Special Days!

Another week has passed and we have continued our wanderings away from our hometown. The weather has been hot, hot, hot in the Okanagan where we spent the early part of the week. It has been more comfortable here in Edmonton where we have ended the week. On Wednesday, we took a 3.5 hour pontoon boat ride on the Okanagan sharing remembrances, sharing the sights that John loved so much, and finally dropping his ashes into the Okanagan. It was a special time for sure. We were able to share it with family and friends, and particularly were delighted to spend some days with dear friends Warren and Evelyn in their Vernon home. After that we turned our wheels north and east for a two-day drive to Edmonton. Eric/A were supposed to ride along with us on their bikes, but they ran into tire troubles north of Kamloops and were a day late getting here. We're enjoying the hospitality of niece and nephew, Dolly & Scott, along with our niece Tori. They are hosting more of the family at a reunion here. The food, fun and activities have been plentiful and meaningful. We capped off today with fireworks and a birthday celebration for Scott and myself. Thanks folks! Eric/A is here with us; and I heard from Erin and Travis & Joanna, so it was a complete family remembrance—thanks. Kristian has been at camp all week as a camper this time. We enjoyed a golf game today, and plan for more over the weekend. The markets continued their upward momentum and I was able to achieve a monthly quota for only the second time this year—it helps! The Blue Jays are playing better, but are not cutting into the Yankee lead at the top of the division. The Riders are not playing well at all—dropping their postponed Sunday game to Toronto, and then dropping another on Friday to the BC Lions. Changes are needed there! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Heading West!

Another week has passed and we have moved west to the shore of the South Saskatchewan River on the western edge of the prairies. We opened the week at Glen Elm in Regina, where I was the featured speaker. Then, we took Kristian down to Kenosee for his second week as Junior Counsellor. We got to meet quite a few old friends there at the camp. Then, we headed back by way of Weyburn, so we could take in a visit with Aunt Ruby. I don't think she knew who we were, but she made a great show of chatting with us anyway!

Dad & Mom's Marker

We stopped by the cemetery where Mom and Dad's marker is. Then, we drove back to Regina. An early storm this week cancelled the Tuesday morning golf, but I was able to get out Thursday with Dale and Garnet—very enjoyable! 

Wendy has completed the painting,

Cat Approved!

I built a planter from the pallet lumber and the scaffolding 2x4s,

Planter from Pallet Wood

and we also cleaned up another couple of projects. Now, we're on our way to Vernon BC. It has been a good week. We've been able to get down to visit with Dad each day. He is doing well. The markets have whipsawed, as has been too common lately, but at least we gained some good value this week, and I'm back on quota for the month. Baseball was off for the All-star game, but the Blue Jays have returned to action with a bang—28-5 over Boston! They also won today! Yay Jays! The Riders have crashed to earth in more ways than one. They lost to Toronto in the Touchdown Atlantic game, and they returned home with 13 players and 5 staff in Covid protocol, with both #1 and #2 QBs sidelined! Their game has been pushed back one day as they expect to get enough players off protocol to field a team tomorrow, however #3 is listed as the starting QB—c'mon Riders! Makes you wonder what it will take for people to take Covid seriously again. We've met plenty of people in the last couple of weeks who seem to be taking no precautions at all, but our hospitals are filling up with the unvaccinated, and "elective" surgeries are back on hold! Sigh! 

Eric and Erica have joined us in Medicine Hat on their trip to Vernon. They are riding their bikes—quite a trip. Today, we met with them in Swift Current, and also with Liam at Maple Creek on our way west. He is recovering from his basketball accident, and continuing to work at camp out there. At least he reports improved health, and for that we are grateful. 

Erin has been hosting us all week while we work on projects at her house. She is glad to see the painting completed, but has ideas for more projects there as well. Kristian has been away at Kenosee all week where he is working as Junior Counsellor. He reports another good week, and is looking forward to two more weeks there as a camper. 

