Frosty

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been cool and rainy with most nights down into single digits and temperatures struggling into double digits during the day. We have also had a few nights dropping into negative numbers—frosty! We have done a bit more Fall yard work; and, I’ve been back to the shop, preparing it for winter. We have our usual music practices; there’s only a month left before our Christmas concert.

Curling last weekend concluded with the two #1 teams prevailing as Mouat beat Dunstone on the men’s side, while Homan defeated Tirinzoni for the women’s title, and an unprecedented 19th Grand Slam championship. This week, the big event is the Continental Cup in Virginia MN. Our teams (#4-Jacobs and #1-Homan) both made the playoffs. And, after winning their semi-final games, they will compete in the championship final tomorrow. Jacobs will face USA, #14-Shuster. Homan is up against China, #16-Wang. In college football, #14-Sooners lost to #10-Ole Miss while #22-Longhorns managed to overcome an unranked team in OT. It seems that for both teams, their chances of making the playoffs are slowly leaking away. Riders, having already clinched first place, played out the regular season against the Lions tonight. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have defeated the Mariners and moved on to the World Series against the Dodgers. They won the opening game and lost game 2, so they head to Los Angeles for the next three games. In early action of the new NHL season for my three teams: Pens are doing well, while Leafs and Oilers are playing below expectations. 

Erica writes, "We had a pretty normal week in PA. Eric had a conference in Saskatoon on Friday and today. I’m trying to get some work done, so I don’t fall behind with our upcoming trip.We have finalized our plans to take our neighbour to Montenegro to see her daughter. We leave on November 9th and will be back on the 21st.”

Kristian has decided that the Machinist program was just too tough, so he has quit school and is currently looking for a job. We are all saddened by this development, but wish him well in what he chooses next. Erin has been learning a new software management program for tracking the deals at VW, so that was an extra work challenge for this week as well as the turmoil with Kristian. 

Travis and Joanna have announced the adoption of another dog—their fourth. The new gal will be another Pomeranian and actually the sister of Marigold. Travis is scheduled to pick her up in early November. Otherwise, they both keep busy with work, and joined us for a Thanksgiving turkey dinner this week. Hey, when you’re old you can celebrate things whenever you want!! 

And that’s enough for this week. 

Clipped

We’ve had a rainy week here on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, but at least the temperatures have been comfortable. We enjoyed an evening at Trav & Joanns’s on Sunday as we celebrated Thanksgiving with a wonderful meal, and a good visit. Andrew and Rosie were also there. On Tuesday, we enjoyed taking a Tucson for a test drive. It pretty much checks all the boxes for us as we continue the search for our next vehicle. Best of all it sports excellent fuel economy, and an expected range of 900km on a tank of fuel. Our 2014 Santa Fe continues to serve us well, but it is over 225K now, so we’re looking!

On Wednesday, Kali got a haircut. She has noted the cooling effect of the hair loss and we often find her under the covers with us! Wendy fasted in preparation for her updated bloodwork on Wednesday; that returned much improved numbers and she is encouraged. The markets had a bad week as Trump was back on the trade war path against China. He threatened 100% increase in tariffs, but finally relented on Friday when he noted that 100% increase was unsustainable, and seemed surprised that anyone had suggested such a thing! (You can’t make this up!) In the world of sports, I’ve had a big week of curling in the Tour Challenge. My long time favourite, #26-Koe had a sponsor’s exemption into the field, but it seems his crew is not up to it as he failed to make the playoffs. My gal, #6-Einarson made the playoffs, but fell to #1-Homan. Homan will play #2-Tirinzoni in the final, while #3-Dunstone takes on #1-Mouat in the Men’s final. In baseball, the LA Dodgers have swept the Milwaukee Brewers to advance to the World Series. The Blue Jays dropped the first two, but have come back to force game six tomorrow in Toronto. (So, you’re saying there’s a chance?!) After the Riders clinched first place, they rested many of their starters but still held the Bombers down for most of the game last night. The early season in the NHL is also running, but I’m struggling to find time to watch much. In college football, the expected re-ranking took place. Today, #14-Sooners had an impressive win to improve to 6-1. #21-Horns snuck by Kentucky, in overtime, to improve to 5-2.

Erica writes, “It’s been a busy week—band practise on Monday for both Eric and me, as Eric came to learn the sound board, Rotary on Tuesday, Bingo for me and Elders meeting for Eric on Wednesday, Gig at Mr Mikes on Thursday… on Friday, we got an invite from a friend to watch the Rider game and declined—our social batteries were done! We have been making plans for a trip to Montenegro with our neighbour. She and most of her family were refugees from the former Yugoslavia. However her oldest daughter was getting married at the time of their departure and stayed behind. So, our neighbour hasn’t seen her daughter for 26 years. The last few years, her daughter has been very sick and our neighbour is worried she is running out of time. So, we accompanying her to go visit her daughter. Please pray for a safe trip and for our plans to come together.”

Erin’s Thanksgiving Feast

Erin prepared a Thanksgiving feast that lasted through several days. She has had a good week at work, but her home life is not so smooth as Kristian is having difficulties in his Machinist courses at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. We hope they will be able to work out a plan for the way forward. 

