News Update

Another week of our sojourn in Qualicum Beach on the shore of the Pacific has been completed. We continue to enjoy the weather and our time here very much. I made a misstep on Sunday evening while walking over to Dairy Queen, and sustained a small tear in the calf of my left leg. I have decided it is in the soleus muscle (somewhere under the main muscle group) which I also tore about twenty years ago. My prior experience, and the advice of long-time friend Dr. Ice (thanks Dick!) resounded in my memory—RICE. Fortunately, DQ came across with a bag of ice in short order, and I applied that immediately. Then, the store where we were working supplied a tensor bandage, so I soon had my leg at Rest, Iced, Compressed and Elevated! I believe this has allowed me to suffer minimal debilitation. I'm still limping quite a bit as my left leg doesn't like stretching out, but I managed to golf W, Th and F, walking the 9-hole course each day. My golf is improving! After six rounds, I have now parred every hole except #2, a 200 yard par 3. The markets have continued their troubled ways. TSX was green for the month by 0.28%, but the US indices were red. I had a good week and month, but not quite up to quota. Wendy keeps busy managing the rest of us, and Dave was also here most of the week, so it's been a full schedule. Junior nationals are concluding this weekend in curling, so I'm watching those. Alberta won the women's; Manitoba plays New Brunswick or Saskatchewan in the men's. There's something about a self-cleaning toilet (Super Bowl) on tomorrow, but I won't bother to watch that. I have been following the Aussie Open in tennis—some entertaining play there! I am also watching the Phoenix Open in golf. Busy times!!

With Erica driving the Corolla back and forth to Saskatoon this week, they've learned that it saves them about $5 a day in gasoline costs as compared to the CRV. This weekend, Eric/A are enjoying a surprise visit with Liam. Friday was a PD day at school, and after a few phone calls, Liam was able to catch a ride to Saskatoon where he met up with Erica for the ride home to PA. Haaken is concluding his high school career; Friday was his last day of classes, although he has an exam on Monday morning. He plans to take two correspondence courses to meet some college entrance requirements. He hopes to have his application ready for Capilano University this weekend. We pray it will be well received. Eric and Erica are both enjoying their jobs and getting positive feedback! 

Congratulations! 

We've had a couple of lovely FaceTime chats with Erin and Kristian. It's been a special week for them as Kristian won the Academic Award in his class for reading growth this month. That was presented at the school assembly on Thursday. He enjoyed a full day at the Y on Friday as his school also had a PD day. 

Trav and Joanna remain pretty busy with PuckShots photography even as the season is beginning to wane. Their great quality work and customer service have accorded them a large market share for this business in TBay. We are very proud of them! Gemma is into semester-end exams, doing great, and obsessing only a little too much! Andrew is back into wrestling, and enjoying that once again. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed and we continue our stay in Qualicum Beach on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. The weather has been very nice, although it turned wet toward the weekend and I missed my planned golf game on Friday. I did enjoy two games, but my play continues to be discouragingly poor. Wendy says I need to go more often!! My handicap is rising, and I see that my next two games will cause the last two of my games in the seventies to drop off the bottom—sigh! The markets have continued to be volatile, but the Bank of Canada finally relented to reality and added some stimulus mid-week so the TSX and my holdings took off! As a result, I'm nearly back to quota on the month; that's a relief. Wendy is very busy with support of Haaken's schedule, and we added to that this week when his computer went down. Trying to get that fixed has taken us up to Courtenay a couple of times and then down to Nanaimo, and we're still waiting for the completion of this story! Brad Jacobs and Rachel Homan won their respective skins games in curling; that was fun to watch. Golf season is starting up again, and I always take an interest in that. Today we've picked up work for all three of us doing inventory at one of the local stores. That got to be old quite quickly! So, that's why I stayed in school!!

All Growed Up!

Eric/A have enjoyed a quiet week in Prince Albert. Eric has been driving the Corolla around town, while Erica drives the CRV back and forth to Saskatoon. They'll exchange next week and then make a determination of which is the better way to go. Liam is into his second semester at Caronport. He has a fundraiser involving the cleanup of Moose Jaw in support of a camping trip later in the Spring. Apparently the main effort on that cleanup will be the weekend of Feb 20th. Haaken is working to complete his semester and prepare for his English exam. Uncle Travis has Haaken's website ready to go, and Erica is taking a tutorial on adding pictures to it. Haaken also got his hair cut today; he's donating the shorn locks to cancer patients, and is now ready for his grad pictures and his performance in Grease.

Erin & Kristian are doing well. We enjoy some FaceTime chatting with them each week, but it's never enough.

Travis & Joanna continue to be very busy with the business—that's a good thing! Trav has a new co-op student who is proving to be very helpful. He has had some trouble with the snow blower, so we tried to problem-solve from afar. Hope he gets it performing again; it was very helpful for pumping the snow up onto the lawn after the drive way has been cleared.

