Saturday, October 11

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. 

Saturday, October 4

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.