Friends, Flowers, and Birds

Okay, so, I’m starting a walking program…for the second time. Don’t laugh! I need to do something about my Covid-19+ pounds; but those who know me, know that exercise is alien to me. It isn’t that there are not things to enjoy about it, but the hard part is getting out the door. It is also boring to walk the same route all the time, although you do notice much more while walking than driving. In any case, it is a four-week program increasing the walking time to 40 minutes. I scheduled it on my calendar and wound up walking ONE time (20 minutes) before being distracted by something else. So far on this second attempt, I have walked once. If I get out tomorrow, I will have broken my previous record!!

So today (4/10), I have a list of things to do, but I sit down at the computer to do a monotonous chore (updating the clergy list for Lowcountry Coalition Against Hate) and I’m still there around 12:30 when Tippy calls. She was on her way to the mountains but by the time she got to I-95, it was backed up with about 3 accidents ahead. So, she calls me and says, “Put that fork down and join me for lunch”. Only friends and food could nudge me from my spot on the sofa. We met at First Watch and had a leisurely lunch on a nice but very windy day. I had already thought about going to Best Buy the next day to buy a new laptop but since First Watch is so close, I decided to do it then and there. My current computer is low on storage space and though I have deleted a lot, it performs slowly and says there is not enough space to finish procedures. It was also important to me to be a good citizen and put my Covid relief check back into the economy!  Tippy joined me for the adventure and it was relatively painless. The only disappointment was that the one I wanted had to be ordered so I won’t get it until Tuesday. From that time on for about a week, I will be useless to everyone until I get it set up.

Tuesday arrived, as did my laptop right on schedule. I went from a Dell, which I was not particularly impressed with, to an HP, which I’ve had before and liked. Current technology has also advanced since my previous laptop. When I opened this one, a voice told me how to set it up! I learned that USB ports are on their way out and are being replaced by USB – Type C ports, and everything is so fast! I am even able to receive phone calls and write texts on my laptop! What will they think of next? Needless to say, I’m loving it.

I could not bring myself to watch the Chauvin trial, but I fear once again he may be set free because there are those who think the police are justified regardless of what they do. If that is the case, we can expect (justifiably) disruption in the streets. Between blatant racism (thank you, trump 😠) and guns, we are in a bad way and don’t seem to have the moral capacity to save ourselves. As I write this, the jury is in deliberation and I pray they do the right thing.

Lynn and Tom of our Pan Pals had planned their first trip in a year to visit her sister in Buffalo, NY, who is not doing well. I ran into Lynn and Bogey the day before and they were packed and ready to go. The next morning I was surprised to receive an email from her saying Tom was in the hospital with A-fib and would be undergoing a procedure later that day. Needless to say, they were sorry to miss the trip but it could have been devastating if it happened en route or even after arriving. He came home the day of the procedure (4/16) called a “conversion” which we all joked about later! Anyway, knowing that they were going to be away, Chris and I had planned to do a pick-up from a new Mexican place, Underground Burrito. We shared a cauliflower burrito and a sweet potato burrito. Both were absolutely delicious. We were not sure how Tom would be feeling but we decided to surprise them with a dessert from the Farmer’s Market since we know he has a sweet tooth. We didn’t stay long but were pleased to find Tom looking and feeling well, and I think they liked our little surprise appearance.

Today (4/17), my project has been to put up a birdhouse in my back yard. The birdbox has been in my garage for years. Tippy gave me a sturdy hanger but it didn’t work. Even so, it did motivate me to look online for something that might. Well, I found the perfect thing that I could do myself - with the help of my handy, dandy drill! It was an easy solution which, if I had known about years earlier, the birdbox would have been up long ago. Now I’m just waiting for tenants....who began to arrive the following day!

Look at this beautiful flower! I think it's an amaryllis but I could be wrong. Gardners feel free to correct me. Reyna's yard literally has dozens of them and they are spectacular. She gave me two last year and this one is perfect (the other is too close to a sprinkler and needs to be moved). As you can see, a second one is coming up with it, so I can separate it and plant someplace else in the yard. This year she has given me three more and I expect more to come. I'm hoping they do as well as this one.

Speaking of good neighbors, the day before yesterday Ellie (one of Rosie's favorite people) asked if I ate vegetables and I told her I was vegetarian so vegetables were my thing. Then, yesterday she brought me some lettuce and a bouquet of herbs (basil, sage, rosemary, thyme, mint) that smelled good enough to eat on the spot. She will have eggplant, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, etc, and I'm so lucky she wants to share with me. 

In the meantime, it's a time for good TV viewing and reading (audiobooks). If you haven't seen them yet, my recommendations are....

PBS – Hemingway and Atlantic Crossing. Both were excellent, though Hemingway was sad and depressing.

Acorn – 19-2  This is a very realistic police drama out of Montreal.

Audiobooks – Road Back to You about enneagrams. I read this just out of curiosity.

The Other Wes Moore - a true story about two guys named Wes Moore who lived within blocks of each other and were a years difference in age. One became a Rhodes scholar, the other a victim of the system.

Before We Were Yours - based on a true story of the 1920s and 30s of an adoption society that trafficked in stolen children or took advantage of families in need.

What have you seen or read recently that you would recommend?

