Pandemic Omaha, Friday, October 30, 2020

The end of another month. We started this pandemic string in March; now we are seven and on-half months in and there is no end in sight. At least next week we will be able to gloat or commiserate on the results of the national election. If things don’t go our way (Biden-Harris) then there will be a lot of teeth gnashing and diatribes about idiots. If things do go our way, there will still be three months of complaints about all the pardons and rule regulation changes that the great dictator will be making.  Either way, the complaints won’t end. Birthday celebrations are many this week. Friday, October 23 brought another year to the total gained by our dear friend Glenda Pierce in Lincoln, and on Monday the 26th;  another dear friend Don Hosford here in Omaha. Both of these legal beagles are well into Medicare range and one of them is now into the last quarter of his first century. Glenda notes that she is still younger than Deb. If that fact ever changes, we will be in mourning, so we will let her continue to gloat. Also this week, our neighbor Beth Babb celebrated her birthday on Wednesday the 28th and our Phoenix (actually Anthem) friend Karen Sennentz celebrated hers on Thursday the 29th. Congratulations to all and wishes for many more to each of you.

Although there are promises of a vaccine on the horizon, we don’t see it having any impact on us or other of our family and friends until at least the middle of 2021; while disheartening, there is some hope. In the meantime, the seasons are changing and our thoughts are turning to the upcoming holidays. These will go down as the year of solitary celebrations. As we navigate the status of the holidays, we remember all the large family gatherings of the past. From 25 people at Kitchen Table restaurant in recent years, to the Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and day after Thanksgiving feasts around our dining room table.  The gathering of family and friends are what we have always looked forward to as well as the decorations, the camaraderie, and reminiscences. All of that will be different this year; Abigail and, hopefully, Darcy and Maria joining us for Thanksgiving, the same for Christmas Eve, and maybe a few friends in for Christmas Day dinner. Ed & Meg’s arrival for the days after Christmas has been scuttled as we try to protect each other from the COVID 19 bug in the hopes of surviving for future visits.

Friday saw Deb going to her friend Char’s to help her find HBO on her Roku (which seems like the blind leading the blind but they got it done) and then shopping and running errands. Mark was left with specific instructions about clearing pots and plants as neighbor Garth had generously offered to come over and handle some of the heavy lifting: emptying pots, clearing the tomato patch and other sundry duties. Mark is prohibited from any lifting and limps around to prove it.  Unfortunately he is evidently unable to write instructions down or remember them for more than 15 minutes! After Deb arrived home, Garth was called back to finish up the two or three other things that were on the unwritten list. Thanks a bunch to Garth. Friday evening was a dinner of salmon grilled on a plank on the barbecue, accompanied by a salad and a rice medley. A good break from our other meals of BLT’s, hot dogs and hamburgers.

As Mark was cleared to drive last Friday, nothing would do but for him to get behind the wheel. This was accomplished by ordering some Bierochs (think Runza style cabbage, hamburger, onion and garlic cooked in a roll or bun) from Colin Duggan’s Kitchen Table restaurant for take out.

Colin’s version is dubbed Aksarben sandwiches and they are delicious, especially when accompanied by his homemade hot horseradish laced mustard or his creamy cheese sauce and a side of home made cabbage. We picked up 5 of these beauties and took them over to Abigails for a Saturday lunch while we watched the crew dig holes for her new deck foundations. Surprisingly, there was one left over to take home for Mark’s further enjoyment for a lunch. They reheat perfectly in the microwave.

Sunday, we spent the day with the newspapers, our weekend feast of eggs Benedict, and a nice comforting dinner of eggs poached in roast beef hash - one of our favorites. Lots of cholesterol but a restful day.

Monday was cold and blustery.  We spent time reading, baking banana nut bread, making an apple pie as well as making oatmeal cookie dough for Tuesday baking, and planning our week. Deb had made, several months ago, a meatloaf which was quietly tucked in the freezer. We broke it out Sunday and popped it in the oven on Monday evening together with some russet potatoes for baking and one last caprese salad. The loaf was wonderful and the prospect of meatloaf sandwiches in the next few days heightened our enjoyment. 

