War!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continued to be great and we've enjoyed that. Kali drags us out for walks, sometimes more than once per day! She sometimes even brings me her collar to announce her wishes! I have finished work on the last two high panels in the side fence, so that goal has been reached. I picked my first batch of rhubarb, and got that cut up and frozen; I plan to get another picking done before we leave. I got out for golf on Tuesday and experienced tiredness, but no back or rib pain, so that was a good sign. My +13 result? Not such a good sign! Our travel plans keep getting tighter and tighter as Wendy wants to remain here until after the 19th, and we want to be in Prince Albert on the 25th, so it's not looking promising for any golf along the way. I got the car serviced yesterday, so that part is ready to roll. Now that we have a dog, travelling is considerably more complicated. Wendy had her main Spring concert on Monday–that went well. She has much end-of-season business to take care of and another sing-out scheduled for next week that I was hoping we could skip! World affairs remain chaotic as Trump's Trade War is estimated to take a trillion dollars worth of business out the global economy—we hope he'll change his mind! The Russian war in Ukraine seems to have escalated again, and now Israel has extended itself further by starting a war against Iran. It's a mess, and the markets took a hit as a result, so it was not a good week for investments. The NHL playoffs continued, now through five games with the Oilers trailing 3-2. The Jays remain hot, moving in to second place in their division! The Riders played again tonight in Hamilton and improved to 2-0 in the young season. 

Erica writes, "Eric and I are back on our own, Liam returned to Caronport on Monday. He has since heard from a contact for the new medicine and we hope that gets implemented soon. He also finished up the shelving in the spare room. Now, it just needs paint. We have been discussing our ongoing renovation plans for the summer. Mom and Dad will here at the end of June. We hope to do some work on the car park, and then move the bathroom on the main floor and gut the kitchen. We will see—I don’t want to be overly optimistic! We are coming to the end of the busy time at work. So, I will hopefully have more time for other work. :)"

Erin and Kristian are enjoying the summer weather in Regina, and some welcomed rains in northern Saskatchewan have brought some relief from the forest fire and smoke situation. Erin is caring for her garden area and anticipating adding some more plants. Erin was fretting about getting her financial reports completed, so naturally, she got those in a day ahead of time and enjoyed a relaxing Friday. She is now having a relaxing weekend with the hockey playoffs, her Jays playing great and there's an F1 race in Canada! Kristian has been working with youth group trying to organize more events. He getting ready to join us for the project in Prince Albert. 

Travis and Joanna joined us for supper and cards on Sunday. That was fun. Trav and I have worked hard all week to get our Oilers back on track in the playoffs, but to this point we're coming up short. Tonight, we enjoyed an outing to Boston Pizza for a Father's Day celebration, including Andrew. Andrew is getting ready to move into our house for the summer, which will also ease our concerns about taking care of the place while we're away. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Frenemies!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been beautiful, and only a little bit too warm, so we've been able to keep the house open most of the week. I have continued to work on the side fence. Just two more of the high panels left, and then I will move on to the shorter ones. My repair/replace system is going well, but now I'm running into interference from my raised garden beds. I have been over to the course to practice some golf, my back/ribs are feeling much better, so I'm able to swing harder, and hit much worse!! I plan to play next week—my first round of the season. Wendy keeps busily preparing for her final concert of the season. She had a concert on Monday, and also plenty of work on the business side of the chorus. Kali keeps us walking, and sometimes brings her collar so we remember to take her out—very smart little dog! The fox was around one night this week with some piteous yowling which made Kali frantic, and roused us from our sleep. USA continues in a state of turmoil. This week's feature was the breakup and public battle between Trump & Musk. Musk called Trump's tax bill an abomination because it adds $2.4 trillion to the national debt, he called Trump a criminal who was in the Epstein files, and that he should be impeached and replaced—can't disagree with him there. Trump replied by calling Musk an insane Nazi who should be investigated for his drug use, lose all his government contracts, and possibly be deported. You know, just the old, "he said"/"he said" stuff! Trump also claimed he'd completed a trade deal with China, but then China chimed in to correct the lie, and submit that while there was no deal, they had agreed to further meetings. At least the markets continued the May winning streak with another green week, and I enjoyed that. The football season has begun, and the Riders opened with a win—yay! The Jays have picked up the pace, winning 9 of the last 10, and moving into a playoff position. Well done, now keep it going. The Stanley Cup final is under way with the Oilers and Panthers tied at one game a piece. C'mon Oilers! 

