November 27, 2020
It's the day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday. Traditionally the day when the hordes flock to the shops for bargains. Today, we aren't hearing horror stories about crowds pushing and pummeling their way to snatch electronics or whatever the latest craze is. One of a few bright sides to the pandemic!
Yesterday we made a somewhat traditional Thanksgiving meal consisting of Trader Joe's holiday tofurkey roast, roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. We shared it with Premi and Sri who brought over home made ciabatta.
We ate this meal out on our patio early in the day - at lunch time. The weather cooperated - sunny, mild temps, no wind. Yes, it's odd to have a holiday meal at separate tables, spaced out, but we probably had a better day than many around the country.
Election news has calmed down, mercifully. It's wonderful to peruse news websites and the New York Times and find more Biden coverage than Trump. Fifty more days.
With Covid now so out of control in the USA we have no hope of returning to a less restricted life until vaccines are widely available. I'm horrified at the numbers in California - twice as high as our July highs. What happened? We were making such good progress. If Europe can succeed in flattening their curve for the 2nd time, surely we can too.
Weekend morning walks spiked up our dopamine levels as usual. On Saturday after a pancake breakfast, we drove further than usual - to El Capitan - for a change of scene. It's within a state park so we had to pay $10 to park. We had no regrets once we stepped onto the deserted and delightful beach.
The campground buzzed with a few families feasting on celebratory meals.
Quite the perfect location to escape the reality of a pandemic and a messy presidential transition.
After a short stretch on the paved path we descended back down to the beach to enjoy its magical isolation.
On Sunday morning we hiked on the little trails around Lake Los Carneros. The air was chillier than we'd ever experienced this year. I had to wear gloves! But it was quite a delightful way to start the day.
It's December 2. The day began with the exciting news that the UK has approved the Pfizer vaccine and will start vaccinating health care workers next week. Here, in the US, there's much excitement about vaccines too. Pfizer and Moderna are awaiting FDA approval and anticipate a roll out in a matter of weeks. It's a weird time of the best and worst news of the pandemic. Experts are warning of an impending bleak situation due to family gatherings over Thanksgiving. In California Governor Newsom is grappling with how to avoid a lockdown similar to the one we had in the spring. Hospitalizations and ICU units are filling up. LA county health officials are urging people to stay home. The day ended on a sombre note. A new record of daily Covid deaths was recorded - over 2,800. New cases were over 200,000. Over 100,000 people are hospitalized.
Adding to our misery is another dry winter. Every year as fall transitions into winter I study the weather forecast hoping desperately for a chance of rain. So far we've been waking up to clear blue skies with not even a hint of moisture forecast. Fire danger remains high. This annual anxiety is my least favorite aspect of living in southern California.
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