Scary Good!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We got encouraging news from Regina as Dad has been moved to Wascana for further physiotherapy. We've been taking things fairly easy in our first week back, but then, that's the usual for us. The weather has continued to be very nice, and I have returned to my work on the lower deck. Wendy has been clearing out the weeds, and I have the framework completed and leveled. I think that will be it for this fall, as the weather can be expected to turn with the 'gales of November remembered," as Gordon Lightfoot sang it. I have caught up on assigned blood work for my "Clot Doctor", and we've both received the annual flu vaccine. Wendy fit in a hair appointment, but I didn't get mine cut since our clippers met their demise on the most recent operation!

Old vs New

I have been searching for a good used snowblower since mine quit last winter. This week I located and purchased the replacement. It is much bigger and has metal blades on the snow-thrower, so I'd better keep my fingers out of there! The covid situation has improved somewhat as our cases dropped 15% in the last week. However, while our troubled provinces (Sask, Alta, and BC) have improved, they remain at out-of-control levels. The USA has improved another 6%, but they still have 45 states with out-of-control infection rates. The markets have remained positive, and I managed a double quota in October to leave those sad memories of September behind. In fact, I've now managed to amass a full year's quota after only ten months. Thanks Uncle Joe! I never managed to make quota the last four years; it is a nice change to have sanity in the Whitehouse. Now, if they can just get that infrastructure bill passed, we can expect good returns for the final two months as well. Houston and Atlanta are engaged in the World Series of baseball. It's tight so far, but the Braves put them at the brink with a win tonight to take a 3-1 series lead! In college football, my #4-Sooners looked much sharper this week in their win. The hapless Longhorns gave another game away in the late going, while #15-Cowboys took care of business in the evening. In hockey, the Leafs and Pens have struggled in the early going. With the Pens, it's been injury and covid issues that have kept stars out of the lineup, but with the Leafs it's been poor play. Meanwhile, the Oilers have made a nice start to the season; I hope they can keep it up! The big action of this week is the Olympic Curling pre-trials. They are adding two teams for both men and women to the Olympic Trials coming up in Saskatoon, and there has been heated action all week. Local favourite, Krista McCarville won the first spot. The other three will be decided tomorrow. Riders eked out a hard-fought victory in Montreal tonight, so they're assured of a playoff position. Yay Riders! 

Erica writes, "Liam stayed with us until Wednesday this week. He had an appointment with a specialist who reports that the medication is still not at high enough level to do what it needs to do. He will start taking his medication more frequently and hopefully that will help resolve his issues. Eric and I had a relatively quiet week.

Wonder Woman!

On Friday, I celebrated Halloween early by dressing up as my favourite superhero, Wonder Woman. It was a lot of fun and I got a prize at work. To be fair, everybody who dressed up got a prize at work. Eric went for his flu shot today and as an extra bonus he got a booster shot for his Covid vaccine!"

Erin and Kristian had a quiet week in Regina. Kristian had Spirit Week as school and dressed as a different character each day. He's enjoying school. Erin bought a Christmas Tree, but Kristian would not let her put it up since it wasn't time yet. Then a better one came on sale, so she bought it, too! Now we hope she'll take one back!! 

Joanna returned from Toronto on Tuesday evening. Travis continues to be very busy, and he's glad to have his steady worker back on task! Today, Trav was installing a new TV downstairs at their place. Rhys and Gemma keep busy with work, classes, and life downstairs here. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Home Again!

Another week has passed, and we have returned to the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has not been conducive to outdoor activities, but we've managed to pack up in Regina, and drive home. We arrived here about 6:30 this evening, and as always, we're glad to be home. The courses closed in Regina, but we're glad to see they're still open here, so I may get in a bit more golf before the season ends. We had a special treat early in the week as we drove over to Moose Jaw to enjoy a meal with Liam.

BP's Gluten-free Brownie!

Then, Richard managed to convince the authorities at the hospital to allow Wendy to visit Dad. She spent a few hours with him on Tuesday, and returned much encouraged by his progress in the last two weeks.

