Atrocious

today will be my last rant before Christmas. I will work on an attitude adjustment by Friday. We walked up to Los Alamos today to see the progress on the clearing of the lot next to John and Spike. They are looking at the prefab house that was unceremoniously dropped there about a month ago. It looks like there will most likely be another story dropped on top of it at some point but various parts of this project have been going on here since before we moved here 8 years ago, so there is no reason to believe it will happen anytime soon.

What bothers me most about it is not how long it has taken or the fact that it is a prefab, but that every piece of trash that has gone into every phase of this project is still lying on the ground in big messy piles. It seems like there is enough desolation and ugliness provided by wildfires without this man-made mess, mimicking the remains destroyed houses all around it.

Because all outdoor dining has now been canceled and there is no place for us to meet for post Pilates coffee, I volunteered to have everyone here outside, but new restrictions have come into effect mandating a return to the stay-at-home orders that began in March. Most stores are allowed to be open at 20% capacity but all restaurants, bars and cafés are restricted to take-out only. All the tents and outdoor heaters  that were erected in parking lots and on sidewalks when the weather turned cold at night  and the days got shorter have to be taken. Personal services such as hair and nail salons are banned.

I know many people everywhere are experiencing the same restrictions, but it seems especially hard to take right before Christmas. It seems like all I do these days is cancel plans and attempt to create new ones with a vestige of joy left in them. We may be living in a devastation zone, but our house is ok and our livelihood has not been pulled out from under us two or three times.

I understand the reasons for the restrictions but if they can create a vaccine in 9 months I would think there could be a bit more creative thinking to try to avoid a one size fits all solution.

Nothing but comfort and joy for the rest of the year. I promise.