News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We began the week in Kenora, at Eric/a's and drove home on Sunday afternoon. The weather was beautiful to start the week and some of the local golf courses have opened, but it turned cooler on Thursday and the covers went back on the greens. I'm still hoping to get out at least once in the month of March as the weather is expected to turn nice again tomorrow. I built a golf shag this week, and I've been searching for a junior golf club for Kristian. He seems ambidextrous, but when he swings lefty, he uses proper hand placement, so I plan to let him try that first. I've been watching the curling all week, and Team Canada has been doing well. However, they lost the quarter-final to Germany on Friday evening, and then they got slaughtered by Scotland in the semi-final tonight, so they'll play for the bronze medal tomorrow.

The markets have been uncertain sitting at eighteen-month highs, and while I'm fully invested, I've been unable to make any sales, so I remain stuck at 8%, and with only three days to go in my first half year.

The garage door opener has broken, so I spent some hours this week getting that repaired. I've also done a bit of cleanup in the back yard now that the snow is gone. I'm thinking of some more development back there to extend the garden, and possibly put in a bocce court. I'm also thinking about some landscaping improvements in the front. I've been waiting for the neighbours to do a promised edging on their driveway, but I'm afraid I'll have to give up on that and go it on my own. Two trees have been removed from the front lawn, but the soil needs to be improved to grow the grass well and the whole front landscaping needs to be improved, so we'll see how far an old man gets! Homeownership can take care of all available time and money!

Wendy has been busy getting her place back in order this week; it's never up to standards when we get back! She's also been catching up on business, mail and friends. Our income tax returns have gone through (thanks, Erica) and she also has plans for that money.

Erin noticed quite an improvement in Kristian's speech after the trip as he is talking a lot, and we're understanding some of it. She continues with her work, and there seems to be some prospects for advancement there.

Trav has been busy with work and working the investment club with me some mornings. He has completed a few contract print projects and has a nice-looking website almost ready as well. I'll try to remember to pass along the URL when it's ready.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

It has been another week of beautiful weather on Lake Superior in my hometown, but we've been enjoying the less salubrious climes of Saskatchewan. Even, so the weather has been nice here as well, with much melting, but there's still much snow to go! Back home, the fairways are greening, and thoughts are turning to the annual frustration! When we awoke Friday morning to fresh snow, we realized our decision to head east was a good one, and we drove as far as Kenora. We celebrated Erica's birthday last night. We plan to complete the trip tomorrow.

Thank you Dad, Dave & Kresten for hosting us so comfortably while we were in Regina. It was also great to connect with many others in that part of the country. Thank you Eric/A and the boys for hosting us this weekend in Kenora. Thank you Erin and Trav for keeping the house in order while we've been away—you have been keeping the house in order, haven't you!

The week began with a thrilling extra-end victory by Kevin Koe in the men's national curling championship. The week ends with Jennifer Jones and her Canadian women's champs beginning the world championships in Swift Current with a come-from-behind victory over Sweden. It's a great time of the year to watch curling! And we still have the world's men championships to come.

I have not been dedicating much effort to investments this week, and it may have been just as well as the markets have been sketchy. I tried one Trailing Stop ploy, but it ended prematurely and at a small loss, so I'll need do more thinking about that strategy. In sum, I continue to be stuck at an 8.0% gain, and I'm closing in on half a year, so I'll need to work hard for the remaining eight trading days!

Kristian has been travelling with us, and doing very well. Naturally he's been the centre of attention, and he likes that! He has continued to have some sores in his ears caused by the hearing aids, so we've been medicating that, and giving him more time without hearing aids in. Once we get home, his mom can get him whipped backed into shape!

Erin and Trav both managed to fail the Daylight Saving Time transition last weekend (guess they should live in Saskatchewan!). We managed it just fine! But then, we were in Saskatchewan!

Wendy has been busy with getting new toys for Kristian and helping with meals all week.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week of beautiful weather is enjoyed on Lake Superior in my hometown. But we have wandered westward to the snowy prairies, and are currently in Regina. To be sure, the weather here is mild also, and the snow is melting away, but it seems they had a lot more than we, so there remains much more than we can enjoy! However, we are enjoying a stay with DadK, Dave & Kresten. We have Kristian along with us, and he's really enjoying being the centre of attention.

