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.