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The dark season is upon us here in northwest Washington state.

Daylight saving time has ended, as a result of which it now gets dark at about 4:30-5:00 in the afternoon, especially on days like today when there was heavy cloud cover and rain happening.

I have to admit that I've never really minded the dark season too much. Naturally I am happy when it ends in late spring and we start gardening again, but when it is still fresh and new I actually kind of like it because it's an invitation to dig into indoor hobbies that have been laying dormant all summer, and it's also an invitation to sit in front of the fireplace with a book. And maybe a cat. No, definitely a cat!

On the other hand, it is also gift giving season, which is making me a little bit anxious this year... at least from the perspective of being an artist who makes things that hopefully can be sold, to supplement our meager incomes. The same holds true for Mrs. Denmarkguy and her creative endeavors.

Of course the problem this year — and the source of my anxiety — is that everybody in the world seems to be broke and filled with uncertainty because of the government shutdown here in the USA; nobody really knows when things are gonna get back to normal again and even if they're ever going to get back to normal again.

What I do know is that a lot of people are expecting it to be a somewhat meager holiday season. If you're plugged into the news at all, you know that the SNAP benefits for more than 40 million Americans is currently in doubt while many are anxiously eyeing their doubling and tripling health insurance premiums.

If you're not sure whether you can afford to buy food chances are you're not gonna be spending a whole lot of money on gifts.

So does this government shutdown mean that everybody's gonna get coal in their stockings on Christmas morning?

To be honest, I don't know. I know that around here we are counting every last penny, and whenever I make a sale from one of my online businesses, or Mrs. Denmarkguy has a counseling client we look at that money and allocate it in terms of "how many days of food it'll buy;" how much we can set aside for the electric bill.

It's hardly what you'd call "thriving" by any measure of the word, more like surviving or barely being alive.

I try not to view it through too negative a lens of perception. At least we have a nice warm place to live, along with the luxury of being self-employed so we don't have to sit in traffic and waste money on fuel and deal with a soulless workplace.

And we're definitely much better off than the poor schmoes at the homeless encampment in town... which was recently raided by law enforcement. It's all still mind-boggling to me that there is such a massive poverty issue in the world's purportedly wealthiest nation.

Regardless, I intend to enjoy the dark season with its stews and soups and fires in the fireplace.

And it never hurts to at least hope for a decent holiday season!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Friday!

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Created at 2025.11.07 01:08 PST
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