News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been very mild with no snow, we (where "we" means Wendy) have enjoyed that. Wendy has been taking care of dressing my fingers until I went back to the physiotherapist on Thursday. It is now three weeks since the accident. He cut off a bunch of the dead skin so they are looking much better. He also gave me a batch of exercises to do over the next month while we are away to Regina.

Much healing has occurred!

He was very pleased with the progress and so am I. I have enjoyed getting out to the shop where I've been cleaning up some of the pallet lumber we salvaged last week. Fears surrounding the economic effects of the coronavirus have rocked the markets all week. All of my swing trades, except one, have stopped out. I am even starting to question my long-term buy and hold positions. So it was a terrible, no good, very bad week in the markets. I was at quota for the month, but ended up falling well short. The NHL has returned from the All-Star break. All of my teams are in good position heading towards playoffs. KU retained their #3 ranking and played two good games this week. Sadly, they have changed their broadcast arrangements and I didn't get to watch either one. Manitoba won both the Junior Men and the Junior Women's curling championships last weekend. This week, I've been watching the Saskatchewan championships for both men and women. 

Erica writes, "We had a short visit with Liam last weekend. He reports that he feels like he has more control over his bathroom breaks than he has had in years. That is such good news. We have been praying for some sort of solution for him and are so thankful that God has provided some relief and healing. He has a long way to go, as he still goes a lot. But, we are thankful for improvement. Haaken is also feeling much better and is returning to work. He doesn’t get sick very often, but when he does he gets really sick! We are getting into busy season, so that means longer days and some weekend work. Eric has also been doing some additional work in the evenings by supervising therapy students via the web.
We learned late this week that funding for Liam’s RU group to go on an Easter Tour has been cut. This is a trip they have been planning and practising for the past year. Churches and youth groups have already planned for them to come. They are urgently trying to raise the funds to pay for the trip. They need to raise approximately $6000. If you can help, please forward donations to:
Briercrest College and Seminary
510 College Drive
Caronport SK  S0H 0S0
and indicate that it is designated for Easter Tour 2020."

Erin and Kristian had a good week. Kristian has joined a hip-hop dance activity with the deaf and hard of hearing in the nearby high school. This is the school that he is slated to attend next year, and some of his friends are already there, so he is enjoying that. Erin is keeping very busy at work.

Travis and Joanna return from winter, on Sunday evening late. They came over on Monday to collect their bird and their dog—whew! So it is quieter around here now. They are right back at work including eight teams to photograph today.

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been mild and we've had some more snow. Wendy is keeping the driveway clear and I even managed to do a bit of snow-blowing yesterday. My hand has continued to make progress and the wounds are now all healed up. The physiotherapist at the Hand Clinic is both pleased and amazed. The stitches have come out of both wounds on the middle finger, but still remain on the index finger.

All stitches are now gone from the middle finger

I have little feeling on the tips of either finger, however the ring finger feels fine. I have very little movement of the tip joints on either of the first two fingers, but the middle joints are working normally. We try to make Saturday breakfast a bit special; today I made keto English muffins and prepared Eggs Benedict.

Yummy!

 I am even starting to think about woodworking projects again. That means I've been watching lots of YouTubes! The markets suffered through a week of turmoil. Fears about how the coronavirus would affect economics caused sell-offs midweek, and again on Friday. Unless prospects improve, I fear I will have to sell out of the market next week. Up until now the month has gone well, and I should make quota for the month. The NHL is on its All-Star break, so no league games are scheduled. KU was elevated to #3 in basketball, but had a tumultuous week in the rivalry game with Kansas State. Two players were suspended, one for the season, as result of that. C'mon Jayhawks, Rock Chalk. They won their game this afternoon. Brad Jacobs won the Canadian Open in curling last weekend. This week I've been watching the Canadian Junior championships. 

Liam had another iron infusion on Friday. He is scheduled to have three more in short order in hopes of getting his iron levels back to normal and his red blood count up to normal as well. As a result he is home for a couple days. His visit was timely as Eric/A had tickets to a Steven Page concert (formerly of Bare Naked Ladies). Haaken got into a doctor this week; he found out that he has a sinus infection. He’s now on antibiotics; we hope he gets better soon. 

Erin and Kristian have enjoyed a break from the frigid weather. Kristian had a day off school on Friday as there was a PD Day. They set up their new TV last weekend, but Erin thinks it's too big for the living room.

New TV!

Old TV now in Family Room

Astrid has a synchronized swimming competition this weekend, so they're going to watch her routines at the Lawson Aquatic Centre. 

Travis and Joanna are completing their time in Punta Cana, and we expect them back tomorrow.

Gotta be a story here...

It appears they were able to relax and have a great time down there. We look forward to hearing their stories. 

And that's about enough for this week!

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been comfortable although we've had a few more dumps of snow. Unfortunately, I am presently unemployed from snow clearing, but Wendy is doing a great job of keeping the driveway clear. I've been back to the hand clinic several times where they redressed my fingers and have begun therapy. I got a fresh set of x-rays on Thursday and was back to see the surgeon on Friday. Thankfully, he has agreed that I do not need surgery.

