BRRR!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We are into a cold snap with a polar vortex bringing cold weather down both east and west of us, and we're getting caught a bit as well. Western Canada is seeing temperatures down to -40°, and eastern Canada is seeing cold and storms pushing down into the USA. We feel a bit fortunate with calm conditions and temperatures around -15°, but it still leaves us relieved to sit, well protected, in our comfortable home. We did get some additional snow early in the week, but we remain well below average on that front for this point in the season.

Puzzle-Lady completes another!

Wendy has completed another puzzle. She also keeps busy with her choral group, and her small group at church. She continues to improve, albeit slowly, from her long term coughing problem. This weekend, we inherited Minnie as Trav & Joanna headed south to Punta Cana. The colder weather has kept me from the workshop, but I did pick up two large pallets (4x8) with full 2x4s. I got one of them stripped down. They were new pallets, probably only used once, so they came apart very cleanly, providing me a good source of lumber. I have been back and forth with the surgeon this week, and my surgery date has been adjusted and readjusted as operating theatre schedules have changed. I was set for the 24th, which seemed like a good omen to me since that was Mom's birthday, but yesterday, they changed it to the 22nd, a week from Monday. Markets were troubled this week, and retreated in value. CPI came in higher than expected, raising inflation concerns. PPI came in lower than expected, lowering inflation fears. Investors didn't know what to do, so with the Monday USA market holiday, they sat on their hands! In hockey, my Oilers followed up their earlier eight game winning streak with another winning streak that has now reached a team record ten games! As a result, they have moved into a playoff position. Penguins are close, and Leafs are in a playoff position, but both lost tonight. #3-Jayhawks unexpectedly lost their game earlier in the week, but they came back with a solid win today. Since #1, 2 and 5 also lost, it's hard to predict where they'll be ranked next week! The curling world is focused on Lloydminster this week, and my guy, Kevin Koe has qualified for the playoffs. We'll see what he can manage tomorrow. 

The Saskatchewan families have hunkered down against the extremely cold weather out there. Erica did venture into Saskatoon for a medical referral. Liam and his team ventured into the frigid northern Saskatchewan for presentations at Canoe Lake. We're glad they made it safely home again!

We remember

Erin has begun dismantling her Christmas tree, but not before taking time to appreciate the Sadie memento in recognition of their first Christmas after her passing. Kristian has been putting in extra hours at school as he works to earn additional math credit. 

Travis and Joanna delivered Minnie to us. Moxley and Darby are being cared for at home by Max, who is also in charge of the house. Travis and Joanna have escaped the cold and storm for two weeks in Punta Cana—we're jealous!

And that's about enough for this week.