Don't relax too soon!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We remain isolated and take precautions when we go out for groceries. Wendy has continued to work on Shawn's quilt, pole, pole! Around the world, many jurisdictions are taking a gamble on relaxing the isolation rules—I have not heard of anywhere where it is working out well. This week's chart shows the infection/death data from around the world. Some countries did a great job of suppressing and flattening the curve, but are nonetheless facing flareups when they try to open up. USA did a terrible job of managing the infections, and are now producing almost 1/3 of infections and deaths world-wide, but still pressing to re-open! We're pressing to keep our border closed! We started the week by helping deliver Mothers Day floral arrangements. That was fun, actually. We got out of the house, puzzled out routes to make each batch of deliveries, and in combination with our vehicle navigation system, and our phones, using Maps and Google Maps, we were successful in getting 55 deliveries made!

Making Deliveries!

The weather has been nice, even with a couple of days of showers. We've been able to get out walking and riding our bikes on a regular basis. The golf courses have now been given permission to open under new rules for social distancing. They've installed special clips on the flagpoles so you can retrieve your ball from the hole without touching the flagpole. They only allow 1 person per cart, if you're using a power cart, and the carts get cleansed between users. They've also spaced out the tee times to twice the normal time to reduce traffic. You can't use cash, and you don't go into the pro shop; they come out to assist you in making the payment. The sad part for me is they are keeping the driving range and practice area closed, and those are my favourite haunts this time of the season. We celebrated Friday with our first trip of the season to Merla Mae's Ice Cream!

Keto Treat (minus the Keto!)

The markets were mixed, but mostly bad, with green on Monday and Friday, and seriously red in between! So, that didn't work out positively for me. The sports leagues keep working on options for how they might get playing again. The NHL is considering moving directly into playoffs, but many concerns remain to be addressed. Baseball has not managed to start their season. Golf is starting with some celebrity events, and looking to return to regular events in June, but without spectators.

The Bailey's continue to work from home in Prince Albert. I've done a bit more planning and consideration of the deck construction. Now, we just need the country to establish safety over the coronavirus. Otherwise, they continue to shelter in place, and watch a lot of Netflix and Amazon Prime. They've completed the Jack Ryan series and are amusing themselves with old movies! Exciting times! 

Erin and Kristian carry on in Regina. Kristian called me one day, and we FaceTimed our way through some mathematics. Erin is starting to consider further garden developments. I am hoping to build her another planter for her wall, but we're still holding here, with no anticipated date for a trip west. 

Travis had a busy weekend delivering Mothers Day flowers. He worked longer hours than we did, and managed about three times as many clients. Joanna remains in southern Ontario, but is beginning to see the end of this session. We're hoping she makes it back sometime next week. There have been a couple of cases of CV-19 at one of the Walmarts here, but not at the one where Andrew works. Gemma continues her classwork downstairs at our place. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

Don't Quit Now!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been nice, but it has cooled off for the weekend. I was expecting to mow the lawns this weekend, but the cool weather has discouraged that idea! Travis arranged a job for us this weekend, delivering Mothers' Day flowers for a local florist.

Smiling Delivery Boy!

Wendy and I worked together and that was fun! I made the doorway deliveries; I had to mask up for that, and cleanse with antibiotic cleanser after each delivery. It felt good to bring smiles to many faces. Otherwise, we've had a quiet week. Wendy keeps working on the quilt repair—many hours per day. I've had a good week on the markets, invested a bit more, and made my weekly quota. It's encouraging even though the gains make no sense in light of our economic situation with ballooning unemployment. The situation with CV-19 is not good. Many countries have made good progress, but a lot of countries continue to fail in their responses. This week's chart illustrates how many countries are doing—Canada is not doing well! Still, we're seeing a lot of pressure here to relax isolation and quarantine practices. I foresee dire results if these moves take hold when we still have so much active infection around. Recall the early days  of the pandemic when only a handful of active cases were in play; now, we have tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of infectious people, and we're thinking we can relax?! Yikes! There are some initiatives towards opening up play in several sports leagues including NHL, NBA and MLB. The CFL is considering cancelling the season completely. Golf plans to return to action in June. 

It’s been another quiet week in quarantine for the Baileys. They got to take a trip to Melfort today to pick up a special gift. They've been blessed with the situation where both Eric and Erica can work from home fairly effectively. Liam is with them in Prince Albert; he has made some progress on the back room. Haaken remains in Victoria with his relatives there. He is working on an animation project and we hope he can see some success with it. 

Kristian continues to make progress in his school work from home. He had a math test this week, and did well on it. Lucy has been developing some bad habits. She hops up onto the island and pushes things onto the floor. She tries chewing on toys.

Bad Kitty!

Sadie just relaxes and tries to show a good example! 

Who's a Good Dog?

Trav and Joanna continue to shelter at home while doing what they can to maintain some cash flow. Joanna gets some shifts at the restaurant, preparing takeaway meals. This weekend, Trav is doing deliveries for a local florist. It's been very busy, and he's recruited us to help out. Joanna is off to Toronto to help out with family there. That stay could become a bit prolonged as both parents are suffering health issues. Gemma continues to live with us. Andrew is working at Walmart pharmacy. 

And that's about it for this week! 

Safe at Home!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has turned very spring-like with warm temperatures, and elevated breezes. We've even had a couple of showers. We've taken advantage by getting out for a few walks and doing some geo-caching. We only have our phones to do searches with, and they are only accurate to within 5 metres, so it leaves quite a challenge to find the caches, which are sometimes quite small and well hidden.

