Collector's TAP CAFE XV everyone is welcome here !!!

No problem you are a brilliant photographer!!

 

I like the contrast between the sandstone and the snow. Spider Rock really stands out from the rest of the landscape (the long shadow it casts adds a sense of scale). I tend to associate Arizona with very warm weather, so it’s interesting to see how it looks in the winter.

 

I love my state in winter. I really want to get to the Grand Canyon after they've had tons of snow to photograph it.

 

just voted and put on my facebook page. I don't get a lot of foot traffic but maybe worth one or two nods hopefully

 

I came out of hibernation today, last two weeks in Rehab have been a real test to my strength, I can now see the beginning of the end of the tunnel though. I will be released from Rehab this coming Tuesday, so I will have spent three weeks here altogether. I will then be at my sister-in-law's for two to three weeks while I get in home OT and PT. While that is happening my family is looking for us a new apartment, the therapists here at rehab say I will no longer be able to manage living in a second story apartment. So I am pretty much putting my life in my son's hands. I know he did not expect to have to take care of me till I was at least in my late sixties, I just turned 53 last friday, so I guess this is a bit of a surprise for us all. In any case I am happy that I have made enough progress to feel up to posting.

 

Glad you are feeling better!

 

We have been Social Distancing for the better part of 10 months. We made it this far without getting sick. This last Monday my son took me to a Physical Therapy appointment. He has not seen any of his friends in person in months. They have started playing some game online called psycho something or other. Well one of the guys needed a headset in order to communicate. The guys paypaled Braiden, my son, the money for the headset and he went and purchased it for the friend. We took it to his friend on Monday. We visited for about thirty minutes. While not too too close I know at times we were only two to three feet apart based on fact they were passing cards and stuff back and forth.

End of story, friend we saw Monday just called, he tested positive today.

One week before Christmas and now we are going to wait in a three hour line and hopefully get tested tonight. Otherwise we will be quarantined till after Christmas, no testing appointments in all of Tucson available till the 22nd and the results take at least two days. We were only just having the four of us, my son, daughter-in-law, daughter, and myself for Christmas, no biggie. I just can't believe we made it this long with no really really close call and now a week before Christmas..... I am praying we test negative since my daughter and I are both high risk and there don't seem to be many spots available in any of our area hospitals.

 

@cathiecat That’s really bad luck. I hope you manage to get tested and all get negative results so you can enjoy your well deserved Christmas and New Year family celebrations. Hopefully, because you only had a 30 minute exposure to your son’s friend, you’ll all be fine.

 

London and the southeast of England (my area) is going into a new Tier 4 as of tomorrow. It's basically the same as lockdown so there will be a lot of people either cancelling Christmas or breaking the law to see people in other households. I personally wasn't going anywhere on the day so that part won't affect me but it also means non-essential retail (like clothes and book shops) have to close again. Essential stores like supermarkets can stay open (though just about all will be shot on Christmas Day anyway).

 

You have the worst luck. I'm sending all of my best thoughts your way for you and your family, Cathie.

 

My area came out of Scotland’s highest restrictions recently. To be quite honest, it was nothing like the national lockdown at the start of the year. There was lots of traffic on the roads and plenty of people out and about. I would be surprised if your area behaves much differently. People all over the UK are going to visit friends and family for Christmas, regardless of restrictions. Policing this would be impossible, especially when alcohol gets involved. I just hope that we don’t put ourselves into another full lockdown because of this behaviour.

 

There isn't much difference between Tier 4 and full lockdown in England that i can see. However I haven't seen the official rules on the gov.uk website yet. All I've seen are the lists in press stories.

 

I am so sorry for all of us. I know the list of friends and relatives that have or had covid19 keeps getting longer. We have had three friends die since March. It’s heartbreaking. My yahoo news reported covid19 has surpassed heart disease and cancer deaths on a daily basis in the USA. 3,000 covid19 deaths a day compared to 1,600, and 1,700 a day for heart disease and cancer. I feel what I should do is just face the reality that even if we had not been exposed we should just stay in anyway. We should quarantine no matter, and as I write this I think that is the plan, even if we test negative. We can celebrate Christmas at any time. I am still making Candy and cookies like crazy. Enjoying it. Of course can’t give any away since it wouldn’t be a good idea. At least the four of us can enjoy them, though might gain 20 lbs! Lol!

I will be saying prayers for all of us! I hope we all have a blessed Christmas, and blessed Happy Holidays for everyone as well!

 

Well, looks like most of Scotland is now going back into the highest restrictions after Boxing Day. So we’re in the same boat. Nobody will be allowed to travel outside Scotland and I don’t suppose anybody will be allowed to enter, so this feels like a real lockdown again.

I hope that 2021 will see widespread vaccinations and gradual a return to normality. Hopefully, this time next year, we’ll all be looking forward to the holidays without having to worry about isolating.

 

Looks like the UK rises are due to a new mutated strain of the virus that is easier to catch than the regular strain. From what I've seen it has been found in Australia as well. Quite a few European countries have already closed their borders to arrivals from the UK to try to avoid spreading it.

 

From what I’ve read, the new variant first emerged in the London area around September. If it’s been around for that long in England’s largest city, then it’s probably made it’s way to mainland Europe. The only positive seems to be that, whilst the new strain transmits more easily, it is not any more harmful to the patient.

Honestly, we should close our own borders right now. If we isolate this virus on our islands as best we can, at least we can try to prevent it from spreading to the rest of the world.

 

From what I've seen today it's been found in the Netherlands and Denmark as well as Australia.

 

Merry Christmas to all those celebrating the day..

 

Hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas!

 

I DID THANKS!!! I HOPE YOU DID TOO

 

I'm guessing Toyfair will be cancelled this year. All of the toy makers should announce their new lineups for 2021 next month though.

 

http://www.brickfinder.net/2020/10/08/new-york-toy-fair-2021-delayed/ - The NY Toyfair is delayed at this point to May 1-4 2021. The London one has been delayed until January next year.

 

Humm they're hoping everyone will be vaccinated by then.

 

Just paid off my Ahsoka figure.

 

I spent a chunk of my last stimulus check on a new camera. My sister is planning a trip for us in late May to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks! I need to hit my local camera shop and get a head for my tripod base that my stepmother sent to me a couple of years ago for Xmas. I'm happy - my camera (which wasn't very old but I suspect that it was refurbished when I got it, not new) is doing weird ass stuff to my photos. Sooo thank you Biden/Congress for my new camera. Once I get my SW room in order again I'll be able to take new, pretty photos of it!