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! 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. The weather has been pleasant here in Regina, although we hear of a big winter storm back in Thunder Bay. It's been a special week of family celebrations around the Christmas observance.

And Liam took the picture!

That was very special, and a lot of fun. Erin and Kristian are here already, while Eric, Erica and Liam came down from Prince Albert for the occasion. Dad and Erin hosted us all graciously. I got to reprise a few of my keto recipes, and even developed a new one for brown sauce for the Christmas pudding. We had a regulation Christmas feast featuring roast turkey and all the trimmings. Tonight, we finished off the last of the leftovers—too bad, I love turkey leftovers! Otherwise, it's been a quiet family week with three jigsaw puzzles completed.

1000 pieces mostly in place!

The markets had another big sell-off on Christmas Eve, but we've had a bit of recovery since then, and I'm nearly back to flat on the year despite the TSX being down 12.3%. The world junior hockey championships have begun which has taken a bit of our attention. Canada has won their first three games. The Pens and Leafs continue to play well in the NHL, although the Leafs played a stinker tonight. My Oilers have fallen out of playoff standing. C'mon Oil! The Jayhawks were dropped to #5 after their loss last week, but have followed up with an easy win today.

This week the Eric, Erica and Liam had a quick, but wonderful, trip down to Regina. They had to fit it between Erica's dressing changes so they could only be here a few days. They tried to make the most of them. It was good to spend time with them, and see that Erica is recovering well. On Thursday, they marked 25 years of marriage, and drove back to PA. They had hoped to have a Hootenanny to celebrate and maybe even a trip. But with Erica’s medical treatments, this has been put on hold for now. They did enjoy starting in on Netflix’s Occupied series. They’ve been invited to a NYE Murder Mystery Party so they are out looking for costumes today. Haaken reports that he had a good Christmas in Victoria; he is enjoying having a brown Christmas. 

Erin had some holidays this week, but was back to work part of the week also. Kristian spent most of the week over here. Today, Erin is not feeling well; we hope she's feeling better soon.

Another puzzle completed!

Travis and Joanna are leading the resistance back in TBay. This week, they had a snowstorm of biblical proportions, so it was a good thing that Travis was able to repair the snowblower. 

Rewind Repair—Successful!

And that's about enough for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed, and we have migrated from the shore of Lake Superior to the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the prairies. We cleared away a few items on the kitchen renovation list, and then cleaned up to leave the place for the next few weeks.

Lower Cupboards

The weather has continued mild, with day time highs still running above zero back home, and close to zero here in Regina. We drove up to Winnipeg on Wednesday where we enjoyed a visit with Tom & Mariette and stayed overnight with Dean & Kelly—thanks folks! Then, we completed the drive on Thursday, and are now comfortably ensconced with Dad at 55 Laird. Bern, Alicia and Logan headed out Friday morning for a couple of weeks in Mexico. The markets have remained terrible. A prudent president doesn't dump the FED chief for no reason; a prudent president doesn't run up the deficit in good economic times; a prudent president doesn't start a trade war; a prudent president doesn't shut down the government. Trump did all four. The entire world is suffering for his foolishness. We didn't even get a Santa Claus rally this year. All North American stock indices are in the red for the year, and as of Thursday, I am, too. This will produce lower pension funds for us next year, so we'll be rearranging our lives in line with that. We are trying to keep up on the Toronto Maple Leafs while here with Dad, but join his chagrin as we take note of the frequent blackouts! Do they think we might decide to attend if they blackout the game! Anyway, the Leafs, Oilers and Pens are doing just fine, and entertaining us a lot. Over the Christmas break, we'll also be watching the World Junior Hockey Championship which is being played BC this year. Go Canada, Go! KU had an easy game early in the week, but finished on the road in Arizona against a ranked team, and their win streak ended! Rock Chalk all the same!

Liam found some work this week—in the back bedroom. They’ve slowly been renovating the house and the back bedroom has been in a state of partial insulation and drywall since the undocumented workers left! Liam finished up the insulation and a friend from church came over to help with the drywall. The inside wall remains, so he’ll have some work after Christmas. Liam had a specialist appointment on Friday. The iron transfusion has provided positive results. His iron and hemoglobin are both much improved. He has some more things to work on, but he is getting better and that is a relief. Haaken and Erica did battle with the CRA to change his address in their system. In order to change your address you can use their online system or you can phone in. To use the online system you need an account, for which you need a password that they will mail to you to your address on file or you can phone in to set up an email account. So, they needed to call, and Erica describes that fun! "When we called we were told that not only are all the agents busy, but queue was full, too, but we were welcome to use their online system—for which we needed an account, which is why we were calling, sigh! After 17 redials we got into the queue. Finally, we spoke with a person who needed to confirm Haaken’s identity with questions like: When was the last time you filed your tax return? What was the income you reported? Since I do that for him I tried to help, but that wasn’t allowed. Once we managed to get through that process, he was able to change his address and get a pass-code to setup his online account. Phew!" We're looking forward to spending some time with them over Christmas; the plan is for them to come down to Regina for a few days. They can only be away for short intervals between Erica's medical care appointments.

