Month: May 2020

More thoughts in the time of COVID-19

It just kept raining … off and on … until monday.  Enough for me to keep picking the wrong time to do something and then forgetting I needed it done when time passed and weather changed.  I’ve seen desks with yellow post-it notes all over.  Maybe it’s time for me to get a pad of those.

Oh well … 

~~~

Mark is the new Chief of the local fire service unit and he is making some changes.  There had been no live-in student firemen at the station for a few months.  Then there were two.  Then three.  Then back to two when one had to be released for having alcohol on County property.  Now there are again three.  

Mark has been actively working at getting the equipment and the station house up to snuff (does anyone still say that?) including insulation, signage, better sleeping quarters and shower arrangements (so females can apply), and actively working with the local CalFire groups in the area.  He has also kept himself aware of and acknowledging achievements by the live-ins.  Last friday there was a congratulatory evening meal (mac and cheese, sausages, burgers, scones with lemon curd and whipped cream, brownies, and soft drinks) to honor Andy who had passed all his classes and exams and was awarded his black helmet and his own turn-out gear complete with presentation ceremony and pictures.  He has been hired by the CalFire station in McDoel for the coming fire season.  

I predict that, as the word concerning the management style at the Hammond Ranch station spreads, Mark will soon have enough applicants for live-in status that he will be able to pick and choose.

Makes me sound a bit like a proud Mom, right?

~~~

The new dog, Gypsy, is adjusting to being part of a family.  She had been a one-person dog and now is dealing with five of us.  In addition, she is the largest of the three dogs, but is the newcomer and so is the one making adjustments.  She has even come upstairs on her own once to visit me.  Maybe Siku or Rus told her I keep treats at my desk.

~~~

I’ve read my way through the first seven or eight of the PERN books so far.  I’m just starting Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern .  The center of this part of the saga is a pandemic caused by an unknown agent which transferred from an untamed animal to people.  

“Two have died of whatever it is that afflicts them.”

“Dead?  Two?  And you don’t know what ailed them?”

“No.  I don’t know precisely what ails them.  The symptoms — a fever, headache, lack of appetite, the dry hacking cough — are unusually severe and do not respond to any of the commonly effective treatments.”

From page 47 of the First Edition published in 1983 … 

Sound familiar? 

I’m now at the place in the story where travel and personal spacing is being instituted.      Interesting …

And a long story …  my children have heard me say (probably more often that they appreciated) “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.”  I had heard it many, many times from my Nana while I was growing up.  

The books I am reading are about a planet where small, flying lizards have been hybridized into large, flying dragons capable of carrying people … hence the titles such as Dragonsong, Dragonflight, Dragon Drums, etc.  Then last evening, as I was reading the current book just before I fell asleep, all of a sudden this jumped out at me …  “If wishes were dragons, all Pern would ride.”

I wish life had been such that I could have had tea with Ms. McCaffrey one day at her home, DragonHold, outside Dublin.  We would have had more to say than just ‘Hello’.  I’m sure we heard other, identical sayings from our grandmothers.  And we probably would have found we had a lot in common.  

Oh well … 

If wishes were …

~~~

Last monday, weather turned warm.  I got some more work done in the courtyard.  Clearing the debris is coming along and the plants are in the ground.  Three of the five potatoes I planted are showing growth.  One of the transplanted blueberries didn’t make it, but the one in a pot in my room is leafing out beautifully.  There are buds on the wild roses, the rugosa, the fence climbers, and even the green.  The plums, apricot, sweet cherry, gooseberries, and crabapple all have set fruit.

Then monday afternoon, when it had reached the mid-70s, I opened the east window to get a cross breeze, and the scent of the lilac under that window inundated my room.  I remember George standing out next to lilac bushes just inhaling with a slight smile.  I teared up a bit, but I was smiling.

~~~

This week’s Amateur Radio Club involvement was doing Net Control for the COVID saturday morning net.  Sirius radio was doing the top 100 Beatles cuts, so I was monitoring 440.275 mHz and listening to the Sirius Beatles channel (good music mostly).  I’m a Beatles fan of long standing, but let’s face it – not even the Fab Four, all together or separately, can be 100% all the time – such as, I wish George had done the guitar riffs on While My Guitar instead of Clapton.

