Happy New Year!

Another week, another month, and another year have passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continued mild, but they keep threatening us with snow, and it must come—right?! I've been out to the shop regularly, and have made some progress on the barn door trim, and on the oak stair nosings for that part of the entry project. We're re-tiling the side entry and the stairway to the basement. We enjoyed Christmas with the local family, and, via technology, with our family in Saskatchewan and New Zealand. Wendy prepared a delicious turkey dinner, and Joanna added some trimmings! Naturally, we've continued to enjoy turkey meals all week—it's part of the tradition! A special treat was two phone calls with our old friend, Jack, in Stillwater—lots of good memories were shared there! Wendy has returned to her side entry assignment, and it's coming along well. There are only three weeks remaining before my spinal surgery, so I'm trying to get the lifting aspects of my projects taken care of ahead of that hiatus. The doctor suggests that I'll be on the injury reserve list for six weeks after that—we'll see! We enjoyed another productive week in the markets as all USA indices played with all-time record highs! Thanks Uncle Joe! We did not progress nearly so well in Canada, but it was green at least: 

TSX: 8.1%
DOW: 13.7%
S&P: 23.2%
Nasdaq: 43.4%

I had a decent year (15.1%), pretty much on average for me, but with lots of up and downs that don't provide comfort! We were able to build up equity a bit while still withdrawing what we needed to live on. I will review the activity, and consider adjustments to the plan heading into 2024. The world of sports took some special activity over the holiday period with the Junior World Hockey Championship attracting some attention, along with the plague of football bowl games! My #12-Sooners won their bowl game pretty easily. This weekend marks the semi-finals and I'm cheering for #3-Texas and #1-Michigan to prevail. All my hockey teams are playing this evening—Oilers and Pens win. Oilers are on another winning streak and had a real test tonight in LA. Leafs are suffering from inadequate goaltending, and are on a 3-game losing skid. Pens are a bit hot & cold, and need to pick it up a bit to get into a playoff position. In basketball, #2-Jayhawks maintained their ranking and routed Wichita today. 

Eric and Erica continue their tour down under and have now moved on to Australia. We have enjoyed following along as they posted spectacular activities and photos from New Zealand including a helicopter ride up to the Franz Josef Glacier. 

Erin and Kristian hosted Liam most of the week, but he has moved back home to Caronport. Kristian is spending some of his break doing his extra math course. We're proud of his efforts. Erin continues the training program for her replacement while also priming for the busiest time of the year for herself with monthend and yearend accounting work. 

Travis & Joanna were with us for Christmas and returned last night for pizza and games! On this occasion, we completed the Tim Hortons Christmas puzzle. Andrew & Rosie are on a road trip to Toronto—quite an ambitious drive at any time, let alone in the winter. Jonas & Gemma continue their holiday here at home. 

We like Jigsaw Puzzles

And that's enough for this week. 

Merry Christmas!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We've enjoyed another week with above freezing temperatures and rain. I am comforted by the idea that if it were only bit colder, we could have achieved a White Christmas! The forecasters are suggesting +7° with rain again tomorrow, but dropping to freezing over the night, so we may get some snow for Christmas yet! I've managed to get a bit more done in the shop and also hung the new barn door in the kitchen. Wendy has proved me wrong—the back entry was not ready for painting, but from what she's saying, it is ready now! That will leave only our bedroom to complete this 10-year reno project! She has also been very busy with Christmas preparations. We're spending Christmas here in Thunder Bay, and we'll enjoy a turkey dinner with all the fixings on Monday afternoon with Travis, Joanna and extended family. The USA economy continued to show strength even as inflation data improved and FED watchers are now betting on four to six rate drops in 2024, so the markets thrived. That's despite two scares this week as FedEx and Nike both reported earnings misses and investors are notably easy to scare, so those reports from two important consumer companies caused some selling. As a result, all USA indices hit record highs, and we enjoyed another green week. There are only three trading days left for me as the TSX is closed both Monday and Tuesday. All NHL teams are getting some time off over the weekend; my Oilers ended the week with two wins on the road, but are no closer to a playoff position. Leafs were beaten by the Rangers and blown out by Buffalo earlier in the week, but recovered for a win tonight over Columbus. Pens recorded two wins this week, but lost to Ottawa tonight. #2-Jayhawks maintained their ranking, and won this week's game over Yale. 

Our Tree!

Eric and Erica are continuing their tour down under. Their main focus is the Lord of the Rings sites, but they're also enjoying exploring the beautiful country of New Zealand. 

Christmas in New Zealand

Erin and Kristian are hosting Liam for Christmas! 

Cats are mostly letting it be!

Travis & Joanna have Gemma & Jonas home for Christmas, and of course Andrew & Rosie are also here, so it's a full family gathering for them. We are looking forward to having the whole crew over for Christmas dinner. 

Trav/Joanna's Tree

Outside decorations, but no snow!

And that's enough for this week. 

Still Green!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has remained salubrious and thus the green continues. We've still a week to go until Christmas, but some folks are beginning to despair of a White Christmas! We began the week with our concert featuring the Silver Sound Choir. In the video, we spend the first seven minutes just trying to get arranged on stage! You may find Wendy in the back right, and me in the back left of the choir. Otherwise, our week was quiet, as per usual for us. I managed to get more stuff done in the shop. Wendy has made good progress on the side entry, and it's about ready for paint! (Actually, it may not be ready for paint; I have no qualifications that allow me to determine when something is ready for paint!) Wendy had a Sweet Adelines concert on Monday evening as well. Both choirs are in the Rotary Festival tomorrow which will complete this year's choral work. We plan to continue with Silver Sound Choir next year leading up to a May concert with a new set of music. The markets were tentative early in the week waiting for the FED to pontificate on the economic situation, however, when they came out saying all was well, the buying boomed, markets hit all-time record highs, and we had another great, green week. In the NHL, my three teams are playing below my expectations. Leafs are in a playoff position at least, but not even their recent 8 game winning streak have the Oilers back where they should be. Pens are also hovering around the .500 level—not good enough boys! Pens played Leafs again tonight—one of them had to win, and this time it was the Leafs. The football bowl season is underway. We look forward to #3-Texas playing in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day with the hope of advancing to the championship game. Sooners also have a bowl game, on Dec 28th. The #2-Jayhawks played a tough road game today against the Hoosiers, and trailed for nearly the whole game, before finally taking the lead with about five minutes left—not what I'm expecting from them! RCJK KU! Curling this week features the Grand Slam Masters from Saskatoon with the top ten teams in the world playing on both men's and women's sides. My guy, #9-Koe, did not make the playoffs. My gal, #4-Einarson did, but lost out in the semi-finals. #1-Tirinzoni will take on #3-Homan in the women's final. World #1-Retornaz will play #7-Whyte in the men's final. 