And that's about enough for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed and we continue our sojourn on the shore of the Pacific, far from our hometown! The weather has continued to be beautiful, and we're enjoying getting out to enjoy it. Dave has been with us most of the week; it's been great to have him around. I've managed more golf practice and finally my first game of the winter on Friday. The game revealed many shortcomings, so more practice and play are in order! It's been a terrible, no good, bad week in the markets. The Saudi oil glut, the French turmoil and the Swiss central bankers have destabilized investors. The TSX fell to 4% in the red on the month before getting some recovery on Friday. I have suffered big losses as well; I have declined from being at quota after week 1 to being in the red after week 2—sigh! More practice and work are in order! Wendy keeps very busy supporting Haaken's schedule! She has added to it by establishing some sketching lessons for him. He has completed one sketch already; we thought it was striking! In sports, Canada completed a dominating win in the Continental Cup of curling. This weekend is the Curling Skins game; I'm enjoying that as well, even though my guy, Kevin Koe got knocked out this morning. It will be Brad Jacobs versus John Morris in the final. Ohio State earned an impressive victory in the first US University Football championship. The NFL playoffs featured the elimination of Peyton Manning, and also of the Dallas Cowboys, so I won't be paying attention to that any longer. Today, we made a short trip up island for a visit with long time friends. It was good to reconnect with Tim & Shirley of Yellowknife by way of Zambia, and also with Kathy, not only a long time friend, but also a relative. 

Haaken's latest Sketch

Eric/A continue to adapt to the life with an empty nest. Erica's car pool to Saskatoon is disappearing, so they've spent some effort looking for a second vehicle. They also test drove a Prius, but decided on a Toyota Corolla. We hope it serves them well. Liam was on hand to watch the finals of his school's gotcha tournament, and elastic band contest. He also dug his skates for the first time this season. Grandma has arranged art tutoring to help Haaken fill out his portfolio, and they were blown away by his newest effort. 

We haven't heard much from Erin and Kristian this week, just the regular school and work activities. Erin tried selling her sister a car, but she is glad they decided on the Corolla they found in PA. Kristian got a fresh haircut—I did, too, but I'm understanding his involved a lot more cutting! Kristian went swimming last evening on the event of his friend Zachary's birthday party. 

Trav and Joanna have a big hockey tournament this week in TBay. They are working PuckShots photography there, and Trav is also running hot tweets on the results. Joanna checked out the security system on the house. It works, and she also learned how to disable it! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, far from my hometown! The weather has been comfortable, mostly in a tight range from 4 to 10 degrees, so we've been enjoying getting out in that! Most days have had some periods of rain, and plenty of clouds and fog. We saw some sunshine on Thursday only, so we miss that. We started the week in Nanaimo, sitting in our lovely green chairs, and being able to sing for the first time in months as my cough has pretty much disappeared! There are plenty of nice golf courses nearby, and I've visited five so far. One is closed for renovations and green repairs for the month of January, but the others all have nice practice areas as well. I've enjoyed working a bit on my short game, but my rib injury from all the coughing earlier still prevent me from making a comfortable full swing. One nearby club offers month-long memberships during the winter months, so I'm hoping to take advantage of that during February. The markets have opened the year very troubled by the falling Oil price, and the political turmoil in Greece. As a result, all indices are in the red for the month, but I've been fortunate to have made a nice gain, almost up to quota. I continue to hold most of my accounts in cash as I wait for the charts to look more promising. I am not enjoying the 6:30AM market opening out here! The Junior team closed out the World Championships with an exciting win over Russia; that was great! Curling is my main focus this week as the Continental Cup is being contested between Canada and Europe. Canada has built up a comfortable lead, but like the Ryder Cup, there are a lot of points up for grabs on the final day (tomorrow), so it's not over yet. 

Erica has completed her first week at the University of Saskatchewan. She found it nostalgic to be back on campus. The job is good, and the commute is going fine. Eric/A are enjoying the empty nest as Liam is at Briercrest and Haaken back in Qualicum Beach with us. They are trying to get Haaken's website active again as part of his professional portfolio for university; Travis has been helpful on this aspect. Haaken needs to beef up his life drawing and is working on that. Grandma has put in his name for taking inventory, so he may have some extra work later this month. Liam had an orthodontist appointment on Friday, so he's enjoying a long weekend with Papa, Auntie Sue and Uncle Richard. Eric/A headed down to Regina on Friday for a short visit, dropped Liam back at school today, and headed back to Saskatoon to spend some time with Chris and Shelley! A busy weekend! 

Erin and Kristian continue their fight with health issues and winter. In the bitter cold this week, Erin  even found her car refusing to start one morning! We still manage to keep up with them from time to time on FaceTime which is nice. 

Trav's team had a successful weekend in Superior, Wisconsin, returning with the third place trophy. They also keep busy taking care of things in Thunder Bay, in their business and other work. Gemma and Andrew are pushing toward completion of the term at school. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Happy New Year!

