Happy New Year!

Another week, and another year have passed. We have begun the trip home, moving from the shore of Lake Wascana to the shore of the Assiniboine River on Friday, and finally today, ending the year in Dryden on the shore of Lake Wabigoon. I have received calls confirming two MRIs for me back in Thunder Bay with the first being on my spine for late Monday night. We hope this will allow them to complete the diagnosis of the pain in my lower back and legs. For sure the Piriformis exercises prescribed by Dr. Tom have brought a lot of relief, but discomfort and weakness remain. At least I've been able to avoid painkillers the last two weeks. We have enjoyed another week of family time while living in Erin's basement.

Some of our presents! 

Wendy has completed her regular regimen of oven cleansings—sure knows how to have fun! I have upgraded the mantle to nine stocking pegs, and then dismantled (see what I did there?!) and put it away until next Christmas. The weather has wreaked havoc on travel around the city and on the highways as a winter rain coated vehicles and roads. Another long time family friend has passed and when her funeral was scheduled for Friday in Virden, we decided to make that part of our schedule, too. We enjoyed catching up with many more friends as we celebrated Evelyn Muller's life. Then, we spent the night with Bonnie and Charlie in Brandon—thanks folks! Today, we drove only as far as Dryden as it was getting dark and we didn't fancy challenging northern Ontario moose, or New Year's Eve drivers! The markets closed off a troubled year with a bit of green on this short week of trading. This was the first quarter of the year where I managed to make quota, so while I made a bit of money to the bottom line, I fell well short of my quota—I shall have to work harder! We do hope for better market action in 2023. This year concluded with all indices that I follow, badly in the red. TSX: -8.7%; DOW: -8.8%; S&P: -19.4%; Nasdaq: -33.1% In my world of sports, it has been a mixed year. The absolute high was my Jayhawks winning the basketball championship! Rock Chalk! They have another good team this season. They are currently ranked #4, and completed a thrilling comeback today after a 15 point half time deficit. In hockey, all my teams made the playoffs last spring. Sadly, none of them won the Cup, but all three are in playoff contention once again. Go Oilers! Football was a definite downer as my Riders failed to qualify for the playoffs. My Sooners, and the other teams I follow in college football (Oklahoma State, Longhorns) all lost their recent bowl games. C'mon man! 

Eric & Erica celebrated their 29th Anniversary on Tuesday—congratulations! Erica writes, "We enjoyed a week with family and a couple of friends over Christmas and the following days. We even had a hootenanny at 55 Laird. We said good-bye on Friday morning and caught up with Neil and Darcy in Saskatoon and Chris Lock in Warman. This Sunday, Eric, Liam and I will be part of the worship team, so I’d better pick out some songs and get organized. Happy New Year!"

Erin returned to work on Tuesday, but the rest of us continued to holiday most of the week. Kristian and I have unsuccessfully attempted to get his new game working properly. We took it back to Best Buy, but they wouldn't touch it. They offered a replacement, but that didn't work either. An on-line chat revealed that Meta was well aware of the problem, but they continued to sell the game anyway—disappointing! I worked on Erin's door bell problem. The front door bell recently quit ringing as workers were installing siding repairs around the door button. They declined responsibility, but the facts remain that we're getting power to the button, and through the button, but it doesn't get back to the door bell while the back door bell transfers the power successfully. I'm guessing they broke one of the wires somewhere within the door frame, but that becomes an impossible task at this point. 

Travis, Joanna and crew worked through much of the holiday week, but also took time for family and pet celebrations! We look forward to catching up with that action next week! 

And that's enough for this week! 

Merry Christmas to all!

Another week has passed and we have returned from the shore of the North Saskatchewan River to the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The weather has been beastly cold most of the week, but has improved a lot for this weekend. We have moved in with Erin and Kristian again, and really appreciate all the care they take of us. We started the week in Prince Albert with Eric and Erica at a special Rotary Christmas brunch and toy distribution. We drove back to Regina on Tuesday, and they followed us yesterday! Now, the family is gathered for a week of Christmas celebrations. We're surely enjoying that—lots of good food, lots of bad sweets, gifts for all, and family time!

with room for 7 stockings!

Kristian and I built a mantel so the stockings could be "hung with care, in hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there!" Wendy and I didn't bring our stockings, so we're borrowing some and going under pseudonyms of E and K with the hope that St Nick might be fooled into giving us something better than the traditional lump of coal. The markets were mixed all week, but overall had a good week, and I made quota for a change. Sports has a special schedule in acknowledgement of the holidays, so we had extra games featuring many of the teams who will now be able to enjoy a holiday themselves. In hockey the Leafs and Pens are doing well, while the Oilers continue to have some good games and some stinkers. The Jayhawks were rewarded for their good season so far with a ranking of #4 in the country. 

Fully Functional

Lovely new Shower/Bath

The Baileys got the bathroom back together and it's looking great! Then, they drove down here to celebrate with the rest of us. 

Erin and helpers prepared a Christmas Eve banquet featuring ham and scalloped potatoes this evening. We hear them planning a breakfast casserole and a complete turkey dinner for tomorrow. I'm sure it'll be yummy. 

Travis & Joanna, Jonas & Gemma, and Andrew are celebrating in heavy snow back in Thunder Bay. 

And that's the abbreviated Christmas edition! 

Visiting Prince Albert

Another week has passed, and we have moved on from Lake Wascana. We are now situated on the shore of the North Saskatchewan River on the northern reaches of the prairies. Despite the implication of the title, Prince Albert is apparently not here, but we are visiting Eric and Erica in the city named for the prince. We spent most of the week in Regina with Erin and Kristian who hosted us very well indeed. We enjoyed a morning of Carol Singing over at Selo Gardens; it was good to express once again our satisfaction with the level of care they provided Dad during his months there. One afternoon, we took in coffee time with Don, Sandra and Aunt Eloise. We enjoyed coffee and sweets along with sweet conversation. Bernard and Alicia joined in both of these outings. I am focusing on two main exercises for Piriformis Syndrome, and enjoying considerable relief. I haven't had to take muscle relaxants or painkillers the last few days. Wendy has worked on cupboard reorganization at Erin's and has now taken her home management program on the road. The slides about Ellis's life have now been posted to YouTube—lots of memories there. The weather was stormy for the first part of the week, so we delayed our departure from Regina. We saw some evidence of vehicles in the ditches and the median as we drove up, one was still there! The renovations are leaping forward here; the new bathroom is looking very good as the tiling around the tub has been completed. They treated us to a hockey game tonight, and the Raiders won! The markets were terrible, no good and very bad! The FED refused to acknowledge the improving inflation numbers or the declining consumer purchasing data and not only increased the rate by 0.5%, but also promised more rate increases in the future! Investors were not impressed, and sold off sharply! That cost me money as well! Sports are not going so well either. The Oilers and Leafs lost tonight, so only the Pens performed well this week. At least the #8-Jayhawks continued their impressive play with another big win this afternoon. Einarson and Retornaz won the Grand Slam-Masters on the weekend. 

