News Update

Another week passes on the shore of Lake Superior. There was violent weather in the area, but not like the tornadoes they experienced in Manitoba! Some buildings were de-roofed in Ignace and a semi-trailer was blown over by the wind.

I have now played thirteen golf games this season, but this week was a downturn as far as consistency is concerned. I started off the week with a game up in Red Lake—a tough course to be sure. I followed up that 87 with an 81 & 82 back at my home course in TBay.

My work is completely dedicated to getting those reports in to the Ministry of Education. OnSIS keeps changing the rules, so that doesn't help. This week I managed to get a ruling in writing, so we hope they'll stick to that for at least a term!

The container garden is doing well, although Kristian is helping with the weeding from time to time and that spells danger for my seedlings! Wendy got into the planting this week, as she is gradually improving in her shoulder and back issues. I managed to do my part by cleaning up as much poppy seed sheet cake as possible!

Today we drove down to Grand Portage Casino where they were featuring a 50's & 60's weekend. Wendy wanted to see Gary Lewis & the Playboys, and I wanted to see the cars. Too bad we didn't have the '67 Cougar to show off! By the time we'd toured the car show and taken in Elvis, Patsy Cline, Neil Diamond, Willie Nelson, Connie Francis... (well, too many tribute singers!) Wendy's shoulder was getting too bothersome and we drove back without even seeing the real band!

Erin has been busy with babysitting and homework this week, but is now off baby sitting for a couple of weeks. Kristian continues to delight, amaze and frustrate—often in the same minute!

Travis & Sylvia keep busy with their work and home. They celebrate their first anniversary tomorrow! And, as somebody sang, "The first year is the worst year, you'll get used to it!"

And thus another week passes.

Medical Update

Today was my long awaited return visit to my doctor to get the results of the biopsies. He explained that none of the samples showed any cancerous cells, so I'm clean for now. He also concluded that the elevated PSA levels are caused by chronic inflammation of the prostate. As a result, they will no longer be able to rely on the PSA levels as a useful test about my prostate health. They will have to rely more on DRE's (wonderful) and when changes are detected, with more biopsies!! (hurray!)

At any rate, this qualifies as good news, and a relief. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

News Update

Another week passes on the shore of Lake Superior. The weather was a little unsettled, but I still managed three games of golf between my bouts with OnSIS.

My golf game continues to come around. I have now played ten games this season, and I'm starting to see some improvement in consistency. This week I managed three scores 87, 83 & 80—definitely the kind of trend I like! I still snap hook occasionally, and on a tighter course that could spell bigger trouble.

Work is almost totally dedicated to termly reports to the Ministry—OnSIS as its known. Five of my schools are still lagging, and I'm struggling to help them get caught up. They, of course, have a lot of competing agendas this time of year, so it's hard to get them to focus on this one for very long.

My container garden is doing well. The photo shows about half of the boxes—I'm following a strategy called "Square Foot Gardening" so each of the small squares is that size, and we have twenty-six of them. I have also built them on raised platforms to be easy on our creaky backs! I'll keep reporting on how it goes—it's our first try at something like this.

Wendy continues to suffer with her shoulder, arm and back pain, although there is clear improvement this week. She even managed to do some baking today—poppy seed sheet cake, yum, yum!

Erin is keeping busy with babysitting and homework all week. Kristian keeps himself and the rest of us busy without even having a portfolio!

Travis & Sylvia keep busy with their work and home. They just finished buying a deep freeze, so that must signal another level of domesticity!

And thus another week passes.

News Update

And a beautiful week passes on the serene shore of Lake Superior.

As alluded to, we are experiencing beautiful spring weather, and have been blissfully free of bugs as well. I got out golfing several times to practise and also managed two games. I played with my friend John on Monday up at Strathcona, and today, I went for a game on my home course. The scores were only satisfactory (88, 87), but I am making a lot of good shots as my new swing continues to grow in consistency. I continue to be blessed with at least a half dozen totally useless shots each round—they don't get me a stroke closer to the hole; they sometimes don't even let me change clubs!