Tuesday morning we awoke to a snow covered landscape, receiving about an inch and one-half of snow. Deb was out sweeping it off the sidewalks and decks so that Harry could make his way to the rear yard for his constitutional and to make sure that Mark wasn’t out there wielding his shovels and blowers. Although it looked beautiful in the early morning light, by late afternoon it was mostly gone as the temperatures climbed into the upper thirties.

Areas north of us received four to eitght inches, so we considered this dusting just a warning. The nighttime temperatures are dipping into the upper teens and low twenties so it seems winter is sliding in in the Great Plains.

Tuesday evening’s Drinks night was cancelled due to conflicts but Deb’s Book Club, Women with a Spine, held it’s monthly virtual Zoom meeting. Their current book was discussed and then they launched into some politics, gardening and just general discussion. The meeting lasted well past 9:00 and everyone enjoyed it. Mark spent the time in the kitchen, first with PBS Newshour then with s French subtitled movie centered around Victorian lesbian love. Not nearly as exciting as it sounds.

Wednesday we were up and out for our bimonthly COVID testing because we love the 10 foot long q-tip swabs they jam up our nostrils (Yes, BOTH) and swirl 10 times, slowly counting each twist so you can envision how much longer the discomfort is going to last. It is not really as painful as it sounds, just taking some narrative license.  This is our 4th or fifth testing so we must be willing to endure the discomfort.  The process is getting faster because we learn that we are negative on Thursday night!  Next on order was the weekly shopping. We made the rounds of Long Dog Fat Cat for some high priced pet food, Trader Joe’s for weekly stocking of wine, bread and other sundries, and then on to Aldi’s for the balance of our goods.

The late afternoon weather on Wednesday was mild - high near 55ºF and no wind. The snow is mostly gone except for some shadowy areas on the north side of the house. Pleasant enough for us to sit on the front porch enjoying our evening cocktail and talking to the neighbors.  Zöe, Iris and Esmè came by for their evening walk and stopped to chat and collect a quick fix of oatmeal cookies, fresh from the Deb’s oven - we withheld the apple pie for our own dinner enjoyment. 

Evenings so far we have binged watched the entire season of “Flesh and Blood”, “The Vow”, and “The Queen’s Gambit.” As usual, some fare is better than others. “The Vow” was interesting and then they showed a promo for the next season - the trial. Unfortunately for them, on Tuesday the verdict for the bad guy was announced - 120 years in prison, so we can skip next season as pretty anticlimactic.

Although Thursday weather was again pleasant, we ended up inside all day, reading and relaxing. We had the last of our tomato crop for BLT sandwiches for dinner; the last if you don’t count the two dozen green tomatoes wrapped in newspaper and ripening downstairs. Now we can honestly say that we used up all the produce. Deb polished off the last watermelon this week and declared it delicious.

There are still some fresh frozen green beans in the freezer to use up but we now have a good idea of what to plant for next spring and what we will eat and what will molder away; we just need to commit it to paper before our eyes get to the winter catalogs and we over order. 

Deb’s “ladies lunch bunch” held a Zoom get together this week and, while not all were in attendance, it was good to see those who have not been available for awhile.  A common complaint was that the husbands were now around and underfoot much more often. Deb could not feel their pain as she has been living with the problem for almost four years and had little sympathy.

Four more days and then we will begin to hear about how unfair the election was and how it was rigged and all the legal shenanigans that will be put in play. We do not believe that Voldemort will leave quietly nor let it go.  He will spend the next 90 some days issuing executive orders, pardons of his cronies, and commutations of federal crimes that will take years to untangle. But he will be gone - this we fervently believe. If you haven’t already voted, please, please, please mask up, stand in the lines socially distanced, for hours if need be, and VOTE as if your life depended on it - it does.