~~~

Day 75 … and here it is, the end of another week.

Another loss last week, and two birthday remembrances before the next blog.

It’s okay to cry and okay to be sad. It’s okay to miss them and okay to wish you had done somethings different. But never blame yourself for how things turned out. Never tell yourself that this is the end of the road. 

It’s okay to fall but never okay to stay down.

Summer approaches (the sun is up and creating crystal rainbows on my walls a few minutes before 0600) and I’m still here.

So … ‘til next week …

More thoughts in the time of COVID-19

(Sorry for the delay, but here we go … )

Wednesday, Day 62 …

I spent too many hours today trying to get a person (in charge of finances for an organization to which I belong) to understand that all we need for a monthly update is the balance from the end of the previous month with deposits (and their source), deductions (to whom or what), and a current balance.  That seems so simple … but you wouldn’t believe the gyrations.  I’d rather be reading my book, but I’ll keep trying.

Rain off and on all day.  That bed linen is going to be well-rinsed.

~~~

Thursday, Day 63 …  

Chilly rain to start the day.  I may have to bring in the sheets, put them through a spin to get most of the water out, and drape them over something in front of the wood stove. 

I have begun having short spells of vertigo, especially when I stand up suddenly or tilt my head back to look at something over my head.  I saw my primary care-giver this afternoon and he sees nothing to aid in a diagnosis and so is sending me to an EENT in Medford to have my middle ear checked.

~~~

Friday, Day 64 … 

Today I am a full ninety years old starting on my ninety-first.

I am not old, she said.  I am rare.  I am the standing ovation at the end of the play.  I am the retrospective of life as art.  I am the hours connected like dots into good sense.  I am the fullness of existing.  

You think I am waiting to die but I am waiting to be found.

I am a treasure.  I am a map, and these wrinkles are imprints of my journey.

Ask me anything !

