There is no doubt about it. The virus has us all in its grip. There is not a day without “news” about an outbreak, a restriction or even a cure for it. There is no way to know what to believe and what to discard. As a result, we all go half nuts for one side or the other of the spectrum.

I’m not taking sides or trying to haul people over to the “other” side here. One thing we can all agree on is that we all wish this would be over, and soon. Yet the frenzy doesn’t seem to want to leave us, so we need a retreat from it.

Staycations, well, more or less. I am not one to stay in my house for long unless required by law. And even then, I will probably be outside in my yard to escape cabin fever. Today’s health orders are starting to take their toll on many people. People that have no private transport can hardly go anywhere.

Luckily for me, I still have my own transportation and nobody can pry that away from me. So I still get out, despite all the restrictions. At least the Manitoba government has not implemented any curfews or confinements.

Prairie winters are extreme. Everybody in North America knows that. While Winnipeg is only on the latitude of Brussels, Belgium or Kyiv, Ukraine, it is significantly colder in winter. All will picture winters of extreme cold, ice and even eternal night.

By now, we know that this is not true, at least not the “eternal night” part. While many people are now compiling a “best of 2020” for the “worst year in history”, I decided to concentrate on Decembers instead. Decembers only in Manitoba.

Holiday cheer is here. Albeit in a dimmed form. Spirits are not as high as previous years. Yet, some people still put up their Christmas lights and bring cheer to the world. This blog is about positive thinking, even that is difficult to believe at times.

And what is more festive than bright holiday lights? More, holiday lights, of course! So today I will be showing some light displays that can be found in Winnipeg.