Glædelig Jul!

It is Christmas time on the shore of Lake Superior, in my hometown. We've enjoyed a week of pleasant weather with just enough fresh snow to confirm the Christmas card appearance of the landscape. That it would be a Merry Christmas was confirmed for me at 3:30 this morning as Eric/A and the boys arrived from Kenora. We were not expecting them, so it was a wonderful surprise, and thus we had the joy of having the whole family under our roof once again. Wendy pulled an all-nighter on Christmas Eve as she stayed up to bake, stuff stockings, stack presents under the tree and get ready for today. She climbed into bed at 6am, and was gone again by the time I rolled over at 7:15—crazy woman! I drove a charter this morning, then joined the family for cinnamon buns and opening of gifts. Then I drove the second half of the charter. This afternoon, we all gathered for turkey dinner with all the trimmings. As always, it was very good. It was a shortened week of very thin trading on the markets, but I was blessed with good earnings, picking up more than my target of 0.5%, once again.

Wendy has been working at Walmart all week, as well in Christmas preparations around home. Kristian has been enjoying all the decorations and helping his mom shop for presents. He has been insisting that Grandpa and Grandma want Lego for Christmas!

As I look over his collection of gifts, I realize I should have bought some Lego stock! Liam has scored a drum set as his major gift, and Haaken has added to his DVD collection. As a rookie, Wendy has lots of shifts at Walmart scheduled in the next week.

Erin has been fighting a cold this week, but seems much improved today. She has a pretty much regular schedule at work next week. Kristian has been flying pretty high all week, and now is busy with Lego construction and floor hockey—a gift from uncle Trav. Kristian is on holidays from school and day care for the next while.

Trav has the next week off. Joanna and her children, Gemma and Andrew, joined us in Christmas celebrations. It was great to have everyone together. Joanna only has a couple of shifts next week.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, in my hometown. The weather started off cold, but moderated as the week went on, and we're back into single digits of frost, and some fresh snow. It's beginning to look a lot like a Christmas card! I've been driving bus all week, but school closed on Friday, so I'm off now until January 3rd. I have picked up a charter for Christmas morning. I'll be touring around town to pick up parishioners for St. Dominic's Church, and delivering them home as well. The markets were a little shaky this week, but I managed to eke out a gain of almost my target 0.5%, so, I'm feeling blessed. My cold has finally been overcome, and that's a blessing as well.

Wendy has continued with shifts in the shoe department at Walmart. As a rookie, she also has many shifts during what the rest of us call, holidays! She supplied us with shortbread cookies this week. Trav noticed them as he was dishing up supper and exclaimed, "Oh, no. This is not good! This is going to hurt!" Christmas goodies are the universal diet killer!

Kristian has been more and more busy with Christmas parties and preparations. He's keeping up with his Lego Advent calendar, and is sometimes even ahead! He also finished school on Friday, but he's much too early in his school life to properly appreciate and enjoy holidays. Erin has been busy with work and special Christmas events for Kristian at school.

Trav has been busy with work, extra Hockey photo projects, and his hockey team. His Penguins took it on the chin a couple of times this week, so he needs to get them whipped back into shape as well. Joanna's car is being repaired and should be ready this week. She is completing her exams and practicums in the meantime.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been fairly comfortable, mostly clear, and a little colder. We also got a bit more snow, so I did some shovelling on Thursday night. I've been driving bus all week, a two-hour trip each morning and afternoon. On Wednesday, I had a Safety Meeting for the morning, and on Thursday, I had a Defensive Driving course all day between runs. As a result, I have now completed my licensing requirements. I have put my name on the list for driving charters during the holidays; we are off effective next Friday. The markets were not helpful to me this week; I wasn't around for three of the mornings so that hurt also. In total, I lost a bit of last week's gains. I have continued to fight my cold all week, and I'm still hacking some.

Wendy has kept fairly busy at Walmart; her shoe department won an award for total sales. She's been thinking about Christmas baking lately, so that's an encouraging sign for the rest of us!

Kristian has been working through some management issues at both school and day care. Apparently there's some confusion about who is in charge! He thinks he is! Otherwise, he's enjoying Christmas busyness, lots of treats, his daily Lego advent prize—it's a kid's life! Erin keeps busy at work, and has now taken a gym membership. She wants to improve her cardio-vascular and build some muscle without losing any of her precious fat—I have a surplus I'd be glad to share!

