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My apologies to all in the Reno, Sparks area who are being adversely affected by the torrential rain and wind. It was just careless comment to Bill last night, "Tomorrow, if the weather is as good as it was today, we're going to take a nice 2 to 3 mile walk." I should remember to think before I speak.
We made French toast for breakfast on Sunday
with Bill's bread. Amazing!!
April 6
We ventured out to Trader Joe's and Costco
this morning.
 We needed batteries and ground round, but we
scored two huge pack of toilet paper and 25
pounds of flour. I called Kirk and Cathy
Hollister to see if they needed any, but she
said they are ok, which was a good thing,
because Costco is limiting purchases to one
pack per card. We both had our cards so we
were able to buy a pack for us and a pack for
Kathy ad Rommie. We took them some supplies
last Thursday, too, and we got to see both
girls for a couple of
minutes.
Our indoor tomatoes are doing pretty well after three weeks. I will slowly transplant more until I have a god crop that I can separate and then I will give away a few.  
Game I saw on Facebook.
I told Bill that we could play it, and he said
every day is a scavenger hunt at our
house. His reply, "every day around here is a
freakin scavenger hunt; the list - your
reading glasses, your seeing glasses, the
audio remote, the tv/cable remote, your
book, your other book, your tea, your
wallet, your phone, my phone."
On the way home from dropping off the TP at
Kathy and Rommie's house, we saw
this.
April 6 So, Bill had been fritzing around in the kitchen for a little while. I figured he was straightening the cabinets or something. He just brought the salt and pepper into the living room and set it down on the tv tray among with a ramekin of peppers. I said, "are you fixing dinner this early?" He gestured at the clock. Holy cow! Where has the day gone?" April 7 We are living in strange times.
From a grocery store manager:
I manage a grocery store.
Here's some things everyone should know:
1. I don't have toilet paper
2. I don't have sanitizer 3. I run out of milk, eggs and meat daily 4. I promise if it's out on the shelf ... it's not in a hidden corner of our back room
Those are the predictable ones, now for the
real stuff
5. I have been doing this for 25 years I did
not forget how to order product
6. I did not cause the warehouse to be out of product 7. I schedule as much help as I have, including many TMs working TONS of overtime to help YOU 8. I am sorry there are lines at the check out lanes
Now for the really important stuff
9. My team puts themselves in harm's way
everyday so you can buy groceries
10. My team works tirelessly to get product on the floor for you to buy 11. My team is exhausted 12. My team is scared of getting sick 13. My team is human and do not possess an antivirus... they are in just as much danger as you are. (Arguably more) But they show up to work everyday just so you can buy groceries 14. My team is tired 15. My team is very under appreciated 16. My team is exposed to more people who are potentially infected in one hour than most of you will in a week (medical community excluded, thank you for all that you do!) 17. My team is abused all day by customers who have no idea how ignorant they are 18. My team disinfects every surface possible, everyday, just so you can come in grab a wipe from the dispenser, wipe the handle and throw the used wipe in the cart or on the ground and leave it there... so my team can throw it in the trash for you later 19. My team wonders if you wash your re-usable bags, that you force us to touch, that are clearly dirty and have more germs on them than our shopping carts do 20. My team more than earns their breaks, lunches and days off. And if that means you wait longer I am sorry.
The last thing I will say is this
The next time you are in a grocery store,
please pause and think about what you are
saying and how you are treating the people
you encounter. They are the reason you are
able to buy toilet paper, sanitizer, milk,
eggs and meat.
If the store you go to is out of an item..
maybe find the neighbor or friend that
bought enough for a year ... there are
hundreds of them... and ask them to spare 1
or 2. They caused the problem to begin
with...
And lastly, please THANK the people who
helped you. They don't have to come to work!
Also on April 7 -
This was posted in my ER docs group on FB
and it brought tears to my eyes and we were
given permission to share:
I have been an Emergency Medicine Physician
for almost 20 years. I have worked through
numerous disasters, and I’m used to the
daily grind of heart attacks, gunshots,
strokes, flu, traumas, and more. It’s par
for the course in my field. Yet nothing
has made me feel the way I do about my
“job” as this pandemic has—that
knot-in-the-pit–of-your-stomach sensation
while heading into work, comforted only by
the empathetic faces of my colleagues who
are going through the same. I am grateful
for their presence, knowing they are both
literally and figuratively with me, that
they understand and accept so profoundly
the risks we take each day. I also hope
that my friends and family forgive me for
my lack of presence during this
time—precisely when we need each other
most—and that they realize that their
words, their encouragement, and their
small gestures that come my way daily are
the fuel that gets me through each day.
This is a story for all of us.
I met my patient, Mr. C., on my first real
“pandemic” shift, when what we were seeing
that day was what we had been preparing for.
He was classic in his presentation, his
X-ray findings, his low oxygen levels… we
just knew. And he was the nicest man I had
met in a long time. Gasping for breath, he
kept asking if we needed anything, and that
it would all be okay. He told us he was a
teacher but that he was learning so much
from us, and how much he respected what we
were doing. The opposite could not be more
true.
We had to decide how long we would try to
let him work through this low oxygen state
before needing to intubate him. His levels
kept falling and despite all our best
efforts it was time to put him on the
ventilator. He told us he didn’t feel great
about this, “but Doc, I trust you and am
putting myself in your hands.” That uneasy
feeling in my stomach grew even more in that
moment. But he, with his teacher's steady
voice, kept me grounded, where I was
supposed to be. I saw his eyes looking at
me, seeing the kindness in them, even as we
pushed the medications to put him to sleep.
To say this was an “easy” intubation is an
understatement. It was not. He nearly left
us a few times during those first minutes,
but he kept coming back. We fought hard to
keep him with us. The patience and strength
of my team that day, truly remarkable.
I handed him over to my friend and
colleague, Dr. Beth Ginsburg, and her team
in the ICU, and her calming voice reassured
me that they had it from here. And then for
the next twelve days, I waited and watched
his progress, knowing the statistics, and
how sick he was when he got to us. They did
their magic, and just yesterday my new
friend Mr. C was extubated. I decided to go
“meet” him again.
Mr C. was in the COVID stepdown unit,
recovering, without family. Nobody was
allowed to visit him; even worse, his wife
had been home alone in isolation for the
past fourteen days, too. My heart broke
thinking of how that must have been for her.
I cautiously went into his room, donned in
my PPE, and when he saw me, he stopped for a
second. A moment of recognition.
I introduced myself. “I’m Dr. Akbarnia, Mr.
C. I was the last person you saw in the ER.
You told me you trusted us to get you to
this side. Looks like you did just fine.” He
started to cry. He said, “I remember your
eyes.” And I started to cry. What he didn’t
know is that, at that moment, I realized
that we do what we do exactly for people
like him, for moments like these. His
strength, his kindness, his calming words to
me meant everything. At that moment, my
heart (which had been beating over 100 bpm
since this pandemic began) finally slowed
down.
I sat down and we talked. I told him that
while he is here, we are his family. He will
always have a place in my heart. And whether
he knows it or not, he will be my silent
warrior and guide as I take care of every
patient, COVID or not. He will fuel me until
the day I hang up my stethoscope.
When I heard from Patty, that Laurie was
asked by Rochelle, to color her hair for
her, I wrote this.
Dear friends,
Your hair is the least of your worries. Stay
safe. Do not ask a friend to color or cut
your hair for you. You might like yourself
in longer hair. If your hair color is
important to you, go to the store and buy
L'Oréal or Clairol, or any other brand, and
color it yourself until our quarantine is
over. It's not hard to do, you will look
fine, and you can go back to your hair
dresser in a few weeks and pay $80 to have
it done. Or, you may discover that you did a
good job save the money for something else.
April 8 Walgreen's doesn't care about their customers health and safety. We walked over to pick up a prescription and Bill went to the drive through. They wouldn't serve him without a car. It is a liability issue. So he had to don his mask and go inside. 🤬😡 Oh yes, the staff in the pharmacy or anywhere in the store were not wearing masks! I asked FB friends ------- When you can travel, sometime in the near (hopefully) future, where would you choose to go? Besides visiting your kids, grandkids, extended family and friends. Realistically, not just an exotic trip that you know you'll never really make, but some trip you might really take. We're still pondering the possibilities. 
I got a lot of responses. Also on April 7 - it was a very busy day. I wrote this.
If you use one of the shopping apps, like
Postmates or Instacart, you should be
aware of a few things Your shopper is
required to try very hard to find
everything on your list. But, everything
is not available all the time, now. The
shopper can make substitutions of a
different brand or a similar product, but
sometimes they have to simply cancel an
item. Your shopper should be communicating
with you to see if substitutions are
acceptable.
Our last Instacart order was a almost two weeks ago and the store was out
of normal things like A-1 sauce, and 16
ounce can of french cut green beans. It
took us over 45 minutes to buy 43 out of
59 items in an unfamiliar store. For
that, we were paid $19.87. And then we
drove four miles to deliver the bags,
for a total time of just over one hour.
When I gave the customer her groceries,
she handed me an envelope, apologizing
that she couldn't afford more. When I
got to the car, I found $10.00 in the
envelope. That's very good pay for an
hour, even if you factor in the cost of
the use of our car. And, only one of us
is the actual shopper; the other is
sub-contracted as a helper (guess which
one.).
But, the pay offers are not usually that
high. And quite often there is no tip. I
look at the offers sometimes, even
though we are not presently working, and
I just saw one for 41 items for $9.87.
If I was working, I would have turned
that one down. I don't have a clue how
the payment offers are determined, but I
know that 41 items would take long
enough that the shopper wouldn't be even
close to getting minimum wage.
Especially, since several of the items
would probably be out of stock, and
there would be a lot of texting back and
forth with the customer. The pic
attached to this shows some of the
offers available right now. Why would
anyone want to take the Safeway offer
for $12.05 where they have to buy 22
items,when they could get the one for
$29.66 for 16 items?
Most of the shoppers are hard working
and conscientious, but some of them are
total jerks, as I've seen from their
posts on the Instacart and Postmates
Facebook pages. So, if you really need
to make an order, try to keep it simple
and keep your phone at hand for the
communication part.
If you are happy with the service you
get, please reward your shopper by going
into the app and tipping them generously
if you can. Most shoppers are working
because they have to, not because they
want to, and a lot of them would rather
not be out their exposing themselves and
their loved ones to the possibility of
sickness.
April 10 Food experts advise making menus for two weeks worth of meals so we can shop efficiently. We have a different method on most days. We look at each other at 2:00 PM and say, "what should we have for dinner tonight?" This is what our great grandkids are going to ask, "Mom, why does great-grandma wash all the cans, jars, cartons and bottles in the sink with soap and water when she comes home from the market? And why does she spray the flour, sugar, and other things that can't be washed before bringing them in the house?" Bill had to make cookies today. 
I mentioned the possibility of eggs for breakfast and Bill said we can't because we're low on eggs, and he's going to make cookies today. Does he need an intervention? It got lots of comments, most of which said he should keep on baking Gary asked if we needed anything from Costco. I had him bring us some butter. April 11 
This is an interesting point of view I found.
*Gaslighting, if you don’t know the word, is
defined as manipulation into doubting your own
sanity; as in, Carl made Mary think she was
crazy, even though she clearly caught him
cheating. He gaslit her.
Pretty soon, as the country begins to figure
out how we “open back up” and move forward,
very powerful forces will try to convince us
all to get back to normal. (That never
happened. What are you talking about?)
Billions of dollars will be spent on
advertising, messaging, and television and
media content to make you feel comfortable
again. It will come in the traditional forms —
a billboard here, a hundred commercials there
— and in new-media forms: a 2020–2021
generation of memes to remind you that what
you want again is normalcy. In truth, you want
the feeling of normalcy, and we all want it.
We want desperately to feel good again,
to get back to the routines of life, to not lie in bed at night wondering how we’re going to afford our
rent and bills, to not wake to an
endless scroll of human tragedy on our phones, to have a cup of perfectly brewed coffee
and simply leave the house for work. The need
for comfort will be real, and it will be
strong. And every brand in America will come
to your rescue, dear consumer, to help take
away that darkness and get life back to the
way it was before the crisis. I urge you to be
well aware of what is coming.
For the last hundred years, the
multibillion-dollar advertising business has
operated based on this cardinal principle:
Find the consumer’s problem and fix it with
your product. When the problem is practical
and tactical, the solution is “as seen on TV”
and available at Home Depot. Command strips
will save me from having to repaint. So will
Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser. Elfa shelving will
get rid of the mess in my closet. The Ring
doorbell will let me see who’s on the porch if
I can’t take my eyes off Netflix. But when the
problem is emotional, the fix becomes a new
staple in your life, and you become a lifelong
loyalist. Coca-Cola makes you: happy. A
Mercedes makes you: successful. Taking your
family on a Royal Caribbean cruise makes you:
special. Smart marketers know how to highlight
what brands can do for you to make your life
easier. But brilliant marketers know how to
rewire your heart. And, make no mistake, the
heart is what has been most traumatized this
last month. We are, as a society, now
vulnerable in a whole new way.
What the trauma has shown us, though, cannot
be unseen. A carless Los Angeles has clear
blue skies as pollution has simply stopped. In
a quiet New York, you can hear the birds chirp
in the middle of Madison Avenue. Coyotes have
been spotted on the Golden Gate Bridge. These
are the postcard images of what the world
might be like if we could find a way to have a
less deadly daily effect on the planet. What’s
not fit for a postcard are the other scenes we
have witnessed: a health care system that
cannot provide basic protective equipment for
its frontline; small businesses — and very
large ones — that do not have enough cash to
pay their rent or workers, sending over 16
million people to seek unemployment benefits;
a government that has so severely damaged the
credibility of our media that 300 million
people don’t know who to listen to for basic
facts that can save their lives.
The cat is out of the bag. We, as a nation,
have deeply disturbing problems. You’re right.
