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.
