It has been a busy summer.  As always it is too short.  I took a job remodeling and rebuilding a bathroom for a neighbor.  The job turned out to be much more than I thought.  It was in an older 3 season cottage.  The biggest problem was that the walls were not really walls but more partitions.  When it came time to install the plumbing and the wiring, the partitions were not thick enough to hold the wires and pipes.  So I had to build new walls and somehow anchor them so they were sturdy.  But I got it done.  It does look very good.

I installed poured concrete steps down to our waterfront, and built a set of wooden stairs that can be raised and lowered into the lake so we can easily get into the water.  You have to be able to raise them because of the waves in the summer and the ice in the winter.  I can’t get a truck into the shore, so I had to mix the cement and pour it by hand 2 bags at a time.

In the stair picture you can see the top retaining wall is made of blocks.  I laid those last summer.  I really did not like the look of the bare blocks.  So I tried an experiment.  I used the cut off pieces from granite counter tops and attached them to the blocks.  It is different, and I think looks better than just the bare blocks.  It should also have made the wall stronger.  I have a patio to build and plan on using the granite cut offs for patio stones.  I will lay them rough side up so they are not too slippery when wet.

I also spent much of my time this summer looking for a building lot.  I spent a lot of time and enough money on trying to figure out how get to, the actually buildable area of one lot.  It was a nice lot, but the entire frontage was a designated wetland.  So I had to involve the conservation authority and pay for their advice.  The sellers also had no appreciation for the consequences (and costs) of trying to get around the wetland designation.  I wish them luck.  I finally decided to take a chance on a lot that had been up for a long time.  My first offer was accepted.  So, according to the rules of Real Estate investing I offered too much.  The rule is that your first offer should always be low enough to get a NO.  My agent was shocked that the offer was accepted, and says I got a very good deal.  It has not closed yet, as I am waiting for a report on the condition of the well.  If everything is OK, then I will hopefully start to build ASAP.  I will keep you posted as to the progress.

I have posted the updated dividend paying stocks for September.  We lost a couple of companies over the summer.  My main stock investments are in Lithium, Graphite, and Block Chain companies.  I still have a couple of the marijuana stocks.  This summer has taught me that taking advice from the news letters that are sent to your email with stock recommendations is a great way to loose money.  I often feel that I don’t have enough experience to tell people what to buy.  I don’t want them loosing money on my recommendations.  These other news letters don’t seem to have the same ethics.  I put money into several of the recommended stocks and have lost on EVERY SINGLE ONE!

I am spending a fair bit of time trying to develop a DEPENDABLE Stock Scanner program.  I am getting closer.  When it really works (At least 80% of the time) I will share it.  That is one of the features that I like about www.stockcharts.com.  They allow you to develop your own stock screeners.  They have many pre-done ones but will help you answer questions if you want to do your own.  That is an explanation  of why I haven’t been updating the site as much as I should.

Questions are always welcome.