And getting colder...

Another week has passed on the shore Lake Superior in my hometown. The weather has turned even colder with no day time highs above zero, and overnight lows approaching -20°. We have very little snow yet. We had our concert on Sunday afternoon with our Silver Sound choir—that was delightful and now we’re off for a month or so. Wendy had a concert with Sweet Adelines group on Monday evening—also delightful, and they continue practicing and having more concerts. 

Snug as a bug...

The new awning and the cover for the camper arrived. We have installed the awning on the wind-up pipe, but not on the camper. We installed the cover on the camper. Wendy has continued her preparations for the arrival of family later this month. She has bought a queen-sized bed, and is negotiating on two single beds. And there, she got one of those! The markets are not thriving these days. USA investors are fretting that sometimes bad news is just bad news, but they occasionally raise their hopes in the expectations of a FED rate cut. Canadian investors have decided that the economic news is too good as the jobs' report was very good and the unemployment rate fell. They fear the BoC may initiate a rate hike! International curling is in the spotlight this week as eight teams compete on both the women's and men’s sides in an attempt to earn one of two remaining spots at the Olympics. We are among the teams who have already qualified. In the NHL, I enjoyed a special night this week as Oilers, Pens and Leafs all won—small victories, I’m enjoying small victories! In football, the #8-Sooners held their position in the playoffs, while Texas rose to #13 only, and appear destined to miss the playoffs. In basketball, #21-KU rose into the rankings as expected, but lost to #5-UConn this week. Rock Chalk boys. Beat Mizzou!

Erica writes, “This week was a little less busy, which is good because I have been recovering from a cold. Eric had several meetings with FACT-SK, a group trying to bring regulation to therapy in Saskatchewan. We spent some time and money on Thursday and Friday finalizing our Christmas gifts and I think we are almost done, assuming Amazon delivers on time. Liam and Mercedes had a crazy trip to Victoria to pick up their friend Bella. They left Thursday and drove through the night. I am reminded of times Eric and I did something similar and Mom and Dad said we were nuts. I now understand Mom and Dad’s point of view.”—[smile!] Greg writes, “Grandpa would be proud, even though I didn’t get him. I stalked a Whitetail through 10km of bush yesterday, but he used an open swamp to lose me—it was snowing and super windy! It was so much fun!” I am proud, and I agree that the hunt is the fun part; once the animal falls, it’s hard work!

Erin and Kristian are working through their various opportunities and interests in Regina. Work is progressing well for Erin, and she has her staff Christmas Party tonight. Kristian’s new diesel VW is performing just fine despite the frigid temperatures. Kristian begins forklift training on the 18th. He has his training booklet already. There is also the prospect of employment as a forklift operator flowing directly from the training session if all goes well—very encouraging! 

Travis and Joanna keep very busy. Joanna has also had a bit of fight with a cold and sore throat. Wendy is feeling some of those symptoms as well. Rosie is expanding her client list in her massage work. Tonight, Trav came over with some pizza to help us with moving beds. Thanks! He didn’t bring any furry friends this time, although, confidentially, I doubt they would have been of any help!

And that’s about enough for this week.