 Keep washing your hands, stay masked and distanced and stay safe.

Pandemic Omaha, Friday, October 23, 2020

 The weekend dawned sunny and temperate. We have two birthdays to celebrate and acknowledge for Saturday, October 17. Jacob Stuart Covert turned 46 on that date. He and Audry celebrated by roasting some ribs on the grill and sitting in their yard by the fire pit, enjoying the cool Michigan weather. The other October 17 birthday is of Esmè Marjorie Highland, attaining the age of two. She celebrated by going camping to Waubonsie State Park in Iowa for an overnight camp out with friends from Kansas. The weather turned decidedly cold over night with temperatures plunging into the mid 30º area with snow slush flurries. Other than the birthday girl nearly toppling headfirst into the campfire, all survived with quite a birthday camp out for a 2-year old. Congrats to both.

Saturday was a busy day around the Omaha household. Deb did some shopping and worked on bringing in her outdoor plants she is intending to over winter. Mark continues his recovery, graduating to a new set of exercises and eschewing his four legged rolling walker for his walking stick cane to move around the house. At Deb’s insistence, he is still parking the walker next to the bed overnight for in the dark stability, but clomps around with the stick all day long. We also participated in the bi-weekly family Zoom conference in the afternoon. We received a tour of Ed & Meg’s new apartment, and spent a lot of time talking about movies and other watchables to catch up with during this enforced at home time. Abigail spent the weekend virtually attending a knitting conference. She and Deb had originally scheduled to be in upstate New York for this huge knitting conference, but pandemic interfered. So Abigail logged on and signed up with everyone else for a virtual conference. She attended lectures, purchased more materials than she had intended (surprise!) and met a lot of new knitters. She added followers to her You Tube knitting blog, Covert Knits, and thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. Saturday evening was capped by hot dogs on the grill with another caprese salad.

Sunday morning we awoke to slush on the ground and mixed rain/snow falling, but only around a quarter inch of total precipitation. the area is still down over 12 inches for the year, but some precipitation is better than no precipitation. Eggs Benedict again for brunch (no, they don’t get boring,) and BLT’s for dinner, again probably the last of the season.

 The preceding week, we received the art work of Marcia Covert Chaves which we had purchased from her September Gallery show in Fredericksburg, Virginia. A beautiful painting entitled “Secret Garden at the Barnes House - Falmouth.” We now will embark on framing and finding a place of importance on our walls. If you have visited our home, you know that wall space is now at a premium. This means we must begin to rotate our displays like a gallery. Not to say that our collections are that worthy, only that we have over-collected over the years.

Monday again began with slush and rain and cool temperatures. Deb finished clearing the flowers off the front porch and getting the trash ready for Tuesday pick-up. More cookies were baked and walked over to Iris and Esmè (parents were allowed to test the fare) and then a dinner of beef pot roast with carrots, onions and potatoes, covered in a beef gravy. A hearty meal for a cold and grey day.

Tuesday was a grey, stay at home day. We got some reading done, Deb did some more work on her picture clearing project, and we had a quiet dinner of homemade chicken noodle soup courtesy of Zoë. Deb made biscuits to for dunking in the soup and we enjoyed the cozy meal; preceded by a martini in front of the fireplace and capped by some PBS fare on the telly.  Not so early to bed, as the shows seem to run on, but an easy day that was quite settling.

Our neighbor to the East, Patti, dropped off a get well gift for Mark ( a lovely multi-wood handmade winter stopper) and some beautiful roses, the last for the season.  They were (and still are!) so bright and cheery that they have made this grey week much better.

