I am so fucking over the Bernie memes. Where are the Michelle memes? That outfit deserved a heckuvalot more internet fame.

Timelies everyone! I want to share that I super duper lucked out and got my first dose of moderna vax on Thursday! Turns out everyone at my workplace (part of state police) was classified as 1a which hit me like "wha???" I mean, I get Trooper being prioritized because they are out there 24/7 interacting with the public in a very hands-on kinda way, but I'm in an office with a door in a lab and only interact with LEOs via phone and email which are not known to be vectors of contagion. Yeah, we're "essential" but way less risk than folks working retail. Anyways, they told us a couple weeks ago that we were classified as 1a and eligible to go get a vaccine anywhere we could find one. LOL. I said I'd wait till it's open to general public like the good plebeian that I am. But then my supervisor found out last week that all the other labs in the state that weren't in the major metropolitan area had already gotten their first dose and she got righteously pissed off that her employees were overlooked just because we happen to be in a densely populated county that didn't have their poop in enough of a group to have set up vaccination distribution. So on Thursday some AMR folks came to the lab and spend 4 hours jabbing vaccine into arms.

The lab director organized it so it was actually incredible efficient, everyone had a 5 minute appointment window set up days in advance (they had to know exactly how many doses to bring) and we were emailed the paperwork to fill out and bring with us. I just had to leave my office, walk outside the building, come in a different door, hand my paperwork to the dude with the needle, get the jab, then stand outside for 15 minutes to be "supervised" and make sure I didn't go into anaphylactic shock or whatevs. Damn I wish every workplace in this country could do the same, it was so convenient that I certainly couldn't say no, regardless of guilty feelings over "jumping the line." Yes, many people had to a bunch of work to get it organized, get a count of exactly how many doses to have ready, and then funnel people to the right place at the right time. But when you know it's properly managed and organized, it's super easy to just follow the instructions and get taken care of. Ugh, if only our country had been properly managed and organized for the last four years.....

Yesterday I had a low fever, dizziness, fatigue, and boy howdy did my arm hurt at the injection site. It was kinda a relief, we were all joking Thursday afternoon about how the injection itself didn't hurt AT ALL (like, barely even felt it go in) and hoped we hadn't been given a placebo. But nope, my immune system was definitely doing things yesterday so YAY!!! Today I can lift my arm again with only the faintest of discomfort and I don't feel feverish at all. I'm still taking it super easy and resisting the sunny beautiful day outside and my impulse to go for a long hike somewhere remote. Probably not the BEST idea given how susceptible I generally am to anything that challenges my immune system in any way. I think a short walk to pick up some take out might be just the thing to appreciate the circumstances, spend a little anticipated stimulus $$ at a local eatery, and keep my body revved up.

That's my report on Moderna Covid -19 vaccine, dose 1. Spay and neuter your pets.

Jess, I want to hear about your salon owner’s opinions!

I've warned him about the hair in S4 and am currently evaluating exactly how many of my very strong Xander opinions I want to post on a public FB page. It's tough recalibrating for a non-Buffista audience, you know?

So glad you got the jab, erin!

I wish it were so efficiently distributed everywhere.

Yay! I love hearing about my loved ones getting vaccinated.

I did seek a helper on NextDoor, but got no bites. Brenda, that is exactly what I am trying to avoid. I don't want my children to have to deal with all my stuff. We have moved stuff from warehouses, storage units, and now finally stacked in the house and garage. I will purge! My son in NY would take anything because he is a sentimental sap and FL son wants nothing because he doesn't do "used" stuff. We'll see how I do with this 5 week project.

Shir those ibex are awesome!

I went to a park I never go to (Discovery Park, for the locals) to meet up with a couple I met at a birthday party almost two years ago and haven’t seen since, but had friended on Facebook, but who also have a mini doodle and we kept saying oh we should get together, and it was so fun! And the pups should be exhausted now, they ran so much. ...so yeah, I still like fb because of stuff like that. Though I too am way over the Bernie meme. Cute the first time, not the 87th time.

Timelies all!

Haven't overloaded on Bernie memes, but I'm not on FB . (Did see a pic where someone Photoshopped a lightsaber into Michelle Obama's hand to go with her Inauguration outfit)

erin, yay! As I told an acquaintance elsewhere, it's not doing anyone any good in the vial: in her case, her doctor's office contacted her and said she was eligible, and her turning down the opportunity wasn't going to get it into other friends' arms any faster.