Travis and Joanna hosted the Thanksgiving meal—thanks guys. After supper, we just enjoyed a quiet evening of visiting and playing with the dogs. Trav is keeping very busy, and is glad that post office deliveries have brgun again. He is also following his Penguins in the new NHL season. We often chat about that. And, like the rest of the country, they are living and dying with the Blue Jays! 

And that’s enough for this week. 

Frosty!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We spent the main part of the week in Winnipeg (thanks Tom & Mariette!) as we drove up there on Wednesday, and returned home today. We got frost Wednesday morning as we headed west, so there goes the vines in the gardens. I was privileged to a game of golf on Thursday in wonderful weather. It was a tiring walk—guess I’ll have to do that more often!

Congrats Caleb & Talitha!

On Friday, we took in the wedding of our great niece, Talitha! Congratulations Caleb and Talitha, we wish you well! The markets suffered a disastrous week as the Orange Felon failed to even keep the government in operation in the USA. Then, on Friday, he exasperated the situation further by announcing an additional 100% tariff on imports from China. USA businesses are crying foul over this additional tax, and the stock markets collapsed. Oil price has fallen below $60, so the rig count continues to drop, and the potential for USA oil production continues to be threatened. In the world of sports, #1-Homan and #3-Dunstone won the PointsBet Curling event. Blue Jays won their series over the Yankees, and will now play Seattle for the American League championship. The Riders won their game last night, and confirmed their first place standing, so they will host the Western Conference final—well done, Riders! In College Football, it was the annual Red River showdown between #6-Sooners and the unranked Longhorns. Clearly, the experts did not believe the rankings and established the Horns as slight favourites in the game. Horns widely outperformed that projection to win easily based on four turnovers by the Sooners. I expect the new rankings will come somewhat closer to reflecting reality. The NHL season has officially begun. I continue to favour the Edmonton Oilers, along with Pittsburgh and Toronto. 

Erica writes, “We are back at the hockey rink tonight… Raiders are playing Kamloops Blazers. It’s off to a good start: 3-0 at 4:50 of the first period—yes, I mean less than 5 minutes have been played and 3 goals have been scored on our opponent. And now we have a penalty shot… 

Earlier this week, we celebrated Aunt Alice’s life with the rest of the Brown and Bailey family. Eric spoke on behalf of the Bailey side of the family and I led hymns. Other than that, it’s been a normal week.”

It say VW, but I say it’s a K-Car!

Erin completed the purchase of a car on Kristian’s behalf. He is delighted! It has been quite a process getting this done, and Kristian was fully surprised! Well done, Mom! 

Travis and Joanna had a busy week at work and home. The busyness was accentuated by the hosting of Kali while we went to Winnipeg. She is a busy little creature, and they already have three dogs of their own! Thanks for caring for our little girl! Trav got a couple of special orders this week from his old hometown of Yellowknife. It was fun to consider the connections back there to minor hockey programs and the St Pat’s High School team. 

And that’s enough for this week. 

Orange Run!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been unseasonably warm, and we’ve (I’ve) been forced to turn the air conditioning back on. I have enjoyed getting out to the golf course for practice. The best part of just using the driving range is you don’t have to chase down all those bad shots!

Ready, Set, GO! 

Early registration = small numbers!

We started off the week with participation in the Truth and Reconciliation day event. There were over 1000 participants and quite a few dogs, but Wendy and I both completed the 5K lap successfully, and got our medals. Otherwise, we continue with our choirs and our retirement living here, and we enjoy it  great deal. Barb and Ed stopped in today on their way home; we’re glad to have visitors. The markets, contrary to expectations, were great with all indices showing some gains. It seems to be built on the Artificial Intelligence movement, which many folks fear is forming a bubble. I just keep watching the charts, hanging on and hoping for the best. The economic situation in the USA continues to drift downward with employment falling short each month, and we are suffering as well due to Trump’s Trade War. It does not make one comfortable. Baseball has completed the season; the Blue Jays held on to first play and a first round bye. They are now playing the Yankees in the Divisional series. The Riders won their game in Ottawa this week, so their magic number to clinch first place is down to 1. In college football, my Sooners have lost their quarterback due to injury, but we managed an easy win today. The Longhorns were not successful this time around. NHL hockey is completing the preseason this weekend, so we’ll soon be back in hockey reporting! In curling, #24-Koe dropped the final last week, but improved his ranking a bit. In this week's action it will be #3-Jacobs vs #4-Dunstone in the Men’s final in Calgary while #1-Homan plays #26-Brown for the women’s championship. 

Erica writes, “Tonight, Eric and I took in some local country talent in Prince Albert. And, they even let me sing a couple songs! Liam helped Mercedes family move to Calgary this week, as well as celebrating her 20th birthday on Tuesday. Eric’s aunt Alice passed away last Sunday. We’ve been in conversation with the family as Eric prepares to share some memories at the celebration of life on Monday.”

Erin and Kristian are doing well in Regina. Kristian says his classes are nothing special yet, just okay. Things are going well at work for Erin. 

Travis and Joanna came over for cards one evening—we always enjoy that. Otherwise, they keep very busy with their work. 

And that’s enough for this week.