Shreds

I hear the garbage truck in the street as I type this, picking up our trash. Usually our trash day is Friday, but they didn't come yesterday -- allegedly because of a truck breakdown -- so they're here this morning. I suspect it's because of that lack of truck drivers I wrote about a few days ago.

The New York Times had a cheery article yesterday about the "nightmarish winter" of shortages that Britain is likely to face, largely as a result of Brexit. Great. Dave and I haven't experienced anything directly, at least not in terms of consumer goods, but I suspect like many things these problems will hit poorer people much harder -- especially as cuts in social welfare are part of the problem.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Anyway, I didn't mean to start off on a political tirade; on a personal front there hasn't been much news here. I was busy as all get-out at work yesterday, with lots of checkouts. I forgot over our summer break how challenging it can be to keep up in blogland and have a full-time job!

Dave and I have started an excellent show on Netflix called "Squid Game," from Korea. Don't watch it unless you can stomach violence, although the violence is so cartoonish it almost doesn't even count. It's highly entertaining and makes me want to return to Asia.

Speaking of which, Dave and I need to figure out our plans for Christmas. We had intended to go back to the states, but neither of us are crazy about the idea of traveling this winter, with Covid numbers up, and both of us were just there a few months ago. We might wait and go next spring. If we don't go to the USA over the holidays we'll probably stay put in Britain and do something here. I have no idea what.

When I came home from work yesterday I found this:

Yes, those are our sunflowers, completely beheaded and shredded on the ground. Squirrels! The entire top of the plant is broken and sagging (I'm propping it up in the picture above). The other one got attacked too, but it still has one intact blossom, at least for now.

Those little furry monsters.

(Top photos: A rose petal from a neighbor's garden, found on the sidewalk on my walk home from work.)