Progress!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been beautiful and we have enjoyed working in the yard. Wendy has the flowerbeds all looking good. She is planning to add more bedding plants soon. She has not spent much time on the quilt this week. We had the '67 Cougar out earlier this Spring, but not this week. I've been engaged in a daily harvest of dandelions with the end not yet in sight! The front lawn is coming along nicely; the back is still not fully green. The rhubarb is ready for picking; some tomatoes are forming. Radishes are not ready yet. We haven't used the garden area for several years and are paying the price in terms of weeds! 

Fingernails are Progressing

I have continued to work in the shop. I have added another set of racks for lumber storage, and have managed to get the electricity running to a dead plug. I can't be sure what happened; there are two feeds from the house, and one of them has developed a dead short. I disconnected it and used a different one. There are four circuits in the shop, but I've only figured out three of them. I had a great week in the markets scoring almost a triple quota. I finished May in the green, but short of my monthly quota. I still have the majority of my funds in cash. This week's chart shows how Covid has overtaken other causes of death in the world—striking! Covid-19 continues to dominate our activities as well. We mostly stay at home, and are careful with masks and hand cleanser when we go out. I enjoyed watching the golf last weekend—another of those celebrity specials. There is still little going on in the world of sports, but the leagues continue to agitate for some way forward. 

Erica has managed to get off three boards—a successful week in anyone's books! She finished her term as Finance Elder at church, so she's off both the elder board and the finance committee. She turned over her position on the Lymphedema Association so she can focus on the newly formed Lipedema Association. They've been investigating renovation options for the house and deck. During that process, Liam was inspired with a terrible idea: switch the locations of the downstairs bathroom/laundry room with the kitchen! The more we think about that, the more we like it—except for the fact that it will entail demolishing the bathroom that's only two years old! Eric is back at work in his office. He has survived thus far! He isn't meeting clients in person yet, just making the calls and video-conferencing from his office instead of from home. Haaken continues to work on his portfolio and is looking at job possibilities. Liam has been plugging away on the second bedroom upstairs and it is almost ready for painting. 

Kristian and I have enjoyed several sessions of mathematics. We have completed the unit on data graphing, and are now working on probability. Sadie got a long awaited haircut, and nail clipping, so she's getting around much better.

Clipped and clipped!

I built another planter for Erin; it awaits delivery and staining! Kristian is experiencing improvement of his eczema affliction; the itchiness is much relieved. 

Joanna has been self-isolating since returning from southern Ontario. This week she had her CV-19 test, and we're delighted that it came back negative. Andrew is now able to continue his pharmacy work. Travis is continuing to be safe at home, although he is running out of Durston honey! Gemma continues to work on her classes downstairs. Wendy dropped off some groceries over there this morning, including honey, but not Durston honey! 

And that's about it for this week. 

Press on; follow the drill!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We remain safe at home and take precautions when we venture out. The Space Station's orbit has been crossing overhead Thunder Bay this week. We've enjoyed several occasions to watch it make its rapid transit over our location. Wendy has continued to work on Shawn's quilt, and this week she took advantage of the beautiful weather to get out in the flower beds. Those are looking promising! I've been engaged in my annual battle with dandelions in the lawns. This year I have a new weapon as John passed along a dandelion spade. It is quite effective in getting the root out. Monday was Victoria Day, or May Long, as they call it here. Although it is the earliest possible date for Victoria Day, the traditional activity of planting the garden beckoned, so I got seeds in for beets, turnips, lettuce and radishes. We haven't had much of a garden in recent years, but we anticipate more time to care for it, so I'm giving it a go. The rhubarb is looking good, and we'll get a picking there soon. We plan to add some tomatoes from one of the local greenhouses as well. I have drip irrigation in place for all of the garden. I picked up a used Skil jigsaw I saw advertised on FaceBook. My old Black & Decker has been resurrected quite a few times, but it failed me on the job recently when I was working at Trav's, so I just can't rely on it any longer. I built a drill-press using an old 1/2" drill; it works quite well. Yeah, yeah, I'm being careful with my fingers!

Covid-19 continues to be a big story. Very few countries are handling it well. We are not doing so well, although some provinces are taking steps to relax the safe-at-home requirements. The golf courses have reopened, but I'm not ready for the risk. I'll keep practicing at home and in the school yard across the street. The markets were mixed, but worked out positively for me as I managed to make double quota—trying to make up for many bad weeks I've already seen this year. The sports leagues keep working on options for how they might get playing again. Golf has another celebrity event this weekend, and continue to plan a return to regular events in less than three weeks, although without spectators.

The Bailey's continue to work from home in Prince Albert. I have no other news of them at the time of this update. 