Progress!

It appears he will be transferred to convalescent care early next week, whence he will continue physiotherapy towards a goal of being able to go home. We headed east on Wednesday, driving to Carmen, where we enjoyed a visit with Kim & Glen, a tour of their new home, and a lovely meal—thanks folks! Then, we completed our transition to Winnipeg where we moved in with Tom & Mariette for three nights. As usual, we were hosted graciously and fed sumptuously—thanks a lot! This morning, we took our leave and drove uneventfully to Thunder Bay. While in Winnipeg, we were also able to visit with Mike & Peggy, and with Dean, Kelly and crew.

Addy, Dean, Cassie, Kelly

It is nice to have fully vaccinated friends so we can enjoy such visits. The markets have performing positively this month, and I've already managed to make quota for the month, so I'm trying to recover some of the losses experienced in September. The covid situation remains a concern as the unvaccinated keep it thriving, and evolving. We hear this week of another variant identified in the UK, and tentatively named Delta+. It has also been found in North America. As we learn more, we will find out how dangerous it is, and possibly even give it a name of its own. At this point we have three provinces with out-of-control covid infections: SK, AB and BC. The USA has 48 states currently out of control. Despite that, Canada/USA have announced the resumption of cross-border travel commencing on November 8th. Not too sure about that idea! In MLB, Astros have taken out Boston to advance to the World Series. They will play Atlanta, and I'm picking the Astros as the favourites to win it all. In college football, the unranked Longhorns had the week off to lick their wounds. #3-Sooners did not play a good game, but it was good enough to dispatch an overmatched opponent. #8-Cowboys put up a good fight on the road against Iowa, but it was not enough as they fell by a FG. Riders waged a third straight battle with Calgary tonight, but we still do not have an O-line. However, a big effort by the D including three interceptions gave us the win! Yay Riders! Bombers remain the class of the league, but we only have to beat them once! Go Riders! Curling this week is the Masters event. Koe qualified for the playoffs, but lost to Jacobs, so it'll be Mouat vs Jacobs in the final. On the women's side it's Jones vs Fleury. 

Erica writes, "It was another quiet week at the Bailey house. We had chats with Haaken, Liam and Greg and everyone is doing fine. Liam is heading home for a visit this weekend as he has a specialist appointment on Tuesday next week. Eric and I are heading to Saskatoon on Saturday to see the Experiencing Van Gogh exhibit. We also have appointments with a Naturopathic doctor to see if he can shed light on our aches and pains. I suspect the diagnosis will be, 'You are getting old.'"

Erin and Kristian are back to their normal activities at home, work and school. Sadie and Kristian both got fresh haircuts, so they're looking good. Kristian got his school pictures on Wednesday; we look forward to seeing that. 

Joanna has been spending time with her sister in TO, as she undergoes surgery. Travis is keeping busy with orders. His prior record for October orders was 118; this month he's at 169, and there's still a week to go! Nice to see the return of business. Rhys & Gemma welcomed us home as they have completed their move into the downstairs suite. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Blessings Received!

Another week has passed, and we remain on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. We got good news on Monday and Tuesday as both Erin and Kristian got their covid test results. We delivered Thanksgiving dinner to their door on Monday, and after the negative readings, we were able to have our Thanksgiving supper together on Tuesday. A recent schedule called for us to leave on Tuesday (12th), but we've been delayed, mainly due to the hospitalization of Dad. Richard has become the point person on that situation. Dad was moved from Emerg up to the ward, but the ward had a covid outbreak, so visitors are not allowed. Richard was designated at the only one with access. Dad has undergone a lot of testing, but without definitive results, so we still don't know what happened last week. His speech has improved, but remains problematic. His physio testing reveals some progress, but he is unable to perform as he could before the incident. The current plan is that he could be released to a convalescent care home next week. Much physical and occupational therapy will be needed to prepare him to return home. In the meantime, Wendy has completed her painting at Erin's. She has also completed the curtain project here. I cleaned up my jobs over at Erin's, and hanged the curtains here.

Nice work!

