One Million Dead!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. The weather has been very nice this week, but has cooled into the weekend, and promises to be cooler in the coming week, too. Meanwhile Covid-19 continues to ravage and is even surging world-wide. This weekend will mark the official 1 millionth death from the disease. What a tragedy! We are seeing a surge in Ontario as well, notably among students and staff as schools complete three weeks. The government has announced tighter rules on gatherings and business activity, but it will take some weeks to see whether that has the desired effect. 

When we got back from the prairies we received a congratulatory certificate from the Prime Minister in recognition of our 50th Anniversary, as we keep celebrating that! We continue to enjoy the hot tub in the evenings. I finally broke down and replaced the thermostat, which has allowed us to maintain the pool at appropriate temperatures, which, for us, is 42°—just a tad too warm for me, and not quite as hot as Wendy would like it! I have been working on the hot tub installation.

Seems to work! 

I have rebuilt the steps using cheat stringers made of 2x4s and 2x6s—seems to work fine, so I plan to build another set for the deck stairs to the lower deck.

Replacing old stairs

I am also trying to develop a lifter for the pool cover, so we can easily remove/replace it—that's still a work in progress!

Not sure if this will work!

Since I got it to level, Wendy has continued her work on the staining of the shed. It's looking like new!

Fresh coat of stain

We only have another month or so of comfortable outside weather to work on those projects, so we're pushing to get as much done as we can. Wendy has continued with her mudding on the storage closet;

My main mudder!

I think it's ready for paint, so Wendy should be satisfied soon! The markets have continued to be in turmoil, but toward the weekend, investors have become encouraged to think that the Senate Republicans might actually pass a stimulus bill, so the markets surged forward. Should the stimulus become actual, we can expect a rally, and I will plan to invest more in the market. Currently, I am only around 10% in the market, and even that is not thriving! Sports continue through their adapted cycles. The Blue Jays have clinched a playoff position, but we don't know who their opponent will be in the first round. The Stanley Cup playoffs are nearing completion and my pick, Tampa Bay, is leading in the final series, but missed their first chance to end it this evening, losing in Double OverTime. 

Erica writes, "Liam came home for a visit last week and played drums on worship team with me. Other than that it has been a quiet week. Haaken has also been working on some animation projects, but nothing is ready to post yet."

Erin and Kristian are engaged in their regular routines with work and school. Kristian's regular routine has become highly specialized as he only takes two courses for about six weeks, and then moves on to a new set of subjects. The subjects this time are Language Arts and Health, and the assignments involved a lot of reading and writing. This has not been going well, and he is behind on his work. He is also falling behind on his housework, so all is not sweetness and light in their household! 

Travis, Joanna and crew are doing well. Schooling is progressing satisfactorily for Gemma and Andrew. Joanna's navigated the various hot spots, from here to Toronto and back, on her recent trip, and has been trying to get tested. However, there is such a backlog created by the reopening of schools, that she has been unable to get in. Anyway, she has been back ten days now, so if she is infected, she is asymptomatic. We're guessing she's healthy. She is back to work at the restaurant, while Travis works on the Bucket Decal orders, and anguishes over the Stanley Cup playoffs along with me! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Surge in Cases!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The temperatures continue to moderate, and we got some frost damage on the tomatoes on Thursday night. Most are picked by now, and I'm letting the remaining few continue to mature. We've also had a bit of rain, but I've been able to continue with outside work, which, this week, included getting the shed and the sidewalk blocks out back back to level. Wendy continues to make improvements out back as well. This week, she cleaned the hot tub and got it ready for our use.

Hot Tubbing!

We've been enjoying that each evening, and expect to continue using it for another month or so. The controls are not working properly, so I've been fiddling with them, trying to manage the temperature closer to our wishes. Wendy has continued her drywalling training—looking good!

Coming along nicely!

The markets have continued their turbulent and negative ways. Nasdaq is now down 11% just this month! The coronavirus is surging all over the world. Some folks are calling it a second wave. The attempted return to school is not going smoothly as we're seeing infections of both staff and students. Some schools have closed again. World-wide cases have now surpassed 30 million; my own estimate is that 300 million would be a more accurate read of the situation. Total deaths are approaching 1 million, and I estimate this number is being suppressed as well. The hockey season has finally advanced to the Stanley Cup final series. Dallas surprised Las Vegas (and me) to advance from the Western conference. Tampa Bay over came the New York Islanders to advance from the Eastern conference. I am picking Tampa to win it all (sorry Tampa fans!), although they looked tired and show in their game 1 loss tonight. Baseball moves into the final weeks of the regular season. The Blue Jays have been taking their lumps this week courtesy of the Yankees and the Phillies, however they still remain in a playoff position. 

