News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been mild and we've enjoyed the more comfortable temperatures, but we got a dump of snow early in the week, and now we're facing a blizzard this weekend from a mass of moist air arriving from Texas. I'm running out of places to store snow! Wendy flew out on Monday to spend the week in Saskatchewan. She had a medical appointment to get her finger joint broken loose, again, and that just looks painful! 

Owey, owey, owey!

This weekend, she's over in Moose Jaw at the spa, enjoying a Ladies' Weekend. She's due back tomorrow midnight, storm permitting.

My finger-joint jig works!

I've been working a bit on the kitchen renovations and spending the bulk of my time watching curling! It's the Scotties. I picked Homan and Jones as the most likely winners going in, and was cheering for my sentimental favourites of McCarville (NO) and Silvernagle (SK). It was a delight to see both of them qualify for the championship pool and then advance to the playoff round. McCarville lost to Homan (ON) this afternoon, so she's out. Silvernagle lost to Carey (AB) this evening. Tomorrow, it's Homan/Silvernagle in the semi-final, while Carey is waiting in the final. Sandra Schmirler's team was honoured as the greatest women's team of all-time, while three members of Jones team were named all-time all-stars. Only Schmirler's third, Jan Betker, broke through that vote. Now, I'm even more interested to see who is voted the greatest male curlers and team, after the Brier opens next Friday. The markets have continued to be erratic as folks try to figure out what Trump will do next. This week it was concern over tariffs and trade war with China. I was blessed with a good week, and remain on quota for the month and the year. In the NHL, the Pens and Leafs remain in good position. My Oilers remain out of the playoffs with the season dwindling, but at least they won tonight. KU has had some good play lately, but they got demolished tonight—Rock Chalk Jayhawks! It's been a tough day for me on the sports front, so I consoled myself with a bowl of ice cream. 

Liam started his new job this week. He is doing basic cleaning and other duties at a retirement home in Moose Jaw. This is such an answer to prayer; it works with his RU schedule (so far), and will, hopefully, generate enough income to pay his bills! Haaken continues with school. A couple of conversations took place this week. He sounded good, and continues to be happy out in BC. Erica spent part of the week in Calgary. She will be back and forth for a few weeks, filling in for another manager who is on leave. It was a good week, and a bit of an adventure living in a new city, even if it is for a short time. She had been feeling a bit stir crazy being tied down to the medical visits. She's in Moose Jaw this weekend, at the Sister Triangle retreat with her mom. Eric had a good week at work. This weekend, he's visiting with Neil and Darcy in Saskatoon and playing some card hockey games.

Erin and Kristian continue to struggle with the nasty cold snap in Regina. They hope better weather will come soon. Kristian had an amazing day in bowling today. In the first game, he scored his first ever Turkey (3 strikes in a row), and he liked that so much, he did it again in his third game! Needless to say, he beat his average by about 150 pins! 

First ever turkey!

It was so nice, he did it twice!

Travis and Joanna seem to keep very busy. The machines downstairs keep pumping out the product, and the people keep knocking at the door to pick it up. They have now served customers in every province and territory of Canada! Gemma was away on a brief semester break holiday, but is back and house sitting again for the next couple of weeks. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. Now that the cold has broken (We hope for good!), we're enjoying nice weather this week. We did get a bit more snow, and we could have done without that. We've made some progress on the kitchen renovations, but Wendy plans to be away next week, so that will grind to a halt for a bit. Wendy has determined where she wants the new island to be built, and thus how far she wants the main light fixture moved. I will probably have to build another bulkhead to accomplish that since the ceiling trusses are running the other way—I don't like making unnecessary holes in the vapour barrier. I did manage another new recipe this week—bacon cheeseburger casserole.

Tasty!

It turned out pretty tasty, but I'm still looking for ways to pump up the flavour for next time. Wendy made up another batch of ice cream, and we froze that up this evening—what a treat! We got out to DQ on Thursday to celebrate the sweetness of Valentine's Day. As a result, I had a bit of gout on Friday, but one colchicine pill, and I was relieved by this morning. Recently on Netflix we've been watching another British Detective series—Midsomer Murders. My Spanish class has continued to be productive. I'm now on a two-week hiatus there as the college is on break until March. We also got out for a friend's birthday celebration and enjoyed a nice meal at Moxies.

Salmon Entrée at Moxies

The markets were troubled this week as mixed news came out concerning the US trade war, and the threat of a US government shutdown loomed until, finally, Trump gave in on getting money from congress to pay for the wall. That brought a relief rally on Friday, and I managed to recover to quota for the week. Last weekend, I enjoyed watching the provincial men's curling playdowns in MB, SK and AB. My guy, Kevin Koe, won Alberta. This weekend, the Scotties (Women's Canadian Championship) has begun in Sydney NS, so I'll be busy keeping up with that all next week! KU served up two impressive wins this week; coach Self seems to be finding a way to make a team out of the players he has left. The countdown to trade deadline continues in the NHL, as teams try to build on the hope of making a Stanley Cup run. All my teams lost today, however, it is only my Oilers that remain out of the playoffs. 