A small cache we found today.

I have continued swinging my golf club and even hit a few balls. The courses are ready, now, we're just waiting until it's safe to go! My left hand continues to heal; the nails are beginning to loosen, and will soon be falling off.

White lines mark the break ridges

The Canadian map shows that the country as a whole, and most provinces are not doing well. Saskatchewan had been making progress, but has stepped backwards as you can see if you click on its numbers. The curve has steepened once again. Wendy has continued to work on the quilt. She consulted a variety of Youtube videos, dismantled her sewing machine, diagnosed and repaired the problem, and has it performing well once again—Victory for Wendy! The markets were up the first three days, before collapsing into the weekend. I managed to make quota for the month of April, my first quota month this year. We enjoyed making connections with the family on the occasion of Eric's birthday. Erica set up a Zoom meeting, so we spent about an hour chatting and catching up with each other. Sweet! This week I raked the lawns and garden. If we're going to be here for more of the summer, we may as well plant a garden! I dragged out the rototiller, but it needed the fuel tank cleaned, and by the time I got going on that, I had the carburetor in more pieces than I recalled! Youtube to the rescue, I have it back together. We enjoyed a visit from Dave and Heather on Wednesday. They parked their RV in the yard, and we enjoyed a meal on the deck, so as to maintain physical distance. I celebrated the visit with a fire in the fire pit, complete with the requisite S'mores! Who knew S'mores have sugar! The very next day, I was suffering with Gout! So, it was back to the Colchicine, which is bringing relief! The coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in most of the world. Sadly, very few countries responded well, like New Zealand or South Korea. Some tried to ignore or deny the threat, and are now suffering the consequences. Many others are tempted to declare victory and move back toward "normal", whatever that is. I fear this will result in many more unnecessary deaths. 

Erica writes: "We all stayed home. The end. Actually Eric celebrated a milestone birthday. We picked up gluten free cupcakes, delivered some to friends around PA, and celebrated with a series of zoom parties. We also got the motorcycles out, licensed and took them for a spin. Fun times! Liam is doing some work on the room and on his art. Haaken is also working on his art. We are encouraging him to take the opportunity to build up his portfolio."

Erin is struggling along with the multiple tasks of office manager, mother and teacher. Kristian is not always keeping up with his roles of student and housekeeper! He continues to engage in school work with some online support, but needs too much prodding! Sadie and Lucy are thriving, but we're starting to have more concerns about Lucy's effect on Kristian as he is showing indicates of allergic reactions. So far, the allergy pills are a benefit, and are reducing the reaction.

Travis and Joanna continue to keep us supplied with groceries, and allow us greater safety. Last weekend, we built a privacy wall for their deck and got that installed.

Wall Install!

Gemma continues to live in our basement. Her next batches of classes are beginning, but instruction is all online.

And that's about it for this week. 

Keep on fighting!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been cool most of the week, but improved wonderfully yesterday and today. It is nice to see the advancement of spring with the rhubarb up and thriving. We get out for walks sometimes, and I've been swinging my golf club in hopes we'll soon be allowed on the courses. I have the bikes all ready for a new season, but we haven't been out riding yet. I've been cleaning and sorting in the shop and salvaging more pallet wood. I've also been preparing a few jigs for a privacy fence project for Trav and Joanna. Wendy has been working steadily on the quilt project. She has regular battles with the sewing machine, and I'm starting to wonder whether the machine may be winning!

Lots done! Even more to do!

The markets remain troubled and troubling, but I had another good week and have raised my investments to about 25% in the market. "Cash is a position," my teachers tell me! The world continues to be rocked both health-wise and economically by CV-19. Neither the USA nor Canada is doing an effective job in combatting the disease. We need much more testing, contact tracing, and improved treatment. The USA seems to be slowing the testing process deliberately; they report 960,000 cases, but an antibody sampling in New York state indicated the likelihood of 2.7 million cases in that state alone. It is certain that our infection rate is much higher than reported as well. We are barely making the pretense of testing and contact-tracing here. Still, some provinces are making plans to reopen society—I see that as dangerous. The spread of the virus began with a handful of people under open conditions; what will happen with our current 26,000 cases if we relax the preventative measures? Even sports leagues are talking restarting. Golf has announced for a June opening. The NBA and NHL are also planning to get back into play. 

Eric, Erica and Liam remain safe-at-home in Prince Albert. Eric and Erica are able to work from home. Liam keeps busy with various interests, working on his room, and baking cookies! Similarly, Haaken is laid off, but has been able to access the government support and is pursuing his art in Victoria. He is currently working on an idea for a TV show. The boys managed an on-line gaming session as well. 

Kristian continues his learning activities with on-line support from his teachers. Erin is back and forth to work, but otherwise remains in isolation. These are difficult and trying times. 

Trav and Joanna have commissioned a privacy fence so we got going on that today. We could have finished it, but Home Depot short-changed us on some of the lumber, so perhaps tomorrow. Besides some of the crew is old, and doesn't need very much time to put in a full day!

Building a privacy wall for their deck

Andrew is back at work as Walmart Pharmacy was able to get a supply of masks and PPE for the workers. Gemma continues to stay here. Her new classes begin soon, but will be delivered on-line. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Learn from History—or repeat it!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been very cool all week, but we hope it has now turned the corner toward Spring with 15° today. I celebrated the day by cleaning the shop portion of the garage, and getting our bikes out. I look forward to modulating my isolation with work in the shop in the coming days. I have many projects I look forward to tinkering away at with warmer weather inviting me out of doors. The golf courses have cleared off, but who knows when (whether) they will open! I have been swinging a club, but my repairing fingers are not enjoying it. Travis and Joanna take care of more and more of our grocery shopping, so that's a relief. 

