What I'm going to miss when Covid-19 is over...?...?...?

So, I know we're all waiting for this f--king pandemic to be over. But, let's be honest, there are some things we're going to miss...for example: 

• NYT's "At Home" section of the Sunday NYT. We've gotten more delicious menu items from this section of the NYT, than we have in a long time; 
• Staying home - be honest...we all wished we could have an excuse to do nothing, at home, for awhile...but, enough is enough! I'm ready to go places;
• Going to the gym...ok, ok, ok...there are many of you that who really want to go to the gym, but to be able to say, "Uh, no, I really can't go and work out because of Covid..." was liberating!;
• Binge TV watching. In all honesty, I've been a binge TV-watcher for years! But, with Covid, I didn't have to justify it - you all just finally caught up; 
• Hanging out on the front porch. So, Charlie and I have spent more time on our front porch in the past year than perhaps more years since we've lived here. (And, we've lived here almost 37-years!)

Now, that's what I'm going to miss. But, what am I looking forward to? Oh, there's a whole host of things. Here are a few:

• Eating at a restaurant (without a mask!) - I really want someone to bring me food and a cocktail (Hendrick's martini, please, with a twist?) 
• Las Vegas - again, without a mask! - I want to sit next to a stranger at a Blackjack table, sit next to some stranger at a bar, stand next to a stranger at a Craps table and have a good time!
• Seeing people - I mean, anyone, anytime, anywhere we can! Indoors, outdoors, underwater - well, maybe not underwater, but you know what I mean!
• Flying to anywhere! So, maybe in the first time in history, Americans can't go anywhere they want - Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia...I want to be able to go to Canada! I'm looking forward to going to Canada and Europe. We have friends in Canada and in the UK. I'm looking forward to visiting them. 

So, that's it for now. 

It's February....2021....

So....2021 is fully in the swing. And, it's now February (well, it will be tomorrow). There are at least three vaccines - maybe as many as five that we might be able to get. That's IF they have enough...IF we float to the top of the list...IF...IF...IF...IF... Still drinking too much, but since I'm really posting this on January 31, tomorrow's a new day... and a new goal. Let's talk about the state of the state/country...I had high hopes for Kate Brown, but how could she be so dense? Do you really want to figure out stuff? There's no shame in asking our neighbors to the North (Washington State), can we piggy-back on your stuff? Contract tracing - WA state got it right over a month ago. How do we do vaccine distribution? (Oh, here's a hint NOT A 27 MEMBER TEAM THAT HAS TO COME UP WITH A WORD OF THE DAY BEFORE THEY START THEIR F---ING WORK!) And,then there's the Dems in Washington, DC...KILL THE FILLIBUSTER! Take the bet - run the gamble. Kill the fillibuster (and, yes, when the Repubs are back in charge, they will exploit it to the full extent!) but, in the meantime, pass the Covid relief package you want and make that the bullet point Dems can run on in 2022 - and you just might get a solid House and Senate majority! Is it a risk? YEP - it is, but it's one at this point I'm willing to take! FUCK THE RIGHT-WING, REPUBLICAN NATIONALISTIC COWARDS!

All hail Joe Biden and Kamala Harris!

I'm here in my pajamas, drinking sparkling wine/prosecco and reveling in the fact that Joe Biden is the new US President! We did survive (barely, and only some of us) that other guy (like Stephen Colbert, I refuse to use his name). It was a beautiful inauguration - Lady Gaga was phenomenal, Jennifer Lopez made me cry (really, ask Charlie!), and I've become a poetry convert by Amanda Gorman (when is she going to publish a book?!?). I have hope again...But let me assure you...here is something everyone should remember - this is not safe. Do you want to keep credibility at the forefront? Ask questions! Here's the first one for you: "Many people say..." Here's what to say in response, "Name three..." If they can't name three you believe are credible, take a side long glance. Now, to segue...I have said to Charlie many times since the election was called, Barack Obama's election was historic. I will never discount that. But, Joe Biden's election was important. Important because these assholes who could not accept a Black man as President of the United States (oh, boohoo, you're white and now have to prove yourself!) now have a white man who accepts that his "legacy" is not threatened! Kamala Harris is our Vice President (both a woman and a woman of color - oh, boohoo!) As I watch CBS News' coverage of the the inauguration, they are talking about how this administration plans to help the country, they invoke the fact that the Repubs are talking about the National Debt. I say, "Are you giving money to OUR citizens? Or are you financing the military industrial complex (thank you Dwight D. Eisenhower(R))? Because if this money is going to help OUR citizens, give them cash! There's an easy way to get it back from those who really don't need/deserve it - make them pay it back on their tax return! Not a difficult calculus! Everyone seems to think it's really more difficult than it really is. Finally, good on you Joe! Good on you Kamala! I'm with you - ask me to do something - I'll do it!

