All is Calm

All is calm today ... this morning ... thus far.

Yesterday was a different story.

The winds were so strong that I was expecting power to be cut for sure.

Surprisingly, this area was spared.

The Archeologist wasn’t as fortunate. Hit yet again, and completely done with PSPS, she prepared in advance with a solar generator.

I wouldn’t know how to handle a set-up like that, so I went manageable ─ just a little portable, with just enough power to cook and nuke my coffee.

At any rate, the wind is not howling right now.

I’ll take it, even thought that can change at any moment.

I got ahead on chores by doing laundry and steam-cleaning the bathroom on Tuesday.

Right after posting that I’d scheduled it for Christmas Day, I had a burst of energy, took care of those two things, reorganized the kitchen cabinet (finding quite a lot of food items for Apache to take to the food bank), did tons of bending, stooping, lifting as I searched containers in the patio storage area ─ looking for a book and a doll I’ve periodically tried to locate for over a year, searched every other place in the unit said items would logically and illogically be stashed away (unsuccessful yet again) and managed to rack up over 5,000 steps in the process.

That’s like a 5K performed in my tiny little space.

Fortunately, Trainer took it easy on me yesterday with all upper body work, because my legs and knees were hammered. And, actually, even that was tough because my shoulders were pretty well worn from all the lifting done the previous day.

My next training session is slated for tomorrow, Friday, Christmas Day, but I didn’t ask to be rescheduled to another day. Instead, I told Trainer I was giving him the day off.

Don’t tell him but it’s more a day off for me, because he would have kept the appointment or rescheduled had I not told him to take the day, be with his family.

After yesterday’s session, expecting I might be able to reduce the tamale recipe down, not sure I’d be able to find corn husks if I waited, I popped into the market. It’s a good thing I did, because they only had three packets remaining.

After picking up a packet, I did a loop around the market and easily found Ginger Elf.

So cute. Whoever was in charge of hiding Ginger this year did a good job ─ in the wreath, in the security camera and even went the extra mile in creating this outdoor scene.

I'll have to send a personal note to the store applauding the creativity.

So, with no training and no marketing to be done that leaves me snug as a bug in a rug, with no reason to go outside ─ except to pick up mail, until Monday.

I was to have picked up a package, but did not see the notice to pick up no later than today or it would be returned, because the notice had gone to spam mail.

Waking up just a little sad this morning, I decided not to drive all that way in hopes of getting there before the driver arrives and throws it back on the truck. So, I’m letting that one go back.

Why did I wake up a little sad this morning you ask?

It’s because my heart hurts and, actually has been hurting for a few days.

I didn’t mention it before, because I didn’t want to bring anyone else down, but I need to get it out because just thinking about it is making me weepy.

I’ve been a little sad and my heart has hurt ever since I became aware of what the system did to social worker Anjanette Young.

Not only did Chicago PD, in yet another botched raid, break into her apartment, handcuff her naked, leave her naked surrounded by a dozen white officers as she repeated for 45 minutes, “You’ve got the wrong information. You’re in the wrong house”, they chastised her as she frantically tried to get through their thick skulls, telling her, "You don't have to yell", then they tried to cover the botch up. First by denying her Freedom of Information Request to view the police body cam video of how she was treated AND, as the botched raid began leaking to the public and release of the video became imminent, the city lawyers sought to block the TV station from broadcasting the video and also sought to have not the officers punished, but Anjanette ─ the victim, arguing that she violated a confidentiality order.

The cruel and insensitive nature of how Anjanette has been treated from start to finish, really saddens me, hurts my heart because I know it would not have been so had she not been Black.

Then there's Jamar Mackey, mistakenly profiled as a credit card fraud suspect, handcuffed and detained in front of his children as they ate in a mall food court.

There's just SO MUCH.

It's overwhelming.

But why?

That's a question I've been asking myself for like forever ... Why are we treated so differently, so badly.

Can you imagine what would have happened to that guy who lay on the floor of Costco and had a hissy fit until he was allowed to purchase his groceries without wearing a mask had he been Black?

Because I really want to know the answer, I’ll be posing that question the next time I personally feel I’m being targeted because of my color. I'm going to look the individual in the eye and ask, “Why are you treating me differently than you would if I were not Black? Why do you hate us so much?”

Other than that, life is good and here’s wishing you all to a Safe and Merry Christmas.