Brrrr!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The golf courses have closed, and the temperatures are hitting freezing values most nights. I have cleared away the summer stuff from the yard, and dug out the snow shovels. There is no snow here yet, but the forecasters are threatening it! We had a wonderful trip to Minneapolis this week with Travis, Joanna and Minnie. We drove down on Monday, attended the hockey game on Tuesday, and returned home on Wednesday. The fall colours were lovely on the drive. We stayed in Radisson Blu at Mall of America, so there was a lot of walking around the mall, more so for some of our party!

A wild Oiler fan!

The hockey game did not go the way I wished, and McDavid is injured, so the star attraction was not there at all! Still, we enjoyed ourselves a great deal—thanks Trav & Joanna for putting this event together. Otherwise, we had community choir on Thursday, and I had a CT-Scan this morning, following up on an earlier ultra-sound on my kidneys. We'll get results in a week or so—"If there is a problem, the doctor will call you." Wendy continues to cough some, and has a doctor's appointment next week. I am contemplating building one more Fast Track game in circular format, but have decided to build a large compass first. We continue to suffer under the triple whammy from the USA: the economy is just too strong (running at almost 5% GDP gain); inflation is higher than expected, and the Republicans continue to produce chaos in the House, so the markets continue to suffer. October has turned out to be even worse than September. I was running at quota to the end of August, but two red months have left me cheering for the Santa Claus rally to begin immediately! TSX and DOW are now in the red for the year, sigh! The world of sports has left me little to cheer about either as the Riders missed the playoffs, and the Oilers are floundering in the early NHL season. Leafs and Penguins are doing just okay. Jones won the Women's Slam event, while Retornaz took the men's side for Italy. At least the Rangers won their series (despite my cheering!) and have advanced to the World Series! #6-Oklahoma lost to Kansas today, so that'll be the end of their high ranking. #7-Texas improved their ranking, but are not in championship consideration which is what I was expecting of them. They enjoyed a strong win today over BYU. 

Garage (not a garage!) in a Box

Erica writes, "Exciting news! Our gas line has been moved, making space for our not-a-garage storage building as well as for a back door on our house! Greg has procured a cloth garage for us so we have coverage until we can build our not-a-garage, but the box is in Kenora, ON and we are in Prince Albert, SK so we are trying to figure that out. Eric had his Marriage & Family Therapists' AGM in Saskatoon on Friday and I am at the Sask Lipedema booth in Saskatoon for a wellness symposium. Hopefully, we will get the word out to more people! We are making a weekend of it so that is fun. But, maybe Eric should just drive to Kenora! LOL"

Millennium Falcon

Kristian has completed another Lego-Star Wars project, and Grandma was busy looking for missing pieces at the Lego store in MOA. For now, he has just substituted pieces as needed. Kristian has been commissioned to design a display wall for some of his projects and for the cats to climb on. On Tuesday, Kristian had a tour/introduction to Sask Polytech and is considering options for his post-secondary education. Erin is feeling better again, but is not accommodating her new BP meds well. It leaves her feeling drowsy and nauseous. She has another appointment with her doctor on Monday, and we hope the meds are adjusted to something that works better. 

As mentioned, Travis and Joanna fired some more projects into the mail and travelled with us to the Mall of America and the NHL game between the Oilers and the Wild. It was a great time despite the Oilers loss! They are fully into hockey photo season, so are keeping very busy. Joanna couldn't keep from shopping for new ideas for her store while she was at the mall. 

And that's enough for now. 

And there it is then...

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, and we are well established in the usual autumn weather with single digit overnight lows and struggling into the teens during the day. The golf courses will be closing soon, and I have not even managed one round of golf here this season. We got both our latest Covid booster and our annual flu shot, so our shoulders have been a bit sore. I have managed a bit of progress on the window treatments for the dining room and kitchen. We've decided on a stool and apron application there, but we're concerned about using wood above the kitchen sink. I have PVC material for the stools, but only have MDF for the apron, so we're still assessing the possibilities for the kitchen window. Maybe we should just use the backsplash material across there below the stool. Wendy continues to improve with her dry cough, but it's still around. Still, she is able to keep up with her choral work. This week, we decided to join a community chorus for the Christmas season. Wendy is already booked for the Sweet Adelines Christmas concert, and the community concert is earlier, so it doesn't complicate any potential travel plans. Wendy had phone troubles this week, but managed to get it repaired and is back in business. On Friday morning, I had a consultation with the spinal surgeon. He recommends I continue with physiotherapy for my back issues, but advises that I can push it as hard as I wish to build up capacity for more walking, golfing and curling. That was encouraging—I intend to try curling in the next week or so. I have increased my target for walking each week. Today, we had a foot clinic at Confederation College; this was my first ever pedicure–a ticklish experience! A combination of factors continue to cause market distress. The USA economy just keeps doing too well, so investors are afraid the FED will raise rates, and the Republicans continue to mismanage their own congressional responsibility, so investors fear they will not manage to fund government before the November deadline. Then, the wars in Ukraine and Israel are destabilizing as well with both Russia and Iran are threatening crude supplies. Anyway, it was another red week for me, sigh! In the world of sports the league championships continue in baseball, but while the Rangers won the first two games on the road, they have now lost all three home games! C'mon Rangers! The Riders played their final game of the season this afternoon, they led most of the way, but gave up a TD in the final minute to lose to Toronto. In the early NHL season, my Oilers are not doing well. Leafs and Pens are winning about half of their games, and that's below expectations as well. My #6-Sooners won their game today, but not impressively. The #8-Longhorns got a similar win. The big event of the week was the first Grand Slam curling event of the season. My guy, Kevin Koe, did not qualify for the playoffs, while my gal, Kerri Einarson, did, but lost the semi. Tomorrow, it'll be Lawes vs Jones for the women's championship, and Bottcher vs Retornaz on the men's side. 