Another year has passed, and the new year finds us far from Lake Superior, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. We enjoyed a wonderful time at Dad's in Regina where we enjoyed the gracious hosting of Bern & Alicia; thank you all very much. The big event of the week was New Year's Day where thanks to Alicia's careful management and the preparation and participation of many, we enjoyed a delicious meal, and wonderful company of family and friends. On Friday, we turned the Sorento westward, and accompanied by Dave in his Caravan, we drove out to Golden BC. It was fortunate that we had planned to stop there, and that Wendy had reserved a room because the Trans-Canada was closed west of Golden, and the town was full of truckers and other unexpected travellers. On Saturday, we continued the trip to Victoria where we were hosted by Andrew and Aura; thank you so much. Now we're on the Island, and we have voted not to leave until March! Also on the plus side of the ledger: it's -31 in Prince Albert; -34 in Regina; -26 in Thunder Bay, but +6 in Victoria! Finally, we seem to have made a correct decision! The markets have continued to be volatile, but I had a good week, making quota, and also completing the month and the quarter at quota, so it was reassuring. I did not make quota for the year as I only managed 12.9%, and needed about 17% to make quota with my portfolio size. I shall have to work smarter! The Junior Hockey Championships have been enjoyable so far. We delighted in Denmark's first ever qualification for the medal round, and watched with mixed emotions as they were thrashed by our boys in the playoffs. Now Canada is in the semi-finals tomorrow, so we'll continue to follow that. NCAA football playoffs began perfectly with the overly touted SEC teams being defeated—I didn't think they were the best choices in the first place! Now I don't care whether the Ducks or the Buckeyes win the final—I'm good either way! 

Eric/A, Haaken & Liam left after Christmas and drove out to the Island where they left Haaken with his uncle in Victoria. We have now met up with him and he will be part of our household for the next two months while he completes grade 12. Eric/A and Liam have returned to Saskatchewan. We met them near Calgary as they headed east. They've had a whirlwind (blizzard?) tour of western Canada! Now they look forward to the resumption of school and work, and the beginning of a new job for Erica. 

We spent most of the week with Kristian as Erin returned to work. That was a delight! Now they carry on with work and school in Regina, and we wish them well in 2015! 

Travis and Joanna continue to be very busy with work right through the holiday season. I guess that's good news as well as exhausting. Trav is off with his hockey team to a tournament in Minnesota. They're doing well, and play in the bronze medal game tomorrow. Gemma and Andrew are eagerly awaiting the return to school on Monday! Repeat after me, "I am eagerly awaiting the return to school on Monday!" 

And that's about enough to start off a new year! 

News Update

Another week has passed and we have wandered from the shore of Lake Superior to the shore of Lake Wascana to the shore of the North Saskatchewan River. Thus when I awoke on Boxing Day, I took note of the temperatures: Prince Albert -31; Regina -21; Thunder Bay -1. Hmm, as Haaken observed once, "I think we've made a mistake!" Today we began retracing our steps and are now in Regina with Dad & Dave. Bern, Alicia & Logan are here. Rich was here when we arrived, so the complete set of siblings was together for a nice moment! Christmas was wonderful—I have tried to teach my children that generosity is an expression of faith and an example of Godliness. So, it is heartening to note and experience their generosity to me, to each other and to their friends and neighbours! Thank you, my children! The markets were only open part time this week, but the US markets pushed dramatically forward to record levels, and the TSX made some gains, although it remains in the red for the month. I was able to make quota this week, so that's encouraging. Sport's brains are dedicated to hockey during the break as we focus on the World Junior Hockey Championships. Canada is always one of the favourites, but hasn't won the gold in about five years. Go Canada, Go! 

Eric/A and boys hosted us for Christmas dinner in Prince Albert. It was good to see the Bailey family all together in one place. It was good to be with them. The turkey dinner with all the fixings was delicious. Time over games, puzzles and other entertainment was precious. They still have some activities to undertake during the break, including a trip to BC. 

Erin, Kristian & Sadie were also up in Prince Albert for Christmas, so we enjoyed time with them. They rode back to Regina with us. Now we look forward to some time with them before we head west.

Christmas season started with Travis, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew in TBay. Given the mild weather it was easy to accommodate our standard steak barbecue for Christmas dinner. We also enjoyed gift exchange and the unusual generosity I've noted already. Now they remain in place to continue with their work and school and to care for the place while we're away over the next several months. 

And that's about enough for this week.

News Update

Another week of comfortable temperatures on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. It's reached above zero most days, and we've only had a little precipitation in the forms of rain and snow. I continue to cough; my latest theory is that I've suffered three separate cold infections. I was feeling quite well this week, and then I noticed I was sneezing—the harbinger of an oncoming cold for me. I vaguely recall this happening about two weeks ago as well, so I'm blaming my little ankle-biters on the school bus for infecting me multiple times! On the other hand, they came across with a nice haul of goodies and Tim's cards this week, so that counts for something! The markets have been volatile, and although I was ready to start buying on Wednesday, the rapid increases in value made it difficult for me to get in, so I only have a small amount in the market at this time, but I was at least able to make quota for the week. All indices remain red for the month despite the record recovery experienced this week. The Canadian Open ended on Sunday with Brad Gushue winning his second slam event of the season, and Eve Muirhead winning the women's side. I continue to watch Jayhawk college basketball—they're winning! I'm also paying a bit of attention to college football this year as they have a partial playoff system. Hockey, especially the Junior World Championship, will be a focus over the Christmas holidays. The NHL season is not really far enough along to capture much attention yet. 

Bus Driver Bill scores!

Erica has completed her work in Parksville; she and Haaken are flying to Saskatchewan today. Liam is out of school for the break, and has been hanging out with Kristian the last few days. We're looking forward to our reunion with them all, and checking out their new digs in Prince Albert. They have accepted an offer on the Kenora house, so we wait, thankfully, for that to be completed in due course. 

