News Update

Another week has passed and we remain on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The weather has been beautiful and we've been out golfing a couple of days (okay, three, I went out three days!). I got my first lessons in jointing and planing, and was able to assemble a tabletop for my upcoming TV Table—thanks, Dad! It's been a good week. Even the markets, while shaky, cooperated enough to keep me on quota. We got Erin's planter established, so that's ready for her when she's ready to plant. Wendy applied some finish, so it looks great.

Planter and Trellis

Erin took Tuesday off work, so she came golfing with us that day. We played Joanne Goulet—Kristian's first effort on a regular golf course. All reported it as great fun, and Erin even picked up a lovely sunburn! On Friday, we drove up to Saskatoon to sup with the Baileys before they flew west. Kristian travelled along with us, but remarked that it was quite a lot of driving just to go out for a meal! The Champions Cup is being contested in Saskatoon this weekend. Kevin Koe has, once again, qualified for the playoffs. That competition will end tomorrow with Koe facing his young Alberta rival, Bottcher, once again for the championship. The first round of the NHL playoffs is over, and most of my picks suffered ignominious defeat! Although three teams called to request that I not pick them in the second round–here are my round two picks: Islanders and Blue Jackets in the east; Blues and Avs in the west.

Eric & Erica flew out to Victoria early Saturday morning to visit family out there, and catch up with Haaken. Liam is doing well, but not talking to the rest of the family until they see the new movie: Avengers End Game, so as to not share any spoilers! They plan to see it on Sunday—then, they can speak again, whew!

In flight entertainment, anyone?!

The Victoria Baileys are hosting! 

Erin and Kristian have been taking care of us all week—thanks guys!

First game of the season!

Travis & Joanna have flown to Florida with her folks to assist them with their vacation stay down there. While they were away their family suffered a loss with the passing of their conure, Beaker. "Today, our family said good-bye to our beloved feather-baby, Beaker. Beaker loved getting neck scritches, falling asleep on her humans, terrorizing the dog, and eating cheezies. We miss you, Beaker."

Beaker in better days!

So, in summary: Erica and crew are in Victoria; Trav and crew are in Miami; while we are making do in Regina with Erin and Kristian under the threat of a snowstorm!

That's more than enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, but we are not there! We are now on the shore of the Assiniboine River in Brandon, where we are enjoying the hospitality of Bonnie and Charlie—thanks folks! We are on our way to Regina, planning to spend the next week with Erin and Kristian while visiting in Saskatchewan. Before packing up, we did manage to do some further work on our kitchen renovation project, so, slowly, slowly, it is nearing completion. We have finished the kitchen/dining room floor, and have begun installing the upper cabinets. I completed the oak trim on the one bulkhead—the other will be another level of difficulty higher since I have to trim all four sides.

Glue Up

Installed

Wendy did a great job on the ceiling so this will trim it out nicely. From my salvaged pallet material, I built a nice set of folding sawhorses so Wendy can do her sanding and refinishing on the sliding door.

Folding Sawhorses

I also built a planter for Erin so we could bring it along to Regina in time for gardening season.

Planter

I completed my Spanish class, and got my marks—91%! I'm pleased, but really, I've just scratched the surface on learning the language. The markets continued to fluctuate, but the TSX got to a new record high, finally climbing beyond the level it has attained in January 2018, so it's been a pretty difficult time in the intervening year plus. Anyway, I had another good week. Kevin Koe lost another final, this time to Brendon Bottcher in the Players Championship. There is one more event in the curling calendar, the Champions Cup in Saskatoon. My NHL bracket has been demolished as so many of my picks have failed to advance. I'll have to pick up the pieces and make some picks for round two. 

The Baileys are enjoying the prospect of a long weekend. Their friend, Tanis, is visiting from Kenora. They enjoyed a hike at Waskesiu. Liam is on tour with his RU team; he seeks prayers for improved health. Haaken is starting to explore job opportunities. Several studios are hiring for numerous positions in Victoria, Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. We pray there is a great job and studio that is just the right place for Haaken to share his gifts.

Kristian and Erin are enjoying Easter Weekend with Shawn and crew. Kristian is looking forward to a week off school, and the chance to catch up on his math homework! We're looking forward to helping both of them enjoy next week. 

Travis and Joanna have cleared up several jobs as they prepare for some time away as well. We hope their trip and family time will go well. Gemma has completed her exams and is looking at several work options. She'd like to find an opportunity with a pharmacy. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. Spring warmth has remained hard to come by, and we even had some white rain on Thursday and Friday! However, they're promising some nice weather next week—are these guys ever right?! I have found a source of pallets that I'm using as a source of wood for some small projects.

Lotsa good wood, but dismantling is tricky!

We've had a good week of progress on the kitchen renos. Wendy did some touch up work on the paint, and that's looking great. That led to beginning work on the new flooring. We've had to do some repairs to the old floor, and since that, we've been working to install the new stuff. We bought it second hand, and some of the boxes were opened. It's tongue and groove laminate, and as we began installing we found some of the pieces had damaged connections. That took a lot of extra time recutting those so they could fit together. These are the kind where you have to put a whole row together at a time, and then you can lock them into the prior row. It's slow going, but it's looking good. The markets were productive this week although we had some downturns over world trade concerns. At any rate, I've been able to remain on quota so far. I have completed my dental work—that's a relief! I do not like dental work! The expense doesn't help either! Kevin Koe lost the World Championship to Niklas Edin of Sweden. This week's event is the Players Championship in Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. Kevin has had a good week, including a victory over Edin! He plays in the final tomorrow against Brendan Bottcher. The NHL playoffs have begun, and already several of my picks are in trouble! I picked Bolts, Leafs, Caps, Pens in the East, along with Flames, Sharks, Preds and Blues in the West. Blue Jays continue to play down to expectations, but they did win today! This is also a big week on my golf calendar as the Masters is being played.

