Still more heat, and a cold!

Another hot week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the centre of the prairies. We have finally held short of the 30° weather this weekend, which is a bit of relief. I was supposed to golf in Willowbunch on Friday, but I was hit with a cold starting on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday were complete wash-outs for me as I spent most of those days in a horizontal position. I began to feel a bit better on Friday, and today, I felt well enough to attend Marie's funeral in Weyburn, albeit behind a medical mask so as not to share my illness. Wendy has made steady progress on the patching of the walls downstairs. I need to catch up with the work on the storage closet. The markets boomed after Uncle Joe's surprise relinquishment of the Democratic nomination. The enthusiasm over V-P Harris's elevation to the role spread into the markets as investors expressed the hope of being spared from the Orange Menace. To be sure, there were whipsaws, but overall it was a good green week. Baseball draws nearer to the trade deadline, and we've seen three Jays already traded away to teams who feel they are in contention for a playoff run. The Riders played the defending champs on the road this week; they came close, could have won it, probably even should have won it, but fell four points short. 

Liam & Mercedes joined Eric & Erica on the worship team on Sunday before heading back to Caronport. On Tuesday, Eric had another consult about his eyes. It has been decided to do the operation on his right eye on August 7th, and after seeing the results, reconsider how to proceed. Eric/A joined us in Weyburn today for Marie's funeral. She must be some number of cousin to Eric. We're expecting Liam and Mercedes to join us tomorrow for more birthday celebrations. 

Erin had another good week of work as she has already had time to begin her stress over the upcoming monthend activity—LOL! Kristian is continuing to progress with his driving; he still needs more practice with parallel parking. Erin's work is going well, although she continues to be short-staffed.

Adding Rope

Kristian and I completed the rope work on the cat tree and have moved it indoors. It's ready to install now. Tonight, we all went out with Eric & Erica for birthday supper at Olive Garden—tasty! 

Travis and Joanna are successfully holding down the fort in Thunder Bay. Andrew and Rosie have determined to continue their education in Toronto, and have decided to move down there next month. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Turning up the Heat!

Another hot week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the centre of the prairies. We began the week with mid-twenties, but the thermometer was gradually turned higher each day and we ended the week at 32°. I got out for a round of golf with Kristian and Dale on Monday. Kristian is continuing to grow his game, and he outdrove me at least three times—much to his delight! Of course, I'm not hitting as far, but I might never do that again, while his golf lays mostly in front of him. I scored +16 which seems to be about the norm for me in my comeback. Otherwise, as the heat turned up, we retreated to indoor work. Wendy is making slow progress on her paint preparations. Kristian and I have the cat tree ready to move indoors, but that has to wait until Wendy completes the painting. The new closet area is taking shape with shelves and a towel-hook bar. Now, I need to tackle rounded corner bead for the first time—hello, Mr. YouTube! The markets continued to roar forward at the start of the week, but faltered badly for the final three market days—c'mon guys! MLB was off most of the week for the All-Star break, but Jays managed to add to their winless streak all the same—sigh! The Riders hosted the Bombers last night, and came away with a convincing win—yay Riders! Today, we joined with the family and friends of Russell Knutson to celebrate his life. 

Eric wrote: "This week we played host to Liam and Mercedes. The week started with Erica’s band playing two sets. Liam and Mercedes arrived later that day. We have been educating Mercedes on Harry Potter, watching all eight movies. We attended a Rattlers game where we won upgrades and Liam and Mercedes watched the game courtside. The court action came right at them one time.

On Saturday, we are seeing the crooked trees and the Cochin lighthouse. Sunday, we are providing the music for church together, and Liam is presenting his RU plans for the church to consider. We have started making Christmas plans with Greg & Kiersten. Haaken is hopefully doing all right this week."

They bought new kayaks—now they need a storage shed! 

Erin and Kristian continue their hosting assignment. This week we made a special occasion Fuddruckers lunch meeting—that was a blast from the past. Erin, Wendy and I had taco salads. Kristian suffered another appointment in his drug trial. There were about ten blood samples taken, then he got his injection. He has been out driving most days, and ended the last tour with a successful parallel parking test! He now has an appointment for this driving test—Aug 15th. Erin got her first picking of strawberries today. 

Travis and Joanna got another part of their new living room furniture.

It appears that when the new furnishings are all installed they may have solved their flooring needs as well! At least the boys seem to approve! 

And that's enough for this week. 

A Hot Week!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the centre of the prairies. The weather has turned from summer-like to scorching! I got out for a round of golf with Garnet on Wednesday, but in the heat, we opted for a cart. The game went okay, and the experience was great, especially as we retired to their place in Southey for supper afterwards. Kristian and I got out to the driving range again today as we have a tee-time booked for Monday. Kristian, Wendy and I have been working on the projects, visiting friends and entertaining Taylor cousins who arrived from BC. We suffered another loss this week as an old friend, Russell Knutson, succumbed to the most recent health assault on Friday. He has been in hospital care for the last month or so, but was unable to rally out of it. We are grateful that we got a chance to visit with him these last weeks.

