The Year Can't End Soon Enough!

Last night on the 11 o'clock news in my area, an anchor said that 2020 can't end soon enough, that is has been going by slow but fast. Totally agree on that. How did it get to be the end of August already?

I came across this on my Facebook memories today:

Well, little did they know what they were going to see. ...

And this morning I came across this article from the beginning of this year. Note this paragraph:

... Its (sic) almost science fiction writing that. For instance, I’m going into my 34th year writing this column and so much has changed. It seems spacey, that I was writing this piece 20 years ago and I was talking about something called Y2K. 20 years later, I’m sure there are some of you who don’t know what that is. Needless to say, typing the year 2020, seems Orwellian. Time keeps marching on. ...

It has seemed more sci-fi-like than what the story above, or anyone for that matter, may have predicted. Now read the last line in the story linked above. That certainly hasn't happened, and there are still four months left in the year, but it still isn't going to happen from the looks of things.

Many were looking forward to Cinco de Mayo falling on a (Taco) Tuesday and and found it ironic that the holiday was threatened by a virus that has the same name as a Mexican beer:

And as I have pointed out, Halloween--a day focused on mask-wearing--now seems threatened by mask-wearing being mandatory. And many were looking forward to the fact that the holiday is on a Saturday this year. Such irony!

It has been 20 years since many people worried about Y2K. I entered the new year expecting people to remember this. But little, if anything, was said, even before the outbreak began. And concerns over the pandemic have superseded most other news stories, except the protests and the upcoming election. This year also marked 50 years since the first Earth Day, 40 years since the eruption of Mount St. Helens, and 75 years since World War II ended. These might have been celebrated more if not for the pandemic, and most barely got  a passing mention, if anything at all. It was also 40 years since CNN debuted, something the channel itself barely acknowledged. The centennial of women getting the right to vote has been recognized this past week. 

As always, I'm doing my best to stay safe in this difficult time and reminding others to do the same.

Readers Imbibing Peril XV

I went looking around for this annual reading event and saw that the blog that hosted it it last year (it's been at different blogs since it began) is now defunct. Today on Facebook, I saw that the RIP challenge is now hosted is now on  Instagram and Twitter. As always, I will be joining and getting as many books as possible between September 1 and October 31.

My books:

1.  Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined--Stephenie Meyer
2. The Portrait of a Lady--Henry James
3. Thad, the Ghost and Me--Margaret Peterson Haddix
4. Creepy Carrots!--Aaron Reynolds
5. We Sold Our Souls--Grady Hendrix
6. Pumpkinheads--Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks
7. Beep and Bob: Take Us to Your Sugar--Jonathan Roth
8. The Blithedale Romance--Nathaniel Hawthorne
9. The Witches of Worm--Zilpha Keatly Snyder
10. The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove--Christopher Moore
11. Dark and Deepest Red--Anna-Marie McLemore
12. Zombies vs. Unicorns--Holly Black and others
13. Something Wicked This Way Comes--Ray Bradbury
14. Neferet's Curse--P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
15. Kalona's Fall--P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
16. The Skeleton in the Closet--M.C. Beaton
17. In the Shadow of Blackbirds--Cat Winters
18. A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting--Joe Ballarini
19. Stitches in Time--Barbara Michaels
20. The Bonesetter's Daughter--Amy Tan
21. Come Along With Me--Shirley Jackson
22. Ghost Boys--Jewell Parker Rhodes
23. Beep and Bob: Double Trouble--Jonathan Roth

Challenge completed on October 27

Still Don't Know About Celebrating This Year

from Imgflip Meme Generator


Does this seem weird to anyone? It also seems weird that the horror that has been occurring this year seems about to cancel the one holiday focused on horror.

I know it's still more than two months away, but I'm still wondering about celebrating Halloween this year. Dollar Tree has had stuff since July out and Target won't be far behind. I'm guessing in September. Halloween candy has been at Safeway for a while now. Kmart often had Halloween out in September, but now they are closed. I will miss seeing theor holiday items. They were still selling the leftover holiday stuff when they closed earlier this year. I was expecting to see leftover costumes from Kmart at Goodwill, but I have not been at the Goodwill since March. They were closed during the beginning of the lockdown, but have since reopened, following social-distancing protocol. I have not gone, though. No need to. On normal days, I would often go just to go to look. 

