We ran a few errands this morning and as we were driving up a familiar road, I noticed the clouds, which were in a formation I’ve never seen before and most likely will never see again. I kept telling Don how spectacular it was, so he decided to stop so he could see it without being distracted by driving.
This is just a portion of it. These clouds radiated out from the center like a giant fan. They stretched way off to the right and left. I’ve never, never seen anything like it. We are so lucky that we happened to be out in the car or we would have missed it. By the time we finished our first errand they were dispersing and what we saw was just a memory. But thank goodness for iPhones! Don got a video as well.
Running errands is always frustrating. Don was picking up some chocolate from a local shop and when he exited to the street, he had to veer around some young people who weren’t wearing masks. We are always so happy to get back home where it’s safe.
We had some lunch and then it was time to decorate the tree. Unfortunately, two long strands of lights were no longer working, but we managed to work around that. We’ve had them a long time so next year, we’ll replenish our stock.
I’ll post more pictures, of course. I took this one just after we’d finished.
Oh, my goodness, what a difference this tree makes! The glow of the lights, the magic of the vintage ornaments, all of it makes me very happy. Very peaceful. And that’s what Don and I are aiming for this December. Peace. There’s nothing we can do about what OM might pull in his last days in office, so we’re letting go of all of that, knowing that compassion and love and sanity are just around the corner. We feel very good about all the work we did for the campaign. We’ve done a lot of work outside and inside – renting the dumpster and clearing the shed, putting a tarp on the roof, all of the work we’ve done on the property and in the gardens, since last spring – I know there’s more that I’m forgetting – and we want to spend this month being together, playing music, watching the lights on the tree, creating, cooking, and laughing.
We’ve all earned it, haven’t we? Let this month be about renewal and hope and faith and magic and healing.
Stay safe.
Happy Saturday.
That is an amazing sky! Glad you captured that photo for us!
Your tree looks lovely! I love all of the vintage ornaments. I have some Shiny Brights and other old ornaments from when I was a girl (so you know they are vintage!) but I do not put them on the tree as some of my grandchildren are too little to not touch! So I place the breakable ones in my curio cabinet to sparkle under the lights in there.
Hope we get the peace you wish for! We need it!
I bet they look lovely in your curio cabinet, Ellen.
Stay safe.
AMEN!! Peace, kindness, hope, Christmas music and lights! Oh what a wonderful month it can be!!
Yes indeed!
Stay safe, Tana.
Your tree is beautiful!
There is something so peaceful about those lights.
Miraculously, all of our lights worked this year. It seems like we have to buy new lights every year.
I don’t think I have ever seen a cloud formation quite like that. So cool that you captured it.
Have a peaceful day.
We’ve been pretty lucky on the indoor lights until this year. Fingers crossed that my outdoor lights work! It’s too rainy today to put them up, but hopefully tomorrow.
Stay safe, Marilyn!
Your tree is lovely! Have a wonderful peaceful day.
Thank you, Cathy.
Stay safe.
you and don have accomplished a lot over the past several months. i am glad to hear you are planning what you deserve … an easier month with less do-ing, more be-ing. may you, everyone else here and the whole world all get that peace!
beautiful subjects in those photos. as always, thanks for taking the time and effort to share them with us.
as you’ve heard a few times (haha), i love weather, in general (though am not great with heat or humidity), and especially love rain/water/fog/snow … and that includes clouds. i would sure like to see such cloud formations as these! glad you and don did see them! and your Christmas tree is beautiful. thanks … now i am duly inspired to spend more time outside and get the other Christmas decorations up here.
the decorations will most likely wait, though. went to my doctor yesterday and she said she and the radiologist believe i might have two compression fractures in my back. know of one, due to osteoporosis and arthritis.
