Family Time!

It’s Christmas time, and we are feeling very blessed as all the family have come home. Eric, Erica, Haaken and Liam arrived on Monday. Erin and Kristian on Wednesday. Gemma and Jonas flew up from Vancouver, so with Travis & Joanna living here, and also Andrew and Rosie, we’re just missing one grandson! Our house and hearts are full!

Blessing of Family

The weather has been consistently mild all week, but we did have some substantial dumps of snow. Fortunately, Haaken and Liam helped with the clearing of the driveway. We enjoyed a feast around the roast turkey with all the trimmings, as they say. Along a spaghetti supper, a charcuterie special, and assorted leftovers, we’ve pretty much been feasting all week long, .In addition to the presence of family, there were plenty of presents, with the central ones being Saskatchewan Roughriders Championship bling! The markets were thin and volatile this shortened trading week, and we expect more of the same next week. The sporting world adopts a specialized schedule around the holidays, and features some special events like the World Junior Hockey Championship, so I’m getting plenty of TV watching. The Grand Slam of Curling event ended on Sunday with the Swiss teams of Schwaller and Tirinzoni sweeping to the gold medals! In the NHL, the Oilers continue to play well, and have ascended to the top of their division, while Pens and Leafs have descended near the bottom of theirs—c’mon man! In Basketball, the #17-Jayhawks did not rise as I expected, but they put up another strong win, and are now set for the beginning of conference play. 

And that’s enough for this week! 

Storming!

A stormy week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We experienced one multi-day storm, and are currently in the throes of another! The shovels and the snowblower have been fully employed this week, along with Wendy and me. Wendy has enjoyed more of the shovelling as she likes heading out there early in the morning, while I try to gauge my participation by checking the forecast and at least waiting until after breakfast! We started the week with a pot luck with our small group from church, and then Wendy’s chorus sang in the Rotary Carol Festival. And, still on Sunday, we went over to Trav/Joanna’s place for a birthday celebration for Andrew. Wendy is very busy getting ready for Christmas. The Bailey family should arrive on Monday; the Ulrichs from Regina, on Christmas Eve. The markets remain troubled and I’m having trouble making money this month, however it has been a good year so far—bring on the Santa Claus Rally! In hockey, my Oilers are playing better and have risen to a playoff position. Pens have been blowing leads, and have fallen just out of the playoff lineup. Leafs are even further back. In college football, the playoffs have begun. My #8-Sooners lost to #9-Alabama, so that was like two losses! Now, my only remaining interest is in seeing Alabama lose! The Canadian Open is playing out in Saskatoon this week, as we see the strength of curling world wide. Of the top 16 women’s teams, we only had two Canadian teams, #1-Homan and #9-Einarson. Meanwhile, there are four Japanese teams, three from Korea, two Switzerlands and a partridge in a pear tree! At least our teams made it to the playoffs, although they have lost out now. Championship game tomorrow will be #2-Tirinizoni vs #10-Fujisawa. On the men’s side we had six entrants, but only two made the playoffs: #3-Jacobs and #23-Gushue, who only got to play by a sponsor's invite. But, like our gals, they lost out in the playoffs. Nothing but international teams left! Championship game tomorrow will be #5-Whyte vs #4-Schwaller. In basketball, the #17-Jayhawks rose in the rankings and won again, so I’m expecting another elevation. 

Erica has been ill part of the week, so we hope she’s on the mend. They are on their way here for a Christmas visit. They picked up Liam in Regina, and plan to meet Haaken’s flight in Winnipeg tonight. We’re looking forward to seeing them. 

Your Forklift Operator

Kristian had an eventful week as he took forklift training. He enjoyed it and it went well. He feels confident in operating a forklift now, so that’s nice addition to his resume. Erin has had a productive week at work. The downside was a winter storm that included freezing rain. It coated their cars and proved very difficult to remove. It also made the streets very icing and treacherous for driving. 

Travis and Joanna hosted Andrew’s birthday party last Sunday. We were pleased to take part and enjoy the pizza and birthday cake. Andrew and Rosie are doing well. Andrew is preparing for more exams. Rosie is building up her massage therapy clientele. 

Dog’s Xmas Pix

And that’s about enough for this week! 

Merry Christmas!

A little relief

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We began the week with a joyous Christmas Carolling at a local seniors’ residence. Kalli came along, and was a great hit even though she can’t sing a lick!

But she’s so cute!