I continue to work sporadically on the Ministry reporting for our schools. We're now up to having nine of the fourteen current with their reporting. I am struggling to get the remainder caught up as the next round is scheduled to open July 2nd.

I have finished building our "Square-foot Gardens", and we have most of them planted. I built them raised off the ground for easier maintenance and use. This is our first try at intensive gardening.

Wendy has continued to struggle with her sore left wing for another week. She's haunting medical and chiropractic doctors, clinics, pharmacies and friends in search of relief. Part way through the week she began wearing my tennis elbow brace and that seems to be helping.

Erin has continued with babysitting all week and also with her studies. Kristian enjoys the time with the kids at the sitting assignment, and really enjoys the outdoors, the playgrounds and the pools. He's now started pedaling his tricycle and especially enjoys that on our newly repaved street.

Today, Eric/A and the boys arrived from Kenora, so we're enjoying them for the weekend.

News Update

Another week passes on the lovely shore of Lake Superior.

There has been some progress at work. The Ministry has announced year three funding, so that's good. They've added a caveat that 50% of the funding is dependent on our progress with OnSIS, so that's not good! OnSIS has allowed that it may have manuals and training materials ready next week for their June Reports that they demand we complete on time... and what about their getting the things ready on time? Don't ask! So, I don't although I do register a complaint with them. Then, I'm back at it with my schools trying to get them successfully through March Reports for OnSIS—we have three main reporting periods to the Ministry: October, March & June. To this point, only five of my fourteen schools have completed March, and the Ministry wants June done on time! Yikes! Well, at least we got them to extend the deadline to September 30th.

I managed another golf game—it was not good—a lot of hooks and snap hooks, accompanied by a collection of pulls and quackers. This all added up to 87, also not good. But I had fun anyway. More practice is in order on this new swing.

Wendy has continued to suffer with her problematic left shoulder. The doctors remain unsure about how serious it is, but have prescribed some medication and some painkillers. Neither seem adequate to the task!

Back yard work continues. I got some of the container gardening operational, and all of the material cut for the project. It should be all in operation next week. I got the pool set up and filled—one small leak is troubling, and remains to be found!

Erin continues with her classes and her babysitting. Kristian continues with his growing and climbing—what are you doing on top of the piano?!

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

News Update

It's been quite a week here on the shore of Lake Superior.

Of course I didn't spend the whole week here. On Monday and Tuesday I visited Collins. That was a good trip. On Thursday, I had my prostate biopsy; that was not a good trip! The rest of Thursday and Friday I didn't feel very well, but I'm back to about 80% today.

So, I finally got in another golf game this afternoon. It wasn't smooth, but there were signs of good things happening. The drives were mostly good; the approach shots were mostly bad! The chipping was pretty good, and the putting was mediocre! It all added up to 88, a score I no longer find acceptable. However, it was fun anyway!

Wendy was quite busy Sunday through Wednesday, but then she hurt herself. Somehow she pulled something in her left shoulder, so she was in great pain Thursday and Friday, and is only starting to come around today.

Erin is hitting the books on her new set of classes. That's going well. Kristian is entertaining us and exasperating his mother! We think he's moved into the terrible two's a bit early!

Sylvia began her new job officially on Friday as she is now in charge of her section at the University. Trav is back at his fuller schedule of work for the summer, and is also doing some extra contracts in graphical design on the side.

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

Two Blue Moons in the Sky

Obviously what is rarer than a blue moon is two of them! And the Blue Jays produced a baseball feat that is so rare as to have never been done before—they won a game without having a baserunner! Last night they beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on the strength of two home runs and no one else got on base... no walks, no reaching by error, no hit by pitch, nothing. Pity poor Mark Buerle (the Chicago pitcher) who faced two over the minimum number of batters; he never pitched out of the stretch all night. Toronto had no base runners. Aaron Hill and Frank Thomas got the only hits for the Jays, both homers to support the shutout pitching of Roy Halladay, but the wonder was winning without baserunners. It had never been done before. And that, as I said, doesn't even happen once in a blue moon!

