There is Light!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has turned both cold and snowy. We had our first winter storm blow through mid week, and we certainly got our work out clearing the driveway. The snowblower is not running (yet); don't quite understand why. It seems to have both fuel and spark, but it's not firing! I'm thinking Wendy may have sabotaged it to save what's left of my fingers! We certainly could have used it on the one cleaning. The first time the snow was very heavy and wet, and probably would not have blown well. Wendy has been very busy, continuing the preparation and painting of the side entry, working on Christmas preparations, and shoveling snow! We enjoyed Christmas Day with Travis, Joanna, Gemma and Andrew. Wendy fixed roast turkey, and more trimmings than I recall! Mashed potatoes and gravy with stuffing and whole berry cranberries are central of course, but she added corn, butternut squash, yams AND sweet potatoes, rutabaga, broccoli, pickles and salad! Joanna supplemented our overindulgence with wine and crème brûlée.

Family!

Selfie around the table!

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed the opening of gifts from the ridiculous to the sublime—I scored some more Amazon gift cards, so the giving continues! We all feel abundantly blessed! We decided to add to our possessions with a new deep freeze, and a thickness planer. Then, this evening this begin:

Wendy is now fully employed!

The markets have been troubled even over this shortened week as the Senate Republicans were unwilling to give folks much money in the way of stimulus, but after the Democrats finally agreed to the reduced stimulus, Trump came along and rejected the whole negotiations. So, it remains up in the air, and the markets hate uncertainty, so valuations have not gone well, and I have fallen behind on my quota for the month, and with just one shortened week left to catch up! The pandemic continues to ravage, but vaccinations have begun, so we look forward to what effect that may begin to have in about a month or so. College Football is into bowl season; my teams are scheduled to play next week. #20-Texas and #21-Oklahoma State are favoured in their games, while my #6-Sooners are the underdog at the Cotton Bowl. #3-Jayhawks completed their 2020 play with an impressive win over #7-West Virginia.

Eric, Erica and Liam enjoyed their Christmas observance at home. Eric and Erica did get out for some careful caroling for several seniors of their congregation. Haaken celebrated in Victoria. Eric and Erica helped with the Christmas Eve service, then followed up with handing out some cards and doing a driving tour of the Christmas lights. Liam made a gluten-free lasagna. Then, they accommodated a second seasonal observance of Die Hard with Haaken via FaceTime and enjoyed phone calls with both sides of the family. Today, they had a Zoom call with Greg and Haaken. Tomorrow, Eric and Erica celebrate their sparkling water/champagne anniversary: 27th on the 27th. The plan is not set yet—maybe Skip the Dishes. Eric, Erica and Liam are all part of leading the worship service tomorrow. 

Erin and Kristian were able to host Shawn, Astrid and Liam for celebrations in Regina. We enjoyed some video chatting with them yesterday.

Travis and Joanna were busy with flower deliveries for Christmas. The more recent lockdowns here mean hockey and PuckShots are back on hiatus. At least they're in our family bubble, so we're glad to have some time with them.

And that's enough for this week.