 

Easter 2021

 

On Tuesday of this week (3/30) Chris and I ventured out for the F-word (falafel!) at our favorite spot, Olive and Fig. It has been a long time since we dined there, and even now we planned to eat outside. It was not a day for eating outside – gray, rainy, cool – but, to the hostess’s surprise, we asked to do so. As luck would have it, it did not rain on us and we enjoyed the food and camaraderie. It was almost like old times! Chris was so pleased to be out that she even had two glasses of wine! As you can see, I was a good girl and only had a glass of water. LOL!!

The next day I had a Zoom call with Ann and Eileen. It’s amazing how quickly 40 minutes can pass! We catch up on each other and mutual friends…..and always have laughs along the way. They even tolerate my politics! Later that day, I invited Lynn, Tom, and Bogey over for a play date for Rosie and Bogey and a glass of wine for the adults. Bogey found a bone that I had gotten for Rosie years ago and forgotten I had. It’s about the size of Rosie’s head, so I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought it. In any case, he got a whiff of it and dug down into the toy basket to claim it. He chewed on that bone the rest of the time!

I had been thinking of my friend Carolyn who lives in France, so I texted her one day only to find that she was in the doctor’s office at the moment! She called a few days later and had been suffering from Covid-19 for 7 weeks. Both she and Yaakin were 3 weeks away from getting their vaccine when they both came down with it. Yaakin recovered more quickly but Carolyn was still dealing with it after all that time. I told her about my neighbor who was in the hospital with it for 5 days and he said that for 3 of those days he didn’t know whether he was dead or alive. He lost 15 pounds and was a weak as water when he came home. It isn’t anything to mess with and I hope Carolyn is feeling much better by now.

Easter weekend was busier than expected. It started with our Pan Pals gathering at Chris’s house on Friday night. We shared our usual great conversation, good food, and a few laughs. I’m so fortunate to have friends who like to laugh! On Saturday night (way past my bedtime!) I went over to Reyna’s for pizzas by Valeria and Joann. The girls have really stepped up their game since I was last there. They have expanded their repertoire of vegetables, and while I usually would not have pineapple on my pizza, they had it perfectly balanced with jalapenos! They really were delicious and filling. I took my usual chopped salad and much to my surprise, they liked it. Joann said she didn’t like salad (referring to the leafy kind), but when she tried my sturdy, crunchy salad, she liked it. It’s great to see young people learn to like veggies! Sunday evening I had dinner with my new neighbors across the street, Maria and Mark, along with their friends from NY, Robin and Peter. It was a very comfortable group and a delightful evening. They have a lovely screened-in porch where we had appetizers and enjoyed a nice breeze. Their yard is fenced so Felix and Rosie had some time outside without a leash and eventually Rosie went into her crazy run. She was doing figure-eights as fast as she could, much to everyone’s delight. Needless to say, Rosie had a good time, too, and Felix was okay with her being in his space. The food was abundant and scrumptious. Maria and Mark really outdid themselves. It was a totally enjoyable evening. I had no real plans for Monday until Tippy called and suggested we get together for lunch. SO, we met at a restaurant, picked up food, and went back to Tippy’s so we could have a glass of wine with it. It was more comfortable eating in their back year, and Tippy wanted to show me her plantings. Farmer Tippy has built a bed and planted lettuce, kale, eggplant, cukes, strawberries, and more. She calls it her dirt therapy and I could tell she enjoyed it. I was impressed, so much so that the following day I pruned (or butchered, too early to tell!) my rose bushes outback. I also discovered that the 2 amaryllises Reyna gave me last year are alive and well. That is my kind of plant – one that can withstand the weather and find a way to thrive on its own! This is the most social I have been since my birthday in January. I may now have to lie in a darkened room for about three days to re-group and re-charge!!

On Saturday of Easter weekend, Rosie was in for a surprise. I had ordered a trial sample of dog food from The Farmer’s Dog and it arrived. It isn’t that Rosie is a picky eater, it’s almost like it’s an afterthought. Sometimes I wonder if it is the rubbery-looking food she gets or if she just isn’t interested. Since I’m vegetarian, she also doesn’t get tasty table scraps that many dogs might. In any case, I have never dealt with such a consumer-oriented, helpful company! Before ordering, they know everything about your dog, even that Rosie is a Chiweenie, her weight, eating habits, health issues, etc. Before the food arrives, they educate you about the food itself, how to transition your pet to the food, portion size, etc. Then, when the food arrived, it was completely frozen, had Rosie’s name on each packet, portion sizes indicated, etc. They have thought of everything! To top it off, the box is recyclable, as one would expect, but the insulation dissolves in water! I was amazed by that! And finally, which may be more than you want/need to know, once Rosie has fully transitioned to the food, I can send them a photo of her poop and they will tell me whether it is as it should be!! Humorously, they do request that only photos of doggie-do be sent!! So, they even have a sense of humor! Thus far, Rosie really likes it and as I opened the first package, she rounded the corner to check it out, which is something she usually does only when I open cheese. Since ordering it, I’ve run into two people who get it for their dogs and they swear by it. It’s a bit expensive, but if Rosie likes it, what can I do?

This is just a little quirky thing in our neighborhood on one of Rosie's walking routes. I'm not sure when it started but it's been going on for a while. At first, there were a few painted shards by kids placed on the stump; then, I saw a few painted pine cones scattered around and added one to the collection. Then, a rubber duck showed up, and when I added the Easter egg to the stump, some Disney princesses had appeared. it's just a fun thing to keep an eye on and maybe add to a kid's day.