That’s not news. They are problems we ignore
every day, not because we’re terrible people
or because we don’t care about fixing them,
but because we don’t have time. Sorry, we have
other shit to do. The plain truth is that no
matter our ethnicity, religion, gender,
political party (the list goes on), nor even
our socioeconomic status, as Americans we
share this: We are busy. We’re out and about
hustling to make our own lives work. We have
goals to meet and meetings to attend and
mortgages to pay — all while the phone is
ringing and the laptop is pinging. And when we
get home, Crate and Barrel and Louis Vuitton
and Andy Cohen make us feel just good enough
to get up the next day and do it all over
again. It is very easy to close your eyes to a
problem when you barely have enough time to
close them to sleep. The greatest
misconception among us, which causes deep and
painful social and political tension every day
in this country, is that we somehow don’t care
about each other. White people don’t care
about the problems of black America. Men don’t
care about women’s rights. Cops don’t care
about the communities they serve. Humans don’t
care about the environment. These couldn’t be
further from the truth. We do care. We just
don’t have the time to do anything about it.
Maybe that’s just me. But maybe it’s you,
too.
Well, the treadmill you’ve been on for decades
just stopped. Bam! And that feeling you have
right now is the same as if you’d been thrown
off your Peloton bike and onto the ground:
What in the holy fuck just happened? I hope
you might consider this: What happened is
inexplicably incredible. It’s the greatest
gift ever unwrapped. Not the deaths, not the
virus, but The Great Pause. It is, in a word,
profound. Please don’t recoil from the bright
light beaming through the window. I know it
hurts your eyes. It hurts mine, too. But the
curtain is wide open. What the crisis has
given us is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see
ourselves and our country in the plainest of
views. At no other time, ever in our lives,
have we gotten the opportunity to see what
would happen if the world simply stopped. Here
it is. We’re in it. Stores are closed.
Restaurants are empty. Streets and six-lane
highways are barren. Even the planet itself is
rattling less (true story). And because it is
rarer than rare, it has brought to light all
of the beautiful and painful truths of how we
live. And that feels weird. Really weird.
Because it has… never… happened… before. If we
want to create a better country and a better
world for our kids, and if we want to make
sure we are even sustainable as a nation and
as a democracy, we have to pay attention to
how we feel right now. I cannot speak for you,
but I imagine you feel like I do: devastated,
depressed, and heartbroken.
And what a perfect time for Best Buy and
H&M and Wal-Mart to help me feel normal
again. If I could just have the new iPhone in
my hand, if I could rest my feet on a pillow
of new Nikes, if I could drink a venti blonde
vanilla latte or sip a Diet Coke, then this
very dark feeling would go away. You think I’m
kidding, that I’m being cute, that I’m denying
the very obvious benefits of having a roaring
economy. You’re right. Our way of life is not
without purpose. The economy is not, at its
core, evil. Brands and their products create
millions of jobs. Like people — and most
anything in life — there are brands that are
responsible and ethical, and there are others
that are not. They are all part of a system
that keeps us living long and strong. We have
lifted more humans out of poverty through the
power of economics than any other civilization
in history. Yes, without a doubt, Americanism
is a force for good. It is not some villainous
plot to wreak havoc and destroy the planet and
all our souls along with it. I get it, and I
agree. But its flaws have been laid bare for
all to see. It doesn’t work for everyone. It’s
responsible for great destruction. It is so
unevenly distributed in its benefit that three
men own more wealth than 150 million people.
Its intentions have been perverted, and the
protection it offers has disappeared. In fact,
it’s been brought to its knees by one pangolin. We have got to do better and find a way to
a responsible free market.
Until then, get ready, my friends. What is
about to be unleashed on American society will
be the greatest campaign ever created to get
you to feel normal again. It will come from
brands, it will come from government, it will
even come from each other, and it will come
from the left and from the right. We will do
anything, spend anything, believe anything,
just so we can take away how horribly
uncomfortable all of this feels. And on top of
that, just to turn the screw that much more,
will be the one effort that’s even greater:
the all-out blitz to make you believe you
never saw what you saw. The air wasn’t really
cleaner; those images were fake. The hospitals
weren’t really a war zone; those stories were
hyperbole. The numbers were not that high; the
press is lying. You didn’t see people in masks
standing in the rain risking their lives to
vote. Not in America. You didn’t see the
leader of the free world push an unproven
miracle drug like a late-night infomercial
salesman. That was a crisis update. You didn’t
see homeless people dead on the street. You
didn’t see inequality. You didn’t see
indifference. You didn’t see utter failure of
leadership and systems.
But you did. You are not crazy, my friends.
And so we are about to be gaslit in a truly
unprecedented way. It starts with a check for
$1,200 (Don’t say I never gave you anything)
and then it will be so big that it will be
bigly. And it will be a one-two punch from
both big business and the big White House —
inextricably intertwined now more than ever
and being led by, as our luck would have it, a
Marketer in Chief. Business and government are
about to band together to knock us unconscious
again. It will be funded like no other
operation in our lifetimes. It will be fast.
It will be furious. And it will be
overwhelming. The Great American Return to
Normal is coming.
From one citizen to another, I beg of you:
take a deep breath, ignore the deafening
noise, and think deeply about what you want to
put back into your life. This is our chance to
define a new version of normal, a rare and
truly sacred (yes, sacred) opportunity to get
rid of the bullshit and to only bring back
what works for us, what makes our lives
richer, what makes our kids happier, what
makes us truly proud. We get to Marie Kondo
the shit out of it all. We care deeply about one another. That is clear. That can be seen in every
supportive Facebook post, in every meal
dropped off for a neighbor, in every Zoom
birthday party. We are a good people. And as a
good people, we want to define — on our own
terms — what this country looks like in five,
10, 50 years. This is our chance to do that,
the biggest one we have ever gotten. And the
best one we’ll ever get.
We can do that on a personal scale in our
homes, in how we choose to spend our family
time on nights and weekends, what we watch,
what we listen to, what we eat, and what we
choose to spend our dollars on and where. We
can do it locally in our communities, in what
organizations we support, what truths we tell,
and what events we attend. And we can do it
nationally in our government, in which leaders
we vote in and to whom we give power. If we
want cleaner air, we can make it happen. If we
want to protect our doctors and nurses from
the next virus — and protect all Americans —
we can make it happen. If we want our
neighbors and friends to earn a dignified
income, we can make that happen. If we want
millions of kids to be able to eat if suddenly
their school is closed, we can make that
happen. And, yes, if we just want to live a
simpler life, we can make that happen, too.
But only if we resist the massive gaslighting
that is about to come. It’s on its way. Look
out.
April 12 I joined a new Facebook group, suggested by Julie Harrison. It is For Easter Eve, we felt like having pizza, so, instead of ordering out, I made one using some leftover marinara sauce we had frozen one time when we bought garlic knots. The pizza turned out to be perfect. 
April 12 For Easter dinner, at Tony's suggestion, we had green eggs and ham. It was quite good, although, not what we are usually have for a holiday dinner. 
I said, "Thank you to all the people who safely and responsibly worshiped the Lord from their homes this Easter morning." April 13 Crops are rotting in the fields with nobody to pick them. How about allowing the public in to pick as much as they can so they can take it to people who are shut in? April 16 We had company over the weekend. Patty and Bob, and then Julie and Craig Harrison. The guys were trying to help Bill get the sprinkler system and drip turned on. After several little problems, he got it running perfectly today. They weren't here at the same time, so I put out two chairs and talked with Patty, several feet apart while Bob, Bill and Mickie worked. Then, later, when Craig and Bill were working, Julie and I sat on the chairs. It felt so normal to be able to talk to people face to face. I joined a new Facebook group, suggested by Julie. It is a photography group. The moderator suggests a topic every Sunday, and people post pics they take of that subject. My first pic, for the subject of Spring, was of the trees on Gino Martini Parkway. 
It seems like a nice group, with no snarky people, so far. Tony posted this on Facebook. I thought he wrote it, but he said he just found it. Either way, it is very good. The following message was stolen from our son, Anthony . This makes everything clear. The Rules as of today: 1. Basically, you can't leave the house for any reason, but if you have to, then you can. 2. Masks are useless, but maybe you should wear one, it can save you, it is useless, but maybe it is mandatory as well. 3. Stores are closed, except those that are open. 4. You should not go to hospitals unless you have to go there. Same applies to doctors, you should only go there in case of emergency, provided you are not too sick. 5. This virus is deadly but still not too scary, except that sometimes it actually leads to a global disaster. 6. Gloves won't help, but they can still help. 7. Everyone needs to stay HOME, but if it's important then GO OUT. 8. There is no shortage of groceries in the supermarket, but there are many things missing when you go there in the evening, but not in the morning. Sometimes. 9. The virus has no effect on children except those it affects. 10. Animals are not affected, but there is still a cat that tested positive in Belgium in February when no one had been tested, plus a few tigers here and there… 11. You will have many symptoms when you are sick, but you can also get sick without symptoms, have symptoms without being sick, or be contagious without having symptoms. 12. In order not to get sick, you have to eat well and exercise, but eat whatever you have on hand and it's better not to go out, well, but no… 13. It's better to get some fresh air, but you get looked at very wrong when you get some fresh air, and most importantly, you don't go to parks or walk. But don’t sit down, except that you can do that now if you are old, but not for too long or if you are pregnant (but not too old). 14. You can't go to retirement homes, but you have to take care of the elderly and bring food and medication. 15. If you are sick, you can't go out, but you can go to the pharmacy. 16. You can get restaurant food delivered to the house, which may have been prepared by people who didn't wear masks or gloves. But you have to have your groceries decontaminated outside for 3 hours. Pizza too? 17. Every disturbing article or disturbing interview must start with " I don't want to trigger panic, but…" 18. You can't see your older mother or grandmother, but you can take a taxi and meet an older taxi driver. 19. You can walk around with a friend but not with your family if they don't live under the same roof. 20. You are safe if you maintain the appropriate social distance, but you can’t go out with friends or strangers at the safe social distance. 21. The virus remains active on different surfaces for two hours, no, four, no, six, no, we didn't say hours, maybe days? But it takes a damp environment. Oh no, not necessarily. 22. The virus stays in the air - well no, or yes, maybe, especially in a closed room. In one hour a sick person can infect ten, so if it falls, all our children were already infected at school before it was closed. But remember, if you stay at the recommended social distance, however in certain circumstances you should maintain a greater distance, which, studies show, the virus can travel further, maybe. 23. We count the number of deaths but we don't know how many people are infected as we have only tested so far those who were "almost dead" to find out if that's what they will die of. 24. We have no treatment, except that there may be one that apparently is not dangerous unless you take too much (which is the case with all medications). 25. We should stay locked up until the virus disappears, but it will only disappear if we achieve collective immunity, so when it circulates… but we must no longer be locked up for that? Las Vegas mayor said the shutdown is insane. Less than 1/2 of 1% of the total population of the Nevada has Covid. Maybe the shutdown is the reason for that!
Anthony, Scott and Kathy, for TBT, here is a pic of something we've
had since 1980. It has been in a storage bin
for over 30 years. Do you remember who gave
it to us? We've decided the time has come to
use our vintage wrap. Kathy remembered it,
but not where we got it. Gail said they
finished their roll a few years ago. Hmmm.
Tony and Scott got it. Kathy remembered the
box, but didn't know where it came from It
was Bill's dad, Stan, who gave it to us when
he was head of housekeeping at MGM
Grand.
April 17
"If your son visits his girlfriend, and you
later sneak over for coffee with a neighbor,
your neighbor is now connected to the
infected office worker that your son's
girlfriend's mother shook hands with." Think
about that for a moment.
The preceding is an excerpt from a rather
long post by an infectious disease
epidemiologist. I am quoting one paragraph
for those who don't want to read the whole
thing, which is well worth your time. The
post does not give any facts or figures. It
just relays common sense. We intend to hold
fast to the social distancing we have been
doing. It may be less fun than going back to
mixing with friends and family, but, it
really doesn't do any harm.
On the upside we are saving a lot of money
by not eating out. We didn't realize how
often we did that.
***********************************************************************
As an infectious disease epidemiologist, at
this point I feel morally obligated to
provide some information on what we are
seeing from a transmission dynamic
perspective and how they apply to the social
distancing measures. Like any good scientist
I have noticed two things that are either
not articulated or not present in the
"literature" of social media. Specifically,
I want to make two aspects of these measures
very clear and unambiguous.
First, we are in the very infancy of this
epidemic's trajectory. That means even with
these measures we will see cases and deaths
continue to rise globally, nationally, and
in our own communities in the coming
weeks.
Our hospitals will be overwhelmed, and people will die that didn't have to.
This may lead some people to think that the
social distancing measures are not
working.
They are. They may feel futile. They aren't. You will feel discouraged. You should. This is normal in chaos. But, this is also normal epidemic trajectory. Stay calm. This enemy that we are facing is very good at what it does; we are not failing. We need everyone to hold the line as the epidemic inevitably gets worse.
This is not my opinion; this is the
unforgiving math of epidemics for which I
and my colleagues have dedicated our lives
to understanding with great nuance, and this
disease is no exception.We know what will
happen; I want to help the community brace
for this impact.Stay strong and with
solidarity knowing with absolute certainty
that what you are doing is saving lives,
even as people begin getting sick and
dying.
You may feel like giving in. Don't.
Second, although social distancing measures
have been (at least temporarily)
well-received, there is an
obvious-but-overlooked phenomenon when
considering groups (i.e. families) in
transmission dynamics.
While social distancing decreases contact with members of society, it of course increases your contacts with group (i.e. family) members. This small and obvious fact has surprisingly profound implications on disease transmission dynamics.
Study after study demonstrates that even if
there is only a little bit of connection
between groups (i.e. social dinners,
playdates/playgrounds, etc.), the epidemic
trajectory isn't much different than if
there was no measure in place. The same
underlying fundamentals of disease
transmission apply, and the result is that
the community is left with all of the social
and economic disruption but very little
public health benefit.
