Travelling!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We spent most of the week down at Minneapolis at a Jesus Collective conference. We drove down there on Tuesday and returned this afternoon. The days were very busy, too busy for us, and we were certainly tired by the end of each day, and as we returned home. We travelled with our friends Steve & Rhonda from our church here; it was great to spend the time with them. With our return this afternoon, Wendy has picked up Minnie; we plan to spend the next week hosting her as Travis and Joanna continue their vacation in Tampa Bay. The markets have continued in turmoil between issues of inflation, a booming USA economy and the possibility of rate cuts. Fortunately, I have been able to achieve some gains, but the month as a whole projects to be a loser as we only have two market days left. In the world of sports the NHL playoffs have begun in earnest and World Curling events have completed. Our senior men and women both secured gold medals, but our mixed doubles team advanced to the playoff round, but failed to secure a medal. Some of the hockey playoffs have not proceeded as I hoped or expected. The Oilers are doing well, but the Leafs are in trouble against Boston. Of course, my Leaf pick was more hope than expectation, but some of my real picks are also struggling—looking at you Jets and Stars! 

Eric & Erica experienced a surprising and unwelcome return to wintry weather. Of course, the slow-release moisture is welcomed for the forests and fields. Erica writes, "It’s been another busy week at work, but this weekend, we get to have a bit of fun. Saturday is the Doctors' Gala and we get to go to represent MNP. Sunday is Eric’s birthday and we have planned an afternoon and evening of fun in Saskatoon. Liam had been travelling with RU through Alberta, BC, and the northwest US. They had an issue with their van at the first stop and thought they might have to cancel the rest of the trip. But donations came in and a mechanic happened to be on hand with a temporary fix that will get them through the rest of their trip until they can replace the transmission at home—God-incidence perhaps? Nothing to add from Greg and Haaken."

The Golfers!

Erin and Kristian enjoyed the week in Tampa Bay with Travis and Joanna. They returned to Canada this morning and to Regina this evening. 

Day/Week ending in Tampa

Travis and Joanna enjoyed hosting them at the time-share in Tampa, and are now embarking on a second week there with more family in attendance. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Travellers!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been somewhat cooler, but we've still managed to get out for our walks and bike rides. Spring construction projects in the area sometimes provide the extra impetus to wander over and supervise! This week, we're watching a neighbour's installation of a recycled asphalt driveway. We had not heard of that before, but with the reduced cost both to the environment and the pocketbook, we're interested in seeing how it turns out! Our own driveway is deteriorating over time with the uneven support of the muskeg under it, so we're thinking it will need repair or replacement some year soon. Our big project this year is the replacement of the furnace, so I've been collecting bids for that job.

Focaccia

I made my first batch of focaccia bread this week following Joanna's recipe—it turned out great, but it stuck to the pan a bit. Modified plans are in place for my next try!

Florida Travellers

Travis and Joanna, along with Erin and Kristian are off to Florida today. They met up in Toronto and arrived in Tampa Bay this afternoon. We have their cars in our driveway, and are caring for one dog (Minnie) for part of the time they're away. I have my outside lights working as planned on an automatic schedule matched with sunset times here. Wendy is still wanting an outlet added to the closet by the side entry—I have it planned! My back is doing great, I work my golf swing each day and have raised my walking/cycling goal to 20 km per week. I found the weight/twist exercises to raise some aches and discomfort, so I've reduced that until I meet with the physiotherapist next week. Wendy keeps very busy with her choral work, and we also have the Silver Sound choir rehearsals as we prepare for our Spring Concert on May 10th. The markets were dismal again this week with the USA economy leading the world. This strengthens the USA dollar which serves as a bit of a brake on the economy, but also lessens the likelihood of rate cuts—we market-players want rate cuts! The regular season in the NHL has come to an end, and sadly, the Penguins fell one game short of making the playoffs. Leafs enter their series against Boston with a lot of trepidation! My Oilers take on Los Angeles in their first round series. I'm sticking with the favourites in most series, but since there always seems to be an upset—why can't it be on behalf of the longsuffering Leaf fans?! So, that's my set: Canes, Leafs, Panthers, Rangers in the east. Jets, Oilers, Canucks, Stars in the west. The Blue Jays are doing just okay in the early season action of baseball. Starting pitching is looking good, hitting is not meeting my expectations! The Players' Championship ended on Sunday with Tirinzoni and Gushue winning the respective sides. Now, curling is into the off-season and already we're seeing some drama as one of the top teams in the world (#4-Bottcher) fired their skip and replaced him with Brad Jacobs from the #11 team! There are more brooms to fall on this story! 

Erica writes, "We received a large dump of snow this week and are now looking forward to second spring. We are hoping to make some progress on a garage. We have a quote and are waiting for a second. Other than that, it’s just been a busy week."

Erin and Kristian had a difficult week as Kristian's skin issues erupted and he needed a trip to Emergency followed up by a visit with his skin specialist. The new meds worked effectively, and his symptoms improved quickly. They were able to head out for a week in Florida beginning today. 

Travis has been enjoying extra Bucket Decal orders from Lacrosse an Baseball teams. This is good, but it was a bit of extra pressure getting things out the door so they were ready to take two weeks vacation in Florida. 

And that's enough for this week! 

