News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. We continue to enjoy the favourable weather as winter avoids Regina this year. Friday was +14 when I grabbed a golf club and went for my afternoon walk. The week has gone well. Wendy has been busy as she completed several tasks in preparation for the weekend with the women (including Erica) at the Spa! She's in Moose Jaw this weekend, and reports to be enjoying it just fine!

Lookin' Good@Goofy Gala!

We're batching here at home, and struggling to keep body and soul together! The nice week of weather culminated in a BBQ supper tonight—thanks for the burn, Bern! The markets continue to be dismal, and with only one trading day left in the month, I feel I have no prospects to make quota this month. Fortunately, Friday was green, and I managed to make a weekly quota in just one day! I've been watching curling all week. Chelsey Carey of Alberta is in the final tomorrow, and tonight's semi-final saw TBay's Krista McCarville, beat Jones to advance to the final against Carey. Kansas played two good games, winning both to clinch the conference championship for the twelfth straight year. It is likely they will also be moved back to #1 ranking when those are announced later this weekend, and probably guaranteed a #1 seed in March Madness. 

The Baileys enjoyed the time in Paris and returned home to enjoy Spring! Paris was amazing; they report the highlights were Juno Beach, Disneyland Paris, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, Versailles and the Eiffel Tower! Although, chocolat chaud, and le pain au chocolat were right up there as well! They also caught colds over there, but Haaken seems to have been hit the worst—he's still coughing up phlegm. They flew back in on Wednesday evening, and we were able to give them a break by driving to Saskatoon, and ferrying Liam down to Caronport for school! They had already had a long day, and were very tired, and very thankful—pas de problème! Now they're all back at work and school and checking travel deals for the next big adventure! Haaken is anxiously waiting for a positive response from Capilano University—we pray that may be so.

Erin and Kristian have both been ill during the week and missed both work and school. They seem much recovered now, and we're enjoying Friday night together. Today, they enjoyed swimming, Boston Pizza and movie time! 

Trav & Joanna along with Gemma and Andrew are holding down the fort at home. There were some internet issues there, but finally we got enough of Shaw's attention to get it fixed. Otherwise things are progressing fine there. Trav's team picked up another couple of wins as they tune up for the playoffs. 

And that's about enough for this week! 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairie! They have no winter here. We've been enjoying above zero temperatures, although several days were cloudy. I have been suffering with gout all week in my right foot. It was brought on by a sweet dessert last weekend that contained high fructose corn syrup which seems to be my kryptonite! Thus I am unable to drink ordinary pop, and most sweet confections. I am able to enjoy the sweetness of honey and maple syrup, at least! I was to the doctor finally on Friday, hoping to get a prescription that would remove the uric acid from my system, but I ran into a Catch 22 that I've hit before. This doctor explained that using such was not approved during an attack because it caused increased pain. Then, if I return when I'm not having an attack, it's not prescribed because my uric acid levels are too low to warrant it! Sigh! Anyway, the pain is diminishing, and I have been able to get out for walks each day. Wendy slipped on the ice last weekend, and suffered bruises, scrapes and abrasions on her arms and legs. She's been hobbled all week, and is not fully recovered yet, but is much improved. The markets were closed on Monday, but ran nicely green on Tuesday through Thursday, and I was able to achieve some good gains. Sports have turned very busy with Scotties Curling on TV two or three times each day, Hockey surging into the trade deadline, trying to decide who will be buying and who will be selling. Basketball is driving toward March Madness, trying to get a favourable seeding. The Jayhawks scored two impressive wins this week, while some of their rivals fell back; they've been raised to #2 once again. The Scotties opened with upsets as the defending champs, and the highly ranked Ontario team, both lost. Alberta looks strong, and have the benefit of playing at home. 

The Baileys have been in France this week enjoying the cultural and historical richness of Paris and the WWII memorials. We look have been following their trip via FaceBook and look forward to hearing even more about it in person upon their return. 

Erin had Monday off (Family Day), so we enjoyed spending the day with her. Kristian had the whole week off from school, and we enjoyed having him with us. Grandma scored him a new pair of jeans as well, so it was a good week for him. He got all his homework done, and learned to play his recorder a bit better. Shawn's house sale fell through, and he's still looking. 

Trav and his team went through the tournament in Wisconsin undefeated to win the championship trophy. Now they're focused on completing the season strongly so they can get a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Joanna remains busy; Gemma and Andrew are back at school. We are so glad to have them all there taking care of the place. 

And that's about it for this week. 

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! 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather continues to be nice with single digits of frost only, and little in the way of new snow. As usual, the streets and roads remain slushy in the salt treatments they use here, and the driveway was able to burn off in the sunshine despite the below zero temperatures. Wendy continues to work on the shower selection, but we're not prepared to open that can of worms in light of our imminent departure for the west. The markets have been down again this week, and even more so on the US side as we seem to be back in the "good news is bad news" phase. We haven't had good news in Canada, as the energy sector continues to fall despite some improvement in oil price. I have been working on some new investment plays to deal with our troubled situation, and finally moved from paper plays to actual investment on Friday, and there's always some initial excitement on a new play. We've had news that our refugee family has been identified. We look forward to their arrival in Thunder Bay. The focus this week was to collect clothing now that we know the make up of the family—dad, mom and four children. We had a memorial for Adam on Tuesday evening—that was the young man from our congregation who was killed in La Loche. It's another weekend with lots of curling as the provincial playoffs for men is underway. As expected, the Jayhawks were dropped and now sit #7 in the country. They won their games this week, and looked pretty good for the first half of the game today against TCU. It's Super Bowl weekend, and since my guy, Peyton Manning, is there, I'll be monitoring that, but his team is actually given no chance to beat Carolina. Hockey is beginning to heat up as we're into the last half of the regular season and playoff races are attracting attention. 

The Baileys have had a quiet week. They have been completing preparations for their trip to France, and completing assignments at work. Liam is advising that only twelve weeks remain until something happens! Inquiring minds wonder what that might be! Liam turned 16 this week, and Haaken hits 19 tomorrow. The family celebrated last weekend when Liam was home. Eric took the air hockey table to work which cleared off some space in the basement. Their laundromat posted new hours which makes it more difficult to use, so they're now contemplating the purchase of a washer/dryer combo of their own. 

Erin, Kristian and Sadie have also enjoyed a quiet week. Kristian has had lots of homework, but he's managed to keep it completed on time. His eyes have improved, so they're looking forward to his appointment with the optometrist on Monday. They are continuing to learn how their house operates through the first winter there, but all seems to be going well. 

Travis, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew have continued with their usual activities. Joanna was hired on a contract basis as a phlebotomist. Congratulations! We'll now wait to see how much time they'll be asking of her. She keeps plenty busy without this new job, but it is her training and she wanted to keep her foot in that door. Trav's team has been busy with both league hockey and a tournament. They continue to pressure the front runners in the league, but haven't yet made up for their poor start to the season. 

And that's about it for this week.