DVTs Updated!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been beautiful, and we've enjoyed being out and about. I've even managed a trip to the golf course for a short practice session. Wendy has been doing yard work, while I've been working on developments in the garage where I'm building a bench/project area. She has begun the painting program in the kitchenette as well. On Wednesday, I had my followup with the doctor concerning my deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The vascular surgeon reported that the blood work showed a positive result for antiphospholipid antibody. Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome is an autoimmune disorder that provokes clots. She needs to do another batch of blood testing to confirm this, so I'm scheduled for bloodwork on Tuesday. I have to be off my blood thinner for three days before the test as the Xarelto could make the test ambiguous. Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome gives rise to blood clotting like I'm experiencing, and increases risk of heart attack or stroke, thus the current regime of Xarelto (blood thinner) is being extended indefinitely, and can be expected to remain in place for the rest of my life. The ultrasound disclosed almost continuous clotting throughout the leg from calf to thigh, but showed a narrow passage of venous flow was being accommodated. She noted that further clearance of these clots was not likely, and that interventions to clear them surgically was contraindicated since the disease would likely interpret the intervention as further damage and produce clots to "protect" me! There is the possibility of laser treatment, and she is willing to refer me to examine whether I'm a candidate for such treatment, however, she did not indicate optimism for the benefit of laser treatment. Finally, she allowed that I might try to blame my daughter for not forcing me to the doctor earlier, since the extensive damage we're seeing was likely caused by the delayed treatment from the initial episode. However, she noted, I should instead thank her as she probably saved my life through her persistence in getting me to the doctor eventually! So, thanks, Erin! The markets have continued to be volatile. This week the new issue was the ballooning US deficits under the double whammy of Trump's tax cuts and budget. So, when USbonds had to increase above 3% to attract attention, the stock markets took a kicking, sigh! So, I felt blessed to make quota for a third week in a row. If only the month had started this well, I'd be in good shape. The first round of NHL playoffs has been completed. I lost one team as the Leafs couldn't overcome Boston. In the second round, I have Lightning, Penguins, Jets and Golden Knights! Curling this week features the final events of the season. The Champions Cup is in Calgary for all winners on tour this year. My favourite, Koe, has advanced to the playoffs, so I'm still paying attention! At the World level, the Mixed Doubles Championship was held in Sweden. Switzerland won the gold over Russia; we beat Korea for the bronze. In the Senior World Championships, we had a clean sweep (pun intended!) with wins over US (women) and Sweden (men).

After dropping off Haaken at the airport for his flight back to Victoria and college, the Baileys drove down to Caronport to see Liam perform with RU(Refined Undignified). One of the other guys has left the group, so Liam's role was expanded. His dancing is very expressive. Haaken's next term runs to the middle of July. Erica worked part of the week up in LaRonge; Eric held down the fort at home. Eric found out that his firm had won the prestigious Samuel McLeod business award for service to the public. Congratulations! Today, for Eric's birthday, Liam surprised him with a visit. He arrived in Saskatoon in time to catch them in a bookstore—quelle surprise! A bunch of friends, and the Bailey relatives gathered for a celebratory supper—nice. It was a fun day!

2017 Service Award!

Kristian was a big winner this season in bowling as well. He raised his average by 61 points—that probably won't happen again! Unfortunately, it seems he's decided to stop his school work to focus on his pro bowling career—big mistake, buddy! Get back to the books!

Super season in bowling!

Travis and Joanna had a busy week getting as much work as possible completed before their trip to Florida. They left on Friday with her dad and step-mom. It's a working holiday, as her dad needs the care, so they're helping with that. Wendy is helping take care of the home situation while they're away, so she's spending some time over there for the next while. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Home Again!