This week brought an end to Erica's sojourn in Calgary. It was a good learning experience and she enjoyed getting to know the team there, but she's also very glad to be home. Liam started his job with Tunnels of Moose Jaw. He is still struggling with his health so we ask for continued prayer that he will feel healthy on a more consistent basis. Eric has one more week of evening classes that he’s teaching. He is also pulling together material for a conference where he is presenting. His topic is Trauma, Tragedy and Stress; his working title is “More Than Coping.” He presents on May 9 in Melfort. They've decided to spend some of their tax refund on a trip this fall. They’ve booked flights and an Air BnB in Amsterdam. They are very excited to be travelling overseas for a visit instead of medical treatment! The Saskatchewan Lipedema Association received official status as a Not for Profit Organization! Haaken continues with classes and enjoys living in Victoria.

Kristian has been suffering with seasonal allergies with the arrival of Spring in Regina. He missed school one day, and could not manage bowling this morning either. Erin is treating him with Aerius, and that is bringing some relief. They have relinquished their foosball table, and have installed an elliptical machine.

They'll be wonderfully fit in time for Summer, no doubt.

Travis and Joanna flew down to Toronto this week for a conference on Graphic Arts and a family visit. That has gone well, and they returned home today. Trav is currently in anguish over the poor start to the playoffs by his beloved Pens.

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has not warmed up as we'd like, and we even had a skiff of snow overnight on Thursday. Now, they're threatening 25mm of rain tomorrow! Wendy has kept at the painting in the kitchen and dining room and has now completed that. We will try to complete the installation of the base cabinets and see how far we can get with the upper cabinets over the next week. I have been working out in the garage. I've found a source of pallets, and have dismantled a few and salvaged some good lumber. Now, I've begun making a set of sawhorses for Wendy so she can do her painting and sanding out there. Her next project is a sliding door for the kitchen access from the side entry. We have picked up a nice used door, but it needs filling of the old hinge and lockset holes, and complete refinishing. I've started a series of dental appointments. My recent teeth cleaning revealed a broken filling, and some damage caused by the clips of my partial plate. So, those fun meetings will continue next week. The markets have run well for me this week, and I've caught up to quota once again. The NHL is completing the regular season this weekend. Then, we begin the second season of about three months of playoffs! Pens and Leafs are in the playoffs. Oilers are not, sigh! Winnipeg and Calgary also made it, so we have three Canadian teams making the cut this year. The baseball season is in full swing, and my Blue Jays are playing right about expectations—sigh! March Madness will conclude on Monday with Texas Tech taking on Virginia. I'll be cheering for Texas Tech. I've been watching the Men's World Curling championships all week. My guy, Kevin Koe, qualified for the playoffs and has advanced to the final with an extra end win over Switzerland, tonight. He has won two world championships and will play three-time winner, Niklas Edin, of Sweden tomorrow. 

Erica is home for the weekend. She has one more week of work in Calgary. She spend some time with cousin Carolyn this week and really loved that! Eric has been practising banjo and ukulele all week while Erica was away. He can almost play Rainbow Connection from the Muppet Movie. Liam was home for a visit last weekend, and had a doctor appointment. His iron is low again, so he is scheduled for another iron transfer. Eric/A have decided to fly out to visit Haaken in Victoria at the end of the month to ensure that he's okay! 

Erin and Kristian had a normal kind of week. Erin's pretty busy with month end activities. Kristian threw two great games this morning in bowling, but he was feeling more and more ill, so they went home rather than bowl the third game. Erin has been working on plans for her summer box garden. I'm practicing dismantling pallets and working on designs for the planters. Should be fun. 

We'll reuse the supports,
but I think that plant is finished!

Travis and Joanna stay busy. Now, they're planning a trip to Toronto for a family visit and to attend a conference. We'll watch over things here while they're gone, and try to take care of ourselves as well! 

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 okay, but cooler than we hoped. The snow continues to disappear, and the fairways and greens are showing up again. Sadly, there's still plenty of snow out in the trees where I normally play! Wendy has made great progress on the kitchen/dining room painting. I've been working in the garage building new shelving and storage for lumber. I got the old pantry installed out there to store other materials, so I'm being called to get things a bit more orderly—we'll see how long that lasts! The nicer weather is also calling us to get for more walks in preparation for an active summer. I've had another appointment with my vascular surgeon, and at her insistence, an appointment with an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist. My bloodwork did not confirm antiphospholipid antibodies, so autoimmune disorder has not been confirmed as the cause of my DVT. Xrays, and MRI confirm an almost continuous clot is still in place from calf to upper thigh, and that there is only a small amount of venous flow through the affected deep vein. She noted that the treatment using Xarelto will continue indefinitely. Since I've been experiencing nosebleeds, she referred me to the ENT doctor. I feel the nose bleeds are due to dry wintry air, and that they're only more troublesome because of the blood thinner. The ENT agreed with me. He offered to cauterize a vein in my left nostril, but I declined. The vascular surgeon has scheduled more bloodwork over the course of several months, so we'll see if she figures anything else out. To this point, she holds her diagnosis of DVTs with no known cause. I'm doing fine; I wear a compression stocking on my left leg everyday, and that has been effective in preventing fluid build-up. So, all told, things are good. Wild market action continues with world trade issues and the rate inversion troubling investors, so while I was in the green, I didn't make quota this week. The NHL is nearly finished the regular season, but still some playoff positions are up for grabs. March Madness continues into the final challengers, with the Final Four to be determined this weekend. World Men's Curling championships began today with Kevin Koe representing us in Lethbridge. He opened with wins over Korea and Russia. I'll be following that all next week. MLB has begun the season; Blue Jays are off to a winning start in their first series.