Erica writes, "I’m excited to see the Canadian Lipedema Association coming to life! It’s good to see more people moving this forward. Check out the Lipedema Canada page on Facebook. Next weekend, I’ll be manning a booth at the Wellness Symposium to share information on Lipedema. Eric and I are joining the worship team this Sunday. It’s fun to join in with the worship team without having to organize it! Liam got his mid-semester marks and he’s is doing well!" 

Another happy customer...

Kristian rejoiced with the arrival of his new XS iPhone from Uncle Travis. It comes with multiple skins, so he can dress it up for each school day of the week! Erin enjoyed watching her Jags win the Thursday night NFL game as it's a bit rare for them to be on TV. Otherwise, she has not been feeling so great, and is taking it pretty quiet this weekend. 

Travis and Joanna keep very busy, and we have not managed a game night this week. Of course, they're also trying to get ahead of the game since they have a trip to Minneapolis planned for next week. We're looking forward to that since they've invited us to go along! Yay!

And that's about it for this week. 

One to go...

Thanksgiving 2023

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have been enjoying a visit with Bern & Alicia, but they left on Wednesday. It was great to have them here, and show them some of the sights there are around here. We enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving with them and the family here. Wendy, Alicia and Joanna prepared a fine feast!

Nice pic of Terry Fox by Bern

My appointment with Dr. David Puskas, orthopedic surgeon, set for Monday has now been cancelled, so I'm back to the waiting game concerning my back. I've been pushing things this last week involving long hikes with Bern & Alicia. This has brought back the neuropathy in my feet, along with some discomfort in my back and butt, but has, overall, been an encouragement. Wendy seems to be fully recovered from her cataract surgery, and after her fresh haircut, she's both looking good and seeing well! Wendy has spent most of the rest of the week with laundry and turkey leftovers. It appears we'll get to enjoy Cheesy Turkey Casserole several times in the next weeks—yum! The weather has remained favourable and I've mowed the lawns, hopefully for the final time this season.

Hexagon or Circle? 

I have completed another FastTrack game board, and have another in the works. I'm still working with Travis on an effective design for the centre area and the fast track. We played numerous games of FastTrack, along with Dummy Rummy and School! The markets ran well for the first part of the week, but faltered on Thursday and Friday. I managed a green week, but didn't make my quota. The main negatives are the Republicans failure to operate government in the USA, and the resultant drop in consumer confidence. C'mon man! The world of sports has been mostly disappointing again this week. The Riders put up another pitiful outing in Calgary and were unable to clinch a playoff spot—now, they're looking for help! The Jays are gone, so I've switched to the Rangers (sorry Ranger fans!). They'll be playing Houston in the American League Championship Series. The NHL season has begun. My teams (Oilers, Pens, Leafs) have now played two games each, and the Pens played a third game tonight. Oilers and Pens were lame in their opening game losses, but have played better since, but Canucks beat my Oilers for a second time tonight—sigh! Leafs were lucky to win their first, but put up a solid win tonight. After their big win last week the #4-Sooners pretty much switched places with the #9-Longhorns, but both have this week off.

Erica writes, "After sending Greg, Kiersten and Liam on their way, we had a short, busy week. This weekend, we went to Saskatoon with friends to enjoy a musical. Eric has a hockey draft, so, we are staying the night and have a planned visit with the Saskatoon Baileys. On the Lipedema front, I’ve been finding that a combination that rotating, stretching and using a leg massager/pump is helping to maintain my mobility. Unfortunately, the pump I have doesn’t do the knees, so I have some edema starting to build up around my knees."

Erin has been enjoying poor health, and has had to miss some days of work. She seems to be on the mend finally, but it's been quite a spell. Her consultation with her doctor has led to further investigations. It seems her blood pressure issues are rearing their ugly head once again. Kristian is maintaining his usual schedule of schooling, youth group and waiting for curling to start. 

Alicia, Bern, Wendy, Bill, Trav, Joanna

Travis & Joanna remain busy. We were glad they got to spend some time with Bern & Alicia while they were here. Today, Trav stopped by to get the refurbished chair racks with the chairs they use for hockey team photography. It's the the first of many team photo shoots for this season. 

And that's enough for this week. 

One down...

and her new right eye!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have had a range of weather from using the AC to using the fireplace, but mostly the weather was great! We have enjoyed touring Bern & Alicia to some of our favourite spots around this end of the lake, and have even chatted about the possibility of doing the Lake Superior Circle Tour at some time. This week we ranged from Ouimet Canyon in the northeast down to Grand Marais to the southwest. It was a great and busy week. Thanks for your wonderful visit—we still have a few days left! Wendy went in to the hospital on Monday for cataract surgery on her right eye. They gave her a new lens, complete with a serial number! I suppose that will help them match it properly when the time comes to repair her left eye. So far, that eye is doing well, and the newly repaired one seems to be getting better each day as the surgery heals and the vision clears. I stole some time to work in the shop and got another Fast Track board completed. The markets continued to run on fear as the MAGA Republicans decided to defy wisdom and oust their leader for the first time that has ever happened! This lead to panic selling the first few days of the week. Then, the continuing strength of the US economy caused investors to fear the FED will raise rates even more, and they sold some more, sigh! Fortunately, the jobs data came in Friday morning much stronger than anticipated, and they finally had to relent and agree that sometimes "good news is good news" and we ended the week with some solid green. Uncle Joe's strong economy continues to be a mixed blessing as it keeps the spectre of inflation on investors minds. The world of sports provided more surprises than usual and some were decidedly unpleasant! The Blue Jays played poorly in their playoff series against the Twins and are now out of the playoffs entirely—a very disappointed season in the final analysis. The Riders put up a lousy and losing effort tonight against Hamilton and suffered another ugly loss—c'mon Riders. They are still in playoff contention at least. The #12-Sooners surprised both me and the #3-Longhorns today! Boomer Sooner! 

