Birthday 57

The weekend included a recognition of my completion of 57 years on this little blue planet. The whole family was here—my favourite wife, my favourite children, my favourite grandchildren, my favourite son-in-law and my favourite daughter-in-law! It was delightful! We enjoyed backyard BBQ, supper out at a restaurant, and, of course, an ice cream cake! The poor cake was festooned with 57 candles—it's a wonder it didn't melt on the spot! Thankfully Liam assisted me to get them all blown out. I also got to play golf with three friends. My driver was unconscious with a couple drives over 300 yards, and in the correct direction! It must have been a special boon from the golf gods in honour of the occasion as it hasn't happened before.

After supper, I head back to the course to play the back nine. It's like old home week... hook, scramble, bogie. After a few holes of that I have to look in the mirror and exclaim, "Okay, I recognize you, but who was that guy this morning?!" And suddenly on 15, I'm hitting it straight again, so I par in and complete a very respectable 82.

In addition to the delight of the presence of family and friends, I also got some presents. It was too much, and I feel very blessed. Thank you, family!

News Update

Another week (and almost another year) passes on the shore of Lake Superior. And while the climes may continue to be salubrious, the rising temperatures make outdoor activity less enjoyable. The thermometer continues to push higher in the twenties, and threatens to continue into the thirties; we are happy to enjoy the air-conditioned comfort of the house (leave us alone, David Suzuki!).

The pool also gets a lot of traffic, even more so after the arrival of Eric and the boys on Tuesday. Even Wendy is eventually convinced to take the plunge. Kristian seems unable to make his mind up about it—everytime I stand him at the top of the ladder, he jumps in, but he hollers (in what seems to be discomfort) while he's there! Haaken and Liam spend hours on end playing in the water.

I've only managed one golf game this week. That was with Eric on Wednesday. It was okay; I scrambled a lot on the front nine, but improved on the back—46-40, for an 86. We've put together a foursome for my birthday on Monday, so, I'm looking forward to that.

Wendy is doing much better health-wise, so that's a relief. Erin has applied for a job at the University—we hope that goes forward. Erica drove down after work on Thursday, so we have the whole family together for a few days—it's nice!

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

The week is enjoyed in salubrious climes on the shore of Lake Superior.

I am fundamentally on holidays, although frequent issues with OnSIS calls me back to active duty nearly every day for at least a couple of hours. I have noted the need to improve my golf game, especially off the tee, so I concentrate on that at the start of the week. Although I always spend part of my practice time on my short game, I spend all of my swing time on driving both Sunday and Monday. I have a game with John on Tuesday, and then play another 18 holes with locals that I am placed with... my driving is much improved. I hit only one pull hook in my game with John, and only two on the other 18! I do 'play it smart' (yes, I know, that's not like me!) with a couple of three woods, but, really, my driving goes very well. My iron play is inconsistent for awhile but also comes around, and I play the final nine in two over! All told, my two games this week end up 85, 80. I take the remainder of the week off golf as yard work and wind combine to keep me off the course.

The garden is doing well, although it got a late start. Tomatoes are forming, we're eating radishes, and the lettuce is getting close. Our transplanted flowers and rhubarb all seem to be taking well. I upgraded the distribution side of the watering system this week, so that helps.

Wendy has been feeling much better and is nearly back to full operating condition once again. She still is taking treatment, but she is able to manage without much discomfort or disability.

Erin has been working on assignments with her summer courses and is in the final weeks of that. Kristian got a little cut under his chin and had to get medical attention to have it glued back together again. He hardly seemed to notice the injury and it certainly has not slowed him down!

Travis & Sylvia are doing well, keeping busy with work and home. Trav is starting plans and preparations for the new school year. Among other things he's planning a trip to Las Vegas for a Photoshop conference in September. I wonder if there are any decent golf courses in the vicinity!?

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

The week begins in Dauphin, winds its way through Winnipeg and eventually returns us to the shore of Lake Superior.

We enjoy a wonderful reunion with many friends in Dauphin—thank you, especially to Mabel for your generous hospitality. On Monday, we begin the return tour by driving into Winnipeg. Thank you Tom & Mariette for your generous hospitality. Tuesday finds me on another golf course, Grand Pines, just north of Winnipeg. Most of my game is working well, but my driver is mostly unmanageable and leaves me frequently in the trees and I eventually record an 88. Clearly I must do something better on the tee!

On Wednesday we check in with Mike & Peggy, acknowledge her birthday, collect a lot of plants for our flower beds and garden and then head east. We arrive in TBay safely in the early evening. It is good to see Erin & Kristian.