Wednesday was another grey, but not rainy day. Deb, feeling that she had slacked the past few days, hit the ground running today. She started by heading out for some grocery shopping, visiting John and Lynn to return some invalid equipment Mark had borrowed, and then headed to Abigail’s house. she spent all afternoon clearing the vegetable garden, trimming back the peonies at the front, and cutting up a large fallen branch from the sycamore tree.  She returned at 4:45, changed clothes and headed for Jan’s front porch for Tuesday Drinks (yes on Wednesday.) Dinner for both of us was snacks, cheese and crackers for Mark and cocktail hors d’oeveres for Deb. A busy day, crowned by a very restful and sound sleep that night.

Thursday was again grey and dreary with a morning fog and temperatures rising from 33ºF to 45ºF. Not a day for a glass of wine on the front porch as the wind had picked up.  We read, traded cars with Darcy so she could take hers in for oil change, and then ended the day by grilling salmon on the back deck, accompanied by rice and a caprese salad - still trying to use up those tomatoes.

We chose not to watch the presidential sparring session on Thursday, preferring to hear about it on Friday instead.  No use getting our blood pressure up. We have voted, our children and close friends have voted, and there is no need to see the two old combatants hurl insults at each other. Only eleven days to Election Day. If you haven’t voted - get out there and get it done. This is not the year to pass it up because you don’t like either of the major party candidates. Nor is it a year to pick a third party candidate as a better choice.  Perhaps that third person is a better choice, but, tilting at wind mills is not a choice this time. Get out there and cast your vote - please.

Keep masked up, wash those hands repeatedly, and stay at least 6 feet from everyone but your housemates. Don’t go running to the bars to celebrate or commiserate, don’t celebrate or tailgate - just stay home and keep working at defeating this disease. We now know friends who have contracted the disease, but have not yet been touched by a death.  We don’t want that, so pay attention!  Thanks for listening. 

Omaha Pandemic, Friday, October 16, 2020

It is a recovery week at the Covert Household. We are settling into our new routines acceptably - Deb doing all the work and Mark doing all the recovery. Although it may appear that Deb has drawn the short end of this project, Mark maintains that his role is central and essential to the process. Our neighbor Tom Babb has stopped over to mow our leaves, but he will soon tire of that process. Garth has also professed a willingness to run the mower a few times as well.

 Deb Duggan baked up some chicken thighs and rice in a casserole and delivered it Friday evening, along with some biscuits, and a vegetable medley of snap peas, mushrooms and onions. We stretched that one out to two evening meals.Although Harry the dog and Sushi the cat don’t enjoy having to weave around the rolling walker, they have yet to cause any falls; time will tell, but Harry should be thankful that Deb is willing to rise at 5:00 AM to let him out in the morning. If she tires of that duty, the vet’s office might be the next stop.

Mark is napping most afternoons - this may become a regular habit - and he doesn’t report any problem with falling asleep in the evenings. So far we have avoided the oxycodone the hospital sent home and have been making do with Tylenol and Tramadol at night. On Tuesday, we will jettison the Tramadol and fly solo on the Tylenol.

Sunday evening, Deb sought to reduce the number of tomatoes lining the countertops so she broke our the 18 quart roaster, placed the tomatoes, some onions, bell peppers, and seasonings in the pot to roast down for sauce. Sometime in the middle of the night, the roaster gave up the ghost. Having fought the good fight through innumerable turkey roastings, corned beef boilings, and other assorted duties, it was a trusted standby. At one point we owned two of these workhorses, having inherited one from each of our mothers. No telling how old this one remaining unit was, but it had put in good time over at least 35 years. A trip to the Goodwill is in its future while a replacement is winging its way via Amazon.

Monday evening, Deb and Tim Duggan made a run to Paddy McGowan’s for sandwiches and rueben egg rolls for evening dinner on our patio. A great break and, considering the cooling temperatures, these may be some of the last evening get togethers. Zöe, Iris and Esmè stopped by while we were eating on their evening walk. It was good too see them and they seemed pleased to have scored some of Deb’s chocolate chip cookies (we refer to them around here as crack-they are so addictive!)

