Trumpy

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has remained nice and we have enjoyed that.

On Neighbour's lawn!

Wendy and Kali get out regularly for constitutional walks on the lawns. However, Kali continues to experience some failures on her indoors programming! And her sleep pattern (getting up very early in the morning) is quite a problem. Wendy is finding it exhausting! Today, we went for her first long walk. Kali made it for the first 500m, but then wanted to be carried! Meanwhile, Trumpiness is already being felt south of the border as he makes his suggestions for cabinet level appointments. A few of them are raising eyebrows on both sides of the aisle. We shall have to wait and see whether the Republican senators remain true to their constitutional oath or if they give in to the MAGA threats. They have already been told that they will lose their jobs that they don’t knuckle under to Trump. I have to start focusing on what might happen next year, as there are only two months left of the Biden gravy train. Fortunately, the markets continued to post gains during the last Trump term, so that part may be okay. This week was a bit shaky as the combination of solid economic data and fear of the Trump chaos led the FED and investors to pull back their bets on further rate cuts and the soft landing. In fact, some are suggesting the Trump recession could begin in 2026, and some as early as next summer. In his first term, the markets continued to thrive, so, I'm still hoping. In the world of sports, the Grey Cup game goes tomorrow. The Riders are out, and I'm expecting the Bombers to beat Toronto. The Canadian Open of Curling ended on Sunday with Homan bringing home the gold for us, while Gushue was outcurled by the Scots as Mouat brushed up an easy win on the men's side. This week in curling there's the European Championships, so our event in Red Deer is lacking some lustre. #22-Koe, defending champion there, is trying to pick up some points to raise his ranking. So far this season, his refurbished team with a changing lineup has not been challenging for championships and is steadily dropping in the rankings. In the NHL, Oilers are playing a bit better; all three of my teams play today, and since two of them play each other some one has to win—Pens and Leafs won. In college football, #3-Texas had a rather tougher time winning than I was expecting. My unranked Sooners had the week off. In basketball, #1-KU Jayhawks rock chalked up another win today. 

Eric & Erica are musing about putting up their Shed-in-a-Box. I sent them some videos so that should clog up their browsers with a lot more videos and advertisements! They went shopping for some hooks to hang the guitars, but Eric bought a 6-string Uke (Guitar/Ukelele), so that was the end of work for today. Erica writes, "This week Eric and I have been talking about retirement and plans and investments, so we consulted our financial advisor, aka Dad! He gave us some advice… hopefully it’s sound. Eric is nesting in preparation for the kids coming home. He’s cleared out the dining room and hung up some of the guitars to give us more floor space. We are hoping to get the garage-in-a-box up, but it didn’t happen on Saturday. We are both on for worship team this Sunday. We had a quick chat with Haaken. He is progressing on his book. We suggested sticky notes to organize his thoughts and he says that has been helpful."

Erin had another productive week at work. It's looking like she has the new protocols pretty much nailed down—congratulations!

Yowsah! 

Kristian continues to wait for his employment call. I really thought when the folks at Franks began to inquire further, that his hiring was imminent. He got his haircut this week, and added some non-natural coloration—that's bound to help attract employers! 

Travis & Joanna remain very busy by design. Bucket Decals keeps perking, and PuckShots is ramping up. Still, they took time to host us for lovely supper and games night featuring stuffed pork chops and scalloped potatoes—delicious! Thank you very much! 

And that's about it for this week. 

Trumped!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been very nice, although we've had a few showers and some windy days—that's Fall here.  We have caught up on things here and completed a number of appointments as we settle in to these familiar routines. 

New dog, or new cat?

Wendy is spending a lot of time with the new dog, Kali, who seems to be fitting in well. For a tiny dog, she surely is a busy creature! I had chiropractor and dentist appointments early in the week. We are both back into choir practices as we prepare for Christmas concerts in early December. We're also on the worship team this Sunday, so we've been rehearsing for that—we do enjoy singing. I continue to recover from my back injury, and I am finally getting close to 40%—about peak performance these years! I am back to exercising and planning my reentry into curling. I've taken down the screens from the windows and Wendy has cleaned those in preparation for winter storage. We love our new windows. Clearly, a lot of people believed Trump's lies about the situation in USA, and refused to vote for an incumbent administration, or maybe it was because she was a woman. As a result, we now face the daunting prospect of another Trump administration. Last time around, he actually lost 3 million jobs and raised unemployment to as high as 14%, all while adding 7 trillion to the USA national debt. Under Biden, the USA economy is currently the best among the top industrialized countries, unemployment is at 50 year lows, and inflation is down to about 2% although the national debt keeps climbing. The FED cut the lending rate again this week, and the markets continue to roar higher, making a new record high for the fiftieth time this year. So, another good week of gains for me, thanks Uncle Joe. Playoffs are highlighted in the sporting world. Riders lost to the Bombers in the Western final while Toronto beat Montreal in the East. The Grey Cup game is next Sunday in Vancouver. In college football, #5-Texas had an easy time of it over unranked Florida. My unranked Sooners played #24-Missouri and put up a good showing, losing in the final minute. Basketball is underway; I got to attend a KU win last week, and to watch their win last night. RCJH! In the NHL, my teams are not doing well in the early going, but at least the Leafs are winning over half of their games. C'mon Oilers, Penguins! Curling this week featured the Canadian Open. My guy, #19-Koe did not make the playoffs, and at #19, he is at risk of not even being allowed to play in these top level tournaments, since only the top 16 are in automatically. #1-Mouat will play #3-Gushue in the final. On the women's side, my gal, #4-Einarson made the playoffs, but has lost out. #1-Homan will play #2-Tirinzoni in that final. 