It has not been a productive week on the investment front as I have made no sales. One stock closed to within pennies of the sale price on three different days, so, perhaps next week. The markets are at yearly highs (in fact at eighteen-month highs) so we are being quite careful in what we buy. We are also paper-trading a variety of investment plays to see if one of them may pay off.

We left on Thursday afternoon and drove up to Kenora, where we enjoyed another visit with Eric/A and the boys. Then on Friday, we continued the drive to Regina, arriving here in the early evening.

I have been enjoying watching the national men's curling championships all week even though my hero, Kevin Martin, was unable to participate due to his Olympic commitments. In his place is Kevin Koe, formerly of Yellowknife, so he has become a sentimental favourite, and made it to the playoffs. He won his two games today and has advanced to the final tomorrow against Glenn Howard of Ontario.

Wendy was busy getting errands taken care of and preparing for our departure. Now she is busy taking care of Kristian, and enjoying the visiting. If habits continue, I shall continue heading off to bed around midnight, and she'll join me later; sometimes, much later! We started the week with Eric/A and the boys visiting and celebrating Wendy's sixtieth birthday. That was a nice time! She is thankful to have been remembered by many friends and family for the occasion.

Kristian has been having some issues with his earpieces, so there have been some modifications on those, and some medications on the sores that have developed in his ears. This seems to be having the beneficial effect we hope for, but we shall continue to monitor the situation.

Erin is back home. She was coming down with a cold as the week progressed, so we hope she'll be getting better while we're away.

Trav is also back home. He continues with work, contracts and investments. With the markets iffy here at the top, it is difficult to make confident buys, but he continues to study and paper trade with the rest of us.

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

Another week of beautiful weather has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The snow is disappearing quickly, and it appears this will be the year we didn't have winter! If the lawn is showing, can the fairways be far behind?! The week started with a great celebration as we won Olympic gold in hockey, and ended with us skating on the Superior lake. With the low snowfall this winter, great expanses of the ice are clear, so we tried it out this morning. We found out it's still a lot of fun, but we're getting old! On the investments front it was a very good week as I picked up 0.9% to an accumulated total of 8.0%, so that helps me catch up a little. Then, this afternoon, curling coverage started again as the Brier is under way in Halifax, so that pretty well locks up the next week! Eric and the boys arrived this afternoon, and we're expecting Erica this evening, so we're glad to be having some time with them.

Wendy has now completed her teeth-cleaning sessions. She has more teeth; it takes longer! She even convinced me to go on a couple of her walks this week. It works for her, perhaps it'll help me. She keeps busy keeping up with Kristian most days. And she's started taking a reluctant Sadie (Erin's Shih Tzu/Bichon puppy) for short walks.

Erin keeps busy with work and Kristian—nothing changing with that.

Travis completed his hockey season this week as his team lost out in the play offs. Now he's hoping to catch up on his contracts and pick up more work.

And that's about it for this week.

Way to Go, Canada!

With the end of the hockey game, the Olympics have come to a close. It was a momentous game, and Canadians from coast to coast to coast and around the world are celebrating our place on the top of the hockey world. But it was much more than that! These games (They are only games!) have captured the imagination of Canadians like never before, and we have emerged from our carefully maintained shells to celebrate our nation. This was our third opportunity to host the Olympic games, and going in, one of the challenges was that we had never won a gold medal on our native soil. Alexandre Bilodeau took care of that shortcoming, but other medal contenders were falling short.

Our sports leaders dreamed of Owning the Podium—we might not get the golds, but darn it, we were going to win more medals than the other guys. Well, by the end of week one, our leaders noticed the lack of much of a collection of medals of any colour, and, in good Canadian fashion, they began apologizing for our audaciousness. However, our athletes didn't get the memo, and the medals began piling up, a bronze here, a silver there, and then gold, and another gold, and more gold! Soon, we had almost as much gold as anyone! Wowsers! What a party! Oops sorry, we shouldn't party so much! Sorry about that! Celebration so unseemly, don't you know—not Canadian, not the Canadian way at all.