Erin, Kristian and Sadie greeted us on our arrival in Regina on Thursday evening. It was good to see them again. I stopped in on Friday to take Sadie for our traditional walk; she seemed to enjoy that also! Today, we got to watch Kristian bowl one game, then they cancelled the other two to hold a league Christmas party. He did bowl a good game, about 20 points above his average. We look forward to spending some good time with them over the next couple weeks while we're in town.

Travis, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew began the week with water issues. Water was dripping out of the bathroom fan downstairs! It took a bit of sleuthing, but we found the culprit—the flexible hot water connection hose in the upstairs bathroom had begun to leak! That was the same problem we had at our house last year! Anyway, we got it repaired and the floor/ceiling dried out, so we hope it works for them for another fifty years! They headed out to a few days in Minneapolis, so we got to take care of the house and pets while they were gone. They returned from Minneapolis on Thursday to take over home care duties. Thanks guys!

And that's about it for this week, Merry Christmas!

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been beautiful with day time highs rising above freezing under sunny skies. We've continued with a bit more renovation work before we head west next week. The base cupboards are all in place now, except for the island that I have yet to build. I completed the electrical in the kitchen this week, along with all the plumbing I can do while waiting for the countertops to arrive. Wendy bought the new kitchen sink, so that's ready to go. It's looking like it will turn out nicely. The markets were terrible once again this week as court cases agitated the already tense trade wars. The curling in Estevan ended with Brad Jacobs capturing the Canada Cup. This week they're playing in Newfoundland; Koe made the playoffs again, but lost the semi-final to an up and coming Scottish team, Bruce Mouat. He'll be playing another Scottish team in the final—Ross Paterson. Rachel Homan will face Kerri Einarson in the women's final. Improved play has moved both the Oilers and the Pens into playoff positions. The Leafs have slumped a bit recently, but they still hold down a playoff position. The Jayhawks have moved up to the #1 ranking in Basketball, and they won their games this week, but both games were plenty tense!

The Baileys scored a new Christmas tree, so they're ready to celebrate the season. 

Bailey's new tree with lights!

Erin and Kristian have the place looking very Christmasy.

Front Door

Kristian did an amazing project this week for school. He built a candy dispenser out of Lego, and he did a write-up and presentation to explain it.

Lego Vending Machine

League bowling did not go so well today, and he scored a good first game, but then suffered some drop off in games two and three. We're looking forward to watching him bowl next Saturday.

Trav and Joanna have continued the frantic pace getting as many things completed as possible before they take a break next week. They did almost 100 hockey teams with Puck Shots already this Fall, and the Bucket Decals printer has also been going steadily. This evening, they took us out to the Symphony Christmas show—that was great, thanks guys. Then, the whole crew came over to our place for our Christmas sharing since we'll be headed west before they get back from their break next week. 

And that's enough for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We've settled back into life here. I feel that I've overcome my sniffles, but Wendy is continuing to struggle with a cold, and with her sore leg. She was back to the chiropractor this week, and is working on the assigned exercises from Dr. Barb. We've started back into the kitchen renos, and also continued with finishing touches downstairs. Wendy has redecorated the family room with her African collection—looks great!

Family Room

Family Room

I tore out the last of the old cupboards (the sink unit) and am working on plumbing and electrical for the new set up. The dishwasher is moving to a new location, and, of course, all the sink plumbing has to be redone. Wendy has me adding a number of plug-ins, and new lighting over the sink area. This involves fishing lines through finished walls and the ceiling—never a fun task!

Wiring and Plumbing work

We worked out two new recipes this week: Keto Ice Cream—Yummy!

Homemade Ice Cream!

Keto Bread—yummy, also!