Erin and Kristian have been keeping a busy schedule with Christmas activities and various ailments. At the end of the week they are also hosting cousin Liam. Kristian is on his school break now; we hope he gets rested up and healthy over the break. We look forward to seeing them soon! 

Trav, Joanna and Gemma have been putting in extra hours getting orders filled and delivered this week. Now, that school's out, they've headed down to Minneapolis for the protest at Mall of America! They plan to get home on Tuesday, which coincides with when we plan to head west! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

We've enjoyed great weather this week on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. Above freezing temperatures for another week have surely taken a bite out of winter, and we're glad of that. My cough continues; I was to the doctor on Tuesday, but he noted as I suspected, "You've had a cold, now you need to get the collection of gunk coughed out." He prescribed a bronchial dilator to help with the airways, but otherwise the hacking continues! The markets have been terrible, no good, and bad. The TSX has now lost over 7% of its value this month, and barely lists into the green for the year. I was not able to avoid taking some losses this week, and have sold more holdings as well as they hit stops. I need this to turn around! Events are counting down at school as we have only one more week of classes, and there are many special events. Wendy has been waiting all week for a trip down to the border store to get her puzzle order, so we did that today. We tied in a trip to the casino for their seafood buffet, and enjoyed the outing. We managed to fuel up the vehicle at 73 cents a litre, so that was a bit of a treat! Curling continues this week with the Canadian Open in Yorkton. Sweeting and McEwen won the Canada Cup prizes last week. My man, Kevin Koe, made the playoffs this time, so I'm enjoying that. But he lost in the semi-final tonight to Brad Gushue. Gushue will play Saskatchewan's Steve Haycock in the final tomorrow. On the women's side, Andrea Muirhead of Scotland will play Canadian champ Rachel Homan. 

The Baileys are playing out the final days of the BC/Sask split! They are looking forward to that ending and the next chapter beginning. They has some good news of interest in the Kenora house, which has gone so far as to produce a favourable offer, so we certainly hope that will all play out successfully. 

Santa

Kristian continues to work through his eye issues and got some good news this week. The vision in his affected eye has improved, and a definite plan of action has been developed for further therapy and eventual surgery. So, while that's serious, it's also encouraging. He drew Santa-in-the-off-season as a rosy-cheeked golfer. I like that! 

Trav and Joanna continue to be swamped with work orders, but that's also a good thing. We're celebrating Andrew's 13th birthday this weekend—it's a multi-day affair. Trav's hockey team has had mixed results lately, but we're not hearing of any coaches getting fired! 

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 and we're enjoying daytime highs above zero. I've been fighting a cough all week, and now Wendy is diagnosing bronchitus! We'll see how it develops, but I may need to get the doctor to check it out. US markets have surged ahead on the back of their growing economy, but the TSX fell 2% this week as we suffered a loss of jobs for the past month. As a result, I have sold off some of my holdings but still ended up making quota for the week, while dropping my buy-in to about 25%. The Grey Cup game was quite competitive, but ended as feared—congrats to Calgary! The Canada Cup of curling is on this week, so I've been enjoying that. My favourite, Kevin Koe, did not make the playoffs. Mike McEwen will play Brad Jacobs in the men's final tomorrow, while Rachel Homan will play Val Sweeting in the women's final. 

Eric, Erica and Haaken are enjoying Vancouver this weekend. They took in the Corner Gas movie this evening. Erica has a couple more weeks of work in Parksville, but who's counting?! Haaken was shopping his art portfolio at Emily Carr University this weekend. 

Kristian is recovering from strep throat, and continuing to work on his eye infection—tough times for my little buddy! He had two field trips from school, one to the RCMP Barracks, the other to go skating. They visited a play centre today. Otherwise, Erin continues with work and home as usual. They put up their Christmas decorations this week. 

Trav & Joanna continue to be very busy producing against all the hockey orders they've been getting recently. They do very nice work! Gemma and Andrew are progressing well. We're glad to see them doing well in their new school. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my home town. We began the week in Kansas enjoying their warm weather and even warmer hospitality—thanks a lot! On Tuesday, we flew back to Duluth and drove up to TBay. I was able to pick up my two new golf clubs that had been shipped to the border store, so I'm pretty much ready for Parksville! Meanwhile, back home they had experienced a freezing rain on Sunday, and thus the buses did not run on Monday, so I only missed one day of driving. I picked up a head cold on the flight south last week, and continue to be bothered with that all this week. The markets were a bit strange this week around the US holiday, but I managed another green week, and made quota for the month for the first time in a while, so that was encouraging. As expected, Calgary moved on to the Grey Cup, but my eastern favourite Hamilton will face them, so I'll cheer for Hamilton! McEwen won the National curling event, his first, and it was enough to raise him to #1 world ranking as well. The next slam event is the Canadian Open in Yorkton. We got to watch another Jayhawk win while we were in Lawrence; they won again on Thursday, and they've been doing well in the tournament this weekend—Rock Chalk! 

Erica and Haaken traveled to Vancouver for the open house at Capilano University. Haaken is interested in applying to the animation program there. Due to the snow, they decided not to ride the motorcycle and rented a car instead. They got a Scion which looks like you could fold it up and put it in your pocket, but they found it surprisingly roomy. They plan to complete the weekend with the Bailey clan in Victoria. Three weeks from now, they're looking forward to heading to Prince Albert to rejoin Eric and Liam for Christmas! Eric has been sick this week, even missing two days of work, however one of those days ended up being a snow day—a mixed blessing! Liam continues to enjoy school and is looking forward to Christmas. 

