Life has been routine. This is good. C3 likes to remind me that there are probably 1 billion people in this world who would kill to have my life.

Saturday the husband, Yo and I went on a long walk with our dogs. In the afternoon we looked over our camping gear to check that we are ready for the summer. Saturday evening I played games over Zoom with friends.

Work has been stressful. We've had a few problems with the service that I work on. When this happens, one of my tech leads likes to cover his ass first and solve the problem second. I'm trying hard to talk him back from that approach. It's going to hold him back at some point.

 We have received our 2nd shots of the Pfizer vaccine. No plans to travel or anything like that. Just a weight off our back.

Rufus is back! Or a Rufous humming bird is back. 

Last spring a rufous humming bird took over our back yard and chased other hummingbirds away. I would watch him through the day. He brightened up my COVID experience. But then, as Rufous's do, towards the end of summer, he few away.

Our humming bird feeders are never unused. For most of the winter they are frequented by Anna's hummingbirds which are an iridescent green. Yesterday I briefly spotted an orange blur chasing an Anna away. I cleaned and refilled the feeders outside my office window. I got the camera ready.

Honestly don't know that this is the same Rufous from last year. In the spring Rufous hummingbirds migrate from Mexico all the way up to Alaska, so this one could be passing through. 

1. I'm a little disappointed in myself. With my husband away I had planned to do all sorts of things. Projects I've been putting off. Reading. Instead I binge watched TV. I caught up on all the shows that the husband isn't fond of. And I played games.

2. Over a year ago I applied for U.S. citizenship. I've lived in the U.S. for twenty four years. I'm married to an American. It's time.

At long last I have an date for my citizenship interview-- the first week of April. Now I am busy studying my civics questions. Most are easy ("What major event happened on Sept 11, 2001?")  Some give me pause. ("What are the Federalist Papers? Why are they important?")

The husband and the brother-in-law are in PV for the week. I am still in Seattle. He planned the trip to PV back when I intended to spend March with my parents. When the trip to my parents was canceled, I didn't decide to join him in PV.

Why? I filled my March up with work goals and it's difficult for my to back peddle off them right now. That may be a bit of an excuse. I am looking forward to some quiet time. Just me and the dog. Watching the TV shows that the husband doesn't enjoy. Eating all the fish I want (The husband hates fish)

Spending a week with the husband and the brother-in-law would be too much.

The brother-in-law-- he is back from the brink of his addiction. At least for now.

I bought a bike. A regular bicycle. I haven't owned a bike in years. The husband started bicycling a bit last year. Now that the weather is improving, I thought I'd get one so I can join him when possible.

Last week was very routine. Work by day. Relax by night. Games over zoom with friends when we can. 

Today we received our first shots of the Pfizer vaccine. It was a big drive-thru mass vaccination event. You wait in line. They check your paper work. You wait inline some more. They recheck your paperwork and tell you what to expect. Passengers on the left must have there left arm ready. Passengers on the right-- their right. When its your turn you roll down your window, stick out your arm and get the shot.

Looking at the schedule, I'd say that around 4000 people went though.

So far no notable side effects. My arm is a bit stiff. I'm not feeling nauseous or tired.

The brother-in-law has left our house. For months he had our house-key. The husband asked for and got it back.

The brother-in-law is here. He is drunk. The husband and he are having some kind of conversation. The kind of conversation where the sober patiently listen to the inebriated. 

It is exhausting.

Earlier the husband and I had a small argument. We can't be his detox. We can't pick the brother-in-law up every time he goes off the rails. The brother-in-law has had major alcoholic meltdowns at least eight times. And I stress the major-- week long benders that have destroyed his jobs, his health, his relationships. 

The husband loves his brother so much. It will be difficult for him to let go.

The snow left quickly. We've had rains for the last few days.

The brother-in-law has not called the husband in the last three days. The husband is worrying about him. He is almost at the point where he wants to drive to the brother-in-law's apartment to check if he is still alive.

We are having a big dump of snow-- about eight inches in the past day. Maybe another two in the next.

It feels good to have a snow day. Even with COVID. Even though it's the weekend. If I want to curl up on the sofa with the husband and just play games, then so be it. The outside is pretty, but not easier to walk or drive though.

One of the symptoms of meth use is that self-doubt goes away. Paranoia takes over. When a meth users looses their keys they start to think "Someone is breaking into my house and stealing my things." When a meth user becomes confused by a smart-phone glitch they start to think they have been hacked.

