Developments at Home!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been favourable, and we've settled back into life here. The schedule of our return was to accommodate Wendy's surgery. She had pre-op on Tuesday and surgery on Thursday. She is now in the recovery stage, and is doing very well. She still takes some pain-killers, but at a lower pace than was prescribed for her.

Filling in the low spots

I have spent most of the week working on the lawns. I got a load of topsoil for the front lawn as it had developed some unwelcome contours due to being built on muskeg. I have it level again, but still need to reseed part of it where the added soil is too deep to expect the old grass to grow through. Then, I also scored some sod to fill in the trampoline cut-out in the back lawn. The markets were troubled all week as investors anticipated what the central bankers might do, and what Powell would say in his speech at Jackson Hole on Friday. He spoke for eight minutes and knocked over a trillion dollars out of the stock market on that day alone! Needless to say, it was not a good week for me in the markets! In the world of sports, the Blue Jays came off the road winning series over the Yanks and the Sox. Now, they need to get busy on their home-stand where they just suffered two shutout losses. The Riders beat BC last night—yay Riders! Women's World Hockey is on from Denmark, and Canada is one of the favourites as usual. 

Erica writes, "Liam finished up his work at camp and is back in Caronport. He is planning to spend another year with RU. We are enjoying the last few weeks of summer. I enjoyed a work party out at Elk Ridge and Waskesiu. Eric is enjoying the quiet before the storm. He expects this fall to be busy. We had a quick chat with Haaken and he is doing well, and Greg continues to heal. That’s about it for us." 

Erin and Kristian are closing off summer with a nice break. Kristian is finally home after four weeks at camp this summer. He enjoyed it all a great deal!

The multi-driver!

Erin got some days off this week, so on one of those Kristian took her golfing. He brags that he was able to drive her out to the course without her becoming scared! They rented a cart, so he got to drive to the course, on the course, and also at each hole! They are also preparing for school to start next week. 

Travis and Joanna are quite busy with Ulrich Design business already. Prospects are for a busy year as things return to normal. We hope there are no flies in that ointment! Trav has been working all week on software installs for the new printer. He had to buy a new laptop to accommodate that, and as is often the case, it's more complicated than the sales agent suggests! 

And that's about it for this week. 

Home Again!

Another week has passed and we have migrated from Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies by the Red River on the edge of the prairies to Lake Superior in the Precambrian Shield! The trip went well except for a weather hiccough on Thursday when my proposed golf game got rained out! We drove to Winnipeg on Tuesday, and enjoyed the hosting by Tom & Mariette—very thankful! We were able to have short visits with some other friends in Winnipeg. Then, we completed the trip to Thunder Bay on Friday. We were just in time to help Gemma and Jonas pack up for their trip to BC. We were very glad of the chance to say good-bye and wish them well in their new endeavours. Now, we're engaged in the process of moving back into our own house and yard. Gemma took care of the lawn (actually, Jonas did that!), but we'll need to catch up with the garden and climbing vine—both have been growing exuberantly! The neighbour's shrubs, raspberries and vine are also encroaching on the side of the driveway. We also have surplus items from Gemma to work through. Some of those will be welcomed to our collection of stuff, others will be passed along to Travis/Joanna, and some will be discarded. Investors have been wavering this week as central bankers have responded to the less dire inflation data with reaffirmation of their plans to raise interest rates. Still, I was able to achieve quota once again. In sports, the Riders put up a dismal display against the Lions and were beaten soundly at home—c'mon Riders! The Blue Jays have turned it around a bit, winning four straight to end the week. In the World Junior Hockey, Canada squeaked the gold medal over Finland in OT! 

Erica writes, "Eric got curious this week and decided to take down a small part of the ceiling in the upstairs bathroom. We were hopeful it was just wall board instead of lath and plaster. What we discovered was—it is both! We, also, now know how they made the smooth curved inside corners in the ceiling. The wall board was nailed in place over the corners, creating the curve. I’ve started experimenting more with intermittent fasting with the diet doctor. I’ve added in a few 42-hour fasts. The first longer fast was pretty easy as it was right after the fabulous meal at Mabel Hill. The last two have been more challenging. However after the most recent fast, I had very little pain and stiffness in my hands. (For those who are concerned, I am taking some vitamins and minerals and regularly meet with my diet doctor counsellor to make sure I’m being healthy) I’ve also noticed an improvement in my energy. Liam concludes his work at camp this week. We hope to see him up in PA sometime soon. Haaken is doing fine in BC, still hoping for a positive response to his job application. Greg is continuing to heal out in Kenora. (For those who don’t know, Greg came to live with us when he was 15 and is another son to us.)" 