she helped set up an open, upright mri for me to confirm things. the drawback is there’s nothing like it around here, not anywhere in the state so i will have to drive four-plus hours each way, but the better news is i know the way (it’s in a suburb of minneapolis) and especially that it’s a sitting mri … i won’t have to lay on my back (sitting isn’t easy now, either, but i can pull over when i want to walk around a bit) and that part is a huge, huge relief!!! now i have a hulky back brace and stronger medicines. and, while it’s still very painful and a bit disturbing, i have faith in God and that my back will get better. He won’t leave me.
whew ….
hope you are having a nice day and anyone who’s anywhere near you wears a mask!
stay safe!
kathy in iowa
A sitting MRI? Sounds fantastic. Hope your drive to Minneapolis don’t be too stressful for you. You are in good hands! ;)
hej, donnamae. :)
thank you very much for your kind words.
while i do not look forward to close to nine hours of driving in one day, it should be a decent trip. appointment timed to try to avoid rush hour traffic and hopefully only drive the last hour home in the dark. and while it means getting up earlier, the hassles don’t compare to both getting the mri done (information to guide treatment) and that i can sit or stand for the mri and not have to lay down. cried a lot of tears from this whole thing over the last month, but finding the upright mri brought happy tears.
as did my sister giving me some new music to listen to when driving up and then back home. :)
hope you are in the middle of a nice weekend.
stay safe!
kathy in iowa
Well I know it will be a drive but I’m so happy to hear you have this specialized MRI. I’ve heard about them and was hoping you might find something like that to accommodate your back, Kathy. Good news!
Stay safe.
very good news! i am greatly relieved to not have to lay down on my back on a metal thing in a machine for an hour!
when i get home, i will be writing letters to the three hospital groups, state medical association and whoever else i can think of to advocate for getting some open upright mri machines in this state.
really grateful that my insurance company has approved it. and the drives will be easy anyway and made better by that new music i mentioned to donnamae … my sister gave me jimmy’s latest … acoustic versions of some much-loved music. :)
the mri is (are … there’s two) this thursday and should start about noon. planning to be home by 6:30 pm. :)
hope you and don are having a nice night, sitting by that freshly-decorated beautiful Christmas tree!
thanks again.
kathy in iowa
For someone like me, who is very claustrophobic, an upright machine is, I think, the only way I could do an MRI.
You know we will be praying for you and sending positive energy your way on Thursday, my friend.
Stay safe.
thanks much, claudia!
there is the standard mri machine where people have to lay flat on their backs in a very enclosed space. there are also “open” versions of that lay-flat mri that have more open space around the person’s body, including above their face. i’ve had one of each.
then there’s the “upright” mri that happens to be “open” as well, where a person can stand or sit … and i am so grateful for that option! will be well worth nearly nine total hours in my car driving up and back home.
if you’re curious to see a video of it, search for cdi (center for diagnostic imaging) in saint louis park, minnesota. look under services for mri and there’s a link to a video of the open, upright mri. such an improvement for people with claustrophobia (sorry you have that) and it truly is a God-send!
i hope and pray you never have need for an mri. same for don and everyone else here. everywhere.
thanks very much for the prayers and support. means a lot.
happy sunday!
stay safe in every way!
kathy in iowa
Thank you, Kathy! xoxo
… oh kathy; I can’t imagine the pain you’re in; my mother broke her back due to severe osteoporosis which was hastened by a medication she had to take for years for her rheumatoid arthritis; all she did was sit down a little too hard on the toilet seat (lid was down; was using it as a ‘chair’, to sit down on, right out of the shower); but the good news is that she healed marvelously and she was much, much older than you and quite frail, so take that with great hope and promise, and I’m so glad you found the type of MRI which will be better for you – – all my best healing thoughts and prayers to you for the journey, the procedure and a good ‘cure’ … take care …
I am so glad you have some answers. At least this will get you started. 9 hrs in the car does sound pretty miserable, and most esp since we can’t have riders with us in the car right now. But your attitude will help you through it, I am sure! And know you have many here at Claudia’s MHC pulling for you in thoughts and prayers….♡
hej, chris k in wisconsin!