Kristian had another downturn this week as he contracted strep throat! So, he's on another antibiotic, and as of the weekend, he is much improved. Erin has a better week, but is feeling down this weekend! I guess she needs to check her own throat, as she often had strep as a kid! 

Trav & Joanna are very busy with the Puckshots business; they took photos of six teams just today! Gemma was chagrinned to have to go to school on the snow day—Monday. Trav's hockey team played two games this week—a tie and a win! It got above zero today, so, after the rain ended, the crew helped with scraping the old slush off the driveway. Thanks guys! 

And that's about enough for this week! 

News Update

Another week has passed, and once again they're promising to dump some snow on us! We'll have to wait to see how that goes since we've flown down to the salubrious climes of Lawrence KS. We're enjoying the hospitality of Aunt Helen—thank you, and celebrating cousin Marti's sixtieth birthday! We flew down on Friday, and plan to head back next Tuesday. Tonight we enjoyed a special, Zambian-focused gathering to celebrate the birthday. The weather has been cold in TBay, but the snow has stayed away, so, we can shake our heads over the dump of snow they're getting in Buffalo. The markets have remained volatile, but are moving forward and I was able to have another green week, although not up to quota. My Riders fell last Sunday, but I am continuing to follow the remainder of the playoffs which will run another week. I will cheer for Edmonton and Hamilton this weekend in the divisional finals, and then cheer for whoever is playing Calgary in the Grey Cup, sigh! Hockey continues to move along its season; it's a bit too early to take much interest there! Basketball has begun, but my Jayhawks took a vicious beating from Kentucky, and I didn't enjoy that! 

Erica remains with four weeks of work in Parksville, and is looking forward to that being complete. Haaken used his Friday off (Parent-Teacher Conferences) to take the bus into Nanaimo. He went to the mall and was able to complete his Christmas shopping! Good work, Haaken! Liam matched up to that with an orthodontist appointment in Regina—let's see, orthodontist or shopping—a tough choice! Eric headed down after work to visit for the weekend. Eric also helped his brother move in their new house this week and was rewarded with a shelf for the kitchen. He has now unpacked the family china for the first time in over eight years! 

Erin and Kristian are struggling along with winter in Regina. Kristian's eye health continues to receive attention and enjoy improvement. We are looking forward to seeing them in another month. 

Trav, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew are holding down the fort back in TBay. I'm hoping the snow continues to delay so they won't have to deal with that already. They all keep busy with their various activities. Trav's team finally played another game, and that went well. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

We've had another cool, cloudy week on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. Most days we struggled to get above freezing, so my watering-in of the cedars has been suspended. We continue to expect that snow will arrive soon. We seem to be done renovations for now, so I'm getting a rest from that. I've been hoping to get the fridges relocated before winter, but that plan has not received official approval yet! We're certainly enjoying the newly refurbished bathroom upstairs. The cooler weather has brought renewed appreciation of the new gas fireplaces. The markets have bounced around this week with headlines from Ukraine and China roiling the waters, but overall it was up, and I enjoyed a good week of gains, even above my quota. Football playoffs begin this weekend; the Riders play Edmonton in the western semi-final tomorrow afternoon. Go Riders, Go! Hockey is well underway; we're enjoying catching a few games. The second big event in curling is next week, so I'll be firing up the PVR to record those games for me. 

Liam was home in Parksville for the weekend; he flew back to Saskatchewan to be met, hosted and eventually driven back to school, when he returned to Regina, by Erin & Kristian. Eric is busy with his work. Erica is busily finishing her work in Parksville and anticipating the move to Prince Albert. 

Erin and Kristian are doing better. Kristian's eye health is improved. Erin got the winter tires installed on her car, and feels much more secure driving in the wintery conditions in Regina. 

Trav & Joanna 'enjoyed' the hockey tournament in Madison, he has posted photos from there under the title SlaughterFest 2014! The competition was fierce and Trav has decided they've built as much character, and learned as much as they could from playing better teams! They've played a league game this week, and enjoyed a tight game that ended as a win! Otherwise they keep very busy with team and individual photos for Puck Shots! Gemma had excellent results on her first term report and parent-teacher interview. Andrew has been flying around on his new scooter. I'm guessing that'll be over when the snow arrives! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

It's been a cool and rainy week on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. Snow has fallen on areas further away from the lake, so we expect we'll soon get some here. I noticed the covers are on the greens this week, so it looks like I got my round in just in time! Renovations have continued, and we got another vanity installed—it looks great! The updated bathroom upstairs is now fully operational, so that helps. I'm hoping to get the electrical and plumbing moving forward to get the upstairs and downstairs fridges with ice-makers in place before too long. That's next on the agenda anyway. Markets were very volatile this week as politics in the US and Ukraine reared their ugly heads, but good jobs data in the US finally turned things positive and I managed to make a couple more buys and had another week of green. I also took another investment webinar which described an alternative sell strategy. That's the area where I'm always experiencing trouble—when to sell! I'm currently working with a 6% Trailing Stop, but I'm not satisfied with how it's working, so I'll be comparing my recent activity against this new idea. The new hockey season is a month old already, and we're beginning to take note of how the teams are looking this year. The Masters of curling was completed on Sunday with Brad Gushue winning it this year. The regular season in football ended today with a Rider victory! They play Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs next weekend. Go Green! 

