Pandemic, Week 54 (Spring Awakenings)

 

This week, a mass shooting at a grocery store in Boulder, CO killed 10 people. The gunman purchased a Rugar AR-556 pistol six days before the shooting, just four days after a judge ordered Boulder's assault weapons ban lifted.  Later in the week, two more people were killed and eight injured after a shooting in Virginia Beach. Former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was confirmed as the Secretary of Labor. President Biden held his first press conference. The outer fencing surrounding the Capitol was removed (though there's still fencing on the grounds). The House Committee on Oversight and Reform held a hearing on DC Statehood, with anti-statehood members arguing that DC should not be a state because it lacks car dealerships (it actually has some), mines, an airport and a landfill. Meanwhile, Georgia enacted new voting restrictions which include giving the state's legislature more control over county election boards, adding voter ID requirements for absentee ballots and criminalizing handing out water and food to citizens waiting in line for hours to vote. A container ship has been lodged in the Suez Canal since Tuesday, blocking one of the world's biggest trade channels and costing an estimated $14 million in revenue per day. Comedian Jensen Karp and Cinnamon Toast Crunch are locked in a PR battle over whether a box of cereal contained shrimp tails or crystallized cinnamon-sugar.

The world reached 127.4 million COVID cases and 2.8 million deaths this week; the U.S. accounted for 30.9 million cases and 562,000 deaths. 91.7 million or 28 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of the vaccine (including Aunt Katherine – who had to explore Maryland's panhandle in order to get it) with 50.1 million or 15 percent of the country being fully vaccinated. Having already reached his goal of 100 million doses in his first 100 days in office 59 days in, President Biden has raised the goal to 200 million vaccinations by the 100 day deadline. Allen and I are scheduled to receive our first doses next week.

For us, this week signaled the start of Spring, complete with cherry blossoms, some lovely meals outside, socially-distant playdates for Nora and her friends, and the purchase of National's tickets for Allen and Owen, who if everything goes as planned, will actually attend a baseball game in-person next month.

Hopefully.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 53 (A New Hope)

This week, a man walked into three spas in Atlanta and killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent. Atlanta police claimed that the killings were not a hate crime but rather because the shooter was a sex addict having a "bad day." Given there have been 3,800 anti-Asian racist incidents in the U.S. this past year, the actual motivations of the killer are less clear. Meanwhile in DC, an armed gunman was arrested outside of Vice-President Kamala Harris's residence. Following Joe Manchin's statement that he was open to reforms of the filibuster, President Biden echoed his support, triggering Senator Mitch McConnell to vow a scorched earth policy if any reforms are adopted. Rep. Jimmy Gomez introduced a resolution to expel Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for advocating violence against other House members, the Speaker and the government in general. The Biden administration is facing criticism for its response to a surge in migrants at the Southern border and a record-number of unaccompanied minors being held for more than 72 hours in government detention facilities. The NCAA tournament began this week, but the games were largely overshadowed by complaints of the disparities between female and male athletes' amenities.

The world reached 123.4 million COVID cases and 2.7 million deaths this week. The U.S. accounted for 30.5 million cases and 555,000 deaths. There have been 118 million doses given in the U.S. and 41.9 million persons (12.8 percent of the populations) have been fully vaccinated, including Grandpa and Grandma Z. Clinical trials of Moderna for kids 6-months to 12 years have begun. The CDC announced that schools can now space students 3 feet rather than 6 feet apart (DCPS has not yet responded to the announcement).

But for us the big event was that Owen started in-person school this week. Well, sort of. He has 3.5 hours of cello instruction (sectionals, orchestra and technique) at Duke on Monday afternoons, which means at noon we have to take his temperature, drive him to Georgetown, wait until he is admitted to school, drive home and then pick him up three and a half hours later. It means he misses one of his English classes and we have to take leave from work, but it felt totally worth it for Owen to actually get to interact with his fellow musicians in person.

Otherwise, it was pandemic as usual for us. We hiked with First Day School at the Friends' Wilderness Center in Harpers Ferry, WV; toasted St. Patrick; had a zoom recital for Owen; and hosted the Telfair-Chas for a (chilly) socially distant dinner. But while most of the week had a familiar rhythm to it, there was still an undercurrent that just maybe, a change is gonna come.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 52 (525,600 minutes = 546,600 deaths)

This week President Biden signed the COVID stimulus bill into law, which includes $1,400 payments to individuals, extension of jobless benefits, and a child tax credit estimated to reduce child poverty by half. Household have already begun receiving payments through direct deposit (things move a lot faster when you don't insist on branding government disbursements). A majority of New York state's legislator and its two Senators have called for Governor Andrew Cuomo to step down in light of multiple sexual harassment claims. The city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to George Floyd's family to settle their wrongful death claim. Oprah Winfrey's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle which discussed treatment of the couple and their child by the British Royal family, including questions regarding their son's skin color, was broadcast this week. The Queen responded that the issues raised were concerning, but would be addressed by the family privately.

The Pandemic turned one year old this week, which the President commemorated by addressing the nation. The total number of cases this week reached 120.0 million with 2.7 million deaths worldwide. The U.S. accounted for 30.0 million cases and 547,000 deaths. More than 101.1 million vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S. to 19.9 percent of the total population. 10.3 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated. Yo-Yo Ma received his second dose and then promptly performed for others waiting at the vaccination cite. 

This week we mostly focused on having the work completed for the deck (with a few more punch list items for this week) and actually getting to use it (and gather with family) as the temperatures hit 70 degrees (and then went down to 50 – good thing I got a Solo Stove for Christmas). We also got in some walks, a bike ride and even a protest (#Don'tFenceDC). But we also marked the anniversary of quarantine by remembering the last things we did before it hit. For Nora it was the DC Honor Chorus concert; for Owen it was his final interview for high school and his friend Adam's 14th birthday dinner. We couldn't really do much about Nora's memory, but Owen got to have a socially distant meet-up for Adam's 15th birthday, and on Monday he finally gets to set foot in his high school (for three hours of cello instruction in the middle of the day), which makes us hope things might get back to normal soon.