The temperatures have moderated a little, but we also got some more snow. I even got the snowblower out one day, as Wendy had pushed the snow to the edges and I blew it up onto the lawns—worked okay. My choir practices are completed for now, but Wendy still is working with the Sweet Adelines’ stuff, especially on the business side. They have a Christmas Party coming up, and another Carol Festival tomorrow evening. We also have a small group potluck tomorrow as the festive season brings lots of special events. Preparations are underway hard here at the house as Wendy prepares for the arrival of the family for Christmas. This week, the tree came out and sprouted a star! Tonight, we enjoyed a special festival as Trav hosted us to a multi-band tribute evening at the Centre of the Arts. It was central bank week, and that brings lots of varying actions, messages and interpretations! BoC reflected on our surprisingly strong economy to hold the line as we added many jobs and lowered our unemployment rate. The FED noted economic weakness in the USA with job losses and a slowing economy by lowering their prime rate by 0.25% even as they acknowledged that inflation was up and rising, so many felt they should hold. As a result, investors swung wildly in both directions as the mood varied through the week. In curling, the Olympic play-in tournament ended with the final two teams qualifying on both sides to complete the 10-team fields. It was USA and China for the men; with Japan and USA for the women. The cash curling games are in Swift Current, this week. My guy, #30-Koe, has qualified for the playoffs. In the NHL, I had two of those special nights this week where all three teams I follow, played. Sadly, on both occasions only the Oilers won, but at least it was my Oilers who won! Today, the Pens took a 4-goal lead in the third only to cough it up and lose in OT, sigh! In basketball, my #19-Jayhawks rose in the rankings as expected and won a tough road game today in North Carolina, so I expect them to rise again. 

Erica writes, “We are wrapping gifts! This week was busy with several social events and training. So Saturday we decided to give our social batteries a recharge and stayed home wrapping presents. We got a dump of snow this week and our not-a-garage experienced some structural failure on one end. We will work on fixing it when it’s not minus 22! It’s still useable. I had the opportunity to move to a new job but decided that I am happy where I am! Which means continued MNP golf swag for Dad! That’s about it for this week. Next week Liam completes his exams. We hope those go well for him.”

Kristian says there was nothing new for him this week. Erin writes, “Financial statements were submitted yesterday morning. Now, I'm starting year end preparation along with regular work. It’s a busy job. Once one deadline passes, another is looming. Weekend naps are extra nice and needed lately. I just woke up from one, haha. Staff Christmas party was so good last week. I went out for supper with a friend last week, and taking my girls for lunch this week, and year end work supper coming up this week, too… I do like this season even though it’s so busy. Also, I need the extra pounds for the weather here. It’s gross. Oh, but I sent Kristian out for an errand last night and the Golf started—good little car!”

Big fans of ABBA for 50 years!

Travis and Joanna remain very busy, and combined with the extra seasonal busyness, it can be too much. Trav took us out to the tribute bands tonight, but Joanna didn’t feel she could afford the time. Anyway, it was great, Cher—just so so, Bee Gees—good and ABBA—very good! We had a great time—thanks guys! 

And that’s about it for this week. 

And getting colder...

Another week has passed on the shore Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has turned even colder with no day time highs above zero, and overnight lows approaching -20°. We have very little snow yet. We had our concert on Sunday afternoon with our Silver Sound choir—that was delightful and now we’re off for a month or so. Wendy had a concert with Sweet Adelines group on Monday evening—also delightful, and they continue practicing and having more concerts. 

Snug as a bug...

The new awning and the cover for the camper arrived. We have installed the awning on the wind-up pipe, but not on the camper. We installed the cover on the camper. Wendy has continued her preparations for the arrival of family later this month. She has bought a queen-sized bed, and is negotiating on two single beds. And there, she got one of those! The markets are not thriving these days. USA investors are fretting that sometimes bad news is just bad news, but they occasionally raise their hopes in the expectations of a FED rate cut. Canadian investors have decided that the economic news is too good as the jobs' report was very good and the unemployment rate fell. They fear the BoC may initiate a rate hike! International curling is in the spotlight this week as eight teams compete on both the women's and men’s sides in an attempt to earn one of two remaining spots at the Olympics. We are among the teams who have already qualified. In the NHL, I enjoyed a special night this week as Oilers, Pens and Leafs all won—small victories, I’m enjoying small victories! In football, the #8-Sooners held their position in the playoffs, while Texas rose to #13 only, and appear destined to miss the playoffs. In basketball, #21-KU rose into the rankings as expected, but lost to #5-UConn this week. Rock Chalk boys. Beat Mizzou!

Erica writes, “This week was a little less busy, which is good because I have been recovering from a cold. Eric had several meetings with FACT-SK, a group trying to bring regulation to therapy in Saskatchewan. We spent some time and money on Thursday and Friday finalizing our Christmas gifts and I think we are almost done, assuming Amazon delivers on time. Liam and Mercedes had a crazy trip to Victoria to pick up their friend Bella. They left Thursday and drove through the night. I am reminded of times Eric and I did something similar and Mom and Dad said we were nuts. I now understand Mom and Dad’s point of view.”—[smile!] Greg writes, “Grandpa would be proud, even though I didn’t get him. I stalked a Whitetail through 10km of bush yesterday, but he used an open swamp to lose me—it was snowing and super windy! It was so much fun!” I am proud, and I agree that the hunt is the fun part; once the animal falls, it’s hard work!

