News Update

Another week has passed and we've completed a big circuit. This evening we returned to Lawrence KS—Rock Chalk, Jayhawk country! Aunt Helen had failed to lock the door, so we just moved ourselves right in! It's been a great and full week in Dallas, actually, in Rowlett. Viggo and Nancy have hosted us most graciously—thank you!

Viggo & Nancy

Viggo and I got out golfing three more times—very enjoyable times for sure! Wendy got in her quota of shopping and also scored a massage session. On Thursday, we celebrated with extended family around the Thanksgiving table, and in front of the Thanksgiving football games! Tuesday was a special Praise and Pie evening at CARE (Church at Richardson East), and we indulged in that as well. The markets remained dismal, and with the US holidays were pretty thinly traded as well. I'm just holding my dividend-payers, and waiting for the markets to turn around, but that didn't happen this week. I haven't followed much hockey this week, but did listen to the Pens and Leafs win their games tonight as we drove up from Dallas. The CFL season completes tomorrow with the Grey Cup game—I can only hope the heavily-favoured Stamps will blow it again! My Jayhawks won the NIT-TipOff tournament this week and remain undefeated so far. Rock Chalk!

Erica has had a mostly up week, and even managed to score a pass this evening to get out of the hospital for an event. We hope the improvements will lead to a new analysis on Monday, and that her transition home will be sooner! 

Looking and feeling better!

Liam was home part of the week as he had some medical work that needed attention as well. He has now returned to his work in Moose Jaw. 

Erin has been very busy preparing for her staff Christmas party. This involved her buying gifts for about 80 staff children, and arranging for the actual party. Kristian helped out. He had his bowl-off for league bowling for last week on Monday evening, then he had his regular league bowling today. He also had youth group on Monday evening, so he's being well-occupied as well. 

Kristian, Erin & Sadie

We keep our cell phones off, and thus, we don't have ready communications while we're out of Canada, so we've had less tracking of Trav, Joanna and crew this week. They report that they've avoided shoveling so far because it has rained a lot! Meanwhile, Gemma is excelling in Calculus (93%), and Andrew is excelling in driver training (don't confuse that with accelerating!). Trav & Joanna have photographed 83 teams since September! Good work if you can get it!

Anyway, that's about enough for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed, and we have moved on to the shore of Lake Ray Hubbard in Rowlett TX. It's been a full and very enjoyable week. Aunt Helen and Marti arrived home Sunday afternoon, and we were pleased to greet them. On Monday, Marti treated us to a Jayhawk game at the Phogg—an experience not to be missed. The Jayhawks came through with another win for us!

with Marti, Helen

with Chikwela, Lweendo

On Wednesday, we drove down to Stillwater OK by way of Fayetteville AR. In Fayetteville we visited Chikwela and Lweendo, and another long time Zambian contact Marton. I had been privileged to marry Marton and Minigrade while we lived in Zambia, and now they have five children.

with Marton

Marton Skyped back to Zambia, so we got to talk to Minigrade as well. Lweendo cooked us a beautiful pork chop supper, and then we drove over to Stillwater where we visited with Jack and Joanne Bayles.

Joanne & Jack

Jack's Model A

We had a great time of reminiscing with them for the next two days. Jack took us for rides in his Model A, and his Cadillac Coupe. Fun times! We celebrated their 57th anniversary on Friday, and then drove down to Rowlett where we've moved in with Viggo and Nancy. We're being treated famously wherever we visit—thanks a lot, folks! Viggo and I got out golfing today—that was a great day! We should have been in California by now, getting ready to visit Mexico with True North Helping Hands, but news that the schools were on strike down there convinced us to look for a better opportunity in June 2019. Meanwhile, the markets have returned to troubled times, mostly over the US/China trade war. I managed to remain green, but remain short of quota for the month. Next week is bound to be very slow moving in the markets with the US Thanksgiving holiday. The Rider season ended with the loss in the division semi-final to Winnipeg. It was a good season despite it ended prematurely. The Maple Leafs have ascended to the top of the NHL standings, but the Oilers and Pens are not performing so well. 

Erica continues her sojourn in the hospital in Prince Albert. The doctor seems satisfied with the progress of healing, but continues to be flummoxed over the temperature spikes she's experiencing. Eric ran her down to Saskatoon on Wednesday for an Echocardiogram, and she mostly enjoyed that outing. Liam is home this weekend. 

Erin and Kristian had a good week, but Kristian got a bit run down, so he elected to do the bowl-off later instead of league bowling today. He had a church Youth Retreat last weekend; he enjoyed the experience. There were three boys, and a bunch of girls, hmm! Friday was Parent-Teacher Interviews which provided no surprises, and usually, that's a good thing!

Trav, Joanna and crew are holding down the fort in Thunder Bay. We hope they're not getting too much snow. Joanna is headed down to Toronto to spend time with her dad. The businesses continue to be busy, so that's good!