Erica writes, "We have most of our chicks back in the nest. Greg and Kiersten arrived Thursday night. Liam arrived on Friday. Today, we will head out to Prince Albert National Park for some roaming around and hiking. Liam is planning a beautiful spatchcocked Turkey for tonight and we have gluten-free apple pie and pumpkin pie. Haaken elected to stay away from this northern climate. We did get snow on Thursday so maybe he knew something. Happy Thanksgiving!"

Erin and Kristian are also suffering with the untimely demise of the Blue Jays, and the poor play of the Riders. I don't know what she'll do with her sports watching time! I guess she'll have to console herself with her adopted football team, the Jacksonville Jags. 

Travis & Joanna are keeping very busy with work and the dogs. Today, they joined us for an excursion to Grand Marais where they introduced us to puffy tacos at the Hungry Hippie Taco shop—they were delicious! 

It's been a good week. 

Planning Surgery

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has remained lovely, and I've been getting out for my walks each day. So long as I hold the distance down to less than 2km, I seem to tolerate it well, but if I push it over 2km, I suffer lower back pain and neuropathy in my feet the following day—sigh! Today, I had a followup consultation with my physiotherapist. We have decided that I will be referred to a spinal surgeon to consider surgical options. This summer I was limited to three rounds of golf using a cart, and only one walking attempt which lasted three holes. It's discouraging. Curling season is beginning soon; I shall take advantage of some open ice time to give it a try. Wendy has also been consulting over her cataract situation. She had pre-op on Wednesday, and is scheduled for surgery on her right eye on Monday morning. I don't know whether having her see better is a win for all of us!! I have managed to make more progress in the shop, and look forward to more hours of woodworking out there. Wendy has been cleaning up the place as we look forward to a visit with Bernard & Alicia. They arrived this evening after a long day driving from Brandon; we're glad to have them! The markets were terrible once again as September lived up to its billing as the worst month for the markets. For the month the indices I follow were all red: 

TSX: -3.9%

DOW: -3.7%

S&P: -5.7%

Nasdaq: -7.8%

There have been several issues bothering the markets. A big one has been the FED and their declared intention of raising the interest rates. Last week the FED was all hawkish to raise rates; this week they relented. Then, we faced insanity in Congress as the GOP refused to do their job and pay for the agenda they have passed into law. Fortunately, McCarthy decided today to abandon the crazy MAGA wing of the party and cooperate with the Democrats to pass the funding agreement. I hope this will give us a good start for October. My sporting world has been troubled as well. The Jays played well only some of the time, but they have made the playoffs, so we live on! The Riders continue to flounder, but are also holding onto a playoff position so far. Meanwhile, the #14-Sooners had another big win today, and #3-Texas did as well. Curling is in the early weeks of the season, but featured a "made for TV" event this week with 16 teams on each side. Tomorrow, Dunstone will play Carruthers in the men's final, while Einarson takes on Homan in the women's final. My guy, Kevin Koe, lost out in the first round. 

Erica writes, "Eric and I drove down to Livingston, Montana on Wednesday. Eric has annual training and I’m enjoying the change in scenery. Friday was the social day and we drove down to the Rosevelt gate, the original entrance to Yellowstone. Some of the group headed into the park. Eric and I enjoyed Chico Hot Springs and Spa. We head back on Sunday. Liam, Greg and Kiersten are heading up next weekend for Thanksgiving! We are looking forward to that."

Erin and I have lived and died with the Jays this week and finally, today, they clinched the playoff spot, yay Jays! Kristian is back to youth group on Thursday nights, but has not begun curling yet. 

Travis has been hard at it all week as business has been very brisk! Joanna has also been very busy ever since they returned from their trip to Vancouver. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Beautiful Fall Weather

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, taking us into Autumn. The weather has remained lovely, and we've enjoyed working in the yard and shop this week.

I have managed some clean up in the shop, and installed two new tools: a drill press, and a spindle sander. Thanks, Dave, for passing these along to me.

Side Door & Screen

I also added the storm door to the side entry, so our energy retrofit is complete and I have applied for the refund. Wendy has completed clean up of our annual weed infestation around the buildings and in the flower beds and trees. It's looking good. She continues to suffer with her months-old cough, and is considering further medical intervention. The markets continue to be terrible, no good and very bad this month. In this week we spent the first days worrying about the FED, and then Thursday reacting to how the FED's bearish comments played in to the strong economic data in the jobless claims. Sigh—back to good news is bad news meme! In the world of sports, the Riders continued to flounder dropping another game to fall below .500 on the season and put their playoff chances on life-support. #16-Sooners won again today, and #3-Texas continues to perform at a very high level indeed. The Jays have picked up the pace and are currently in a play off position with nine games left in the regular season. 

It's been a pretty ordinary week at the Bailey's place in Prince Albert. Erica was working out of town for part of the week, so we enjoyed chatting with her as she drove home from Melfort. Next week, they're scheduled for an outing to Montana with Eric's class. 

Erin continues her planning and preparation for her new assignment at Taylor Volkswagen. Kristian is enjoying the early days of grade 12. The cats are... well, they're just being cats. 

We enjoyed Pizza Supper and games night on Sunday with Travis, Joanna, Andrew and Rosie.

Bucket Decals Products

Travis has continued to very busy and has managed to push out a lot of product before their trip to Vancouver. They left early Wednesday morning for a visit with Jonas & Gemma. We're enjoying having Minnie visit with us while they're away. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Renovations!

