It's Winter!

Observing Martin Luther King Day! 

Plenty of reason for more work on racial issues in our country, too! 

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. 

Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." 

Another frosty week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We officially hit -30° this week, so I am confirming that we've had Winter, and we should now move along! We got back to single digits of frost today, so I'm encouraged to think we have moved past the nasty cold days. We added very little snow this week, and that was okay by me. The newer snowblower we bought last Fall has performed admirably, but there's no need to wear it out! We have enjoyed a rather mundane week, with only our usual chores and activities. Wendy brought out another puzzle, but hasn't opened it yet! She continues to have some activity nearly everyday tracking the financial aspects of the Sweet Adelines group. They also have regular zoom meetings, and a zoom practice session each week. Then, she does the shopping for us. I try to remain clear of stores at the best of times, and these days are far from the best of times. She did measure, cut, hem and hang a new set of curtains in the office—looks good. The pandemic is surging throughout the world. Our best province, New Brunswick, is putting up nearly 400 cases per day/million. Recall that in-control is defined as fewer than 100 cases per day/million. Our worst performing province, Manitoba, is at nearly 1400. And the bigger point in all of the data, is that no one seems at all interested in actually tracking how many are becoming infected! "Asymptomatic? Sorry, no test for you." Meanwhile, troubling signs are emerging that the Omicron variant is producing different, but still dangerous symptoms. It may be that reports of milder cases may relate most closely with the fact that so many folks are either vaccinated or have had covid before. Manitoba may be the first province to simply admit that everyone is going to get it! Herd immunity (if such exists), hopefully obtained mostly via vaccines, is their default position. The markets have been wild, and I've sold off another index stock, and am looking askance at a longtime contributor (Loblaws). It's up over 60% since last March, but these last two weeks have seen significant declines. Still, I had a great week; I have overcome the damages from last week and pushed into the green for the month.

Ready for Scotties

Today, I picked up my volunteer uniform for the Scotties. Plans continue to develop for that. It now appears it will operate within a bubble, so very few volunteers will be needed. I do not know if I will be assigned anything. Curling playdowns are struggling to even take place across the country. Locally, Krista McCarville was assigned to represent our region. Kevin Koe went through undefeated to win Alberta again. In hockey, my Oilers have had several games postponed due to covid infections. Pens continue to thrive, and now have Evgeni Malkin back from injury to bolster their ranks. Leafs have had their own covid issues, causing some postponements, and the sidelining of several players. It's a troubled season for sure. All three played tonight: Leafs and Pens won. Oilers, somehow, blew a 3-1 lead in the third period. In Basketball, my Jayhawks returned from a disappointing loss to Texas Tech to take a 1-point win over Iowa State—should not have been close! They were dropped to #9 in the rankings. Today, they blew out WV—good to see!

Erica writes, "The temperature has warmed up—though Eric protests that -10° isn’t warm! We will remedy that this coming week. On Monday, we fly to Puerto Vallarta for a week to thaw out and get some vitamin D." 

First Baptist Church in Prince Albert debuted their new logo, designed by Liam Bailey! Congratulations Liam! It looks good. His design incorporates the map of the city with the North Saskatchewan River flowing through it. 

Erin and Kristian have managed their usual program of work and school. They are much relieved to have a reliably performing vehicle this winter. Kristian is preparing for finals and the end of the semester. Extra-curricular activities have been cancelled for the time being. 

Trav & Joanna hosted a family supper on Sunday evening. That was delightful and delicious. We even got to open the Christmas Crackers that have been mislaid or forgotten on our earlier gatherings since Christmas! Andrew has decided to go back to school at Confederation College, so he has begun the application process there. Gemma is considering her post-graduate options, and is also preparing applications for various programs of study. Rhys is completing his engineering degree, and is looking for a job anywhere on the continent. All the young folks are looking to make changes. Trav & Joanna continue to have some Puckshots work to clean up, and are still getting some contracts for the Bucket Decals side of the business. 

And that's about it for this week.