More March Madness!

Another week has passed, and we have returned to the shore of Lake Superior and my hometown. We've had pretty much the full range of seasons this week, and currently sit in the grips of Winter once again! We began the week with a memorable trip to Kronau where I got to curl with Erin and Kristian—what a memory that is! Then, on Monday, we headed east enjoying a good trip to Winnipeg and a short visit with Tom & Mariette—thanks folks! Tuesday dawned with the threat of a blizzard in Ontario, but our conclusion was that it would get worse if we waited, so we headed east. The trip was pretty good until we got to Upsala, although we did pass two semis in the ditches. The last hour and a half was heavy going as the snow was building up, but we arrived during daylight hours and were glad to be home. Wednesday, we arose to Snow-magedon! The highway west was closed, and our driveway was snowed in. I managed to blow out the piece between our vehicle and street so I could get to my bloodwork appointment. Then, we did a bit more clearing before giving in to the blizzard, and watching it fill the driveway once again. Thursday saw us under sunny skies and +10°, and the streets cleared and dried! Crazy weather for sure! Otherwise, we have returned to our normal programming here. We both had a doctor's appointment on Thursday, and now we're both referred for physiotherapy.  Wendy's is for her shoulders; mine is for my knee. The mess in Ukraine continues unabated even while news of Russian setbacks provides some encouragement that Putin might withdraw from this madness. Markets continue to be headline-driven, but we had a good week, and I managed a good gain. Sports have been big—Trav got the PVR set up to record the world curling championships, so I've been catching up on that. Our team Einarson advanced to the playoffs, defeating Denmark this afternoon, but then she lost to Korea in the semi-finals tonight. Tomorrow, she will play for the bronze medal against Sweden. The NHL has passed the trade deadline, and now is in the final push for the playoffs. My three teams are looking good to advance, although they all lost their latest game. The big spectacle this time of year is March Madness in Basketball. There have been more than the usual share of upsets, and lots of heart-pounding finishes. A #15 seed has advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time ever, but the better news is that my Jayhawks have as well! Rock Chalk! 

Erica writes, "It warmed up and there was significant melting in the south facing back yard,  but very little in the front and our Christmas Moose is still up to his shoulders in snow. No further water dripping from the ceiling. We got a little in the basement, but nothing too difficult to deal with. We got some good news—Greg is able to come for a visit at the end of April. I’m leading music at the ladies retreat next weekend, so this week I am busy finalizing music choices. We are looking forward to it! We are into busy season at work, so the days are longer, but still manageable and I’m finding it less stressful than prior years. Eric is teaching another anger management class. So that pairs well with my longer hours on at least one day of the week."

Erin writes, "No big news—the house is intact! [She's making fun of me since I un-repaired the plumbing last week!] Kristian’s new curling shoes were really good. He seemed to have a lot of confidence going up and down the ice. I decided to keep them because I can use them even if Kristian grows out of them. We had a really good 3-way conference on Thursday. All the teachers said they love him and he’s taken on a leadership role with all the other DHH (Deaf & Hard of Hearing) kids and he’s keeping up with his school work. He went to Sky Park last night with the DHH youth group. He said it was fun."

It was good to get back to Thunder Bay and to our family here. Gemma has taken easy care of our place where she lives downstairs. Travis and Joanna keep busy with hockey photography, but have also been on call for any bigger issues at the Manor—thank you, all! They have lost another pet, and are anxiously look forward to the arrival of their new dog in April. They are also in the rush to get prepared for a warm weather trip in April—lucky them! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

March Madness!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. Spring has arrived and pot holes are plumbing their awful depths! We've had a busy, but good week here in Regina. We get over to visit Dad regularly; Kristian had curling Tues, Wed, Thurs—we saw two of those.

