Downtown Square.

Sometimes we have days when frustrations seem to build on each other. Yesterday felt like one of those days. Having to leave everything unresolved and up in the air compounded the feeling of unease, but in the end we had a very  pleasant dinner with the family at an old school classic French restaurant which has been there forever. I don't think the decor or the menu has ever changed. 

Today, with no appointments and no time constraints we figured out how to close and furl the umbrella and I figured out how to get rid of the tire pressure graphic in the car. We took Spike for a nice walk, the longest one John has had since he broke his ankle.

According to the morning paper,  the variously named delta variant of Covid is making its way around the US. It is said to be much more contagious than the original one that hit full force in March 2020. The good news is that the fully vaccinated have good protection against it, and if despite being vaccinated they do get it, as a friend of Dana's did, their symptoms are fairly mild. The unvaccinated will be much more susceptible to it and to creating yet more variants. California shouldn't be as hard hit by this new variant as some states which are not as well vaccinated. Californians are close to 70% vaccinated and some kind of herd immunity. Most of us are not giving up our masks, even though the mandate has been lifted for the fully vaccinated.

It took a long time to get used to being isolated and shut down, and it seemed to take even a longer time to get used to being out in society again. A lot of people complained of a feeling of exhaustion and resistance to going out again, and I was no exception, but I think I am beginning to get back on track again. Last week I  dragged my watch out of the drawer where it had been for almost a year and took it in for a new battery and a good cleaning.  Today I went back downtown to pick it up and spent some time walking around taking in the scene.

The main street has been closed to traffic. It is lined with small restaurants and bars and those which haven't closed have expanded out into the street for outdoor dining. The main square was redone a few years ago after contests and much fanfare about what should be done with it. If they had picked the worst elements of the worst entries,  I don't think they could have made it more uninviting. The city fathers claimed it made it more open to many uses. I think it was a thinly veiled attempt to keep homeless people away. However, as can be seen in my picture, somebody has scattered about some brightly colored tables and chairs and a lot of umbrellas in one of my favorite colors.

Getting my watch running again and going into the horrible mall to get some good shampoo and mascara from Sephora instead of ordering them online) helped me feel a little more in control of my life. 
 I wonder how long it will take for me to remember to look at my watch again?