I'm leavin' on a *prop* plane...

Saskatchewan is in a deep freeze again, and most folks are taking off for sunny warm locales at this time of year.  But not me.  No way, Jose.  (Those of you in the sunny locales may have met Jose.)  Nope, we're off to frigid La Ronge.  But we're traveling in style - West Wind Aviation's finest 44 passenger ATR-42 prop plane!  Turns out that, for not too much more moolah, you can convert a 6.5 hour bus ride and overnight stay in PA into a two hour van ride to catch a 53 minute flight and be home in your own bed before midnight.  And I'm likin' it.  The players are pretty darned excited, too.  What the heck - it could be their last hoorah.  But if they do get by La Ronge, we go to either Estevan or Midale for the final.  I've driven that drive - I am keeping West Wind on speed dial.  The Midgets trounced Wilkie in the first round of league play-offs.  It seems they've pulled their heads out of their you-know-whats and are playing some decent hockey again. 

The Pee Wees are still walking over everyone.  Last night they beat Maidstone 13 to 5 or some silly score like that.  There were a couple of tense moments when Maidstone came within two goals, but we shortened the bench and pulled through.  Oh - wait.  We shortened the bench and THEN Maidstone came within two goals.  Excuse me.  Derek took a ten-minute penalty for hitting to the head after the head of one of their shorter players came into contact with Derek's elbow.  Other than that, it was pretty calm.  Well, except for some of our rather intense parents.  But that's a whole other blog post, and one which would probably get me into trouble, so you won't read it here.  You don't have to kick me in the head twice!   I really need my own little sound-insulated booth at the rink so I could watch the games in solitary, and quiet, comfort.  So we're off to Maidstone tomorrow for a nice Sunday drive.  Then the Pee Wees have a break while their one and only goalie is off in one of those sunny locales for a week or so.   Then it will be on to Clavet or Kamsack for the northern final in that draw.  Go, Clavet, Go!

We were shocked and saddened to hear that 59-year-old David Neufeld died suddenly the other day.  I guess you just never know.  Live each day to the fullest, people.  David was an avid reader, and I will miss his regular visits to the library.  We always had such interesting chats!

Clem has become a working man again.  He is helping out a friend who clears snow around oil leases.  And this winter, there's been a lot of snow to push.  It's not a hard job, the hours are pretty good (few and far between!), and he gets to ride around in one of those fancy tractors that he can't afford! 

And that's about it for the updates.  Tonight is the Rage wind-up (get your tickets if you're in the area - supper will be good!).  Then the kids are off school for the week, so stay tuned for the next happy dance!

Thanks for stopping in!
Chandra

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Valentine's Day, but we don't really celebrate that much around here.  It's a bit of a "girly" holiday, so you can probably understand why that just doesn't go over too well in this macho household, what with all the pink cupcakes and such.  Besides, there's not much time for hearts when we're always at the rink!  The Midgets and Pee Wees both advanced to the third round of Provincials.  The Pee Wees decimated their second-round opponents 25 to 1, and they decided, mercifully, not to come back to Kerrobert for another trouncing.  The Midgets beat Swift Current 14 to 2 in their series.  It was a great game in town this afternoon, and we had an amazing crowd.  It was good old small town hockey fun.  I think we showed those city-slickers how to put on a hockey game!   Although Speedy Creek might not be a city - I'll have to Google that one.

It was good to see the Midgets play so well after losing their last two league games, mostly because they just didn't try.  Hopefully they have got that out of their system, as we are heading into league playoffs (starting with Wilkie) and have to go to La Ronge for the next Provincial run.  Nothing like a drive to northern Saskatchewan in the middle of winter!

We had a sad week here.  We lost a very dear, long-time family friend.  Mary grew up with Clem's mom, and their mothers and grandmothers were friends.  Clem grew up with Mary's kids - he is even in a picture from one of their family reunions!  So although it was nice to see everyone when they were home, it was awfully hard to say good-bye to such a wonderful lady.  We sent her off in style, though!  I'm still recovering.

The weather has been so mild here, which is very enjoyable if you don't have to drive anywhere.  We're never sure what the roads are going to be like at any given time of any given day.  Makes it rather hard to plan anything.  Not a good thing for the manager of a hockey team!

So I am off to bed for a long beauty sleep - heaven knows I need it (and you are welcome to take that however you like!)

Thanks for checking in!
Chandra