Cooling Off!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has taken on an Autumn-like mode with showers and cool days. I did manage to get over to the golf course for some practice, but still haven’t played since I returned from the trip west. We continue to catch up on our medical appointments and look forward to getting our next round of Covid and RSV shots as soon as they become available. I’ve progressed a bit on the game boards I’m building. Wendy keeps busy with her choir business, and is considering getting back to our renovation projects here. We still have the side entry and our bedroom to complete.

Economy Cooling Off!

The markets are struggling into September as the USA economy continues to falter due to the Trump regime. As the chart shows, employment has been on a steady downturn all year. The Riders prevailed over Winnipeg on Sunday in the Labour Day classic and returned to beat Winnipeg, again, for the Banjo Bowl today. College Football featured Texas with an easy win this week, and Sooners won a difficult matchup over Michigan. Blue Jays continue to lead their division, but questions remain over their bull pen. 

Eric writes, “We came back to Saskatchewan after a week and a bit of travel. We did not get to do whale watching, unfortunately, because of weather, but we saw the Cabot trail before driving through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to get back to Montreal and fly home. Eric had an eye appointment in Saskatoon on Thursday, so, we spent Wednesday in Regina where we met up with Liam and Mercedes and watched Jaws on the imax screen—celebrating the 50 years of Jaws. Friday, we were both back at work. Saturday was a relaxing day. Next week, we will start to get organized and back into our routine. Eric has had three new interns start this week, the last one joining on Friday. It is fun training new people. Erica’s band has some performances coming up soon.”

Kristian has struggled with both ends of his bus rides to school. The morning schedule calls for him to be off around 6:00, and the afternoon trip has a lot of options in northwest Regina where he could get off! Erin has been extra busy as some of her reporting schedules were moved up.

Kristian Patio Clear

An extra bit of business at home involved clearing away their patio developments so the condo people could install new privacy fences. They bought a new drill/driver, and Kristian managed the dismantling on Monday—good job! 

Travis and Joanna have decided to retire from their PuckShots business. It was a very busy time photographing all those teams (over 100), and dealing with all those people (over 1000), and they will now be able to focus their energy on the other parts of their business and lives. Trav is impressed with the production of his new printer, and feels it will facilitate even more BucketDecal business. Their boys seem to have returned from the kennel with some kind of cold, and now that Marigold is back home, she seems to have caught it as well. Tonight, they took us out for supper at Applebys; it was a great meal and a wonderful couple of hours of visiting—Thanks guys! 

And that’s enough for this week. 

Two Dog Week!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, The weather has remained great, punctuated by a couple of vigorous thunder storms, and we’ve enjoyed getting out for work in the yard and shop and walks with the dogs.

Granny & the Dogs

DOGS, you say?! Yep, Marigold has been visiting while Trav and Joanna were down to BC to visit Gemma and Jonas. They got back on Wednesday, so we’re back to our regular home-life with the two old dogs and Kali. Wendy has recovered from the spider bite, and continues with her usual business. I have been cleaning the shop a bit. I found a sale on 2nd-hand tools, and picked up two more routers. I have begun work on three more FastTrack games, and another Pegs & Jokers game—so, that’s lots of drilling holes! I’m also doing some repairs on the garage, while ignoring the weeds in the back yard!

New Hotel

A three-story hotel is going up just across the traffic circle from us, and we have been supervising that! It looks like it will feature 24 suites complete with kitchenettes and cater to folks needing longer term stays. The markets continue to be volatile as no one can predict where the feckless USA leadership will go next. August was another good month for me, but our economy is feeling the sting of tariffs against our trade into the USA markets which we have counted on over the years. We are now heading into September which is historically the most difficult month in the markets. College football has begun in the USA, but #1 Texas lost their opener, while #18 Sooners won easily. Still, you can tell from their ranking numbers that not much is expected from OU this year. Riders will take on the Bombers tomorrow in their traditional Labour Day game—Go Riders, Go! Blue Jays continue to lead their division as we head into the serious season of baseball. Lately, their bull pen has been faltering—need to get that fixed!

Erica writes, “We enjoyed a week of exploring the east. Old Quebec was historical. We did a lot of walking around the Plains of Abraham and practised a bit of French. From there, we spent a few days in PEI and Anne of Green Gables sites. Unfortunately, my cold that never seems to go away came back and I spent a day in bed on Thursday. Friday, we drove back across Confederation Bridge, through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and landed in Sydney. The landscape here reminds us of Northern Ontario. Tomorrow we will go whale watching—it will be interesting to compare the experience from coast to coast!”

Kristian has begun his school program at Sask Polytech towards qualifying as a Machinist. We wish him well in the program, but recognize it’s a job in itself. Erin got a notification this week that the privacy walls between back yards are being replaced, so she’ll have to clear away her irrigation and electrical developments in the back yard to accommodate that, but first she plans to enjoy a sunny weekend on the patio—good plan! 

