Why it's ok to turn the page on 2020

Planet earth gave us plenty of warning signs... then started it's hissy fit. It was time to teach us that we are are NOT in control, don't have all the answers and will only get through this if we help each other, are mindful about how we treat Earth and lose that ego! Oh yeah... and be careful who we put in charge of EVERYTHING!

January - The novel coronavirus COVID-19 makes first confirmed appearance in Seattle, WA.  Ironically, the World Health Organization had declared 2020 the year of the nurse. Meanwhile Australia was being ravaged by months of dangerous wildfires and high temps. 

February - the stock market crashed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) plunges by 1,190.95 points, or 4.4%, to close at 25,766.64, its largest one-day point decline at the time. COVID-19 is now a pandemic.

March - the beginning of a long shelter-in-place ordinance for us. People hoarded toilet paper, food and cleaning supplies. Supermarket shelves were empty and international borders were slowly closing.

April - Oil prices reach a record low, with West Texas Intermediate falling into negative values!  Homeschooling has began and parents start tearing their hair out.

May - Protests caused by the killing of George Floyd, break out across the US and the world. There are now 6 million cases of COVID-19, worldwide. More than 100,000 have died from it in the US. "Murder hornets" invade the US.

June - As the Indians and Chinese fight at the border, Mexico gets a giant earthquake, Russia spills 20,000 tons of oil into a river and there is another Ebola outbreak in Africa. America is #1 again... when it comes to COVID cases!

July - 4 million people in Nepal and India are homeless after flooding. 15 million people worldwide with COVID-19. Freakishly warm weather and lightning strikes contribute to intense wildfires in Siberia and the US.

August - In the US, there is the threat of a double hurricane in the south as wildfires burn new setting new records in  Colorado, California and Oregon  Beirut has a giant fertilizer explosion that kills many and leaves 300,000 people homeless.

September - Here at home during record breaking hot days, ash fell on us and breathing was difficult. The next day, with below freezing temperatures, it snowed and fully leafed trees were devastated by broken branches! By the end of the week it was 90 degrees again. Oh yeah... The United Nations had also declared 2020 as the year of International Plant Health!

October - We broke records for high temps again as those wildfires consumed the west. California and Colorado broke their records for worst fires too. For the second time in 2020! We had another impressive early winter storm, but it didnt dampen the fires. Election campaigning was in full, nasty swing.

November - We kicked off the month with the US Election that wouldn't quit. Biden eventually was declared President Elect, but Trump continues to this day, to fight it! More than a million people globally have died as a direct result of COVID-19 and yet 1.2 million Americans chose to travel for Thanksgiving, in direct opposition to advice by CDC and infectious disease experts.

December - 77,000 people in the USA died of COVID-19 this month. Our most deadly month to date but the human cost is just a part of the loss we are sustaining. Trump granted mining and energy firms access to public lands this month too.

I know what you are thinking. OMG... just get to the finish line for 2020 and start again in 2021, already! Sadly, we will not simply be wiping the slate clean and starting anew when the clock chimes midnight on January 31, 2020. But here is the important part; 2020 WASN'T all bad. In between the death and division, destruction and devastation, 2020 delivered opportunities and good news too.

Working from home. Not everyone was allowed this opportunity until COVID-19 forced the hand of their employers. Its warm, safe and familiar. The chance to work remotely meant the chance to prove that you are a responsible, valuable and productive team member. It also saved some businesses thousands per month on leased office space.

Relationships. Have you ever, or will you ever again have the chance to spend this amount of quality time with your loved ones - human or furry? You may not like it all the time... but it's a gift that will likely not be appreciated until we look back on this period in our lives. 

The environment.  Working from home = less commuting. Traffic issues and pollution levels fell. Stars seem brighter, views crisper, breathing easier. Animals began to come out of the woods and wander the streets again!

To-do lists: We all have them! How many of you, like me, worked your way through projects at home that had been waiting 'til you had time? Anyone take up a new hobby? Learn a new skill? 

Attention to other peoples challenges: We learned to look around and take note of hardships that our family members, communities and friends were faced with. Homeschooling, food insecurity, income loss, health issues and isolation from other humans. We reached out. We gave. We became more grateful for what we had... or didn't have.

IMHO, 2020 gave us two huge gifts.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE

TIME

Oh boys... It's way too early for shenanigans

Wrigley wakes close to 6 am, but it takes until 6:30am to wake his brother up and get him in the mood to play.

Mark and I are awake by 6:45 am. We wake to the sounds of heavy footsteps, screeching kitten protests and tiny feet poking delicate places on our bodies as they transit the bed. 

