Trying to make improvements

Another week has passed and we remain on the shore of the North Saskatchewan River. The weather has remained hot, and many days added the complication of smoke from the wildfires in the north. We struggled along to make more progress on the renovation project. The destruction side is almost complete, and we've even managed a bit on the rebuild side! Of course, we were also occupied with the World Softball Championships here. Canada did not impress and ended up in the middle of the pack. In fact, all of the higher seeds missed the medal round. It will be New Zealand/Venezuela for the gold/silver, and Japan/USA for the bronze/thanks-for-coming. Erica had obtained tickets for us, so we've been enjoying the games—thanks!

Mystery Train

Erica's band had two gigs (do they still use this term?) at the games, and we enjoyed taking in one of those as well. So, despite being old and tired, we have had a good week. The markets have struggled under the turmoil of the Orange Tariff/Trade War salvos. As assumed, TACO came through again as Trump chickened out and pushed the tariff deadline forward another three weeks. This gave the traders some relief and the USA indices finally struggled into new levels of green. In the world of sports, the Blue Jays have maintained their hold on first place—yay Jays! The Riders were unable to play last night due to the smoky conditions which made the air quality in Regina below safe limits. They played this afternoon, but it did not go well as Calgary beat them and now they have company in first place. Go Riders, Go! 

Erica had two days of work in Saskatoon this week, and has also been volunteering at the Softball Championships. Today, she is feeling ill, and has kept a low profile. Eric had a regular week of work and also is helping out with the renovations. Everytime we open another wall or ceiling we get a surprise. Often these are more electrical installations that we were not expecting. This week we solved four instances of knob & tube wiring that were supposedly not there! There were also several instances of newer wiring placed in gouged-out trails in plaster and covered with gyproc. Apparently, electrical fires are not so easy to ignite! 

What? There was a layer of gyproc over this!

Knob & Tube

We found the shower!

Now, we can excavate a larger hole and move the old bathroom items to the new location. 

Erin is cooling her heels in smoky Regina, and enjoying life with her cats and her garden. Kristian is working with us and is whetting his appetite for carpentry, electrical work and trash management! 

The Sawyer!

Travis and Joanna celebrated their 16th anniversary this week. We wish them many more! Andrew continues with his work and course work, and taking care of our place—thanks!

And that's enough for this week. 

Wreckage/Phoenix

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We remain on the shore of the North Saskatchewan River with the Baileys, including Liam, and also with Kristian. The weather has been uncomfortably hot, and we have called an early halt to work on several of the days, and for a variety of reasons.

Tearing out the lath & plaster

Cutting out the Window

Wendy and I celebrated our fifty-fifth anniversary on Friday, and that was certainly a good-enough reason! On Monday, we shut down early to attend a BBQ feast and celebration of Canada Day! What a feast it was—thanks especially to Guido who laboured many hours with the preparation and smoking of our meat dishes! Others of the gathering contributed the various side-dishes and desserts. On Thursday, we declared an appie night and retired to a local restaurant to enjoy some more good grub. And through it all, we also managed some great progress on both the destruction and construction ends of the enterprise.

Crush Delivery

Pounding in the Pins

The shed (not a garage) has been erected solidly in place on a treated wood foundation and with fresh crush to fortify that. Liam and Kristian did most of that work, and it turned out great.

Shed - locked in place

We have continued with the destruction of the kitchen dining area, and there remains some lower cabinets and much walls to be dismantled and removed. The new bathroom area is ready for construction, the new entry/laundry continues to wait for demolition to be completed. The plan is to salvage the sink unit, so it can be used in the new kitchen area until a later eventuality when that can be completed. We also plan to move the stove there so it can be used until it's time to replace it. Anyway, a Phoenix is slowing developing from the wreckage. Not so with the USA under the Orange regime: civil rights are being trampled, the innocent are being incarcerated and/or deported. And this week the GOP passed his dream taxation and support cuts policy. As a result, the bottom 40% will have less money and many will lose their health care and food support. It will take years to undo the damage he has already done. The USA markets have finally crawled into the green after six months of struggle as the USA GDP has fallen into the red. His vaunted 90 deals in 90 days is falling very short, and on Thursday, he reverted to his tariff threats. The markets bled red as a result! We hope there will be other thoughts before Monday. In sports, the Blue Jays are surging and have moved into first place in their division. The Riders have the week off and hope to have their starting quarterback back for the next game. 

Eric and Erica have been hosting us, and trying to keep up with their regular work. Erica has not been feeling well toward the end of the week. Eric joined us in the wreckage detail today, and we got a lot done. We have been sharing the meal preparations around the crew—we're eating well! 

Erin is on a Summer Cleanup campaign while Kristian is away. She sends us lovely reports of her garden producing, especially the strawberries, tomatoes and peppers. 

Travis and Joanna are sweating out an early summer heat wave in Thunder Bay. The dogs are coping just fine! Andrew is managing his classes and our house. Thanks

And that's enough for this week. 

American Dachau

Courtesy of Charlie Angus: Six months. That's all it took for the Trump regime to make the move from kidnapping people on the street, to threatening to strip political enemies of citizenship, to selling swag celebrating the construction of an American concentration camp. 

Six months.

Alligator Dachau

And Republicans say that merch promoting the newly built Alligator Alcatraz concentration camp is "going like hot cakes." Some detractors have called the camp Alligator Auschwitz, but this may not be the most accurate comparison. Not yet anyway. Because the death camps didn’t just appear; it took years of increasing brutality and degradation before they got to Auschwitz. It began at Dachau. Like the Trump regime, the Dachau concentration camp was established in the first months of Nazi rule. But unlike Trump, the Nazis were careful to downplay the barbaric cruelty of the newly-built camp. They presented propaganda photos to show “the truth about Dachau” as if it were a “model” prison for rehabilitation. Trump’s supporters on the other hand are gloating over the fact that this is no normal prison. It is a series of cages in the swamps of the Florida Everglades. And MAGA is celebrating a camp built for the express purpose of dehumanizing and brutalizing the people brought there.

