Yes, the HBC is really going, going, gone. Those last six stores did not find a buyer, so they and their stock go into bankruptcy hopper with the rest of the company. Lawyers are suing to protect the massive Great War memorials in the Toronto and Vancouver flagship stores, but it’s anyone’s guess how they can be saved even if the courts agree they should. As for the blankets, they have always come from a certain mill in England, so I presume the manufacturers will either find another customer for them, or stop production.

The Hudson’s Bay Company motto “Pro pelle cutem” (A skin for a skin) refers to the fur trade and the blankets with a Latin pun — both words can mean “skin”, but “pelle” is “pelt” and “cutem” is better rendered in English as “covering”.

Developments on the house front in Stratford are paused until forces can muster for a big push to solve the wet basement problem. The contractors agree that the leaking window must be removed like a rotten tooth, and the resulting gap be closed and sealed into the concrete foundation. At the same time, a full window-well with bottom drainage to the weeper bed must be dug in front of the other north-facing window. This project requires coordinated operations by three trades: Lucas the foundation guy, to do the concrete and drainage work; Jordan the landscaper, to take up and rebuild about a quarter of the adjoining patio; and Tony the carpenter, to restore the drywall and trim inside the basement.

I signed Lucas’s contract and paid his deposit a week ago, and his time appreciation suggests that work can start in maybe two more weeks. If the good Lord is willing and the proverbial creek don’t rise.

I reckon that all means finally listing the house for sale in June at the earliest and, with luck, moving in September. Will I get out of Stratford for my birthday? Only God knows, and he ain’t tellin’.