Riding the Wave, 23 & 24. Not a Normal December.

This year, I think I'm actually looking forward to Christmas. Mostly because we'll be eating at home, just the three of us, and because we aren't being bombarded by "you MUST shop!!!" since November. Aside from the Christmas goodies of turrón, marzipan, polvorones, and the like being available to chew on since the end of October, it hasn't been an overly commercial year. Even the television commercials tend to insist on messages more akin to the Christmas spirit, and some remind us that life is to be lived, even if it means partaking of the company's cold cuts, like Campofrío's.

Of course, that doesn't mean that people won't forget about the reason we're told to stay home, just to go see the pretty lights, and pop into the shops, and get together with friends, because, "I've known this person all my life, and they are not infected." Sadly, the last is not always the case. I read about a couple who would always get together with her parents to eat together on a Sunday, just the four of them. The father tested positive, and then so did all the others. They were all admitted to the hospital, and all got better. Except the son-in-law, who died. This Christmas, cozy suppers and dinners with only the home dwellers, is best.

The infection rate in our township is getting worse, propelled by the rising rate in next door Boiro. I think the center of the infection is the cannery. Our daughter hasn't gone to work since the middle of October because of medical reasons, but people she knows there are texting her and calling, to say there are a lot of people getting sick. She received a text this morning, from the regional health services, reminding her of an appointment at the local hospital tomorrow. We were scratching our heads. She hadn't asked for one, and the messages for the entire family come to my phone. The message didn't say what the appointment was for, and tomorrow is a national holiday. There are no consultations open. She called, and it turns out the appointment is to get a PCR test. Everyone registered as a worker at the cannery is being called in for a PCR. She hasn't been since mid-October, but she'll go get it, since she still gets together at times with one of her best friends, who is working there. 

Rain showers are still coming in from the northwest, though the cold has lessened, and there is no snow except on the highest peaks in Lugo and Ourense. Typical winter weather. Thankfully, my husband seems to have fixed the wood stove, and now it's warming us better. At least, the kitchen, because he insists on having the kitchen door closed, so when we walk into the hall it's like walking into a fridge. Thank God for space heaters in the bathroom and the study.

This is one of those long holiday weekends, with today being a bridge between the weekend, and tomorrow, the Immaculate Conception, still a national holiday in, supposedly, lay Spain. Many people don't work today, except those poor souls in retail, who work today, and also yesterday, since most stores open on Sundays in December, to "facilitate" Christmas shopping. We did go to a large department store in Santiago yesterday, but because otherwise, my husband, who needed clothes, doesn't have much time to go shopping. We went in the middle of the morning, and left in the early afternoon. There seemed to be a normal to low amount of people, though I'm sure that after a late lunch, more people will try to squeeze in. I don't know how they count the amount of people going in, or even if they do, but I just hope less people than other years go shopping. Otherwise, it'll be up to the rafters. 

Life continues.