The inmates being brought to Alligator Alcatraz are those who Trump claims are “poisoning the blood” of America. Language that could have been taken right out of Nazi speeches.

Will political enemies be sent there? You bet. 

Will mothers be thrown into the cages? Why not?

What about children? Expect this, too.

Trump has understood from the beginning that he can keep his MAGA supporters in the fold through the spectacle of cruelty. In fact, his tour of the concentration camp came as he was pushing through his "Big, Beautiful Bill," legislation that will rob health care and social supports for many of his working-class base. But Trump has always reassured the faithful that he will be even crueller to the people his base has been taught to despise. Being part of MAGA is feeling that you can always beat down on someone below you. And elected MAGA officials are fighting to get in on the act. Take for example, South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace who says she wants a concentration camp in her home state. Will she try to outdo Florida in the degradation department? No doubt. After all, the crueler the better.

That is why Alligator Alcatraz meets all the architectural requirements for the torture porn fantasies promoted by Kristi Noem and Donald Trump. On his tour, Trump took viciousness to a new level by gleefully describing how a detainee might try to outrun an alligator in the fetid swamps. When sadism becomes official government policy, you can bet that much darker abuses are around the corner.

Trade Policy

Courtesy Arlene Dickinson: "Donald Trump just called Canada 'a very difficult country to trade with.' He falsely claimed we impose 400% tariffs on U.S. dairy. He accused our Digital Services Tax, a policy used around the world, of being a “blatant attack” on America. And then he threatened to terminate all trade talks and impose a new tariff. All in one breath. 

Frankly, it’s disturbing. And I think it’s because he knows we do not stand alone in the world. Canada has always been a strong, fair trading partner to the United States. We’re their closest ally, their largest customer, and a vital contributor to their economy and national security. Our dairy system is built on supply management, not subsidies. It supports rural communities and food stability just as the U.S. supports its own farmers in different ways. The claim of 400% tariffs is false. Our Digital Services Tax is consistent with global efforts to ensure multinational tech companies, many valued in the trillions, contribute fairly in every country they operate in. This isn’t an attack. It’s tax fairness. Period. As someone who has spent decades building and working with businesses that trade goods and services across this border, I think his take is ridiculous. Canadians don’t take the importance of this relationship lightly. But we won’t be bullied about it either.

We believe in partnership. But real partnership is built on respect, facts, and a shared commitment to prosperity on both sides. I know and trust that our leaders in Canada are acting with fairness, dignity, and good faith and will not be bullied into anything that doesn’t serve our country and our citizens well. Americans cannot say the same and I feel badly for them. Threats are not negotiations. And tweets are not trade policy no matter how much attention people do or don’t pay to them."

The Whole Family!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have relocated via La Rivière Rouge, on to Lake Wascana, and finally settled on the North Saskatchewan in Prince Albert. This has allowed contact with our whole family in the course of the week, and included a visit with Tom & Mariette in Winnipeg—what a great week! We arrived in Regina on Monday afternoon, and settled in for a couple of nights with Erin and Kristian. I was able to get her drip irrigation functioning properly. I think the only issue was that the batteries were failing and with it being two hours out of whack, it wasn't running when Erin had programmed it to. Once it had fresh batteries and the time set, it began operating as expected. Kali made her acquaintance with Erin's cats. She and Luci established a non-aggression pact, while Elly determined to stay as far away as possible! We drove up to PA with Kristian on Wednesday, as I'm counting on his Lego experience to put together a Tent-Shelter Garage. We have looked over their request for demolition and development of the main floor bathroom, laundry room and the relocation of the kitchen. It's a big project for an old couple, even with the support of a young couple! We'll see how far we get. On Friday, Eric and I took part in a charity golf tournament for the new health centre here. It was a beautiful course that I have not played before. Eric and I managed to navigate our way around the course quite well, playing a 2-person scramble and scoring 81-more good fun! Finally today, Kristian began assembly of the frame for the shed, and we others began the demolition of the current kitchen/dining area where we will build the new bathroom. We schedule to get the demolition completed on Monday, and begin construction on Tuesday, but it's not easy going on a 1912 house—a lot of those pieces have been together for a long time! There are always some surprises that crop up to demand some of our time and energy—and both are in short supply! 

Big help in packing!

but she enjoyed travelling!

Elsewhere in the world, the Orange Felon continues his disastrous regime of terror. The markets struggle forward and the USA indices are finally in the green since January 20th, despite his machinations. The USA GDP has fallen into the red after Biden left him an economy growing at 2.8% rate. Unsurprisingly, Trump's approval rate has fallen below 40%. This weekend the self-proclaimed, Great Trade Negotiator, admitted that he could not even conclude a trade deal with us in Canada, and that despite already having one before he broke it! Elect a clown, expect a circus! 

The CFL season included another strong showing by the Riders as they eclipsed the BC Lions to move to 4-0 on the season. The Blue Jays are not playing as well, but are in a good position all the same. 

Anyhow, that's enough for this week! 

Kristian building the frame

Erica and Dad Demolition!

