News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been great, and I've managed to catch up, and keep on schedule with my lawn-mowing business. Still no frost here, so the trees are still looking pretty green. We've completed electrical repairs, added backing for the new shower and applied the gyproc in the basement bathroom. My assessment was, "A good taper will get that!" Unfortunately, we don't have a good taper, we just have me, so I've begun the taping and mudding. This time there's a ceiling to do, and I hate drywalling ceilings; I mean, it's in the name, you shouldn't be drywalling up there! Maybe it should be dry-ceiling, but with the mud falling down on my face, it was not any kind of a dry experience! September markets have continued to be volatile, but we did get some green after the Fed decided not to increase interest rates, and I had a good green week. It remains for me to catch up for the decidedly non-green first few weeks of the month. The Blue Jays are in the homestretch, and it appears they are in a fight for the wildcard spot now as Boston has pulled out in front. Let's Go, BlueJays, let's play ball! The Riders won their game over Edmonton on Sunday afternoon! Yay Riders! They played Hamilton this evening and continued to look much improved as they won again! Yay! Yay! Riders! World Cup of Hockey has entered the playoff round. Canada beat Russia in the semi-final this evening and have advanced to the final series next week against Sweden or Europe. 

The Baileys continue to work through their initiation to the empty nest. Trust me, it's not such a great thing—we miss our children. They've decided to get help in organizing and dealing with their stuff, so they've asked a friend to help. Hopefully, she'll neither be scared off or permanently scarred by the experience! Haaken is working through is first month at University, and reports that it's going well. Liam is doing a time-management project at school. One aspect is regular calls home, so they're enjoying that. It's homecoming weekend at Caronport, and Liam is involved in some of those activities as well. Eric volunteered at the Saskatoon fan and comic expo, so he got free admission for the day he wasn't working. On the day he did work, he was playing board games with people—tough job! On Friday, Eric had a meeting in Saskatoon, so Erica went along and worked out of the Saskatoon office of Deloitte. They enjoyed dinner out at the Grazing Goat. 

Erin, Kristian and cousin Haaken are taking care of business in Regina. It was picture day for Kristian this week and he chose the bow-tie look! Fall weather has arrived in Saskatchewan, and the leaves are turning and falling. Haaken took Kristian out to Timmie's for his birthday—Haaken had a long john, Kristian had a chocolate dip! 

Trav & Joanna are busy. PuckShots photography for hockey teams is already underway, and BucketDecals is still going strong as well. This year's edition of Team Red Pants aka Westfort Rangers has now been drafted, and practices are underway. Trav's initial blog of the season describes the draft experience and assesses the team members. Sans Gemma, the family was over for supper this evening—we enjoyed that. 

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 continued to be warm, but with too many showers for me to keep up with my lawn mowing responsibilities this week. The trees are starting to turn to the autumn colours, but we haven't had frost yet, so they're mostly green. My potatoes are still growing, but it's about time to dig them up and see how we've done. The markets have continued to be volatile, but I only had two green days, and they weren't enough, so I was left in the red for the week. Wendy has determined we should do the bathroom first, so we've been working on that. We bought a shower unit. I have the new tile floor installed, and we're about ready to apply the drywall. As usual we've been hit with more surprises as we took off the old wall covering and found a mess of electrical wiring hiding there. In this case it was the 220 volt wiring for the sauna—sigh! So, I'll have to reroute that, and put it in a proper box. The Jays have fallen into a losing pattern, and as a result have fallen out of first place. Let's go Blue Jays! The Riders play tomorrow afternoon against Edmonton. We're hoping for a win! Go Riders, Go! The World Cup of Hockey has started. Canada won their opener over the Czechs. 

The Bailey's have been busy with meetings and work at home. Haaken continues to report that he enjoys university. He claims that his assignments are only medium hard! Liam is doing okay at school. He's had a few rough days with Celiac's, but he's getting better again. Erica had a fun work day on Friday; they went to a local paintball, laser tag and corn maze—for work! It was a fun and social event. Instead of joining in that activity, Eric painted his office—he knows how to have a good time!

Happy 11th at Montanas!

It's been a big week for Kristian as he turned 11; he celebrated that most of the week and into the weekend. Grandma got it started by announcing his birthday one day early! He had his birthday party on Friday night at Montanas, so he got to wear the big horns! For gifts, he scored more Lego sets, along with a flying drone. They're having trouble controlling it in flight! 

Trav & Joanna continue to be busy with work, especially Bucket Decals, and I'm sure that's a good thing. They continue to develop their new place as well. Joanna has convinced Wendy to join her for swimming and Aqua Zumba! Trav is scouting possible players for his team this season. The draft is set for next Tuesday. Gemma and Andrew keep busy with school and friends. They both scored great in recent Math tests—congrats! 