Gregory Earl Bailey

Erica writes, "It’s a boy. After over 21 years of labour, Gregory Earl Bailey arrived Tuesday, December 12, 8:16 PM, 272 lbs, 5'10 and 1/4“. He looks just like his Grandpa! Haaken and Liam are excited to officially have a big/little brother. Eric and I are off to New Zealand. We arrived in Auckland on Friday, which was Thursday, back home. We have a couple days to recuperate before starting our next adventure. Eric has finished teaching his fall course at U of S; when we get back he will jump into the winter semester. He has also submitted to teach at a conference—busy guy!"

Erin and Kristian are hard at the course catch up so Kristian can qualify to Sask Polytech after grade 12 completes. Thursday evening, Kristian had a Christmas party with the Youth Group. Erin continues to train her replacement. Both are involved in Christmas preparations with one week to go. Kristian's curling team lost their game this week to Riffel. 

Travis & Joanna, along with Andrew & Rosie, joined us on Wednesday evening for Andrew's birthday party. That was fun as Wendy prepared a treasure trove of as many 22-things as she could amass for his 22nd birthday, including 22 cakes with 22 candles, 22 coins of various denominations, 22 candies of various descriptions... She often comes up with these fun ideas. 

Happy 22nd Andrew!

And that's about it for this week! 

Back in the Green!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We did have snow, I assure you, but in the above zero temperatures and rain this week, it has disappeared and we're back into the green. We have some big news to share on the back front—clever, no?! I had a followup appointment with the spinal surgeon on Monday. I am being scheduled for day surgery on January 22nd to provide relief from what he terms as severe spinal stenosis between the L4 and L5. He offered to go next week, but we have a couple of concerts to sing at, and I'm thinking standing is not going to go so well in the immediate aftermath of the surgery. I will need to go off my blood thinner around the surgery date to mitigate the possibility of bleeding into the wound. Otherwise, he felt the risks were slight, but involved the possibility of infection, leaking of spinal fluid, or other nerve damage. He feels I should be up and around immediately afterwards, but on light duty for six weeks as far as anything involving my back is concerned. He felt I should be ready to resume golf by the time the courses open, and able to try curling next Fall. Otherwise, we had our usual choir practices and routines at home. With the mild weather I was able to get more shop time in. The markets struggled most of the week as we awaited USA jobs' and consumers confidence data. The pundits were suggesting that the economy had gone into recession in October and that this week's data would be weak. NOT! Bidenomics triumphed again! A 50-year record of unemployment below 4%, wages up, 200,000 new jobs, and inflation receding. So, it was back to buying, and we were back in the green week in the markets as well. My Oilers are on a six-game winning streak and have improved their standing a great deal. Leafs are comfortably in a playoff position to this point, while the Pens are on a losing streak—c'mon Pittsburgh! As expected, my #2-Jayhawks were elevated in the rankings. They won both of their games this week and I even got to watch them, today. College football is into the bowl season. The Sooners will play Arizona at the end of the month. The #3-Longhorns have been surprisingly added to the championship slate and will play in the Sugar Bowl on Jan 1st, with the hope of advancing to the championship game. 

Erica writes, "We are in final preparations for our trip—picking up medications, finishing up projects at work,  Eric has a new CPAP machine to bring and I have a set of leg massagers that help move lymph fluid. We are a proper old couple going on a trip! I guess my dream of backpacking through Europe is definitely gone now. We would never fit all this equipment in a backpack! The boys are all doing fine, but it’s starting to hit home that we won’t see any of them this Christmas. This will be the first time it is just Eric and me."

Saskatchewan weather continues to be decidedly unseasonably warm as well.

Well done, Kristian!

Kristian completed his Machining Class on Friday; he enjoyed the Poly-Tech experience a great deal, and is now considering what classes he will need to pick up to qualify for college work. The hammer in the photo is one he built during his class. His curling team lost this week to Riffel High School. Erin continues the training program for her replacement and keeps being surprised by how much there is to know just to do her job! What a wonderful employee she is! 

Puckshots bookings keep Trav and Joanna going all week. We miss the attention, but we still get together at least each week for some food and games! And, I'm overhearing plans for Christmas dinner! In the meantime, at least Travis and I get to chat our way through several hockey games each week—I enjoy that! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Into December

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has turned colder and we have received a skiff of snow, but with daily highs above zero it's still a question whether it will stay. We enjoyed a quiet week until Thursday. That morning, I pulled the car out to get ready to go to choir practice, but five minutes later when I went to start it and leave, it wouldn't turn over, it just clicked, and not the dragging click of a dying battery, but just a persistent click of a complaining computer! Turned out it was a dead battery. Despite starting earlier, it must have developed a dead short within the battery and now it was out of whack (whatever "in whack" is). By the end of the day, my wallet was much lighter, and my car was equipped with a new battery and running fine once again. Wendy has had some extra choir practice with her Sweet Adelines; she was out last evening and most of the day today. I think her cough has improved quite a bit this week. She has no results yet from her tests of last week. My spinal surgeon finally got back to me and I have an appointment with him on Monday, unless he backs out again. [see what I did there!]

Advent Adventures

We have each received Advent Calendar activities. Mine is little games and puzzles with zero instructions, so I also have to puzzle out what I'm supposed to do! Wendy's is a large (over 1000 pieces) jigsaw puzzle which has been divided into 24 little boxes with 42 pieces in each box—very clever! The markets were a bit nervous all week with bank earnings, and Powell scheduled to speak on Friday. In the end, it was another good green week, and my second best month of the year. OPEC+ said members were going to voluntarily reduce production to raise the price of crude, but folks didn't seem to believe them and crude fell again. My Oilers are playing much better and are currently nursing a four game winning streak, however that's not enough to get them back to .500 hockey. Leafs and Pens are doing better. In college football, the #7-Longhorns won the championship in their final year in the Big 12. They, along with my Sooners, are moving to the SEC next season. In basketball, #5-KU racked up two wins. The first one was not impressive, but last night they knocked off #4-UConn. I expect them to be rewarded with a higher ranking next week. 

Eric and Erica continue developing their plans for the trip to New Zealand. Their departure date is rapidly approaching. We had a chat with Liam. He seems to be doing well in his coursework and also in his other activities, although he hurt his back this week. He seems to think it's almost 100% again. 

Kristian lost his curling game this week to Miller Collegiate, but the reports were that it was a well-played game. Erin has put in extra effort consoling her trainee, who, over last weekend, lost her father back in India. Tonight, Kristian has his final showing of the school drama. Then, they'll close off with a pizza party for the cast and crew. 