Erica writes, "Liam has been visiting this week and it has been wonderful for us. It has been less wonderful for him as he was sick last weekend and then he had to prepare for and undergo a colonoscopy. Fun times! Our city has experienced a population increase with the fires up north. Several thousand people have evacuated. It will be a bit crazy as we support our clients and others who are currently homeless."

Erin and Kristian are enjoying the early summer in Regina, except for the forest fire smoke from northern Saskatchewan. We even get air quality warnings from those down here in Thunder Bay. Work is quite busy as her new assistant is out on medical leave for knee surgery, and what with her own recent vacation days, she has a bit of catch up to do. Her drip irrigation is not working yet, so it may wait until I get there to solve that problem. In the meantime, she is watering by hand, and the plants are doing very well. 

Lotsa Roma tomatoes soon!

Trav and Joanna had us over for supper on Sunday, and we look forward to returning the favour this Sunday. One of the aluminum welds has come apart on their deck settee, but we haven't settled on a repair solution. I tried to put a screw in it, but the aluminum is just too soft to hold. Aluminum welding (MIG, TIG) is a bit of black art, and one which I've never tried, as we did some carbon arc welding on the farm, but I only did hard metals using welding rods. I guess brazing would be similar to MIG welding. Maybe pop rivets will hold things together. Otherwise work remains steady for Trav and as per usual for Joanna. They have five foxes in their neighbourhood as the three kits are now looking almost grown up. 

Broken Weld

And that's about it for this week. 

TACO

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been beautiful, too hot for my comfort actually, and we've managed some activities outside, until we had to retreat to air conditioned comfort inside! I have managed to complete two more fence panels as each one is a day's work for me! I now have a very satisfactory system for removing them, straightening them and reinstalling them. One ongoing issue relates to my fall last week. I tripped coming through the back gate and fell hard on my side and my head. It opened a small wound on my head, and probably cracked a rib. It's very difficult to find a position for sleeping, and heaven help me if I cough! It's also interfering with my golf swing (some will say that's a good thing!), but I've managed several trips to the practice area, and hope to get in a game next week. Wendy has mostly been working on Spring Cleaning issues in the house, but has also been out for a few of the walks with Kali. She still has her Sweet Adelines practices as well. This week brings us to the end of the month, and the updates for the first quarter of the year. Canada posted a surprisingly good quarter with annualized growth of +2.2%, while USA suffered negative GDP data, and is now threatened with a recession (2 consecutive negative quarters). Trump blew up when he heard about his TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) nickname, and has issued ever more bizarre threats. Now that the Court of International Trade has unanimously declared his tariffs illegal, there were some who hoped he would accept this off ramp as a way to get out of the mess and blame someone else for his failures. Alas, he is vowing even worse actions, and most pundits are now resigned to the fact that he will keep the trade war going. At least the TACO trading has made May a great month in the markets, but they've suffered so much since Jan 20th, that it still doesn't get the USA indices back to the green side. 

May Index Results

TSX: +5.4%

DOW: +3.8%
S&P: +5.8%
Nasdaq: +8.6%

Results since Jan 20th
TSX: +4.4%
DOW: -2.8%
S&P: -1.4%
Nasdaq: -2.6%

The preseason has ended in football, so teams are making their final cuts and getting ready for action in week 1: Riders open the season against Ottawa next Thursday—Go Riders Go! The Blue Jays continue to struggle around the .500 mark and that's not going to get them into the playoffs. Hockey has now advanced to the Cup Final Series and my very own Edmonton Oilers are there against Florida Panthers. I was not impressed by the way the Oilers ended the regular season, but I did pick them to win the first two series. I picked the Jets to beat them in round three, but the Jets after being the top team in the regular season really faltered in the playoffs. The Oilers are playing well, so I'll be cheering and hoping for them in the finals. 

Eric writes, "This week Erica has been working late to finish up some projects at work. Eric agreed to the nomination, and was voted in to be an elder for the church here. Liam has a procedure next week, so he came home for the week."

Erin and Kristian have returned from their fabulous road trip to Alberta. It was a great time both in their sightseeing and on the drive. Now, they're back at home and enjoying their home in Regina. 

including the cats!

Today was planting day for the planters and hanging baskets. Romaine, garlic chives, green onions, purple sweet peppers, yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, peas, diva cucumbers, straight eight cucumbers, Roma tomato tree! I’m not sure what the difference in cucumbers will be. 

