Catching up
Its the end of April and I see I haven't put anything in for over a month. This is primarily because little of note has happened.
At the Inn, Isabel has many more reservations than last year - so perhaps it is going to be a better summer for the tourist operations this year. Last year was down, probably a hang over from SARS and the West Nile scares.
Isabel has also been struck down by a nasty, painful form of rheumatism (apparently inherited from the Warriners - her mother's family - all the brothers and sisters had it). It manifests as a pain in all the joints and surrounding muscles. To make it worse she isn't walking straight so her orthotics are not doing the job. Aggravating, painful and increasingly depressing. Fortunately, it will go away in time - up to 3 years. Unfortunately, the drug that instantly clears up the symptoms also has nasty side-effects, notably osteoporosis. So she doesn't want to take the medication and who can blame her?
Action-by-Design is slowly getting off the ground. We have a couple of contracts now and our second workshop on Action Coaching is next week. It is a slow process getting it up, but progress is being made.
Julia's ski season is over and overall she had a good year. She skied in some FIS races at the end and gained experience. She is very keen, but the cost associated with going to the next level is stupendous (over $30,000 a year!!) As a first step she is going to an elite ski camp in Switzerland in the summer for two weeks. It is at Saas Fe and is run by a firm out of Boston Mass. They seem very helpful and are bending over backwards to accomodate us. The idea is that by the time she has finished she should have an idea of how far she can go and how much investment is worth it. Unfortunately, we are going to have to replace her skis as the current ones are not regulation length.
Julia also has a job at McDonalds though once again she will have to leave early. Finally, Julia is still going strong with her boyfriend - Adam (Dutch extraction, an accomplished DJ and something of an entrepreneur). He is a nice kid but very chatty!! They are going to the High School Prom together -= apparently Julia's dress is terrific. Both our daughters are really good looking. Unfortunatley, she has allowed her social life to get in the way of her school work, so her position on the Honor roll is in jeopardy!! Her basketball season is over - it was a bit of a mess because of the change of coach.
Kim has FINISHED her first diploma course and looks like graduating with honors - well done!
She has been accepted at Georgian for the golf program, so she is on to the next step. Currently she is working at the Board of Trade and seems to be enjoying it. She and Tom bought a huge back projection TV from some friends for a steal of a price. So now we watch a 56" in screen!! She has started a new painting. She has developed an original approach - she paints single flowers in black bacgrounds with white blooms with a slash of colour in the stamen. They are very smart - and repeatable. When she has a couple we will take them into the gallery (Seneca asked for one for theirs) and see if they could sell.
Tom is deeply embroiled in opening his new golf course. His employers seem to be very happy with him and have even said they would recommend him as a lecturer at one of the golf programs at the Niagara College - great! Tom also sold some clubs over eBay for a good amount - it was interesting to see how it works.
Tyler is also in the news. He seemed to be moving slowly and had absolutely foul breath. We traced the speed to his diet - he is 50% overweight! So he is now on a diet and we have shifted his food from processed stuff (crammed with corn) to meat based. It is really amazing the damage the trend to convenience food and to processed food has done to the health of humans and pets. He looks better already. His breath we have attacked with doggy breath mints and something you put in his drinking water - dramatic improvement!
The house seemed to have survived the winter - up to the last second when a large chunk of ice fell off the roof and put two large holes in the siding!
I had to go the Cornwall yesterday (450Kms each way) and came back through the Algonquin Park at dusk. I saw 7 moose beside the road! What they say about this time of year - salt on the roads - and dusk seems to be right.
We are slowly edging our way to fixing the small cottage. Whatever we do it seems to start with lifting it and putting a proper, rodent-proof foundation in place. This is about $10,000. We are taking it slowly and there is no real hurry - but eventually we will raise the financial energy and do it - then we can add it to the rooms at the Inn.
Spring is finally beginning to appear. The ice has just left the lake and the buds are beginning to show. Crocuses and tulips and daffodils are out or on their way.
Genvieve, Isabel's cousin in Australia just got married. We sent her one of Oscar's paintings, which arrived literally as they were opening their presents. Great joy and happiness! In the process we discovered that her other cousin - Kadar - had also emigrated to Australia. How is it that no one tells the family??