Erin and Kristian carry on in Regina. Kristian and I FaceTimed our way through some more mathematics; he's doing a unit on graphing data. Erin detailed the specifications for another planter, so, I'm planning to build that here and transport it west whenever we get the all clear. Kristian has been suffering a severe bout of itchy rash. At first it was thought to be an allergic reaction, but when that brought no relief, the doctor actually called him in for a visit instead of diagnosing via photos. This was Kristian's first outing after the CV-19 lock-down. They took advantage of the outing to have a physically-distanced visit with Papa. Kristian is now being treated, effectively it seems, for eczema. 

He decorated his mask!

Travis continues to entertain a few orders, and also uses the traditional off-season time to consider other productive options. Joanna returned from southern Ontario yesterday, and is now isolating at home. She hopes to take a CV-19 test next week. Gemma continues her classwork downstairs at our place.

And that's about it for this week. 

Don't relax too soon!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We remain isolated and take precautions when we go out for groceries. Wendy has continued to work on Shawn's quilt, pole, pole! Around the world, many jurisdictions are taking a gamble on relaxing the isolation rules—I have not heard of anywhere where it is working out well. This week's chart shows the infection/death data from around the world. Some countries did a great job of suppressing and flattening the curve, but are nonetheless facing flareups when they try to open up. USA did a terrible job of managing the infections, and are now producing almost 1/3 of infections and deaths world-wide, but still pressing to re-open! We're pressing to keep our border closed! We started the week by helping deliver Mothers Day floral arrangements. That was fun, actually. We got out of the house, puzzled out routes to make each batch of deliveries, and in combination with our vehicle navigation system, and our phones, using Maps and Google Maps, we were successful in getting 55 deliveries made!

Making Deliveries!

The weather has been nice, even with a couple of days of showers. We've been able to get out walking and riding our bikes on a regular basis. The golf courses have now been given permission to open under new rules for social distancing. They've installed special clips on the flagpoles so you can retrieve your ball from the hole without touching the flagpole. They only allow 1 person per cart, if you're using a power cart, and the carts get cleansed between users. They've also spaced out the tee times to twice the normal time to reduce traffic. You can't use cash, and you don't go into the pro shop; they come out to assist you in making the payment. The sad part for me is they are keeping the driving range and practice area closed, and those are my favourite haunts this time of the season. We celebrated Friday with our first trip of the season to Merla Mae's Ice Cream!

Keto Treat (minus the Keto!)

The markets were mixed, but mostly bad, with green on Monday and Friday, and seriously red in between! So, that didn't work out positively for me. The sports leagues keep working on options for how they might get playing again. The NHL is considering moving directly into playoffs, but many concerns remain to be addressed. Baseball has not managed to start their season. Golf is starting with some celebrity events, and looking to return to regular events in June, but without spectators.

The Bailey's continue to work from home in Prince Albert. I've done a bit more planning and consideration of the deck construction. Now, we just need the country to establish safety over the coronavirus. Otherwise, they continue to shelter in place, and watch a lot of Netflix and Amazon Prime. They've completed the Jack Ryan series and are amusing themselves with old movies! Exciting times! 

Erin and Kristian carry on in Regina. Kristian called me one day, and we FaceTimed our way through some mathematics. Erin is starting to consider further garden developments. I am hoping to build her another planter for her wall, but we're still holding here, with no anticipated date for a trip west. 

Travis had a busy weekend delivering Mothers Day flowers. He worked longer hours than we did, and managed about three times as many clients. Joanna remains in southern Ontario, but is beginning to see the end of this session. We're hoping she makes it back sometime next week. There have been a couple of cases of CV-19 at one of the Walmarts here, but not at the one where Andrew works. Gemma continues her classwork downstairs at our place. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Don't Quit Now!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been nice, but it has cooled off for the weekend. I was expecting to mow the lawns this weekend, but the cool weather has discouraged that idea! Travis arranged a job for us this weekend, delivering Mothers' Day flowers for a local florist.

Smiling Delivery Boy!

Wendy and I worked together and that was fun! I made the doorway deliveries; I had to mask up for that, and cleanse with antibiotic cleanser after each delivery. It felt good to bring smiles to many faces. Otherwise, we've had a quiet week. Wendy keeps working on the quilt repair—many hours per day. I've had a good week on the markets, invested a bit more, and made my weekly quota. It's encouraging even though the gains make no sense in light of our economic situation with ballooning unemployment. The situation with CV-19 is not good. Many countries have made good progress, but a lot of countries continue to fail in their responses. This week's chart illustrates how many countries are doing—Canada is not doing well! Still, we're seeing a lot of pressure here to relax isolation and quarantine practices. I foresee dire results if these moves take hold when we still have so much active infection around. Recall the early days  of the pandemic when only a handful of active cases were in play; now, we have tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of infectious people, and we're thinking we can relax?! Yikes! There are some initiatives towards opening up play in several sports leagues including NHL, NBA and MLB. The CFL is considering cancelling the season completely. Golf plans to return to action in June. 

