Covid Winter in California

 December 7, 2020

At midnight we in Southern California went into lockdown. We're back to spring restrictions with some exceptions. 

Months ago I was sure the worst had past. I was wrong. We have entered the bleakest phase of the pandemic. Hospitals are in danger of running out of beds and ICU units leaving the governor no choice but to issue a "Stay at Home" order. The state's daily case numbers have exploded this past week. Now the state is recording 25,000 and above daily new infections. On December 4 the state recorded its highest death toll at 204. We are so worn down by this virus. I don't think people are going to go into isolation like they did back in March. We know so much more now and this gives us a false sense of control. Dr. Fauci, medical experts and governing officials fear that with winter celebrations things could easily spiral into a bigger crisis.

Rudi Giuliani has been hospitalized for Covid. Yippee!!

Vaccines are about to rescue us but it'll be at least 6 weeks before the impact will be felt. The UK will be rolling out the Pfizer vaccine tomorrow. There's much excitement around that.

I generally hate being home this time of year. Ever since I retired in 2014 we've spent winter holidays somewhere warm and beautiful. I hoped to escape to Hawaii for the month of January, but it doesn't appear wise to do so at this point. Darn! The best way to keep my spirits up is to divert my attention toward big projects. I've taken on the huge task of scanning our photos from the pre-digital years. I've been enjoying resuscitating memories of adventurous trips as well as home events.

Dec 8

Historic day. V-Day. Today the UK began vaccinating the general public, with over 80 year olds at the front of the queue. 

The FDA is about to green light the Pfizer vaccine so the US will soon start its mass vaccination program.

December 11

Mum's 81st birthday. Had a Skype chat with her. She looks incredibly good but complained about the intense heat in Ladysmith. Luckily for her she has her grandsons to fuss over her.

Here in Goleta, we awoke to a chilly morning. After a week of obscenely mild weather, today I didn't rush out the door for my morning run. This resulted in elevated anxiety from checking out the news. Covid seems out of control everywhere. In California we are recording record new highs in daily infections and deaths. Same is true nationwide. Europe is having difficulty managing its surge, especially Germany where daily new infections are over 20,000 and daily deaths are over 500. South Africa is experiencing a new wave with steep rises in the past week. A nightmarish scenario as we head into Christmas.

Fortunately my morning runs ensure high levels of endorphins. At Stow Grove I've been seeing red shouldered hawks everyday. I've also been listening to Padma Lakshmi's memoir on my run. Enjoying it more than I expected. A talented writer, honest, observant, with an interesting life worthy of sharing with the world.

Festive baking has helped keep my spirits up too. I made Stollen using brandy soaked dried fruit and marzipan so of course it's a huge success. As with all yeast breads and cakes it swallowed up most of a day, so it'll be a year or two before I attempt it again.