The big news in the Bailey family is a trip home by Liam to visit the family in Parksville. Rumour has it he may also spend some quality time at the Robinsons! Erica is making cinnamon buns in honour of his trip home from school. Another special notification is that Eric had an article published. 

We've managed a few FaceTime chats with Erin and Kristian. They are progressing to better health. Kristian's eye is looking much better, but there remains much medical care left before we'll be comfortable with that situation. They have some snow in Regina, so Erin has scheduled the installation of winter tires on her car. 

Trav & Joanna are off with his hockey team to Madison WI this weekend for a top notch tournament; they'll be in tough, but will hopefully learn a lot as well. They've also had two more league games this week. Their work continues to go very well, and they've been very busy with team and individual player photos for teams in this area and bucket decals production for teams even farther afield. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

We've had a cool, cloudy and wet week on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, but the clouds have pushed away and we're enjoying a sunny weekend. Last Sunday was also a beautifully sunny day, and I got out for 9 holes of golf. That went well, so maybe practice and regular play are over-rated! The markets were troubled early in the week, but then US GDP came out very strong and their markets took off. The TSX did not keep up, but the US indices have all recovered from the "correction" and are setting new records, so I hope our guys will take note and do more buying. I was able to make some buys and had a very good week overall, so I at least got into the green for the month. I need to do much better in Nov, Dec to catch up! Upstairs renovations continue, but once again, I've run into an issue that is taking some time to overcome. The Riders do not play this week, and will be looking forward to next Saturday when they close out the regular season, and move on to the playoffs. Baseball is over with the Giants taking out my favoured Royals in the seventh game. Curling has entered a new season and this week features the Masters event. My favourite, Kevin Koe, qualified, then lost in the quarter-finals, but I'm enjoying it all the same. 

Erica and Haaken celebrated the Hallowed Eve with a mother and son date night to the movies. Liam dressed up in disguise, looked like the Invisible Man to me, and had a Halloween party in his dorm. Eric celebrated by going to bed early! The big news from the Baileys is that Erica has a job in Saskatchewan. It is as a Financial Analyst at the University of Saskatchewan. She also lined up a carpool from PA to Saskatoon. The job and how it all worked out could only be an answer to prayer—praise God! Otherwise an ordinary week concluding with confection-fueled celebrations. 

Kristian enjoyed Halloween disguised a Jango Fett. This allowed him to score a starship load of goodies! Otherwise they continue to work the medicines and countering with pro-biotics hoping for long-term improvement in Kristian's eye infections. 

Travis & Joanna continue to be very busy with hockey team photos. Gemma and Andrew were busy with school and Halloween this week. Trav's team had an early game this week where they played well, and he couldn't believe they lost. Then, they had a big game against the undefeated Bearcats later in the week. He was very pleased with their effort and the result. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

We've enjoyed a beautiful week of weather here on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have been enjoying the weather, but I did not go golfing. I was planning to go yesterday or today, but didn't take advantage yesterday, and then it was very windy today. The longer range forecast predicts cooler weather next week, sigh! Upstairs renos have continued to make progress and the results are fulfilling. We have purchased hardwood flooring for the living room, and I plan to let it sit and acclimate for quite some time before starting that project! The markets were very good this week except for the one day sell-off after the shooting in Ottawa. I managed to make some buys and increase to over 25% in the market again. The hard drive on my laptop failed, so I ordered a new solid state drive, and installed that yesterday—it's working well! The Riders played on Sunday and again last evening; they lost both games, but did show some promise and improvement. The World Series continued with the fourth game today. KC is doing well, but took a spanking tonight! They're tied 2-2 in games. 

Haaken and Liam's school schedules coincided with PD days on Thursday and Friday. Haaken spent them hanging out at home, making and watching videos on his laptop. Liam got to visit with his Dad in Prince Albert for the weekend. This required Eric to round-trip Caronport (4.5 hours each way!) on Wednesday night, so the remainder of his week was a bit fuzzy, but he is enjoying the visit as well. Erica is continuing to wrap things up in Parksville, preparing to leave in December. She is also looking at some employment possibilities in Saskatchewan. 

Erin managed to get a compounding pharmacist to reconstitute the Erythromycin in a liquid form, which Kristian is able to take. As a result his eyes are improving, but there's quite a long path to travel there. He is also taking pro-biotics to rebuild the good bacteria in his system, as the e-mycin kills them off as well! 

Trav & Joanna are very busy with hockey photos these days. It's the start of the season and many teams are organized to get this done quickly. His team has rebounded from the opening loss and put together two solid victories since. Gemma and Andrew are busy with school and friends. Joanna had a particularly busy week at work as they had a big sale on winter clothing. 