It still makes me smile.  A bleary-eyed smile. Hiding thoughts of how long it might take to train one of them to make me a coffee in the morning...

Pandemic Bingo!

Two thirds the way through 2020 and using the apocalyptical themed Bingo card, featuring squares such as Global pandemic,  Murder Hornets, Record-setting Wildfires, Economic meltdown,  Riots, Double hurricane, Canceled vacations, Record breaking hot summer,  Martial law, Toilet paper hoarding, Hazardous air quality, Widespread homeschooling, Election Hijacking and Winter Storm in summer... people are already calling BINGO!

And if you don't know someone who has lost a business, relationship or loved one, or had a significant health challenge in 2020,  you're in the minority. 

So today's goal is to issue you Dallice's Positive 2020 Bingo card. Let us not forget the good things that 2020 delivered.  It would be easy to do!

It Melted my Heart!

 Look what arrived in the mail today!

The MOST adorable card from Rusty's first mom.

Ava hand-raised Rusty and his siblings in the spring of 2020. When we adopted Rusty, Ava and her family kept his brother, Suka.

Inside our card were 3 little snapshots in time. Rusty, Rusty and Suka, Suka as an almost-8 month old.

This little packet of joy absolutely made my day. Brought me to tears. And I will treasure these gifts!

Date night at home... again

 Still trying to keep it lively and interesting around here. We have now been doing "date night" almost exclusively at home, for 9 months. Dining out is a distant memory. As is meeting up with friends to go bowling, see a movie or hang at someone else's house.

I know... it sounds like I'm sad or whiney. The truth is, I'm doing ok thanks to a combo of things. We are healthy, creative and have resources. Plus not a lot is all that challenging to our situation, relatively speaking. No kids to homeschool or simply parent 24/7. Our weather is good - interesting, varied and still cooperative when we want to fly or hike etc. We have the means to have delivered, some tools to stave off boredom. We are learning new skills and games, doing projects around the house and eating well.

The biggest contributor to my happiness and wellbeing has always been Mark though. And throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, he has only gotten better at entertaining me, participating in my hair-brained schemes and ponying up as chief guinea pig for new recipes - IE experimental food!

Want to see a darn near perfect Friday in my opinion? Of course you do! 

This was me in the morning.

I took my latte back to bed and began cruising around the internet, seeing what was new with the world. It sounds like I might have been reading the news... but that is not my thing these days. I'm drawn to exploring original art and learning about the artists that create such thought-provoking, timely or timeless, beauties. My latest addiction is scouring Saatchiart.com. With all the Black Lives Matter, Me Too and Pandemic issues of the last few years, it is super interesting to see another persons perspective. Especially those who go deeper and travel the tangents, then express that in a unique way.

Most mornings, I have a visitor. A feline friend who is besotted by the gadgets and willing to suck up to me with all kinds of sweetness in order to get close to... my cell phone. I'll take what I can get. Rusty is Mr Independence between 9am and 7pm. He doesnt have time or inclination to be all attentive to me during this time!

Having gotten myself out of bed, I did attempt some exercise today and felt good about the biking, walking and indeed some jogging that I logged on Fitbit. Oh yeah... and I scored a 91/100 for my "Sleep Score" on Fitbit last night too! It comes as no surprise to anyone that I'm an over-achiever in the sleep category, right?!

Dinner at home is mostly homemade, but honestly, it lacks variation at this point and often is a 30 minute effort after a long day of staying home and trying not to catch COVID. Today I put some thought into a healthy, vegetarian meal that I'd not made in years. A seasonal treat.

Stuffed acorn squash. I cut the top off and hollowed out the squash, then baked it really well. Meanwhile steaming rice that was laced with turmeric and smoked paprika, while I sautéed a mix of finely chopped peppers, onion mushrooms, cranberries, apple and pecans. I added some baking spices and a pinch of brown sugar at the last minute and stuffed the waiting squash until it was overflowing.

Comfort food. A bit sweet, bursting with complex flavors and definitely healthy. It was the dish to sandwich between my blue cheese and crackers appetizer and much awaited tuxedo cake dessert.

We then turned out attention to the next self-care step planned for tonight. Spa-like activities!

With a bottle of bubbly and wine glasses in hand, we began applying peel-able face masks to each other. It doesn't have to look good to feel good!

Following it with foot massages and then hand massages. Bliss.

Just enough time left in the evening to relax on the couch and veg out to a old episode of Grey's Anatomy. Then... I was ready to set another restorative sleep record.

