It's COVIDween!

Welcome, newly locked-down reader, as we steel ourselves for what looks like could be a trying late Autumn and Winter. Here in Santa Clara county we're not yet seeing a big uptick in COVID cases, and in fact we've just been upgraded to the tier where indoor dining is allowed. So there's still fun to be had, and the time of the season dictates that that's Halloween fun!

Close readers will note that we've been here over a year now, and as such we're doing things for the second time. Halloween was one of our relatively early experiences here in Palo Alto, but this year is somewhat different and necessarily lower-key as a result of the pandemic. So how does one do Halloween in the era of social distancing? Well... a bit like this:

Here we have individually-wrapped candies, each sealed in their own bag, untouched by human hand for about a week now so they've had time for all the nasty COVIDy-ness to die off. We'll be putting these out on the picnic table in the front garden, which itself is decorated with an appropriate amount of Halloween tat. Let's see how many folks come and visit!

Overall, things are much lower-key this year, with only a few houses decorated, but it's still enough for it to be fun. They've closed the high street here in Palo Alto to allow more outdoor dining, and a consequence of that was the ability to host the annual 'jack-o-jaunt' (aka pumpkin carving competition) right in the middle of town. Impressive it wasn't; two tents the size of which you'd normally have in your back garden, and a total of fewer than 20 pumpkins, but nonetheless fun.

And of course, talking of scary things, the election is almost upon us! Tuesday is the big day, with a number of possible frightening outcomes: what if Trump defies the polls and actually wins? What if Biden wins, and Trump disputes it in some way? What if we just don't know who's won for a number of days afterwards? These are all possibilities, and in this fractured and unpredictable country, I wouldn't like to place a bet for or against any of those events. My impression of what's gone on here is that Trump's campaign has somewhat melted away; after the debacle of the first debate, he's been reigned in somewhat, which takes away pretty much the only thing he's good at (spouting populist nonsense with no basis in fact). The consistent message that "we're rounding the turn" with respect to COVID as cases grow in >80% of states is so incredibly obviously nonsense that I'm not even sure his campaign believes it any more.

Anyway, we'll know what's coming next on Tuesday night. Or maybe we won't. Or maybe we'll think we do, but actually it'll all change in the next few weeks. Buckle up - November's going to be a bumpy ride!