Spring is in the Air - Maybe!

On the day of my last post, I stayed in my PJs all day long – literally, It was cold, damp, and dreary with no reason to do otherwise. Once in a while, I like a day like that. I was able to get a few things done that I couldn’t manage the day before, so it wasn’t totally unproductive.

I’ve participated in two interesting Zoom calls recently. One was with Dr. Annie Andrews (D) who is running for a seat in the US House against Nancy Mace (R), whom you may have seen recently in front of trump tower groveling to her supreme leader. I was very impressed with Dr. Andrews and certainly hope she is able to win. The other was a Liberal Ladies’ meeting with guest speaker Sam Mihara (https://sammihara.com/), who was interned in a Japanese Internment camp at the age of nine. He and his family were taken from San Francisco to a camp in Idaho. This is another period of shame in our history that few people know about and is not taught in school. His presentation was enhanced by photographs, making it more difficult to understand how this could happen in our country, He ended it by updating us on his friends from the camp and their contribution to our society. It was very informative and moving.

Rhonda came over on the 12th for dinner. Her dad passed away mid-week and she and her brother had been dealing with everything involved with that as well as dealing with the loss. I was glad she could come. After dinner, we watched the Summer of Soul which was great. I’d never heard of the festival, but the music was fantastic. We enjoyed it and it was good to catch up.

As usual, I am at a loss for where the time goes and what I do with it! I did get a bee in my bonnet about our HOA giving a neighbor flack for not having a green lawn. Well, his lawn isn’t green because he has/had four large, stately pine trees in his yard that prevented the grass from growing. It appears that green lawns far outweigh trees! It niggled at me so long that I finally wrote the HOA a letter (email). As everyone predicted, I never heard a word from them though I did feel better for having said my peace. So, John had 4 (not 1, not 2, but 4) large, beautiful pine trees removed. The big truck rolled up and a nice, green lawn was rolled out. I guess the powers that be are happy now.

We have had glorious weather recently, though today and the next few are cooler and overcast with rain possible. Almost overnight the redbuds and azaleas are blooming. Our daffodil fields have been open and in full bloom, but this cold spell has shut them down for the season. They are always a delight to both see and pick your own. After a colder-than-usual winter, it is nice to see spring peeking through and I hope it lasts a nice long time.

I feel like I am slowly coming out of the abuse and shock of the trump years (and you would be surprised at the number of friends who say some version of the same thing!). One of the symptoms of that period was a total inability to get anything done. I refer to it as being “immobilized.” Over the last few weeks, I have been able to get some of the things done that I’ve thought about for so long. One is to clean out the closet and storage of my 3^rd bedroom. It took two days to do the closet and I came across things that I never remembered buying – prints from the UK, France, Prague, Thailand, etc. There were two completed needlework projects, which I never did anything with, and FOUR incomplete projects!! Cheryl told me about a lady she heard about who trolls thrift shops for incomplete projects, which she buys and completes. I hope there is one of those ladies around here! I also had years of tax returns as well as loads of copied recipes going back to before I became vegetarian! It really was ridiculous. I have bags of papers to be shredded and hope to get that done this Tuesday. There are only two more sections of the bookcase left to clear and then I am tackling the garage! Now that is a black hole! I may never be seen again.

Among those things I found in my cleaning were mementos of my time in Saudi – the Arabian Sun article when I won the ladies’ division of the Presidents Cup, a bunch of invitations to Friday Happy Hour, a panoramic photo (made by taping several photos together!) of Dhahran par 3, etc. It really was a walk down memory lane and I’d forgotten the measures we took to get everyone together for end-of-week happy hour…….anyone remember Medina chicken and dining hall shrimp?? Those were the days!

I’m including this photo of Chris and me to prove that we do occasionally dine someplace other than Olive and Fig! We are at The Turn, a new restaurant in the area. We were drawn here because they actually have a vegan section on their menu. Naturally, we wanted to try it out and support it if possible. We had different menu items and both of us were impressed with the flavor and presentation – the owners are vegan, which probably accounted for everything we liked. Even the wine was nice so I think we will be going back again.

I took them some daffodils from our local fields

pSpeaking of Chris, her sisters and their families come down about twice a year, and this time (last weekend) they invited Chris’ Pandemic Pals over for brunch. Chris had told us of their family gatherings with a cast of thousands and more food than the crowd could possibly eat. They certainly lived up to their reputation and we had a great time. They were staying in Palmetto Dunes with a nice, long balcony overlooking the beach. There was everything one could possibly desire to eat – including an omelet station! Most of us had at least two helpings – and then pie!! The food was delicious, the atmosphere was jovial and fun, and it was great to be able to put faces to names. Chris’ stories will now take on new meaning when she mentions her sisters. I wish I’d taken photos but I really didn’t want to break the mood - It was a delightful day. and they could not have made us feel more welcome.

The rest of my time has been spent with friends – something usually involving food! Tippy, Rosie, and I went for a walk along the residential side of Dolphin Head, and Rhonda and I met up one Sunday for a walk on Pinckney Island. I’ve also watched several Zoom things online. One was a 5-day series on Reframing Aging with Maria Shriver. Each day had two parts, the first being professionals, Doctors, etc., and the second being celebrity types. It was quite interesting. The second was a 2-part webinar by PBS about Benjamin Franklin, which included Ken Burns and various authorities on Franklin. This is in advance of a series on Franklins by Burns coming to PBS in April. My reading (audiobooks) has included Will, written and narrated by Will Smith. I enjoyed it more than I expected and came away with a respect for his work ethic, insight, determination, etc.  Going There, written and narrated by Katie Couric, which I was totally non-plussed about. Right now, I’m reading Eleanor and Hick about Eleanor Roosevelt’s relationship with Lorena Hickok, a reporter. I was aware of Franklin’s dalliances but had never heard of Eleanor’s companion. It’s interesting from that perspective but it also sheds light on the happenings of the times. I came across it when I was looking for Eleanor, which a friend had recommended, but it is not yet available as an audiobook from the library. I still hope to read that as well.

To end on a positive note, Eileen has recently notified me that she has booked her flight for a visit in May! We're hoping that the third try is a charm! It gives me something to look forward to and it’ll be fun to catch up in person.