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.