Erica writes, "This weekend I’m in Edmonton with 'the girls' and visiting with cousin, Margaret. We have plans to see the farmers market, the Rocky Mountain Food Festival and the Deadmonton Haunted House. Plus, we might do some shopping. Eric is busy fitting in hockey games with his card hockey league. I’m hoping we get the carport up soon. It’s getting cooler and snow is in the forecast."

Erin and Kristian are waiting to hear back on his job application—nothing yet. He has been emailing with Patti (support person with DHHS), and made more applications. Erin continues to gain comfort in her new job—she's about a week ahead of schedule on the current monthend reporting. They got some snow last week, which made for icy roads, but it has melted away, and all is dry again. Kristian is trying to get his mom into the Lego construction hobby, so he bought her a lovely project. 

Not your father's Lego!

I think he helped her!

Travis and Joanna remain very busy with Bucket Decals, and are getting more and more photoshoots scheduled for Puck Shots. We barely got to see them this week. Andrew was home from Toronto for a visit, but otherwise, their other boys (their dogs) are doing fine. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Arriving home!

Another week as passed and we have completed our journey south and returned to the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. Our quick trip got us as far south as Stillwater OK where we enjoyed a visit with Jack Bayles and family—thanks! We celebrated his 88th birthday and enjoyed our time there.

Happy #88, Dr. Jack Bayles!

Then, we began the long trip north. I got to enjoy a Jayhawk game in Lawrence—thanks Marti! And, we prevailed upon the hosting of Aunt Helen again—thank you!

The Crew in Lawrence

On Wednesday evening, we enjoyed our first Pizza and Praise evening with our friends in Lawrence—it was tasty and we enjoyed the singing! Then, on Thursday morning, we packed up to continue the trip home. The temperatures ranged from +32° in Stillwater to -3° in Minneapolis—can we stand it?! We spent Thursday night in Minneapolis, and then journeyed northward through some significant snowfall. Fortunately, the snow petered out before we reached Duluth, and we have returned home to fall weather (9°), but no snow here in Thunder Bay. We were planning a more extensive trip, but that didn't work out this time. Maybe there will be a later time! We got home Friday evening, and enjoyed a good night's sleep until 11am—I thought I was tired! Wendy has set upon laundry catch up and preparation for another arrival. The markets were troubled all week by various news items. Strong economic data in the USA caused investors to fear there may be no more FED rate cuts. This drove equities down. Weak USA jobs data on Friday finally gave us some recovery, despite that it was probably caused by the twin hurricanes and the Boeing strike. Also, concerns over the election are playing into market sentiment. We hope this gets settled next week! I only achieved about half of my quota in October, so I need a good November! It's football playoffs this weekend. Toronto prevailed in the east and will meet Montreal in the eastern final. Riders beat BC in the west, and advanced to play Winnipeg in the western final. Go Riders, Go! Oilers, Pens and Leafs all won their games one night this week—I'd like to see more nights like that! Oilers have lost their top star, McDavid, to an injury. He'll be out a few weeks at least. Sooners easily won their game this week. #6-Texas had the week off. #3-Gushue dropped his final two games and failed to get a medal at the Pan Continental curling event. #1-Homan did us proud, going undefeated to bring home the gold on the women's side. The big cash spiel in Edmonton sees #20-Koe advancing to the playoffs in the Saville Grand Prix. The Dodgers blew out the Yankees in five games to win the World Series!

Erica writes, "Happy Halloween! Eric had the treatment on his left eye on Monday. He spent most of the week in a dark room, catching up on sleep. On Thursday, he was feeling well enough to teach his class. We had an uneventful Halloween—fewer than 20 trick or treaters."

Kristian has been trying to work with the DHHS folks in his job search, but has not heard back from them this week. Finally, after more enquiries from Frank's business, declaring their interest in him, he has completed his application there. Now, we wait to see how that all plays out. Good luck! 

Bucket Decals completed October with a new record for most orders ever: 227, breaking the old record of 222 from 2021. Congratulations! Joanna had to get a molar extracted this week. It was abscessed, and may have been contributing to her sinus issues. We hope she finds improvement once the surgery heals.

Kali has arrived!

They completed delivery of the Yorkshire Monster this afternoon. Wendy has named her, KaLita, or Kali for short, and short, she is! 

And that's about it for this week. 

Tap your heels three times...

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, but we are wandering, and currently in Lawrence, Kansas. We are enjoying the hospitality of cousin Marti and Aunt Helen. Thank you very much! We closed off our activities in Thunder Bay on Monday. I got in one more session with Dr. Barb, and my back is continuing to recover from the fencing incident. Wendy had a final choir practice in the evening. We had a smooth drive down to Minneapolis on Tuesday and continued down here on Wednesday. While the weather back home has turned decidedly cooler with highs some days failing to make double digits, the weather here has varied from lovely to hot, and usually with a significant wind—is this Saskatchewan?! On Thursday, it got as high as 32°, but retreated to the low 20s on Friday, so Larry and I got in a golf game. That was a lot of fun, but a lot of swinging as well. I scored +20, higher than I either like or expect—I guess I'll have to go again! We closed off the week this evening with a lovely singsong. Next week, we plan a further excursion down to Stillwater, and then a return home. The markets were troubled this week, and made little progress. The CFL ended their regular season, so we're ready for the playoffs. The Riders ended in second place in the west, so they'll host the semifinal game. The young season in the NHL is playing out with a usual set of surprises and disappointments. Oilers are playing a bit better, while Leafs and Pens are also playing only 50/50 hockey. My teams are letting me down so far, but we expect things to improve! Sooners lost another game today—soon their disappointment at not getting into the playoffs will be replaced by their despair of not even getting a bowl game! #5-Longhorns rebounded with an easy win. The curling event this week is in Penticton, and #20-Koe is there with his new player installed—they're doing pretty well. The bigger curling event starts tomorrow as the Continental Cup begins featuring the top eight curling countries from Austral-Asia and the Americas in both Mens and Womens divisions. #3-Brad Gushue and #1-Rachel Homan teams are representing us. Gold medal games are next Saturday. As expected, Dodgers and Yankees are contesting the baseball championship, with the Dodgers winning the first two games at home. It is now time for the Yankees to cue up the comeback! 

