News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. The weather is definitely cooling as the season has changed and the trees are taking on Autumn colours. Wendy spent most of the week up in Kenora with the grandsons there. Eric/A enjoyed a trip down to TO as Erica had a conference in Guelph. Wendy had some interesting adventures there, and drove back home on Friday afternoon. I prepared the lawn for over-seeding, but with rainy weather late in the week, I didn't get the seeding done. Perhaps, I'll manage tomorrow. I had another roller-coaster week in the market as I was up 1% on Monday, but lost it later in the week, only to manage some recovery on Friday. Today, we had an all day meeting of the church leadership team, and that was quite productive in clarifying our situation. The week ended on a high note as the Riders came back from a 15 point deficit to defeat Hamilton; and, since Calgary lost this week, that pulls us to just one game back of first place. The weather cleared off today for a beautiful day, but now they're predicting frost tonight, so that may be the end of my garden. I've covered the tomatoes, so I hope they'll survive. My back has improved from very tender last weekend to pretty solid this weekend; I'm hoping to try golf next week.

Wendy enjoyed her week up in Kenora. She was glad to see the renovations proceeding on the house there, and enjoyed spending time with the boys.

Erin and Kristian had a few extra items on their schedule this week as one of Kristian's hearing aids broke so that needed replacement. He was also invited to another birthday party; he's very popular in his class. Then there was speech-therapy, and as things were so busy, they weren't even able to take in his IEP meeting, so they'll try to catch up next week!

Trav has his usual occupation with work, but the big stuff this week was his hockey team. He and his fellow coaches have been spending lots of time scouting the available players, and this week they drafted their team for this season. Trav was quite satisfied with the players they manage to get.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continued to be very comfortable with a few showers. I am thinking I should do the lawn over-seed in the coming week. The garden continues to produce for us. I've harvested lots of tomatoes, more spaghetti squash than we can begin to eat, and a few zucchini. The squash have almost been killed off by the leaf fungus now, and I see the pumpkin vines have caught it as well. I had a pretty good week with my back until this afternoon when I must have done something wrong as it's really hurting tonight and I'm back on the ibuprofen. I had a great investment day on Monday, gaining 1%, but the rest of the week was not good, and I lost over half of it! The Riders had an embarrassing blowout loss to Winnipeg on Sunday, but revived our hopes with an overtime victory last night over Calgary. Today, we celebrated the tenth anniversary for our friends, George & Karen; Eric led them in the confirmation of their vows, and we had a lovely supper with their family and friends.

The big event this week was Kristian's fifth birthday. He enjoyed an extended celebration that lasted all week long. First off, we sang Happy Birthday while he contributed his five dimes to the church Bible fund on Sunday. Then, he celebrated at his day care on Thursday, and with us on Thursday evening. On Friday they celebrated his birthday at school, and finally, today, Eric/A & Haaken; Travis, Joanna & Andrew; Erin; Tom, Charlene & Calvin; Shelly & Kaden; Grandma & Grandpa celebrated his birthday all over again. As I write, the living room is completely infested with Lego!

Wendy and I have heard nothing on our job applications. We're remaining patient. Wendy plans to spend the next week in Kenora, taking care of those grandsons, while I remain here to be available for Kristian when he gets off school.

Erin and Travis are continuing with their usual job commitments and both are doing fine. Travis has begun the hockey season and is scouting prospects for his team.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, in my home town. The weather has been very nice with some welcomed showers, and cooler temperatures that make it nice to think about packing up the air conditioner. Of course, there's also the concern that it's time to pack up the air conditioner! We started the week with a special celebration for our friends, John & Diane, as they celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary; it was a good time with much family and friends in attendance. We concluded that day watching the Riders win the traditional Labour Day game over Winnipeg. Calgary has continued to win, so at this point in the season, the Riders are just trying to keep within shouting distance. We had several shaky days on the market this week, but with good buys and a good day on Friday, I managed to eke out a gain. I've continued work with my chiropractor, but my back is still very tender and I've remained off the golf course for a seventh week. The garden is producing well; we're having trouble keeping up with the tomatoes and the spaghetti squash. We're getting down to single digits some nights, so it may not be long until we get a killing frost. We had some excitement with the car as the oil plug failed. Fortunately, the guys at Kal-Tire were able to re-tap the oil pan and install a new, larger plug.

Wendy and I are both waiting to hear on a couple of job applications. Wendy also keeps active at the gym and visiting with friends. While we have assumed ownership of the house, we have not established a plan or a schedule for renovations. Wendy continues to revise the plans! We'd certainly like to extend the gas line and install our gas range and a gas fireplace.

Erin is learning the aspects of her new job quickly. It is going well. She continues to follow the Jays as they play out the season, and try to interfere in the playoff race! Kristian is back to school; he is enjoying that a great deal as well. His communication and use of sentences grows each week. We are quite encouraged by how well this is developing.

Trav continues with the development of his career. He has applied for a business development grant to help the process along. He continues to grow his base of customers even outside of his job. He is nearing completion of another website; I will pass along the URL when it's ready for public consumption.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

We're into September here on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has changed this week, as we spent the first few days in 30+ degree heat and the comfort of air conditioning and ended the week in cool, rainy, blustery weather, thankful for the protection of a warm house. It's Labour Day weekend, traditionally the end of summer holidays, so back-to-school thoughts occupy many. Haaken and Liam are already back to school; Kristian is scheduled to begin on Wednesday. It's been a good week in the markets, and I've continued to catch up from my losses early in the summer. September is traditionally a bad month for investors, so I shall play it carefully. The Riders play tomorrow in their traditional Labour Day match against Winnipeg. We'll be cheering! My back continues to bother me, and I'm continuing with the therapy, but improvement is slow, so, it's another week without golf.

The garden is producing well. I have begun harvesting squash, and tearing up the fungus infected vines. The tomatoes are really producing now, but the beans and peas are pretty much done. We've had a lot of rain the last couple of days, so everything's looking pretty green. I am getting ready for the Fall over-seed on the front lawn; the eco-grass likes cool wet weather for germination.

Wendy and I have each applied on jobs recently, so we're hoping for something to develop there. I applied to drive school bus, and I've also applied on a data project–both hold the promise of lots of free time to continue my main work of investing.

Erin works some on her new assignment each day. The transition will be gradual over the next while. Her replacement has been hired, but is still receiving training.

Travis remains busy with work, but also managed a trip down to Duluth this week.

And that's about it for now.