Wendy has redecorated the guest room, including repairing and painting—looking good in there! The weather has been cool and damp all week, but has turned nice for the weekend, so I was able to get out to the course one more time today, but it was closed and locked—can I take a hint? The markets have gradually turned things around and are back to making records once again. I have started to buy back in, and had a great week of gains. The divisional round of playoffs have concluded, and I managed to pick two of the four winners. Now, I'm picking Astros and Dodgers to advance to the World Series. My guy, Kevin Koe, won the curling event in Swift Current last weekend. This week they're curling in Penticton, but he didn't make the playoffs. The NHL season has begun, and I'm cheering for Oilers, Pens and Leafs once again. All three opened the season with wins! The Riders have the bye this week; I hope they're using the extra time to build an O-Line! In college football, Texas was dropped to #25 after their loss to the #4-Sooners last week. This week, it was #12-OSU who had the comeback victory over the 'Horns. I predict the 'Horns will be dropped from the rankings after going 0 for Oklahoma—C'mon Longhorns! Sooners had a solid win over TCU this week. 

Erica writes, "We enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving. Our friend, Tanis, headed home on Sunday and we watched some movies and had a family walk on Monday. Liam headed back to Caronport Tuesday morning. We had planned to have a quick visit to Regina on Monday, but with various health issues with the family, we stayed home. It’s been a quiet week." 

Erin and Kristian were relieved to get negative results on their covid tests. Kristian was able to return to school, and Erin to work. They have hosted us all week to painting and other projects at their place. I reinstalled the baseboard upstairs. I replaced the battery in Kristian's iPhone. I installed a new shower head in the bath upstairs, then, I repaired and reset her fridge door. It was sagging badly on its bottom hinge, so I had to bore new holes and remount the hinge. On Friday night, Erin & Kristian took us out to dinner at Olive Garden—there's some comfort food! Thanks guys! 

Travis & Joanna arranged to pick up my renewal prescriptions from the pharmacy in Thunder Bay and sent them to us here in Regina. Due to our delayed return, I ran out of my pills, so I'm relieved to have my refills—thanks, guys! Their business continues to recover with the arrival of hockey season. It's encouraging. Gemma and Rhys are completing their take-over of the downstairs as Mariana vacates. We are looking forward to getting home this week, and seeing our family there. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Thankfulness!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The weather has continued to be summer-like, and I've enjoyed a couple of more golf games. I had another one scheduled for today, but that fell victim to covid concerns. The project this week has been curtains. I have taken down the old vertical blinds from the three bedrooms, and installed horizontal rods for blackout curtains in each of the rooms. The TV room is fully installed;

TV Room Curtains

Wendy is working on trimming the other curtains to the appropriate length. Nice brushed-nickel rods, and identical patterns of curtains for all three. Looking good! We took the car down to Weyburn on Thursday to get new tires from my old friend, Kerry. We took advantage of the occasion to golf at the familiar course there. We also enjoyed a visit with Kerry and LaVonne—it was a good time! Other news of the week was not so good: On Wednesday morning, Ellis took a turn. We still are not getting any clear diagnosis from the doctors, but he became quite disoriented, lost his ability to output speech or writing, and seemed pretty out-of-touch with reality. The paramedics did the usual check-offs, and determined he should be taken to emergency, from whence he was admitted to hospital, where he remains. Phone calls reveal some improvement, but he still remains far from the effective participant he was earlier in the week. He seems to understand everything said to him, but is unable to find the words to say in reply. Then, this morning, we were informed that Kristian had been exposed to covid at school. He is in three classes with the infected student, and she was there Mon, Tues, Wed before feeling ill. He's fully vaccinated, but will isolate until Sunday, then take a covid test, and we'll play it by ear after that. Anyway, I cancelled my golf today, and our Thanksgiving meal is in limbo as we await results. Otherwise, we seem to be bending the curve a bit on the delta variant, except in Sask and Alberta where their governments were recalcitrant. US and Canada are both down over 10% this week, but the US remains at a level about three times the in-control line. The markets turned around this week as the Republicans reluctantly agreed they should pay for the items they decided to buy! What a strange system they have down there, where they can pass legislation to make certain expenditures, but then, they have to decide later whether they will pay for it! At any rate, the markets took heart and I had a good week. Maybe next week, I can begin to rebuild my portfolio. In sports, the baseball season ended with the Blue Jays one game short of the playoffs. I've picked Brewers, Dodgers, Rays and Astros to advance to the next round. Riders played the return engagement with Calgary this evening, but fared no better—sigh! Stamps kicked a FG as time ran out to win the game. In college football, my #6-Sooners were playing my #21-Longhorns, so one team had to lose. This time it was my Sooners responding to a bad first quarter with a big comeback for the win! Two curling events this weekend; I've enjoyed catching some of that action on line. 