Trav has continued with work and hockey pretty much as usual. Work is going well, his hockey team is in second place in the league, and his Penguins have just won 12 straight games! Joanna had a crash on Friday morning when some one ran her car down. She's okay, but she missed the exam she was headed for; we hope that's not a major problem.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. It started sadly with the Riders losing the Grey Cup 21-18. We certainly had chances to win, but have to give Montreal credit for playing a better game. So, we're back in next year country, once again! I have completed my training, taken my written and driving tests and am now a licensed school bus driver! I bid on a run, and at the end of the day on Friday, I was informed that I have been awarded that run. I have roughly four hours of work per day, delivering 104 students to one of five schools, and returning them home again at the end of the day. The morning run allows me to get back for the opening of the markets at 9:30 each day, so, I continue with that as well. The markets have been flat or slightly downward since November 5th, but I managed to have a good month in November, and have achieved more than my 0.5% again this week, so I'm pleased with that progress. The weather has dried out and turned sunny, so the streets and driveway have cleared off.

Wendy is busy with shifts at Walmart. Her work times vary a great deal, and she often works until midnight. With the turning of the calendar, she relented to Kristian's pleas and put up the Christmas tree and decorations. Kristian is a great help in this effort!

Kristian developed a cold early in the week, and has since recovered, but not before passing it along to the rest of us! Erin continues with her work, and has started a trial gym membership.

Trav continues with his work and hockey. This weekend he is with his team down in Wisconsin for a tournament.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. It started with the glorious Rider victory over Calgary that has propelled them to the Grey Cup game tomorrow. Go Riders Go! I have been in Driver Training each morning this week; that is going well, and they project that I will be taking my driving test by the end of the coming week. They require twenty hours of class work, and twenty hours of successful driving before the test. It's a lot of preparation for part time work, but the safety of the children is important. It's been a difficult week for investments as troubles on the Korean peninsula, and economic troubles in Europe have occupied investors' minds and caused a decline in the markets. I made a good gain on an Oil buy, so I only ended with a small loss for the week. We've had a couple of wet snow storms, so it's a bit messy around town. They're predicting some warm weather in the coming week, so we hope that helps clean up the ice.

Wendy has been busy at Walmart all week. She is enjoying the work, and has decided to help the company by buying a new TV! We look forward to enjoying that for the big game tomorrow. As usual, she prepared the birthday cake for today's big event.

Erin and Kristian have continued with their usual activities. Erin is not enjoying the slushy, icy weather with her car rental business. Kristian enjoyed making a snowman last Sunday. Grandma helped him make it, but then the slushy weather was causing it to wilt, so grandpa tried to straighten the slumping man—alas, the base snowball collapsed and we were left with a short snowman on the lawn. Kristian was not impressed, "Grandpa broke the snowman!" When he got out of the taxi Monday afternoon, he commented on the poor snowman. So, I asked him if we should try to fix it. "No," he allowed, showing his disdain for my snowman building capabilities, "Grandma fix it."

Travis turned twenty-nine today. We enjoyed celebrating his birthday with him. His work is going well, and he has picked up some extra work making individual and team pictures for several hockey teams.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. It started off with an exciting overtime victory by the Riders; now they're set to play tomorrow in the Western final. Go Riders, Go! The weather has turned wintry and we have our first snow. It melts a bit most days, but it's gradually building up on the lawns, so it appears that it may stay. The markets have remained troublesome, so I've been playing lightly and carefully. We had up days on Thursday and Friday, so I managed to make a small gain for the week. My training program for bus driving has continued all week, and promises to run all next week as well. I've also been busy preparing a lesson for Sunday, since I'm the assigned speaker this week.

Wendy has been donning her blue vest and working at Walmart this week. She's doing a good job (of course) and is even enjoying it. The Dollarama people still want her to work, so she may pick up some shifts there if she has any free time.

Erin and Kristian have had their usual schedules this week. Kristian has delighted to see the snow. On Friday, he wanted to play in the snow on the lawn instead of getting in the taxi, so grandma was chasing him around in the snow while still dressed in her slippers.

Travis has been away in Pittsburgh all week. The Pens won two of three games for him, and I expect he had a great time. We're expecting him back this weekend.