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 continued to be nice, but we've had a few showers, and I've had a hard time keeping up with my lawn mowing schedule. However, after cutting three today, I'm caught up again! September market madness arrived this week as a variety of Federal Bank speakers roiled the markets with their musings, and I suffered four red days—sigh! Wendy held a sales party on Thursday evening, so we took advantage of the motivation to get some more finishing work done upstairs. The place is looking pretty good! We're started on more renos downstairs, but a bit stymied as we can't decide whether to complete the bathroom, or begin the kitchenette! We brought home a load of drywall, and Trav helped me haul it downstairs, so that part is ready to go at least. The Riders lost the Labour Day game on a last play field goal, and also lost today's game by a late touchdown—that hurts. Overall, I have to say they're playing better, and we're hoping the rebuild is beginning to take shape. Go Riders, Go! The Jays have not been playing well since we left Toronto, and they've fallen one game back in the AL East. Let's go Blue Jays! World Cup Hockey has begun. There are only exhibition games so far, but it's been pretty entertaining all the same. 

All is calm; all is bright? The Bailey house is pretty quiet this week as Haaken and Liam are away at school. Liam has had a busy time participating in student leadership, but they did spring him from campus to take in the Labour Day classic in Regina. Eric/A, Erin and Liam enjoyed a good portion of that game—the final Labour Day classic at Taylor Field, as they move into the new stadium next season. Haaken reports that he is enjoying his classes, even his 3-hour evening Math class. The textbook arrived in the bookstore, so now he can work on his assignments! He is enjoying the new living arrangements and getting to know Auntie Erin, and cousin Kristian a bit better. The Labour Day weekend was spent in Regina, and I emphasize spent—they made a significant contribution to the economy! This weekend, Eric/A are busy with their church's fall carnival. 

Erin and Kristian are working through the new arrangements with Haaken living there. Meal time is a much bigger deal, and scheduling must take into account another schedule and evening classes. It has been discovered that Kristian's growth over the summer has pushed him into new sizes, and in the need of new clothes! Shawn helped remove the control board from the oven, so Erin was able to take it to the shop to be resoldered. Once she reinstalled it, the oven works perfectly once again! Kristian is liking his new teacher and new class. He's also getting his work done at school. Good job! 

Trav and Joanna are keeping busy with work. Gemma and Andrew are busy with school. Things continue to develop at the house, and they've added some capacity to the kitchen. They're currently shopping for a dishwasher as well, so we'll see how soon that arrives. The dining room table continues to be an issue; they've currently taken two home, but both have proven unsatisfactory. Hockey has begun again, and the young players are already having their conditioning and evaluation practices. On a crazy note, the league has decided to bring the Westfort Rangers back to life, so Trav gets to coach his old team again—quelle surprise! 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. I began the week on the shore of Lake Ontario as we enjoyed a three-game series with the Blue Jays. They generously won all three games; we were delighted! Then, on Sunday evening, Erin & Kristian took flight to Regina, and I flew up to Thunder Bay. It has been a good week here. The weather has been nice, and we've been enjoying some progress on our projects. I have begun the lawn care business again as my buddy, Bill, is off for a month of holidays. The markets continued to run in fear of the Fed most of the week, but then weaker than expected economic data in the US made them think that the Fed would not be raising interest rates any time soon, so the markets took off again! I had a good week, and including Thursday and Friday, I am now at quota to the end of August. September is historically the worst month for the markets, so I'm trying to be careful. Wendy has been painting outside. She has scraped, sanded, repaired and primed the front window frames. Now she's trying to choose the appropriate colours to paint them. I have begun some more renos downstairs since our suite is unoccupied, and mostly empty. I have some plumbing, electrical, and drywall planned, but Wendy has called a pause as she reconsiders the plan! The biggest game of this season for the Riders is this weekend as they host Winnipeg in the annual Labour Day weekend match. If they can win that on Sunday, it will take considerable sting out of the otherwise dismal results so far this season! Go Riders, Go! 

The Baileys are in Regina this weekend. They are also looking forward to cheering the Riders to victory over the Bombers. They are helping Haaken settle into his accommodations for the year at Auntie Erin's. He is beginning his university program at the University of Regina. Eric was informed this week that he is THE marriage counsellor—nice! Erica has moved into the office of the future; it's bright, spacious and open concept. It's pretty amazing how white noise works! Liam had an abdominal scan in Saskatoon before making the move to Caronport for this grade 10 year. We hope the former is uneventful, so the latter can be full of fun events! 

Erin and Kristian enjoyed the Blue Jay weekend in Toronto before flying home Sunday evening into Monday morning. Erin had Monday and Tuesday off work, so they were able to get resettled, and get Kristian ready for school. He has now begun the new school year, and reports that it's going well. Erin notes that he's excited to go, and that's a good step forward all by itself. The stove is not repaired yet, but she does have a plan to get it done, not it's just to do it! This weekend, she's hosting the Baileys, and getting her new boarder, Haaken, settled in to his room. 

Trav and Joanna and the crew got back on Tuesday night from Toronto. They continue to work on moving their stuff from here and establishing it in the new place. Gemma and Andrew are back at school; I'm certain they are enjoying it a great deal! One of their businesses, BucketDecals is very busy. They got one order this week for 62 teams! Soon, it will be time to push forward on preparations for another season of coaching hockey. Time presses forward, and puts pressure on most of us! 

And that's about enough for this week.