We've enjoyed our first week back home after our summer trip. Our crew from Nordex has been here all week and have completed the replacement of five windows along with new fascia, soffits and eavestrough. It looks great!

Kitchen & Dining rooms

across the back

Light thru the side!

I installed the new side door today, so the major parts of our exterior project has been completed. We opted for black trim on the windows, black fascia and eavestrough, and white soffits. The aluminum sliders are gone, and the new awning-style windows are in place in the kitchen and dining rooms as well as the bedrooms and bathroom. I caught up on some medical work, and got the oil changed in the car—we're ready to go again! Not really, we have a number of commitments until the first week of November. Wendy has been catching up on Sweet Adelines practice and business. She has completed one bottle of Buckley's, and has now bought a second, so, you can tell her cough lingers uncomfortably on! I had a big green week in the markets as the inflation data came in better than expected and overwhelmed the fears of further rate hikes. In the world of sports it has been a mixed story. The Riders lost again last night. The Jays dropped four straight to Texas, but have rebounded to take two from Boston, so they're still in the fight. The #19-Sooners did not get a bounce in the ratings, but responded with another slaughter (49 points) today. The #4-Longhorns got a big bounce, but did not show well today over an unranked team where I was expecting a blow-out win. 

Eric/A continue to work on the backyard development. They have now received confirmation of work to relocate the gas line and meter, so that will clear the way to pour a pad for the workshop. Liam is back in school, and continues his work with the College Dance troupe. 

Erin and Kristian have passed another week of work and school. Of course, preparations have been busy in anticipation of Kristian's 18th birthday celebration. Officially, that was today, but in reality it's been going for at least the last month! 

Travis and Joanna arrived with Pizza for supper on Sunday, as we enjoyed getting back together with them here in Thunder Bay. We played a few games of FastTrack and presented them with their game board that I had completed at 55 Laird. Now, all the children have games Bill'T at 55 Laird. We passed along pet beds from Sadie, and are glad to observe Minnie, Darby and Moxley making good use of them. 

Moxley & Minnie

And that's enough for this week. 

Home Again!

Another week has passed and we have completed our tour and returned to the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We left home on July 17th, so all told it was 53 days away. Both of us suffered some health challenges, but we still felt it was a great trip, and especially enjoyed having Kristian with us on the trip to Victoria. This week began in Prince Albert where we enjoyed visiting with Eric & Erica. On Tuesday, we drove down to Dauphin where we enjoyed catching up with our old friend, Dick, who hosted us for two nights—thanks, Dick! We took the opportunity to tour the Parkland Crossing facilities, get an update on their programming, and catch up with several other friends. On Thursday morning, we started a golf game out at Dauphin Lake, but that got rained out on the 5th hole! So, we carried on to Winnipeg where Kelly took care of us, and we caught up with that family—more thank-yous! Finally, on Friday, we completed the drive home. Wendy is feeling some better, but continues to suffer with her cough. The markets suffered through another indifferent week, and remain red for the month-to-date. Investors continue to express concerns over the USA economy being too strong raising the fear that the FED will raise rates further. As a result, it was a red week for me. In sports, Riders beat Winnipeg in the Labour Day Classic. Today, Bombers came back with a vengeance, but I still got my wished for split. In Baseball, the Blue Jays have played themselves back into the playoffs—well done! Now, they need to hang on to that with a big series against Texas Rangers coming up. My #18-Sooners won again today, while the #11-Longhorns took down #3-Alabama on the road. I expect both teams to rise in the rankings. 

Erica writes, "It’s been a busy week catching up from the long weekend off. A bunch of client work is coming due so I’m busy at work. Eric started his first class as prof at the U of S. He has a sectional lecturer gig teaching child psychology. Liam returned to school as he starts a bachelor of Biblical studies degree. I keep trying to convince him to go for accounting, but no such luck yet! Mom and Dad stopped by to visit Greg and Kiersten on their way home. My next door neighbour, upon seeing a picture of Greg with Dad exclaimed, 'He’s so cute and he looks just like your dad!' We haven’t heard much from Haaken this week."

with grandson Greg!

Erin and Kristian are celebrating the first week of a new school year. Kristian got new shoes for the commencement of Grade 12. Erin has an event of her own to celebrate as she has been promoted to lead the accounting department at Taylor's Volkswagen franchise—woo hoo! 

Kristian's new shoes! 

Travis and Joanna have remained busy to open September. They did a good job of caring for our place while we were away—thanks! Tonight, they brought over pizza for supper and we enjoyed another round of Fast Track—double thanks! Gemma is loving the start of classes in the midwifery program at UBC. Andrew has switched into the mechanics program—we wish him well. 

And that's enough for this week! 

Tracking toward Home!