~ Samantha Reynolds

~~~

Thursday, Day 70 …

Well … I seem to have fallen down a rabbit hole a few days ago.  

The situation with the Watermaster “government entity” has been festering and would appear to be coming to a head much like a pesky backhead or a boil.  Of course, as the registered owner of the land, my name is foremost.  However, Mark (as heir apparent and forty years younger) is taking the lead.  My job is to provide data and supporters. 

Second undertaking has been gathering reports from all the local owners’ association Board members (treasurer mentioned previously) in order to organize and make available information since there have been no face-to-face meetings since March.  Getting some folks to put in writing what they had planned to say at a meeting is akin to pulling teeth.  A big thing with this job is the involvement with the United Way grant designed to bring neighbors together in order to prepare for emergencies.  The original plans don’t work in a world of no-more-than-ten-people-together and masks and social distancing and resistance to ZOOM … ad infinitum.  Add to that a “lead” organizer for the County who doesn’t seem to know what she is doing or how to use her computer.

I have had a few lovely hours with the Met.  As I’m sure I’ve mentioned, they are streaming a different opera from the archives every day.  Last week was Rigaletto set in the Rat Pack’s Vegas (rather pointedly accurate in re Sinatra et al which reinforced my position as a fan of the pre-60s Sinatra).  And I found that even with the glitz, the story leaves me unsympathetic.  It will be a while before I’m ready for it again.  This week is Lohengrin and the Masked Ball.  Lohengrin was staged in the King Arthur style and reminded me of the story about the tenor who got so wrapped up in the farewell sequence that the swan boat pulled out without him.  He is supposed to have turned to the Maestro in the orchestra pit and asked (in English) “Can you tell me when the next swan boat leaves?”  And later today I plan on spending time with Masked Ball since the lovely Dimitri sang in the production being streamed.

The garden is another involvement.  I’ve been putting plants into the ground for the hummers and butterflies as the weather and the Moon phase allow.  It is taking more time than it will in the future because, as I’ve said before, I am having to do some area mending before planting.  As of yesterday, there are five plants waiting.  Once that’s done I can start on the herb area.  I already have sage, oregano, and thyme.  The indoor seed start of arnica will be ready to go out soon.  The rest is still in the planning stage.

Our local library has been closed, as I’m sure many others have been.  But they are getting ready to do curbside exchanges.  I have four books on hold which I will go get as soon as the routine is established.  In the meantime, I am about a third of the way through the PERN saga and have made a couple of discoveries.  In one book I found the first letter I received from Anne McCaffrey, the author.  In it she gives me (if I ever get to Dublin) directions to her house.  Of course, I think that in those early days, before her real fame, that was a regular feature of fan letter responses.  She died a few years ago and I never got to Dublin.  The other discovery was a signed copy of one of the books.  I’d forgotten I have it.  I am enjoying the books all over again and that is a big plus.

For my birthday gift this year, I gave away packets of Shasta Lily seeds (these lilies grow only in a 2 to 3 hundred mile radius of the Mountain) with a request that folks join me in re-establishing the lilies in our area.  A lot of the clusters have been destroyed over the years as house pads and driveways were bulldozed.  The fun of giving gifts to myself through friends seems to have hit an Aaawwwwwwhhhhhhhh spot with a lot of folks.  The responses from those to whom I gave packets (I could afford only a few since they were $6 each) have been overwhelmingly positive, and so far I’ve been asked by two friends (who didn’t make the gift list) if I’d get some seeds for them too.

My chore schedule in re the chickens is getting a bit inconvenient since I can’t close them in until close to eight thirty (2030) and that’s nudging my bedtime pretty close.  Of course, the equinox will be here soon and times will start changing again.  The sun now rises north of the Mountain’s peak.  Six months from now I’ll be complaining about it getting dark before three thirty (1530).

Involvement with the food sharing in this part of the county is beginning to be a consideration again.  I’ve been called back to making lunches for the kids during summer hiatus (the schools have been doing that, but school will soon be out for the summer and the schools will no longer be responsible).  I said I’d help on tuesday and thursday mornings.  And yesterday I got a call asking if I felt secure enough to do my usual job with the produce distribution program.  That begins in three weeks.  Of course I said “sure”.

One of my grief group buddies, who had been caught at her daughter’s place down in the San Francisco Bay area, has been able to return home.   Her fourteen day quarantine will be up next week and so the grief group three of us are planning some social distancing proper get-togethers on an outdoor patio.

And on top of all that, I am now the old person with a new phone which is pushing me further into the present technological world.  I am just now beginning to learn how to program it to do the things I want (at this time).  George no longer answers my phone and I haven’t yet mastered the caller id feature, so if I don’t answer it means I’m not at my desk and haven’t yet learned how to trace a call in order to call back.  Please call again.

~~~

The cherry tree, the crab apple tree and the plum trees are loaded with baby fruit.  Mark has begun the clearing required by CalFire for residential safety.  It rained most of last week.  A cousin said her pantry finally ran dry so she went to the grocery store to restock and came away with a bill for $617plus.  I think I’ve found someone to rescue all my genealogy data and pictures from the hard drive out of the computer which died.  A friend of Tyler’s died in a tragic accident and we seem to have inherited her dog (a red retriever named Gypsy) so we currently have three dogs.

And now it’s time to start the day,

~~~

The Nguni proverb “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” is often translated as “a person is a person through other persons” speaking particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation.  In practice, ubuntu is a belief that the common bonds of a group are more important than the divisions within it. 

You are all on my prayer candle and I am assuming (trusting) you are safe and well.

So … ‘til next week …

I am late … again.  Our internet access was cut off monday the 11th.  But, if you are reading this, our connection is back.  Wasn’t it Richard III who said “These are the times that try men’s souls.”?

Oh well …

Onward !

More thoughts in the time of COVID-19

So here you are, feeling unsure about the position you’re in.  With a slight change of attitude, you can embrace what’s happening rather than resent it.   … Anonymous

Wednesday, Day 55 …

 Sunny day.  Slight breeze.  More plants in the ground.  Working more slowly but still working.

I had so been looking forward to seeing the Fleming-Bartoli-Terfel Nozze de Figaro … then circumstances conspired and I saw only the first act.  That was so much fun … watching Terfel singing lustily while crawling around the floor measuring space for the marriage bed of Figaro and Susanna. I can only imagine what the Met did with the rest of the story.  It may be on disc and I’ll see it later.

Oh well …

~~~

Thursday, Day 56 …  

Rainbows from crystals all over my walls this morning.  Full Moon last night came shining in my window as I was getting into bed.  So big.  So beautiful.  

