Hello Again...

If you are here because you follow this blog, you are a true friend. One that I have proven that I really don't deserve. But I am so glad that you haven't given completely up on me. And I thank you for that. 

Well now, it has been quite a winter so far. Though I can't say as much for the new year. Truth be told, it's beginning to ring in as a 2020 redux.

I spent the entire fall compulsively over-planning my great Christmas train trip. I watched every YouTube video I could find, scouring them for tips, anything really that would help me survive two long trips on very full trains. I got way too many tips, most of which involved purchasing brand specific items. Of course, they did offer helpful links "in the descriptions below" to allow me to order the item. They just get a pittance of a kickback for sending me to the site. I did finally downsize the list of hints into a workable packing plan. My research paid off, I did a fair job of packing for the train.

The train is not as glamorous as Amtrak ads would have you believe. They could improve this considerably if they could convince their employees that customer service is an important attribute. They tend to bark, yell and threaten instead of requesting firmly. They seemed to be of the opinion that it was the passenger's fault that they were overbooked, understaffed and understocked. Customer service snafu's were common, including and attendant with his mask hanging under his nose telling a passenger to put on a mask while the passenger was actively eating. (not me, but I did witness it.) 

All that being said, train travel on Amtrak Coach is better than air travel if for no other reason than to miss TSA checks. The seats are comfortable and roomy. There is a small amount of space to store travelling essentials. There are electrical outlets. Passengers are not confined to their seats, there are other cars to visit. The scenery was beautiful beyond my imagination. I actually had to keep telling myself that I was actually witnessing the outright majesty I was seeing. It. Was. Incredible. I am sold on it. I plan to travel on Amtrak, hopefully extensively this spring, summer and autumn. That is another point, train travel is incredibly cheap. I can afford a couple of trips across the country,

When I left Seattle a few days before Christmas, The weather was warm, but everything was festive. We actually had a fairly socially distanced Christmas parade to start the holiday off. We were decorated nicely. But Cheese, who started actively dying in the fall, took up residence under the tree. He does not have control of anything below his front shoulders anymore. But my sister has been keeping him cleaned and alive, she refuses to put him down. I defer to her, but I'm not enabling it. So, my brother and sister entertained Christmas with a dying cat under the tree. Typing it out, it rings of a storyline from "Christmas Vacation". And I am laughing hysterically as I am typing it. It is funny if it isn't happening in your living room. 

It didn't snow in Chicago. All Chicagans told me  that was a blessing because the snow there is brown and not pretty. But it did snow in Seattle, beginning the day after Christmas and continuing until after I got home on December 29. I got off the train feeling like I was exhausted and walking through a dream, just a feeling of disconnection. My sister had taken down all the Christmas decorations and stripped the tree down, but left it in the living room because Cheese is so attached to it. The assumption is that Cheese will die soon and we can dispose of the tree after he is gone. But for now, we have a dying cat under a dead tree in our house. It's the stuff that comedy routines are made up of.

I woke up early on New Year's Eve because my arm had become painful while I was sleeping. I dreamed that I pulled a muscle while lifting my backpack. Sometime during the night I developed cellulitis and it was quickly spreading down my arm. I went to the ER and received excellent care, but the infection has taken me all of the new year to heal from. During this time, Cheese attacked Karen and injured her hand which promptly became infected. So we have both started the year with a bang.  But even with me traipsing off on a cross country vacation during a pandemic and us decorating with a dying cat under the tree, we were not the butt of the family gossip circle. 

My niece was a bible thumping Trumpster from Tennessee. Her church told her that the Covid vaccines have a microchip in them that is the Mark of the Beast. She unfriended me on Facebook because I pointed out to her the Mark of the Beast will be taken as a loyalty brand to show support for the anti-christ and the one world government. Since the anti-christ is not presently in power and the world governments still stand sovereign the Mark of the Beast does not yet exist. The micro-chip she fears will expose to the government everywhere she's been and where she shops is in her cell phone. Her daughter almost died of Covid over the summer, and we thought for sure she would realize the severe folly of believing the lie, but not so. She spouted Q-Anon conspiracy theories left and right as to why she shouldn't listen to reason. 

She and her family spent Christmas with her mother in Georgia. Her husband arrived with symptoms, and since there are at risk people in the house, they were asked to take a test. Her husband tested positive and was asked to isolate himself in an upstairs room. When he refused to comply, and was called out for it, they left in a huff. We heard that he went into the hospital on New Years Day. Cindy was admitted a few days later. As concerned as I was, I was also furious with them. It wasn't merely that they were careless with themselves, they put everyone else in jeopardy with them. My niece died on Tuesday. I am still too angry. I'm sure I will grieve someday. I wonder if a wrongful death suit can be filed against the church. The power of poor choices...

And we still have a dying cat under a dead tree in the living room.