Another week has passed, and we have vacated the shore of Lake Wascana, and returned to the shore of the North Saskatchewan River, in Prince Albert. We are enjoying the hospitality of Eric and Erica and considering a couple of small projects. Wendy wended her way through a pile of shredding today, although the shredder complained about her enthusiasm, and frequently over-heated and bugged out! I have brought the replacement materials to repair her library chair. It flips to form a small stepladder, but I found my original construction was not up to the task, so I rebuilt the chair seat. Now, I need to trim it to size and apply it to the frame. We enjoyed a round of golf with Erin and Kristian on Sunday—Wendy drove the cart for me, and newly realized that golf could be so much fun! Even with the cart, I got in plenty of walking, and my legs complained about it for a couple of days. I am considering a surgical option for my spinal stenosis, and I plan to discuss that with my doctor, as well as some trusted friends. Erin recommends it while I'm "still young". I thanked her for that characterization! Wendy cleared away some more Lego projects, and then re-sorted the area. Once we got our tools and stuff repacked in the car, it revealed a lot of improvement and floor space! Kristian has begun work designing the man cave downstairs. It will feature displays of his Lego Star Wars models, and include cat runs on the walls! We managed several more out of doors visits as Wendy's cough lingered, and we prepared to depart. It was good to spend some time with Bernard & Alicia, Marti, Aunt Eloise, Don & Sandra. David has passed along two shop tools and a variety of other stuff that will now be added to our collection! It was a challenge to get it all into the Santa Fe. After many more games of Fast Track, we headed north on Friday to PA. We have introduced Eric/A to the game, and provided them a game board of their own. The markets were troubled throughout August as investors struggled to determine which was the FED would move, and whether the USA economy would survive more rate hikes! They seem to have settled on the conclusion that the FED should be through the hiking cycle, and that the USA economy will manage the desired "soft landing". Although September is historically the worst month on the markets, we hope for a good month after the solid economic showing. The college football season has begun, and my Sooners blasted their opposition 73-0 today. I really do not expect a strong season from them, but we'll have to wait to see. The Riders play the Bombers tomorrow in the first half of a home and home rivalry series. It surely would be nice if they could win one of these games—Go Riders! The Blue Jays are struggling through a spate of injuries, but remain in the playoff hunt at least. 

Eric and Erica are hosting us this weekend after their regular week of work. Tonight, their friends hosted us all for a karaoke night—it featured great music, less great singing, and tasty snacks! I even built a peanut butter ice cream cake for the occasion. 

Erin, Kristian, Bill—golfing

Erin and Kristian have successfully completed this session of grandparent-sitting, and are now able to relax for the weekend. While Monday is a holiday, Kristian returns to school on Tuesday, so there are some extra preparations needed for that. I picked him up a new pair of curling shoes, so that part of his schedule is ready to go. Erin is providing extra training at work in addition to her usual duties. 

Travis had his busiest August ever with Bucket Decals and other Ulrich Design production. So, that's good! He also went through our mail for us this week as it turned out I had missed an appointment for an ultrasound! Seems we have been away too long, and didn't take note of the hospital's practice of only mailing out notifications! Who does that anymore? Joanna keeps busy with work, as it appears they will either need to hire additional workers, or persuade the current workers to increase their hours. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Fast Track!

Another week has passed, and we are apparently off the Fast Track as we remain in Regina. I have completed the stairway project.

Applying the carpet

It involved removing the old carpet, underlay and smooth edge, cleaning up the nosings on the treads, installing new carpet with included melton backing, and then dressing up the bottom stairs with wood facings to match the floors upstairs. The fan-shaped treads around the corner were a challenge, but it has come together just fine.

Adding the flooring for trim

Wendy has remained on a light-work assignment as she continues her battle with bronchitis. Thus, she has done a LOT of Lego again this week! She and Kristian are making good progress on several construction projects! 

I built a Fast Track board

I used scraps of Erin's flooring to build a game board. We have enjoyed quite a few rounds, including a memorable birthday night involving six players on two teams—it was complex! We enjoyed a lot of outdoor visitation with friends here, and were further delighted to catch up with long term friends from Yellowknife. The markets struggled all week as the After Hours guys consistently bet on rising values due to the strength of the USA economy, but each day it seemed the fear of the FED erased all that enthusiasm and left us in the red! Fortunately, the economy final won the battle this week and we did get an increase in market values and I had a winning week. In the world of sports, the Riders surprised with a strong defensive performance and a win over the BC Lions. Now, they have the bye this week as they prepare for home-n-home battles with the powerful Bombers. The Blue Jays also surprised, but in the opposite direction as our high expectations are not being met, and they currently sit outside of the playoff picture. 

Fresh Flowers, Memories!

Erica writes, "We are heading up to Waskesiu this Saturday to enjoy a music festival and hang out with friends. This week was cool and rainy—I guess summer is coming to an end. Eric is speaking at church this Sunday. Liam is wrapping up his plans to start school in the fall. Not much to report from Haaken and Greg!"

Erin continues hosting us in her basement as has been the long-term plan since she was in grade school—LOL! We're enjoying it! She has also set up a golf date for the four of us, although Wendy will not be golfing. We are looking forward to that outing. 

Travis & Joanna remain in contact. Some phone calls last for hours! We are starting to put together our plans for our return to Thunder Bay, and looking forward to that reunion as well. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Regina

Another week has passed and we have returned to Erin and Kristian's place in Regina. We completed last week at Layne & Tiffany's in Mankota—thanks folks. On Sunday, we drove over to Bengough where we enjoyed gathering with many long time friends, and met some new people. The congregation provided a sumptuous pot luck—those folks know pot luck!

Aunt Grace, just turned 98! 

In the afternoon, we visited Aunt Grace at the Health Centre, and were fortunate to catch up with Joanne, who was there visiting her mother also. We then toured through some familiar locations in Ogema before completing the tour in Regina. I have got back to work on the stairs, and have almost completed that project. Wendy has continued with her illness, and on Thursday finally gave in to the notion of getting some medical attention. She has bronchitis, and is now on antibiotics and is using a puffer to help clear and cure her airways. She continues to cough too much, but is gradually feeling some better. As the week ended, we began celebrating Erin's birthday. I built an ice cream cake to order—this time it was peanut butter ice cream on the lower layer, with grape jelly as the topping. It tastes delicious. Astrid and Liam came over Friday evening for the cake ceremony and to play many games of Fast Track in teams. Shawn also came by when he got off work. Tonight, we continued the celebration with supper at Olive Garden where all of us ate too much and enjoyed the feast a great deal. I have advised Erin that as we get older, even celebrations take longer, and using a whole week to celebrate a birthday is not out of the question! It was another no good, very bad week in the markets as the continuing strength of the USA economy has prompted the FED to issue warnings of further rate hikes, despite inflation data showing continuing improvement. Sigh! We also close the week with heightened concerns over the situation for family and friends in the Fraser Canyon, the Okanagan, and Yellowknife. Our old home town has now completed an evacuation, and the fires lurk a mere 15km from town. The relatives in North Bend are on evacuation alert and some have lost homes there already. Likewise, in the Okanagan, the wild fires have taken homes and businesses and many thousands have evacuated. The world of sports seems a bit distant at times of peril like this. Riders continue to flounder—sigh! Jays remain in the playoff hunt, but we expect them to be challenging for top spot in their division—c'mon guys! 