Puckshots continues to be very busy as this is the high season for hockey team photos. The process seems to be working smoothly now, but the same cannot be said for photographing under-7 age hockey teams! 

Anyway, that's enough for this week. 

Green November!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has turned colder, but we're still seeing daytime highs above freezing some of the time! We have no snow, which at the end of November is very welcome, but we realize we're on borrowed time in that regard. Wendy had some major medical testing this week. Tuesday is was the Holter test on her heart; Wednesday involved multiple pulmonary (lung) capacity and function tests. They are still trying to determine the causes of her coughing/congestion issues which are now running to six months, and causing us much concern. We continue with our community choir practices each Thursday as we prepare for our concerts on December 10th and 17th. Wendy had a choral event this week with her Sweet Adelines, and she has more events in December. The markets were thinly traded this week as the USA indices were closed over the last two days. However, they remained green as November is now looking to be the greenest month of the year, so far! Now, we hope, this is just the start of the Santa Claus rally to end the year well. In the world of sports, I had my greatest triumph of the year as my pick of the Bombers for the Grey Cup ensured their loss despite them being the prohibitive favourite! Otherwise, my Oilers continue their dismal season despite a big win last night over Washington. The Leafs and Pens continue in mediocrity, but both are doing better than the Oilers! Anyway, they played each other tonight, so one of them had to win—it was the Pens 3-2 over the Leafs. #1-KU lost in basketball, but came back the next day with a solid win. Still, they will drop in the rankings. Rock Chalk boys! #13-Sooners and #7-Longhorns, both demolished their opponents this week in college football. 

Erica writes, "Big news of the week: Eric got a new iPhone 14 Pro! It’s very fancy with an extra special camera which we will have to use on our trip. This morning, our MNP office served free hot chocolate at the Santa Claus parade. It snowed just during the parade and then stopped—Perfect! Eric has had a full week with the sleep apnea machine and his sleep scores are looking a lot better. The down side is that with better rest he gets more snarky! That’s about it for this week."

Kristian began the official curling season this week, winning 5-2 over Riffel in a well-played game. He played second. I played front end all of my competitive career–I always loved the sweeping, and it's my point of emphasis with Kristian this season. Erin continues the push to train her replacement, and enjoyed a social gathering/house warming with her, as they have bought a place in Harbour Landing. Kristian continues to enjoy his Machining Class boot camp each Friday. 

PuckShots continues through the busy season of photo-shoots and photo development. I think 11 teams in one day is the current record for this season! Wowsers! Joanna keeps up her regular work, and also works the photoshoots and and photo package developments and customer service. Plus this week, she's been preparing for Trav's birthday celebration coming up tomorrow evening. 

And thats about enough for this week! 

The Green Continues!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown! The weather has been beautiful, touching 15° several times, but they are threatening seasonal weather in the coming week and also snow, so this could be our last hurrah for this year! We've had a fairly standard schedule with Wendy's Sweet Adelines practice on Monday evening, and our community choir practice on Thursday morning. The community choir is on target for two carol festivals in December, and then we'll reassess our participation there. It is quite enjoyable, and I would like it if Wendy would drop out of the major time consumption that Sweet Adelines requires and just do the community choir. A family Zoom was held on Tuesday so we could gather with the Regina family members on the anniversary of Ellis' passing—thanks, Bern. I am in the planning stages of some more woodwork, and we are both ramping up some renovation work in our house. The markets had another great, green week due to another win for Bidenomics. I'm beginning to think that Sleepy Joe is in fact, brilliant in his understanding of what makes the economy tick. Job creation at unprecedented levels, unemployment at levels not seen in 50 years, salaries rising, and inflation easing—all unexpected. Even the GOP in congress knuckled under and agreed to fund the government at least until the new year. Maybe the beating they took in the recent elections got their attention! In any case, the market has responded with big gains, and I am enjoying that. The Grand Slam event concluded on Sunday with Gim (Korea) winning the women's title and Retornaz (Italy) triumphing on the men's side. The Oilers replaced their head coach, and reeled off three wins, but dropped their game today. Leafs are in Sweden, and won their first game over there. Pens are doing better, but they lost their game tonight. In college football, my #14-Sooners won a tough battle over BYU today, after losing their QB for the second half. #7-Texas survived Iowa State. #1-Jayhawks trailed for much of the game vs #17-Kentucky, but pulled it out in the end to remain undefeated in Basketball. Tomorrow is the Grey Cup game, and I'm picking Bombers to beat Montreal for the championship. 

Nicely set up! 

Erica enjoyed a big weekend in Edmonton, visiting her cousin Margaret, taking in a Shania Twain concert, and having a ladies' road trip. She even tried to take home the giant Easter egg from Vegreville! Eric and Erica are busily planning their 30th Anniversary trip to New Zealand. "This weekend we had fun with our friends at the YWCA fundraiser music bingo. If you are like us and had no idea what a music bingo is, let me explain. You get a bingo card with songs from a specific era. Then they play part of a song. If you can figure out what the song is, and you have it on your card, you mark it off. We did 3 rounds: 80s, 90s and 2000s. We had a much easier time with the 80’s then 2000’s. We all got close, but none of us won. However, Eric and I did an air band and won a prize for that! Eric picked up a machine for sleep apnea on Friday. He seemed to do well for the first part of the night, but then he woke up and had trouble with it. So, he’ll have to figure it out."

Kristian has completed curling pre-season games, is enjoying the play, and looks forward to the regular season that begins next week. Youth Group was Thursday night; they enjoyed a newly decorated room for that. Today, he was back to school to help setting up for the school play. He is looking forward to his first Machining class next Friday. Erin bemoaned her Jaguars dismal performance last Sunday, but had a good week of work training her replacement. 

Arizona State - Sun Devils

Travis and Joanna managed to work through some issues in the ordering system and the PuckShot orders are now working properly. BucketDecals got an order from the Arizona State Sun Devils to highlight this week. They photographed another 11 teams today—wowsers! 

And that's enough for this week! 