The Moon is now waning so it is time to put root plants into the ground.  I was able to get several potatoes planted.  They had been in a bowl on a kitchen counter and were already showing lusty growth.  That gives me hope they will grow, bloom, and produce this year.

Work in the courtyard is progressing … slowly.  Next on the list (until the next planting opportunity) is to separate woody and leafy debris as well as stones from the soil I am digging up and/or sweeping up so that it can be put back into growing areas.  Next will be rebuilding support walls between levels.

~~~

Friday, Day 57 … 

 What a day.  Not only are we in lockdown, we are now without propane.  The big tank George and I used for lo those many years had developed a slow leak and couldn’t be checked and/or repaired until the tank was empty.  So we had not refilled it hoping we could handle that problem somehow.  As a result, we are without hot water and cooking ability here during lockdown.

Things have changed a lot since George and I first got the big tank (1,000 gallons).  We filled it completely at the onset and then yearly.  Now I am told it is cheaper and more expedient to do a monthly thing.  Mark contacted the propane company and it is arranged that they will come out, help find a better site for a new tank (with fire danger in mind), pressure check all connections, and make arrangements for the disposal of the old and the installation of the new tanks.  When that is done we will receive our first delivery and be back on line for cooking, cleaning, and bathing.  With the new plan we will be topped off every month and billed monthly based on our history of use, i.e. history of using ~600 gallons per year = 50 gallons per month so we will pay for 50 gallons per month regardless of how much we use (more in winter etc.) and any surplus or owing at the end of the year will just start the next year’s accounting.  It sounds complicated to me, but Mark assures me it is fair and avoids forgetting to order refills etc.

Another member of the HLA Board of Directors and I are trying to get our responsibilities in re the United Way grant arranged.  We are charged with distributing information about readiness for emergencies (such as fire etc. since no one seems to have seen the pandemic coming).  Because of the lockdown, it isn’t as easy as it appeared when we applied for the grant.  Current thought is either walkabouts to handout information (of course observing mask and distance protocols) or to set up a table etc. at the point where our private roads leave pavement to hand out information packets to residents.  So far the road “block” idea is winning.  Masks, gloves, and distancing. 

~~~

Saturday, Day 58 …

Bright, sunny day.  Fifty-eighth lockdown day, and second day without propane.  We are using paper plates since washing dishes is problematic.

Yesterday I got some bad news which resulted in reconnection with a cousin I haven’t seen in over twenty years.  As I have mentioned (probably too many times), when my computer died it took addresses, email lists, and phone numbers with it.  As a result of those losses I lost contact with another cousin with whom I had been in contact but who had moved from southern California to an Oregon beach community.  I thought about her often, but was never able to locate a source for the missing information, and she hadn’t called.  Then one day last week, out of the blue there was a phone number with a 541 prefix and, since 541 is Oregon, I took a chance and called and left a message on the voice mail site.  This cousin had been adopted and as a result seemed to feel she was “outside”.  I didn’t think she felt that way about me, but she didn’t call and I couldn’t call.  But it turned out that the 541 number was correct and her husband returned my call.  His news was the first of the bad news.  Becky had died just last month of metastatic cancer.  I was in tears.  I am so sorry she died probably thinking I was choosing to not call her.  But as a result, I decided to make another try at finding a pair of mutual cousins and was successful at finding one of them.  I called him, and was told of another death, but Ron and I were both excited about the reconnection and will stay in touch.  I guess I should tell him about this blog.

