News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We've had another wet week, but it's nice this weekend at least. We've enjoyed a quiet week. I got some stuff done in the shop, Wendy cleaned up a few more things in the house. I installed the sliding door to the kitchen. She'll do more finishing while it's hanging there.

Sliding Door

I took advantage of the opening to work on my dust collection system. It works! It may need some tweaking as some dust is still getting through to the Shop Vac.

Double Bucket Dust Separator

Thein-Separator in top bucket

Wendy has been very busy learning her music for Sweet Adelines. Today, we walked over to Shoppers and got our flu shots for this season—didn't hurt! The markets have remained troubled, the TSX is now down 1.8% for the month, but I managed another green week. It was not up to quota, but I'm just glad to see green at this point! Hopefully, Trump will get so desperate for a distraction from impeachment that he'll sign some kind of trade deal with China. The pundits keep calling for a rally into the end of the year, and I keep waiting—nothing! The NHL continues to develop the story lines in the young season. Oilers and Pens are showing well; Leafs dropped one to their arch-rival Canadiens tonight. The World Series has surprised with the visiting team winning every game to leave them tied at two games apiece. The Bombers did us a big favour by knocking off Calgary last night, and the Riders battled back in Edmonton with a win on a last second FG to maintain our first place standing. Go Riders Go!

Eric was Professor Bailey this week. He taught a block class in Eclectic Relational Interventions for Change. You might be surprised to know that ERIC made up that title. He found it enjoyable and stressful all at once. Now he just has a bunch of papers to mark. Liam drove up Friday to attend and play drums for our friend’s funeral. The funeral was a nice mix of Craig’s faith and his love for Star Wars and Super heroes. Haaken is on a break from work as they finish up some renovations at the Tim Hortons. So he’s working on his animations.

Lucy had more vaccinations this morning; Kristian played the role of supervisory dad! Then, they went shopping for Hallowe'en stuff for Kristian. Callum's parents have asked if he could do trick or treat with Kristian this year. Erin has ordered a Roomba so Lucy won't get too comfortable! Aunt Erica suggested that Kristian make use of voice accessibility on his iPhone to assist with his reading. It's working well so far!

Travis and Joanna keep up the busyness in the business. Photoshoots, Bucket Decal orders from far and wide keep them occupied and keep the business thriving.

And that's enough for this week! 

Home Again, Home Again!

Another week has passed and I have returned to the shore of Lake Superior and my hometown. It's been another great week, and I'm feeling well blessed. I opened the week on the shore of Lake Ray Hubbard. I enjoyed a great time in Texas with three rounds of golf and an amazing football game. Sunday featured assembly with CARE Church in Dallas in the morning, a delightful Mexican lunch, and an uplifting song service in the evening. The Cowboys were the only fly in that ointment! Then, on Monday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with tasty BBQ'd Ribs a la Jonathan. This included most of my Texas family; it was delightful to see them again. A family reunion is under consideration for next Fall in Dallas. Early Wednesday morning (2am is early, but is it really morning?), Viggo took me to the airport to catch my flight to Toronto, and thence onto TBay. All went well, my luggage arrived with me this time, and I'm glad to be home. Wendy has cleaned up or disposed of the extensive collection of kitchen stuff that was in our spare bedroom. She has also begun the redecorating project there. It will involve new flooring and a paint job, but otherwise that room is in good shape. We may look at reflooring our bedroom at the same time, but it requires other repairs. Today, she scored a piece of countertop for our island. It is the same arborite as is on our counters, so it was quite a catch.

Island Top

The markets have continued to veer wildly with perceptions coming out of the US administration. Now, an investigation has begun over whether this involves insider trading against the wacky tweets—it would make sense of it at least! I had only four trading days this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, but at least I managed to make some gains. With under two weeks to go, I need some help! The Baseball playoffs continue with Washington Nationals advancing to the World Series where they will face the Houston Astros. I'm still picking the Astros to win it all! The Riders beat BC this week, but Calgary beat Winnipeg to rejoin the Riders in first place. C'mon Bombers! My Oilers have opened the NHL season in good form. The Pens are also doing well, and the Leafs picked up a nice OT win tonight. 

Erica writes: "This was a heavy week. A good friend of ours was in the hospital for what we thought was just an infection. We were fully expecting him to be back out. Unfortunately we discovered that he was much sicker than anyone realized and on Tuesday evening he passed away. He was only 43. Eric is in Winnipeg this weekend for a conference and then heading over to Caronport to teach his block class next week. Liam is back in Moose Jaw working and Haaken is in a Victoria working at Tim Hortons and developing his animation. We got to have a family chat over the phone on Thanksgiving. I miss us being together." They also installed Roman Shade curtains in their bedroom and living room.

New Roman Shade for Bedroom

Erin and Kristian had another appointment with the audiologist. While she confirmed the hearing loss in his right ear remains unchanged, she also reported that Kristian's brain is making the desired adjustments, and he's hearing much better from that side than he was in the previous assessment. Brains are amazing! Kristian has ordered new ear moulds: black, red and white! Great-Grandpa helped him with the purchase, so that was special as well. Meanwhile, Lucy has found a box!

Lucy is, apparently, a cat!

