Oh my, Omicron!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather continues to adjust the thermostat downwards, and we struggle to make it above freezing each day. We've felt some November winds as well. I have restarted my curling career with two games this week. I got a little woozy from the exertions of sweeping in game 1, so I had to take it a bit easier in game 2. At least I had fun! 

The box holds the playing pieces...

...the lid flips over to reveal the board.

I have continued work on my Quatro game, as I'm planning to send it west on Monday. Wendy and I have spent some time practicing the game, and agree that the expert adaptation is needed to avoid playing to a lot of draws. The labelling didn't work out perfectly, but I like it. I'm considering a few other designs for the game board, but not planning to build boxes for the playing pieces.

For her little boy...

Wendy has been working on a special cake for Trav's birthday. As always, it's amazing—hours of patient, loving, artistic endeavour! I'm looking forward to seeing his reaction to it this evening!

Art & Artist!

The markets have continued their topsy-turvy behaviour and that was accentuated, in spades on Friday. The week was beset by smaller volumes due to the USA Thanksgiving holiday, and when news broke of the new Omicron variant of the covid virus, investors just sold out to end the week. That left me feeling a lot of pain as well, and only two trading days left for some needed recovery. The biggest villains in all this include the anti-vaxers, and the jurisdictions (and people) that refuse to practice good health procedures. Those folks are keeping the virus thriving, and allowing it more time to mutate. For our part, we got our booster shot on Friday, and we will be following with interest the research on the efficacy of the vaccines against this new variant, and readying ourselves for more boosters if that becomes necessary. Most of my sports teams are thriving. Oilers, Pens, and Leafs are getting good results in hockey. The Longhorns won their game this week, while #7-Cowboys hosted #10-Sooners, so someone had to lose, and this time it was the visitors! The big exception was my #4-Jayhawks in basketball. They played a sloppy second half, with no intensity, and managed to lose to unranked Dayton. They can kiss their lofty ranking good-bye! The Riders host Calgary in the west semi-final tomorrow—Let's Go, Riders! I've been following the Olympic Trials in Curling all week. My picks both advanced to the medal round. Koe lost to Jacobs in the semi-final, while Einarson lost to local favourite, McCarville. However, Jones defeated her to advance to the final. Gushue and Fleury are waiting to play them in the finals tomorrow, and whoever wins, we'll have two strong representatives. 

Erica writes, "It was a pretty ordinary week at the Bailey house. However, on Friday, we got to take in a local dinner theatre production of a Die Hard Christmas. It was a spoof of the film with very low-budget special effects. We laughed! Greg had a small flood in his basement, but he got the water shut off right away so hopefully minimal damage! Liam and Haaken continue doing their regular activities. We are looking forward to Liam’s return home on the 11th."

Erin and Kristian had a good week in wintry Regina. Kristian's latest school reports are very good, and very encouraging—great work, buddy! Kristian has taken up curling as one of his recreational courses, and is enjoying that. He also benefits from several activities sponsored by his school program. Now that Kristian has given permission, they have put up their Christmas trees both on the main floor and downstairs. Now we wait to see how they are decorated! 

Trav & Joanna have been extremely busy all week. I'm sure that's what you want when you're in business, and they've been experiencing it!

Our baby boy turns 40! 

And the big event of the week was Trav's 40th birthday party this evening. We hosted them at our place. Joanna produced all the food, and Wendy built the cake! It was a good time! 

And that's about it for this week. 

Surging/Not!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has remained mild, and we are still enjoying green grass and daily highs above freezing. I credit it all to my purchase of a snowblower, but even that can only hold off winter for so long! I have continued my work on the game project, and am now at the top-coating stage (as if I know what I'm doing!).

But I call my game Quatro!

Travis found the actual game on sale in Minneapolis, so at my current rate of progress, I'm calculating a net wage of about $1 per hour. Wendy enjoys singing each week with Sounds of Superior. They recorded one song without masks as a photo-op!

Do you see Wendy?

Otherwise, she is doing lots of catch up on the treasurer work for the chorus; she enjoys getting back into the bookkeeping business. The markets whipsawed us this week with M-W-F as red days. That action left me well short of quota this week—better luck next week! The covid situation is taking an ominous turn as many locations are reporting increased rates of infection. The world increased 9% this week, and USA increased 15%, sigh! We've had some improvement here (-3%), and only Manitoba is out-of-control at present. However, there are rumblings from various provinces about success, and covid seems to take any such relaxation as an opportunity! The football season ends this weekend; Riders played Hamilton this afternoon, and lost. The game had no impact on the playoff standings, and Riders played a lot of backup players. Riders now prepare to host Calgary in the West semi-final. Go Riders, Go! College hoops continued with the non-conference games. Jayhawks won easily and maintained their #3 ranking. College football is also ending the season and moving toward conference playoffs. This week #13-Sooners beat Iowa State and #9-Cowboys shut out Texas Tech, but the Longhorns lost to West Virginia. Hockey continues to develop some interesting stories. Oilers and Leafs having good success. Pens are getting their players back from injury and covid, and are doing better; they beat the Leafs 2-0 tonight. One of the biggest curling events began today with nine teams competing on each of the men's and women's sides to be the Canadian rep to the Olympics. I'll be cheering for my long time favourite Kevin Koe on the men's side, and Kerri Einarson on the women's side. 