Erica writes, "Last weekend was laughter through tears as we celebrated Grampa’s life. It was wonderful to hear from so many how he touched people’s lives. I also got to enjoyed a short visit with my good friend and maid of honour, Bonnie Baxter (McMillan) as she celebrated a milestone birthday. The bathroom project has progressed quickly this week. We have moved from having an open concept, minimalist design to walls, a tub and tiles. The floor remains unfinished along with the reinstallation of the toilet and our new, old vanity. We hope to have a fully functional bathroom soon. Haaken and Liam are doing fine. Greg continues to heal from his accident which was almost a year ago. In addition, he is now also battling Covid. We hope his health improves soon. Mom and Dad have joined us for a visit and to inspect the bathroom. So far the work seems to be up to par."

Kristian had curling practice on Monday, and his final game before the Christmas break on Tuesday! His team won, and remains undefeated in league play. Erin continues to be very busy at work, and has the extra duty this week of buying gift giveaways! Sadie got her haircut on the weekend, and her energy levels are elevated, but her vision is no better! Travis observed how she works her way across a room, indexing the location of objects by swinging her muzzle from side to side, much like a blind person uses their white cane. As children, we were given to understand that cats can sense the nearness of objects through their whiskers, perhaps Sadie does that as well. At any rate she seems happy enough, but often indicates an interest in going outside—when she checks the weather outside, she changes her mind! Anyway, we are thankful for their care of us during our weeks there, and look forward to letting them host us again sometime next week! 

Travis was here for the Memorial, and tried to return home on Monday. After several schedule delays, his flight was cancelled, and he was rebooked on Tuesday! As a result, they had to postpone two team photoshoots. Gemma and Jonas have returned from Vancouver for the holiday break. 

And that's enough for this week. 

It was a Celebration!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. Bed and breakfast completed, we checked out and drove from Winnipeg on Sunday—thanks Tom & Mariette. The weather was stormy and there was poor visibility leaving Winnipeg, but suddenly, as we reached Portage, it all cleared away and we enjoyed clearing skies the rest of the way. The only remaining issue was a heavy wind that we faced all the way. The drive completed, we moved into Erin's basement suite, where Erin and Kristian have been hosting us most graciously—more thanks!

Ellis Clinton Krogsgaard

The week has been consumed by preparation and execution of the memorial celebration for Ellis. It was an emotional ride, but truly a celebration of a life successfully run and well-completed. You can watch the slide show with the service and the tributes at these links: Service; Tributes I will try to get the slide show as a separate entry because it doesn't show up very clearly from the taping of the service. This morning we had the interment, which was for many of us even more emotional. It was so great to see that many people made an extra effort to get to Regina for the occasion—it surely was encouraging to the family. 

Other events of the week took a low priority, but I can report that the markets did not go well, and I did not do well on the investment side either. In the world of sports I have another curling event to focus on as the Grand Slam series is back with the Masters Championship. My guy Kevin Koe did not qualify for the playoffs this time—a rarity to be sure. Einarson will play Homan in an all-Canadian women's final, but it's Scotland's Mouat vs Italy's Retornaz on the men's side. College Football teams are preparing for their various bowl games. #6-KU played well this week in basketball and could see a further elevation in the rankings. In the NHL, my teams had a good week, and while none are in first spot in their divisions, at least all are currently holding a play off position. 

Eric, Erica and Liam were here for the memorial. It was good to spend some time with them. The contractors are working to rough in the new upstairs bathroom. They are also constructing a support wall across the kitchen to hold up that part of the upstairs. Some time, over the years, it seems the support wall was removed and the upstairs floor has been compromised ever since. 

Erin has been taking care of us, and we've been trying to return the favour some of the time. Kristian curls with the high school team, and this week took down Sheldon Williams handily. He has been invited to play with an adult team each week. It would be good experience for him. They took time off school and work to take part in the memorial activities and visit with the family. Today, Sadie got a haircut. She looks great, and seems to have so much more energy, but she still can't see. However, she manages to get around pretty well. 

Elfy Ears!

Travis flew over to Regina for the memorial. Joanna spent part of the week in southern Ontario helping out with the family down there. Then she returned to take over the pet sitting and business management while Travis came west. Andrew is back at work; Gemma/Jonas are getting ready to come home for the holidays. 

And that's about it for this week. 

On the Road Again!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, but we have headed west, and are closing out the week on the banks of La Rivière Rouge in Winnipeg. Thanks Tom & Mariette for taking us in out of the cold and storm! Tom even gave me a new potential diagnosis for my back/leg issues, Piriformis Syndrome, which he also suffers with on occasion. The weather in Thunder Bay has been comfortable with daytime temperatures above zero and while we've had some snow, we've able to clear the driveway and let the sun have its way. We had a good week with several appointments and medical issues to take care of before we were prepared to be away for some weeks. Wendy's eye appointment revealed that she's developing a cataract, so she'll be considering surgery for that after we get back. I had the remainder of my skin tags removed, and also got some followup on my back issues. I've been referred for an MRI, and also to the Back Pain unit. These, too, will be held in abeyance until we get back. The markets were roiled this week by a speech by Powell, and then, yesterday and today by Jobs data. The FED allowed as how it may be about time to slow down the rate increases, and the investors cheered. However, the economy showed up so strongly in the jobless claims and new jobs created that investors feared the FED would keep the rates rising. We're in the "good news is bad news" phase of the markets, so the strong jobs data brought about more selling, and I didn't make quota this week. Wendy has also been working all week to prepare the eulogy—lots of memories, lots of emotion, it's therapeutic. In Basketball, #3-Kansas paid the price for its first loss of the season and were dropped to #9. They won their games comfortably this week, so that helps. In football the conference finals are running this weekend and the teams I follow are not involved. The Oilers had a number of games this week, splitting the first two, and hosting the Habs tonight.

Yay Oilers! Yay Oscar!

A good game for the usual suspects, and Oscar rubbed it in to his dad. Pens also won their game tonight, but Leafs fell in Overtime. 