Travis & Joanna had a great time in Vancouver and area. They drove up the coast to Whistler to enjoy the sights and activities there as well, and most importantly, they enjoyed time with Gemma and Jonas. Andrew and Rosie continue with classwork and work here. Rosie is preparing for another exam toward her hoped for qualification as a Registered Massage Therapist. Marigold is now back home with the boys and fighting for her share of food! 

And that’s enough for this week. 

Settling!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We arrived home last weekend, and this week has been consumed with settling in to the relaxed atmosphere here. The timing of our travel was to accommodate my appointment with the dentist/denturist on Monday. They have approved the replacement of my partial upper plate after its many years of service and recent breakage. Not to worry, I have it held together with crazy glue, and since the clips have long since worn out and broken off, it has only been serving as a decoration in recent years anyway. There was a time when I could eat apples or corn on the cob, and I hope to do that again once I get my new appliance. The dentist did a couple of chip repairs on lower teeth while he was in there, and then I was subjected to something entirely new to me. They did a scan of my teeth and gums, both upper and lower—no more trays full of goop to take an impression. She worked a probe around inside my mouth and gradually built a 3-D representation of my mouth from which they will create the metal frame to be the basis of my new plate. I thought to myself, “I’ll bet Eric would be glad to know about this technology!” Now, I’m waiting a few weeks to see how fitting it is!

Was much worse, it’s getting better

We have been doing a bit of yard work, during which Wendy received a spider bite. At least, that’s what we think it is. It looked very similar to the one I got a few years back—a stark white circle around a central red dot. Like mine, it was very uncomfortable and developed a red swollen area around it. Unlike mine, she did not have a niece sending her to the doctor! So, she’s still suffering, while the bite area is gradually reducing in swelling and heat. Meanwhile, there is still plenty of work to do in the yard to eliminate the weeds that keep coming back. The markets keep struggling along, and the DOW even made a new post-Trump high, after only seven months. This week was big for the markets as the central bankers gathered for their yearly confab in Jackson Hole. Investors and traders were encouraged by news from there, although the FED warned of the twin threats of higher inflation due to tariffs, and lower employment. We tread carefully. In the world of sports, the Jays continue to lead their conference and added a new pitcher to the mix this week—looking good! The Riders played the first half in Calgary tonight, but apparently it’s a 60-minute game! At least they’re still in first place.  

Erica writes, “It was a busy week of work, VBS, and getting ready for our next adventure. On Saturday, we left for the Maritimes. We are flying Air Canada and, fortunately, they have settled their employment contract so the planes are flying! We have started relocating necessary items from the front door to the back. Eric has put up a set of hooks for our coats and our shoe shelf is now at the back. We have purchased some sample paint for the bathroom, but have yet to paint a patch to determine whether or not we have found the right shade. Liam and Mercedes are back in Caronport. Mercedes has a few job offers for the fall. We are still hoping for one particular job to come through, but are thankful she has something!”

She built it by herself!

Erin took some time off to celebrate her birthday. Kristian chipped in with a couple of thoughtful gifts: a Lego Race Car, which she built, and a movie night to see F1, which they both enjoyed. Her garden keeps producing, but it appears to be on its last legs now. Things look already to go for Kristian at Sask Polytech. We wish him well, but understand that it won’t be easy. Work hard, buddy! 

We were glad to be welcomed home by Travis, Joanna, Andrew & Rosie on our return—thanks. Travis and Joanna left on Wednesday for some time in Vancouver visiting Gemma & Jonas. We are taking care of Marigold while they’re away. 

Trav, Joanna HotTubbing in BC!

And that’s enough for this week. 

Home Again!

Another week has passed and we have returned to the shore of Lake Superior and our hometown. We drove over to Winnipeg on Friday where we enjoyed a delicious feast of pan-fried pickeral (sans dill butter!) courtesy Tom & Mariette—thanks folks. We still have Kali, so we hotelled it overnight, and continued home today. The weather was mild (under 20°), so we did not get a test of our newly repaired AC. It has been a lengthy and very successful summer trip of project work and visitation in Saskatchewan. We feel blessed to have the health, strength and ability to be useful even as the years add up. We certainly felt the encroachment of time this summer, as we probably overdid it, and definitely felt exhausted even before the end of it! Anyway, we got the garage/shed assembled (mostly by Kristian and Liam. We got the dining area, kitchen, laundry room and bathroom demolished (a lot of lath and plaster hauled to the dump). We tore up the floor in the old kitchen area, revealing an interesting mixture of hardwood and plywood flooring that had been surfaced with multiple layers of linoleum and underlay. The installed electrical was torn up, capped off, and eventually redone to serve the new purposes in the new main floor bathroom, laundry room, and kitchen. The kitchen exterior wall was blasted away to make way for a back door (great addition) accessed via the deck. A new wall was built to support the upper floor (Liam's bedroom), then a drop ceiling was added and fixtures were installed to serve the new bathroom and the new laundry room. Most of the wiring was reactivated, but some knob & tube had to be deactivated, and other troubling wiring remains to be addressed in the back entry area. Thankfully, we also got to attend the World Mens Softball championships in the first weeks, and that provided an enjoyable break each day. We also enjoyed attending a few of Erica's gigs with Mystery Train (but no Jim Croce!). The last weeks we have rehabbed at Erin's place. That was great and very much needed. While there, we removed the pedestal sink from the downstairs bathroom and installed a much nicer vanity—turned out great! 