Still in the Green!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have had a couple of flurries, but it melts on arrival, so we're still in the green here. We have had a busy schedule this week, and still have a couple of medical appointments coming up. Wendy had a chest X-ray on Monday, and later a phone call with her doctor to explain that no issues of concern showed on the X-ray. She is still scheduled for a two more tests over her persistent cough issues. I had a follow-up with my ophthalmologist on Wednesday; he was well pleased with my vision. Wendy had choir practice on Monday evening with the Sweet Adelines, and we both practiced with a community choir on Thursday morning. My spinal surgeon called on Wednesday and wants to schedule another discussion about my back issues. He didn't mention what that was about, but I look forward to hearing anything new! The markets struggled under relentless threatening by the FED over rate hikes, however, the strong USA economy gradually took over the sentiment and we continued November in the green, and on quota. In the world of sports we're watching the conference finals in football. Montreal surprised Toronto in the Eastern final, while Winnipeg continued their domination of the West. I expect the Bombers to have an easy time of it in the Grey Cup game. In hockey, my Oilers continue to flounder at the bottom of the league—yikes! They finally won their third game just tonight. Leafs are winning their share of games. Pens had a great tour of California, winning three games and really improving their situation. In college football, #17-Sooners took quite a tumble in the rankings after losing to Oklahoma State, so they took it out on West Virginia today. #7-Longhorns continue be just on the outside of the playoff scenario, and they were not impressive against TCU today. In basketball, #1-Jayhawks opened the season with two blowout wins! Rock Chalk! I have spent several hours watching the Grand Slam event out of Nova Scotia. Four of our Canadian teams lost out in the tie-breakers leaving just Bottcher carrying our colours on the men's side. He lost in the semi-final, so it's and all European final: Retornaz (Italy) vs Edin (Sweden). On the women's side we qualified three teams into the playoffs, but Einarson and Homan played each other and Jones lost to Tirinzoni. Only Homan remains; she will take on Gim (Korea) in the final. Clearly, the rest of the world has caught up and even surpassed us in curling. 

Erica writes, "Not sure what Eric is up to this weekend. I left him in PA and took off with a group of ladies to Edmonton. We are hanging out with cousin Margaret for the weekend. We plan to shop, hang out, enjoy the hot tub and see Shania Twain." 

Eric responds, "I joined Guido (another of the abandoned husbands) for a Timberjacks game (local Junior B hockey team) it was a good game. I might get with the guys again some time over the weekend."

Erin is enjoying good health, but very busy with the training program for her replacement. There is a lot to learn in a compressed period of time. Kristian is busy with school as usual. This week, curling started. He tried out his new curling shoes, but has decided the older ones suited him better. We're glad to see him enjoying curling as it is one of the sports we've enjoyed for a long time. Next week, they have an exhibition game and then the final arrangement of the school team will be settled. His skip from last year is helping with the coaching. 

Travis and Joanna are very busy with hockey photo shoots. The new arrangements for Puck Shots photo distribution are still needing some tweaking, but they're confident it will pay off in the long run. They have eight teams scheduled for today.  Last night, they hosted us for a delicious pulled pork supper—thanks guys. We also enjoyed the Leaf game, and several games of Fast Track—thanks Ladies! Andrew was there for supper with his new Subaru—looking good! The dogs have had fresh haircuts. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Remember!

in Flanders' Fields

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town, and we have moved into November! There is still no snow here, but they keep threatening us! The daily highs keep struggling into the positive numbers, so we are able to enjoy getting out for walks. Wendy has had several medical appointments this week with followup on her cataract surgery, and further consideration of her ongoing cough and congestion. The lens replacement seems to be working out well. She is now scheduled for chest x-rays next week to further investigate her cough. She was also prescribed another puffer, but I keep hearing her coughing and clearing her throat! Our choir practice was cancelled this week as our director has contracted Covid. We hope she recovers quickly, and in addition, we continue our diligence toward safe practice in our various interactions. I had a short curling practice one day. It went okay, but my back and legs complained a lot the next couple of days. I will try again to see if I can build up my capacity. The spinal surgeon encouraged me to give it a try, and I am! The colder weather makes for shorter sessions in the shop, and all glue-ups have to be done in the house. Wendy is encouraging me to add heating capacity to the shop, but I hesitate to spend so much money on a hobby. Besides, what with our new shingles, fascia, soffits, eavestrough, windows and doors we have pretty much tapped out our funding for this year. I have begun deliberations and the search for our next vehicle. We'd like another SUV, but hope to try out a PHEV. The markets have enjoyed a wonderfully green week with major gains on all indices. The USA economic data noted continued strong growth, but with inflation dropping—thanks Uncle Joe. Our economic data was not as strong, but we were encouraged by our major partner doing so well. The World Series ended quickly as Texas won 4-1 despite my choosing them! The football playoffs began today with Montreal and BC advancing to the conference finals next weekend. I'm cheering for BC and Toronto to win those, while expecting Winnipeg to win it all (Just so Tom knows how to bet!). The PanContinental curling championships ran this week. Our teams advanced to the playoffs, but Einarson lost the bronze medal game, while Gushue won the gold medal on the men's side. In hockey, the Leafs are holding their heads above water, while Pens and Oilers continue to lose—only the Pens won tonight! In college football, #7-Texas were surprisingly tested by KSU, and were lucky to escape with the win. #9-Sooners played their in-state rivals in Stillwater for a final time and took the loss. The exhibition season is over in basketball, so I'm looking forward to the distraction of KU basketball beginning next week—Rock Chalk Jay Hawk! 

Erica writes, "Last weekend Eric and I hung out in Saskatoon. It was a good, if tiring, weekend. Who would have thought talking to people would be so much work? The majority of people we talked to had not heard of Lipedema—we need to get the word out. This week, we were busy with last minute items for the Rotary fundraiser. The event is Saturday night, and should be a classy evening with a wonderful meal, live entertainment and some artists. With that, practising for playing keyboard on Sunday, and Eric running to Saskatoon to pick up our meat box for the month, it’s been a full day. We are looking forward to some quiet time on Sunday."

Erin is feeling much better now and we're glad to hear that. Taylor Toyota has chosen her replacement, so Erin is fully engaged in training her. She expects this will take some months. Thereafter, she will be able to begin her new job at Taylor Volkswagen. Kristian continues with his regular schedule at school and youth group. Next week, he is set to start curling with a couple of practice sessions scheduled. 

Travis and Joanna are very busy with PuckShots photography. They have initiated a new partnership with a photography firm in town which should ease their workload in the longer term, but at start up there always seem to be a few other issues to solve! Minnie had another vet visit; she is on new meds. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Brrrr!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The golf courses have closed, and the temperatures are hitting freezing values most nights. I have cleared away the summer stuff from the yard, and dug out the snow shovels. There is no snow here yet, but the forecasters are threatening it! We had a wonderful trip to Minneapolis this week with Travis, Joanna and Minnie. We drove down on Monday, attended the hockey game on Tuesday, and returned home on Wednesday. The fall colours were lovely on the drive. We stayed in Radisson Blu at Mall of America, so there was a lot of walking around the mall, more so for some of our party!

A wild Oiler fan!

