Spring

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been decidedly spring-like with some melting each day and a few snow showers to add to the sloppy mess. We had Marigold over for a few days; she and Kali formed quite a sloppy, sandy, muddy pair by the time they got back from a walk. We had our usual choir and chorus rehearsals, and I tried out the new cornbread moulds!

Individual Cornbreads

Travis came by to try out the cornbread! I had my dental cleaning last week, and Erika, my hygienist, took note of what might be a chipped tooth, so I’m scheduled to go back next week to see the dentist. The Orange War continues to trouble the economy of the world. The TSX has rebounded into the green, but the USA indices are all in the red, with the Nasdaq down over 10% this year. So much winning! With the damage he has done, I expect it will be a long time before the Oil prices return to normal. Gasoline is now up 49.5% here since he attacked Iran. Einarson lost the Curling World Championship to Switzerland, and her team has now broken up. There are many teams going through a transition as we begin another Olympic Quadrennial. Some players are retiring from competitive curling, so we’re expecting a very different slate of teams come Fall. The Men’s Championship has now begun, so I’ll have another busy week! Our rep, Dunstone, started off with two wins, but lost to Scotland today. The regular season has begun in baseball, and my Jays have opened with dominant starting pitching and two wins. NHL is down to the final ten games. Pens and Oilers are still holding playoff spots, but nothing is locked down yet. March Madness continues, but without my Jayhawks. After this weekend’s action, it’s down to the final four. 

Erica writes, “I spent this week in Saskatoon at the AGM for my work. I enjoyed meeting our board members and the community leadership. It was a good week. Eric came over on Thursday, then, on Friday we flew to Calgary to hang out with Margaret and her WFG (World Financial Group) crew.”

Erin writes, “We had a surprise mini winter this week, but it’s back to spring today. I took Friday off just for a break. Next week is going to be very busy with month end while my good accounting girl is still helping out at Audi. I’m also starting to train one of the other part time receptionists to help out with payables. And my Jays have started the season on a winning note!” Kristian reported that diesel price has jumped 50 cents per litre in Regina, but his car only needs a fill up about once a month. 

Joanna was down to Toronto for most of the week to care for her mother. Travis was taking extra care of Jasmine who had her spaying surgery this week, so we took care of Marigold for a few days. 

And that’s enough for this week. 

Spring Surprise!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The calendar says “Spring!" The sun’s cross of the equator says, “Spring!” But the view out the window says, “Surprise!” Another late Winter flurry is turning our world white, and our hands back to the shovels and snowblower—sigh! I thought we might be done with the snow-blowing, but Surprise!

Surprise!

We keep busy with our choirs and Wendy often adds a business meeting or two. I had a colonoscopy on Thursday afternoon, so that was a wonderful feature of starvation for two days, and a 4L jug of their awful Koolaid! The Melon Felon continues Israel’s war in the middle east. He keeps calling/demanding NATO to help, but NATO is only obliged to help if a member has been attacked, and it’s not expected to help at all in an Asian battle. Meanwhile, the stock markets keep crashing—all North American indices are in the red for the year now. Gasoline price keeps climbing—it’s up over 41% here since the start of the war! No end in sight, although Trump seems desperate to find a way to declare victory and go home. We’ve been busy with the Women’s World Curling Championship this week. My gal, Kerri Einarson, has guided her team into the playoffs and will play for the gold medal tomorrow against Schwaller of Switzerland. The World Baseball Championship concluded with Venezuela winning—it seems many of those Caribbean nations produce some great ball players. MLB is closing in on opening day, and final cuts are being made. The NHL is into the last dozen games of the regular season, and there are many playoff races still to be settled. March Madness is maddeningly underway, and my Jayhawks got a #4 seed as expected! My bracket is already busted, of course, but KU is still alive. Rock Chalk! 

Erica writes, “I ended my first ten-day stint up in the Athabasca basin. The highlight of my time was sitting in the copilot seat of a Cessna Caravan on our quick trip to Fond du lac. Being up here reminds me of growing up in Yellowknife. The quiet, the cold, the dry air. I’m going to have to stock up on moisturizer! Our friends, Tina and Guido lost Tina’s brother to ALS last weekend and so we are in Red Deer to support them this Saturday. Liam and Mercedes were up last weekend and returned on Monday. I missed them. They are doing well. We are haven’t heard from Haaken, Greg or Kiersten. So, I assume they are doing well!”

Erin reports that the weather is fine in Regina, but things are a bit stressful at work. They got some rain, but would like some more to clear away the remains of winter snow and ice. She saw a bunny the other day, and it was turning brown, so… winter is over! [that’s what we thought, too!] Kristian notes that everything is going well, and that they have a new guy starting on Monday. He’s featuring a movie night tonight, but his cats have their own TV! 

Ellie's on TV

Travis and Joanna keep busy with work and dogs! They had a movie night tonight as well. They took in the Project Hail Mary! I’ll look forward to hearing their report, as it’s kind of a multi-dimensional sci-fi kind of movie. 

And that’s enough for this week. 

Raging!

