Green!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been nice all week, but has turned cool, cloudy and rainy for the weekend. I have made some progress on the lower deck rebuilding. Wendy has completed the first coat of stain, and is now doing a second coat after each few boards that I get screwed down. This works well, because that's about a full day's work for me anyway! I've kept practicing golf, but the dampish weather this weekend has interfered with my plan to play nine holes. Wendy was scheduled for surgery on Thursday, but after going through pre-op on Wednesday and then fasting and waiting for hours on Thursday, it was cancelled. She'll now be looking at an appointment late summer. I had my training day on Wednesday for my work as Deputy Returning Officer in next week's election. I also managed a bit more yard work in the annual battle with the dandelions. Investors seem to have finally begun buying again, and the markets had a fine week, and I cleared a month's worth of gains despite being less than 50% invested. If they'll keep this going, I may look to make more buys next week. Another round of Stanley Cup playoffs is mostly done as all series but one required less than the full complement of games. Oilers surprised and delighted me by beating Calgary in five games! Now, they'll be playing the Colorado Avalanche in the semi-final. Go Oilers, Go! Carolina will host the Rangers for game seven in that series with the winner advancing to play the Lightning; I'm picking the Lightning there. In the west, I am, once again, picking against my Oilers, sigh! The Blue Jays have been suffering from a lack of hitting lately, and have fallen away from the league leaders. 

Broken Window!

Erica writes, "We had a smashing good morning on Sunday. It started with a broken rear window! We took the bikes to church and played in the band, which was a smash as well. It is very busy season so I should have been working all weekend. Instead I took the weekend off and worked long days the rest of the week—fun times! The broken window has got us thinking about a garage. We are discussing design options and investigating code requirements along with Dad."

Welcome Elly!

Erin and Kristian have added another cat to their family in Regina! This is not my idea of a good time, as I couldn't imagine having one pet cat, much less two! Sadie seems to be taking it all in stride. We'll see how Lucy adapts to the arrival of Elly. 

Travis and Joanna continue to be exhausted from their efforts to train and control their new puppies—they are certainly bundles of energy. Otherwise, they continue with work on their business. Gemma's school year is over; her convocation should be soon, and then it's on to post-graduate options! Andrew is working at Super Store, and should be over to work on his chair soon. 

And that's about it for this week. 

May Long!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been nice, the golf courses are open, and we've been able to get out for regular walks. The lunar eclipse was iffy on Sunday night, but the clouds moved aside in time for us to see the full eclipse and the light orange moon. I've been over to the golf course several times to practice. I may try nine holes next week. Spring came very late this year, and the snow cover was substantial, so it has taken many extra days for the courses to dry out enough to play. In my best year for golf, I completed 20 rounds before the end of May, but I was also about 15 years younger then! We don't have particular plans for May Long celebrations. I'm getting some yard work done, including mowing the lawn. I also plan to get in some golf practice. This week the polls opened for early voting in our provincial election. Wendy and I went to vote on Wednesday. They were recruiting election workers, so I applied and have been hired for entry of the ballots into the computers. The markets have continued to whipsaw red and green, but at least I had a good quota week—not having enough of those this year! The second round of playoffs have begun for the Stanley Cup. Only the Oilers advanced of my three favourites, but at least most of my picks have advanced. Oilers are playing the heavily favoured Calgary Flames—Go Oilers, Go! I have picked Flames, Avs, Canes and Panthers to win this round. What? I didn't pick my Oilers? Yeah, I thought it was the least I could do for them! Football has opened training camps. Riders first preseason game is against the champion Bombers—Let's Go, Riders! 

Erica writes, "On Tuesday the Saskatchewan Lipedema Association met with the Saskatchewan Party to share our information on Lipedema. After our meeting, we attended the legislative assembly and we were introduced to both parties. Eric attended a conference this week, virtually. It was hosted from the east coast, so he got to get up very, very early! Greg, Haaken and Liam are all fine. We are looking forward to a good long weekend. We hope to get out for a motorcycle ride."

Kristian had his interview for camp counsellor via Zoom. It ran for about one hour. Now we (especially he) are waiting to hear the outcome. Erin continues to struggle with the effects of her covid infection. She is starting to feel much better the last few days. Kristian is working to get control of his eczema again now that UV treatments are back on. 