Deb has been doing plenty of yard work; Darcy came over on Monday afternoon and helped to empty and store a number of pots. Replanting, trimming and sorting for the fall are under way. As usual, the weather creeps in before we are done admiring the beauty we have created in our gardens. It is tougher this year as it is a one-woman show, getting it all done.

Tuesday, as regular readers will know, is Drinks night for Deb. Jan, a regular attendee, had tested positive for COVID some weeks ago and, although now recovered, is still staying away, but Mary, Deb and Glenda (via FaceTime) were in attendance on our rear patio.  This activity also is up to review come cooler weather. 

Wednesday, Ed and Meg completed a move to a new and larger apartment with a loft (designated the guitar loft) and a larger balcony on the top floor of their building in North Hollywood. They toasted one another with a bottle of champagne and will spend the next several weeks unloading boxes and getting the dog and cat adjusted to the new quarters.

Wednesday we also scheduled another COVID testing. They are free, Mark had been out in public (hospital) and we are overly cautious; there is a national upswing in diagnosis and Nebraska is no exception.

On Thursday Mark had his one week tele-health checkup with the nurses at OrthoNebraska. The afternoon leg swelling is evidently standard for this surgery. Thursday was also dressing change day, and the approximately 5” long scar looks clean, no redness and no bruising around the site. According to the nurses, everything is progressing very well and Mark is making perfect progress. Thursday evening, Lee and Howie came by with Asian food for a dinner on the patio. Weather was cool, but we turned on the patio heater and managed well.

Except for the constant battle with the walker in our small and cramped home, and the constant up and down in the night, everything is going well.  Only 18 more days until the downfall of the dark prince, so the tension mounts. We have voted, as have millions more of our fellow citizens. If you haven’t done so, please, please exercise your civic duty to throw the garbage out.  

Stay safe and warm, talk to your loved ones, keep masked up and washing your hands. All will turn out for the best.  By the way our COVID test results are negative again - that’s four for four! Woo-Hoo!

Omaha Pandemic, Friday, October 9, 2020

Last Friday we asked what he had wrought; less than 14 hours later he announces he is positive for COVID 19 and less than 24 hours after that he is on Marine One headed for Walter Reed! As the Director of Infectious Diseases at University of Nebraska College of Medicine says, keep washing your hands and wearing your masks because the chances that the rest of us will be immediately airlifted to a nearby hospital, pumped full of experimental drugs and surrounded be teams of top notch physicians is fairly slight!

As the weather here in Omaha has been cool with highs in the 50’s during the weekend, we spent evenings out under our new patio heater, enjoying the luxury. Although the week is to get warmer, we finished the weekend semi-preparing for cooler weather as Mark would be out of commission for helping after Wednesday evening. We enjoyed our weekly Eggs Benedict on Sunday and some homemade chicken salad from a compliant Costco chicken later. For Sunday dinner we ordered some home style Runza-type sandwiches( renamed “Aksarbens”) from our friend Colin Duggan’s Kitchen Table Restaurant, along with a dinner helping of his homemade lasagna. We dropped off some sandwiches and lasagna to Abigail and then rushed home to enjoy the meal. We enjoyed another load of caprese salad as a way to wipe out some of our tomato stockpile.

Monday, as the COVID survivor made a triumphant flight back to the White House and ceremoniously removed his mask in order to enter and infect more of his staff, we worked around the house readying for Mark’s upcoming surgery. Monday morning he had a teleconference with the nurse staff to update his medical information. In the afternoon, we had a surprise visit from Zoë, Iris and Esmè who brought Mark a homemade poster, covered with leaves, wishing him good luck. We then placed an order for Reuben Egg Rolls and a club sandwich to take to Deb and Tim Duggan’s patio for an evening dinner. 

Deb’s Tuesday Drinks night was canceled due to illness and some prior commitments, so we worked in the yard until cocktail time, first driving down to the local service station to pick up Mark’s 2004 Subaru, which was in for a rebuilt starter transplant. We came home, tired and hungry, so wiped out the balance of the lasagna together with a salad and homemade dressing, topped with blue cheese.