Then we achieved the twelfth gold medal. No host nation had ever achieved more! Could it be? Were we as good as others? We were tied with Norway and Russia! And then a thirteenth, no one was better than that as a host nation! Finally, when Crosby scored and gave us that wonderful overtime victory in hockey, we were the greatest! No host nation, no visiting nation, no nation anywhere had ever gained fourteen gold medals! Stand up and cheer, and never mind the tears!

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have been well-occupied with Olympic watching, but have managed to fit in a couple of other adventures. I have closely followed the curling games, and was disappointed to see our women settle for silver when we had two shots to win gold! On the men's side we got the result we craved as Kevin Martin defeated Norway to take the gold. The other crucially Canadian sport is, of course, hockey. Our women did us proud by winning the gold, taking a hard fought win over the US. Our men are in the gold medal game against the US tomorrow, so we'll be cheering! The weather has continued very mild, and we're enjoying that.

On Friday morning, our attention was suddenly diverted to the topic of hot water as our water heater quit. This has occupied plenty of time and effort yesterday and today, but thankfully we now have the new one installed, and hot showers are once again available. I haven't had much success on the investing front this week as I couldn't seem to figure out what was going on, and only managed 0.1% gain to 7.1% for the five months I've been working this program.

Wendy got some great news this week as her medical tests came back with much improvement in both her blood sugars and cholesterol. It appears her regimen of diet and exercise is paying great benefits. And I've lost a lot of weight also! (NOT) She continues with her other programs of activities as well, so she keeps busy.

Erin keeps pretty busy with work and Kristian's activities. He had a great week with firefighters and skating as special features.

Trav continues with work and contracting. He is also doing some training in more website design techniques. His hockey team is in the playoffs now, so the season is nearing the end.

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continued to be beautiful. We had a bit of snow on Sunday, but the strengthening sun soon melted that away. Since then it's been a sunny-blue sky week, and we've enjoyed it.

Watching Olympic events has been a special feature lately. I've tried to catch as many curling and hockey games as possible, and we're doing well on both fronts as our teams remain undefeated, and seem certain to win medals. We just hope they win gold medals! Women's hockey will be a tough fight with their arch rivals from the US. Men's hockey shouldn't be a problem if they get down to work, but this week's overtime game with the Swiss shows that any team can defeat you if they outwork you! In curling, I'm a little concerned about the women's team. They're playing too conservatively, too safe—sure it keeps the risk low, but it also keeps the game close, and anyone can make a lucky shot to win a close game. You need to put pressure on your opponents to make a lot of good shots. Anyway, I look forward to watching how it all turns out.

On the investment front, it's been another good week. The markets have turned positive and the new strategy continues to show signs of success. I managed 0.4% gain to 7.0% total. Travis and Dean continue to work with me each morning, and that's helpful, too. And, I often manage to meet my brother on-line, so we chat and commiserate!

Wendy continues with business as usual taking care of the details of our lives. She's had more meetings, another teeth cleaning appointment, and regular workouts this week. We also had the treat of a visit with Erica as she was in town for a conference.

Erin and Kristian are doing fine. She keeps very busy at work. He keeps us busy with his activity level. He wants to talk about almost everything, and we understand part of it!

Trav's hockey season is coming to an end. If they don't win their final league game, they'll miss the playoffs, so it could be over soon. He continues to keep busy with work and the odd contract for graphic art or website development.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week of beautiful sunny weather has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We hear of snow throughout the US mainland and wonder how it continues to miss us! Not that we're complaining, but we may be wishing for higher water levels next summer! And I won't be wishing for higher rainfall during golf season, so, just saying... We started the week watching the women's final in curling, and we end the week as the Winter Olympics begin, so TV will occupy some hours for the next two weeks, as well.

