Let The Countdown Begin!

Well, it’s the final week of 2020 and almost a year since we started on our journey of frustration, confusion, boredom, angst, and trying not to go bankrupt. We’ve come a long way. We’ve learned things. We’ve adapted. We’ve grumbled and complained. We’ve cried. And cried some more. We’ve prayed. But, above all else, we’ve carried on.

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Bitten By the Baking Bug

Photo by Taryn Elliott on Pexels.com

I don’t normally do a lot of holiday baking like some folks. Not because I don’t enjoy it, but it hardly seems worth the effort since I have no one to share the goodies with. Well, that’s not true. I have my husband, who loves sweets and baking for him is totally worth it, but you know what I mean. He’s actually really happy with plain ole peanut butter cookies most of the time anyway. I don’t have to go to the trouble of chilling and rolling out dough and letting yeast rise and chopping fruits and nuts and all that other fancy stuff. He’s not into the ornately decorated sugar cookies or gingerbread men that are so popular this time of year. So, it feels like a wasted effort to spend the entire day baking fancy holiday goodies.

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It’s Not the Same Thing

Have you ever tried to pass something off as something else? I don’t mean outright lying about something, but like buying a knock-off brand name item hoping others will think you have the real thing? My mom used to tell me that the cheap sneakers I got at K-Mart were the same as the expensive name brand shoes (Puma’s was my choice back then). My mom would say, “They’re the same thing.” In my adolescent mind I’d scream back, “No they’re not.” Notice I said in my mind. Arguing with my mother always resulted in me sulking and my mom telling me to stop sulking. (God, I miss my mom.)

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Life Derailed

Everything has been out of whack. Our city is almost back to being fully operational, which is a good thing. The only real restrictions are for large gatherings. But that doesn’t mean things are back to normal. Of course, there are the usual “new normal” things, like wearing masks and such, but even those things are more or less “recommendations” here and not actual requirements. We’ve never really had a huge volume of COVID cases in our county to start with, so everyone is just being cautious but going about their business. No real fanatics here.

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Reaping The Rewards of Quarantine

I don’t know how long it’s been for you folks, but here at Casa Baer we’ve going into our seventh week of self-isolation. According to our Governor and our Mayor, it looks like we’ve got at least two more to go before “we re-evaluate.” I’m hoping that by the second week of May we’ll be able to enter Phase I and start to see some movement toward “normal,” around here. What that means for my business remains to be seen, but I’m hopeful I’ll be able to welcome guests again in the near future. I’m hoping for June, but only time will tell. Right now I’m an innkeeper with nothing to keep.

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Silver Linings

My husband and I are going into week 3 of semi-isolation. My husband’s employer mandated that the casino and hotel where he works shut completely down on March 16^th.  Since then he’s been back twice to finish up a couple of unfinished tasks, but the place is basically abandoned. Only the security crew has to stay on property during the shut down. The Baer House, too has been pretty darn quiet. We’re not on lock down, but nobody’s traveling. We have been getting daily cancellations since the second week of March. We currently have no reservations at the inn until the very first part of June.

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Did They Think No One Would Notice?

Are you observant when you watch TV? I think most writers probably pay closer attention to things than the average person. Like a lawyer notices things about courtroom shows and cops notice things about police procedure and nurses notice things about medical shows, writers notice discrepancies in storylines, characterization, etc.

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It Sure Is A Lot Of Hype

Before you read this, I need to warn you that hate mail will immediately be deleted and that we are all entitled to our opinions. And – no – this is not a political post. That said, I’m not a Star Wars fan. I don’t get the hype. There. I’ve said it.

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Cooking For The Stars

Thanks for sticking with me. I hope my teaser last week inspired you to come back today. Cooking For the Stars is a little like Dancing With the Starts, except it’s cooking instead of dancing, and “for” instead of “with,” and there’s no audience phone-ins, or Judges scores, or a giant set, or dazzling bright lights, or microphones, or celebrity hosts, but other than that, it’s exactly the same. So, since I promised good things, let’s not waste any time.

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Blonds Are Disappearing From TV Land

I’ve noticed lately a strange phenomenon when I watch TV. There are very few blondes in any of the shows I watch on a regular basis. This led to a more extensive investigation on my part. I started randomly watching shows I’ve never watched before just to see what the main characters look like. The phenomenon continued. Hardly any blondes.

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