Explosive Gains!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The weather continues to be very hot, and most days are accented by the gloom of smoke from the forest fires burning across western Canada. Eric, Erin, Kristian and I got out for a golf game on Monday—that was great! On Thursday, I got out with Dale for another round of golf; that was great as well. That's now three games this season, and all in just ten days! Kristian and I were out for a practice day at the driving range on Wednesday. It was great to have my girls and their families with us to begin the week and to celebrate my 71st birthday. Travis, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew fêted us before we left Thunder Bay, so I'm feeling royally blessed! A generous provision of green fees adds to the enjoyment! The delta variant is producing explosive gains in Covid infections world wide, and even more so here in North America. USA is up 35% this week, and now all states are doing worse than our worst province. But there's no joy here either as infections are up 56%, and even though we're at a much better level than the USA, it's a great concern to see an increase in infections while nearly all provinces are relaxing their vigilance. A case in point, at the Rider home opener, there was zero effort to prevent the attendance of infected individuals into a full stadium, while the Bombers required double vaccination to attend their game in Winnipeg—sigh! The Riders won, but I wouldn't have attended with that crowd on a bet! The markets have returned to explosive gains as well despite a lot of fears over whether the delta variant infections might impact the economy. I have now managed a full-year's quota since the election, with almost three months to go—thanks Uncle Joe! September is historically the worst month in the markets, so vigilance continues to be the watchword. The Jays have returned to Toronto, and have been playing well there to 30% crowds. They are in playoff contention for sure. The Riders opened the season against BC, and blasted out to a 31-0 lead in the first half before they squandered most of it in the second to escape with a 4-point win. 

Erica writes, "We started out the week fellowshipping with family. It was a really wonderful weekend and so good to see family again. Eric and I returned to work on Tuesday. Eric reports that the move back to cotton sheets has been good and he is feeling and sleeping much better. He still has some rash but it’s not red and angry like it was. I’m feeling good about getting most of my projects wrapped up this week. I have a few more things to do next week before we leave for Germany. Please pray for our trip—that travel and border crossings all go smoothly, and especially that surgery goes smoothly. I have ordered my cash to pay for surgery and the exchange rates are not favourable, but still less expensive than going to the US! I’m happy to get this done and pleased with the improvement it has provided so far. We are looking at getting a local company, Ashly Cabinets, to come in and help design our kitchen. They will do it at no cost and are very okay about the possibility that it may be years before we renovate. Liam is experiencing allergies. Haaken is looking at job options and has applied to the new Disney studio that is opening in Vancouver. Greg keeps on trucking." 

Erin has been back to work since Tuesday, but now is taking the next week off to help with renovations at her condo. We're looking to replace the rest of the carpet upstairs with hardwood, and also planning to repaint her bedroom. Oh, and I may have forgot to mention—we're also planning another round of golf! Wendy has taken over getting Kristian to his UV treatments three times each week, which also relieves Erin to a smoother work day. She even took him to a "Cat Cafe" where they celebrate rescue cats, and hope to find a home for them. 

Trav & Joanna are relocating their office equipment from our basement to their basement. This will open up another room downstairs for us, and we'll be able to add it to the accommodations for Rhys and Gemma. 

That's about it for this week.