The Covid train keeps rolling along

 

The beginning of this Covid journey is getting farther and father in the rear view mirror, to the point that I really have to stop and calculate when it all started. In Alberta, another public health emergency has been declared and we're heading a new version of a circuit breaker or pseudo lockdown. In last night's news conference, I think I heard the Premier say that we are exceeding modelling projections that came out a few weeks ago. If our ICU numbers are the highest they have ever been now, imagine what they will be like a few weeks from now.  

Our family and close contacts are all double vaccinated, but I certainly worry for those who are not. Apparently, 90 percent of the people in ICUs in Alberta are from the unvaccinated crowd.  

In the middle of all this our local newspaper, The Western Wheel, has come out with its Peoples' Choice Awards. This is a long list of accolades - Gold, Silver and Bronze - ranging from Best Tire Shop to Best Place to Have Your First Kiss. We received two of these pats on the back, a Bronze for Best Gallery and a Gold for Best Artist. This is a fun way to build community and make people feel good.  Heather and I were both touched beyond measure.

I thought the new Covid restrictions might put a kibosh on my live painting this Saturday, but apparently the Women in Curling Summit is going forward. I'll be doing a curling themed painting as part of this one-day conference here in Okotoks. I'm going to use this 100 year old curling photo as my inspiration.

I am so grateful to the many commission requests I get every year.  There are always 4 to 5 projects in the "waiting to get done" pile. I'm grateful for the patience of my clients as these kind of projects generally take time. If you have a commission in mind, hoping for a Christmas delivery, I would suggest getting in touch sooner than later.  I'll happily provide you with a number of options and hope that something meets your budget and timeline.  (email russell@birdsongstudios.ca)

I learned how to type on a manual typewriter, a black Underwood if my memory serves me correctly. We were taught to hit the space bar twice at the end of the sentence.  I still have this habit; though they tell me it is wrong. Kids these days are taught to only hit the space bar once at the end of the sentence. Ha ha ha. I'm trying to do better. Have an awesome day.