Erica writes, "We voted in the provincial election! Now we wait for election day to find out the results. Eric also managed to rig up our kayak storage system. We just need to pull out the kayaks to see if it works. This week was a pretty normal week, but on Friday, we joined some Rotary colleagues for the haunted corn maze. This included posing for photos with ghost sheets and a haunted church and house. It was fun." Eric is scheduled for his next eye appointment on Monday, with his good eye scheduled for work. Greg had an appointment with his surgical team in Thunder Bay on Tuesday. This included further surgery and many anxious hours. We had supper and a visit with Greg and Kiersten on Monday evening when they arrived in Thunder Bay, and have followed the rest of the events from a distance. They have returned to Kenora, where Greg continues his recovery. 

Greg and Kiersten

Erin and Kristian had another uneventful week in Regina. Well, truly it was less dramatic than last week. Kristian is pursuing his job application at Franks with the support of his friends at DHHS. We hope it works out for him. In the meantime, he's raking in the dough from his participation in the Drug Trial, however, that ends soon. Erin continues to gain comfort in her new role at VW. 

Travis and Joanna had a big week in Thunder Bay as they got another dog! This one is an unnamed Yorkie, and is about the size to be a plaything for the boys: Moxley and Darby. As fortune would have it, the Yorkie is destined to be Wendy's dog, so she'll provide the official name once she meets the beast. 

The Yorkshire Monster

And that's enough for this week!

Departure

Thanksgiving - 2024

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The week began with cool weather, but we're back in the 20s to close it out—nice! Bern & Alicia left this week and flew back to Regina. We were surely glad to have the visit! Thanks! As you may recall, I hurt my back working on the fence repairs. While that did have the benefit of ending the fence work, it has continued to inhibit my breathing and reaching ever since, so this week, I paid a visit to my local chiropractor, Dr. Barb. She inflicted considerable pain, but also achieved great relief. We are trying to clear up any remaining issues here in preparation for a short trip south next week. I have put the lawnmower and bikes away, and got out the snowblower and tuned it up. The best strategy I know to hold back the arrival of snow, is to be ready for it! Wendy has cleaned up her choir files, so she's ready to go also. We have our usual choir practices, and also preparation for the worship team for tomorrow, so lots of singing this week. The markets have been variable, but generally up, setting new records again this week as the USA economy continues to move forward—thanks, Uncle Joe! The sports scene continues to expand for me this time of year. The CFL season is nearing playoffs, but Riders have this week off. They have locked up second place, but still have a chance for first in the final week's action. Baseball is in the pennant series and I can feel mom's presence as the Dodgers and Yankees lead in their respective leagues. The Oilers have finally begun winning, but faced a formidable opponent this afternoon in Dallas and lost that one. The curling event this week is in Sault Ste Marie and included #3-Gushue and #16-Koe, both playing without their newly recruited seconds. Koe did not make the playoffs. #1-Texas finally got a legitimate challenge this week, and were pounded by #5-Georgia; those teams may trade places! Sooners have dropped out of the rankings, and got blown out again this week—they're just not very good this season. 

Looks great!

Erica writes, "The shed was completed on Monday, now, we are working on interior finishing. Today, we went to Canadian Tire to pick up rope and pool noodles to make a hanging apparatus for the kayaks. Unfortunately, there was only one pool noodle left, but a trip to the plumbing section got us some insulated pipe covers, so, we are going to try that. Liam left us on Monday and Moira Koops came for a visit on Tuesday. It was nice to catch up with her. Oh! Also, I played a gig with Mystery Train on Friday. It was a staff social event for the YWCA. We had a fun time!"

Erin and Kristian are doing fine in Regina. We keep waiting to hear of responses to his job applications, but he got invited to submit an application this week, so that is encouraging. Kristian had another appointment with the drug trial people on Thursday. They took another 11 vials of blood. They didn't have all their supplies ready, so, they had to call him back in, and thus he got paid twice! He also visited the audiologist to get his hearing aids repaired. Then, they toured the Audi dealership and the Toyota dealership, and a pet store where they saw baby rabbits—so, yeah, nothing much happened! 

Travis and Joanna have begun the season of Puck Shots as local hockey teams are booking photo shoots, and the parade to the rinks has begun again. They have been photographing about 100 teams in recent seasons, which, as you can imagine takes up a lot of time for them over the hockey season. Meanwhile, the Bucket Decals side is running hard in what is traditionally their best month. They visited us for Thanksgiving on Monday, and then stayed to play a bit of Fast Track. Gemma has now been posted for her practicum work with North Islands Midwifery in Port Hardy BC. Here is her posting note, you may have to expand it to read it: 

So proud! 

And that's enough for this week. 

Fall

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. The weather has been fine, with seasonable highs from 15 to 20°. We are enjoying several outings with Bern & Alicia, and they have also taken the bikes out for a few rides on some of our excellent trails. Along with local visits to the Mission Island Marsh, and Hillcrest Park, we inspected Kakabeka Falls and the Flett Railway tunnel northwest of here one day, and hiked around the Sleeping Giant park on Sibley Peninsula, yesterday. It has been good to have their motivation to explore our touristy attractions which we residents so often fail to take advantage of. 

Fall Colours

Kakabeka Falls

Flett Tunnel—yeah, it's high, and about 200m long.
You can see the car at the far end.