They have been doing okay, although Kristian has a bit of a cold. Erin has managed to get a lot of schoolwork done despite the absence of the prime babysitters.

I manage to get back to work and help a few more schools make progress in the dreaded ministry reports. We enjoy a brief visit with Trav & Sylvia who had their own whirlwind tour in the last week.

Wendy is feeling quite a bit better and manages to make a lot of progress planting our new perennials as well as an assortment of local bedding plants.

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

The week begins on the shore of Lake Superior. Then we head west on Tuesday, driving to Winnipeg where we visit with Mike & Peggy and I enjoy a round of golf with Mike. My golf is quite satisfactory as I manage an 84 on a tight course. On Thursday we head out to Dauphin in preparation for the annual Pryder Cup golf competition with our friends from Bismark, ND. This will be my third Pryder Cup as I played the original one in 2000 before we began our time in Zambia, and I managed to take in the 2005 event, although I played for the American team on that occasion!

So, while we stayed with Mabel in Dauphin, and she and Wendy enjoyed shopping and chatting, I laboured through four rounds of golf on Friday and Saturday!

And thus another week passes.

Pryder Cup 2

Day two activity moves us to the Dauphin Lake course, where we start round three under threatening skies. The format is better ball and I am teamed with my old friend, Dick. It is a great relief to be playing much better. Perhaps my fretting and problem-solving through the night are paying off! More likely the calming influence of my friend allows me to get my head together. It is well said that golf is mainly played 'between the ears'!!

At any result we win both points fairly comfortably--but the great feeling for me is that I am playing some decent golf once again. Our teammates continue to pitch a virtual shutout and we head to the final round with an insurmountable lead of 13.5 to 2.5.

The afternoon features the singles matches. Although we play in foursomes, the match is against one person from the other team. I am delighted to find that my refound game has continued into the afternoon, so I am able to score well and win my point 6 and 5. Randy, my playing partner in the group has a harder time of it, but finally wins on seventeen--2 and 1. Likewise our teammates continue to dominate winning six of the eight matches for a final score of 19.5 to 4.5.

It was a great experience despite my poor play on Friday and I hope to play in the event on another occasion if the chance should arise.

Pryder Cup 1

The opening round of the tournament is the two-man scramble. This is an event where each partner plays a shot and then we choose from the two results as the location for our next shot. This continues until we hole-out and then the team with the better score wins the hole. I am paired with Mark, a reliable golfer so we can count on a high percentage of fairways and greens hit. I, on the other hand, do not turn out to be a reliable golfer! I don't know whether I am over-psyched for the matches or what, but I do not golf well at all, so that's pretty frustrating. And Mark is unable to make up the difference so while we struggle valiantly, we finally lose our match when they make a birdie on the final hole and we lose 1up. Our teammates fare better and we end the morning matches with a 3-1 lead.

In the afternoon we play modified alternate shot. I am partnered with Bernard, a long hitter and a consistent scorer. Once again, I turn out to be neither! I certainly play better than in the morning, so that is of some encouragement. We fall behind early and by the tenth hole, we're four holes down. We rally and finally regain a tie on the seventeenth hole, but, alas, we fall apart on the eighteenth and lose the match 1up. Once again our teammates hold their own in all other matches, so we complete the day with a 6-2 lead.

In the evening we have a BBQ at Wayne's house... great steaks, great food, great fun!

News Update

Another week passes on the shore of Lake Superior. There was violent weather in the area, but not like the tornadoes they experienced in Manitoba! Some buildings were de-roofed in Ignace and a semi-trailer was blown over by the wind.

I have now played thirteen golf games this season, but this week was a downturn as far as consistency is concerned. I started off the week with a game up in Red Lake—a tough course to be sure. I followed up that 87 with an 81 & 82 back at my home course in TBay.

My work is completely dedicated to getting those reports in to the Ministry of Education. OnSIS keeps changing the rules, so that doesn't help. This week I managed to get a ruling in writing, so we hope they'll stick to that for at least a term!

The container garden is doing well, although Kristian is helping with the weeding from time to time and that spells danger for my seedlings! Wendy got into the planting this week, as she is gradually improving in her shoulder and back issues. I managed to do my part by cleaning up as much poppy seed sheet cake as possible!

Today we drove down to Grand Portage Casino where they were featuring a 50's & 60's weekend. Wendy wanted to see Gary Lewis & the Playboys, and I wanted to see the cars. Too bad we didn't have the '67 Cougar to show off! By the time we'd toured the car show and taken in Elvis, Patsy Cline, Neil Diamond, Willie Nelson, Connie Francis... (well, too many tribute singers!) Wendy's shoulder was getting too bothersome and we drove back without even seeing the real band!