Build your own flowers!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has remained mild with melting each day, but we have also had a couple of snow showers to keep us tethered to the reality of early Spring weather. We are also painfully connected to the realities of the raging war in the Middle East as our gasoline has increased by over 36% since Trump & Bibi opened war on Iran and other situations in the area. The stock markets are crashing in concert and all USA indices are in the red for the YTD (year to date). Only the TSX remains green, and not by much as the pull back this month has reduced our profitability as well. We keep hoping cooler heads will prevail, while observing no evidence that cooler heads are even in play! We enjoyed celebrating Wendy’s birthday on Monday as Travis, Joanna, Andrew & Rosie joined us for the celebration. We had our usual choir practice on Thursday morning, and I have been working at the Northern Ontario senior curling championships as a timer.

Wendy's new prize!

We enjoyed Christmas in March this week as deliveries of several items took place. Wendy got her prized new vacuum cleaner, and a new pair of leather mitts. I got several items for the camper. The sinking snow encourages our anticipation of our first camping experiences in our newest acquisition. The NHL continues its late season jockeying for playoff position. Penguins and Oilers are holding onto their spots, while Leafs are shining up their golf clubs. Basketball is already in the playoffs with the brackets being widely discussed before they’re released tomorrow. I’m expecting a top 4 seeding for my Jayhawks. The baseball world championships are concluding and the regular season is nearing—Go Bluejays! 

C-C-Cold up there! 

Erica writes, “I am back up north this week—from March 11 to the 20th, which means I'll celebrate my birthday up here. Eric is on his own for worship leading this week, so Liam is home for the weekend to help. He brought along Mercedes for the visit and they enjoyed playing some tunes together. It was almost a hootenanny! It has been cold in the Athabasca basin. One day, my truck wouldn't start so I got a ride and the maintenance team had to go give it a boost. I'm enjoying the adventure up here and hope Eric can come up soon for a visit. We continue to think about finishing the renovations on our house. Eric has identified a possible solution for the space around our downstairs shower unit—puck board. It is supposed to look just like the material of the shower.”

The weather in Regina was a bit better than expected. Erin has managed to get ahead of schedule at work, so she was able to take a half day off on Friday to watch the Canada/USA baseball game from the World Baseball Championship. We did better than ever, advancing to the playoffs for the first time.

Kristian Lunch Celebration

Kristian had an outing at work as one of the guys is moving on to a new job, so eight of them had a farewell at Smoking Outlaws—looks yummy! 

Wendy's Flowers from Family

Travis & Joanna joined us for Birthday supper on Monday at Applebys, then Andrew and Rosie added to the celebration for birthday cake back here at Kensington Manor. The Poms got the beauty treatments and hair cuts this week. All the dogs are enjoying the back yard track. 

And that’s about enough! 

Grace!

Grace Elaine Sorensen  1936-2026

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been mild with melting each day, and Kali keeps dragging us out for walks. We had our choir practices early in the week. And Wendy had a followup on her cataract surgery. Things seem to be progressing as expected, although she complains of the focus being out of alignment between the two eyes. We’re dealing with the news of our cousin Grace passing, and sorry we won’t be able to travel out for her Celebration of Life. I have a lifetime of experiences with Grace & Elvin as they were our neighbours in my youth, and their older children, my cousins, were some of my early friends. We enjoyed visiting with them in their retirement in Moose Jaw and, later, with Grace in Regina and White City. Otherwise the Orange war continues and is very dangerous for all concerned including the world economy. The USA lost jobs again last month, and revealed that it had also lost 100K manufacturing jobs last year while its trade balance actually increased. Now, his tariffs have been found unconstitutional and he’s had to admit that he hasn’t been safekeeping the collection so he can make th required refunds. I imagine the USA taxpayers will have to bail him out. Anyway, the stock markets are not responding well to this chaos with the USA indices in the red, while the TSX is up only 5.4%. Meanwhile the price of Crude has jumped due to the war, and fuel here has increased over 25% at the pumps. The NHL featured the trade deadline this week and several teams tried to add players in preparation for the playoffs. We hope the Pens and Oilers have made some good improvements because they’re not doing so well recently! The Leafs were sellers as they’ve given up on the playoffs and are trying to rebuild for next season. The main focus of my attention was the Brier. My guy, Kevin Koe, has delighted me with an undefeated week and has advanced to the final tomorrow. The #14-Jayhawks tuned up for the Big XII tournament and prepared for March Madness by blasting K-State today. 

Erica writes, "Eric was back to work this week. He still has some lingering health issues. He lost his voice and has been rasping through presentations and counselling sessions. He’s trying to emulate Louis Armstrong! I had a gig on Friday night with Mystery Train. It was a lot of fun and many couples were up dancing. However, about half way through Working 9:5, I lost m voice! I managed to make it through the rest of the night, but we dropped one song and my band mate sang another for me. Next Wednesday, I’m back up north for a 10 day stint. It’s melting here—not so much in Stony Rapids/Black Lake. We haven’t heard much from the boys this week, so, I assume, they are doing well!"

Erin had a good weekend with Erica in Moose Jaw, and writes, “I had to let one of my accounting girls go yesterday. My boss did most of the talking, so that was good. Now, I’m starting a new girl on Monday. F1 starts this weekend. Snow is melting. I’m making steaks for supper and Kristian’s out getting a Blizzard at Dairy Queen for the dessert. We’re a crazy household!”

Travis and Joanna were over for a dessert and cards night early in the week. We always enjoy those evenings, and the women let us win some games! The dogs are really enjoying the track in the backyard. 

And that’s enough for this week!