Merry Christmas 2020 from the Hegels

              

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

               Well, 2020 certainly has been interesting! Most of us won’t be sorry to see it in the rear-view mirror.  Hopefully, you’re reading this letter in good health, and in a peaceful state of mind. As for the Hegel family, we have all fared pretty well, all things considered.  By the grace of God, the issues of health, safety, and gainful employment have not posed major problems for us at this point. My heart goes out to the many who have lost their jobs, health, loved ones, or peace of mind due to this outbreak.

              I continue to work for Hegel Construction as my semi-retirement career, and so far, work has been fairly steady.  Joseph has 5 full-time employees, and I work off and on as needed (doing mostly finishing work of one kind or another). His business continues to be based out of Maidstone, SK, but a normal day might involve travelling anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour to a job site. The past year has had us working in various places close to Maidstone and Neilburg, as well as North Battleford, Loon Lake, and Lloydminster. Thankfully, the construction industry has stayed busy over the past year. 

A stamped concrete driveway that Joseph did this fall, after adding a large attached garage

A set of stairs and railings I finished on one of the cabins Joseph built at Loon Lake

A new house we built in North Battleford. My tasks included front stairs and railings, and the inside stair rail (see photo below).

A custom garden shed that kept me busy for a while last winter

Chandler continues to work at Catholic Family Services in North Battleford, but mostly works from home lately.  The demand for family counselling has gone through the roof since Covid started, and so many people are under stress. Coleen was babysitting Dawson on a regular basis, but now that Dawson has been in day care (with the exception of the past couple of weeks), she only babysits occasionally.  We are having SO MUCH FUN with that little man! Dawson will turn two years old in February, and is as busy and energetic as a little boy can be.  We are so blessed to live close to Joseph and Chandler, and to see Dawson regularly.

              One of the high points of this past year was Alyssa and Ben’s wedding in June.  In spite of having to downsize to a dozen people (instead of over 200, as originally planned), their wedding day was a very joyful one for Ben, Alyssa, and the immediate family members who were able to attend. We shared as many photos and videos on line as we could, to include those who couldn’t be there in person. Technology was definitely our friend.  If you haven’t had a chance to see their wedding slideshow/video, you can watch it on line at https://youtu.be/C6Xw20z1yfM . 

    

Alyssa's Grandpa and Grandma Lang couldn't be at the wedding, so Ben and Alyssa put on their wedding clothes and paid them a visit on the Labour Day weekend.

Alyssa and Ben bought a house in Saskatoon about a year ago, and worked very hard to get their back yard ready for their wedding reception. This included landscaping, breaking up old concrete, laying new stamped concrete (care of Joseph), building a new fence (with help from Coleen and me), laying new sod, and, later in the summer, building a large deck (again with help from Coleen and me).  They seem to have settled comfortably and happily into married life.  Alyssa continues nursing in the maternity ward at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital, and Ben is working for Mobil Grain at Delisle.

Pouring concrete, to be stamped and coloured later that afternoon. Note that this was only 2 weekends before the wedding, and sod still needed to be laid. 

The old fence was literally falling down, so we took advantage of the opportunity to cement in the new posts (while the sidewalk was being poured), then finished the fence over the next couple of days.

Coleen and I came back later in early August to help build the deck. (Note the finished stamped concrete in the background)

              Laura continues to enjoy farm life just south of Kerrobert with Stephen, who farms with his parents and brothers, growing all organic crops. They are kept quite busy from spring seeding until the end of harvest, not only with field work, equipment maintenance and bookkeeping, but also loading trucks for customers on a regular basis. This year, they contracted to grow a quarter section of hemp for the first time, and the tallest plants grew to about 9 feet in height.  Laura put in a big garden again this year, and she looks after maintenance of the two family farm yards (both of which are fairly large), which means several acres of grass to mow regularly. Laura and Steven got chicks to raise again this spring, but downsized to 9 (from around 30 the previous year). Unfortunately, six of them escaped their pen during the first week, and the dog enjoyed the unexpected snack very much. Three laying hens doesn’t translate into very many eggs, but the eggs are very tasty.  Laura continues to build her photography business, and has taken some beautiful family and graduation photos, even with Covid reducing the number of group activities and celebrations this past year.  Some of her work can be seen on line at https://louhegel.wixsite.com/lhphotography .  It has been a challenge for her to find the time to spend on her painting, with so many other tasks being more urgent in nature.

Is this Kerrobert, or Columbia?  Ha ha


The farm decided to build a small shed to store some equipment. I believe it is 80 x 200 ft.

Laura decided not to lift this pile of roof trusses all by herself (the black cat might help - ha ha)

              As for Coleen and me, our lifestyle hasn’t changed that much with Covid (we’re not as exciting as we used to be – ha ha), but we really have missed larger get-togethers with extended family and friends. It still feels very strange to greet people without a handshake or a hug.  Fortunately, because Coleen babysits Dawson and I work with Joseph regularly, our two households are like one.  We don’t know for certain, but have good reason to believe that Covid has already been through both of our households last February, shortly before testing was available. We are all fine. Coleen and I stayed close to home last winter and spring, but made a trip to Madge Lake in late June, and did some camping at Loon Lake and also at Lake Diefenbaker again this summer.  Joseph and I, along with two other of our usual crew managed to sneak in a 4-day motorcycle ride in late July, through the Calgary area out to Revelstoke, BC, then back home again through Creston, Fernie, and Lethbridge. We would have loved to stop in and visit a few people along the way, but thought it would be wisest to save it until after Covid has wound down.  

How many dinosaurs in this picture? Ha ha

On the Galena Bay ferry between Revelstoke and Nakusp

The campground in Kaslo was full, but we got the last available room in this beautifully restored old hotel.

Coleen once again said "I'm not putting in a big garden this year," then proceeded to put in a big garden once again (and also make a few trips to Kerrobert to help Laura with hers). We should have planted rice this year, with all the rain we had. Potatoes and other vegetables don't seem to grow well under water.

              Aside from Alyssa and Ben’s wedding, a lesser (but still enjoyable) personal high point of my year was finishing my old truck project that I have been working on for the past 3 years.  My goal was to have it ready to drive the 2 ½ hours to Saskatoon for the annual cruise weekend in August, and I did. I also made several trips to Lloydminster with it, as well as another trip to Saskatoon on the Labour Day weekend, and another to Rosetown to take in their annual car show at the end of September. When you pull up to a gas station, store, or restaurant in a 72-year-old truck, you tend to get a lot of attention and answer a lot of friendly questions. Only gearheads like myself will fully understand the fun of spending over 900 hours (and more than a few dollars, when all is said and done) building a one-of-a-kind vehicle, all with the goal of driving it down the road, showing it off, and talking shop with other car guys. I can hardly wait for spring to enjoy it some more. If you’re interested in photos and details, you can check it out at  http://48ih.blogspot.com .

Cruise weekend in Saskatoon was a blast. 3 generations hanging out together!

              2020 has been a very challenging year for many, but, in the words of our local parish priest, “Don’t let it steal your joy.” We can’t control what life will throw at us, but we can certainly control how we choose to react. None of has a guarantee that we will wake up tomorrow morning, so we should be thankful for the moments we have, the people around us, and the many other blessings that we often take for granted. There are many people who need our prayers and company, and even a simple phone call can go a long way for someone who is alone at this time of year.

              God bless you and those you love, and we sincerely wish all the best for you in the new year.

Merry Christmas!                       

Love, Glenn and Coleen