You should perceive your entire family to
function as a single individual unit; if one
person puts themselves at risk, everyone
in
the unit is at risk.Seemingly small social chains get large and complex with alarming speed.
If your son visits his girlfriend, and you
later sneak over for coffee with a neighbor,
your neighbor is now connected to the
infected office worker that your son's
girlfriend's mother shook hands with.
This sounds silly, it's not.
This is not a joke or a hypothetical.
We as epidemiologists see it borne out in
the data time and time again and no one
listens.
Conversely, any break in that chain breaks disease transmission along that chain. In contrast to hand-washing and other personal measures, social distancing measures are not about individuals, they are about societies working in unison.These measures also take a long time to see the results.
It is hard (even for me) to conceptualize
how 'one quick little get together' can
undermine the entire framework of a public
health intervention, but it does.I promise
you it does.
I promise. I promise. I promise.
You can't cheat it. People are already
itching to cheat on the social distancing
precautions just a "little"- a playdate, a
haircut, or picking up a needless item at
the store, etc.
From a transmission dynamics standpoint,
this very quickly recreates a highly
connected social network that undermines all
of the work the community has done so
far.Until we get a viable vaccine this
unprecedented outbreak will not be overcome
in grand, sweeping gesture, rather only by
the collection of individual choices our
community makes in the coming months.
This virus is unforgiving to unwise
choices.
My goal in writing this is to prevent
communities from getting ‘sucker-punched' by
what the epidemiological community knows
will happen in the coming weeks.It will be
easy to be drawn to the idea that what we
are doing isn't working and become paralyzed
by fear, or to 'cheat' a little bit in the
coming weeks.
By knowing what to expect, and knowing the
importance of maintaining these measures, my
hope is to encourage continued community
spirit, strategizing, and action to
persevere in this time of uncertainty.
-Jonathan Smith
Epidemiologist, Yale U.
Justin Garrow I totally get it, I don't have a
girlfriend either.
:-P
Joline Lydy Edmiston I am so glad you finally agreed to the
social distancing. It really concerned
me that you were in restaurants and
grocery stores when you didn’t have to
be. It was nice of you to do it but, as
hard as it is to admit, you are in the
danger group.
April 18
If you need another reason to continue
social distancing --- THINK!
I am sharing this post from a doctor.
__________________________
Let me introduce myself: I am a practicing
ER doctor with a Bachelors degree in cell
and molecular biology/genetics and a
Masters degree in public health in
addition to my doctorate.
COVID is not a flu. Not even a little.
Here are reasons why:
1. It is a separate species. It is no more
like influenza than you are like a hippo.
DIFFERENT SPECIES.
2. It is an airborne virus. This means the
tiny droplets can stay in the air for a
full 2 hours. So if a person coughed in
aisle 4 of Target 1.5 hours ago, they may
be home now but their covid cloud is still
hanging there just waiting for you to walk
by and take a breath. Influenza is not an
airborne virus. It is droplet spread-
meaning someone has to directly crop dust
you with their sneeze to get you sick.
Covid is much more contagious.
3. Covid is more virulent. Virulence
factor is a measure of how catchy
something is. For example, the flu is like
beer. It takes a bunch to get you drunk.
Covid is more like tequila - A little goes
a long way. You need to suck up a lot of
flu particles to actually catch the flu;
with covid, even a few particles is enough
to infect you.
4. Covid has a longer incubation than the
flu. When you catch the flu, you typically
get sick in the next 1-2 days. This is
awesome because it means you stay at home
while contagious because you feel like a
heap of fried garbage. Covid has a
blissful 5-9 days of symptom free time
during which you are well enough to head
to the movies, gym or mar-a-lago while
also being contagious enough to infect
everyone you encounter.
5. Covid has a longer duration of illness
than flu. With covid, you have a 5-9 days
of blissful asymptomatic contagiousness.
This then turns into about 1 week of cough
and overall feeling like hell but still
surviving. Week 2 is when things hit the
fan and people end up unable to breathe
and on a ventilator. Many stay on the vent
for up to 15 days. 5 days incubating+7
kinda sick days + 15 days on a ventilator
makes for 27 days of virus spreading
illness, (assuming your don’t just die of
massive asphyxiation and body-wide
collapse from overwhelming infection
somewhere in that last week).The flu has
an average incubation of 1-2 days and sick
time of 7 days for a total of 9 infectious
days. In the world of deadly viruses, that
18 extra days might as well be a
millennia.
6. Covid is more deadly. A LOT more
deadly. The flu has about a 0.2% mortality
rate, meaning 2 of every thousand people
who get sick with flu will die. On the
contrary, the death rate from covid is
reportedly 2%, so 10 times more deadly
than flu. Ten times more death seems like
a lot more death to me. Whats more
worrisome is that 2% is actually incorrect
because it doesn’t kill kids so that skews
the average. With covid, age is a major
factor in survival. If we don’t include
people under 30, the death rate for adults
is on average 4.5%. 9 out of every 200
adults that get this will die from it. Do
you know 200 adults? Do you think losing 9
of them is no big deal? Since mortality
increases with age in covid, the risk gets
worse as you get older so if we put 100
grannies in a room with covid, only 85
would make it out alive to make pies and
tell great stories of the old days... and
that just sucks.
I hope that helps to clarify why covid is in no way a flu, why you are in no way a hippo, and why staying home is the only way for non-essential people to do their part while I spend my days at work covered in a plastic poncho, sucking air through a stuffy respirator mask, leaving my scrubs in my driveway, showering the covid off at 4am when I get in, and thinking to myself “now do u still think it was just a flu?” as I risk my own life with my face 2 inches from their highly contagious, gasping mouth while I slide the plastic tube down their throat and start up the ventilator."
I
posted on Facebook, last week, about
an experience we had picking up a
prescription at Walgreen's on Vista.
None of the staff were wearing gloves
or masks. We picked up another
prescription on Thursday at the
drive-thru (this time took the car, so
we wouldn't have to go inside.)
Yesterday, Walgreen's was closed for
cleaning, because two of the pharmacy
staff tested positive early this week.
Here goes another two weeks of
concern, because I don't remember
sanitizing that stupid bottle of pills
when we got home.
Greg brought us sign for our front
yard.
April 19
We met Kathy, Bryanna and Bailey at the
river this morning. We had a lovely 2 mile
walk and got to talk to them for the whole
time. We enjoyed it so much.
We're about to get some new neighbors.
I just hope their kids aren't too noisy,
or wake up too early as they will be
right outside our bedroom.
Found this on Facebook. Very
funny.
This huge family really loves to travel
in order to walk on different
beaches.
April 21 Egg blowing demonstration by me. Today, I am 71. We met Kathy at Pub and Sub and she bought lunch. Then we drove over to Rancho San Rafael, to meet Bryanna. Just as I was getting ready to open the door, Tony popped up next to the car! He had driven over for lunch. Bailey was there, too. We had sandwiches, pizza, salad and chips. Then there was birthday cake, and a present of a bottle of Mango Moscato, which we will be opening very soon. After we were finished eating, suddenly there was a horn honking, and I looked up to see Earl and Louise holding a happy birthday sign. A little later, Kim and Angie drove up with another birthday sign. Tony had left to drive home by then. He didn't want anyone to know he had been here because a lot of people think that nobody should do any traveling, so I didn't get any pictures of him, but I got some good pics. After we got home, we discovered a plate of cookies on the front porch, and a little while later, Susie and Kurt dropped by with a new game and some cool gardening gloves with claws. My sister just called and we had a nice long talk. It was a very good birthday. I received birthday cards from a few special people - Monique and Brian, Ann, Sally, and Susie and Kurt. 
 
 
April 22
For dessert we had popcorn and I had
a glass of my birthday wine. Very
yummy! Even better than
peach.
April 23
In the afternoon, we played the new game that Susie and Kurt brought over for my birthday. We like it. 
April 24 I put this on Facebook because of what the president said, yesterday on the news. We have the equipment, so, we're trying to decide whether to inject each other with Lysol, bleach, peroxide or Purell. Of course, we'll make sure to perform the procedure outside in the sun with the sprinklers on. What do you think? 
We went to a neighborhood concert just up the street from us, with Mickie and Maxine. The music was very enjoyable. The man who was playing normally performs at David's Grill, so he has been doing these concerts for the past couple of weeks for anyone who wants to listen. We took our chairs in the wagon, along with drinks, but we decided that next week, we will take wine and dinner, too. The concert yesterday was from 2 pm to 4, and there was very little shade, so he is going perform from 5 pm to 7 next Friday. I put it on Facebook to let friends know. So far, Louise and Laurie are interested. Bob wasn't able to come, yesterday, so he and Patty might be able to make it next week. 
Several of the ladies danced to some of the songs, and Mickie and Maxine danced to Goodnight Irene. It was a lot of fun.
April 25
Jen Nicole Obviously your youngest
child should be first on
your list!
Susie Montejano Holub Putting on my party dress for a night on the town!💄💃👗👛 Patricia Walenda Sherwin I am going to the spa and getting a massage, facial , my nails done and a pedicure. Dennis W. Ragsdale My wife gave me a 'Day Pass' for Billie! On my way over with wine! Mike Garrow I'm really looking forward to having a day off to get some stuff done around the house! Larry Sherry Cerfoglio Sounds good to me! We are friends right?👏👏
April 27
Tomorrow, The Nevada Air National
Guard will do a flyover in support of
all Front line medical personnel, in
support of Covid-19 response. The map
and times can be seen below! Grab the
family and tell your friends, and head
outside! 🇺🇸🇺🇸
They will be over Reno and Sparks at
about 12:30 to 12:35.
This is a cute video I found that shows what quarantine is like. April 28
It has been a while since I've
posted a rant. Here ya go.
The morning show reported that on a
American Airlines flight from New
York to Charlotte over the weekend,
there was no social distancing and
many people were not wearing masks.
Quote from a passenger on that
plane, “I have never felt less safe
or less cared for in my life.” Oh,
poor spoiled baby. Did someone
kidnap her and force her to get on
that plane? That is highly unlikely.
Whatever her reason, she chose to
fly. Did she think they were only going
to arrange for everyone to sit six
feet apart? I’m sure all of those
people had valid reasons for
traveling, but they should all
have understood that they were
taking a risk. At the very least,
they should all have worn
masks.
In the same story, American
Airlines stated “We are looking
out for our customers well-being
to give them peace of mind while
they travel with us. We’re moving
quickly on these enhancements.” If
they are so adamant about taking
care of their customers, why
aren’t masks mandatory? Just make
the statement, “No mask, no fly.”
Susie Montejano Holub I agree with most of your
rant, but the woman who was
complaining, was traveling
had to do so, because her
grandmother died; she went
to be with her family. Just
saying, she felt vulnerable
already.
Mike Garrow Billie Kennedy
Garrow You were right.
It doesn't matter what
the reason. Getting on
that plane they were 1)
putting themselves in
danger of a fatal
disease, 2) putting the
other passengers in
danger, and 3) putting
the people on at their
destination in danger.
That woman should ask if
her grandmother would
have approved of such
killing in her
name.
Anthony Garrow I like turtles!!!
Robin Baizel Before you judge
people too harshly
for flying, remember
things such as Trump
(as of now) planning
to speak at West
Point commencement
and requiring all of
the cadets to return
from across the
country on
commercial
airlines.
There are few flights and people might have to travel to help relatives.
Danny Harrison I hear
you, Billie. I know
there is
essential
travel taking
place, and so
I'm glad we
have at least
SOME flights
up and
running. But
our company
(not sure
about the
others) has
round trip
tickets for
$50...practically
BEGGING people
to fly. That
being the case,
there is
also plenty
of NON
essential
travel
happening.
Billie Kennedy Garrow Danny, thank you for an insider's
perspective. I like your
reasonable explanations, and I
wasn't aware that the prices
are so low, which is enticing
people to flyRegardless, I am with you where passenger entitlement is concerned. Some people buy a ticket and then expect to run the show once on the plane...and that's not how it works. A couple of my coworkers have also commented that, now with all of these dirt cheap fares, we are attracting a certain type of clientele (likely a type that was present before, but more diluted due to flights having been more full), and it can make the flight even less enjoyable (for both the works AND the other passengers). It's unfortunate that there is such a lack of consideration for others in our society, but that's where we are. Should American have some more strict and/or better policies established given the current climate? It certainly wouldn't hurt. But there are other airlines you can take if you don't like a particular one. They may not have the most direct route, but that's where you have to weigh your pros and cons and decide if a more direct or cheaper flight is more important than flying a carrier that doesn't meet your standards (for example).
Lisa Shannon Partee Choices! I would not fly
anywhere at this time
because planes are oversized
Petrie dishes? How many
times have people come back
from vacations just to get
sick after the flight home?
No thank you. She was
probably hoping it would be
an empty plane as they saw a
short time ago.
April 29
Life goes on. We don't really have a routine, except to try to keep busy. We walk sometimes, read a lot, play games and watch TV. I try to keep in touch with a few friends by phone. Susie Holub called me a few days ago, which was quite a surprise. It was good to catch up with her for a little while. Our garden is planted. Now comes the wait. Will the seeds all sprout? I broke down and bought three tomato plants so we will have tomatoes soon, but the seedlings, that we planted from grape tomato seeds on March 6, are outside waiting to be planted in the garden. The strawberries that we've had for 15 years are starting to bloom and the blackberries are leafing out nicely. Summer, we're ready for you.
I painted the sign because it was so
faded. I like the way it brightens up
the space.
We got a call from Gwen at the Registrar
of Voters and they want us to work at
early voting after all. We glad because
that will be a lot of money for us. Bob
will be working, too.
The concert on Friday will be from 5 to
7 and we are going to take dinner and
wine. We think Earl and Louise, and Dave
and Laurie will be there, and we're
pretty sure Bob and Patty will be there,
too. It will be like a party, but not
getting near each other.
April 30
We went over to the villa this evening
to play bocce for a while. It was nice
to get out and do something different.
