Saturday, April 30

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been nice, and we've been able to get out to enjoy it. Wendy is walking with her friend, Charlene, so my walks have tended toward the golf course! The driving range and practice area are open, so, now I'm even more certain that this is going to be a big year for me. That feeling will continue until seconds after I reach the first tee! Wendy has continued with painting all week. She has completed painting the living room and hallway ceilings. And she has the primer on the living room walls. There was a vibrant decoration on one wall, so it appears a second coat of primer will be needed. I've done some yard work, and the lawns are greening up. Wendy is still pondering what I should be doing with the back lawn. We had a dugout area for the trampoline, but she may be cancelling that. In that case, I will need to fill the hole, and plant it to grass. The rhubarb is up; it's always nice to see that each Spring. The markets began the week lousy, running up five straight days of red until finally things turned green for Thursday and Friday. However, I fell far short of quota for the month, and will have to try to make it up in May—what do you mean, "Sell in May, and go away!" Last year May was an excellent month; perhaps even more reason to avoid it this year! The first round of NHL playoffs are complete and I picked 6 of the 8 winners. The NHL brackets have placed the top two teams in each conference against each other, so I'm hard-pressed to pick winners in this round. I'm picking Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay in the East, and St. Louis and San Jose in the West. It was pretty tough picking against Washington and Dallas. The Blue Jays continue to play mediocre ball—not good enough guys! The Champions Cup is on in curling, the final event of the Grand Slam calendar. My guy, Kevin Koe, has made the playoffs again. 

Eric/A are in Regina this weekend along with Haaken. Erin and Kristian took Erica shopping for some new work clothes for her new job with Deloitte. Eric is looking for more staff at his place of work. They all got together to celebrate Eric's birthday tonight. 

Travis continues to be busy with work even though this is usually a bit of a down time of year. Joanna is getting some contract work in phlebotomy, and more equipment is arriving all week. Gemma is enjoying learning to drive, and always looking for more opportunities to do so. Andrew has upgraded his wardrobe—looking good! 

And that's about it for this week. 

Saturday, April 23

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been nice, but cool, so things have not warmed up as needed to get the golf courses open. However, it's been nice to get out for daily walks. I've been practicing golf a bit each day, and am pretty sure this is going to be the year!! Ha, ha, ha! I obtained three new clubs for Wendy; I hope that encourages her to play some. She has begun painting in the living room, starting with the ceiling. The markets started off nicely, but two deeply red days at the end of the week took away the early gains and left me with a red week. We're considering some yard work; we'll see how far that goes! On Friday evening, we celebrated a Passover Seder for the first time; it was very interesting. Brad Gushue won the Players Championship in Toronto—he's gaining more prominence within the Canadian men's curling rankings. The first round of NHL playoffs continues; my eight picks are surviving. The Blue Jays continue to show promise, but not nearly enough performance. 

With the right costume...
Liam's play opened on Wednesday afternoon; it closes this evening. Eric, Erica and Haaken drove down to catch this evening's performance. Break a leg—Liam! They stayed overnight at Erin's and revealed a hole in her air mattress. Perhaps they will also figure out how to fix it! Haaken has been accepted in the University of Regina, Faculty of Media, Art and Performance in the Bachelor of Film Production program. He is very excited about his acceptance—congratulations Haaken! Registration is in early May, so there remains the possibility of hearing from Capilano as well. However, he is satisfied with the U of R, so perhaps the budding Saskatchewan film industry holds a place where he can use his gifts. Erica received and accepted a job offer from Deloitte in Prince Albert! She will need to serve some clients in Saskatoon, but it will significantly cut down on her travel time as they were able to figure out how an Audit Manager could do most of the work in Prince Albert. She is looking forward to starting the new program at the end of May. She may even explore a tax specialization! Eric's work had three people resign this week, so he's looking for prospective counselling and program staff. If you're interested, he's love to talk to you! He had a recent article on communication published—check it out, it's worth the read! 