Erica writes, "Eric and I returned home; then I spent the week in La Ronge and Melfort. Eric had some meetings at the U of S to get ready to teach a class this fall and winter. Eric and I had a lazy, recovery day on Saturday."

With Kristian's return home, things have returned mostly to normal at their place, aside from the grandparents residing in the basement!

Happy Birthday Erin!

Wendy's illness has made it a fairly low-key week, but we still celebrated Erin's birthday! Maybe we can get some golf in next week! 

Travis, Joanna and the dogs are holding the fort in Thunder Bay. We have frequent contact with them, and look forward to returning there. In the meantime, we remain thankful that they are available to manage any issues that may come up. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Heading for Home!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, and we have been steadily making our moves in that direction! Last Saturday, we took the ferry off the island, and drove up to Howard & Diane's in North Bend.

I'm standing on the deck...
He's not running away!

There was lots of adventure there as we had a bear visit the deck at Howard and Diane's. I got some pictures, and Howard got the bear! After shooting it, the bear ran away, although mortally wounded, and the body was later discovered some distance behind their house on the bank of the Fraser River. We enjoyed a relaxing couple of days with Warren & Evelyn—Thanks again! Then, we did a bit of touring in the Kootenays, on down to #3 Highway. Yesterday, we got as far as Medicine Hat! Today, we drove into Saskatchewan where we are comfortably ensconced at the home of our nephew and niece, Layne & Tiffany, with Chet and Daisy, near Mankota! Thanks folks! All along the way, Wendy has been publishing a wonderful travelogue with pictures on FaceBook:

 https://www.facebook.com/wendy.ulrich.71 

I don't know the particulars of whether all folks can see that or only her FaceBook friends! Once again tonight, we enjoyed several games of FastTrack, introducing it to Layne, Tiffany and Chet who was the star of the event! The weather has treated us well along the way, even as we nursed the car's air conditioning. We'll have more work for our mechanic when we get back to Regina. It still seems to freeze up and lose air flow, but for brief intervals it cools very nicely! The markets began the week all jittery as folks worried about inflation and what the FED might do in their efforts to crush it. However, the July consumer price index report showed that annual inflation has fallen by about two thirds since last summer, a better-than-expected number suggesting that measures to cool the economy are working without hurting the economy. Real wages have outpaced inflation for the last five months, and unemployment is at a low the U.S. hasn’t seen since 1969—thanks Uncle Joe! As a result, I achieved some good gains in the markets, about double my weekly quota. That was my good news as my sports teams did not fare so well. True enough, the Jayhawks completed their Puerto Rico exhibition tour with 2 wins and 1 loss, but the Riders? Sigh, they were slaughtered by Montreal! And the Jays? Nothing to write home about! C'mon guys! 

Eric and Erica have also been vacationing and travelling west. They left the island yesterday, and had a long day planned to also make it to Saskatchewan today. 

Erin has been goofing off at home, pretending to be a cat lady, while failing to produce wins for either the Jays or the Riders! Actually, she has been working regularly, and is anticipating hosting the Baileys when they get to Regina. 

Travis, Joanna can crew have been enjoying the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition. Rosie proved to be a less than fearless rider on the carnival rides. 

And that's all I can manage this week! 

Travelling!

Another week has passed; we've ended the week on the left coast of Canada! It's been a week of travelling and visiting for us, and we've enjoyed it all a great deal! We began the week in Sherwood Park, celebrating  Scott's and my birthdays. Then, we headed south toward Red Deer and then west into the national parks. We had a shock to see how far the Columbia glacier had retreated since last we saw it. The old parking lot was replaced by a new one down the hill, and both were out of sight by the time we reached the glacier. Alarming! We continued through Jasper and back-tracked to Hinton to enjoy a $10 night at the hotel there, but at least it included a nice hot breakfast! It was very nice, and we saw that the next night would have cost us over $200—nice deal! The next day we drove down to Kamloops and spent a less enjoyable night at the hotel there—they were reshingling, so there was a mess everywhere! We completed the trip to the coast via Whistler—beautiful new scenery for us. We caught the ferry from Horseshoe Bay over to Nanaimo and drove down to Langford where we moved in at Andrew, Aura & Aiden's place where Haaken also stays. We spent the rest of the week there and enjoyed visiting with friends in the area. Kristian and I even got out for some golf one day. Today, we caught the afternoon ferry from Swartz Bay over to Tsawwassen as we begin our trip east. Tonight, we're at Howard & Diane's in North Bend.

Haaken demoed snack food!

Tally Ho! 

Kristian and I had company!

The markets suffered a tough week to begin the month as a variety of fears about earnings and rate hikes and the war in Ukraine caused concern. We had some recovery on Friday, but otherwise, it was a weak week! Major League Baseball has passed the trade deadline, and the Blue Jays picked up a few new players. They're playing a bit better again. The Riders continue to struggle with their back up quarterback, and their makeshift offensive line. They play Ottawa tomorrow. 