Just not soon enough...

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 51 ( Same Old, Same Old)

The Senate passed its $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill, after a nine-hour delay in order to negotiate a compromise with Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), to reduce unemployment benefits' size and duration. No republicans voted for the bill. The relief bill did not include a $15 minimum wage, after eight Democrats voted to exclude it from the package, including Senator Krysten Sinema (D-AZ), who punctuated her vote with a thumbs down signal, having previously advocated for a $15 minimum wage back in 2014. President Biden announced that having reached an agreement with Merck to help Johnson & Johnson produce its one shot vaccine, the U.S. is now on track to have vaccine supply for every adult in the America by the end of May. Meanwhile, Texas and Mississippi announced they were ending statewide mask mandates and fully reopening, generating criticism from health experts. The Senate held hearings on the January 6th attack on the Capitol; the rumored March 4th attack on the Capitol to re-install the previous president didn't occur. Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy was found guilty of bribing a magistrate. Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced they would cease publishing six of the author's early works, due to their negative depiction of Asian- and African-Americans. This sparked cries of "cancel culture" culminating in Minority leader Kevin McCarthy posting a video of himself reading, Green Eggs and Ham, which is not one of the books the Seuss estate decided to stop publishing. 

The world reached 117.1 million COVID cases and 2.6 million deaths this week. The U.S. accounted for 29.7 million of these cases and 537,000 deaths. The U.S. is now administering 2 million shots a day with 16.7 percent of the population having received at least one dose and 8.6 percent having been fully vaccinated. Mom Mom got her first vaccine dose this week. So did Dolly Parton, who helped fund development of the Moderna vaccine and posted a PSA to encourage others to get theirs, including a parody of her song, Jolene, 

Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,
I'm begging of you please don't hesitate
Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,
'cause once you're dead then that's a bit too late 

For us it was mostly a normal week. Grandpa Fawcett flew for the first time in over a year as he headed off to Texas to visit Jacqui. Work on the backyard recommenced with the hope that they'll soon finish our decks and we'll be able to enjoy the great outdoors as the weather warms up. The Capitol is still surrounded by barbed wire and the National Guard. DCPS held its spring conferences this week, during which we discussed the possibility of Owen returning to school one afternoon a week for in-person cello instruction. We're still mulling it over.

But mostly, we just reminisced about what the world was like a year ago before it all changed, and whether it would be changing back anytime soon.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 50 (To suffer fifty weeks of the year...)

This week, President Biden ordered flags flown at half mast this week in honor of the 500,000 that have died in the U.S. from COVID. The House passed its $1.9 trillion COVID-relief package, despite every republican and 2 democrats voting against it. The Senate Parliamentarian ruled that a minimum wage increase could not be passed through budget reconciliation. The Senate held confirmation hearings for the first transgender nominee. President Biden ordered airstrikes against Syria in response to rocket attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq. Despite a declassified intelligence report stating that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman directly approved the brutal murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the U.S. will not directly sanction the Prince. The state of Virginia voted to abolish the death penalty. Golfer Tiger Woods suffered multiple injuries from a car accident in LA. Conservative outrage erupted when Hasbro announced it was dropping the "Mr." from its Potato Head brand to be more inclusive.

The total number of COVID cases reached 114.4 million this week as well as 2.5 million deaths, with the U.S. accounting for 29.2 million cases and 525,000 deaths. More than 70 million vaccine doses have been administered in the U.S. reaching 14.2 percent of the population. That includes Grandpa and Grandma Z, who got their first does this week and Grandpa Don, who got his second. Ghana was the first country to receive doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through a United Nations initiative. Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, which requires only one dose and can be stored in a regular refrigerator, has been approved for emergency use by the FDA.

We had a pretty quiet week. The cold snap abated and so we managed to venture out a bit, at which point we realized Owen's feet had grown 3.5 sizes since September and quickly ordered new shoes. Nora and I belatedly delivered Valentine cookies and unicorn keychains to some of her friends. We met up with the Telfair-Chas as the Arboretum in order to visit the only Capitol columns we can get to these days, since the barricade erected after the January 6th insurrection is still up 53 days later. And then we headed up to Katherine's for a lovely family dinner before Grandpa Fawcett flew off to Texas (which is now a balmy 76 degrees), roughly one year after he originally planned to visit Jacqui there.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 49 (Polar Expressed)

The polar vortex turned deadly this week as several states suffered freezing temperatures, power outages, and water supplies were turned off. Texas was hit particularly hard, as it famously has an independent power grid (which means it can't use power from neighboring states when its sources are down) and a largely unregulated energy sector resulting in much of its power sources not being weatherized for historic lows. Governor Greg Abbott and several republican congresspeople oddly blamed the "Green New Deal" (which hasn't been enacted) as the cause of the suffering, arguing that frozen wind turbines in the state failed to deliver the necessary power. But as wind only accounts for 10 percent of Texas energy, they were later forced to acknowledge that frozen gas lines and coal-fired power lines that had not been fully winterized were the primary culprits. President Biden declared much of the state a disaster, allowing it access to federal aid as the Texas Insurance Council estimates claims from the event would exceed that from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. 

In the midst of it all, Senator Ted Cruz left the state with his wife and children for an impromptu trip to Cancun, Mexico to escape the cold. During a Pandemic. Once news of Cruz's departure leaked, he claimed that the trip was at the behest of his daughters and he was simply dropping them off before returning the next day to help the good people of Texas. His itinerary, a group chat of his wife's, and his staff appeared to disagree.

Meanwhile, Perseverance landed on the surface of Mars. The U.S. officially rejoined the Paris Agreement. The Trump Plaza Casino in Atlantic City, NJ was demolished. Rush Limbaugh died. 

The world reached 111.6 million COVID cases and 2.5 million deaths this week. The U.S. accounted for 28.7 million cases and 510,000 deaths. COVID infections actually fell 16 percent world-wide and 23 percent in the U.S. this week. 12.6 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and 5.1 percent of the population has received both doses.