Erica writes, "When we could find the energy, we worked on bathroom destruction this week. On Saturday, our friends Tina and Guido came over to help. We are getting old and need lots of breaks. 1 hour destruction, 1.5 hour break for lunch.

Found more Knob & Tube

Then, 45 minutes of cleanup. Another break. Then about 1.5 hours of destruction with cleanup, and we called it a day. I don’t think any of us will have a career in construction any time soon. We chatted here and there with the boys and things seem to be good."

Kristian won an award as Athlete of the Week at school.

Well done! 

His main sport at present is curling. Erin is working through the transition at work as they separate the business of Lexus out of the Toyota operation. 

Travis and Joanna are very busy. They've had the photoshoots with about 80 teams already this season, which catches them up to their expected schedule despite the delayed start to the season. Lots of development and production work to do still, but not very many new teams to do before Christmas. They're in charge of things in Thunder Bay while we're away. Thanks guys! 

And that's about it for this week! 

Catching Up!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been great with temperatures above freezing, and the driveway and walks have cleared off nicely. We have quite a number of issues to clear up here before we will be ready to head west. The Celebration of Life for Dad is set for December 9th, 1:30pm at Glen Elm Church of Christ in Regina. We expect to see many of you there—you are all invited and welcome. We've both been attending to medical issues. Wendy had an ultrasound followup to her recent surgery. She's reporting good results, now we are waiting to see if the doctor agrees! I had a followup meeting with my doctor over my back/leg issues. She remains concerned, and ordered X-rays even though she doesn't expect it to reveal the problem. It didn't, but it's a required precursor to an MRI which she has now ordered. I'm still waiting on an MRI of my head to check what may be causing my hearing loss, but it seems MRIs are subject to delay! With the comfortable weather, I managed to make some progress on shop projects—seems there is no end of projects there! We got our roof reshingled on Monday—looks good. We've put off the soffit, fascia and eavestrough until the Spring; we're not expecting any rain for a while anyhow!

Nicely done! 

Wendy has been extra busy catching up on Sweet Adelines business that piled up while we were away. The bank continues to frustrate her efforts to conduct business on line. Market action was quite sparse this week with the USA holidays, but investors seem to be more optimistic and I had a good week. The Grey Cup had a surprise winner as the Argos shot down the heavily favoured Bombers. In college basketball, Kansas was upgraded to #3, but they lost their game yesterday, so they'll be dropped down the list a bit. #1-North Carolina also lost, and I was hoping KU might move up, sigh! The Leafs suffered a major loss as their top defenceman was injured and will be out for several weeks. Oilers are just not playing very well right now, but came back from three goals down to win their game today. Pens played the Leafs today, so somebody had to lose! The Leafs won this time. College football saw the 'Horns getting the week off, while my Sooners lost to Texas Tech in overtime. 

Erica writes, "At MNP, there were several events with the release of CFE marks. There were pre-parties and post-parties and lots of commiserating over the difficulty of the exam and waiting to hear if you passed. In addition, the office spent Saturday morning serving hot chocolate at the PA Christmas Parade. Last week was spent in Saskatoon so this weekend is here in PA. Eric and I are on for worship team on Sunday. We also cleaned up our recycling and cleared away several deck boards to make our natural gas meter accessible. As I suspected, this isn’t going to be as easy as the tech from SaskEnergy said. There is a beam within 3 feet of the meter, so, if we need a 3x3 clearance it is going to have to wait until summer. But for now the boards are gone and we hope they will accept this as a temporary solution. Liam has started a patreon account to raise money to support his art. He would be very happy to receive support. Haaken and Greg are fine."

Erin and Kristian are enjoying a brief respite in the winter weather, but are threatened with a cold snap coming their way! Kristian has completed one drama project, but continues with that early morning course. Curling has started, his team won last week, and tied this week. Erin is heading into a busy time at work as they're de-merging the Lexus part of the business from the Toyota business, so they will operate as individual companies. Fortunately her boss is getting back to work, so that should spread the load around a bit. 

Travis has recovered from his bout with Covid, and they're back to full-time photoshoots once again. We have set up Trav's birthday celebration for tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow is Trav's birthday, and we're planning a pizza and cake celebration here. 

Another Wendy Masterpiece

And that's about it for this week. 

Home Again!

Another week has passed, and we have returned from south of the Red River in Texas to our hometown on the shore of Lake Superior. A wonderful family gathering at Viggo & Nancy's in Rowlett concluded on Tuesday as we drove north to Lawrence. Thank you all for the wonderful time, and great grub! Aunt Helen provided a warm welcome and a Jayhawk victory on Tuesday evening—thank you so much! Then, on Wednesday, we returned the car to Marti's garage, and loaded up in Marilyn's minivan for a ride to the airport. The flight to Washington was uneventful, but that was the end of trouble-free travel for us! Shortly after arrival as we negotiated our way to our new gate, we started getting texts and emails explaining that our flight to Toronto was delayed. Each successive text announced a later projected departure time and our comfortable connection in Toronto started to look troubling! The issue, they told us, was that the plane that would take us to Toronto was still in Toronto! Eventually, it showed up, and with a quick turnaround, we were off to Toronto a couple of hours later than planned. No worries, we had used the ArriveCAN app (even though we didn't have to), and our transit through customs would be slick! However, it seems the folks at Pearson Airport had determined that since ArriveCAN was no longer required, it would no longer be used! So, we endured a 40-minute queue and then had to go through the entire process of customs declarations, again, sigh! Then, it was a rush across the airport to the farthest gate possible. Luckily, we were able to get one of those cart rides for much of the distance, and we made our flight. Joanna met us at midnight in Thunder Bay—thanks, Joanna! It's good to be home. 

We received news of Dad's passing on Monday, so our trip home was clouded by that grief. The remainder of the week has been largely consumed with conversations back to Regina and planning for a commemorative service. We had some snow accumulating in our driveway, but Travis and Joanna came by Thursday morning to help clear that away. My back and legs continue to be a bother, so that was very welcome. I have arranged an appointment with my doctor for further investigation. When this first flared up at the end of September, she had me checked for a kidney stone, but ultrasound ruled that out. I have endured a month of chiropractic and stretching exercises which have certainly caused a lot of pain, but no relief. The markets continued to be roiled by duelling issues of the election, inflation and the FED, but I was able to close off the week with a good green day. College football season is coming to an end, and soon they'll be in an interminable list of bowl games. 'Horns won their game easily today, and my Sooners pounced on their in-state rival, Oklahoma State. In hockey, my teams remain around the middle of the pack, and, all three won today. 