At the Inn, Isabel has many more reservations than last year - so perhaps it is going to be a better summer for the tourist operations this year. Last year was down, probably a hang over from SARS and the West Nile scares.
Isabel has also been struck down by a nasty, painful form of rheumatism (apparently inherited from the Warriners - her mother's family - all the brothers and sisters had it). It manifests as a pain in all the joints and surrounding muscles. To make it worse she isn't walking straight so her orthotics are not doing the job. Aggravating, painful and increasingly depressing. Fortunately, it will go away in time - up to 3 years. Unfortunately, the drug that instantly clears up the symptoms also has nasty side-effects, notably osteoporosis. So she doesn't want to take the medication and who can blame her?
Action-by-Design is slowly getting off the ground. We have a couple of contracts now and our second workshop on Action Coaching is next week. It is a slow process getting it up, but progress is being made.
Julia's ski season is over and overall she had a good year. She skied in some FIS races at the end and gained experience. She is very keen, but the cost associated with going to the next level is stupendous (over $30,000 a year!!) As a first step she is going to an elite ski camp in Switzerland in the summer for two weeks. It is at Saas Fe and is run by a firm out of Boston Mass. They seem very helpful and are bending over backwards to accomodate us. The idea is that by the time she has finished she should have an idea of how far she can go and how much investment is worth it. Unfortunately, we are going to have to replace her skis as the current ones are not regulation length.
Julia also has a job at McDonalds though once again she will have to leave early. Finally, Julia is still going strong with her boyfriend - Adam (Dutch extraction, an accomplished DJ and something of an entrepreneur). He is a nice kid but very chatty!! They are going to the High School Prom together -= apparently Julia's dress is terrific. Both our daughters are really good looking. Unfortunatley, she has allowed her social life to get in the way of her school work, so her position on the Honor roll is in jeopardy!! Her basketball season is over - it was a bit of a mess because of the change of coach.
Kim has FINISHED her first diploma course and looks like graduating with honors - well done!
She has been accepted at Georgian for the golf program, so she is on to the next step. Currently she is working at the Board of Trade and seems to be enjoying it. She and Tom bought a huge back projection TV from some friends for a steal of a price. So now we watch a 56" in screen!! She has started a new painting. She has developed an original approach - she paints single flowers in black bacgrounds with white blooms with a slash of colour in the stamen. They are very smart - and repeatable. When she has a couple we will take them into the gallery (Seneca asked for one for theirs) and see if they could sell.
Tom is deeply embroiled in opening his new golf course. His employers seem to be very happy with him and have even said they would recommend him as a lecturer at one of the golf programs at the Niagara College - great! Tom also sold some clubs over eBay for a good amount - it was interesting to see how it works.
Tyler is also in the news. He seemed to be moving slowly and had absolutely foul breath. We traced the speed to his diet - he is 50% overweight! So he is now on a diet and we have shifted his food from processed stuff (crammed with corn) to meat based. It is really amazing the damage the trend to convenience food and to processed food has done to the health of humans and pets. He looks better already. His breath we have attacked with doggy breath mints and something you put in his drinking water - dramatic improvement!
The house seemed to have survived the winter - up to the last second when a large chunk of ice fell off the roof and put two large holes in the siding!
I had to go the Cornwall yesterday (450Kms each way) and came back through the Algonquin Park at dusk. I saw 7 moose beside the road! What they say about this time of year - salt on the roads - and dusk seems to be right.
We are slowly edging our way to fixing the small cottage. Whatever we do it seems to start with lifting it and putting a proper, rodent-proof foundation in place. This is about $10,000. We are taking it slowly and there is no real hurry - but eventually we will raise the financial energy and do it - then we can add it to the rooms at the Inn.
Spring is finally beginning to appear. The ice has just left the lake and the buds are beginning to show. Crocuses and tulips and daffodils are out or on their way.
Genvieve, Isabel's cousin in Australia just got married. We sent her one of Oscar's paintings, which arrived literally as they were opening their presents. Great joy and happiness! In the process we discovered that her other cousin - Kadar - had also emigrated to Australia. How is it that no one tells the family??
posted by Michael Kay at 8:51 AM
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