Slava Ukraini!

One of the recurrent nightmares I have is of being in a war. In the dream, I walk up over a hill, and there is a tank waiting on the other side. That's it. I wake up with pounding heart, and spend some minutes settling back into sleep. That is the reality of what Putin is putting upon Ukraine. I could not bear it. 

Slava Ukraini!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. By now, we should have been in Regina, but events intervened! On Tuesday we learned that we had been in close contact with an individual with Covid-19, so, instead of heading west on Wednesday, we hunkered down in isolation for the rest of the week.

Yay!

We tested negative today, and we will retest tomorrow before embarking on the trip. We could not forgive ourselves if we carried covid to the family in Winnipeg or Regina. We are also watching over a winter storm that moved in last night. We hope it will move through before Sunday morning, and that we can get an all-clear on the highway west. My knee is rehabbing well, and while it tires quickly, it's not giving me much trouble. Otherwise the week has been quiet, and we enjoyed local activities.

Wendy-Ice Sculpture

Bill-Ice Sculpture

The markets have been reeling over the events in Ukraine, and it has been difficult to know which way to jump. Biden's calm determination seems to have heartened investors some, so we enjoyed some good gains around the bad losses! USA jobs data on Friday was very strong, and that also encourages investors. Most jurisdictions are relaxing pandemic restrictions, and reducing monitoring and reporting of the situation. Other data, like waste water assessment, show slightly increasing infection rates. Troubling data of illness among infants who are not eligible for vaccination also gives us pause. The world of sport moves along; the MLB season is suffering cancellations as the billionaire owners and millionaire players struggle to find a way to play! Oilers and Pens are playing pretty well, while Leafs are floundering a bit in hockey. Both Leafs and Oilers seem to need goaltender upgrades. Jayhawks played three games this week, needing to win two to claim the conference championship. After splitting the first two, they needed to beat Texas this afternoon. It took OT, but they did it—Champions! Now, it's off to March Madness! Rock Chalk, Jayhawks! But the big event this week is the Brier. I have three picks: Koe, Gushue, Jacobs. I'll be cheering for Koe to win an unprecedented fifth Brier. 

Erica writes "I spent some time on the road this week with jobs up in La Ronge. Eric held down the fort back at home. It’s turned cold again, then snowy. It feels like winter will never end. Liam, Haaken and Greg don’t have much to report."

Erin also had a close encounter with covid as one of her co-workers fell ill, and tested positive. She ends the week feeling a bit punky, but has tested negative so far. Kristian has continued with school and curling. They got another dump of snow in Regina this week. That's the storm that is now bothering us! 

Travis & Joanna are busy. They've also been helping with the care and feeding of Gemma while she isolates and convalesces. Gemma will be in charge here while we're gone, and Travis has been trained in the snowblower should that become necessary. They have the worst of city snow removal service in their area. They don't have off-street parking, but are required to park on a different side of the street every night so snow removal can be accommodated—however, snow removal does not happen! Parking spaces are becoming more and more limited! 

And that's about it for this week!