On the investment front, my prayers continue to be answered. With markets that continue to fluctuate wildly between -150 and +150 per day, we have been developing some new tactics. I have paper-traded our trading-range play successfully over one hundred times (Actually 256 times in the last four weeks, but who's counting?), so this week I put it into practice. It worked! For the first week in a long time, I was able to meet my target as I gained 0.5% to a total of 6.6%. And Travis came up with another ploy, so we've started paper-trading that one also.

Wendy keeps on the go with her various activities, classes and attending to several friends. Grandma's taxi continues to run regularly, and mom's laundry, meal and snack service is also in demand! We both continued with dental cleaning at Con College, and we still have at least one more appointment to go. It's more time-consuming working with trainees, but the difference in cost from $500 to $20 makes it well worth it!

Kristian has been fighting a cold for the last while, but he continues to attend school and day care. This week was a busy one with Valentine's Day parties. Erin continues to be busy and happy with her work at Budget.

Trav's team had a successful hockey tournament last weekend as they only lost one game. This weekend they're in another local tournament.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The clear, sunny weather has continued to make for a pleasant winter with very little snow.

Investment work continues to occupy our mornings. My prayers were answered as up days early in the week allowed me to sell my bad investments from last Friday at a profit. Then things went south, and perhaps I was also blessed with wisdom to avoid making any buys in that environment! As a result, I managed to gain another 0.2% under difficult circumstances, so we look forward with fresh courage. I've also been watching the national women's curling championship, but our local team lost out in the semi-final this evening, and our other sentimental favourites from Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories lost out earlier.

Wendy keeps busy visiting several friends and organizing our lives. Grandma's taxi provides frequent rides for Kristian back and forth to daycare as Erin's schedule calls for long days. We have also begun a series of appointments to get our teeth cleaned at Confederation College, so that's quite a cost saving. She has also been busy with laundering and mending the jerseys for Trav's hockey team.

Trav had a good weekend in Albert Lea MN with his hockey team. The team did well, and a highlight for Trav occurred when he sang our national anthem for the hockey tournament crowd. He is in another tournament this weekend here in Thunder Bay. Again his team is playing well, so they're in the playoffs segment of the tournament now.

Erin keeps busy at Budget, and at various school, daycare and speech therapy appointments with Kristian. He is talking more and more, and often comes up with little phrases we haven't heard before.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. A storm blew through on Sunday, so I was quickly back in the shoveling routine. It was wet stuff, so I couldn't even use the snowblower, but as colder weather was promised, I knew I wanted to get it cleared away before it froze. The rest of the week has been sunny, clear and cold. Our new chairs arrived for the church on Monday morning, so it was nice to get those moved in and set up. They look and feel great!

Trav, Dean and I have continued to develop our technical strategies. The market has continued very bad, losing more value this week. I managed to make some good technical trades, putting me up 0.2% for the week, but I also fell victim to my worst problem as I got attached to a bad trade and refused to sell it even though the technical indicators said to do so! Thus, I am now stuck with a losing trade over the weekend, and I don't like that. I pray that God will improve my mental discipline to follow the strategy that we know works. I also pray that the markets will go up next week so I can sell!

Wendy has had a bad week with a troublesome wisdom tooth. She finally got in to see the dentist and he passed her along to an orthodontic surgeon who removed the tooth on Friday. She's experiencing some pain still from the surgery, but overall much relief.

Trav continues with his work. He's away with his hockey team this weekend to a tournament in southern Minnesota. I'm sure the players are very excited for the trip; I hope all goes well for them.

Erin has continued to be quite busy at work. Wendy has helped out by picking up mom's taxi routine to get Kristian several days this week. Kristian continues to progress well. He's forming sentences now, and continuing to develop spoken vocabulary. He was even reading along with Erin on one of his books from school.

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been very nice, so I've kept working at the ice-coated driveway and finally got it cleared. Then the sunshine has completed the job of drying it off. Probably just in time, as we have rain and snow in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow. Trav, Dean and I have been working each morning on investments. It's been another very bad week on the markets as the TSX has descended to close at a level not seen since early November. As a result, we're working on new strategies that we may be able to use when things turn around. So, I didn't make any money this week, but I only lost 0.1%, so, I'm left sitting at 5.7% profit.

