News Update

Another week has passed and we remain on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. Wendy is off this weekend to the Sisters Triangle gathering at Temple Gardens in Moose Jaw. The weather has turned cooler, but there's barely any snow left by now. Many people are reporting the return of the geese from their wintering grounds. My leg seems to be making some progress. This week, I upgraded my walks to 1.5km. Now, I only have to quadruple that to match the requirements of a round of golf! The markets are troubled, US bonds are recognizing that the economy is now a risky bet, and they are taking a beating once again. Stocks fluctuated this week; the TSX took a beating and administered one to me! At least I remain on pace for the month so far, and have only two days left. Perhaps things will settle over the weekend. We're running down to our final weeks here, and expect to be back in Thunder Bay the second week of March. Curling was the big draw this week, with the Scotties play-downs. It'll be Michelle Englot of Manitoba (Saskatchewan) facing Rachel Homan of Ontario in the gold medal game, while Krista McCarville of Thunder Bay plays Chelsea Carey of Alberta (Manitoba) in bronze medal action. New rules provide for greater flexibility of players to move around the country, so we see skips moving to differing provinces and achieving success. NHL teams are negotiating player deals as they consider their respective situations and decide if they are buyers or sellers! Oilers and Penguins remain well-placed in their divisions. Jayhawks won another pair of games this week and clinched a 13th straight conference championship tying John Wooden's record that he achieved in the 60's and 70's. However, no one has been able to approach his record of ten national championships in twelve years! 

Erica is also in Moose Jaw this weekend, and is undoubtedly the central reason why Wendy is there. The Baileys had the family together this week as Liam was off school. However, work continued as usual for Eric and Erica. Eric was the featured preacher on Sunday in Prince Albert; we're sure he acquitted himself well. 

Erin and Kristian continue to host us well here in Regina. Kristian was off school this week, so we enjoyed the extra time with him. He took us bowling one day; that was fun, and a good test for my leg. Erin has enjoyed the curling coverage with me, and this weekend we're anticipating the opening of the baseball season with the first spring training games. 

Travis and Joanna along with Gemma and Andrew continue their usual duties at home in Thunder Bay. Puckshots was awarded the role of exclusive photographers at the all-Ontario AAA Bantam level hockey tournament—quite a coup to be sure. Trav's team has begun defence of their city championship by sweeping the first round of the playoffs. The final game was a memorable comeback from a 4-0 deficit to win it in overtime. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The weather has been beautiful with lots of melting all week. I've been enjoying getting out for walks, but my leg is not getting good circulation, so it tires quickly; I estimate I can make 500m now. Wendy spent a couple of days over with Dad while Alicia worked; I went along with her some of the time. Otherwise, she keeps checking out as many of the local stores as she can, and drags me along when I'm having a weak moment! I had my followup with an internist on Wednesday over my DVT. It was not very encouraging. He said the clots should be dissolved by the end of the three-month prescription, but he extended it to six months anyway. He noted that full circulation might not come back ever, and that I will remain at risk for further clots. I have now completed my first three weeks into my prescription of Rivaroxaban. The doctor assured me that the blood clots would be gone at the end of three months. However, he noted that scarification of the sites often occurs, and that such scarification may prevent circulation from ever getting back to normal. He noted that the long delay in getting to a doctor with this was a negative factor on my chances of complete remediation. If only someone had suggested back in December that I should go to a doctor!! Mea culpa: I have no one to blame for this but myself. My daughter insisted I get to the doctor back in December. She is wagging her finger at me once again, sigh! The markets turned upward this week until Friday. I hope they were just holding their cash ahead of the long weekend, and not reacting to the train-wreck of a presser by Die Twittermaus! In any case, I had a good week despite losing some dough on Friday. Sports watching is coming into busy season. The Scotties started today; it's almost full-time just keeping up with that. NHL is getting down to serious season and the playoff hunt is heating up. Edmonton and Pittsburgh have improved to second place in their respective divisions. March Madness is just around the corner in basketball. My Jayhawks won two tough games this week by staging unbelievable comebacks. Rock Chalk boys! 

Eric, Erica had busy weeks. Eric has completed revisions on his final paper, and has received word that he has completed this course. Another course on the way to supervisor status. Erica is in busy season, so she's had some later evenings. She also had another appointment with her doctor; they now have a course of treatment on the lipedema. She will start a round of comprehensive decompression therapy in March to bring down the edema aspect of her lipedema. After that she will begin wearing compression garments. Liam had been sick this week, but recovered enough for Youth Quake, a youth rally at school. He comes home tomorrow for a week long break. Haaken continues to help around the house, and work with the Association for Community Living in search of work. He has also submitted some of his work to various studios. 

Erin and Kristian continue to host us, and we are thankful for that. Kristian recovered quickly after his illness on the weekend. He had a follow-up with the ophthalmologist on Monday. He approved of how Kristian's eyes were improving, but wants him to continue as a patient. Of course it was Valentine's this week, and Erin scored several bouquets, while Kristian enjoyed lots of treats from school. This morning was bowling league, and Kristian raised his average once again. 