It’s been another quiet week in quarantine for the Baileys. They got to take a trip to Melfort today to pick up a special gift. They've been blessed with the situation where both Eric and Erica can work from home fairly effectively. Liam is with them in Prince Albert; he has made some progress on the back room. Haaken remains in Victoria with his relatives there. He is working on an animation project and we hope he can see some success with it. 

Kristian continues to make progress in his school work from home. He had a math test this week, and did well on it. Lucy has been developing some bad habits. She hops up onto the island and pushes things onto the floor. She tries chewing on toys.

Bad Kitty!

Sadie just relaxes and tries to show a good example! 

Who's a Good Dog?

Trav and Joanna continue to shelter at home while doing what they can to maintain some cash flow. Joanna gets some shifts at the restaurant, preparing takeaway meals. This weekend, Trav is doing deliveries for a local florist. It's been very busy, and he's recruited us to help out. Joanna is off to Toronto to help out with family there. That stay could become a bit prolonged as both parents are suffering health issues. Gemma continues to live with us. Andrew is working at Walmart pharmacy. 

And that's about it for this week! 

Safe at Home!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has turned very spring-like with warm temperatures, and elevated breezes. We've even had a couple of showers. We've taken advantage by getting out for a few walks and doing some geo-caching. We only have our phones to do searches with, and they are only accurate to within 5 metres, so it leaves quite a challenge to find the caches, which are sometimes quite small and well hidden.

A small cache we found today.

I have continued swinging my golf club and even hit a few balls. The courses are ready, now, we're just waiting until it's safe to go! My left hand continues to heal; the nails are beginning to loosen, and will soon be falling off.

White lines mark the break ridges

The Canadian map shows that the country as a whole, and most provinces are not doing well. Saskatchewan had been making progress, but has stepped backwards as you can see if you click on its numbers. The curve has steepened once again. Wendy has continued to work on the quilt. She consulted a variety of Youtube videos, dismantled her sewing machine, diagnosed and repaired the problem, and has it performing well once again—Victory for Wendy! The markets were up the first three days, before collapsing into the weekend. I managed to make quota for the month of April, my first quota month this year. We enjoyed making connections with the family on the occasion of Eric's birthday. Erica set up a Zoom meeting, so we spent about an hour chatting and catching up with each other. Sweet! This week I raked the lawns and garden. If we're going to be here for more of the summer, we may as well plant a garden! I dragged out the rototiller, but it needed the fuel tank cleaned, and by the time I got going on that, I had the carburetor in more pieces than I recalled! Youtube to the rescue, I have it back together. We enjoyed a visit from Dave and Heather on Wednesday. They parked their RV in the yard, and we enjoyed a meal on the deck, so as to maintain physical distance. I celebrated the visit with a fire in the fire pit, complete with the requisite S'mores! Who knew S'mores have sugar! The very next day, I was suffering with Gout! So, it was back to the Colchicine, which is bringing relief! The coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in most of the world. Sadly, very few countries responded well, like New Zealand or South Korea. Some tried to ignore or deny the threat, and are now suffering the consequences. Many others are tempted to declare victory and move back toward "normal", whatever that is. I fear this will result in many more unnecessary deaths. 

Erica writes: "We all stayed home. The end. Actually Eric celebrated a milestone birthday. We picked up gluten free cupcakes, delivered some to friends around PA, and celebrated with a series of zoom parties. We also got the motorcycles out, licensed and took them for a spin. Fun times! Liam is doing some work on the room and on his art. Haaken is also working on his art. We are encouraging him to take the opportunity to build up his portfolio."

Erin is struggling along with the multiple tasks of office manager, mother and teacher. Kristian is not always keeping up with his roles of student and housekeeper! He continues to engage in school work with some online support, but needs too much prodding! Sadie and Lucy are thriving, but we're starting to have more concerns about Lucy's effect on Kristian as he is showing indicates of allergic reactions. So far, the allergy pills are a benefit, and are reducing the reaction.

Travis and Joanna continue to keep us supplied with groceries, and allow us greater safety. Last weekend, we built a privacy wall for their deck and got that installed.

Wall Install!

Gemma continues to live in our basement. Her next batches of classes are beginning, but instruction is all online.

And that's about it for this week.