War Expands!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been great including some much needed rain. The fire hazard has dropped, but some fires continue to burn and we get smoke on some days. Many people are being evacuated from threatened communities; some of these are being housed here. Wendy has completed most of her Sweet Adelines business for this term and passed the audit successfully on Wednesday. I got the rhubarb picked again, cut, packaged and in the freezer. The lawns have been cut, so we're handing the place over to Andrew now—Thanks, Grandson! Wars continue to rage as well, including the Russian attack on Ukraine that Trump said he would solve before even taking office—Putin is openly laughing at him. The Israelis are now attacking Iran, also for no good reason. Trump has similarly said he could end that one, but Bibi is also laughing at him. USA has engaged in a series of meetings with Iran as Trump tried to walk back to the treaty that was in place before he cancelled it in his first term! With the Israeli attack, those negotiations are now cancelled, and Trump has declared that he might bomb Iran, that he could kill their leader whenever he wanted, and that, as usual, this will take "two weeks" to be determined. However, today, he began a bombing campaign against Iran with strikes on at least three sites there—Where's my two weeks?! The TACO trade continues on the markets as more tariffs are threatened and relaxed every week or so. He has also reawakened the 51st State threats against us, so we feel in some kind of war as well. The markets continue to feel the effects as all USA indices are in the red for Trump's term. The TSX is up 7%, but we have a hard time making progress on our own when our big neighbour is doing so poorly. Also, his tariffs against Canada are resulting in much less buying by USA businesses from us, and our country is suffering as well, even though we are finding new trading partners. The Blue Jays have cooled off a bit, but are still doing well and in a playoff position as we near the All-Star break. The Stanley Cup playoffs ended with heartbreak for my Oilers as the Panthers prevailed for the second year running. The Riders are doing pretty well, while showing some problems that need to be addressed. Still, they won again last night in Toronto to improve to 3-0 in the first weeks of the season. 

Erica writes, "We are planning for Mom and Dad’s visit, finalizing our renovation plans and rearranging our home. It has also been busy at work and Mystery Train is practising for a gig at the World Men’s Softball Championship. That’s about it for this week." Eric and I are scheduled for a charity golf tournament on a nice course while we're there. I've only golfed once this season, so I can't say that I'm ready for it! 

Erin and Kristian are enjoying the arrival of summer in Regina. Kristian is planning to travel to PA with us to assist with the projects up there. Maybe we'll manage a round of golf for us as well! The vegetable garden is doing well. I'm looking forward to checking it out next week. I hope I can get the drip-irrigation system working. 

Travis and Joanna celebrated Fathers Day with us, and passed along some more gifts. Thank you, my children for the golfing blessings that you have prepared for me this summer, and for the continuing blessing you are to me each day. They were over this evening to say farewell, provide some coffee and wish us a good trip. Thanks guys! 

And that's about it for this week. 

War!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continued to be great and we've enjoyed that. Kali drags us out for walks, sometimes more than once per day! She sometimes even brings me her collar to announce her wishes! I have finished work on the last two high panels in the side fence, so that goal has been reached. I picked my first batch of rhubarb, and got that cut up and frozen; I plan to get another picking done before we leave. I got out for golf on Tuesday and experienced tiredness, but no back or rib pain, so that was a good sign. My +13 result? Not such a good sign! Our travel plans keep getting tighter and tighter as Wendy wants to remain here until after the 19th, and we want to be in Prince Albert on the 25th, so it's not looking promising for any golf along the way. I got the car serviced yesterday, so that part is ready to roll. Now that we have a dog, travelling is considerably more complicated. Wendy had her main Spring concert on Monday–that went well. She has much end-of-season business to take care of and another sing-out scheduled for next week that I was hoping we could skip! World affairs remain chaotic as Trump's Trade War is estimated to take a trillion dollars worth of business out the global economy—we hope he'll change his mind! The Russian war in Ukraine seems to have escalated again, and now Israel has extended itself further by starting a war against Iran. It's a mess, and the markets took a hit as a result, so it was not a good week for investments. The NHL playoffs continued, now through five games with the Oilers trailing 3-2. The Jays remain hot, moving in to second place in their division! The Riders played again tonight in Hamilton and improved to 2-0 in the young season. 

Erica writes, "Eric and I are back on our own, Liam returned to Caronport on Monday. He has since heard from a contact for the new medicine and we hope that gets implemented soon. He also finished up the shelving in the spare room. Now, it just needs paint. We have been discussing our ongoing renovation plans for the summer. Mom and Dad will here at the end of June. We hope to do some work on the car park, and then move the bathroom on the main floor and gut the kitchen. We will see—I don’t want to be overly optimistic! We are coming to the end of the busy time at work. So, I will hopefully have more time for other work. :)"

Erin and Kristian are enjoying the summer weather in Regina, and some welcomed rains in northern Saskatchewan have brought some relief from the forest fire and smoke situation. Erin is caring for her garden area and anticipating adding some more plants. Erin was fretting about getting her financial reports completed, so naturally, she got those in a day ahead of time and enjoyed a relaxing Friday. She is now having a relaxing weekend with the hockey playoffs, her Jays playing great and there's an F1 race in Canada! Kristian has been working with youth group trying to organize more events. He getting ready to join us for the project in Prince Albert. 

