More Wings

I do admit to having a bit of a 'thing' for Angels. This one has lived on our sideboard? credenza? for years, but she does tend to come into her own at this time of year. She is almost mono, but I couldn't bring myself to convert it completely because she lost her warmth, and the flame almost disappeared, so I think I have satisfied the challenge, but not quite the mono part.

Our ongoing Zoom Pilates class was changed from Tuesday to Monday this week and we fell into old habits and went to Trail House afterward. There was a family outside with three children two of whom seemed impossibly close in age yet not twins.We enjoyed watching the perpetual motion and the mother's ability to keep them constantly supplied with apples, bananas and crackers. Also the fact that neither was on a cell phone yet they weren't hovering either. I went out and told them how much they had kept us entertained and they said that one of the young ones was a cousin and that the two young ones were just four months apart. 

For the first time in several years I was feeling quite festive, and motivated to get some Christmas cards and perhaps make a start on Christmas. We went to a nice men's clothing store where I suggested that John choose a shirt and a new (desperately needed) belt which I bought him for Christmas. He wore them both out of the store and although he hid it well, I think he was secretly pleased. 

The shopping center was noticeably full of vacancies. The last two years have been hard on retail businesses and the stationery shop was one of the casualties so we proceeded downtown where I knew I could find a good selection of cards. While I made my way through the big shop which has managed to stay open for decades by selling a little bit of everything, John took Spike for a walk. The central plaza was revamped a few years ago after years of study and several design contests. If it was possible to make it more unwelcoming they did succeed. Right now there is a skating rink with artificial 'ice'  in the middle which definitely lifts the bleaknness a bit. 

When we got home we were greeted by a flagperson at the bottom of our driveway directing traffic (we were the only car in sight) around an armada of PG&E trucks here perhaps to connect the house next door to the electrical service, however they left without doing anything that we could see. There was also a flatbed truck that carried the motorized fork lift necessary to lift wallboard from a big truck parked at the top of the property, ferry it down to the house and lift it up to the front door which is still six feet above grade. Three truckloads of wallboard toiling up the driveway and three times that many trips of the forklift kept us entertained as we ate our lunch.