News Update

We've had a spectacular week on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. They called it a mid-latitude cyclone or a weather bomb, but by any description it was a hurricane. It set a record for the lowest pressure reading ever developed on mainland North America, and it produced a category three hurricane. The eye settled between here and Kenora for almost a day, and the winds tore in all directions around it. Northbound winds across the lake were more severe than the gales of November that took down the Edmund Fitzgerald thirty-five years ago. Trees and power lines were uprooted. Semis were blown off roads. West of the eye, the southbound winds brought down Arctic air and produced snow and ice storms across the prairies and down into the Dakotas. It hung on for a long time; friends of ours along the lake had no power for 45 hours out of two days, including 35 hours straight.

Otherwise, life was more like usual. Investments went well, and I completed a month that matched expectations for the first time in a long time—I feel blessed! The World Serious has begun, and I almost feel the need to apologize to Texas Ranger fans for choosing to cheer for them! The series has not been going well. Fortunately, they won their game tonight, so they're kind of back in the series. In the CFL, the teams are playing out the final games of the regular season as nearly all play off spots have been determined. I got my medical for driving school bus, so now I need to pass written and driving tests and take the training program. One special treat this week is that Wendy got me a compound sliding mitre saw. I have long wanted one, and this one is actually a level better than I was hoping for—I will try to use it well.

Wendy got a job this week. She starts next week at a new Dollarama store opening out the back gate and across the street. On the same day she got that job, she also got a call from Walmart for an interview, so she may have a better opportunity there. She interviews there next week as well.

Kristian has had an exciting week of Hallowe'en preparations. The Jack o'Lanterns are ready; the TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle) costume is ready; the treats are ready—well, truth be told, the treats have been steadily diminishing all week long! He also had a birthday party today. Erin and the rest of us are also enjoying Kristian's excitement. But my big moment with him was yesterday. He read me his little book for the week! It was priceless.

Trav has continued his usual pursuits. His hockey team is progressing well, but his Penguins have had a tough week, although they won tonight. He's still looking forward to going to Pittsburgh for a three-game set in November.

And that's about enough for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been more Fall-like, with cool winds and a few showers. Wendy and I have still managed to get out for our hike most days. The week started on a discouraging note, as the Riders fell to Calgary. The loss to Edmonton tonight finishes our quest for first place, but we're assured of second place. As it stands, we need to concentrate on improving the team play, and getting some injured players back in anticipation of the playoffs. Baseball playoffs continue with the World Series (Serious, I like to call it, since it's the time when the world gets serious about baseball!) ready to begin next week. Texas Rangers have advanced to play against San Francisco Giants. We were cheering for the Phillies—next year country once again!

I have been enjoying good progress in my investing since we returned from our summer travels, and I'm up about 5% since then, but this week was not a good one! The markets were mixed, and I made some wrong choices, so I was down about 0.5% for the week. On the health front, I'm feeling recovered! The chiropractor still wants to see me every two weeks, but I'm able to sleep without pain. My arms and shoulders are probably as good as they're going to get in this life, and my ankle is ready for the challenge of trying to curl and skate this winter. I've heard nothing further on my school bus driver training, so, I'm just studying the manuals while waiting for the next phase.

Wendy was to the doctor this week. Her doctor wants more heart testing (echocardiogram, or ECHO) to assure herself (and us) of how the heart is functioning. She continues with her gym work, and walks with me most days. She's also applied on more jobs.

Erin & Kristian are carrying on pretty much as usual. Kristian is excited about Hallowe'en and Jack o'Lanterns and the prospect of candy! This evening we went pumpkin hunting, and picked up three to decorate and turn into pie! His school work is progressing, and he's beginning to read the small pattern booklets. His most recent Lego preoccupation is castles and knights. Somehow this ties in with Lego Star Wars!

Travis continues with Joanna, work and hockey. He has his Penguins playing good hockey even while they wait for injured players to return. The team he coaches is winning as well.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed and we have returned to the salubrious climes of Lake Superior and my hometown. The weather continues to be lovely, and we're enjoying it. We drove back from Kenora on Tuesday, so it's been a short week here. The Autumn colours are rapidly disappearing from the trees, but it was still a pretty drive. A fungus seems to have attacked my tomatoes, so, I shall stop worrying about frost! Some frost is predicted for this coming week, and I'll simply leave them to their fate. In the meantime, we have harvested a bunch of spaghetti squash, the last of the tomatoes, and we're still looking at another feed of Swiss Chard.

We got the desired result in football on Monday, as Montreal knocked off Calgary. Now the Riders have their fate in their own hands—win and they have first place. That game is Sunday evening, so we are hoping they will perform well. It's also the time of year for serious baseball fans, so Erin and I are busy cheering for our favourite teams—we both hope the Phillies win it all, but are otherwise cheering for or against the Yankees!

I had another good week on the markets, achieving my half percent for a change! I have been accepted for the school bus driving job, but now I have to complete several prerequisites: clean driving record, clean drug test, clean criminal record check, clean bill of health, successful written test on the regulations, successful driving test. Some of these are going to be easy; I'm busy tracking down the three manuals to study for the written test. I recall this used to be easy, also; you just picked up a manual from the government office and did a bit of studying. Now, you have to buy the manuals—total cost$56! When did that happen? Anyway, it looks like it would be a good thing to do for a couple of hours each day, and still leave me time for my investing work. We'll see how it goes.