Travis and Joanna had a few recent disasters. Joanna lost a tooth she has been babying along since she was a teenager. So, that'll require some time, effort and cash! Then, another of Trav's tires died ignobly in a local pothole. He's about ready for a complete set of new tires, so that may encourage him to upgrade to better tires, but still it's also an unwanted expense. However, they continue to get and complete new orders, and they took pics of four hockey teams today, so that part is good. Gemma is enjoying her reading week, trying to catch up on sleep after midterms. Andrew is looking forward to reading week next week.

And that's about enough for this week. 

Boomer Sooner!

It's been a special week for me. I have travelled to Dallas and been treated to the OU/Texas game in the Cotton Bowl, along with another 100 thousand casual observers. Jonathan and Jennifer heard this was a bucket list thing for me—to see a big-time college game, and they offered to take me to the game if I'd come down to Texas. So, Wendy arranged the flights, Viggo & Nancy offered to host me, so I'm in Rowlett, on the shore of Lake Ray Hubbard, enjoying my time with them. We've managed to get out golfing twice which was great as well. But the highlight was today's renewal of the Red River Rivalry.

It helped that my team won!

Jennifer insisted that the experience must include Texas treats: Corn Dog, Funnel Cake, and a Turkey Drumstick. It's possible that some of them were not keto-friendly—I just hope I don't have gout tomorrow morning!

Corn Dog

Funnel Cake-Zero Carbs!!

Turkey Drumstick

Back at home our roomer has moved in. He's a pilot with Bearskin Airlines. Wendy has been assembling bedside tables for the guest bedroom as she moves that project forward. The markets have remained volatile, and I was able to make a little but not up to quota. The baseball playoffs have moved into the league championship round. The Dodgers lost, and I had them slated for the final. Now it's Yankees/Astros in the American League; I'm picking Astros and cheering for the Yankees. In the National League I'm picking and cheering for the Nationals over the Cards. The Riders lost a hard-fought game in Calgary on Friday night. Let's Go, Riders! 

Erica spent a few days in Toronto this week for training. While there she also got to catch up with friends from PA who live there now. They marked the occasion by taking her out to the Poop Cafe!

Friends: Pickin' the good cafés! 

What great friends! Liam is home this weekend for Thanksgiving. They're planning to make a Thanksgiving Meal featuring Rutabaga Lasagna. Eric continues preparing for his class—it starts in a little over a week. Haaken is working on animation projects of his own to start posting on the web.

Kristian bowled on Sunday night. He had two good games, but the other two were below average. Lucy had her surgery this week, and also got a chip implanted and an identifying tattoo in her ear. She seems to be right back to full activity as if nothing happened. Erin is serving as the care-giver for grandpa this weekend, while Kristian is providing cat-care for the family next door. Quite a responsible young man! 

Travis & Joanna are off to Minneapolis this weekend.

Pens run Wild in Minnie

Tonight they're enjoying taking in the hockey game between the Wild and the Penguins—a comfortable win for the Pens, and a great time for Trav & Joanna.

Date Night in Minneapolis!

Wendy is caring for Minnie and the bird. Gemma and Andrew are taking care of the house. 

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 variable with more precipitation than expected. I finally managed to get the lawns cut on Friday. I also got out for some golf that afternoon. Otherwise, I've been working on the crown moulding in the downstairs bedroom, and I got that done. Now, I will turn my attention to the same task in the family room. Wendy has been stymied by the rains, so she's turned her attention to the kitchen cupboards both upstairs and down. She's doing some touch-up painting, and also working on the organization of the various drawers and storage areas. She must be having success as the bedroom pantry is gradually emptying! She has completed her audition (successfully) for Sweet Adelines, and is enjoying singing barbershop once again. She's also been invited to practice with one of the quartets! I now have my appointment for eye surgery in Toronto. It's set for November 26th; Wendy has booked our flights and lodgings. The markets have remained troubled as the Trump trade wars are starting to hurt back at home. He fails to understand that if you wish to be a trading nation, your potential customers need to be doing well so they can buy your stuff! I have continued selling out of the market, and with good gains on Thursday and Friday managed to survive the week. The hockey season has begun and I'm watching to see the changes made by my favourite teams. I hope the Oilers can manage to advance to the playoffs this season. Baseball has already entered the playoffs, and the Blue Jays are reduced to the role of fans. I am picking the Astros to prevail over the Dodgers in the World Series, but on the way there, I'm also picking Yankees over Twins, and Braves over Cards. I'll be cheering for the Yankees. I'd love to see the old time rivalry of Yanks vs Dodgers, but I feel Houston pitching is just too strong. Tonight was the biggest football game of the season so far as Riders hosted the Bombers with the winners claiming first place. It was a hard-fought game, but Riders pulled away late for a big win! 

Eric and Erica came to a decision about their decks, and have purchased composite decking for both front and back. Now, we'll need to put together a plan for the supporting materials, and prepare that order. Then, we'll have to see when Liam is going to get home to do the construction! 

Kristian did not manage to match his stellar set of matches of the week before in bowling. His first two games were over 150, but then he faded in the final two. Otherwise things have been pretty routine at work and school. 

Lucy taking it easy!

Travis and Joanna are engaged with both hockey team photography and the steady output for BucketDecals. Joanna, Gemma and Andrew did a Rock-Painting class this week. I think the results are striking.

Dot Mandala Painted Rocks

Now, Joanna is off to southern Ontario again on assignment for parental care. 

And that's about it for this week.