Travis and Joanna joined us for supper and cards on Sunday. That was fun. Trav and I have worked hard all week to get our Oilers back on track in the playoffs, but to this point we're coming up short. Tonight, we enjoyed an outing to Boston Pizza for a Father's Day celebration, including Andrew. Andrew is getting ready to move into our house for the summer, which will also ease our concerns about taking care of the place while we're away. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Frenemies!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been beautiful, and only a little bit too warm, so we've been able to keep the house open most of the week. I have continued to work on the side fence. Just two more of the high panels left, and then I will move on to the shorter ones. My repair/replace system is going well, but now I'm running into interference from my raised garden beds. I have been over to the course to practice some golf, my back/ribs are feeling much better, so I'm able to swing harder, and hit much worse!! I plan to play next week—my first round of the season. Wendy keeps busily preparing for her final concert of the season. She had a concert on Monday, and also plenty of work on the business side of the chorus. Kali keeps us walking, and sometimes brings her collar so we remember to take her out—very smart little dog! The fox was around one night this week with some piteous yowling which made Kali frantic, and roused us from our sleep. USA continues in a state of turmoil. This week's feature was the breakup and public battle between Trump & Musk. Musk called Trump's tax bill an abomination because it adds $2.4 trillion to the national debt, he called Trump a criminal who was in the Epstein files, and that he should be impeached and replaced—can't disagree with him there. Trump replied by calling Musk an insane Nazi who should be investigated for his drug use, lose all his government contracts, and possibly be deported. You know, just the old, "he said"/"he said" stuff! Trump also claimed he'd completed a trade deal with China, but then China chimed in to correct the lie, and submit that while there was no deal, they had agreed to further meetings. At least the markets continued the May winning streak with another green week, and I enjoyed that. The football season has begun, and the Riders opened with a win—yay! The Jays have picked up the pace, winning 9 of the last 10, and moving into a playoff position. Well done, now keep it going. The Stanley Cup final is under way with the Oilers and Panthers tied at one game a piece. C'mon Oilers! 

Erica writes, "Liam has been visiting this week and it has been wonderful for us. It has been less wonderful for him as he was sick last weekend and then he had to prepare for and undergo a colonoscopy. Fun times! Our city has experienced a population increase with the fires up north. Several thousand people have evacuated. It will be a bit crazy as we support our clients and others who are currently homeless."

Erin and Kristian are enjoying the early summer in Regina, except for the forest fire smoke from northern Saskatchewan. We even get air quality warnings from those down here in Thunder Bay. Work is quite busy as her new assistant is out on medical leave for knee surgery, and what with her own recent vacation days, she has a bit of catch up to do. Her drip irrigation is not working yet, so it may wait until I get there to solve that problem. In the meantime, she is watering by hand, and the plants are doing very well. 

Lotsa Roma tomatoes soon!

Trav and Joanna had us over for supper on Sunday, and we look forward to returning the favour this Sunday. One of the aluminum welds has come apart on their deck settee, but we haven't settled on a repair solution. I tried to put a screw in it, but the aluminum is just too soft to hold. Aluminum welding (MIG, TIG) is a bit of black art, and one which I've never tried, as we did some carbon arc welding on the farm, but I only did hard metals using welding rods. I guess brazing would be similar to MIG welding. Maybe pop rivets will hold things together. Otherwise work remains steady for Trav and as per usual for Joanna. They have five foxes in their neighbourhood as the three kits are now looking almost grown up. 

Broken Weld

And that's about it for this week. 

TACO

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been beautiful, too hot for my comfort actually, and we've managed some activities outside, until we had to retreat to air conditioned comfort inside! I have managed to complete two more fence panels as each one is a day's work for me! I now have a very satisfactory system for removing them, straightening them and reinstalling them. One ongoing issue relates to my fall last week. I tripped coming through the back gate and fell hard on my side and my head. It opened a small wound on my head, and probably cracked a rib. It's very difficult to find a position for sleeping, and heaven help me if I cough! It's also interfering with my golf swing (some will say that's a good thing!), but I've managed several trips to the practice area, and hope to get in a game next week. Wendy has mostly been working on Spring Cleaning issues in the house, but has also been out for a few of the walks with Kali. She still has her Sweet Adelines practices as well. This week brings us to the end of the month, and the updates for the first quarter of the year. Canada posted a surprisingly good quarter with annualized growth of +2.2%, while USA suffered negative GDP data, and is now threatened with a recession (2 consecutive negative quarters). Trump blew up when he heard about his TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) nickname, and has issued ever more bizarre threats. Now that the Court of International Trade has unanimously declared his tariffs illegal, there were some who hoped he would accept this off ramp as a way to get out of the mess and blame someone else for his failures. Alas, he is vowing even worse actions, and most pundits are now resigned to the fact that he will keep the trade war going. At least the TACO trading has made May a great month in the markets, but they've suffered so much since Jan 20th, that it still doesn't get the USA indices back to the green side. 

May Index Results

TSX: +5.4%

DOW: +3.8%
S&P: +5.8%
Nasdaq: +8.6%

Results since Jan 20th
TSX: +4.4%
DOW: -2.8%
S&P: -1.4%
Nasdaq: -2.6%

The preseason has ended in football, so teams are making their final cuts and getting ready for action in week 1: Riders open the season against Ottawa next Thursday—Go Riders Go! The Blue Jays continue to struggle around the .500 mark and that's not going to get them into the playoffs. Hockey has now advanced to the Cup Final Series and my very own Edmonton Oilers are there against Florida Panthers. I was not impressed by the way the Oilers ended the regular season, but I did pick them to win the first two series. I picked the Jets to beat them in round three, but the Jets after being the top team in the regular season really faltered in the playoffs. The Oilers are playing well, so I'll be cheering and hoping for them in the finals. 

Eric writes, "This week Erica has been working late to finish up some projects at work. Eric agreed to the nomination, and was voted in to be an elder for the church here. Liam has a procedure next week, so he came home for the week."

Erin and Kristian have returned from their fabulous road trip to Alberta. It was a great time both in their sightseeing and on the drive. Now, they're back at home and enjoying their home in Regina. 

including the cats!

Today was planting day for the planters and hanging baskets. Romaine, garlic chives, green onions, purple sweet peppers, yellow bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, peas, diva cucumbers, straight eight cucumbers, Roma tomato tree! I’m not sure what the difference in cucumbers will be. 

Travis and Joanna are doing well and enjoying their three dogs. It's the off-season for Ulrich Design, but there still seems to be enough to do. We're looking forward to joining them for supper on Sunday night. Kali will delight in coming along to play with Moxley, Darby and Marigold. 

