News Update

Another week has passed and we have returned to the shore of Lake Superior and our hometown. We drove over to Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon, and spent the evening and night with Dean, Kelly and family. We're discussing the chance to make a trip to Mexico with True North Helping Hands next summer, so we were glad to get a chance to discuss that with them. The weather was beautiful for our drive down to TBay on Monday, but has turned cool, rainy and even snowy over the rest of the week here. We've been taking it easy all week, but, yesterday, we started back into the renovations here. We got a bit of a surprise as we had the electrical inspector in to check our aluminum wiring, and he informed us that the electrician hired to fix this ten years ago didn't do a proper job, so we'll be looking into that next week, sigh! The markets continued to push forward this month, and I had another great week. TSX posted another all-time high on Friday. I've been suffering with a cold all week, and we both felt a little run down, so the relaxation was welcome. I had an appointment with my oncologist on Tuesday; it went as per usual. My PSA remains elevated, but we feel it is simply a chronic inflammation. We were finally able to check the progress on our Keto way of eating effects. I have now lost 43 pounds, while Wendy has lost 30 since May. I'm at the target weight chosen by my doctor, so we'll see what she advises when I see her next month. The World Series is underway, but my Dodgers lost one at home, so it was great to see them take one in Houston, tonight. The CFL has one week remaining; the Riders beat Montreal decisively last evening, but still don't know who their playoff partner will be. The early season continues in the NHL; Oilers, Pens and Leafs all continue to play pretty well, although all of them lost tonight! The Masters event is on in Slam Curling, and my guy, Koe, made the playoffs, but he lost the semi-final to Gushue this evening.

The Baileys report that renovation work has mysteriously slowed to a crawl this week. They’re not sure why! The washer and dryer did get moved into the laundry room, but the washer needs a bit of adjustment. They discovered that to run the dryer, they also need to run the bathroom fan, otherwise the moisture builds up in the area. Liam returned to school after a week at home and various medical appointments. He is suffering from the resulting backlog of school work, but is otherwise okay. Haaken reports he is doing great. Eric and Erica are spending part of the weekend in Saskatoon, picking up renovation supplies and attending to various meetings and appointments. Eric also needs to write a sermon as he is on for preaching this Sunday (and he says he’s already used both his good ones).

Washer-Dryer in place

Erin and Kristian hosted us Saturday and Sunday, and then sent us on our way east. Thanks! Kristian had a Hallowe'en fun day instead of regular league bowling, today. Although most players were in costume, they were at least able to have fun, and get in their three games with some novelty play. Kristian's team won a prize for the bingo bowling game.

How can you bowl in that outfit?!

Trav and Joanna welcomed us home on Monday evening. They've had a busy week with appliance moving as their newly purchased washer/dryer were delivered. They got them assembled, hooked up and working in short order. We look forward to catching up with Gemma and Andrew soon as well.

New Washer/Dryer

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed, and we have begun the trip home. We drove down to Regina this evening, and we plan to drive to Winnipeg tomorrow to overnight with Dean & Kelly, and then continue to Thunder Bay on Monday. We both have appointments on Tuesday morning, so we've pushed it as far as we could, and now we have to hurry home. We were already two weeks overdue on our schedule, and it would have taken another week yet to complete all we had planned to do. However, we did come in under budget!! This week we completed work on the laundry room by refinishing the floor. That was a first for us, but it worked out fine. 

Refinishing the floor

We also had our share of surprises as we opened another partition while doing electrical work and found some knob and tube! 

Knob & Tube

Anyway, we'll leave the renovations with them for the winter, and see how that goes. It's been a good two months there. The markets ran well again this week and I made quota again. I still need a lot of catch up, but it all helps. The baseball playoffs have moved to the final series, and my Yankees did not make it. So, it'll be Houston vs the Dodgers. I'm picking the Dodgers to prevail. Meanwhile the Riders pulled off a big upset last evening, beating Calgary in Calgary! This assures them a playoff berth, so we'll be looking forward to that in a few weeks. Go Riders, Go! 

Eric and Erica were joined by Liam for the week as he was off school. Along with everything else, he had some medical work to take care of. The doctor had some new ideas about Liam's medical issues, so we hope some improvement will come from that. Haaken reports that coursework is going well in Victoria. We left Erica painting in the Master Bedroom, but she ran out of paint! 

We arrived at Erin and Kristian's this evening. Kristian has lost another tooth, an eye tooth this time. He had bowling today as well, and averaged over 100 once again, but not as high as last time. Then, they went to a movie: Lego Ninjago. When we arrived he was building a Lego project! What a guy!