Liam got a job as a casual worker in Chateau Michael, a retirement home in Moose Jaw. We expect this will meet his living needs while he continues his participation in RU out at Caronport. Congratulations Liam! He has also registered in three online classes: Developing a Business Plan, Online Marketing, and Website Enhancement. Haaken has a couple of weeks left before a two-week break in March. He's enjoying school and avoiding the cold weather, although they did have a power outage from the Victoria snowstorm! Eric/A had a quiet week at home. They celebrated Valentine's by going to see Glass on Tuesday and going out for dinner on Friday. This weekend, they're heading down to Caronport to see Liam and RU perform. Next week, Erica will head to Calgary on a work assignment. 

Erin and Kristian suffered through the continuing cold snap in Saskatchewan, but they came through it all right. They had a special dinner together at home for Valentine's Day.

V-Day Home Date!

This morning, Kristian had his best bowling outing ever, as he beat his average by over 100 pins! It also marked the first time he has averaged over 150 for his three league games, so I now owe him a trip for an indoor golf game!

Travis and Joanna have continued to be quite busy with PuckShots and BucketDecals churning out the product. It's good to see them regularly, as they're around the workshop downstairs most days. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. It was quite a week of weather, with plenty of snow! We cleaned out the driveway three times, and now the banks are so high on the lawn, my poor little snowblower is struggling to blow it up on top!

Lotsa snow this year!

At least the cold weather seems to have been broken for now. With the exertions of snow clearing, we did not get much done on the renovations, but Wendy is pushing forward with her painting preparations. I did come up with a couple of new recipes, and we tried the Keto Quiche last night.

Mmm, good!

It was great! I look forward to trying the Keto Cheeseburger casserole next week. We're enjoying building our menu list with delicious food that's also good for us. Spanish class continues twice each week. I'm finding it challenging, but useful. The markets were challenging this week as old fears over Trump's trade wars were exacerbated by renewed fears of another US government shutdown. However, I was blessed with a good gain and remain on quota here in the first quarter of the year. The NHL teams are deciding whether they're buyers or sellers moving toward the trade deadline, and the actual games seem to fade from prominence. Pens and Leafs remain in playoff position; Oilers remain out, and they lost again tonight, sigh! KU continues to struggle to maintain a lineup, but today's freshman crew put on an energetic display in a win over Oklahoma State! My main interest this week has been on Saskatchewan men's curling championship. I always hold my old home province as a sentimental favourite in the national championships. 

Eric & Erica finally were able to celebrate their Silver Anniversary today.

Happy Silver Anniversary!

It's funny, but I recall that as a child, I always found that folks having a 25th Anniversary were old! Saskatchewan has been in a real deep freeze this week with temperatures pushing -40°. That also reminds me of their wedding day! 

Erin and Kristian have also struggled through the frigid temperatures. On Monday morning, her car would not start, and there were two days when the school buses did not operate. That complicates her schedule as she needs to drive Kristian to and from school. Kristian liked it because with more than half his class missing, he got more teacher time and got caught up on his math. 

Trav & Joanna keep busy, and their cars keep running. Gemma is lined up for house-sitting for the next while. The snow is piled high on their street as well, and they don't have any off street parking. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Ground Hog Day 2019

Another wintry week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The cold temperatures seem to have finally broken yesterday, but we got a little fresh snow as the bonus! I've come down with a head cold from which I am only beginning to recover. I managed to get out today to clear the driveway, but that was about the limit of my work this week. I've spent some additional time in bed, trying to break the cold, and I feel it has done some good. I had Spanish classes Monday and Wednesday as usual; those went well. I had to cancel out of my teeth cleaning appointment, so I'll have to make that up later. The markets were good most of the week, only turning down on Friday. I've had a great month, and would love to see that continue. My hockey teams are not doing so well entering the second half, but at least Pens and Leafs are in the playoffs at this point; they played this evening, with the Leafs taking a 3-2 win. I need my Oilers to pick up the pace! They lost again today, in OT. Likewise, KU lost early in the week before coming back with a solid win today. They were dropped to #11, and will probably be dropped further when the new rankings come out. Rock Chalk, Jayhawks! The Curling event this week is the Skins Game from Banff. Kevin Koe has advanced to the men's final against Brandon Bottcher, an up-and-coming young team from Alberta. On the women's side, Manitoba Champion, Tracy Fleury, will play Jennifer Jones. 

The Baileys enjoyed a cold and quiet week at home. Erica was back working in PA. Liam visited last weekend, which was great. Now, he's back in Moose Jaw after a snowy weekend, and able to skip the -30° weather. He's still looking for a job. He had an interview this week, so we hope he hears positive news on that or another job, soon. He saved enough money from his fall job to carry him through for a few more weeks. Erica has been asked to take on some short term work in Calgary; she has agreed to do that. Eric has been building his supervisory work through referrals from several sources. He supervises other counsellors trying to build up hours toward clinical status. Haaken is enjoying school in Victoria, and happy to avoid the cold Saskatchewan winter! 

Erin and Kristian worked through some friend issues at school. It took some time and persistence, but eventually it turned out very well. Kristian had bowling this morning, and exactly matched his average! 

Trav & Joanna are back at work, and are keeping quite busy. Gemma and Andrew are working their classes. Andrew got early acceptance to Confederation College, so I guess we're classmates now! 

And that's about enough for this week.