And, although technically, it is days away...the arrival of SPRING and Spring Decorating.
(...also Spring Repair and Cleaning...)
In like a LAMB this morning and may reach 60 today!
We've made it through another winter!
Tuesday was Mardi Gras
(Fat Tuesday)
Really the whole week has been!
(...fattening, that is...)
Wednesday we celebrated Christina's 31st Birthday!
With carry-out Chinese and Chocolate cupcakes...painting supplies and chocolate and cake decorating equipment...
Oh and wine.
Specifically Cabernet.
Cabernet...from a local gas station.
Gas Station Cabernet.
(...there has to be a song in here somewhere...)
A red diamond on the label.
Remember what we learned when we were young? How diamond shaped traffic signs were used for warnings. And diamond-backed rattlesnakes?
Yes...this Diamond was also a warning, okay?
Or as Robin Williams once quipped
"This is not a wine for DRINKING...this is a wine for Lying Down and AVOIDING."
(...obviously he had tried Diamond Cabernet, too...)
But we got a good laugh...and a deep green bottle out of the deal...until the last quarter inch of the stuff in my glass ended up accidently knocked onto the carpet.
(...only a stock photo...the real spill was less than this but had a crime scene spatter effect...)
In short it looked very much like someone had been butchered at the scene of the dinner party.
(...all we needed was yellow police tape...)
Frantically...what removes red wine from beige carpet???
Club soda...Vinegar...Salt...Cold Water...Baking Soda???
We used all of them and some hydrogen peroxide and Dawn detergent and some laundry spot remover onhand.
Success...
The Kill Zone is gone.
(,,,and this is why I stick to White Zin...)
~laughing~
Thursday: Gina and I met again for a Mexican Brunch, this time, and had all things Mexican- and a couple of hours chat....and then off for some shopping.
It is really nice getting to know one another.
She is an interesting person with a wicked sense of humor when she gets to feeling comfortable around you.
"Oh...this isolation mask in my pocket? No, I'm fine. I have a couple of really nosy neighbors...I put it on when I come home...and it is amazing...they leave me alone now...completely..."
Brilliant!
Next time we are going to meet at The Breakfast Company, I think.
Ended the week with Sister's Day and Lisa & Tina...with a surprise guest...my grand-niece, Serena.
Apparently, you can catch Fairy Princesses with Cupcakes!
We all went for Chinese...and now Serena is learning to use chopsticks, too!
It was Lisa's 56th Birthday!!! Our Middle Sis.
...I'm behind the camera...
After Brunch and Cupcakes...Candles, Body Gel, Chocolates & Kitty Gifts for Buddy and Answering a few more of the Questions that Sisters Should Know About Each Other
Tina put us to work.
Helping her cut lengths of jelly-roll colorful fabric strips for her latest project for the Ferret Rescue Center.
Ferret Bags
Each bag requires nine of the colorful strips to make.
We cut enough material for 18 new bags...
A Wonderful Sisters Day, Birthday and even a visit by a Purple Fairy Princess.
Started March, putting the kettle on for a cup of tea and some toast, butter and blackberry jam.
Another winter behind me.
Sunny and gorgeous and planning a low/no impact day.
Amber will be here soon to do the floors...and aside from some cooking, laundry, dishes and finishing the Belize Cay Painting just relaxing from a whirlwind week.
This Week's Book
The Movie This Week
Of love lost...and found.
Of choices...some impossible. Some that will haunt you for a lifetime.
Of decisions...that affect not only every aspect of the person's life that makes them...but also so many many other's lives.
Of relationships...mother and daughter...daughter and estranged father...brothers...women and friends.
An emotional feel good closure film.
Highly recommended!
And now it is time for
Kind of a louder version of And NOW What???
This guy caught my eye...as I'm struggling to hold a plank for a full minute.
Then THIS.
62 y/o ex-marine (...yeah...I KNOW there is no such thing as an ex-marine..okay?) who made the World Record by holding a plank for
(wait for it)
EIGHT HOURS.
OMG.
(...just bring me a jelly doughnut and leave me alone...)
sigh
And while a jelly doughnut looks great...you know what doesn't?
Seriously....have you SEEN the new Whopper advertisement.
Someone in the ad agency is on some serious drugs...and not in a good way.
The new ad is suppose to make us see how Burger King uses ingredients without preservatives to make their signature Whopper.
The way they show us- is to take time lapse photography of an actual burger deteriorating and being consumed by green mold over a month.
You know what...after seeing this commercial...not only do I NOT want to eat a Whopper
...seriously...
but I also want other fast food franchises to add EXTRA preservatives to their burgers.
...see that guy over there? I want HIS preservatives, too...
BLEAH...
What were they thinking?
So...this is Virus Watch...day 62 (or some such)
And the latest from John Hopkins.
Relax...we aren't all going to die.
(...just 2% of us...)
WHO, NIH, and the CDC estimate 60% of the World's population will be affected...of those 2% will die.
Fun Fact: This is the percentage of people who died globally during The Spanish Influenza.
...try not to think about it...
Spread over the World it probably doesn't seem like a lot...unless you or someone you love is directly affected. Then you'll probably view it...um...differently.
Then I heard Rush make his "it's just a cold" statement...and watched Trump
give his little pep talk about how we will wake up and it will suddenly disappear...nothing to see or worry about here, folks...
And then it hit me
We're all gonna fucking die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course he shifted the responsibility of the whole business to Mike Pence live on air...
"Everything will go through Mike from now on...even the CDC will report to Mike first..."
Mike?
Our Mike.
Former Governor of Indiana who fumbled the HIV crisis in our state by hesitating to allow needle exchange programs until we had a huge outbreak in progress.
That Mike?
Yep. We're all gonna fucking die.
As much as I dislike Pence I actually feel a bit sorry for him this time.
He has no idea how he is being set up as the Fall Guy.
When containment fails and this situation goes tits up
...yes...that is the technical term...
and it WILL...
Trump will have someone to BLAME, and then discard him like the condom that he refused to wear with Stormy.
It is hard to get this kind of adoration unless you adopt a Cocker Spaniel puppy.
...look at that loving gaze...
Which is kind of what Trump did, actually.
Think of Indiana as a kill-shelter ready to put Pence's political career down in 2016...then Trump swooped in and saved him...made him Vice President...one heartbeat away from the Presidency.
But there is a sharp learning curve with Trump.
Trump has loyalty to one person only..and that is himself.
So...eventually this may play out like a scene from Ole Yeller
"Sorry Boy...going to have to put you down."
And during The Presser he contradicted everything the experts were saying.
...rolling my eyes...
It is unraveling fast now though.
As of this morning, 77 cases now in the US.
The first death on our soil...not some 90 year old person...a 50 year old man.
And a nursing facility in Washington with one patient and one nurse testing positive...and 50 other people sick and being tested as we speak.
No...we do not have this under control.
The best we can do as individuals is control our circumstances...prepare...hand-wash...carry alcohol gel...stay away from crowds...get a month's worth or so of non-perishable food laid in...fill your freezer...keep informed about the spread and don't depend on this Administration to SAVE you...because they are too busy covering their own asses and trying to get re-elected.
And screw the hesitation to refer to this as a pandemic.
79,826 in Mainland China
3526 in South Korea
1128 in Italy
978 in Iran
705 still aboard the Diamond Princess
And 45 other countries now reporting their own outbreaks with lateral spread.
It is now on every Continent.
This is a pandemic.
Remember...we are all just walking each other home.
love,
Carla
Update: It is 10 Pm and now we have 85 confirmed cases in the US...including the very first case in New York City. We have now had our 2nd death.
Sleep tight.