Wednesday, Mark made his final visit to his co-gardeners at Hospice House and then we spent the rest of the day readying for the coming rehab. We pulled the box springs from our bed, thereby lowering it by 9 inches to allow for easier access, and switched sides (a real change after 35 years!) We pulled all the small area rugs to avoid tripping with the walker, and we watered the lawn in anticipation of the head handyman being out of commission for a time. Deb baked a brace of Apple pies for dessert and beyond; and our friends Lee and Howie stopped by for LaCasa pizza on our patio, but we ended early in order for Howie to get home in time for the vice presidential debate.

 Thursday morning dawned with the sun shining brightly and Mark feeling jittery.  Deb loaded him into the car for the drop off at the OrthoNebraska Hospital.  Due to COVID, she is not allowed in the hospital nor can she wait during surgery; she headed over to Abigails’ to do some canning of pickles and peppers while waiting for the phone call announcing the outcome of the surgery. The surgery started at 10:30 and was done in 90 minutes. Mark was in his room and wide awake by 1:30. By 3:00 the nurses had him up and taking a few steps with the walker. Physical Therapy staff showed up to review his exercises, which he dutifully did while in bed.

Thursday night sleep was typical for a hospital stay, up every few hours to make sure the patient hadn’t died. Inability to roll over in bed because of the hip was also a problem. Finally fully awake at 3:30 A.M., he listened to Morning Edition until staff came in at 6:30 to help him out of bed and into the bathroom. Purposely skipping dinner the night before, he was ravenous and ordered a huge breakfast of turkey sausage, mushroom and Swiss cheese omelette accompanied by wheat toast, coffee and apple juice. very good if basic.  

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch (houses), Abby finalized her refinancing with a notary and now will be not only debt-free (except for that pesky house payment, which is $100 lower), but will be able to put a deck on the back sooner rather than later.   She definitely learned something from her parents even if it was only using your assets to finance your lifestyles.  Deb had an uneventful evening fielding phone calls from all of Mark’s friends and relatives, assuring them that, yes, he had lived through it and promising that she won’t kill him over the next 6-8 weeks. 

Friday morning the surgeon stopped by to say how easy and great everything looked. He had told Deb the afternoon before that Mark had great leg musculature and so would have a very easy recovery! Occupational Therapy, and physical therapy, with getting dressed and learning to negotiate steps went smoothly, and Deb arrived at 10:45 to ferry her hobbling Hobbit home. All is well and recovery begins.

As usual, wash your hands, wear your mask, keep socially distanced, and if you haven’t already, get those ballots in soon. Only 25 days until the election.

Omaha Pandemic, Friday, October 1, 2020

What hath the Great Leader wrought? Today the news is that this mask and social distance averse person has tested positive for COVID 19 and now all government is scrambling to get tested. It would be somewhat fitting, though extremely discouraging, if his stupidity brought the entire U.S. government to its knees. All this on the heels of his shameful bullying performance during the first “debate.” We listen to the BBC radio broadcast during the overnight, and the comments from around the world are illuminating. Some leaders have wished he and Melania well, as is to be expected, but a large number have taken to snarky comments and disparagement. Our standing in the world may never recover - how could we let ourselves in for this man’s outrageous behavior and lack of demeanor?

The earlier part of the week for us was interesting and enjoyable. Last Friday evening we had our bi-weekly Zoom cocktail with Tom and Kevin in Tucson. They too are suffering from the pandemic, not from coronavirus, but from the forced time away from friends and family. Tom is recovering well from his hip replacement surgery; they, like us, are suffering from pandemic “depression” unable to see friends, entertain as we would like or sample restaurants as we please. Hopefully our conversation cheered them up as much as we were cheered. We promise that we are going to find a way to travel south for a visit this winter. If we drive, we will spend the night only in fully disinfected rooms, or sleep in the car; but we will be there.  Same goes for Del and Karen.  If any of you guys will have us.