Erica writes, "We were sad to hear of Grampa passing on Monday. It’s mostly been a week of remembering and sharing about his life. Plus some destruction on the bathroom."

Down to the Lath!

Erin and Kristian are enduring a harsh start to winter with snow and cold in Regina. This week added to their grief with the passing of Papa. Erin is suffering with a cold of her own, again! Kristian's drama group toured their production with five presentations. He was on the stage crew. Today was the final show, and then they went out for a celebration at Western Pizza. 

Travis contracted covid, but he's vaccinated, so his symptoms were light; he seems to have recovered already. They continue to be very busy with Puckshots photo shoots. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Ellis Clinton Krogsgaard

Ellis Clinton Krogsgaard, 97, of Regina, ran into the arms of Jesus on Monday, November 14, 2022. “Ellie” was born on a farm north of Ogema, Saskatchewan on March 7, 1925. He was predeceased by his wife and sweetheart of 45 years, Evelyn Mary (Taylor); parents, Harold and Martha (Arneson); brother, John Malm and sisters-in-law, Ina (Johnson) and Jean (Osaka); sister and brother-in-law, Carole (Straker) and Bernard; sister-in-law, Mae (Ewing); brothers-in-law, George Elford, Elford Bell and Wilf Smith. 

Ellis is survived by his children, daughter-Wendy (Bill) Ulrich with three grandchildren, Erica (Eric) Bailey, Travis (Joanna Herbage), Erin; five great-grandchildren, Haaken, Liam, Gemma (Jonas), Andrew and Kristian; son-David; son-Richard (Sue) with four grandchildren, Aaron (Lorraine), Tori (Sharon), Tim (Krista), Tiffany (Layne); ten great-grandchildren, Jonas, Max, Finn, Ivy, Anders, Noah, Rosy, Dierks, Chet and Daisy; son-Bernard (Alicia) with three grandchildren, Kresten (Starlet), Ashley (Barry), Logan (Kaitlyn); two great-grandsons, Oliver and Keplar. He is also survived by one brother, Bordy; three sisters, Eloise, Ruby and Sharon (Rob), along with numerous nieces and nephews. 

Ellis walked in close relationship with his Saviour, reflecting the character of Jesus. He was a life-time teacher, song leader and elder with the Regina (Glen Elm) Church of Christ. In 1943, he began his 37-year teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse, Albert Springs. He went on to teach in Ogema, Radville (where he built the family’s first home), Ceylon and Pangman. After moving to Regina in 1964, he taught various subjects, including wood-working and English, concluding his professional years as Head of the English Department at Central Collegiate. Ellis took an early retirement to lovingly care for his ailing wife, Evelyn, for ten years. Ellie’s guitar playing and distinctive tenor voice highlighted various Tommy Douglas political events and many a family “pickin’n grinnin”. As his arthritic fingers began to limit his ability to strum his 80-year old Gibson, he often opted to select one of his seven harmonicas and stomped out a lively tune, to the delight of his listeners! Of the many talents that Ellis developed, he was happiest in his carpentry workshop, with every tool and machine strategically placed and immaculately maintained. He blessed the church and many family, friends and neighbours with his intricate handiwork. In his later years, Ellis was able to stay in his home, keeping busy with church bulletin edits, crosswords puzzles, competitive games of cribbage, as well as tutoring struggling college students with their essays. He forever had his red pen at hand to edit the newspaper or whatever his eyes found to read. His understanding of the English language was extensive; how it grieved him to see his beloved formal English become extinct, leaving colloquialisms to become the norm. Ellis’ greatest joy was his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, as well as all those who lovingly called him Grandpa and Uncle Ellie. 

Grandpa Ellis’ last few years were wrought with mobility issues that confined him to his wheelchair. Rarely did a complaint or bemoaning pass his lips. A champion of determination, he forced himself to walk the length of his house several times a day; he even ventured out to his beloved workshop on occasion. His children worked together to make it possible for Dad to stay in his home as long as possible, until his care required the expertise of the caregivers at Selo Gardens; there, he joyfully lived and flourished for the last eight months. The family wishes to thank Lorelei Fletcher and the competent workers at Selo for their care and compassion; Grandpa was loved and respected, being treated with dignity and courtesy there. “Grandpa, your presence will be deeply missed among us. Heaven was made a bit sweeter with your arrival. How that glint in your eye must sparkle as you unite with your Master, your sweetheart and all those you have longed to see! Until we meet again. Thank you for the legacy you have left. We love you.”

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date in Regina at the Glen Elm Church of Christ.

To leave an online message of condolence, please visit: Victoria Avenue Funeral

Texas!

The Siblings!

Another week has passed, and we have continued our journey through Oklahoma and into Texas. We enjoyed Sunday morning with Jack before continuing our trip. The drive down to Dallas went well, and Lucas welcomed us to their home for the week. Luc has accommodated us graciously, and we have tried to provide vittles for the week! Wendy and I have 'enjoyed' navigating around the high traffic thoroughfares of Dallas—quite a bit above our comfort level. However, we've successfully completed several shopping and touristy trips around town. Marti's car continues to perform admirably, and we've even learned how to work with the GPS. Luc and I got out for golf on Thursday. I'm still hurting quite a bit, so the golf was a tad tentative, but still very much fun. This weekend the weather has turned cold with overnight lows near freezing and daytime highs around 10°, so I don't expect to get out for any more golf. The markets were a bit surprised by the election results, and with the better than expected inflation data, investors piled into the markets and I enjoyed a good month this week. I haven't been following the sports as closely while we're on the road. Gushue did win the Pan Continental curling on the men's side, while Einarson settled for the bronze on the women's side. Jayhawks have opened the basketball season with two wins. Sooners lost another football game this afternoon, and the Longhorns lost tonight—sigh! Oilers and Leafs won their games today, while Pens lost in OT in Montreal. The family gathering is in full swing over at Viggo & Nancy's—thanks everyone for making it a memorable event. It was special to meet another nephew, Ken, at this event. 