thank you for your nice words. i feel the support and am thankful for it, for you all and i ask God to watch over you all.
there have been some pitiful times here over this, but finding that upright mri (and having my insurance approve it, even though it’s far out of their approved provider list) has helped. and i had a little talk with myself that God is in control, has a plan, won’t leave me this way.
and the mri appointment is this thursday so hopefully i won’t have to wait long for answers … maybe i can get them as soon as this friday.
hope you and your family stay safe and find a way to celebrate Christmas with your little granddaughter!
stay safe!
thanks again.
kathy in iowa
thanks, vicki … very much.
knowing the pain i have, i am really sorry that your mother had to go through that. and you, too. like my family … i know it’s hard, horrible to see someone you love in pain. really happy, though, that she had a good recovery.
yes, that upright mri is a God-send! and the drives will go fine. ready to have it done and be back home (this thursday).
thanks again for your support and prayers.
hope you and your husband are doing well. stay safe in every way!
kathy in iowa
… was news to me that there’s even such a thing as an upright MRI so I’m glad, for anything future with anybody’d I’d know (but particularly my husband who’s already had a broken back in his youth and it’s giving him fits these days, so it’s not hard to figure out that he’ll need ‘work’ ahead on it), that I now have this info for an alternative way to have the imaging completed. I do not envy that long drive you’ll have but at least the doctor gave you some pain medication that will take some edge off, and I’m glad you’re getting home at a decent-enough hour so that you’re not having to be out too late after dark in possibly quite-cold weather when you’ll be awfully tired, but just get done, get home, wrap yourself in a blanket and drink something hot when you’re finally on your own turf and congratulate yourself a little that you did it … you are courageous, kathy; I’d be such a wimp trying to accomplish something like this on my own as are you; gosh, just look at how capable you are!
thanks, vicki. :)
i didn’t know anything about upright mris except that they exist to help people with claustrophobia or being of a larger size and people like me who can’t lay down on their backs (as in the other mri machines) due to pain. i am so relieved to be able to do this sitting up!
may God bless whoever invented the upright mri machine and may God protect your husband (and everyone else) from problems that would requireny kind of mri!
and thanks for your kind words. i am usually alright with medical stuff (mostly due to my parents’ great examples and support, also there have been/are lots of nurses in my family … for a time i thought about becoming an rn). i’ve had broken bones before, but this has been beyond that. i don’t feel courageous. i do feel hopeful, mostly due to God. and i want to apologize to everyone if i’ve over-shared or been at my own pity-party (because i know we’re all dealing with so much stuff).
hope your husband’s back gets better soon and your health issues go away.
hope you all have a good, easy day! stay safe!
kathy in iowa
Hi Claudia, your tree looks so pretty! Have a wonderful weekend with your hubby. xo
Thank you April!
Stay safe.
Your tree looks fabulous! It reminds me of the trees we used to have back in the day. ( Which ,by the way, is really a good while “back”) Thanks you for sharing!
I have never seen a cloud formation like that either. Spectacular!
I am going to do exactly the same as you and Don for the coming holiday season. I will stay safely at home, enjoy my little tree and my cosy apartment. I will enjoy the peace the most.
Lyn
We will, too.
Stay safe, Lyn!
Amazing clouds! Lovely Tree. Yes Peace, JOY and Happiness.
Amen!
Stay safe, Linda.
Magical! Your tree exudes happiness.
My wish for Christmas this year is that everyone stays healthy. I lost a dear friend of twenty years this past Monday to the dreaded virus. I implore all your dear readers to carry on with the health and safety protocols.
Oh Barbara, I am so very sorry to hear of your loss. My prayers are with you and all who knew and loved your friend.
Yes, PLEASE everyone. Masks. Social distancing.
Stay safe, Barbara.
