Saturday, July 27

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We enjoyed friends, food and fellowship in Dauphin on Sunday, and drove home on Monday. Thanks to Bob & Linda for hosting us. We've been trying to catch up on things here all week. The lawns are trimmed, the rhubarb is picked, cut and packaged, but the weeds continue to fight! I've been to the chiropractor—good progress was noted. I've had the Sorento in for the recall order; it was a brake switch malfunction which interfered with the push-button starting. The TSX was up a bit on Monday, but then descended the rest of the week, ending down, however, I am feeling well-blessed with another good week of gains and am now over my quota for the month. We'll see if I can hold it this time! Sadly, the Jays have continued their poor play. The Riders had a home and home with Hamilton; they demolished them 37-0 on Sunday, and tonight they served up another win behind the back-up quarterback to reach 5-0. Wendy keeps busy with Kristian; there is always an excuse to buy him another toy! 

Eric/A and the boys are settling into summer activities on the Island. Liam is off to film camp, and Haaken looks forward to his camp later in the summer. Eric pursues a position in keeping with his new qualifications, and Erica is back at work at the school board. 

Erin and Sadie continue their adventures in Regina. There have been several more severe storms blowing through there. Kristian is here with us; he maintains a daily schedule of Math and Reading along with lots of play. He was glad to have Andrew and Gemma visit this week prior to their summer trip to Burlington. Tonight, as he brushed his teeth before bed time, he dislodged another of his front lower teeth. He hopes the tooth-fairy can find him here!

Trav and Joanna have been by a couple of times. He had a good offer on the truck, so we hope that sale is soon completed. Gemma and Andrew left this morning for southern Ontario to spend part of the summer with their grandparents. Joanna accompanied them, but she plans to return on Tuesday.

And that's about it for this week.

Saturday, July 20

News Update

Another week has passed and we are in Dauphin. We left Regina on Thursday; I've been golfing here yesterday and today in our annual cross-border event. This year we expanded the border designation and played Canada vs Mexico! I played for the Mexican team, and we won—it was very close at the end, but we won one of the final two games to take the overall title. It was more than a little too much for me, and I was fading in the final round, but we certainly had fun! It was good to reacquaint with old friends. While in Dauphin, we're enjoying staying with Bob & Linda, and catching up with other friends. The markets have been up and down this week, but in the end, I was blessed with an excellent week of above quota earnings. The weather has been beautiful, but it was interspersed with a number of thunderstorms with at least four tornadoes and hail. Several of our friends suffered hail damage to their vehicles and property. The Jays have begun the second half of their season, but are doing no better than before. The Riders are not playing until tomorrow, so they're holding at 3-0 until then.

Eric/A and the boys have returned home, and Erica has returned to work. Among other tasks, she has taken care of a back-log of over 3000 emails. Eric has been applying on positions and looking into the requirements to set up a counselling business—lots of red tape and hoops-to-jump-through there! The boys have been enjoying the lazy, hazy days of summer, but not too much crazy! The weather is beautiful there, and they are enjoying it. 

Erin had a tough time saying good-bye to Kristian as he boarded our vehicle to begin his summer stay with Grandpa & Grandma. She has flights scheduled for the end of the summer to come down and get him. 

We haven't heard much from Trav & Joanna this week, but they seem to be taking care of things just fine. 

And that's about it for this week.

Saturday, July 13

News Update

We've enjoyed a fine week on the shore of Lake Wascana. The weather has been wonderful, and I've been able to get out golfing several times. The company has been wonderful as well. We're at Dad's place in Regina; Bern, Alicia and Logan are here. Eric/A and the boys were here until Friday. Kristian has spent most of the week with us, and we have frequent visitors and chances to visit others while we are in town. Next week we plan to begin the return trip toward Thunder Bay. The markets have been favourable and I enjoyed five straight days of gains—an infrequent experience, I'm afraid! The US markets are hitting record highs with employment gains and a record budgetary surplus in June (I blame Obama)! The TSX even got into positive territory for the year—0.23% (SHarper is not)! Unfortunately, many pundits keep calling for a correction! At a quarter of one per cent, I don't need a correction unless it is to move upward! However, with the DOW up 18% on the year, one must be wary. The Jays have returned to their floundering ways after making the nice winning streak. The Riders continue to win, improving to 3-0 with a convincing victory over the Champs. 

Eric/A and the boys spent most of the week with us in Regina. I enjoyed golfing with Eric & Liam. They should make it most of the way to the coast today. 

Kristian has been sleeping over and spending time with his cousins this week. Erin drops by between each stint of work. We're enjoying some time with her, and are planning to take Kristian with us back to TBay for the rest of the summer. 

Trav & Joanna are taking care of things back at home, and keep in text contact with us. 

And that's about enough for this week.

Saturday, July 6

News Update

Another week has passed; we completed it by driving up to the shore of Lake Wascana today! It's been a good week, and the trip went well with the Sorento performing admirably, and other drivers letting us travel in peace! The weather has been beautiful and we've been enjoying the yard and pool. We've enjoyed frequent company this week, and are now returning the favour by being Dad's company in Regina. I have the garden all set up on drip irrigation, so it should thrive in our absence. Trav & Joanna will watch over the place, and hopefully make use of the pool. Eric/A and the boys were with us most of the week, but they drove up to Kenora on Thursday. We look for them to catch up to us in Regina as they progress through various events on their way home to the Island. We celebrated our anniversary on Wednesday with the family in Thunder Bay. Eric, Travis and I got out for a golf game—very enjoyable! We enjoyed catching up with many relatives and friends when we arrived in Regina this evening—that was a special treat! The markets were struggling to find direction around the holidays this week, but I managed a small gain as I began buying back in. The Jays performed inconsistently as well. The Riders, on the other hand, played impressively and remain the only undefeated team in the early going of this season.

And that's the abbreviated update for this week!