We had fun.
The Foresthill Bridge, also referred to
as the Auburn-Foresthill Bridge or the
Auburn Bridge, is a road bridge
crossing over the North Fork American River in Placer County and the Sierra Nevada foothills, in eastern
California. It is the highest bridge
by deck height in California, the fourth highest in the United
States, and among the seventy highest in the world at 730 feet (220 m)
above the river.
Auburn Dam was a proposed
concrete arch dam. Slated to be completed in the
1970s by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, it would have been the tallest
concrete dam in California and one
of the tallest in the United States,
at a height of 680 feet (210 m)
and storing 2,300,000 acre feet
(2.8 km3) of water.
It was first proposed in the 1950s
and construction began in
1968.
By 1975, taxpayers had already
shelled out about $137 million for
the project. Following a nearby 5.7 magnitude
earthquake and the discovery of an
unrelated seismic fault that underlay the dam site,
work on the project was halted for
fears that the dam's design would
not allow it to survive a major
quake on the same fault zone.
Although the dam was redesigned and
a new proposal submitted by 1980,
spiraling costs and limited economic
justification put an end to the
project until severe flooding in
1986 briefly renewed interest in
Auburn's flood control
potential. In 2008, the California State Water
Resources Board revoked the water
rights that had been set aside for
the Bureau of Reclamation due to
inactivity in the construction
process.
Although new proposals surfaced
from time to time after the 1980s,
the dam was never built for a number
of reasons, including limited water
storage capacity, geologic hazards,
and potential harm to recreation and
the local environment. However, some groups continue
to support construction of the dam,
which they state would provide
important water regulation and flood
protection.
Due to its height, the bridge is a
noteworthy suicide site. As of
mid-2019, there have been 89
suicides since the bridge's
construction. Over the past two decades, bridge
owner Placer County has taken steps
to attempt to reduce the number of
people jumping off the bridge by
installing phones. The phones can be
used to call a suicide prevention
hotline.
Railing on both sides of the bridge
overlooking the canyon was raised to
6 ½ feet, making the climb over the
top more difficult. And over the
past year, volunteers have fastened
positive “Messages of Hope” on the
railing in an attempt to convince
people that life continues to be
worth living.
FB post - Did anyone watch All Rise last night? It is a courtroom drama, a little bit on the light/serious side. The episode is the first show we have watched that deals with the reality of the pandemic. We think it was very well done, showing everyone social distancing while getting on with the business of the law. 
I got several positive comments. Most people liked the show and thought it was well done. I think it might be Emmy material. Bill and I went over to Mickie and Maxine's at 1:00, before going over to deliver Kurt and Cathy's groceries. They had asked us to help them get Cooper in the car, because they were going to the vet to see why he has been limping for several weeks. He was favoring his leg so much, that he wouldn't jump into the car by himself. But, when we got there, he jumped up as if nothing was wrong. We went over to take the food, and then came home to read and relax. Maxine called around 4 and when I asked her how our boy was, she said that he was gone. He had bone cancer and he was in a lot of pain. That is so sad. They didn't even have any time to absorb that before he was just not there, anymore.
May 6
Bill got to work this morning,
making Ranger Cookies to share
with our friends at the
performance on Friday. They are
chock full of oatmeal, chocolate
chips, pecans and coconut. I think
they are going to be a huge
hit.
I've been seeing an advertisement
on Facebook for a garden
bench/kneeler, and I have wanted
to get it, but, buying from
Facebook can be a bad experience,
because you don't know what
quality or service you'll get. So,
I looked it up on google, and
found a few from which to choose.
I ordered two, one for me and one
for Kathy. They got here a couple
of days ago, and I am happy with
the purchase. I am going to be
able to kneel in the garden and
get up without as much difficulty.
Yay.
We went over to deliver some fresh cookies to Sally in the afternoon. 
May 8 We got this text from Kathy, last night.
Well... I'm just going to give you
my opinion and you can do what you
want with it.
Two friends lost parents in the
last two days to covid. One was in
a coma for weeks. The other didn't
even know she had it till it was
too late. I think you two need to
stop making food for others just
because you could be spreading it
without knowing. Stop being around
others who are also around others.
Doing the music gathering is ok
but stop being so close to so
many. A Safeway employee tested
positive and can you imagine how
many items on shelves that one
person may have touched!? Please
lay low for a while. That's all I
have. I love you both too much to
worry.
How could we refuse this. I sent
messages to anyone who is coming
to the concert tonight that we
will be distancing more than we
have been doing.
May 9 The weekly neighborhood dance party had a lot more people last night. Probably 40 ish. Band Patty were there, again, but Earl and Louise, and Laurie and Dave didn't come over. Maxine seemed a bit off, but maybe she was brooding a little bit about Cooper. Patty made me a little bit mad, when they got there. She sometimes says things that are abrasive and she made fun of me trying to social distance. Gary came over and sat with us for about an hour. He is always so entertaining. 
 
May 9 We worked in the yard before breakfast. Bill has the sprinklers working with a couple of tweeks still needed, and the drip is now doing what I want. All we have to do is wait for all the seeds to make their appearance. May 10 We had a surprise visit from Kathy, Bryanna and Bailey this afternoon. They brought us Scooper's milk shakes, one strawberry and one peanut butter. Both delicious. We would never have ordered a peanut butter shake, so it was cool to have something so different. We had leftover pizza for Mother's Day dinner, with salads, because pizza demands salads. Scott called me and we had a nice long talk, about the boys, Covid and general stuff. My Mother's Day balloon from Tony is dead after only one week, but my birthday balloon is still alive and hanging out on the ceiling. May 16 We found out that yesterday's concert was the last one. Dan is going back to work in a couple of weeks, and I guess he is busy next Friday. It was held at the Villa parking lot, and it drew the biggest crowd,yet. Bob and Patty, Dave and Laurie, and Rochelle were there in addition to us and Mickie and Maxine. We got a perfect shady spot that all of us fit into. Bill and I had a Firehouse sub and we took his shortbread cookies, which were a huge hit. I worked on sewing the new masks that I'm making for when we start to work in two weeks. 
I met the new neighbor, Diana, when we were in our backyards. They have three dogs. She said they are keeping the dogs inside until they get used to being here so they won't disturb the neighbors (us) and I hope that is going to work out. We have already heard them barking inside the house, but when they are outside with Diane or her husband, they are told to stop as soon as they utter a sound, and they seem to behave pretty well. June 4 We started working a little more than a week early, because John called us to ask if we could start on May 22. We were happy to be able to make more money than we had planned. 
The second day, we had to evacuate because there was a fire in one of the buildings. It was a 90+ day, and everyone was roasting. We were able to go back in after about a half hour. Our area wasn't involved. 
We sorted ballots for most of the time and yesterday, we started opening them. That will go on for several more days. We got to see the votes, and we couldn't help noticing the family court judge race. We have an opinion about who is ahead but, of course, it's early, and we only counted a few hundred ballots. We hope Greg wins. We have today off. We got a lot of yard work done, this morning, but I have been doing as much as I have been able to whenever we were home. The roses have been deadheaded, more tomato seedlings planted in the ground, lawn mowed, plants pruned or trimmed, and general clean up. The yard is beautiful. Also, our cherries are almost ripe, and we will have a lot of them. 
 
A pair of robins built their nest on our trumpet vine, which we have to pass to get to the dog yard. Whenever we do that, if there is a robin on the nest, it flies away, but they don't seem too bothered. They laid five eggs about three weeks ago. 
They hatched about a week ago,
and we have five little robins,
which we are able to watch because
of how close the nest is to the
house, just outside the sunroom on
the trumpet vine.
Bryanna bought a nice car last month, a 2014 Hundai, but because the DMV has been closed, she hasn't been able to register it. Kathy went there, yesterday and got all the paperwork, which she will drop off today, and Bry will finally be able to drive it.
June 13
We are finished with our jobs at the
voter registration office. We worked
very hard and had some fun, but the last
two days we worked, there were too many
people there for our safety.
Our baby robins have left the nest. We
think we've spotted them hanging out
with the parents, on the lawn and the
fence.
Kathy brought us some lights for the yard, which I have been wanting to get, but I never told her. She just knows things. Tony called us for our anniversary, 52, this year. 
July 11
New week, same old story. Covid 19
is on the rise, again, just about
everywhere, so many places have gone
back to phase 1 restrictions. Bars
are closed, and people are being
asked to wear masks. Restaurants are
supposed to be more diligent. We
aren’t going anywhere except to the
store and to the pool. Thank
goodness the outdoor pool is open,
although they are still closing at
4:45. They are open on Saturday and
Sunday, too. Out garden is plodding along. We have eaten two tomatoes, but they weren’t ripe enough, so we are going to wait for the next ones to almost fall off before we pick them. 
The blackberry bushes are full of berries, but they don’t see to be getting any bigger than large peas. The peaches look good, almost ready to be picked. We have been getting peaches at Costco, because they are absolutely delicious.
I went to the doctor for a follow
up from my fainting incident. He
said I am doing great. Blood
pressure was 112 over 68, which is
pretty close to my usual. We have new bird babies, but we haven’t seen the parents, so we don’t know if they are robins. 
We never saw the eggs because the nest is hidden in the trumpet vine on the side of the house. We have been overrun with mice in our side yard, mainly the garden box, so Bill set three traps. We caught five mice in two days. This morning, we saw this guy on our fence. We think he has come over to save the day.
July 16
.
We took Kathy and Rommie et al to
dinner at CantinaLos Tres Hombres,
last night. After dinner was over, I got that
horrible hot feeling, just like last
month, and I knew I was going to
pass out. I put my head down on my
arms, and everyone reacted by
calling 911. I vomited and then felt
better, but I had to go to Renown
for an evaluation. Bill was able to
go into the room with me when he got
there in the car. He was terribly
upset, which made me feel awful. I
was a little bit dehydrated, but
everything checked out fine. Dr.
Sanders said I should go to a
cardiologist to see if there is a
heart problem, so I made an
appointment with Dr. Radulescu for
August 10. Kathy said the girls are
very upset, so, again, I feel awful
about that. We had such a good time
at dinner, but I won’t be going
doing that again until after I see
the doctor.
I got an order for 2 masks from
Kathy Wheeler, one of the Granada
Girls.
I didn't write this, but it does express what this year has been like.
You can’t make this shit up... or can you 🤣🤣🤔 Omgosh, I was seriously crying 😂😂😂 over this! Copied from a friend.
Dear Diary 2020 Edition, In February, 🌽 Iowa crapped 💩 itself with the caucus results and the president was acquitted and the 👩🏼💼Speaker of the House took ten. Whole. years. to rip up a speech , but then The👨🔬 🌎WHO decided to give this virus a name COVID-19, which confused 🤔some really important people 👔 in charge of, like, our lives, into thinking there were 18 other versions before it, but then Harvey Weinstein was found guilty👨🏻⚖️, and 🇺🇸 Americans started asking if Corona beer 🍺 was safe to drink🤦🏻♀️, and everyone on Facebook became a doctor 👨⚕️ who just knew the 🤒flu like killed way more people than COVID 1 through 18. In March, stuff hit the fan👿. Warren dropped out of the presidential race and Sanders was like Bernie or bust 💥, but then Italy 🇮🇹 shut its whole country down 🚷, and then COVID Not 1 through 18 officially become what everyone already realized, a 😱pandemic and then a nationwide state of emergency 🆘was declared in US 🇺🇸 , but it didn’t really change anything, so everyone was confused or thought it was still just a flu 💁🏻♀️, but then COVID Not 18 was like ya’ll not taking me seriously? 💡 I’m gonna infect the one celebrity everyone loves and totally infected Tom Hanks👨🏻, get y’all to close all of the schools so y’all can 🙏🏼 appreciate teachers 👩🏫 for once (because you can’t teach them anything other than how to use a touch screen🤦🏻♀️ ) close down all of salons so you can’t get your 💇♂️ hair or your nails done💅 , everyone had to work from home and attend Zoom meetings in their underwear. The 📉 DOW took a crap 💩 on itself, and most of us still don’t understand why the stock market is so important or even a thing 🤔 (I still don’t), We were then all introduced to 🐅 Tiger King and the ONE thing we can all agree on this year , 👍🏼Carol totally killed her husband⚰️ ..... whacked him! And then Netflix was like you’re welcome, and we all realized there was no way we were washing our hands enough in the first place because all of our hands are now dry and gross and were all searching for lotion now. In 🌧 April, Bernie finally busted✌🏼 himself out of the presidential race 🏃 , but then NYC 🗽became the set of The Walking Dead 💀 and we learned that no one has face masks 😷, ventilators, or toilet paper, or THE FREAKING SWIFFER WET JET LIQUID , and by now our 🦁outgrowth is showing, so there’s a shortage on 📦 box hair dye and all of our hair dressers are like , 😱 NO DONT DO IT!!! But, then Kim Jong-Un died, but then he came back to life … or did he? Who knows, because then the Pentagon released 🎥 videos of UFOs and nobody cared, and we were like man, it’s only April…. In 💐 May, the biblical end times kicked off , historical locust swarms, we learned of murder hornets 🐝 and realized that 2020 was the start of the Hunger Games🙈 however people forgot to let us know. people legit started to protest lockdown measures with 🔫 AR-15s, 🏀⚾️sports events were cancelled everywhere. But then people all over America finally reached a breaking point with race issues and violence. There were 🗣protests in every city🌃 ,which was confusing to some of us because people were definitely gathering in 👫crowds of more than 🖐🏼🤚🏼10 and for sure closer than 6 foot away ⬅️➡️from each other . Those people must have forgotten about the 😖pandemic called COVID Not One Through 18. Media 📺 🗞 struggled with how to 🤬focus on two important things at once, people in general struggle to focus on more than one important thing. A dead whale 🐋 was found in the middle of the Amazon rain forest 🌳 after monkeys 🐒 stole COVID 1 Through 19 from a lab 🔬 and ran off with them, and either in May or April (no one is keeping track of time now) that a giant asteroid ☄️ narrowly missed the Earth🌍. In ☀️ June, science and common sense just got thrown 🤾🏼 straight out the window and somehow 😷 wearing masks became a 🏛political thing, but then everyone sort of remembered there was a pandemic, but then decided that not wearing a mask was somehow a ✝️God given right (still haven't found that part in the bible or even in the constitution). then 👨🔬scientists announced they found a mysterious undiscovered mass at the center of the earth, and everyone was like 🙅🏽♂️🙅🏻♀️🚧DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH IT, but then everyone took a pause to realize that people actually believed Gone With The Wind 💨 was like non-fiction, but then it was also announced that there is a strange 🛰radio signal coming from somewhere in the universe 🌌 that repeats itself every so many days 🗓 , and everyone was like 👽 DON’T YOU DARE ATTEMPT TO COMMUNICATE WITH IT‼️🚫 but then America reopened 🙌🏼from the shut down that actually wasn’t even a shut down, and so far, things have gone spectacularly .... not that great 👎🏼. All of the Karen’s came out at once, and people started tearing down 🔨 statues. Everyone is on Facebook arguing 🤼♀️ that masks kill because no one knows how breathing works 👃🏼, but then Florida 🏖 was like hold my beer 🍺 and let me show you how we’re number one 🥇 in all things, including new Not Corona Beer Coronavirus. Trump 👱🏻♂️decides now is a good time to ask the Supreme Court 🏛 to shut down ❌Obama Care because what better time to do so than in the middle of a pandemic 💁🏻♀️ , but then we learned there was a massive dust cloud ☁️ coming straight at us 📍from the Sahara Desert 🐫 , which is totally normal, but this is 2020, so the 👻 ghost mummy thing is most likely in that dust cloud. We then 📚 learned of meth-gators 🐊 , and I'm like that is so not on my flipping 2020 Bingo card 😡 can we use it as the free space?? 🤷🏻 Then we learned that the Congo's worst ever Ebola 🚨 outbreak is over 😓, and we were all like, there was an Ebola outbreak that was the worse ever? 👀 ....... and don’t forget we just discovered FLYING SNAKES! 🐍, seriously! FLYING SNAKES!!!!