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

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been very nice, but we are promised a change, and not for the better! They are predicting snow for tomorrow—I hope the Riders and their Air Show will not be grounded! They play BC Lions in the semi-final Sunday afternoon. The branches and junk that got spread around in the hurricane are getting cleaned up. I cleaned out the eavestroughs and got the hot tub ready for the winter. I bought and installed a new battery in the car—man, that was a pain, you have to take off the passenger wheel and take out the battery from under the fender! I was trying to get an oil change in the truck today, but the weather man has mentioned snow, so Kal-Tire didn't even have any parking spaces left on their lot, so, I went to a quick lube.

It was a troubled week in the markets as investors worried about G20 decisions, European debt and Chinese interest rate hikes. I kept my investments light, and ended up with only a small loss. We'll see if this is the correction they keep promising us, or just a short blip. I am in the training phase for bus driving; that carries on all next week at least. I guess we will see how long it takes to learn all their protocols.

Wendy has been working all week at Dollarama; they've been setting up the store and finally opened on Friday. She found it very tiring, and hard on her feet to be walking on concrete all day long. Today, she went to her orientation for Walmart; she enjoyed that quite a bit. She starts there on a part time basis, so we'll see how that goes. She also intends to keep working at Dollarama for the next while at least.

Erin and Kristian continue with life as usual. Kristian had another birthday party this afternoon. He's progressing well at school; he is ready to read, and will read (or pretend-to-read) books and magazines.

Trav is off to Pittsburgh for the next week; he drives down to Minneapolis tomorrow and flies to Pittsburgh Monday morning. He has tickets for three Penguin games, so it'll be a special week for him. His team lost the final of their hockey tournament last weekend in a shoot out. It was a very good showing for them, but they were disappointed to fall short of the ultimate prize.

And that's about it for now.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been lovely, with one particularly summer-like day giving us a respite from the big storm. Economic news has been very helpful and the markets have reached levels not seen since before the Bush crash in the Fall of 2008. The central effect on our economy is the US economy and things have not been going well there for some years.

However, as the chart shows, the job losses in the US, that began back in 2007, have been arrested and jobs are being gained, thanks to the Bailout initiated by President Bush, and the Stimulus initiated by President Obama. Friday's announcement of 150,000 jobs added in October are the latest indicator that the US economy is starting to recover. The improving situation has allowed me recover as well, and I had another week of above-expectations gains with our investments.

Now that it's over, I do apologize to the Texas Ranger fans; my perfect record of picking all the losers was blemished only by the Phillies winning their first round playoff. The World Serious of Baseball was won by the San Francisco Giants. It was the first trip to the series for the Rangers franchise, and the first victory for the Giants since they moved from New York over fifty years ago. The CFL regular season is ending this weekend, and we looking forward to the playoffs there as well. The Riders ended the season on a winning note, and will host BC Lions in the divisional semi-final next weekend. Go Riders, Go!

I have completed all the prerequisites and have been accepted to begin training as a school bus driver. That may start next week. One highlight of my medical was the vision screening as my laser enhanced eyes graded out at 20/20 (20/15 actually) and I still only need to use reading glasses occasionally! I am very pleased with the continuing benefits provided by the PRK surgery six years ago. Wendy started work on the Dollarama job today, and she has continued interviews and the hiring process with Walmart as well. She begins a training phase there next week. It appears we may soon have more employment than we can stand!

Wendy and I have completed another round of teeth cleaning with the local dental hygienists' program. It takes longer, but it provides training opportunities for them, and an inexpensive dental checkup for us. I have finally learned a technique for flossing my teeth—old dogs indeed!

Erin and Kristian have had a good week. Kristian did have a bad time on Wednesday when he discovered he was not a participant in the Pizza Lunch at school! He would not accept that while many other students were getting pizza, he had to get by with the lunch his mom had packed for him! He ended up having a quiet lunch hour in the principal's office, where he finally decided to eat his own lunch.