It's been a month—I hope I can soon
touch my face, or perhaps have a shower! 

The case load of CV-19 cases have been growing here, so our concern is heightened. We're 20 minutes from the border, so our concerns are not allayed by premature moves to end the lockdown in the USA, nor by his musings of opening the border. Two links for you this week: the first shows how Canada and her provinces are progressing in the battle against CV-19, while the second shows the relative results for countries of the world. Within each site you can drill down for greater detail on how each province or country is doing at "flattening the curve". In the Canadian results, you will notice that only a few provinces are making progress (SK, MB, most maritime provinces). In the world results, I am alarmed to notice that whereas just a few weeks ago, I wondered if USA would get to 200,000 cases, now, I expect them to hit 1 million in the next week. The markets continue to be volatile. I expect this saw-toothed action to continue for some weeks or months. I am trying to analyse it and take advantage for some swing-trading. I managed another green week, with a bit more invested, but am still not making quota in any given week. Sporting bodies are anguishing over when and how they may resume activity, but to this point nothing. Golf has announced a return to play in June without spectators. We'll see. 

Liam is back home in Prince Albert; Eric/A enjoy his company and his cooking. Otherwise, they continue to work from home and are settled in for the long haul. It was our plan to go there this Spring to help them build a new deck, but those plans are in abeyance. Haaken has been laid off at Costco, part of the economic fall out from CV-19. Fortunately, he was able to apply for the new emergency benefit and it came within a few days. 

Erin continues with her work under even stricter isolation. Kristian is doing his classes with online support from his teachers. Sadie and Lucy enjoy having someone around throughout the day. 

Travis and Joanna's main work with Ulrich Design is mostly on hiatus. Joanna gets some shifts at work, but it's only for take out orders. Gemma has moved into our basement suite to improve her isolation. Andrew works at a pharmacy, thus, his risk level for contact is increased. He has applied to return to Confederation College in the Fall, and has been accepted to begin Police Training. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

He is Risen Indeed!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, in my hometown. Days tend to blend into each other and we sometimes require consultations to figure out what day it is—it seems like we had some extra Saturdays this week! The weather has been very nice, the snow is gone, and the fairways have appeared again. The tee boxes and greens are still covered with their winter tarps. Don't know what we will have for a golf season during our isolation. We did take note and enjoy a special time via Zoom with 54 families of our congregation for a Good Friday commemoration last evening. Otherwise we remain sheltering at home while we continue our attempts to delay what we feel is inevitable—infection with the coronavirus. News of advances in treatment options along with the development of vaccines are tempered by reports of people being re-infected! Along with finding out about friends who are infected, we're now hearing about people we know who are dying of COVID-19. All news broadcasts seem to be focused narrowly on the disease; it does become a bit overwhelming at times. The USA refused to take it seriously in the early going, and have become the epicentre of infections with over 500,000 victims. It has also become the nation suffering from the most deaths from the pandemic, and still we see a few hold-out states refusing to shut things down—this will only prolong the suffering for all of us. This week's chart shows how things have changed down there over the last month, as far as cause of death is concerned. Wendy has been working on the quilt repairs, but she ran out of thread. She was able to order some online, and we picked that up today. I've managed to get the oak cut for the door, and dressed it through the router, so that job is ready to push forward. Next, I need to pre-drill and countersink for all the screws. The markets pushed forward during the shortened trading week as government rescue efforts have at least improved the prospect for corporations. I remain minimally invested, but experienced another green week at least. There are no new sporting events to distract me, but I have enjoyed watching reruns of curling games and even got to watch the 1966 Grey Cup game for a second time—Go Riders, Go! 

Eric/A travelled to Moose Jaw this weekend with the trailer; they helped Liam pack up and move home to Prince Albert. Home office locations have been revamped to make room for Liam in his old room. They moved Erica's desk out of the living room, which is now filled with Liam's stuff. The house has become more fully occupied once again. Erica has been suffering with a cold and sore throat for some time, so she was referred for Covid-19 testing—negative! Haaken continues to work at Costco, and is feeling fine. 

Kristian is back in the education business. On-line conferencing and support have helped him work through several learning activities. Erin remains at work as a core element of Taylor Toyota. But they have also managed a few extra family activities as they shelter at home. Featured activities include napping, watching TV, playing X-box and enjoying Sadie and Lucy. 

Travis and Joanna continue to do their extra part in keeping us safe by doing some of our shopping. This weekend, they've arranged an Easter dinner which we shall celebrate remotely via FaceTime. At least we can get to see them once in a while. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Shelter at Home!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We've taken advantage of the nice weather and dried streets and sidewalks to get out regularly for walks. On this chart, you can call up various countries to see how we're doing at flattening the curve; you can also see that the USA is doing worst of all. Our government has issued stark predictions of the death toll we may expect here as the virus runs its course. We are hoping that by the time we catch this, there will be effective treatments available, and a low enough infection rate that we will be treated successfully. It is an anxious time we live in, as we just heard today that friends of ours are infected. We shudder to think of the devastation this may wreak on countries in the developing world who do not have the personal and medical options that we experience. We have continued to pitter away at various projects. We try to make Saturday Brunch a bit special each week.

