never liked the black ones. Candy sticks in a few dozen flavours in jars. I always got sarsaparilla and root beer flavoured sticks. Dad liked jawbreakers so I get a few of those for him, they came in many sizes. I have not seen jawbreakers in years. You would look over the huge variety of stuff, grab your choices, and head up to the counter. There you would be rung up and your various treasures would end up in a paper sack keeping what you bought anonymous. You might trade some of your stash, you rarely wanted to share it.

As a kid this was an event.

Those were the days.

Elevator Friday

Farion Farms is located in the Vegreville area. This Alberta Pacific Grain Company elevator was moved from Dodds, Alberta. 

From Dale Redekopp.

Updates here! Get your updates!

Had a follow up with my surgeon today.

Great weather yesterday. Great weather forecast for tomorrow. We got a bit of a snowstorm today. My appointment was at eleven this morning. It snowed on the way to the University of Alberta area in Edmonton and on the way back it was snow and freezing rain. I took a cab. My driver on the way in was from Somalia. On the way back I had a different driver from Somalia. They must not mind the nasty weather here, both have been here for years. Both were cautious and drove well.

I had x-rays on both legs. My left femur has metal running almost the full length of the bone. My right femur has metal about half as long. My right tibia has metal. I got to the place half an hour early and they took me in right away. I was able to get on the x-ray table and move around for their various required poses easier than any time  in the past since the accident. After the x-ray session off to see the surgeon after a short wait. Short for the medical profession.

I was told the bone is solid. I will be still healing for a while. Recovery is looking to be eighteen months to two years. He reiterated that I sustained a lot of damage. My progress is where it should be.

Told him I was experiencing some nasty leg pain a few days ago. Waking up that day my legs felt like lead and it was a struggle to get moving. I was informed that there will be periods where I plateau, progress is not linear. Jogging will have to wait.

Spotted today at my doctor’s office

 

Canola

A couple of photos from a road trip through North Dakota last spring. 

A field of blooming canola always makes my day.

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Abandoned Alberta

I love abandoned structures with character. I was in the hospital and gave my friend Dale Redekopp the location of an old stone house in the Tofield, Alberta area as he was out on a day trip. I asked him to send me photos.

This was an actual house that a family occupied for years. I have been here before and the house is not very big. There was even an upstairs to this home.

Elevator Friday - Bracken, Saskatchewan

Thank you Dale Redekopp.

Cpt Mo Wednesday

 

A Trio of Trucks

Old grain trucks near Shandro, Alberta.

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Elevator Friday - Milden, Saskatchewan

Thank you to Dale Redekopp.

Bale Art

A bit of a groaner but still some country fun.

Spotted near Cherry Grove, Alberta.

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

As for vehicles . . .

Two people mentioned a Volvo. I was thinking of raiding my savings and thinking of a new Mazda CX30, CX5, or new Subaru Crosstrek. A new Volvo is beyond what I am willing to pay. I thought about a Ford Escape but I am reading mixed reviews. I would welcome any suggestions.

I will likely not buy a vehicle until February. The longer I wait the better I should be.

In Alberta you have up to two years from the date of loss to sue the other party for bodily injury. That will be happening sometime in 2025.

I had an accomplishment today. I have been on an exercise bike in physiotherapy and today was the first time I have been able to pedal in a sustained cycle. I could almost move the pedals in a complete rotation before. I managed to do it a few times in a row several times today. Unfortunately my legs did not appreciate that milestone and I am suffering with some pain. Onward.

Have a Happy Day!

A bale with a smile . . .

. . . spotted near Vegreville, Alberta.

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Nine month anniversary

Nine months from the date of the accident.

This is hard. Progress is slow.

It is hard for me to notice but every month it gets a little easier and a little better.

Elevator Friday

Near Raymore, Saskatchewan from Dale Redekopp.

Random post

You ever watch one of those shows where one of the characters gets badly injured and there is a montage showing the person working without rest until they recover?

That does not happen in real life. Your body will stop you.

The most I have managed to do over the course of a day is about two thousand feet of walking. I cannot do it every day but I have managed to do it on five very recent occasions. On Friday I managed to add another five hundred feet to that for a total of two thousand five hundred feet for the day. Saturday I woke up to stiff legs and some pain in my knees and hips. I had not experienced hip pain in many weeks. I barely moved all day, I did not want to hurt anything. Sunday forced myself to get moving and doing some walking. There is some discomfort. Staying positive is a struggle some days.

I have not driven a vehicle since I got hit. I have not bought one either. On the plus side I am saving money not having one and the two minor traffic convictions I had in 2021 have dropped off my record and as I am not driving I have not picked up any more violations. I am confident I can drive with no issues, I think I should wait. I will be getting something bigger than my former KIA Soul.

Sukiyaki

Elevator Friday - Langham, Saskatchewan

From Dale Redekopp.

Keep on keeping on . . .

More of the usual. Some days I do not want to get up in the morning and work through the pain and stiffness all over again. I do it anyway.

A couple of physiotherapy sessions were more painful than they should have been. I think I may have overworked a muscle or two. Progress is slow. I remain optimistic. The days are boring. I just keep at it. I have noticed a slight improvement in my walking with the walker.

Onward.

Sexy Bales

These bales in Montana look pretty sexy against a backdrop of the Sweet Grass Hills.

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Elevator Friday - Wakaw, Saskatchewan

From Dale Redekopp.

