Brrr!

Another week of wintry weather has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. Temperatures regularly dropped into the -20s this week; we were hit with another couple dumps of snow, and the wind blew. We did not enjoy the weather this week! We were two days clearing the first deposit onto the lawn. Last night's was a mere skiff by comparison. Wendy has continued to spend many hours working on the books/records/authorizations for the Barbershop group. Occasionally, she declares that everything is in order, but that seems to turn into a self-curse, as she then discovers something else that is definitely not in order! The banks involved regularly blame it on the computers! The computers muse about who made the programs and who did the entries! The pandemic continues to flourish with two provinces (PEI, SK) reporting over 1000 cases/million each day. None of our provinces are in control, but the country seems to be flattening the curve, so we hope for better times. We have been hoping to travel to SK before Spring, but it's not looking possible at this time. The markets have remained troubled over inflation and interest rates. Monday was a great day, and I got back to quota for the month, but the four red days that followed depleted all of that and left me in the red. I've sold out of all three index funds, and another of my regular stocks as Loblaws fell out of favour. There will be a reaction next week as the central banks announce their new interest rate positions, but which way will they react?! In the world of sport, the Scotties have been confirmed to play within a bubble, so my volunteered services won't be needed, and I'll be watching on TV with the rest of the fans. In hockey, my Oilers continue to flounder, but tonight, they beat the Flames to break a seven-game losing streak. Penguins are flying (see what I did there?), and Leafs are fluttering between good games and lackadaisical ones. In basketball, #7-Jayhawks are playing well, and developing into an effective team. Today, they made a big comeback at K-State. They were down 16 at the half, and finally took the lead with 9 seconds left—whew! 

Erica writes, "Eric and I are enjoying this week south of both borders in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We planned the trip last summer when it seemed the Delta variant would likely have run its course before Christmas, and we would be on the upswing. With Omicron, we debated whether or not to go. In the end, we decided to take the precautions available to us and take the break from winter. It has been a steady week of highs around 27° and lows of 18°. This is right at the upper end of what I find comfortable and has allowed us to be more active. We had a couple days of just relaxing at the pool, masked except when swimming. Masks are required everywhere, temperatures are taken at each entrance, and a squirt of cleaner is provided. On Wednesday night, we went on an excursion to Rhythms of the Night. The trip included a boat ride to an island which is set up as an outdoor restaurant (dinner was amazing) and outdoor theatre. The show rivalled Cirque de Soleil in production values, and the entire set up made us feel as if we had travelled to a magical land. We also had a tour of Puerto Vallarta and San Sebastián up in the mountains. We’ve learned about glass, coffee, tequila and silver production and a fair bit of local history—some of which might even be true! Our tour operator today was quite a story teller! We’ve also sampled chocolates, candies and enjoyed some of the local art. We have one more trip on Sunday to do some snorkelling, kayaking and paddle boarding. This will be a fear-facing opportunity for me, which I think is good to do. We will see how it goes. Saturday, we get our mandatory PCR test for our return on Monday. We are praying all goes well with that. One of our travel companions is a nurse and is regularly self-testing. She has remained negative while a large number of her colleagues back in PA have tested positive!"

Kristian briefly returned to school as their government thinks that reality is a socialist plot. As infections skyrocketed among both students and staff, he's now back to online learning as the semester comes to an end. The weather in Saskatchewan continues to be fierce with cold, snow and wind. 

Travis and Joanna keep busy. There are support programs available during these covid times, but they're doing too well to take advantage! It's a good thing. 

And that's enough for this week.