Erin and Kristian are working through their various opportunities and interests in Regina. Work is progressing well for Erin, and she has her staff Christmas Party tonight. Kristian’s new diesel VW is performing just fine despite the frigid temperatures. Kristian begins forklift training on the 18th. He has his training booklet already. There is also the prospect of employment as a forklift operator flowing directly from the training session if all goes well—very encouraging! 

Travis and Joanna keep very busy. Joanna has also had a bit of fight with a cold and sore throat. Wendy is feeling some of those symptoms as well. Rosie is expanding her client list in her massage work. Tonight, Trav came over with some pizza to help us with moving beds. Thanks! He didn’t bring any furry friends this time, although, confidentially, I doubt they would have been of any help!

And that’s about enough for this week. 

Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been frosty, as befits the time of year. Daytime highs are rarely struggling above zero these days, and we’ve even received our first skiff of snow. I’ve done a bit more efforts covering the camper for the winter, but now Wendy has determined that we should buy a special cover for it, so that’s on the way. I’ve also ordered the replacement material for the awning. I’ve done a bit more work on the FastTrack boards, and Wendy is back to painting in the side entry. She has also bought a new bed for the extra bedroom downstairs as we prepare to host the family for Christmas this year—looking forward to that! It has been a busy week on the musical front as both Wendy’s chorus and ours are in final preparations for Christmas concerts. Our concert is tomorrow afternoon, while hers is Monday night. She will have a few more concerts, but our Silver Sound is now done for the season. In January, we’ll start preparing for a Spring concert. The USA markets have been bad all month as their economy struggles under the weight of Trump Tariffs. He seems to be relenting a bit under pressure from the populace, so we’ll hope for better times to come. Our PM, focused on building world-wide trade, has our economy doing better than expected. The Olympic curling trials have been running all week and I’ve been enjoying the coverage. #1-Homan came through as expected, and will represent us well. My gal, #9-Einarson made the playoffs, but surprisingly fell to #27-Black. Homan made quick work of her in the finals. On the men’s side, by guy, #31-Koe, performed very well, but in the end it was the usual suspects in the playoffs, with #2-Dunstone facing #3-Jacobs in the final, although Koe beat both of them! Jacobs won in two games and will represent us well. Hockey is disappointing so far as my Oilers and the Leafs play around .500, although both won today. The Pens are doing a bit better. In college football only the top twelve teams make the playoffs. The #16-Longhorns had a big win over the previously undefeated #3-Aggies, and may sneak into the playoffs yet. My #8-Sooners struggled against LSU, but eventually won it, so their playoff positioning should be secure. In Basketball, the Jayhawks have fallen from the top 25 rankings, but they had a great week with three wins including over #17-Tennessee, so they should bounce back up the rankings once again. 

Eric wrote, “It’s been a week of getting back into the swing of things. We had work all week, Erica went out of town for work one day. Eric had a few meetings around work and planning for the next year. We had a Christmas party Tuesday night that had fun things like a Jeopardy game between the tables. On Friday, Erica’s band played a gig. They had fun. Saturday, we went to the Raider’s game but they lost. We are doing music in church tomorrow."

A cover charge? They must be good!

Erin is not enjoying the impending winter, although they don’t have much snow in Regina yet. Kristian has accepted the nomination to the forklift training program, and now we wait to see if that comes to fruition. 

Travis and Joanna keep busy, and added a PuckShots assignment to their work this week. But the big event was Trav’s birthday on Thursday! We enjoyed the evening out with them to Wacky’s. Very loud, but good grub! Wendy and I provided some of the entertainment by taking in a Virtual Reality experience. It made Wendy nauseous, and provided laughs for the rest of the crew which included Andrew and Rosie. 

Who’s having a good time!

And that’s about it for this week. 

Still Green!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. We have seen a few snowflakes, but it’s still green outside as befits the week where we celebrate the Grey Cup Championship! It happened last Sunday—we revelled in the Rider victory over Montreal! Our first championship since 2013. Yay Riders!

Riders win! Riders win! 

