Happy New Year!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, and we find ourselves at the end of another year. We enjoyed a family Christmas celebration here. We wish you all well for each day, and of course for the New Year! The weather has turned very cold suddenly, and we've already enjoyed all of that we can stand. The forecasters are threatening continued cold weather over this weekend before it moderates. I even broke down and plugged the car in overnight! I haven't been feeling well this week; I seem to have come down with a cold, and I think it invaded my right eye, but it's getting better. Anyway, I didn't feel up to much production this week, and the kitchenette continues to wait. I did get some electrical work done at least. Wendy has broken out jigsaw puzzles; one is done, another well under way! The markets were only open three days, and it was just as well, as they did not help! I finished the year short of quota, but my accounts grew a bit despite us withdrawing funds each month for our needs—so that part was good. I'll be spending time over this long weekend analyzing the situation, and planning changes to my investment strategies. I try to do that several times each year, a bit each weekend, and even more so on long weekends. It's a job! Regular league play continues in the NHL, and I have to admit the Oilers are picking it up a bit. I'm not seeing improvement in the Pens; they seem unable to produce except on the power play, so they may need to make some changes, and perhaps even bring in some fresh talent. The Jayhawks opened league play with a road win over Texas—that was encouraging. They've been elevated to #11, and further changes will be seen in the next rankings as #1 Duke went down to defeat this week. The big event on now is the Junior Hockey World Championships. We lost one game to the US in a shoot-out, but have prevailed to win our pool, and now move on to the medal round. Go Canada, Go!

The Baileys spent the week in Victoria where they enjoyed the reunion with Haaken and a week of visiting with the Victoria Baileys! On the way out, they just made it to the ferry ahead of the bad weather. Christmas was very generous to all of them, but their greatest pleasure was seeing the boys feel the joy of watching others receive. They enjoyed a family trip to see the latest Star Wars. Haaken is enjoying school; he has been getting good grades. Hopefully, this will result in employment possibilities. They concluded the week celebrating the wedding of Tamara Jacobs, a friend from high school. This beautiful event took place at the Mann farm today. They plan to begin the drive back tomorrow, Sunday, the 31st.

Erin's week was marked by vehicle issues. Cold weather invaded Regina, and her car refused to start. It turned out the alternator was defunct. After it was rebuilt, and a new serpentine belt installed, Shawn also felt the battery had been compromised by operating at low charge in extremely cold weather, so the battery was replaced as well. As it turned out the battery was replaced under warranty, and the alternator was rebuilt, so the costs were kept remarkably low—a blessing all on its own! However, in today's cold snap, the car refused to start once again. Maybe it requires being plugged in under these conditions!

Building Lego keeps him warm!

Sadie requires a fur coat and sweater!

Travis and Joanna have been putting in long days this week. Joanna had extra work with her catering side, and they both had lots to do for Puckshots and Stickerz. Anyhow, we enjoyed Christmas together. We took in the latest Star Wars edition, and then we celebrated around a turkey dinner, and a Christmas jigsaw puzzle. They've both had nagging car issues, and finally bit the bullet and purchased a new battery for each of their vehicles. It improved to -15 today, and their cars were running well.

And that's about enough for this week and this year! 

Merry Christmas!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been mild, but we've had a few flurries along with that change. I've cleared the driveway a couple of times, and didn't enjoy it at all! Wendy has been busy with preparations for Christmas, and has also continued with her refreshment to the office and living room. I've continued with the kitchenette, but she has come up with some additions needed upstairs, so I'm wiring in two more electrical outlets up here. It's always a challenge adding electrical after the fact! I hope the mudding is done in the kitchenette, but we'll see what it looks like after the primer coat goes on. I've bought some LED strip lighting, so we'll see how that goes under the upper cupboards down there. If it's approved, we'll be adding some to the kitchen later. I've a couple of weeks with the compression stocking and I'm seeing improvements. There is less discolouration in the lower leg, and a lot less fluid build up each day. It's been a poor week in the markets with thin trading as we approach yearend. I only have three trading days left, and I don't expect much from those. Oilers have had a good week, and a playoff spot is at least becoming a possibility for them. Penguins are also close to a playoff spot, and there are rumours they'll be trying to improve their lineup through a trade. Jayhawks came back with a couple of wins this week, and should see some improvement from their current #14 ranking.