Another week has passed, and we have returned to our home on the shore of Lake Superior far from the middle of the prairies. We drove into Winnipeg Sunday afternoon and spent the night with Dean, Kelly, Cassie and Tommy! Thanks guys! Talking with Dean, we were able to firm up our plans for a winter trip to Mexico, so we will continue to work on that possibility. We were alarmed by reports of a Sunday snowstorm in Thunder Bay, but relieved to drive home on Monday in good driving conditions to find a blanket of um, rain, on our driveway. As you may know, all precipitation between April 1 and October 31st is, by definition, rain. It was troubling to have to shovel the rain off our driveway! However, it does seem to have turned out to be freakish storm as the weather has quickly turned to springlike, and we've enjoyed getting out for walks and even a bike ride today. The local golf courses are expected to open next week; I'm looking forward to getting in some practice time. I had another doctor's appointment this week. He revealed that my PSA is a bit lower this time, and that the MRI revealed no anomalies in my prostate, so that's good news. Kitchenette renovations are now in the hands of the painter. I am moving over to further development of the garage/workshop. I've planned a workbench, mitre saw station, and out-table for the table saw. I picked up some materials for that today. Wendy is developing plans for the kitchen renovation, but she'll also have to assemble some cash to pay for that! This week she's been catching up on laundry and book-keeping. She has assembled and fired off our income tax materials—I'm glad that's done, and that I'm not the one doing it! Today, she took advantage of the good weather to clean the car inside and out—big job! The markets continued to be volatile, so I felt blessed with a second straight week on quota—that hasn't been happening often enough lately. Stanley Cup playoffs are the biggest sporting news these days. Leafs are not looking good after a home loss to Boston, but they took a courageous road win tonight, so they're still alive. Jets have already won their series and are on to round 2. Pens are still looking good despite a home loss last night. In curling, the Players Championship ended with Koe winning over Edin on the men's side. Sinclair continued the good results for the USA as she defeated Jones to win the women's side; I think that's the first slam win for an American team. 

The Baileys enjoyed another week with Haaken before his flight back to school in Victoria. Otherwise, it was a delightfully quiet week in PA. Liam is completing his current trimester of grade 12 next week. Erica has continued to heal and recover from her latest surgery; she did score a fresh hairstyling as part of that process. In my completely unbiased opinion, she's looking good! And even more importantly she's feeling much better. As the week ended, Eric hosted a conference, in Saskatoon, for the Saskatchewan Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. 

Kristian had his final day of bowling today, and once again, bested his average. Next week is the bowling banquet and awards. Then, he will be ready for golf season! Erin and Kristian are also out cycling today, enjoying the improved weather. Golf courses should be opening there soon also. 

Travis and Joanna lamented the snow storm that buried their plans to present us a pristine driveway  and lawn on our return. Ah, well, we have it now! Several neighbours were out raking lawns today, but I avoided that. Trav got a lot of orders for HumboldtStrong stickerz, but now the Gofundme campaign is over, so, I guess, that ends that program. Gemma and Andrew are heading into the homestretch of the school year. Time flies! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

On the Road Again!

Another week has passed and we have begun the trip back to the shore of Lake Superior. The weather has been improving all week—we're enjoying that. Today, we drove as far as Brandon, and are enjoying a visit with Bonnie and Charlie. We're a bit late on our schedule as Wendy and Dad were frantically working to complete the cedar chest so we could take it with us to Travis. They completed it on Thursday, and it is beautiful! 

A thing of beauty...

The markets were in turmoil again this week as the kakistocracy continues its topsy turvy world south of the border. The DOW has now lost 10% of value since January, so it's officially in "correction"! It doesn't look like a "correction" in my portfolio—sigh! However, I had a good week for a change, so we continue to look forward with hope. The NHL has moved into the Stanley Cup playoffs. I have picked the winners in each series, but some teams are not cooperating! Edin beat Gushue to win the world curling championship. This week, it's a grand slam event in Toronto, and most of the usual suspects have advanced to the playoffs. Niklas Edin has advanced to the final once again; he will play my guy, Kevin Koe, in the final tomorrow. Jennifer Jones will play Jamie Sinclair  of the USA in the women's final.