New Bread Recipe

The markets have been bad, no good and terrible as The Tariff Man couldn't resist tweeting nonsense about the China trade wars. This was exacerbated by weak economic data from the US, and all indices produced big losses as they dropped to red on the year-to-date. It was a bad start to the month for me as well. Another Grand Slam event in curling with the Canadian Open out of Estevan. My guy, Kevin Koe, made the playoffs again. Today, he beat Brad Gushue by stealing the final three ends to advance to the final against Brad Jacobs—what a game! In hockey, the Leafs remain near the top of the standings and, finally, got Nylander back in the lineup. The Oilers and Pens have shown some improvement and are closer to playoff positions now. The Jayhawks won their games this week to remain undefeated, but did not play convincingly. Rock Chalk, Boys! 

Liam has completed his construction work for now and his RU practices are finished this week, so he'll heading home this weekend. It'll be nice to have him home for a bit! Haaken also starts his Christmas break this weekend, but he is staying in Victoria to avoid the cold and snow. Erica continues to heal and regain energy. Some days she has naps, but overall she is feeling better and the wounds are closing up little by little. She has blood-work and a follow-up appointment scheduled next week to check on her progress. Eric is finding life less hectic now that Erica is home. 

Kristian had a better day in league bowling this morning as he beat his average by 10 points per game. Well done, buddy! They have continued with Christmas decorations, adding to the tree and setting up other cozy areas. 

The Snow Family!

Travis and Joanna continue to be very busy trying to meet Christmas deadlines. They brought in extra help this weekend to try to get some bulk production out of the way.

Buncha Pics ready to go!

And that's about enough for this week!

News Update

Another week has passed, and we have returned to the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We had a brief visit with the Calders who we first met in Zambia.

Good to see the Calders again!

We started the week in Lawrence KS, arriving there just before a snowstorm that closed the interstate and made us fear for travel through Iowa! Helen and Marti had arranged a sing song for Tuesday evening; we enjoyed that a great deal. I made a Keto bumble berry crumble for the occasion—turned out very tasty! I also prepared another keto entree while we were there, my second try at Egg Roll in a Bowl. It was a hit as well. I've really enjoyed that our hosts have allowed us to prepare keto-friendly meals while we've been visiting. It's made it easier for us; we hope they've enjoyed it as well. On Wednesday, we headed north. To be sure there were a few cars and one semi in the ditches of Iowa, but the trip went well. There was heavy snow in southern Iowa, but it petered out by the time we got to Des Moines. We got some light snow falling on us as we drove up Minnesota. On Thursday, we continued northward, running into more snowfall in Duluth. The highway got quite heavy by the time we reached the border, but the plows had been out on the Ontario side, and we arrived home comfortably by 5:30. Snow continued overnight, and I got to shovel the driveway on Friday morning, however, it warmed up and the driveway melted clear as the day went on. I enjoyed my best week in the markets in a long time with all days showing gains, and I almost made quota for the month. We have a few weeks at home, so we're planning the next phase of renovations in the kitchen. Wendy bought another door to establish as a sliding door between the kitchen and the back entry.

Wendy's new barn door!

Calgary won the Grey Cup last Sunday—didn't need that! We're getting reacquainted with our hockey teams. Pens and Oilers both continue to languish around .500, which has resulted in a coaching change in Edmonton and plenty of unrest in Pittsburgh as well. The Leafs continue to flourish, and are near the top of the league standings after another win tonight.

The big news from the Baileys is that Erica has escaped from the hospital! The temperature spikes have ended, and her kidney function has returned to normal. We are very thankful! She is still on vacuum therapy, so she has a baby-Vacula to carry around.

The baby Vacula

Eric is also glad to have her home! Liam's dance troupe is learning a new production. He continues to learn on-the-job construction skills. Haaken is working on getting his forms submitted for student loans and RESPs. He has a few weeks left in this term of college. 

Erin had a successful Christmas celebration at work, and is now working on the decorations at home. She has her tree up, and they've started to decorate it. Kristian delights in helping with this.

Decorations begin!

His bowling was a bit substandard this morning—more practice is needed! 

Trav and Joanna are very busy trying to get jobs completed and delivered to meet Christmas deadlines. They were glad that the snow waited for our return! Gemma and Andrew continue with school and work. At least they got their Christmas house decorations done early!

Complete—in a minimalist way!

And that's about it for this week!

News Update

Another week has passed and we've completed a big circuit. This evening we returned to Lawrence KS—Rock Chalk, Jayhawk country! Aunt Helen had failed to lock the door, so we just moved ourselves right in! It's been a great and full week in Dallas, actually, in Rowlett. Viggo and Nancy have hosted us most graciously—thank you!