But while much of the country hunkered down amid the freezing temperatures and power losses, Allen embraced it. He and the rest of the  "Quaking Quakers" met at the Meeting House to don their swimsuits, pour ice buckets on each other and raised over $14,000 to support the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and #KeepWinterCold. Afterwards, Nora and I made gnocchi to warm Allen back up -- hopefully a warm front will do so for the rest of the country.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 48 (Less than Noble Gasses)

This week the Senate held the second Impeachment Trial of Donald Trump. Democrats linked Trump's incendiary rhetoric encouraging supporters to attack his opponents, his refuted claims of election fraud and his statement that he was going to march with the mob to the Capitol to "stop the steal" as inciting the insurrection on January 6th. They presented a video timeline of events that day, new footage of Capitol Police officers leading Senator Mitt Romney away from the mob and potentially saving his life, and argued that by failing to convict Trump, Senators would be granting a "January exception," where lame-duck Presidents could act in their final month of office with impunity. Republicans argued that Trump's speech before the riot was "ordinary political rhetoric," that Trump had adamantly denounced the rioters, and then presented a video montage of Democrats advocating "fighting back," which, they argued, mirrored the language of Trump. On the final day of the trial, new details emerged involving a phone call where House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy asked Trump to call off the rioters and Trump declined. In response, the Senate voted to allow witnesses be called, but then opted instead to merely have statements read into the record. In the end, the Senate failed to secure the two-thirds necessary to convict the President, with only seven republicans voting against Trump, 57 to 43.  Afterwards, Mitch McConnell addressed the Senate and declared, despite having just voted to acquit him, that Trump was "practically and morally responsible" for provoking the events of January 6th. 

In other news, a hacking attempt to poison the water supply of Oldsmar, FL was thwarted when staff quickly noticed the levels of lye had increased to 100 times their normal levels. Most of the U.S. was subject to severe winter storms due to a collapsed polar vortex resulting in freezing temperatures, dramatic snow fall and ice storms. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by 43 year old Tom Brady, won the Super Bowl. Hustler publisher and noted First Amendment advocate Larry Flynt died. 

The world reached 109.2 million total COVID cases and 2.4 million deaths this week, of which the U.S. accounted for 28.2 million cases and 496,000 deaths. 36.4 million Americans have now received at least one does of the vaccine and this week Grandpa Fawcett got his second. In addition, the Biden administration reported that it had purchased an additional 200 million vaccine doses.

The kids and Allen gathered at the Meeting House on Sunday to measure methane gas levels in the neighborhood. Using their trusty gas sniffer, First Day School detected a leak of over 50,000 ppm (CH4 atmospheric concentrations are 1.8 ppm), which is above the explosion threshold. They immediately reported the leak to Washington Gas, who promised to investigate, and then headed back to the Meeting House for warm apple cider. Allen was supposed to have his Polar Bear Plunge this week, but ironically, it was postponed due to inclement weather. I ventured into work for the first time in eleven months in order to renew my ID badge and retrieve some personal items (including candy). The whole experience felt a little post-apocalyptical, which probably wasn't helped by having to navigate the new barriers and armed National Guard along my commute all while the Impeachment trial was being broadcast outside of Union Station.

But it was at least reassuring to see that my office still exists, even if the Office I was part of no longer does (it was disbanded in July).

(To see all of this weeks pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 47 (Happy 46th)

The House stripped Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Green of her committee assignments this week, after videos emerged of her calling for Nancy Pelosi's death, harassing school shooting survivors, claiming the Pentagon wasn't attacked on 9/11, and posting that the California wildfires were caused by Jewish space lasers clearing the way for high speed rail. Congress passed the budget plan for Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, though the final legislation will likely exclude the increase to minimum wage. President Biden declared that Trump should not receive classified intelligence briefings. Smartmatic, filed a $2.7 billion lawsuit for defamation regarding its election technology naming Fox News, its anchors, Rudy Guiliani, and Sidney Powell among others.  Newly sworn-in Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg became the first openly gay, Senate-confirmed cabinet member. A coup took place in Myanmar after its military seized control of the democratically elected government. Russian sentenced opposition leader Alexei Navalny to two years in prison for violating his probation while recovering from a poison gas attack. Hal Holbrook, Christopher Plummer, and Dustin Diamond (Screech from Saved by the Bell) died. 

The world reached a total of 106.3 million COVID cases and 2.3 million deaths this week. The U.S. hit 27.5 million cases and 474,000 deaths. The U.S. reached 2.1 million vaccines administered in a single day with nearly 10 percent of Americans having received the first dose. Meanwhile, Soul Cycle faced a backlash after one of its premier instructors bragged on social media about receiving the vaccine in New York because she was an "educator." Russia's Sputnik vaccine has demonstrated a 92 percent protection against COVID-19 in its trials.

For us, the big event this week was Allen's birthday. As a special present, the District's two-year snow draught finally ended after back-to-back storms resulted in over four inches of snow in DC (we're expecting even more this weekend). DCPS, which was scheduled to begin limited in-person learning on Monday (our kids are still all-virtual), delayed the start a day and implemented a 2-hour delay even for remote school on Tuesday. Allen, who is scheduled to participate in a Polar Bear Plunge next week to raise money for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, used the optics to promote the fundraiser (to donate, click here). Mom Mom baked Allen's favorite childhood dessert, a pineapple upside-down cake (he was a special kid), and dropped it off on his birthday eve. On his actual birthday, Grandpa Fawcett and the kids had take-out from Ben's before Allen and I had a lovely dinner from Rose's at Home, which was even lovelier after they gave us a couple of bottles of wine for Allen's birthday after a minor delivery snafu (who knew there would be multiple birthday dinner orders requested by Zimmermans in the DC metro area on the same night).