Erin has been busy with babysitting and homework this week, but is now off baby sitting for a couple of weeks. Kristian continues to delight, amaze and frustrate—often in the same minute!

Travis & Sylvia keep busy with their work and home. They celebrate their first anniversary tomorrow! And, as somebody sang, "The first year is the worst year, you'll get used to it!"

And thus another week passes.

Medical Update

Today was my long awaited return visit to my doctor to get the results of the biopsies. He explained that none of the samples showed any cancerous cells, so I'm clean for now. He also concluded that the elevated PSA levels are caused by chronic inflammation of the prostate. As a result, they will no longer be able to rely on the PSA levels as a useful test about my prostate health. They will have to rely more on DRE's (wonderful) and when changes are detected, with more biopsies!! (hurray!)

At any rate, this qualifies as good news, and a relief. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

News Update

Another week passes on the shore of Lake Superior. The weather was a little unsettled, but I still managed three games of golf between my bouts with OnSIS.

My golf game continues to come around. I have now played ten games this season, and I'm starting to see some improvement in consistency. This week I managed three scores 87, 83 & 80—definitely the kind of trend I like! I still snap hook occasionally, and on a tighter course that could spell bigger trouble.

Work is almost totally dedicated to termly reports to the Ministry—OnSIS as its known. Five of my schools are still lagging, and I'm struggling to help them get caught up. They, of course, have a lot of competing agendas this time of year, so it's hard to get them to focus on this one for very long.

My container garden is doing well. The photo shows about half of the boxes—I'm following a strategy called "Square Foot Gardening" so each of the small squares is that size, and we have twenty-six of them. I have also built them on raised platforms to be easy on our creaky backs! I'll keep reporting on how it goes—it's our first try at something like this.

Wendy continues to suffer with her shoulder, arm and back pain, although there is clear improvement this week. She even managed to do some baking today—poppy seed sheet cake, yum, yum!

Erin is keeping busy with babysitting and homework all week. Kristian keeps himself and the rest of us busy without even having a portfolio!

Travis & Sylvia keep busy with their work and home. They just finished buying a deep freeze, so that must signal another level of domesticity!

And thus another week passes.

News Update

And a beautiful week passes on the serene shore of Lake Superior.

As alluded to, we are experiencing beautiful spring weather, and have been blissfully free of bugs as well. I got out golfing several times to practise and also managed two games. I played with my friend John on Monday up at Strathcona, and today, I went for a game on my home course. The scores were only satisfactory (88, 87), but I am making a lot of good shots as my new swing continues to grow in consistency. I continue to be blessed with at least a half dozen totally useless shots each round—they don't get me a stroke closer to the hole; they sometimes don't even let me change clubs!

I continue to work sporadically on the Ministry reporting for our schools. We're now up to having nine of the fourteen current with their reporting. I am struggling to get the remainder caught up as the next round is scheduled to open July 2nd.

I have finished building our "Square-foot Gardens", and we have most of them planted. I built them raised off the ground for easier maintenance and use. This is our first try at intensive gardening.

Wendy has continued to struggle with her sore left wing for another week. She's haunting medical and chiropractic doctors, clinics, pharmacies and friends in search of relief. Part way through the week she began wearing my tennis elbow brace and that seems to be helping.

Erin has continued with babysitting all week and also with her studies. Kristian enjoys the time with the kids at the sitting assignment, and really enjoys the outdoors, the playgrounds and the pools. He's now started pedaling his tricycle and especially enjoys that on our newly repaved street.

Today, Eric/A and the boys arrived from Kenora, so we're enjoying them for the weekend.

News Update

Another week passes on the lovely shore of Lake Superior.

There has been some progress at work. The Ministry has announced year three funding, so that's good. They've added a caveat that 50% of the funding is dependent on our progress with OnSIS, so that's not good! OnSIS has allowed that it may have manuals and training materials ready next week for their June Reports that they demand we complete on time... and what about their getting the things ready on time? Don't ask! So, I don't although I do register a complaint with them. Then, I'm back at it with my schools trying to get them successfully through March Reports for OnSIS—we have three main reporting periods to the Ministry: October, March & June. To this point, only five of my fourteen schools have completed March, and the Ministry wants June done on time! Yikes! Well, at least we got them to extend the deadline to September 30th.

I managed another golf game—it was not good—a lot of hooks and snap hooks, accompanied by a collection of pulls and quackers. This all added up to 87, also not good. But I had fun anyway. More practice is in order on this new swing.

Wendy has continued to suffer with her problematic left shoulder. The doctors remain unsure about how serious it is, but have prescribed some medication and some painkillers. Neither seem adequate to the task!