Eric and Erica have both been to Thunder Bay this week as they had conferences in town, but that kept them quite occupied, so we didn't see much of them.

Wendy has returned to her heart issues. She had a stress test this week, and that seemed to go fine. She has been asked to try that again in six months. Then, she decided that if a stress test was good, she should try to stress her heart even more, and has been pushing it on the exercise machines at the gym! That was alarming! I tried to explain to her that the stress test was not to improve her heart, but to see if it would fail! It is not a therapy! We are hoping she will take it a bit easier from now on. She has also applied for another job.

Erin and Kristian continue as per usual. Kristian had a short week in school/day care as he drove back with us on Tuesday. He continues to make good progress. Erin got a nice surprise at work as they cancelled the charges on her weekend rental. She quite enjoyed the Mazda3 and still hopes she may get one someday; she had a headache on the way back here on Monday, so that was not helpful. Kristian's Lego collection continues to explode, so we have his various projects all over the living room.

Trav has been working hard and has managed to get the Penguins into the win column. The team he coaches has also begun the regular season, and are similarly searching for a win. Work continues to be busy.

And that's about it for this week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another week has passed; I have travelled from the shore of Lake Superior to the shore of Winnipeg River in Kenora. I drove up on Wednesday to help Eric/A with some electrical work. We replaced the sub-panel in the garage with a new one of 100 amps. This required the installation of a new line from the house, so that was quite a job. Then, we upgraded the electricity to the suite from the new panel. All lines were redone, and additional wiring was installed for a range and for baseboard heating. It was quite a job to find routing for the lines through a finished accommodation; most of my previous electrical work was done during the construction phase of our houses in YK. Thanks for the training there, Robbie!

The markets were quite cooperative this week. I sold out on Tuesday before the travel day, for more than a 1% gain, but picked up some gold after the downturn on Thursday, and that paid off as well. The weather has been beautiful with daily temperatures in the twenties. My tomatoes continue to thrive, and projections for the next week continuing to be for above average temperatures. The Riders played badly and lost to Toronto this afternoon, so, once again, we wait and fret about the outcome of the Calgary game on Monday. Next week, we're scheduled to play Calgary. I hope they weren't looking past Toronto to that game, but they certainly did not give a good effort. I got out to the driving range to give my back and my new golf clubs a workout; that went well, so I'm thinking of trying a round of gold next week. I finally got a call on one of the jobs I applied for back in August; I have an interview there next week.

Wendy has had a difficult week as she had a health scare on Thursday. Trav & Joanna took her up to the hospital where she spent most of the day hooked up to monitors and getting various tests. All seems to be well right now, but she'll have to go back next week for stress tests on her heart. She drove up to Kenora today with Erin & Kristian to spend Thanksgiving weekend here.

Erin and Kristian have carried on as per usual. Kristian is doing well at school. Erin is enjoying the transition and pay level of her promotion at work. This weekend, she's trying out a Mazda 3 car; she'd like to upgrade to that!

Trav is quite busy with work, and is just getting going on a new hockey season. It seems they have too much of some kinds of assignments at work, so that's causing a backlog there, and a bottleneck for the whole operation. And, to make matters worse, his Penguins have started the season with two losses, so, he needs to get them back on the right track as well!

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 been cooperating with my newly seeded front lawn, as it gives a bit of rain nearly every other day. This grass likes cool, damp conditions for germination, so I'm hoping this completes the job. The garden continues to produce tomatoes, but we're predicted for a hard frost again tonight, and since we're now into October, I have to think it will soon be time for green tomatoes all over the kitchen! The markets started off poorly this week (Just when I thought I had things figured out!), but then the other four days were good. That worked out much better than the last two weeks! I didn't get out golfing, but my back has continued to improve, so I'm ready to give it a go. The Riders beat the Argos this afternoon, but since Calgary won last night, they remain one game out of first. However, they have clinched a spot in the playoffs.

Wendy is back into her routine with gym, home, shopping and visitation. She is becoming quite expert with Lego, and Kristian loves it when Grandma helps with the various projects. We had two young visitors, Bana & Steve, stop in on Thursday night, on their way east. It was nice to meet them. Both of us have start our dental cleaning with the dental hygienist students at Confederation College. They take quite a bit more time than the professionals at the dentist, but with a fee of only $20, we figure we can afford the time!

Erin and Kristian have had a busy week. Kristian had really good news as his hearing check-up revealed that he has maintained his hearing level. There is always a concern with Pendred's Syndrome that his hearing will decline even more. The technician noted Kristian's comprehension of what was going on and moved him on to "big boy" testing elements; Kristian managed that, also. He's a smart little boy! Erin completed her promotion at work. She's enjoying the accolades of her boss, not to mention the increased pay! Sunday afternoon they are off to another birthday party—such a whirl of activity!

Trav has begun the hockey season once again with exhibition games and practices. He also keeps busy with work and individual contracts for graphic design and web site development. One of his recent websites is for Jennifer's Bakery Shop. Check it out!

And that's about it for this week.