I’m so sorry for your loss, Barbara W. Before this is over, we’ll have each known someone who has suffered or died from this horrible virus. Deepest sympathy to you.
hej, barbara w …
i am so sorry for your loss of a dear friend.
will include her and her family, friends in prayers.
take good care of yourself and stay safe!
and i agree … wish i could shout it to the world … don’t drop the safety precautions!
hugs …
kathy in iowa
Thanks very much everyone for your kind words – they mean a great deal. Attending the funeral would help with the grieving process, but of course that is not possible. I am just numb.
Those clouds are just beautiful! You were fortunate you not only got to see nature’s wonder, but capture it.
Your tree is lovely! Your work around with the lights, whatever it was, worked. So, so pretty. My favorite part is always the placing of the ornaments…and the memories attached to the ornaments. I have some from my childhood that I remember being bought in the early 60’s. Most others are those we’ve collected as a family starting in 1974. I’m glad to hear there will be more pics coming of your tree.
I got side-tracked yesterday. We had put new lights on two evergreens we have next to the front porch. Nice lights, but they were cool white, and our existing lights were warm white. The two did not mix! So, yesterday we took down the cool white lights, and put on the warm white lights, that we had to go out and buy. Now…it all looks like it should and peace has been restored to our home. Lol!
Speaking of peace, we could all use a good use of that, along with faith, healing, renewal, hope…and definitely some magic! Stay safe! ;)
I have a few ornaments from my youth and they mean a great deal to me. They always go on the tree amidst the Shiny Brites.
Stay safe, Donna!
Your tree is beautiful! I’m not doing one this year (first time ever), so I’ll just enjoy yours if you don’t mind. Those clouds are cirrocumulus clouds. Very high up, associated with fair but cold weather.
Well, it rained that night! I’ve seen cirrocumulus clouds but never in this exact configuration.
Stay safe!
Season of light
Prayers
Thank you, Brenda.
Stay safe.
So pleased to see your gleaming tree. The big stars seem especially lovely this year.
Lots of symbolism and memories in the holiday tree tradition, including the family working together to decorate. I think I’ll have a mug of Ovaltine and gaze at your tree. XO
Fellow Ovaltine-lover here, Nora+Mills; so good at this time of the year!
Ummm….Ovaltine!
Stay safe, Nora.
What a wonderful post; thank you. Inspiring photo and words. Your tree is absolutely lovely. And you’re right; you and Don have been so productive of late, both insurance, dumpster, etc. Time to wind down a little; enjoy the season. I don’t know how much of that bomb cyclone you’re going to get … seems Massachusetts to Maine gets the brunt of it … but I wonder if it has something to do with that stunning sky? I’m glad you got to see it!
Here, we’re dealing with the last of the shopping for a good, long while; we say that every time and then still go out, but this is IT. Is ‘way too germy ‘out there’ where I live in SoCalif and our county hovers on imminent lockdown (like what surrounds us in terms of SoCalif counties). Of our particular county, my town has among the highest Covid cases.
We have a lot of cleanup this weekend from the destructive, violent Santa Ana wind of Weds nite/Thurs morn. We won’t re-tarp until yet again another wind event Mon-Weds. In the meantime, just the dirt and leaves and branches are enough to exhaust my poor husband.
And I’m, as usual, trying to create more space for the non-perishable food and cleaning supplies where we never, in a normal non-Covid basis, would have so much STUFF like this in our small house. My husband is doing one store pickup tomorrow at 6am in another city (which will wipe him out for the rest of his Sunday; he hates getting up that early [he’s retired!!]) and then we, as you said, will hunker down, find peace in the pretty holiday lights, listen to soft carols, find contentment in the safety and comfort of home.
We had some deliveries today and I just look at all these drivers and think to myself, for them, the people packing the items, the people in the stores trying to keep shelves stocked for the rest of us, please God keep them safe; protect them from the virus. They’ve done so much to help us in these past ten months.