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 cool and rainy, and the leaves are changing colours and beginning to fall around town. Renovations are on hold as we have company this week, but the bathroom is at quite a usable stage at least. The only thing we can't do right now is shower there, so we continue to wander downstairs for that. Anyway, it's looking like it will turn out well (much better than I was expecting), but Wendy had bigger dreams than I did, and, somehow, has pushed me to accomplish them! The markets continued their 'correction' in the early part of the week as the TSX lost 12% in the last six weeks, and even the US indices lost about 10% in the fears over Ukraine, Europe, Hong Kong, Iraq, ISIL, and Ebola! They say that fear and greed run the markets, and the American media seems to run almost solely on the fear side of that equation! Finally, the solid data out of the US economy with the fewest jobless claims in 14 years, and the fastest deficit reduction since WWII could no longer be ignored and greed pushed the markets forward Thursday and Friday and gave me a green week. However, I'm reduced to only 14% in the market, so I'll be looking for opportunities to buy back in. Baseball has completed the preliminaries and we're now ready for the World Serious! My two picks managed to come through, and I'll be cheering for KC in the Series. The Riders lost their game badly in Montreal on Monday, and play Edmonton tomorrow. Both teams are in playoff position, but are fighting for home field advantage. Go Riders, Go! Bus driving continues to go well; most mornings, lately, I'm meeting one of these wind turbine blades heading east. 

They're big! 

Haaken and Erica returned to Parksville to enjoy Thanksgiving-II with the Robinsons. They enjoyed a Butterball stuffed, cook-from-frozen turkey—it actually cooked right through! Amazing! Eric and Liam joined Grandpa, Erin and Kristian for the Rider game against Montreal. Unfortunately, the Riders did not join the game, so Eric and Liam left early to take Liam back to school. It's been a quiet week for the Bailey family.

Erin and Kristian have not been enjoying such quiet times. Kristian continues to fight his eye issues and has not been able to accommodate the Erthyromycin pills easily. He does seem to be improving, but this is expected to be a long term battle. Friday was a day off school for Kristian and he enjoyed spending the time with Ashley including a trip to the Science Centre. 

Trav, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew are hosting Grandma Pamela this week, and we're enjoying the visit as well. Gemma had a set of reports describing her excellent progress so far this term. She is also displaying interest in high school football and has attended several games already. The Elks82s completed their preseason undefeated, but have opened the regular season with a loss! 

And that's about it for this week. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We are enjoying the Thanksgiving weekend with our family here in TBay. The turkey is planned for Sunday evening! The weather has been cool and rainy most of the week, but it turned nice for the weekend—must be some mistake! The markets have continued to be awful! TSX has dropped 8% since the summer, and the DOW is now in the red for the year. I've been stopping out of positions, but the remaining holdings continue to lose money, and another one hit the stop this week—sigh! September is historically the worst month for the markets, but October has continued the theme, and I'm not enjoying it. Work continues on the upstairs bathroom and we're getting close. I've been busy mowing lawns the last two days, so I haven't pulled out the old vanity and installed the new one although we're at that stage finally. Baseball has moved into the playoffs and I'm following it a bit more closely, cheering for KC and SF to make it to the final and for KC to win it all. Football continues toward the playoffs. Riders are in good position in the standings but in bad position without their franchise QB. They play in Montreal on Thanksgiving Day. Go Riders, Go! 

Haaken got the part of the coach in Grease. Liam's football team won their game on Wednesday despite his continued absence. He worked on game film from the sidelines. Erica, Haaken and Jenny flew out to Regina on Thursday to meet up with Eric and Liam and spend Thanksgiving weekend together. They plan on Tunnel Tours in Moose Jaw along with impromptu tours of Briercrest and Dog River (Roleau)! They plan turkey supper for Sunday. Erica lost her purse on the trip to Regina, probably on the plane. West Jet indicates they would have found it and returned it by now, however, she flew Air Canada, so she's cancelling her cards and replacing her ID. She had a job interview in Saskatoon on Friday; she expects to hear the results of that in the next couple of weeks. 

Erin continues to recover from her cold, and to battle the landlord over bed bugs! Kristian is not doing well. Even while working through another prescription for his eye problems, Erin finally decided it was too much and took him to emergency. As a result, his diagnosis has been upgraded and so have the medical interventions. They are trying to change the chemistry of his eyes as his own systems seem to be working against him. We pray this will result in improvement and eventual healing. They are celebrating Thanksgiving weekend with the Baileys, enjoying the tours and planning turkey supper at Grandpa's in Regina. 

Trav and Joanna continue to be very busy with their various jobs. Joanna and Gemma are working a large wedding this weekend. Hockey season has begun, so team photos and stickers are hot items. Of course the NHL early season is also attracting Trav's attention and he's enjoying the early season success of the Penguins. 

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 turned cooler, and while there are still lots of golfers on the courses, I haven't been tempted this week! The markets continued to struggle in the early part of the week, as fears over Ukraine, Hong Kong, Iraq Syria and Ebola caused a sell-off, but finally the strong economic news coming out of the US turned things upward and I managed a green week, although not up to quota. Work continued on bathroom renos and we continued to have surprises that slow the progress. Still, we have managed to pick out all the new equipment, flooring and paint, so another week should see that project finished. Afternoon delivery on the bus continues to be a struggle with the one elementary school. Baseball has moved into the playoffs now, and I'm paying a bit of attention. The Riders showed more promise last night against the first place Stamps, but finally succumbed on a last minute touchdown. 