So here comes July…. at this point we
are over it , just tell us what’s next
.... 👽 Aliens? 🔱Zeus? ☄️ Asteroids? Artificial
Intelligence becomes self aware?
July 25, 2020 Same old story. People are protesting, and rioting. Rights are being trampled on because we are being asked to wear masks whenever we are in public. The rate of people sick, and or dying has risen to way more than it was when they said it was at its peak. We are tired of being at home all the time, but, at least, we have a nice home to be in. 
We are swimming every day, and we’ve
made several new friends. Karen and
Diane Mickel, Dan and Tina, Dan and
Patty are just a few of them. We knew
Karen a long time ago, when she helped
run her brother, Kevin’s video store.
She and Diane are a lot of fun to talk
to and exercise with. Karen, Dan
and Patty bought masks from me, so I
have made $85.00. put a sign up at
the Villa, but haven’t had any interest.
I hope more people will buy. Patty and
Bob are now Toscana owners and they
moved in on the 24th. She
will be so happy once she is done with
the moving in mess.
I am going to speak at the homeowner’s
meeting next week. It will be on Zoom,
so I won’t actually have to get up in
front of the crowd to talk. Originally,
I was going to ask that the Villa hours
be extended because we are still paying
the same dues but not having the use of
the facilities. Then I spoke to Rick
Hernandez, the board president, who told
me that they do plan to go back to the
original hours as soon as they can
safely do so. He agreed that opening the
pool late every day might be possible,
so I revised my speech.
”
We understand that the Villa operating
hours will be extended eventually,
which we are very happy to hear. At
this time, we are asking that the
outdoor pool hours be extended to 8:45
pm every day until the end of the
summer season for residents, only.
There are several residents who still
have full-time jobs, so they haven’t
been able to use the pool except on
their days off. In addition, many
older people can not, or do not like
to, be in the sun during the hottest
part of the day, so later pool hours
would allow them to enjoy the pool
without the sun being so strong. The
argument I was given against this is
that not that many residents use the
pool. However, those that do should
not be told that “since not that many
people use it, it doesn’t matter,”
which is a direct quote from one of
the current board members. After almost five months of being confined to our homes, the pool is something that many of us look forward to, as a place to relax, exercise and visit with friends while being outside in the fresh air. The Villa has always been on shorter hours on the weekends, so for the last couple of years, we had a resident volunteer to lock the outside pool gate at 9 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, so we could enjoy a few extra summer evenings at the pool. We are all adults and we don’t need an employee at the front desk while the residents swim for a few extra hours. I would like to put my name in as a volunteer for that purpose and I hope a few other people will step up and volunteer for a day or two, so everyone who wants to, can use the pool in the evening hours every day.
We don’t have a lot to look forward to at present, so, we urge you to seriously consider these ideas.” July 29 |
August 14, 2020
Two more weeks of terrible news stories, Covid deaths, political hatred, and not much to look forward to in the coming weeks. We have been swimming almost every day, and that is something we enjoy, especially since we now have friends to swim with.
Last Saturday night, Patty and Dan had all of
us over for a barbeque. They served grilled hamburgers, ribs, and sausage, and
there was potato salad and delicious beans as well as Bill-made brownies,
apple, blackberry, and peach pie (which Diane made with our peaches.) It was a
fun evening, and we were able to forget for a while, that we are living under a
cloud.
I have been felling kind of low. I just can’t get over
thinking that life will be like this forever. We have planned for a cruise next
year, but I really don’t think we’ll be able to go. There is news of a vaccine
coming, but will that really happen?
I saw my cardiologist, Dr. Vlad Radeliscue, on Monday. He
said I am fine, with just a slight irregular heart beat, but, just to be sure,
I will have an echocardiogram on August 18, and I will wear a heart monitor for
two days, on Sept 1.
Tomorrow night Dan will be performing at the Villa so we
will go and enjoy some time outdoors. We wish Darcy would come back to sing,
again. She is so talented.
Our blackberries, peaches and tomatoes have been yielding
delicious fruit for the last couple of weeks. Our yard looks pretty, but I wish
we could get some nice furniture for the patio, so we could sit out there more.
At least we have our comfortable swing.
The dogs are both still with us. Every night I think about
taking them in to the vet, but they both still have some oomph, and neither of
us want to do the deed.
Tony and Kathy dropped in last week for a couple of hours.
He was here to look at houses, again. There is still hope that they will move
here. He came back on Sunday with Anais to show her some of the houses he saw.
Their house in now on the market for $530,000. Our fingers are crossed.
August 16, 2020
Monique and I had a long talk, today. It is always good to
catch up on what’s happening in each other’s lives. She gets to see Jay and
Michelle and their families pretty often, so she is very happy about that.
Tony and Anais spent a couple of nights at South Lake Tahoe
to support Erik and Vicki in their 23 mile hike on the Tahoe Rim Trail for the
Make a Wish Foundation. It looks like they had a good time. Kathy and Rommie
went camping this weekend, and a huge fire started at Loyalton, which is just a
few miles away from where they were. We saw Mary Manson at the music
performance at the Villa last night, and she said that she had talked to her
son and he said they weren’t in any peril. I wonder if they had to drive home
via 89 because 70 and 395 were both closed for a while. The smoke here is
terrible, today. Health warnings are up and we are not going to be able to swim
at 5, as we had planned.
Maxine is having a hip replacement on Tuesday. We are all
hoping that it will make a big impact on how she has been feeling. Her pain
level has been so high.
Jill, from Ride Right, ordered two masks. One navy blue and one purple. I did an awesome job on them. I will see her on Friday to give them to her. She also wanted two extenders, so the total for the order is $24.00. I have made some Christmas masks as well as Halloween and fall masks.
I wish I would get some more orders. I made us a mask hanger because we now have so many that our it was hard to find the one we wanted when they were all piled in the mask basket.
I posted some masks on Facebook after Conni Wackerman called me and ordered five masks. I asked if there were any takers, and I got an immediate response from Bryanna, “Me!” I was so happy to make masks for her. She wanted a purple and an orange but I made an extra purple so she could give one to a friend, and I also made her a palm tree/cruise ship mask.
Maxine had her hip replacement surgery this morning, and she
will be able to come home this afternoon! We are going to take her some
cookies.
The air quality has been in the unhealthy range for the past
several days due to over 360 fires in California. Today, it is 180, which means
we will be swimming inside, again. The fires have burned over 1,000,000 acres,
and taken many homes. Very sad.
I had my echocardiogram on Wednesday, and the results were good. I will get the heart monitor on Sept 1. I have spoken with Maxine a couple of times since her surgery, and she seems to be doing well. There is still pain, which she expects less than a week after it, but she is doing exercises to help with that.
We were called by the registrar’s office, and we will
probably be assigned to the Jot Travis Student Union for early voting. We are a
little worried about that, because it appears that a lot of young people are
not adhering to the mask mandate. But, we do need some money, and we will make
a lot during that two weeks.
The dogs are failing. I keep thinking the time has come, but
neither of us wants to do it. They both pant, but not constantly, and they seem
to be in good spirits. They act lazy, rather than like they are in pain. We
know we have to do it soon, definitely before we will be working all day for
two weeks.
Jill, from Ride Right, and her husband, Mike, came over on Friday morning to pick up the masks I made for her. She was very happy with them. Bill made a coffee cake, and they stayed for over an hour. We enjoyed their visit. It seemed like a very normal thing to do.
We had several apples left from what Louise and Earl gave us last week, so we called them to see if they had any more that were turning bad. They gave us several boxes of apples, and we drove up to the Sierra Safari Zoo to give them all the apples for the animals.
I hurt my back on Friday, when Jill and Mike were here. I
picked them some tomatoes and when I straightened up, my back protested
heartily. I have been using the heating pad, and trying to get up without
groaning. Exercising in the pool feels good, but it still hurts as badly as it
did at first when I get up from sitting or from bed.
Saturday night we did a huge boo boo. We went to bed about
8:30. At 1:20, I woke up and remembered that we had forgotten to lock the pool
gate. I woke Bill up and we drove over to lock it. I hoped nobody would look at
the security footage and see us. On Sunday, the weekend guy called to apologize
about locking the pool early the Sunday before. He said he had heard thunder. I
assured him that it was no problem. He didn’t mention the fact that on the
night before the sign-in clipboard had been left out, so I think we got away
without being discovered.
Our hearts are heavy because today is the day we’re going to
have to say goodbye to the dogs. We have had them since 2005. Even though we
knew it was coming, it is so hard. They both pant and Mackie pants most of the
time. She isn’t eager for anything any more, except, she still gets excited at
mealtime. We gave them lots of treats this morning, and we are spending the day
at home, until it is time to go to the vet. I wish we hadn’t had to do this on
Bill’s birthday, but over the last weekend I knew it was time, and we couldn’t
get in yesterday.
I cleaned and oiled the sewing machine this morning, after
which it stopped working, so we are going to have to take it in for repairs. I
hope the cost isn’t very much.
We just found out that our Apple stock split by four, so we
now have several hundred shares. That is definitely good news for our finances.
August 27
I talked to Susie yesterday, and she asked us to go to
Graeagle to spend Saturday night. We decided we need a getaway, so, if the air
quality is good enough, we are going to do it. No worry about having Mickie and
Maxine take care of feeding the dogs.
Tony called, yesterday. They sold their house to the first
person who looked at it, for $530,000. The buyer wanted them to pay the closing
costs, which would have been close to $13,000, and Tony and Anais said no. The
guy agreed to buy it, anyway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. They are going
to buy a Lennar home in Spanish Springs. We were hoping that they would move
here, but they had so many options, that we weren’t counting on it. We drove
out there this morning, with Bob, hoping to look at the model, but when we
stopped outside the models and called the phone number, nobody answered and
they haven’t called us back after two hours. He is planning to come here tomorrow
night to spend the night, so he can put in his request for a certain lot. We
tried to find the lot, but he didn’t give us a complete lot number, so we weren’t
able to.
August 30
Tony spent the night in his truck in front of the model
homes, with his chair right by the door, so he would be the first one in line
for the lot they want. The first person showed up at 5 AM and was mad that he
beat her there because she wanted the same lot. She tried to guilt him out of
it. It’s a shame that people have to fight for the houses they want. They
shouldn’t release only five lots per month. We are glad Tony followed his
instincts. He got the house. He didn’t stay in town. He is busy packing up
their house.
The air quality here has been in the unhealthy range, over 150 for several days from all the California fires. Very sad for them.
Sept 4
On Tuesday, I went to get the heart monitor attached. It was
uncomfortably, but not terrible, until I removed it on Thursday. The tape gave
me rashes that itch and have little bumps. I hope I never have to do that,
again. I haven’t received the results, yet.
Tuesday night we went to the Los Altos Diner with Kurt and
Susie for Bill’s birthday dinner. We had a very good time being able to talk to
them and be normal for a while. The food was excellent. I got a salad, and Bill
had fish and chips. The chips are lightly battered and tasted fantastic and the
fish was so good that I wished that I had ordered it, too. Afterword, we
stopped at Costco to return the peaches that we had bought on Wednesday because
they were recalled. When we got home we watched TV until bedtime.
I missed swimming for two days because of the monitor, so I
was very happy to be able to get in the pool last night. We stayed in it for
almost two hours. Perfect!
Cathy Hollister called a couple of days ago with her grocery
list. We hadn’t shopped for them for almost a month, because they were short on
money. Kirk spends so much on junk food and he often spends more than they
have, so they have a lot of overdraft charges. We got them some of their things
and took them over yesterday afternoon. Bill and I have long wondered why their
house is so dirty. They are such nice people. Cathy said that they are paying
someone $200 per week to clean for them. I finally said to Cathy, that I didn’t
want to offend her, but I wondered exactly what the cleaning person is
cleaning. The kitchen is horrible, including the refrigerator. She said she
knows, and she will talk to them. I told her that I could get her some names of
people who clean for our friends. She agreed to that. I called her later, after
meeting Lourdes, Susie and Kurk’s cleaner, and I gave her Lourdes’ number. She
said she will call. I hope she does.