Wendy is keeping very busy with meetings, classes and visiting with her friends. She continues to work on improvements in overall health through diet, exercise and additional training. This week she is turning a bedroom upstairs into Kristian's room. He really likes it as Erica painted the walls with a castle motif.

Kristian has kept progressing at school and in speech therapy. His sentences and conversation are gradually growing. He has been fitted for his next set of hearing aids, and those should be arriving in a couple of weeks. He seems to understand nearly everything we tell him, but we don't always understand what he's trying to tell us!

Erin continues to enjoy her work with Budget, and is gradually growing into additional roles with that work. She has postponed taking classes for now.

Trav stays busy with his work, our investments and private graphical arts projects. He has several of the latter due for completion this weekend, so he's been trying to keep everything together.

And that's about it for this week.

Home Again

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. There are a few issues to get caught up with, and we pursue them with some vigour. For me, it's getting back into full-time investing, and getting down to the pavement in the driveway. There is quite a build-up of snow and ice on the driveway due to the mild weather and the traffic. Fortunately, the weather continues to be above zero each day, so I gradually get it chipped loose and removed. The deck melts off, so we even enjoy a barbecue this afternoon. It is a no-good, very bad week on the TSX as the market loses over 2%. I only manage a sale on Monday, and then gradually try to pick up bargains later in the week. Now I need the values to go up, or they will prove to have not been bargains! At any rate, I do gain 0.2%, so I'm at 0.9% this year, or 5.8% including the final quarter of last year. Trav has started working with me on this each morning, and he's bringing some fresh ideas to the stock selection process. We'll see how that goes.

Wendy has been catching up with her medical work and has begun take classes on how to manage her diabetes. Early reports are that the classes are great. She's enjoying them. The house has enjoyed a complete cleaning this week also, and a pile of laundry has gone through the machines.

Erin & Kristian are back in the routines of school and work. Kristian's communication and other skills continue to develop in an encouraging way. He seemed to be coming down with a cold, but has bounced back by the weekend.

Travis continues with work, but has made a switch to doing more of it from home, so he has the mornings free to work with me on investments. We have added Dean to the group, so we have a workgroup here each morning to assess conditions and evaluate strategies.

And that's about it for this week.

Travelling North

Another week has passed during which we have returned from Orlando to Lake Superior and my hometown. As we packed up Sunday morning, I checked the weather for Lexington SC... -8, -8! in South Carolina! It surely seemed an ominous sign! Were we making a big mistake? Was it too early to be heading north? Could it be that winter was not yet over? As you will see, the answers to all those questions was a resounding YES!

As we drove over to Daytona Beach and then northward up the coast we ground to a halt on the freeway–this has happened with disgusting regularity! A multi-vehicle accident had completely closed the northbound lanes. Surely this was another message to turn back! We carried on. A Jeep had tangled with three cars. The Jeep was the only one to sustain damage on both ends, so clearly it was a major player. By the time we got to the accident site (It was less than a mile ahead of us, but we were delayed over one hour while police and rescue vehicles attended the scene.), we noted that a multi-vehicle accident had developed among gawkers in the southbound lanes, totally blocking that side, and two or three more accidents had occurred among gawkers nearby these accident sites. As we continued northbound, we drove over ten miles before coming to the end of the stopped vehicles in the southbound lanes, and who knows how many more would be stopped before traffic started moving again. Freeways? I think not!

We finally got to Jack & Karen's, but we were over an hour later than we had planned. However, that did not diminish the pleasure of spending some time with these dear friends. We left Lexington on Tuesday morning, headed west. We got as far as St. Louis IL and spent the night there. On Wednesday, we continued westward toward Lawrence KS. As we approached Kansas City it began to snow. Once again we found ourselves in something less than a freeway as fender benders clogged the arteries. Once again we were about an hour late getting to our destination. Once again, we had the great pleasure of time spent with dear friends, Helen & Marti.