Yummy Eggs Benny

Otherwise, we remain sheltered at home against the pandemic, and we thank Travis and Joanna for bringing us groceries again this week.

Easier from Scratch!

Wendy spent a lot of time this week working to repair a quilt for Shawn. I now have an approved design for the oak trim on the sliding kitchen door. The markets have continued to be extremely volatile in the economic turbulence caused by CV-19. I managed a green week, but not up to quota, while I remain with very little invested.

Can you tell we're smiling?!

We are both recovering nicely from our head-colds, and want nothing to do with the nastier disease running rampant around the world these days. We now see over 1 million confirmed cases with over 300 thousand plaguing our southern neighbours. Due to their lack of leadership, they have failed to take up the fight seriously, and have accumulated more than twice as many cases as any other country. Even now, some states remain without shelter-in-place orders.

Erica writes, "Another week in the post-apocalyptic world of COVID-19. Eric and I continue to work from home. We have tried to get into a routine but my inner child fights routine so it is difficult. I have to bribe myself to make myself do what I need to do—it’s so frustrating. Liam has decided that he will give notice at his apartment and move home in April. We are looking forward to having him home where we can watch over every cough and sniffle. But that also means our current work areas will no longer work. Eric has set up an office space in the basement and I am working on my desk to go into the middle room. The desk I picked up on Kijiji for $60 needs a little TLC. One of the drawers had pulled apart and in trying to put it back together, we found that one piece was slightly warped. So we are dampening the wood in hopes of making it flat. We also found several missing and loose screws and a lack of wood glue used throughout. We are hoping once we put it back together it will be more stable. Then, some cleaning and beeswax and it should hopefully be good to go." Haaken continues to work at Costco in Victoria, but has switched assignments, so he is helping with cleaning and disinfecting. 

Erin and Kristian continue with shelter at home in Regina. Schools have returned to action this week but with online activities only. Many homes are decorating their windows, so they added hearts to their windows. Now, if Lucy will just leave the decorations alone!

Sweet view!

Erin has also been doing some baking since she's finding lots of time on her hands. Today she made an apple crisp—I wish I had been there for that! She also made up a baked pancake with blueberries, but that was a disaster since Kristian ate the whole thing!! Must have been great! 

Trav, Joanna and crew are coping with the isolation. They continue to do some shopping for us, and we appreciate that. Andrew's pharmacy ran short of N95 face filters, so he refused to work one day. We hope they'll get that taken care of even though Trump has taken some of our N95 supplies away. 

Anyway, that's the kind of week it's been. 

Maintain your Distance!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has improved further; some nights are remaining above zero and the snow is disappearing quickly. We remained isolated at home during the pandemic. We take the precautions of gloves and breathing filters when we go out. It is still too early to tell whether Canada is being successful with the social-distancing strategy, as at present, we're over 5000 cases and the growth curve (see updated chart) is not encouraging. China has been relaxing the constraints and returning to work. We are watching their results and hoping for the best. I had my appointment with my Clot Doctor on Friday to discuss the DVTs in my left leg. My bloodwork was all positive; she was encouraged to see some small amount of flow through the veins, and agreed with my conclusion that I am now getting adequate drainage from my thigh. I continue to exercise my hand at home, since my physiotherapy sessions are all cancelled. The fingers are sore right now, as I had a set back this week when I over-exerted it while assembling Wendy's new chair that she ordered from Costco.

Ordered Sun; arrived Wed!

The chair looks good and feels firm and comfortable. Wendy continues to recover from her head cold, but it appears she has passed it along to me! I have done more work on the sliding door and have received approval on my two change order applications! Now, I need to apply for an extension on the completion date, and request an advance—that pretty much tears it for a contractor! The markets continued the wild ride this week. I remain mostly on the sidelines, but I managed to make a gain this week, and I'm in the green for this turbulent month as well. Sports continues to be postponed, but I'm am enjoying watching some of the reruns. We've been watching the Netflix series on Pandemics—quite instructive! Meanwhile the real movie plays on outside our doors. USA did not take it seriously, and now they have over 120,000 cases, more than any other country. We are having great concern as the virus moves into India, and into sub-Saharan Africa. It's hard to relate to the toll in death and human suffering that is being experienced all over the world.

Erica writes: "Eric and I haven’t killed each other yet, though I have figured out how I would do it if necessary! We have continued with our night training videos (the Walking Dead) and Eric feels he needs to take up archery. We are settling into the routine of working from home, but Eric misses his usual coffee break and lunch break colleagues. I’ve suggested he should set up a zoom coffee break. Today, we are going on a supply run. Liam is now completely at home in Moose Jaw. He applied for EI and is working on his web comic and other creative ventures. He is deciding whether he needs to give notice and move back to PA. Haaken is still able to work, helping with the enhanced cleaning measures. We’ve talked to him a few times and he seems to be okay. Greg Livingston reports that he still working very long hours delivering food and supplies. He is another type of front line worker at this time and we hope and pray he remains healthy."

Erin continues to work at Taylor Motors, although about half their workforce has been given layoff notices. Kristian is operating from home with mixed success in meeting expectations! It is likely his teachers will begin supplying learning activities online beginning next week. That should help with his preparations for high school, which, we hope, begins in the Fall. Today, we had a nice FaceTime chat with them while Kristian was making chocolates.

Tasty!

One day, Travis and Joanna did grocery shopping for us, so we did not have to go out. They dropped off the groceries on the front step. We enjoyed chatting with them from the front step to the driveway. Thanks guys! Andrew got good news in that his boss has tested negative for CV-19. He continues to work at the Walmart Pharmacy. Gemma is doing more coursework, but online these days. 