Trav remains busy with work and preparations for his trip to Pittsburgh. This weekend, his hockey team is in a local tournament, so that is keeping him extra busy. But they're doing well, and have finished the round-robin portion undefeated so they're in the semi finals.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

We've had a spectacular week on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. They called it a mid-latitude cyclone or a weather bomb, but by any description it was a hurricane. It set a record for the lowest pressure reading ever developed on mainland North America, and it produced a category three hurricane. The eye settled between here and Kenora for almost a day, and the winds tore in all directions around it. Northbound winds across the lake were more severe than the gales of November that took down the Edmund Fitzgerald thirty-five years ago. Trees and power lines were uprooted. Semis were blown off roads. West of the eye, the southbound winds brought down Arctic air and produced snow and ice storms across the prairies and down into the Dakotas. It hung on for a long time; friends of ours along the lake had no power for 45 hours out of two days, including 35 hours straight.

Otherwise, life was more like usual. Investments went well, and I completed a month that matched expectations for the first time in a long time—I feel blessed! The World Serious has begun, and I almost feel the need to apologize to Texas Ranger fans for choosing to cheer for them! The series has not been going well. Fortunately, they won their game tonight, so they're kind of back in the series. In the CFL, the teams are playing out the final games of the regular season as nearly all play off spots have been determined. I got my medical for driving school bus, so now I need to pass written and driving tests and take the training program. One special treat this week is that Wendy got me a compound sliding mitre saw. I have long wanted one, and this one is actually a level better than I was hoping for—I will try to use it well.

Wendy got a job this week. She starts next week at a new Dollarama store opening out the back gate and across the street. On the same day she got that job, she also got a call from Walmart for an interview, so she may have a better opportunity there. She interviews there next week as well.

Kristian has had an exciting week of Hallowe'en preparations. The Jack o'Lanterns are ready; the TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle) costume is ready; the treats are ready—well, truth be told, the treats have been steadily diminishing all week long! He also had a birthday party today. Erin and the rest of us are also enjoying Kristian's excitement. But my big moment with him was yesterday. He read me his little book for the week! It was priceless.

Trav has continued his usual pursuits. His hockey team is progressing well, but his Penguins have had a tough week, although they won tonight. He's still looking forward to going to Pittsburgh for a three-game set in November.

And that's about enough for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been more Fall-like, with cool winds and a few showers. Wendy and I have still managed to get out for our hike most days. The week started on a discouraging note, as the Riders fell to Calgary. The loss to Edmonton tonight finishes our quest for first place, but we're assured of second place. As it stands, we need to concentrate on improving the team play, and getting some injured players back in anticipation of the playoffs. Baseball playoffs continue with the World Series (Serious, I like to call it, since it's the time when the world gets serious about baseball!) ready to begin next week. Texas Rangers have advanced to play against San Francisco Giants. We were cheering for the Phillies—next year country once again!

I have been enjoying good progress in my investing since we returned from our summer travels, and I'm up about 5% since then, but this week was not a good one! The markets were mixed, and I made some wrong choices, so I was down about 0.5% for the week. On the health front, I'm feeling recovered! The chiropractor still wants to see me every two weeks, but I'm able to sleep without pain. My arms and shoulders are probably as good as they're going to get in this life, and my ankle is ready for the challenge of trying to curl and skate this winter. I've heard nothing further on my school bus driver training, so, I'm just studying the manuals while waiting for the next phase.

Wendy was to the doctor this week. Her doctor wants more heart testing (echocardiogram, or ECHO) to assure herself (and us) of how the heart is functioning. She continues with her gym work, and walks with me most days. She's also applied on more jobs.

Erin & Kristian are carrying on pretty much as usual. Kristian is excited about Hallowe'en and Jack o'Lanterns and the prospect of candy! This evening we went pumpkin hunting, and picked up three to decorate and turn into pie! His school work is progressing, and he's beginning to read the small pattern booklets. His most recent Lego preoccupation is castles and knights. Somehow this ties in with Lego Star Wars!

Travis continues with Joanna, work and hockey. He has his Penguins playing good hockey even while they wait for injured players to return. The team he coaches is winning as well.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed and we have returned to the salubrious climes of Lake Superior and my hometown. The weather continues to be lovely, and we're enjoying it. We drove back from Kenora on Tuesday, so it's been a short week here. The Autumn colours are rapidly disappearing from the trees, but it was still a pretty drive. A fungus seems to have attacked my tomatoes, so, I shall stop worrying about frost! Some frost is predicted for this coming week, and I'll simply leave them to their fate. In the meantime, we have harvested a bunch of spaghetti squash, the last of the tomatoes, and we're still looking at another feed of Swiss Chard.

