Birthday 57

The weekend included a recognition of my completion of 57 years on this little blue planet. The whole family was here—my favourite wife, my favourite children, my favourite grandchildren, my favourite son-in-law and my favourite daughter-in-law! It was delightful! We enjoyed backyard BBQ, supper out at a restaurant, and, of course, an ice cream cake! The poor cake was festooned with 57 candles—it's a wonder it didn't melt on the spot! Thankfully Liam assisted me to get them all blown out. I also got to play golf with three friends. My driver was unconscious with a couple drives over 300 yards, and in the correct direction! It must have been a special boon from the golf gods in honour of the occasion as it hasn't happened before.

After supper, I head back to the course to play the back nine. It's like old home week... hook, scramble, bogie. After a few holes of that I have to look in the mirror and exclaim, "Okay, I recognize you, but who was that guy this morning?!" And suddenly on 15, I'm hitting it straight again, so I par in and complete a very respectable 82.

In addition to the delight of the presence of family and friends, I also got some presents. It was too much, and I feel very blessed. Thank you, family!

News Update

Another week (and almost another year) passes on the shore of Lake Superior. And while the climes may continue to be salubrious, the rising temperatures make outdoor activity less enjoyable. The thermometer continues to push higher in the twenties, and threatens to continue into the thirties; we are happy to enjoy the air-conditioned comfort of the house (leave us alone, David Suzuki!).

The pool also gets a lot of traffic, even more so after the arrival of Eric and the boys on Tuesday. Even Wendy is eventually convinced to take the plunge. Kristian seems unable to make his mind up about it—everytime I stand him at the top of the ladder, he jumps in, but he hollers (in what seems to be discomfort) while he's there! Haaken and Liam spend hours on end playing in the water.

I've only managed one golf game this week. That was with Eric on Wednesday. It was okay; I scrambled a lot on the front nine, but improved on the back—46-40, for an 86. We've put together a foursome for my birthday on Monday, so, I'm looking forward to that.

Wendy is doing much better health-wise, so that's a relief. Erin has applied for a job at the University—we hope that goes forward. Erica drove down after work on Thursday, so we have the whole family together for a few days—it's nice!

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

The week is enjoyed in salubrious climes on the shore of Lake Superior.

I am fundamentally on holidays, although frequent issues with OnSIS calls me back to active duty nearly every day for at least a couple of hours. I have noted the need to improve my golf game, especially off the tee, so I concentrate on that at the start of the week. Although I always spend part of my practice time on my short game, I spend all of my swing time on driving both Sunday and Monday. I have a game with John on Tuesday, and then play another 18 holes with locals that I am placed with... my driving is much improved. I hit only one pull hook in my game with John, and only two on the other 18! I do 'play it smart' (yes, I know, that's not like me!) with a couple of three woods, but, really, my driving goes very well. My iron play is inconsistent for awhile but also comes around, and I play the final nine in two over! All told, my two games this week end up 85, 80. I take the remainder of the week off golf as yard work and wind combine to keep me off the course.

The garden is doing well, although it got a late start. Tomatoes are forming, we're eating radishes, and the lettuce is getting close. Our transplanted flowers and rhubarb all seem to be taking well. I upgraded the distribution side of the watering system this week, so that helps.

Wendy has been feeling much better and is nearly back to full operating condition once again. She still is taking treatment, but she is able to manage without much discomfort or disability.

Erin has been working on assignments with her summer courses and is in the final weeks of that. Kristian got a little cut under his chin and had to get medical attention to have it glued back together again. He hardly seemed to notice the injury and it certainly has not slowed him down!

Travis & Sylvia are doing well, keeping busy with work and home. Trav is starting plans and preparations for the new school year. Among other things he's planning a trip to Las Vegas for a Photoshop conference in September. I wonder if there are any decent golf courses in the vicinity!?

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

The week begins in Dauphin, winds its way through Winnipeg and eventually returns us to the shore of Lake Superior.

