March 18, 2007:

Off again! This time to Saskatoon , where Doreen is having eye surgery on Monday. Weather permitting, we should be home Monday night.

The snow had pretty well all melted around Didsbury, but last Monday the temperature dropped dramatically during the day and we got some fresh snow. Tuesday night there must have been another six inches or so. The sky cleared before noon, and a lot of the new snow disappeared before night.

A little way east of Didsbury on Wednesday there was almost no snow in the fields, and that was the case until about Rosetown, when we began seeing snowy fields. We ran into a snowstorm east of Rosetown that got pretty vicious before we got to Saskatoon . Lots of storm warnings, particularly for the area along the Yellowhead. We stayed overnight in Saskatoon , and coming east on Highway #41 on Thursday saw little evidence of new snow except for ice on the highway. Obviously there was no fresh snow at home so the storm bypassed us completely. That suits me – I won’t be heartbroken if I don’t have to start the snowblower again this spring.

Daylight Saving Time came early this year – March 11^th, I think, making Alberta ’s time the same as ours. I still think we are the ones doing it right – staying on the same time all year – but I guess millions of golfers can’t all be wrong.

Lake Avenue is terribly icy and walking is not fun. I made my usual walk on Friday and the road from the ball diamond to the hall was dry. I’ll have to be super careful, or else just forget about exercise until we lose a little more snow.

The skating ice at the tennis court has all melted away. It might be okay for roller skates, though.

Connie and Gary Schmidt tell me they plan to close the Beach Café from March 27^th to May 3^rd. I gather they want to do some work in the kitchen part and it’s not possible to stay open while they do it. Not sure what we’ll do for coffee in April – maybe we should just go away again. April can be an unpleasant month while the snow melts away.

Jenny is opening another store – this time, in Foam Lake . It is in the former Bumper to Bumper building, right next door to Golden Ocean Gifts. It, too, will be called Crawford’s Family Fashions. She has been working like a trooper getting it ready, with tremendous help and support from the whole Grimson family. She says she is going to open next Friday, the 23^rd, ready or not. She is running a major sale at the Wadena and Kelvington stores, and wants the people of Foam Lake to have a crack at it too.