Welcome 2021!

On Monday the 28^th both Chris and I had a Covid test. We each went separately to a location nearest us and had slightly different experiences – nothing bad, just different processes. Unfortunately, the response time is 3-5 days, which makes it virtually useless, but it is just a moment in time. My thought was that I had not taken the test and possibly being exposed was a good enough reason to take it. If they come back negative, which is our hope, then we must be doing the right things.

There are two exciting things to report from friends. From my friend Melodee in St. Louis, I received a copy of her new book as a Christmas gift! I immediately recognized the photo on the cover. I knew she was working on a book, but I didn’t know she had completed and published it. She has obviously used her quarantine time better than I! Congratulations, Melodee, and thank you so much. I can’t wait to get into it.

From my friend Pamela in CA, I received a small Christmas card with a lot of news. She is taking a 5-year sabbatical from retirement! She will be living in Mexico for 7 – 9 months and then returning to the US to travel the country in her new RV (with her 2 kitties). All of that sounds so exciting and she plans to be in my area in August or September of 2021 I don’t know all of the details but I hope to hear more about her adventures soon. How exciting!

 

New Year’s Eve: Well, I was so excited to see 2020 out the door that I didn’t sleep well last night and was up a 6 AM!!  I made a mad dash to the grocery store and spent most of the day cooking collards (with garlic & vinegar), black-eyed pea CURRY (thought I may as well spice it up and they are delicious over rice), as well as a French lentil stew to alternate with my traditional New Year’s Day meal. All that is left for New Year’s Day is the cornbread!

I don’t know what 2021 will bring, but from here I think there is only one direction and that it UP! I really feel like I am saying goodbye to four soul-destroying years that I will never get back (the end of an error!) – but I am so happy to put them behind me. I hope 2021 ushers in an era of kindness, compassion, understanding, and peace that we have never before known.

New Year’s Day: I almost made it until midnight, but not quite. Before going to bed, I decided to turn off all alarms. When I finally crawled out of bed, it was 9 AM. As I was checking my emails, I had one from Lynn, who invited me and Rosie to stop by for coffee and coffee cake. That was a great way to start off the New Year, though I told Lynn she made me feel bad because she had been up long enough to bake a coffee cake!! New Year’s Day and today (1/2/2021) have been very mild. By the time I got Rosie out, it was almost 70 degrees and balmy. As we walked over to Lynn and Tom’s, we watched the golden leaves falling and

It all tastes much better than it looks!

swirling. It really has been delightful.

I had just gotten home and settled in to binge-watch Nothing Trivial, which I’d started the previous weekend and found to be light and very entertaining. It’s about the lives of a group who get together regularly for quiz night at the Beagle Pub. In any case, poor Rayna stopped by in a state of total distress. Mr. Welzant, who lives with her whom she cares for, has been in and out of the hospital with pneumonia for the last month or so. He had been home only 2 days before having to go back into hospital again. To top that, she had been badly treated by an ER nurse. I touched base with her this morning and she finally talked to a caring doctor who explained what is going on with him. Mr. Welzant also has lung cancer, which I didn’t know, but that means he will continue to periodically/frequently have pneumonia. The doctor promised to treat him as best he could but it sounds like there will be no cure or long-term relief. If nothing else, he helped Reyna understand what is going on and understand the situation better, and have a better idea of what to expect.

Then, shortly after Reyna left, Lynn set up a Zoom meeting with our Pandemic Pals. Chris was going to have us all over for a NY brunch, but neither of us had gotten our Covid test results. So, we remained quarantined. As we were Zooming, my phone rang so I muted my sound and took the call. It was my Covid results – negative! I thought that would be the case, but it felt good to be sure. It came at a great time to let the others in our group know. Now we’re waiting for Chris to get her results.

So, today I’m back to watching Nothing Trivial (Acorn from New Zealand)!  Before this series, I watched The Coroner (PBS from BBC). It, too, was very good. I also just finished the audiobook of Hidden Valley Road, a true story about a family with 12 children, most of whom were schizophrenic. It was spell-binding and informative.  I’d be interested in anything you’ve watched or read recently that you enjoyed.

Sending everyone love and best wishes for 2021.

via GIPHY