Liam is home for the weekend. The Baileys have been taking advantage of a music store sell-out to expand their musical empire.

Band Van! 

A second banjo player in the family!

Eric is working the Ukelele, Banjo and Bass now. Liam has added a second banjo—dueling banjos coming soon? And they've also picked up a cajon drum and the cowbells. Yowsah! 

Erin and Kristian had a good week, although Kristian did have another sick day. Now they have a house guest for the weekend. Kristian's buddy, Omarion, got a new baby sister, so he's staying with Kristian while his parents welcome the new child. 

They're happy with the arrangement!

Travis and Joanna have not been over as frequently this week, but the printer keeps pumping out the product downstairs anyway. When you're in business, being busy is good! 

That's enough for this week. 

Spring has Sprung!

Another week has passed here on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been great, and the snow is disappearing. The back deck access to the grill has cleared away, and it's barbecue season once again. As someone observed, "If we didn't have Winter, Spring would not seem so wonderful!" Anyway, we are really enjoying the coming of Spring. Wendy has continued with her painting work in the kitchen/dining room. She's doing a great job, and only a little bit over the top! I have managed to make some progress on the oak trim. I need to cut the material down to size and refinish the cut parts, but it's looking good. With the warmer weather, I've been able to get back in the shop. I built a corner clamp to help me in building the oak trim for the bulk heads.

Homemade Corner-Clamp

I have also picked up a few pallets which I'm using as a source of wood for my projects. The markets were terrible, no good and bad this week. Weak US economic data in light of the ongoing trade wars led to the FED announcements of financial easing, so that put investors on our heels. Then, we got the news of a rate inversion, and we had a full-fledged panic on Friday. So, I have fallen back below quota, and I'm hoping for better things next week. I've been following the World Women's Curling championship all week, but Chelsey Carey did not have a good week, and did not make the playoffs. It'll be Sweden vs Switzerland in the final tomorrow. The NHL is in the final crush, and my Oilers are on the outside, looking in, sigh! Baseball is just about ready to start. March Madness is underway, and I really enjoy that tournament. Of course, I'd enjoy it more if KU had kept the run going. They won their first game this weekend, but they couldn't manage to advance to the Sweet Sixteen next weekend. That was about the limit of my expectations for them, but we're into next year country now! Rock Chalk, Jayhawks!

Liam got a new job with Tunnels of Moose Jaw! So, if you are in the Moose Jaw area—go check it out! He was working at a retirement home, but a lot of that work was in the kitchen, in contact with gluten, and he's been feeling ill. We hope that this is a more healthy situation for him, in addition to tapping into his acting skills! Erica is back home this weekend! So, while Eric is planning to finish up his card hockey today, she will have a relaxing day at home! Haaken is enjoying a visit from Auntie Mary and cousin Andrea in Victoria, along with his schooling.

Erin was extra busy this week as her boss was in Mexico for the week. Then, another co-worker called in sick Thursday and Friday so she was doing triple duty. Evenings were relaxing. Teacher conference was on Friday so Kristian had that day off. They were going to stay with papa for the weekend but uncle mouse felt better on Friday so they’ll hang out with him another time. Kristian, Astrid, Liam, Shawn and Erin went to the new How to Train Your Dragon movie at the big theatre with our Christmas gift cards from the Baileys so that was a nice treat Kristian's bowling was above average again today!

Travis and Joanna keep busy with hockey work, and they also picked up a basketball team—I think that's their first basketball team. They are really more interested in targeting an audience that doesn't overlap with the hockey season so much. Anyway, they're still keeping busy, and we're glad to have them around. Gemma is completing her second semester at Lakehead. Andrew is carrying on with his grade 12 year.

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

We've had a week of interesting weather here on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. It's been mild, with daytime highs above zero, but the biggest feature was 24 hours of major rainfall that really melted down the snowbanks. We're encouraged! Wendy has made good progress on the kitchen painting, and I've started on the flooring. However, Wendy is now having second thoughts on the flooring material, so that's at a standstill. We found a good deal on some oak flooring, just over $1 a square foot for a couple of end-of-line boxes, so we picked them up. It is 3/4" solid oak, tongue and groove. I plan to use that material to build the decorative boxes around the light bulkheads, and we're thinking about ideas to make use of the rest of it.

Oak!