The usual events of the week—a lot of choir business for Wendy and music practices for both of us played out well. Our choir, Silver Sound, is in the final stages of preparation for our concert on October 30th. Wendy has returned her attention to our ten-year reno project—she is painting in the side entry. Yay! On Friday, she took our old friend, Rauni, out for a 94th birthday celebration! The markets have been terrible all month, and all indices remain in the red to this point. The difficulties lie in figuring out what the reality is with the USA economy, and then guessing what his Orangeness will do next. This week his personally installed “experts” tried to tell us that 119,000 jobs were created in September when all other indications were that much fewer jobs were created, and that it is likely that jobs were lost! This is what the experts have been reporting, but he didn’t like that, so he installed his own experts to tell him what he wanted to hear—yes, it does sound like North Korea! In college football, the reranking went pretty much as expected. Today, my #8-Sooners beat Missouri to maintain their playoff position, while #17-Longhorns blasted Arkansas to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. In basketball, #24-Jayhawks put up a spirited effort, but lost to #5-Duke. The big event for me now is the Olympic curling trials. #1-Homan is the clear favourite on the women’s side, but my favourite, #9-Einarson, will challenge. On the men’s side, #2-Dunstone and #3-Jacobs lead the way, but I’ll still be cheering for my longtime favourite, #29-Koe, who is probably playing in his last hurrah! #6-Epping is playing well, and of course #19-Gushue always plays tough! In hockey, my Oilers and the Leafs continue their mediocre play, while the Pens are struggling along under injury issues, but being quite successful. 

Erica writes, “After very little sleep and an early morning start, we made our way back from Belgrade to Prince Albert! We had a good trip, enjoyed some wonderful hospitality on our two-day side trip to Italy and a few driving adventures. The more we travel, the less foreign new places feel. We hope to spend some time living over seas, maybe for six months, when we retire, so we can do more traveling without the big flights. It’s getting harder to recover from the swelling the flight causes. And, as we were driving back to Belgrade from Montenegro, I marvelled at road signs that said Vienna and Budapest and thought if only we had time and money, we could just keep exploring. Elizabeta enjoyed seeing her daughter, a younger brother and brother in law and other family members. It had been over two decades, which is hard to imagine. And yet, that was the reality for my own grandparents and great grandparents who immigrated to Canada. It is good to be back in our own beds!” 

Erin and Kristian are continuing to enjoy the green in Regina as well. Erin spent the week with work-work-work! Kristian is working on his job applications, and has been offered an opportunity to train as a fork-lift operator—sounds like a good option. 

Travis and Joanna are still busy with work and four dogs! Trav also took on an extra contract to make me a new set of labels for the monitor station in the camper—you can see how it has deteriorated over the years. He made two sets, one with colour, one just black and white. I haven’t decided which set to use yet—Thanks! 

And that’s enough for this week. 

Grey Cup Weekend!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been lovely, and we’ve enjoyed taking Kali for walks and working in the yard preparing the camper for winter.

Just fits!

No extra room!

I managed to get the gates switched to outward opening, and they’re working properly, so the camper is now parked out back. All systems seem ready for the layoff, and it has electricity available. I also managed to get the generator working properly. It was running fine, but not putting out electricity. I had not heard of the concept of flashing the generator, but YouTube has, so I tried flashing it with my angle grinder, et voilà, we have current! I have also been working on the awning. We have only the mechanical parts for the awning, but we have worked on those, and we’re pretty much ready to apply new awning fabric, although I want warm weather for that, so it may wait until Spring. We keep working on our choir music, preparing for Christmas concerts coming at the end of the month. The markets continue to be difficult with the USA economic turmoil leaving all their indices in the red so far this month. The Continental Cup of curling ended on Sunday with #1-Homan coming through for us on the women’s side, while #1-Mouat prevented our sweep, overcoming #2-Dunstone in a shoot-out. College football featured big games for my teams as they try to get in position for the playoffs. My #11-Sooners travelled to #4-Alabama and rode four turnovers by their defence to victory. That’s like two wins: Sooners won, and Alabama lost! #10-Texas was also on the road, at #5-Georgia, but they were not up to the task. Now, we wait to see the new rankings. Of course the big football action is tomorrow in Winnipeg as the Riders face Montreal for the Grey Cup. Go Riders! In hockey, nothing much is changing as my Oilers continue to flounder, although they won tonight, The Leafs are really on a downer, while Pens are playing well, but losing some games late, sigh! In basketball, KU was dropped to #25 after last week’s action, but replied with two wins this week—Rock Chalk boys. 

Eric and Erica have spent the week touring Montenegro with their neighbours. They have enjoyed seeing them find their old neighbourhood that they left 36 years ago, and reuniting with family over there. 

Kristian called one day with an electrical problem. It was not straight-forward, but with the facility of FaceTime, we worked our way through it! Erin keeps busy with work. Kristian helps nicely around the house, and continues with his drug trial. He needs a job! Currently, he’s working with the DHH folks on his application for SAID funding. The cats are doing well. 

Travis and Joanna are busy with their work and the new dog. Trav brought Jasmine and Marigold over one day to get acquainted with Kali. That was a good visit. 

And that’s about it for this week.