On Thursday, we awoke to the remnants of the snow storm. We planned to drive north, but I-35 was closed in Iowa. We waited. We changed plans. We enjoyed Invictus–thanks, Marti. We stayed another night! It was bitterly cold with a windchill that sounded frightening in either F or C. On Friday, we awoke to very cold weather, but the I-35 was moving, so we headed out and drove up to Minneapolis MN. The road was good, but the ditches and median were filled with stuck and wrecked vehicles, especially near Des Moines. We were glad not to have tried to head north earlier.

Finally, today, we completed the drive along the lake to home. It has been a month-long trip. We really enjoyed having everyone with us in Florida, but we're also really glad to be home.

I have managed one day of investments this week, but it was a good day, and I gained 0.7%—that's a full week plus some catch-up. Economic news was shaky toward the end of the week, but the TSX ended up in the green anyway.

Travis, Erin & Kristian have been holding the fort at home. We'll catch up with them now that we're home again.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Happy New Year!

Another week has passed in sunny Florida, but our time here is done, and we're ready to begin the long trip north starting tomorrow. We plan to be back in Thunder Bay by next Saturday. We have enjoyed our holiday in Florida, seen all we wish to see at Disney World, and become more aware of other attractions in this part of the world. We will look forward to another visit some time.

This week was spent with Travis, Erin & Kristian. We were in a new location near downtown Orlando, and enjoyed good access to Disney World as well as several outlet malls! Unfortunately, we often found that the interstate through Orlando was a multi-lane parking lot. Today, we drove the crew down to Tampa as they attended the Penguins-Lightning hockey game this afternoon, and are preparing to fly north in the morning.

The final week of investing for the year was only three days, but things went well and I gained 0.4% to close the year at 4.9% for these final three months of the year.

And that's about it for this week.

Economics 102

Happy New Year everyone! The year 2009 has ended, and while that date is an artificial boundary, it gives a holiday (and a pause) to review, reconsider and plan. It was a momentous year for us financially as, with the completion of my latest assignment, we have decided that my work should be the management of our investments. So, while I do that, I am also blogging the details. In education (where every common thing has to have a special name!) we call this metacognition! Enjoy!

I am calling this Economics 102 because I took Economics 100 in my first year of university, and Economics 101 is a well-used metaphor already.

I started my investment training and practice on March 9th. My first buys were on March 10th. Those who follow the TSX closely recognize those dates. They marked the depths of the most recent market crash. Since then we have enjoyed one of the biggest market surges since the Great Depression. My instructors lamented over the experience of our group as being so far from reality that we might not really be learning as we should. It was hard not to make money during the part of the year from March 10th to December 31st as the TSX rose from 7,567 to 11,746. So, I have determined to assess my success in the light of the TSX surge.

The first decade of this century is being well-described as a lost decade economically. This is certainly true in the US (Thanks there, Dubya!), but not so much in Canada. In the US, the SP500 dropped 24.1% during the decade (Imagine the additional pain if not for Obama's 23.4% gain this year!) The TSX rose almost 40% during the decade, but 30.7% took place this year, and even with that, an annualized rate of about 4% ranks pretty poorly against the previous two decades. Both countries have now pulled out the Bush Recession, and both of our main market indices moved into official bull territory in June, however, there are plenty of worrisome and difficult economic clouds still roiling through. Our economic health is so tightly tied to the US, that their continuing economic malaise is a big concern. Thoughtful observers see the current recovery as artificially based on the Obama stimulus spending and worry over the future. While he has been able to turn the TARP funding into a profitable investment for the US taxpayers, I do not see any prospects of an early repayment of the stimulus investment.

With that in the background I turn to the micro-economic picture of my own finances. My first simulated trading experience ran until July 17th. During that time, I achieved a profit of 43.7% while the TSX gained about 37% (My professional advisers gained 12.6%). The second phase ran until September 24th where I gained 19.1%, and the TSX rose 8.8% (My professional advisers gained 1.4%). The final phase (where I was actually investing money) completed the year; I gained 4.9% while the TSX rose 4.1% (My professional advisers lost 1.3%).