Otherwise, we've had a fairly quiet week. This evening, we went skating at one of the local arenas. Wendy has new skates and enjoyed getting to try them out. I was glad to be able to skate without pain—well, we'll see how my legs feel tomorrow! The markets were more settled this week as the US/China trade war has been postponed for a few months. I was able to make quota, so that was encouraging. My sporting week started off with a highlight as Kevin Koe won the Brier. He is now preparing for the world championships which are set for Lethbridge. Today, the women's world championships began in Denmark; I'll be keeping track of Chelsey Carey and her team all week. The NHL continues the grind toward the playoffs; my teams have had up and down play this week. Basketball is pushing toward March Madness that officially opens tomorrow. My Jayhawks had a good week in the conference tournament. Iowa State beat them in the championship game tonight. They'll probably be about a #5 seed in the March Madness tournament. Rock Chalk, Jayhawks! 

Erica continues regular work in Calgary. Eric joined her there for a weekend adventure and an early celebration of her birthday. Today, they rented a car and toured west into the national parks.

Exploring Banff

Banff Weekend

Eric has some new potential projects; they are trying to obtain funding and grow their business. We pray those plans will come to fruition. Liam continues with work and RU. Last weekend, they performed in Nipawin at a youth rally. He has further performances scheduled: Apr 7th: Chinese Methodist Church in Regina, Apr 18th-21st: Easter Tour, Apr 27th-28th: Provost Performance. No news from Haaken this week. 

Erin and Kristian had a tough week, but now seem to be recovering their health. Kristian missed two days of school, and he's catching up on homework today. Kristian had good results in his bowling this morning, beating his average every game. Erin took part in a fund raiser at work for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: all told it came to $4500.00. Great job! 

Travis and Joanna keep busy. We have regular visits with them, and regular traffic from their clients picking up completed projects. The booked a local arena for more photography this evening, so we took advantage to go skating as well—thanks guys! Gemma is in the final stages of the semester, completing projects and preparing for final assessments. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been very nice; we're getting some melting, and we're starting to think about Spring. We have continued to celebrate Wendy's birthday all week, including the official day today. She received a lot of acknowledgement and some beautiful gifts, including some bouquets as shown here.

Today, we got out to the Rotary Display home and to Re-Store. We both enjoy that! We continue to make progress on the kitchen renovation. I also tried out a new entrée—pasta-baga! I spiralized a rutabaga into fettuccine shapes, and then cooked it up—excellent!

Chicken Fettu-Baga Alfredo!

We've been watching the Brier all week. My guy, Kevin Koe, remains undefeated, although he had to escape several tight games. He's in the final waiting for the semi-final game between Jacobs and Bottcher. I like all three teams, so I don't mind who wins out, but I'll be cheering for Koe. The markets have continued to be terrible as the effects of Trump's trade war are depressing world economies. Then, US jobs' data came out, and that was a big downer as well. Apparently, when you shut down the US government for a month, it has an effect! Who knew?! Anyway, I had a red week, so that's not good. The Jayhawks are playing out the regular season, and for the first time in 15 years will not win their conference—that's a record that should last a while. The Oilers have been playing better, winning 6 of their last 10, but the Leafs beat them tonight, and they remain far out of the playoff picture. Pens are doing well. 

The Bailey's big news involves an addition to the family. It's a 4-string Alabama banjo! Eric is learning to play to add to his expertise in piano and ukulele.

EJBailey-musician!

The rest of the family are carrying on with their regular activities! 

Erin and Kristian had a bit of a down week as Erin was ill. She's just now getting over it, so they got out for league bowling today. Kristian had good games and beat his average by 15 pins per game. Shawn and the kids have a swim meet this weekend. 

Travis and Joanna have a visitor this week as her mom is up from Toronto. They were over here several days, pumping out the product from the office downstairs. Gemma continues with her house-sitting assignment for a couple of more weeks. She is also running through the last few weeks of her semester at university. Andrew has spring break this coming week. Travis made quite a splash with his tribute for Grandpa's Birthday! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weekend blizzard cancelled Wendy's flight home from Regina, so she didn't get here until Wednesday. However, the main blast missed us, so I didn't have much snow to remove except for the pile the grader dumped at the entrance of the driveway—I wrote the city to complain! (They have not answered, sigh!) This week the weather has been nice with single digit highs each day and some melting. The bright sunshine has raised our spirits as well. I got a bit more work done on the electrical and drywall repair list. Then, when Wendy got home, she added to the list! She continues to work on the newly manipulated finger; we hope it will provide her greater facility in her activities. She also got out skating on one of the open-air rinks near our place. We have begun the celebration of her 69th birthday, which comes next Saturday. We got out to DQ for Royal Treats, which thankfully, did not bring on gout! (Blizzard-bad; Banana Split-okay!) Then, we enjoyed a celebratory supper last night with family here, along with lovely flowers—thanks folks! The markets have been troubled this week as Trump experienced failures with both China and North Korea. That was combined with news that the US trade deficit is actually increasing despite his tariffs, and it adds up to a bad picture. At any rate, I completed February still on quota YTD, so I'm grateful for that. The Scotties completed in surprising fashion on Sunday as Homan gave up steals in both the final and extra ends to allow Chelsey Carey to win our national championship. Carey will now go on to represent us in Silkeborg DK in the world championships. So, after a brief breather, I'm now fully engaged with the Brier that opened last night in Brandon. I'm picking Kevin Koe and Brad Gushue as the favourites. In the NHL, my Oilers are doing a bit better, but are still far out of playoff contention. Baseball is in the preseason, but my Blue Jays are not expected to challenge this season—we'll see; everyone is a potential champion in the spring! 