New Vanity for Erin, Kristian

Meanwhile, world affairs are not going so well. After meeting with Putin, Trump has determined that the path to peace is to give Russia more control over Ukraine—in what universe! And, he has finally initiated many tariffs at ridiculous levels. Thankfully, we, along with Mexico, are still protected by the North American free trade agreement, but we are certainly feeling some pain. The USA citizens are getting it the worst as they have to pay all these import taxes, and it's already showing up in their inflation (up), productivity (down), employment levels (down). Luckily for them, TACO came through for them, as he chickened out on installing tariffs on Chinese trade for another 90 days. Mexico, China and Canada (in that order) are the top trading partners of the USA, so USA is fortunate that most of that trade is protected from import taxes. In sports, the Jays and Riders continue to play well and stand at the top of their leagues. Yay!

Erica writes, "Glad to hear you guys are home safe and mostly sound.We enjoyed whale watching and high tea at Butchart Gardens last weekend. Then, we returned to PA via the #3. We stopped at Ainsworth Hot Springs in BC and the Sandhills near Leader, SK on the way home. We also enjoyed gluten-free Chinese food from Smileys! It was a good trip, but it’s also good to be back in our own beds and home to admire all the amazing work that was completed in our absence. Thank you Mom, Dad, Liam and Kristian, and Mike! Liam and Mercedes returned to Caronport today (Saturday). Mercedes has leads on some jobs for the next year and Liam is registered for classes. Tonight, Eric and I will head to Candle Lake as I am singing at a show there—I’m doing some Jim Croce!" Yay!

Erin has been celebrating her birthday for over a week already, but that continues. Kristian is working through a checklist of activities to complete before classes start at Sask Polytech. Kristian and I got out for a golf game on Sunday—we played much better than we had endured in Prince Albert. Erin did not take part as she was feeling ill. This has been a part of her traditional birthday celebration and we were sorry to miss that. I suggest that she and Kristian go for a round of golf this coming week. 

New Fancy-Dancy Printer!

Travis took delivery of a new printer. This will be third in the line of specialty materials printers for his BucketDecals operation. Each purchase provides significant upgrades in productivity. Joanna maintains her busy schedule as well. We are looking forward to catching up with them and their dogs. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Moving Along!

Another week has passed and finds us relocating from the shore of the North Saskatchewan to the shore of Lake Wascana. Thanks to Mike's help, we cleaned up a number of tasks and moved on to Regina. Our main work there included the erection of a garage/shelter for them, along with the demolition of the existing dining area, kitchen, bathroom and laundry room, and the installation of a new bathroom and laundry room. In the photo, you can see the new bathroom, including a shower. Behind that wall is the new laundry area. We feel confident that it will prove useful, and that the space has also been opened up to build the new kitchen. 

Bailey new Bathroom

Temporary Kitchen

We have mostly been resting here, but issues continue to find us! We have begun the installation of the new vanity here at Erin's place. I removed the old one, and located the new one, but now the painter is hard at that part of the assignment. Anyhow, we are feeling much recovered, and have been able to get some jobs done here as well. Today, we travelled to Bengough with Bern & Alicia to help the Taylor family celebrate Aunt Grace's 100th birthday. It was a wonderful family time.

Her Majesty, Their Majesties!

We plan to head east next week as I have a dentist's appointment coming up soon. Along with painting, Wendy has been able to help Kristian get a few things done. Eric/A, Liam & Mercedes are on the tour west, including Vancouver Island, and we expect their return early next week. In the meantime, we are enjoying the batches of pictures they've sent our way. Mike has kept up with his thesis work and has also contributed to the home renovations. Erin and Kristian have hosted us luxuriously here—thanks! The world situation remains in chaos as Trump has pushed forward with his meaningless tariffs, inflicting major new taxation on the USA folks. The investment pundits hope the additional certainty of the taxes actually being imposed will play out beneficially for the markets, but so far the indices are unconvinced. It appears that Trump is prepared to throw Ukraine to the wind and award part of their land to Russia in return for a truce—that is not how both countries, along with the UK, promised to make this work. After the fall of the USSR, in the 1990s, the UK, USA and Russia promised to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine if they would give up their nuclear weapons. Now, it seems that at least Russia and USA are breaking that pledge. Shame! In the world of sports, the first place Riders have the bye week. The Blue Jays had a good series in Colorado, but are finding the Dodgers a much more challenging opponent. As a result the surging Boston Red Sox are closing in on first place. 

