News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather continued to be beautiful until Friday when we got our first snow of the season. It was quite a dump of soft, wet stuff, and my snow blower was not happy try to push it through the chute. However, it dropped to -7 last night and I was able to finish clearing the driveway fairly comfortably this morning. The markets have been good this week, and even with the US markets pretty much off on Thursday and Friday, I managed to make gains every day, so that helps. Wendy has continued her busy ways getting the house whipped back into shape. She also had church business and various appointments to fill her week. Today, she is busy preparing a birthday cake for Travis. Koe beat Martin in the Masters of curling semi-final and went on to win the championship for the first major of the season. Both of my picks won their respective playoff games, so Calgary will play Toronto in the Grey Cup tomorrow. I'm picking Calgary to come through and give Kevin Glenn a long awaited championship. We got the truck back on the road this week; it seems all it needed was new brakes and a new thermostat.

Eric is back in The Pas working on his practicum. Erica is running things in Parksville. The boys are continuing with school, music and hockey. 

Erin and Kristian are working through the winter in Regina. Kristian is progressing well at school; Erin is doing well at work. She is suffering with headaches; we hope those can be diagnosed and eliminated. Mark had great news as his house in Brandon finally sold. 

Trav, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew joined us for a couple of meals this week. Joanna has been expecting her dad's visit this weekend, but travel difficulties have postponed the trip until later. Trav's hockey team has faltered somewhat with injuries and uninspired play. Trav & Joanna have been quite busy with hockey team photo shoots; these have proved a profitable facet of this business. 

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We drove back here on Sunday as we completed our Florida vacation. It is good to be home. The weather has continued to be very nice. I was back driving bus on Monday morning, and that is going fine. The markets have been terrible and the TSX is now at a loss for the year to date, and officially in bear territory. This was another down week for me, and while I am blessed to have some gains, I am still far from my quota. Wendy has been busy catching up on things around the house and on paperwork for ourselves and the church where things continue to wind down slowly. The Riders entered next year country on Sunday as they suffered a last-minute loss to Calgary in the semi-final. The Blue Jays made a lot of noise this week—grabbing attention from sports fans starved by the lack of NHL hockey. The first major of the curling season is this weekend; today, I enjoyed watching both Koe and Martin win to move into the semi-finals where they'll be playing each other. 

Eric is home this week; Erica is glad for that. He's on his way back the The Pas now; Erica not so happy about that! The boys continue pretty much as usual. Liam is sure his hockey will improve if he can just get a fancy stick! Haaken is sure his guitar music will be better if he can just amplify it a bit louder!

Erin suffered another accident to her car as she was hit while parked outside of Grandpa's. She is also struggling to drive in the pile of early snows that have hit Regina. Kristian continues to progress well, and calls us on FaceTime which we enjoy a great deal! Mark stole a Scrabble victory from me this week, but mostly he's been very helpful. 

Trav continues with his business here. Joanna is helping with the sports photography side which this week has been doing hockey team pictures. Trav's Elks continue to do well, although they fell in the semi-final of the recent tournament. He has been having issues with the truck, so we have it now and are endeavouring to get it running properly again. We've installed new brakes, and are now looking to put in a new thermostat in an effort to overcome the heating issues. Joanna's team continues to lead the soccer standings. Andrew continues to heal his broken arm. Wendy enjoyed playing grandma-in-residence and taking Gemma to swimming this morning. We enjoyed meals with the whole crew on a couple of occasions this week.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

It has been another great week in Florida, but we have now returned to the shore of Lake Superior. We plan to drive back to Thunder Bay tomorrow. The weather continued to be lovely this week with temperatures from 23 to 28 for daytime highs in the sunshine. We enjoyed having Howard & Diane stay with us. We did beach-combing, sight-seeing, muscle-car museum, not to mention a lot of eating! All were more enjoyable because we were able to share it with friends. It was special to be around to observe the election process in the states; we stopped in and got Obama pins at the local Organizing for America office and were whooping it up as the "Inexperienced Community Organizer beat the tar out of the Wall Street Titan" on Tuesday. My personal election stats guru, Nate Silver, picked all 50 states correctly, even beating his 49/50 record from 2008. The markets were troubled all week with large waves up and down before ending with a bit of recovery, however, it was a down week overall, and that included me. I got an email from the school-bus people inviting me to return to driving on Monday, so I plan to continue that until the Christmas break. There is still no snow in TBay, but they keep threatening! The Riders play in the Western semi-final tomorrow in Calgary. They haven't displayed much over the season to give us confidence, but hey, it's just two more games to win to get to the Grey Cup—Go Riders, Go!

 Eric drove to Saskatoon through the snow on Friday, and flew home today. Greg is visiting there just now. 

Erin & Kristian call regularly on FaceTime; it is good to catch up with them. All seems to be going well despite winter settling in to the prairies. Mark continues with his work, and is taking it easy on me in Scrabble.

Trav has been taking care of the house and mail while we've been away. Thanks. His Elks had a big win this week in a first place showdown. Joanna and Gemma seem to be doing well, but Andrew is in a cast after injuring his arm during wrestling practice. Sorry about that!

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

It has been a great week here on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in our vacation villa. We have been enjoying the excellent weather (25 to 28 each day) along with the sights and activities to be enjoyed here in Port St. Lucie. We are located at the venue of three PGA courses, and while I've looked them over, I was more attracted to other excellent golf opportunities in the area. I have practiced regularly and played 45 holes of golf. The best deal I've found was $8 for a round, including cart. My first full game was good (+11), but the second was not so effective (+16). Wendy thinks I need to play more! She has been enjoying some time around the pool, and other times shopping, but mostly getting out to see the local sights. We have also been able to enjoy some time just relaxing together. The markets were closed in the US on Monday and Tuesday as a result of Hurricane Sandy. We made good gains all week until today when the markets lost a lot of value. Still I had a good gain this week, so I feel blessed. Today we drove over to Punta Gorda on the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida and awaited the arrival of cousins Howard & Diane from BC; they were delayed, so it was after midnight before they got in. The Riders completed their regular season with a meaningless loss against BC this evening, now it's on to the playoffs against Calgary. Go Riders, Go!

Eric continues to work in The Pas, while Erica experiences the joy of single parenting in Parksville! They have been relieved to get a new rental agreement on their place in Kenora. They have concerns over Eric's dad who is experiencing poor health, and is currently hospitalized. Haaken and Liam continue with their usual activities centred around school.

Erin, Kristian and Mark got to enjoy Hallowe'en in Regina. Kristian got quite a haul of goodies. Mark got to haul him around the last part of the expedition. Otherwise things are going well there, but they are not appreciating the onset of winter. 

Trav is taking care of the house back in Thunder Bay. He had two more winning games with his Elks this week. Joanna, Gemma and Andrew are carrying on with their own busy lives.

And that's about it for this week.