Marigold, Darby, Moxley, Trav's Toes

And that's enough for this week! 

Visitor

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been seasonable, with a few holdover April showers and the arrival of May dandelions! I did my first lawn cut of the season. Since we plan to miss a large chunk of the summer again, I am making it my goal to keep the lawn from growing too fast! We have scheduled Andrew and Rosie to live here while we're away, so they'll take care of the lawns anyway, but I'll try to keep it manageable. The rhubarb is growing nicely, and about ready for a first picking. I'll try to get a few of those done before we leave. I did get over to the golf course between showers for a bit more practice. I also confirmed that my electric caddy needs a new battery, so I have sourced that and, except for my game, I am ready for the season!

The startling events of the week here at Kensington Manor was the weeklong visitation by a fox. She has spent several nights sleeping in our yard, and a few nights yowling in the neighbour's driveway. This is a grave concern to Kali who responds anxiously to protect us! It also means we cannot allow Kali out except on a leash as the fox would make a quick meal of her! I have looked around, but have been unable to find a den in the area. Trav & Joanna have a fox with a few kits in their neighbourhood. We contacted the police and the Natural Resources folks—they are unwilling to do anything despite that she comes up on our deck and is certainly a hazard to our pet. Wendy was busy most of the week with Sweet Adelines business as her choir took a vote and decided to remain in the organization. The markets got kicked again as Trump wildly lashed out with additional tariffs against Europe (50%) and Apple (25%). This lead to another market sell off. At the same time, the Republicans are trying to install a new financial plan which will add trillions to the USA deficit and resulted in them losing their top level credit rating—disaster upon disaster! Canada appears to be forging new trading arrangements with Europe and China to avoid some of the economic damage. We are definitely living in interesting times. In sports, the Blue Jays are playing a bit better and have moved into second place in their division—much work remains to be done! In hockey, Oilers are playing Dallas in the West Final, while Florida is blasting Carolina in the East. I'll just keep cheering for the Oilers as I have no teams left in my bracket. Football is into the pre-season and the Riders lost to Winnipeg today. 

Erica wrote, "Eric is off to Guelph this weekend for a FMT (Family & Marriage Therapy) conference. The president of the association had many good things to say about Eric and the work he has done in Saskatchewan. Of course, I already know this, but it was nice for him to be publicly recognized. I am at the end of my fiscal year. It is very busy and there is much to do! So, I’m taking advantage of Eric’s absence to get some work done. Liam lost the side mirror in his car—just the mirror part, not the casing. So, he is working on sourcing replacement parts."

Erin and Kristian had a big week in Alberta. They drove up to Calgary last Saturday, spent a few days there including a trip to the Calgary Zoo. Kristian was able to reconnect with a classmate who had moved there.

Standing on Air!

Then, they drove up to Edmonton to check out the attractions there. They had a hotel well-connected to the West Edmonton Mall so they enjoyed minigolf, the aquarium, Fantasyland and the eateries there. Today they are driving home to Regina.

Travis and the dogs had a good week! Joanna? Not so much! I think I passed along my head cold and she has been convalescing with that most of the week. Fortunately, she was well enough late in the week to go with Wendy for a manicure/pediccure to complete Mothers Day celebrations! Now, Wendy is able to dress up her new sandals properly! 

And that's enough for this week. 

Happy May Long!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, and it brings us to the Victoria Day weekend, known familiarly as May Long. The weather has been lovely all week, but since it's a long weekend, it has naturally turned cool and rainy today! Kali and I have been out for our daily walks, despite that I am suffering with a head cold this week. I thought it was seasonal allergies and was treating myself with Reactine, but switched to cold meds on Wednesday and I'm gradually feeling better. I did manage one trip to the golf course, and have also continued to work on my swing here in the yard. I'm looking forward to a few rounds this summer. The lawns are growing nicely, and I've noticed a few yellow heads waving at me from among the greenery! Trump backed down on his tariff war with China, and the markets have responded positively. Of course, there's no telling what he'll do next—this week he's threatening to impose (reimpose?) tariffs that he had cancelled earlier! He said he had completed trade agreements with 200 countries (there aren't that many countries!), but later amended that to just one country, and even later we found out there was no trade agreement with them either. Master dealmaker, for sure! Still, he has maintained a 10% minimum tax on anything Americans want to buy from elsewhere in the world, and that is having a chilling effect on the USA economy. Orders are being cancelled, shipments are being cancelled, shelves are emptying and the retailers are announcing price increases to pay for the tariffs. Of course, he doesn't like that either, and, today, he demanded that USA retailers should eat the extra cost, and not pass it along to their customers! Meanwhile, due to his tariffs, USA's trade deficit is increasing—the opposite of his declared intention. The first round of the NHL playoffs ended in glory for me, as I picked seven of the eight winners. Now, in round two, I have picked 2/3 winners, and am still waiting for the other series to end. Don't recall when I've ever been this lucky! However, since I picked the Jets to not only beat Dallas, but also to go on and win the Cup—I don't have much chance to add to my success! So, I'll keep cheering for the Oilers and see whether they will continue to win. Blue Jays are playing a bit better, but still below .500, and in my book you have to be able to win 3 out of 5 games (.600) to be considered a good team. 

Erica wrote, "It has been another week of long hours. I’m in the busiest time of my year so I’ve had a few late nights. Eric has been attending a conference on the brain, which is being presented in Boston, so he has had some early mornings—6 AM start. As a result, he has sometimes been asleep when I get home. I told him on Friday night that I missed him! We got the bikes into the shop for their annual check up. Both need tires, so we will get that done. We talked to all the kids on Mothers Day. Greg, Kiersten, Haaken and Liam are all doing well." 