Once In a Blue Moon

I have expressed concern about our dollar's increasing value before, but in line with weakness in the US economy it continues to gain against the greenback. Today it hit ninety-four cents American. Of course it would be more meaningful if it were gaining against the Euro, but since the US is our biggest trading partner it still has a powerful effect on our producers. It used to be a common belief that a equitable comparison between the productivity and production costs in the two countries would call for a Canadian dollar at eighty-three cents, but things change. The Bushies' devastating economic practices with both trade deficits and budget deficits has forced the greenback to fall ever since Dubya took office, even more so against the Euro.

Our current valuation has not been seen since 1977—much more rare than a blue moon, but if the Republicans don't impeach Dubya, we may be looking at parity in the not too distant future. And now I see eyebrows raised in Stillwater! Yes, I do mean the Republicans. Why would the Democrats impeach the Shrub; he's the best thing they've got going for them!

Prostate Biopsy

This morning I was subjected to a biopsy of my prostate gland. It has been acting up for some years, providing higher than appropriate levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) that seems to have no other function than informing oncologists that it's time to perform more DRE's or a biopsy. Now, while the prospect of a biopsy may be considered yucky, it pales in comparison to the actual experience! Dr. Prowse (shudda been Sterns, as I mentioned before) was remarkably general when he described the procedure. The 'wet room' nurse is much more forthcoming...
"Dr. Prowse will be inserting a probe. It will be stiff like this pen, only larger (As in the Titanic was larger than my canoe.) and it will provide ultrasound imaging. You need to relax; tensing up will only make it more difficult. (Okay, I'll cooperate. Do I get time off for good behaviour?) Then, he'll be inserting a smaller probe to take the six biopsy samples..."
"Six! Dr. Prowse only said four!"
"There will be six. He will fire the trigger and..."
"Fire a trigger! Am I getting shot?"
"Well, actually it will carve a small slice off the prostate. And it will sting a bit. Then you may feel nauseous or like you need to urinate or defecate. Don't worry, we're used to it. That's why this is called the 'wet room'. Then he will finish you off by giving you a needle (Did she just say he would finish me off?) with additional antibiotics—just a little boost to those pills you've been taking all week. And you will experience some blood in the urine for the next few days—nothing to be alarmed about—but if you fill the bowl with blood, better come back in. (She says it so matter-of-factly even I have difficulty feeling alarmed.) You will also have blood in the stool for a couple of days and in the ejaculate for up to six weeks. (Wonderful, now isn't that a turn-on!) And if you experience any feeling of lousiness or fever in the next few days, better come back in. (Okay, I'm officially feeling lousy—should I stay?) Oh, and by the way, here's an absorbent pad for you to wear in your underwear." (Now who would ever accept that kind of inconvenient embarrassment?!)

And that's about how it happened... results in three to four weeks.

Where the Poor People Are...

This week I drove up to Armstrong and flew into Collins. The drive was punctuated by sightings of a number of animals. We started off Monday morning with a pair of white-tails on the road. As they bounded through the ditch and into the bush, we were treated to a pair of white flags jauntily waving us good-bye. Another special treat was finding a bear with her three cubs in the highway ditch. The sow was brown, and she had one cub of each colour—black, brown & cinnamon. We sat there for some minutes watching her chase the cubs up a tree, then return to grubbing out a fallen tree. Soon the cubs returned to her and we enjoyed watching them from about ten metres. (I hope the pictures turn out.) Overall, we saw two deer, four moose and ten bears. The other fellows also caught over a dozen lake trout (about five-six pounds each), and I appreciated being given two of the tasty treats.

As we drove home I commented to my fellow travellers, "The poor people are sitting in an office tower in Toronto—you can't buy an experience like this!"

News Update

We start off the week in Dauphin, then gradually wend our way back to the shore of Lake Superior.