I’m taking a big festive box of individual holiday treats like nuts, crax, holiday candy, juice boxes, pretzels, popcorn – – single-serving packages for ease of use and what’s more ‘sanitary’ – – to my dear local post office folks who’ve gone out of their way for me over all this time to make sure my post office boxes don’t overflow when I can’t get to the post office as often as would be preferable during the pandemic, and when they’ve been so busy with elections/ballots, now the holiday rush, etc. They’ve never skipped a beat and look at what they handle on a daily basis, hoping they don’t get Covid either. I remember when they told me they had no plexiglass shielding and could only protect themselves at the customer counter with hanging a shower curtain at their ‘window’/cubby; and they deserved better than that, for sure.
It’s so much stress for these people, all of our frontliners, trying to serve others, trying to keep their jobs, exposing themselves to potential illness. Before this is all over, I fear there’ll be a very-large amount of folks who’ll have to be treated for PTS. And any paramedic or ambulance driver, medical worker/doctor/nurse, or someone who works in a hospital like a janitor or housekeeper or cook, are heroes. And it’s so sad to think of, but look at what this is doing to people who work at a mortuary. In the trenches all of them; a battleground.
Which is why I can’t complain about anything; I have it easy. All I have to do is stay safe at home.
Bless you Vicki for remembering your postal workers
So so so thoughtful
Well, thanks; I’ve planned it for a long time, trying to figure out what I could give them for the holidays with Covid being the menace it is (I shopped for individually-wrapped, one-time-‘bite’/drink goodies since it’s not a time for everybody to dig in to the shared candy bowl; I give them something every/any year (usually lots and lots of cookies, or one time a cheery, colorful floral arrangement/plant but the problem is that they don’t really have a good place to put it for themselves back in their work area; too much space being taken up by parcels and equipment). I think there are too many people out there in the service-type industries who get more complaints than they get compliments or thanks because they’re always so grateful for the smallest gesture. And this year, more than ever, they need some positive customer feedback and support.
Just got the alert that we’re now in the strict Calif lockdown due to dwindling hospital capacity; goes into effect at midnight. Talked to a friend just now to see if she’s good; we’ve all prepared to be locked down for at least three weeks. She filled her fuel tank and finished her last grocery run for awhile. Went to the post office in her town and people were lined up around the building to the street (and it’s a big building). All apparently wanting to mail packages and only a reduced amount of customers allowed at one time inside the p.o., or was the p.o. just THAT busy; wow. I think the news is to mail packages EARLY. But maybe they were also anticipating the lockdown and not wanting to be ‘out’ after today.
Anyway, sure hope it helps our medical facilities to have so much shut down, and that everybody complies to curb the spread of the virus (zero gathering are the new signs posted in town). But, no more random errands; no last-minute ‘to-do’s’ that take us from the house. My aforementioned friend got her little dog groomed just in the nick of time (dog groomers, hair salons; all now to be closed). I hope our Christmas-tree-lot guy can stay open after he JUST opened on Dec 4 yesterday; he’s outdoors of course; still, it’s a non-essential business, technically (just essential for people’s hearts and hope at holiday time). You can still do takeout but just no inside/outside dining in any restaurant (which can still manage to stay open for business, poor folks). Gotta feel for the small retailers like novelty/variety shops (small gifts; cards) who need their Christmas sales to survive; biggest season of the year for them. Is just so sad. But, now, so necessary to get people off the streets and to stop swapping ‘air’.