Grace & Joanne

We drove down to Ogema with Dave on Wednesday to visit Aunt Grace and the cousins there. It was a good trip, a great visit, and wonderful afternoon coffee break! I re-repaired Erin's shower faucet. Then, I rebuilt her glider rocker into a rocking chair. We bought a lighted mirror at Costco and installed it at 55 Laird in the downstairs bathroom. It has a defogging feature; I've tried it out and it works great! The markets finally produced a good week's quota for me. I still have some work to do to get the quarter into the green. In hockey, the Leafs are working in a new goaltender, and having some success, although not tonight. Pens & Oilers are doing well, and won their games today. The trade deadline is Monday, so we're watching to see if there's any action for my teams. Gushue beat Koe in the curling final to win the Canadian championship once again. Now, we're seeing lots of teams contemplating changes for the next season. Baseball Spring training games have begun, and every team is a contender at this time of the season! But the big news is March Madness and my Jayhawks have started off with two wins to advance to the Sweet Sixteen! Rock Chalk Jayhawk! The women's world curling championship started today; Canada (Einarson) split their first two games. 

Erica writes, "We had a bit of excitement last week with some ice buildup on the roof. Water found its way into the house and started dripping. So, Eric has been getting up on the ladder and chopping away at it. He continued his ice chopping this week. Now, the walkway is flooded and iced over. We hope spring comes soon! We enjoyed a visit last week in Regina including a musical afternoon with Grampa at his new bachelor pad. Today was my birthday and I took the day off and planned some relaxing treatments at the spa. Then, Eric took me out for dinner with our friend Tina. Then, we enjoyed some German chocolate cake back at home. With everything this has been going on in the Ukraine, we thought we should become more knowledgeable about the country. So tonight, we started watching Servant of the People on Netflix—the Ukrainian sitcom starring President Zelinskyy before he was president. It’s pretty funny!"

Erin suffered a house calamity and a migraine this week. Each of them cost (allowed) a day off work. I had "repaired" her shower diverter faucet, but in the process, the O-ring had broken, and water flowed back into the wall the next time she showered. So, that repair had to be re-done, correctly this time! The water stains in the ceiling below will need to be repainted in the summer, but at least the damage was minor. (Hard to get good workers these days!) Then, I repaired her rocker—she was delighted to get the rocker back in service. On Friday evening Kristian and I played a round of golf at Divots, a golf simulator. It wasn't much like golf, but we had fun!

Travis and Joanna keep busy at home. At least the snow has stayed away, and Spring has arrived in TBay as well. We look to head home early next week, but in the meantime Gemma reports that all is well at Kensington Manor! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Travelin'

Ellis - 97

It has been an adventurous week as we have transitioned from the shore of Lake Superior via the shore of La Rivière Rouge to the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. After a favourable covid test result on Sunday morning, and in light of a favourable weather forecast and a favourable highways report, we headed west on Sunday. We got into Winnipeg in the early evening, and enjoyed food and fellowship with Tom and Mariette. Thanks folks! Then, we continued on to Regina on Monday. As is often the case, the highway was snow-covered and icy west of Winnipeg until we got to Portage. We ran into some severe blizzard conditions from Broadview to Wolseley and saw some vehicles, including two semis who had not managed to travel safely. We got into Regina in time to visit Dad on his birthday, and wish him joy in the celebration of 97 years. We moved in with David at 55 Laird, and have enjoyed the remainder of the week there—thanks, Dave! It has been good to see how well Dad is settling in to his new place.

Partying!

More partying!

And still more!

Eric, Erica and Liam joined us for this weekend, and today, we enjoyed having the whole crew visit Dad for a sing song, accompanied by Eric & Erica—good times! The weather has continued with extremes, but now they promise us melting temperatures for the next days. Perhaps, Spring is finally here! The markets whipsawed through another week around each new headline. The Russian war and the world-wide restrictions in response put pressure on commodities so both Gold and Oil surged upward, and then downward! I continue to wait for opportunities when things settle and the markets turn upward. Most jurisdictions are dropping pandemic restrictions, but infections continue, and the unvaxxed continue to die at unfortunate levels. My main preoccupation this week was the Brier. Lots of fun curling, and my three picks advanced to the medal round. However, Jacobs has lost out, Koe has advanced to the final; Bottcher and Gushue will play in the semi-final! Basketball is playing out the conference championships this week, but I haven't been privileged to watch my Jayhawks. Today, they beat TCU to win a record 12th conference championship! Rock Chalk on to March Madness! NHL teams are approaching the trade deadline and trying to decide whether and who they should be trading! Leafs and Oilers are in a desperate search for goaltender help. Pens are pretty well set. 