Schwinn for the Win!

 Hot on the heels of a latte/espresso machine, came the realization that my hips were never going to make it through the winter without a new wardrobe unless I found a ying to my yang.

We have a treadmill and I like it. But I'm also easily bored and way more motivated to work out if Mark is with me and we have committed together. Side by side. And that, is my best excuse for what is surely more of an exercise in spending disposable income, than an critical need. 

This Schwinn bike was highly rated and seemed similar to a beast that I have tortured my butt on, at the gym. Note: The gym is still open, but with America setting records 4x/week  for "most dead of COVID in a single day" I think my motivation to get in shape is becoming dwarfed by my motivation to stay infection free.

It arrived in the dark wee hours this morning. Transported off the back of a Penske delivery truck by two heavy-lifting chaps. I was, in that single moment, pleased that I had paid a bit extra for them to take it all the way upstairs instead of dropping it in the snow at the front door. 

Yep, it's snowing today. A perfect day to stay inside and engineer a box of heavy bits into a stationary bike. How heavy? Well, the flywheel is 40 lb alone and the frame seems to be made of lead!

The kids were immediately curious.

While themselves, not big on choreographed exercise, Wrigley and Rusty do enjoy watching me do anything that takes energy and requires movement. Machines that make noise are a bit of a bonus it seems. And well... if they come in a box, that is the jackpot!

Hey, want to see the assembly instructions? The whole assembly instructions?!

Uh-huh. One page. No steps. Just a bunch of pieces that apparently fly into the frame and ta-da!  :-(

Were the pieces at least labeled, you ask?  No. No they were not. Not even the washers and screws!

First step... coffee.... 

Hello my lovely!

Then I was good to go for a snow day project:

Zip-ties are the bomb, aren't they? Kitties thought it was Christmas come early!

And there you have it. A nicely defined picture of good intentions. 

I've pointed it at the TV and have Friday afternoon ambitions that involve an episode of Private Practice while pedaling.  Or maybe just meandering the country lane of my imagination, smelling the flowers that don't exist at this time of year and breathing in the warm fresh air - that also doesn't exist!

Ah 2020, bring me your worst. I'm resourceful and resilient. When you run out of steam, I will still be standing. Stronger!

Merry Christmas to US!

One of the great catastrophes of 2020 is the inability to frequent our local businesses. This neighborhood is dotted with coffee shops from local favorites like Cafe Sole to the more well known Ozo, Brewing Market and Starbucks.

Mark used to drive through on the way to work. Fueling for a long commute. 

I used to stop on the way to Closings to grab coffee treats for my clients or even better... meet them there to discuss real estate opportunities.

We have a perfectly good coffee maker at home, but it's never going to produce a delish latte. Especially not a latte I can drink in bed!

With travel off the cards, we turned our discussion on holiday gifts to something we could share and appreciate during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place period of our lives. An espresso machine!

We did the research and settled on Breville's BES870XL.

Word on the street (internet) is that it takes a good month to perfect the shot of your dreams. Tweaking the grind setting, the amount of grounds delivered, and of course the amount and temperature of whatever milk goes in.

Our Breville machine arrived today. By Christmas, I intend to be more than satisfied with my new skills. (Don't worry, I have a new plan to deal with the problem that inevitably follows gastronomical indulgence.)

Check out Breville's first day in the Isolation Cafe. This made me happy!

We found a good deal on this model at Williams Sonoma after Thanksgiving.

Wriggles was VERY interested in the new arrival. Not putting it past him to want to drink a latte, but it turns out it was the box he was calling dibs on.

She's a beauty! A perfect fit for the space we have. Very exciting.

The first lot of grounds are dispensed. We started with manufacturers recommendations, but the time will come when we'll tweak and experiment to make a brew that is very much a Dallice and Mark original.

Yep, it certainly smells like a great pull of espresso. 

Mental note: Touch the milk jug as it's steaming to determine temperature. I personally was too pre-occupied taking pictures and ended up with something best described as lukewarm. Nothing a microwave didn't fix. (I know... sacrilege!)

I tapped out my first espresso grounds puck! Not bad, eh?!

5 Months as Brothers

 It's hard to put into words the relationship these guys have.  It started with fear and animosity. Moved to a teacher-student dynamic. And now what we have is a kinship based on play, joy and companionship.

It's a tight little arrangement, whereby they are never far apart. Whether biting on the other's neck or napping peacefully, Rusty and Wrigley choose each others company over anyone else's... always.  Inside or outside, night or day.