Hi 5, Victory, Thumbs Up all look the same!

Otherwise, we have enjoyed the comforts of our home and the company of the dog and budgie. I am still able to make breakfast and do some baking one-handed. The markets have continued to push forward and I had another great week. The Continental Cup of Curling ended on Sunday, with team Europe winning easily. This week it has been the Canadian Open in Yorkton, but my guy, Kevin Koe, did not qualify for the playoffs. The Jayhawks were dropped to #6, better than I expected, and they won two road games this week. The rankings don't really matter at this point, you just want to be in the top 8 when the draw comes for March Madness. My hockey teams are doing well, lately, and Sidney Crosby has returned from injury to help the Pens. 

This week in Saskatchewan has been cold, into the -40s with the windchill. It was so cold that the Bailey's car starter said, "That's it, I've had it!" So, they now have an electronic one installed in the Venza. Eric is very happy for that! Liam has been taking prednisone this week. He reports some improvement, so we hope he's finally on the mend. It has been more than two years that he has suffered with constant diarrhea. Haaken caught a nasty cold or flu while he was at home, but he's finally coming to the end of it. He is continuing to look for animation jobs or projects and we hope he gets an 'in' somewhere. 

Erin and Kristian have also been hunkered down against the cold. Her car refused to start Monday. Even the buses did not run one day, but Erin dropped Kristian off for school so he didn't miss that. Then, she had to pick him up as well, so they took advantage of the early day to go for a visit with Papa. At least both have now returned to good health. 

Travis, Joanna and Andrew took off for Punta Cana early Sunday, and are enjoying their week under the tropical sunshine. 

When in Punta Cana...

Gemma has remained here in TBay, while Andrew is expected back this weekend. Travis and Joanna  look forward to another week in the sun, and away from the snow! 

And that's about enough for this week.

News Update

We've had an eventful week here on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been comfortable, but it is turning colder now. I had a bad experience on Thursday due to my careless use of my snowblower. It got plugged with snow, so I tried to clear it, but I failed to check that the blower had in fact, disengaged! For some reason, the clutch failed to disengage, so when I reached in to clear the snow, it grabbed my fingers and gave them a few whacks. I looked at my hand—the glove was undamaged! But, it hurt so much, I decided to check—I was greeted by a pool of blood, and the appearance of about 2cm of bone of my index and middle fingers. I pushed the pads of flesh back down, and put the snowblower away while Wendy started the car. This was about 10am, and we spent most of the rest of the day at Emergency! The conclusion included about 15 stitches, 4 breaks in the three fingers involved, and an appointment for followup with a plastic surgeon next week to see if the bones are knitting together well. I was fitted with a special splint by the physiotherapy guys at the Hand Clinic. 

Cleaned, but Messy

Stitched Up

Bandaged & Splinted

This coming Thursday, I'll get more x-rays, and meet with the doctor on Friday, hoping to avoid pins into the ends of my fingers. In the meantime, I'm on antibiotics to ward off infection and T3s to ward off pain! Those tamper-resistant pill bottles are difficult to open with one hand! On the positive side, my vision continues to improve in my right eye, and I'm now able to read material from my laptop screen. The markets ran well until Friday when weak employment data in the USA brought on a sell off. Still, I was blessed with a good gain overall. The Oilers have been playing better, and have recovered into a playoff position. Leafs and Pens are doing well. My #3-Jayhawks won easily midweek, but had a tough game today against #4-Baylor, and also suffered an injury to their best player. So, they'll undoubtedly be dropped in the next ranking, probably out of the top ten. The Continental Cup is on in curling, and so far Team Europe is taking it to Team Canada—c'mon guys! 

It was back to work this week for the Baileys. Liam had a specialist appointment in Saskatoon on Friday so he’s back for a visit this weekend. Liam hasn’t seen any improvement in his iron and blood count from his most recent iron transfusion so he’s going to try a round of prednisone, and some additional iron transfusions, closer together, to get his blood count back up. Other than that it’s been business as usual for Eric, Erica, Haaken and Liam. 

Erin has been suffering most of the week with flu-like symptoms. Kristian is back at school and doing fine. Lucy has changed so much, and now looks like a full-grown cat. She enjoys watching and chasing sports action on TV. 

Travis and Joanna have had another week of completion and set-up. They're off to Punta Cana for a couple of weeks in the sun, so they are getting some jobs out the door even as they are getting other projects ready so the orders and money will be rolling in while they relax on the beach! Nice work, if you can get it! Tonight, they brought over their dog,  Minnie, and their budgie. Wendy will be taking care of them for the next while. 

And that's plenty enough for this week. 

News Update

Another year has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been very mild this week. We've had some fresh snow, but we got that cleared away. Then we had some sun, which cleared the driveway, and we've even had some rain—crazy times!

New Year's Eve—Chinese Food!

We brought in the New Year over Chinese food with Travis, Joanna and Andrew, celebrating the occasion by building another puzzle.

Last Puzzle of 2019!