Kristian enjoyed another week at camp, taking in Creative Week. He declared it was the best of the four weeks he spent at camp this summer.

He likes to draw!

Erin enjoyed having the house and pets to herself, although work was not so trouble-free since her office was short-staffed, and Erin had to keep up with multiple assignments! Good thing she's not just a great employee, but also very clever! 

Joanna is hosting her sister up from Toronto. Travis has purchased another printer after using parts of his oldest printer to repair number two. The new printer basically provides the same functionality as the earlier two, but has a much greater productive capacity. The flood of orders that have begun arriving is keeping them busy, and portends a regular season of business this year. That would certainly be a welcome return to normalcy for them. Andrew is doing better, but has decided not to start college in the fall semester—get well first! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Ready for Home!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. Our time here for this trip is drawing to a close, so we're trying to complete projects, clean up and pack up with the anticipation of heading home next week. Wendy is still working on the basement here at Erin's, but the painting is completed, the ceiling of the main floor has been bleached, and significant progress has been made both on the main floor and the basement. I got out for a final golf game with Dale on Thursday. I didn't golf consistently, so I wasn't happy with that, but I enjoyed the game anyway!

Lookin' Good!

We visited with Dad regularly—he is thriving at Selo Gardens. We enjoyed Thursday evening at Don & Sandra's for coffee and Canora Poppyseed Cake! Today, we celebrated Erin's birthday with cheesecake and another round of golf with Erin and Kristian. The markets were green this week, and I managed a full monthly quota just this week. Apparently, holding the inflation rate flat for the month of July was enough to encourage investors that the central bankers will not be as aggressive with interest rate increases. Thanks Uncle Joe! Year over year inflation remains much too high, so, I'm still expecting harsh rate increases in the near future. In sports the Riders had the bye week, and tonight, they showed the benefit of that as they won an away game in Edmonton. Blue Jays have added some players during the trade window, but have not been performing well lately. 

Erica writes, "I spent the week up in La Ronge and Eric made do on his own. I got some good news of a promotion at work! I’m very thankful. Eric is preaching this week and we are are on for worship team this Sunday, as well. We haven’t heard much from the boys, but they all seem to be doing well. We haven’t heard any news yet on Haaken’s job application so please keep praying for him."

Kristian has been at home this week. He has been helping Grandma with the downstairs work, and taking me for drives to prepare for this driver's test.

Happy Birthday!

Erin is preparing for her birthday by adding a new barbecue and an egg chair to the back deck. Nice! Kristian and I put those new purchases together for her. He's heading back to camp this weekend for Creative Camp Week at Kenosee. 

Okay, what comes next?

Travis and Joanna took an opportunity for a holiday trip to Minneapolis. Looks like they had a good time. Gemma is taking care of the animals and both houses, even as she packs up and prepares to head west. It sounds like Andrew is feeling a bit better. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Another week of Adventure!