Sunday in Dauphin is an opportunity to refresh a lot of relationships. Thank you, Mabel for hosting us so graciously. On Monday, we pack up our dozen frozen chickens and head east. We stop in at the snake pits in Narcisse, a first for me. There are thousands of garter snakes at one of the four dens, just a few active at the others. We arrive at Kenora in time for supper with Eric/A and crew. We complete the trip to Thunder Bay on Tuesday.

Wednesday morning is used for another Acrobat Connect training session, and then I complete my preparations for a trip to Pickle Lake. Thursday and Friday find me in Pickle Lake working with one of our schools there. There is a lot to be done, but we manage to get some of it accomplished.

Saturday is spent around home. I get the lawn mowed, and practise a bit of golf. I work in the back yard in the afternoon, managing to get all the wood chips hauled around to the back of the house. Then Wendy and I check out George's work on his new project, and spend some time assisting with that.

Wendy has enjoyed the trip west a great deal, and now is trying to get caught up on things back at home. She manages to work in a few trips to the gym between getting the house back in order and the laundry done.

Erin is back in the run of babysitting and classes. She also spends a lot of time getting photos organized and posted in Facebook. Kristian babbles on (unintelligibly most of the time) and gets involved in most everything that interests him and concerns us!

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

News Update

We spend most of the week in Regina, until finally heading for Dauphin on Saturday morning in the rain. We enjoy getting a number of items cleared from the 'to do' list at DadK's place. I get the lawn mowed, the shower fan replaced, and the cedars trimmed. Wendy gets the windows washed, the recycling... ah recycled, and the bedding plants... um bedded. And she also manages to shop for Bill & grandpa.

I also get to play with the '67 Cougar all week. And I manage to get out to the golf course most days for a couple hours of practice. I'm trying to straighten out my driver... you'd think they would sell those things properly configured!

On Monday we drove the Cougar over to Moose Jaw to visit with Aunt Mary, Cousin Elvin and Grace—that was a warming occasion.

When we get to Dauphin, my golfing friends immediately demand that I go golfing, so I have to oblige them! I find my driver is now working very well indeed, but the rest of my game has gone south!! I end up with 94, and a lot more on my 'to correct' list! I am pulling and occasionally hooking my irons—usually the better part of my game. Fortunately, my short game is pretty good, or I'd have seen the dark side of 100! Anyway, I've never let the quality of my golf determine the level of my enjoyment, so it was a nice way to end the week.

Making Time Flying

I had two connections on Saturday morning of the sort the old joke was made from. I took off from Thunder Bay at 6:00 and arrived in Winnipeg at 6:15. Then I took off from Winnipeg at 9:10 and landed in Regina at 9:12. So, I’ve decided to retell the old joke in that context…

An old feller wandered into the Winnipeg airport and up to the Air Canada ticket counter. “Say, do you have any flights to Regina?” the old feller asks.
“Yes, we do,” the helpful attendant responded, “In fact, our next flight leaves here at 9:10 and lands in Regina at 9:12.” The old feller raised an eyebrow and seemed lost in thought. “Do you want me to check if there are any seats left?” the attendant inquired.
The old feller shook his head slowly and then offered, “No, but I think I might hang around a bit and watch that sucker take off!”

News Update

Another week that began on the shore of Lake Superior has ended on the shore of Lake Wascana! A week that started hectic also ended that way, but there were some moments of peace and calm in between.

Wendy worked through the night on Sunday and finished all preparatory work on the cakes on Monday afternoon. Then I commenced building accommodations for all the cakes in the three coolers. So Wendy, Erin & Kristian headed west Tuesday morning at 10:00 and arrived in Regina by midnight.