Erica writes, "After some delays courtesy of the weather and a Westjet system crash, we got back to Saskatoon on Tuesday at 3 AM. We grabbed a few hours sleep at a Comfort Inn, then drove to PA. Haaken was more fortunate; he got home by 11 PM on Monday. Liam, Greg and Kiersten slept on the Airport floor in line for “customer service” which had an abundance of customers and a lack of service. Finally around 9 AM they got new flights and, since Greg and Kiersten wouldn’t leave for another day, a hotel room. Liam joined them for some proper sleep. Liam got into Regina at midnight Tuesday. Greg and Kiersten arrived back home on Wednesday at 5 pm. Eric is home this weekend, while I’ve taken off for our annual girls trip to Edmonton. This year we are attending The Price is Right, which should be fun. Thanks to my most wonderful cousin, Margaret Reil, we are saving on hotel costs! Thanks Dolly!"

Erin and Kristian are suffering through a pretty severe start to winter in Regina, but they're doing okay. The preliminary work is complete for the theatrical production that Kristian is in at school. They take it on the road for performances at several schools starting next week. He has also begun another season of curling. 

Travis and Joanna suffered the loss of their budgie this week. Somehow, it escaped the cage and the house. We are holding out hope that it will find its way back home before the cold out-of-doors prove too much for it. Otherwise, they are keeping very busy with work especially the Puckshots Photography side of the business. 

And that's about it for this week! 

Travelling!

Another week has passed and we have continued our trip. We began the week in Lawrence KS, saying good-bye to cousin Marti as she headed off to Finland on a Fullbright Scholarship event. We enjoyed a few more days with Aunt Helen (thank you!), and worked on a project for Marti involving air-blocking and baseboards in her front entry.

Foam flowing into the garage!

Wendy overdid the foam work, then I installed the wood, and she finished with fresh paint. It turned out fine; Aunt Helen will remove the painters tape before Marti gets home!

Painted up pretty nicely!

On Wednesday, we packed up Marti's car, and drove down to Stillwater OK where we settled in with Jack and Joanne for the rest of the week—thank you, Jack and family for hosting us so well. We plan to head south to Dallas tomorrow. Life at Jack's is always very busy and very interesting. We spent a lot of time reminiscing about our times in Zambia, and catching up on happenings there, especially the water situation. They've had early rains and the dams are filling up nicely. We pray that the rains will continue to be steady and that next April there will be a great harvest. Jack has obtained another NEW car to add to his collection. It's a 29 Ford Roadster that has been hopped up a bit with electronic ignition and a modern carburetor. 

29 Ford Roadster

I also got to drive his 29 Ford Model A which I had first enjoyed last time through, and this time Wendy joined in the fun!

Wendy driving the Model A

It was another topsy turvy week in the markets as the strong USA economic numbers battled with the FEDs determination to tamp the economy down, but in the end I had a good gain for the week despite the 0.75% prime rate increase. Employment was up big time in both Canada and the USA and that encouraged investors. The Pan Continental Curling served up a surprise on the women's side as Korea and Japan advanced to the championship game while Einarson will battle USA for the bronze. On the Men's side, Gushue will play Korea for the gold, while USA plays Japan for the bronze. The CFL divisional semi-finals will take place tomorrow with Hamilton in Montreal, and Calgary in Vancouver. Toronto and Winnipeg await the winners. The Pens have hit a bad stretch in the early season enduring a losing streak. Oilers ran off an impressive win streak, but now they've lost two straight. Leafs are not performing up to expectations either, but at least they won tonight! Houston captured the World Series tonight despite my picking them to win! Sooners dropped their game to Baylor today. 'Horns beat Kansas State this evening. 

Eric, Erica, Haaken, Liam, Greg and Kiersten are enjoying London. It's about time for them to return to a wintry reality check! Erica writes, "It has been quite a week. It is wonderful to have everyone under the same roof, even if that roof is across the pond. We have been having a lot of fun together as a family and getting to know Kiersten better. We’ve visited the Harry Potter studio tour, the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Bath and toured the historic Roman baths, did a walking tour of haunted London pubs, and have seen many other sites along the way. Today, we will go see The Lion King and see what else we can fit in on our last full day."

Erin and Kristian had a good week, although Erin succumbed to a migraine on Friday. 

Travis and Joanna are very busy, perhaps, too busy, with Puckshots as teams are rushing to get photos taken. At least the Fall weather is holding in Thunder Bay, although they have been getting some rain. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Fall—Still Summer!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather remains very comfortable there, but we have left, and are enjoying a comfortable existence in Lawrence KS where the colours are hinting of Fall even while the temperatures are indicating that it's still summer. Thank you, Marti for putting us up, and, in fact, for arranging this expedition. We're enjoying this part even as we look forward to the rest of it. We finished up a few things in Thunder Bay during the first few days and then flew south on Wednesday. That was quite an excursion and way too much exercise for my troubled legs (I still suspect Sciatica even though my doctor demurs). The trip started well as we flew down to Toronto, but sadly, things were not convenient or problem-free there! We had to go through security (again), and then through customs and immigration. It seems the Americans are taking their revenge for ArriveCAN, and have instituted MPC (mobile passport control). If you don't have a smart phone, you may as well stay home! And yet our travel agents made no mention of this necessity, and Travis did not have to use it recently when he went to New York, so, as far as we know, they instituted it just to trouble us. Anyhow, after getting through security, we got to a massive hall, filled with people, and, after finding the row for Canadians, there was a hint of something new in the air.

Clearly it's MPC!

A signboard with a QR code announced the MC, and the attendants assured us that it actually said MPC, and that we must download it! So, we followed the QR code to the app store and downloaded it... now what was our AppleID password? I don't know how these people assume that we all have smart phones, and that we're all so computer literate that we can manage this kind of process while standing in line, and shuffling our luggage forward! Once into the app we had to fill in a bunch of personal information and take a photo of our passport ID page and of ourselves. Sadly, the light was so dim in that area, that we couldn't get a photo. One attendant tried to light up my passport with her phone, but it still wasn't enough, so she took my phone and entered the passport information incorrectly, so I could be informed that the data was incorrect and I could redo it! Once we were through this process, we were awarded a QR code that got to see the customs officer, who considered our situation and finally allowed us to proceed to the gate, which had already been sending texts demanding that we attend there! Then, it was about 2km to the gate as we only had a puddle jumper jet to Kansas City and it required us to walk out side, give up our carryon luggage and climb the stairs to the plane. The gate was closed before we got there, but there was a line-up of similarly inconvenienced passengers, so they held the plane until we all got aboard! Other than that it was smooth sailing! Marti was there to pick us up, and we breathed a collective sigh with that ordeal behind us! Here, we're enjoying catching up with Marti, including a couple of sing songs—thanks! This evening, we've relocated to Aunt Helen's. The markets have had another good week; things were a bit tentative while we waited for the BoC rate announcement, but after they surprised with ONLY a 0.5% increase, the markets closed strongly, and I had another good week. Riders closed out their season tonight in Calgary with another loss—sad! The World Series has begun with the Phillies taking the first game and Astros matching that this evening. I've picked the Astros to win it. My Sooners were back in action in college football and won their game today. Pens have had a terrible tour of western Canada, dropping games in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. Oilers are on a brief win streak; I hope they can keep it going! Leafs continue to struggle in the early going of the season. Homan and Edin won the Grand Slam event on Sunday. Next curling is in the Pan-Continental curling championships which begin on Monday in Calgary. Canada is represented by the Gushue and Einarson teams. 