Erin keeps busy with work and Kristian's school and social life. I have rebuilt a golf bag cart to fit Kristian's golf clubs, so we're looking forward to trying that out! This weekend, they've taken Aunty Erica for brunch and shopping. And then Kristian has a birthday party for his buddy Owen! Erin is enjoying practicing and learning about cooking on her barbecue. 

Travis and Joanna keep very busy with work. Joanna has a few assignments for her contract work in phlebotomy as well. Gemma is getting regular practice driving the car; that must be going well as they all make it back home after each trip! 

And that's about it for this week. 

Saturday, April 16

News Update

Another week has passed, and we have returned to my hometown on the shore of Lake Superior, where the women are strong, the men are handsome, and all of the children are above average! We enjoyed a few more days in Regina, but with stormy weather threatening, we headed east on Wednesday morning. We stopped overnight in Winnipeg, hosted by Dean & Cassie, and fed the "fatted calf" courtesy Bob & Linda—thanks a lot, folks! It was great to catch up with the events of their lives. We continued east on Thursday, arriving in the early evening. It is nice to be home again. The weather has been nice here lately, and the snow is gone. We're enjoying warm, sunny days, and seeing how the lawns and trees have passed the winter. The golf courses are still closed here, but some of the greens have been uncovered, so it can't be long! The markets were all up about 1.5% this week as oil prices rallied to over $40. Producing nations are having a meeting this weekend; we'll be surprised if something productive comes out of that! Still, I had a great week, and have recovered to being on quota for the year to date. The World Curling Championship ended on Sunday, and Kevin Koe has brought back the gold to Canada; I was very happy to see that! This week they're playing in the Players Championship in Toronto, and they're in the playoffs again. In golf, the Masters also ended last Sunday, featuring a surprising collapse by Jordan Spieth. This opened space for Danny Willett to win the green jacket. NHL playoffs have begun, and some of my picks are struggling! I picked Washington, Pittsburgh, Florida and Tampa in the eastern series. I picked Dallas, Anaheim, San Jose and St Louis in the west. The Blue Jays are not playing well in the early season; I need them to pick it up! Go Jays! 

Erica had a followup meeting on Monday about the potential job in Prince Albert. That went well, so now we wait to see whether it turns into an offer. Liam is home again this weekend for a visit; it is always nice to have the kids come home. They got the motorcycles out of storage. Erica looks forward to riding back and forth to work whenever the weather cooperates. Eric has started teaching a class on Wednesday evenings. We think it's about anger management for teens. Haaken found out he gets some disability funding, so that will help bridge the gap until he finds suitable employment, or gets into school. This summer is projected to include a crash course in gardening. Their church is doing a community garden in cooperation with the city, and Erica is taking part. She's planning to grow corn. 

We are very thankful to Erin and Kristian for taking care of us the last few weeks. It's been great! I was able to help her get her barbecue repaired and operating, and then she treated us to a few meals featuring grill cooking. We also helped Kristian revamp his bedroom. Kristian has picked up the pace at school recently, and we're delighted when he comes home with no homework! 

Travis, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew managed the home place. Thanks guys! It was Gemma's 16th birthday on Friday. She celebrated by getting her learner's licence, and taking her family for a spin! We also enjoyed birthday supper and birthday cake. Minnie took us for a walk this evening.
Trav was awarded the coach of the year award for his hockey efforts! We are very proud of his work with the young men. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Saturday, April 9

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The weather has been nice and I've been able to get out for golf practice regularly with Erin's clubs. Some courses are open here, but I haven't considered playing since my clubs are back in TBay. Kristian is back in school, and Wendy has been up at the hospital most of the time, so it's quiet around here all day. I've been fighting a cold since Tuesday. I could do without that! I've tried to get some extra rest, but with markets opening 7:30 here, and Wendy being her usual nighthawk, it's not easy! The markets turned over, as I suggested, but I finally got a green day on Friday to provide some relief. Still, it was a red week for me. Dad has been in the hospital all week, and was finally released today. They were unable to find a definitive answer to his low hemoglobin score, but after five units of blood, his numbers are holding above 100, and he feels much better. Villanova surprised UNC (and me) and won the NCAA basketball championship. Nothing left there but the shoulda, woulda, coulda! The hockey season is grinding to the end this weekend, and the playoff matchups are set. The Masters is set for an exciting final round on Sunday with Jordan Spieth, one of my favourites, leading the pack. I could see challenges coming from Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, or even a couple of lesser lights. Baseball opened another season this week; I'll be hoping the Blue Jays can have another good season. Men's Curling has gone wonderfully for Kevin Koe, and he's in the final tomorrow against Denmark. Japan and USA play for the Bronze.

