How's your week going- Week of December 7th

[ProudTVJunkie]

Hi Everyone,

It is officially December. I don't know whether to be thrilled or panicked. Thrilled because we could use something to look forward to, and even with the restrictions, the holidays will still be some fun. Panicked because it's already Dec. 7th and there are still presents to buy, cards to send, a menu to plan (albeit smaller than usual) and I've got to count my pennies to make sure they last to the end of the month.


My sister and her family actually went to Hawaii! They live in California, and since my sister didn't take any time off this year, she had five weeks of vacation she had to use or lose. They had to get Covid tested and have the results within 72 hours of their flight. And they wore masks and face shields (including their 4-year-old), and didn't eat drink, or use the bathroom for the whole 6 hours flight. But from the photos of the house they've rented for a month near the beach, it looks worth it. It really does look like paradise.

So how is your week going so far?

[tycho657]

         


I am finally putting up some Christmas decorations. I have not put any up since John died. the kitties have been fascinated with the decorations. I have put up just a few things each day. I have an extensive collection of nutcrackers. They have pretty much left them alone. I got a $5 fake tree at Target that they have enjoyed. I might try and put out a few lights on Friday. They say we might get rain on Wednesday or Thursday. It's been 109 days since we have had rain so we really need it.
I am heading out tomorrow for a kayak trip to Canyon lake. We will take lunch and explore the lake. They are saying it might get to 79 tomorrow before the storm comes in.

[ibmjas]

Here is a local light display. They go all out.

[ProudTVJunkie]

I know it's probably exciting only to me, but it made my day to find out that my Christmas cards had been printed and will be delivered to me by the end of the week. That means I'll be able to work on them this weekend and send them out on Monday. Have I mentioned that I love sending out Christmas cards...also, receiving them. I've only gotten two so far but it is early yet.

I also got my holiday stamps. Choosing them is also another tradition I enjoy. I went with the more generic Winter Scenes stamps this year as they were my favorite out of the bunch.

And I walked the five blocks to the post office. Now, that probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but I'm scheduled for hip replacement surgery in January and walking that far isn't a lot of fun right now. However, I was told to keep walking if I could because it would keep the muscles moving and make recovery easier. About two years ago I was going to the park and walking a couple of miles regularly for exercise; now the five blocks to the post office is a challenge. How things can change!

[geezer2008]

Covid is nuts here. Not a surprise there. We only went out for groceries this week. I finished 2 more books this week. That makes a total of 45 for 2020 so far.  Rikki finished a winter craft project and it turned out adorable so she was happy. We watched some more Hallmark and Netflix movies too. LOL, but doesn't 2020 feel like the movie Groundhog Day?

[ProudTVJunkie]

I just spoke to my cousin (who had invited us over for Thanksgiving with her family. We declined.) It was her family, her sister's family, a few friends and friends of their kids. It probably shouldn't come as a shock, but one of those people tested positive for Covid three days later.

My cousin has it. She hasn't had a fever but lost her sense of taste and smell. She's having horrible headaches and is so fatigued she can barely get out of bed. She says there were three days last week that she can't quite remember because she was so out of it. Luckily, her husband and teenage son are negative and their house has three bedrooms so she's been able to quarantine at home. Also lucky, is that her husband refused to bring his father to Thanksgiving. His Dad is 89 and likely wouldn't survive if he got the virus.

Most of her sister's family has it, but no one has ended up in the hospital. What really infuriates me is that one of their friends who was also exposed as well as her kids, doesn't believe this is any big deal so she sent her kids to school without getting tested and only wears a mask if she's forced to. Her kids could be spreading it to other kids who then bring it home and put their families at risk. How can people be so selfish and reckless with other people's lives?

[ibmjas]

I'm sure there are people who know they are sick who literally can't afford to stay home from work. Then there are the idiots who just don't care if they spread it to others. I don't know how many times I've seen on twitter, "It's just the elderly that are dying" like our lives don't matter. One friend who is almost 80 said they are just people that were going to die anyway. She's normally a very caring person. 3000 people died yesterday of Covid in our country. That's a person dying every 30 seconds. It's not just dying either. A lot of people are suffering long term effects for months, many even though their original case was mild. The long term effects are not well understood yet, but they may last years or a lifetime.

[tycho657]

PTVJ you were smart to stay home. I hope they all recover. I just shake my head.  I am waiting to hear how many of my camping group come down with covid. I saw a picture of their Christmas Dinner. It was outside under a tent. Shoulder to shoulder and no maks as they were eating. I am so glad I stayed home and took a peaceful kayak trip with my friend who also decided to pass on the RV campout.

Hey we got rain last night and most of the morning. First rain we have had in over 110 days. We really needed it. I love rain. It washes away the air and cleans up things. It makes me happy when I see rain.

[ibmjas]

Kentucky is just across the river from me. They shut down all inside dining, bars, etc. a few weeks ago. Of course it was met with a lot of resistance but it apparently worked because they are opening things up again on Monday. I hope they don't over do it with Christmas parties. We'll see. I imagine a lot of Kentuckians hopped across the river to go to bars and restaurants here so it may have been good economically for Indiana but also could have spread the virus more. As I drove by some restaurants on Saturday, the parking lots were packed.

Next week we will receive our 1st shipment of the Pfizer vaccine. Frankly, I was surprised we were getting any since we are a small city. I found out today we will get just under 2000 doses which is enough for about 1000 people. That won't go very far. Apparently, there won't be any more Pfizer vaccines shipped to the US until summer. Hopefully other vaccines will get approved and fill in the gaps.

[DrvrTrnr]

Once again we were without internet service for a couple days. The main big box with all the connections is a couple blocks away from our house. It's been there 35+ years and parts have worn out. The repair guy said they've had a lot of outages since so many people are working from home. Hopefully this last fix will work for a long time.

Like tycho said, our 110 day dry streak ended yesterday. It rained all morning and then off and on until late afternoon. It was a nice change of pace from the heat.

Thank goodness for online shopping. Now my husband and I don't have to face the crowds other than at the grocery store. Masks are required where we shop and people for the most part are wearing them. With the new vaccine approval, maybe the light at the end of the tunnel will come into view in a few months. We can only hope.

[nathanfan1]

I've had a busy week getting things ready for Christmas. I make homemade caramels for family and friends so I've started that process and I'm close to having my Christmas cards all done. I also started some of the holiday baking. I enjoy all of the goodies and the kids and grandkids do too! At least that's one aspect of the holiday that can continue as usual.