It has been, what has become, a pretty normal week in the Bailey household. Liam is working part time and doing RU in Caronport. He isn't getting full time hours, but he's getting a few days a week, and that is working for him. Haaken continues with his studies, although he has a break coming up this month. We haven't heard what his plans are for that, but the -30° weather in Saskatchewan is not piquing his interest! Erica was in Calgary for three days this week. Her work will continue part time in Calgary until mid-April, with the corresponding bonus in Aeroplan miles! Eric worked all week and had a teleconference today on being a supervising counsellor. So, not very eventful, perhaps, but definitely full. 

Erin and Kristian have also had an uneventful week, but that fell apart toward the end of the week as Erin took sick. She feared it was her old nemesis—strep throat, but she's now feeling a bit better and thinking she's been spared! Anyway, her downtime today meant Kristian missed out on regular league bowling, so he'll try to pick that up later. 

Travis, Joanna and crew matched the rest with a normal week—lots of work and production for their business, along with the usual work assignments for Joanna, and school/work for Gemma and Andrew. We were glad to have them over for Wendy's birthday-supper tonight as I tried out my keto quiche on them, accented with keto ice cream! Both seemed to find approval! 

And that's 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 enjoyed the more comfortable temperatures, but we got a dump of snow early in the week, and now we're facing a blizzard this weekend from a mass of moist air arriving from Texas. I'm running out of places to store snow! Wendy flew out on Monday to spend the week in Saskatchewan. She had a medical appointment to get her finger joint broken loose, again, and that just looks painful! 

Owey, owey, owey!

This weekend, she's over in Moose Jaw at the spa, enjoying a Ladies' Weekend. She's due back tomorrow midnight, storm permitting.

My finger-joint jig works!

I've been working a bit on the kitchen renovations and spending the bulk of my time watching curling! It's the Scotties. I picked Homan and Jones as the most likely winners going in, and was cheering for my sentimental favourites of McCarville (NO) and Silvernagle (SK). It was a delight to see both of them qualify for the championship pool and then advance to the playoff round. McCarville lost to Homan (ON) this afternoon, so she's out. Silvernagle lost to Carey (AB) this evening. Tomorrow, it's Homan/Silvernagle in the semi-final, while Carey is waiting in the final. Sandra Schmirler's team was honoured as the greatest women's team of all-time, while three members of Jones team were named all-time all-stars. Only Schmirler's third, Jan Betker, broke through that vote. Now, I'm even more interested to see who is voted the greatest male curlers and team, after the Brier opens next Friday. The markets have continued to be erratic as folks try to figure out what Trump will do next. This week it was concern over tariffs and trade war with China. I was blessed with a good week, and remain on quota for the month and the year. In the NHL, the Pens and Leafs remain in good position. My Oilers remain out of the playoffs with the season dwindling, but at least they won tonight. KU has had some good play lately, but they got demolished tonight—Rock Chalk Jayhawks! It's been a tough day for me on the sports front, so I consoled myself with a bowl of ice cream. 

Liam started his new job this week. He is doing basic cleaning and other duties at a retirement home in Moose Jaw. This is such an answer to prayer; it works with his RU schedule (so far), and will, hopefully, generate enough income to pay his bills! Haaken continues with school. A couple of conversations took place this week. He sounded good, and continues to be happy out in BC. Erica spent part of the week in Calgary. She will be back and forth for a few weeks, filling in for another manager who is on leave. It was a good week, and a bit of an adventure living in a new city, even if it is for a short time. She had been feeling a bit stir crazy being tied down to the medical visits. She's in Moose Jaw this weekend, at the Sister Triangle retreat with her mom. Eric had a good week at work. This weekend, he's visiting with Neil and Darcy in Saskatoon and playing some card hockey games.

Erin and Kristian continue to struggle with the nasty cold snap in Regina. They hope better weather will come soon. Kristian had an amazing day in bowling today. In the first game, he scored his first ever Turkey (3 strikes in a row), and he liked that so much, he did it again in his third game! Needless to say, he beat his average by about 150 pins! 

First ever turkey!

It was so nice, he did it twice!

Travis and Joanna seem to keep very busy. The machines downstairs keep pumping out the product, and the people keep knocking at the door to pick it up. They have now served customers in every province and territory of Canada! Gemma was away on a brief semester break holiday, but is back and house sitting again for the next couple of weeks. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. Now that the cold has broken (We hope for good!), we're enjoying nice weather this week. We did get a bit more snow, and we could have done without that. We've made some progress on the kitchen renovations, but Wendy plans to be away next week, so that will grind to a halt for a bit. Wendy has determined where she wants the new island to be built, and thus how far she wants the main light fixture moved. I will probably have to build another bulkhead to accomplish that since the ceiling trusses are running the other way—I don't like making unnecessary holes in the vapour barrier. I did manage another new recipe this week—bacon cheeseburger casserole.

Tasty!

It turned out pretty tasty, but I'm still looking for ways to pump up the flavour for next time. Wendy made up another batch of ice cream, and we froze that up this evening—what a treat! We got out to DQ on Thursday to celebrate the sweetness of Valentine's Day. As a result, I had a bit of gout on Friday, but one colchicine pill, and I was relieved by this morning. Recently on Netflix we've been watching another British Detective series—Midsomer Murders. My Spanish class has continued to be productive. I'm now on a two-week hiatus there as the college is on break until March. We also got out for a friend's birthday celebration and enjoyed a nice meal at Moxies.