Trav and Joanna had a busy week. Work is busy, and then this week they had the issue of Sears bankruptcy to deal with. They had bought some new appliances and purchased warranty coverage last year, but now with the impending bankruptcy, the warranty would be cancelled, so they went about getting vouchers to get some value out of it at least. That was a time-consuming and frustrating activity, but Joanna persisted! They are ensuring everything is ready for our arrival. Thanks guys! 

And that's enough for this week. 

News Update

We began the week in Regina where we scored two Thanksgiving dinners on Sunday! Thanks, Alicia and Erin; the ham and the ribs were both yummy centre-pieces to excellent meals. Then, we returned to Prince Albert, where we enjoyed a turkey-centred Thanksgiving meal on Monday! Thank you Erica and friends! It was difficult to remain in ketosis through all that! Work has continued on the renos. We have completed the bathroom, and almost finished the laundry room. The master bedroom is taking on mud, so we're getting close there as well. It is almost time to leave for home, so we'll see how much more gets completed before we leave. We bought stain and polyurethane today, and look forward to trying it on the laundry room hardwood soon. I have yet to cut in the hot air vent and the dryer vent holes into that floor. Markets were troubled all week; my winning streak broke after ten straight green days, but I'm on quota for the month so far. The baseball playoffs continue. My teams have all won so far, but now it gets tougher. The Yankees are playing Houston who are already up 2-0 on them. The Dodgers are playing the defending champs from Chicago. The two teams I didn't want to win have already lost out, so I won't be too upset no matter how it goes, but I'm still hoping for that Yankees-Dodgers World Series. The Riders continued to play uninspired ball, and were upset by Ottawa last night. A win would have clinched a playoff spot—C'mon Riders! The hockey season is underway, but my Oilers seem to be asleep with only one win! Let's go Oil! At least the Pens and the Leafs are showing progress.

She's high on paint!

Vanity added to new half-bath

New Kitchen Window is good for tomatoes!

Eric & Erica keep busy with their work, but still find time to help out with renos. Liam drove home Friday afternoon, so he got involved in house repairs today as well. It has been good spending the time here, but we need to get away in the coming week, and I'm afraid we won't get everything done that we had planned to do. I guess we'll have to plan another visit next year! 

Erin and Kristian keep busy with work and school activities. Kristian had a school outing to Fort Qu'Appelle on Friday, and his regular league bowling today. He kept his average over 100—good bowling, buddy! They also enjoyed an evening Oktoberkinderfest at the German club this afternoon. Shawn is always good at finding special activities for the kids on the weekends. 

The boy doesn't look well! 

Trav & Joanna FaceTimed on Thanksgiving. It was good to catch up with them. Then, with Sears closing, Joanna scored payouts for their warranties which will be ending, so they are shopping for new appliances before the credits are cancelled. Otherwise, they're keeping busy. We look forward to seeing them in another week. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed; we have driven down from the shore of the South Saskatchewan, to the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. We are taking advantage of the Thanksgiving weekend to spend some family time in Regina. That, as you may notice, includes multiple Thanksgiving feast opportunities! We've enjoyed fine Autumn weather all week, and glad to see the contractor take advantage to get the upstairs windows installed. That done, we've been making steady progress on our two rooms, and paying some attention to a few of the other renovation projects. I'm nearly finished in the bathroom/laundry room—hoping to get Wendy painting on Monday! I'm also hoping to complete the drywall application in the Master Bedroom on Monday, and then our assignment will be truly in the final days. The markets were pretty good this week until weak jobs' data in the US sent a tremor through on Friday. However, I was blessed with my first all green week of the year, so I'm very thankful. The Riders continued their winning ways today against the Argos. The backup QB came in and played very well, so that was encouraging. Early games in the NHL have played out with some surprising results. Long-suffering Leaf fans are delighted with their two-win opening week. The baseball playoffs have begun; this is the time of year when everyone starts to pay attention to baseball. I'm picking the Dodgers to win it all, and also cheering for the Yankees. If we could have a Yankee-Dodger World Series, it would harken back to my initial cheering as a child when I cheered for the Yanks, and Mom cheered for the Dodgers! However, it's not looking too good for the Yankees as they're down two games in their series against Cleveland. 

Glad it's not me!

Eric is travelling this week. He's down in Atlanta at a conference. We expect him back on Sunday. Erica and Liam are off this weekend to a wedding in Estevan. They should return to their usual locations tomorrow as well. Then, we have another Thanksgiving dinner celebration planned in PA! 

Erin is preparing a rib feast for the Family Thanksgiving feature. We're looking forward to that. Kristian had to bowl six games today to make up for missing league action last week. He scored well, but not up to his usual performance, so his average should remain about the same as a result. 

Trav & Joanna had an excellent month of business in September, and that has continued into the first week of October. Trav has been distracted by the opening of the NHL season as he has to get his Penguins into the win column. 

And that's enough for this week.