Sea Lion—both sides

See Lions!

Hedge Trimming

We also have put Bern to work in the backyard, trimming the cedars and helping with the fence renovation. The latter action precipitated another fall—that of me, against a post I was trying to plumb! That hurt my back, and I'm still suffering from that; it also ended the fence repairs! At least we got the neighbours shed moved and the fence approximating straight! We had a sloppy week in the markets as CPI came in higher than expected so equity investors decided a 0.5% rate hike is no longer possible in November. Still, it was a green week as the strong USA economy pushed the indices to new record levels. In sports, the Grand Slam event ended with my gal #5-Einarson posting a big win over #1-Homan. On the men's side it was #1-Mouat with a surprisingly easy win over #2-Gushue. My men's team, #15-Koe has added a new player at second and looks to raise its ranking. As predicted, #1-Texas thrashed #18-Oklahoma in the annual Red River rivalry game. Riders hosted BC Lions tonight, and the win locked up second place for the Riders. We still have a chance for first place, but it's a slim one. Go Riders! The NHL regular season has begun, and all three of my teams (Oilers, Pens, Leafs) lost their opening game. In fact, none of them even scored a goal! Tonight, Leafs hosted the Pens, so someone had to win there—Leafs did! Oilers took on Chicago, but are still looking for their first win! 

Erica writes, "Liam’s home for the weekend and we are thankful. We hope to get the shed done—we will see! I have an appointment in February for Lipedema and skin removal on my arms in Bonn. So, pray that plans come together for that and that the surgery is successful. My pump arrived and I’ve been using it each night, alternating arms and legs. I’ve noticed a reduction in my pain and swelling so that’s good! Eric has a surgery date for his other eye on the 28th. That was sooner than we expected and we are glad! Greg has another procedure on his heart scheduled for the 21st—keep him in your prayers."

Kristian's bus pass finally arrived and he took advantage to get out for a meeting with his support group and to apply for three more jobs. We hope something comes through on the work front for him. He borrows his mom's car once in a while and goes shopping on his own—becoming uncomfortably independent! Work continues to go better and better for Erin as she works to perfect all aspects of her new assignment. 

Travis and Joanna are very busy this time of year. Joanna is also struggling to get back to full health. She thought she was all better last weekend, but is still fighting a cold and sore throat. It's the busiest time of year for Bucket Decals, so Travis has been pumping out the product! We had a lovely supper over there early in the week which was very nice—thanks folks! 

And that's enough for this week. 

Arrivals!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in our hometown. We have been working through medical appointments and fresh blood work with our doctors. So far, no big concerns are showing up, and that's a good thing at any age. The weather has changed to a bit more seasonable, and we have had frost on the local gardens. Bernard and Alicia arrived on Thursday; we are enjoying spending time with them. We have managed several games of Fast Track. Bernard helped with the fence repairs. Today, we ventured down to Grand Marais for a fun day along the lake. Otherwise, I had a dental appointment on Wednesday, and we had our usual choir practice on Thursday. The markets struggled most of the week in the face of global unease over the fighting in Ukraine and the Middle East, but, fortunately, the USA economy came to the rescue with blowout jobs numbers and we closed the week with some nice green—thanks Uncle Joe. Baseball has moved into the semi-finals in each league; there have already been some surprises. In college football, my #19-Sooners and the #2-Longhorns both have the week off to prepare for the Red River Rivalry game next weekend. Sad to say, I'm not expecting too much from the Sooners this season. The Riders had an important game tonight and managed a win in Edmonton to lock up a playoff spot. This week in curling is the first Grand Slam event of the season featuring the top 16 teams for both men and women. It will be #1-Mouat (Scotland) vs #4-Gushue in the men's final. It's two Canadian teams in the final in the women's final, as #1-Homan plays my gal, #11-Einarson. 

Erica writes, "I got my pump machine this week. It comes with pants that inflate intermittently to push fluid up my legs, and a jacket to push fluid up my arms. All together it looks like a costume for some comic book villain. We’ve been hauling sand to our back yard. We plan to level out a spot for the new shed. If the weather cooperates we plan to start building it this weekend. Liam has had several birthday celebrations with Mercedes this week. And he got another infusion of his medicine. We haven’t heard much from Greg, Kiersten or Haaken." 

Kristian continues with the slow process of his job hunt. He's expecting his bus pass, but everything about this effort seems to get delayed. Work continues to progress well for Erin. She's heading out for bowling tonight with some of her colleagues from work. 

Travis is very busy with work. He had a record month of orders in September, and October is continuing that trend. Joanna has been down all week with cough, congestion and sore throat—generally feeling yucky. She's finally feeling better and enjoyed the trip to Grand Marais today. 

Grand Marais Crew today!

And that's enough for this week. 

Summery Weather Continues

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The beautiful weather has continued into the Autumn and we're enjoying that. The lawns continue to grow, so I've been called upon to continue to mow! In anticipation of indoor times, I have begun an online video exercise series called ElderFit, although I am still managing enough outdoor activity so far. I have another fence section ready to go, and still many sections remain to be addressed later. Now, that the fence is basically repaired, I have found it handy to just do one section at a time. I have surveyed a challenging section where the neighbour's shed has fallen against my fence and pushed it well out of line. I will need to work with her to rearrange her shed before I can renovate that section of fence, but that probably won't happen this year. I played no golf this week, but I keep practicing the swing, which, I have determined (only took me about 60 years!), is the secret to effective play. We are into the Fall swing of activities, and once again, I see how easily I get myself trapped into too many scheduled things, sigh! The markets continued to see new record highs—I think the S&P500 has set over 40 record highs this year—thanks, Uncle Joe! As a result, September—historically the worst month for stocks, has turned in a very good gain. My #21-Sooners were penalized for their loss last week, but turned it around with a win today. #1-Longhorns kept their spotless record going despite losing their starting quarterback—young Mr. Manning is looking like he wants to keep the job. Curling is big this week with the top 16 Men's and Women's Teams in the country playing in Calgary. My guy, #5-Kevin Koe, lost out in the second round, while my gal, #3-Kerri Einarson, lost out in the first round. #1-Homan is the class of the women's field, but #10-Skrlik may give her a run for her 50K prize. On the men's side, #3-McEwen and #1-Gushue have advanced to the final, and, although my friend says to never bet against Gushue, I'm picking McEwen. At least the Riders came through for me with a win over Ottawa. That improves their chances of a home playoff game. NHL preseason games continue for another week, but, soon, the season will be on us. 