Back yard work continues. I got some of the container gardening operational, and all of the material cut for the project. It should be all in operation next week. I got the pool set up and filled—one small leak is troubling, and remains to be found!

Erin continues with her classes and her babysitting. Kristian continues with his growing and climbing—what are you doing on top of the piano?!

And that's the kind of week it's been.

News Update

It's been quite a week here on the shore of Lake Superior.

Of course I didn't spend the whole week here. On Monday and Tuesday I visited Collins. That was a good trip. On Thursday, I had my prostate biopsy; that was not a good trip! The rest of Thursday and Friday I didn't feel very well, but I'm back to about 80% today.

So, I finally got in another golf game this afternoon. It wasn't smooth, but there were signs of good things happening. The drives were mostly good; the approach shots were mostly bad! The chipping was pretty good, and the putting was mediocre! It all added up to 88, a score I no longer find acceptable. However, it was fun anyway!

Wendy was quite busy Sunday through Wednesday, but then she hurt herself. Somehow she pulled something in her left shoulder, so she was in great pain Thursday and Friday, and is only starting to come around today.

Erin is hitting the books on her new set of classes. That's going well. Kristian is entertaining us and exasperating his mother! We think he's moved into the terrible two's a bit early!

Sylvia began her new job officially on Friday as she is now in charge of her section at the University. Trav is back at his fuller schedule of work for the summer, and is also doing some extra contracts in graphical design on the side.

And that's the kind of week it's been.

Two Blue Moons in the Sky

Obviously what is rarer than a blue moon is two of them! And the Blue Jays produced a baseball feat that is so rare as to have never been done before—they won a game without having a baserunner! Last night they beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on the strength of two home runs and no one else got on base... no walks, no reaching by error, no hit by pitch, nothing. Pity poor Mark Buerle (the Chicago pitcher) who faced two over the minimum number of batters; he never pitched out of the stretch all night. Toronto had no base runners. Aaron Hill and Frank Thomas got the only hits for the Jays, both homers to support the shutout pitching of Roy Halladay, but the wonder was winning without baserunners. It had never been done before. And that, as I said, doesn't even happen once in a blue moon!

Once In a Blue Moon

I have expressed concern about our dollar's increasing value before, but in line with weakness in the US economy it continues to gain against the greenback. Today it hit ninety-four cents American. Of course it would be more meaningful if it were gaining against the Euro, but since the US is our biggest trading partner it still has a powerful effect on our producers. It used to be a common belief that a equitable comparison between the productivity and production costs in the two countries would call for a Canadian dollar at eighty-three cents, but things change. The Bushies' devastating economic practices with both trade deficits and budget deficits has forced the greenback to fall ever since Dubya took office, even more so against the Euro.

Our current valuation has not been seen since 1977—much more rare than a blue moon, but if the Republicans don't impeach Dubya, we may be looking at parity in the not too distant future. And now I see eyebrows raised in Stillwater! Yes, I do mean the Republicans. Why would the Democrats impeach the Shrub; he's the best thing they've got going for them!

Prostate Biopsy

This morning I was subjected to a biopsy of my prostate gland. It has been acting up for some years, providing higher than appropriate levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) that seems to have no other function than informing oncologists that it's time to perform more DRE's or a biopsy. Now, while the prospect of a biopsy may be considered yucky, it pales in comparison to the actual experience! Dr. Prowse (shudda been Sterns, as I mentioned before) was remarkably general when he described the procedure. The 'wet room' nurse is much more forthcoming...
"Dr. Prowse will be inserting a probe. It will be stiff like this pen, only larger (As in the Titanic was larger than my canoe.) and it will provide ultrasound imaging. You need to relax; tensing up will only make it more difficult. (Okay, I'll cooperate. Do I get time off for good behaviour?) Then, he'll be inserting a smaller probe to take the six biopsy samples..."
"Six! Dr. Prowse only said four!"
"There will be six. He will fire the trigger and..."
"Fire a trigger! Am I getting shot?"
"Well, actually it will carve a small slice off the prostate. And it will sting a bit. Then you may feel nauseous or like you need to urinate or defecate. Don't worry, we're used to it. That's why this is called the 'wet room'. Then he will finish you off by giving you a needle (Did she just say he would finish me off?) with additional antibiotics—just a little boost to those pills you've been taking all week. And you will experience some blood in the urine for the next few days—nothing to be alarmed about—but if you fill the bowl with blood, better come back in. (She says it so matter-of-factly even I have difficulty feeling alarmed.) You will also have blood in the stool for a couple of days and in the ejaculate for up to six weeks. (Wonderful, now isn't that a turn-on!) And if you experience any feeling of lousiness or fever in the next few days, better come back in. (Okay, I'm officially feeling lousy—should I stay?) Oh, and by the way, here's an absorbent pad for you to wear in your underwear." (Now who would ever accept that kind of inconvenient embarrassment?!)

