It's always too soon!

No matter how long, it's always too soon! 

We reflect on Mother's Day and Father's Day, and those who are no longer present for those observances. We miss them! 

Another week has passed. We have migrated from Regina, via Winnipeg to home on the shore of Lake Superior. We enjoyed the week in Regina and got a few more projects moving forward. I got out for a bit of golf practice, and got the car in to repair the Air Conditioning. That hasn't gone as cheaply or well as I was hoping, but the mechanic remains on the case, and if it remains troublesome, he'll do more work on it when we return to Regina later this summer. I was able to reestablish the irrigation system at Erin's place, and obtain soil for two more large planters and two pots. We got two hanging baskets of strawberries, along with tomatoes and peppers. Erin will be planting more veggies soon, and then fine-tuning the drip irrigation. I was able to clean the surplus irrigation piping and controllers out of 55 Laird as David had no use for them, and was glad to be able to pass them along to Kresten & Star for their garden, and to Barry & Ashley for their garden. I'll follow up with them in the summer to see how those installations are going. Last Sunday, we celebrated with Logan & Kaitlyn as they were married in a lovely service at the RCMP museum. That was followed by a tasty reception dinner out at Lumsden. We were delighted to touch base with relatives old and new. We had supper with Liam in Moose Jaw on Thursday. He certainly seems to be doing better; we're glad to see that! We drove from Regina to Winnipeg on Friday and enjoyed dinner out with Tom & Mariette before retiring for the night at their place. Then, we completed the trip home today, arriving in Thunder Bay before 6pm. The markets had another troubled week as the Republicans continue to threaten the economy not just of the USA, but of the world. It will be helpful, if and when, we get this mess behind us. The NHL playoffs continue. I was able to pick the losing team in the eastern conference and still have hope for the same in the West! MLB is about one quarter through the season, and my Blue Jays certainly are not achieving up to expectations. C'mon Blue Jays! Let's play ball! Pre-season football began this week, and all teams are potential Grey Cup winners at this point! Riders won their opening game over BC. 

Eric writes, "Erica spent the week in LaRonge. She has been working extra as a coworker got sick. This weekend Erica and Eric went to Saskatoon to take Eric’s nieces to the dinosaur exhibit. Eric has been offered the opportunity to teach a therapy class in the new year. More details when the contract is signed. Liam is seeing an eye doctor for help with his allergies. Liam is making plans to take some courses in the Fall. Haaken continues his job at Costco and is looking for animation work. Greg is still in Kenora healing."

Erin and Kristian took care of us well for the week in Regina. We arrived last Friday. They both had Monday off for the Victoria Day holiday, so we got to hang out with them. We enjoyed supper out with them on Wednesday at Classic car night. There were some spectacular looking cars and trucks there. We were able to take Kristian to some of his appointments. One afternoon, we were delighted to see a McLaren parked at the location of his UV appointment. I had not seen one in person before—striking looking car! 

Trav, Joanna and crew have been taking care of things here including accepting our mail and ensuring the house is okay. Thanks folks! We look forward to catching up with them soon. 

And that's enough for this week! 

Regina

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, but we have migrated west!  On Wednesday, we drove out to Winnipeg on the shore of the Red River, and then on Friday, we continued to Regina on the shore of Lake Wascana. We enjoyed a visit with Tom & Mariette in Winnipeg—thanks folks. Tom and I got out for 18 holes on Thursday; that went okay although my back was complaining a bit. I am glad I chose to ride rather than try to walk it. We have a few projects underway at Erin's, but it's just a short trip this time for Logan's wedding, so we'll only get started. The air conditioning is not working in the car, so I have booked it in Tuesday morning to see if they can get it figured out. The weather is getting hotter, and we'd rather travel in comfort. Last weekend, we worked with Travis on Mother's Day floral deliveries. That was pretty enjoyable for us as well.

All loaded and ready to roll

Wendy had a choral presentation on Monday evening, and is continuing to prepare for their gala in June. She has both the business side and the musical side to work on even while we're travelling. The markets were troubled all week by the Republicans on-again, off-again debt ceiling plans. I managed to make a little gain, but well short of quota once again. The NHL playoffs have completed another round and I had two wins, two losses. I'm picking Canes and Knights in the semi-finals, and so far my picks have been exactly 50/50, so go flip your own coin! I am pretty disappointed that the Oilers have fallen short, and really, I have no dog left in this fight, so, I've lost interest. The Blue Jays are floundering at this point in the baseball season, so I hope they get it together soon. 

Erica writes, "This weekend I’m off on a girls trip. Eric has been attending a conference in Boston, virtually, most of the week—with a start time of 6 AM! He is excited to learn more about brain function. It’s still super busy at work, and I almost cancelled my long weekend plans. But here I am, on my way!"

Erin and Kristian have been preparing for our arrival, but Erin took sick on Thursday night, and was down on Friday when we arrived. She's feeling some better today. We are glad to have our basement room, and to be able to enjoy time with them. Kristian and I got the egg swing dismantled, moved upstairs and back outside, and reassembled. Well, actually, he did most of it, but I helped! It will be outside for the summer where Erin likes to lounge in the back patio area. I have also begun reassembling the drip irrigation for her planter boxes and hanging baskets. 

Travis, Joanna and crew are taking care of things back home in Thunder Bay. Our student is away just now, back home to Korea, so they're in charge of things. Their management allows us to travel with calm reassurance about home. Thanks guys! 

And that's enough for this week! 

