Showers!

He is Risen! He is risen, indeed!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have moved into April, and as noted in the canon, “April showers bring May flowers!” That forms the backdrop of my contention that all precipitation falling in April through October is rain, so it is not a surprise that we’re have a white, fluffy rain shower today. The milder weather finds me puttering about a bit in the shop. I have a few projects on the go, with the most pressing one being a set of levelling blocks for the camper—shouldn’t take long once I choose a design. Wendy has her unusual level of business (makes me tired just to watch!), along with the two choirs. This week she prepared batches of peanut butter-chocolate-marshmallow fudge, and some butter tarts—mmm, frozen butter tarts! Otherwise, we did make a side trip on Thursday to LifeLabs as we both had some bloodwork due. We are deeply distressed by the melon felon’s war in the Middle East. It seems no atrocity is too dastardly for him and his henchmen. Of course the markets remain distressed as a result. Through the end of March: TSX: +4.4%; DOW: -2.9%; S&P: -4.7%; Nasdaq: -7.6% As a result, my ETF plays on the USA indices are losing money, and only my TSX plays are keeping my head above water. In the world of sports, Basketball is completing the championship run with Michigan taking on UConn in the final. NHL is completing the regular season with more teams clinching or being eliminated regularly. My Oilers have ascended to top spot in their division, but it’s a tight race. The Penguins are also holding down a playoff spot. The Leafs have been eliminated from the playoffs. The Blue Jays started the season well, with a strong pitching staff, but have stumbled since with underwhelming hitting, sloppy defence and injuries. C’mon Jays! 

Erica writes, “We are out in Victoria this week, visiting family. We also had an appointment with BC Community Living to get some support for Haaken. Eric has an interview for a half time job in Stony Rapids with AHA. Hopefully he is successful and then he also works the same weeks I am up there! Eric has been watching curling with Sheena. They are cheering on team Canada, and I hear they are doing well. Liam and Mercedes are doing well. Mercedes got a job with Brown’s Social House in Moose Jaw. Nothing to add from Greg and Kiersten.”

Erin and Kristian enjoyed an extra dose of winter in Regina. They are very ready for better weather. Kristian is looking forward to getting new tires for his car. Erin has the service folks at work on the assignment. Erin has had a busy week at work, but she’s enjoying a quiet long weekend. 

Joanna has returned from southern Ontario, but has brought her concerns for her mother’s health with her. It seems they will need to consider changes to her level of care. Trav made a quick tour to Winnipeg for the AEWrestling event there. We have plans to get together for a celebratory turkey dinner over the weekend, sounds like it will be on Monday. We’re always glad of those events. 

And that’s about enough for this week. 

Spring

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

Individual Cornbreads

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

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

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

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

And that’s enough for this week. 

Spring Surprise!

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

Surprise!

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

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

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

Ellie's on TV

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

And that’s enough for this week. 

Raging!

Build your own flowers!

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

Wendy's new prize!

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

C-C-Cold up there! 

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

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

Kristian Lunch Celebration

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

Wendy's Flowers from Family

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

And that’s about enough! 

Grace!

Grace Elaine Sorensen  1936-2026

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

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

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

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

And that’s enough for this week! 

War!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been mild, but we’ve had another dump of snow, so we were back out playing with the snowblower again. But that’s relatively small potatoes when we see next door and across the world that USA is waging war, on its own people and on the Iranian people. Those battles are heart-wrenching. Wendy keeps busy with her choir and our choir. We’re feeling behind in our preparations for the Spring Concert in early May. PuckShots accepted another hockey team today, so I dug out their chairs from the shed. We hope the snow will begin disappearing soon. Year end economic data shows weak economic growth in the USA as they only grew 1.4%, experienced an even greater trade deficit, and actually lost manufacturing jobs. The magical tariffs were supposed to create the hottest country in the world, maybe in the history of the world! The reality was dismal—lame! In conjunction with this, the markets are suffering, and it keeps me on edge deciding what to do next! Team Canada dropped the gold medal game, and the NHL has returned from the Olympic break, so, I’m back to watching my three teams. Pens and Oilers are nicely in the playoff position, while Leafs are pretty much out of hope! #14-KU was dropped in the rankings, but came up with a strong win early in the week before losing to #2-Arizona today. Soon, we will get the actual seedings for March Madness. Rock Chalk! Spring baseball has begun, and everyone has dreams of the World Series at this time of year. Jays are looking promising, and we certainly expect them to be back in the playoffs. The Brier opened this weekend, and my longtime favourite, Kevin Koe is there representing Alberta. Maybe he’ll be up for one last hurrah! 

