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!