The hockey game did not go the way I wished, and McDavid is injured, so the star attraction was not there at all! Still, we enjoyed ourselves a great deal—thanks Trav & Joanna for putting this event together. Otherwise, we had community choir on Thursday, and I had a CT-Scan this morning, following up on an earlier ultra-sound on my kidneys. We'll get results in a week or so—"If there is a problem, the doctor will call you." Wendy continues to cough some, and has a doctor's appointment next week. I am contemplating building one more Fast Track game in circular format, but have decided to build a large compass first. We continue to suffer under the triple whammy from the USA: the economy is just too strong (running at almost 5% GDP gain); inflation is higher than expected, and the Republicans continue to produce chaos in the House, so the markets continue to suffer. October has turned out to be even worse than September. I was running at quota to the end of August, but two red months have left me cheering for the Santa Claus rally to begin immediately! TSX and DOW are now in the red for the year, sigh! The world of sports has left me little to cheer about either as the Riders missed the playoffs, and the Oilers are floundering in the early NHL season. Leafs and Penguins are doing just okay. Jones won the Women's Slam event, while Retornaz took the men's side for Italy. At least the Rangers won their series (despite my cheering!) and have advanced to the World Series! #6-Oklahoma lost to Kansas today, so that'll be the end of their high ranking. #7-Texas improved their ranking, but are not in championship consideration which is what I was expecting of them. They enjoyed a strong win today over BYU. 

Garage (not a garage!) in a Box

Erica writes, "Exciting news! Our gas line has been moved, making space for our not-a-garage storage building as well as for a back door on our house! Greg has procured a cloth garage for us so we have coverage until we can build our not-a-garage, but the box is in Kenora, ON and we are in Prince Albert, SK so we are trying to figure that out. Eric had his Marriage & Family Therapists' AGM in Saskatoon on Friday and I am at the Sask Lipedema booth in Saskatoon for a wellness symposium. Hopefully, we will get the word out to more people! We are making a weekend of it so that is fun. But, maybe Eric should just drive to Kenora! LOL"

Millennium Falcon

Kristian has completed another Lego-Star Wars project, and Grandma was busy looking for missing pieces at the Lego store in MOA. For now, he has just substituted pieces as needed. Kristian has been commissioned to design a display wall for some of his projects and for the cats to climb on. On Tuesday, Kristian had a tour/introduction to Sask Polytech and is considering options for his post-secondary education. Erin is feeling better again, but is not accommodating her new BP meds well. It leaves her feeling drowsy and nauseous. She has another appointment with her doctor on Monday, and we hope the meds are adjusted to something that works better. 

As mentioned, Travis and Joanna fired some more projects into the mail and travelled with us to the Mall of America and the NHL game between the Oilers and the Wild. It was a great time despite the Oilers loss! They are fully into hockey photo season, so are keeping very busy. Joanna couldn't keep from shopping for new ideas for her store while she was at the mall. 

And that's enough for now. 

And there it is then...

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, and we are well established in the usual autumn weather with single digit overnight lows and struggling into the teens during the day. The golf courses will be closing soon, and I have not even managed one round of golf here this season. We got both our latest Covid booster and our annual flu shot, so our shoulders have been a bit sore. I have managed a bit of progress on the window treatments for the dining room and kitchen. We've decided on a stool and apron application there, but we're concerned about using wood above the kitchen sink. I have PVC material for the stools, but only have MDF for the apron, so we're still assessing the possibilities for the kitchen window. Maybe we should just use the backsplash material across there below the stool. Wendy continues to improve with her dry cough, but it's still around. Still, she is able to keep up with her choral work. This week, we decided to join a community chorus for the Christmas season. Wendy is already booked for the Sweet Adelines Christmas concert, and the community concert is earlier, so it doesn't complicate any potential travel plans. Wendy had phone troubles this week, but managed to get it repaired and is back in business. On Friday morning, I had a consultation with the spinal surgeon. He recommends I continue with physiotherapy for my back issues, but advises that I can push it as hard as I wish to build up capacity for more walking, golfing and curling. That was encouraging—I intend to try curling in the next week or so. I have increased my target for walking each week. Today, we had a foot clinic at Confederation College; this was my first ever pedicure–a ticklish experience! A combination of factors continue to cause market distress. The USA economy just keeps doing too well, so investors are afraid the FED will raise rates, and the Republicans continue to mismanage their own congressional responsibility, so investors fear they will not manage to fund government before the November deadline. Then, the wars in Ukraine and Israel are destabilizing as well with both Russia and Iran are threatening crude supplies. Anyway, it was another red week for me, sigh! In the world of sports the league championships continue in baseball, but while the Rangers won the first two games on the road, they have now lost all three home games! C'mon Rangers! The Riders played their final game of the season this afternoon, they led most of the way, but gave up a TD in the final minute to lose to Toronto. In the early NHL season, my Oilers are not doing well. Leafs and Pens are winning about half of their games, and that's below expectations as well. My #6-Sooners won their game today, but not impressively. The #8-Longhorns got a similar win. The big event of the week was the first Grand Slam curling event of the season. My guy, Kevin Koe, did not qualify for the playoffs, while my gal, Kerri Einarson, did, but lost the semi. Tomorrow, it'll be Lawes vs Jones for the women's championship, and Bottcher vs Retornaz on the men's side. 

Erica writes, "I’m excited to see the Canadian Lipedema Association coming to life! It’s good to see more people moving this forward. Check out the Lipedema Canada page on Facebook. Next weekend, I’ll be manning a booth at the Wellness Symposium to share information on Lipedema. Eric and I are joining the worship team this Sunday. It’s fun to join in with the worship team without having to organize it! Liam got his mid-semester marks and he’s is doing well!" 

Another happy customer...

Kristian rejoiced with the arrival of his new XS iPhone from Uncle Travis. It comes with multiple skins, so he can dress it up for each school day of the week! Erin enjoyed watching her Jags win the Thursday night NFL game as it's a bit rare for them to be on TV. Otherwise, she has not been feeling so great, and is taking it pretty quiet this weekend. 

Travis and Joanna keep very busy, and we have not managed a game night this week. Of course, they're also trying to get ahead of the game since they have a trip to Minneapolis planned for next week. We're looking forward to that since they've invited us to go along! Yay!

And that's about it for this week. 

One to go...

Thanksgiving 2023

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have been enjoying a visit with Bern & Alicia, but they left on Wednesday. It was great to have them here, and show them some of the sights there are around here. We enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving with them and the family here. Wendy, Alicia and Joanna prepared a fine feast!