Hay fever has struck, so I spent most of Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon sleeping. Our conference started Wednesday morning and I attended a workshop on Wednesday morning on Adobe Acrobat. I had a regional Professional Network meeting all day on Thursday, and then Friday morning I had a presentation at the conference. Travis picked me up Saturday morning at 4:45, and by 6:00 I was boarding my first flight on my way to Regina. I got into Regina at 9:14, made the quick change and made it to the wedding at 10:30. The reception was in the afternoon, and extended well into the evening. It was a fine day and a beautiful wedding between two truly beautiful young people. I got to catch up with lots of people in both the Knutson and Tucker families. By that time I was pretty tired (having been up since 2:30am Regina time), and was glad to head early to bed. Unfortunately, I am unable to make connection with the rest of my siblings who are gathering in Dallas to celebrate my nephew’s graduation.

And that’s the kind of week it has been.

News Update

Another week draws to a close on the shore of Lake Superior.

I'm working out of the home office and in the backyard and on the home course! George and I get finished clearing trees from the yard; all told, we cut ten big ones and hundreds of willows. I have a tree chipper scheduled for Monday to clean up the branches, and we have many coming by to pick up firewood from our extensive collection. I'm back to the lab at the hospital on Thursday for more tests. I suspect my urologist now has the results, but I don't know if I'll hear about them before my biopsy, now scheduled for May 31st.

Wendy operated her day care section all week. She has several children each day, but seems to enjoy it all the same. She has begun work on the wedding cake, so by mid-week we were completely without dinner plates! (Each of them holding a section of cake in the freezer!) However, she has now begun assembling the cake, so our plates are returning. She, along with Erin & Kristian expect to head for Regina early next week.

Erin has finished exams and enjoys getting out more with Kristian. She's doing more babysitting, so she's not around much during the day. Kristian continues to amuse us with his antics and smile.

Trav & Sylvia keep busy with their work. Trav is working full-time now that school's out. We are waiting and hoping on Sylvia's job progress.

Eric & Erica are off to Niagara Falls this week so we have the boys with us. Erica has a conference there with her work, and they take the chance to enjoy the falls and visit friends in the area.

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

News Update

Another week draws to a close on the shore of Lake Superior. I'm done travelling for a while, and the weather is beautiful so I spend time on golfing and yard work. Neither is problem free as my swing has not improved over the winter, and yard work proves hazardous as well. I manage to get a fair amount of clean up done in the yard, but we have a big problem on Thursday as a falling tree contacts the power line, causing a fire, and eventually burning through the line. Golf season has opened on local courses so I try to get my game back in action if not form. I visit my urologist on Tuesday, but the results are inconclusive, so I face more testing in the next month or so.

Wendy continues to operate as a day care this week. She has several children each day, but seems to enjoy it all the same. She plans another week of this yet. Then it will be time for her to head for Regina and Tamara's wedding.

Erin has finished exams and enjoys getting out more with Kristian. He really enjoys the outdoors. And he is chattering up a storm although we don't know what language he is using!

Trav has begun his summer work schedule, and is also looking at some additional contracts. Sylvia is applying on a promotion within her same area of work. We wish her well.

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

Falling Trees

Springtime, and old men's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of yard work. Thus this spring finds me looking to clean about ten large trees out of the back yard. And by large I mean fifty footers! These are native spruce, balsam and other evergreens that simply do not make a good fit in a city back yard. We've had three of these monsters already fall, the most recent being last year as it crashed across our fence and across the neighbour's yard. They encourage us to find a way to eliminate the others.

So, my friend, George, and I begin the process. George is the man with the chainsaw. I used to have a chainsaw, but someone decided he needed it more than I, so I no longer have one. We find that taking down, trimming and cutting up two trees is a full day's work. We line each up carefully, use a ladder to attach a rope, and then he cuts while I pull. All goes well for a while, but then disaster strikes! As we are dropping a large spruce, it catches on a pine that refuses to let go. We begin trimming off the bottom trying to get it to fall back into the yard, but the pine irrevocably turns it away, and after a couple of cuts the tree contacts the power lines and fire breaks out.

We call the fire department and the hydro company, and retire to watch them retrieve our fat from the fire! The line eventually burns through and falls spectacularly onto the ground creating another fire in the ground cover. Over all our electricity is off for about five hours, although a much larger section of the city loses electricity only for a few minutes until switching bypasses the trouble.