Hopefully, it's all a sign of better things to come.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 46 (The Razor's Edge)

This week the Senate resolved its power-sharing agreement when two Democrats reiterated their refusal to end the filibuster.  Mitch McConnell and 44 other republicans voted to scrap Trump's impeachment trial, claiming it was unconstitutional to impeach a former president, despite having delayed the trial until his term ended. Meanwhile, five of Trump's defense lawyers quit a little over a week before the trial is set to begin. Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was confirmed as the first female Treasury Secretary. President Biden reversed the ban of transgender people serving in the armed forces. Senate Democrats reintroduced a bill for DC Statehood. After an online Reddit forum flagged that GameStop stock was being shorted by a hedge fund, share prices increased by more than 400 percent, bankrupting the hedge fund and resulting in online trading platforms restricting trading of GameStop shares and calls for the SEC to address market manipulation. Protests erupted in Russia after the arrest of opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. Cloris Leachman and Cicely Tyson both died.

The world reached 103.1 million COVID cases and 2.2 million deaths this week of which the U.S. accounted for 26.7 million of the cases and 450,000 of the deaths. Johnson & Johnson announced their single-shot vaccine was 66 percent effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19. DC started vaccinating teachers as it begins reopening for in-person learning next week (our kids are staying virtual). Budweiser announced that in lieu of advertisements, it would use airtime during the Superbowl to broadcast a 90-second spot on COVID vaccine awareness. California has reversed its stay-at-home order. Meanwhile, rioting broke out in the Netherlands after the government imposed a national curfew.

We got back to work (though we can't physically get to work with all of the added security measures). Allen was appointed to the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases. He cut hair. He did taxes. I reposted all the research that the last administration removed from the agency's website. The kids finished their first full semester of social distancing. Nora crafted key chains for her BFFs. Owen started back with the Earth Treks climbing team. 

It felt good to occupy ourselves in a productive way, even though the city is still occupied by National Guardsman and arrests continue to be made of insurrectionist, including one 71-year old found by the Rayburn House Office Building with 20-rounds of ammunition. Someday, maybe we'll get to venture out again too.  

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 45 (Welcoming #46)

Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. became the 46th President of the United States this week. It was a different kind of inauguration – with a lot more National Guard due to the recent insurrection, and a lot fewer people due to the same (plus COVID). The outgoing president declined to attend and instead left the city at 8:00 in the morning, as DC collectively sighed in relief. Attendees were more spaced which made it easier to make individuals out (and resulted in a flurry of memes involving Bernie Sanders). The traditional crowd of observers were replaced with American flags and beacons of light. The speeches were shorter, which made them seem all the weightier. In his 20 minute speech, Biden spoke about unity and civility, but he also reprimanded those that would not defend truth. He called for tolerance and humility, and he reminded the masses that,

here's the thing about life: There's no accounting for what fate will deal you. There are some days when we need a hand. There are other days when we're called on to lend one. That's how it has to be. That's what we do for one another. And if we are this way, our country will be stronger, more prosperous, more ready for the future.

There was the swearing in of the first female Vice President, Kamala Harris by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. There was a moment of silence for the 400,000 Americans that had died of COVID.  There was the performance of the stirring poem, The Hill We Climb, written by Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, after the mob stormed the Capitol just two weeks before. And there was much rejoicing (and a crazy amount of fireworks).

On his first day, President Biden signed Executive Orders to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement, rejoin the World Health Organization (with Dr. Anthony Fauci as the representative), cancel the Keystone Pipeline, include non-citizens in the Census, end the Muslim ban, and extend a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures as well as pause student loan payments and interest. The next day he issued one to ensure protections against discrimination for gay and transgendered people in schools, healthcare, and the workplace.

Meanwhile, during the week of the anniversary of the first reported COVID case in the U.S., the world reached 99.3 million COVID cases and 2.1 million deaths this week. The total number of U.S. cases hit 25.6 million with 428,000 death. The new Biden Administration discovered they inherited from their predecessor a non-existent COVID vaccine distribution plan. Despite this, the U.S. has finally started doling out 1.1 million doses of the vaccine per day.

We spent the week at the beach with the Telfair-Chas, after deciding we all needed a psychic break and a little distance from everything that was happening at home. The first part of the week was spent exploring Jockey's Ridge and Pea Island with some hot-tubbing and polar bear plunges (as well as cocktails for good measure) thrown in. There was baking, long walks on the beach and general merriment. On Wednesday, we watched and celebrated the peaceful transfer of power (in a not entirely "peaceful" manner).  By Thursday we were back to work and school, with a renewed sense of purpose (and a lot to do). Then on Saturday we drove back to DC as they removed most of the fences and barricades that the week had required.

And while we're not completely back to normal here, it feels like something like normal is finally possible. And just maybe, something even better.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 44 (Waiting to Exhale)

This week, the House impeached Trump for the second time, with 10 Republicans, including the Conference Chair, Lynn Cheney, voting for impeachment. The Senate will not schedule a vote on removal until after Biden has been inaugurated. Three members contracted COVID after they had to shelter-in-place with other members that refused to don masks. A Capitol Police Officer committed suicide following the insurrection. GAO and the IG of the Capitol Police are opening investigations as to whether any members were complicit in the mob attack. Up to 25,000 National Guardsmen are to be deployed in DC due to additional threats of violence during the transfer of power. In addition to the Capitol, the Supreme Court and the National Mall have been fenced off and closed to visitors. Streets within four blocks of the Capitol are closed to traffic and residents of the cordoned off streets require proof to enter the area. Four bridges between DC and Virginia have been closed. Airbnb has cancelled all reservations in the DC metro area. 14 Metro stations will be closed. Members of Congress are now required to go through metal detectors in order to enter the House Floor (multiple members have ignored the mandate). Twitter blocked 70,000 QAnon accounts resulting in conservatives leaders complaining about lost followers. Parler, the social media site used to plan much of the insurrection, has been effectively banned, with Amazon refusing to host its website and Apple and Google removing the app from their app stores.