VW Coffee Mugs

Wendy and I posed for Erin's new advertising program courtesy of the lovely YETI coffee cups she got us for our anniversary—thanks! The markets are just flying, so I had a good month there this week! DOW settled over 40K for the first time ever! The Jays continue their struggle, and it appears they will be selling players later this month, sigh! The Riders played a road game in BC in a battle of first place clubs. We're still limited to our backup QB. They put up a good fight, but it turned into their first loss of the season. 

Erica writes, "Eric and I headed to The Big Smoke, aka Toronto, for a friend’s wedding. It is our first full Indian wedding ceremony and it was quite the event. We enjoyed the cultural immersion without the heat of India. The reception was especially fun, with all the family members getting their own introduction and cheer from the crowd. The bridal couple got the addition of towel waving and fireworks. Eric and I also got the chance to do an Indian dance in 360 degrees. What fun! We will get back on Sunday and Liam will be joining us for a visit on Monday. I’ve also been getting ready for a gig with my band, Mystery Train, at Mr Mikes on July 15th." 

Erin and Kristian continue to host us—thanks! The projects are slowly moving forward. Wendy is applying the mud to wall imperfections in the downstairs.

Kristian cut open the wall

Kristian cut out the gyproc, and I am building a storage closet in the hallway. The cat tree is mostly assembled, but a lot of details remain to be added in the form of platforms, scratching rope, and toys. We have also decided to add cardboard scratching surface to the foundation box. Kristian drives me everywhere, and is doing well. I'm expecting him to take his first test soon. Erin continues to acclimate to her new role and assignment—she's doing well, also. 

Gardening in planters

Wendy picked up plants, Erin got them planted, and I got the drip irrigation up and running once again.

Travis and Joanna are managing in the not so torrid temperatures of Thunder Bay. Along with their work, they get out for walks with the boys, and are gradually adjusting to life without Minnie. We text and chat regularly, but it's not the same. 

Anyway, that's it for this week. 

Moving Forward!

Moving along into our 55th year!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown—but we're not there! We are now ensconced at Erin's place on the shore of Lake Wascana in the centre of the prairies. We have begun work on her projects. Dave and I cut the Cat Tree to size, so it's as ready as possible for installation once the painting is done. Kristian and I got out for some golf practice today, and he also drove me around town for driving practice, and I think he's ready to try the test. At the very least, it will give him a more directed practice routine. On Wednesday evening, Tom set up a pair Zoom conferences so we could commiserate and share stories about our departed brother, Verner—thanks Tom! And thanks to my siblings and connections for sharing in that time. On Thursday, Wendy and I completed 54 years of marriage—it has been quite a ride! We celebrated the occasion with work on the Cat Tree, trimming the hedges at 55 Laird, and an evening meal out in a quiet restaurant—lovely! The markets had a shortened week with holidays both sides of the border, but we made good progress all the same. The Riders continued their winning ways as the back-up QB started and won his first game. Elsewhere the Jays continued their losing ways—sigh! 

Erica writes, "The beginning of the week brought an unexpected visitor. Aura’s WestJet flight was cancelled so we had the opportunity to visit a bit longer until her new flight on Air Canada took her home on Tuesday. We also got to enjoy a nice lunch at Denny’s before she left.  Then, on Wednesday, Eric took his niece Marina to the doctor who confirmed that she had broken her ankle a few weeks ago—youch!  Andrew returned this weekend to return Marina’s vehicle and we got in some more visiting. It was also very warm so we tried to enjoy the deck, but ended up back in the air conditioned house. On Friday, I enjoyed a day at the 15th green. MNP sponsored a hole at the Mont St Joseph gold classic and we gave out candy and golf balls to the teams as they came through. That’s not too bad a way to spend a day at work! Eric has been contracted to teach at the university of Saskatchewan again this fall. And this coming week we will make a quick trip to Ontario for a friend’s wedding. Liam is heading up to Saskatoon tomorrow to visit Gramma Bailey. Haaken got locked in his room and had to escape through the window. The door is now fixed. And Greg and Kiersten tested out their wedding gift from us!" 

Erin and Kristian are hosting us royally. Kristian has taken the role of my hired man and chauffeur! Wendy is very busy with paint preparations, and finding out there is a lot of work to do. We need to reorganize the family room so we can more easily do the patching. Tonight, we enjoyed a wonderful meal of chicken and veggie kabobs. 

Travis and Joanna observed the two weeks since Minnie's passing as they continue to grieve the loss of their little dog. Gemma & Jonas were home for a while, but their strategy of booking WestJet and waiting for the inevitable cancellation did not work out and they're now back in Vancouver. 

And that's about it for this week.