And that's about it for this week. 

Stay at home!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has remained stuck in the same rut—ascending to melting temperatures during the day, but dropping back to freezing every night. We even had some snow one day, and I got to scrape it off the driveway one more time! We remained isolated at home during the pandemic. It is still too early to tell whether Canada is being successful with the social-distancing strategy, as at present, we're over 1000 cases and the growth curve (this chart will upgrade at the end of each day) is not encouraging. China has broken the curve, and reports no domestic cases for the last couple of days. They are now taking down barriers and checkpoints; let's hope they are not being premature on this! I had one more medical appointment this week, getting blood work done for my Clot Doctor. I am scheduled to see her next week, but her staff have called to reset it as a phone appointment to avoid the unnecessary physical contact. I have had a fresh ultrasound done on my leg, and now with the blood work, I hope she has some good news for my on changes in my DVTs. I believe the clots in my thigh have dissolved, but I don't know what to think about the clotting in my calf area. My physiotherapy appointments have all been cancelled in light of Covid-19, as have the dental cleaning appointments for both of us. I exercise my hand at home, and I do feel it is gradually improving. Wendy has been ill most of the week; she came down with a head cold (causing us some trepidation!), but seems much improved yesterday and today. She did complete a nightgown using material she got from her mom, many years ago.

The memories are even more precious!

The markets have remained moribund—we had three red days and two green days this week. This resulted in further losses in the indices overall, and I am satisfied to remain on the sidelines. It seems all the sports I like to watch are suspended due to the virus, but I've been enjoying watching some reruns of last year's play! And, plenty of Netflix; we've been watching. I have caught up on Occupied, and we're now watching a new series: Virgin River! 

Eric/A are in self isolation in PA. Both were able to work from home this week. This was punctuated by Erica's birthday on Wednesday which featured both food and cake treats!

Birthday Supper a la maison! 

La Gâteau!

 Eric has been figuring out how to provide counselling from home over the internet.

Therapy couch not necessary!

Liam’s work has shut down and RU practices are cancelled. So he’s working on his art projects full time. Haaken’s work is still open. He is busy providing enhanced cleaning. We are starting to wonder if he might have had the virus back in January, when he was sick with a cough for six weeks. Nobody else around him has gotten sick, but he does tend to excel at social distancing. I suppose we will never know for certain. Greg has been extra busy lately with food deliveries. Truckers have been really busy, working longer than usual hours.

School did get cancelled in Saskatchewan as well, so Kristian is picking up his domestic side. It is reported that he really enjoys the new vacuum cleaner—a boy after his grandma's heart! Erin has continued to go in to work, although Regina has now declared a state of emergency, so that may be changing as well, although the service department is considered an essential service. Kristian has built up a group of friends from school and they are able to chat and play games on line, so he's not totally cut off. 

Andrew has returned to health and to work. His boss recently returned from international travel, and is now being tested for Covid-19! That's a concern! Gemma was diagnosed with strep throat, and is gradually recovering her health under medication with antibiotics. Travis and Joanna continue to self-isolate; we miss them! 

And that's about it for this week. 

Wash Your Hands!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather seems to be stuck in a rut; we get some melting each day, but we fall back to freezing temperatures every night, so the snow is disappearing very slowly. It has been a crazy week with the COVID-19 developments. We remain well, and are hunkered down at home while we watch with concern over those with vulnerable health conditions. To some extent, that includes us, as we're in the age group of vulnerability, and I have a long-standing proclivity for pneumonia. We continue to be busy with medical care; Wendy has been driving me around to various appointments, and sometimes accompanying me to ensure I'm being well-cared for! I've had two more physiotherapy sessions, and am well-pleased with the interventions being executed. I also had followup bloodwork for my GP, and an ultra-sound on my leg with the DVTs to see how that is going. There will be more appointments with the doctors concerned to find out the results. We started the week celebrating Wendy's birthday with the rest of our family here. The children bought her a set of Finnish luncheon plates, while grandkids pitched in for a gift card to her favourite beauty salon—nice!

Happy 70th Birthday!

Lovely Gifts

It has not been busy for me in the markets as I remain on the sidelines while all North American indices have descended into bear market levels. Russia and Saudi Arabia have launched an oil price war, and the Canadian economy is collateral damage in that battle. Investors seem most cautious about the economic ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic, so, we hope all countries are taking it seriously and will engage it properly. China seems to have come through it, and is now launching aid campaigns to other areas that are hard hit, most notably, Italy, at this point. In any case, we did get a bit of recovery on Friday, so we hope that will carry through into next week. Sporting news this week was all about cancellation due to the virus. March Madness will really be missed, especially in that my Jayhawks were ranked #1, unanimously. We had a lot of hope for a good run! Hockey is also cancelled for now, and I was just starting to get ready for baseball season, but that's also in hiatus. I like watching golf, but that's cancelled. Women's World Curling championships were supposed to begin today—also cancelled, sigh! Netflix—here I come!

Erica writes: "My crazy full weekend has been completely wiped out by COVID-19. Everything has been cancelled and Eric and I have been at home since Thursday. With his asthma, he is being particularly careful as this is a respiratory disease. Liam has continued to do his drawing and working at The Tunnels and dancing. He is scheduled for a tour, but we wait to see if it will be cancelled. Haaken has sorted out his student loans. He continues with work at Costco, which, apparently, is the place to be!"