And that's about enough for this week!

News Update

Another week has passed, and we are on the move again. We cleaned up a few items on the to do list at home, and then headed south for the winter! I made some progress on cupboard development in the kitchen, and Wendy got back on the horse and did some painting. She experienced some discomfort and some trepidation getting back on the ladder after her fall last week. She's still experiencing a fair amount of paint from the fall, and is not getting around very easily.

Santa Wreck!

We got back our car on Wednesday evening, then, on Friday morning, we drove down to Minneapolis. It started snowing as soon as we decided to leave, and the roads were heavy by the time we reached the border, but the plows were soon out, and we had a good drive. We were startled by a deer that crossed in front of us in the first hour into Minnesota. I got the battery replaced in my iPhone at the Apple store in Minneapolis—it's good as new once again! Today, we drove down to Lawrence KS to visit our friends there for a couple of days. True to expectations the US voters came through for us and elected a Democratic congress, so investors took a bit of encouragement and began buying. However, the FED also started talking, and that took the wind out of our sails a little. Still, I did manage a green week, although not up to quota. If the Dems install Nancy Pelosi as Congressional leader again, I will not be holding much hope for the situation. To me, she's more about making side deals, and less about keeping the government accountable. They don't actually take office until January, so, we'll see how it goes. The Slam curling event this week is in Thunder Bay. Kevin Koe has again qualified for the medal round, and I have the PVR set to record the games so I can watch them later. Canucks continue to out-perform in hockey, while the Pens are not meeting expectations. Oilers and Leafs are also playing at mediocre levels as compared to my expectations. 

Erica has had another long week. Overall we're noting progress, but she had a particularly down day on Friday as another infection reared its ugly head. She seems a bit better today, and overall is gradually improving, and looking to assemble a series of next steps that will eventually lead to her being able to check out of hospital. 

Erin and Kristian are having a busy week. Kristian had to do his bowling early since he is off with the youth group from church to a retreat this weekend at Echo Lake Bible Camp. He gets back sometime tomorrow. Liam has come over from Moose Jaw to spend a quiet weekend at Aunt Erin's. 

On Thursday, we went out for a celebratory supper with Travis, Joanna and Gemma for Trav's birthday, since we wouldn't be back in time for the actual date. Now, they get to take care of the place, including the inevitable snow while we're away. I did get the snowblower tuned up, and the tires repaired, so we hope that proves a helpful assistant! Anyway, it's certainly helpful to have them regularly at the house. Last time we were away, they noted and intercepted a plumbing leak, so that saved us quite a mess! 

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 remained seasonal, with a few drizzly days and daytime highs around 10 degrees. That makes for pretty comfortable activity, and we did get a bit done both inside and out. Wednesday was Halloween, and we had about 30 kids come by for treats. As planned, we've shut down our hot tub for the season. I got that drained on Thursday. We got the car into the body shop on Thursday; that has delayed our planned trip south until the end of next week. In the meantime, we have a KIA Sportage as our rental. Things are pretty much ready to roll downstairs in the kitchenette, so we're ready to move operations down there and work on the main kitchen. We plan to begin that when we get home from our November trip. Wendy suffered a mishap while painting this week; she missed her step and fell from the stepladder, so she's been laid up the last few days. She's getting around better today—yay!

Cupboard I salvaged, still need to add a drawer.

The markets have been terrible in October—the worst October in a decade, but November has begun with fresh hope as we have news that Wall Street is betting on a Democratic win in the midterm elections. That might return some accountability and a bit of sanity to the US Administration. We can hope! At any rate, I had a good week, and I have made plans to put more money to work, after the election, if all goes well. Sports continues to entertain. Koe lost the final in the Grand Slam event, but still made a fine showing. My hockey teams are doing okay, although the Leafs have been having a tough time scoring lately. They did beat the Pens tonight, while the Oilers defeated Detroit. Another team I follow, the Canucks, are exceeding expectations in the early part of the season. Basketball has begun again, and I enjoyed watching the Jayhawks win their final preseason tuneup. Rock Chalk, Jayhawks! The Riders have the week off while the other teams play to establish the final playoff rankings and see who will face them next.

It's been a tough week for the Baileys as Erica remains in hospital recovering from the complications and infection associated with her recent surgery. She was very ill, but seems on the mend, finally. We expect she may remain in hospital for many days, yet.

Erin and Kristian are off to Moose Jaw this weekend as Kristian has a bowling tournament there. We wish them a good trip, and a fun time! His league bowling today was quite inconsistent, although his high game (163) was very good. 

Travis and Joanna keep busy with PuckShots and BucketDecals. The new counter downstairs is finding good use as they lay out posters they've developed and printed.

New work counter is working!

And that's about it for this week.