Sort of a hard day.  Rules about what you can/should plant where etc., all based on protecting your home from fire, are hitting me big time.  When George and I bought, there were no such laws and we loved living in a forest.  But now Mark is having to do some drastic clearing and moving of vegetation.  It is hitting me a bit hard in spite of knowing it is all necessary for safety.  I am seeing trees I watched grow be dropped, limbed, and cut into firewood lengths.  I am told the lilacs by the front door and under my bedroom window have to be cut back drastically.  I guess if anyone lives long enough they experience this one way or another.  This time next year the view will be a great deal different.  Mark grew up here, but it all changed a lot during the thirty years he lived in western New York so it isn’t the same for him.  I trust him.  He won’t do anything he thinks will upset me unless there is no way to avoid it.  I do feel sorry for him.

~~~

Sunday, Day 59…

Sunday’s are usually pretty laid back around here, and with the lockdown they are even more so.

I’m re-reading the PERN books (I’ve already told you that … oops) and am now into the tales of the girl who impresses nine dragon lizards.  These are good parts of the tales.  I’ve always liked them which is probably why there is a dragon lizard on my left ankle.

~~~

Monday, Day 60 …

Today I drove an automatic for the first time.  Up ‘til now every vehicle I’ve driven has been a stick shift beginning with Daddy’s Ford pick-up back in the mid-40s.  And to top it off, this is a Honda hybrid.  So not just an automatic, but an electric.  My only problem was learning how to brake. I wonder what George would have thought of this development.

The first trip out in over a week was memorable for more than just that.  Spring is trying very hard to arrive.  Both types of dogwood are in bloom as are the wisteria and the crabapple.  The oaks are looking strange … they are budding leaves above two seasons of dead leaves still on the trees.  It looks quite strange.  However, this may turn into a good jelly making year.  If the crabapple does well and Mikayla’s cherry has a crop, they will add to the plum, gooseberry, Oregon grape, and foraged elderberry crops.  There is even a possibility of choke cherries.

 ~~~

Tuesday, Day 61 …

The dandelion expectation has gone by the wayside.  Being sheltered-in-place, having the extracted juice be questionable, and then losing transportation until the rain came ended that for this year.  Oh well …  

Rain began today.  Soft and easy.  That’s the way we like it.  Of course, I don’t get much of the mucking-out and pruned limb gathering done when it is raining.  Nor does the dirt get sifted rid of the winter crop of stones.  But all in its own time.

We are adjusting our internet and phone connection to meet the needs of four of us using it … the computers = one for business, two for school, and me.  So I am without a connection.  It is making me realize how much the internet has modified my life.  

~~~

Wednesday, Day 62 …

 It is late, but I’m back on line with a better connection so streaming will be smoother.  However, I had to give up my old style phone and in the process I lost the recording of George answering the phone.  I will miss hearing him.  I should have recorded his message onto something just to be sure I kept it … but …

Oh well …

Two days ago, before the rain started, I did a load of laundry and hung it out in the solar drying yard.  I got part of it in before the rain.  The rest is having extra rinses.

And here’s something to remember …

To care for someone is to learn the song in their heart and sing it to them when they have forgotten it.

So … ‘til next week …

More thoughts in the time of COVID-19

Wednesday, Day 48 …

Well … I began the day (after the blog) with a red sky and two packages of “live plants” delivered yesterday afternoon.  I was able to unpack the plants to give them room and air, but that was all.  

It was a full and rather exhausting day.  I find that at this advanced age I don’t feel my age until I try to do a full day of whatever just like I used to do.  I started the day by picking up three boxes of garbage scraps for the chickens from the local food  bank.  Then on for some groceries.  Our pantry is doing well although the 7-11 has been eliminated by the new kitchen boss.  Next stop was the home of a friend whose yards are full of dandelions.  Forty-five minutes gathering yielded some conversation, a really sore knee, and two ice cream buckets of blossoms.  Next stop a hardware store looking for sulfur (a soil acidifier) without luck.  Another grocery stop (one store is a surplus supplier so doesn’t always have what I want).  By then (1430) I was a bit shaky and walking stooped (which makes me angry) and realized I hadn’t eaten since early morning so I took my free sandwich coupon across the street to Burger King (any port in a storm) and had a high energy (and fat) lunch.  I was pooped when I got home but was able to get the groceries unpacked and the dandelion blossoms under boiling water.