Nice pic of Terry Fox by Bern

My appointment with Dr. David Puskas, orthopedic surgeon, set for Monday has now been cancelled, so I'm back to the waiting game concerning my back. I've been pushing things this last week involving long hikes with Bern & Alicia. This has brought back the neuropathy in my feet, along with some discomfort in my back and butt, but has, overall, been an encouragement. Wendy seems to be fully recovered from her cataract surgery, and after her fresh haircut, she's both looking good and seeing well! Wendy has spent most of the rest of the week with laundry and turkey leftovers. It appears we'll get to enjoy Cheesy Turkey Casserole several times in the next weeks—yum! The weather has remained favourable and I've mowed the lawns, hopefully for the final time this season.

Hexagon or Circle? 

I have completed another FastTrack game board, and have another in the works. I'm still working with Travis on an effective design for the centre area and the fast track. We played numerous games of FastTrack, along with Dummy Rummy and School! The markets ran well for the first part of the week, but faltered on Thursday and Friday. I managed a green week, but didn't make my quota. The main negatives are the Republicans failure to operate government in the USA, and the resultant drop in consumer confidence. C'mon man! The world of sports has been mostly disappointing again this week. The Riders put up another pitiful outing in Calgary and were unable to clinch a playoff spot—now, they're looking for help! The Jays are gone, so I've switched to the Rangers (sorry Ranger fans!). They'll be playing Houston in the American League Championship Series. The NHL season has begun. My teams (Oilers, Pens, Leafs) have now played two games each, and the Pens played a third game tonight. Oilers and Pens were lame in their opening game losses, but have played better since, but Canucks beat my Oilers for a second time tonight—sigh! Leafs were lucky to win their first, but put up a solid win tonight. After their big win last week the #4-Sooners pretty much switched places with the #9-Longhorns, but both have this week off.

Erica writes, "After sending Greg, Kiersten and Liam on their way, we had a short, busy week. This weekend, we went to Saskatoon with friends to enjoy a musical. Eric has a hockey draft, so, we are staying the night and have a planned visit with the Saskatoon Baileys. On the Lipedema front, I’ve been finding that a combination that rotating, stretching and using a leg massager/pump is helping to maintain my mobility. Unfortunately, the pump I have doesn’t do the knees, so I have some edema starting to build up around my knees."

Erin has been enjoying poor health, and has had to miss some days of work. She seems to be on the mend finally, but it's been quite a spell. Her consultation with her doctor has led to further investigations. It seems her blood pressure issues are rearing their ugly head once again. Kristian is maintaining his usual schedule of schooling, youth group and waiting for curling to start. 

Alicia, Bern, Wendy, Bill, Trav, Joanna

Travis & Joanna remain busy. We were glad they got to spend some time with Bern & Alicia while they were here. Today, Trav stopped by to get the refurbished chair racks with the chairs they use for hockey team photography. It's the the first of many team photo shoots for this season. 

And that's enough for this week. 

One down...

and her new right eye!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have had a range of weather from using the AC to using the fireplace, but mostly the weather was great! We have enjoyed touring Bern & Alicia to some of our favourite spots around this end of the lake, and have even chatted about the possibility of doing the Lake Superior Circle Tour at some time. This week we ranged from Ouimet Canyon in the northeast down to Grand Marais to the southwest. It was a great and busy week. Thanks for your wonderful visit—we still have a few days left! Wendy went in to the hospital on Monday for cataract surgery on her right eye. They gave her a new lens, complete with a serial number! I suppose that will help them match it properly when the time comes to repair her left eye. So far, that eye is doing well, and the newly repaired one seems to be getting better each day as the surgery heals and the vision clears. I stole some time to work in the shop and got another Fast Track board completed. The markets continued to run on fear as the MAGA Republicans decided to defy wisdom and oust their leader for the first time that has ever happened! This lead to panic selling the first few days of the week. Then, the continuing strength of the US economy caused investors to fear the FED will raise rates even more, and they sold some more, sigh! Fortunately, the jobs data came in Friday morning much stronger than anticipated, and they finally had to relent and agree that sometimes "good news is good news" and we ended the week with some solid green. Uncle Joe's strong economy continues to be a mixed blessing as it keeps the spectre of inflation on investors minds. The world of sports provided more surprises than usual and some were decidedly unpleasant! The Blue Jays played poorly in their playoff series against the Twins and are now out of the playoffs entirely—a very disappointed season in the final analysis. The Riders put up a lousy and losing effort tonight against Hamilton and suffered another ugly loss—c'mon Riders. They are still in playoff contention at least. The #12-Sooners surprised both me and the #3-Longhorns today! Boomer Sooner! 

Erica writes, "We have most of our chicks back in the nest. Greg and Kiersten arrived Thursday night. Liam arrived on Friday. Today, we will head out to Prince Albert National Park for some roaming around and hiking. Liam is planning a beautiful spatchcocked Turkey for tonight and we have gluten-free apple pie and pumpkin pie. Haaken elected to stay away from this northern climate. We did get snow on Thursday so maybe he knew something. Happy Thanksgiving!"

Erin and Kristian are also suffering with the untimely demise of the Blue Jays, and the poor play of the Riders. I don't know what she'll do with her sports watching time! I guess she'll have to console herself with her adopted football team, the Jacksonville Jags. 

Travis & Joanna are keeping very busy with work and the dogs. Today, they joined us for an excursion to Grand Marais where they introduced us to puffy tacos at the Hungry Hippie Taco shop—they were delicious! 

It's been a good week. 

Planning Surgery

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has remained lovely, and I've been getting out for my walks each day. So long as I hold the distance down to less than 2km, I seem to tolerate it well, but if I push it over 2km, I suffer lower back pain and neuropathy in my feet the following day—sigh! Today, I had a followup consultation with my physiotherapist. We have decided that I will be referred to a spinal surgeon to consider surgical options. This summer I was limited to three rounds of golf using a cart, and only one walking attempt which lasted three holes. It's discouraging. Curling season is beginning soon; I shall take advantage of some open ice time to give it a try. Wendy has also been consulting over her cataract situation. She had pre-op on Wednesday, and is scheduled for surgery on her right eye on Monday morning. I don't know whether having her see better is a win for all of us!! I have managed to make more progress in the shop, and look forward to more hours of woodworking out there. Wendy has been cleaning up the place as we look forward to a visit with Bernard & Alicia. They arrived this evening after a long day driving from Brandon; we're glad to have them! The markets were terrible once again as September lived up to its billing as the worst month for the markets. For the month the indices I follow were all red: 

TSX: -3.9%

DOW: -3.7%

S&P: -5.7%

Nasdaq: -7.8%

There have been several issues bothering the markets. A big one has been the FED and their declared intention of raising the interest rates. Last week the FED was all hawkish to raise rates; this week they relented. Then, we faced insanity in Congress as the GOP refused to do their job and pay for the agenda they have passed into law. Fortunately, McCarthy decided today to abandon the crazy MAGA wing of the party and cooperate with the Democrats to pass the funding agreement. I hope this will give us a good start for October. My sporting world has been troubled as well. The Jays played well only some of the time, but they have made the playoffs, so we live on! The Riders continue to flounder, but are also holding onto a playoff position so far. Meanwhile, the #14-Sooners had another big win today, and #3-Texas did as well. Curling is in the early weeks of the season, but featured a "made for TV" event this week with 16 teams on each side. Tomorrow, Dunstone will play Carruthers in the men's final, while Einarson takes on Homan in the women's final. My guy, Kevin Koe, lost out in the first round. 