We
are going to swim at about 2 PM, today, because tonight is another night of music at the Villa and Darcy
will be performing. We enjoyed her so much the last time. I let Gary know,
because he used to know Darcy. I don’t know if he and Jeanene will come over or
not. We are going to have a Firehouse Sub for our dinner and Bill made cookies,
as usual.
This is Labor Day weekend, and we have no plans. I hope someone will suggest getting together for a BBQ or something. We are going to have a Firehouse Sub for our dinner and Bill made cookies, as usual.
September 13
The concert on
Sept 4 was fun, although Darcy didn’t make it because of the smoke. There was a
smaller crowd than usual. We had a Firehouse Sub sandwich and a couple of cookies
with Patty and Bob and Dan and Tina. I started feeling hot about an hour after
dinner. I told Bill that we needed to go home, but it was too late. I made it
to the grass before I passed out. Bob called 911, and everyone was scared, but
I came out of it before the ambulance got there, while he was still on the
phone with them, and I talked to them, answered a couple of questions, and they
agreed not to come. It was quite embarrassing.
On Tuesday, I
finally got the results of the heart monitor. Dr. Vlad said my heart is normal.
I sent him a message via MyChart and asked what the next steps are so we can
find out why this keeps happening. Here is his answer.
Ms Garrow,
Does seem like these
events have something to do with food. Please continue to stay well hydrated
and increase your salt intake. It takes about an hour for your food to reach
you intestines where the blood vessels then dilate to begin nutrient
absorption. Suspect post prandial hypotension in your case. Please avoid high
carbohydrate meals, attempt smaller more frequent meals, start wearing
compression stockings (waist level if possible), and continue to hydrate well.
A gastroenterologist may be helpful here. There are medications to help sustain
your blood pressure higher if these measures do no work such as midodrine.
Best,
Dr Radulescu
So, I will just have to see if his
suggestions work. Except, I am not going to wear compression stockings.
We did our online training for early voting and voting day, so we are ready for any hands -on training that they might have us do. We went to the registrar’s office and talked to John, who told us that we are now assigned to the Sun Valley center. That is exactly what we wanted. We just hope we have enough people to help us because of all the cleaning that will have to be done, as well as making sure people don’t crowd and they all wear masks.
Tony and Anais
came to town on Friday, to bring some of their stuff to their storage unit. They
will be moving into their apartment in a few weeks. We went to the new house to
walk through it, even though it is still just a foundation. We also got to walk
through a partially built house, so we could see what it will be like. It is
huge and one story. We are excited for them to be here.
September 22, 2020
We dog sat for two dogs for a lady who advertised on Nextdoor for a sitter for one day. We found out that she was moving that night to Arizona and could only keep one of the dogs. She was planning to take him with her and find him a home there. We said we would take him.
I put this on Facebook.
Is anyone interested in adopting an 8 year old male Jack
Russell/Chihuahua/? whose mom can't take him to her new apartment? He is
friendly, well behaved, hasn't barked all day, uses the doggie door, gets along
with other dogs, and is healthy. He probably isn't used to children, but we
aren't sure about that.
I got two interested people, Susie Holub and Shellie Shannon. Because Shellie was able to come over to meet him on Friday, and she loved him from the start, she was the lucky winner.
He was a very sweet dog and I did consider keeping him, but the timing is not good, because of the 14 days of early voting coming up. We won’t be home at all except at night.
Last Saturday, we woke up to clean air and great weather, so we decided to go for a walk. We took Tina and Dan with us and went to Rancho San Rafael.
Sunday evening,
Dan performed for Toscana, and we went after having Taco Bell for dinner. The
weather was perfect. There were fewer than 20 people there, which was unusual,
but, being a Sunday, maybe a lot of people were with their families.
Bill and I got our
flu shots yesterday, and then we took the car to Donal for service. We were a
bit mad, though, because all we knew was that it needed service, so we had made
an appointment. We got there at 10:30 AM, and found out that the only service
needed was tire rotation. They charged us $69.00 for that, but we could have
gotten it done for free at Les Schwab, where we bought the tires. And, to top
that off, it wasn’t finished until almost 3:00. What a waste of time. We had a
loaner for part of that time, so we went to the Sun Valley center to see the
room for voting. It is the same small room we were in for the 2018 election. We
don’t know how we’re going to fit 10 primes and be able to social distance
them. But, we really wanted to be at that location, so we will figure something
out.
Bill finally finished Patty’s puzzle. Kathy came over on Friday to do some drying because her washer and dryer died. She worked on the puzzle while I worked on making some masks.
 |
| Finally done |
I got blood work
done this morning because I have an appointment with Dr. MacKenzie on Oct 1.
After that, I stopped at the Villa to see Beth, because we learned, last night,
at the pool, that the outside pool will be closed this week. Beth said that she
hadn’t made that determination, yet, but that it will close soon, because of
the cost to keep it heated when the nights are in the 40s. We always miss the
outside pool when it closes for year.
Tony and Anais will be moving here in just a week or two. Kathy is making plans to go through the corn maze at Andelin Farms so Bill is starting to work on banana bread for everyone.
September 24
Yesterday, Tony came over to bring a few of their plants to live at our house for a few months. I mentioned that we were trying to find something to put under the refrigerator so we could pull it out to clean behind it. He went into the kitchen and pulled it out about a foot, without any trouble, until we realized that it had torn a four inch long hole in the floor. Oops. Last night we went to Texas Roadhouse with Dana and Tina, and Bob and Patty. We had a good time. I got pulled pork which was good but a bit too sweet, and Bill got a half rack of ribs, which he thoroughly enjoyed. On the way home from dinner, we stopped at Home Depot and bought some adhesive to fix the rip, and Tony texted later that he has a plan for the refrigerator that he will tell us when he comes by on Monday.
Bob and Patty bought an air fryer which they have been praising, so we got one yesterday. Last night I made fried zucchini. It was good, but not great. There are a lot of recipes we want to try.
Bill made several banana breads on Monday. Kathy took hers home with her on Tuesday, and Tony took his when he was here on Wednesday. Bill made three zucchini breads, yesterday. Kathy came over with Bailey so she took hers home with them, and Tony can get his on Monday. Bailey picked out two masks that she likes and Kathy took one.
Scott called this morning. I told him about
Tony and Anais moving here, and we had a long talk about Covid, college for
Brendan and Carson, affirmative action, and other things. It was good to have
the time to talk.
Sept 27
We had our farewell to summer party at the pool. The evening was perfect. We couldn’t have had better weather. We swam from 3 to 4, when the pizzas were delivered. Then, after we were done eating, we sat and talked until close to 6. It was getting a little bit cool and some of them had to go to the bathroom.
September 28, 2020
Tony came over this morning, to pull the refrigerator out so we could clean behind it. He tried to fix the kitchen faucet, which has become loose, but he said there must be a special tool for that. Bill called Harley and he said he will take care of it.
We went to Verdi to take care of our lottery ticket. We went to the library parking lot and went for a walk in the little nature area we’ve visited before. We went just over 1.3 miles.
I called Beth at the Villa to ask if she will reconsider the early pool closure since the weather will be in the 90s and 80 for the next several days. I also asked if we will be able to use the pool area even after it is closed to swimming so we can be outside to read or meet with friends.
(Beth refused to keep the pool open and even the pool area is off limits so we won’t be able to meet friends there for cards, or to sit and read.)
Gary was over for a visit last Tuesday. I told him about Tony and Anais moving here and renting an apartment while their house is being built. He said he wished he had known, because they could have rented the apartment under his house. On Thursday, I called him and asked if he was serious and he said he was. They have rented to friends before, who were having houses built. I called Tony, and explained. He said he had sent the check for the first month’s rent three days before, but he was very interested. I sent him Gary’s number. About 20 minutes later, Tony texted that the deal was done, and the apartment people were going to give back the check! Bill and I drove over to pick it up. On Friday, we went over to give Gary some masks for him and Jeanene, and he gave us a tour of the apartment. It is 1500 sq. feet, and perfect. The kids will be moving there on Friday.
We will be going to Graeagle for the weekend to stay with Susie and Kurt. It will be good to be able to go somewhere. The last musical performance at the Villa by Dan was on Saturday evening. The weather was perfect. There were very few people there, probably 20. We enjoyed it very much. We sat with Dan and Tina, Micky and Maxine and Bob and Patty.
I saw Dr. MacKenzie on Thursday. He said I am healthy, except for my weight, which is still my biggest problem, but I have been very good about what I eat lately, except when Bill makes something delicious.
We went to the Registrar’s office for the hand’s on training at noon, but when we got to the class, and found out that it was full, even though I registered Bill for it at 10 this morning. I couldn’t get into the website to register myself, so I had planned to register at the class, since it showed that there were still three openings. So, we talked to Jon Brown, and then to Lucia, about my website problem, and Lucia said she will set up a class for us. We’ll see if that happens.
October 9, 2020
Susie called this morning to let us know that Kurt is still not feeling well, due to a sinus infection, so we didn’t go to Graeagle. We will have to go after the voting is over. November might be cold, but sometimes there are days that are nice enough to be outside on the patio.
We went out for a couple of hours, yesterday, to do a few errands. We went over to the registrar’s office to take Jon Brown and Noel new masks, and Jon told us how Tony can register to vote. On the way home, we got a call from Bob, asking where we were. Bill said we were on the way home, figuring that Bob was going to drop by to bring his mask so I could make some alterations to it. Bob said he was in our house. He had gotten here, and, when we didn’t answer the door, which was open, he came in, thinking we were in the backyard. So, once again, we went out and left the front door wide open. That wasn’t such a problem when we had the dogs, because nobody would come in with them standing there barking, but, now, we are going to have to be more careful.
Tony and Anais are moving here today! Finally, we’ll have
them close by. We stopped by the house to take them roses, a card, some
homemade cookies and a few of their plants. The place looks so good. I don’t know
what they are expecting, but I’m sure they will be pleased. We had planned to
go to Outback for dinner tonight with Bob and Patty, but Kathy called while we
were talking to Gary, and she is having all of us over for dinner tonight for
Rommie’s chicken enchiladas. Yum. We will go to Outback tomorrow night,
instead.
Our poll worker experience
I received a call on Thursday morning from one of the intake
people, Teri, that she had moved to Mound House and couldn’t work. Our assigned
greeter said her son is getting married next week so she can only work a few of
the 14 days. I had immediately had them replaced. On the way home I got a call
from one of our assigned temperature takers, Yavonne, who screamed at me that
she never heard from us and she had been looking forward to working. I
responded that I had spoken to her on the phone and I had sent her an email
with all the information she needed. She hung up on me.
This is what happened. We started with nine other people on
our team. Six of them met us at the Sun Valley Neighborhood Center to set up
the room on Friday. We worked for 7 and ½ hours and were very happy with the
way we were able to space out the three intake workers and the voting booths.
We had an area for the observers that was also well spaced and where they
couldn’t see any screens. Our intake people were Ursula and Jim. Temperature takers were Wayne and Vicki. Equipment monitor was Holly. We were missing one intake person, a temperature taker and a greeter. I let the office know that the three new people hadn’t shown up so they assigned us three new people who were supposed to show up on Saturday.
There are a lot of safeguards in place to make sure none of
the voting equipment is tampered with. The procedure for turning on a prime is
to record all the zip tie numbers from three doors on each machine in the right
boxes on a form, and record the counter numbers on the machine. The memory
sticks have to be removed, two per machine, numbers recorded, and placed into
plastic bags which get zip ties, whose numbers have to be recorded. Those are placed
in a small safe inside the big blue vault, which holds all the daily supplies.
The paper rolls have to be taken out of the printers, have stickers placed on
them recording the date, which machine they came out of, and the time. They are
put into a large blue canvas envelope along with any paperwork that was filled
out that day, such as the registration forms and the update forms. The daily
balance sheet is filled out, recording the zip tie numbers to make sure they
match the numbers from that morning. The only people who can do those things
are the manager and assistant manager, so, even when the other team members are
capable and willing to help, there are a lot of things they aren’t allowed to
do.
Saturday, Bill and I were there at 6:30 AM to do some of the paperwork, like preparing the oaths of office, and finish setting up. Ursula, Holly, Vicki, Jim and Wayne showed up around 8 as we had asked them to. A new person, Michael, came in at 8:15 very eager to work as a greeter. As soon as I found out that he had been trained on intake, I assigned him to that roll. Vicki agreed to be temperature taker and greeter. So I let the office know that we had our team and didn’t need the other people who hadn’t shown up anyway. The line was already 30 people long at 8 but we weren’t required to open the polls until 9. We all scurried around fixing whatever needed to be fixed, including one of the primes. I swore them all in at 8:50 and we opened the door to the first voter. Our line was long for the first two hours and we were kept very busy with same day registrations, people who didn’t show up on the system, and other normal problems. By noon, it had slowed down enough that everyone was able to take a short break. We had a steady flow of voters all day. We started closing down the primes at 6:45. Our last voter left at 7 so we locked the doors and closed the rest of the primes. The intake people took care of closing the poll books and getting the “Vote Here” signs brought in. Michael suddenly said that he had a very bad feeling that something was going to happen. He acted kind of paranoid, and I was worried about him. He walked around the room sort of wild-eyed. Then he said something about the memory sticks asking what we were going to do with them. I assured him that they would be locked in the safe inside Big Blue. He said that wasn’t secure and that he might just spend the night in the parking lot to be sure they were safe. Very weird.
We were all exhausted. We let everyone leave at 7:30 or so.
We finished up the machine counts and paperwork, which included recording the
number of voters shown on the primes and comparing them with the number of
signatures in the rooster books. We had 339 signatures and 341 voters, so we
were out of balance by 2. We had been told that a small discrepancy was not a
problem and the people in the office would figure it out.