The brother-in-law has started down that path. He misconfigured his phone. It must be a hack. He doesn't understand the messages on his home router. That must be hacked too. 

All this scaring the husband. Meth is such a horrible drug. The brother-in-law is going to burn his life up again. All we can do is stand back and watch it happen.

Life returns to the routine. Post reorg, my job is busy, but we are making progress. The husband is adjusting to his new job as well. He has been studying and taking tests for the past two weeks. It stresses him out, but he is making progress.

My father is having knee surgery half way through March. It's been a year and a half since I've visited my parents, so I plan on making the trip. Of course since my parents live in Canada and we are in a pandemic, things will be complicated. Canada is much more strict with its COVID plans.

I'll fly to Toronto, get a COVID test and then and quarantine in Toronto for two weeks. I've rented a nice AirB&B near friends. It should have good wifi, so I can work while I quarantine.

After quarantine, I'll drive up to my parents and spend two weeks with them. 

The situation is changing fast. There is talk of requiring the quarantine period to be in government approved hotel. Canada has a habit of making the rules first, and then figuring out the implementation later. So, the interpretations of the latest restrictions change day by day.

1. The work week ended well. Far better than it could have. My boss, my team and I came up with a plan. Now we have to execute on it.

2. C2 was in town for the weekend. Two months ago he had asymptomatic COVID. He is now over it, so he is much more comfortable traveling. He visited his father-- in the same room with a mask. He has prickly relations with his sister and his step mom. No visits there. His step mom was angry at the masked visit with his father. She is uncomfortable with him because he had COVID.

3. I'm trying to make a plan for me reading. Mostly I choose my books based on whats interesting to me, and whats available at the local library. Right now I'm getting the urge to focus on one topic. Not sure what it is yet. 

My boss is a chaos junkie. He is a very wise man. Very hard working. Is great with people. And he doesn't think twice about throwing a wrench into the plan. It can be very frustrating at times. 

I see that part of my job now is to draw these impulses out of him as far in advance as possible, collect them all into one document, polish them up, and make it look to the team like we know what we are doing; not just suddenly shifting from left to right.

1. My brother is basically over COVID. He is more tired than he used to be, but is back to work.

2. We are settling into January. The holidays are over. Work has started in full force again. Back into the groove. Saturday, we took a long walk with the brother-in-law along the water front. It was good to get out of the house.

The brother-in-law is struggling. He is working hard to recover from his last alcoholic meltdown. The circumstances don't help. 

3. The husbands birthday is coming up. He always says he doesn't want something special. He is always greatly appreciative of something special. 

My brother and his wife have covid. For a week now they've had bad cold symptoms plus joint and muscle pain. He says they have had a few shitty days, but are starting to improve.

1. We spent the past few days resting. The husband is still blue from the death of his father. As it should be. He is finding strength in his AA meetings.

2. I have a frozen shoulder. "What is a frozen shoulder?" you ask. I injured my shoulder sometime back in the fall. Probably slept on it wrong. Rather than stretching it and moving it regularly, I just let it rest. As a result, the injured tendons became weak, scarred and tough. I lost my range of motion. 

Of course I didn't know that. I was just resting my shoulder, thinking it would heal. I went to the doctor yesterday to figure out what was going on. He quickly diagnosed it (It's a common injury) and prescribed physiotherapy.

Lesson to myself-- don't kick my health problems down the road. Understand them and make a plan.

We are back home. My father-in-laws estate has mostly been taken care of. His room at the retirement home is cleaned out. 

We spent some time with my mother-in-law. The husbands mother and father have been divorced for years, but they remain close. She is sad to see an old friend die.

This morning at 3am, we left Sacramento and drove back to Seattle. 3am is early, but if leave later, then we end up hitting traffic in Eugene, Portland, Olympia or Seattle.

I'm glad to be home. We are exhausted, but we can sleep in our own bed tonight. 

Happy New Years!

The days since my father-in-laws death have been straightforward. He was ninety years old and suffering for so long that the family is a bit relieved with his passing. He didn't die alone. He got to spend Christmas with his children. What more could anyone ask for?

We are spending a few more days in Sacramento. The husband and my brother-in-law are cleaning up my father-in-law's old room. That shouldn't take long. He didn't have much. 

Hopefully his will is straight forward. My mother-in-law is the executor. She sometimes sounds a little overwhelmed or confused by the task. There is a reason why people pay lawyers for this.