Salmon Entrée at Moxies

The markets were troubled this week as mixed news came out concerning the US trade war, and the threat of a US government shutdown loomed until, finally, Trump gave in on getting money from congress to pay for the wall. That brought a relief rally on Friday, and I managed to recover to quota for the week. Last weekend, I enjoyed watching the provincial men's curling playdowns in MB, SK and AB. My guy, Kevin Koe, won Alberta. This weekend, the Scotties (Women's Canadian Championship) has begun in Sydney NS, so I'll be busy keeping up with that all next week! KU served up two impressive wins this week; coach Self seems to be finding a way to make a team out of the players he has left. The countdown to trade deadline continues in the NHL, as teams try to build on the hope of making a Stanley Cup run. All my teams lost today, however, it is only my Oilers that remain out of the playoffs. 

Liam got a job as a casual worker in Chateau Michael, a retirement home in Moose Jaw. We expect this will meet his living needs while he continues his participation in RU out at Caronport. Congratulations Liam! He has also registered in three online classes: Developing a Business Plan, Online Marketing, and Website Enhancement. Haaken has a couple of weeks left before a two-week break in March. He's enjoying school and avoiding the cold weather, although they did have a power outage from the Victoria snowstorm! Eric/A had a quiet week at home. They celebrated Valentine's by going to see Glass on Tuesday and going out for dinner on Friday. This weekend, they're heading down to Caronport to see Liam and RU perform. Next week, Erica will head to Calgary on a work assignment. 

Erin and Kristian suffered through the continuing cold snap in Saskatchewan, but they came through it all right. They had a special dinner together at home for Valentine's Day.

V-Day Home Date!

This morning, Kristian had his best bowling outing ever, as he beat his average by over 100 pins! It also marked the first time he has averaged over 150 for his three league games, so I now owe him a trip for an indoor golf game!

Travis and Joanna have continued to be quite busy with PuckShots and BucketDecals churning out the product. It's good to see them regularly, as they're around the workshop downstairs most days. 

And that's about it for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. It was quite a week of weather, with plenty of snow! We cleaned out the driveway three times, and now the banks are so high on the lawn, my poor little snowblower is struggling to blow it up on top!

Lotsa snow this year!

At least the cold weather seems to have been broken for now. With the exertions of snow clearing, we did not get much done on the renovations, but Wendy is pushing forward with her painting preparations. I did come up with a couple of new recipes, and we tried the Keto Quiche last night.

Mmm, good!

It was great! I look forward to trying the Keto Cheeseburger casserole next week. We're enjoying building our menu list with delicious food that's also good for us. Spanish class continues twice each week. I'm finding it challenging, but useful. The markets were challenging this week as old fears over Trump's trade wars were exacerbated by renewed fears of another US government shutdown. However, I was blessed with a good gain and remain on quota here in the first quarter of the year. The NHL teams are deciding whether they're buyers or sellers moving toward the trade deadline, and the actual games seem to fade from prominence. Pens and Leafs remain in playoff position; Oilers remain out, and they lost again tonight, sigh! KU continues to struggle to maintain a lineup, but today's freshman crew put on an energetic display in a win over Oklahoma State! My main interest this week has been on Saskatchewan men's curling championship. I always hold my old home province as a sentimental favourite in the national championships. 

Eric & Erica finally were able to celebrate their Silver Anniversary today.

Happy Silver Anniversary!

It's funny, but I recall that as a child, I always found that folks having a 25th Anniversary were old! Saskatchewan has been in a real deep freeze this week with temperatures pushing -40°. That also reminds me of their wedding day! 

Erin and Kristian have also struggled through the frigid temperatures. On Monday morning, her car would not start, and there were two days when the school buses did not operate. That complicates her schedule as she needs to drive Kristian to and from school. Kristian liked it because with more than half his class missing, he got more teacher time and got caught up on his math. 

Trav & Joanna keep busy, and their cars keep running. Gemma is lined up for house-sitting for the next while. The snow is piled high on their street as well, and they don't have any off street parking. 

And that's enough for this week. 

Ground Hog Day 2019

Another wintry week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The cold temperatures seem to have finally broken yesterday, but we got a little fresh snow as the bonus! I've come down with a head cold from which I am only beginning to recover. I managed to get out today to clear the driveway, but that was about the limit of my work this week. I've spent some additional time in bed, trying to break the cold, and I feel it has done some good. I had Spanish classes Monday and Wednesday as usual; those went well. I had to cancel out of my teeth cleaning appointment, so I'll have to make that up later. The markets were good most of the week, only turning down on Friday. I've had a great month, and would love to see that continue. My hockey teams are not doing so well entering the second half, but at least Pens and Leafs are in the playoffs at this point; they played this evening, with the Leafs taking a 3-2 win. I need my Oilers to pick up the pace! They lost again today, in OT. Likewise, KU lost early in the week before coming back with a solid win today. They were dropped to #11, and will probably be dropped further when the new rankings come out. Rock Chalk, Jayhawks! The Curling event this week is the Skins Game from Banff. Kevin Koe has advanced to the men's final against Brandon Bottcher, an up-and-coming young team from Alberta. On the women's side, Manitoba Champion, Tracy Fleury, will play Jennifer Jones. 