Erica writes, "Eric and I met up with Greg, Kiersten, Haaken and Liam in Calgary this Friday. And just for fun, decided to head to London! This week has been focused on getting ready for our trip. We are looking forward to a week in London. Anyway, we are here in the UK all settled in at our air BnB, we’ve been fighting our natural inclination to go to sleep. Some have been more successful than others!"

Erin writes, "We woke up to a pile of snow on Sunday. Tracy (co-worker) had surgery on both feet on Monday, so, we’re short staffed again for a while. I got my winter tires installed on Tuesday. We had our 3-way conference (parent-teacher-student interview) on Wednesday, and Kristian had youth group on Thursday. Kristian got sent home sick on Friday, so today was a day of naps :) Just a regular week. LOL!"

Travis and Joanna are holding down the fort in Thunder Bay, and are busy, busy, busy with Puckshots Photography. We don't know our new tenant well, yet, so it's a great relief to be able to rely on Trav & Joanna to take care of any issues that may come up. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Fall/Summer

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The week began with windy, cold weather, and is ending with temperatures pushing 20° again—salubrious indeed! As a result, we've been able to maintain our outdoor walking, and even enjoying it in shirt sleeves! Such changes are common this time of year even as we head inexorably toward winter. I have continued with therapy on my back, although my discomfort now seems to be almost completely with in my right hip and leg. The doctor has ruled out sciatica, although I'm convinced it's more nervous system than muscular. In any case, I work through a series of stretches with heat and cold treatments, and most days I'm able to keep upright and walking! The Greedy game boards are nearing completion; it's a simple structure with a perimeter of sticks to enclose the cloth-backed playing area. The game operates under several names, and with a large range of rules. My computer-based version is called Farkle; you may also look it up under that title. I'm still planning to stain and varathane the wood pieces, then it rolls up in the cloth which is only attached to the bottom sticks. Maybe I won't bother to attach it—that seems to work, too. 

Greedy Game

Our concerns over the new variants of the coronavirus have reawakened. So long as people keep it going, it will continue to mutate, and there's always the risk that the mutants will be worse than the original. The latest variant seems to bypass the protections of all prior infections, but produces little illness among the vaccinated. While we've experienced more deaths already this year than in any prior year, most folks and governments seem oblivious or at least nonchalant. We're considering plans to travel in the near future, but this certainly gives us pause. We completed our teeth cleaning appointments this week with the trainees at Confederation College. The process takes much longer working with them, but we feel good about providing them the work site, and very good about only paying $20. Wendy has continued her struggle with the banks to get the chorus accounts working properly. It seems she's been at this a long time! It's quite surprising how difficult they seem to find it to put new names on business accounts and make them accessible online. The markets continued to be topsy turvy and volatile. This was another positive week, but only because we had three big green days against two big red days—not the formula for comfortable investing! At least I made quota. In the world of sports, the Riders played their penultimate game of the season against Calgary today. They'll complete their season, next week, with the other half of the home and home in Calgary. And then other teams will begin the playoffs, sigh! MLB has moved into the League Championship series. I managed to pick two of the Divisional series winners—big step up for me! I've picked Astros and Padres to advance to the World Series. Texas moved back into the rankings after demolishing my Sooners last week. This week the 'Horns were substandard and lost to Oklahoma State, while the Sooners took the week off to lick their wounds. The opening weeks of the NHL season have produced a few surprises, and some of them not good ones for my teams (Oilers, Pens, Leafs), well, actually, Pens and Leafs are doing okay. Grand Slam curling is on again this week in Grande Prairie. Koe advanced to the playoffs; I've enjoyed watching both the men's and the women's sides of the draw. Einarson has qualified on the women's side. The finals are scheduled for tomorrow.  

Erica writes, "This week, we heard that one of our friends passed away, much too young. Shelley Lock (nee Waddell) was a good friend at Western. When I moved to Saskatoon, she often hosted us at her apartment and gave us the lay of the land in her hometown in her gutsy Nova. She met and married Chris Lock the same year Eric and I married. Over the years, they have graciously hosted us at their home in Warman. Shelley has battled a variety of medical conditions in recent years and passed away in her sleep this week. Eric and I will be attending the service this weekend in Saskatoon." While we attended on line. 

Erin continues to fight her fall flu, while Kristian seemed to have had only one down day, and then was back to his usual good health. At least she felt well enough to get back to work, as when she is away, the work just waits for her to return! She's feeling much improved this weekend, but the weatherman warns of snow in Regina. Curling should be starting soon for Kristian; they had a curling meeting on Thursday. 

Travis and Joanna are fully into Puck Shots photo sessions now. The Bucket Decal work continues as well, as teams develop their plans for a full season of hockey. We hope that comes true, but, as noted above, we're pretty skeptical about how the various governments are failing to deal with Covid. Andrew "enjoyed" more medical work this week. Gemma and Jonas are progressing in their planning to come home over Christmas break. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Summer/Fall

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The first few days were summery with temps in the 20s, but then we turned to autumn, and daytime highs failed to make it into double digits. We've managed to get out for walks regularly, and I feel this is helpful therapy for my ailing back and legs. The muscles seem to loosen up after a kilometre or so, and there is little pain once that happens. I've also been doing my prescribed stretches, and had another appointment with the chiropractor. She's thinking that one or two more visits may complete this particular intervention. I've been swinging my golf club, and while it's a little tender, it actually seems pretty good. Of course, I can't swing as hard as I'm used to, but, some think, that may be a beneficial as well! I'm currently working on a small set of game boards for Greedy—that's going well. May have some pics next week! I had an ultrasound on my leg to see if there's any progress with the blood clots. I'm expecting to hear the results on that next week. On Friday, we started a series of teeth cleaning at the college. It takes them quite a while as they have to check and get approval from their instructors at each stage, but hey, $20! Wendy keeps busy with choral business and singing practice. It's a little strange for the listener (me), as she's hearing the music in her ear buds, but singing the bass line aloud! The markets have continued their wild swings. The wildest this week was Wednesday when option traders got panicked over the possibility of the markets hitting bottom and went into a surge of buying to cover their short positions! Interesting times—I recall in the early days of my market playing, it would be a remarkable day when we had a hundred point swing in the DOW. These days we sometimes see a range of 1000 points in a single day! Sports action is plentiful these days. The week opened with the completion of the first Grand Slam event of the curling season. The winning teams were Gushue over Edin on the men's side, and Tirinzoni over Einarson in the women's competition. MLB continues with the divisional series where I've picked Yanks, Stros, Dodgers and Braves. I had perfect results in the Wild Card series, managing to pick exactly zero of the winners, but only two of my picks have been knocked out so far in this round, and one has already advanced! In college football, both my Sooners and the #22-Longhorns prevailed today. Hockey season has opened and the teams I follow (Oilers, Pens, Leafs) have all managed to get their first win out of the way. 

