Dance 2 day 16

So counter festivities measures. 

dance 2 day 15

 So first case of UK covid mutation in Tours. 

Dance day 14

 So detox

dance 2 day 13

So some Christmas cheer. 

Dance day 10-12

 

 

dance 2 day 9

So France will start covid vaccination Monday starting with nursing homes (patients and staff).

France has ordered 200 million doses of the vaccine giving them the ability to inoculate 100 million people.

p.s. Vaccination is not mandatory and when polled 40-50 % of French people will not get it...

dance 2 day 8

So covid mutation in the UK?

Dance 2 day 6-7

 So rainy days

dance 2 day 5

So I used my recently regained non-essential buying privileges I went to the store to buy a raclette set instead of Amazon so I could have it right away. 

How strange it was to try to figure out the organization of a store to find what I needed instead of figuring out the key words that would bring out the correct result.  How strange to have the choice of ten items and not ten pages of items. How quick it was to pick something because I could quickly determine things like size without having to do too much reading. 

How strange it was to use my entire body to put the item in my basket (it was on the top shelf) instead of just my thumb.   How time consuming it was to walk to the counter, get in line, and check out.  How heavy it was as I walked it back to the apartment.  

How nice it was to have what I wanted, knowing what it really looked like, felt like before I bought it.  

The best part was that I didn't have to block off an entire day waiting for the delivery guy.

dance 2 day 4

So the French president tested positive for covid.

dance 2 day 3

So despite not having to stay home anymore it's actually quite hard to find somewhere to go (cultural places/events remained closed as are restaurants).  The only thing you can do is go out and shop.  

So nonessential shoping I went.  I immediately noticed the noiseyness of the outside world.  And also the smell.

The irony of clothes shopping to remain at home wasn't lost on me.  But I wanted to remind myself what normal is.

Or was? 

dance 2 day 2

So I started Japanese lessons.  Gave me a craving for a Japanese Christmas cake:

dance 2 day 1

So goodbye lockdown, hello curfew!  Unforch the raining trend hasn't stopped.

Makes me want to stay home.  Nature's confinement? 

hammer 2 day 46

So my first homemade buche with my daughter:

hammer 2 day 45

So letters to Santa 2020.

hammer 2 day 44

So yeah.

hammer 2 day 43

So curfew (8pm to 6am) starting Dec 15th.  Exception Dec 24th (but not Dec 31st). 

hammer 2 day 42

So the prime minister will make an annoucement tonight regarding the easing of restrictions. 

Rumor has it it's not good news. 

hammer 2 day 41

So that's the funny thing about zoom or conversing online.  Not only do you see who you talk to, you see yourself all the time.  

Not sure that's a good thing.  

hammer 2 day 40

So Vday.

hammer 2 day 39

So in order for the lockdown to end Dec 15th the president said infection needed to be under 5000 per day.  Saturday figures were at 12 923 infections...

hammer 2 day 37-38

So I made the gingerbread house from scratch this year:

I hope Santa's lockdown house is as nice:

Or delicious:

hammer 2 day 36

So third quarter phenomenon during long term isolation?

Or maybe it's just the weather. 

hammer 2 day 35

So 20 km won't get me to the ocean but for now the Seine will do.

hammer 2 day 34

So I made a calendrier d'avent with the kids since they were looking forward to Christmas so much.  Me?  Looking forward to Dec 15th (end of lockdown):

hammer 2 day 33

So December.

hammer 2 day 32

So origami masks.

hammer 2 day 31

So during the first lockdown my daughter learned to ride her back without training wheels.  Today I took her to the bigger park just the two of us on our bikes.  

A good way to take advantage of the 20 kilometers/3 hrs lockdown extension, beautiful weather, and of course her brother's nap.  

 

hammer 2 day 30

So fake flights.

hammer 2 day 28-29

So Thanksgiving. 

 

hammer 2 day 27

So the French president gave a speech yesterday.  The covid situation is better so he laid out a three stage approach to the lifting of restrictions.  Stages two and three are contingent on if the number of new cases keeps below 5,000:

Saturday, November 28th

• 'Non essential' shops can reopen, until 9pm and under strict health conditions
• The 1km rule is to be scrapped for exercise, instead people will be allowed to exercise for up to three hours a day, and go up to 20km from their homes.
• Extra-curricular activities at schools can restart, but only outside
• Religious services will be allowed again, for no more than 30 people

December 15th

• Lockdown will end and attestations will no longer be required. Travel between regions of France and meeting family and friends will be allowed
• Large gatherings public gatherings are not permitted and private gatherings should be kept as small as possible, but there was no number limit
• A 9pm to 7am curfew will apply to the whole country
• The curfew will be lifted on December 24th and 31st
• Extra-curricular school activities can restart indoors
• Cinemas, theatres and museums can reopen, with strict health controls in place

