News Update

Another week has passed and we have moved from the shore of Lake Superior to the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairie. The snow stopped in Thunder Bay, but the weather turned cold. Now they're promising to moderate the temperatures as we move into the new week. In the meantime, we drove out to Regina on Friday where they're still waiting for both snow and winter. I don't know where the snow stopped—the ditches were full west of Winnipeg, but suddenly, in the dark, we noticed there was no snow in the ditches, and it stayed that way the last hours into Regina. There is no snow and mild temperatures here as well. And we get to enjoy the warm hospitality of Bern, Alicia and Logon while we stay at Dad's place. The markets continued to be very bad the first four days of the week, but Friday turned green, and I was able to make a recovery back into the green. I'm no where near quota, but at least I'm green again. 

Al Kweyder Family

Our Syrian refugee family arrived on Friday. We have much work still to do, as we help them adjust and integrate into our country and community. A furnished house has been made available and we have attempted to get it cleaned and ready. 

The Jayhawks were upgraded to #6 in the rankings, and they may rise again after they put in good efforts in two big games this week. Early in the week, they avenged an earlier loss to #10West Virginia, and then today, they went into #3Oklahoma and got a road win over the Sooners. Rock Chalk! And they're back in first place, too! Curling continues with Brier representatives being named in the remaining provinces. My guy, Kevin Koe, is in the semi-final in Alberta. Steve Laycock won Saskatchewan for the third straight year. Jamie Koe is back from NWT. Pat Simmons will return as defending champion. Brad Jacobs is in the final back home in northern Ontario. The NHL is grabbing attention as teams start making trades to build for the playoffs, or to start a longer term process. 

Eric/A and boys are off to Paris. It has been a busy week getting everything ready and completing their three French classes as part of their preparation. It's a good thing they have Liam and his eight years of French Immersion! They did take time to install the new washer & dryer, so that's in place for their return. Haaken launched a web comic this week while he waits to hear about this application to Capilano University. They are all excited to get going on their adventure; we wish them an enjoyable and useful time in France. 

Erin and Kristian had a favourable report from the optometrist on Monday, but the vision in his right eye remains somewhat weak. However, nothing was considered in the way of glasses so I guess it's within tolerances, although his left eye is certainly stronger. Erin got a new set of knives for her kitchen, as Kristian showed new aptitude and interest in cooking, and assisted in making homemade soup! Shawn bought a house; we look forward to checking it out. 

Travis is off this weekend with his hockey team to a tournament in Wisconsin. That last we heard they were in the semi-finals. Joanna, Gemma and Andrew are holding things down in frigid TBay. They will be taking care of things back home for the next month or so, as we sojourn in the west. 

And that's about it for this week!