Another week has passed, and we have travelled from the shore of the North Saskatchewan in Sherwood Park to the shore of the North Saskatchewan in Prince Albert to the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. As the last weekend turned, we were enjoying a family reunion in Sherwood Park, featuring much visiting and fun, and three rounds of golf! I enjoyed it all immensely thanks to the planning and preparation provided by Scott, Dolly and Tori. Great job, folks! We are already looking forward to the next reunion being considered for Dallas. We closed the weekend with a sloppy round of golf on Monday. The course had endured 35mm of rain on Sunday, and often required a lengthy trek to get out of the casual water. It probably should not have been played on at all, but we matched the course with some sloppy play of our own, and still had a good time! Then, on Tuesday, we drove over to Prince Albert to adjust the front and back gates, only to be greeted by other issues! The city (no fault of the city, thank you very much) had got sand into the water supply, and it had plugged up several lines. It seemed whichever lines that were used first after the sand incident were plugged. So, the upstairs bathroom sink had no water coming out of either the hot or the cold side; and the washer had no supply from the cold side, and limited supply from the hot side. I was able to open up connectors and get the lines cleaned out. Then, I cleaned out the screens, and all were working well when we left. Then, on the drain side, even bigger problems. It's an old house, and we've seen issues with the drain lines before. It seems the plumbers forgot one of the basic rules of plumbing, "It doesn't run up hill!" The upstairs bath sink drain was plugged when they first moved in. Turns out it had drainage capacity about the size of a pencil! So, that's been replaced with a catch bucket! This time it was the kitchen sink that wasn't draining. We suspected the sand may be interfering there, but it turned out it was exacerbated by an uphill drain there, too! We did manage to get it to flow part way, but the old iron part of the line was completely clogged, so I cut it off, only to have the sewage water flow back at us! Yuck, that's not supposed to happen! So, I built a new connection for that into the 4" drain from the main floor bathroom. Now, it's running happily again. The plumbing work was unanticipated, but sorely needed.

I can see some light!

I planned to check the gates I installed last summer, and make adjustments. Both were rubbing a bit, so I adjusted them, and they're swinging freely once again. We had less success on the garage building front. The city claims the back lane that's been in use by the city for over 60 years, is not, in fact, a legal lane! The city says it's property of the lots behind the Bailey house, and they won't give a building permit that involves driving over someone else's property. Stay tuned! On Wednesday night, the Bailey's took us out to eat. It was a meal unlike any I've ever anticipated or experienced—truly fit for a king! I am unable to recall how many courses there were, nor the number of items for each course. It was at a place named Mabel Hill in Nipawin where they focus on farm-to-table menus. I recall wings, ribs, steak, new potatoes, green beans, arugula, many sauces whose names I've forgotten. It ran on for about three hours and was capped off by coffee and two desserts! Wowsers! Thank you, Eric/A—it was certainly an over-the-top experience for us! On Thursday, we drove down to Regina, where we are now hosted by Erin & Kristian. Investors are at a stage where good news is bad news, and thus they responded to the excellent jobs data from the USA by selling stocks, as it raised the fear that the FED would feel free to raise interest rates by 0.75%! So, it was not a good week overall, but the TSX has come in on my charts, so I'm working on a shopping list of stocks to consider next week. The Riders have this week off to lick their wounds; we hope they come out firing next week. The Jays are doing well, and added some players at the trade deadline, so we anticipate their good results will continue. 

Erica writes, "We started out the week in Edmonton at the Ulrich reunion. We made a motorcycle trip of it and clocked over 3000 km. By the end we were able to do up to 2 hours at a time! We made it home on Monday, just in time to get ready for some family. Mom and Dad stopped for a two days and upon their departure our kitchen sink, bathroom sink, washing machine, back fence gate and maybe front fence gate are all fixed. In addition we have started a minor fight with city hall! Imagine what could be accomplished in a week! We also enjoyed a wonderful meal at Mabel Hill in Nipawin. Liam had a specialist appointment this week and found that many of his levels have returned to normal but he still has a lot of inflammation in his bowel. We had a quick chat with Haaken and he has applied for another animation job. We hope he gets it! Please pray for his success. Greg continues his program of healing. He is working on writing a novel and drawing, both of which he enjoys and also help him recover from his brain injuries. We hope and pray for his continued healing." 

Kristian is home from camp this week and next, but then plans for a fourth week at Kenosee for the Creative Camp beginning on the 15th. We plan to begin heading east then, so it works out well. He is at the Exhibition today with the school group for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing. It's nice that they keep sponsoring social events for the crew. Erin has been very busy with monthend accounting after a holiday Monday put them a little behind. Today, she and her mother went shopping for plants and flowers for the back yard and to take inside for the winter. They look good! 

Travis has rebuilt his main speciality printer, so he's up and running once again. Andrew continues to ail, and is a concern for all of us, especially his mother! Gemma is caring for our house and yard, wrapping up her time in Thunder Bay and preparing to move to Vancouver. Busy times for all of them! 

And that's about enough for this week.