Erica writes, “Eric was very sick this week. He did some testing and found he has RSV, and, given his issues with asthma, the doctor advised he take the week off! And, being better [better than whom?!] at following medical direction, he did that. I had my first work-from-home week. It was good with lots of learning and figuring out how this job works. This weekend, I joined my sister at Ladies Retreat in Moose Jaw. I was asked to share on a panel about finding hope in the mud. I shared my experience of getting infection in my legs and being very sick and what I learned from that experience: God uses the mud to help you see things more clearly in yourself and about Him; when we get angry it’s okay because being angry allows God to burn out impurities in our lives; when people are in the mud, we don’t have to fix it, sometimes we just need to sit in the mud with them as they find their way out. We don’t have to fix things, we just need to show up. Liam and Mercedes are now thinking they will be staying in Saskatchewan for another year. They have decided to not ‘Calgary' at this time.”

As noted, Erin has joined Erica in Moose Jaw this weekend. The week of work was busy, but went well. Now, Kristian is managing the household and cats for the weekend! 

Travis and Joanna had their usual work weeks, but then added to it with a PuckShots photo session today. They got some encouraging news on a couple of troublesome appliances at home, so if they can run down another spare part, they could be back in freezing and drying once again.

Dog-Cross

They have developed a trail system in their backyard for the dogs. The Poms, in particular, love racing around, the Boys—not so much! 

And that’s about enough for this week. 

Snow Job!

Another snowy week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We have experienced prolonged and heavy snowfall that finally ended Friday night. We have cleaned out the driveway three times, easily our busiest week of the winter!

Kali loves to play in the snow!

Wendy had her usual choir events, but the snowstorm led to a cancellation of our Thursday morning choir practice. Anyway, the Olympics were on, and they needed my attention and advice!! On the economic front, we had big news as the USA Supreme Court declared the Melon Felon’s Tariff regime unconstitutional. Of course, the Tariffs have been devastating the USA economy and causing a lot of damage to the world-wide economic system, so the rational decision coming out of this would be to change course, blaming the Supremes for preventing you from achieving your plans forward. However, rational is not an adjective to describe this administration! He immediately declared a world-wide tariff of 10%, and then, today, vowed an increase to 15%! You can’t make this up folks. In the world of sports, the preseason MLB schedule has begun, so our interest returns to the Blue Jays who fell one game short of the World Series championship—maybe this year! In Basketball, #8-Jayhawks moved up again, but did not distinguish themselves this week. They won on the road against Oklahoma State, but then lost today to Cincinnati at home! Unacceptable! Rock Chalk Jayhawks! In the Olympics I have been focusing on Hockey and Curling where we expect our athletes to excel. The Women lost the final in hockey to the USA, so they only achieved silver. The men play the USA in the gold medal game tomorrow—Go Canada, Go! In Curling #1-Homan fell short of expectations, but did win the bronze medal. #5-Jacobs won the men’s gold medal—hurray!

Erica writes, "I spent the first half of the week in Victoria, visiting with Haaken and the Victoria Baileys. We had a few outings planned including: visiting a Fort and lighthouse, driving up to Port Renfrew, visiting the Royal BC Museum, seeing an IMAX show about Sharks, going up island to our old haunts, and having a spa treatment. It was a good reconnection and a change for Tina and me to have some fun, too. On Thursday, we relocated to Vancouver and visited with her kids: Anthony and Amie. We went to Granville Island, the Science Center, and the Planetarium to see Darkside of the Moon. We planned to go to the Chinese New Year festivities today, but my legs have been aching, so I’m taking a day off of fun to rest. We head back to PA tomorrow. Eric took Ramadan and Elizabeta to a Psychologist for some assessments for Ramadan. We are hoping he will get a diagnosis, so we can get him some additional support.” 

Eric writes, “We got snowed in. It started Tuesday afternoon; I barely got into my garage. On Wednesday morning, I nearly got stuck a few times. When I returned home Wednesday I navigated the back alley using the full extent of my Saskatchewan driving skills and some special features on the car to avoid getting stuck. I shovelled my walking path. On Thursday morning, I shovelled the back alley to get out, but then called in sick. I’m still coughing today. The car is replacing the back alley snow drift and it is starting to feel less like I’m going to get stuck. Our neighbours usually put their garbage collection bin on the street beside the house. I looked at that today and I’m not sure the garbage truck could get it through the snow if they placed where they normally do. It appears we got a lot of snow the past few days.” [Sounds like the storm that hit us starting on Wednesday!]

Erin and Kristian suffered a frigid week in Regina, but the weather has broken finally. Erin has been busy at work catching up on all the smaller tasks that got put off while she was completing her yearend reports, and her January month end report.

KLU-Detailer

Kristian has carried on with his work and his medical appointments related to the drug trial he participates in. He got his uniform, and sent us a photo with it. I would certainly let him detail my vehicle! 

Travis and Joanna are also snowed in! The Poms enjoy getting out into the snow, while the Havanese have proved to be wimpy and refuse to got out!

The Pomeranians love it!

We enjoyed having them over on one evening to play some cards and eat some dessert—worked great!

And that’s enough for this week!