Happy May Long!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, and it brings us to the Victoria Day weekend, known familiarly as May Long. The weather has been lovely all week, but since it's a long weekend, it has naturally turned cool and rainy today! Kali and I have been out for our daily walks, despite that I am suffering with a head cold this week. I thought it was seasonal allergies and was treating myself with Reactine, but switched to cold meds on Wednesday and I'm gradually feeling better. I did manage one trip to the golf course, and have also continued to work on my swing here in the yard. I'm looking forward to a few rounds this summer. The lawns are growing nicely, and I've noticed a few yellow heads waving at me from among the greenery! Trump backed down on his tariff war with China, and the markets have responded positively. Of course, there's no telling what he'll do next—this week he's threatening to impose (reimpose?) tariffs that he had cancelled earlier! He said he had completed trade agreements with 200 countries (there aren't that many countries!), but later amended that to just one country, and even later we found out there was no trade agreement with them either. Master dealmaker, for sure! Still, he has maintained a 10% minimum tax on anything Americans want to buy from elsewhere in the world, and that is having a chilling effect on the USA economy. Orders are being cancelled, shipments are being cancelled, shelves are emptying and the retailers are announcing price increases to pay for the tariffs. Of course, he doesn't like that either, and, today, he demanded that USA retailers should eat the extra cost, and not pass it along to their customers! Meanwhile, due to his tariffs, USA's trade deficit is increasing—the opposite of his declared intention. The first round of the NHL playoffs ended in glory for me, as I picked seven of the eight winners. Now, in round two, I have picked 2/3 winners, and am still waiting for the other series to end. Don't recall when I've ever been this lucky! However, since I picked the Jets to not only beat Dallas, but also to go on and win the Cup—I don't have much chance to add to my success! So, I'll keep cheering for the Oilers and see whether they will continue to win. Blue Jays are playing a bit better, but still below .500, and in my book you have to be able to win 3 out of 5 games (.600) to be considered a good team. 

Erica wrote, "It has been another week of long hours. I’m in the busiest time of my year so I’ve had a few late nights. Eric has been attending a conference on the brain, which is being presented in Boston, so he has had some early mornings—6 AM start. As a result, he has sometimes been asleep when I get home. I told him on Friday night that I missed him! We got the bikes into the shop for their annual check up. Both need tires, so we will get that done. We talked to all the kids on Mothers Day. Greg, Kiersten, Haaken and Liam are all doing well." 

Erin and Kristian are driving to Alberta for a holiday trip—their first trip together! Now that they have two drivers, it makes such trips much easier to accomplish. 

Road Trip 2025

Kristian wrote, "We’re going to Calgary to visit my friend and go to the symphony featuring the music from How to Train your Dragon. 

It was great!

We’re also going to go to the Calgary Zoo. Then, later in the week, we're going up to Edmonton to check out West Edmonton Mall."

Joanna took care of some Mothers Day shopping on behalf of the crew—thanks! We enjoyed an outing, with the dogs, to the Marina on Sunday afternoon. Way too many distractions for the dogs!

Bill/Kali, Travis/Moxley/Darby, Wendy/Marigold

A bit of heart-stopping excitement when Darby slipped his harness and made a break for it—Trav scooped him up pretty quickly to save the day! We hope to get another outing this weekend, but with the rains, it may be delayed. 

And that's enough for this week.