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 …
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 …