News Update

Another week has passed; we remain far away from the shore of Lake Superior on the shore of Lake Wascana in the Queen City. We enjoyed starting the week in Dauphin and drove over here on Sunday evening. The weather has been fine with the odd thunderstorm thrown in for good measure! We're staying at Dad's place, and we've enjoyed catching up with Bern, Alicia & Logan who are home from Mexico, as well as with Rich & Sue, and the other family members who live in Regina. We expect Dave to get home from his trip west at some point in the next while. I brought the big D along with me on this part of the trip, so I've suffered with that most of the week. I seem to have put that behind me now! The markets have continued to run downward with the threat of the US default hanging over them. I've remained basically out of the market, so have no progress to report. I have not tried any golf this week. Rich has been leading the work of demolishing the deck and repairing the basement walls. More work remains as it will have to be excavated and sealed. I'm celebrating my birthday today; I am thankful for the many cards, emails and postings about the event. I also received a gift of double-12 dominos (Thanks to the Mexican connection), so we've played several games of Mexican Train this week. Riders got their first win of the season last Sunday by knocking off the previously unbeaten Alouettes, and they played Calgary tonight here in Regina. Another home loss, this time by 4 points, but it's hard to take all the same.

Wendy has been busy with berry picking most mornings. We've been blessed with both Saskatoons and raspberries. She's been making up rhubarb crisp with both combinations, and they have been excellent.

Erin has been taking care of the home place. The garden is progressing, but she reports the lawn-man has not been keeping up with mowing the grass. She has been making regular video chats with Kristian as well as the rest of us. He has an iPod-Touch and calls her whenever he wishes, although we did have to stop him one night since the connection time was 2am in Thunder Bay! (We didn't want his mother to know he was still up at midnight here in Regina!)

We had a great video chat between the crew from Thunder Bay and the family assembled here in Regina to wish good-bye to Bern, Alicia and Logan before they headed back to Mexico this morning. It was good to introduce Joanna to the family here. Trav spent the week at home (without mowing the grass!) but has now joined us in Regina for the next few days. He tried to attend the Rider game tonight, but couldn't find anyone who wanted to part with a ticket.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

We have had a good week as we have travelled from the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, and are currently in Dauphin. We left home on Wednesday morning, driving up to Winnipeg and enjoying a visit and overnight stay with Mike & Peggy & Talitha. On Thursday, we completed the trip up to Dauphin where we are staying with Mabel, a friend from Dauphin days, and a connection to Zambia. Tomorrow, we plan to continue the journey to Regina. It has been a good week, although the weather has been wild and changeable. There have been days of extreme heat (high thirties, not including humidex), violent storms (one tore the roof off the Thunder Bay airport transported it across into the parking lot where it damaged many cars) and has ended today with a cool, rainy day. The last two days I've been golfing with a crew of 18 assembled from across the prairies and from Bismark ND. That was a lot of fun—good fellowship, variable golf! The most disappointing aspect of my play is that the short game did not bail me out as well as it usually does. The markets have continued variable while Europe contends with the Greek debt issues, and the whole world is kept waiting over the US debt ceiling negotiations. We hope that gets settled soon. I have managed to gain more than my quota for the week, so that much is good.

Wendy is enjoying lots of visiting along the trip. She worked until late Tuesday, so preparation time for the trip was rushed. Now she's looking forward to settling into the old home in Regina for an extended visit.

Kristian is travelling with us, and is doing very well. He video chats back home with his mom on Facetime whenever we can get an internet connection. Otherwise he enjoys the adventure of new places and people and accommodates the changes quite well. Erin is taking care of things back home and continuing with work.

Trav is helping take care of things at home, carrying on with his work, and awaiting final word on his application for a development grant to set up his own business even more extensively. Joanna keeps up with work, and the kids summer schedules.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

We've enjoyed a great week on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been comfortable, although 33 today is just too much! The lawns and garden are thriving, and I've had to cut the grass twice this week. I've been cutting rhubarb as well, but I still haven't caught up with production. Wendy made a wonderful rhubarb/strawberry pie; I enjoyed that a great deal! I've been driving charters for children taking day camp; they sing for the whole trip each way, and I've enjoyed about all of that I can stand! Markets have had another floundering week, and I've dropped back to flat for the month. I expect things will continue on this fearful slide until the US agrees to an increase in the debt ceiling. I continue to be amazed by the thinking that they can prevent spending after the fact! They authorized the expenditures, but now they don't want to pay the bills. I didn't get out golfing, but I did have some nice practice that showed encouraging improvement. The Riders were slaughtered in Hamilton this afternoon—not encouraging!