School is still on in Regina for the time being, although some extra-curricular programs are being hit by sanctions during the government/teachers dispute. School here is off for the next three weeks. Erin has made a few purchases and her girls enjoyed being the demo models to show them off!

Lucy demos the Stick Vacuum

Sadie with the Smoothie Maker

Travis and Joanna have been nursing a sick household over there, so we've avoided the place! They were by a couple of times, but they're able to do more stuff from home now that they have their new printer over there. They began the week with a lovely birthday supper out at Appleby's for Wendy, but Andrew was already sick at that point; he remains ill. Gemma took sick during the week.

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 quite nice although we got a bit of snow on Wednesday. Really, it was just a small amount of snow, but it was driven by heavy winds, so we got an accumulation in our driveway. We cleared it up, and blew it onto the lawn on Thursday. A sunny Friday cleaned and dried the driveway, and we're enjoying +6 today. We've been busy catching up on medical appointments this week. I had bloodwork and X-rays on Monday. I had a follow-up with my oncologist early Tuesday morning. My PSA remains elevated (13.8), so he continues to monitor the situation. From there, I visited my plastic surgeon to consider the X-ray results and the situation with my snow-blower bitten fingers. He was well satisfied with the progress and did not share my concern over my index finger. He did predict that I would lower my handicap to single digits this season with my rebuilt fingers! On Thursday, I was back to the physiotherapist. He did share my concern, and has fashioned a protective cast to support my finger tip, and allow the bone to knit properly—I am very relieved.

Looking pretty good!

Other fingers bend normally

Index—not so much!

My new plastic cast

I will be continuing with physio treatments for the next while and will revisit the doctor in June. And I've had to arrange everything to fit between Brier draws on TV! The markets have remained terrible, no good and very bad, with two days of green just to keep our attention. Fears surrounding the economic impact of COVID-19 have rattled all countries. Both USA and Canada have confirmed the seriousness of it by unprecedented emergency rate cuts of 0.5% to the prime rates. Unsurprisingly, investors responded with a big sell-off—"We didn't know it was so serious until they cut the rates!" Yikes! I've been out of the market except for my one buy-n-hold dividend payer. Fortunately, it managed to pay me my weekly quota this week. I continue to consider alternatives, and prepare to buy in when things settle. NHL teams continue the playoff drive; all my teams continue their shaky play! KU held their #1 ranking and secured a record 62nd Conference Championship with their wins this week. It's almost time for March Madness—the pinnacle of the basketball season for me. The Brier was the main feature this week. My 8 picks all made the Championship Pool, and since only 1 team was eliminated in the pool, I'm also claiming that my 4 teams advanced to the playoffs. Unfortunately, my guy, Kevin Koe, was eliminated today. My pick, Brad Jacobs, won two games today, but lost to Brad Gushue tonight. So, I will be cheering for Matt Dunstone to relieve Saskatchewan's long drought with a national championship. Brendan Bottcher of Alberta is already waiting in the final tomorrow. 

Erica writes, "Well, I’m afraid my parents will die and then roll over in their graves. I attended a Sask Party dinner this week. In my defence, it was a work function. But, as Scott Moe was going around shaking hands I told him that March 18, budget day, is my birthday, and that I’d like a present—something in the budget for Lipedema! Liam is at an RU event in Saskatoon this week, after which he will head to PA. He has another iron infusion on Monday. Haaken continues with work at Costco. He’s is also navigating the student loan repayment process."

I worked with Kristian to edit an essay he wrote defending Batman as the best super-hero. Hey, I was convinced! He's had a good week in school. They're enjoying the arrival of Spring weather in Regina. Today, Erin is preparing some delicious smelling ribs using my Rib Rub recipe. And, their pets are cute! (As opposed to the next pet news below!)

Joanna returned from southern Ontario. We're glad to have her back. Travis and Joanna continue to work both from home and the office downstairs here. The family has selected new pets—rats! Three rats have been added to the family—we're not so glad of that development!

See what I mean?!

Trav has produced an item for Grandpa K's 95th birthday!

Yes, it's a Pope Chest!

And that's about it for this week! 

Leap Year Day!

Another week has passed and we have returned to the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The warming trend has arrived here as well, and we're enjoying watching the beginning of the melt. Bernard and Alicia returned early Tuesday morning.

We enjoyed our weeks with Dad!

We had a lovely visit with Eloise, Don, Sandra, Linda and Chris on Sunday afternoon; Dave was also there for that gathering. On Tuesday, we grabbed coffee time with cousin Grace. Then, we stopped in to catch up with Aunt Ina, Donna, and Enid. Aunt Ina, who is in her 100th year, is currently in the Wascana Centre, but was looking forward to release to her home on Thursday. We packed up and headed east on Wednesday. After overnighting in Winnipeg, we completed the trip on Thursday. It is good to be home. It was interesting to notice Wendy cleaning the house, and to recall that she had also done so just before we left three weeks ago! We have arranged our medical, physiotherapy and dental appointments for the month of March, so we'll begin that process next week as I get a check up on the progress of my broken fingers. Today, she had a barbershop music workshop all day with the Sweet Adelines. The markets continued their slide this week, falling to "correction" levels, and enduring losses not seen in over ten years. Sadly, I also participated in some of those losses as I did not sell out as soon as I should have. Now, I'm down to just one small dividend stock, and will be looking for signals and opportunities to buy back in once the crisis of confidence is over. I was busy last week with the Scotties. My pick, Kerri Einarson, along with her third, Maryfield favourite, Val Sweeting, won the championship. They'll now don Team Canada colours for the World Championship on Prince George. We got back just in time as the Brier began last night with the Wild Card game. There are many high quality teams in the field. I will be cheering for my longtime favourite, Kevin Koe. However, although he's defending champion, he's only ranked #6 in this field. The Brads, McEwen, Epping and even his fellow Alberta team are ranked ahead of him. I'm picking all of those teams to make the championship round, and hopefully SK and MB as well. Then, I'm picking the Brads, Epping and Koe to make the medal round, and I'm picking Brad Jacobs to win it all. (Of course, I'll be delighted if Kevin surprises me!) NHL teams continue their push toward the playoffs; my teams remain in the hunt. As expected the Jayhawks were elevated to #1 ranking. They won their games this week, and now seem in line to capture their conference championship once again.