Liam picked up a top hat at a shop in Saskatoon. It is pretty sweet!
Epic, Amazing, Cool!
Erica had an interview on Tuesday for a possible job in Prince Albert. She has another followup meeting scheduled for Monday. We are waiting to see how it all turns out. Haaken has made some final additions to his portfolio and it is now in the hands of Capilano University for consideration. Entrance is based entirely on the quality of his portfolio as compared to other applicants. He has also received word back from University of Regina asking for his transcripts, so that's another possibility. 

Kristian has had a good week in school. Erin had a good week at work. We had a good week staying at their place. Our plan was to head east last Monday, but Dad's illness intervened. Now, we are ready to plan our exit once again. We'll see how that goes! 

Trav's team completed their playoff run with an overtime goal to win the championship. Trav & Joanna and crew are still fighting to see the sunny side of Spring in Thunder Bay, so we're having many second thoughts about when we should return! 
We are the Champions, my friend!


And that's about it for this week. 

Saturday, April 2

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. We spent last week at the Baileys—thanks for a good and restful weekend! We drove down from PA on Sunday afternoon. Highway #2 was terrible, so we went east on the Yellowhead, and came down #6 to Regina. The weather has been more variable, but Kristian and I have been able to get out to play catch. We also checked out the golf course, but it still had the covers on the greens. It was over 20° here today; meanwhile, it's a snowy entry to Spring in Thunder Bay, so we'll have to stay here longer! Dad has been struggling throughout the winter with a lack of energy, and has lately been experiencing breathlessness. He went to the doctor this week, and after some blood work, he was admitted to the hospital on Friday as his hemoglobin was very low. He was given three units of blood and feels some improved today. They have scheduled further investigations next week, and we're glad to hear that. He was diagnosed with low hemoglobin four years ago when he had his accident, but it seems there has been no follow-up since then. Sigh! The markets remained helpful this week, but are showing signs of topping out again. However, I was able to complete a great month, and achieved quota for the first quarter of the year. NCAA basketball completes their playoffs this weekend, and I'm picking North Carolina to win it; they play in the final against Villanova. The NHL playoff picture is becoming clear. I am paying more attention to that, and will be choosing my favourites soon. The World Men's Curling championships opened today; Kevin Koe won his first game, which was against Finland. I'll be following that all week. It's also Masters week coming up—oh, the schedule! 

Liam was home for Easter break. Erica was back to work on Monday, but the rest of the crew enjoyed Easter Monday, hanging out, practising driving, and watching Netflix. Erica got called for an interview for a job in Prince Albert. We'll be watching to see how that all works out, and whether it's the change they're looking for! Haaken is updating his portfolio. The cutoff for submissions is April 5th. Since he's received some advice from one of his profs, he's working to make those improvements this weekend. Erica and Liam have joined us in Regina this weekend as they take LST training. Eric and Erica have decided to join the group as chaperones for the trip to Estonia this summer. 

Here in Regina, we have moved into Erin's basement. Kristian was off school for the week, so he's been taking care of us while Erin works—thanks buddy! Erin has come down with a cold; she's not enjoying that. Today, she took lessons on cooking ribs which we enjoyed for supper. It's been a good week; we've managed to get a few projects done here. We may prolong our stay until the situation with Dad becomes clear. 

Travis & Joanna are holding down the old home place in TBay. Joanna has gone down to southern Ontario this weekend to help out her mom. Trav's team is in the league finals, and we hope they finish it off strongly and successfully! They won the first game of the series, so they only need to win half of the remaining games to win it all!

That's about enough for this week!