Erica writes, "We got more snow this week and it’s starting to look a lot like Christmas! Eric has been teaching an anger management class and that ended this week. Liam got another infusion of his medication on Friday. He has started his new regimen of every 4 weeks and we hope and pray this has a positive impact. I enjoyed a personal day on Friday. Our new firm gives us one per quarter and we have to use them—so that’s nice. It forces us to take at least one day to relax! Haaken and Greg are doing well." They have continued the demolition of the dining area ceiling below the upstairs bathroom. As is often the case, there was a surprise. When a previous owner was installing heating ducts, he just cut right through the floor joists for the upstairs bathroom! 

Not sure how those joists survived!

Erin and Kristian suffered through a full-scale blizzard in Regina, so they also have lots of snow. The back deck accumulations prompted Sadie to say, "No thanks," to offers of an outdoor excursion!

Brrrrr!

Travis and Joanna returned from Minneapolis on Monday. They got covid tests in Minnie, filled out the ArriveCAN App, and sailed easily through the border. They picked up the dog and budgie from us, and settled back in at home. Now, they're back to isolating and taking care of the pets. 

And that's enough for this week! 

Not Quite as Expected!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather was lovely early in the week, but has turned to more seasonal albeit less comfortable conditions. We had a wild rain storm on Thursday, and even heard of snow at higher elevations away from the Lake. Now, they're predicting day time highs of only a few degrees above zero for the next few days. Wendy continued with deck-board staining, but remains with one batch left to go! She is enjoying having in-person singing practise with the Barbershoppers each week. They have tight restrictions, including full vaccination and singing with masks, but it seems to be going well. I have continued to work on my game project. 

Box Glue-Up

When Trav and I played a game, he automatically called, "Quatro" when he won, so I've determined to rename the game. It is officially called Quarto (fourth), but I agree Quatro (four) is a better call for a game where you have to get four players in a row to win.

Quatro Playing Pieces

Today, I've begun testing transfer methods for the lettering on the game board. Otherwise, I have continued my curling practice sessions, and I'm getting more comfortable. I begin league play on November 22nd. The markets had a troubled start to the week as investors flinched while awaiting the CPI data. Their fears were confirmed on Wednesday, but they promptly turned it around and had great gains on Thursday and Friday—go figure! As a result, I was able to recover value, and have achieved quota for the month already. Covid is surging again. World-wide and USA cases are up 8% this week, and we're up 14% here. However, many provinces are improving their results, and now only Manitoba and Saskatchewan are rated as out-of-control. The football season is coming to an end, so playoff positions are getting locked in. Riders have confirmed their home playoff game with a win over Edmonton today—yay Riders! In college football, #8-Sooners took a big loss in a tough road game at #13-Baylor—first loss of the season for Sooners. Longhorns and #10-Cowboys played unranked teams. The Cowboys won comfortably, as expected, but the Longhorns somehow found a way to give KU their second win of the season! Basketball season has begun, and my Jayhawks have been ranked #3 to start the season. They've launched with three wins—Rock Chalk! Oilers and Leafs continue to play well, while Pens continue to suffer from injury and illness. Crosby is back from Covid protocol today, so we hope to see him playing soon. Brad Gushue completed the National curling tournament last week with a big win over Mouat. This week's curling feature in the Mixed Championship. It is heartening to see the Yellowknife team playing well, and having good success—finish strong guys! They've advanced to the medal round in first place. 

Eric/A enjoyed the first snowfall of the season in Prince Albert.

Snow No Go!

Erica complained that the newly installed back gate was malfunctioning,

Eric to the Rescue!

but Eric shovelled it clear! One day—no snow, by the end of the next day—a foot of the white stuff! Erica is on a girls trip this weekend with her friends Tina and Lori to an undisclosed location. They're enjoying some Christmas shopping and farm and crafters' markets. They also took in a dinner theatre with a musical production based on 80s music. It has been fun. Eric/A are still trying to decide what to do for Christmas. They would really like to see all their boys, but don’t think that is going to happen. 