Travis and Joanna are doing well and enjoying their three dogs. It's the off-season for Ulrich Design, but there still seems to be enough to do. We're looking forward to joining them for supper on Sunday night. Kali will delight in coming along to play with Moxley, Darby and Marigold. 

Marigold, Darby, Moxley, Trav's Toes

And that's enough for this week! 

Visitor

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been seasonable, with a few holdover April showers and the arrival of May dandelions! I did my first lawn cut of the season. Since we plan to miss a large chunk of the summer again, I am making it my goal to keep the lawn from growing too fast! We have scheduled Andrew and Rosie to live here while we're away, so they'll take care of the lawns anyway, but I'll try to keep it manageable. The rhubarb is growing nicely, and about ready for a first picking. I'll try to get a few of those done before we leave. I did get over to the golf course between showers for a bit more practice. I also confirmed that my electric caddy needs a new battery, so I have sourced that and, except for my game, I am ready for the season!

The startling events of the week here at Kensington Manor was the weeklong visitation by a fox. She has spent several nights sleeping in our yard, and a few nights yowling in the neighbour's driveway. This is a grave concern to Kali who responds anxiously to protect us! It also means we cannot allow Kali out except on a leash as the fox would make a quick meal of her! I have looked around, but have been unable to find a den in the area. Trav & Joanna have a fox with a few kits in their neighbourhood. We contacted the police and the Natural Resources folks—they are unwilling to do anything despite that she comes up on our deck and is certainly a hazard to our pet. Wendy was busy most of the week with Sweet Adelines business as her choir took a vote and decided to remain in the organization. The markets got kicked again as Trump wildly lashed out with additional tariffs against Europe (50%) and Apple (25%). This lead to another market sell off. At the same time, the Republicans are trying to install a new financial plan which will add trillions to the USA deficit and resulted in them losing their top level credit rating—disaster upon disaster! Canada appears to be forging new trading arrangements with Europe and China to avoid some of the economic damage. We are definitely living in interesting times. In sports, the Blue Jays are playing a bit better and have moved into second place in their division—much work remains to be done! In hockey, Oilers are playing Dallas in the West Final, while Florida is blasting Carolina in the East. I'll just keep cheering for the Oilers as I have no teams left in my bracket. Football is into the pre-season and the Riders lost to Winnipeg today. 

Erica wrote, "Eric is off to Guelph this weekend for a FMT (Family & Marriage Therapy) conference. The president of the association had many good things to say about Eric and the work he has done in Saskatchewan. Of course, I already know this, but it was nice for him to be publicly recognized. I am at the end of my fiscal year. It is very busy and there is much to do! So, I’m taking advantage of Eric’s absence to get some work done. Liam lost the side mirror in his car—just the mirror part, not the casing. So, he is working on sourcing replacement parts."

Erin and Kristian had a big week in Alberta. They drove up to Calgary last Saturday, spent a few days there including a trip to the Calgary Zoo. Kristian was able to reconnect with a classmate who had moved there.

Standing on Air!

Then, they drove up to Edmonton to check out the attractions there. They had a hotel well-connected to the West Edmonton Mall so they enjoyed minigolf, the aquarium, Fantasyland and the eateries there. Today they are driving home to Regina.

Travis and the dogs had a good week! Joanna? Not so much! I think I passed along my head cold and she has been convalescing with that most of the week. Fortunately, she was well enough late in the week to go with Wendy for a manicure/pediccure to complete Mothers Day celebrations! Now, Wendy is able to dress up her new sandals properly! 

And that's enough for this week. 