Travis, Joanna and the dogs are enduring a hot summer in Thunder Bay with frequent storms and thunderstorms. The forest fire activity continues to be elevated. We look forward to seeing them in another week. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Developments

Another week has passed on the shore of the North Saskatchewan River. The weather has turned uncomfortably hot, and we grow weary even more quickly each day! On Wednesday, I advanced to the grand age of 75, and that development also leads to more frequent rest periods. We made good progress on the bathroom, the laundry room and the destruction of the area that will become a kitchen. The plumber delayed us all week, but finally arrived on Friday and completed the work we've been expecting of him. He left us with some problems due to his relocation of the shower. We feel we have a solution for that, and began work on that today. Mike arrived on Friday, and he has proved very helpful. Wendy keeps working on insulation and vapour barrier and on cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. She has dedicated much effort to making the destroyed ktichen back into a functional unit. We have been able to do several loads of laundry in the new laundry room. The back door is installed, the sidewalk motion light is active again, and I may obtain some progress on the siding tomorrow. 

Bathroom is functional

Mike & I installing the ceiling

In world developments, the Orange Menace is back with tariff threats, now scheduled for Aug 7th. He has walked back his promise of 90 deals in 90 days, having not obtained any, and now avers that his announcement of new tariff levels is actually a deal! Of course these threats are subject to frequent revisions, and many countries are beginning to just ignore him. But, it is also the case that these import taxes and hitting the USA economy hard resulting in rising inflation, reduced jobs numbers and are hitting the stock market hard. The Blue Jays have fallen off their torrid pace, but remain in first place in their division and in the league. The Riders won again today in Montreal, and they also remain in first place in their division and in the league. 

Eric, Erica, Liam and Mercedes packed into the car and headed west on Friday with plans to make it to the Island to visit Haaken and the family out there. They also expect to drive up Island to visit Parksville area where they lived for a while. In anticipation of that trip, they re-tired the car, and also did a major mechanical repair to the front suspension. 

Enchanted!

Erin and Kristian are enjoying hosting Kali this week. She seems to have settled in well, and is now taking over the food bowls since she has found she also likes cat food. Erin even took some time off work to enjoy the patio area and relax with Kristian and the pets. 

Enjoying the Patio

Travis and Joanna are enjoying a visit from Gemma. Jonas' schedule is delaying his arrival from UBC. Andrew is kind of between jobs, coursework and house sitting, although he should be moved into this new apartment by now. 

And that's about enough for now. 

Transitions

Another week has passed on the shore of the North Saskatchewan River in Prince Albert. We spent part of the week with Erin, her cats and her garden in Regina. We returned Kristian to Regina on Tudesday as he had a medical appointment on Wednesday. Then, we returned to PA on Thursday afternoon much refreshed from our two days off—of course, that didn't last long! We put in a full day after we got here, and got a lot accomplished before heading out for appie night. Anyway, the renovations are progressing well, and the new bathroom, laundry room and kitchen are taking shape. The plumber did the rough-in work while we were in Regina, and he plans to be back next week to finish up. I am focusing on drywall now, and looking to tie as many lose ends togther as possible in the next week. Wendy keeps up with the clean-up at all times, and pitches in with the construction action as well. We are both quite tired so it will be good to complete this stint of the 10-year reno! The markets continue to push forward, but with employment pressures, rising inflation and national debt concerns in the USA, there's plenty of trepidation. Now, this week, Moodys has dropped their credit rating. My sports teams have been flying high. The Jays now have the best record in baseball, and are playing at the .600 level—my standard for a good team. Likewise, the Riders continued their winning ways and have taken over first place in the Western Conference. 

Kali, 1 year old with ice cream

Eric and Erica continue with their usual activities and help out when ever they have free time. Erica had a concert on Friday with her Mystery Train group. We enjoyed attending that. Eric had his usual week of work and mentoring sessions this morning, but still managed some quality time on the renos! Today, we installed the new back door. 

Kristian completed his sojourn here, and has returned to Regina along with Kali. He has several issues to deal with in preparation for the school year at Sask Poly Tech. He's keeping busy these days managing Kali, and monitoring her interactions with his cats, It's going well! 

Kali & Elly—friends! 

Travis finally got his car fixed. He was calling it Kari Stall due to it/s habit of quiting at unexpected moments, but his mechanic finally found the issue and it's running well again. Joanna has completed support for her mother's move and has returned to Thunder Bay, and her regularly scheduled programming. 

And that's enough for this week.