Transitions

Another week has passed on the shore of the North Saskatchewan River in Prince Albert. We spent part of the week with Erin, her cats and her garden in Regina. We returned Kristian to Regina on Tudesday as he had a medical appointment on Wednesday. Then, we returned to PA on Thursday afternoon much refreshed from our two days off—of course, that didn't last long! We put in a full day after we got here, and got a lot accomplished before heading out for appie night. Anyway, the renovations are progressing well, and the new bathroom, laundry room and kitchen are taking shape. The plumber did the rough-in work while we were in Regina, and he plans to be back next week to finish up. I am focusing on drywall now, and looking to tie as many lose ends togther as possible in the next week. Wendy keeps up with the clean-up at all times, and pitches in with the construction action as well. We are both quite tired so it will be good to complete this stint of the 10-year reno! The markets continue to push forward, but with employment pressures, rising inflation and national debt concerns in the USA, there's plenty of trepidation. Now, this week, Moodys has dropped their credit rating. My sports teams have been flying high. The Jays now have the best record in baseball, and are playing at the .600 level—my standard for a good team. Likewise, the Riders continued their winning ways and have taken over first place in the Western Conference. 

Kali, 1 year old with ice cream

Eric and Erica continue with their usual activities and help out when ever they have free time. Erica had a concert on Friday with her Mystery Train group. We enjoyed attending that. Eric had his usual week of work and mentoring sessions this morning, but still managed some quality time on the renos! Today, we installed the new back door. 

Kristian completed his sojourn here, and has returned to Regina along with Kali. He has several issues to deal with in preparation for the school year at Sask Poly Tech. He's keeping busy these days managing Kali, and monitoring her interactions with his cats, It's going well! 

Kali & Elly—friends! 

Travis finally got his car fixed. He was calling it Kari Stall due to it/s habit of quiting at unexpected moments, but his mechanic finally found the issue and it's running well again. Joanna has completed support for her mother's move and has returned to Thunder Bay, and her regularly scheduled programming. 

And that's enough for this week. 

TACO Time Again!

Another busy week on the shore the North Saskatchewan in Prince Albert. We not only got a lot done, but we also took time for some other activity. The week opened with the finals of the World Softball Championships. We cheered mightily for New Zealand, but they ran out of gas in the later innings and fell to Venezuela. Wait a minute, we beat Venezuela, so we're the champs! It was a closely contested tournament between evently matched teams, and we enjoyed it a great deal. USA beat Japan to capture the bronze medals. We put in a lot of time and effort on the renovations, and have made a lot of progress. The window is installed in the bathroom, and the back door is ready to install as well. We took out the patio doors and replaced them with a solid wall which will feature in the new kitchen. And the destruction has continued on the old lath and plaster walls. We were working on the final one of those tonight. So, we'll finish that one off and move the fixtures into the new bathroom in preparation for the plumber to work his magic next week. We have also begin the drywalling—much progress! On Friday, Kristian and I took some time off for a round of golf; we didn't play well, but we had a lot of fun, and determined to spend some time at the range before trying that again. 

Wendy revamped the flower bed! 

Kristian opens another wall

Patio door, now patio wall!

Window out, preparing for door

We have only a few days left before we take Kristian back to Regina for a medical appointment, but we're making plans to return to continue the renovations once the plumber does his thing.

It was TACO time again this week as Trump gave in to China and not only relaxed the trade rhetoric, but also determined to let them have the highly sought after Nvidia chips which are so important for AI. As a result the markets put up some green days, while also collectively holding our breath as we await the next shift in the wind. The All-Star break of over and the Jays have returned with more wins so they continue to hold on to first place. The Riders won again tonight and regained a first place tie with Calgary. 

Obviously Eric and Erica continue their regular jobs during the week, but put in a long day with us today and also chip-in throughout the week. Erica was ill earlier, but is back at work and renos again. 

Erin continues to enjoy her garden. Today, she put together a nice meal featuring produce from her garden. 

Have some eggs with your bacon!

Joanna has travelled to the swelter of Toronto where she is helping her mom clear out her house and move into an apartment. That's an uncomfortable task under those conditions. Trav is taking care of the dogs in air-conditioned comfort in Thunder Bay! Andrew continues with his work, coursework and the care of our house. Thanks

Taking good care! 

And that's enough for this week! 

Trying to make improvements

Another week has passed and we remain on the shore of the North Saskatchewan River. The weather has remained hot, and many days added the complication of smoke from the wildfires in the north. We struggled along to make more progress on the renovation project. The destruction side is almost complete, and we've even managed a bit on the rebuild side! Of course, we were also occupied with the World Softball Championships here. Canada did not impress and ended up in the middle of the pack. In fact, all of the higher seeds missed the medal round. It will be New Zealand/Venezuela for the gold/silver, and Japan/USA for the bronze/thanks-for-coming. Erica had obtained tickets for us, so we've been enjoying the games—thanks!

Mystery Train

Erica's band had two gigs (do they still use this term?) at the games, and we enjoyed taking in one of those as well. So, despite being old and tired, we have had a good week. The markets have struggled under the turmoil of the Orange Tariff/Trade War salvos. As assumed, TACO came through again as Trump chickened out and pushed the tariff deadline forward another three weeks. This gave the traders some relief and the USA indices finally struggled into new levels of green. In the world of sports, the Blue Jays have maintained their hold on first place—yay Jays! The Riders were unable to play last night due to the smoky conditions which made the air quality in Regina below safe limits. They played this afternoon, but it did not go well as Calgary beat them and now they have company in first place. Go Riders, Go! 

