Some people I know work online, but mostly folks here are just hanging out. Pre-Covid, there were parties, happy hours, and events every night, and I expect that to happen again once folks get vaccinated and the rules loosen up.

Lord, y’all, I can’t wait for this year to be over. Instead of waiting until Jan. 1 to make to usual changes and resolutions, I decided to jump on it now. I’ve signed up for 5 virtual fitness challenges and joined Weight Watchers. I’ve also decided that I will celebrate all the holidays I’ve missed in my birthday…

You need to post pictures of you and the Bartender having wine at the castle, and visiting the botanical gardens, etc. and tag them. And/or then block them on your social media.

I decided to make a new recipe(french toast muffins) to cheer myself up because I was alone on Xmas. Whelp, it smelled delicious, but looked and tasted disgusting. My friend called during the ensuing mini meltdown and sent over a huge platter of food and an entire pie! Xmas saved! (me opening huge bag of food:…

This is my son Nick. He used to go to the shelter just outside SLC to pet the cats and hang out. It was good therapy for both of them.

Merry Christmas, y’all. It’s Sunday the 27th here, a balmy 27°C, and I’m finally home and able to relax a little. Christmas stresses me the fuck out, mostly because my introverted arse has to be “ON!!!!” for multiple days while family is gathered, and it just wipes me. Plus this year, add into the fact that my health…

I have commented here the last few days in drunken and lighthearted responses, but this week my family did become a statistic in the covid fight and I just couldn’t face it until now. While Mr. Penguin and I have had several extended family members stricken, it has finally claimed my great-uncle Bart as a victim. He…

The statistics regarding Covid are staggering on their own, even more so with Trump worshippers claiming still that either it’s no big deal, or that it’s some sort of public health “hoax” perpetrated by, um, Democrats and Big Sick. Or Dr. Fauci. I’m kind of surprised they’re not blaming the virus on Hillary, to be…

That focaccia looks incredible. Glad to hear you had no vaccine issues. My best friend got her first shot a little over a week ago and besides some arm pain also reported no issues.

Sorry to hear. I found out my 94 year old grandfather has it now. He’s in a nursing home. We’ll see how it goes but my mother said it doesn’t look good. If this pandemic hadn’t happened, I also would have gotten to see him one more time, at Thanksgiving this year, but did not travel. Luckily my Mom was still able to…

What great things did you make for the holidays? We were going to do our regular Christmas eve fish dinner, but for two, but my husband and I looked at each other after delivering pierogi to relatives, and both said, I’m so tired. So we had some cod in the air fryer, went to bed early, and both slept for about ten…

My uncle died from covid this week. He was living in a VA care facility, and 7 other people there also died. He had a very rough life, marked by severe bipolar disorder. He deserved a better death than dying alone in a hospital without anyone that loved him there to hold his hand. It is enraging to think that the…

Heyo!

Your Christmas sounds lovely, and I wish you a better new year. I had (and am still having—I don’t give up Christmas until after Ukrainian Christmas in January) a very nice, low-key Christmas too, despite the real and figurative storms outside. I’m lucky. I get to hunker down with my husband and my cat, and we have a…

Shelter Cat Update!

I feel like I am losing it. I have been stuck looking at the same 4 walls for almost 2 years and since COVID it’s 24/7. No one in this godforsaken place wears a mask. I sincerely feel like death is stalking me. Also, I am immune compromised and one of those lucky persons with extremely high anaphylaxis risk for the…

RE SoCal: there are zero ICU beds available and La Scala Beverly Hills is pulling this bullshittery. I wonder what Gov. Newsome &/or Mayor Friedman &/or the LA County Board of Supervisors think about this.

Thank you for the downer. We need to be reminded, by numbers like this, that there are more important things right now than the fact that most of us missed out on some holiday fun.

Just the 3 of us this year. Cookies were baked this Eve despite canceling the annual cookie bake we’ve had for as long as anyone can remember. I may have gone a bit overboard by baking 4 kinds of cookies. Oatmeal, Spritz, Chocolate Chip & Peanut Butter. We packaged them up to drop off to family/friends tho. We also…

I hope baby Donnie knows deep in his bones that we will throw the biggest party ever on the day he fucking dies.