Eric finally completed his confinement on Thursday, so he's back in circulation. Erica continues with work from home or the office, and the fence is still standing. This weekend, they enjoyed a visit from their friend from Kenora. 

Erin had a tough week. She was ill with a migraine, and only got in to work on Friday. Then, Friday night she got the news of Kristian's potential exposure to covid, so her Saturday Thanksgiving dinner with Shawn and the children was cancelled. We're still hoping things are clarified and we can have Thanksgiving dinner with them on Monday. 

Travis and Joanna have been very busy with Bucket Decal orders, and the photo sessions for hockey teams are building up as well. It's great to be busy again. 

Another Minnie-stack ready for shipping!

And that's enough for this week! 

Good Fences...

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies.

Inside the Front Fence

Back Gate-no short people!

We completed the fence and an additional gate for Eric/A on the shore of the North Saskatchewan. Erica took us for a few lovely walks in the area. After spending a week there visiting with Erica and not visiting with Eric, we have returned to Regina. The weather remains beautiful. I managed a practice session at the golf course in Prince Albert, and then Kristian and I played a twilight round on Thursday. That was not easy this time of year with the sun facing us on many shots, and the leaves hiding/disguising our golf balls! We plan to try again Sunday afternoon. Wendy is back to her painting project at Erin's condo. She is still fretting over a plan to paint the stairwell, but I'm hoping she leaves it at just the landing for now. I think she needs scaffolding to do the stair well. September lived up to its billing as the worst month for the markets, and I turned in my first red month of the year. The indices were all down for this month: TSX: -2.9%; DOW: -5.0%; S&P: -5.7%; Nasdaq: -6.3%. It's little wonder I had a hard time finding winners! I ended up selling half of my holdings. In college football, my three teams won close games. I'm thinking it should be enough to move Texas into the rankings to join OU#6, and OSU#19. The Jays lost 2 of 3 to the Yankees and lost control of their own fate. Now with one game left, they must win, and hope Boston or New York loses. Riders had a tough road game in Calgary who are better than their record shows. As time ran down, we successfully recovered the short kick three times before they finally awarded it to us! We had a final chance to win! But we gave up an interception inside their five-yard line. Sigh! 

Erica writes, "We said farewell to our migrant workers this week. They have more work in the south, but we will see them again next season. Eric continues to be in his 14-day quarantine. On Friday, he went for his required Covid test only to find out that tests were no longer allowed for asymptomatic people. He had to plead his case and, fortunately, he was allowed to be tested to meet the requirements of his quarantine. Yikes! 

Across the back alley!

Early Saturday morning, we woke to sirens and flashing lights. The house behind us was engulfed in flames. We don’t know what happened, but are praying that everyone is okay."

The aftermath!

Erin and Kristian had a bit of frustration this week due to "issues" Kristian was having at school! Discussions ensued including teachers and mom, and we hope that is all behind him now. Kristian and I got out golfing on Thursday! 

Trav and Joanna are very busy with work as the hockey season begins.

A Good Day's Work Ready for Mailing!

That is good to see. Otherwise, they are enjoying good Fall weather down there as well. Gemma and Rhys continue to manage our place. Andrew and Patricia keep busy with their work and their dog. 

And that's about enough for this week.