In other news, the former Governor of Michigan and eight others are criminally charged for the Flint water crisis. New England Patriots' Coach Bill Belichick declined to receive from Trump the Presidential Medal of Freedom. President-elect Biden revealed his $1.9 trillion Covid relief package. The NRA declared bankruptcy. Alabama beat Ohio State for the National Championship.

There have been 95.0 million COVID-19 cases worldwide and over 2.0 million deaths. This week the U.S. reached 24.3 million cases and 405,000 deaths. The more contagious strain of COVID has reached the DC area, resulting in a spike in cases.

And Grandpa Fawcett got his first round of the vaccine.

For the last week we've essentially been living in a war zone without many bright spots in these dark, dark days. But on Monday, Allen somehow managed to schedule a vaccine appointment for John, and by 2:30 that afternoon, he'd had his first inoculation. John's not immune (yet) and he still needs the second shot, but it's a relief that in a month he'll be fully vaccinated.

But in the meantime, we thought it best to leave town before then next incursion starts...

Pandemic, Week 43 (So this is the new year...)

I'm not really sure where to begin. On Sunday of this week, the Washington Post released a transcript of an hour-long phone call between Trump and Georgia election officials where he asked them "to find 11,780 votes" and suggested that if they didn't find ballots that Trump (erroneously) claimed had been destroyed, they would be subject to criminal investigations. The phone call was recorded by Georgia officials because, "Lindsey Graham asked us to throw out legally cast ballots... So yeah, after that call we decided maybe we should [record Trump's call]."

Monday Trump headed to Georgia for a final rally before the state's run-off election where he reiterated false election claims and questioned the trust worthiness of Georgia's election officials. The following day, Georgia elected Democrats Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, resulting in Democrats gaining control of the Senate.

On Wednesday, both the House and Senate convened to certify the electoral vote count, while Trump supporters gathered on the National Mall, ostensibly to protest the results. Trump addressed them from the White House, calling the election results an egregious assault on democracy, noting, "You will never take back our country with weakness," and urging the crowd to "walk down to the Capitol" and protest the "stolen election." So they did. During debate regarding the validity of Arizona's election results prompted by nine Senators and more than 50 Representatives challenging their electoral votes, a mob formed on the steps of the Capitol. By 2 pm they had broken through the barricades and forced their way inside the building (with perhaps less resistance from Capitol Police than you would imagine). The Confederate flag was waved in the Capitol halls. Tear gas was released in the Capitol Rotunda. Shots were fired. A gallows was erected in front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool. The Vice President (who was overseeing certification) was whisked away by Secret Service while rioters chanted, "Hang Mike Pence!" Members of Congress were taken to a safe location while the insurrectionist took over the House floor and Speaker Pelosi's office. The National Guard was eventually sent in (DC Mayor Muriel Bowser requested their presence earlier, but because DC isn't a state, the Defense Department had to approve the request, and their approval was delayed). Pipe bombs and a cooler of Molotov cocktails were found (and safely detonated) at the Capitol complex, the RNC and the DNC. Around 6 pm, the mob was escorted out of the building, just as a curfew for the city was set to begin.

Five people died, including one police officer. 55 officers were injured. 68 people were arrested. Congress reconvened where they continued to debate the legitimacy of the election results (though a few members did change their position after the events of the day, 147 members still voted to overturn the election) until finally certifying Biden's Electoral College victory around 4 am. Trump's Twitter and Facebook accounts were suspended for the remainder of his term. A seven foot, non-scalable fence surrounding the Capitol has been erected. Secretary of Transportation (and Mitch McConnell's spouse) Elaine Chao resigned; so did Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Senator Josh Hawley lost his book deal. The FBI set up a "tip line" to help identify the rioters which included state legislators and the police. After Mike Pence refused to call for the 25th Amendment, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler called for Articles of Impeachment to bypass his committee and go directly to the House floor. Trump finally conceded his election loss.

And all the while, COVID raged on. The world hit 90.1 million COVID cases and 1.9 million deaths. The U.S. reached 22.7 million cases (including Congressman Jake LaTurner, who received his results after he voted on the House floor) and 381,000 deaths – including more than 4,000 people that died on Thursday alone. 6.7 million people in the U.S. have received at least an initial dose of the vaccine, far less than the official goal of 20 million by the end of 2020.

We stayed home. The kids started back virtual learning. Allen and I worked while watching coverage of the attempted coup. And we were all very, very sad at what an irrational mob was doing blocks from our house to an institution we hold dear, one week into 2021.

Pandemic, Week 42 (Good Riddance, 2020)

This week Congress overrode Trump's veto on the Defense Bill.  Treasury Secretary Mnuchin announced that $600 Covid Relief would begin to go out this week, while Senate Democrats attempted to force a vote on a House bill (which had passed with a 2/3 majority) to increase the payments to $2,000 (as requested by Trump). Mitch McConnell blocked all attempts for a vote. A federal judge threw out Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert's lawsuit seeking to allow Mike Pence to interfere with the Electoral College count by excluding certain states (Pence had independently requested the judge to reject the case). Meanwhile, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has vowed to object to the Electoral Count which will result in each member of Congress having to vote as to whether Joe Biden is the legitimate President. 11 other Senators have vowed to join him and request a 10-day audit.

The world reached 85.0 million Covid cases this week and 1.8 million deaths as the U.S. hit 20.9 million cases and 359,000 deaths. A pharmacist from the Milwaukee area was arrested after intentionally leaving out the equivalent of over 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine in order to render them ineffective. Newly elected Rep. Luke Letlow from Louisiana died of COVID. He was 41 years old.

We spent the week recovering from our Christmas celebrations (while opening a few more presents) and saying farewell to the year that must not be named. We reconvened our bubble (plus Lee) at Katherine and Lees to celebrate the official passing of time. Per usual, there were a lot of games (Owen won the point total but we decided the prize was better suited to Lee), crowdsourcing of a gingerbread house competition, a socially distant visit from Billy (which turned into a PSA for pitbull adoption), food, and adult beverages. But in the waning minutes of 2020, Katherine asked us all to reflect on the year. We talked about all that had passed – illness, death, police brutality, systemic racism, the rejection of science, and the politicizing of seemingly everything. But we also talked about what we hoped to strive for going forward. Katherine asked for everyone to share one word they wanted to focus on in the next year and then commemorated the words on bracelets. We collectively came up with hugs, peace, love, forgive, health, Afrocentric, reach, imagine, better, slow and open.

