Prep

The first two weeks of December were about finishing Christmas shopping, writing and delivering cards, packing, spending time on logistics, cleaning the house, and meeting a lot of pesky deadlines at work. Then on Dec. 13, David took me downtown and I caught a bus to Dublin. The driver allowed a young Italian man onto the bus who was coughing persistently and wearing no mask. I asked the driver to remind people to wear a mask. The passenger didn't. I sat six rows away (as far as possible) and hoped for the best.

The flight from Dublin to Heathrow was packed, above is me in the middle seat (people on either side) wearing my Covid protection kit. I was pretty stressed out. Then four hours in Heathrow--more Christmas shopping. I had a briefcase with two laptops and charging cords, a backpack full of books (ever the optimist), and four duty free bags, one with a large bottle of gin. I was barely mobile.

The flight to DC had maybe 20% capacity--I enjoyed that. I get to DC around 9pm (1 am in UK), collected my very heavy checked bag and went straight to a Marriott to sleep soundly. The next day I rented a car and drove to West Virginia. Here's a photo I took in the mountains.

Here's my breakfast on my first day at mom's. French toast, warm syrup in a Waterford pitcher, and hot chocolate. It'll be a calorific holiday. But so nice to be spoilt rotten after such an arduous trip.

Mom and I are taking our meals in separate rooms (she calls herself Mrs. Patmore) and I'm wearing a mask until two weeks pass. I had hoped to get a test before I left and two more during my first two weeks here. But everything is more complicated than I expected and I never got a test.

Dec. 15