Otherwise, we've taken it pretty easy. I put in a few hours reviewing my investment work of 2019, and planning for 2020. I also spent a fair bit of time considering and planning some woodwork projects. Fortunately, I get to chat with my brother on both subjects, and, this year, I've been approached by a nephew who wants to discuss investments, so it's a lot of fun. Wendy has begun clearing away Christmas decorations. I had a great day in the markets on Thursday to start off the new year, but then Trump decided he needed to do something to distract from his impeachment, and energize his re-election campaign, so he assassinated the highest ranking military official of Iran! The markets tanked on Friday, but I still managed to escape with my quota for the week. I had a great day in sports today with the Jayhawks winning their first game of conference play. They were elevated back to #3 this week, so they should manage to hold that ranking. That was accompanied by the Oilers winning, the Pens winning and the Leafs winning! So much winning I can hardly stand it! And then the icing on the cake: Shady Brady and the Patriots lost! And finally, after midnight, the Canucks won one for Eric! That's seven straight wins for the Canucks; they bear watching since they're ahead of my Oilers!

Erica writes, "This week we enjoyed some time in a Regina visiting Erin and Kristian, and Grampa, Bernard and Alicia. It was a quick trip as we had to come back to PA to help a friend move. As it turned out, only Eric and Haaken were able to help as I caught a quick flu. Liam’s RU group performed at a New Year’s Eve event in Moose Jaw. He’s back in Moose Jaw now for work and practise. We dropped Haaken off at the airport Friday morning and he’s back in Victoria."

Kristian was on holidays all week, and Erin had some time off as well. However, she took ill and has been suffering most of the week. Today, she allowed that she has progressed from the bed to the rocking chair!  We hope she is completely well, soon.

We enjoyed celebrations over the holidays with Trav, Joanna and family. Now, they're back at work, and we're also returning to our regular routines. Joanna returned from Toronto on Tuesday, so she joined in our New Year's Eve supper and celebration.

And that's about enough for this week. 

Happy New Year!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been very mild with rain; we're not used to that at Christmas time! However, they're threatening a blizzard early next week, so there is that! We enjoyed a good week. We had a Christmas Eve service with our congregation. We spent Christmas Day with Trav, Joanna and crew. We went over there for brunch and gift exchange, then, in the afternoon, we engaged in our Christmas tradition of taking in a movie. This year, it was the newest, and, potentially, last, Star Wars movie. Finally, in the evening, they came over for turkey supper with all the trimmings. Wendy got out one of her puzzles, and we spent the evening building that.

Hard at it—Looney Tunes! 

Otherwise, we enjoyed a quiet week, and managed to avoid both pre-Christmas and post-Christmas shopping mania. We are currently working on puzzle #5! The markets were thinly traded, and thus volatile, but I was blessed with the full weekly quota despite only having 2.5 trading days, so I'm thankful. Fortunately, Trump has been fully-occupied with his impeachment, so nothing has come of his tariff threats. Hockey is a special feature this time of year as the World Junior championships take place. This year's event is in the Czech Republic, so we enjoy early game times. Our guys won their first game over USA, but were crushed by Russia in their second—Go Canada, Go! In the NHL, the Oilers had the ultimate insult as they lost to Calgary—yikes! Leafs continue to thrive, and Pens are starting to get players back from the injury list. As expected, Kansas was demoted to #5—Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk! 

Eric/A celebrated Christmas in PA with Haaken and Liam home to help them enjoy the season. 

Erica scored a lovely crystal

Liam's new hat!

Then, they spent the rest of the week celebrating their 26th Anniversary—Congratulations!

Erin, Kristian, Sadie and Lucy enjoyed Christmas in Regina. Shawn, Astrid and Liam came over for gift exchange and Christmas Dinner.

Jays Jersey for Erin

Fit-Bit!

Astrid's Gift!

After scoring nice gifts, Erin also took advantage of the post-Christmas sales to pick up a new Smart-TV to replace the one that has been dying down in the Family Room.

Travis and Joanna are enjoying a holiday from work, but they have a lot of assignments ready for them to get back to as well. We enjoyed spending time with the entire crew at Christmas. Travis and I worked on the dishwasher, but in the end we couldn't find the drainage problem, and left that to a professional! It still required a bit of work taking it out and reinstalling it. 

Working on the Dishwasher

Joanna has flown down to Toronto for a family-care visit after Christmas.

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The cold snap has broken, and we're back in above zero temperatures. The driveway has melted off, but the eaves are dripping to create new icy spots. It's been a long two weeks, but Wendy returned home late last night, make that early this morning, as the air travel issues continued to the very end. In the final leg from Toronto to TBay, Wendy got boarded, but then had to deplane and change planes! Meanwhile, Erica was doing the gate dance in Toronto as well before flying, also late, to Saskatoon. However, they had a great two weeks of various adventures, including travel, and Erica completed another surgical episode in Germany. She seems to be recovering better than usual this time, and we're grateful for that. Wendy has added more to her adventures as she's dog-sitting over the holidays!

Charlie

William

I have managed some progress on a couple of projects here. I installed, temporarily, the LED lights in the china cabinet. There are four wires in those little flat ribbons, and some of the solders did not survive the installation, so I'll need to find the broken connections and redo them.