Sofa/Bed

Erica continued her 50th Birthday vacay in Costa Rica, and has now returned home, exhausted—but look who is trying out the new sofa! Who knew vacations were so tiring!? Eric continues his recovery from his recent eye surgery and things seem to be proceeding as expected on that front. They picked up a new sofa/bed in anticipation of the family Christmas gathering. Looks like it should do the job! Erica wrote, "Eric arrived back at home on Monday. His conference in Montana went well, and he enjoyed some adventure. He fit in an appointment with his eye specialist on the way. The specialist is happy with his progress and they will begin the process for his other eye. I returned very late Thursday night/Friday morning. The trip to Costa Rica was fun, challenging, very sweaty and at times relaxing. I faced a few fears—big ugly spiders, and heights. And, I met new friends in our travel group. It was really great, and I’m glad to be back home. Liam will be home next weekend. Nothing else to add from Greg, Kiersten and Haaken."

Hurray!

Big news out of Regina as Kristian was successful on his second driving test! Well done, young man! Now, to get a job as he continues his drive to adulthood. Erin's work continues to challenge and inspire, but she is pretty much in control of things at VW, even as she continues to be called back to help out at Toyota—don't be indispensable or you can't be promoted! 

Travis & Joanna are very busy, and now Joanna is also fighting a cold. Testing indicated a negative finding for Covid, so there is that! It's hard to have fun and games with them when they're short-staffed like this, so we look forward to her being on the mend! 

And that's enough for this week! 

And still more heat!

Another hot Summer week even as we move into Autumn! We ran up to 30° and beyond most days and it didn't cool off enough overnight either, so we ran our AC more than we have all Summer. It's cooler today, mid-twenties, so I took advantage to mow the lawn. I played golf on Monday, and puttered a bit in the shop through the week, but mostly, I remained indoors. The forecast is for more seasonable temperatures next week. Our expected daytime highs this time of year is only about 15°, which we find very comfortable. Wendy has begun her dental work under the new Federal Dental Program, and I am continuing my dental repairs. She continues with her Sweet Adelines, and we have both begun another session of rehearsals with Silver Sound Choir. That one runs until December 1st and concludes with our Christmas Show. I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday to discuss a few issues including the pain in my upper back. She has assigned bloodwork to check on the need and efficacy of my current meds, and has approved my exercise program leading to more golf and curling! Yay! Only about another month of golf here, so we'd better start making plans to head south! Local curling will begin around Thanksgiving, and I'm planning to give it a try with my repaired back. The markets were pretty wild this week as traders speculated about what the FED would do on Wednesday, and then reacted and over-reacted to the actual 0.5% rate cut. Anyway, it made for a good week, and has turned an historically bad month in the markets into a nicely green one. #1-Texas and #15-Oklahoma were re-ranked after last weekend's wins in college football but the Sooners may be dropped some after their loss to #6-Tennessee today. The Riders put up a good offensive effort to beat Calgary this week and solidify their playoff position. Baseball is nearing the end of the regular season, so, soon, we'll all be Ser-i-es about baseball—well, not the Jays, they'll be serious about next season! Pre-season hockey has begun, and in a few weeks, we'll be back into the regular rhythm of the NHL. 

Erica writes, "I’ve spent the past week journeying across Costa Rica from the east coast to Montenegro with my “50” friends. We’ve seen a lot of wildlife and tropical forest and sweated ALOT! We met some new friends along with way with our tour group. It has been a good trip so far and we hope this continues next week. Eric had his follow up eye appointment and it is doing well. He is now in Montana for some training and touring around. Today he checked out Yellowstone park. Not much else to share." We have remained in contact with Eric as he travelled to Livingston, Montana for his workshop, and as he did some touristy stuff as well. 

Erin and Kristian remain fully engaged with her work and his drug trial. It seems there are frequently extra issues with his bloodwork, or potential side-effects to the meds, so he needs to get his licence so he can run himself around town to these appointments!! He takes the drivers test next Tuesday. 

Travis & Joanna keep very busy as usual. They did have us over for a pizza evening this week, so that was fun. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Struggling Forward!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been lovely with mid-twenties for daytime highs, and bright sunny days to enjoy. Wendy has pushed forward with weed work, and appears to be completing that job. The yard is looking good. I have been beset with aches and pains such that today, we even took covid tests again—negative, but why am I hurting? I certainly haven't been doing much physical work. I planned to complete the first two fence panels, and begin work on a third, but there was precious little progress on that front. I kept up with my golf practice swings, but no balls were hit this week—so, it's not that! I have a made a doctor appointment next week; we'll see what she suggests. On Wednesday, we attended the memorial for a dear friend who passed recently. That was a lovely chance to connect with many long time friends, of course, it was also a time to contract covid... we'll continue testing. On Thursday, we began choir practice again. We have nine songs (all new to me) to prepare for presentation in our Christmas Festival. The markets turned upward this week, and we staged a remarkable recovery such that we're back on quota for the month. Investors, apparently, have convinced themselves that the FED will cut the rates by 0.5% next week, and thus FOMO (fear of missing out) has motivated them to buy back in after selling for the first part of the month! "Prepare to be disappointed," is my mantra, when you're counting on the FED! #10-Einarson and #11-Koe both fell short in the curling playoffs last weekend, but Kevin at least improved his world rank. Riders have the week off to lick their wounds after back-to-back beatings by the Bombers. Blue Jays continue to play out the string, while trying to interfere with other teams who are struggling to make the playoffs. In college football, #2-LongHorns and #15-Sooners played well and won their games today, although, once again, the Horns were more impressive. 