We got the desired result in football on Monday, as Montreal knocked off Calgary. Now the Riders have their fate in their own hands—win and they have first place. That game is Sunday evening, so we are hoping they will perform well. It's also the time of year for serious baseball fans, so Erin and I are busy cheering for our favourite teams—we both hope the Phillies win it all, but are otherwise cheering for or against the Yankees!

I had another good week on the markets, achieving my half percent for a change! I have been accepted for the school bus driving job, but now I have to complete several prerequisites: clean driving record, clean drug test, clean criminal record check, clean bill of health, successful written test on the regulations, successful driving test. Some of these are going to be easy; I'm busy tracking down the three manuals to study for the written test. I recall this used to be easy, also; you just picked up a manual from the government office and did a bit of studying. Now, you have to buy the manuals—total cost$56! When did that happen? Anyway, it looks like it would be a good thing to do for a couple of hours each day, and still leave me time for my investing work. We'll see how it goes.

Eric and Erica have both been to Thunder Bay this week as they had conferences in town, but that kept them quite occupied, so we didn't see much of them.

Wendy has returned to her heart issues. She had a stress test this week, and that seemed to go fine. She has been asked to try that again in six months. Then, she decided that if a stress test was good, she should try to stress her heart even more, and has been pushing it on the exercise machines at the gym! That was alarming! I tried to explain to her that the stress test was not to improve her heart, but to see if it would fail! It is not a therapy! We are hoping she will take it a bit easier from now on. She has also applied for another job.

Erin and Kristian continue as per usual. Kristian had a short week in school/day care as he drove back with us on Tuesday. He continues to make good progress. Erin got a nice surprise at work as they cancelled the charges on her weekend rental. She quite enjoyed the Mazda3 and still hopes she may get one someday; she had a headache on the way back here on Monday, so that was not helpful. Kristian's Lego collection continues to explode, so we have his various projects all over the living room.

Trav has been working hard and has managed to get the Penguins into the win column. The team he coaches has also begun the regular season, and are similarly searching for a win. Work continues to be busy.

And that's about it for this week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another week has passed; I have travelled from the shore of Lake Superior to the shore of Winnipeg River in Kenora. I drove up on Wednesday to help Eric/A with some electrical work. We replaced the sub-panel in the garage with a new one of 100 amps. This required the installation of a new line from the house, so that was quite a job. Then, we upgraded the electricity to the suite from the new panel. All lines were redone, and additional wiring was installed for a range and for baseboard heating. It was quite a job to find routing for the lines through a finished accommodation; most of my previous electrical work was done during the construction phase of our houses in YK. Thanks for the training there, Robbie!

The markets were quite cooperative this week. I sold out on Tuesday before the travel day, for more than a 1% gain, but picked up some gold after the downturn on Thursday, and that paid off as well. The weather has been beautiful with daily temperatures in the twenties. My tomatoes continue to thrive, and projections for the next week continuing to be for above average temperatures. The Riders played badly and lost to Toronto this afternoon, so, once again, we wait and fret about the outcome of the Calgary game on Monday. Next week, we're scheduled to play Calgary. I hope they weren't looking past Toronto to that game, but they certainly did not give a good effort. I got out to the driving range to give my back and my new golf clubs a workout; that went well, so I'm thinking of trying a round of gold next week. I finally got a call on one of the jobs I applied for back in August; I have an interview there next week.

Wendy has had a difficult week as she had a health scare on Thursday. Trav & Joanna took her up to the hospital where she spent most of the day hooked up to monitors and getting various tests. All seems to be well right now, but she'll have to go back next week for stress tests on her heart. She drove up to Kenora today with Erin & Kristian to spend Thanksgiving weekend here.

Erin and Kristian have carried on as per usual. Kristian is doing well at school. Erin is enjoying the transition and pay level of her promotion at work. This weekend, she's trying out a Mazda 3 car; she'd like to upgrade to that!

Trav is quite busy with work, and is just getting going on a new hockey season. It seems they have too much of some kinds of assignments at work, so that's causing a backlog there, and a bottleneck for the whole operation. And, to make matters worse, his Penguins have started the season with two losses, so, he needs to get them back on the right track as well!