Rider Flavour in China Cabinet

I also added the support to the island countertop and got that attached to the island. The boss hasn't noticed that yet, so we await final approval there! I worked on the sliding door, but have discovered that it's a bit warped, so I'm watching you-tubes on repairing warped doors! My eye is looking good and seeing a bit better each week. I keep hoping the progress will continue long enough so I can see well. I am sometimes able to read words from the screen, but it tires quickly, too. Trump seems to have been completely distracted by his impeachment, and the markets soared as they worked unimpeded. I had a good week, but it would take more such weeks to complete the year on target after the disaster last week, and the closing days will be aggravated by holidays. My Oilers continue to flounder, losing about seven of their last ten, so they've fallen to third place in their division. At least they managed a win tonight. The Leafs are flourishing under their new coach, and have moved into playoff contention; they also won tonight. The Pens, somehow, continue to win despite all their injuries; but they failed in Vancouver tonight. As expected, my Jayhawks were elevated to #1 in basketball. However, as feared, they fell victim to this season's #1 curse. They lost by 1 point to Villanova today, so they'll likely crash out of #1 in the next rating, sigh! Rock Chalk Boys! 

Miss Adventurers!

Erica writes, "Thank you everyone for your prayers and encouragement. And a big thank you to mom who has been incredibly giving and supportive. I feel so rich in love! I’m back in Saskatchewan. We had previously booked a hotel and I’m so glad as, in the end, my flight didn’t get in until 1:30 AM. I had a good night’s sleep and a bath, and I am feeling better. I have MLD therapy this morning and then we will head home. Mom and I went to visit Dr. Busch on Thursday for a final check on my healing and to make sure I’m fit for travel. He was happy with the progress to date and had no concerns with various spots mom asked about. He also spent some time discussing next steps. He thinks that there is likely one more surgery on Lipedema fat in the leg. However, he also said it depends on how my pain is and whether I want to do another liposuction after I see how things settle out after this surgery. So, we will wait and see. We also discussed the possibility of skin removal and tightening. Again, it is good to wait and see how much the skin retracts on its own. I can also explore getting skin removal and tightening in Canada. I ask for your prayers for healing and God’s wisdom and guidance as we weigh the risks and benefits of any further surgery. Friday was a very long day. We were out the door by 5 AM German time. By the time I landed in Saskatoon it was 1:30 AM Saskatchewan time—27.5 hours of travel time! I did manage a couple naps on the plane, but I don’t sleep well in a sitting position. I keep hoping that the airline will upgrade me to one of those bed type seats, but it hasn’t happened yet! My trip was capped off with a big delay and multiple gate changes in Toronto. Gate 41 to 45. Then, we were told to move to 37, but while I was getting a Starbucks on the way to 37, we got another change—back to 41. Then we were moved to 22 which was down a different wing of the airport. Thank goodness for mom who is a trooper and also so very strong. She moved me around until she had to go to her own gate. I don’t know what I would have done without her. Walking—my app is all messed up now with the time changes. But, I think I had about 4 km on Thursday and about the same on Friday, even though I did get wheelchair assistance from the airline. I always feel a little guilty asking for this help, but I know it would also be difficult with the long walks in the big airports like Heathrow and Pearson, and standing in line is even more draining than walking. So I just keep telling myself, 'It’s okay!' Merry Christmas! God Bless all of you!"

Erin and Kristian FaceTimed with me last evening. They're doing well. Kristian had me editing three articles online with him this week. On one occasion, he was online at the same time, so it was cute watching him repair the situations while I was highlighting them! He discovered John Denver, and has declared his new favourite song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads". One of my favourites as well! Kristian is looking forward to school break and Christmas next week!

Travis and Joanna are so busy they hardly have time to plan their next move. Then, they had the added distraction early Wednesday morning when I locked myself out of the house! Thank you, Trav for rescuing me! It had snowed, so I was out early clearing the driveway, and somehow, I locked the door behind me! Getting old! Otherwise, they've added some extra personnel and managed to push out a bunch more product. Gemma and Andrew are on break; and Andrew is looking towards his next adventures "in the Navy!"

Merry Christmas to All! 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has turned cold with overnight temperatures dropping to -20° and colder, but we haven't had to face further snow shovelling, so there is that! Wendy is in Germany with Erica, and it seems they are making good progress there. Erica was discharged from hospital, so they are continuing the recovery and healing in the BNB. Erica seems to have snapped back quicker than usual, and we're all quite encouraged. They even got out shopping today—would have been enough to make me ill!

Shopping Success!