Erica writes, "We enjoyed a weekend with Liam at the beginning of the week. Eric had his cross linking eye procedure on Tuesday. The first day he spent in the dark. The second evening he came out for a bit. By Thursday he could handle a couple hours teaching at the university. So far so good. I left him on Thursday to begin my epic girls trip to Costa Rica. Tina, Marina and I all turned 50 this year. We’ve made it to San Jose and today we headed for the east coast."

Kristian has received his upgraded resume, and continues to pursue applications for a job within walking distance of home. He received welcome news that the DHHS will provide a bus pass, so that may expand his search radius. Erin has had a hard week at work where she is not only completing the monthend at VW, but also called to help out back at Toyota—long days! Then, she also is called to attend to Kristian's travel to his drug trial appointments. 

We've enjoyed a couple of shared meals with Travis and Joanna. Of course, these also include some FastTrack games! Notably, the women won at FastTrack on Monday night—notable, because it's also rare!! Otherwise, they are keeping busy with work and their business. Soon, the emphasis will change from Bucket Decals to Puckshots as teams start to book their photoshoots. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Progress

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather is changing with the passage of time, and the single digits we felt this morning reminded us that summer is coming to an end. My main activity this week was on repairing the side fence. This had the unexpected benefit of regular visits with our neighbour and sharing the bounty of her garden—I love beets, carrots and cucumbers fresh out of the garden! I was able to dig out the broken post, splice it back together, install it the opposite way around and get the two sections of fence back in place. My plan is to completely rebuild that side fence—we'll see how far I get on that this year. I've made a few more visits to the dentist, with others still on the schedule. Wendy has continued to work on the flower beds and hedge rows. She has those cleaned up and we are able to enjoy the fire pit as well. She also managed to catch up with several of her coffee klatches, including a visit with our long term friend, Rauni. True to historical patterns, September seems determined to exhibit bad results for the markets. This week has been unmitigatingly red! In the world of sports, the Blue Jays are playing a lot of their prospect players and they're doing better than the "proven pros" they claimed to be using earlier! The Riders were unable to recover from their mistakes and dropped the Labour Day classic. Today, they returned to Winnipeg for the Banjo Bowl and put up a pretty good performance, but left with the same result—sigh! In college football, the #15-Sooners and the #3-Longhorns were rewarded with a step forward in the standings. Each responded with another win today, although the Sooners did not impress! Curling has started up in the new season. My guy, Kevin Koe, has dropped to #12 ranking, while my gal, Kerri Einarson, has dropped to #9. I need both of them to perform better this season. This week, they're both playing in the Saville Shootout in Edmonton. Koe is undefeated so far, and will advance to the playoff round. Einarson has just one loss, so she should advance as well. 

Eric has another appointment to perform corneal cross-linking, this one doesn't include the lasik corrective work. We pray that will lead to some progress toward overcoming his vision issues. Erica writes, "Liam is home for the weekend. We read the instructions for the shed and it said you needed three adults so we figured we could build the shed. But, as we read more and more, we figured out that we actually have to get a permit. So, we checked out the car port and we have to have a permit for that, too. So we didn’t do either." Permits Prevent Progress! 

Erin and Kristian spent a lot of time and effort on his job hunt. He's working with the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Society. His resume has been enhanced, and he's ready for some company to add him to its executive branch! Erin is heading into another busy time at work with monthend rearing its head as it does every so often, about every month! 

Travis and Joanna are both quite busy. Joanna has been filling in for a short-staffed situation at work, and Travis is pushing product out the door in this very busy time for Bucket Decals as many hockey organizations are gearing up for the new season with all their potential NHLers. 

Another day's work out the door!

And that's about enough for this week. 

Catching Up!

Another week has passed and we have returned to my hometown on the shore of Lake Superior. The weather is beautiful here with temperatures reaching the mid twenties each day, and an occasional shower or thunder storm. We are glad to be home. There are a lot of things to catch up on here, and I also want to catch up on my reporting of things done in Saskatchewan, and during our trip east. We completed a lot of stuff at Erin's place.

First time doing round corners

This is an update of the storage closet, Wendy will paint it later. Wendy has a number of photos on her facebook posting. You can't access them unless you have a facebook id, so I'll post some of them below. 

Dad/Mom Krogsgaard

Before leaving Regina, we also took time to decorate Wendy's parents' plaque. We drove to Carman on Saturday where we moved in with Glen & Kim—thanks folks. On a very hot Sunday afternoon, Glen and I braved the heat to play a round of golf. There is a nice course at Carman, and we enjoyed the event. Then, on Monday, we drove home, arriving here about 7:30, and glad to be home again. Since then, we have been catching up on housework, yard work, and rest! I have begun repairing the side fence and, as usual, more issues crop up as I work on that. Wendy has attacked the undergrowth, overgrowth, and weeds! Another week should see most of those assignments behind us. Wendy had her cataract appointment on Tuesday; she has a follow-up for laser touch-up later this month. I had my dental appointment on Wednesday. He assessed that there is a lot of work to do, and began with 16 X-rays, and an initial filling. There is much more work to do, including the replacement of my partial plate. The markets completed another very good month as the USA inflation data and growth numbers came in better than expected—thanks, Uncle Joe! Now, we face the (historically) worst month for the markets so it'll be a challenging time. Riders play their traditional Labour Day Classic against the Bombers this weekend. The young guys for the Jays are getting their chance to prove their value, and are doing well. College Football began this weekend with big wins by my #16-Sooners, and by the #4-Longhorns. I'm expecting the Horns to thrive this season and advance to the playoffs. 