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been cooperating with my newly seeded front lawn, as it gives a bit of rain nearly every other day. This grass likes cool, damp conditions for germination, so I'm hoping this completes the job. The garden continues to produce tomatoes, but we're predicted for a hard frost again tonight, and since we're now into October, I have to think it will soon be time for green tomatoes all over the kitchen! The markets started off poorly this week (Just when I thought I had things figured out!), but then the other four days were good. That worked out much better than the last two weeks! I didn't get out golfing, but my back has continued to improve, so I'm ready to give it a go. The Riders beat the Argos this afternoon, but since Calgary won last night, they remain one game out of first. However, they have clinched a spot in the playoffs.

Wendy is back into her routine with gym, home, shopping and visitation. She is becoming quite expert with Lego, and Kristian loves it when Grandma helps with the various projects. We had two young visitors, Bana & Steve, stop in on Thursday night, on their way east. It was nice to meet them. Both of us have start our dental cleaning with the dental hygienist students at Confederation College. They take quite a bit more time than the professionals at the dentist, but with a fee of only $20, we figure we can afford the time!

Erin and Kristian have had a busy week. Kristian had really good news as his hearing check-up revealed that he has maintained his hearing level. There is always a concern with Pendred's Syndrome that his hearing will decline even more. The technician noted Kristian's comprehension of what was going on and moved him on to "big boy" testing elements; Kristian managed that, also. He's a smart little boy! Erin completed her promotion at work. She's enjoying the accolades of her boss, not to mention the increased pay! Sunday afternoon they are off to another birthday party—such a whirl of activity!

Trav has begun the hockey season once again with exhibition games and practices. He also keeps busy with work and individual contracts for graphic design and web site development. One of his recent websites is for Jennifer's Bakery Shop. Check it out!

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. The weather is definitely cooling as the season has changed and the trees are taking on Autumn colours. Wendy spent most of the week up in Kenora with the grandsons there. Eric/A enjoyed a trip down to TO as Erica had a conference in Guelph. Wendy had some interesting adventures there, and drove back home on Friday afternoon. I prepared the lawn for over-seeding, but with rainy weather late in the week, I didn't get the seeding done. Perhaps, I'll manage tomorrow. I had another roller-coaster week in the market as I was up 1% on Monday, but lost it later in the week, only to manage some recovery on Friday. Today, we had an all day meeting of the church leadership team, and that was quite productive in clarifying our situation. The week ended on a high note as the Riders came back from a 15 point deficit to defeat Hamilton; and, since Calgary lost this week, that pulls us to just one game back of first place. The weather cleared off today for a beautiful day, but now they're predicting frost tonight, so that may be the end of my garden. I've covered the tomatoes, so I hope they'll survive. My back has improved from very tender last weekend to pretty solid this weekend; I'm hoping to try golf next week.

Wendy enjoyed her week up in Kenora. She was glad to see the renovations proceeding on the house there, and enjoyed spending time with the boys.

Erin and Kristian had a few extra items on their schedule this week as one of Kristian's hearing aids broke so that needed replacement. He was also invited to another birthday party; he's very popular in his class. Then there was speech-therapy, and as things were so busy, they weren't even able to take in his IEP meeting, so they'll try to catch up next week!

Trav has his usual occupation with work, but the big stuff this week was his hockey team. He and his fellow coaches have been spending lots of time scouting the available players, and this week they drafted their team for this season. Trav was quite satisfied with the players they manage to get.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continued to be very comfortable with a few showers. I am thinking I should do the lawn over-seed in the coming week. The garden continues to produce for us. I've harvested lots of tomatoes, more spaghetti squash than we can begin to eat, and a few zucchini. The squash have almost been killed off by the leaf fungus now, and I see the pumpkin vines have caught it as well. I had a pretty good week with my back until this afternoon when I must have done something wrong as it's really hurting tonight and I'm back on the ibuprofen. I had a great investment day on Monday, gaining 1%, but the rest of the week was not good, and I lost over half of it! The Riders had an embarrassing blowout loss to Winnipeg on Sunday, but revived our hopes with an overtime victory last night over Calgary. Today, we celebrated the tenth anniversary for our friends, George & Karen; Eric led them in the confirmation of their vows, and we had a lovely supper with their family and friends.

