Sanctuary

 

The Nature Sanctuary, by Jonathan Luxon 

After an unusual December dry spell, we finally woke up to steady rain this morning. I hear the wind blowing in the chimney. A good day to skip the long walk, stay inside and bake a few cookies. 

This year, I don't have to mass produce coconut dream bars, the most popular item by far in the annual Boeing cookie bowls. It's an two-step Betty Crocker recipe, frankly not much fun to make, but people who like coconut go crazy for them. They're a little too sweet for my taste-- old Betty Crocker had a heavy hand with the sugar.

As the winter closes in, our cozy home feels like a sanctuary in the storm.  As for going "out" I'm probably somewhere in the middle-- less than most people, but more than some. For example, I still do my own grocery shopping, mail an occasional package, etc.

Speaking of that, I stopped by our post office to mail Christmas cards, and the line stretched outside the building and down the block.  All those poor people holding packages, trying to stay 6 feet apart.  Our 98116 post office is tiny and inadequate for the huge population growth in the urban village. 

Not much else in the way of news. The days are monotonous but overall pleasant.  I don't know how else to describe it.  

I started a weekly Zoom meeting with a few people from The Ukes group.  Zoom is basically a corporate animal and a poor platform for recreational music. Only one person at a time can take the "center stage." 

Since our different devices all stream at slightly different rates, if we try to play together it sounds like a garbled mess.  So, we take turns each picking a song and being the soloist while the others mute their audio and strum along if they wish. 

This takes more courage that you might imagine. None of us can really sing! But it's very sweet and no one cares. The best part is seeing these familiar faces after almost a year.