Pandemic Times, January 1-2, 2021

Friday, January 1, 2021 

It seems fitting to start the new year with a new post.  This year begins with a mix of hope and trepidation.  The spread of Covid is out of control in many places and will likely get worse because of holiday celebration and travel.  The vaccine rollout has begun but has proceeded more slowly than projected. Actual distribution and administration has been left to the states and many do not have adequate resources or infrastructure. But the vaccine give hope that this virus will eventually be manageable.

Since the election in November, pro-trump politics has been worse than ever. Trump and his cronies continue to protest the legitimacy of Biden's victory. A few senators and congressmen may even challenge the certification of the electoral votes.  A run-off election in GA with both senate seats at stake will determine the balance of power in the senate. This has tremendous consequences for Biden's and the country's success.

Nevertheless, our personal life clicks along in our pandemic routine.  I have felt compelled to organize something, so I organized the t-shirts and turtlenecks in my closet and I started on cleaning off my desktop.  I inherited Jim Whitaker's large desk and it has accumulated a lot of paper over the last year.  But I started by sorting the boxes and stacks of CDs and DVDs hiding behind my computer monitor. I threw away the discards, put the unused blank in a drawer and separated the archival CD and DVDs from the music one.  Now I have two neat boxes.

We celebrated in the afternoon with a Zoom family get together and a phone visit with Anna & Jake.  And of course, football.

For supper, I finished cooking the black-eyed peas and collard greens and made a pan of cornbread. I enjoyed the traditional New Year's Day fare and Bill tolerated it.  

Saturday, January 2

I continued with cleaning my desktop, which expanded to clearing out a foot high stack of paper from the church file drawer.  This will allow room for a few current files.  I decided that it was not my role to be the repository of church information and committee notes from the past decade. I didn't finish the job, but made substantial progress.  

Mid-afternoon, we went to the Matzeks for a short visit.  Their porch/patio is almost complete.  Only pouring the concrete and replacing the gutter remain. The final painting will wait until the treated lumber cures a bit.

I got a new gadget that is supposed to hold a phone on the telescope to take a picture through the lens.  I don't know if I'll keep it.  I'm not impressed.