I have done a little work on the sliding door, but really have had a pretty quiet week on the project front. Curling and Golf are both on TV and I can hardly keep up with all the coverage! Meanwhile, I was back to my ophthalmologist on Monday to follow-up on my eye surgery. He was well satisfied with the healing and progress. I am seeing somewhat better and even manage to read things on the screen from time to time, but it's still mostly obscured, and is not satisfactory to me yet. I am able to read street names while out driving, so that's a good sign. On Tuesday, I had blood work for my regular doctor as she is getting ready to complete my physical we began in the summer. Also in line with that physical, on Wednesday, I had a colonoscopy. That always has the delightful kool-aid preparation—do not like that stuff! I paid more attention to the whole rigamarole this time. I had been surprised to be conscious last time, so I watched the folks coming back to the recovery room, and sure enough, most of them were unconscious. I'm sure I would have had no trouble driving myself home, but I wasn't allowed. Thank you, Joanna, for accompanying me, and ensuring I got home safe and sound—actually not sound, I was considered legally impaired for the next 24 hours, and not allowed to sign documents, etc. They found and removed a polyp; that was interesting to watch. I'll get an analysis of that in due course. The markets suffered under the trade wars most of the week, but finally a deal was announced on Thursday, so I got some recovery on Friday, but not enough to cover four days of losses. #2 Kansas had an easy win early in the week, and another tonight. With the loss by #1 Louisville, I'm expecting KU to be elevated to #1 this weekend. The Oilers brought a three-game skid into tonight's game with the Leafs, but hey, one of my teams has to win when they play each other! Tonight, it was the Leafs. The Pens continue to press on with good success despite more injuries and illness depleting their ranks; they won in a shootout tonight. The curling was the Grand Slam event from Newfoundland. My guy, Kevin Koe, advanced to the playoffs, but lost out there. It'll be Jacobs vs Edin in the Men's final, while on the women's side it will be Jones vs Hasselborg.

Erica began her week with misadventures in air travel. She was on her way to Bonn, but couldn’t get off the tarmac in Saskatoon. Fortunately, Mom was on the job and she managed to get things worked out so they were rebooked to a later flight out of Toronto and could still travel together. She had her surgery which appears to have been a success. She has been discharged from the hospital and has tested out her new legs with a short walk on Friday, and a longer walk today. We continue to pray for healing and no negative side effects. Haaken changed jobs. He applied for and got a job with Costco which is closer to home for him. So far it is, “All right.” Liam is busy with RU practises and work and drawing his web comic. He is hoping to start publishing it online in the future, but it sure is a lot of work. Eric is managing life alone this week by fitting in a quick trip to Saskatoon for a card hockey game, some visiting and dropping off gifts. He’s been picking up the gift delivery and mailing slack. He was grateful to be assigned a sleep-help in Saskatoon!

Sleep Help for Uncle Eric!

Not much news from Erin and Kristian this week. Things seem to be going a bit better for Kristian in school, so that's good. Erin is in catch-up mode at work, and has accomplished that very well. It's been a busy week all the same. Erin has almost completed Christmas shopping with just a few items left to find for Kristian, Astrid and Liam. Today, they were able to relax.

Relaxing Saturday!

Travis and Joanna are very busy trying to complete Puck Shot and Bucket Decal Christmas orders. They are still taking more team shots as well just to add more to the backlog.

Andrew's Birthday

On Friday, they hosted us all for a special birthday celebration for Andrew.

Montana's special recognition!

Good food, good company! Thanks folks!

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. I am now found alone here as Wendy left today to travel with Erica to Germany for the next surgery in her long series. We pray they will experience good travel, and successful surgical outcomes. I know Wendy will be a big help, just as she was for me in my recent trip to Toronto. My eye continues to improve; I have a followup appointment on Monday to see just how well things are going. One of the things I've noticed is that the vision is returning differently from before. Now, I need reading glasses for my left eye only—the renovated right eye manages without! However, vision is still cloudy there, so we wait to see! Wendy hosted a gathering here on Wednesday afternoon, so all decorations are fully up,

All decorations in place!

and all tools are fully hidden—mostly in the spare bedroom! She also had a Sweet Adelines Christmas sing-out—a full week!

Wendy is in the middle of things!

The Keto Gingerbread turned out well, so I made another batch this week.

Wendy laughed at my thickness guides! 

Looks good! Tastes good!

This week on the markets started off very badly as Trump mused about not completing a trade deal with China until after the next election! Then, he started threatening a trade war with Europe. By Thursday, his admin was walking those back and announcing progress in the negotiations with China, so we had a big relief rally on Thursday and Friday, and I managed to complete the week in the green. Oilers had a good week, and have returned to first place in their division. Pens are coming off back-to-back shutouts! Now, if we can just get the Leafs flying—good game tonight, boys! As expected, the Jayhawks were rewarded for their tournament victory in Maui. They've been elevated to #2 in the country. Now, to live up to that status! They won tonight, but it wasn't good enough for me—21 turnovers! Bake Shop Jayhawks!

Erica reports a busy week—wrapping up projects at work and gifts at home before her departure to Germany today. She was advised that for the low, low price of $2300, she could upgrade to business class—she remained in coach! She suffered through a number of flight delays out of Saskatoon, and her plane was finally declared mechanical. So she had to rebook, while Wendy sat and waited in Toronto. Eventually, Wendy convinced AC to change her flights so she could accompany Erica across to Europe—always an adventure with those two! Liam made an epic wrapping job of a package of batteries for his RU Christmas party. It looked like a dinosaur. Impressive!

The reality!

The Fantasmologisaurus! 

