Saturday, January 25

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been mild and we've had some more snow. Wendy is keeping the driveway clear and I even managed to do a bit of snow-blowing yesterday. My hand has continued to make progress and the wounds are now all healed up. The physiotherapist at the Hand Clinic is both pleased and amazed. The stitches have come out of both wounds on the middle finger, but still remain on the index finger.
All stitches are now gone from the middle finger
I have little feeling on the tips of either finger, however the ring finger feels fine. I have very little movement of the tip joints on either of the first two fingers, but the middle joints are working normally. We try to make Saturday breakfast a bit special; today I made keto English muffins and prepared Eggs Benedict.
Yummy!
 I am even starting to think about woodworking projects again. That means I've been watching lots of YouTubes! The markets suffered through a week of turmoil. Fears about how the coronavirus would affect economics caused sell-offs midweek, and again on Friday. Unless prospects improve, I fear I will have to sell out of the market next week. Up until now the month has gone well, and I should make quota for the month. The NHL is on its All-Star break, so no league games are scheduled. KU was elevated to #3 in basketball, but had a tumultuous week in the rivalry game with Kansas State. Two players were suspended, one for the season, as result of that. C'mon Jayhawks, Rock Chalk. They won their game this afternoon. Brad Jacobs won the Canadian Open in curling last weekend. This week I've been watching the Canadian Junior championships. 

Liam had another iron infusion on Friday. He is scheduled to have three more in short order in hopes of getting his iron levels back to normal and his red blood count up to normal as well. As a result he is home for a couple days. His visit was timely as Eric/A had tickets to a Steven Page concert (formerly of Bare Naked Ladies). Haaken got into a doctor this week; he found out that he has a sinus infection. He’s now on antibiotics; we hope he gets better soon. 

Erin and Kristian have enjoyed a break from the frigid weather. Kristian had a day off school on Friday as there was a PD Day. They set up their new TV last weekend, but Erin thinks it's too big for the living room.
New TV!
Old TV now in Family Room
Astrid has a synchronized swimming competition this weekend, so they're going to watch her routines at the Lawson Aquatic Centre. 


Travis and Joanna are completing their time in Punta Cana, and we expect them back tomorrow.
Gotta be a story here...
It appears they were able to relax and have a great time down there. We look forward to hearing their stories. 

And that's about enough for this week!

Saturday, January 18

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been comfortable although we've had a few more dumps of snow. Unfortunately, I am presently unemployed from snow clearing, but Wendy is doing a great job of keeping the driveway clear. I've been back to the hand clinic several times where they redressed my fingers and have begun therapy. I got a fresh set of x-rays on Thursday and was back to see the surgeon on Friday. Thankfully, he has agreed that I do not need surgery.
Hi 5, Victory, Thumbs Up all look the same!
Otherwise, we have enjoyed the comforts of our home and the company of the dog and budgie. I am still able to make breakfast and do some baking one-handed. The markets have continued to push forward and I had another great week. The Continental Cup of Curling ended on Sunday, with team Europe winning easily. This week it has been the Canadian Open in Yorkton, but my guy, Kevin Koe, did not qualify for the playoffs. The Jayhawks were dropped to #6, better than I expected, and they won two road games this week. The rankings don't really matter at this point, you just want to be in the top 8 when the draw comes for March Madness. My hockey teams are doing well, lately, and Sidney Crosby has returned from injury to help the Pens. 

This week in Saskatchewan has been cold, into the -40s with the windchill. It was so cold that the Bailey's car starter said, "That's it, I've had it!" So, they now have an electronic one installed in the Venza. Eric is very happy for that! Liam has been taking prednisone this week. He reports some improvement, so we hope he's finally on the mend. It has been more than two years that he has suffered with constant diarrhea. Haaken caught a nasty cold or flu while he was at home, but he's finally coming to the end of it. He is continuing to look for animation jobs or projects and we hope he gets an 'in' somewhere. 

Erin and Kristian have also been hunkered down against the cold. Her car refused to start Monday. Even the buses did not run one day, but Erin dropped Kristian off for school so he didn't miss that. Then, she had to pick him up as well, so they took advantage of the early day to go for a visit with Papa. At least both have now returned to good health. 

Travis, Joanna and Andrew took off for Punta Cana early Sunday, and are enjoying their week under the tropical sunshine. 
When in Punta Cana...
Gemma has remained here in TBay, while Andrew is expected back this weekend. Travis and Joanna  look forward to another week in the sun, and away from the snow! 

And that's about enough for this week.

