Pandemic Surges On!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has been comfortable, although we got some snow Wednesday night. The sunshine of the final few days of the week have pretty much melted that away as well. We have continued work on the various projects. Wendy has progressed to the point where she has begun painting the side entry. I've cleaned up a few outstanding issues in the guest room, putting up the curtain rod, fixing the bedside lamps with pull chains so they could actually be operated from the bed, and installing a mirror.

You are invited!

We enjoyed a Zoom gathering with the siblings on Wednesday evening, sharing remembrances and stories of our brother John. It is unlikely that we'll be able to gather as a family before next summer, and that makes times like this even more difficult. Zoom has been a great help. I have been commissioned to prepare an Obituary, and, thankfully, my siblings, especially Tom, have proved a great resource concerning the historical aspects. Meanwhile, the pandemic rages on. Several provinces, including Ontario, have introduced new restrictions in an attempt to slow the infection rate, and maintain space in hospitals. I have a new charting site that provides an interesting illustration of how the various states and provinces are doing—conclusion: we're not doing well! The markets have continued their march forward since Biden's election, and I've increased my holdings to about 50%. These two actions have resulted in my being able to make quota this month.  College basketball has begun and the Jayhawks entered the season ranked #6. Their first game, against the #1 Gonzaga team, did not go well, but they rebounded for a comfortable win over St Joes. College football continues; the #20-Longhorns lost a tight one to Iowa State, so they're probably out of playoff contention in their conference. #21-Oklahoma State won their game to remain in playoff contention, while #14-Oklahoma's game was postponed due to coronavirus concerns.

The Baileys have had a quiet week. Eric/A did a quick shopping trip downtown, hoping to support some local business owners. Liam continues to dance with RU, but with the increased restrictions, we aren’t sure whether this will continue much longer. Haaken doesn’t have anything new to report.

Erin and Kristian continue to work through the complications of hybrid school. He attends every other day in person, and that goes okay, but on the days of at-home learning, it's a bit difficult to get started! Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), grandpa is available via FaceTime, so I've been learning about Woodworking along with elemental and ionic diagrams for the Periodic Table. Now, we've switched to Mitosis. There's a lot of material to be covered when you cramming a course into five weeks.

It was Trav's birthday yesterday, so we were delighted to have the crew gather here for pizza and cupcakes in recognition of the occasion.

Happy Birthday Party for Trav

Despite the restrictions, we have been able to maintain our family bubble, and that's a great comfort. Gemma is continuing her pre-med courses, also in hybrid format, so sometimes we're asked to be in non-disturb mode while she has an online session or presentation, She's doing well. Trav & Joanna have managed some more hockey team photo shoots. It's quite restrictive and they're allowed no group shots. Minor hockey is operating under severe limitations here also. Leagues are set up in bubbles of 3 or 4 teams which play each other at 4 on 4, and with only a partial team membership allowed to play any particular game. We are living in interesting times! 

And that's about enough for this week.