What can I say? We are all in the same boat. Merry weird Christmas, my friends. And, Happy New Year. Get vaccinated soon.

Would you believe this was the first time in forty years we celebrated Christmas in an empty house? Okay, there were a few times we travelled at Christmas, so our house would have been empty. But we were never alone on Christmas day.

Part of our merry weird Christmas in 2020 is the pile of unopened gifts still sitting under the tree (above right.) Imagine how lonely our blue recycling bin is today – empty without wrapping paper. We did deliver some gifts yesterday. Hilda even made a small turkey dinner for some deliveries as well.

Boxing Day will also remain empty as well. Usually, we have spread our Christmas visits over the two days, or even three if you count Christmas Eve. But as part of this year’s merry weird Christmas, Hilda announced her plan to go shopping on Boxing Day. First time in more than a decade!

Above right, you can see me preparing for in-person Boxing Day shopping. First there is the Christmas mask. Second, my face shield to provide extra protection in crowded stores. (Will they be crowded?) And lastly, my protective gloves. Quite the sight.

What more can I say? Normally, I write about Christmas gifts on Boxing Day. But we are holding off on the gifting until we can have everyone over for a real Christmas meal – maybe in January, maybe much later.

Merry Weird Christmas in Alberta

As with many places around the world, Alberta is having a tough time with the pandemic right now. Our hospitals are basically full. During spring, we had between 50-100 folks in hospital with COVID. This week, we have 800! During spring, our biggest challenges with COVID were in Calgary and Southern Alberta. This time around, folks in Edmonton are under the gun.

You can check out our stats here. We are closed down until at least January 12th. We have some pretty firm restrictions and substantial fines are being handed out.

And, of course, I had to postpone my Christmas haircut. Hopefully things won’t get as bad as they did in the spring.