Happy New Year 2021!

Today (12/18) is very cold. It got down into the low 30s last night as it will tonight. As I mentioned before, my house isn’t built to handle such low temps and I hate to hear the air handler labor all day knowing that it can only do so much. So, I’m bundled up and Rosie is still in bed here at 10:30 AM. I’ll leave her there until it’s warm enough to get out. Night before last I put the duvet on the bed so through the night we are warm and toasty. It’s only when we have to face the cold light of day that we shiver a bit.

Last night (12/17) I had Tippy and Kieran over to share the Christmas spirit. Another motive was that I wanted to try an appetizer and I knew if I made it, I would eat it all, so I was looking for guinea pigs!! Being true friends, they offered to help me out. As always, we had a fun evening enhanced by an evolving event. Before they came over, they had been visited by a stray/feral kitty. They had left it some food and milk but were concerned about it being outside through the cold night. Kieran texted their neighbors who have 6 cats and as we were chatting, they set up a box with towels, more food, etc. Kieran doesn’t want an indoor pet but I mentioned to Tippy that she could have an outside feral cat. Having worked with them and shown Tippy our feral cat village, I think the seed was planted. Over time, the feral cats grow to know and love you, while you learn to respect their freedom. One side effect of feeding feral cats is that the raccoons will find the food and show up to be fed also. I recommended that Tippy not mention that to Kieran!!

Can you guess who this is?

This has been a quiet Christmas but I feel very good about it. I have savored my few gatherings with friends and hearing from friends near and far.- even from Santa & Mrs. Claus!! As each week passes, I’ve valued our little pandemic bubble (Chris, Lynn, and Tom) that gets together weekly and brings normalcy to this surreal year. This week (12/18) we all donated to our local charity, Bluffton Self Help, in hopes of helping those in need in our community. I will also be donating to some of my longtime, favorite charities. I did not do cards this year but I’ve done an ecard for everyone (actually 3 eCards for three different groups of family and friends). If you didn’t receive one, please check your spam folder and let me know. I always feel that sending many at one time increases the odds of it being considered spam.

Yesterday (12/22) our little social bubble had a shock. Chris had an antibodies test, just out of curiosity, and it showed that she had been exposed to Covid-19. Luckily, she has no symptoms and we hope that continues. She let us know right away and was advised to quarantine for 7 days. She asked about her pandemic pals and was told that we were okay unless we experience symptoms. Of course, the three of us are wondering what we should do – nothing!? Get the test?  Could it even be that one of us infected Chris?? At the moment, we are touching base each day and hoping it is nothing. In the meantime, we all have been invited to gatherings in the neighborhood and decided to decline just to be on the safe side. It’s my turn to host everyone on Saturday. Chris will still be in quarantine, but Lynn, Tom, and Bogey plan to attend at this point.

For the first few days of Christmas week, we had magnificent weather, but on Christmas day it was cold and to be colder the day after. Today (12/27) I’m in my snuggly robe and plan to be in it all day as I know Rosie is not interested in going out. In fact, she got up once only long enough to decide to get back under the covers! Now that she is out of bed, she is following a spot of sunshine around the room. It is my job to keep her bed in the sunlight! I have to keep her happy because I credit my walks with her for preventing me from feeling isolated. We have a great neighborhood of dog owners and dog lovers, and we never know how who we will run into or how long our walk may take.

I did get it together to host Lynn & Tom.

Well, 2020 just keeps on giving. Yesterday when I went to the freezer for English muffins for breakfast, I picked them up and they were soft, not frozen! Then I opened the fridge and it, too, was warm. I was to have Lynn and Tom over in the afternoon and had also placed a pick-up order for groceries. Luckily, I have a very old, somewhat reliable fridge in the garage and a small box freezer, so it isn't as bad as it could be though it was a shock to go into a very cold garage this morning for milk for my coffee - definitely a waker-upper! The repairman is scheduled for Wednesday. Keep your fingers crossed.

In the meantime......

Happy New Year!

As someone said, I'm going to stay up until midnight this New Year. Not so much to see 2021 in but to make sure 2020 leaves!!