The Baileys have had a busy week—Haaken was home so they enjoyed that. He even cooked dinner for the family a couple of times; that was nice as well. He has a two-week break before going back for his next semester. They have also experienced a couple of great coincidences—someone is looking out for them! They tried to buy tickets on Sunday for Erica's next surgery in July, however the prices had increased substantially on flights to Bonn. When they tried to purchase the alternative tickets to London with accompanying trains or bus to Bonn, their card wouldn’t work. They tried during the day and evening—still no luck. Then on Tuesday evening they checked out flights all the way to Bonn again, and the prices had dropped! And their card was now working—amazing! Then, the provincial budget came out this week and they were pleased to note that the car they bought last weekend was conveniently purchased before PST was reinstated on used cars—another blessing! Liam is back at school this week and it sounds like it continues to go well for him.

Kristian reintroduced me to fractions, mixed numbers and least common denominator this week. We "enjoyed" a couple of sessions of that before he was demonstrating proficiency. We took in one final session of bowling this morning. He bettered his average once again. I think he has only a couple of weeks of bowling left this season. Erin enjoyed grandparent sitting one final time before we headed out and got out to a meal and movie with Shawn. Kristian and I enjoyed golfing on a couple of golf simulators.

...with his new clubs

Travis will be anguishing over his Penguins in the NHL playoffs for so long as they survive. The rest of the family will put up with this obsession! Joanna usually cheers for the Jets; I'm not sure if she realizes they're a top contender this year! Anyhow, we're looking forward to our reunion with them. We expect to complete our drive home on Monday.

And that's about it for this week. 

April Showers!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The calendar has turned to April, but the showers have been white so far! We're promised some improvement in the weather next week. We're completing our run in Saskatchewan, trying to finish a few things, and preparing for our trip home in the coming week. We moved over to Dad's on Sunday; we'll spend the remainder of this prairie sojourn with him. Bern and Alicia are away in Guatemala with a crew from their school. We've had a special visitor this week as Travis flew out for a visit. It was good to have him with us until Thursday evening. He even got to meet a lot of friends and relatives who gathered for high tea on Thursday afternoon! The markets have continued to be horrible, no good and bad as Trump has continued to abuse them with his silly pronouncements. This week, he targeted Mexico, China, NAFTA and China again! In between, he retracted some of the attacks, so investors, who hate the chaos, withdrew money from the markets and all indices lost value. I lost value along with them, sigh! China announced retaliatory tariffs on Wednesday, so Trump noted that he wasn't really proposing tariffs at all, it was only a negotiating position. So, we had a big relief rally on Thursday, but then, Trump came back to triple the tariffs and Friday was deep red on all indices. Weak US jobs numbers on Friday didn't help either. Now, we're waiting to hear of the response from China. Wendy and Travis worked with grandpa in the shop this week. Grandpa is building a beautiful cedar chest as a keepsake for Trav. 

In the shop, building a cedar chest!

In the sporting world the NCAA Basketball ended with Villanova claiming the prize. The main feature for me this week has been the World Curling Championships held in Las Vegas. Brad Gushue advanced to the playoff round and defeated the US this morning, and then defeated Scotland in the semi-final, this evening. He will take on Niklas Edin of Sweden in the Gold medal game tomorrow. I'm also sparing some attention for the first big event of the golf season which is the Masters Tournament. Lots of drama as usual around that event. Baseball is in the early weeks, while NHL hockey's long grind comes to an end. Next week, they will launch the second season as playoffs get underway. I am cheering for, and expecting, good runs from the Jets, Pens and Leafs. Sadly, we are also facing tragedy in the hockey world—the Humboldt Broncos were involved in an accident on the way to a hockey game. To this point, 15 have lost their lives so the impact is large and terrible. 