Eric discovered that he gave his students until the 20th to turn in their major paper. Good news, he won’t have to mark papers for a few weeks. Bad news... well, lesson learned! Haaken continues with work and animation projects in Victoria. He will be heading home next weekend.

Erin and Kristian had a busy week in Regina, but at least Kristian had Friday off due to a school PD Day. He managed the cleanup of the family room, and then assisted in the assembly of Erin's new chair.

Lucy and Sadie's new chair!

Apparently the cat and dog approve of the new install! Today, at Winston Knoll High School, they had the Christmas Party put on by Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services—lots of fun, games and pizza! Erin is trying to manage it all, and catch up at work where they've been short-staffed lately. Good work, mom!

Travis and Joanna continue to be very busy, and are now in the particular crush of getting orders completed and delivered in time for Christmas. They put in some extra hours this week for sure, but it will all pay off next month when they are sitting on the beach at Punta Cana!

And that's about it for this week! 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. It has been quite a week for us. On Monday, we travelled down to Toronto for my eye surgery. We met with the doctor that afternoon, then, on Tuesday, the doctor removed an advanced pterygium from my right eye. It had advanced across the eye and completely covered the pupil, so that was an additional concern for her. After removing it, she extracted some tissue from above the iris, and transplanted it into the area of the wound. She has found this extra step a necessary and effective one to prevent the pterygium from regrowing.

Patched up for night 1

She applied a temporary patch over the eye until the next day, when she took that off and examined her work. She pronounced it "good", and discharged me to return home on Wednesday evening. Wendy and I also enjoyed a few special eating out opportunities while in Toronto, but now we're back to our more normal routine at home.

Sore, light-sensitive

My eye is very sensitive, and enjoys it when I close down the lids! I've been prescribed T3s, but I haven't had to resort to those after the first day or so. I also have medication to apply to the eye four times daily during these first two weeks. Then, I switch medications for another two weeks of healing. After that, I'm hoping that I'll be seeing well from that eye once again. I'm already noticing some improvement in that I no longer have multiple images from that eye, but it's still rather obscured. I still cannot read with that eye; that'll be a big day when that happens! The markets were mostly favourable this week, although the volumes were considerably down in light of the US holiday. I managed to complete the week and the month on quota, and with another month like this, I'll manage quota for the year as well. Sports this week has featured the Canada Cup of curling. Kevin Koe has advanced to the final where he'll face John Epping. On the women's side it'll be Rachel Homan facing Tracy Fleury. The Jayhawks won three games and the Maui Tournament. I expect their ranking to improve again this weekend. The Maple Leafs continue their improved play under the new coach, winning four of five. The Pens continue to fight through a plague of injuries while maintaining good effort and satisfactory results. The Oilers are at the top of their division, but they lost to the Canucks, tonight, sigh!

This week Erica was busy wrapping up files at work, getting ready for her trip to Germany. She asks for your prayers so the surgery goes well like the first three and she doesn’t get an infection afterwards, like last time. Both Liam and Haaken continue with work on animation projects. Liam is also developing a web comic which he hopes to have out soon. Eric is done marking his minor papers. He still has 25 major papers of up to 20 pages each. That’s 500 pages of marking—fun times!

Also a pic of their Christmas Tree!

Kristian has been enjoying a week of mathematics homework every night! Aside from work, Erin has been busy with home decorations and other Christmas preparations. Kristian helped her prepare for the staff Christmas party. They were short-staffed at work, so Erin got to be the boss! This weekend, Callum is over and the boys are having a fun time.

Chicken Strips, Fries & Veggies! 

Travis and Joanna continue through their busy season. They're trying to hold it to ninety hockey teams before Christmas. Travis celebrated his birthday on Wednesday, and we took them out to supper on Friday to continue that recognition.

Birthday Supper at BP

Andrew has decided that college is not for him and is applying for entry into the Navy. Gemma continues to thrive at university.

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. On Thursday morning, we woke to a dump of snow,  about 19cm (8"). It was wet and heavy, but Wendy and I managed to push it to the side, and then I got the snowblower out and pumped it up onto the lawn. We're back to above zero this weekend, the streets have melted, and the driveway is clearing off as well. Wendy bought a new Christmas tree, and set it up. It's has the built-in LEDs and multiple programs for how they light up. Now, she will begin the application of decorations. 

New LED Tree

Wendy has pretty much completed the prep on the new sliding door; I'm looking forward to seeing it all painted up. I got the extra shelves installed in the cupboards, so I think that job is now complete. We have a rail strike distressing the markets here, and then Trump decided to do some more tweeting about China, so it was a bad week on the markets. I remain at quota for the month so far, but with next week being a short week, it'll be a challenge to get a full week's quota and complete the month properly. Sports have been a bit distressing this week. It started off with the Riders unable to score a TD despite being to the 5 yard line about 5 times. As a result, we'll be watching the Bombers playing the Grey Cup tomorrow against Hamilton. I'm picking Hamilton to win it, although I'd sure be happy for Collaros if the Bombers can pull it off! Then, the Leafs continued their losing ways, and decided to lose their coach as well. I was sorry to see him go. I hope they'll play hard for the new guy. They have won their first two under the new regime. The Pens continued to suffer more and more injuries, but still manage to stay in the thick of the playoff standings. The Oilers are doing well, and hold top spot in their division. KU has been raised to #4 in the rankings; they managed a comfortable win this week, but still had over a dozen turnovers—too many! Next week, they have a game that's on TV up here; it'll be nice to see them play. Rock Chalk, Boys. 

