Odds & ends

• COVID-19 case rates hereabouts (locally, provincially and nationally) are skyrocketing (again). The cities of Toronto & Ottawa and the region of Peel rolled back to a modified version of Stage 2 last week, followed by the region where I live this weekend. Among other things, indoor dining and drinking has been shut down. So have movie theatres and gyms, and stricter limits have been placed on group gatherings. There has been a run on portable outdoor heaters that may help extend the patio dining season. (It's getting a bit chilly for outdoor eating, especially once the sun goes down...!).
• Being retired, without children, I probably haven't been spending as much time on Zoom calls as some of you have. But I have not one, not two, but THREE Zoom calls scheduled for this afternoon, & one more on Sunday morning (three with various segments of my ALI/CNBC tribe, and one a virtual forum for L.M. Montgomery academics & fans). Yikes!  (I do enjoy these calls, but they can be tiring!)
• Little Great-Nephew is 11 months old today. We have not seen him in a month. :(  His dad posted some photos from their recent trip to a pumpkin patch this morning.  He's not going to remember any of this crazy first year, of course -- but we sure will.  It's doubtful we're going to be able to celebrate his first birthday with him next month. :(  I SOOOOOOO MUCH resent the time during this precious first year with him that COVID has stolen from us. :(  
• On the flip side of the coin, I also resent the time that I'm not getting to spend with my aging parents. I don't really see any practical way to getting there for Christmas this year. I'm trying not to think about it too much, but it sucks. :(  
• My mom called me this week (about something she needed me to email for her) -- and I took the opportunity to tell her about my upcoming gynecologist visit and why I'm going, and to ask her some questions about my aunts & their issues.  I tried to keep the tone light so that she won't worry too much (I hope), and she didn't seem too concerned, thankfully -- perhaps because she's known so many people who have dealt with this (and she told me about a few of them, besides my aunts).  There is strength & comfort in numbers and in other people's stories...! 
• On the bright side: it's a beautiful, clear, sunny day, and I can see some lovely fall colours in the tops of the trees behind the townhouses outside.