News Update

Another week has passed and we're on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairie. We completed the drive up from Thunder Bay on Sunday evening. We checked in at Erin's once we got to town, and then we checked into our lodgings at 55 Laird. Thank you Bern, Alicia and Logan for putting us up so well. The weather has been beautiful with daytime highs touching 20 degrees in the sunshine. I went by the golf course, but it was already closed for the season. We've spent most evenings over at Erin's to catch up with them, and Wendy has spent most days up at the hospital. Dad was admitted for further surgery to replace the prosthetic spike from his knee down into his tibia. That was done Tuesday, but it hasn't been all smooth sailing since then, either. The surgery seems to have gone well, but he's been working through the after-effects, including low hemoglobin, since. Bern and Alicia have kept me busy with a couple of projects. We've redone the flooring in dad's room and the hallways with laminate. I also added an electrical outlet for dad's keyboard. Wendy has been repairing drywall that was damaged in that effort, and also touching up a few other spots. It has been a no good, very bad start to the month on the markets as fear of Trump is holding sway and driving the markets down, so I had a red week. We certainly hope things improve after Tuesday! The Cubs came back from a 3-1 deficit to overcome the curse and win the world series for me! Now, we can have some other story for the reporters to rave about! The Riders played out the season tonight, falling to BC Lions to finish at 5-13—not the 9-9 I was hoping for! Oilers continue to impress in the young hockey season. Tonight we celebrated Rich's birthday around delicious bbq and saskatoon crisp! 

Eric was the featured speaker in North Battleford on Sunday, while I was doing the same in Brandon. Otherwise they seem to have spent a quiet week. Erica has been working on our mortgage renewal process—that seems ready to go now. Liam is home this weekend for an appointment with a specialist. He and Eric took in a Dr. Strange movie tonight. They are glad to find a gluten-free restaurant in Saskatoon for Liam—they've been there twice already. Haaken remains pretty quiet, but when he's asked, he says everything is great! 

It turns out our assumptions were incorrect—things were not going well for Erin. She was sick all last week, and missed a couple of days of work. She was still sick when we arrived on Sunday evening. However, she's getting better and did not miss any work this week. Kristian is doing well. He enjoyed a good haul of treats accompanied by Grandma on Monday evening. Their laptop hard drive failed, so I got that replaced with a used one for minimal cost. That's about the last repair I can rationalize on that 10-year old computer. 

Joanna readies the next target!

Travis, Joanna and crew are keeping things going in Thunder Bay. We hear from them from time to time. His hockey team won another, and seems to be developing well. He wrote up the latest game with a Hallowe'en Theme—what a fun coach! Meanwhile they continue to be busy and effective in their work. Gemma and Andrew are doing well also. 

And that's about it for this week!