This snow and rain combo surely made a mess of the roads Saturday. Many plans were cancelled, lots of heavy snow was shovelled and the safest thing to do was to stay home. Heavy fog has been reported in several areas this past week. During that cold spell we had earlier, seven baby goats and two lambs arrived at the Bru farm, and all are doing just fine.
May Mannix has enjoyed visits from her daughter Debbie and Peter from Aukland, New Zealand and their daughter Linda and Jacques from Vancouver, B.C. It’s always a special time when three generations can spend time together.
The next regular monthly R.M. council meeting is set for Feb. 5 at 1 p.m. in the R.M. office building.
If the village council meetings are the first Tuesday of the month, as the January one was, the next one will be Feb. 4, at 7:30 p.m. I suggest you phone to verify.
Donations of winter wear clothing by seniors in Meota and North Battleford to The Lighthouse were appreciated with thanks.
Sobeys are planning to do away with plastic grocery bags as of month end. That means people will have to bring their own bags. One problem could be bags contaminated with dog hair or other debris. Keeping the counter clean may be a concern.
On Saturday I saw nine snow machines in the village, travelling together and it reminded me the snowmobile rallies are coming up. Chitek Lake Bush Buddies have their rally planned for Feb. 15 followed by Leoville’s rally on Feb. 29 and Rabbit Lake March. I Wonder if there will be any fish derbies.
Duplicate bridge was played in the Pioneer Hall in the city Jan. 21, with four tables in play. High scores were by Mary Phelps and Pat Zaychkowski, withDonna Scherman and Norma Assmus second. Third were Lori Stark and Bea Prutti. Thursday evening winners were tied for first and second — Albert Blais and John Armstrong tied with Donna Scherman and Mary Phelps.Â
There were four tables playing Canasta Jan. 24, and Irene Kerr watched as she learns the game that we all enjoy so much. Newcomers are welcome any time. We have lots of patience to help you learn. Top score went to Bev McCrimmon and Lorna Pearson, second were Cora Christiansen and Arlene Walker and third were Barbara Soloninko and Linda Ard. Of course we got together for a social time and snacks afterward.
Trudy Janssens submitted this item:
In 2019 my Mom turned 95 and all 10 of her children and their spouses made the trip to Abbotsford, B.C., without incident.
This was not the case this year. Thankfully we consulted with one another and decided it would be better for Mom if we didn’t all go at the same time. My brother from Mexico was the first to visit and they were spared the worst of the hassles.
You could tell from the Weather Channel that the weather was going to be severe. Extreme cold meant the airlines would have to take extra precautions with their planes, deicing at every takeoff. When I left Saskatoon I had been warned the plane would be slightly delayed. That would mean the connection in Calgary would be tight. We were rushed by a shuttle bus to the gate, but were greeted by an empty desk. The gate had been closed early and nine passengers were told (once we found someone to help us) that we had all been rescheduled to the next flight. That meant arriving in Abbotsford at 12:30 p.m. I finally got there at 2 p.m. Abbotsford time.
After spending five days with Mom, I realized Abbotsford is difficult to fly in and out of in winter. The airport is not accustomed to snow. All 15 flights in and out of Abbotsford on the day I should have left were cancelled. At 10 p.m. a phone recording informed me that I would now be leaving a day later and at the end of the day instead of at lunch time. I had a sister from Thunder Bay, Ont. coming in at noon that day. We were nervous about their arrival because it was snowing enthusiastically. They did make it and because my brother-in-law isn’t afraid of driving in snow he volunteered to drive me to the airport.
The flight was more than an hour late, due to the deicing lineups in Calgary. Once again I was destined to miss the connection to Saskatoon. To top it off, while I was arranging for a new boarding pass the fire alarm went off and the terminal was evacuated. The fire was not in the terminal, but the building beside the terminal
Because I missed the connection they would put me on the next flight into Saskatoon, but because arrival would be in the wee hours, I opted to stay in Calgary with our son. The bonus was that I could play dolls with my granddaughter for about two hours since she was out of school at noon. Of course my flight was delayed. My husband did say the pilot must have had a tail wind because I arrived slightly ahead of the posted arrival time.
Lesson learned: never mind the actual birthday. Go visit Mom when you aren’t going to be delayed by two and a half days in freezing cold conditions and snow.
