making a decision when the options are crap

Dec 28, 2020

Have y’all got your Christmas tree down and packed away for another year? Me neither! I always take down my tree the day after Christmas, but it’s still twinkling in the living room. I’ve penciled in Wednesday to do the deed because I’m hoping Perry will get the boxes down from the attic for me tomorrow after he’s off from work.

Ole’ Teddy Bear broke a hip on the ladder to the attic here many moons ago. It’s sturdy enough — but it’s sure easier when there’s someone to hand stuff down to. And who is even going to know the tree is still up? Me. Perry. And Ben if he gets hungry enough.

In other news (#dogproblems), Merida ate the side off of my Tommy Bahama ultra soft throw that is 3 days old! She’s so very lucky the battery was dead in her shock collar. I was mashing that “light your ass up button” like it was my job — all the while screaming, “Did you do that??” at the top of my lungs.

She knows she was bad, and now she’s ignoring me… what a brat!

Merida won't look at me - but Dharma will!

And on to the all-consuming COVID-19 yackety smackety. Cases are rising but still, SIX MILLION PEOPLE traveled through US airports before Christmas Eve. On the eve of Christmas Eve, more than 1.1 MILLION PEOPLE screened at airports. That breaks the pandemic travel record even though hospitals are full and healthcare workers are stressed.

Which leads to the text message I got yesterday that I still haven’t replied to. A cousin and friend, Celina, from Illinois is coming to Jackson County within the next few days with her daughter, Leisha. She wants to see me while she’s here — and may hit me up to spend a few nights. But you guys, I’ve been sooo very careful since March!

I don’t want to be paranoid and miss making new memories, but I also want to make sure I’m around a whole lot more years to make more of them. I don’t want to be rude, and I’d love to spend time with them and have a few glasses (or bottles) of wine while talking about all the other relatives. We always have SO MUCH FUN!

Girls cruise from 3 years ago.
Celina (far left) and the pretty blonde directly on my right, Leisha, is the daughter coming with her to Indiana.

So what to do? UGH! Here’s the thing… I have no clue how many people she and Leisha were around over the holiday — but I’m guessing LOTS. I have a decision to make, and the options are crap. 🙁

How severe the pandemic is in the places where people I care about are located…

Daily NEW COVID-19 cases (7 day moving average):
Indiana-75.6 (down); Jackson Co – 76.5 (down) — 8.37% infected (up); Florida 52.6 (down slightly); Nevada – 71.0 (up slightly)

TIL (today I learned): Burger King has the rights to use its name throughout the entire United States, with the exception of a 20-mile radius surrounding a totally unrelated restaurant, also called Burger King, in Mattoon, Illinois. Click to read more about the name dispute…