Saturday, January 11

News Update

We've had an eventful week here on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been comfortable, but it is turning colder now. I had a bad experience on Thursday due to my careless use of my snowblower. It got plugged with snow, so I tried to clear it, but I failed to check that the blower had in fact, disengaged! For some reason, the clutch failed to disengage, so when I reached in to clear the snow, it grabbed my fingers and gave them a few whacks. I looked at my hand—the glove was undamaged! But, it hurt so much, I decided to check—I was greeted by a pool of blood, and the appearance of about 2cm of bone of my index and middle fingers. I pushed the pads of flesh back down, and put the snowblower away while Wendy started the car. This was about 10am, and we spent most of the rest of the day at Emergency! The conclusion included about 15 stitches, 4 breaks in the three fingers involved, and an appointment for followup with a plastic surgeon next week to see if the bones are knitting together well. I was fitted with a special splint by the physiotherapy guys at the Hand Clinic. 
Cleaned, but Messy
Stitched Up
Bandaged & Splinted
This coming Thursday, I'll get more x-rays, and meet with the doctor on Friday, hoping to avoid pins into the ends of my fingers. In the meantime, I'm on antibiotics to ward off infection and T3s to ward off pain! Those tamper-resistant pill bottles are difficult to open with one hand! On the positive side, my vision continues to improve in my right eye, and I'm now able to read material from my laptop screen. 
The markets ran well until Friday when weak employment data in the USA brought on a sell off. Still, I was blessed with a good gain overall. The Oilers have been playing better, and have recovered into a playoff position. Leafs and Pens are doing well. My #3-Jayhawks won easily midweek, but had a tough game today against #4-Baylor, and also suffered an injury to their best player. So, they'll undoubtedly be dropped in the next ranking, probably out of the top ten. The Continental Cup is on in curling, and so far Team Europe is taking it to Team Canada—c'mon guys! 

It was back to work this week for the Baileys. Liam had a specialist appointment in Saskatoon on Friday so he’s back for a visit this weekend. Liam hasn’t seen any improvement in his iron and blood count from his most recent iron transfusion so he’s going to try a round of prednisone, and some additional iron transfusions, closer together, to get his blood count back up. Other than that it’s been business as usual for Eric, Erica, Haaken and Liam. 

Erin has been suffering most of the week with flu-like symptoms. Kristian is back at school and doing fine. Lucy has changed so much, and now looks like a full-grown cat. She enjoys watching and chasing sports action on TV. 

Travis and Joanna have had another week of completion and set-up. They're off to Punta Cana for a couple of weeks in the sun, so they are getting some jobs out the door even as they are getting other projects ready so the orders and money will be rolling in while they relax on the beach! Nice work, if you can get it! Tonight, they brought over their dog,  Minnie, and their budgie. Wendy will be taking care of them for the next while. 

And that's plenty enough for this week. 

Saturday, January 4

News Update

Another year has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been very mild this week. We've had some fresh snow, but we got that cleared away. Then we had some sun, which cleared the driveway, and we've even had some rain—crazy times!
New Year's Eve—Chinese Food!
We brought in the New Year over Chinese food with Travis, Joanna and Andrew, celebrating the occasion by building another puzzle.
Last Puzzle of 2019!
Otherwise, we've taken it pretty easy. I put in a few hours reviewing my investment work of 2019, and planning for 2020. I also spent a fair bit of time considering and planning some woodwork projects. Fortunately, I get to chat with my brother on both subjects, and, this year, I've been approached by a nephew who wants to discuss investments, so it's a lot of fun. Wendy has begun clearing away Christmas decorations. I had a great day in the markets on Thursday to start off the new year, but then Trump decided he needed to do something to distract from his impeachment, and energize his re-election campaign, so he assassinated the highest ranking military official of Iran! The markets tanked on Friday, but I still managed to escape with my quota for the week. I had a great day in sports today with the Jayhawks winning their first game of conference play. They were elevated back to #3 this week, so they should manage to hold that ranking. That was accompanied by the Oilers winning, the Pens winning and the Leafs winning! So much winning I can hardly stand it! And then the icing on the cake: Shady Brady and the Patriots lost! And finally, after midnight, the Canucks won one for Eric! That's seven straight wins for the Canucks; they bear watching since they're ahead of my Oilers!

Erica writes, "This week we enjoyed some time in a Regina visiting Erin and Kristian, and Grampa, Bernard and Alicia. It was a quick trip as we had to come back to PA to help a friend move. As it turned out, only Eric and Haaken were able to help as I caught a quick flu. Liam’s RU group performed at a New Year’s Eve event in Moose Jaw. He’s back in Moose Jaw now for work and practise. We dropped Haaken off at the airport Friday morning and he’s back in Victoria."

Kristian was on holidays all week, and Erin had some time off as well. However, she took ill and has been suffering most of the week. Today, she allowed that she has progressed from the bed to the rocking chair!  We hope she is completely well, soon.

We enjoyed celebrations over the holidays with Trav, Joanna and family. Now, they're back at work, and we're also returning to our regular routines. Joanna returned from Toronto on Tuesday, so she joined in our New Year's Eve supper and celebration.

And that's about enough for this week.