Thursday evening

It's good to be back in the city but it seemed strange not to be driving over to spend the afternoon with Howard. He seemed somewhat confused on the phone tonight, thought he was catching a ride with some quilters.  He was relieved when I told him that he didn't have to go anywhere tonight.  St. Joseph's Care Home is still in lockdown.

I spent the day bringing my stuff in and getting it all put away.  I brought a tote full of fabric for quilt tops down to the the basement sewing room.  Tomorrow I'm going to get myself on a schedule starting with time on the treadmill.  I have numerous "someday" projects that will get done if I spend some time on them each day.  If I do a good days work, I'll reward myself with a Netflix movie!  I must take advantage of the high speed internet that I have in the city as I can't do a lot of downloading at the farm where internet comes via satellite.

Ray and Susie got away by eight this morning so they should be catching up with family and friends tonight in Mesa.  With the cold, windy weather yesterday I think they were glad to be heading south again.  And I am glad to be in the city for the rest of the winter.  I'm sure we won't be blessed with snow free days very much longer.

Carter is playing hockey in Bienfait this weekend so I'm planning to go out on Saturday to watch a game or two.  It's just a ten minute drive from here.  Perhaps Lindsay and Jamie will come here for a sleepover that night.

I brought all the Christmas mail with me so will have lots to share with Howard when the time comes.  We'll try to make some phone calls too as he is on the Sask Tel "bundle".  We can call anywhere, anytime in North America for a flat rate of $23 a month.  Calls to Norway are just 3 cents a minute so we can talk for an hour for the price of mailing a letter there!  Howard doesn't do much calling now as making phone calls is somewhat of a challenge for him, even with preset buttons.

Today I have been remembering my cousin, Stephen Michael Geving.  He was born on this date in 1950 and died of a malignant brain tumour in 1992.  I remember going up to the hospital in Frontier to visit Aunt Ruth and the new baby boy.  She and Uncle Oscar lived at Robsart.  There was no doctor there so she came to Frontier for the delivery.  She ended up staying for a month and going home via airplane as there was so much snow that winter.  The plane landed on the snow in our farm yard.  I think a neighbour brought Aunt Ruth and Stephen to the farm via sleigh.  He had his first plane ride before his first car ride!  Blessed be his memory.

I'm not sure if it was the same winter but our teacher also had to come back to Frontier by plane after holidays in Regina.  We lived just five miles from town but I stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Erickson for most of my first three years of schooling.  I was quite happy there, as long as I could get home once in a while.  I remember being in town for a month one winter and worried that I wouldn't get home for my birthday.  Dad rescued me on the tractor that time.

Times have changed and so does the weather.  But it goes in cycles so we never know what the rest of this winter will bring.  We didn't have snow for Christmas but Howard's cousin in Odessa, Texas did!

Well, I'm off to bed to get ready for a "work day" tomorrow.  Good-night.  Sleep tight!