I’ve deleted and rewritten this post from the blank page up at least three times in the last 2 days, because every time I blink, things have changed again.  I’m just going to give in and go for a debrief of where things stand and what I’m going to be up to now that we live in the time of pandemic and everything just got an order of magnitude more stressful and complicated.

The situation:  I live in Massachusetts, which was officially declared under a state of emergency on the 10th, since we’ve got a few cases of Covid-19 here. 95 as of yesterday, most related to some jackass having contracted it in Italy, who decided not to self-quarantine and go to a conference in Boston (I have Opinions on them, and they are *deeply* unkind).  Mostly what that means right now is that the state can do things like tell people to work from home, cancel events, and request federal aid to deal with the situation more effectively.  (Not getting into my opinions on the fed. response because jfc…)  The good news is that I am pretty low risk for exposure, between my un/self-employment and Himself having already been between job sites (he’s a Union electrician, so this is normal in the winter) before anything got started, plus we’re somewhat hermitish, as a general rule.  This is also good, because I am uninsured and have bad lungs (birth defect), which means that if I do get it, I’m basically fucked and it’s been nice knowing y’all.  I’m not going to sugar-coat that one; I am one of the folks that’s high risk for ending up being written into the lists of the dead, and I freely admit to being more than a little scared of that prospect.

However, I’m holding onto the fact that I *am* very low risk for exposure, I am trained in how to avoid contact contagions, and for once, my agoraphobia and mild neuroses about germs is a useful thing.  The household plan is to hermit as much as possible for the next few weeks and go from there. 

What does that mean for my travel writing?  Well, it does put a massive roadblock across on my plans for the spring, that’s for sure.  I had been planning to start checking out some of the local touristy type places as well, now that the weather’s getting nicer, but those will have to wait for now.  Instead I’ll be focusing on finding story bones out on the road to sing tales from, because I can do that without actually having to interact with people beyond putting gas in the truck. So more stories of myth and memory.

I’ve also been starting to reacquire jewelry-making supplies, and while I’m going to have to figure out a workaround for not having all of the beads I was hoping to have, I do have an assortment of wires and strings, and am waiting impatiently for a package of sari silk ribbons to arrive, to make necklaces out of.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll return to my earliest jewelry-making habits and see what I can make use of from twigs and seeds and stones collected from the woods nearby.

More artwork and getting artwork posted.  Working on talismans and trying to get caught up on stuff I should have sent people a while ago.  That sort of thing.

So…Interesting Times, y’all, eh?  I don’t know about you, but I *really* want some boring for a bit.  Also, a nap.

Speaking of a nap, it’s past 2 in the morning and I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.  Good night, all.  Here’s to things getting boring really soon.