And then we welcomed 2021 (and bludgeoned our metaphorical 2020 stand-in).

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.) 

Pandemic, Week 41 (Eyes on the Prize)

On Monday of this week, Congress passed the FY2021 omnibus spending package which also included COVID relief including supplemental unemployment insurance, financial assistance for at-risk renters and a moratorium on federal evictions, an increase in SNAP food supports, vaccine distribution monies, funding for colleges, schools and childcare centers to open safely, and a one time $600 direct payment for individuals and children. On Tuesday, Trump indicated that he might veto the bill unless the direct payments increased to $2,000 per person and "wasteful and unnecessary items" were removed from the bill. He also vetoed the defense authorization bill. He then left to spend the holidays in Florida while House Democrats worked to pass a new bill with the $2,000 payments and both houses worked to override his veto. Trump pardoned an additional 26 people this week, including Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner's father, Charles, and the four Blackwater guards involved in the 2007 Iraq massacre.  On Christmas morning, a bomb exploded in downtown Nashville. The President has yet to respond.

The world reached 80.7 million COVID-19 cases this week and 1.8 million deaths. The U.S. hit 19.4 million cases and 340,000 deaths. More people were vaccinated this week including front line workers and some members of Congress. A new variant of the disease that is as much as 70 percent more contagious has emerged and is resulting in travel bans from the U.K.

But we were in our Christmas bubble at the beach and were largely oblivious to all that. Once we were finally free from work and school obligations (though Owen, who has a lot of late assignments, may never truly be free...), we were able to focus on more relaxing endeavors: Allen and I had contemplative walks on the beach; Nora recorded what is likely her final Camp Shenanigans Podcast, The Forest Mansion (she plays Mother Nature); and Owen worked on becoming something of a pool shark. His new skill set (plus some bonus points for cello performances) resulted in Owen winning the highly contested 2020 Pineapple Prize. 

After an extended award ceremony, we packed up our stuff, tried to kick the keg (so close...) and mentally prepared ourselves to return to reality the next day.

We Need a Little Christmas (OBX XMAS 2020)

We generally spend odd Christmas years in Iowa and even ones in DC, but since this was the oddest year of all, we decided back in September that this would be the perfect chance to celebrate the holidays at the beach. In a big, fancy, heavily discounted house. With an expanded pod to include Nancy and Danny and Adrienne. And lots and lots of alcohol. Because, you know, pandemic.

So we looked up big fancy places in the Outer Banks, and after some lobbying by Allen and the kids, selected the Pineapple House (which had the superior kitchen and windows, plus nine bedrooms for eleven people). We packed and baked and prepped for a solid week's worth of meals (which for Katherine included roasting two entire turkeys), games (which for Katherine meant bags and bags of them), and adult beverages (which for Katherine necessitated also bringing her trusty breathalyzer).

We arrived on Sunday and spent most of the afternoon and evening unpacking and getting the lay of the land. Monday the kids had school and we had work, but we all managed to finish early enough to get in character for a game of LARP Clue, where Professor Plum eventually deduced that it was Madame Rose in the Studio with the wrench, while Miss Peach screamed about the murder of her long lost step-uncle/lover (resulting in the loss of Katherine's voice for the remainder of the trip) and Mrs. White talked smack about everyone.

On Tuesday Adrienne arrived and the clouds parted which meant that the fun could really start and we could belatedly catch the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.

On Wednesday we celebrated the Newfoundland tradition of Tibb's Eve, "the day you get drunk and celebrate Christmas with all your friends before having to spend time with your family." Our celebration included ketchup chips and other Northern treats; questionable fashion choices; a Canadien Pandora station; crackers; a zoom call with Adrienne's mom, Brenda, and Nancy and Danny's child, Keegan; toilet paper races; pie cake; and a polar bear plunge followed by a dip in the hot tub. After that it gets fuzzy.

Christmas Eve was a balmy 67 degrees, so Allen and I enjoyed a long, walk on the beach before prepping dinner, which due to Katherine's aforementioned surfeit of turkey, meant changing our planned menu of Rick Bayless's Sweet and Smoky Pork Chops with Tomato-Chipotle Sauce, to "Great After-Thanksgiving Turkey Enchiladas." No one seemed to mind. We had Cranberry Tom Collins for the cocktail hour with entertainment provided by Owen's Instrumental Music concert and Nora's DCYOP concert (her ensemble starts at 12:29). Dinner was followed by White Elephant (and some other non-sanctioned) presents, the traditional Christmas Eve flan, and a number of games (bridge, shuffleboard, pool, marbles, puzzling, etc) as we competed for the Pineapple Prize. Then it got fuzzy, again...

Christmas morning started with a lovely brunch of Virginia sausage and biscuits, eggs, and maybe a few too many Blood Marys. There was a lot of games of bridge and pool during the afternoon, and a number of family zoom calls including with all the Zimmermans, but it was generally quiet before we got dressed for dinner. Happy hour (which was more happy for some than others) included a holiday performance by Owen and Nora (with some interpretive dance from Katherine and Adrienne). Dinner was an amazing beef tenderloin with peppercorn sauce, Brussels sprouts with cranberries, Santa Fe potatoes, crescent rolls, and salad followed by a white chocolate with apricot filling cake that Mom Mom and Nora had made.

The official present exchange, for which we had each chosen a name that was not from our household, was held after dinner. We'd originally planned to exempt the kids but they begged to be part of it, which is how Grandpa Don came to receive a very special gift from Nora – her first (self-published) book. He really, really liked it.