Happy May Long!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, and it brings us to the Victoria Day weekend, known familiarly as May Long. The weather has been lovely all week, but since it's a long weekend, it has naturally turned cool and rainy today! Kali and I have been out for our daily walks, despite that I am suffering with a head cold this week. I thought it was seasonal allergies and was treating myself with Reactine, but switched to cold meds on Wednesday and I'm gradually feeling better. I did manage one trip to the golf course, and have also continued to work on my swing here in the yard. I'm looking forward to a few rounds this summer. The lawns are growing nicely, and I've noticed a few yellow heads waving at me from among the greenery! Trump backed down on his tariff war with China, and the markets have responded positively. Of course, there's no telling what he'll do next—this week he's threatening to impose (reimpose?) tariffs that he had cancelled earlier! He said he had completed trade agreements with 200 countries (there aren't that many countries!), but later amended that to just one country, and even later we found out there was no trade agreement with them either. Master dealmaker, for sure! Still, he has maintained a 10% minimum tax on anything Americans want to buy from elsewhere in the world, and that is having a chilling effect on the USA economy. Orders are being cancelled, shipments are being cancelled, shelves are emptying and the retailers are announcing price increases to pay for the tariffs. Of course, he doesn't like that either, and, today, he demanded that USA retailers should eat the extra cost, and not pass it along to their customers! Meanwhile, due to his tariffs, USA's trade deficit is increasing—the opposite of his declared intention. The first round of the NHL playoffs ended in glory for me, as I picked seven of the eight winners. Now, in round two, I have picked 2/3 winners, and am still waiting for the other series to end. Don't recall when I've ever been this lucky! However, since I picked the Jets to not only beat Dallas, but also to go on and win the Cup—I don't have much chance to add to my success! So, I'll keep cheering for the Oilers and see whether they will continue to win. Blue Jays are playing a bit better, but still below .500, and in my book you have to be able to win 3 out of 5 games (.600) to be considered a good team. 

Erica wrote, "It has been another week of long hours. I’m in the busiest time of my year so I’ve had a few late nights. Eric has been attending a conference on the brain, which is being presented in Boston, so he has had some early mornings—6 AM start. As a result, he has sometimes been asleep when I get home. I told him on Friday night that I missed him! We got the bikes into the shop for their annual check up. Both need tires, so we will get that done. We talked to all the kids on Mothers Day. Greg, Kiersten, Haaken and Liam are all doing well." 

Erin and Kristian are driving to Alberta for a holiday trip—their first trip together! Now that they have two drivers, it makes such trips much easier to accomplish. 

Road Trip 2025

Kristian wrote, "We’re going to Calgary to visit my friend and go to the symphony featuring the music from How to Train your Dragon. 

It was great!

We’re also going to go to the Calgary Zoo. Then, later in the week, we're going up to Edmonton to check out West Edmonton Mall."

Joanna took care of some Mothers Day shopping on behalf of the crew—thanks! We enjoyed an outing, with the dogs, to the Marina on Sunday afternoon. Way too many distractions for the dogs!

Bill/Kali, Travis/Moxley/Darby, Wendy/Marigold

A bit of heart-stopping excitement when Darby slipped his harness and made a break for it—Trav scooped him up pretty quickly to save the day! We hope to get another outing this weekend, but with the rains, it may be delayed. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Thank you for the Music!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been gorgeous such that the golf courses have opened, and my annual quest for single-digit games is renewed! Kali and I enjoy our daily walks, and she is learning to mind such that I sometimes have her off-leash when we're not walking on a street. The big event of the week was our Spring Concert on Friday evening, the culmination of our practice and preparation over the last several months. Click on the link, see if you can find Wendy and me, and enjoy!

Silver Sounds Spring 2025

Music and choral singing remain a celebrated part of our lives and we enjoy getting to sing with this group. Wendy continues to sing with the local Barbershop chorus as well; they had a concert this week, and more are planned through early June. Then, we're thinking of heading west for work in PA and visiting in Regina. I have not been informed of any other plans! We bought new carriage lights for the house and garage, so installed those this week. We had some with integrated LEDs, but they turned out to be fragile, and unrepairable since they don't have bulbs. I have now figured out a way to rebuild them with sockets, so they are useful once more. The Orange Trade War continues to wreak havoc and our most recent employment numbers were insufficient to cover the need. Still, it is the USA which is suffering more from his withdrawal from the world, and the citizenry is starting to notice, withdrawing support of him, and joining protests against him. As the west coast ports lose shipments and truckers fret over the loss of jobs, we're seeing Trump start to panic. This week he announced a non-trade plan with the UK and its own pretty desperate PM. It covers little, leaves a 10% tariff in place, so Americans will have to pay that much more for whatever they buy from the UK, well, except for Rolls Royce—that's tariff free! And while China's trade with the USA dropped 16% last month, its overall trade increased 8%, so they're not suffering at all. Canada, likewise, it opening trading relations with other countries including China, but we're still suffering a bit. The NHL playoffs continue. I achieved a record 7/8 picks in round one. We'll see if round two brings me back to earth! I have Canes, Leafs, Jets, Oilers—two are doing well, the others? Not so much! Blue Jays are currently on a west coast road trip, and remain below .500—not good! 