January 20th

• The reopening of restaurants and cafés, as well as gyms and leisure centres
• Restarting of full-time in-person teaching in lycées, and then 15 days later in universities. At present both lycées and universities are doing a mixture of online and in-person teaching, while universities are limited to 50 percent capacity in lecture halls.
• The abolition of the curfew

Regarding vaccines he said the first vaccines will begin in late December or early January.  He will not make vaccination compulsory. 

hammer 2 day 26

So the wp provided some covid death comparisons.  In less than a year, the outbreak has killed:

-Four times as many Americans as have died in the decade-long Vietnam War.
-Twice as many Americans as were killed over two years in World War I.
-Nearly two thirds as many Americans as have died during four years of fighting in World War II.
-More than one-third of an estimated 675,000 Americans who died in the 1918-19 flu pandemic, which was the worst in modern history.

hammer 2 day 25

So my daughter was decorating her room for a birthday party for all her stuffed animals.  As I was in a call with my parents I asked if they were invited. 

After the coronavirus is over she replied. 

hammer 2 day 24

So if the French government can change the date of Black Friday than I can change the date of Thanksgiving right? Due to covid there were a lot of other changes to be made as well.

We orginally had plans with another American/French family but because of lockdown instead of dinner indoors we decided to do a lunch picnic in the park. 

Something simple and seperateable by family but in keeping with Thanksgiving theme.  

Trail mix with popcorn and cranberries for apero

Homemade corn bread and macaroni and cheese brocoli cups

Spicy pumpkin cookies.

For the main course we just did american sandwhich bread, individually wrapped sliced cheese and turkey ham, squeeze bottle mayonnaise, mustard, and of course hand sanitizer. 

hammer 2 day 23

So the French government has persuaded Amazon to push Black Friday to Dec 4th.  

I wonder when Thanksgiving will be....

hammer 2 day 22

So a World Health Organization official said on Thursday that someone in Europe died of covid-19 every 17 seconds on average in the past week.

hammer 2 day 21

So pizza boxes...

hammer 2 day 20

So new pyjama bottoms.  Wonder how long these will last. 

hammer day 18-19

So I found a new legit outting.  Buying organic vegtables and fruits deemed "unfit" to be sold commercially.  All that for 1.50 euros.

hammer day 17

So according to the WHO, 11 United Nations members have no reported cases of coronavirus:

Tuvalu
Turkmenistan
Tonga
Samoa
Palau
Niue
Nauru
Federated States of Micronesia
Kiribati
North Korea
Cook Islands

Except for Turkmenistan and North Korea, are island nations in the Pacific Ocean. It's easier to believe isolated islands have managed to be covid-free.  Turkmenistan and North Korea not so much.

Then again this is reported cases. 

hammer 2 day 16

So they say there are winners in the lockdown and the big one is Amazon. 

It's true every time I leave the apartment I see an Amazon package either in the arms of a delivery guy, neighbor or posed next to the recycling bin. 

Then there are the numerous packages I recieve throughout the week. 

I think I need to detox.

hammer 2 day 15

So my pyjamas are starting to get holes in them.

That's what happens when you don't leave your place of residence. 

hammer 2 day 14

So even if a vaccine is available it doesn't mean you can get it.  Anthony S. Fauci told CNN on Tuesday that he didn't expect a vaccine would be available to the general public before the end of April.

hammer 2 day 13

So my sister talked about a fundraiser for the flooding in Asia.  I hadn't heard anything about it. 

Guess if your not covid or U.S. elections you don't make the headlines here. 

hammer 2 day 12

So vaccine in December? 

Interesting fact: The surge in cases is actually making testing the vaccine easier and faster.  

hammer 2 day 11

So zoom ballet class:

hammer 2 day 10

So not trump.

Finally! 

hammer 2 day 9

So in France the media states that Biden has 264 but when I look at the wp or nyt they say 253. 

Apparently the associated press and susprisingly FOX news has called AZ for Biden so 264.  Other media outlets haven't yet since they are still counting Maricopa County votes.

Wait and see. 

hammer 2 day 8

So we still don't know who won this election.  I heard a rumor that it may play out in Congress if it's not decided by the end of Dec. 

So I did some research. Key dates:

Dec. 14 (states’ electoral votes are cast) - if there is no clear winner in the Electoral College, the 12th Amendment dictates that the House of Representatives would elect the president and the Senate would pick the vice president.

The congress that votes is the one that enters in January. 

So current numbers have the house is dems 209, rep 193 (So Biden?)

Current numbers have senate as dems 48 and republicains 48. The vp is tiebreaker in the Senate (so current Pence to vote for himself? Or since it's the "new" congress the vp is unknown so can not undo the tiebreaker).  Tricky. 