The big event this week was Kristian's fifth birthday. He enjoyed an extended celebration that lasted all week long. First off, we sang Happy Birthday while he contributed his five dimes to the church Bible fund on Sunday. Then, he celebrated at his day care on Thursday, and with us on Thursday evening. On Friday they celebrated his birthday at school, and finally, today, Eric/A & Haaken; Travis, Joanna & Andrew; Erin; Tom, Charlene & Calvin; Shelly & Kaden; Grandma & Grandpa celebrated his birthday all over again. As I write, the living room is completely infested with Lego!

Wendy and I have heard nothing on our job applications. We're remaining patient. Wendy plans to spend the next week in Kenora, taking care of those grandsons, while I remain here to be available for Kristian when he gets off school.

Erin and Travis are continuing with their usual job commitments and both are doing fine. Travis has begun the hockey season and is scouting prospects for his team.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, in my home town. The weather has been very nice with some welcomed showers, and cooler temperatures that make it nice to think about packing up the air conditioner. Of course, there's also the concern that it's time to pack up the air conditioner! We started the week with a special celebration for our friends, John & Diane, as they celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary; it was a good time with much family and friends in attendance. We concluded that day watching the Riders win the traditional Labour Day game over Winnipeg. Calgary has continued to win, so at this point in the season, the Riders are just trying to keep within shouting distance. We had several shaky days on the market this week, but with good buys and a good day on Friday, I managed to eke out a gain. I've continued work with my chiropractor, but my back is still very tender and I've remained off the golf course for a seventh week. The garden is producing well; we're having trouble keeping up with the tomatoes and the spaghetti squash. We're getting down to single digits some nights, so it may not be long until we get a killing frost. We had some excitement with the car as the oil plug failed. Fortunately, the guys at Kal-Tire were able to re-tap the oil pan and install a new, larger plug.

Wendy and I are both waiting to hear on a couple of job applications. Wendy also keeps active at the gym and visiting with friends. While we have assumed ownership of the house, we have not established a plan or a schedule for renovations. Wendy continues to revise the plans! We'd certainly like to extend the gas line and install our gas range and a gas fireplace.

Erin is learning the aspects of her new job quickly. It is going well. She continues to follow the Jays as they play out the season, and try to interfere in the playoff race! Kristian is back to school; he is enjoying that a great deal as well. His communication and use of sentences grows each week. We are quite encouraged by how well this is developing.

Trav continues with the development of his career. He has applied for a business development grant to help the process along. He continues to grow his base of customers even outside of his job. He is nearing completion of another website; I will pass along the URL when it's ready for public consumption.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

We're into September here on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has changed this week, as we spent the first few days in 30+ degree heat and the comfort of air conditioning and ended the week in cool, rainy, blustery weather, thankful for the protection of a warm house. It's Labour Day weekend, traditionally the end of summer holidays, so back-to-school thoughts occupy many. Haaken and Liam are already back to school; Kristian is scheduled to begin on Wednesday. It's been a good week in the markets, and I've continued to catch up from my losses early in the summer. September is traditionally a bad month for investors, so I shall play it carefully. The Riders play tomorrow in their traditional Labour Day match against Winnipeg. We'll be cheering! My back continues to bother me, and I'm continuing with the therapy, but improvement is slow, so, it's another week without golf.

The garden is producing well. I have begun harvesting squash, and tearing up the fungus infected vines. The tomatoes are really producing now, but the beans and peas are pretty much done. We've had a lot of rain the last couple of days, so everything's looking pretty green. I am getting ready for the Fall over-seed on the front lawn; the eco-grass likes cool wet weather for germination.

Wendy and I have each applied on jobs recently, so we're hoping for something to develop there. I applied to drive school bus, and I've also applied on a data project–both hold the promise of lots of free time to continue my main work of investing.

Erin works some on her new assignment each day. The transition will be gradual over the next while. Her replacement has been hired, but is still receiving training.

Travis remains busy with work, but also managed a trip down to Duluth this week.

And that's about it for now.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. The weather has continued to be beautiful and my garden is thriving. Unfortunately the fungus has returned to the vines, so I may just take what they've produced so far, and pull up the vines. I suspect there's a chem-lab solution to this as well, but I'm trying to avoid that. So far it has only affected the squash, so pulling them up may save the pumpkins and cucumbers. Wendy has me cutting the back lawn after two months of letting it grow freely. I'm trying to gradually get it down to ordinary lawn length, but it takes time. I've cut it six times in the last week, and there are still some adjustments to go!