Raye Zaragoza - Bushwick Avenue

Tales of my father

I am recovering at a glacial pace. It is boring and I thought I would do a little writing.

As previously mentioned on this blog I spent some of my grade school years in a very small place up in northern British Columbia below the Yukon border.

My father worked for a company that had a contract to service the mines equipment, items such as dozers, scrapers, loaders, and the like. Dad was the head guy for the branch office. He previously operated out of an office trailer. Later the company built a nice new space with an equipment bay, parts bay, and an office area. The only people that were in the office full time were my father, the parts man, and a secretary. There were heavy duty mechanics and welders that worked full time at the mine site. They did not have a big operation.

If you needed staff the talent pool was small, sometimes nonexistent. Dad once hired, and fired, the same guy six times. The guy was a great mechanic and was also a great alcoholic. My father would at times have no choice but to fire him, the guy would go on the wagon, he would get hired back and the cycle would repeat. He did not want to take him back but he was good and there was no one else available. (As an aside, one memorable time I once saw him on my way to school, there was about six inches of snow on the ground from big fluffy snowflakes falling. He had a puppy in his hands - I later found out the dog was named Woofer - standing in the middle of the road wearing pants, no shirt, no socks or shoes. He asked me if I had never seen a barefoot Karate expert in the snow). Dad did have to fire one other guy and make it permanent because after multiple attempts he could not pass the tests for his job and dad ran out of ways to keep him on the books.

Dad needed a secretary. The last one moved out of town with her husband. Only one person showed up for an interview wearing a fur coat that had long seen better days and ballet slippers on her feet. Muriel got the job as no one else applied and it turned out she could type fast enough to jam the ball on an IBM Selectric typewriter. Dad was not big on a dress code since the town was in the middle of proverbial nowhere.

I liked Muriel, she was fluent in French and helped me a little with that subject in school. She was kind of a free spirit hippy type. I do not think she had a driver’s license as she did not have a vehicle. She did not seem to be the brightest at times. She was good at her job. Once as a joke someone sprayed her ratty fur coat with Raid “to kill the fleas”. She got her own back. That about as far as office antics got.

Dad was good friends with Butch the RCMP officer. There was a detachment of two. At one time it seemed every small town had an officer called Butch. I do not know why. There was not a lot for police to do in some small towns and this was one of them. Some of the directives they got were amusing. Once Butch showed my dad a memo he got from the higher ups suggesting more foot patrols. Never mind that the town was about one thousand people surrounded by hundreds of square miles of bush. Butch did have a good sense of humour about his job. I think he had to.

For some reason the police did driving tests (as I said, it was a small town). We had a Yamaha 125cc Enduro motorcycle and dad went for his road test. Butch told him to ride to the end of the gravel road in town, turn around, and drive back. Dad was awkward as hell on a bike and by the time dad got back Butch was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. He said to dad, “Here’s your license, I know you are only going to ride it in the bush, otherwise stay off the roads.” Thus dad got his motorcycle license that he never used.

In the months when we did not have snow Muriel rode her bike to work. One day she was riding her bike to work when she somehow hit a parked car hard enough that she ended up on the car. It was low speed and no damage since vehicles were tougher back then. No damage, no witnesses, however she was concerned that she should do the right thing. Therefore she went to the cop shop to report the accident. Butch listened to her and told her that in the interest of public safety he would impound her bike. She walked the rest of the way to work.

When she arrived at work she was late. Dad asked why she was late and she was miffed and filled him in on what happened. Dad told her not to worry about it. Dad phoned Butch and told him to quit picking on his secretary. Later that morning he drove to the RCMP detachment and told Butch he had his fun and to give her bike back. The cop just had to mention that when she was there he even had her fill out an accident report. They had a good laugh about it and Muriel got her bike back.

We eventually moved and lost track of people like Muriel. I hope she had a good life. Dad has been gone many years and I miss him. Lots of things I would like to talk to him about.

Life was more fun years ago.

Elise LeGrow - Anymore

Cpt Mo Wednesday

 

Minutiae

I went through stuff that was rescued from my car crash. I put it off for a while after getting home for various reasons. My camera survived unscathed thanks to being in a padded bag. My iPod made it with a few dings from the crash. I was happy about that, I prefer podcasts and downloaded music instead of radio in my area. Found my glasses. They were missing both lenses and the frames were broken. Getting hit in the face with an airbag will do that. Everything else seemed to survive okay.

I had an eye appointment last Friday. Thankfully my eyes are healthy. My prescription will increase.

On my last physiotherapy appointment I had my third encounter with the anti-gravity treadmill. I doubled my previous time from ten to twenty minutes with a small increase in speed.

I had bought running shoes online. I have shoes, due to my feet swelling I cannot wear them. I usually wear a 10-11 depending on the manufacturer. The shoes I bought online did not fit when I ordered bigger sizes. I did not want to go into a shoe store as I do not have a lot of stamina yet to walk around a store. I had to break down and have someone take me to a shoe store so I could try on shoes in person. I had to walk from the parking lot into a mall which was not easy. I ended up with size 13 sneakers. Hopefully the swelling resolves itself over time.

Elevator Friday

Somewhere near Wakaw, Saskatchewan from Dale Redekopp.

Oak Tree

Fall is here.

A handsome oak tree in Saint Francis Cemetery near Vogar, Manitoba.

Michael Truman

Past Presence Website