Liam got his first cast this week. They'll recheck after two weeks and determine how to proceed. Otherwise, he continues to enjoy school. Haaken tried out for musical theatre—Grease! He sang Grease Lightning for his tryout. He should hear next week whether he has secured a part. Eric is enjoying his work. This weekend, he is taking the motorcycles to Saskatoon to store them for the winter. Then he's carrying on to Caronport to visit with Liam, and sign the cast. Erica continues to work at the School District in Parksville. This week was spent sorting out the Transportation system. With the closure of about 30% of school capacity and the subsequent reconfiguration of the remaining schools there were more than a few tweaks needed on busing! So, she was able to learn that management is mostly about listening to complaints from customers, and encouraging the people who are actually doing the work!  That's quite a good bit of education for any given week! 

Erin and Kristian call from time to time. Erin got a new iPhone6, and Kristian has inherited the old iPhone4, although it's not enabled for phone, but just a glorified iPod. Erin is recovering from her cold, but Kristian continues to suffer with his eye infection. He got another round of medication this week, and some kind of promise to upgrade him to a specialist after this round. We sure would like the problem to be cleared up. He had his audiology check up this week; it showed no changes, so that's good. 

Trav and Joanna are busy with hockey start up, booking and taking team photos. Trav's team had their first exhibition game today, winning 5-2 and showing encouraging signs. Gemma had some down time this week and missed a day at school. Andrew continues to enjoy learning his multiplication facts! 

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 great; we've been enjoying that. The markets have been horrible, especially up here, and I've not been enjoying that as several of my stocks have stopped out and I'm in the red for the month. Only the DOW is in the green for the month—I blame Obama! Bus driving is going fine, but my difficulties getting all my little kids organized for the trip home is still keeping me running late into the afternoon—there are about 30 kindergarten kids all together! Bathroom renos continue and we now have our new vanity and bathtub, but Wendy is now having second thoughts about the vanity. She is also pondering the flooring, a new toilet, and a medicine cabinet. Progress is slow! The Jays are playing out the string this weekend; they continue to play well, just not well enough to make the play offs. The Riders were shut out last night in Edmonton—we need to get our offence working behind our young quarterbacks. 

Erica has resigned from her position as Secretary-Treasurer of the School District in Parksville, effective December 31st, so the plan moves forward for the family to get back together, but in Prince Albert. Liam fell and broke his wrist, so that also ends his football season. It's his left wrist, so he'll have to learn to use his right. Eric flew out to Vancouver this weekend to meet Erica and get the CRV which he is now driving back to PA. They figured winter driving of a motorcycle would be more doable in Parksville! Haaken has started classes. He has a wide assortment of arts classes, and will be able to complete his graduation credits this semester. He also hopes to pick up some additional academic classes on line, but otherwise he should be done in early February. He is currently considering applying to Capilano or Emily Carr. 

Erin and Kristian have been working through their health issues. Erin is still doing a lot of hacking, but generally feels pretty well. Kristian has worked through his eye antibiotics, but without improvement to his condition, so they'll be consulting further on that. He has just completed another Lego project! 

Travis has completed the preseason assessments and chosen his players for this year's team. They are also finding it quite busy at work. Gemma and Andrew are busy with school work and their friends. 

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 warmed a bit, but it has been rainy. 

We continue to work on the upstairs bathroom. I've got some of the plumbing redone for the bath tub, but the new controls are on back order, so I'm stymied. Wendy and Joanna picked out the new tub today, and have semi-final determination on the toilet and vanity—progress! We're planning to replace the ceiling and repair the walls. The markets have been mixed with US indices making progress and TSX dropping sharply—I dropped along with the TSX! Bus driving is gradually improving and I can keep my schedule in the morning, but tend to get a bit behind in the afternoon. Wendy and I have both started our teeth cleaning program at the college. The Jays picked a bad time for a slump, dropping six in a row before winning this afternoon, so they're out of it. The Riders took a bad beating on Sunday in their first game with the back up quarterback; they'll try again tomorrow at home to Ottawa. C'mon Riders! 

Eric continues to enjoy his work. He has started doing yoga in the mornings as well, which provides him time for FaceTime with Erica and is providing relief for his shoulder. He has obtained tickets for Comic Con for this weekend as Liam is visiting. Liam is enjoying his new school. He has joined the football team and is playing corner on defence. They lost their game this week, but still had fun. Haaken is glad to hear that he is finally going back to school as the teacher strike has ended and classes will start on Wednesday. He's been working on an animation program—Maya. Erica and Haaken continue to live with the Robinsons, and it must be going okay because they haven't been kicked out yet. This is not the first time Erica has run away from home to live with the Robinsons! 

Kristian's ninth birthday was the joyous feature of this week! He and Erin celebrated by enjoying poor health! Erin continues to be sick right into the weekend. Kristian is feeling better, but he's been prescribed new antibiotics for his chronic eye infections, and he doesn't enjoying the stinging treatments three times each day! At least Sadie seems to be doing well. 

Trav and Joanna are busy with work and a lot of sticker contracts for the start up of hockey season. Trav has also been scouting all the prospective midget-age hockey players and preparing draft lists for the upcoming season. Joanna had another late night last evening working on wedding decorations; she took Gemma along with her. I think Andrew spent the late night practicing his multiplication tables–sorry, but joke there! 

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