Erica writes, "This weekend Eric and I are travelling west to Victoria to see Haaken and catch up with the BC Baileys. It has been a busy week but a good one and it always feels nice driving west. We enjoyed a light show between Lloyd and Sherwood Park, and the storm caught up with us as cousin Margaret’s place in Sherwood Park. We met Thor, their rambunctious puppy, aka The Devil. We only managed a half an hour visit though as we need to make good time to make the ferry. If all goes well we will make our reservation on the 9:00 ferry, pick up Liam at the airport in Victoria and then arrive at Baileys after midnight. We might even catch up with Mom and Dad somewhere along the way for a cup of coffee and bio break." They did meet us in Chilliwack along the way. They caught the ferry this evening at Tsawwassen and headed over to the Island to meet Liam at the airport, and take our spot at Andrew's place for the next while. 

Erin has been practicing her cat lady role at home. She has also had her internet and TV service upgraded, so she is learning how the new system works. 

Travis and Joanna are taking care of business in Thunder Bay. This week, Travis surprised me with news of tickets to the McDavid show! We're going Minneapolis in October to see the Oilers play the Wild. Never did I imagine I would get to watch McDavid in person! I'll be living on that expectation for the next few months! Thank you so much! 

And that's enough for this week. 

Jammin'

Happy Birthday, Scott! 

Scott jammin' with the Gord Bamford Band

Another week has passed and we're on the road again. I completed my IV antibiotics on Tuesday night, and they have switched me to the pill form of the same antibiotic, Cephalexin. My hand is nearly back to normal, and we have begun our trip west. On Thursday, we toured by Outlook to check out Husbandry Farms, and to get a haskap milkshake—sadly, no milkshakes were available! We visited the Great Sand Hills of Saskatchewan, climbed a sand dune, and continued to Brooks AB that day. We backtracked through the spectacular Dinosaur Provincial Park on Friday. Then, we toured the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller. Lots of fossils and displays, we'd love to tour more in the Park if we get a chance.

Dinosaur Provincial Park

Triceratops

We arrived at Scott & Dolly's in Sherwood Park on Friday evening to find mad preparations underway for the birthday party which is the featured event this weekend. Dolly has arranged for a live band who will bring Scott on as a joint performer—a special experience for him. It was great! The markets endured trepidation through most of the week as the FED threatened and then went through with another rate hike. However, the USA economy was not to be held back as Bidenomics prevailed, and we got some late week recovery, although not up to quota. "More good news today for Bidenomics, as the gross domestic product report for the second quarter showed annualized growth of 2.4%, higher than projected, and inflation rose at a slower pace of 2.6%, down from last quarter and well below projections. Economic analyst Steven Rattner noted that as of the second quarter, 'the US economy is over 6% larger than it was before COVID (after adjusting for inflation).'" In the world of sports, the Blue Jays completed a west coast tour, and have returned home still holding down a playoff spot. The Riders have not been so successful and dropped another game today to Toronto. C'mon Riders! 

Eric and Erica are making their own preparations for travel. Today, they took in a wedding in their friends' family. 

Section 1 done!

After we got the first section of carpet laid on the stairs, Erin bid us good bye, and is now celebrating the empty nest with her cats. Kristian is travelling with us. 

Travis, Joanna and crew remain in Thunder Bay. They report that things are progressing satisfactorily with house and lawn!! 

And that's enough for this week! 

Handsies!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, but we are on the road! We drove up to Winnipeg on Monday where we enjoyed the hospitality of Tom & Mariette—thanks folks! Tom and I golfed on Tuesday at Quarry Oaks. I took a cart, but walked several holes as I'm trying to test out and build up my walking performance. The front nine was not good, but overall the game went well, and I had very little discomfort the next two days, so I'm encouraged.

Swollen & Warm

We drove over to Regina on Wednesday, and then an uncomfortable adventure began! I don't know what happened, but it looked like I had an insect bite at the base of my right thumb. There was some swelling at supper, and it felt itchy, so I took my Reactine (antihistamine), but it was even more red and swollen in the morning. I took another Reactine, again without any noticeable improvement as we took in Dave's birthday party on Thursday afternoon. Another of my nursing nieces, Ashley, was there, so she looked it over and said I need to go to emergency and get that looked at. So, we went to emergency at 7pm, but were deemed not to be much of an emergency, so we didn't get to see a doctor until 3am. She deemed it a serious infection (as did I!), and prescribed an IV antibiotic. So, I got my first dose then, and a second dose Friday at midnight, and so on through Tuesday night. I feel that the spread has finally been arrested. It got as high as the elbow of my right arm. The hand remains quite swollen, and the skin itches from the pressure. Anyway, all this has taken away from our project work. Fortunately, before the swelling, I was able to get the carpet and underlay removed from the stairwell. Kristian, Erin and Wendy cleaned out the smooth edge and all the staples, so, the stairwell is ready for the new carpet to be installed. In the meantime, while I am sidelined, Wendy is preparing for the bathroom painting project. The markets have performed well again this week, as the USA economy is showing signs of avoiding the FED-inspired recession. And yet, the FED threatens another rate hike next week—sigh! The Blue Jays have come out of the All-Star break with a spurt, but have dropped the first two in Seattle this weekend. However, they are holding down a playoff position. Riders played in Vancouver today against the Lions. It was a loss, but a good effort by the Riders! 

Erica writes, "It has been just another week in Prince Albert. We have been picking various locations around town to explore, just to get out and about each day. On Friday, we went to see Oppenheimer. It’s a very interesting movie—and some of it might even be true."

Erin and Kristian are back in hosting mode! This week it's the grandparents who have moved into the basement room. The garden is thriving, and we're munching tomatoes and strawberries every day. This morning, Erin harvested the first of her peppers for her breakfast and pronounced it excellent! 