Erica writes, "This weekend is busy. Friday night our band played at the Anavets Club (Army & Navy) we played four sets and people were dancing until the very end! It was a lot of fun. Eric started teaching a masters class on line through University of Lethbridge. It’s the second time he’s taught the class so that should mean all the material is prepared. He assures me, it is not. Today is Lobsterfest, which ends up being an all day affair. We gather in the morning to set up and get organized. Then run around doing all the last minutes things we forgot. The event starts at 5:30 and runs until 11:30. So, I will be a wee bit tired for Mother’s Day. Speaking of which, Happy Mothers Day! We have been working with our local fairies in Thunder Bay and Langford to make sure our Mothers are appropriately appreciated. Now, I wait to see if I am equally appreciated. Liam went for his last dose of his current medication. When he had a reaction to it, they took him off it for a bit, but then started again more slowly. He has decided that is the last dose until he gets his new prescription."

Erin and Kristian are enjoying fantastic Spring weather after their horrible winter. Their tree is leafing, and they can all get out to enjoy the patio.

Kristian and Elly

Leaf me alone!

They are looking forward to and planning for their trip to Alberta starting next weekend. 

Travis and Joanna are slowing down a bit here in the off-season. I enjoy chatting through hockey games with Travis, and sometimes with others as I get to texting in the wrong threads!

Wendy's new sandals!

On behalf of the children, Joanna took Wendy shopping today in connection with Mothers Day—thank you very much! She picked out new sandals along with some bottles of essential bath oils. Pedicure still to come! 

And that's enough for this week. 

Election

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We opened the week with gorgeous weather, but Monday, Election Day, we were doused with a major April shower, and the prospect of a new government. Our newly elected Prime Minister, Mark Carney, is tasked with some major economic issues mostly caused by our southern neighbour and former ally. We hope, in due time, that Trump will be removed, and the USA will return to being a partner and friend. In the Trade War, Trump assures us that he has completed new trade deals with 200 of the 193 countries in the world. Of course, even a superficial exam of the facts shows that he has not completed new trade deals with any countries and has broken ALL the trade deals that had been in place. His sycophants have now allowed that they are partway through negotiating new terms to old agreements with 17 countries, but have not concluded new deals with any of them. Elections have consequences, and USA is facing the most severe consequences as inflation continues to rise and the economy has drifted from 2.3% growth in the final quarter last year, to -0.3% in the first quarter this year—it's not easy to damage an economy that quickly, but Trump has done it. Next week, PM Carney is scheduled to travel to Washington and meet with Trump. He cautions us not to expect anything conclusive. Otherwise, I worked at the election, and that went fine. With the arrival of Spring, I am starting into yard work. The rhubarb is up nicely. I will consider gardening plans in light of our summer travel plans—probably won't plant much. At least Kali and I get out for daily walks except when it's raining! Wendy and I are completing our preparations for our Spring Concert (May 9th)  with the Silver Sound choir. The cancellation of the worst of the tariffs has allowed some market recovery, but April still rated as the worst April since 1932—sigh! Now, we continue to wait for another shoe to fall—you can never know with this guy. The first seven matchups have been completed in the NHL playoffs. I picked six of those correctly—remarkable for me! The Jets/Blues will end tomorrow night. For the second round my picks were Leafs and Canes in the East, along with Oilers and Jets in the west. The Blue Jays have fallen off their early season form, and are now below .500 which doesn't cut it! 

Erica writes, "Highlight of the week—Eric ordered his first meal off the seniors' menu. Turning 55 has at least that advantage. On Thursday, Eric’s work celebrated their 40th anniversary with a big fancy banquet. On Friday, my work celebrated the end of tax season. So, we got two free meals. Nice! Eric has also been working on the post graduate course he starts teaching next week at the University of Lethbridge. We also got out for a motorcycle ride. That first ride is a bit fun as we remind our bodies how this goes! Eric turned 55 on Monday and Kiersten turned 32 on Thursday. We are all getting older."

Erin and Kristian are enjoying the arrival of summer in Regina. They're looking at 30° today—too hot for my liking! 

View from the Egg Chair

I cleaned up the planter boxes while I was there last month, and she will get the plants soon. 

Travis and Joanna remain busy. Trav has ended Puck Shots for this season, so he brought the chairs over here to store in the shed for the summer. Andrew flew back to Toronto for a couple of weeks, then, he plans to drive up mid-month and spend the summer here. Rosie will complete her term and her examinations, then she'll fly up here as well. We look forward to seeing more of them. 

And that's about it for this week.