I've never been so grateful to my DS and son when after my mom died they went through every closet and cupboard and kitchen cabinet and threw out anything moth-or-other varmint chewed, anything cracked or broken--but not ugly. I told them if it was sound, save the ugly, someone might want it. We put the yellow damask with crimson brush fringe along the cushion edges and 8-inch crimson bullion fringe along the bottom on the street and it was gone in 15 minutes. The chrome and yellow formica dining table and the matching chairs--unfortunately recovered so they no longer matched--were also gone before we knew it. I added some dishes and things we no longer used or wanted, and took a few things she'd had from my g'ma, aunts, and her own, from back when she was whimsical. And then I called a friend who has her own ebay store, plus booths at a couple of local "antiques" malls, and she took nearly everything with the deal that she listed monitored the sales, shipped, and collected the fees, and we split the proceeds 50/50. After the first year she still had stuff and I wrote it off--whatever she got for it she could keep. And the rest went to Goodwill. Another friend was a Steiff and artist-made bear collector, who also had her own ebay store. I culled my collection pretty severely and left the culls with her, same deal, 50/50 split. I did write and ask her to return two bears I missed--the rest she kept, or sold, or traded, and she sent money, until I told her not to bother.

I hauled tarot decks, deck-and-book sets, boxes, and other paraphernalia to a local metaphysical shop, which was a hub of paganinity of various types. I'd been a client since she had a tiny closet-sized shop downtown, and had followed her and the store through two moves, was a frequent buyer and an even more frequent drop-in shopper. Rather than evaluate each piece, she made me an offer for everything and I took it--it was stuff I didn't want any more and I knew somebody would love *everything* in the pile and it would continue to entertain whoever wound up with it. I didn't have to haul it cross-country in the move, and I got a little cash out of it.

I think we brought most of the books--we did cull the MMPBs--and then culled them here. H hauled 11 moving boxes of books to the municipal library, lots of handyman books and recent popular fiction. The librarians were happy to see what he brung 'em, and whatever didn't go into the secondhand section got saved for the semi-annual Friends of the Library sales.

I'm looking at a ton of business clothes of a certain size, and really leaning toward Goodwill. I just don't have the energy to track down places that offer interview clothes for plus sizes to donate to. Those linen blazers, though, and the beaded and embroidered and damask vests/waistcoats... I know they're out of fashion, but some outlier could found a unique outfit on something like that. ...Not my circus anymore.

The boys are no help at all because one would keep everything and the other would toss everything! I'm really in a zone to do this. My sorting is Donate/Keep for use/Keep in storage/ Keep to go north(including for son)/Give to friends or family here/Sell/Trash. I don't want the kids to have to deal with it when I am gone. We'll see how it goes.

My parents are suddenly moving *this* week. They've been talking about it for a while, and last fall started talking to a realtor about selling their place, but I didn't think they'd really be moving until spring. But they saw an apartment they liked in Frederick (where my brother and family live) a couple of weeks ago and decided to take it. My dad really needs to be in a one-story place so that will be a relief for sure. And not drawing out the moving process is good for everyone. Both my brothers and I are able to take time off this week to help pack so it's not all on my mom. Bob and I dealt with most of their books last fall. And my MD brother and I cleaned out the basement and a good bit of the garage in fall 2019. My folks aren't hoarders at all or anything, still, they've been in the house for 40+ years. It's a lot. My mom and I packed up the china cabinet yesterday which took a good 3 1/2 hours and I'm totally exhausted. I'm taking today off but will go back up tomorrow and Wednesday (their moving day). It's also the day they are getting their COVID vaccine out in Frederick.

I'm not super happy they decided to move out there vs stay in Wilmington or move here but I can't talk to my Mom about that. I don't want her to think she made a bad decision. I just feel like I never got to talk to her about the benefits of moving here because she never talked about considering a move away from Wilmington and I didn't want to pressure her. Clearly my brother had no reservations about presenting Frederick as their best option. And they'll be fine there. My brother and his wife will take care of them and it's a lovely town. And it's a lease.

Ugh. I'm mostly relieved and happy they are moving but am also sad and angry and there's nothing I can really do except pretend I'm ok with everything. (Pretend with my parents, that is, obviously I can talk to Bob and my friends like you all about it, thank dog.)