Erica spent a couple days in the North Battleford and discovered that they have at least two great restaurants and a good Danish bakery. Eric continued to survive in her absence. It was tough, but he made it through despite almost impossible odds. Liam is working on some animation projects. Haaken is back at work at Tim Hortons after a brief break for their renovations.

Erin and Kristian 'enjoyed' Parent/Teacher conferences on Tuesday. Kristian reports that it was not all sweetness and light, so I guess he'll need to renew his focus and efforts. Erin was not impressed with the teacher's attitude toward Kristian. If you hold low expectations, you can be pretty sure the student will not surpass them! They also need to go back to the audiologist to see if they can get his fm working for his hearing aids. Then, Erin is in charge of the staff Christmas party, so she's been buying and arranging presents for the party tomorrow. At least they had time to decorate their own tree.

Erin/Kristian Tree

Travis has been batching most of the week while Joanna was helping out in Toronto. She is back now, and not enjoying our snow! Meanwhile, they keep getting more and more hockey teams signed up for team and individual pictures. As a result, Travis is unable to keep up with watching his Pens play hockey! Still, things are progressing well with their work, and he got his new printer today! 

And that's about all for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We experienced a bit of snow and a lot of cold in the first part of the week, but it has returned to above zero temperatures and the snow has melted. Wendy enjoys her singing with Sweet Adelines, but with the upcoming trips escorting me and Erica, she will miss out on the Christmas production. She continues to work on the second side of the kitchen door—she's making good progress. I was cutting material for extra shelving for the cupboards today, now I need to get the edging ironed on, drill some additional holes and get them installed. I did a carb service on the snowblower, and it seems to be running fine, but the snow has disappeared, so false alarm! The markets were very helpful this week and I managed quota again. Impeachment pressure seems to be pushing Trump to settle with China, and investors are encouraged. The semi-finals were played on Sunday, so we look forward to the conference finals tomorrow with Hamilton hosting Edmonton in the East, while Saskatchewan hosts Winnipeg in the west. Go Riders, Go! Hockey continues to progress with about a quarter of the schedule played. The Oilers are doing well; the Pens are hanging in with an injury-depleted line-up, but the Leafs are fading, having lost five in a row. The Jayhawks are playing better, and cutting down on their turnovers, but their ranking has dropped to #5—rock, chalk, Jayhawks!

Erica spent the week working in Calgary. She claims it was kind of nice to stay in a hotel, have all her meals made, have someone make her bed—she's wondering if she could manage to make that happen at home! Eric spent the week at home. He says it was boring without Erica. Haaken found out his Christmas work-hours and all were pleasantly surprised that he has a few weeks off over the Christmas break. He is off from Dec 16th to Jan 4th, so he's planning to come home, so now they need to find some affordable flights. Yikes! Liam continues with RU and the Tunnels of Moose Jaw. This weekend Eric and Erica have snagged tickets to the Western Final in Regina. Erica has a presentation on Audit Committees, so they also have a hotel room. They are shopping for some warm Rider gear today. 

Erin and Kristian had another routine week in Regina. Kristian has given up bowling, but claims he's going to take up basketball this season. Erin is shopping for new skates for Kristian—it seems his feet have grown since last winter—who knew? He's been invited out to a friend's place in Lumsden this weekend, so that should be fun. Erin got her Roomba this week, so they spend exciting evenings watching it clean the room. 

Travis, Joanna and crew began the week by hosting us for supper. That was a nice occasion—thanks guys! Otherwise, they continue to be busy with work and school. I guess that's a routine week as well. After the snow last weekend, Travis got his winter tires installed this week. Joanna also had her car in for service, so I guess we're all ready for winter now. 

That's all for now. 

Novembrance Day

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, and it's Remembrance Day weekend! The weather has taken a decidedly colder turn, and we even got a dusting of snow last night. It's been melting on the streets today, but not on the lawns, so, this could be here to stay! I've been cleaning up some trim work on the cupboards and also turned the barn door; Wendy is now working on the other side of that door. I finished the drawer and got that installed. It worked out well.

The Glue-up

Adding the front

In place

Wendy continues to be very busy learning her barbershop music, especially the quartet music. I have put the truck away for the winter in the back storage pad, and removed the batteries from both the truck and the Cougar. I got out the snow shovels and the snowblower today. I need to do a carb service on the snowblower to prepare it for the season. The markets ran pretty well for most of the week, but then Trump stuck his oar in, claiming he wasn't agreeing to the trade negotiations his admin was making with China. So, the US markets took a dive, and we lost value as well. At least I had a good, green week, and the hope of better gains to come. The CFL conference semi-finals run this weekend, while the Riders rest and prepare for the final next weekend—Go Riders, Go! The Jayhawks lost to Duke early in the week, but came back to win their home opener. Rock Chalk Boys! The Leafs have picked up the pace winning three of their last four to improve their standing. The Oilers are in first place in their division. The Pens are getting a few guys back from injuries, and are having some success, but then tonight, Crosby was injured, sigh! The curling event this week is the Tour Challenge; Kevin Koe has advanced to the playoffs, but lost in the semi-final to Brad Gushue. I'm enjoying watching. 