Erica writes, "Liam is back home for a weekend visit. He is also playing drums this Sunday. He has been looking for a job in Caronport and getting settled into his apartment. With COVID, RU is limited in its ability to travel and is shifting focus to providing its ministry on line. Liam is enjoying being a part of developing their web presence and we hope to have some links to share with you soon. Eric and I had a regular work week. I’m still working at home. I’ve come down with a cough so had a COVID test this week. The results came back negative. We had a virtual recruiting zoom meeting this week. Several of the students asked when we thought we would be get back to normal. My thought is that COVID has been a disrupter and business will be irrevocably changed. Some businesses may continue to operate from homes as they have come to realize that they can. Others may see a hybrid. But my thought is that while the 20th century was a migration of the population to concentrate in large cities, the 21st may see a reversal of this trend as a result of our being forced to do business a different way, and finding that we can. Haaken has continued to work at Costco and apply for jobs in animation. We pray he will get some sort of project soon so he can use his skills and get his work known."

Erin and Kristian are doing fine in Regina. Kristian has settled into high school, taking just two classes, and having plenty of homework.

Happy 15th!

This week, and weekend, he is celebrating his 15th birthday. He got a special set of 225 birthday gifts from Grandma, and also scored some special gifts from great-grandpa. He's continued the celebration into this weekend. 

Joanna returned from Toronto on Thursday. She is now self-isolating until she can take her Covid test, and get the results. Gemma is doing well, living here, and taking her university classes. Andrew stopped by one day which was nice as we had not seen him in a while. His coronavirus hair is getting very long. Travis has been working on a few orders for Bucket Decals. 

And that's about enough for this week! 

CV-19 Sets New Records!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The temperatures were comfortable, but there were some very windy days in the first half of the week. Thursday and Friday were beautiful, but we're under cloudy skies today. I took advantage of some free time, and fired up the old Cougar and took her for a spin. The gauges all read in the normal range, except for the fuel gauge which seems to keep dropping! Children are gradually getting back to school across the country, but some places are seeing such alarming spikes in coronavirus infections that schools are being closed already! We've just opened here after Labour Day, and I'm not hearing of any particular issues yet. Students are attending in partial class cohorts so far, while some are remaining at home to pursue learning via on-line courses, or home schooling. I am relieved not to be facing such decisions as either a parent or a school administrator. The world-wide infection rate is setting records as cases surge in several countries, more especially India. My opinion is that the cases are being vastly under-reported, probably by a factor of ten or so. Many countries are suppressing both infection and death rates. We're seeing a surge here as well, although we did have our first day with zero deaths, due to the virus, since March. Wendy has begun the next phase of her drywalling career. She's working on the storage closet and is doing both outside and inside corners.

Watch for updates!

I've been working on some new projects in the garage. I completed the TV tray that I was working on earlier.

TV Table

Then, I discovered new pallets, stripped them, and am using the salvaged wood to build two luggage stands for 55 Laird. Both are ready for staining, and Wendy is working on that.

dark stain to be applied

The markets have been terrible, no good and bad, which is not unusual for September as it is historically the worst month of the year for markets. This time, it is running even worse as the Senate Republicans refuse to put forward an economic relief and stimulus bill, even though the House passed one back in May. The Nasdaq is down over 10% just this month! Stanley Cup playoffs continue in Edmonton. Both series are coming off as more competitive than I expected. I picked Vegas and Tampa Bay to prevail, and Vegas is on the verge of being knocked out! Blue Jays won their series with the Yankees and are in good shape to make the playoffs at this point in the shortened season. 

Erica writes, "I was back to work this week. I’ve never had so much time off without receiving medical treatment. It took a few weeks to figure out how to be off. Now it’s taking some time to figure out how to be back at work! Liam is settling in at Caronport. This week’s adventure was getting signed up for internet service. He’s now scheduled to get internet mid-October. Adulting is fun! Haaken is doing fine in Victoria. And it was just another work week for Eric."

Kristian has begun high school—where does the time go?!

Clear-mouth Mask

In his first Quint, he's taking Health each morning and Language Arts each afternoon. The Deaf and Hard of Hearing folks provided see-through masks, but he prefers his own mask. He finds the clear panel fogs up immediately, so visibility is lost, and it also doesn't fit very well. 