Erica wrires, "We spent the first part of the week recovering from our kayak adventure. It was fun, and we also enjoyed the water. But we used muscles we aren’t used to using. There is a cabin for sale at the lake and we checked out the listing a few times, but not sure we want to tie ourselves up like that. We enjoy going different places. Our new shed arrived on Friday in 3 large and very heavy boxes. We are heading to the Rider game so we will need to set up the shed next week! Some friends from Kenora are joining us for the game and for some visiting as well. Liam and Mercedes finished up a week of boot camp. Liam reports that Saturday will be his rest and recuperation day. Our neighbour, Elizabeta, finally has a next step for her aching knees. She will go in on Wednesday to have a scope done. She is nervous, but also glad to be doing something. We’ve been helping her get ready this week, and praying that everything goes smoothly for her. Nothing new from Haaken, Greg and Kiersten."

Erin and Kristian are back to their usual activities after the months of looking after us. Thanks guys! We're hoping that Kristian can get a job, soon. His resume is all spruced up, and he has begun making applications. He continues his practice driving in preparation for his next test. Erin continues to experience greater ease in her new assignment—so proud! 

Minnie

Travis and Joanna welcomed us home. It was good to catch up with them as well. On Tuesday, we had a come and go memorial time over the loss of their little dog. On Friday, we had our standard pizza and cards evening—thanks guys! 

And that's enough for this week. 

Heading East

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the centre of the prairies, but today finds us leaving Regina behind, and beginning our trek home. We watching the memorial service for my brother Verner today as the family held that in Dallas. Thank you family for including we far flung members of the family in the occasion. We have completed what we could at Erin's, but we've run out of time while there remains more painting and refurbishing to do.

Lucy trying out the tree

Kristian and I assembled the Cat Tree on Wednesday—now, we wait to see how they'll make use of it. Wendy completed her painting on Thursday, and then we spent yesterday cleaning up, and packing. This morning, we headed east and have stopped for a visit with Glen & Kim, in Carman—thanks folks! The markets have taken a decidedly good turn after a troubled week as the FED has finally agreed that there will be a rate cut in September. In sports it was more of the same ol' as the Jays play the young hopefuls with varying degrees of success, while the Riders lose a game they should have won. 

Erica writes, "We have restarted our keto diet this week. Erica is finding it reduces her inflammation (but Eric was sick day one). Erica’s band played at Mt St Joe’s. On Friday, Eric attended the Wizard of Oz while Erica had her book club.  Today, we tried out our kayaks at Redberry Provincial Park. That went okay, but we found it took more energy than we had to give! We have a date for Eric’s eye treatment now; it will be September 10th."

Erin and Kristian completed their summer of hosting us, and now have their house back with some improvements. We certainly enjoyed spending the time with them, although we struggled to get as much done on the projects as we would have wished. I was delighted to see Kristian become a good driver, and feel confident he will soon get his driver's licence. He has also pushed forward with his job search; we hope that meets with success as well. 

Travis and Joanna have prepared a memorial activity for Minnie. We look forward to getting home, reuniting with them and taking part in the commemoration. 

And that's enough for this week! 

Remembrances

Erin's Birthday Golf - 2024

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the centre of the prairies. The weather has been nice, but we've been bothered by wildfire smoke from the fires in western Canada. We have continued our slow progress on the downstairs renovations. The closet is pretty much complete and Wendy is preparing that for painting as well. I have completed the edge banding, so the shelves are ready to install as well.

Aunt Grace - 99 years

On Sunday, we visited Bengough and Ogema. We are able to visit Aunt Grace, and have supper with cousin Joanna & Mac. On Wednesday, we drove down to Weyburn to visit our longtime friends Kerry & LaVonne and get new tires installed on the car. Kerry and I got out for 18 holes and enjoyed that a great deal.

Dad & Mom

Wendy & I took advantage to get down to Hillcrest Cemetery and decorate the headstone of Mom & Dad. The rest of my family will be gathering next week in Dallas to commemorate the passing of my second brother, Verner. We both have medical appointments in Thunder Bay, but we're making plans to travel south later. On Thursday, Kristian had his drivers' test. The examiner opined that Kristian did not hold his shoulder checks long enough, so he refused to award him his licence—we opined that that was absurd! On Friday, Erin, Kristian and Dale joined me for a round of golf in honour of Erin's birthday. That was the most enjoyable day of the summer so far for me. Wendy and I are finally overcoming our summer colds—it has been a long battle. Economic data in the USA combined with better than expected inflation data to turn the markets around, and it was a good green week. Investors are now betting that a FED rate cut is certain for September. The football season has now moved to the halfway point and Riders are in first place in the West, but they blew their opportunity to knock off the East leading Alouettes when our kicker had a brutal night last night. The Blue Jays continue to play out the string of this baseball season. 

Erica writes, "Eric’s work managed to fill most of his week. He was supposed to be off this week recovering from eye surgery, but now, he will need those sick days later, once we figure out when and what is later. We are in Sherwood Park this weekend for Margaret’s second annual backyard party. Margaret has generously invited us to stay with her in her newly renovated basement. The carpet is wonderful! Liam and Mercedes are celebrating one year of dating this weekend. We haven’t heard much from Greg & Kiersten or Haaken."

