Route 66 – First Days

On February 25^th I turned 66 years old. I’ll tell you about that shortly. That said, early the next morning my muse, Denise, spoke to me – well, she actually texted me and said, “Happy Route 66 boy! I love you! 💑” Denise doesn’t usually call me boy, but I loved the implication of me being 66 years old and the seeming connection to the famous Route 66. I texted back and said, “Thanks lovey! That’s a great way to express it! I like it a lot! Maybe I can do something with that, artistically speaking. 💖💑

To roll with the idea that this year is my Route 66, I have decided to adapt my blog to follow my path, or route, through this next year. Much of it will read as it has in the past, but I hope to narrow the focus occasionally on some of the daily happenings. I have already seen how this upcoming year will have many new things to deal with both with health and aging, along with the struggles and joys of life while trying to get by. I am sure that my life is not terribly adventurous, but perhaps you will identify with some of the experiences, both good and bad.

February 25, 2026

Birthday Cake Clip Art – Created by Don Cheke

As noted, I celebrated 66 today. I received many messages from family and friends, and phone calls from my mom and brothers. Birthdays have always been important to my family, and right from the start my mom set the stage by making each celebration memorable. This always included a meal, a cake, and plenty of gifts. As we all got older, and some having moved a province over, the gatherings changed as one would expect. Things changed too as families grew and it was a bit tricky financially to be buying gifts for all. Still, we always made contact on birthdays to catch up and let the other know how much they were loved and appreciated – and to acknowledge the special day. One thing that has never changed is my mother’s generous heart. Even though she can’t afford to, she continues to buy gifts for all the family members, those near and those far. Quite often, the gift is a lovely card with lovely sentiments she has taken time to pen, and a cheque or cash in the amount of our birthday. So, $66 for me this year. With all her boys in high digits now, you can imagine how costly this has become for her 😊 – especially for her first born who will be 68 in August. LOL! This month, the last born, Doug, also turned 61, so that’s a big hit, financially speaking – you do the math.

To celebrate my day, I went out for lunch with Denise, Emma, and baby Luke. We went to our favorite bagel restaurant called Bagel Shop of all things. That name is pretty apt, wouldn’t you say? I had their famous, my favorite, NYP without the sauerkraut and special sauce. So, it had warm house-smoked pastrami, mustard and Swiss cheese. I had them add a heap of plain cream cheese which they added $2.70 to the cost – but it is worth it. That along with a cola, and it could pass as a last supper, if you get my drift.

I should mention that Mom wanted to take Denise and I out for supper to celebrate my birthday, “on her” as she often says, but I said that we would pass on that and we could celebrate on the 28^th when we celebrate her 87^th birthday. Again, note the additional cost in this month. Although Mom is not keen when we pass on meals out, we try to keep the costs down for all of us. Although I don’t spend too much time thinking about it, I wonder how Mom will manage when her small pension runs out in four years. We might have to send her to Calgary to live with Doug and Kal when the time comes. Hummm… it’s a thought. 😊

The rest of the day was spent like most others these days. I worked on a puzzle, I watched a few episodes of The Mentalist, which I had seen before but am enjoying as reruns. I also spent time on Amazon looking for Kindle books to download.

February 26, 2026

Today I went to Denny’s for breakfast. This is something I allow myself once or twice a month. Usually, I just go to McDonalds for an Egg McMuffin and a pop when I feel like getting out in the morning. Even going to McDonalds is a nice break from the monotony of being cooped up in the winter, as you likely know. As I arrive and I am sitting there, I begin to think about what I want to drink with my breakfast. Usually, it’s a cola but today I am thinking that I should switch back to a previous addiction and order a black coffee. That might not seem like a big decision to some, the coffee having no sugar as opposed to the cola being all sugar, but the thing is I am proud that I had given up coffee all those years ago, because it did feel like an addiction. After all you can’t have just one cup, you have to have several throughout the day – every time you feel the withdrawal start – like it is with nicotine and cigarettes. I asked the waitress what I should do and she looked at me like I was from the planet Zorg. She offered no suggestions, so I ordered the cola – the brown sugar water – Mother Nature’s milk – nectar of the Gods – or the elixir of life, as I call it. I am off to see my doctor next week to see if she can offer an alternate medicine to help get my blood-sugar levels down. My head buried in the sand way of dealing with this Diabetes business is just not working. 👍😊

Today, like yesterday, I spent time working on a puzzle and watching a few more episodes of The Mentalist. I also downloaded and began to read War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. I had read this book many years ago but found it enjoyable again right from the start. I decided upon this book because I had been listening to music on YouTube, specifically a song called Forever Autumn by Jeff Wayne. For those not familiar, it is from an album called “Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of The Worlds.” The album is a narrated version of the H.G. Wells book, set to music by Jeff Wayne. Forever Autumn is a hauntingly beautiful piece, probably the most popular of the twelve songs. I was moved to find the whole album and give it a listen. While doing so I decided that I would read the book again to see how close the album followed. The verdict is still out, since I have just begun the book.

While reading the book that night, I paused for a few minutes to do a Google image search to see what fellow artists had come up with to help visualize the Martians and their vehicles once they arrived on Earth. There was a lot to see, and I will take time over the next days to examine them more closely. I wonder if I can come up with my own artistic version.

February 27, 2026

This is the day I started to write this blog post. Yesterday, while out for breakfast, I voice recorded a few thoughts and what you saw above is the result of that. Gosh, it’s already 12:03 and I haven’t eaten anything today. I hear the beef jerky I bought at The Bulk Cheese store yesterday calling my name from the fridge. The Bulk Cheese Store has the best beef jerky in the world, in case you are interested. It costs a fortune, but like the NYP bagel, it is grand! Worth the cost!

Afterthought – Before I got to the fridge Denise arrived home from an outing and I suggested we go out for pizza slices. She agreed, and off we went. I took a bottle of water with me, in lieu of buying a pop. 👍

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Just for fun, I thought I would share something else from a few days ago when Calgary and then Saskatoon had the snowy blizzard. My brother Dave sent me a picture of the snow-covered roads in Calgary. He added: And just like that, all the potholes are filled! 😊 Isn’t that funny!? Well, I sure thought so seeing as during the last melt the potholes had appeared in full force.

Based on what you read above, you can probably guess what I will be doing for the rest of the day.

Toodles! Happy travels! Keep your nose up and fly straight!

Donald B. Cheke – Saskatoon, SK