Erin and Kristian are helping Shawn celebrate his birthday with an Oreo and Candy cheesecake, as soon as he gets some time off. He also received a new Christmas Tree—don't know if Kristian will approve of it being displayed yet! Kristian is continuing his UV treatments and achieving good improvement over his eczema. Kristian had his audiologist appointment and has picked out his next hearing aids—black with green moulds. He is also looking forward to starting curling on Monday. Snow has arrived in Regina as well, but Erin got her snow tires installed, so she's feeling confident! What about other drivers who don't have snow tires installed?! 

Trav and Joanna completed their jobs early in the week, and on Thursday, they drove down to Minneapolis for the weekend. We've been hosting Minnie (dog) and Mozzie (budgie) while they're away. We're hoping they remain safe on the drive, and in relation to the raging covid situation in Minnesota. I guess we'll have to isolate for a week after they get back. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Do you remember?

I do not remember war. I have not participated in one, although I do have a recurring nightmare where I'm in a war. I would never wish war on anyone. I would not agree to participate if at all possible. I have approached the beaches of Calais on a comfortable ferry boat, and felt the hair on the back of my neck rise as I viewed the surviving gun emplacements there. How did any of our troops survive in the face of those pill boxes? I have walked around the massive gun emplacements in Denmark meant to secure the access from the North Sea against the Allies. I consider how much we have 'improved' our machines of death since then! But I do not remember war. I shudder to think, and pray we will never be called to experience such horrors. Even so, I know that many people in many parts of the world continue to experience war even today. Please God, make it stop! 

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. The weather has continued to be mild, and we've enjoyed more outside and yard work. Wendy has begun staining the deck boards for the lower deck. It's a big job, and she may have to finish it next Spring. She has also been very busy with her Sweet Adelines; they are back to practicing together under tight regulations, and she has taken on the assignment of bookkeeper. That has turned out to be a lost more time-consuming than she expected! I am doing some woodwork in the shop. I am currently building a board game, called Quarto. I have decided to try a bit of curling this winter, so I've signed up for a local recreational league. The markets have continued to thrive, and established a growth record for Biden—the best year one results ever. And Congress has finally passed an infrastructure bill, so we can expect job growth and economic development to continue. Covid-19 is also thriving as world-wide cases have increased where total carnage has now surpassed 5 million lives. We have improved 4% in Canada this week, and now only Saskatchewan is out-of-control. In the USA, there are only six states that are categorized as in-control, and yet we have decided to open the borders to land traffic in the coming week—risky! In hockey, my teams are enjoying some better success. Oilers won a spectacular game last night over the Rangers. Leafs won a totally entertaining game over the Lightning, also in overtime. College football is nearing the end of the regular season. My #4-Sooners are off this week. #11-Cowboys won their game, while the Longhorns took a lead into the half, but then coughed up another one. Lots of curling news this week. It started with the Olympic Pre-Trials that ended on Sunday with Jason Gunnlaugson, Tanner Horgan, and Jacqueline Harrison joining Krista McCarville in the Olympic Trials coming up in Saskatoon. Other good news on the curling front, Brendan Bottcher, our national championship team, beat back challenges from Mexico and Brazil to secure our spot in the World Championships. They played a double round robin against the challenging countries in the Americas zone, and emerged with four straight wins. This week the curling feature is the Grand Slam of Curling National from Calgary. My guy, Kevin Koe, has advanced to playoffs, but lost to Brad Gushue. I've enjoyed watching both men's and women's play. The Riders won their game Friday night in Edmonton, but it was not a convincing win over the basement-dwelling Elks. C'mon Riders! 

Erica writes, "Eric has been teaching an anger management class for teens. He used all his skills this Friday to keep from being mad at the Riders! His work has been busy with new counsellor to train and students to teach. On Saturday he has his association AGM. He is busy! I had a regular week of work. I’m going to connect with some friends to check out the local craft fair. (They require proof of vaccination so we are feeling okay about going). I’m also on for worship team this week. Liam is busy so he won’t be able to join me on drums. Haaken reports he is back at Costco. It is encouraging to hear they welcomed him back!"

Kristian got some good news as a cancellation allowed him to get his next hearing appointment this month rather than having to wait until the New Year. Kristian's Art and Performance group, The Deaf Crows, is running a fundraiser of Purdy's Chocolates—sounds like a win-win! 

Travis and Joanna continue to be very busy. They're getting more team shoots for Puck Shots, and the Bucket Decals keep pumping out the door.

Nice installation job!

Still he found time to install a new TV downstairs in the family room. They also bid a sad farewell to one of their rats who was suffering with numerous tumours. Trav bought a refurbished computer for work. He had bought a new one, but he had to return it since some of his software was not sufficiently upgraded to run on it! Their local handy man installed new lighting for their kitchen counters. 

And that's about enough for this week.