Erin and Kristian are driving to Alberta for a holiday trip—their first trip together! Now that they have two drivers, it makes such trips much easier to accomplish. 

Road Trip 2025

Kristian wrote, "We’re going to Calgary to visit my friend and go to the symphony featuring the music from How to Train your Dragon. 

It was great!

We’re also going to go to the Calgary Zoo. Then, later in the week, we're going up to Edmonton to check out West Edmonton Mall."

Joanna took care of some Mothers Day shopping on behalf of the crew—thanks! We enjoyed an outing, with the dogs, to the Marina on Sunday afternoon. Way too many distractions for the dogs!

Bill/Kali, Travis/Moxley/Darby, Wendy/Marigold

A bit of heart-stopping excitement when Darby slipped his harness and made a break for it—Trav scooped him up pretty quickly to save the day! We hope to get another outing this weekend, but with the rains, it may be delayed. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Thank you for the Music!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been gorgeous such that the golf courses have opened, and my annual quest for single-digit games is renewed! Kali and I enjoy our daily walks, and she is learning to mind such that I sometimes have her off-leash when we're not walking on a street. The big event of the week was our Spring Concert on Friday evening, the culmination of our practice and preparation over the last several months. Click on the link, see if you can find Wendy and me, and enjoy!

Silver Sounds Spring 2025

Music and choral singing remain a celebrated part of our lives and we enjoy getting to sing with this group. Wendy continues to sing with the local Barbershop chorus as well; they had a concert this week, and more are planned through early June. Then, we're thinking of heading west for work in PA and visiting in Regina. I have not been informed of any other plans! We bought new carriage lights for the house and garage, so installed those this week. We had some with integrated LEDs, but they turned out to be fragile, and unrepairable since they don't have bulbs. I have now figured out a way to rebuild them with sockets, so they are useful once more. The Orange Trade War continues to wreak havoc and our most recent employment numbers were insufficient to cover the need. Still, it is the USA which is suffering more from his withdrawal from the world, and the citizenry is starting to notice, withdrawing support of him, and joining protests against him. As the west coast ports lose shipments and truckers fret over the loss of jobs, we're seeing Trump start to panic. This week he announced a non-trade plan with the UK and its own pretty desperate PM. It covers little, leaves a 10% tariff in place, so Americans will have to pay that much more for whatever they buy from the UK, well, except for Rolls Royce—that's tariff free! And while China's trade with the USA dropped 16% last month, its overall trade increased 8%, so they're not suffering at all. Canada, likewise, it opening trading relations with other countries including China, but we're still suffering a bit. The NHL playoffs continue. I achieved a record 7/8 picks in round one. We'll see if round two brings me back to earth! I have Canes, Leafs, Jets, Oilers—two are doing well, the others? Not so much! Blue Jays are currently on a west coast road trip, and remain below .500—not good! 

Erica writes, "This weekend is busy. Friday night our band played at the Anavets Club (Army & Navy) we played four sets and people were dancing until the very end! It was a lot of fun. Eric started teaching a masters class on line through University of Lethbridge. It’s the second time he’s taught the class so that should mean all the material is prepared. He assures me, it is not. Today is Lobsterfest, which ends up being an all day affair. We gather in the morning to set up and get organized. Then run around doing all the last minutes things we forgot. The event starts at 5:30 and runs until 11:30. So, I will be a wee bit tired for Mother’s Day. Speaking of which, Happy Mothers Day! We have been working with our local fairies in Thunder Bay and Langford to make sure our Mothers are appropriately appreciated. Now, I wait to see if I am equally appreciated. Liam went for his last dose of his current medication. When he had a reaction to it, they took him off it for a bit, but then started again more slowly. He has decided that is the last dose until he gets his new prescription."

Erin and Kristian are enjoying fantastic Spring weather after their horrible winter. Their tree is leafing, and they can all get out to enjoy the patio.

Kristian and Elly

Leaf me alone!

They are looking forward to and planning for their trip to Alberta starting next weekend. 

Travis and Joanna are slowing down a bit here in the off-season. I enjoy chatting through hockey games with Travis, and sometimes with others as I get to texting in the wrong threads!

Wendy's new sandals!

On behalf of the children, Joanna took Wendy shopping today in connection with Mothers Day—thank you very much! She picked out new sandals along with some bottles of essential bath oils. Pedicure still to come! 

And that's enough for this week. 

Election

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We opened the week with gorgeous weather, but Monday, Election Day, we were doused with a major April shower, and the prospect of a new government. Our newly elected Prime Minister, Mark Carney, is tasked with some major economic issues mostly caused by our southern neighbour and former ally. We hope, in due time, that Trump will be removed, and the USA will return to being a partner and friend. In the Trade War, Trump assures us that he has completed new trade deals with 200 of the 193 countries in the world. Of course, even a superficial exam of the facts shows that he has not completed new trade deals with any countries and has broken ALL the trade deals that had been in place. His sycophants have now allowed that they are partway through negotiating new terms to old agreements with 17 countries, but have not concluded new deals with any of them. Elections have consequences, and USA is facing the most severe consequences as inflation continues to rise and the economy has drifted from 2.3% growth in the final quarter last year, to -0.3% in the first quarter this year—it's not easy to damage an economy that quickly, but Trump has done it. Next week, PM Carney is scheduled to travel to Washington and meet with Trump. He cautions us not to expect anything conclusive. Otherwise, I worked at the election, and that went fine. With the arrival of Spring, I am starting into yard work. The rhubarb is up nicely. I will consider gardening plans in light of our summer travel plans—probably won't plant much. At least Kali and I get out for daily walks except when it's raining! Wendy and I are completing our preparations for our Spring Concert (May 9th)  with the Silver Sound choir. The cancellation of the worst of the tariffs has allowed some market recovery, but April still rated as the worst April since 1932—sigh! Now, we continue to wait for another shoe to fall—you can never know with this guy. The first seven matchups have been completed in the NHL playoffs. I picked six of those correctly—remarkable for me! The Jets/Blues will end tomorrow night. For the second round my picks were Leafs and Canes in the East, along with Oilers and Jets in the west. The Blue Jays have fallen off their early season form, and are now below .500 which doesn't cut it! 