Travis & Joanna continue to manage things in Thunder Bay. We're expecting to get back there next weekend. They have been very busy, but now they've trained Darby to manage his own treats, so that frees up some time! 

Darby—Skilful!

And that's about it for this week.

This and That, To and Fro!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the centre of the prairies. The weather has moderated and we have enjoyed the comfortable temperatures. Kristian and I have been out driving regularly, including two runs in the Drivers' Test route. He did great! His test is scheduled for the coming week. Otherwise, Wendy has continued her paint preparations downstairs and in the stairwell. I have continued to work on the closets, and they are ready for paint now as well. I have cut the shelving, and have now begun ironing on the edge-banding. This morning, Erin, Kristian and I got out to the driving range as we prepare for a family round of golf next week for Erin's birthday.

Ray & Ellen Diamond Anniversary

Wendy and I were down to Kennedy on Sunday to celebrate the 60th Anniversary for Ray & Ellen—that was a fun time! Today, we drove to Caronport to see Liam's dance troupe presentation—I was exhausted just watching! The markets have been wild all week with large whipsaws representing the largest gains and drops of recent years. As mentioned, the latest conundrum is a common one—the FED. The markets hate the indecision and wavering messages. So, we've endured a week of back and forth with the most recent rumour being that the FED would do a large cut in September—sigh! For an organization that is supposed to be in charge of smooth economic sailing, they certainly are not. At least with the arrival of the Harris/Walz team, the Trump Slump has been, at least temporarily, forestalled, but we don't expect quiet waters until at least after the USA election. In the world of sports, the Riders played to an irritating tie against Ottawa. The Blue Jays are trying out their replacement players and achieving somewhat better results than before. 

Erica writes, "Monday was a holiday. I practised with my band in the morning and we went to another band Monday night: Billy Idol, with opening act of Platinum Blonde. Each played all of the songs we knew, and then some. I happened upon some last minute tickets and we landed ourselves in the 4th row, Centre. I am surprised to note that Billy can still rock. Wednesday, I took Eric to Saskatoon for eye surgery. He got all the prep work done, only to discover that they can’t do the surgery. So now he is referred back to his physician. Eric spent the rest of the week trying to get a new date for the basic procedure, but everyone is on holidays. We are feeling a bit frustrated, but hoping that the end result will be good. With a couple days off, Eric started rearranging the downstairs and figuring out how to have room for everyone at Christmas! I have a gig this Saturday with my band, out at Christopher Lake."

Erin has been making good progress on her first solo month end at VW, and I feeling much more secure in the process. Today, she went to the driving range with Kristian and me—everyone, except Grandpa, driving it over 200 yards. Kristian hosted a going-away party today for one of his friends who is moving to Calgary. As I mentioned, I laud generosity, and Kristian was certainly generous in the party preparations. Otherwise, he assisted my renovation work on the closets. That job is nearing completion. 

Travis continues with medication and remediation of his shoulder impingement issues. He reports progress. They received the final section of their living room furnishings this week. Rosie has established residence in Toronto and begun Massage Therapy classwork. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Presence and Presents

Another hot week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the centre of the prairies. We were hit with temperatures in the 30s all week, peaking at 37° on Friday. Today was the first day with some relief as we held below 30°. We began the week with a family gathering at Erin's condo. Eric & Erica were down from Prince Albert, while Liam & Mercedes came over from Caronport. I have always admired generosity, and in this case, the family were generous with their time. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon on Erin's patio including ice cream cake to celebrate my birthday. Thank you all for your presence, and they were generous with presents as well—thank you! I most love receiving gifts of things that I wouldn't buy for myself. This year, I got green fee money—I am loathe to spend such on myself. I also got driving range money—again, I usually refuse to buy a bucket, and count on collecting spare balls left by others! And I got a dozen Pro V1s—I never afford myself such a luxury! I feel very blessed indeed. Wendy and I continue to suffer with our colds; the illness and discomfort are holding on tenaciously. Wendy has pushed forward with the painting project and is now at the primer stage.

Patio lit!

Beautiful Setting!

I have puttered away at a few jobs, including hanging the new patio lights today. Kristian and I harvested a pallet this afternoon as I needed some firring material for the closet install. The markets were crazy this week. We started with some good green days leading up to the FED announcement on Wednesday. Investors went wild over Powell's comments, but then they sent out more FED talkers to walk back the talk of a rate cut, and that precipitated a massive sell off to leave us in the red for the week. Blue Jays sent off several veteran players at the deadline, collecting a batch of what they hope will develop into performers in the future. It's never a wise strategy to bet on a winless horse because you think he's due, but, Riders put up a stinker at home this afternoon, and dropped a surprising game to the previously winless Edmonton Elks. 

Erica writes, "Life is back to normal this week. It was Eric’s first full week in July and it was partly in August! We started our week in Regina, celebrating another birthday with Dad. We’ve been in discussion with Liam and Mercedes. Mercedes is planning on working full time with RU for kids Ministry. Haaken is doing well in BC and Greg and Kiersten celebrate 3 years as a couple! Our big event this weekend is picking up a carrier for our kayaks! Maybe we will try it out next weekend."

Erin continues to amass the data for her month-end. If all the data gets in, she should get those reports done next week. Kristian keeps playing the role of chauffeur, and assistant handiman. He has succeeded in five of his last six parallel parking attempts—that's the biggest challenge in his driving test. He has also prepared his resume and will be applying for jobs next week. 

Joanna has been moved to full-time at work as they're short-staffed. Travis is suffering with impingement in his right shoulder. He's been getting therapy and drugs, so we're expecting some relief soon. The boys are doing just fine. Rosie is off to Toronto to enter training as a massage therapist. Andrew expects to transfer his personal care worker (PSW) training down there later in the month. 

And that's enough for this week.