Eric, Erica and Liam are on the way to the Island today. The last report this evening had them on the 10PM ferry. Haaken awaits, along with the extended Bailey family, so we're wishing them a Merry Christmas out there! From the photos they've sent our way, it appears they got the bedroom floor ready for stain and polyurethane before they headed west—good job! 

Erin and Kristian seem to be all ready for Christmas in Regina, with several festive meals being organized. They're expecting cold weather there, so we wish them a Merry and warm Christmas! 

Trav, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew are celebrating Christmas with us here in Thunder Bay. We're planning to take in the latest Star Wars film as our traditional Christmas movie. Merry Christmas, and May God bless us, everyone! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been cold, and we've had a little bit more snow. We're promised melting temperatures over the next few days, so I'm hoping it doesn't bring snow with it! We drove some of the back roads on Sunday afternoon until we found a likely-looking tree, and brought that home with us. Wendy has busily dug out lights and decorations and hung more than the tree can hold! Lots of memories in those items! My fancy $200 compression stockings have arrived, so I struggle into one of them each morning. I've continued work on the mudding downstairs. It's getting close! Wendy has continued with her painting on the main floor. She completed the living room, again, and, put another coat of paint in the office walls. The markets have been whipsawing, and the TSX has returned to red for the month, but I've had another green week, so I feel well blessed. I got out for curling again on Wednesday, and have agreed to play with a team for the month of January on a regular basis. The Olympic Trials ended on Sunday with my guy, Kevin Koe, winning on the men's side, and Rachel Homan winning the women's side, so they'll be our representatives at the Winter Olympics. In hockey, Oilers and Penguins are improving, but there's more needed! Leafs suffered a significant injury, and have been having a tough time while Matthews is out. Jayhawks fell to #13 in the basketball rankings, and didn't look impressive in their win over Nebraska this evening—Rock Chalk boys!

NOEL

O Christmas Tree!

There's only one week until the Baileys have Christmas break! They scored themselves some early Christmas presents as they picked up a new palm sander and also some sand paper for their pole sanders—they surely know how to have a good time! They hope to refinish the floor in the master bedroom this weekend. Of course, with this being the opening weekend for Star Wars, there are competing priorities! Liam is spending the weekend with his Auntie Erin and doing some Christmas shopping. They are looking forward to the break, but still have a week of work to go!

Congrats Eric!

Erin and Kristian have had a good week. Kristian's bowling league had their Christmas party today, so the bowling was just for the fun of it. Kristian scored a nice remote-controlled truck at the Taylor Christmas party last weekend. They keep pretty busy with Christmas preparations.

Trav, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew enjoyed last weekend in Minneapolis, and returned home on Monday. Minnie and Beaker stayed with us while they were away. This week they were hard at work, trying to get as much as possible done in time for Christmas. Gemma and Andrew are closing out their school activities before the break.

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. I flew back into town Sunday evening after the bonspiel in Toronto. I have now informed one of the local leagues that I'm available for curling as a spare. I'll also continue practicing, as I've been away from regular curling for 12 seasons until this year, and there's plenty of rust! Winter arrived Monday night after a day of rain, so it was a slushy mess on the driveway on Tuesday. Wendy and I spent a few hours working on that and finally got it cleared away. Wendy is painting this week in the living room and office. This weekend, we inherited the animals from Travis & Joanna, as they're off with Gemma and Andrew for a weekend in Minneapolis. Lucky them! I've continued to work on the kitchenette, and we're slowly making headway. The markets enjoyed solid economic data and, except for the Nasdaq, have progressed into the green for the month. I had another great week and am back on quota. Sports this week has been pretty much full-time curling with the Olympic Trials on for both men and women. Kevin Koe has advanced to the final tomorrow where he'll play Mike McEwen. On the women's side, it'll be Chelsea Carey against Rachel Homan. Lots of great curling all week long. Jayhawks lost to an unranked team, and are bound to tumble from their lofty #2 ranking. The #1 ranked Blue Devils also lost, so there will be a substantial reshuffle. Oilers are showing a bit of progress, but are still playing substantially below expectations. Pens are pretty much in the same category, just unable to make much headway in the standings.

