Yay for bonus, yes!

I have three days at home this week, then we head up to Yardley. I actually might do a test before I go just for super duper extra caution. We'll see his family and mine, all vaxxed and boosted (except the kids aren't boosted yet, though they are vaxxed), but there's no harm in checking myself before I go. None of us going out anywhere. All indoor gatherings, 7 people max anywhere. I am pinning all my feelings of security on the fact that I'm as protected as I can be, mask observant, not going out as much, and even if I get it, my chances of a mild case are good, relatively speaking, it seems. So. Cautious but optimistic, I guess.

Yeah, actually, I will test before I go up. I have to be in a couple of stores today and tomorrow to finish up shopping, so... least I can do, eh?

And: I need to finish my holiday cards today! Buffistas are all done but also the only ones done. I'm writing it here so I can have some accountability. I like doing them, even... just haven't picked up the gauntlet.

Let's have a proper Meara:

But the KN95s are more beak-like (without, alas, being a true Plague Doctor mask) and stay all pointy and therefore away from my mouth, and it's all good.

I feel like there is a serious untapped market among goths for that.

Did anyone else always have bread and butter at every meal?

I feel like one set of grandparents did that and I loved it.

Ken's status as "magnet for all injured/lost animals" continues even at work:

That's got so be some sort of shamanic phenomenon or human-embodiement-of-Dickon-Sowerby thing there. I mean c'mon... I read an essay (that I cannot now find) about how animals see people as fae folk and in a dire emergency they'll go to the tricksy powerful beings for help and take their chances. Every time I see it I think of Ken. Word is out on that kid (who is, in actuality, no longer a kid).

Now I have to tell my family that I’m not coming home for Christmas. That’s going to be fun.

I'll do it. ::ahehm:: TOM IS NOT COMING OVER FOR CHRISTMAS BECAUSE THERE'S A GD PLAGUE AND NONE OF YOU ARE NICE ENOUGH TO HIM.

Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker both have Covid. Covid is working off the wrong end of the Senate rolls.

Oh, I'm sure they just lie or never test and come to work anyway unless they're at death's freakin' door.

Showing this house will be the death of me, but worth it in the end. Monday is my crazed day at work, and showings at 1:30 and 3:30 today, meaning prep and taking a drive with Skinner while the realtor does his thing. Have I mentioned how much I hate sweeping/mopping/vacuuming floors? Also, DH's huge shoes grab all manner of debris. So tired. If it were an option I would move out and rent somewhere during the process.

Good luck, Laura. It must be so stressful! I've never owned a house, so I've never had to deal with all that. On the other hand, moving even when you're just renting is a pain in the ass... lately I've been thinking that there would be major benefits to having our own place. And I finally feel like I've landed back in the general area where I'll stay until the end. Previously, I've moved around enough to be really, super commitment averse (and also, "I'll never qualify!" shy) about trying to buy. Of course, this is not the time for it. Anyway. I ramble.

Bottom line -- good luck today!

And, for the masks - have you tried mask frames? they're little plastic things that clip onto your mask on the inside and make a little air pocket between your mouth and the mask. I have some and they've made it possible for me to wear a mask without half suffocating myself.

Those look helpful! I'm good with the KN95 masks, since they're pointy rather than flat and they stay off my mouth. I should probably order some more, now that I think of it.

Good luck, Laura!

Thanks, Jen. It is definitely a time to sell and not to buy. I'm very fortunate to live where so many people are looking and so little is available.

Just hope that no one looking at the house opens a closet or something and an absolute avalanche of stuff you were hiding falls out.

So true, Todd! The realtor did make it clear and it was fine to stash stuff in closets. One of the rooms is empty so I left the closet open in that room. When it comes down to it we are living here, so yes there is stuff in our closets and cabinets. When I was a buyer some of the places I looked at had dirty dishes and pet/kid toys all over. At least I have cleared the debris field completely.

Scheduled my Booster/Flu shots for the 29th. Omicron isn't surging in SF but it will soon enough.

The good thing is masks have become totally normalized in San Francisco and Proof of Vax is required anywhere you might take your mask off. I'm wondering how long before they require the boosters to be considered Fully Vaxxed. Probably in January.

We've got Emmett, EM and my MiL coming to Xmas this year. Fingers crossed everybody stays uninfected this week.

I would like One Adulting Credit, please. I did the onerous task of transferring my son's phone over to my plan, AND retain his phone number. As he was coming from an AT&T Business account (with his mother's company) this involved a truly boggling series of extremely long numbers that I had to transcribe (IMEI, SIM Card number, Business EIN...) correctly whilst dealing with the online customer rep chat. I had been avoiding it but managed to line up all the necessary numbers onto one document before I started the process and [knock wood] it should go through today.

Have most but not all of my shopping and wrapping done and now shifting into meal planning mode for the holiday, though EM will do most of the Xmas eve cooking.

Filled with vague sense of unease as we head into Solstice. What fresh hell awaits in 2022? I'm getting flinchy.