Then, early in January, we had the Blizzard of 2018! It wasn't a real blizzard, but it felt like it to us! It was VERY cold for about a week and we did get 3-5 inches of snow. It was beautiful coming down - light, fluffy, large flakes, scattered by the wind - but, our houses are not built for those temperatures, nor is the Dept of Transportation equipped to clear roads. So, I just hunkered down. I could have run the heat 24/7 but it was only going to heat to a certain temperature. At night, the thermostat was set to 65 (burr!) and Rosie and I got under the duvet and fared well. In the morning I would turn the thermostat up a few degrees, grab a cup of coffee and my tablet, and crawl back into bed until I could get the temp up a bit. Rosie just stayed in bed until it was warm enough for her to come out. Toward the end of the week, I was looking in the cupboard to determine what I could cook without having to go to the grocery store! I didn't make a move until the snow was all gone and people were going back to work. I felt lucky that I didn't have to get out in it.
Then, on the 17th I went way outside my comfort zone and invited friends over for a get together. When my mother was with me, at Christmastime we always spent a day decorating the tree and house, and then we baked for friends and neighbors. None of those things are quite the same doing them on my own, and I realized those "traditions" are gone. Somewhere came the notion to have friends over and create a new tradition. I resisted the idea long enough that I wasn't able to do it between Christmas and NY, which was my first thought. Then, the restaurant I wanted to cater it was closed from NYs to the 16th of January. So, I set it for the 17th (which coincidentally is Allan's birthday, and three days before mine). The invitation list included my Drinking Liberally friends, with whom I socialize outside of DL, and some other liberal friends who are not a part of DL. From my perspective it was a good group and I hope everyone enjoyed it. The menu was vegetarian and I was pleased with the food. While it may have been new to some, everyone was interested in trying it as it looked good. The invitation was "In Celebration of Friends" and I think I will make this a new tradition in honor of friends.
I celebrated my birthday of January 20th......by attending the Women's March in Charleston, SC. Though I had a fabulous time and was pleased to do my part in the Resistance, I hope I won't have to spend next birthday protesting. Tippy (my Resister Sister), Franci (whom we met last year when we all went by bus to DC protest), and Melodee were going with me, but Melodee dropped out. I advertised an open seat on Lowcountry Individible and got a response in a matter of minutes. So, Kathy joined us and we all had a great time. It was a beautiful, sunny day in Charleston. There was a greater turnout than last year, and the speakers were very diverse and inspirational. They didn't discover it was my birthday until we were on our way home, so they gave me snacks and sang "Happy Birthday" to me as we were in the parking lot going our separate ways. It was a great celebration! Then Tippy and I went to my neighbor's to pick up Rosie. They couldn't go to the rally, so they offered to keep Rosie....and I think they have a sweet spot for her. They invited us in for a glass of wine and to hear about our escapades, and it was fun to see Rosie and Bogey, their dog, enjoying each other's company. The signs are always the fun part of a protest or rally and I can't resist photographing them; so, enjoy a sampling.
In addition to our protest in SC, Gray Panthers were spotted protesting in the Ocala, FL area! I thought the Panther had retired, but I'm pleased to see her active again.
Aside from all that, life goes on with the usual things that occupy my time - lunches with friends, Liberal Ladies, Drinking Liberally, hospice visits, feral cats,etc.......and I'm trying to make time for zentangle so I won't let it fall by the wayside. It was after the Women's rally that I started focusing on our upcoming trip to Africa on Feb. 19. After getting back from Panama, I sent my passport to obtain visas, then I started trying to get the required vaccinations. Yellow Fever vaccine is required to get into Kenya. So, I called my doctor, who doesn't give them. Then I called the health department, who no longer gives them, but they provided me with two phone numbers. The first one no longer gives YF and the second number was no longer in service! By this time I'm worried. Someone told me of a service called Passport Health (or something like that), whom I called. They have a central answering service and, while they have an office in Bluffton, the only offices that give the YF vaccine are Greenville and Mt. Pleasant, with the closest being two hours away!! All of that happened on a Friday, so I spent the weekend looking around the Savannah area and found that the Chatham Country Health Department gives travel injections. So, I called on Monday and was told that they did do the YF. All I needed to do was get a letter from my doctor saying I was healthy enough to take it (due to my age!), print out the release form online and bring it with me, and just show up before 3PM, which I did. It was a wonderful facility, well organized, and the nurse was wonderful. We solved the problems of the world, had a few laughs, and hugged each other when it was all over. Needless to say, it was good to get it all behind me. I also got Hep A and Typhoid shots as they were recommended.
Naturally, Jan and I are in touch and getting excited about the trip. Then around Jan. 25 or 26 Jan calls from Scottsdale, where she's visiting friends. She had injured her leg getting into the car and had been on crutches!! She's going home over the weekend and had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday, but wanted to give me a heads up. Needless to say, we're both disappointed, but I can certainly continue with the trip while Jan might be the one missing it all. The following day Tippy invited Rosie and me to come over for a walk on the beach, where Rosie can be let off leash and run like a mad dog! In preface to telling her about Jan's injury, I said, "Could I interest you in a trip to Africa?". She gasped a little and said, "Tell me about it", which I did. With no further ado, she said she would go if Jan was unable to go. Then on Tuesday, Jan called OAT and cancelled her trip and Tippy called to take her spot. That was Jan. 30, so now Tippy has to get visas and vaccines in record time. She immediately sent her passport for expedited visas (keeping fingers crossed), and I was so pleased that I had already done the vaccine legwork and could save her lots of time. This past Thursday we went to Chatham County Health Dept only to be told that she could only get the YF vaccine with an appointment. The head nurse came out and said they only received 20 doses for February and they were all promised. So, we went to lunch and called everyone on a list of possibilites they gave us, all for naught. Then we started looking online. Finally, she is schedule to get the shots on this coming Tuesday in JACKSONVILLE! Can you believe it? We have stopped making the vaccine in the US (who knows why!) and we now get it from France......and even then it isn't the real YF vaccine. It's something like Stamarille, made by the same company that made FY vac. Unbelievable! Anyway, I feel sorry for Jan that she isn't getting to go, but I also feel very fortunate that Tippy is going. It's always more fun with a friend. You can guess how we will be spending the next 15 days!!
Other than that, I have seen several good movies since the Golden Globe Awards. The Post was very good, but I especially liked 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Tomorrow I'm seeing The Darkest Hour, which is also supposed to be great.
Finally, a big thank you to all I heard from on my birthday, either by card, email, Facebook or calls. I feel very fortunate to have such wonderful friends and I truly appreciate your thinking of me in such thoughtful ways.
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