Spent the evening participating in the weekly radio net and trying to join the meeting of the watermaster district by phone.  They were due to start at 1900, but by 2000 the meeting still hadn’t begun and I was fading fast.  With their past behaviour in mind, I wonder if they are using the current unusual circumstances to pull shenanigans.  Oh well …

No more, or at least fewer, seventy-year-old days for me.

~~~

Thursday, Day 49 …  

Day started overcast with a long list of things to do.  Discovered that our chickens don’t like kale but do like dill.  Dill flavored eggs?

We have an overload of zucchini so will serve some baked with cheese tonight.  Pimento cheese spread for grilled cheese sandwiches and stuffed celery and on crackers mixed and ready.  Dandelion water strained for jelly (it’s very dark this year).  Rhubarb harvested ready for a crisp.  Sage dry and ready to crumble.  Dill spread to dry.  

Day ended warm, mostly sunny with a few clouds.  Full day … but not as wearing as yesterday.

~~~

Friday, Day 50 … 

I got carried away and did some planting in spite of the Moon phase (it isn’t right until tomorrow).  I also spent time redoing (repairing) a section of the courtyard which had been decimated (I have to rebuild some retaining wall) to get it ready for the butterfly/hummer garden.  I have lavender and salvia and thyme and mints and Northern Dragonhead (really) and others just waiting to start.  If I take it a small area at a time, watching how long I keep at it, I can do this.  Already, with even the little I’ve gotten done, I like how it is beginning to look.  It will be ready for outdoor dinners soon … weather permitting. 

The Met opera stream for today was the 1985 version of Aida which was Leontine Price’s farewell to her on-stage career.  What a voice!  The production was a bit funky (after all it was more than thirty years ago), the costumes were weirdly Adrian-style (think of Joan Crawford’s shoulders), and the tenor was not my idea of a love interest … but Price was amazing (and amazingly celestial) so Netrebko can go … find another role to sing someplace else.

Next week I can look forward to Marriage of Figaro with Fleming, Bartoli, and Bryn Terfel !!!

~~~

Saturday, Day 51 …

Well … the Mitsu is dead.  She had been having radiator trouble for several months but, since I am money-shy (this would seem to be my year for financial trials and learning), we had been teasing her along.  I had been carrying a jug of water mixed with coolant, but this morning Mark told me that is no longer an option.  The radiator is leaking as fast as he pours in the water and she is so old there is no longer a ready source of parts for her.  A month or so ago a neighbor here on the Ranch asked if I wanted to sell her, so we’ll call him next week and ask if he still wants her.  

This automobile crisis brought a gift with it.  The family was talking about how to get me another vehicle and Paul went upstairs to bring down his allowance stash and piggy bank.  I guess we will be shared owners.

Last evening we finished the Dragon Hatcher book.  It was good enough that I’m ready for a follow-up, YA rating aside.  Dragons seem to be the current thing around here.  Paul is opting for something in the Dragon Master series.  And of course, there is always Pern.

This morning I was again Net Control for the new radio club saturday net.  Still not too many participants.  Guess most folks are busy filling time at home with busy work.  I did hear from a new person down in Vallejo.  The big announcement was that the City of Mt Shasta has cancelled the 4th of July events for this year.  No street fair.  No run/walk.  No parade.  No fireworks.  First time in more than 35 years without hoopla.  But it has always been big with folks from too many places to risk it under today’s circumstances. That leaves only two events on the radio club calendar, both in September, and they may not survive either since some sources are predicting a second wave of this virus at the end of summer.

This afternoon’s task was getting more plants into the ground … thyme, prunella, blueberries, lavender, and transplanting some ground cover.  As I was finishing it started to rain.  That is good for the new plants and it washed most of the yellow pollen off the front slanted windows.  Nice …

~~~

Sunday, Day 52…

Today started with a bright, crisp, sunny morning and went on to be a laidback day.  The plants I put out a few days ago seem to be liking where they are.  I have one more lavender but haven’t decided where it will do best.  It is one of the tall ones … Vicar’s lavender someone called it.  And I really need to thin out the new growth under the lilacs.  