Sometimes I need a swat upside the head to ‘get it’ (I believe in non-violence; that’s an old-fashioned expression), but … hello, Vicki … clearly the reason the line at the post office was so surprisingly long is, according to the evening news on TV, because of the fact that smart and law-abiding people are STAYING HOME at Christmas, of course they’re wanting to send gifts to the people in their lives they can’t be with (when they’d normally present the gift in person), so maybe it’s something homemade or obviously handpicked that they really want their recipient to have in hand. I guess I’d had in my mind that what some of the people I know are doing, like in my circle of friends and relatives, is something like a gift card, sending a check in the mail, ordering a gift for someone online and having it sent directly to them by the vendor; and, sure, it’s more impersonal but, well, it was a solution (to the risk of being around other peeps at the post office as well as the longer line). Really staggering to consider that UPS is hiring an additional 100,000 people to help with deliveries in the coming weeks with SO many people at home, ordering and sending/receiving. Ironically, that scenario perhaps would help people who are out of work, if they’re needing a job, especially if it’s the other carriers as well and not just UPS needing the extra workers.
Anyway, here in SoCalif, we’re basically back to March; tele-med is the requirement unless there’s no other way to do it (and you absolutely must see your doctor/dentist in person [it’s confusing, though, the list of ‘rules’, like it sounds as if you can still go get your teeth cleaned, which makes no sense to me from how it’s otherwise written]); if you work in a non-essential office, you’re not supposed to go in but instead work virtually from home (tell that to my CPA friend who lasted at that about a week and then started ‘sneaking’ back in to the building last Mar/Apr); hotels/motels only for guests who work in essential business (Calif doesn’t want any of us traveling); at least our dayside weather right now here is okay-enough for people to worship outdoors since churches are closed (although Christmas Eve services will sure be a chilly experience in the colder night outdoors). I thought ‘the news’ on TV also said, if I caught that right, that the CDC is now saying that shopping indoors at any kind of store is considered a higher-risk activity. Yikes. Back to 6am senior hours for us, for sure, in this house, once we need groceries again. Or instacart. Or curbside pickup.
This stuff comes out about what we’re supposed to do and what changes WHEN and where, and it really is a bit contradictory/unclear. Like a few of us thought that this all went into effect basically tonight as the clock strikes midnight but now it seems to be Sunday night, tomorrow, at, okay, 11:59pm. And is there a curfew or not; I’m still trying to find out about a curfew. Really, though, for my husband and me as ‘old(er) retireds’, none of this much affects our lives, as we don’t go to the gym, we aren’t out at night, we haven’t eaten at a restaurant during Covid, we don’t go to bars, we don’t go store to store to shop for anything other than food or maybe hardware-store stuff; I cut my own hair, so no hair salon or nail salon; we don’t go to the movie theater or amusement park in recent history. So, mostly, I just find these developments interesting to ponder. In a non-Covid year, I’d be hitting the gift shops of the local museums for stocking stuffers, but now museums are closed. This has really hurt fundraisers for the churches and other organizations like service clubs, when the ladies and husbands make so many wonderful hand-crafted items for sale; I miss the holiday boutiques and street fairs. Makes it hard for their year, any of those groups, and I’m sure the library has also been hurting when they haven’t been able to have their weekly used-books sale with Friends of The Library.
But, man, our governor is not fooling around with this; the press release says, “Private gatherings OF ANY SIZE are prohibited.” And we are required by the State to stay under lockdown until they say not, which could be potentially seven weeks but with continual evaluation at 4-week intervals after the initial 3-week shutdown. Will be very interesting to see how this goes state by state.
Dear God, what have we gotten ourselves into with this virus …
I can draw similarities … but only to a point … at this time three years ago, to the date today Dec 5, when wildfire burned through my town the night before and could have taken the whole town if the wind hadn’t shifted, but stole houses out from at least 35 people I know including my best friend. Was the worst Christmas with a month of dark, forbidding smoke to where it seemed we’d never again see a blue, clear sky (or the sun); they didn’t put out that fire here nearest to me til January of the New Year but it continued to burn in surrounding communities til March. So many people suffered loss that it was impossible for any of the rest of us to feel like celebrating (like survivor guilt but also of course, a consuming empathy for them); mostly we’d greet each other in our N95 masks at the bank or post office or a store if we dared go out in the awful air, hug each other in sadness and fear; burst into tears. The loss of life wasn’t anything like Covid of course, but it was the loss of Christmas; no joy; feeling on edge, day after day after day, and on fire-watch at night, just hoping not to see more orange glow. I didn’t even want flickering holiday lights around me because it was too reminiscent of fire. Like now, so much was shut down on our Main Streets because the air quality was so poor that we were warned to stay indoors; you couldn’t Christmas shop, so the stores just locked their doors. Again, on the one hand, no comparison to this tragedy of Covid, yet I feel some of the same as I did then. Because it was so recent, just 2017.