Erica writes, "Highlight of the week—Eric ordered his first meal off the seniors' menu. Turning 55 has at least that advantage. On Thursday, Eric’s work celebrated their 40th anniversary with a big fancy banquet. On Friday, my work celebrated the end of tax season. So, we got two free meals. Nice! Eric has also been working on the post graduate course he starts teaching next week at the University of Lethbridge. We also got out for a motorcycle ride. That first ride is a bit fun as we remind our bodies how this goes! Eric turned 55 on Monday and Kiersten turned 32 on Thursday. We are all getting older."

Erin and Kristian are enjoying the arrival of summer in Regina. They're looking at 30° today—too hot for my liking! 

View from the Egg Chair

I cleaned up the planter boxes while I was there last month, and she will get the plants soon. 

Travis and Joanna remain busy. Trav has ended Puck Shots for this season, so he brought the chairs over here to store in the shed for the summer. Andrew flew back to Toronto for a couple of weeks, then, he plans to drive up mid-month and spend the summer here. Rosie will complete her term and her examinations, then she'll fly up here as well. We look forward to seeing more of them. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Home Again

Another week has passed and we have returned to the shore of Lake Superior and my hometown. We got back here on Tuesday evening. The weather has been lovely, and Kali enjoys getting out for walks each day. On Wednesday morning, I had orientation for my DRO job in the general election. Today, I did some Spring jobs getting the bike and lawnmower from the shed, and storing the shovels and snowblower away. Wendy had a retreat weekend with Sweet Adelines yesterday and today. Lots of time standing on the risers, and late night with the ladies, so she's off to bed early tonight. The markets continue their topsy turvy ways in line with Trump's whims. It's looking like the DOW will experience its worst month since 1932—that was during the Depression! C'mon man! As a result, I remain with only my dividend stocks, and while that protects from major losses, I also need a chance to make money at some point! The Blue Jays continue to play well in the early part of the baseball season. The Stanley Cup playoffs have begun, and my favourite team, the Oilers, are not doing well enough, but they are still alive. My picks see Jets defeating Leafs for the Cup, but I would like to see the Oilers have some success as well. 

Erica writes, "Last weekend, after returning home from the funeral, we took a quick trip to Watrous. We enjoyed some time in the mineral rich waters and got a massage. It was a nice way to relax. Other than that it’s been a pretty ordinary week in PA. Liam has been experiencing some allergy type reactions to his medication. He had a follow up with his doctor this week and it sounds like his medication isn’t working as well as it once was. He has some more tests and then they will start trying a new medication. Last time it took almost two years for him to feel normal. We hope this time the process isn’t as long. We also had a bit of a scare with Eric’s mom. She fell, then had some stomach pain, and after some investigation, a blockage was discovered in her small intestine. She had surgery and a couple days in the hospital. She is back home. That’s all the news from here."

Elly is by the BBQ

Erin had a good week which included a day off on Friday and further relaxation today. While enjoying her backyard with one of her cats, Elly, she noticed one of the neighbourhood jack rabbits which came right up into her yard before Elly reacted. Even then, it didn't run very far away! It's mortgage renewal time for them, and Erin was not happy to see how much the interest rates had risen. So, she's looking to move to a different institution who promise much better rates, and not such a big change in payments. 

Watchful Elly, Wary Wabbit!

Travis and Joanna had an "as usual" week. They had been taking care of Kali, so Wendy picked her up on Tuesday evening. Travis has managed to collect all our picks for the Stanley Cup playoffs. All teams remain alive so far. The dogs enjoyed their time hosting Kali, and have now returned to their usual restful life style! 

And that's enough for this week. 

Passages 2

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana. The weather has been cool most of the week, but finally turned nice today. We are enjoying our week with Erin and Kristian. We were privileged to catch up with many family and friends as we attended Eloise's funeral on Thursday and Robert Peterson's today in Weyburn.

Now, we are in preparation to begin the trip home starting on Monday. We've been able to do a few things around here. Kristian and I replaced the failed pot lights in the family room. I cleaned up a few things on the patio and garden boxes. Wendy has done some sorting and cleaning inside. On Good Friday, we had a family gathering at Rich & Sues—that was great! Eric & Erica, Liam & Mercedes, Brian & Lorna, Logan & Kaitlyn, Erin & Kristian, Rich & Sue, Dave & Lynn, Howard & Diane, Bern & Alicia joined with us for a great afternoon and evening. Plenty of good grub, lots of conversation, a wonderful time of singing led by Brian, Erica and Mercedes, and finally a games night of Fast Track and card-based Golf. The markets ran well this week as his Orangeness is preoccupied with his legal problems. Even so his spending is running well above Biden's spending at the same time in his term, so it doesn't appear that there are cuts to spending despite all his promises, and that is causing some consternation among the MAGA members who hoped to reduce government spending. The Grand Slam of Curling ended poorly for the Canadian reps as Homan dropped the final to Swiss team Tirinzoni, and both Canadian playoff teams on the men's side lost out in the semi-finals, so they were just watching as the Scottish Mouat team won another Slam title. Blue Jays are playing well in the early days of the baseball season. Hockey has entered the playoff season and I've picked Jets, AVs, Knights, Oilers, Capitals, Panthers, Leafs and Canes to advance (just so you know how to bet)! I'm working the Federal Election and I need to be there for orientation on Wednesday.