The Baileys enjoyed a cold and quiet week at home. Erica was back working in PA. Liam visited last weekend, which was great. Now, he's back in Moose Jaw after a snowy weekend, and able to skip the -30° weather. He's still looking for a job. He had an interview this week, so we hope he hears positive news on that or another job, soon. He saved enough money from his fall job to carry him through for a few more weeks. Erica has been asked to take on some short term work in Calgary; she has agreed to do that. Eric has been building his supervisory work through referrals from several sources. He supervises other counsellors trying to build up hours toward clinical status. Haaken is enjoying school in Victoria, and happy to avoid the cold Saskatchewan winter! 

Erin and Kristian worked through some friend issues at school. It took some time and persistence, but eventually it turned out very well. Kristian had bowling this morning, and exactly matched his average! 

Trav & Joanna are back at work, and are keeping quite busy. Gemma and Andrew are working their classes. Andrew got early acceptance to Confederation College, so I guess we're classmates now! 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. After a frigid weekend, we had a few nice days, but now we're back in the deep freeze with temperatures in the -30° range. Our car battery was not happy with the cold last weekend, so we're wondering whether five years might be a bridge too far for car batteries even in Thunder Bay. We usually felt three years was about all we could expect of car batteries in Yellowknife. While we've been occupied with several agendas this week, we have also made some progress on the kitchen renovations. We've started our regular schedule of dental cleanings at Confederation College; that always takes longer because these students are also taking training while doing the assignment. My Spanish classes continue two nights each week; it's quite challenging, but I'm enjoying it as well. The markets have been wild and weak this week as turmoil in the US government has combined with Trump-inspired trade wars to degrade economic prospects around the world. Trump has finally caved on the Mexican wall funding, so the US government is reopening. I hope that will spell better prospects for next week. The Canadian Junior Curling championships are running this week. On the women's side, BC will play Alberta in the final tomorrow, while on the men's side it'll be BC playing Manitoba. NHL is off for its all-star break, so not much game action took place this week. Oilers limped into the break, and promptly fired their general manager. That means they've fired both coach and gm this season—not the marks of a team that's going well! Kansas was dropped to #9 in the rankings. They managed to win early in the week, but dropped today's game to arch-rival #8 Kentucky. For no known reason, this evening's game between these two high profile programs was not televised to me! I expect this loss will lead to further degrading in their ranking. 

Erica spent part of this week in Regina. Her latest medical check has freed her of her vacuum dressing, and she's glad to be free from tubes and machines! She still has dressings on both legs, but they are now like big bandages. She got to spend time with Erin and Kristian while she was in Regina, and that was good as well. She checked in to 55 Laird to pick up the door, some Mexican vanilla, and hugs all around. Eric discovered the programmable thermostat requires batteries. Fortunately, he figured this out when the house was down to about 15°, and not when it froze up! Liam is home this weekend, playing drums. He continues to look for work in Moose Jaw. Haaken continues with college in Victoria. 

Erin and Kristian hosted Auntie Erica this week. They have also carried on with their usual school and work commitments. Kristian's bowling today was not quite up to average—better luck next week, buddy! 

Trav and Joanna got back from 30° in Punta Cana, and are really not enjoying the -30° here! However, there were several jobs to get done, so they've had to get back into harness quickly. One special memory of Punta Cana was a painting they bought. Travis got it mounted on a canvas frame and hung on their living room wall. It looks fabulous! 

Looks great, guys!

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 started off beautiful and mild, but has turned nasty cold this weekend. It was -35 this morning! Progress is being made on the kitchen renovations. Wendy is working on the painting, while I continue drywall repairs and try to stay ahead of her! I brought in the next sliding door project from the garage, and after sizing up the situation, decided to fir in the doorway a bit. Then, on to the corner bead and mud—a good taper will get that! I got the new LED pots installed in the bulkhead over the kitchen sink—worked out great! I hooked up the new dishwasher and ran it through a cycle—works fine. I have begun my Spanish class; it will be very challenging, but I'm enjoying it so far. The markets have continue to rally despite the chaos in the American administration, and I've had another good week. The curling event this week is the Continental Cup in Las Vegas. It's a bit more of a fun event involving six teams from North America against six teams from the rest of the World. We're used to winning these, but this week the World has the lead going into the final day of competition. In hockey, the Penguins are flying (see what I did there?), while the Leafs are falling (did it again!), and the Oilers have stopped slipping (wow, I'm hot!). My Jayhawks are struggling to find their identity and style post-Doke, and split their games this week. I expect them to fall further in the rankings from their current #7 standing. 

Eric and Erica are hunkering down in chilly Prince Albert. Erica started back to work, on a part-time basis. All seems to be progressing nicely with her recovery. Liam has resumed practice with his hip-hop dance group, and continues to look for work in the Moose Jaw area. Haaken picked up our clothing shipment, and declared it was fine! 

Erin and Kristian are facing the cold in Regina. Kristian had bowling this morning, and the rest of the week was more of the same old routines. He enjoyed receiving the shipment of his new Lego projects, and has them assembled. 

Lego arrives; Lego is built!

Travis and Joanna tried to escape 27° in Punta Cana this morning in order to get back to the -35° we're enjoying!

Trying to escape this!