Mother's Day

With our Moms (and Dads)

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has switched to wonderful and we've been enjoying our walks and being able to get out to the yard and  the shop. The yard is coming to life, the rhubarb is thriving, and perrenials are pushing through. We're delivering Mother's Day flowers again this year. It's a bit of fun outing, and also scores some cash. Wendy keeps busy with chorus business and practices, but she also took some time to get a facial this week—I still recognized her, easily, when she returned home. I installed the new front screen door in anticipation of the need for summer ventilation. We like it; it has the internal screen that rolls down as we lower the upper pane of glass for ventilation. In fact, we also bought one for the side door, so when I get the new side door installed, I'll be ready to install a new screen door there as well. We plan to head west next week for a family wedding in Regina, so I'm getting a few tools and projects ready to travel. The golf courses are opening; I managed to get over to the nearby course for a bit of practice and to see how my back liked that! Adding in our walks, my back remains tender, but manageable. I'm planning to try a round of golf next week in Winnipeg—that will be the real test! The markets have remained troubled, and even more so in the USA where the Republicans are threatening to crash the economy. Still, I managed to have a good week, but remain far behind quota for the month. The Stanley Cup playoffs continue and two series of the second round are complete. I've lost another pick as the Devils lost to the Canes. Still waiting to see if my other picks, Oilers and the Stars, can prevail. The Blue Jays are playing well, but they are not firing on all cylinders just yet. The Grand Slam Curling Event in Regina ended last Sunday with Bottcher and Homan winning the respective sides. 

Erica writes, "Tuesday this week, I woke up in the middle of the night with an intense throbbing pain in my hand, and numbness in my fingers. I thought I was having some sort of attack. But, I used my massager on my hand and the pain went away. I consulted with Dr. Erin and she agreed with my diagnosis of corporal tunnel or car-pool tunnel, but advised me of the correct spelling of carpal tunnel! I purchased a hand brace for nighttime use, and it has brought big improvement! I’ll also mention it to my paid doctor at our next visit. Eric had a good conversation with a colleague about developing an addictions counselling program from a systems perspective. Most programs are from an individual perspective. We will see where that goes. Haaken has been down this week with the flu. I haven’t heard much yet from the other two, but it is Mothers Day weekend, so I hope to!"

Erin has been busy catching up at work after her extended vacation. She's not there yet, and with Kristian's regular after school appointments, it is an exhausting schedule. She has also been consulting with her mother over carpet to replace what she has on the main staircase. It's the time of the year for Egg Chairs to be returned to the outside patio area, so we'll see if Kristian manages that with as much alacrity as he did on the move indoors last Fall. 

Travis and Joanna continue to clean up existing orders even as they head into their slow season. Travis is the main guy on the flower delivery service; we just supplement as may be needed. There hasn't been as many floral orders as there were in the early covid years so it's not quite as frantic. 

And that's about it for this week! 

M'Aidez! May Day!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather had been comfortable, but we've been subjected to heavy winds most days. The warming temperatures have us watching the golf courses open around us. I'm looking forward to getting over to the local course to see what my back will put up with!

Sadie's Shadow Box

I've spent some good time in the shop this week where I'm working on a new game project and Sadie's Shadow box. The pic shows a dry fitting of the box checking the size for the glass. It appears that I need to take a few more mm off the length—always better when it's too big as opposed to too little! It's a deep box with 50 mm space between the glass and the backing board. Erin and Kristian are planning and gathering items to place in the box. We managed to get our sixth vaccine dose on Friday. We don't know whether it will be effective against the latest variant, Arcturus. Wendy is busy with chorus business and practice. Their next concert is on the 15th, and then, we plan to head west for a brief trip. They have a 50th Anniversary Gala in June, so we need to get back for that. The markets have been bad, terrible and no good this week. You might call it continuation on a theme! As a result, after a good month of April, we have started May in the red. Fortunately, the employment data on Friday was so strong, that we got some recovery to end the week. The first round of NHL playoffs are complete, and I managed to accurately predict 4 of the 8 results! In round two, I'm picking Panthers, Devils, Stars and Oilers. Some of those picks are looking pretty iffy already! The Blue Jays had a good start to the season, but ran into troubles in Boston, but are having a good weekend in Pittsburgh. The final Grand Slam event of the curling season is playing out in Regina. My guy, Kevin Koe, was not in this event. It'll be Canadian Champ, Einarson, playing Homan in the women's final, while Canadian Champ, Gushue, will take on Bottcher in the men's final.

Erica writes, "This week was busy—we are into my busiest time with audits. This weekend, we are also busy with a full social calendar. We caught up with Allan and Jodi Rundel, our pastor couple from Kenora for dinner. At our monthly book club, Jennifer (McLeod) Wallace shared about her book, Miss G and Me. We plan to read it this month. Tomorrow, we have a fancy dinner! Whew—I’m tired just thinking about it! The body seems to be doing okay. Liam tweaked his back, but found someone who could help fix it. The ravages of age come for us all!"

Erin and Kristian have, finally, got home and settled into life in Regina. They really enjoyed their time in Florida, but didn't care for the extra two days it took to get home by way of Toronto and Vancouver!

I'm impressed!

Kristian was recipient of an award from his school for being "a model math learner. He comes to math class consistently ready to learn and is such a pleasure to teach. Kristian, your calm nature is appreciated by all! :)" 

Travis and Joanna returned from Tampa on Wednesday. They managed to make all connections and were only about an hour late. This remarkable air travel success was only tempered slightly by the fact that their luggage did not travel home with them! Anyway, they're home, tanned, and refreshed to plan another trip! 

And that's enough for this week!