Travis and Joanna keep busy. They got their first contract for Bucket Decal work for the Lacrosse League. But, I think the pupsters are even greater time-consumers! We've been over a couple of times this week to visit the grand-pups and to plan a building project for a new storage structure downstairs. Andrew is getting back in gear for completion of his Adirondack chair. Gemma is all graduated now with a First Class standing for her Honours B.Sc with a double major in Chemistry and Biology. This week she had a flat on her bicycle, so Jonas and I changed the tube for her. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Lunar Eclipse!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been great, especially during the days, although we've had two nights of heavy rain in thunderstorms. Anyway, the comfortable weather has allowed me to get back to my deck project. It's moving forward well, despite a few change orders! There is a lunar eclipse tomorrow night, about midnight Eastern time, and we're hoping for clear skies to watch that. I have kept at my preseason golf preparations, swinging the club every day;  today, I even got over to the driving range—yep, I can still hit a hook! Sigh! We completed Mother's Day flower deliveries on Sunday—that will pay for a few rounds of golf later! Wendy keeps trying her keto sponge cakes; she had another success this week with a lemon-flavoured one. The ones that crashed were also very edible! She also made another batch of keto ice cream—very tasty! Travis brought pizza and we celebrated Wendy and Joanna with pizza, cake and ice cream on Tuesday evening. Wendy has chorus practice each week, and still seems to have a lot of chorus related business in her role as treasurer. The markets have remained frenetic and I am all sold out of my trading stocks. Still, my dividend payers came through with a bit of money this week. Positive market movement toward the end of the week is encouraging. The pandemic infection rate appears to be easing although we're suffering from a lack of data collection, so we don't really know. Gushue beat Koe (again) in the Grand Slam final in curling. This is also the last event of this curling season, and many of the teams are changing personnel as they get set for the next Olympic Quadrennial. The NHL playoffs are completing the first round this weekend. Five of the series are requiring a seventh game, two of those games remain to be settled tomorrow. Of my three teams, Leafs are out, Oilers win and advance, and Pens play tomorrow. 

Erica writes, "This week we got some exciting news: Greg is engaged! We are very happy for him and are glad we got to meet Kiersten when they visited us a few weeks ago. It’s been a very busy, late night kind of week at work for me. Eric got both bikes out and running. He has been enjoying his all week. I hope to join him soon!" 

Erin continues to struggle along with the lingering effects of her covid infection. At least she's well enough to manage work and homemaker duties so long as she takes it easy. Kristian continues with his regular routines of school, home and UV treatments. He's had a bit of a setback on the eczema front as he missed a few UV treatments while Erin was in isolation.

Travis & Joanna continue to be very busy. They should soon be getting to the off-season, and a lower level of activity. One thing for sure, those new pups will keep them busy around the house. They've now begun training them for walks on the leash. 

They went to Florida, I got...

And that's about enough for this week. 

Happy Mothers Day!

Mother's Day Flower Deliveries

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been beautiful and we've been enjoying getting out for some walks and cycling. I'm back to the renovation of the back deck. The deck boards that are still needing stain are up on the saw horses awaiting Wendy's attention. I'm working on leveling the joist system, and then I'll begin applying the decking. I must have about three fourths of the needed boards already stained and ready to go. I'm also working on replacing the top on the picnic table. And I try to take my requisite practice swings with a golf club each day. The fairways are still soggy, and the greens are still under the tarps, but we're getting close. The driving range should open this week; some private ranges are already open. This weekend, we're doing the flower deliveries for one of the local florists along with Trav and Joanna. Given the fuel prices, it's not as lucrative as it has been in previous years, but we enjoy getting around town, and learning more street locations. Google Maps hasn't let us down yet. The markets have continued their troubled and troubling ways, with the USA indices, in particular, bouncing wildly. This week I suffered three red days, and two green days to end up about flat. The difficult markets have me under 30% invested, but so long as they're red, I'm relieved to be out. Maybe I'll need to start playing the short side! Nah! Wendy keeps quite busy with the Sweet Adelines singing and business. In the world of sports, we have moved well into the Stanley Cup playoffs. I have picked Florida, Toronto, Boston and Pittsburgh in the east. In the west, it's Colorado, Minnesota, Calgary and Edmonton. Some of my picks (looking at you Florida) are already looking shaky! In curling, it's the final Grand Slam of the season being contested in Olds, Alberta. My guy, Koe, has done well, and has advanced to the final against Gushue. On the women's side its Einarson vs Gim (Korea). 

Erica writes, "Eric and I took a quick trip to Saskatoon—stayed over in town and enjoyed a nice dinner out. We also caught up with Darcy, Neil and the girls. Eric got the bikes out and running. Well, one is running. The other needs a new battery. Other than that it was a pretty basic week. Everyone is doing well here. Eric used his Christmas and birthday money to buy a new Apple Watch. He got the latest technology which includes an EKG. I asked him what it said. He replied, 'Apparently, I have a heart.' "

Erin writes, "For news, there’s not really any. I’ve just been so tired still. Sometimes, I struggle just going up the stairs. But other times I feel fine—it’s weird. I still have coughing fits and tightness in my chest. I have a doctor's appointment on Monday. Kristian got to see another Toyota Supra up close. On Wednesday, after his light appointment, we stopped by work because we had one in the shop."

Travis & Joanna had to make the quick acclimatization after returning from Florida. They have been very busy catching up on things and working with the new pups. A lot of Puck Shot business awaited their return, and Trav also had some issues with one of his printers. Then, they're working on the flower delivery this weekend! 

And that's enough for this week.