Okay….I’ve not been very active recently with my writing. No attempt at excuses are needed or expected. Simply have not felt very inspired I guess. Life has been fairly straightforward it would seem. Working a bit (well maybe more than a bit). I will come back to everything later.

Anyhoo….we have been living in a smoke filled world recently due to multiple fires throughout Northern Ontario and Quebec have been blazing out of control, sending smoke southwards. Of course, not only we are getting it but so are our friends in the south. The image above is the Statue of Liberty which you can barely see thoughout the smoke.

The US media has been reporting it and from what I can tell it was much more worse than what we were going through. I could certainly smell it and taste it here but these images above seem to tell a much worse story. I can’t imagine even going outside in NYC!

I need a vacation…..yep, don’t we all need one. Now, some might say - “you need a vacation - seriously?” You’ve been on vacation the last 3 years? I guess that is likely true in many ways. I guess what I really want is to possibly lie on a beach for a few days. My tastes in vacations have changed because sitting on a beach for hours on end won’t work for me - one from boredom and two from getting completely fried. Usually around this time I get an urge to go to Paris or Rome or London. Why you say? Well it’s spring tennis season with the launch of some of the most iconic tennis tournaments - like the Italian Open (Rome), Roland Garros (Paris) and of course Wimbledon (London). This urge is simply an urge that won’t get filled. You know those urges…..talk, some more talk and finally nothing. The main reason is because I’m too cheap I guess. Or is that a sign of being frugal. From what I hear the cost of travel, especially Europe has gone up a lot with flighs average as much as $2,000 return. And, when you add in hotels, food etc a jaunt to a tennis tournament is suddenly $5,000. Sorry, but I just can’t do it. The second reason is I would be by myself as the “wife” is working - so her ability and desire to join me is limited. Now, I’m not complaining so please don’t take it that way. I’m hoping to maybe drive to NYC late August, so we’ll see how that works out.

The pictures above look much worse than it was! I have been feeling some strange tingling down my left arm coming from my neck for a little while. More than what I would say is usual and one night around 9 pm, it started to act up a bit more than what one would say is comfortable. Shortly after I told my wife that I think I probably should go to the hospital and so, off we went. We live very close to the major hospitals on University and so she dropped me off at Toronto General. I told her there was no reason to stay. They take you in very quickly whenever you mention anything about your heart. I was put through a few quick tests and then sent back out to the waiting room and before I knew it, I went back in. Your hooked up to a few monitors with I assume the idea is they want to keep an eye on you. They also took me in for an xray of the heart and eventually the Doctor came in and told me - all was okay and I could go home. It was not around 2:30 am so I called an UBER and headed back home. I guess you could say it was maybe an overeaction but at the same time, it’s better to be careful.

I called above the Last Supper because my wife was undergoing another back surgery. Sigh….this time the plan was to insert some sort of device inside her back that would send signals up and down the spine with the end goal to reduce the pain. The first few days after the surgery were typically awful but a week or so late she was up and moving and even has gone back to work. We went to Le Paradis - a neighbourhood joint very close that is always very good. As the evidance shows it was the usual - steak/frites.

I have about 20 somewhat old bottles of wine that I’ve collected over 25 or so years and I was told I should start opening them otherwise they may turn into vinegar. So, I broke open this bottle of Merlot from 22 years ago and it was excellent.

i am making an effort to put down the IPAD and take up my old habit of reading and the book above is certainly a tough but enjoyable read. It’s slow and it has a lot of characters but I will endevor to finish it within the next century.

I guess, I’m going to NYC!!! I bought a ticket for the first round of the US Open at the end of August. I’ve not made any other plans as of yet as I assume I will drive down. Likely will be going by myself.