Social Distancing in Littleton: Week 33

I’m writing this post at 6:15 on the evening of Wednesday, November 4th, and we still don’t have a winner in the presidential election. This was expected. The race is heated and so very close. It’s actually more worrisome to have yet another confirmation of the deep divisions in our country. I’m cautiously optimistic that Biden will prevail, but I’m nervous and won’t be surprised, if Trump is victorious. I dread the contention and possible violence that will occur when Trump fights to overturn the results, should he lose. Based on his statements, I don’t expect him to graciously concede.

The election has dominated everything this week, yet we also made some great memories.

Due to covid concerns, we decided not to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters. Next year, we will definitely participate. Instead, we went for drinks and Italian food with our friend’s Julie and Ryan. We watched “The Hunt,” and ate Nigella Lawson’s coffee layer cake.

After initial success the previous week, I tried to make Lawson’s layer cake two more times. I attempted a smaller, triple layer cake which was a disaster. I should apply to “Nailed It" after this epic failure.

Luckily, I succeeded with the cake for Halloween. Dan decorated it.

Monday was our 7th wedding anniversary and we celebrated it at the Denver Zoo. I will write a more extensive review for a future post, but we had a great time. I was thrilled to discover that the zoo sells Dole Whip. This was my first Dole Whip outside of Hawaii and Disney parks.

Rather than having a big anniversary dinner, we opted for lunch at a new-to-us curry spot called “Spice Table.” Dan thought the curry was the most English-style he as found in America. It was great and definitely a new go-to spot in Denver. It had pretty, colorful lamps too.

We started watching “Lovecraft Country.” We are three episodes in and it is a completely overwhelming experience. It’s timely, emotional, and quite bizarre. I love the blending of genres and the cast is great. So much has happened that I can’t even imagine where it will head next. We are hooked.

Dan took a pretty picture of our neighborhood during one of our walks. Autumn is a lovely time of the year in Colorado. It has been warm all week.

And the obligatory cute cat pictures. Slinky is showing his Halloween vampire cat fangs! I call him count catula.

Social Distancing in Littleton: Weeks 30 & 31

I can’t believe that it has been more than half a year since we have been dealing with Covid. That said, the days still feel mostly normal. We are being careful, but we also have done some socializing in the last few weeks.

We invited our neighbors, Chloe and Marcus, over for dinner. This was long over-due, as they are our direct neighbors and we have been to their backyard for a few parties. We actually share a fence with them and when we installed our fence, we placed a gate between our backyards, which has been great. They have a gate with our other neighbors, so we can all easily socialize between our yards. It was wonderful to really get to know Marcus and Chloe. We hit the neighbor jackpot by moving to Sterling Ranch.

The next morning, I was quite hung-over, but I crawled out of bed to go with a bunch of women in the neighborhood for a Sunday brunch at Cafe Terracotta in downtown Littleton. This was so much fun. I met new people and had a delicious veggie omelette. Dan had gone golfing with several of the guys in the neighborhood on the previous Friday, so this was the women getting their time out of the house. I couldn’t have imagined that I would have been able to do this during Covid, but our strict state measures have made it feel somewhat safe ( not completely risk free, of course) to have small gatherings and dine out. I appreciate this normalcy, especially as I see that my home state of California is still struggling.

That same day, we were expecting our friends Valerie and Bryan from California for a three-night stay at our house. I had taken Friday off to clean the house and by the time Sunday rolled around, I was frantically doing last minute prep. Since this is Colorado, they got stuck in a snow storm near the ski resorts and didn’t arrive until dinner time. With the house clean, we looked for a “new-to-us” coffee place near our house for a much needed latte break. We discovered Lost Coffee in nearby Castle Rock. It was the perfect fall afternoon treat.

Here I am, waiting for Valerie and Bryan to give us an update. I was a zombie at this point. I can’t remember the last time that I did so much cleaning, so much drinking, or so much socializing.

Valerie and Bryan were here to help their daughter Stephanie move from California to Colorado to live with her boyfriend. They crashed at our house with their dog, Shely. Shely and our cats had a few encounters, but everyone stayed safe. We kept to our work routine, but had dinners together in the evenings, including two meals out- sushi and Italian. On the final night of their trip, they cooked a delicious mac and cheese with the cheese coming from a special creamery in Utah.

We had mentioned wanting to decorate for the fall season with bales of hay. Bryan and Val surprised us with two bales of hay, some decorative dried corn stalks, and a pair of perfect winter gloves for me. It was such a surprise and so nice of them! We have added a few more bales of hay, but we still trying to figure out our fall decor scheme. Here’s a picture of our hay and of the cows in the nearby field.

Tom is cow watching.