Erica had two days of work in Saskatoon this week, and has also been volunteering at the Softball Championships. Today, she is feeling ill, and has kept a low profile. Eric had a regular week of work and also is helping out with the renovations. Everytime we open another wall or ceiling we get a surprise. Often these are more electrical installations that we were not expecting. This week we solved four instances of knob & tube wiring that were supposedly not there! There were also several instances of newer wiring placed in gouged-out trails in plaster and covered with gyproc. Apparently, electrical fires are not so easy to ignite! 

What? There was a layer of gyproc over this!

Knob & Tube

We found the shower!

Now, we can excavate a larger hole and move the old bathroom items to the new location. 

Erin is cooling her heels in smoky Regina, and enjoying life with her cats and her garden. Kristian is working with us and is whetting his appetite for carpentry, electrical work and trash management! 

The Sawyer!

Travis and Joanna celebrated their 16th anniversary this week. We wish them many more! Andrew continues with his work and course work, and taking care of our place—thanks!

And that's enough for this week. 

Wreckage/Phoenix

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We remain on the shore of the North Saskatchewan River with the Baileys, including Liam, and also with Kristian. The weather has been uncomfortably hot, and we have called an early halt to work on several of the days, and for a variety of reasons.

Tearing out the lath & plaster

Cutting out the Window

Wendy and I celebrated our fifty-fifth anniversary on Friday, and that was certainly a good-enough reason! On Monday, we shut down early to attend a BBQ feast and celebration of Canada Day! What a feast it was—thanks especially to Guido who laboured many hours with the preparation and smoking of our meat dishes! Others of the gathering contributed the various side-dishes and desserts. On Thursday, we declared an appie night and retired to a local restaurant to enjoy some more good grub. And through it all, we also managed some great progress on both the destruction and construction ends of the enterprise.

Crush Delivery

Pounding in the Pins

The shed (not a garage) has been erected solidly in place on a treated wood foundation and with fresh crush to fortify that. Liam and Kristian did most of that work, and it turned out great.

Shed - locked in place

We have continued with the destruction of the kitchen dining area, and there remains some lower cabinets and much walls to be dismantled and removed. The new bathroom area is ready for construction, the new entry/laundry continues to wait for demolition to be completed. The plan is to salvage the sink unit, so it can be used in the new kitchen area until a later eventuality when that can be completed. We also plan to move the stove there so it can be used until it's time to replace it. Anyway, a Phoenix is slowing developing from the wreckage. Not so with the USA under the Orange regime: civil rights are being trampled, the innocent are being incarcerated and/or deported. And this week the GOP passed his dream taxation and support cuts policy. As a result, the bottom 40% will have less money and many will lose their health care and food support. It will take years to undo the damage he has already done. The USA markets have finally crawled into the green after six months of struggle as the USA GDP has fallen into the red. His vaunted 90 deals in 90 days is falling very short, and on Thursday, he reverted to his tariff threats. The markets bled red as a result! We hope there will be other thoughts before Monday. In sports, the Blue Jays are surging and have moved into first place in their division. The Riders have the week off and hope to have their starting quarterback back for the next game. 

Eric and Erica have been hosting us, and trying to keep up with their regular work. Erica has not been feeling well toward the end of the week. Eric joined us in the wreckage detail today, and we got a lot done. We have been sharing the meal preparations around the crew—we're eating well! 

Erin is on a Summer Cleanup campaign while Kristian is away. She sends us lovely reports of her garden producing, especially the strawberries, tomatoes and peppers. 

Travis and Joanna are sweating out an early summer heat wave in Thunder Bay. The dogs are coping just fine! Andrew is managing his classes and our house. Thanks

And that's enough for this week. 

American Dachau

Courtesy of Charlie Angus: Six months. That's all it took for the Trump regime to make the move from kidnapping people on the street, to threatening to strip political enemies of citizenship, to selling swag celebrating the construction of an American concentration camp. 

Six months.

Alligator Dachau

And Republicans say that merch promoting the newly built Alligator Alcatraz concentration camp is "going like hot cakes." Some detractors have called the camp Alligator Auschwitz, but this may not be the most accurate comparison. Not yet anyway. Because the death camps didn’t just appear; it took years of increasing brutality and degradation before they got to Auschwitz. It began at Dachau. Like the Trump regime, the Dachau concentration camp was established in the first months of Nazi rule. But unlike Trump, the Nazis were careful to downplay the barbaric cruelty of the newly-built camp. They presented propaganda photos to show “the truth about Dachau” as if it were a “model” prison for rehabilitation. Trump’s supporters on the other hand are gloating over the fact that this is no normal prison. It is a series of cages in the swamps of the Florida Everglades. And MAGA is celebrating a camp built for the express purpose of dehumanizing and brutalizing the people brought there.

The inmates being brought to Alligator Alcatraz are those who Trump claims are “poisoning the blood” of America. Language that could have been taken right out of Nazi speeches.

Will political enemies be sent there? You bet. 

Will mothers be thrown into the cages? Why not?

What about children? Expect this, too.

Trump has understood from the beginning that he can keep his MAGA supporters in the fold through the spectacle of cruelty. In fact, his tour of the concentration camp came as he was pushing through his "Big, Beautiful Bill," legislation that will rob health care and social supports for many of his working-class base. But Trump has always reassured the faithful that he will be even crueller to the people his base has been taught to despise. Being part of MAGA is feeling that you can always beat down on someone below you. And elected MAGA officials are fighting to get in on the act. Take for example, South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace who says she wants a concentration camp in her home state. Will she try to outdo Florida in the degradation department? No doubt. After all, the crueler the better.

That is why Alligator Alcatraz meets all the architectural requirements for the torture porn fantasies promoted by Kristi Noem and Donald Trump. On his tour, Trump took viciousness to a new level by gleefully describing how a detainee might try to outrun an alligator in the fetid swamps. When sadism becomes official government policy, you can bet that much darker abuses are around the corner.