News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, in my home town. I did some fruitless investigations of my Employment Insurance situation. It's amazing to come to understand just why I don't qualify while others do! I guess I need to go back and spend more time learning how to game the system before I get to this advanced age. If I had used a more acceptable address, and reported my income in a more acceptable way, I would have been accepted for more insurance and a longer time! Who knew? Well, actually some people do know, but I did not. I managed to get out for a couple of golf games, but results were unspectacular.

I applied for a job with an online-supported First Nations high school. That was successful, but after we considered the option of moving to Pickle Lake so I could drive daily out to Osnaburgh, we determined that this was too much of an adventure for us! So, I'm still wondering what to do now that I'm almost grown up! I plan to check out school-bus driving next week. That seems a good fit with what is planned to be my main occupation—investment manager. Trav and I continued our practice this week. It was a very good week despite the (perhaps because of the) fluctuating markets. I made over 3% and now stand at 10.5% for six weeks of work. Our tutors keep reminding us that it will be much more difficult in reality, so we are tempering our enthusiasm.

Wendy has applied on a job as an administrative assistant at the University. I think she's the ideal candidate as the job requirements seem to match not just her skills but her penchant. It will be some weeks yet before she finds out the results of her application.

Erin has continued her non-working work. She has also completed her registration for college with coursework starting in September. She's off to Winnipeg this weekend to enjoy a weekend with a friend, Jolie, who lives there. We have Kristian with us, so it's a busy weekend.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, in my hometown. We started the week with the joy of watching a Rider victory, and last evening suffered through a Rider defeat! However, both games provided some encouragement over the development of the team. Tuesday provided the surprising news that my Employment Insurance had ended. Having not been a user of the same, I didn't understand how it worked! I thought when they said I was eligible until November 2009, that I would be getting money until then—silly me! I have a couple weeks of work helping schools finish their reports to the Ministry, and then I'll reapply, but in reality, I expect it means that I need to push forward even more quickly on the investments program. I am working on my iTrade application this weekend–the final step to getting my pension money into my own hands! Scares me! I had a difficult (albeit successful) week on the markets and now stand at 6.9% gain for five weeks of investing.

The weather has been mixed—a few sunny days mixed between a several rainy days! We enjoyed a evening with the church leadership team out at our friends' place on the lakeshore, and also came home with a load of raspberries—they surely combined well with our rhubarb to make a fine batch of pies!

Wendy has a lead on a good job, so we hope that works out. She has spent a lot of time this week getting a winter trip to Florida arranged, and that looks ready for December. We expect our children and grandchildren to join us for parts of the time there, so we're looking forward to that!

Erin has continued her unemployed working! She seems to be working almost full-time even though she's trying to quit. She has also been setting up her courses that begin in September, and that appears to be coming together well. And, she celebrated her birthday this week; her request was filet at the local stcak house! Kristian got his new ear-pieces this week. These fit well, and have eliminated the annoying whistling the old ones were producing. At least we found it annoying; he never expressed much concern.

Trav has continued with his work and the investment program with me. Both are going well.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

This weekend finds us back on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown! We drove down from Kenora on Sunday afternoon, and began the process of catching up on the lawns and garden. Erin has been watering and keeping up with the peas and beans, but the rhubarb has overgrown its patch! Then, there are the weeds! So, I have done lots of pulling and hoeing weeds this week. I also picked about half of the rhubarb and got it cut up for freezing. It took some preliminary cuts, but the lawns are about down to regular height now. We've had rain, so they've been really growing.

Of course, Tuesday's featured colonoscopy was a big event, if not exactly a highlight! I started on my purge pills on Sunday evening, and then added Pico-Salax Monday and Tuesday morning. Why would someone give himself diarrhea?! Tuesday afternoon was my appointment at the hospital. I remarked over part of my instructions—"Bring your health card. Do not bring any money or jewelry." I laughed as I shared this with my American-resident brother. He assured me their instructions would be,"Bring your credit card and scrape together whatever money you can!" The nurse installed a needle in the back of my hand in anticipation of the drugs to be administered later, and soon I was wheeled to the operating theatre. I thought they were putting me out, but that didn't happen, so I got to watch their explorations of my nether regions on r large monitor–delightful! The doctor told me he only found a small untoward 'skin-tag' which he excised. I'll have an appointment later to go over the results. The only difficulty coming out of the operation was the air they injected into me to open up passageways; that caused a lot of cramping afterwards. The nurse told me just to go the washroom and let 'er rip! That helped!