Erica writes, "Eric and I drove down to Livingston, Montana on Wednesday. Eric has annual training and I’m enjoying the change in scenery. Friday was the social day and we drove down to the Rosevelt gate, the original entrance to Yellowstone. Some of the group headed into the park. Eric and I enjoyed Chico Hot Springs and Spa. We head back on Sunday. Liam, Greg and Kiersten are heading up next weekend for Thanksgiving! We are looking forward to that."

Erin and I have lived and died with the Jays this week and finally, today, they clinched the playoff spot, yay Jays! Kristian is back to youth group on Thursday nights, but has not begun curling yet. 

Travis has been hard at it all week as business has been very brisk! Joanna has also been very busy ever since they returned from their trip to Vancouver. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Beautiful Fall Weather

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, taking us into Autumn. The weather has remained lovely, and we've enjoyed working in the yard and shop this week.

I have managed some clean up in the shop, and installed two new tools: a drill press, and a spindle sander. Thanks, Dave, for passing these along to me.

Side Door & Screen

I also added the storm door to the side entry, so our energy retrofit is complete and I have applied for the refund. Wendy has completed clean up of our annual weed infestation around the buildings and in the flower beds and trees. It's looking good. She continues to suffer with her months-old cough, and is considering further medical intervention. The markets continue to be terrible, no good and very bad this month. In this week we spent the first days worrying about the FED, and then Thursday reacting to how the FED's bearish comments played in to the strong economic data in the jobless claims. Sigh—back to good news is bad news meme! In the world of sports, the Riders continued to flounder dropping another game to fall below .500 on the season and put their playoff chances on life-support. #16-Sooners won again today, and #3-Texas continues to perform at a very high level indeed. The Jays have picked up the pace and are currently in a play off position with nine games left in the regular season. 

It's been a pretty ordinary week at the Bailey's place in Prince Albert. Erica was working out of town for part of the week, so we enjoyed chatting with her as she drove home from Melfort. Next week, they're scheduled for an outing to Montana with Eric's class. 

Erin continues her planning and preparation for her new assignment at Taylor Volkswagen. Kristian is enjoying the early days of grade 12. The cats are... well, they're just being cats. 

We enjoyed Pizza Supper and games night on Sunday with Travis, Joanna, Andrew and Rosie.

Bucket Decals Products

Travis has continued to very busy and has managed to push out a lot of product before their trip to Vancouver. They left early Wednesday morning for a visit with Jonas & Gemma. We're enjoying having Minnie visit with us while they're away. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Renovations!

We've enjoyed our first week back home after our summer trip. Our crew from Nordex has been here all week and have completed the replacement of five windows along with new fascia, soffits and eavestrough. It looks great!

Kitchen & Dining rooms

across the back

Light thru the side!

I installed the new side door today, so the major parts of our exterior project has been completed. We opted for black trim on the windows, black fascia and eavestrough, and white soffits. The aluminum sliders are gone, and the new awning-style windows are in place in the kitchen and dining rooms as well as the bedrooms and bathroom. I caught up on some medical work, and got the oil changed in the car—we're ready to go again! Not really, we have a number of commitments until the first week of November. Wendy has been catching up on Sweet Adelines practice and business. She has completed one bottle of Buckley's, and has now bought a second, so, you can tell her cough lingers uncomfortably on! I had a big green week in the markets as the inflation data came in better than expected and overwhelmed the fears of further rate hikes. In the world of sports it has been a mixed story. The Riders lost again last night. The Jays dropped four straight to Texas, but have rebounded to take two from Boston, so they're still in the fight. The #19-Sooners did not get a bounce in the ratings, but responded with another slaughter (49 points) today. The #4-Longhorns got a big bounce, but did not show well today over an unranked team where I was expecting a blow-out win. 

Eric/A continue to work on the backyard development. They have now received confirmation of work to relocate the gas line and meter, so that will clear the way to pour a pad for the workshop. Liam is back in school, and continues his work with the College Dance troupe. 

Erin and Kristian have passed another week of work and school. Of course, preparations have been busy in anticipation of Kristian's 18th birthday celebration. Officially, that was today, but in reality it's been going for at least the last month! 

Travis and Joanna arrived with Pizza for supper on Sunday, as we enjoyed getting back together with them here in Thunder Bay. We played a few games of FastTrack and presented them with their game board that I had completed at 55 Laird. Now, all the children have games Bill'T at 55 Laird. We passed along pet beds from Sadie, and are glad to observe Minnie, Darby and Moxley making good use of them. 

Moxley & Minnie

And that's enough for this week. 

Home Again!

Another week has passed and we have completed our tour and returned to the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We left home on July 17th, so all told it was 53 days away. Both of us suffered some health challenges, but we still felt it was a great trip, and especially enjoyed having Kristian with us on the trip to Victoria. This week began in Prince Albert where we enjoyed visiting with Eric & Erica. On Tuesday, we drove down to Dauphin where we enjoyed catching up with our old friend, Dick, who hosted us for two nights—thanks, Dick! We took the opportunity to tour the Parkland Crossing facilities, get an update on their programming, and catch up with several other friends. On Thursday morning, we started a golf game out at Dauphin Lake, but that got rained out on the 5th hole! So, we carried on to Winnipeg where Kelly took care of us, and we caught up with that family—more thank-yous! Finally, on Friday, we completed the drive home. Wendy is feeling some better, but continues to suffer with her cough. The markets suffered through another indifferent week, and remain red for the month-to-date. Investors continue to express concerns over the USA economy being too strong raising the fear that the FED will raise rates further. As a result, it was a red week for me. In sports, Riders beat Winnipeg in the Labour Day Classic. Today, Bombers came back with a vengeance, but I still got my wished for split. In Baseball, the Blue Jays have played themselves back into the playoffs—well done! Now, they need to hang on to that with a big series against Texas Rangers coming up. My #18-Sooners won again today, while the #11-Longhorns took down #3-Alabama on the road. I expect both teams to rise in the rankings. 