In some sad news, Friday we learned of the death of Caroline Mae Covert Wilcox, age 95. Caroline was the sole surviving sibling of Mark’s father. She and her family continually extended hospitality to all the family, and her passing stirred many happy memories of growing up in the 1950’s and 60’s. Our condolences are extended to her family. Friday, we also went in for another COVID 19 test, our fourth time to have the dreaded long-handled swabs shoved up our nostrils. As the testing is free, and we are out often, we think we need to take advantage and be sure our masking efforts are effective. 

Saturday and Sunday were spent resting and spending some time finishing work at Abigail’s. We removed her vanity sink and large hanging medicine cabinet and spent time beginning the re-installation of the new equipment. Plumbing and carpentry being what it is in older houses (this one built in 1951, which doesn’t sound that old to us) there were many curses, many trips to the hardware store for parts, and many drives back home to collect one more needed tool. By Monday evening she had a new and updated bathroom.

Monday morning Mark was in for his pre-operative physical, securing a chest x-ray, an EKG and additional bloodwork. All were good and he is cleared for surgery next week. There will still be a blog next week, but it may not be published until Saturday. Mark continues to lobby for both hips at once; that way the surgeons can put 4” extensions in both legs, thereby getting him to his desired 6 foot (OK 5-10 1/2) height that he claims is his birthright.  Evidently Medicare doesn’t cover that particular procedure.

Tuesday morning had us back at Abigail’s for the finishing touches. Mark installed some base mould in the kitchen, hauled the old vanity and mirror to the Restore facility, and loaded all his tools back to the Pierce homestead. Deb commenced scrubbing the bathroom, kitchen, dusting and vacuuming, Darcy and Abigail hustled to clean their individual rooms and spaces; all in preparation for the arrival of the refinance Appraiser, schedule to arrive at 3:00PM. He arrived 20 minutes early, causing some minor consternation, but the project was complete. Tuesday evening we continued to use some of our tomato crop, enjoying homemade sauce with meatballs over pasta. This was accompanied by some of Mark’s fresh baguette.

Wednesday the plumber arrived at Deb and Mark’s to reset the toilet. Minor project from the plumber’s standpoint, but something our heroic in-house handyman was unwilling to tackle. Deb and Mark received a Negative  result to the Friday testing, but bad news in that Deb’s friend Jan received a Positive result from her Friday test.  Deb has not seen Jan (a member of the Tuesday Drinks group) in several weeks, as Jan had not been feeling well. Tuesday drinks had been rescheduled for Wednesday, and all toasted Jan’s health and wished her a speedy recovery.

 Our “adoptive granddaughters” Iris and Esme stopped by to visit on an afternoon walk. We are now seeing them three mornings a week as their Mom drives Iris to her preschool morning classes. They drive by at 8:30 with the window down and the girls wave to us as they drive by. A highlight of three mornings a week.

Deb went to Abigail’s for final harvesting on Thursday. We found we couldn’t use all we had grown this season, our first true foray into vegetable gardening. See have learned that we need to plan what and when we plant; we are intending to enlarge the area next year and will plant early and on time. This year we endured beginner’s luck, losing no crops to bugs or disease but some to improper planting. The final harvest, plus the last of our tomatoes was well worth our combined efforts.

Thursday gave us time for several projects around our house. Mark installed low voltage lighting along the west garden walk that we have been landscaping all season. As the weather is cooling, we decided to order a standing propane patio heater so that we could continue to entertain our small circle of friends on our patio. It arrived on Friday afternoon and Mark spent several hours bolting it all together. We ended the evening with a glass of wine on the patio under the heater as the weather cooled to an overnight low of 35ºF. 

As usual, keep washing your hands, mask up constantly and maintain that social distancing. We are thinking of each and every one of our readers as we continue on this pandemic adventure. The future surely will hold some travel for us and we will see each of you in person. Until then we see you in our dreams.