So, there's the assessment, now to consider the evaluation! The investment plan we are learning certainly allowed us to make great gains and surpass the markets (and some professional advisers) widely during the early trials, but not so much during the final phase. It is a concern that the final phase was when I was actually using my own money! Do I get too emotionally attached to the business? The final phase translates into an annual gain of about 20% which is certainly enough to support us, but not in line with the 30% we've been trained to expect. Therefore, while the effort will continue, I will also be reviewing my strategies and techniques as I try to improve. Travis has revised his working conditions so as to be more available to consult and support the investment program. We hope (and plan) for good economic results in 2010.

News Update

Another warm and sunny week has passed in central Florida. We hear of storms across the central and northern states and also in Canada; we even hear of a white Christmas in Dallas! We're glad to miss those! We have enjoyed another week with all the family, but now Eric/A and the boys flew north today, so we're somewhat at a loss. Santa did not miss us in Orlando, even though he was told to skip us for this year as the trip was supposed to be the treat. We feel especially blessed by the gracious treatment!

Disney has continued to be much visited, but with the closing of schools for the holidays, the lineups have become very long! We're finding it necessary to go early and get Fastpasses. Still, there have been times when we couldn't get into the rides we wished for. We've also been spending time in the timeshare's mini-golf, pools and hot tubs. Kristian has gradually become pretty comfortable in the water. Eric and I got out golfing once at Disney; that was fun.

Poor internet service and business with Mickey have precluded much investment work. I only managed one transaction and that was for a small loss, but not enough to change my percentages. We'll see if I can get back into it in the coming week. Travis has tried to continue with his online courses in HTML, but that has also suffered due to poor internet service. We are moving to a new resort next week, so we hope for better internet there.

We have another week here with Erin, Kristian and Travis. Then, we'll start the long trip back.

And that's about it for this week.

Merry Christmas to all!

Another week has passed in the middle of Florida, far from my hometown. The rest of the family has now joined us, as Travis, Erin & Kristian flew into Tampa on Wednesday. We have been enjoying visiting with Mickey Mouse and friends—sampling the rides, shows and other delights offered at DisneyWorld. We have also experienced getting lost in a variety of new ways, often while trying to get back to the condo from DisneyWorld, but also as we tried to get to the airport in Tampa! I think we have both issues figured out now. We have been introduced to a new "points-based" timeshare concept, so we will continue to investigate that as an alternative to the "weeks-based" timeshares we currently own. It's surely been great using the timeshare to accommodate the family together here in Florida for Christmas. The weather is very pleasant, although we had two days of thirty degree temperatures, and that was a bit much! Most days are in the low twenties and we are enjoying that very much.

I have continued to track my investments, but have had little time and sometimes poor access to do much. The TSX has continued mostly sideways during these last two weeks anyway, so I guess I haven't missed much. I did manage one sale this week, so my earnings now sit at 4.5% overall. Oil has gained some, and that helps the TSX.

It didn't take long for Kristian to figure out the DisneyWorld business. We brought along a stroller for him, but now, when I stop, he jumps out and looks for the entry to another ride! He also really enjoyed his first fireworks with full sound last night!

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed and we have travelled from the shore of Lake Superior, my home town, to the shore of the Gulf of Mexico. It was quite a trip! We left on Monday, driving down to Minneapolis. I checked out various items from my wish list at the Apple store, and Wendy went upstairs to check out her wish list at the Lindt chocolate store.

Before leaving home, Wendy had complained about there always being a storm in Iowa, so she was disbelieving when I told her I had checked the weather and a storm was on the way! Once I convinced her that it was the truth, we determined to drive as far south as we could before it hit. We got as far as Des Moines (no less!). Then we checked into the motel and waited for the morning. By morning there was plenty of snow on the ground, but there seemed to be a lull in the storm so we set off for Lawrence KS. As per usual there were many vehicles in the ditches, but we had only one difficult section, and by the half-way mark the snow has turned to rain, and the highway gradually cleared off. We enjoyed our brief stay with Marti and Helen. We set off for Hernando MS on the frozen rain the next day. The highways had been salted into slush, so traction was fine. Still it was a long day, and it was after dark by the time we drove into Gary & Cheryl's place near Hernando. We enjoyed catching up with these long time friends from YK days. On Thursday, we set off for Stan & Pat's place in New Orleans. This was a shorter day, so it was good to get there during daylight hours. We enjoyed a visit and seafood feast with them. On Friday, we toured New Orleans and then headed east for Florida. Again it was late by the time we called it a halt and got a motel in Tallahassee. Finally on Saturday, we completed the drive down to Orlando, and booked into our villa. Eric/A and the boys arrived on the evening plane from MSP, so we're set for a enjoyable week of Disneyworld and other local attractions.

