I wasn’t going to write today but I want to train myself back to the habits I had formed years ago, to write in my journal everyday, even if it is just a little bit. Something to record the moment. I seriously think I need to rename the blog, “A day in a life Off Grid: Stories about nothing”.

I felt it was worth noting, today, that the eagles have returned for the winter. I saw one at the south end on Monday and today ours have been chattering outside the house all afternoon. I cleaned out the fridge and found a wee piece of forgotten, leftover halibut from dinner Monday and tossed it to the rocks below the deck. At the time, I didn’t know the eagle was back and expected it would be the crabs dining well tonight but it wasn’t five minutes before Henley appeared from nowhere and stole himself a nice meal.

A couple of years ago I quilted a whole bunch of tote bags. It was fun and a really great way to become familiar with my new sewing machine and get the hang of quilting, or, you know, learn the very basics of sewing. I gave most of the totes away and then had the whole ‘accidently throw the tote into the burn pile’ event in the spring and have since found myself completely surrounded by no totes. I need one to go to town, one to go to the garden, one to go to a friend’s with a bottle of wine. Totes: you can’t have enough. Before I start my Christmas quilting I thought I might sew something for myself ’cause, after all, as anyone who knows me, knows well it is always all about me. I have the material to make a couple more tomorrow and then, when they are done, I should be in the sewing swing of things and ready to take on my gift projects.

Speaking of Christmas, I guess I was searching Christmas quilt patterns on line and, now that I apparently have a Corona micro chip in my arm, the 5g man in the sky was watching and then sent me some suggestions for Christmas gifts from the Wayfair catalogue.. Let me just say, looking at this ad, it is clear that we really are in the wrong business.

We are without family this Thanksgiving and that is just the way it has to be. The unvaccinated continue to provide the Delta variant the optimum conditions to survive and evolve. The virus is able to search through the innocent crowds to find a host. The host could be an antivaxxer and, I am sorry, but if they get sick, I have little sympathy. But the Delta variant could also find a host who has done everything right. Perhaps one of the first, last January, who stepped up to get double vaccinated for their vulnerable community and now needs a booster shot. But the Delta variant doesn’t know who “deserves” to get it and who does not. I am so tired of the antivaxxers justifying their position, no matter the risk to all of us. If everyone was vaccinated last spring when they could have been, the Delta variant of the virus would not have had the opportunity to exist, this F#$%ing thing would be over and we would all be with our families. It is not going to be over for a long time.

In deference to Thanksgiving and our missing family, our order from Nesters today included

a pumpkin pie