Yikes!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. As predicted, the warm spell was coming to an end, so Wendy favoured me with another outdoor haircut while it was still warm. On Tuesday night, we got a dump of snow, so, on Wednesday, we were clearing the driveway for the first time this winter. The weather has settled since, and the streets and driveway have cleared off nicely. With the prospect of snow, we decided to buy the carpet for two bedrooms on the main floor. We picked that up, and now I have parked the truck out back in its usual winter storage. I have received an appointment for my eye surgery in January, so we've booked tickets and a hotel in Toronto. Now, we can only hope that the virus situation doesn't interfere with the plan.

Turned out nice

Wendy has completed the staining and finishing of the luggage racks; we just need to install the top webbing there. She also finished the painting in the guest room, so I installed the carpet. The thick melton backing is novel to me, but it seems to work great.

Installed

It does not require any attachment like smooth edge, but we stapled around the perimeter before installing the baseboards. Today, Wendy completed the room with the installation of furnishings. It looks good, and the bed feels comfortable—maybe time for a nap.

Comfortable

The markets have been whipsawing all week with three up-days and two down-days. I have begun buying back into the market on the Biden win, but the virus surge continues to trouble folks. At least I managed a nice green week. I recall back in April, I was handwringing over the USA running up to one million cases in total. Now I see those were the good old days. The USA is now experiencing one million cases per week, and two 9/11's worth of deaths each week, while Trump shows no inclination to take it seriously. Here we have our own share of provinces that are not taking this seriously, so we're experiencing the predicted surge as well. Hospitals in many localities are nearing capacity, but folks still resist taking the level of precautions that are needed. None of my college football teams are playing this weekend; some are on a bye, others are locked down due to covid infections. I wonder what it will take to get folks to behave responsibly, but then I reflect that I still have friends who take the insane position that this is all over-hyped, and that masks won't help! C'mon man! 

Erica writes, "Early this week we got news that Eric does not have COVID. We are 0 for 3 between the two of us! Liam got himself a post office box this week. He is waiting for his Remicade treatments to start, and is still looking for a job. Haaken has been busy, but we’ve managed to schedule a phone call for Saturday. Eric attended a conference for two days this week. He got to travel to the exotic location of our basement. He sure knows how to have fun!"

Erin and Kristian took possession of their new RAV4 this week.

Erin, Kristian, RAV4

They got an extra set of wheels, so they're currently on the winter tires. Kristian has begun the new regime at school where he attends half time, and does the rest on-line. So far, he's coping well. He has completed the cooking part of the Applied Arts, and is moving on to Woodworking. Erin had furnace issues last weekend, but after some pricey repairs they're back in the warmth! 

Trav & Joanna continue to get a smattering of orders from around the country. This week they also have pulled off a couple of socially-distanced hockey team photo sessions—whatever works! 

And that's about it for this week.