It's been another violent ride on the markets, but Friday's big gain has the TSX back into positive territory for the year and allowed me to gain over 1.5% for the week, so I'm catching up a bit. I've continued to get help with my back, and even got out one evening to hit a few balls—a half dozen was enough to know that it was not ready yet. Calgary won their game last night, so with the Rider's loss tonight in Edmonton, first place is a distant memory.

Liam & Haaken have been here all week, so it's been a special whirlwind of activity around here. Kristian has been enjoying Lego and cartoons morning, noon and night! Grandma has also had the crew out for trips to the park, marina and pools. Eric/A arrived last night, so we're having a family reunion! It's nice to have the house full again.

Erin has been getting more details of her promotion and is looking forward to that. She'll be working at both locations at various times of her work week, and gradually moving into the main office.

Trav has continued development of his own business while also working full bore at his job, so he's pretty busy most days. It's going well.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has cooled off a bit, so that's been more comfortable, and we've had some rain—my lawn thanks you! The garden is flourishing; we're enjoying tomatoes, beans, and spinach. Once again, the markets started the week well, but bad news arrived from several sectors and the last three days were downward, so my gains in the early days disappeared in the last three as most markets ended the week in negative territory. Once again, I'm into "next week" country! The Riders' stay in first place was brief as Calgary won on Sunday, and since this is their bye week, we'll have to wait to see how they respond. Our church leadership team met this week; we enjoyed a fine meal, good meeting, and the chance to raid the garden of our friends Gord & Nora. Thanks!

I have continued working with the chiropractor on my back. This is clearly proving helpful, but there's more work to do. She has me in regular therapy sessions, and also doing a lot of exercises designed to stretch out and strengthen the affected areas. I'm noticing the improvement! I even thought about heading over to the golf course this afternoon, but second thoughts kept me home.

It's been a busy week. Liam arrived last Saturday, so we've been enjoying having him around. This has kept Kristian occupied, and Wendy has been busy arranging some extra events for the boys. Erin took them shopping one evening to help Liam get ready for another school year. And then last evening, we drove up to Ignace to meet Eric and collect Haaken. Now all our grandsons are here for the next week, the last week of summer vacation for Haaken & Liam. Then, they'll be back at school. We don't have Kristian's school schedule yet, but we think he starts after Labour Day.

The other big event this week was Erin's birthday. We enjoyed having a few friends over for the celebration. Erin chose a menu of Chinese food and Cheesecake! It was a good time. Erin has also received more promises of a promotion at work. She's expecting that to take place in the next month or so.

Travis continues with his usual schedule of work. He brought his friend, Joanna, to Erin's birthday party; it was nice to get to know her a bit. He has established his business as an official organization. Check out his website, not only is it his website, it's also his work.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, in my hometown. The weather has been hot and we've been doing a lot of yard work with garden, lawns and flower beds. We've had a couple of rains, and that has helped. The markets had a good Monday, and I made a good profit, but then it turned sour and the markets were down three to five percent for the week. I managed to get out on Tuesday after losing most of my Monday gains. After that, I just felt good for having skipped the loses the rest of the week! It was a good week for the Riders, as they won easily and moved back into a first place tie pending what Calgary does in their game tomorrow.

Our friends David & Marilyn arrived this evening to spend the weekend with us. It is good to spend some time with them and catch up on the goings-on in Dauphin, and in their lives. They've been travelling in the US and into eastern Canada and are now on their way home.

My back did not recover on its own, so I've been to the doctor. She's diagnosed and corrected the cause of the muscle spasms, and now we're working on stretching those out and letting them recover. It feels much better now, and I even slept through the night last night. She has also given me exercises to assist with my left shoulder and left ankle rehabilitation.

Wendy has been busy catching up on paperwork for both home and church. She has continued with her pruning mode and the various perennials have been trimmed to varying degrees, sometimes extending to the extreme! Weeds have not escaped her attention, and I'm finding them in piles all over the area! And, apparently, it was time for the furniture to move to new locations in the living room, so that has happened as well.

Erin has continued with work, and has been getting some catch up lab work done as well. We hope for favourable test results. Kristian has resumed his busy schedule of work with Grandma and two days of Day Care. Sadie has also expressed a love for Kristian's Lego toys, so we've had to help him manage to keep them locked away from her chewing.

Trav has continued with work and his other activities. We don't see too much of him during the week.

And that's about it for this week.