There was a bit more frivolity, but not as much as previous nights (some people enjoyed the Bloody Marys at brunch a bit too much...). And so by midnight we'd wished a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night (and then took the next day to recover...).

(To see all of our Christmas beach pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 40 (It's a Pandemic!)

On Monday, the Electoral College elected Joe Biden President of the United States. Shortly after, Bill Barr announced he was stepping down as Attorney General effective December 23rd. Joe Biden nominated his former opponent and mayor of South Bend, IN, Pete Buttigieg, for Secretary of Transportation and picked Allen's former boss, Gina McCarthy, for domestic climate czar. Congress is still working to finalize a $900 billion, second COVID stimulus package tied to a funding bill ahead of a government shutdown, with democrats objecting to a republican provision that Federal Reserve emergency lending facilities be terminated by December 31, 2020, and republicans voicing concerns about the debt. The government recently discovered that at least six agencies were breached by Russian hackers back in March, including the Homeland Security, Energy and Treasury Departments. The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed arguing that Dr. Jill Biden, Ed.D, should not be able to use her title because she hasn't delivered a baby. DC had its first winter snow (though it didn't stick).

In this 40th week of the pandemic (the equivalent of a human gestational period), the world hit 76.6 million COVID cases and 1.7 million deaths while the U.S. reached 18.1 million cases and 323,000 deaths. The FDA authorized use of the Moderna vaccine in addition to the Pfizer one. Mike Pence, Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell and Surgeon General Jerome Adams all received their first dose of the vaccination. Emails surfaced from this summer with a top Trump's science advisor advocating a policy to encourage kids and young people to acquire the infection in order to reach herd immunity. The Trump administration has denied that such a policy was under consideration.

This week was all over the place for us. It was 60 degrees on Sunday, so we had the Telfair-Chas over for a socially-distant brunch. Later, Nora performed in a remote viola recital and then we had a cookie decorating contest (thanks to Jimmy and Merrily!). Grandpa lost (with Allen as a close second). Nora won.

Nora took her cookie-decorating title to Mom Moms for a marathon baking session (and a sleepover). When she got back, there was some work on Nora's science fair project, followed by a whole lot of work on the house as we had the siding and the back door replaced (soon to be followed by the decks next week). Nora's project was a lot quieter.

Which is why it's great that we're headed to the beach...

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 39 (A Different Kind of Tea)

By Wednesday of this week, all 50 states had certified their election results, formalizing the projection that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. Subsequently, on Friday, the Supreme Court rejected the Texas Attorney General's petition to void 20 million votes from four states (that doesn't include Texas) in order to overturn Joe Biden's win. The Texas case was supported by 17 other state Attorney Generals as well as 106 republican members of Congress. Its loss culminated in another "Million MAGA March" involving a few thousand people protesting the election results. The federal government and 46 states filed anti-trusts suits against Facebook this week, regarding its acquisition of Instagram and WhatApp. Hunter Biden announced that he is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney for tax fraud. Congress passed a Continuing Resolution or CR to keep the government open for another week. The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed objecting to Dr. Jill Biden, Ed.D using the title "Doctor," instead referring to her as "kiddo" and suggesting she instead use "Madame First Lady." Chuck Yeager, who broke the sound barriers in 1947 using an X-1 aircraft, died.

This week the world reached a total of 72.1 million COVID cases and 1.6 million deaths. The U.S. hit 16.5 million total cases and 305,000 deaths. Great Britain began administering the Pfizer vaccine and its first recipients included a man named William Shakespeare. The FDA finally approved the Pfizer vaccine and vaccinations in the U.S. are expected to begin Monday. Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell refused to bring a $900 billion bipartisan COVID-19 relief package to the floor for a vote because republican senators don't support $160 billion in aid to state and local governments.

This week we worked on Christmas cards and Christmas presents and Christmas goodies. We planned our costumes for a Pineapple House LARP game of Clue over the holiday as part of our quest for the Pineapple Prize. We worked on science projects and science homework. We even modeled the official t-shirt for H.A.N.A. (the not-so-secret society of Harper, Anais, Nora and Audrey). But the most important event of this week, was our annual tea with Jacqui. Normally we linger longer and the outing doesn't involve masks, but given this is 2020, we took what we could get (and did so abiding by all safety precautions). While it wasn't quite the same as previous years and it was a little weird eating inside an establishment (we haven't done that since March), it was really nice to be able to celebrate what has become a treasured tradition. 

Now I just need to get tested...

(To see all of this week's photos, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 38 (It's Beginning to Look...)

President-elect Joe Biden fractured his foot this week while playing with his dog. Biden also revealed his pick for Treasury Secretary – former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. It was revealed that the Justice Department investigated a potential presidential pardon bribery scheme back in August. Separately, Trump has discussed with his advisors blanket pardons for his three eldest children and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. Ivanka Trump was deposed by DC Attorney General Karl Racine for an investigation into misuse of inaugural funds in 2017. Trump headed to Georgia for a rally for Senators Loeffler and Perdue, and to pressure Georgia's governor to convince state legislators to overturn Biden's win. Meanwhile, Attorney General Bill Barr announced that the Justice Department had uncovered no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the election. A new blood test is being released for people over age 60 to test for Alzheimer's disease. Elliott Page, the former star of the indie film, Juno, came out as a transgender man. Warner Bros. announced that all 2021 movies would be released to HBO Max for streaming the same day they hit theaters. David Lander who played Squiggy in Laverne & Shirley, died.

The world reached 66.9 million COVID cases this week and 1.5 million deaths. The U.S. hit 15.0 million cases and 288,000 deaths. Great Britain approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for distribution starting next week. The CDC recommended that Phase 1a inoculations would include front-line health care workers and adults living in long-term care facilities. Both Allen and John received negatives COVID tests (we figured they could be our household representatives to make sure we didn't pick up any unintended souvenirs from Iowa).