Wendy has been busy, busy, busy all week; in other words, same ol', same ol'! She's at Walmart again this evening. Her backyard work with flowers and perennials is working out nicely. She keeps encouraging me in the battle with the thistles, but it's a struggle to keep even. Next week we take off for a month-long trip west; she's looking forward to that.

Erin has been so occupied she's even been missing the Jays wins over the Yankees this week. She took time to watch today, and sure enough, they lost! Kristian is enjoying summer, and looking forward to travelling with us to Uncle David's house to see Papa! He's been practicing with his two-wheeler, but he still has the training wheels on.

Trav keeps busy with graphical work both in his job and with private contracts. He got to take part in the Skate with the NHL Players in support of Easter Seals. Joanna and kids are off to Toronto to spend time with her mother, and to help clean up the estate after the passing of her step-father.

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

News Update

It's been a week of mixed weather here on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We've had hot sunny days, the inevitable thunderstorms, and some cloudy days with showers. I managed to get out golfing again, although I was not very happy with my driving this time. The score of 85 was okay, and it dropped my handicap to 15.6. The markets continued to rally in the early part of the week, but then Friday was a dark day as the poor US jobs data cast a pall over investors; still, I managed a good gain for the week. I had two charters this week, and that went well. Next week, I'm assigned charters every day, so I'll be busy with that. The garden is developing well, but I haven't got any further with the back yard developments. They are not happening on their own. I am trying to catch up to the rhubarb patch; it is really producing! Our anniversary celebration over last weekend was nice. Thank you all for your greetings, and to our children for their special recognitions. I remember as a child that it was old people who were celebrating silver anniversaries, and now even young people are noting 41 years! The Riders started the season on a losing note, and, it must be said, did not look good either. This afternoon, they played their second game, a rematch of last year's championship battle, but the result was the same as last week—a two touchdown loss. C'mon guys! Let's get playing some football!

Wendy continues with her usual busyness at home and at work. The yard improvements are looking good, and we are glad to have family and friends enjoying the backyard and pool. Erin's dog keeps finding ways to get out of the back yard, so I'll have to keep working on that. Wendy chased her down across the busy street on Friday night. Wendy has been so eager for shifts at Walmart, she even went in one day this week when she wasn't assigned to work!

Erin had her usual busy week at work and managing Kristian's schedule now that school is out. Her big event this week was the arrival of her new iPhone. She and Kristian are both enjoying using, learning and playing games on that.

Trav is quite busy with the extra contacts he's getting from on line. Enquiries are coming in from across the country, somewhat to his surprise. He, Joanna, Gemma & Andrew all joined us for fun in the pool last evening. Well, actually, we didn't get Joanna into the pool; we'll have to throw her in next time! Joanna is keep very busy with her Life Labs assignments.

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

News Update

We've had a lovely week here on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has turned very summery indeed with bright sunshine and high temperatures—too high for this old grandpa! I have finished my bus driving for school, but have some charters lined up for the first part of July before we leave for our tour westward. Several thunderstorms have developed in the heat, providing special, natural, celestial displays, and it was just as well, as fog rolled in on the evening of the 1st and hid the Canada Day pyrotechnics down in the marina. Eric/A and the boys came down Thursday to spend the Canada Day weekend with us, so we're loving that! I got in another golf game—41-42:83, twelve over, but pretty good for me. I'm playing at 15.8 handicap right now, and am starting to realize that I may never see a single-digit handicap! Investments went well this week and I've recovered about a month's worth of value. The garden is developing just fine; I've given my weeds another dose of week-killer, but they continue to be remarkably healthy! I set up the pool this week, and the grandsons are getting to test it out. The football season has opened; Riders don't play until tomorrow, but Go Riders Go!

Wendy has continued with regular shifts at Walmart. She has also been adding to the planters in the backyard. She enjoys working on such projects, and produces very nice effects as well.

Kristian has finished his kindergarten program and will begin grade one in the Fall. For the summer he is enrolled in Day Care, and is also looking forward to visiting Papa at Uncle Dave's house when he travels with us this summer. Erin keeps busy with work and extra contracts. She also enjoys catching a few rays in the back yard; she and Kristian tan up very quickly—unlike the rest of us!

Trav has been fretting over free agent signings this weekend—it seems hockey has no off-season! Otherwise work and contracts are going well. Joanna is quite busy, but is also looking to pick up extra shifts when she can get them. This week, she was able to accommodate Wendy for her blood work, so that was a bit special. The whole crew was over for a quiet close to Canada Day celebrations last evening.

And that's about it for now.