Some irony...

In six days, we'll have a new President (thank goodness!). But here's some food for thought - - A man who is perhaps the most gentle and kind person to be elected President of this country in a very long time, is having to decide if the people of this country can be "in person" witnesses to his innauguration. - The same man is perhaps the one man who should be most in fear of his life to be innaugurated to the position (let's face it, there are white supremisists and Trumpists who would find it the utmost honor to see to it that he never served a day as President.) - Fifty state capitols are battoning down their hatches to make certain they are not overrun by those same people. - I am beginning to wonder if the USA is still the country everyone should aspire to be a part of. Six days, my friends...

Nine Days...

We survived (did we?) January 6. January 6 is known as "Three-Kings-Day", Epiphany, the last day of the 12-days-of-Christmas. This year, though, it meant "An insurgency, a coup-d'etat, they're fucking storming the Capitol!" Today, we still survive. In nine days, Joe Biden, (and I will be referring to him as President Joe - not to be disrespectful, not to lesson his position - but knowing that he is my President and that he will restore the position to where it should be) will be inaugurated. I am so proud to be an American. Please...Joe, continue to make us proud...make us what we were meant to be. Kamala, I pledge myself to you as our first woman President, to be whatever you need me to be as an OLD american woman.

One more day of 2020...

The only good thing about there being one more day of 2020 is that December 31 is Sammy's birthday! This holiday season, we've gotten to visit with Molly, Sammy, Sarah, and Sarah's mother, Jeanette. We had a great time. The sorry side was not being able to be with Nicky and Liz. How to express how lucky we are: no one has truly suffered this horrible pandemic (Liz was lucky - so lucky!) and we're all relatively healthy (honestly, how healthy can you be at 40 pounds over weight?!?). I'm still drinking too much (well, I've cut back somewhat - not every day - but when I do drink it's too much), and because it's cold and dank, I'm not getting outside as much as I should. My goal for 2021 is that I will not only get outdoors, but out on my bike and in the world (well, at least out in Portland and maybe Oregon). As soon as we get the vaccine, Duane and I are heading out and about. Let's hope it's sooner than later. We're hoping for the great Southwest: New Mexico, close to El Paso (somewhere in New Mexico), southern California, Utah - oh let's face it - anywhere! In the meantime, I need to get on a bicycle, get outside - do something....

Post Election...Covid's not over...

So...It's the end of November. So far, we've survived Covid. Charlie hasn't gotten it...I haven't gotten it...Molly hasn't gotten it...Sam hasn't gotten it...Sarah hasn't gotten it...Nick hasn't gotten it... Liz got it! It's OK...because, she's OK. So... We're all good. A vaccine is on the horizon, and as soon as we can get it, we're getting it, by god! Anyway... a great Thanksgiving - Molly, Sam, Sarah - it was so much fun, I can't even express how fun it was. Christmas is next. We're hoping that Nick and Liz will fly up and join us for that one. Now, the real purpose of this post. What I'm thankful for with Covid... - It's suddenly OK to not leave your home. (Yeah, I know folks are bitching about not being able to go places, but, I'm OK with it!) - Streaming television shows...I've always loved veging out in front of a television, and suddenly, it's OK! - Drinking too much. (OK, maybe this hasn't been given the acceptance of other stuff - sweat pants, no make-up - but admit it - you've had too much to drink, too, the past eight months!) But, Joe Biden has been elected President! Kamala Harris is our next Vice President! I'm going out on a bike ride tomorrow (time to get back in shape because I'm certain my new President is going to ask something of me) and there's a new day dawning.