Erica writes, "It’s been a busy week catching up from the long weekend off. A bunch of client work is coming due so I’m busy at work. Eric started his first class as prof at the U of S. He has a sectional lecturer gig teaching child psychology. Liam returned to school as he starts a bachelor of Biblical studies degree. I keep trying to convince him to go for accounting, but no such luck yet! Mom and Dad stopped by to visit Greg and Kiersten on their way home. My next door neighbour, upon seeing a picture of Greg with Dad exclaimed, 'He’s so cute and he looks just like your dad!' We haven’t heard much from Haaken this week."

with grandson Greg!

Erin and Kristian are celebrating the first week of a new school year. Kristian got new shoes for the commencement of Grade 12. Erin has an event of her own to celebrate as she has been promoted to lead the accounting department at Taylor's Volkswagen franchise—woo hoo! 

Kristian's new shoes! 

Travis and Joanna have remained busy to open September. They did a good job of caring for our place while we were away—thanks! Tonight, they brought over pizza for supper and we enjoyed another round of Fast Track—double thanks! Gemma is loving the start of classes in the midwifery program at UBC. Andrew has switched into the mechanics program—we wish him well. 

And that's enough for this week! 

Tracking toward Home!

Another week has passed, and we have vacated the shore of Lake Wascana, and returned to the shore of the North Saskatchewan River, in Prince Albert. We are enjoying the hospitality of Eric and Erica and considering a couple of small projects. Wendy wended her way through a pile of shredding today, although the shredder complained about her enthusiasm, and frequently over-heated and bugged out! I have brought the replacement materials to repair her library chair. It flips to form a small stepladder, but I found my original construction was not up to the task, so I rebuilt the chair seat. Now, I need to trim it to size and apply it to the frame. We enjoyed a round of golf with Erin and Kristian on Sunday—Wendy drove the cart for me, and newly realized that golf could be so much fun! Even with the cart, I got in plenty of walking, and my legs complained about it for a couple of days. I am considering a surgical option for my spinal stenosis, and I plan to discuss that with my doctor, as well as some trusted friends. Erin recommends it while I'm "still young". I thanked her for that characterization! Wendy cleared away some more Lego projects, and then re-sorted the area. Once we got our tools and stuff repacked in the car, it revealed a lot of improvement and floor space! Kristian has begun work designing the man cave downstairs. It will feature displays of his Lego Star Wars models, and include cat runs on the walls! We managed several more out of doors visits as Wendy's cough lingered, and we prepared to depart. It was good to spend some time with Bernard & Alicia, Marti, Aunt Eloise, Don & Sandra. David has passed along two shop tools and a variety of other stuff that will now be added to our collection! It was a challenge to get it all into the Santa Fe. After many more games of Fast Track, we headed north on Friday to PA. We have introduced Eric/A to the game, and provided them a game board of their own. The markets were troubled throughout August as investors struggled to determine which was the FED would move, and whether the USA economy would survive more rate hikes! They seem to have settled on the conclusion that the FED should be through the hiking cycle, and that the USA economy will manage the desired "soft landing". Although September is historically the worst month on the markets, we hope for a good month after the solid economic showing. The college football season has begun, and my Sooners blasted their opposition 73-0 today. I really do not expect a strong season from them, but we'll have to wait to see. The Riders play the Bombers tomorrow in the first half of a home and home rivalry series. It surely would be nice if they could win one of these games—Go Riders! The Blue Jays are struggling through a spate of injuries, but remain in the playoff hunt at least. 

Eric and Erica are hosting us this weekend after their regular week of work. Tonight, their friends hosted us all for a karaoke night—it featured great music, less great singing, and tasty snacks! I even built a peanut butter ice cream cake for the occasion. 

Erin, Kristian, Bill—golfing

Erin and Kristian have successfully completed this session of grandparent-sitting, and are now able to relax for the weekend. While Monday is a holiday, Kristian returns to school on Tuesday, so there are some extra preparations needed for that. I picked him up a new pair of curling shoes, so that part of his schedule is ready to go. Erin is providing extra training at work in addition to her usual duties. 

Travis had his busiest August ever with Bucket Decals and other Ulrich Design production. So, that's good! He also went through our mail for us this week as it turned out I had missed an appointment for an ultrasound! Seems we have been away too long, and didn't take note of the hospital's practice of only mailing out notifications! Who does that anymore? Joanna keeps busy with work, as it appears they will either need to hire additional workers, or persuade the current workers to increase their hours. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Fast Track!

Another week has passed, and we are apparently off the Fast Track as we remain in Regina. I have completed the stairway project.

Applying the carpet

It involved removing the old carpet, underlay and smooth edge, cleaning up the nosings on the treads, installing new carpet with included melton backing, and then dressing up the bottom stairs with wood facings to match the floors upstairs. The fan-shaped treads around the corner were a challenge, but it has come together just fine.

Adding the flooring for trim

Wendy has remained on a light-work assignment as she continues her battle with bronchitis. Thus, she has done a LOT of Lego again this week! She and Kristian are making good progress on several construction projects! 

I built a Fast Track board

I used scraps of Erin's flooring to build a game board. We have enjoyed quite a few rounds, including a memorable birthday night involving six players on two teams—it was complex! We enjoyed a lot of outdoor visitation with friends here, and were further delighted to catch up with long term friends from Yellowknife. The markets struggled all week as the After Hours guys consistently bet on rising values due to the strength of the USA economy, but each day it seemed the fear of the FED erased all that enthusiasm and left us in the red! Fortunately, the economy final won the battle this week and we did get an increase in market values and I had a winning week. In the world of sports, the Riders surprised with a strong defensive performance and a win over the BC Lions. Now, they have the bye this week as they prepare for home-n-home battles with the powerful Bombers. The Blue Jays also surprised, but in the opposite direction as our high expectations are not being met, and they currently sit outside of the playoff picture. 

Fresh Flowers, Memories!

Erica writes, "We are heading up to Waskesiu this Saturday to enjoy a music festival and hang out with friends. This week was cool and rainy—I guess summer is coming to an end. Eric is speaking at church this Sunday. Liam is wrapping up his plans to start school in the fall. Not much to report from Haaken and Greg!"

Erin continues hosting us in her basement as has been the long-term plan since she was in grade school—LOL! We're enjoying it! She has also set up a golf date for the four of us, although Wendy will not be golfing. We are looking forward to that outing. 

Travis & Joanna remain in contact. Some phone calls last for hours! We are starting to put together our plans for our return to Thunder Bay, and looking forward to that reunion as well. 

And that's enough for this week.