West Jet cancelled their flight, so their trip home is delayed by a day. We've been ferrying Andrew to his Safety Course this week. Gemma and Andrew were both over for pizza supper this evening. The Keto Pizza was a hit, and the homemade ice cream seemed to slide down well also! Trav & Joanna have been holidaying all week, and have enjoyed it a great deal.

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed and we have returned to the shore of Lake Superior and my hometown. We began the week in Regina enjoying spending time with Dad.

Bye, bye for now!

Bern, Alicia and Logan returned from Mexico early Tuesday morning, so after helping them settle back in, we headed east on Wednesday. We stopped overnight with Tom & Mariette in Winnipeg—thanks folks! We enjoyed catching up with them, a good sleep, and fine meals! We continued to Thunder Bay on Thursday. The roads were good all the way; we rolled into the driveway at 6pm, just as it was getting dark. We were greeted by piles of snow, and more coming down! This is clearly the most snow we've had here in some years. The next morning, I found Trav's car was in our driveway!

The latest snowfall covered Trav's car

It's taken a few days, but I've managed to clear the driveway, access the garage and cut a path to the back gate. I measured the pile of snow where it lay undisturbed on top of the hot tub—27 inches! We've caught up with business here. I picked up my text for the Spanish class which starts on Monday. I got a prescription from my clot doctor, and Wendy has refilled the larder. The craziness continues south of the border. That continues to rile the markets, but we've been rebounding pretty well, and I've had another good week. The feature in sports this week is the Canadian Open in curling. My guy, Kevin Koe has qualified once again, and thanks to my PVR, I've been able to enjoy watching that until he lost this evening. The Pens continue to win, Leafs had mixed results, and my Oilers scored an OT win, but they're only 3-7 in their last ten games, sigh! #7-Kansas won a couple of games this week, including a road win today. It was my first look at the new Jayhawks now that Doke has undergone surgery and is lost for the season. 

Eric and Erica made a road trip to Kenora and back this week. A former colleague of Erica's was being feted on her retirement, so they enjoyed celebrating with her. They also got to visit Greg and family in Kenora. Erica's medical situation continues to improve, and she was relieved of one of her vacuum pumps this week; she has received the go ahead to go back to work on Monday! Liam has returned to Moose Jaw where he is resuming RU practice and looking for work. 

We got to watch Kristian's bowling practice session Monday evening. We had picked him up after school, and gone to find him some new skates, then we took him to bowling. He has good coaching; it was good to watch the interaction and see him putting corrections in place. We stopped over at their place on Tuesday to complete some project work.

Installed chin-up bar for Kristian!

We returned home to find that Trav & Joanna had escaped! Their car was hidden beneath the snow in our driveway, while they were enjoying the salubrious climes of Punta Cana!

Not seeing any snow in Punta Cana! 

Captain of the Punta Cana Fan Club!

Gemma and Andrew were over here for supper tonight; it was good to catch up with them. They did not bring Minnie or Beaker—also good!

And that's about it for this week! 

Happy New Year

We begin 2019 on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. We had extremes of weather this week as we saw -29 early in the week, and +5 later. It has remained mild into this weekend. We remain at Dad's and are thankful for the continuing hospitality. We spent quite a bit of time this week on a difficult 1000 piece puzzle. We thought it would be easy to build the individual ginger bread cookies—we were wrong! 

Took most of the week! 

The markets opened the year with extremes as well—500 points up or down usually represent several months; this week it happened daily! And still Trump continues to say and do insane things. It is of some comfort that investors seem to be paying less and less attention, and finally, on Friday, strong economic data gave us a big win. I completed 2018 less than $100 in the green for the year—that won't cut it! I am relieved to have made quota this week to start the new year off right. There has been plenty of sports over the holiday period, and I can only keep up with some of it. The World Junior hockey has not gone well for us, and we didn't even get a medal. Finland beat the US for the gold, while Russia won the bronze over the Swiss. The Pens are on an eight-game winning streak in the NHL, Leafs continue to sit in good position in the standings despite not playing so well lately. The Oilers continue to struggle, sigh! There were lots of football games in both college and the NFL, but I don't pay much attention to that. The Jayhawks had another tough game on-the-road today, and couldn't even keep it close without Doke, their big man, who is out with an injury. They'll be dropped further in the rankings. 

Liam finished hanging the drywall this week and has started doing the mudding (a good taper will get that!). He is hoping to finish that this weekend before returning to Moose Jaw next week to look for work and to practise with RU at Caronport. Eric returned to work on Wednesday. Erica continues to heal, and is looking to get back to work in another week or so. 

Another new outfit!

We were disappointed not to have Kristian with us this week. He is suffering with a cold, so we thought it best he remain at home, and I travelled over there to stay with him. We managed to get two cabinets built and installed in the downstairs bathroom, and Sadie got out for her regular walks. Kristian is feeling better now and got out for skating and sledding with Grandma on Friday, and for his league bowling this morning. Erin was also ill with flu-like symptoms and missed work on Monday. 

Kristian needs new skates!

Sledding!

Travis and Joanna have 'enjoyed' fighting the snow and the snow-plowers in Thunder Bay. The city plows placed a ridge of snow on our driveway, completely blocking them from getting in, so they hired someone to clear that away. I see there's another winter storm warning there this weekend, so perhaps we're still a bit too early to head home! They have also been busy trying to get all loose ends tied up before they head out on their winter vacay to Punta Cana! We'll look forward to seeing them when they get back from there. 

And that's enough for this week!