Viggo & Nancy

Viggo and I got out golfing three more times—very enjoyable times for sure! Wendy got in her quota of shopping and also scored a massage session. On Thursday, we celebrated with extended family around the Thanksgiving table, and in front of the Thanksgiving football games! Tuesday was a special Praise and Pie evening at CARE (Church at Richardson East), and we indulged in that as well. The markets remained dismal, and with the US holidays were pretty thinly traded as well. I'm just holding my dividend-payers, and waiting for the markets to turn around, but that didn't happen this week. I haven't followed much hockey this week, but did listen to the Pens and Leafs win their games tonight as we drove up from Dallas. The CFL season completes tomorrow with the Grey Cup game—I can only hope the heavily-favoured Stamps will blow it again! My Jayhawks won the NIT-TipOff tournament this week and remain undefeated so far. Rock Chalk!

Erica has had a mostly up week, and even managed to score a pass this evening to get out of the hospital for an event. We hope the improvements will lead to a new analysis on Monday, and that her transition home will be sooner! 

Looking and feeling better!

Liam was home part of the week as he had some medical work that needed attention as well. He has now returned to his work in Moose Jaw. 

Erin has been very busy preparing for her staff Christmas party. This involved her buying gifts for about 80 staff children, and arranging for the actual party. Kristian helped out. He had his bowl-off for league bowling for last week on Monday evening, then he had his regular league bowling today. He also had youth group on Monday evening, so he's being well-occupied as well. 

Kristian, Erin & Sadie

We keep our cell phones off, and thus, we don't have ready communications while we're out of Canada, so we've had less tracking of Trav, Joanna and crew this week. They report that they've avoided shoveling so far because it has rained a lot! Meanwhile, Gemma is excelling in Calculus (93%), and Andrew is excelling in driver training (don't confuse that with accelerating!). Trav & Joanna have photographed 83 teams since September! Good work if you can get it!

Anyway, that's about enough for this week.

News Update

Another week has passed, and we have moved on to the shore of Lake Ray Hubbard in Rowlett TX. It's been a full and very enjoyable week. Aunt Helen and Marti arrived home Sunday afternoon, and we were pleased to greet them. On Monday, Marti treated us to a Jayhawk game at the Phogg—an experience not to be missed. The Jayhawks came through with another win for us!

with Marti, Helen

with Chikwela, Lweendo

On Wednesday, we drove down to Stillwater OK by way of Fayetteville AR. In Fayetteville we visited Chikwela and Lweendo, and another long time Zambian contact Marton. I had been privileged to marry Marton and Minigrade while we lived in Zambia, and now they have five children.

with Marton

Marton Skyped back to Zambia, so we got to talk to Minigrade as well. Lweendo cooked us a beautiful pork chop supper, and then we drove over to Stillwater where we visited with Jack and Joanne Bayles.

Joanne & Jack

Jack's Model A

We had a great time of reminiscing with them for the next two days. Jack took us for rides in his Model A, and his Cadillac Coupe. Fun times! We celebrated their 57th anniversary on Friday, and then drove down to Rowlett where we've moved in with Viggo and Nancy. We're being treated famously wherever we visit—thanks a lot, folks! Viggo and I got out golfing today—that was a great day! We should have been in California by now, getting ready to visit Mexico with True North Helping Hands, but news that the schools were on strike down there convinced us to look for a better opportunity in June 2019. Meanwhile, the markets have returned to troubled times, mostly over the US/China trade war. I managed to remain green, but remain short of quota for the month. Next week is bound to be very slow moving in the markets with the US Thanksgiving holiday. The Rider season ended with the loss in the division semi-final to Winnipeg. It was a good season despite it ended prematurely. The Maple Leafs have ascended to the top of the NHL standings, but the Oilers and Pens are not performing so well. 

Erica continues her sojourn in the hospital in Prince Albert. The doctor seems satisfied with the progress of healing, but continues to be flummoxed over the temperature spikes she's experiencing. Eric ran her down to Saskatoon on Wednesday for an Echocardiogram, and she mostly enjoyed that outing. Liam is home this weekend. 

Erin and Kristian had a good week, but Kristian got a bit run down, so he elected to do the bowl-off later instead of league bowling today. He had a church Youth Retreat last weekend; he enjoyed the experience. There were three boys, and a bunch of girls, hmm! Friday was Parent-Teacher Interviews which provided no surprises, and usually, that's a good thing!

Trav, Joanna and crew are holding down the fort in Thunder Bay. We hope they're not getting too much snow. Joanna is headed down to Toronto to spend time with her dad. The businesses continue to be busy, so that's good!

And that's about enough for this week!