Isn’t it strange that perception changes so drastically, depending on requirements.  When the truck was usable, I didn’t feel any restrictions knowing I was mobile if I needed to be.  Now, even though there is no place I need or really want to go, somehow it feels different.  Not worse … but definitely different.

~~~

Monday, Day 53 …

The sun topped the Mountain and was shining in my window a few minutes after 0630 this morning.  It still rises south of the peak with five weeks to go ‘til Summer Solstice.  

The word for today was jedi, a word no one knew in 1976 …  but after all it is Star Wars Day.  Ahhhh, English.  A little of this and a little of that.

And that makes me think of another word that just came into (back into?) my life.  Chelm.  Years ago there was a very funny movie starring a collection of actors not necessarily known for being funny (Beat the Devil with Humphrey Bogart, Jennifer Jones, Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley, Peter Lorre).  It was a favorite of George’s and mine.  In it, Jones plays a former housemaid who married into what she claimed was a noble British family … the Chelms.  Her claims and demeanor were over-the-top and, in point of fact, I never forgot.  Then this morning I was reading a post about a town in Poland named Chelm and it all fell into place. 

Do you need a laugh?  Read about Chelm … https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-sages-of-chelm/?utm_source=mjl_maropost&utm_campaign=MJL&utm_medium=email&mpweb=1161-18952-103505

After reading Dragon Hatcher (actually listening to since Kamille was reading aloud) and the first two chapters of Dragon Masters, I thought about the McCaffrey PERN books and decided it was time to reread the lot of them on my own time, by myself.  I sorted the collection by publishing date (which is the order in which the author suggested they be read) and started with Dragonflight.  It is well-written and so easy to read.  I remember the original joy.  And I have a double stack waiting. So I’m set for the rest of the lockdown. 

Weather went from rain to a relative humidity today of 17% with wind.  It may turn out to be a scary summer and fall.

While sorting stuff a few days ago I went through a box of pictures and set aside the ones of my sister’s family to mail to her granddaughter (both my sister and her daughter are already gone).  And yes to all you genealogists, I made sure each was identified with names and dates although her granddaughter might recognize most of them.  That got me thinking about the family pictures etc. that I have collected due to my genealogy bug.  What if we do have a fire?  I’ve been considering getting a fairly large fire safe … large enough to hold pictures, certificates, computer hard drives and USBs, old letters and cards, jewelry hand-me-downs, and ???  I wonder what a mid-sized to large safe costs? 

~~~

Tuesday, Day 54 …

Well, Mark may have found my next wheels for me.  It’s a ‘90, as was the Mitsu, but has less than 100,00 on the odometer and had only one owner.  More importantly, it is within my means.  Hold good thoughts because I will need my own transportation soon.  Great Northern has arranged to supply summer lunches for the local children this coming summer like it did last year, and today I got a call asking if I was available to work packing lunches again.  Of course I said yes.  So from the second week in June through the first week in August I’ll be working every tuesday and thursday morning.  Last year we had always been gloved, so adding masks won’t be that much different.

Re-reading the Pern books has turned into an adventure and a challenge.  I’m finding I remember bits and pieces of the stories from my first read which don’t seem to jibe with the book I’m reading now.  I’m sure it will all sort itself out, and maybe my memory is a bit off kilter.  However, I’m enjoying …

Tomorrow will be a garden day as soon as the blog is posted.  I have several plants to go into the ground, and I have a planter box ready to start a salad garden.  This family is green shy and I miss salads.  Besides, I’m beginning to gain back some of the weight I trimmed off after George died.  Resolution … salad for lunch every day possible.

And potatoes go into the ground thursday.

Tyler, the older grandson, likes to bake.  This evening he made a cheesecake … a big one to share with the family and the folks at work.  I like that he likes to bake.  I just wish he’d learn to like cleaning up afterwards.

~~~

Wednesday, Day 55 …

Another week and we’re all still here. 

May Mother Earth heal at this time and may we all bow our heads and pray for better days.  Prayers for you all.  Better days are coming.  ~ WALK IN BEAUTY~            

 … KayCee White Eagle 

… and …

To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.

… Audrey Hepburn

So … ‘til next week …