Surely your neighbors will now back off on their ‘gatherings?’ I hope so!
xo
I’ve been reading about this, Vicki. Very strict, but entirely necessary. It puts such a damper on the holidays and small stores and postal workers, etc., but when the alternative is COVID, it suddenly puts everything in perspective.
I have a feeling we won’t be far behind you.
xoxo
We didn’t get any of that weather – just rain and some wind. It was well north of us.
We have non-perishables stashed in the office/studio yet again. Don went shopping for some things tomorrow, but we think we’re going to start ordering online again. It’s too scary.
Stay safe, Vicki.
Thanks for all your kind responses. Do you see AGAIN how I write too much when I’m really nervous, so I say sorry for the umpteenth time for abusing the space of your blog, Claudia. My husband did curbside pickup at a big box grocery-type store today at 6:30am — we’ve actually never done this before — and it was entirely contactless, with the ordering completed online, you keep your car window rolled up and just show your i.d. thru the glass per their instrux, you pop your car trunk with your key fob, they load the car; all we had to do when he got home was disinfect the items, and they did a good job; the clerks gave us perishables with good expiration dates, etc.; they made no mistakes on our order. My husband said, “This is the only way to go from here on out.”
And the reason, too, why he said that is that I did an online order with another big box store and they’ve screwed it up so bad (for home delivery). I know it’s because everything is too overloaded; workers overwhelmed from sheer volume of orders. But it’s a headache for me. They didn’t send me cat food but instead children’s clothes. And then instead of my replacement order of cat food, they’ve sent me Kleenex and dish liquid which, of course, I can use, but the point is I’ve been in online chats about this twice, about to do a third time, it’s just annoying and I still have nothing to feed my cats, and I guess I just can’t cope as well with this sort of thing right now but I’m feeling stressed although it’s a small thing.
When you said in your post that you and Don are retreating from the world for the time being, this is EXACTLY how I feel. No more places to go or more things to have to stockpile at home; just withdraw from the ‘to-do’s’. And I’ll work harder to make comments on the blog that aren’t so much about my private observations and concerns because, after all, we’ve all got the same concerns and there’s no state but Hawaii that isn’t having rises cases of the virus. We see the weary medical people interviewed on television; they’re so tired and worried themselves. We see the families who’ve lost friends and relatives and neighbors, sometimes in multiples. It isn’t going to get any better anytime soon even with the promise of the vaccines. So we need self-care and enjoy healing moments inside our houses; in a local & safe environment outdoors when possible like a yard if one has one at their house; a balcony; a big window. Or open a book with comforting words and nice photos when the ‘four walls’ begin to close in. All the stuff we talked about before over the past months of epidemic to keep ourselves mentally healthy. And I don’t know how yet I’m going to do it, but I simply must get in more exercise because I notice my balance is slightly off; I’m not keeping myself strong like with legs/core/hips because I’m not up and doing things and going places, moving around enough, like I would in a non-Covid year. It’s too much sitting around.
So, we all know what we each need to do. Maybe incorporate some new personal routines. Eat well; try to get good sleep. Limit ‘news’ while still staying informed. Reassure ourselves; be hopeful. I know it’ll help after I get my holiday tree up today. And then we’ll pick delish & juicy navel oranges on the hill because, if we don’t, the return of the Santa Ana winds tomorrow and Tues will blow them right off the tree. We’re so lucky to, today, have a gorgeous blue-sky day with abundant sun, and a temp at 1pm-ish of 75 degrees (f). When the weather in SoCalif is nice, it’s REALLY nice.