News Update

Another week has passed, and we are on the move again. We cleaned up a few items on the to do list at home, and then headed south for the winter! I made some progress on cupboard development in the kitchen, and Wendy got back on the horse and did some painting. She experienced some discomfort and some trepidation getting back on the ladder after her fall last week. She's still experiencing a fair amount of paint from the fall, and is not getting around very easily.

Santa Wreck!

We got back our car on Wednesday evening, then, on Friday morning, we drove down to Minneapolis. It started snowing as soon as we decided to leave, and the roads were heavy by the time we reached the border, but the plows were soon out, and we had a good drive. We were startled by a deer that crossed in front of us in the first hour into Minnesota. I got the battery replaced in my iPhone at the Apple store in Minneapolis—it's good as new once again! Today, we drove down to Lawrence KS to visit our friends there for a couple of days. True to expectations the US voters came through for us and elected a Democratic congress, so investors took a bit of encouragement and began buying. However, the FED also started talking, and that took the wind out of our sails a little. Still, I did manage a green week, although not up to quota. If the Dems install Nancy Pelosi as Congressional leader again, I will not be holding much hope for the situation. To me, she's more about making side deals, and less about keeping the government accountable. They don't actually take office until January, so, we'll see how it goes. The Slam curling event this week is in Thunder Bay. Kevin Koe has again qualified for the medal round, and I have the PVR set to record the games so I can watch them later. Canucks continue to out-perform in hockey, while the Pens are not meeting expectations. Oilers and Leafs are also playing at mediocre levels as compared to my expectations. 

Erica has had another long week. Overall we're noting progress, but she had a particularly down day on Friday as another infection reared its ugly head. She seems a bit better today, and overall is gradually improving, and looking to assemble a series of next steps that will eventually lead to her being able to check out of hospital. 

Erin and Kristian are having a busy week. Kristian had to do his bowling early since he is off with the youth group from church to a retreat this weekend at Echo Lake Bible Camp. He gets back sometime tomorrow. Liam has come over from Moose Jaw to spend a quiet weekend at Aunt Erin's. 

On Thursday, we went out for a celebratory supper with Travis, Joanna and Gemma for Trav's birthday, since we wouldn't be back in time for the actual date. Now, they get to take care of the place, including the inevitable snow while we're away. I did get the snowblower tuned up, and the tires repaired, so we hope that proves a helpful assistant! Anyway, it's certainly helpful to have them regularly at the house. Last time we were away, they noted and intercepted a plumbing leak, so that saved us quite a mess! 

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 remained seasonal, with a few drizzly days and daytime highs around 10 degrees. That makes for pretty comfortable activity, and we did get a bit done both inside and out. Wednesday was Halloween, and we had about 30 kids come by for treats. As planned, we've shut down our hot tub for the season. I got that drained on Thursday. We got the car into the body shop on Thursday; that has delayed our planned trip south until the end of next week. In the meantime, we have a KIA Sportage as our rental. Things are pretty much ready to roll downstairs in the kitchenette, so we're ready to move operations down there and work on the main kitchen. We plan to begin that when we get home from our November trip. Wendy suffered a mishap while painting this week; she missed her step and fell from the stepladder, so she's been laid up the last few days. She's getting around better today—yay!

Cupboard I salvaged, still need to add a drawer.

The markets have been terrible in October—the worst October in a decade, but November has begun with fresh hope as we have news that Wall Street is betting on a Democratic win in the midterm elections. That might return some accountability and a bit of sanity to the US Administration. We can hope! At any rate, I had a good week, and I have made plans to put more money to work, after the election, if all goes well. Sports continues to entertain. Koe lost the final in the Grand Slam event, but still made a fine showing. My hockey teams are doing okay, although the Leafs have been having a tough time scoring lately. They did beat the Pens tonight, while the Oilers defeated Detroit. Another team I follow, the Canucks, are exceeding expectations in the early part of the season. Basketball has begun again, and I enjoyed watching the Jayhawks win their final preseason tuneup. Rock Chalk, Jayhawks! The Riders have the week off while the other teams play to establish the final playoff rankings and see who will face them next.

It's been a tough week for the Baileys as Erica remains in hospital recovering from the complications and infection associated with her recent surgery. She was very ill, but seems on the mend, finally. We expect she may remain in hospital for many days, yet.

Erin and Kristian are off to Moose Jaw this weekend as Kristian has a bowling tournament there. We wish them a good trip, and a fun time! His league bowling today was quite inconsistent, although his high game (163) was very good. 

Travis and Joanna keep busy with PuckShots and BucketDecals. The new counter downstairs is finding good use as they lay out posters they've developed and printed.

New work counter is working!

And that's about it for this week.