And that's about how it happened... results in three to four weeks.

Where the Poor People Are...

This week I drove up to Armstrong and flew into Collins. The drive was punctuated by sightings of a number of animals. We started off Monday morning with a pair of white-tails on the road. As they bounded through the ditch and into the bush, we were treated to a pair of white flags jauntily waving us good-bye. Another special treat was finding a bear with her three cubs in the highway ditch. The sow was brown, and she had one cub of each colour—black, brown & cinnamon. We sat there for some minutes watching her chase the cubs up a tree, then return to grubbing out a fallen tree. Soon the cubs returned to her and we enjoyed watching them from about ten metres. (I hope the pictures turn out.) Overall, we saw two deer, four moose and ten bears. The other fellows also caught over a dozen lake trout (about five-six pounds each), and I appreciated being given two of the tasty treats.

As we drove home I commented to my fellow travellers, "The poor people are sitting in an office tower in Toronto—you can't buy an experience like this!"

News Update

We start off the week in Dauphin, then gradually wend our way back to the shore of Lake Superior.

Sunday in Dauphin is an opportunity to refresh a lot of relationships. Thank you, Mabel for hosting us so graciously. On Monday, we pack up our dozen frozen chickens and head east. We stop in at the snake pits in Narcisse, a first for me. There are thousands of garter snakes at one of the four dens, just a few active at the others. We arrive at Kenora in time for supper with Eric/A and crew. We complete the trip to Thunder Bay on Tuesday.

Wednesday morning is used for another Acrobat Connect training session, and then I complete my preparations for a trip to Pickle Lake. Thursday and Friday find me in Pickle Lake working with one of our schools there. There is a lot to be done, but we manage to get some of it accomplished.

Saturday is spent around home. I get the lawn mowed, and practise a bit of golf. I work in the back yard in the afternoon, managing to get all the wood chips hauled around to the back of the house. Then Wendy and I check out George's work on his new project, and spend some time assisting with that.

Wendy has enjoyed the trip west a great deal, and now is trying to get caught up on things back at home. She manages to work in a few trips to the gym between getting the house back in order and the laundry done.

Erin is back in the run of babysitting and classes. She also spends a lot of time getting photos organized and posted in Facebook. Kristian babbles on (unintelligibly most of the time) and gets involved in most everything that interests him and concerns us!

And that's the kind of week it's been!

News Update

We spend most of the week in Regina, until finally heading for Dauphin on Saturday morning in the rain. We enjoy getting a number of items cleared from the 'to do' list at DadK's place. I get the lawn mowed, the shower fan replaced, and the cedars trimmed. Wendy gets the windows washed, the recycling... ah recycled, and the bedding plants... um bedded. And she also manages to shop for Bill & grandpa.

I also get to play with the '67 Cougar all week. And I manage to get out to the golf course most days for a couple hours of practice. I'm trying to straighten out my driver... you'd think they would sell those things properly configured!

On Monday we drove the Cougar over to Moose Jaw to visit with Aunt Mary, Cousin Elvin and Grace—that was a warming occasion.

When we get to Dauphin, my golfing friends immediately demand that I go golfing, so I have to oblige them! I find my driver is now working very well indeed, but the rest of my game has gone south!! I end up with 94, and a lot more on my 'to correct' list! I am pulling and occasionally hooking my irons—usually the better part of my game. Fortunately, my short game is pretty good, or I'd have seen the dark side of 100! Anyway, I've never let the quality of my golf determine the level of my enjoyment, so it was a nice way to end the week.

Making Time Flying

I had two connections on Saturday morning of the sort the old joke was made from. I took off from Thunder Bay at 6:00 and arrived in Winnipeg at 6:15. Then I took off from Winnipeg at 9:10 and landed in Regina at 9:12. So, I’ve decided to retell the old joke in that context…

An old feller wandered into the Winnipeg airport and up to the Air Canada ticket counter. “Say, do you have any flights to Regina?” the old feller asks.
“Yes, we do,” the helpful attendant responded, “In fact, our next flight leaves here at 9:10 and lands in Regina at 9:12.” The old feller raised an eyebrow and seemed lost in thought. “Do you want me to check if there are any seats left?” the attendant inquired.
The old feller shook his head slowly and then offered, “No, but I think I might hang around a bit and watch that sucker take off!”