We can breathe

 

View from my tub

Not a flattering photo of me but I am comfortable

I have cut down significantly on my art purchases due to Covid and that this house is finally becoming filled but I couldn't resist this fused glass plate

And a felt jester hat for Maya

Every evening a herd of ten deer slowly pass through our backyard

Not knowing what evil the orange swine might have been plotting with his ragtag mob of mindless thugs, I nervously anticipated Inauguration Day. January 6 continues to unfold. Who would have thought he would turn on Pence having his thugs search for him ready to kill along with a good portion of our house and senate. But it has passed and the whole world can breathe. Still a big mess he has caused including the 400,000 people who shouldn't have died because we were led by an idiot in denial. Still no shot for me even though I got a message theat some will be shipped to my provider this week. I keep anxiously checking my mail. Again I blame him.

Not a fan of winter. Awaiting impatiently for my street to melt so I can bicycle. It will as it is sunny and slightly above freezing.  I've been using the treadmill a lot 

I will be on a study sponsored by Apple for 3 years monitoring my health . I get an upgraded watch and a blood pressure device and get to see the results of some genetics tests. I will earn around a dollar a day but I use the health app anyway. Only extra work is doing the blood pressure measurements and installing more apps on my phone and ipad.

Sedition! (To the tune of Tradition from Fiddler on the Roof)

some of my glassware including my new old fashioned glasses from Shanna

Yes we have  snow and it has not gone away so on the treadmill alot

my jacuzzi  minus the  candles and the gingerblossom bubbles Awaiting my spa pillow

different colors

she turned 4

lots of amaryllis 

another one

new toy, a lens ball

 still playing around with it

a small plane crashed  last weekend 5 houses  over from Josh. The 3 people in the plane died. the people in the house survived

What a start to the new year!  It started pretty boringly here. Early to bed, no parties, nothing special. Fell asleep watching True Detective (season 1 best; season 2 worst)

I get a call from Josh who was preparing a birthday party for Hannah that I was not invited to because I'm not in their bubble though the other gramma is and more recklessly, the aunt is. A plane just crashed, got to go.

What? He lives very close to a regional airport. He heard it buzz loudly  over his head then an abrupt stop. It hit the dirt first sparing the 5 occupants of the house who had just moved away from the room that took the direct hit

At the same time rump was alternatingly wheedling and threatening the Georgia election head for a full hour to lie about the results. No can do. He is my hero but after he had to be  escorted to safety once the deplorables caught wind of this The whole phone call was recorded. I listened to some of the highlights, such  a sickening psychopath but the upside a few days later, the Democrats got control of the Senate.Stacey Abrams got the vote out and rump discouraged his followers  A two prong operation with help from an angel and the orange devil himself.

Desperate psychos call for desperate measures .A day later he and his sick sycophant' Rudy are firing up the mob on the Ellipse urging them to break into the Capital and stop the vote. C'mon I'll lead you marching down Pennsylvania Avenue.  The mob with all their flags, Confederate, Nazi, went to task. Did they notice their fearless leader had slipped away to watch it on TV? Once the seat of our government was breached, he did nothing to stop it grousing how low class his supporters looked. Were they to commit treason in 3 piece suits? Once they started smashing things he finally tweeted them to go home adding that they were very special people and that he loved them. He had the crowd turn on Pence who has spent more than 4 years sucking up to him but finally told him , no I can't singlehandedly turn over the election. Fine thanks he got. My favorite scene was the young woman whining that she got maced when she only wanted to commit treason. Well she was dressed better with her piano scarf. Always pays to be fashionable when staging a coup Lots of funny memes by black people saying white people don't know shit about committing crimes. Where's the mask? Why film yourself and turn to the camera and give your full name and address.

Of course they saw themselves fulfulling some holy mission turning the government over to its rightful dictator and  false orange god. There must be some reward for them for this. When will they realize they are just useful idiots. Some of their employers recognized them and promptly fired them. Others are getting jail time. Perhaps they will be pardoned?