Eric got confirmation of his certification as a Clinical Fellow, congratulations! Otherwise, it was a pretty quiet week, nothing much going on except getting ready for Christmas. Well, Erica did set up a fund-raising site so everyone would have an opportunity to support her upcoming surgeries. Here's the link.

Kristian put up good bowling scores again this week, and may have raised his average again. Good work, buddy! Erin scored a used computer from work, just needed to replace the hard drive, so Kristian now has a computer for his room as well as the laptop. Christmas has come early!

Trav & Joanna put in lots of time and effort getting product out the door this week. Then, they took off for the weekend excursion this morning. They're just relaxing in Minneapolis, but I'm sure they'll have fun. Gemma and Andrew are off with them, while we try to take care of things back here. We got notification that they'd arrived safely in Minnie—we wish them a good and safe trip!

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, but I have ended the week on the shore of Lake Ontario. To make a long story short, I accepted an invitation to curl in a bonspiel in Toronto and I have enjoyed it a great deal. A team from Dallas/Fort Worth was one player short, and Viggo mentioned it, and I bit! So, I've been practicing for the last month, and am starting to get comfortable playing again. We played three games here in two days, and that was a bit much, but I also saw progress in my play, so it's encouraging. I intend to keep playing back in Thunder Bay, and also when we travel out to Regina later in the winter. Viggo has another crew wanting to come to Thunder Bay at some point for a spiel, so I'll be working to try to set that up. Otherwise it was a busy week, as the appointments for investigative work on my DVTs have continued with blood work and a lung scan. I've never had a lung scan before. First they had me breathe in some radioactive gases, and then they took a series of shots with an Xray machine working in a circular path around me for about 20 minutes. After that, I was injected with some radioactive fluid, and then had another 20 minutes of Xrays. Finally, I headed to another Xray room, and had some regular Xrays taken. Apparently this allows them to see the extent of air penetration of my lungs, and also of blood circulation. It should also help them determine whether I've had any damage from a pulmonary embolism. The search continues! I got a bit more work done on the kitchenette, the taping is complete, but further mud remains to be applied. After I took off for Toronto on Thursday, Wendy started to work on the living room wall. I thought that wall was already finished, but apparently there were some imperfections, so it's being fixed! The markets ran well to end November, and I've almost got back to quota. December didn't start well, but it's only one day. The week began with an exciting Grey Cup game in snowy Ottawa; I was delighted to watch Toronto win it. NHL play finds the Pens playing better, the Oilers playing better, and the Leafs near the top of the league. KU Jayhawks continued their winning ways, and have been raised to #2 nationally.

Eric had some exciting news. He is now, officially, a clinical member. It says so right on the AAMFT site! He is so pleased to be done. We are pleased to congratulate him on this accomplishment! Erica got her new compression “fancy pants” and recalled what it was like when she got her first ones. When the therapist took her measurements a few weeks back, he commented that there were some big changes. Here's some pics to make the comparison. The bulge out just before the knee is now a curve inward. And there's a knee gap!

From left to right, top to bottom:
April 2017 when she got her first pair of compression,
July 2017, right before surgery,
July 2018, 10 days after surgery,
November 2017, new compression.

Haaken continues to enjoy school and living on the coast. They are still working on jumping through the hoops for student loans—was it always this difficult?! Liam is doing well at school and is making the most of his grade 12 year.

Erin and Kristian are doing well in Regina. Kristian had a big game of 216 in bowling today, and raised his average to 137! Wowsers! Well done, buddy! He has also been emailing me more about his book. It's been a fun experience for me. We've decided that we're now email pals!

We enjoyed celebration Trav's birthday last weekend, but then it was back to work. Travis and Joanna continue to be very busy with Puckshots and Stickerz work. Joanna has determined to stop doing her contract work as a phlebotomist for now. Perhaps she'll pick that up later. She's enjoying her work at Fox on the Run, and we all benefit with some good eats from there as well.

And that's about enough for this week.