Our Pandemic Year

The posts before this one cover our planning for a trip to Uzbekistan and canceling three days before we were to leave. Fortunately, we were able to get most of the money back from our flight reservations and all our hotel reservations were cancelable. Now that we have spent the rest of the year mostly in our house, the idea of going ANYWHERE is uppermost in our minds. The vaccine can’t come soon enough, but even then, it’s unclear how soon other countries will be open to people from the United States. Watching the terrible toll this pandemic is taking on people everywhere is difficult. I can't even imagine how hard this is on the medical professionals who are caring for people affected by this, as well as the stress on all the people who work in grocery stores and other places we all need to interact with. I hope everyone in these positions is getting access to the vaccine quickly!

Our year was probably pretty much like yours: nothing like what we expected. We were about to leave for Uzbekistan when the pandemic became apparent. The rest of the year was predictable: 

We did the things you can do at home--watching friends get married on Zoom (did so many Zoom calls!), spending a lot of time closing then reopening the craft gallery where Paul shows his photos (and Claire is Gallery Director), enjoying the porch with the cats, doing "Covid haircuts," enjoying nature.

Sarah finished her associate's degree and will start a B.S. program in sustainability at the Penn State World Campus in January. Daniel has adapted well to online programs but misses going places. We also helped one of Sarah's friends find a great new apartment and helped her move this summer. Sarah is currently living with her.

One of the cool places Paul visited in
Uzbekistan in 2019...
would have loved  visiting in 2020!

Making new things:
empanadas! Not beautiful,
 but tasty.

Baking cookies: oatmeal
is a family favorite

Zoom wedding--such a beautiful day;
so happy for John and Martha!

Craft Gallery of Artisans United:
Paul's photos on wall in rear.

Relaxing on the porch with a cat

Sarah getting a "covid haircut."

Beautiful tree near the gallery 

Paul continues to work on genealogy; Claire is taking classes (not for credit) at the local community college and managing communication for groups we belong to. (It's nice being retired, especially in the current environment.) We've also been working on that continuing project of "getting rid of stuff;" not sure we can see a big difference yet, but there's hope. And watching all those videos on Netflix, of course.

The year has been challenging, but here's hoping for better things to come, like a great vaccine so we can see you all in person and get back to traveling and other things we like to do.

We wish you a healthy and happy holiday season and a great new year!