Omicron is here!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has continued to be very unusual for mid-December. The strangeness reached an apex on Wednesday as we hit +9° amid heavy rainfall of 20-25 mm. That removed most of the accumulated snow, and we were back looking at green grass on the lawns—strange! However, we got a bit of snow last night, so the surface is white once more. The mild weather has allowed me to make more progress on my woodwork projects. I've been picked up a couple more pallets and salvaged the lumber from them. I completed my curling schedule this week. I am signed up to volunteer at the Scotties, so I haven't signed up for more curling of my own. Upgraded restrictions have reduced attendance at the Scotties to 50%, but we're still hoping for a good event beginning in the end of January. The Omicron variant has taken a foothold in Canada and throughout the world. Infections in Canada are up 54% this week, and many provinces are announcing a return to severe restrictions. News out of South Africa is of less severe symptoms, and we hope that holds true here. We now have five provinces running out of control, led by Quebec and including Ontario. In the USA, forty-nine states are now out of control—c'mon man! I tweaked my back shovelling snow last week, so I added a trip to the chiropractor this week. It's feeling a bit better. The markets had another wild ride this week. The biggest factor was the FED meeting on Wednesday where they announced a curtailment of the bond-buying program, and the anticipation of interest rate increases for next year. The spread of Covid was also a concerning factor. The results were four red days surrounding one big green day, and I fell short of quota, however, I've already made quota for the month and for the year, so it's more a matter of hanging on for the final two weeks of 2021. The markets are out, according to my charting plan, and I've gradually been selling, and reducing my exposure. The world of sports is also being hit by the rise in infections. Some NHL teams have been shut down completely for the next while, and many others are suffering losses of team members on Covid suspension. Five of the ten games scheduled for tonight were cancelled. My Oilers are still struggling, but at least they won tonight. The Leafs and Pens are doing well, although the Leafs are currently being hit with Covid. Attendance has been cut at Leaf home games to 50% attendance. In basketball, #7-Jayhawks continued their winning ways this week, but tonight's game was way closer than it should have been. Rock Chalk! 

Erica writes, "Liam is home! Haaken and Greg are not. Liam, Eric and I drove back to PA from Regina on Sunday and the rest of the week has been catching up on the stuff we usually do on the weekend. Liam and Eric got our new Christmas Moose out during the week.

Cold, but Successful! Lovely!

Our plan for Saturday [since it's -33°, with a windchill of -37°] is to complete the outdoor decorations. On Friday, I received a gift and certificate for five years of service. It was a nice time celebrating all the service anniversaries!"

Kristian received his new hearing aids and new ear moulds—looks like Rider Green to me! These hearing aids are bluetooth compliant, so he's already linked to his iPhone and can hear directly into his ears—great!

Newly installed!

Erin and Kristian have continued with Christmas preparations. Kristian had his final day of classes on Friday, so he's already on break. 

Travis and Joanna continue to be very busy with hockey business. Covid restrictions return tomorrow, so there is growing concern over how it will impact the hockey season, and their work. Otherwise, they continue their Christmas preparations. We look forward to sharing it with them. Andrew is busy with work. Gemma and Rhys have finished their semester at university. 

Merry Christmas to all!