Travis and Joanna are taking care of things back in Thunder Bay. Thanks guys! We miss the regular get togethers for cards, but Wendy and I try to keep in practice! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Markets back to green!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continued to be great; we're enjoying yard work, and I've managed regular excursions to the golf course. The local course allows you to pay/play by the hole, so I even played three holes on Thursday evening. That went okay, and my back did not complain afterwards. I keep doing my exercises, and continue to make some small progress. I definitely think I could walk nine holes. Wendy has completed her dental repairs. She cut my hair on Wednesday, and liked that so much, she got her own hair cut this weekend. She is not delighted with her results—should have used my cutter! With the yard in pretty good shape, but kind of hate to leave it behind, but we're leaving it in good hands, so it should be fine when we get back. The markets were buoyed by big improvements in inflation and consumer confidence numbers in the USA—thanks, Uncle Joe. As a result, we made some good gains this week, and recovered from the interest rate hike mania of last week. Baseball was off most of the week for the annual All-Star game. Blue Jay Vladdy Jr joined his father as Home Run King—nice! The Jays have returned from the break with two wins to open the second half, and are currently sitting in a playoff position. Riders played Calgary this week. It was tough sledding as usual, and this time the Stamps got a last second field goal for the win. And, to add injury to insult, our QB was injured and knocked out of the game! 

Erica writes, "We made a quick trip to Regina last weekend to visit with Travis and Erin. Liam joined us and we had a small family reunion. Travis extended an invitation for the Wednesday night AEW event and I drove down to Saskatoon to enjoy that. What a crazy, fun spectacle that is! On Friday night, our friends Guido and Tina, invited us for a drive; we did some drive by shooting of cottages. Unfortunately, none of us are independently wealthy, yet! Liam seems to be doing a lot better on his new eye drops. We are looking forward to a visit with Haaken in a few weeks. Greg and Kirsten are coming for Thanksgiving."

Erin and Kristian hosted Travis most of the week and took in AEW events in Regina and Saskatoon. Seems like they had fun! Otherwise, work and summer holidays are proceeding as expected. We're looking forward to checking out their garden next week. Erin has been putting in extra time and effort at work as some others are taking a holiday. 

AEW Saskatoon

Gemma and Jonas were here most of the week, but have now flown back to Vancouver. Jonas is now in a PhD program at UBC, while Gemma is working a couple of jobs and getting ready to start classes in September towards a Bachelors of Midwifery (seems that shouldn't be called a Bachelors). Trav was out in Saskatchewan most of the week having family time with his sisters and nephew. They took in two AEW events in Regina and Saskatoon, respectively, and had a good time. He got back yesterday. We'll just have time for a brief catch up before we head west ourselves. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Summer Fun

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continued to be great, no 30° days, and several nice showers. Sadly, the forest fires continue, and we are still under a burning ban. We may remain there until Fall, sigh! Anyway, the lawns are doing well, but are requiring too frequent cutting. I've completed another picking from the rhubarb patch, and along with more in the freezer, we are enjoying a batch of rhubarb/strawberry crisp. I've been out for golf practice regularly, and hope to get in a bit of golf before we head west. The spinal stenosis keeps barking at me, but I haven't been experiencing leg pains for some months now. Wendy is in the throes of dental work. She had a major cavity issue that showed up when they started preparing the neighbouring tooth for a crown. That work should be completed next week after one more appointment.

Bill, Travis, Andrew
Gemma, Wendy, Joanna, Rosie

Scandinavian Pizza? But of course!

On Sunday afternoon, we drove down to Grand Marais MN with Travis, Joanna and family. A bit of shopping, a lot of touristing, and lunch at Sven & Ole's Pizza—that was great!

Double Peonies!

We celebrated our 53rd Anniversary on Tuesday. The peonies have burst into bloom as they did 53 years ago for our wedding, and as they usually do this time of year. Wendy brought in a bouquet for us to enjoy. The markets struggled through a shortened week. With only the USA open on Monday, and only Canada open on Tuesday, it was basically a three-day week. When the FED dropped their minutes on Wednesday, they terrified investors with their insistence on more rate hikes. Then, Biden's way-too-strong economy pushed the issue further on Thursday and Friday. Uncle Joe has now presided over the greatest job creation of any president in USA history while also decreasing the deficit by a record amount, and increasing wages even while inflation continues to cool! Investors were convinced of more rate hikes, and all indices lost value this week. Football continued with the Riders playing a lack-lustre affair against Edmonton and escaping with a win. Blue Jays ran off a 4-game win streak, but came crashing back to earth today while being no-hit by Detroit. 

Erica writes, "Eric and I enjoyed a long weekend for Canada Day. We spent July 1st with our friends and planned to enjoy the fireworks as well, but a storm blew in. We got a lot of rest and caught up on sleep. We had a 3-day work week and that seemed just about right. Eric met with the University of Saskatchewan about a possible sessional lecturer position. He is hoping that pans out as he has really enjoyed his teaching opportunities. Liam saw the eye specialist who has referred him for additional testing and different eye drops. Eric has also been referred to an eye specialist, so, we wait to hear what they see.

Saved by your friendly neighbourhood...

Liam met Spider-Man in Moose Jaw! We enjoyed the new Indiana Jones movie on Friday. Not much to report from Haaken or Greg."

Kristian is now fully engaged in summer holidays following his Grandpa's adage of, "Rest in the morning, take it easy in the afternoon!" Travis arrived in Regina this week, so Kristian has taken on the hosting duties associated with that! They took in their first AEW (wrestling) event this evening. 

Travis, Joanna, Gemma, Andrew & Rosie included us in an outing to Grand Marais. That was great fun! It was good to catch up with Gemma who is home briefly from Vancouver. She will start the Midwifery program in September. Jonas is home as well; he's in doctoral studies now at UBC. Andrew begins his paramedic studies at Con College in the Fall, while Rosie continues with her nursing studies through the summer. 

And that's enough for this week.