Melting snow has created ice dams on their roof, so Eric was up chopping it loose earlier in the week. Then, Eric, Erica and Liam joined us here in Regina on Friday. We are enjoying closing off the week with them. 

I managed to do a couple of projects at Erin's house this week. I still want to do a bit more plumbing work over there. We enjoyed watching Kristian curl, and are scheduled for more of that next week. 

Travis, Joanna and Gemma are taking care of things back home in TBay. They got a bit more snow this weekend—sorry about that! Temperatures look to surge well into the positive numbers next week, so maybe that will help clean things up. 

That's about enough for this week! 

Slava Ukraini!

One of the recurrent nightmares I have is of being in a war. In the dream, I walk up over a hill, and there is a tank waiting on the other side. That's it. I wake up with pounding heart, and spend some minutes settling back into sleep. That is the reality of what Putin is putting upon Ukraine. I could not bear it. 

Slava Ukraini!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. By now, we should have been in Regina, but events intervened! On Tuesday we learned that we had been in close contact with an individual with Covid-19, so, instead of heading west on Wednesday, we hunkered down in isolation for the rest of the week.

Yay!

We tested negative today, and we will retest tomorrow before embarking on the trip. We could not forgive ourselves if we carried covid to the family in Winnipeg or Regina. We are also watching over a winter storm that moved in last night. We hope it will move through before Sunday morning, and that we can get an all-clear on the highway west. My knee is rehabbing well, and while it tires quickly, it's not giving me much trouble. Otherwise the week has been quiet, and we enjoyed local activities.

Wendy-Ice Sculpture

Bill-Ice Sculpture

The markets have been reeling over the events in Ukraine, and it has been difficult to know which way to jump. Biden's calm determination seems to have heartened investors some, so we enjoyed some good gains around the bad losses! USA jobs data on Friday was very strong, and that also encourages investors. Most jurisdictions are relaxing pandemic restrictions, and reducing monitoring and reporting of the situation. Other data, like waste water assessment, show slightly increasing infection rates. Troubling data of illness among infants who are not eligible for vaccination also gives us pause. The world of sport moves along; the MLB season is suffering cancellations as the billionaire owners and millionaire players struggle to find a way to play! Oilers and Pens are playing pretty well, while Leafs are floundering a bit in hockey. Both Leafs and Oilers seem to need goaltender upgrades. Jayhawks played three games this week, needing to win two to claim the conference championship. After splitting the first two, they needed to beat Texas this afternoon. It took OT, but they did it—Champions! Now, it's off to March Madness! Rock Chalk, Jayhawks! But the big event this week is the Brier. I have three picks: Koe, Gushue, Jacobs. I'll be cheering for Koe to win an unprecedented fifth Brier. 

Erica writes "I spent some time on the road this week with jobs up in La Ronge. Eric held down the fort back at home. It’s turned cold again, then snowy. It feels like winter will never end. Liam, Haaken and Greg don’t have much to report."

Erin also had a close encounter with covid as one of her co-workers fell ill, and tested positive. She ends the week feeling a bit punky, but has tested negative so far. Kristian has continued with school and curling. They got another dump of snow in Regina this week. That's the storm that is now bothering us! 

Travis & Joanna are busy. They've also been helping with the care and feeding of Gemma while she isolates and convalesces. Gemma will be in charge here while we're gone, and Travis has been trained in the snowblower should that become necessary. They have the worst of city snow removal service in their area. They don't have off-street parking, but are required to park on a different side of the street every night so snow removal can be accommodated—however, snow removal does not happen! Parking spaces are becoming more and more limited! 

And that's about it for this week!