Erica was up in LaRonge all week enjoying the cold weather and the hot auditing! They got the update that their CR-V has indeed been written off, so they intensified their search for a replacement, and, today, purchased a 2014 Toyota Venza. Liam was home this week, and Haaken arrived on Friday evening. They brought Haaken with them to Regina, so we're glad to catch up with him as well. Liam is suffering with a cold, so he stayed behind in Prince Albert.

Baileys' 2014 Venza

Erin was mostly on her own this week as Kristian spent most of the week with us over at Great Grandpa's. Wendy prepared meals here as well, so Erin joined us for those. Kristian missed bowling practice on Monday, and was too late for warmups this morning. He's thinking this may have been the cause of his lower scores this week, and truly, he did beat his average in the third game! He has a bowling tournament tomorrow. We'll be interested to see how that turns out. 

Travis flew out to Regina, and we enjoyed spending most of the week with him. Joanna piled up the work for his return! He got back to that on Friday. He is still waiting for the recall on his car to be accomplished—Hyundai are replacing the engine for him. I'm hearing there may be a bit of repair  work, waiting for my return, on Joanna's car, as winter driving has taken a toll. We look forward to returning to be with our family there. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Madness Draws to an End

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The weather was very nice at the start of the week, and some of the snow disappeared, then it turn cold and windy, so March seems to be leaving like a lion! March Madness was not just a basketball tournament, as Trump continued to bloviate against his momentary targets, and investors bore the pain. All the North American indices ended in the red for the month with American indices down about 3%. Except for the Nasdaq, all North American indices are in the red for the year at the end of the first quarter. So, it's hard to make money! However, I had another good month, and am within reach of quota to this point. Wendy was gone most of the week, so Erin and I enjoyed executing several new keto menu items. The Turnip au Gratin was a taste sensation, and the Shepherd's Pie a la Turnip was enjoyed as well. The baseball season has opened, and the Jays recorded their first win today. Okay, Blue Jays, Let's Play Ball! The Jayhawks, on the other hand, ended their impressive run in basketball under a rain of three's from Villanova. Great season, Hawks! NHL is down to the last handful of games in the regular season, and still we find the Stanley Cup dance card is just half filled so far. The World Men's curling championship has opened in Las Vegas. Brad Gushue will represent us well. He opened with a win and a loss on day 1. Jennifer Jones finished off her run with the Women's World championship last Sunday. 

Erica and Wendy returned from Germany this week. Erica was seeing good progress in her healing and stamina, but the long flights back took her back a few steps. She's continued to progress with the help of MLD therapy and rest at Grandpa's house. She's almost feeling normal. In the meantime, she's starting to look at the next trip in July. With it being a busier travel period, she will need to book soon. Eric drove down to Regina on Wednesday, and though he tried his hardest to avoid a set of deer, they were insistent and ran into the CRV. So they're waiting to hear from SGI whether the CRV will be fixed or written off. In the mean time they're looking at potential replacements in case they need to do that. Liam is on a tour this weekend with Caronport High School. He will be performing in Caronport Sunday night. We plan to take in this performance, along with Eric/A. They will bring him back to Regina as he is on Easter break next week. Haaken has continued to enjoy school. He has a break coming up and will be coming home for a visit. They are looking forward to that.

We've had another good week with Erin and Kristian. One recent highlight for Kristian has been helping teach Sunday School with Auntie Alicia. He continues to do well in bowling as he beat his average again today. We had another outing to an indoor range on Wednesday. That was fun.

Trav and Joanna are enjoying having the family together again this week. Of course, the travails with the extended family do not end so easily, but it's good to be home. They continue with their Puck Shots work, now over 100 teams this season. Not bad for starting out by taking pictures of his own hockey team! School progress continues for Gemma and Andrew. With the arrival of April, we're starting to see the light of our reunion with the Thunder Bay branch of the family also.

And that's about enough for this week.