His favourite

One of the employees at Erin's work has tested positive for CV-19, so that's of some concern. It was not someone she interacted with, so she does not feel she is at risk. 

Travis and Joanna continue to get a bit of Ulrich Design work, but at this point it's Joanna who is the busier with her restaurant work. Gemma is back at university with a mix of in-person and online classes. Andrew has only online classes in his program. Joanna left on Friday for another session with her folks in southern Ontario. Their locale is one of the corona hotspots in southern Ontario, so she is being extra careful for both herself and them. She will take another Covid test when she returns home. 

And that's about it for this week. 

CV-19 surging again!

Another week has passed, and we have returned to the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather here is comfortable, but punctuated with wind and rain. I finally managed to get back to my bike riding today, and even then it was a tough go in the wind. We began the week in Winnipeg, where Tom & Mariette gifted us with a relaxing weekend. We drove home on Sunday under increasing clouds which turned out to be the harbinger of the week. We have returned to our family here, and our 10-year renovation project! We had visitors Monday, as Dave & Heather stopped in on their way east, and spent the night. Good to see you! We had another visitor on our street—but he wasn't welcome, and did not come in!

Young bear walking down our street!

We discussed and planned a few next steps during the Sunday drive, and I've begun work on the back entry before running into a roadblock there. So, I switched to the new closet which features recovered space over the stairwell. I got the shelving designed and built for the major part of that, and also completed the plan for the old linen/broom closet areas which have all been combined into the new storage closet. Now, Wendy is patching, priming and painting in there. Once that is completed, I will install the shelves. The infection rates of the coronavirus have picked up again, and that's with some countries actively suppressing the testing and the results. World-wide, September 4th posted the highest number to date. This is quite a concern, as the next wave is not expected to top out for another month or so. There are encouraging rumbles about virus trials, but it's become impossible to separate the science from the politics. The markets began the week in rally mode, but that turned sharply downward as continued Republican intransigence on a stimulus plan discouraged investors in the USA, and we can't go far without them! Canadian stocks posted their worst week in three months, and I suffered along with the rest! I hope the politicians get an earful from their constituents over the long weekend, and can get moving on recovery next week. At least Mnuchin was talking in more conciliatory tones, so I'm hopeful. The hockey playoffs have completed another round, so it's just the semis and finals to go. I'm picking Vegas to beat Tampa Bay in the final series. It's Dallas vs Vegas in the West, while Lightning take on Islanders in the East, with all games played in Edmonton. The Blue Jays continue to fly upward in the abbreviated baseball season, and moved into second-place with the Yankees this weekend. Ten of their final twenty games are against the Yankees, so their fate is definitely in their own hands. 

Erica writes, "Liam moved back to Caronport on Friday. He found a really, really nice one-bedroom apartment. After a late start, we managed to shred the tarp on the way to Saskatoon. So, we picked up a new tarp and some bungee cords to tie it down better. That got us to Caronport. Unfortunately, we ended up three hours later than expected and didn’t have any helpers. But, Liam and I managed to unload the trailer and Venza on our own. Eric arrived later with supper and the last few things. Now, Liam just needs to organize. I am back to work after the long weekend. It has been a really nice long break, having the whole summer off. I wonder if I can find a way to do this year round. Eric was hopeful with the Canucks forcing a game seven. However, it wasn’t to be and he is back in 'next season' discussions."

Erin has continued with her air-fryer experiments, and by all accounts things are turning out deliciously! Only problem being—Kristian consumes most of the batch! The weather in Regina has moderated as well, and there have even been warnings of overnight frost. Kristian has been pet-sitting and plant-minding this week. He completed, checked off, and graded his task list!

A+ for sure!

He is ready to start classes next week. The plan for his high school is for the students to take their coursework in Quints—they'll take two classes, one in the morning, the other in the afternoon, over the course of about 35 days. It'll be an interesting experiment to see how students manage the long class sessions. They are appreciating Wendy's repainting and updating of the main floor washroom. 

Repainted Half-Bath
added corner shelf

It was great to reunite with Travis, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew, although we haven't seen Andrew yet. Gemma continues to live in our basement. Joanna is mostly back at work now, and reports that the business there is quite busy. Trav has been by to print a few projects, so he's getting at least some business. Gemma had a good summer in her research project. Andrew has been off work for the last while; he's getting ready to head back to college, taking Policing. Trav and I commiserate over the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the family has done well in their assessment of the results so far as three of them had Vegas playing Tampa Bay in the final. 

And that's enough for this week.