But for us, this week marked the beginning of the Christmas season. We decorated the house, drafted our Christmas letter, and started addressing our Christmas cards. Mom Mom and Grandpa Don swung by for dinner and to check out our tree. Jacqui flew in from Texas for our annual holiday tea, complete with her face shield, mask, a negative test result, and a lot of Clorox wipes. Owen recorded his final concert piece for the season; Nora began the the Winter Intensive for DCYOP. We printed out Positive Pineapple Paul and Nora created a prosthetic arm for her GoldieBlox doll.  We even caught up on the latest episode of His Dark Materials. And while it was generally a happy week filled with family and Christmas songs, there was one tragedy: Jaws, our sole remaining neon fish passed away and was returned from whence he came.

Hopefully, that isn't a harbinger of things to come...

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 37 (Thanksgiving)

This week Trump pardoned turkeys Corn and Cob, as well as his former national security advisor, General Michael Flynn, who had previously pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Michigan certified their election results. The GSA finally acknowledged President-elect Joe Biden's win and allowed the formal transition process to begin. Biden announced his national security team, including Anthony Blinken for Secretary of State, Alejandro Mayorkas for Secretary of Homeland Security, Avril Haines for National Intelligence Director, Jake Sullivan for National Security Advisor, Linda Thomas-Greenfield for U.N. Ambassador, and John Kerry for Presidential Envoy for Climate. Iran's top nuclear scientist was killed in an ambush outside of Tehran. Eric Clapton and Van Morrison have teamed up to record an anti-lockdown song. A 10-foot metal monolith was found in the Utah desert.

The world hit 62.6 million cases of COVID-19 and 1.5 million deaths this week while the U.S. reached 13.5 million cases and 272,000 deaths. The University of Oxford's released news of its COVID vaccine, who's 70 percent average effective rate was lower than both Pfizer and Moderna, but also unlike them is stable at refrigerator temperatures, and doesn't need to be stored at -70 degrees Celsius.

We continued our visit with Grandpa and Grandma Z, eschewing everyone else as the COVID rate in Iowa got even more intense. The kids attended school, we worked and Grandma Z started prepping for a scaled down Thanksgiving – which in Zimmerman terms means just two pies (one of which was very tired), four dozen rolls, and only a twelve pound turkey (without the side of ham). There was snow, and puzzling and even an afternoon walk through mud in order to see the Buda close up. The day itself included a lovely walk at the pond, a delicious meal, turkey cookie painting, and a post-dinner "Zoomerman" (complete with a performance of Simple Gifts by Owen and Nora). The festivities were immediately followed by Allen and I furiously packing everything so that we could leave at 5:30 am the next morning to pick up Grandpa Fawcett – because nothing says, "Happy Birthday, Grandpa" like a 14-hour drive back to DC.

The drive itself was uneventful and we arrived in DC around 8:30 pm Friday night. We quickly crashed and then spent the next day unpacking, doing laundry, and looking into scheduling COVID tests...

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)

Pandemic, Week 36 (Iowa, Redux)

This week, Trump continued to be unsuccessful in his legal claims of election fraud (his current record is 1 out of 30 cases, and the lone victory was later overturned by the state Supreme Court), primarily because his lawyers have admitted under oath that they have no proof fraud occurred in the election. Trump has since pivoted, inspired by the initial refusal of republicans on the Wayne County Board of Canvassers to certify ballots from Detroit, he invited Michigan GOP officials to the White House to discuss certification. The next morning, the RNC Chair and the Michigan GOP Chair issued a joint statement requesting the state board delay certification for 14 days in order to conduct a full audit, which would violate Michigan law. Meanwhile, Georgia, after a statewide recount, certified that Joe Biden won. Despite being thwarted in his transition by GSA refusing to release funds and access, President-Elect Biden  met virtually with a bipartisan group of governors to discuss how to support states during the Pandemic. Democrats were joined by two republicans to block gold-standard enthusiast's Judy Shelton's appointment to the Federal Reserve. Indian soldiers claim they were attacked by Chinese troops using microwave-based weapons. Nicaragua was struck by its second hurricane this month. Trump participated in the opening session of the G-20 Summit, but skipped the session on COVID-19 in order to play golf. Michael B. Jordan was voted People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive.

The world hit 59.4 million COVID-19 cases worldwide and 1.4 million deaths. The U.S. reached 12.5 millions cases and 262,000 deaths. France was the first European country to top 2 million cases. Donald Trump Jr, Senator Chuck Grassley, and Senator Rick Scott have all tested positive. In addition, Georgia Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue, who are both facing runoff elections which will decide control of the Senate, were exposed by Rick Scott at a maskless, indoor campaign rally -- Loeffler has tested positive and both are supposed to quarantine in lieu of campaigning for the January runoff. Meanwhile, Dolly Parton's $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University for COVID research helped to develop the Moderna vaccine, which studies show reduces the risk of COVID infection by 94.5 percent. Dr. Anthony Fauci said that front-line health workers are expected to receive initial doses of Covid vaccines in late December/early January with vaccines more widely available in April.

We made it to Iowa last Saturday night, after a 13.25 hour drive. We've been a little anxious to visit Iowa, both due to its recent spike in COVID cases and the family divisions the election's revealed, but we needed to retrieve Grandpa Fawcett (and wanted to check on Grandpa and Grandma Z) and so made the trip. We've mostly laid low, but did make it out to the pond a couple of times for some socially distant meetings with Leanna and family. Otherwise, the kids are managing school from Grandpa and Grandma's (finally someone is able to utilize the country school desk Grandma Z purchased so long ago). We remembered Owen's concert attire so he could record Uptown Funk for the joint collaboration between Duke Ellington and the Eclectic Music String Ensemble (ESME). We caught the Schaumburg Park's Department virtual production of Willy Wonka, Jr starring Sam and Erin. We baked and did puzzles. And Allen was even able to participate in a Stanford symposium on climate change policy in California with special guest, Former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who told attendees, "We need to terminate pollution!"

Which Allen is totally planning to do, come January 21, 2021.

(To see all of this week's pictures, click here.)