Erica writes: "I've left Eric—for the weekend. I’m at ladies' retreat with some friends from PA. Eric is celebrating his freedom by playing a bunch of card hockey games. My new medication seems to be working. I’m feeling more positive and Eric says I’m better to be around.

She's travelling incognito!

Liam had another iron infusion and is scheduled for a third for his Gramma’s Birthday. We hope this brings his iron and hemoglobin up. Haaken is submitting an entry to a screen play contest. We are praying that goes well, or that he, at least, gets some helpful feedback which is part of the process."

We enjoyed spending time with Erin and Kristian while we were in Regina. Kristian has grown so much in the last year that we're wondering whether his golf clubs will last him for a second season. He's now taller than Erin and taller than his grandma.

Joanna is currently helping with family in southern Ontario. Travis checked in today with Minnie. All seem to be doing well. Andrew has begun work as a pharmacist's assistant at one of the Walmart Pharmacies here. Trav informed me that their latest team photo bookings brings this season's total to a new record—121! He''s a bit concerned with the faltering play of his Penguins of late, although they are still holding on to a playoff position.

And that's enough for this week! 

News Update

Another week has passed and we remain on the shore of Lake Wascana, in the middle of the prairies. The weather has switched to very mild, with temperatures above freezing, and even pushing +7 today! We have had another good week here with dad in Regina. Wendy has joined me in the drywalling; she has repainted the ceiling in the entry and begun priming of the other drywall repairs. Unfortunately, last night she found a crack we had been overlooking, so I was back to the repairs this morning. I still have some small electrical jobs to clean up as well. On the long weekend, the Baileys were here, so I was able to pass along the three-legged sawhorses I had built for them. The markets have veered wildly to the downside toward the end of this week as the fears of the coronavirus and the realities of the economic downturn in the USA caused a sell-off! It was another losing week for me as I looked for ways to buy back in, but failed to find any. All my teams are currently in playoff position in the NHL, but all are also precarious. It's the trade deadline time, and all contenders and pretenders are looking to make deals. A big week for my Jayhawks as they won both games and today went into Waco and took down the #1 team! Rock Chalk boys! But the main attention of my week has been the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. All of my teams made the Championship Pool, and two advanced to the medal round. However, McCarville lost to Homan this afternoon, so, it's just my betting favourite Einarson left in the championship game tomorrow. 

The Bailey's including Liam were here over the long weekend, so we enjoyed catching up with them. Now, Eric/A are back in PA, and Liam is in Moose Jaw. Eric enjoyed watching his Canucks take down the #1 Bruins this evening! We enjoyed it here in Regina as well. 

We're enjoying getting to spend a bit of time with Kristian this week as he's having Spring Break from school. Erin has also been over for a few meals, and Shaw and Liam joined us for our standard Uncle Dave Pizza night yesterday. Western Pizza is incomparable, and we really enjoyed that. Kristian has taken lessons and received the equipment for making chocolates. He enjoys making them, and eating them! Tonight, Kristian served as the quiz master and we enjoyed a game of trivia.

Travis and Joanna are keeping busy and managing things back in TBay. I have managed to chat him through a few hockey games as we're enjoying his connections to get the Leaf games that are blacked out here. The Leafs and Pens played twice this week, so that was a bit extra special. 

And that's about enough for this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed and we remain on the shore of Lake Wascana, in the middle of the prairies. We have seen wild swings in the weather, with temperatures dropping to -30, then rising to above freezing just yesterday! That cold snap has crossed the country and is now afflicting the residents of southern Ontario. We have enjoyed a good week here with dad in Regina. Wendy has been working her way through the china collection, reminiscing, checking and lining it up for the trip back to TBay. I have completed one project and am working on other ones. My fingers continue to heal; I remain concerned about the lack of progress on the movement of my index finger, especially the tip.

Surface healed

I am wondering whether it is even mending the fracture. The markets have continued their topsy-turvy ways. I have continued to sell stocks, and now sit at about 50% of my intended investment. However, I had a good week and managed to make quota. The Scotties began last night with the wildcard game, and moved into full-fledged action today. I have sentimental favourites of Sask (Silvernagle) and N.Ont (McCarville), but I'm picking MB (Einarson) to win it all. That will keep me busy for the next week! Both the Leafs and the Oilers are struggling with loss of players to injury or suspension. The playoff position for both teams is precarious, but they won today. The Pens are in solid playoff position and doing well. The Jayhawks maintained their #3 ranking with a solid road win midweek, and an impressive home win today.

Erica writes, "Happy Valentines Day. Eric and I celebrated by cooking some bison steak and julienned veggies.

Certainly looks good!