We enjoyed our reunion with Travis, Erin & Kristian. It's been a good week as Kristian stayed home with us on two days. Trav and I have continued our investment practice, and also had another Advanced class on Monday evening. I have begun recovery from my disastrous last week; I gained 1.2% and am now at 5.8% gain in four weeks. This was particularly satisfying as the market lost money this week. It also compares well to the expected 0.5% per week; I'm feeling satisfied with our progress. We have also continued to refine our strategy, so we'll see how that goes.

We have received news from Zambia. It is good to hear of events there, even if it isn't all good news. We continue to be very concerned for their well-being, so we always like to be caught up on how things are going. Thanks: BK, Jack, Marti!

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed, and we have begun the journey back to the shore of Lake Superior and my home town. It has been good to spend the time with the family in Regina. There have been frequent gatherings of various family and friends around the table. I got to try out two salmon planking recipes—both good, but I preferred the ginger-brown sugar one! On Friday, we headed east and are currently in Kenora at Eric/A's—thanks guys! We arrived in time for a lovely supper and then settled in to watch the Riders win in BC; unfortunately, the Lions had other plans and we had to suffer through the ignominy of defeat. Ouch!

Monday was a holiday, so we took the van in Tuesday to continue the repair regulations. It is now set to be repaired next week. I got to practise golf on Thursday for a couple of hours in preparation for the game in Kenora today with Eric. The front nine was quite an enjoyable layout while the back nine was less well thought-out. We enjoyed the game until rain forced us to quit after 14 holes.

The holiday-shortened week led to unusual activity in the markets, but we persisted in trying. Thursday was a very bad day for me, and I ended the week down 1.1% but still up 4.6% for the three weeks that we've been on this latest program. Trav did better and turned a profit without my adventurous influence! I enjoyed getting some feedback and advice from Uncle Bernard while in Regina.

On Wednesday, we drove over to Moose Jaw to celebrate Aunty's 96th birthday. Thank you, Grace & Elvin for hosting us and providing an excellent meal topped off by Saskatoon pie! We also took opportunity to see the famous Chicago Tunnels while we were in Moose Jaw.

We intend to complete the trip home tomorrow. We're looking forward to that, to reuniting with family there and sleeping in our own bed.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed, spent far from the shore of Lake Superior, my hometown. We began the week in Dauphin where we enjoyed the hospitality of our friends and family there. Bern, Alicia and Logan were also there, so we met briefly with them before they headed to Saskatoon and we headed to Regina on Monday. We thank David & Marilyn for hosting us in Dauphin. As we headed west, we drove by Binscarth where I taught my first year. We enjoyed visiting old friends there. Once in Regina, we moved in at 55 Laird and enjoyed the remainder of the week there, visiting with Rich & Sue, Dave and other relatives and friends. Thanks for hosting us, Dad!

On Wednesday, we drove down to Ogema to visit relatives there, and to check out the recently acknowledged Century Farm, and the Taylor farm (home to Wendy's grandparents and mother) was historically recognized. We enjoyed Uncle Art's wonderful gardens and returned with plenty of vegetables and fruit from his labours. Another notable (lamentable?) incident involved my backing Dad's van into a power pole at the farm! This caused some damage to the left-rear corner of the van and to my sensibilities! At any rate, we enjoyed the visit, the remembrances and the search for other special sites in the K family history.

Bern, Alicia & Logan rejoined us late Thursday night. As a result, we've been able to continue the catch up on their Mexican adventure. We plan to make a few more day trips next week before turning our vehicle back to the east.

Trav and I have continued our investment training and practice. We got back the results on our research project 84.5% and continued our purchases. After two weeks on this simulation, I stand at 5.6% profit. This program just continues to amaze me.

Erin & Kristian have skyped with us a few times. It's good to see them, even if only via video. There are taking care of yard and garden while we're away. Thanks, guys.

We close the week in front of the TV as we enjoy watching the Riders win in Calgary 24-23 as they move into a first place tie. And that's the kind of week it's been.