visit from my mother

My mother was here at the end of February, after visiting my brother and his partner in New Orleans, during Mardi Gras.

It was a good visit, but cattitude, adrian_turtle and I all found it mentally tiring, which is why it's taken me a few days to write about it here.

My mother got here Saturday evening, and Adrian met her at the airport, and they took a cab home. We had soup for dinner, made the day before so we could eat when my mother got here. After supper, my mother was doing a little unpacking, and realized she'd left a backpack in the taxi.

( cut for length )

( masking )

help for Crestline, CA, after the huge blizzard

rachelmanijabrown and many of her neighbors are trapped in their homes a week after the recent huge blizzard.

Rachel would like people to contact Gov. Newsom and San Bernardino, CA, officials and tell them to send help: removal of the huge piles of ice and snow, help shoveling paths, reimbursement for expenses, and permission to return home if they leave. For those of us not in California, the main request is to ask Pres. Biden to declare San Bernardino a federal disaster area, but I may also contact the Red Cross and Gov. Newsom's office.

This is a natural disaster, and has been compounded by human mismanagement. For example: the city sent out snowplows, creating the huge ice berms that are trapping people in their homes, and says it won't be doing anything to remove that ice.