In the end, the vote continued and certified the election. His faithful are bailing right and left especially those with deep pockets. The hoi polloi however still insist that democrats somehow staged this The orange demon is scrambling for alternate means of reaching them as he has finally been cut off of Twitter.

Merry Covid Christmas

 

We had three shifts of Christmas guests: Christmas Eve Mya, Mid day Christmas Josh's family and later, Shanna's family. Naomi who would be all alone was there the whole time. Yes it would have been more fun to have everyone at once..Next year. I guess. I had the kids smile in their photos before they could open presents

Josh and Allie

A pensive Naomi. Finally her hair is near to its original color

Hannah and Allie

tree with snowflake ceiling

Yes I am a sucker for various lights. I like the pattern these lanterns make

Maya and Nala

Our 43rd wedding anniversary came and went

more lights

Its turned cold and snowy so luckily we have a treadmill. With the heat off, the fan full blast and my music full blast, it is almost tolerable. Warm now is defined by me at least at 35 for bicycling

As in most of the world, I feel like I am in a holding pattern until we can get those vaccines. Also cannot wait until Trump leaves. I keep being afraid one of his dastardly plans might work. Now I can see why he wants to stay in office at all costs but why anyone else would.

And each day now gets ligher

Awaiting the vaccine

Went to an art show down the street

the first snow that stuck with weird evening light

looking through my various art glass to the snow

Regal Kaya. I get to see her but not the kids

Josh's family

our bedroom. Facebook showed this when the previous owners had only a mirror on the wall

I've been putting up Xmas lights

the white tree

the big tree

 This covid crap is getting old. It is more or less under control in our county but we are surrounded by maskholes. And the rate is going through the roof in the red states.

The vaccine won't come soon enough. Now there are debates who will get it first. I would like to suggest those who had refused to wear a mask will be at the end of the line but they probably have no interest in the vaccine anyway as they don't believe in science or already had covid.

Naomi's workplace was shut down and she has only 4 weeks of unemployment left. On top of it all, Maya's insurance was taken away. Technically low income families in Michigan can get free insurance for their children. She has received this since she was born but as of last week, it disappeared because her father who lives 130 miles away signed up for health insurance at his new job and was told he had to include her. Nevermind it is in a different region of the state and doesn't cover anything until a huge deductable has been met.  She is not even his dependent by IRS rules. The insurance costs his employer nothing and I am sure they get some sort of tax break . We are encouraging him to look for a new job. So frustrating. Very upsetting.

Trump still is spreading disease with his rallies insisting he won the election. I am hoping he knows he didn't but is just using this as an excuse to fleece his supporters who have sending him money for his defense. Rumor has it that he just pockets it. Now his slimeball lawyer is in the hospital with covid which of course serves him right.

Why decorate for Xmas when noone will see it? Just trying not to sink into despair.

Wine advent calendars

 

From the web: where I run there are few people to observe me and no thanks to the cold, not much is exposed but I've run in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods in NYC during the summer where even my exposed hair is taboo much less my legs which attract dirty looks

A nice sunset through a screen as I was too lazy to go outside

How to amuse myself when Covid continues to rise (thanks to trump and his superspreader events and those who worship him by steadfastedly refusing to mask up)? Family dinners are out Meetings with friends are out except by zoom which I really don't find satisfying. I continue to learn languages, two thirds through Spanish. Netflix and its ilk at night. Just finished The Queens' Gambit, Biohackers and The Crown during the past two weeks. I have been buying wine advent calendars where you are given 24 bottles of different wines to open up each day. I missed out on the best calendar, the Costco2 which features obscure wines from around the world so I settled for the Aldi one, which are all California ones. This is by no means a cost effective way of buying wine, costs at least twice as much per ounce as the 'good' wines I usually buy but you can try stuff you normally do not and if you limit oneself to one little bottle per day, portion control.

