It feels like it has been *one of those days,* today. 

The day started altogether *too early* because Mrs. Denmarkguy had an online meeting with the board of directors of a non-profit organization she works with... they are on the US east coast, so three hours *later* than we are. So when they have an 11:00am meeting, that's 8:00am here. 


![x078-Calendulas.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmd9bvUXQfA16Q7Ybziv572Kj4gvSqwSSmHdj3u1WtYqTj/x078-Calendulas.jpg)


Of course, neither of us had slept too well *to begin with* because it has been windy as heck and driving rain for several days now, with wind gusts to 40 miles an hour (65km/h) on a regular basis... meaning that there were branches sometimes beating against the side of the house and loose bits landing on the roof. This worries our dog Daisy... who'd periodically wake is us with her growling and barking.

I suppose the people at the ski resorts are happy... the nearby Interstate Highway pass over the Cascade mountains has had 64 inches (160cm+) of snow in the past week!

Or maybe they are *not* so happy, because...


![x078-LensFlare.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZptwsWawhoY5YtnXkPifXSfzjSCwX9AmHr1kbkmKC5i2/x078-LensFlare.jpg)


## *The Latest Lockdown Rules*

...were just announced by our state governor, and essentially shuts pretty much *everything* down, right down to the fact that you cannot even have your neighbor over for coffee as long as we remain under *"Phase One"* lockdown... and there's just a whole string of requirements attached to being able to move to *"Phase Two"* which I just don't expect us to see until sometime in March.

As I drove into town today, I once again noticed the many boarded up and closed storefronts... and thought about the irony of a set of rules that essentially is handing *"economic success"* to corporate giants like Amazon and WalMart and Federal Express, while almost certainly consigning small home grown businesses to failure because they are not allowed to stay open for their local customers. 


![x078-Eucalyptus.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdD6zvSTaBDg6piHPC6Wkgnt8wa9vYZzuXDWnxcahHoJd/x078-Eucalyptus.jpg)


## *But at Least I Have a Computer!*

As I wrote a while back, my primary desktop computer that I use for work started to shut itself down rather often at the beginning of December... so I ended up taking it in to be fixed at our local computer repair shop.

So I've been using some combination of my laptop and my phone to do my work since then, and that has been woefully inadequate, although I have stuck to it.

The reason it's been *five weeks* is that we simply didn't have the money for a $340 fix, consisting of a new solid-state drive, new fan, reinstall of the operating system and data recovery to get back to working condition. 


![x078-YellowRose.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmdDvd8tVwYyGEmc5kqAq3KzNpmWhhaGcvb5268xnRMW1A/x078-YellowRose.jpg)


$340 might not seem like a lot of money... but we're among the estimated 60+% of American households that simply *cannot* fund a $500 unexpected bill on short notice. No mileage left on our charge cards and no savings meant working extra long hours over the holidays and being extra frugal in order to set the money aside. I chose to *not* power down my meager Steem holdings... so as to at least have *something* available, in case another disaster strikes.

It seems a little ironic that we allegedly live in the *"richest country in the world"* and yet we often have to choose between food and telephone service, or paying the insurance bill or the electric bill. Meanwhile, the economy is *"doing really well"* and the stock market is near new highs... makes me wonder just *whose* economy that is... because it sure isn't ours or any of our neighbors'!


![x078-Sunset.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSJwuMG8Wyfjs21ZqJxQ4EFpvJcdyZcg23GsnhTQiUSz7/x078-Sunset.jpg)


Well, I guess I'd better end this little rant here... at least I am writing this on a *"real"* computer again, so there *is* a silver lining to this story!

Thanks for reading, and have a great remainder of your week!

*How about YOU? How are the lockdowns (if any) where you are? Does there seem to be an end in sight? Or is it as bad as ever? As always, comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!*

***(All text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is ORIGINAL CONTENT, created expressly for this platform — NOT A CROSSPOST!!!)
Created at 20210106 00:37 PST
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