And a pretty picture that Dan took of the new houses going up in our neighborhood. The houses are built so quickly that the neighborhood is constantly changing.

We were Boozed! This is a game that has been going around our neighborhood, where you secretly drop a bucket of alcohol on your neighbor’s doorstep and they pay-it-forward. We are 99.9% certain who Boozed us and they created a perfect bucket, with my favorite Swedish cider and even toys for the cats. It was very thoughtful and fun.

I proudly voted for Biden and Harris! Colorado makes voting a breeze with ballots sent by mail and a secure drop box in my neighborhood. I actually noticed a second drop box not more than a few miles from my house. It boggles my mind that some states make it so difficult for people to vote and I’m grateful to live in a state that makes the process simple. Now, I anxiously await the arrival of November 3rd and what follows. I have a terrible feeling that no matter which way the election goes, there will be violence. 2020 has not been easy.

To end on a happy note, here is a cute picture of Tom. Slinky continues to do well, but I haven’t captured any pictures of him in the last few weeks. As you can see, Tom has decided that a wine cork is the best toy. You know he likes a toy when he gives it a wash in his water bowl.

Social Distancing in Littleton: Weeks 28 & 29

It is less than a month before the presidential election and I’ve never felt so unsure about the United States. I’m eagerly checking the mail box for my ballot, as I’m ready to cast my vote. I’ve always taken my responsibility to vote seriously, but it has never felt like such a desperate and somber decision. I voted for Clinton four years ago, but to be perfectly honest, I never imagined that Trump would turn out to be such a destructive president. Other people knew and those people were out protesting in 2016. It took me a little longer to realize the severity of the situation.

Trump is not a leader. He does not care about the United States or its citizens. He only cares about winning. Last Friday, ( or earlier, who knows as the medical updates are confusing) he tested positive for Covid. I sincerely hoped that he might have a change of attitude similar to Boris Johnson. Not Trump. He reacted in the worst and most predictable way possible. He went for a photo op ride around the hospital, so that he could wave at supporters, while the endangering secret service officers that were with him in close proximity. He whipped off his mask when he returned to the White House and he reiterated his thoughts on how Covid isn’t a big deal. His behavior makes me sick.

Several people in the White House tested positive. Pence is pushing back against safety precautions for the vice-presidential debate. I think Pence is scared to debate Harris and it is his way of diverting attention. I think Trump is also causing a diversion, because he knows that he doesn’t have a clear path to victory. It doesn’t matter the reason, his actions are endangering lives and further hurting our economy.

I don’t doubt that no matter which president had been in power during Covid, that we would have lost lives and jobs. It still would have been a difficult 2020. However, if we had a true leader, I believe the losses would have been significantly less. I’m worried about these coming months.

In the last few days, I’ve heard of former coworkers/friends who have lost jobs in the theme park industry. The cuts are massive. It’s heartbreaking, because I know that this was more than simply a paycheck to them. I’ve heard of one acquaintance who has died due to Covid. This person was my age and healthy. Even though we are doing well, this weights on me. I feel tremors of stress.

The wildfires that are devastating the west coast are impacting our air quality. I know we are lucky compared to many, but when my eyes sting and my chest hurts from the smoke, I’m reminded that this year has been impossible to escape. Here is a picture of our neighborhood from a few days ago.

Our neighborhood is becoming filled with political signs. Many supporting Trump, but even more supporting Biden. On the happy side, we have more houses decorated for Halloween, than we do stating political preferences. Some of the Halloween decorates are fantastic. My favorite is a family that has a whole pirate ship with skeletons climbing on ropes and on the roof.

Other happy news… we went to Top Golf with our friend’s Julie and Ryan. It was my first time and I did okay. We had our own “bay” with plexiglass separating us from other guests, so it seemed a bit safe. We wore masks when walking through the building. I had a lot of fun and I’m eager to go back. My aunt would be so proud that I’m giving her favorite hobby a try. Next step is a real game of golf.

We also went to an outdoor gathering at a neighbors house. It was Oktoberfest themed and also a lot of fun. We met some great “new-to-us” neighbors that we really liked. Generally, it was just wonderful to socialize and laugh. Afterwards, I did feel that there was probably a bit too many people there for Covid safety, but we sat on the outskirts of the party and mostly kept our distance. We stayed outdoors, even when the temperatures dropped. It wasn’t without risk, but I think the risk was minimized.

We’ve booked the kids holiday with us for Christmas. Please send good vibes that this doesn’t get canceled and that it is safe enough to happen. We miss Zoe and Felix so much and it would be devastating to have yet another trip canceled. We haven’t seen them since the summer of 2019.

One last happy thing…we are 1/2 way though the final season of “Schitt’s Creek.” I’m going to miss the Rose family!

And finally, cute cat pictures!