Erica writes, "We had a short work week, which was nice. We celebrated Thanksgiving on Sunday with Erin and Kristian, and took a moment to remember our poor family down south that have to wait until next month for their celebration. #NotEveryoneGetsOctoberThanksgiving. On Monday, we had a good, long visit with Grampa. He seems to be doing very well. I noted that he has survived the Queen and he reminded me that he was already a year older then Lizzie, so there! Liam joined us on Thursday to see John Mulaney on his comedy tour. John was funny, as expected, and also has the meaningful story of his journey from drugs. We laughed, we cried… In a couple weeks we head across the pond for a family trip. It’s been years in the planning—we are looking forward to the time together."

Erin and Kristian have had a quiet week in Regina, but Erin has been ill. It's probably that seasonal flu that's going around this year. She has been testing, but is negative for covid, however, it's cost her time off work. We hope Kristian manages to avoid it. 

Cutting Board project

Kristian completed a project in woodwork at school. It looks good to me! 

Travis and Joanna are very busy with Bucket Decals and have now begun booking team photoshoots for the PuckShots side of their business—busy times, but good times! Travis was off to Toronto for a few days to take in the AEW pro wrestling event. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Thankful!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We are enjoying Thanksgiving with full hearts—we are well blessed! We have obtained another vaccine booster; this one covers a couple of additional Omicron variants. We both experienced a bit of shoulder discomfort, but really we were symptom free.

Wendy managed to track down a replacement microwave after ours quit. The new one has a few additional features, and we're liking it a lot. We have sold the old Cougar, so the Santa Fe has now moved into the garage for the first time ever. I'm thinking it will enjoy that this winter, but we're also wondering if folks will think that we're never at home! With the newly capacious garage, I've been working to reorganize my wood shop area for more efficient storage and access to wood and tools. Some have asked about the half-half-half drawer construction I mentioned last week. Here's the Youtube source of that technique. I have continued under the care of my chiropractor, but I am not seeing much improvement. With all the manipulations, stretching and exercise I am now sore across my complete lower back and legs! Wendy has kept busy with chorus business—it seems the banks cannot figure out how to set up their various accounts and cards. She had a follow-up appointment on Wednesday, and that was positive. She also has additional therapies and medications to work through. Getting old is tough! The markets behaved crazily again this week, so in other words "same ol' same ol'"! We started with big time green, and closed with three days of big time red. Over all, we gained a little. The big issue this week was continuing strength in the economy and especially in job gains. That made investors fear the central banks would continue with aggressive rate increases. Sigh! "Good news is bad news" these days. The world of sports continues to distract, but not to match with my expectations or wishes. Baseball season ended, and the playoffs have begun. I picked Rays, Jays, Cards and Mets to win their first round series, and all lost game 1! Yogi said, "It ain't over til it's over!" I'm hanging onto that, but it is over for the Jays, Rays and Cards! The Riders blew another winnable game in Hamilton and their playoff hopes died with it. They have two games remaining, but truly, they only have a mathematical chance. Curling has been front and centre this week with the Grand Slam National event taking place in North Bay. My guy, Kevin Koe, has advanced to the playoffs. On the women's side, my team, Kerri Einarson, has also advanced. In college football, my sad sack Sooners took on the Longhorns today—it was a slaughter! It is a rare event to watch this game as a match between unseeded teams! 

Erica writes, "We started the week with leading worship with a team. Monday was a home day. Tuesday, we attended an event at the Prince Albert campus for the University of Saskatchewan. We got to have a tour of the facilities. Wednesday, we made our grandfathers proud attending an NDP dinner fundraiser. Erica got some nice red gloves. Thursday, we enjoyed our regular evening out with friends. So Friday, to relax, we hit the road to Regina. We will be celebrating Thanksgiving with Liam in Regina with Erin and Kristian." 

As mentioned Erin and Kristian are hosting the Ulrich Thanksgiving Dinner—Saskatchewan section! We wish we could all be together, but know they'll be having a good time. 

Chef—meet the turkey!

Travis and Joanna are very busy with Bucket Decals orders these days. They still managed to take time for an evening visit during the week, and they joined us for Thanksgiving Dinner this evening. An epic game of Greedy added to the enjoyment. We really enjoy the times when the family can get together. 

And that's about it for this week. 

October!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been comfortable and the newly replanted lawns are making good progress. The pain has receded some in my lower back, so on Thursday, I took my courage in my hands and went to my chiropractor—yep, that reawakened the pain! She diagnosed and worked through the muscle groups involved and assigned me further exercises to do at home. As a result, while it's tender, movement is improving, and I've been able to get some work done in the shop. The drawer unit is finished, although I will be adding more subdividers in the drawers for more efficient storage. You can see the half-half-half joinery I used for the corners of the drawer box. 

Completed Drawer Unit

Detail of the Joinery

Wendy has continued with her last week of convalescence. She is scheduled to go back to her doctor next week for a follow-up when we may find out how successful the surgery was. She hopes it has gone well, and that she will be allowed the freedom of more activity afterwards. The markets have continued downward as is usually the case in September anyway, but has been even worse this year! I'm getting mixed results in sports as well. The Riders were trounced by the Bombers this week, and the Sooners were slaughtered for the second week in a row. At least the Blue Jays are thriving and have officially qualified for the playoffs. Their final few series will determine whether they also achieve the advantage of having home games in the first round. Carruthers won the curling event last week. There are several events in this week's curling, but none are at such a high level. 