Travis and Joanna are about ready to produce a book on Bringing Up Puppies! It looks like they're having lots of fun with the boys! Andrew had a medical scare, and is currently under doctor's care to determine the cause the remedy for his illness. We anxiously await an update there. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Hot enough for ya?!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The weather is very hot with frequent thunderstorms from the daytime heating. We had an alarming time early in the week as we came in contact with potential covid infection. I isolated until Tuesday and our contact was able to report seven days clear testing results. Except for that interlude, we have been able to get down to visit Dad each day, and Wendy was able to carefully visit even those days as she had not had the close encounter I had had. I have managed to get out for three golf games, timing them to be through by about 10:00 before it gets uncomfortably hot. The golf went well, and, even better, I was able to walk three games with only one day of recovery between each—encouraging! Wendy has completed two stages of painting, so I have been able to remove all scaffolding now, and she has only the lowest six feet to complete. I am considering what to build with the now-surplus pallets, but first it needs to cool down outside. I have no interest in working outdoors in 35° weather. We got the windshield replaced in our car on Friday. It had one major stone chip, and a lot of pitting. We hope the new one survives our the rest of our trip! I am scheduled for another 6am golf game on Tuesday, and then, we'll need to prepare for our trip west. Investors reawakened their fears of recession as the Bank of Canada raised the prime rate by a full percentage point. The markets lost value this week, and so did I. The Riders lost their game this week to Toronto. It certainly was a winnable game, but a late pick-six proved the difference. Let's go Riders! The Blue Jays have been on a downer, losing 9 of 10 games at one stretch. C'mon Jays! 

Erica writes, "We are starting to get glimpses of the long range weather for our trip to BC. So far it is looking pretty good, if a bit hot, for a motorcycle trip. We have parcelled out our trip into shorter days so we can hopefully avoid the heat of the day and work within the confines of our middle aged bodies! Five hours on a bike is fun, but more then that and my legs turn to jelly! 

With audio chat up to 1.2km—Nice!

We ordered new helmets last weekend and are picking them up today. The bikes have been serviced and new back tires get installed on Monday. The current tires are pretty bald. Unless the weather changes to storms the whole way, we plan to ride out to Vernon over four days for Uncle John’s memorial, and then take two days up to Edmonton for the Ulrich reunion. Liam is still working at the camp near Maple Creek. He has been affected by allergies like his mom and dad. Eric is doing some proofreading for his brother Neil. Haaken got a new bed this week. Greg continues to work on healing."

Erin continues to put us up in her basement—we're liking that. Wendy keeps working on painting and other renovations. The stained ceiling is now stain-free. It's amazing what a bleach spray can do! Kristian has been at camp all week working as a junior counsellor. He reported that the kids behaved well, and most of them sang the group songs. He got back Friday night. He and Erin took me golfing this morning. Very enjoyable! 

Travis, Joanna, Gemma, Andrew and an assortment of animals remain behind in Thunder Bay. We get frequent reports on the progress and misbehaviour of the puppies—what a pair! Gemma cares for our place, and manages our mail. Thanks! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Into the Dog Days!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. I started the week with an appointment for my car to have the A/C looked at. The A/C wasn't functioning this spring, but I did a DIY recharge before we left, and we had a cool trip! Dave & Rich had recommended a local mechanic, so I took it there. He checked it over, pronounced it fit, and never even charged us. He could not find any leak even with the dye in the coolant I used. The weather is heating up, and producing the usual range of uncomfortable days followed by thunderstorms. We are comfortably ensconced in Erin's basement here in the Queen City, and making good progress on her painting assignment! We collected some pallets, salvaged some other lumber, and only had to buy very little materiel. Then, Kristian and I built the scaffolding so Grandma could reach the 18' ceiling in the stairwell. 

Working on the 12' Platform!

Wendy has completed tier 1 on the 12' platform, and, this morning, I reassembled the scaffolding just 6' off the floor. She has begun repair work at that level, and soon will be priming and painting there. At least, with the stairs, the area-to-be-painted is reduced as she descends! 

Tier 2 Work has begun!