It was delicious! Eric recently achieved certification to mentor counsellors who are working toward supervisory status. So, to make this clear: a counsellor listens to someone who is trying to figure out what is going on in her head. A supervisor listens to the people who listen to the people trying to figure out what is going on in their heads. And Eric listens to the people who listen to the people who listen to the people trying to figure out what is going on in their heads!

Super-Duper-Mentor-Overseer-Visor!

He celebrated by picking up some fancy new threads. Liam is busy at Youth Quake this weekend representing RU. The are still looking for donations to support their Easter tour. Haaken is back to work at Costco and continues to look for an animation job."

We have enjoyed having Erin and Kristian over couple of times. Sadie and Lucy came along one evening as well. Erin seems to be gradually improving from her health struggles.

Wendy took Sadie for a haircut on Wednesday, just in time for the cold snap.

Minnie, AKA: the Mighty Hunter, was the star of the show at Trav and Joanna's. Her primal instincts took over, and she took down a mouse! Spontaneous celebrations erupted!

Mighty Minnie!

Travis made over 40 flower deliveries yesterday in service to Valentines!

And that's about it this week. 

News Update

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior, in my hometown, but we have transitioned first to the shore of Rivière Rouge and now on to the shore of Lake Wascana, in the middle of the prairies.

Index Finger needs work!

My fingers continue to heal. The joints on the middle finger flex normally. My index finger is still very stiff. On Monday morning, I had the follow-up appointment with my ophthalmologist. He was pleased with the progress on my right eye. He could still see the damage from pterygium, but at least now it is seeing well. In fact, it focuses better than my left eye for reading, and I can get by without my reading glasses, if necessary. Then we fuelled up and fought the northwest winds to Winnipeg where we moved in with Tom and Mariette. We enjoyed their hospitality for Monday and Tuesday—thanks folks! On Wednesday, we continued to Regina. We enjoyed supper out with Erin and Kristian on our arrival, and then moved in with dad. Bernard and Alicia were off early this morning to Mexico. Wendy is enjoying a ladies conference last night and today. I drove over to Moose Jaw this morning to pick up Marti and start her on her trip back to Kansas. The markets have continued their topsy-turvy ways, I made the whole week's quota on Thursday, but then lost about a third of that on Friday, sigh! The possible economic effects of the coronavirus continue to bother traders; on Friday it was the downward revisions of the US jobs data. In hockey, it is the Leafs who are now struggling to keep up the pace—c'mon guys! Oilers and Pens won their games today. The Jayhawks won their games this week, and have maintained their #3 rating. I even got to watch their game today.

Erica writes, "It’s been birthday week. This used to mean parties, making of cakes and general craziness. Now, it’s Facebook posts and text messages. Time flies! It’s actually been a pretty quiet week."

Off to an 80s Party!

When we got into town on Wednesday we met up with Erin and Kristian for supper. Then, we went over to their place and got reacquainted with Lucy and Sadie. Lucy seems all grown up, and Sadie needs a haircut. We have her booked for that next week. 

Travis and Joanna are holding down the fort at home. We hope they have no fresh snow. I know they are plenty busy with hockey pictures. 

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 mild with no snow, we (where "we" means Wendy) have enjoyed that. Wendy has been taking care of dressing my fingers until I went back to the physiotherapist on Thursday. It is now three weeks since the accident. He cut off a bunch of the dead skin so they are looking much better. He also gave me a batch of exercises to do over the next month while we are away to Regina.

Much healing has occurred!

He was very pleased with the progress and so am I. I have enjoyed getting out to the shop where I've been cleaning up some of the pallet lumber we salvaged last week. Fears surrounding the economic effects of the coronavirus have rocked the markets all week. All of my swing trades, except one, have stopped out. I am even starting to question my long-term buy and hold positions. So it was a terrible, no good, very bad week in the markets. I was at quota for the month, but ended up falling well short. The NHL has returned from the All-Star break. All of my teams are in good position heading towards playoffs. KU retained their #3 ranking and played two good games this week. Sadly, they have changed their broadcast arrangements and I didn't get to watch either one. Manitoba won both the Junior Men and the Junior Women's curling championships last weekend. This week, I've been watching the Saskatchewan championships for both men and women. 

Erica writes, "We had a short visit with Liam last weekend. He reports that he feels like he has more control over his bathroom breaks than he has had in years. That is such good news. We have been praying for some sort of solution for him and are so thankful that God has provided some relief and healing. He has a long way to go, as he still goes a lot. But, we are thankful for improvement. Haaken is also feeling much better and is returning to work. He doesn’t get sick very often, but when he does he gets really sick! We are getting into busy season, so that means longer days and some weekend work. Eric has also been doing some additional work in the evenings by supervising therapy students via the web.
We learned late this week that funding for Liam’s RU group to go on an Easter Tour has been cut. This is a trip they have been planning and practising for the past year. Churches and youth groups have already planned for them to come. They are urgently trying to raise the funds to pay for the trip. They need to raise approximately $6000. If you can help, please forward donations to:
Briercrest College and Seminary
510 College Drive
Caronport SK  S0H 0S0
and indicate that it is designated for Easter Tour 2020."

Erin and Kristian had a good week. Kristian has joined a hip-hop dance activity with the deaf and hard of hearing in the nearby high school. This is the school that he is slated to attend next year, and some of his friends are already there, so he is enjoying that. Erin is keeping very busy at work.

Travis and Joanna return from winter, on Sunday evening late. They came over on Monday to collect their bird and their dog—whew! So it is quieter around here now. They are right back at work including eight teams to photograph today.

And that's about enough for this week.