Jan. 20 (Inauguration Day) - House has not chosen a president, then the vice president-elect chosen by the Senate serves as acting president until the deadlock is resolved in the House

Since Biden would have been elected by the House we probably wouldn't get this far. 

20th Amendment takes over — making the vice president-elect acting president until a president has qualified (So Pence?).

If this still doesn't play out the Presidential Succession Act applies (So Pelosi).

I'm ok with that. 

 

hammer 2 day 7

So Biden 253.

Watching this election is like watching covid.  It's all anyone talks about, we watch the numbers grow anxiously waiting for it all to end. 

hammer 2 day 6

So 223 vs 212.

The suspense is killing me. 

hammer 2 day 5

So when my husband picked up our groceries on Friday some items were missing notably eggs and butter.  This reminded me of the first lockdown where we didn't have problems finding pasta or toilet paper it was butter, flour, and eggs.  People were obviously finding comfort in cakes. 

For my allowed one hour outting of the day I went to the grocery store.  I found eggs, flour, and butter so I stocked up. 

I made 2 batches of them to help calm my nerves.  Depending on the results of the election I might eat all of them. 

hammer 2 day 4

So teacher gets beheaded, then lockown, then knife attacks in Nice, Avignon, French Consulate in Saudi Arabia on the same day, then priest shot in Lyon.  Now U.S. elections. 

My nerves are shot.  

hammer 2 day 3

So there are some differences between this lockdown and the last lockdown notably that schools are still open and so are parks. 

This is a relief.  Parks are usually closed off so the kids can run around without worrying about cars or them biking/scootering/running off.  

One less thing to worry about. 

hammer 2 day 2

 So totally worth it.

hammer 2 day 1

So after 56 days of the first hammer and 165 days of dancing around covid, here we are day 1 of hammer 2.  Can't say I'm surprised what with winter and all.

The last day before this lockdown I went to work like I had the day before the first lockdown.  Instead of apprehension of the unknown like the last time there was an air of knowing resignment that we were living our last day out and doing what we wanted.  On the metro I took in the proximity I had to strangers, at work the ability to see the live faces of my collegues as we talked.  Soon I would only hear their voices coming from my laptop.  

At lunch I took a walk to the mall taking me across the Seine and past restaurants full of people eating out before it would be at least one month of eating in.  It wasn't a beautiful day but not too cold and it would be last time I could go more than 1 kilometer radius without a justification cerificate.   

When I got to the mall I went to the big chain grocery store.  I wanted pumpkins for Halloween.  My strategy to get through a lockdown winter was to do fun indoor things and I would start with pumpkin carving.  

It was crowded and reminded me of the first lockdown when I went to the grocery store and walked past empty shelves of pasta and toilet paper.  This time I walked past full displays of halloween candy and do it at home hair color products.  They had put immediate need items available for their customers.  

I passed on the halloween candy (I had learned from the first lockdown that sugar and limited excercise was not a good combination) and instead opted for mexican face death stickers for the kids.  I went to the produce section for my pumpkins but only found potirons.  Close but no cigar. I grabbed a sushi box for lunch and left. 

I took the long way back and stopped at all the shops to see if I could find pumpkins.  On my way I saw ladies in salons getting their hair dyed, people lining up outside of pharmacies, and a guy zooming by with a giant pack of toilet paper on his electric scooter.  Seemed silly but really was it more ridiculous than walking around trying to find a pumpkin in a land of potirons?

I finally found my pumpkin and it was huge.  I bought it anways because well, I would not have the luxury of searching for another one nor would I have the luxury of going back to the States anytime soon and the idea of doing something very normal and authentically American with my kids made me happy.

At the end of the day I was the first to leave and my team and I all looked at each other. 

Teammate 1:  A la mois prochain?  (Until next month?)

Teammate 2:  A l'année prochaine? (Unitl next year?)

We all laughed.  I settled for "A bientot".  It means see you soon and it's what you say when you don't know when you'll see someone again but you hope it will be soon.  It's normally accompanied by a French bise (kiss on the cheek) but of course we don't do that anymore. 

As I walked from the metro back to to my apartment weighed down by my laptop, giant pumpkin, and the gravity of the situation, I saw a woman leaving her office.  Looked like she was taking an uber back home and her driver was trying to stuff her work chair into his van. 

Of course.

dance day 165

So the French president announced a second lockdown starting this evening at midnight until the first of Dec.  

On Tuesday 523 people died from covid. 

dance day 164

So Gene Weingarten always manages to put things into perspective for me.  Not only are we isolated today we are divided.  

Could this be why?

dance day 163

So a co-worker whose wife is a nurse told me that behind restaurants and bars the third most common place people catch covid is the workplace.

Funny how they don’t talk about that in the news.