News Update

After the long weekend of rain, we've had a nice week of weather on the shore of Lake Superior, in my hometown. Now, we're into another rainy weekend—how does it manage this?! The mornings have been cool, sometimes even frosty, so I haven't been moved to advance the gardening. I've managed to water my dandelions, but with golden fields blossoming around us, I fear it won't be the last battle of the season. I've also continued the annual fight against my allergies; each morning I take my Reactine (Cetirizine HCl), and often supplement it with an expectorant in the evenings to help clear the breathing passages, however, I'm not feeling very relieved! If anyone out there has advice of other products or remedies—I'm listening! I've used a variety of products over the years (Allegra, Seldane, Chlor-Tripolon, Claritin) and only Claritin has shown no beneficial effect, but new products continue to develop, so I look forward to your suggestions. One avenue currently under consideration is that I should spend two weeks of this miserable time of year at the Colonial and the Byron Nelson golf tournaments! Other than that consideration, I haven't felt up to getting out to the golf course—maybe next week. The markets have continued to struggle through a difficult month, but I've managed a small gain this week in an otherwise down month. Bus driving has gone well. Cycling back and forth has been good, and I even managed three straight rides where I made all seven lights successfully!

Wendy has worked frequent shifts at Walmart. She's also getting into the bedding-plants mode; we'll probably be installing those in the coming week. That always provides a quick pick-me-up for the yard.

Erin and Kristian continue with their lives as usual. Kristian is doing lots of reading and speech development lately, and we celebrate his success. He got his Kindergarten grad picture this week—I hope you enjoy it.

Trav has managed to get the Canucks into the Stanley Cup finals. They'll be playing against Boston starting next Wednesday—no one knows why they should be waiting so long to start the series! Joanna is recovering well.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another sunny week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. The warm weather has brought on my seasonal hay fever, so I've been sneezing and hacking, and wondering whether I should scratch my eyeballs! So, I'm back on the reactine and eyedrops, and that improves things a lot, but it's still an uncomfortable season. I have a couple of sessions of golf practice—now to take it to the course! It's the Victoria Day long weekend, so the clouds have moved in and we're expecting showers! It's been another difficult week in the markets, and I've experienced a small loss. I'm now down about 1% this month, but I remain about 50% invested, and ready if we can get an upturn. Bus driving has continued to go well, and with the fine weather I've enjoyed riding the bike each day. It's a bit of hassle with the traffic on the way home each afternoon.

Wendy has continued to be very busy with the shoe department at Wally World. They've recently expanded to a Super Walmart, so she sometimes comes home with food surprises. She is still suffering a lot of foot discomfort, so spending that much time on her feet is not a recommended therapy, but she keeps at it and occasionally heads to the gym just to enhance the suffering experience. It's a head-shaker!

Erin has continued to have a busy time at Budget. She had an interview for another job, but lost out in the final decision. Still it does seem to have motivated her current employers to consider upgrading her situation. Kristian is doing well. He is motivated to read, and is getting into the little books they have for him at school. He also got a special treat when uncle Trav got him a Master Yoda Star Wars book!

Trav is doing fine. Stanley Cup playoffs are currently in the semi-finals and the Canucks are still doing well, leading their series two games to one. Joanna had surgery this week, so she's rather tender. However, she seems to be doing well. Her mom has come to help out while she recovers.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the sunny shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The TSX has dropped another couple of hundred points, and while I've tried to play things carefully, I have incurred another small loss. Maybe the old saw about "Sell in May and stay away" is proving its validity once again! I am about 50% invested, so I'm ready to buy more if the markets turn upward. The warming weather has filled the golf courses as we've had a late start to the season, and people are eager to make up for lost time. I haven't played a game yet, as I enjoy practicing (and need the work!). Bus driving has continued to go fine. Monday featured the memorial service for Louise. That came off well. Trav did a great job on the pictorial tribute. I got to sing with Erica as well as leading the congregational singing. Louise has been aware of the terminal nature of her illness for some years and had put together the entire plan for her service—that served to add to the flavour of it. I guess we're all terminal—if we'd just admit it. Our Mother's Day special was to have a picnic lunch and hike out to the Cascades. It was a very nice day, and everyone enjoyed the outing, including the dogs. Then Eric/A and the boys arrived and we had a family supper with everyone in attendance.

Wendy has continued her blue-vested work in the shoe department at Walmart. I feel she has become victim of her own work ethic and she is often being called now for extra shifts at unlikely hours of the day! She was very busy with the memorial service preparations and execution as well.

Erin continues with her rental car work, but has applied on a new job this week. She got an interview, so we'll see how that goes. Kristian has had a pretty usual week, except for staying over last night at Andrew's place, one of his favoured places for Lego!

Trav is continuing his push to get the Canucks to the Stanley Cup finals. They have won another round and are now in the semi-finals against the Sharks of San Jose. That series starts tomorrow. He is taking part in several volunteer boards in town, including Food Bank; and has applied for funding to go into business on his own.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the sunny shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have also enjoyed a few showers, and the lawns are greening up nicely. The golf courses are open, but I haven't tried playing one yet. Work has gone well, and I even set two new best times for cycling home afterwards—tailwinds are a great thing! Kristian has passed along his cold, so I'm enjoying the weekend in bed. I hope to recover quickly as I'm slated for singing at a memorial service on Monday. We look forward to having Eric/A and the boys down here as Eric is preaching the service and Erica is singing. The TSX had another floundering week and has now retreated to no gain on the year, so I feel very blessed to be up 8.3%. I've completed some repairs in the backyard, and got the drip irrigation going for the cedars. They should soon be well-established enough to manage on their own. I need to do some more work on the garden beds to get them ready. We've managed to get the Canucks to the elimination game in their playoff against Nashville, but they are not making it easy on us as they lost tonight at home.

Wendy has been busy with church renovations, work and memorial service preparations. She's been doing some baking for the gathering after the service, and we've also been beneficiaries of that! She's had a number of late shifts at Walmart, and that disrupts our normal routines.

Erin is having busy times at work, and with Kristian's school and hearing issues. Kristian got new ear moulds (blue & white this time) this week, and they seem to fit very well. We can't be sure just what he hears, but he is speaking better and better. His reading is progressing very well, and he is counting up to 100. He often displays some stubbornness, and Erin is questioning whether such traits are nature or nurture! Erin has also made a new friend, Daniel, but we haven't got to meet him yet!

Travis is busy with an application for venture funding to open his own business. We are supportive and amazed. This is the kind of adventure that we find fearful; we always found it much more comfortable to just work for a salary. Joanna returned from Toronto after helping her mother through the events surrounding the passing of her husband, Joanna's step-father.

And that's about it for this week.