We enjoy a wonderful reunion with many friends in Dauphin—thank you, especially to Mabel for your generous hospitality. On Monday, we begin the return tour by driving into Winnipeg. Thank you Tom & Mariette for your generous hospitality. Tuesday finds me on another golf course, Grand Pines, just north of Winnipeg. Most of my game is working well, but my driver is mostly unmanageable and leaves me frequently in the trees and I eventually record an 88. Clearly I must do something better on the tee!

On Wednesday we check in with Mike & Peggy, acknowledge her birthday, collect a lot of plants for our flower beds and garden and then head east. We arrive in TBay safely in the early evening. It is good to see Erin & Kristian.

They have been doing okay, although Kristian has a bit of a cold. Erin has managed to get a lot of schoolwork done despite the absence of the prime babysitters.

I manage to get back to work and help a few more schools make progress in the dreaded ministry reports. We enjoy a brief visit with Trav & Sylvia who had their own whirlwind tour in the last week.

Wendy is feeling quite a bit better and manages to make a lot of progress planting our new perennials as well as an assortment of local bedding plants.

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

The week begins on the shore of Lake Superior. Then we head west on Tuesday, driving to Winnipeg where we visit with Mike & Peggy and I enjoy a round of golf with Mike. My golf is quite satisfactory as I manage an 84 on a tight course. On Thursday we head out to Dauphin in preparation for the annual Pryder Cup golf competition with our friends from Bismark, ND. This will be my third Pryder Cup as I played the original one in 2000 before we began our time in Zambia, and I managed to take in the 2005 event, although I played for the American team on that occasion!

So, while we stayed with Mabel in Dauphin, and she and Wendy enjoyed shopping and chatting, I laboured through four rounds of golf on Friday and Saturday!

And thus another week passes.

Pryder Cup 2

Day two activity moves us to the Dauphin Lake course, where we start round three under threatening skies. The format is better ball and I am teamed with my old friend, Dick. It is a great relief to be playing much better. Perhaps my fretting and problem-solving through the night are paying off! More likely the calming influence of my friend allows me to get my head together. It is well said that golf is mainly played 'between the ears'!!

At any result we win both points fairly comfortably--but the great feeling for me is that I am playing some decent golf once again. Our teammates continue to pitch a virtual shutout and we head to the final round with an insurmountable lead of 13.5 to 2.5.

The afternoon features the singles matches. Although we play in foursomes, the match is against one person from the other team. I am delighted to find that my refound game has continued into the afternoon, so I am able to score well and win my point 6 and 5. Randy, my playing partner in the group has a harder time of it, but finally wins on seventeen--2 and 1. Likewise our teammates continue to dominate winning six of the eight matches for a final score of 19.5 to 4.5.

It was a great experience despite my poor play on Friday and I hope to play in the event on another occasion if the chance should arise.

Pryder Cup 1

The opening round of the tournament is the two-man scramble. This is an event where each partner plays a shot and then we choose from the two results as the location for our next shot. This continues until we hole-out and then the team with the better score wins the hole. I am paired with Mark, a reliable golfer so we can count on a high percentage of fairways and greens hit. I, on the other hand, do not turn out to be a reliable golfer! I don't know whether I am over-psyched for the matches or what, but I do not golf well at all, so that's pretty frustrating. And Mark is unable to make up the difference so while we struggle valiantly, we finally lose our match when they make a birdie on the final hole and we lose 1up. Our teammates fare better and we end the morning matches with a 3-1 lead.

In the afternoon we play modified alternate shot. I am partnered with Bernard, a long hitter and a consistent scorer. Once again, I turn out to be neither! I certainly play better than in the morning, so that is of some encouragement. We fall behind early and by the tenth hole, we're four holes down. We rally and finally regain a tie on the seventeenth hole, but, alas, we fall apart on the eighteenth and lose the match 1up. Once again our teammates hold their own in all other matches, so we complete the day with a 6-2 lead.

In the evening we have a BBQ at Wayne's house... great steaks, great food, great fun!