Marigold & Kali

Kali is enjoying life with Trav & Joanna and the other three dogs back in Thunder Bay. Thanks for sending the many photographs and videos!

Anyhow, that's enough for this week! 

Passages

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, but we have left there and are now on the shore of Lake Wascana in Regina.

Eloise Krogsgaard Smith 1927-2025

Our Aunt Eloise passed midweek, so we left on Friday to be here for the family and to participate in the service next Thursday. I've been honoured to be asked to sing at the service, and despite the circumstances, we are looking forward to spending time with family, both hers and ours. Spring has certainly arrived, and we are enjoying the warmth. The trip out went well, and we arrived in Regina this afternoon. The markets endured more turmoil as the Orange Felon continued his lunacy. He announced Liberation Day last week, scheduled to begin this week, and after just a few hours of the tariffs in force, he blinked and cancelled them... but he left them in place for us and Mexico. The result was continued turmoil and accusations of insider trading as he paraded his friends on TV and bragged about how much money they had made. Yikes! The hockey season is ending. Oilers and Leafs have qualified for the playoffs, and we hope they do well. Oilers continue to suffer from significant injuries, so it will be problematic for them. Jacobs won the bronze in the world championship of curling, while Mouat beat Schwaller for the gold. The final slam of the season is underway out of Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. There were five Canadian teams among the 12 top men's teams in the world in the tournament, but it's two European teams, Schwaller and Mouat who have advanced to the final here as well. On the women's side, we only had two representative teams, but our own Homan has advanced to the final against Tirinzoni. Blue Jays continue to have success in the early part of the baseball season—so far, so good! 

Erica writes, "It’s been another busy week of working late and evening meetings. Eric had an eye appointment on Friday. His one eye is 20/20 but the other is 20/50. New glasses are on the way. I have been working on the committee for Rotary’s 20th anniversary Lobsterfest. Today, one month prior to the event, we closed ticket sales—we are sold out! That is awesome. We also worked with the family on taxes this week. [thanks] Fun times!" 

Erin and Kristian had a good week as Spring arrived in Regina as well. However, now we have moved in, and plan to stay until the end of August. Just Kidding—I am working the Federal Election as Deputy Returning Officer, so I need to be back in Thunder Bay next Tuesday. In the meantime, we'll enjoy our time here. 

Travis and Joanna are holding down the fort in Thunder Bay, and are also taking care of Kali while we are away. Thanks guys! 

And that's it for this week. 

April Madness!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We got a big dump of rain (all precipitation from April through October is defined as rain!) midweek, so I had the snowblower out again on Thursday to clear the driveway. It was very wet and hard to work with, but the subsequent warm weather has Spring in the air once again. Travel, even around town, was compromised to the extent that our choir practice was cancelled on Thursday. Otherwise, it's been pretty much the routine weekly activities. That ended on Wednesday as the Madness of the Orange Felon was again on display. He announced tariffs against pretty much the whole world with the remarkable exceptions of Russia, Belarus and North Korea! He did put a tariff against Ukraine. You need to ask yourself—If he was a Russian agent how would he act any differently? CBC did an excellent exposé of the false, fake and fraudulent tariff program he announced. This precipitated a world-wide economic shock as folks were expecting tariffs, but no one foresaw anything this insane. The markets sank by devastating amounts. Trump now holds the distinction of presiding over the eight biggest daily drops in DOW history. The TrumpSlump had me sold out of my usual trading vehicles, and the impending TrumpCession has me wondering about my buy & hold dividend payers. USA indices are now down 9% in just the four trading days this month. Our first hope is that enough GOP House members come to their senses to put a stop to this madness. The Senate has already voted against him, but we've only heard of one GOP in the House who is willing to buck him and we need half a dozen. In the world of sports, basketball is playing out the final four. In a remarkable performance for me, I managed to pick three of the final four, but only one of the finalists. My pick, Florida, is ready to win on Monday. Men's Curling has occupied a lot of my TV watching this week. Jacobs has represented us well, ending the round robin in first place and now in the medal playoffs, but sadly it won't be the gold medal game. They'll play China for the bronze. Other qualifiers were Scotland, Sweden, China, Norway and Switzerland; Scotland will play Switzerland for the gold. Blue Jays have opened the MLB season well, and I'm enjoying that. The NHL is playing out the last handful of games in the regular season and many playoff spots are still up for grabs. My Oilers are struggling as their two biggest stars have suffered injuries, but we're told they should be back for the playoffs. Leafs are in good position to win their division. Penguins continue to entertain—they should have played like this all season! 

Erica writes, "We started the week in Caronport, enjoying Liam play a bad guy in the Esther story. He was booed by the crowd, so he must have done a good job. Mercedes did a beautiful job playing Esther, and one young lady near us was very concerned that she would be killed. Fortunately, she survived (spoiler alert). The rest of the week has been busy. I’ve been working late into the evenings and Eric is fitting in hockey games in my absence. Today, we got news that Eric is now approved to deliver EMDR Therapy. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a form of psychotherapy designed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Now, he can really fix me!"

Erin and Kristian are digging out from a late snowstorm on the prairies and enjoying the arrival of Spring. They are still waiting to hear about Kristian's acceptance into Sask PolyTech for the Fall. We are hoping for that as well. Erin is following the Basketball championships, but she has Duke and Auburn picked for the final! 

Travis and Joanna also had a pretty normal week of activities. Andrew is working from home on his practicum assignments. We enjoyed a lovely pasta supper at their place this evening. Then, we played some FastTrack and watched some hockey. 

And that's enough for this week.