We took three ballots out of the drop box and took them to
the registrar’s office. We were finished and ready to head for home at 8:30. It
had been a very long and tiring day.
We got to the center at 7 on Sunday, wanting enough time to turn on the machines and record the necessary numbers before anyone was there making noise. When Bill turned on the first prime, I discovered that when he had turned off the machine on Saturday night, he had closed the polls, which is not supposed to be done until the last vote has been cast on the last day of voting. He had done that on all six primes. I think he was so tired on Saturday night that he just forget we can’t close the polls at night. So, we immediately knew we were in trouble. I called the hot line but it wasn’t answered until 8. I explained what had happened. Kelly said that mistakes happen, we’re all human. She had me hold for a minute while she asked how to proceed. She asked if we had set up all the machines we had been given. We hadn’t. So, what we had to do was take down all the machines, put up the four we hadn’t used, yet, and they would bring us more machines. Bill and I got that almost finished when our team showed up. Two new machines were brought in and we were working on getting all the numbers recorded on our paperwork.
We were just about ready to let the voters come in when Cate, the warehouse manager showed up and pandemonium began. She said we had to set up ten machines. I said we hadn’t done that because we had to maintain social distancing. She made us rearrange our setup, putting two more six foot tables in the middle of the room and adding 4 more machines for a total of 10. She placed the observer area next to the manager area which is located behind the poll books, which can interfere with voter privacy. At one point she said I didn’t even need a table, which is totally crazy, because where did she expect me to keep all the paperwork, phone, sanitizers, wipes, and other supplies? We opened the door to voters at 9, and were crazy busy for over an hour setting up the new machines, and the privacy shields, which includes taping them down and adding 10 voter advisory signs inside each one. All that while dodging voters, handling normal poll book problems and trying to keep everyone distanced from each other.
Things calmed down by 10, and our voter flow was slow and
steady. Everything was going smoothly when I got the call from Jon Brown one of
our bosses. He sounded very sad when he told me that, because of the mistake
Bill made, they had to let both of us go, and we are on the do not hire list
for the future. He apologized profusely, and we know that he wasn’t responsible
for the decision. It was Cate, who had shown animosity for us since we worked
for her during the primary. When I told Bill, he called Jon and said that he understands
why he is fired, but that I didn’t so anything wrong so I was being fired
without any reason. Jon said the decision was final and again, apologized. Our
replacements didn’t arrive until 1:30, so we carried on with the work until
then.
I told each of the team individually that we were being replaced. They were all shocked, and sad. Michael jumped out of his chair, and hugged me with tears in his eyes. We made a good team, and I know they will continue to do the work without any problem. Two of our team said we should just walk out but we couldn’t do that. I gave Holly, Vicki and Ursula each one of my homemade masks as parting gifts. Vicki started wearing her mask right away. When we left we got more hugs from Michael, Holly, and Vicki.
While we were waiting I texted Tony to let him know that we were free for dinner at any time, because we had been fired. He was shocked. When we were leaving the center, he texted to ask when we’d be home. We said 20 minutes. He said we were going to drop off our stuff and go on an adventure with him. When we got home, he was there waiting for us. We drove up to Tahoe Meadows, and a couple of ski resorts to take pictures of the beautiful fall colors. We had a lovely time. He was so smart to know that we would need to do something besides sitting around feeling like losers.
I know everything happens for a reason. I wonder what the end of this story will be.
October 23 We got jobs working at a flu shot clinic on Thursday, through an email from Talent Framework. The pay was $15.00 per hour, and the work was easy. We did traffic control, but JT, our immediate supervisor, was a micromanager, so he actually did most of the traffic directing. He even brought Bill a chair for when there was nothing to do.
When we got there, we immediately pitched in to help set up the canopies, tables and chairs. I think we did a good job, so I expect that they will let us know when there are more clinics.
Yesterday, I applied for a receptionist job at H&R Block. I think I will be able to get a job, but I don’t want to work on Oddie Blvd, which is the place then wanted me to work for tax season this year. We’ll see. Tony texted us yesterday morning, asking if we wanted to go for a walk, but Bill was feeling tired from being out in the sun for several hours on Thursday, so we passed.
We were going to go to visit Kurt and Susie at Graeagle today, but Bill was still feeling a bit tired, so we decided to stick close to home. I worked in the yard, pulling up all the tomatoes, and cleaning out the big blackberry plant on the north fence. Bill helped a little bit by attaching string to several sections of fence so I could put the berry shoots up. The spring growth might be a little bit more controlled that way.
I saw on Facebook, that Tony, Kathy, Brenda and Phil went for a hike this morning. They went to 5200 feet on Sugarloaf Mountain.
I walked over to help Patty with her latest puzzle a little after noon. It is very hard, and I only stayed about an hour. She drove me home.
Joline posted the rules for Thanksgiving for Californians.
They are crazy.
1. Gatherings that include more than three households are prohibited This includes everyone present, including hosts and guests. If you have three married children, only two of those families may attend.
2. Gather outdoors. Guests may use the bathrooms, as long as the bathrooms are frequently sanitized. Even gatherings in public parks are limited to three families. If shade structures are used, they must have at least three sides open to the outdoors.
3. Don’t attend gatherings if you feel sick or are in a high risk group.
4. Practice physical distancing and hand hygiene at gatherings. There must be enough space for everyone t maintain at least a 6-foot distance from others (not including their own household.) Shared items should not be used.
5. Wear a face covering to keep Covid 19 from spreading. Face coverings may be removed briefly to eat or drink as long as they stay at least 6 feet away from everyone outside one’s own household.
6. Keep it short. Under two hours or less.
7. Rules for singing, chanting, and shouting are to be enforced. They must wear masks while singing, chanting or shouting. Singing, shouting or chanting are to be discouraged.
She got several comments on this. I said. “We are going to
join you for Thanksgiving, but, we’ll just sit in the car in the driveway. We’ll
stop at Burger King at the corner to pick up our dinner. You can wave at us
through the breezeway.” Joline said, “We will sanitize the driveway. If you
keep your windows up, you might be able to stay for longer than two hours.” I
said, “We’ll be wearing our Hazmat suits.” She, “Did you get them on eBay or
Amazon?” Me, “I made them on the sewing machine. The ones for you and Bill are
in the mail.”
November 3
Bill got busy and made lots of peanut butter sandwich cookies,
even though our oven is not working right. Flames are shooting from the back
into the oven. It seems to be okay at lower temps, like 350, but when we turn
it up to bake pizza, it is bad. We are waiting for out new repairman, Todd, to
get his car fixed so he can come over to work on it. He will also install our
new faucet, which Moen sent us. We were glad it came with a lifetime warranty.
It would be nice if the warranty paid for the labor too.
Today is Bryanna’s 22 birthday. She is a senior at UNR, and has been applying to grad schools. She continues to be gorgeous. We don’t see her or Bailey very often, but we have so many wonderful memories of our times with them.
Tony and Anais are well settled in their basement house at Gary and Jeanene’s house. It’s so much fun to have them nearby. Kathy and Tony came over a few days ago to bring the new faucet that Kathy designed and built for us. It is wonderful.
I won’t have to go to the backyard to turn on the water and then walk around to the front yard. It will only work when it is warm enough to have the faucet to the house turned on without any danger of freezing, but that is when I need to water most often, so that is okay.
Bill and I took a walk at Eagle Canyon Park on Saturday. We were hoping to see some tarantulas, but we didn’t even see a lizard. We walked almost two miles, and then we swam for over an hour, so we got lots of exercise. We are still trying to go to the pool every day, but we have skipped a few times. It is a pain to get out of the pool, and have to walk out when it is chilly outside. And that is when we are still having temperatures in the 70s. Pretty soon, we will be down in the 30s and 40s for out highs. Then it will be really bad.
Today is election day. Every city is expecting trouble, no
matter who wins. Lots of places have boarded up their downtowns. We drove
through Reno, yesterday, and didn’t see any evidence that trouble is expected.
We are still really bummed about not being able to work at the polls. Something
funny happened. We got an email from Jon Brown, our former boss at the registrar’s
office. It said that we are on standby in case we are needed at one of the
polling locations today. However, when he told us that we were fired, he also
said that we are not going to be allowed to work for them in the future. So, it
will be interesting to see if we actually get a call to report for duty
somewhere, today.
I went to the dentist yesterday. I have a crack in my back molar, and need to get a filling. Oh joy.\\
November 20
We had the Arutas and the Tiexieras over for dinner last Friday.
Bill and I made pasta casserole, and cheesecake. Everything was delicious and
well enjoyed by our guests. We played What’s Yours Like after dinner and had a
lot of laughs.
Our oven is still not working. The repairman came over last Friday,
but the information I had given about the problem was not given to him, so he
didn’t have the right part. He said it is fixable, so that is good. He will be
here to finish the job on Nov 24. We will be going to Kathy’s for Thanksgiving
and we are going to want to bake a pie, so that will give us enough time.
We worked at another flu shot clinic last Saturday, and we about froze. It was at Fire Station 33 on Foothill road. They held it inside one of the bays, and the traffic backed up terribly, because the paperwork takes such a long time.
Also, the cars back up because if the car in the front of the line has several people getting shots, and the cars behind only have one or two, the cars that are finished are not allowed to go around.. They should really use two or three lines side by side, so the cars would be able to go in and out more quickly.
Tony and Anais came over to pick us up on Monday for a drive to Virginia City. He had found out that there is more to the cemetery at the entrance to the town than we knew. There is a separate one for retired firefighters, and a couple of others down a dirt road.
We had fun exploring. I had trouble making it back to the truck, because I was getting too hot. We should have taken our water on the walk with us. I was fine once I got in the truck. We found a neat roadside “museum” on the way out of town.
We stopped at Capriotti’s in Carson City for a sandwich on the way home. When we got home, we were still full from the late lunch, so we just had popcorn for our dinner at 6:30. It was a fun day.
When we went swimming on Wednesday evening, we were happy to
find that the hot tub is finally open. That will make it much easier to walk
out on freezing days after our swims.
Yesterday, Bill and I drove to Fallon. It had been four years since we had been there. Not much has changed, but we did find two new stores featuring rustic junk/gifts and we had fun looking at all the stuff. They were installing the Christmas decorations on the light posts. Theyl ook like the ones they had in Glendale when I was a kid.
We have another flu shot clinic tomorrow, at a middle school
in Cold Springs. We really hope the day will be nice like the days this week
have been.
Karen and Rob were going to drive here for a visit from
Escalon, but I was sneezing and coughing on Tuesday night, so I texted them and
said that it was probably not a good idea to come here. They understood. They
don’t want to get sick either. I was find the next day, so I don’t know why I
was so congested that night.
November 22
My Thankful List for 2020
I wrote the original in 2012. Here is an updated version of things for which I am thankful:
My husband – without whom, I am sure, I would never have grown into the person
I am. He has been my support, my inspiration, and my companion for 51 and
1/2 years.
Bill’s medical team, who worked diligently to keep him alive and functioning
through his very challenging disease. I am thankful that his cancer has been
controlled by some amazing medications, that weren’t even available when he was
first diagnosed with melanoma.
Our kids – who despite growing up at a time when many became druggies, despite
not always having the advantages that might have been available to many others,
turned out to be competent, productive, responsible individuals and people with
whom I enjoy spending time.
My parents – they did their best to raise two happy, independent women, and I think they did a great job of it.
Our kids spouses – they married our kids and make them happy. What more could
we ask?
Our grandchildren – we have been so fortunate to have our lovely granddaughters
so close that we know them inside and out. Bryanna is going to graduate
from University of Nevada in the spring, and go on to graduate school at
Baylor. Bailey has been in the Air National Guard for two years. We are very proud
of them. My regret is that we don’t live near our grandsons, Carson and Brendan,
who have turned into handsome young men. We find it hard to believe that
Carson is old enough to drive his own car. Brendan loves art and is very good
at it. I’m grateful that the boys are
able to see their other grandparents so often. Children learn so much
from the older generation.
Joline – my sister is very important to me. Her support has been constant
throughout my life. When Bill was so sick, she was my main source of
comfort. When we talk on the phone, or get together, I know there will be a lot
of laughter. I wouldn’t know what to do without her.
Family – this is one everyone is thankful for. I’m happy to have them and see them whenever
possible. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews - all scattered, but always
in our thoughts.
Our dogs –all of our dogs. All the wonderful 4-legged beings that have graced
my life with unconditional love, dedication, unbridled joy, companionship and
acceptance almost constantly since I was seven years old.
My profession – I was so fortunate that Bill had a profession which allowed me
to be a stay-at-home mom most of the time. The few “real” jobs I had to
supplement our income so we could have some extras, never kept me from my main
job of being a wife and mom. I’m grateful I have been able to find several temporary
and part time jobs that have allowed us to maintain our way of life even with
the economy giving us constant challenges.
Aunt Vera – who in 2012, convinced me that I needed to stop working and focus on my own health. My sister and
several friends had been telling me to take care of myself but Aunt Vera
helped me to see that by not working, I would be doing just that, allowing me
to be more available for Bill’s health needs.
Bill’s dad – I am very thankful that we were able to bring him out here to live
near us in October, 2011, and that he was healthy and happy in his assisted
living home. We were able to see him from five to seven days a week, and
we enjoyed being with him up until he got sick. While I miss him, I’m
thankful that he didn’t linger once God decided to call him home.
Our health – we have been fortunate to be healthy, except for a few years when
Bill was not. We are both well and able to do almost anything we want to do. We
have been able to avoid this horrible pandemic that has devastated so many
families.
Friends –we don’t see them as much as we used to when the kids were home. Everyone has their own families and a lot of our friends are still working. We have made many forever friends and we are blessed to be able to pick up the phone and call them at any time.