Right now, I still can't believe it is almost fall. Then again, it's been hard to tell what day, month, or season it really is, as it has felt like one blurred month.

Mask Humor

I definitely won't be bronzing my masks! I'm certainly more used to putting on a bra than a mask everyday. And I'd be more eager to burn my mask than I would a bra! The reactions to the bronzing post on Facebook were largely about burning masks. For now, I'll plan on just throwing mine into the garbage. Not much for starting fires. But I will not be saving my masks in any way.

Had to share and laugh at the flag one. Customize it to match your own masks, if you so choose! (I don't).

And I just had to laugh at the pumpkin spice. Are masks really going to get into the yearly pumpkin spice craze? And it just seems ironic that mandatory mask-wearing seems about to ruin the one holiday that includes wearing masks. As well as the months-long horror that seems about to threaten the one night of the year focused on horror.

Haze and Ash, Heatwave and Debates Amid the Pandemic

I failed to to mention that along with the heatwave those in my area have been experiencing, there have been several wildfires in nearby towns. The sky has been hazy as a result of the ash. It seems weird to be feeling temperatures in the 90s to 100s with a hazy sky. Just another way the days, months, and seasons have been confusing this past year. I'm beginning to feel for thsoe being forced to evacuate the areas affected. I now want the heat to go down and the fires to be contained.

Already having to shelter in place has been hard enough the last six months (still can't believe it's been that long), but the current heatwave is just adding to to the difficulty of staying at home. Going to the store this week is going to be as anxiety-producing as it has been during these trying times, but I am now suspecting wearing a mask in public in the heat is going to seem even more suffocating than it already has.

I want to say right off that I have not been following the Democratic Convention on CNN, though I do plan to vote for Biden and Harris. You may have seen that I have not made one political post on my blog. It's just not a topic I like to get into. I can tell you right now I won't be watching TV on elction night (I never have done so). Rather, I just wait to hear the results following day.

And even though it's still more than two months away, I am wondering about celebrating Halloween this year. Having seen the Halloween items already at Dollar Tree in July, I got to thinking about the holiday. Some events, like those at various theme parks across the country have been cancelled. Just decorating the porch as I always do just doesn't seem enough. It seems a bit ironic that the one holiday focused on horror and wearing masks is being threatened by what has been a year of horror and by mask-wearing becoming mandatory. No party at work, that's for sure, and probably none at the bars in town. This isas far as I can see.

Autumn Reading Challenge 2020

This one is hosted here.

The challenge will be informal and laidback, running from September 1st to November 30th.

There will be no pressure from me in doing ALL the categories. You can even combine them, if a book fits into more than one category if you want or read several books for one or more categories. Also, feel free to do some interpretation(s) on the prompt(s), as they are fairly open.

The categories are:

1. A spooky novel: The Witches of Worm--Zilpha Keatly Snyder
2. A book with an autumn-inspired cover (autumnal colors, leaves, pumpkins, apples, etc): Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined--Stephenie Meyer (apple on the cover)
3. A book about a monster: The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove--Christopher Moore
4. A book that takes place during the autumn: Pumpkinheads--Rainbow Rowell & Faith Erin Hicks
5. A book that has autumn or an autumn month in the title: September Fair--Jess Lourey
6. A book about nature: The Story of More--Hope Jahren
7. A book set at school/college/university/academia: You Should See Me in a Crown--Leah Johnson
8. A non-fiction book: Veil--Bob Woodward

Challenge completed on October 8

Starting to Feel More Like Summer Now

Hot! Hot! Hot! That is how it has been in my hometown since last Friday. Temperatures in the 90s to 100s. It still feels like one long month blurred together, but at least it now feels like summer, this late in August. Temps had been lower than 80 for most of this season.

On a side note, I just ordered the shirt below from Lane Bryant as the summer sale closes down this week. The message on this shirt has felt very truw the last six months.

Hoping this and two other tanks shirts I ordered for $15 each will feel cool as long as the hot weather persists. Don't know when they are going to arrive, but  It's expected for around another week. But one can never tell about fall weather in California. And the shirts will still be here for next year.