Happy Thanksgiving!

 The year is 2020. Historical on so many levels. 

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! This year, I thought about skipping this annual tradition of mine. Then I thought, aren’t I the one who always tries to look for the silver lining? If that’s true, then this year should be no different. More challenging for sure, but no different.

Let’s get started;

If you were employed all year, be thankful for that.

I you had a home all year, be thankful for that.

If you had enough to eat all year, be thankful for that.

If you were in good health all year, be extra thankful for that.

There was no live entertainment, but there was still music to listen to.

There weren’t many sporting events you could attend, but games were still played, races were still driven and championships were still decided.

You didn’t get to dine out as much as you wanted to but maybe that made you a better cook! (There’s more in the culinary world than just macaroni and cheese you know!)

Your favorite TV shows were put on hold and there were no movies at the theater, making you a little more thankful for a good book.

Birthdays were celebrated a little differently for most of you. Thankfully though, you still had one.

There were far less baby showers to attend but babies still came into the world. 

Instead of vacations, maybe you fixed things up around the house.

Maybe you built a model, finally learned how to crochet, or discovered that you like puzzles!

Consumerism took a back seat to basic consumption.

And we all learned a little more about what essential really means. 

 

My own list includes;

Naps, cute masks, sugar cookies, pajamas, lots of quilling, ice, Tums, sweet dreams, working from home, humming bird feeders, good conversations, humor, our new percolator and Christmas decorations-early! 

And of course, the most important things; Family, even the nutty ones. Friends, even at a distance. Love. 

Yep, it’s been a strange year. Toilet paper shortages. No cleaning supplies. Frozen pizzas and Top Ramen flying of the shelves. Amazon, Door Dash, Zoom and Microsoft Teams became a thousand times bigger! Memes became standard. Waterways became cleaner. The air, less polluted. There’s an overabundance of oil. Virtual became a thing. Through all of that though, there were still plenty of things to be thankful for. 

Life is good people. Be a little kinder. Give a little more. Help when you can.

Have Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Pandemic life

 Geez!

At least the election is mostly over so we don't have to be stressed out about that anymore.

And, what happened to BLM? It seems like you heard something about racial injustice every day, for weeks and weeks. But now? Did it go away? I'm confused. There's still a lot of hate out there but it seems more general now. Like people just hate everything right now! 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. I'm pretty sure most of the country isn't going to abide by all the recommended restrictions. Especially since they announced this week that there's an effective vaccine soon to be available. Yeah, the rest of the year is going to be weird.

Also, I saw some headline that said Fauci said things could "start" to return to normal next April. What? I don't understand. How can he possible know that? I mean, why not February? Or July? Why did he pick April?  I also saw something last week that some entertainment venues are considering requiring proof that you've been vaccinated before they let you in. Pretty sure that can't work on any level! I see crazy headlines all the time. 

Some days, Montana seems like a fantastic idea! But then I remember Hobby Lobby is right up the street and I throw that thought out :-)

Pandemic life

Good grief! Is it EVER going to end??? Honestly, don't you think the toll on mental health is immeasurable by now?! There are days at a time when I always feel like crying. I still think it's weird in the grocery store. No flavored Coke products. Sometimes there are cleaning supplies, sometimes there aren't. Some frozen foods are still hard to find. Some frozen fish is hard to find. And expensive when you do. We went to Costco last weekend and there's still a "limit 1" on paper towels, TP and water. which is fine but why do they still need to say that? Thankfully there's no limit on bottles of margaritas!! 

Last month, just for something to do, my guy and I went to Michigan. Our destination was Mackinaw Island. It was so nice to get away, even for a few days. We went to the beach! Us Hoosiers don't have a lot of experience with the beach. The weather was wonderful too. Michigan is weird though. Anyway, Mackinaw Island was fantastic! There were A LOT more people there than I expected. For the most part, everyone had a mask on. Even outdoors, by themselves. When we wanted to have lunch, there were long lines and wait times everywhere because nothing was completely open. It was really kind of strange. You would think we'd be used to that by now, but we aren't. We took a tour of a Coast Guard ice cutter and we drove over the bridge to the UP. Now we've been to every Great Lake except Superior. On the way back, we stopped in Frankenmuth to go to Bronner's Christmas store. OMG!!!! It was AWESOME!!! Seriously, 7 acres of Christmas decorations! Ahhhhhhh. I think if you couldn't find an ornament for anything specific, then it just isn't made. Hey, want an ornament of a giraffe in a tutu? Yep. How about a casket? Or a jack-o-lantern? How about Santa on a rocket ship? Or a chili cheese dog? What about a 20 foot artificial Christmas tree? It was astounding! And also cram packed with tourists. Crazy! They even have a shuttle for the parking lot! Oh yeah, definitely my kind of place. Thanks honey :-) 

Also, the lack of news for a few days was a nice relief. Because how could the pandemic be any worse? Oh, there's an election tomorrow! It's just exhausting, all the bullshit. And this morning on my way in to work...businesses already have their store fronts boarded up. It's disgusting, all the hate and negativity. It made me cry. So I'm going to work from home the rest of the week. I'm not coming downtown, just in case. It's just too overwhelming.

(remember, you can click on the picture to enlarge it)

Yep, this is the Grand Hotel! 

                                       They just don't make things like this anymore

a natural spring

           Along our walk, we saw this slab of rock. That was funny.

In case you didn't know, cars are not allowed on the island. Just horses and bicycles.

this bridge is 5 MILES long!

                                                               Ship's innards 

Officer's mess