Concerts!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. Winter continues to move in; this week we received a bit more snow, not really enough for the snowblower, but I wanted to give it a try anyway! Last night, we got more snow, but now it is above zero and has been raining all morning, so this became be quite a mess by the time the rain ended and I finally got at it. I'm pretty sure the snowblower did not like pumping out that slushy stuff! We had our Silver Sound concert on Sunday. Wendy is singing tenor in the top left of the choir, I am in the centre of the top right area. We enjoy this choir a great deal, and plan to rejoin in January aiming toward a Mothers' Day weekend concert. Wendy had another concert on Wednesday evening with the Sweet Adelines choir—you can see her in the third row, right side.

Sweet Adelines Xmas Concert

She has another set for next Monday, and I am continuing to practice for the Cantata which is scheduled for Dec 15th. The market indices set new records again this week as some of Trump's more egregious cabinet choices are being rejected by the Senate, so folks are encouraged. The big economic fears centre around his rhetoric on deportation, tariffs and deconstruction of the civil service. I continue with my "wait and see" approach. In the world of sports, the Grand Slam of Curling ended with both #1 teams prevailing. Homan is having another phenomenal season on the women's side, and that Mouat team from Scotland is just amazing as well. In the NHL, the Leafs have ascended to first place in their division, Oilers and Pens have moved into a playoff position, so we keep cheering and hoping. My #1-Jayhawks suffered their first loss of the basketball season, so they may get dropped when the new rankings are published. In football, #2-Texas played #5-Georgia in the conference championship game this afternoon and acquitted themselves well, but lost in overtime. I still expect them to be highly placed in the college football playoffs. I won't be surprised if they win it all, but they've got to open up their playbook in the scoring zone—cannot continue to settle for FGs. 

...and presents under the tree...

Erica writes, "I had carpal tunnel surgery on Wednesday. Now, I have to figure out how to do everything left-handed while my right hand heals. Thank goodness for voice to text applications. Eric taught his final class of the semester and now he’s busy marking papers. We are slowly getting the house ready for company as all three boys and one girl will be home for Christmas."

Erin and Kristian continue to wait and cope in Regina. The wintry blast has been severe in Saskatchewan so far this season, with very cold temperatures as well as several blizzards. This weekend the weather has turned nice, the sun is shining, and the snow is melting—vive la différence! Earlier in the week, she suffered RAV4 failure as the battery inexplicably died. At least it's eligible for replacement under warranty, but it is a reminder of how much these modern vehicles and their computers rely on a very well functioning battery! We had a similar failure with ours where it just suddenly would not do anything, not even shift into neutral for towing! Kristian is completing his drug trial, but has signed up for a continuation of the treatments, so he'll remain in the trial for some extended time. Still nothing on the employment front for him. 

Travis and Joanna continue to recover, albeit slowly. As a result, we haven't been seeing them as neither they nor we wish to have us participate in this virus. They do summon the energy to get the boys out for walks from time to time. They are also needing to reserve some energy for the photo shoots that continue to be booked. Get well, guys! Gemma continues with an adventurous and educational posting on Vancouver Island. 

And that's enough for this week.