Don said today, “I think we should start ordering our groceries again.” And I think we will. Same when we do pick up here, though we load them into the trunk. They bring them out (You text them from a specific parking space) and leave the cart. Then Don gets out and loads the trunk. Then, holding the cart handle while using a disinfectant wipe, we return it. And off we go.
Stay safe, Vicki.
Well that works, too, and you and Don are careful. I of course think you’re among the wise to be as careful as you have been and what you’ll do from here on out. We’ve all got to be careful and mindful with such an infectious, contagious disease more prevalent in our midst than ever before. As you’d mentioned in one of your kind replies, I do also hope my negligent neighbors will stop their large gatherings because it sure puts neighbors in a bad position of whether to report them or not when it’s so blatant, you just want everybody to stay well and follow the rules, please, for a little while longer, when the vaccine really is just around the corner; time goes fast; just be patient. Don’t inadvertently, unknowingly kill somebody else; wear a mask. Find ways to curb restlessness and just stay home as often as possible. Wish I could say that to each of the guys who live on either side of me here at the houses in the neighborhood. Like, you’ve each got three kids; enjoy them; play with them; build a fort indoors; play board games; get off your phones; be present and in the moment with your little ones; be the dads you know you can be; protect your family; they’re precious. Stay safe and keep yourself well, too.
xoxo
Beautiful tree. Good for you. I haven’t put a real tree up in a long time but we have a few decorations. Plus lots of lights outside. Enjoy!
Your lights outside look beautiful, Kay!
Stay safe.
Cool sky photo! Yes, thank goodness for our phones – not just iPhones, Android as well. ;-) (Never have been an iPhone user.)
Love your Christmas tree. It is just lovely. We just have a tabletop tree and I keep the lights on all day and night until I go to bed. I love subtle lights this time of year.
I see clusters of young people outside all the time, none wearing masks. Guess they think they’re invincible. I know it’s the age; I think back to when I was a teen and my early 20’s and I was the same way, not having a fear in the world. The frontal lobe of the brain that controls reasoning doesn’t fully develop until age 25+.
Well, I said iPhone because that’s what I have!
Yes, they do think they’re invincible – and I remember that feeling as well, Melanie. Sadly, they are not, and I pray they start using more caution.
Stay safe!
Beautifull clouds, so special. Claudia, you love your dollhouses so much. In the netherlands, Amsterdam, a woman build a dollhouse for mouses (not real ones). It took her 3 years en since then she made furniture, more dolls and so on. i think you might like it. I dont know how to put a link in here but if you are interested you can google..www.hetmuizenhuis.nl (the mousehouse).
Have a peacefull december. Love from the Netherlands.
Oh, thank you, Ciska! I will definitely visit – it sounds absolutely charming!
Stay safe!
It’s lovely, Claudia. And it reflects peace in every way possible.
Thank you, Jeanie.
Take care of yourself and stay safe.
A beautiful tree, Claudia. I know that having it put up and decorated with the lights shining can bring peace to you and Don. I turn ours on when I get up in the morning and don’t turn it off until I go to bed. Since we don’t go anywhere, I don’t have to turn it off much since we don’t leave the house. It just makes me happy having it here and shining its joy.
We wrapped presents this afternoon, and I am so glad that is done. Hope you aren’t getting the bad weather I saw on the evening news tonight. The snow and wind and heavy rain looked pretty awful. But, by the light of your tree, I hope you are enjoying a peaceful evening. Take care.
Same here. First thing in the morning, when Don comes downstairs, the tree goes on. We turn it off when we go to bed. I absolutely love seeing it all day long.
We didn’t get that weather, thankfully. It’s well north of us. We did get rain and wind but even the wind hasn’t been all that bad.
Stay safe, Chris.