Our next door neighbors – Mickie and Maxine were the first ones to welcome us to the neighborhood when we moved here 15 years ago. They are the best neighbors we’ve ever had. We can count on them for anything. They are not only neighbors – they are lasting friends.
Our house – which is way too small for us. But, at least we have one.
Our neighborhood – it is quiet and safe. We enjoy the amenities we have
just three short blocks away, like the pool and gym.
Our condo – we loved having the condo in Maui for 21 years. We spent so many wonderful times there, and we made many memories with Bryanna and Bailey and several friends. In 2016, we knew the time had come to let it go, and we have been enjoying different kinds of vacations since then.
All U.S. Veterans – And their families. – For giving up all that they do and
have to assure me the ability and the right to do what I want. Veterans in my
life include our dads, several uncles, several cousins, our brother and brother-in-law,
our son, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law, and out latest veteran, Bailey, our
granddaughter.
The United States of America – Yes, it has its challenges, especially
in this year of 2020. But, I love it and am happy to call it home.
December 2
Thanksgiving Day was bright and sunny. We spent the morning
as usual, and then went to Kathy and Rommie’s at 2:30. Tony and Anais went to Phil
and Brenda’s for the day. Bryanna was in Oahu for the Nevada/Hawai-I game so it
was just the five of us. We took them a pink Christmas cactus. (we had given
Tony and Anais a red one.) Kathy had told us we were going to have a very
non-traditional meal, pizza and wings. We were fine with that, but we planned
to buy a turkey breast on Friday and make a Thanksgiving-like dinner on
Saturday. They had nice appetizers ready and we watched some football and the
Macy’s parade while working on a fun 1970s puzzle. When Rommie started getting
dinner ready, we found out that we were having ham, turkey, mashed potatoes,
green beans with bacon and rolls. Dinner was delicious. We hung out for a
couple of hours and then had the brownies and ice cream that we brought, along
with a lemon coffee cake that they had. It was a very fun afternoon/evening.
Tina asked us to go for a walk/hike on Sunday, and she said they wanted us to take them to one of the trails we liked. We went to Hidden Valley and walked up the canyon on the path, until we couldn’t make it any farther. There were three horses at the entrance to the trail, so we enjoyed seeing them, but they kept their distance. After we were done with that, we went over to the grassy area where there were several more horses. One of them was more approachable. It was awesome being so close to him. Although, I think we were too close.
On Monday, we finished the house decorating, including hanging some of the pretty ornaments on our big tree in the front of the house. We also did some yard clean up, as we have been doing every week. We were sore and tired, so, instead of swimming that afternoon, we just went in to the hot tub for a few minutes.
Yesterday, we picked up two distressed succulents that a Northern Nevada Plant People offered for free on Facebook. I am quite happy with them.
I think they will be a nice addition to our succulent and cactus area. We also bought some more Christmas cacti, some to keep and some to give away. I didn’t know they came in so many colors. Our distressed Christmas cactus, which we’ve had for several years, is still not feeling up to par. I am still trying to baby it along. I cut it back some more.
I found this poem on Facebook. I think it is funny and really tells the way things are.
Covid Christmas
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house,
Not a creature was coming, not even a mouse.
No big family dinner was planned to enjoy,
No cousins to play with – not a girl, nor a boy.
The family in quarantine, stayed home alone,
We couldn’t go out, there was nowhere to roam.
The theatre was closed, and the park, and the school,
All the parties were cancelled; it just wasn’t cool.
Even churches were limited, not all could go.
25 sat inside, others out in the snow.
The choir couldn’t sing; oh, how sad was the plight,
It was going to be very silent tonight.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of school days-past danced in their heads.
And Grandma and I wore our own matching masks,
Sat six feet apart as we did Christmas tasks.
We washed our hands well, sanitizer applied,
Then wrapped up the presents, all covid-complied.
We hadn’t been able to find all we needed,
Maybe Santa would come, and our wishes be heeded.
Then, what to our wondering eyes did appear?
No, not Santa and there were no tiny reindeer.
‘Twas the Amazon truck, and the shipping was free!
He brought lots of gifts to put under the tree.
The driver descended, so lively and quick,
Left each box on the porch, so he wouldn’t get sick.
There were TP and soap, and new masks for us all,
Paper towels and beef, all from stores that are small.
It was just what we wanted, for dinner and life,
Once again, needs were met, there was peace and not strife.
And we heard him declare, as he drove out of sight,
The vaccine is coming, you all hang on tight!
Merry Christmas
December 14, 2020
This strange year is almost over. We have kept pretty busy,
swimming, reading, baking, decorating, and shopping and wrapping Christmas presents.
We have delivered cookies over the past
several weeks to the Kleins, Spinolas, Briggs, Tiexieras, Raffanellis, Noles,
and Arutas. And, of course, the Browns and Garrows.
Tony and Anais are very happy that they are living at Gary’s
house instead of in a dinky apartment with no furniture. Their house is coming
along nicely. They should be in on time. Tony has helped Gary a lot around the
yard and with cleaning out his storage unit. They called us one morning a couple of weeks
ago to see if we wanted to go for a drive to Fallon. Bill was just getting
started with his cookie baking, and I was going to clean the house and read, so
I went along for the ride. We had fun, talking and laughing. Gary wanted to
look at storage buildings for his yard, so he can give up the unit he has been
renting for 20 years to store all of his music equipment. On the way back, we
went to Steve’s Ice Cream, where Bill and I went to a few times when I was
doing merchandising in Fallon and Fernley. They both thought the ice cream was
excellent. We got on the road, but just after USA Parkway, traffic came to an
abrupt stop due to an accident near Mustang. We were stuck for close to 45
minutes. That just gave us more time to talk and listen to Gary’s stories.
I have been reading Gary’s “newsletter,” which is really
more of the story of his life. It is very interesting, even though we have heard
many of the stories from him, already. I offered to correct grammar mistakes,
which I enjoy doing. I am up to page 120, and there is still a lot more to
read.
We sent a large box of cookies and bread to Scott and Jenn and the boys. For Bryanna and Bailey, we got lists of some of the things they wanted, and we were able to get a few of those. A backpack and lap desk for Bailey for school, and a cross body bag and Himalyan Candle for Bryanna, along with a few other small things. We’ve also been kept busy by Tony, who has taken us on a few adventures. This past Saturday, we had planned to go hiking with Dan and Tina, and Bob and Patty, but they both backed out, so when Tony texted us to ask if we wanted to go for a bye bye, we were happy to have something fun to do. We drove to Fallon (third time in three weeks, after not going there for several years.) We went to Frey's Vineyard for wine and liquor tasting and a tour of the distillery.
We had a lot of fun. We stopped at Jerry’s for a late lunch/early dinner and then went to Steve’s Ice Cream in Fernley on the way home. We had a very nice day.
On Sunday, we stopped over at Gary’s to pick out several
rolls of new wrapping paper that someone had left in one of their rentals. We didn’t
stay long, because we were expecting the people who had taken the rocks in Bob’s
yard came over to get some of our rocks. I was going to have them take as many
as they wanted, but Tony said that he would have taken all of them for their new
yard, so they only took 8 buckets of them, leaving the rest for Tony.
Kurt and Susie came by for our Christmas gift exchange. They
game us a Foods We Love puzzle and a brain twister game, along with a cute
ornament. She always finds the most adorable ornaments. They only stayed for an
hour or so, and Tony dropped in for a minute to drop off Bill’s sunglasses, so
they got a chance to talk with him, too.
The day was cold and gloomy, so we decided to stay home the rest of the day and read. Well, our plans never go exactly as expected. We got a call from Gary, asking if we were going out in the next five minutes. I said we hadn’t planned on it but we could if he needed something. He asked if we could be at his house in 15 minutes because he had a surprise. I said we could. We got there and found that he had made snickerdoodles!
He said that the last couple of times he had come to see us, we had given him warm homemade cookies and he wanted to do the same for us. It was a very nice thought, and the cookies were delicious. Tony was there, too. He took some home to Anais, and we ate a couple of them, and brought four home for our dessert. While we were there, I mentioned that I would love to hear a recording of Gary and Sandy singing the Star Spangled Banner, which he had mentioned in his writing. He took us upstairs and tried to find the recording, but when he couldn’t find that, he played a video of a part of one of their shows from several years ago. He and Sandy really did have a great rapport along with their wonderful voices.
Today, is cold and it keeps trying to snow, so we are
staying in and doing nothing major. We are going to make meat pies for dinner
out of a roast that I cooked in the Instant Pot, yesterday.
December 15
The pies were delicious. We even had some of the pie filling left over, so tonight we are going to have beef stir fry. We’ll add water chestnuts, cabbage and cashews, and, of course, rice. The stir fry turned out perfectly. We had enough for two days.
December 22
Very exciting news, Kathy got a new car! A Rav 4, which she
has been eyeing for a while. It is really nice. It’s gray and has all the bells
and whistles one could want. Then, a couple of days later, Bailey bought a new
car, too! Also very nice and kind of a gun-metal gray. Hers is a Honda.
Tony and Anais took us on a drive on Saturday, which turned
out to be an all day event. We started out going to Virginia City to walk a
little bit. It was cold, but not terribly so. We drove the back way, through
six mile canyon over to Highway 50. He tried to take us to the Sutro tunnel,
but the road was blocked. He was very disappointed, as he had read the history
of the area and really wanted to see it. We drove east on 50 and then north on
95 to Fernley, where we had lunch at a Black Bear Diner. We had to wat for about 15 minutes to get in, because their current capacity is 42 people and they already had that many. The
food was very good. We then drove to Pyramid Lake, but didn’t stop anywhere, because
Kathy had told Tony that if you pull off the road and stop, it is likely that the
Indian cops will hit you up with a fine for not having a parking permit. We
took Pyramid Highway home, and stopped to see the model homes in Anais and Tony’s
development. We met a couple of their new neighbors, who happen to be police
officers. They seemed very nice. We walked through the house, which has walls,
windows, and a roof. It was a very long day. We skipped dinner that night, but
had a bowl of popcorn before hitting the sack.
December 24, 2020
Mike Spinola posted on Facebook, yesterday, that Sally has
Covid. We are very worried for her because her health has not been good for
quite a while. She has been so careful, only going out when she has to go to
see a doctor. We are praying she will have a light case.
Patty Caracker stopped over on Monday, when we were on a walk, and left us a canister of delicious coconut bon bons. When I talked to her, I asked for the recipe so we can make them next year. We went to Dan and Tina’s last night to drop off two of my wine themed coasters, a box of tea and a bar of good smelling soap…and, of course, a plate of cookies. They had just gotten home from the store and she made serving platters with cheeses, salami, ham, crackers, hummis, olives, and other assorted snack foods. It was all very good, and we didn’t need to eat dinner when we got home. Bob and Patty stopped by for a little while after she got home from work.
Christmas Day in tomorrow. We are finished with the present wrapping and cooking, and we are going to spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing. This evening, we will go to Bob and Patty’s for a little while. Tomorrow, we are going to be at Kathy’s by 8:00 am. It will be very different having Tony and Anais with us. We are taking the usual monkey breads, and a coconut chocolate, pecan bar dessert that Bill found, Sherri’s meat pasties, pumpkin bread, and dip.
Rommie is going to make chili, and we will spend a good part of the day, just visiting, eating, and playing with puzzles and games. It sounds like such a fun day.
Dec 26
We had such a fun time at Kathy’s for Christmas. We got there at about 7:40 and Tony and Anais arrived at 8. Rommie was already cooking bacon,sausage, ham and eggs so I put two of the monkey breads in the oven to heat. We had Irish Coffee and talked for a while until breakfast was ready. Everything was delicious. I had been a little worried about the monkey bread because we made it on Wednesday, but it was fresh and gooey. Kathy and Rommie had a new 65” TV, which has an awesome picture. We had the Today Show and Disney movies on in the background all day, with the sound turned way down, so it didn’t interfere.
After breakfast, we all opened out presents. Bailey was
happy with the desk, backpack and Macbook Air case we gave her. Bryanna was
happy with the cross body bag, Himalayan candle, and the face roller. We gave
each of them other little gifts like nail polish, the ornaments that they painted
when we lived in Hawai’i and two Hawai’ian Santa Claus ornaments each. Tony and
Kathy loved the cactus and lithops we got for them, and Rommie and Anais liked
their flasks, the bamboo trays and the other kitchen things.
We got an air fryer, bowl set, a cushy kitchen rug for in
front of the stoce, puzzles, lotion, a beautiful soft throw, and a set of books
that Bill’s cousin, Norm wrote. We had no idea that he was a published author.
After presents, we worked on the brain games that Kurt and
Susie gave us, most of which were very frustrating. We sat around and talked,
adding a few dad jokes. Rommie made chili and Bailey made a cheese dip, so we
munched on those, with Fritos, chips, the meat wraps we took along with sour
cream and onion dip. There was also plenty of cookies, candy and assorted
munchies.
After we finished eating, we played That’s It, the game we
had played at Tony’s house a few days ago. It got pretty loud, and was a lot of
fun. drove over Then we drove over to see Tony and Anais’ house, in Bailey’s
and Kathy’s new cars. The house is getting so close to being done, but there are
still a couple of months for them to wait. It was getting close to 4 PM and we were
getting a bit tired, so we said our goodbyes.
When we got home, we put everything away, and got our jammies on. We watched the movie,
Ridiculous Six, which Rommie had recommended. It was pretty funny, a take on Magnificent
Seven. We had popcorn and watched a little more TV before heading off to bed.
Today, we un-decorated the inside of the house and cleaned
so everything looks normal again. We are going to leave the outside decorations
out for a few more days. I went with Patty to Costco and Hobby Lobby. I got a
ham, butter and Moscato, so we will probably have ham for dinner tomorrow.
We don’t have anything planned for the New Year’s
celebration. We will probably just spend the day as we have been doing. This year,
there will be no frightened dogs when there are fireworks at midnight. Bailey
said she wants to take me to the humane society in a couple of weeks to go dog
shopping. We’ll see.