Travis calls in the evening to ask how the tree falling is going. He has seen an item on the evening news about the power outage. And the morning paper finds us on the front page! We're famous! And very fortunate that there was no serious damage to either of us.

PSA, DRE, ETC

This morning I had a delight-filled half hour with my urologist, Dr. Prowse (Dr. Sterns might be a more seemly moniker!). Despite his information-gathering DRE, he emerged with a solidly inconclusive prognosis. Therefore, he has assigned me another PSA test (with more provisos and specialization ordered), and a urinalysis. Presumably I won't have to study to pass either of these. In addition he has ordered a biopsy of my prostate—"just four little nips"—as he described it in some uncomfortable detail. This will be preceded (and followed) by a course of antibiotics to ensure that no infections develop. As I've thought about his description of this wonderful event (now scheduled for May 31st), I've become more than a little concerned about just how these "little nips" are going to be accomplished!

Thus, some time later, we will get some further data, and Dr. Butts, err... Prowse will come to some conclusions about the probable causes of my elevated PSA. In this regard, I live without anticipation, but with hope!

News Update

Another week draws to a close on the shore of Lake Superior. This was my final week of travelling for a while, and I'm glad of that. I just feel exhausted. So a few weeks closer to home with yard work and golf should put be therapeutic ('bring me around' or 'put me to rights' as the English might say). The weather is beautiful, the covers are off the greens and the fairways are drying up.

This week I was off through Upsala on Monday and on to Savant Lake for Monday night. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Savant Lake, and then began the way back, spending Wednesday night in Ignace. Then we worked Upsala again on Thursday before completing the trip on Thursday evening. A bit of office work (even filing) on Friday completed the work week. Today, we're out a Gord & Nora's for a day of work on the Strategic Plan update for the church. This is the first update since we made the plan a year and a half ago, so there's more than usual to work through. It goes quite well.

Wendy has been operating a segment of Karen's day care all week. She has up to five children on any given day, but reports that she enjoys the work just fine.

Erin has been writing exams and finished that on Friday. She is glad to be through that. Kristian loves the out doors and becomes anxious when he notices any one getting ready to go outside.

Trav & Sylvia are also through exams, with Trav writing his last one today. He begins work on expanded summer hours on Monday.

I am off to see my urologist on Tuesday morning...

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

News Update

We're back into Spring here on the shore of Lake Superior. Once again, the snow has disappeared and golfers' hearts anticipate the joy (as opposed to the actual frustrating experience) of that first round!

Easter Monday is a holiday here, so I begin my road trip on Tuesday. We go out to Atikokan and Mine Centre this week. I am currently concentrating on installing Library automation programs, while concurrently continuing to work on any problems in the Student Management System (SMS). As usual, OnSIS (the Ministry reporting system) continues to confuddle and befuse our best efforts. I don't know who is responsible for building the OnSIS database, but they are doing a bad job! This week we are trying, in both schools, to send batch files of data to update the ministry on our new students as well as any changes in programming for our continuing students. Imagine our dismay when all updates are rejected because "a record already exists" for that student! The issue remains outstanding; clearly, nothing that basic can be overcome easily! More success is achieved in the library installations, and both schools are ready to roll with library automation. We are able to send in the old library records and have them converted into the new system, so that helps a great deal. More work is still needed on the set up for OPAC (online searching) in the new system.

Wendy has been running a daycare most of the week to assist with our friends who operate the daycare, but needed some assistance. I think she has decided that it wouldn't be her first choice of occupation!

Erin has been busy completing her set of courses as the term runs out. She should complete all exams in the coming week. Trav writes his last exam a week from today.

Kristian enjoys getting out on his tricycle and riding the roads. He also enjoys just walking/running outside whenever he gets a chance. Inside, he prefers climbing, and will haul access gear (stools, chairs, boxes) around to assist his climbs onto cupboards, pianos, bureaus... what a rascal!