Catching Up

Long time no write, I know. Technical problems are partly to blame, also not doing much travelling this summer. Gas prices, airline chaos are keeping me and a lot of others close to home. Took a trip to northern Ohio in June. As usual, the highlight of the trip was stops for lunch at the delightful Roycroft Inn in East Aurora, NY, the Arts and Crafts masterpiece. Ate lunch on the verandah overlooking the garden where Japanese magnolias were in bloom. Excellent food, cordial service, reasonable prices, beautiful surroundings.

Also visited friends in eastern Ontario cottage country. Fun despite the rain. Several friends have been in Europe recently and will provide reports from them. My friend Susan aka Holmes is renting a flat in Como, Italy with her daughter Alex and reports that prices at restaurants range between very high and stratospheric, so they are eating at home most of the time. In addition, she says that Como is a good place to practice Russian since it is teeming with residents and visitors from the east.

Today I am monitoring the financial news closely. So far my portfolio has weathered the crisis in reasonable shape, but like most people I am worried. I sold about half the Exelon I owned a couple of months ago, at about 20 points above the current price. The only things I've been buying lately are GICs and some shares of Huntington Bancshares, an Ohio-based bank I am quite familiar with. It's up about 55 per cent from the price I paid in July, and I'm not selling yet.