The TSX had a no good very bad week, so it was just as well to be on the road. I didn't buy or sell anything this week, although one stock came close to selling. So, I'm still stalled at 4.3%. Maybe next week will bring better results if the price of oil goes up.

It's the week of curling trials back home as they determine our national representatives for the Olympics. My favourite, Kevin Martin, is in the men's final Sunday afternoon. The women's representative was chosen tonight; Cheryl Bernard will represent us very well, I'm sure.

Erin & Kristian and Travis are holding down the fort at home. It's turned colder there with some fresh snow. Trav has had some difficulties keeping the truck running, and then the hot water heater quit! They plan to fly down here next week. We're enjoying 25+ temperatures down here.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. But it will take much longer than a week to get over the Grey Cup game. One saying in sports is that "you've got to play the full sixty minutes", and our Riders did that. Even after sixty minutes they were two points ahead, but there was a penalty, so, the game was extended one more play, and Montreal used that play to kick a field goal and win the game by one point! Oh, what a bitter pill that was! The Riders never trailed in the whole game–not once in sixty minutes–but it was not enough.

It has been a busy week as we prepare for departure on Monday. The snow has apparently been watching the calendar, and with the turn of the month, it arrived on Tuesday. Wendy has been busy ensuring all is in readiness with reservations and travel arrangements for the next month. We got sad news this week concerning the passing of a long-time family friend and great Christian man, Elford Bell, out in Gravelbourg. That is where I was born, and the Bell family is a great and valued influence on our family. Elford is missed.

I had two online training sessions for investments this week. I had a good week with my investments; I was up 0.5% as the first three days saw profitable markets before it turned red on Thursday and Friday. Thus I now stand at 4.3% gain after ten weeks of work. It will be difficult to continue the investing while we travel, but once we get to Florida, I expect to spend some time trying!

Erin and Kristian are doing fine, although Kristian has a bit of a cold. We look forward to when they will fly down to join us in Florida. Erin is quite busy with her new job, especially during the early training. However, she is enjoying it a great deal so far.

Trav keeps busy as usual. His hockey team is doing well this week, and his work seems to keep him busy. He, also, is scheduled to fly down and spend time with us in Florida.

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, in my home town. While the temperatures have declined, the weather has continued to be quite nice. We had showers on a couple of days, so it wasn't so nice to get out for walks, but, hey, it's not snow! As the week started, we rejoiced in the Rider victory in the western final over Calgary. Tomorrow is the Grey Cup game, and the Riders are big underdogs against Montreal, but, they still have to play the game! So, we'll wait and hope and cheer! Today we watched the university championship game won by Queen's University. It was pretty good football, although we found ourselves cheering for the losing team on this occasion—hopefully that'll change tomorrow!

The markets had another week of decline (must be following the temperature), so it was hard to make the decision to buy in, and hard to make money. I did manage another 0.1%, so I stand at 3.8% for nine weeks of work. I also did a bit of work for one of my old schools, but really, it was a pretty quiet week. I've been working on a couple of pamphlets in my own desktop publishing activity. Both are nearly ready for print.

Wendy has kept busier with taxi service and medical appointments and preparation for Trav's birthday this weekend. Eric/A and boys drove down Friday evening, so we celebrated the birthday with them as well. It is always special having the whole family under one roof.

Erin is busy in her new job. Kristian has a whirl-wind of Christmas celebrations at school and day care, so that's kept mom and grandma scrambling as well.

Aside from turning twenty-eight, Trav has occupied himself with the usual in coaching, work and contracts. He finished another production today, and got that sent away.

And that's about it for this week.