I picked the rhubarb at 55 Laird and prepared a crisp. We picked up some soft-serve ice cream from Dairy Queen, and Dad really enjoyed the treat. (We did, too!) I did a repair job on Kristian's bar stool. It's one that we salvaged from the dumpster. It had a broken lower rung, and that appears to have been the issue that got it thrown away. It serves nicely at the island eating bar for him. The markets have been slowly, and not-at-all surely, turning around. I managed to make quota this week, and two of my targets are getting close to my buy-line! The Riders won again this week, this time over Ottawa—yay Riders! The Blue Jays are not flying well at all, as they dropped five straight to fall back, but still in a playoff position. The main issue seems to be injuries to the starting pitching. 

Erica writes, "Liam tested out his Ulrich genes with an attempt at a basketball dunk. Turns out he’s more Bailey than he thought. He sprained his left wrist, but at least did not suffer another break. Good thing, as he is left-handed. Greg is doing some writing with his time off. He trying to write a novel. He gets feedback from beta readers. We hope this is enjoyable for him and helps with his mental rehabilitation. Haaken is doing fine out in BC. I golfed at a Texas Scramble tournament today and enjoyed myself. My team was amused with my game of a 9 iron and putter. But I managed to get a couple of best balls in the short game. So, I feel good about that. We enjoyed a new-to-us restaurant in Nipawin last week. It’s a farm-to-table eatery featuring locally grown food. It was a good time with good friends."

Erin has had a busy week at work, but that has been considerably aided by having an extra vehicle around to attend to some of Kristian's appointments. Kristian and I got out golfing once—fun times for sure! Kristian had medical appointments and a haircut in preparation for his next three weeks at camp. We look forward to hearing how that goes. 

Travis, Joanna and crew are holding down the fort back in Thunder Bay. Gemma is managing our place—thanks. The pupsters keep growing, and, somedays, improving! Today, Trav & Joanna celebrated another Anniversary—Congratulations! 

And that's about it for this week. 

Happy Canada Day!

Another week has passed, and we have migrated to the shore of La Rivière Rouge, and then onto the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. We have established residence here at Erin & Kristian's for the next while. I played nine holes of golf on Monday, my first play of this season. It was not pretty, but I did finally manage one par, and even better I was able to walk, which led to my attempt at 18 holes on Thursday at the Fly-In Club in Steinbach. I was very pleased to manage to walk 18 holes, and I also played better, so a very satisfactory experience. We enjoyed two nights in Winnipeg at Tom & Mariette's place—thanks folks. I was also able to make contact with Dean, Kelly and family. Dean golfed with us on Thursday! I got to catch Cassie's pitching, and was delighted to see how well she is progressing. In summary, we finished our obligations in Thunder Bay on Monday and Tuesday, then headed west on Wednesday, and arrived in the Queen City on Friday! 

Front door from inside

Today, we have started preparing for the renos here. We picked up some pallets to use for the scaffolding so Wendy can paint. Otherwise, I have completed three months now out of the markets except for my dividend stocks, and still I manage to lose money! I surely look forward to when the markets turn upward again. In sports, Colorado finished off Tampa Bay to win the Stanley Cup! The Riders regrouped from the beating by Montreal and returned the favour tonight—Yay Riders! The Jays are struggling with injuries, but are holding up pretty well. 

Erica writes, "Eric’s week at work has been chaotic. They are trying to hire more people, as with summer there are more referrals and no shows and it’s just part of the season. I finished up the week and am ready for a few days of sleep. It has been a busy month and season. I picked up a book on how to learn Danish by reading. So, now that summer has come, maybe I’ll have time to check it out. Haaken, Liam and Greg are all doing fine, celebrating Canada Day across half the country. We celebrated Canada Day with our friends, the Stenskes. It was supposed to be an outdoor BBQ, but it rained. So, we played guitar, uke-banjo and ukuleles around the living room table instead of the fire pit."

Erin and Kristian spent some time getting ready for their summer guests and we're thankful to have a place to settle in comfort. We're enjoying them and their animals! Wendy has started preparations for the painting project here. 

Trav & Joanna, Gemma & Jonas, and Andrew sent us off with a lovely barbecue and pizza supper. Gemma will be in charge of Kensington Manor while we're away. We're certainly glad to have her there. Gemma & Jonas plan to move to Vancouver mid-August. We wish them well! Andrew is working at Superstore and readying himself for school in the Fall. 

And that's about enough for this week.