Travis and Joanna are doing well. Trav's team lost the final in Superior last Sunday, but it served as a good preparation for the City Championships coming soon. On Monday, when they went over to the office at our house, they were delighted to find that the neighbours had cleared the driveway! It's nice to have folks like that around. It's nice to have Trav & Joanna looking after the place as well. 

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. We had a cold snap mid-week, but we're back looking at melting temperatures once again this weekend. My leg does not appear to be improving. I'm scheduled to see the specialist on Wednesday, so I look forward to an explanation of what I should be expecting—I hope it's not what I'm experiencing! I had a great week in the markets as the TSX rose to a new record high, finally surpassing September 2014. It has been a long 2.5 years of going sideways. And already we have pundits calling for a "correction", sigh! Wendy spent a couple of days over at her Dad's as Alicia was working—both were subbing! I got to go along one of the days. Kristian had a school holiday on Friday, but spent it being sick! That's no way to spend any day, and especially not a holiday. As a result, he and Erin did not come along with us to Caronport on Friday evening to see Liam in the school play. That was a nice outing, featuring a good job on Our Miss Brooks by the cast and crew. We got to enjoy it in special seats, complete with treats, and accompanied by Eric and Erica. Sports continues to make its way through the set schedules. Curling lineups are set for Scotties and Brier—that will consume some time in the next month! NHL hockey is pressing up to trade deadline, so the excited pundits are demanding our attention to every potential lineup change! Pittsburgh and Edmonton both hold down playoff positions, but only as third place teams in their respective divisions. NCAA Basketball moves ever closer to March Madness; this week Kansas was installed as the top seed in their bracket. However after two scrappy wins this week, over teams they should have beaten easily, it remains to be seen whether they will remain there. 

Eric completed all assignments as expected, and now works on edits and adjustments. Haaken is working through his assisted employment program. Erica's work progresses as usual. On Friday they drove down to Caronport to enjoy Liam's play with us. They subsequently took Liam to Moose Jaw to celebrate his performance, and still later returned him to Caronport and drove back home! Craziness abounds! 

Liam, with Our Miss Brooks!

Erin has been managing the department at work as her boss has been on medical leave, and only making sporadic visits to the shop. Kristian had a bad return with his eye infection, so he started the week in emergency, and is now back on antibiotics and hot compresses to his eyes. Then, on Friday he came down with fever and coughing. He's feeling quite a bit better today. 

We enjoyed a FaceTime visit with Trav, Joanna and Gemma the other night. Gemma aced her driver's exam, achieved her driver's licence, and is now licensed to drive! Trav and Gemma travelled with the hockey team to Superior, Wisconsin this weekend. The guys are 3-0 in preliminary action and are in the semi-final tomorrow. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairie! The weather was very nice at the start of the week, but it has turned colder again. Uncle Bordie, Howard and Diane have remained here until today, so we've enjoyed extra visiting with them to make up for not getting to see them in BC. I'm on medication for the clots in my leg, but I haven't noted any particular improvement yet—soon, I hope! This weekend we celebrated both Liam and Haaken's birthdays. Liam's birthday was today, and we enjoyed a special supper, birthday cake, a movie and a bowling adventure with them. We plan to celebrate Haaken's birthday tomorrow with a dinner out. We've enjoyed another week with Erin and Kristian—thanks for hosting us! The markets have been crazy again this week, but a final month of Obama's jobs' numbers turned Friday into a big payoff and almost got me to quota for the week. I've been getting promising results paper-trading a new strategy, but I'm not ready to pull the trigger and put any money into it just yet. The NHL has returned to action after the all-star break, and Pittsburgh has returned strongly to action, while Edmonton has dropped a couple. The Jayhawks won a big game against Baylor early in the week, and then inexplicably dropped a game to Iowa State today. C'mon guys—Rock, chalk! 

As mentioned, the Baileys were here to celebrate Liam's birthday. He has been practicing for his school play that hits the boards next week, so he has practices this weekend as well. It was a struggle to fit in his birthday celebrations! The performance is next weekend, and we hope to take in the Friday evening showing. Haaken continues with his program for employment assistance. He is also helping out with cooking supper, and has been putting together pitches for stories. Eric is down to crunch time on his counselling supervision course. All assignments are due early this month, so there's a bit of extra pressure there. Erica is in busy season at work as well, and is working some evenings. What a fun life! 

Erin keeps busy with Kristian's schedule of school and bowling, and then there's her house guests to manage as well. Kristian is having eye issues again, so he's on medication for that. He has bowling league each Saturday morning, and bowling practice on Monday evenings. He's enjoying it, and beat his average each game again this morning. 

Trav & Joanna and crew are taking care of things at home. His team lost the championship game in the tournament last weekend. They continue to play well, and even better in tournaments. Gemma and Andrew are into second semester at school. 

And that's about it for this week!