Erica writes: "Haaken was back at work this week and he reports it was good. Liam’s work schedule has lessened with the change in seasons. He is now working about 3, shortened days a week, but he says he is doing okay because he saved when he was getting more hours. He saved—that would bring a tear to my cold accountant heart if it was capable of emotion! Eric and I had a pretty normal week, the last one for a bit as I will be travelling the next two weeks for work. I have concluded my pre-surgery medical tests and everything seems pretty good. Mom and I will head to Germany in a month. Our Lipdema group met with government this past Monday—first with the Sask party’s human caucus and then with the health critic of the NDP. We feel like they heard our concerns and they’ve committed to take the lack of support for Lipedema forward. We just hope something will happen. Lipedema is estimated to affect 60,000 women and 6,000 men in Saskatchewan. Our big request was to get a specialist, perhaps an Endocrinologist specializing in Lipedema, so patients have someone to see for advice and to champion their case when surgery is the right option for them." 

Erin and Kristian had a routine week. Kristian seems to have lost enthusiasm for bowling—don't know what went wrong there. He did forward me a writing piece he was working on, so I helped with the editing. Lucy had her final vaccination this morning. They have done some shopping for Christmas decorations, and probably will get serious about that next weekend after the tree is set up. It's Shawn's birthday tomorrow, so they'll have a celebration for that.

Trav and Joanna are here most days as they're very busy with PuckShots and BucketDecals. They often have multiple teams to shoot pictures on any given day. Trav is looking at buying another printer to ensure production in case of down time on his current machine. Gemma is recovering nicely, and following doctor's orders to take it easy. 

That's about if for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been cold, but dry. We drop into freezing temperatures most nights now. I had a job briefly! I picked up a flyer delivery route, I made my first delivery on Thursday to 66 houses in this neighbourhood. Thought it would provide an excuse to get out for a walk!

Flyer Boy - Short Career!

However, it also required a couple of hours of collating the various flyers and ads into my carry bags, and my arthritic thumbs just couldn't manage that, so after doing it one week, I quit the flyer business! Wendy keeps working on her Sweet Adeline music; she has a library of their regular music to catch up on, as well as the Christmas music they're preparing for the season, and the special selections for her quartet! It's been very musical around here lately. She's working the keyboard and singing along with the downloaded documents as well. Today, she was off all day learning some new choreography for their songs. I've made some further progress on the drawer I'm building for the kitchen. Wendy has pretty much completed repairs to one side of the kitchen door. Now, she'll prime it, and I'll turn the door around so she can work on the other side. There was a big turnout for Hallowe'en this year, and we almost ran out of treats—the final four chocolate bars mysteriously disappeared early the next day! Despite the TSX being red for the month, I managed to eke out some gains although not up to quota. Now, we are into November—these final two months are usually good ones on the market, so we hope Trump will be occupied by his impeachment and leave world trade alone. The World Series played out as a complete surprise to everyone as for the first time in MLB, NBA or NHL history, the visiting team won every game. I was also surprised to see the Nationals win it all—congratulations to the former Montreal Expo franchise on their first World Series Championship. The Leafs are falling in the NHL standings—pick it up boys! They did manage a shoot out win over the Flyers today. Oilers continue to play well. I was treated to an Oiler/Pens game this afternoon with the Oilers winning in OT. Riders played their final game of the season without their QB who was injured. So, that made it tough. However, they prevailed to clinch first place and get a week off before the Western Final. Go Riders, Go! The Jayhawks have finished their preseason games in good form and are ranked #3; I guess that means they'll have to try much harder! Rock Chalk! 

Eric is back from his week of teaching. He’s been busy marking papers: 25 students x 6 minor papers and 1 major paper—whew, too much like work! Liam is home this weekend as he has another iron infusion on Monday. His iron has been holding around 100, but the doctor wants to see it increase to more normal levels like 130. Haaken has enjoyed a break from work while the Tim Hortons has undergone renovations. He’s back at work on Monday. He has also continued to apply for animation jobs and we are praying the right position comes along soon. On Monday, a group or ladies, including Erica, are meeting with government to convince them to do something about Lipedema.

Kristian was ill, and did not complete his bowling on Sunday evening. Callum and Kristian enjoyed Hallowe'en activities.

Kat-Kid!

Kristian got his new ear-moulds; he reports they fit better, look better...

and hear better, too!

Trav and Joanna have been very busy with hockey team photos. He even missed his Pens game today while taking more shots of six more teams! And they're still pumping out the Bucket Decals as well. On the concerning side, Gemma has fallen, and is currently suffering with a concussion. We hope she's feeling well again, soon. 

And that's about enough for this week.