Marching Along!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continue to be unseasonably warm, and the snow is practically gone. The meeting with the physiotherapist on Monday went well. He was pleased with the progress on my back in the five weeks, and has initiated a set of five stretching exercises for this week. I am experiencing some tenderness and tightness from my first day of the exercises, but nothing unreasonable. Next Monday will mark six weeks post-surgery, and he felt we should not do very much until after that surgeon imposed deadline. Anyway, I am quite encouraged. He supports my goals of golf this summer with walking the course, and curling beginning in the Fall. We got a bit of snow early in the week, so Wendy had a bit of shovelling, but we've returned to above expected conditions and that bit of snow is now history. As you will note, the TSX is not doing well, while Uncle Joe has the USA markets flying. 

Year-to-date index gains:

X: 1.9%

D: 3.5%

S: 6.8%

Q: 7.2%

In the NHL, my teams are improving their standing as far as the playoffs are concerned, but Pens still remain with quite a bit of work to do, and they didn't help themselves tonight, sigh! The Scotties completed on Sunday with the Homan team victorious. They will carry Canada's colours to the world championship later this month. The #7-Jayhawks played a disastrous home game early in the week, losing despite holding a 12-point lead in the second half—it was disheartening. Then, they had a tough road game today, and lost that one as well. They will drop severely in the rankings! Rock Chalk Jayhawks! The Brier began last night in Regina, so I'll be very occupied for the next week! My guy, Kevin Koe, is there, but if he continues to curl like last night, he won't be there for long! I'm picking Bottcher, Dunstone, Jacobs from Pool A, and Gushue, McEwen, Koe from Pool B. We'll see how that goes before picking my playoff survivors! 

Eric and Erica have returned from their vacation in Arizona to a late winter blizzard in Prince Albert. It is predicted to snow all weekend, so maybe they're trying to catch up on moisture needs on the prairies. Erica writes, "Eric and I made it back home. We experienced a remarkable event on our trip. Our flights all left on time and we didn’t miss any connections. I think that is the first time in several years. We really enjoyed Arizona and decided we will need to return some time to see all the things we didn’t have time for this trip. There were places where the landscape was exactly what we expected. And there were a few surprises—in one spot a boreal forest with snow, just like home. Also—we purchased a bed! We broke our bed frame a while back (not nearly as exciting as it sounds), and we have been sleeping with the box spring and mattress on the floor, just like university days!"

Erin and Kristian are hunkered down under a winter storm warning in Regina. Kristian completed another of his industrial safety courses on Wednesday. I believe that's a half dozen or more safety categories that he has completed—well done, buddy! Erin and Kristian toured through the VW dealership this week, and Erin got the news that she will officially begin over there on Monday! Exciting times! She expects most of the accounting work will be similar, but there will also be an added dimension with the management facet. We're proud of her, too! 

Joanna returned from southern Ontario on Tuesday. So, she was back at work the rest of the week. Travis has kept busy with business, more photo shoots, and the dogs. They came over for pizza and cards tonight. It's been too long! 

And that's about enough for this week.