We had our first snow Sunday which part of it is still on the ground. I tried to run in it but too slippery. True we now have a treadmill but they make me dizzy. I ran for more than 90 minutes the next day up and down very muddy hills to make up for my sloth. Once it gets above freezing, maybe at noon, I will bike. My toes are the most vulnerable. I have thick wool sox covered with baggies but still they are numb if I am out for more than an hour

I did get my covid hair chomped off. It hadn't been so long since Shanna was a baby and it was tangling too easily. I hadn't got a haircut since my stylist died. I tried a student from a high end school. She was nice and the hair looks ok.

How fast can we get those vaccines? At least Trump seems like he is conceding especially after his lawyer ranted like a crazy man in a press conference with his do it yourself dye job on his sideburns melted under the lights leaving black rivelets down his face. And then he blew his nose into a handkerchief and then wiped the snot all over his forehead. Trump's wining and dining of our top officials didn't buy him anything as our state certified the results yesterday.

So things are looking a bit brighter

covid continues

 

A covid activity of a friend copying Monet. Never knew my friend could paint

the girls out for a ride

Woodpeckers are back. This red breasted nuthatch is much smaller than the its white breasted cousin

still get nice sunsets and sunrises during these otherwise gloomy times

cow poop sculpture

mums are the last to die

Cases go up and up. Our governor just announced more restrictions for the next few weeks. Trump's 'medical' advisor urged Michiganders to protest (with their assault rifles and definitely no masks). What a crazy world we live in!!!!

If only we had a true leader back in February who was capable of understanding science. Of course he demanded the best medical care for himself. And he still won't concede the election, just encourages his cult followers to take up arms.

One of his ardent supporters did die recently, an old boyfriend of mine. Talk about the road not taken! He was one of the most intelligent people I ever met ( in understanding quantum mechanics and very advanced math) and has numerous degrees yet he loved Trump. I would read his diatribes and shake my head. What happened? He did think Covid was a hoax and less deadly than the flu (not true) I don't know how he died. I did know he had bad lungs and a few other comorbidities. He was so irritating, I was considering defriending him but recently I wondered how he felt about the election. He must have died the week before the election.

I recently had a physical and had one of those annoying dementia screens consisting of memorizing three words and then being distracted by having to draw 10:45 on a clock. Didn't want to forget those words and then being classified as dumber than you know who who actually bragged about acing his Alzheimer's test. Should have just drawn a digital clock. At some point, we will have a population that has no idea how to read an analog clock. I did get my flu shot, which my insurance company actually paid me to get though theoretically, if everyone is social distancing, how is it going to be spread.

So there is a vaccine that should start being used in a few weeks for at least health care workers and maybe the elderly. We shall see.

Meanwhile it is a bleak November. Not having the whole family over for Thanksgiving.

Hate the maskholes.

Hate the stupidity and blind loyalty to that tyrant

Happy Zoom Halloween

 

Cat faced Naomi

Maya Bo Peep

Josh's family

Steve's cousin"s granddaughter as Malala

Oliver

Tessa and Daniel

Halloween graveyard on my bike ride

Real graveyard adjacent to our subdivison

New sculpture over my 'bar' area

aster

skull cookies by Maya and Naomi

Who are these characters that my grandchildren were for Halloween  Just had heard of Bo Beep which I  am surprised that any kid knows about these days. I reread the nursey rhyme recently. It has a part about Bo Peep finding the missing sheep tails bloody hanging in a tree. Sweet dreams children

Little Bo peep fell fast asleep
And dreamt she heard them bleating,
But when she awoke, she found it a joke,
For they were all still fleeting.
Then up she took her little crook
Determined for to find them.
She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed,
For they left their tails behind them.
It happened one day, as Bo peep did stray
Into a meadow hard by,
There she espied their tails side by side
All hung on a tree to dry.

Speaking of nightmares. The elections are very close. Again the polls were wrong. Trump called the election for himself late last night saying no more need to count the ballots. But Biden could still win the electorate. Trump will try to seize control any way he could. Why did anyone vote for him?

We have Indian summer for the next week but most of my flowers are dead to a killing frost last weekend. Not a fan of November with its drabness but at least I will be able to bike comfortably a few more times