Running between the raindrops

The raindrops are metaphorical, meaning a sudden bunch of worries and a glimpse of the end of my tether after the year of no social life, no touch, not even an animal. Worries involving other things I can't fix right now, mostly.

Now I'm also taking on helping get my, finally eligible, frontline worker son vaxxed. He's very computer literate, far more than I, but has no computer access in his working day, so he'll never manage without an assist. My heart sank as I started the process again, stressful. 

Anyway outside, the neighborhood kids have invented a new game. You throw a football, and it's batted away with a badminton racket. No rules, I think, but loads of fun 

And a further lift to my spirits came in the mail from Mary Anne, from Magpie's Mumblings.  She's a fiber artist, temporarily sidelined by surgery, so it was all the better to receive this lovely postcard artwork.  Thanks so much!

And an art card from honorary granddaughter next to it, lifting me up further.

This is my favorite place to sit, make art, knit, read, do business, and the side of the furniture is a useful bulletin board for notes I have to keep handy. Post-Its work best.

More knitted squares are happening, though that red one on the right fell prey to my general anxiety and I didn't decrease right. Ended up at first with a weird paralellogram. I ask you, simple knitting and I couldn't get it right. Shows how jangled I was. Am. It's fixed now.

If you're wondering if all those trailing threads are another symptom, no, they're on purpose. They'll be handy when I come to attach the squares into whatever they end up being.

Another nice thing: the state has reinstated a special program of real estate tax relief after several years of not being able to afford it (!) and my next quarterly tax bill, I just heard, will be several hundred dollars lighter as a result. Since NJ has the highest real estate tax in the US, we're Number One, yay!  this is good.

Especially since the Feds have still not started reimbursing seniors with the third covid-19 relief $$. A lot of  NJ people didn't get the second one either. Can't help being darkly suspicious about whether this is yet another blue state issue 

Appointees from the former guy are still employed at the irs and SS..one of whom finally admitted, under pressure from northeastern members of congress,  to delaying the handover of the vital files to enable the payments. I have my congressional rep, the blessed Rep. Bonnie (Watson-Coleman) on it now. Her caseworkers are in touch. 

But moving on, I finished reading Home by Marilynne Robinson, and it was really great. So intense that I may not venture into the others in the saga, at least not for a while. I do recommend it though.

And now that my pounding allergy season headache has abated, my spirits are doing better, thank you, sitting up and taking nourishment.