Beautiful Weather!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been great, and we've been getting out regularly for bike rides. I've also been working on my exercises and my golf swing. The driving ranges and some golf courses have opened here, but I'm not quite ready for that. I had another meeting with my physiotherapist this week, and he has raised my lift limit to 10 kg, and placed no other restrictions on my activity. I have been working on electrical improvements in the house and garage. Wendy is very busy with chorus management for the Sweet Adelines as they have an international competition coming up in Rochester MN. The major USA jobs production met with an increase in inflation this week, and that combined to convince investors that rate cuts were not in the offing, and may not happen this year at all. This led to a massive sell-off in the markets and all indices are in the red for the first half of this month. The NHL is down to the last few regular season games. My Oilers are in a battle for first place in their division but with the loss to the first place Canucks tonight that's likely over. Leafs are playing out the string as they have their playoff position pretty much locked in. Pens are in a battle to make the playoffs and are currently sitting in the final spot. My main attention this week has been on the Players Championship being played in Toronto, involving the top 12 teams in the world on both the men's and women's sides. My teams, #10-Kevin Koe and #7-Kerri Einarson, both failed to qualify for the playoff round, but I'm enjoying some great curling all the same. It'll be #2-Silvana Tirinzoni vs #9-Isabella Wranå in the women's final. #4-Brad Gushue plays #1-Joel Retornaz in the men's final. 

With the arrival of Spring, Eric and Erica are reawakening work on the development of the back yard. They would like to have a storage shed installed, so they are checking on costs for that. We will follow any progress with interest as the city has shown great reluctance to allow any improvements back there. Erica is pleased to report that Eric has returned from his Family Therapists' conference. It was a very positive learning experience last weekend and through the week. After fulfilling some other requirements, he will be able to add a new credential to his lengthy list! 

Kristian has been having only half days at school, so we're glad to see the government back to the negotiation table, and a return of his support worker in the afternoons. Yesterday, Kristian had a flare-up of some skin issues on his arms, so Erin has taken him to emergency to see if he can get some relief. They felt it was just some further irritation from his eczema, and advised the use of lotions. We hope they are correct! 

Travis keeps busy with the steady work on Bucket Decals orders.

Here's one he's fulfilling for a Florida team call the Iguanas! Gives you an idea of the kind of work he does with that aspect of his business. Joanna is busy with work, and she produced another bread recipe this week as well. Last week, we enjoyed the focaccia bread she made for our Easter feast. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Spring has Returned!

The Gathering!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. The wintry weather of last week has given way to sunshine and warm weather so the snow has disappeared once again. We've been enjoying getting out for bike rides as the trails have dried up again. Wendy prepared a roast turkey with all the trimmings for our Easter Feast, but that was delayed until Travis recovered from his bout with Covid. Our regular schedules were revised by Easter Monday, so Wendy's choir practice was on Wednesday evening, and then we both had choir practice on Thursday morning. It's only a month until our Spring Concert, so rehearsals are taking on an extra urgency, but we're also having a lot of fun with it. I had another physio appointment on Tuesday, and he was well-pleased with my development. He increased my workouts, and set the next follow-up as three weeks ahead. I am pretty much restriction-free except for lifting heavy stuff. It is very encouraging. The markets were not so encouraging as strong economic data in the USA led some FED speakers to muse about the possibility of no rate cuts this year! However, when the USA jobs came in with a big beat, investors could no longer deny the reality of economic strength and they bought strongly to end the week—thanks Uncle Joe. Our jobs data was dismal—c'mon Justin, get things going! At least with our economic circumstances, we should get a rate cut! The world of sports remains busy this time of year. MLB has begun their regular season. Jays started on the road and are doing okay at about .500, but with a noticeable lack of hitting. NHL is down to the final handful of games in the regular season. Leafs and Oilers have nailed down playoff spots, and Penguins are refusing to die—they're tied for the final playoff spot themselves! In World Curling, the Gushue team had a great week, and have advanced to the Gold medal game tomorrow against Sweden's Edin. 

Turkey ready for the oven!

Erica writes, "We are into busy season, so longer days are the norm. Eric finished teaching his class at the University of Saskatchewan, and only has the exam left. This weekend, he is in Kelowna speaking at the Canadian Association of Marriage and Family Therapy AGM and conference and next week he is in Saskatoon getting trained on Eye Movement Desensitization. I’m batching it for the week, so today I got a large pizza and that should last me for awhile. I’m also going to try to get taxes done while he’s gone. On Monday, Haaken and I have a meeting with Community Living British Columbia."

Erin and Kristian are welcoming Spring to Regina. Kristian had the week off school due to Easter holidays, and reports staying up too late, and sleeping in! However, he did keep up with his chores, so all was not lost. He had a dermatologist's appointment, and is being recommended for a new drug therapy that may (hopefully will) alleviate his skin issues. Erin had her first month-end at Volkswagen which was a good learning session. She also helped back at Toyota as her replacement works through month-end there. 

Travis has been recovering from Covid most of the week. He finally tested clear on Wednesday, and we enjoyed having a belated Easter feast with them this evening. Andrew, Rosie and Max joined in as well. Trav is celebrating the resurgence of his Penguins into the playoff race—another Peng-Win! Joanna has had a busy week with her sick boy at home along with her usual duties. It was good to see them all this evening. 

And that's enough for this week.