Erica writes, "Eric and I enjoyed last weekend down in Livingston, Montana. I had a lot of naps! We also enjoyed their “art walk”. All the galleries and shops downtown were open. One had a live band playing. It was really enjoyable, and I found a pair of designer flats for $11 at a second hand store! We drove back on Sunday, and met up with Liam along the way for supper in Moose Jaw. He is doing well and plans to stay in Caronport another year. Haaken and Greg are doing well. We are looking forward to seeing them all in a few weeks as we gather for a family trip."

Shawn helped with moving the Egg Chair inside the house. Then, Kristian dismantled it, moved the pieces down to the family room and reassembled it there! Great work, buddy! I can see that I'll soon be out of work there! 

Egg Chair Inside!

Joanna has been visiting Gemma & Jonas in Vancouver. It is also her first experience with Vancouver and the lower mainland of BC, and she admits to finding it quite lovely, albeit expensive. She has now returned to Thunder Bay. Travis has been very busy with Ulrich Design production, and delights in the speed and output from his new printer. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

It's a Pain!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been comfortable, but several nights with even a risk of frost—Autumn is here! I've been nursing a bad back all week. I don't know what happened, but I was working on the drawer unit in the shop when suddenly I had a sharp pain in the back, and was almost unable to even get up from the floor. After a day of suffering, I decided it might be a kidney stone. The doctor considered it a possibility and ordered an ultrasound to check. It turned out negative for the stone, so we're left to think it was some kind of soft tissue damage—getting old is not for the faint of heart! At least the pain is diminishing, and I've been able to reduce my application of painkillers. The drawer unit remains unfinished—I was hoping to include some pictures of the completed project in this edition, maybe next week! Wendy keeps busy with her chorus management, and taking care of me! The markets were terrible, no good and very bad! At one time this month, I had a full monthly quota gained, but now I'm needing a big week next week! As expected, the FED raised the interest rate by 0.75%, but alas, even though they did as expected, the markets sold off big time—go figure! In my world of sports, Koe lost the final of the Okotoks event last Sunday to Bottcher. This week's event was in Fredericton, and Koe lost in the quarter-finals. It'll be Dunstone vs Carruthers in the final tomorrow. The Riders have the bye this week which rates it as one of the better weeks this season! College football was completely unpredictable this week. First Texas, inexplicably, lost to Texas Tech, and then my Sooners lost to unranked Kansas State, and while this we going on, the usually hapless Jayhawks were improving to 4-0 on the season! Preseason hockey has begun in the NHL. MLB regular season is drawing to a close; the Jays have fallen back a bit, but are still pretty safe to make the playoffs. 

Erica writes, "Eric made his annual run for the border, and third time must be a charm, because he made it through. Eric is attending Family Systems Trauma recertification training. I’m along for the ride. Three years ago, he won a free stay at a cabin, but in 2020 the conference was cancelled. In 2021, the border didn’t let him through. So this year we are both enjoying the quiet and beauty of Montana. The road to the cabin reminded me a bit of driving in Zambia. First a highway, then a hard top road, then a dirt road, and finally, two tire trails through the grass. We return on Sunday. The boys are all well."

Erin and Kristian had a routine week of work and school. Today, they enjoyed breakfast out at the Ecalipurr Cat Cafe. The weather has been cool, with frost, in Regina. 

Travis enjoyed an excursion to the Big Apple this week. He just got back last night after a week of checking out pizza restaurants and taking in the latest edition of professional wrestling. Joanna has been holding down the fort at home, and preparing for her next week trip to Vancouver. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Coming Down!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has taken on an autumn chill and the trees are looking very colourful. Most nights this week the temperatures fell into the single digits, and then on Wednesday it started raining. It has rained the rest of the week, so at least I've been able to turn off the lawn sprinklers on my newly patched areas of the lawns. The turf patches in the back are taking well. The seeded patches in the front—not so much! I managed to get a bit more yard work done before the rains took hold and drove me indoors. I am working on a drawer unit to install under my workbench in the shop. It's coming along well—my first drawer unit. I built a drawer for the kitchen a while back, but the functionality of drawers in the kitchen motivated me to add a set of drawers in the shop. Wendy continues her recovery program, but fell ill this week, and was back into consultation with her doctor who prescribed some antibiotics to try to get her back on the path of healing. Today, she had a chorus event at one of the local schools, so she was off early this morning for that. Otherwise, she keeps busy with her volunteer work with the barber-shoppers—way busier than I expected! The markets have continued their topsy turvy summer, in a deeply red year. Year to Date losses: TSX: -8.7%; DOW: -15.2%; S&P: -18.7%; Nasdaq: -26.8%. So, yes, I'm beating the markets, but that's a low bar this year. In my world of sports, the Riders are deeply disappointing. Their performance against Edmonton last night was inept on both sides of the ball. C'mon Riders! So, it was refreshing to watch the Sooners turn in a sparkling win over Nebraska today. Boomer Sooner! The Jays are on another upswing, going 7-3 in their last ten games and moving into a solid playoff position. Yay Jays! We're back into curling season. This week I'm following the event in Okotoks where many of the newly lineups are getting a test. My guy, Kevin Koe, has three new players this year. They've advanced to the playoffs, so, clearly, positive results so far. 

Erica writes, "We finished up another week in Prince Albert. Liam returned to Caronport after a visit with us last weekend. I had training this week on Myers Briggs. I’ve had the test before, but I thought maybe I had discovered my feelings in recent years. Alas, I still come out as a thinker! I’m borderline Introvert/extrovert, so I come out ENTP or INTP.  Eric, in his professional capacity, informs me, this means I’m either R2D2 or Yoda. We are further along planning our family trip. We are planning to visit the UK together in November. That should be fun! We are also in design mode for our upstairs bathroom. Tomorrow we are off to Saskatoon to see tiles and bathroom fixtures at Home Depot."

Most of the week in Regina focused on celebrations around Kristian's 17th birthday. Some of the festivities have been postponed as he wanted to have Astrid and Liam over, but they're under the weather. Otherwise things are going well for them with work, school, and medical appointments. 

Happy Birthday Kristian!

Another Star Wars Machine!

Travis got a new laptop with the appropriate operating system and finally has his printers humming along! Yay! The pups are thriving, and sometimes even behaving themselves. Moxley came over for a visit one day. He's bigger than expected, but quite a teddy bear overall with a deep voice. Darby continues to ail with a bad leg, and remains much the smaller of the pair. Gemma and Jonas are settling into life in Vancouver. Andrew remains off work since his recent illness. We hope he gets back to work soon. 

And that's about enough for this week!