Omaha Pandemic, Friday, January 29, 2021

We arrive at another Friday, this week filled with tremendous amounts of “white stuff” in the midlands. Specifically a huge snowstorm which, if the national media is to be believed, also managed to dump snow from the south Kansas border on up into Illinois and southern Michigan. Here in Omaha we received 11.9 inches on Monday, and another dusting on Wednesday morning. The three day total was just under 15 inches. Iowa to the east received even more. Lincoln Nebraska, 50 miles west of us, received closer to 17inches. Quite the storm.

In anticipation of snow, we went shopping on Sunday, hitting four separate grocery stores to lay in supplies, as if we were going to be stuck for days (midwestern mindset, left over from our prairie sod busting days.) The snow started coming Sunday evening, and finally stopped sometime in the early morning hours of Tuesday. We awoke to the white silence and beauty of every surface covered with white “hats” and birds flying around our bird feeders and heated water facility.

Mark fired up, or actually inserted the batteries on his snowblower and went to work. Two hours later the drive was cleared as well as the sidewalk and front steps to the house. We were able to sit on our porch and look out at the white expanse of a pristine snowfall that evening, the only sound the occasional muffled snow blower toiling a few blocks away.

Wednesday morning revealed a fresh inch of the white stuff spread all over the drive and car again. This one swept up rather quickly; however the City’s snowplows had managed to provide an eighteen inch hardened furrow at the end of the drive. This was dispatched by the shovel wielding 73 year old workaholic. Not that we had to go anywhere, but just that we could if we wanted to. What good is it to have a pair of 4-wheel drive Subaru vehicles if not to entertain the thought that we could.

While Mark was out taming the elements on Tuesday, Deb mixed up the batter for her world famous chocolate chip cookies, and Wednesday produced a batch for sampling. All the calories expended in snow shoveling were quickly replaced, and then some. Speaking of comfort food, Deb made her world famous chili in the new Instant Pot for the first time. It was some of the best ever served in this house and there was enough to feed us for three nights and still some leftover for the freezer and a later meal. 

Zoom meetings this week included a Saturday Family Meeting with Ed & Meg, Jake & Audrey, and Abigail, Deb’s Women With Spines monthly book club meeting on Tuesday, Wednesday Girls Drink Night and Friday’s upcoming Tucson cocktail hour. In our comfort food mode, Deb made another meatloaf, accompanied by baked potatoes and another tossed salad. We were commenting on the fact that we, probably  eight years ago, threw out all the past dated and spoiling bottles of salad dressing from our refrigerator and never looked back. We now make our own vinaigrette dressing from fresh ingredients, some times using a raspberry vinegar for variation. Fresh tasting and never goes out of date.

On Thursday, Deb finally got to a project she has been threatening all winter - clearing the freezer of extraneous and unidentifiable items. Now we can begin cooking from our freezer with the remaining food and then begin buying only what we need for the week, ice cream excluded. This was an entire afternoon’s project but the time went by quickly as the meatloaf was cooking and bingeing episodes of The Leftovers while she worked.

The other culinary note is Mark’s discovery that hot Earl Grey tea in the afternoon, accompanied by a few homemade chocolate chip cookies are a marvel, especially with a good book.

Friday morning brought another large scale project. Deb has been clearing the basement in anticipation of finishing off one remaining section for more wall space for art, and another place to hide out and watch some TV, a movie, or to read. Also, we may end up with an area for short time visitors (grandkids and such.) Our dear friend Garth Highland came over with his trusty Chevy pick-up and helped us load a large 6 drawer lateral file cabinet in the back end of the truck; we then hauled it down to the Omaha Girls Rock warehouse as a donation for their use. We could not have completed this without Garth, and all it cost was a small baggie of chocolate chip cookies!

Well that wraps up another week under quarantine in Omaha. Stay safe, keep washing your hands, mask up and stay safely distanced if you venture out. Stay close to those you live with, and keep in touch with those you love.

Omaha Pandemic, Friday, January 22, 2021

 Another Friday, another history making week. An important birthday this week was for Abigail Jean Covert, who turned 38 on Wednesday. As it was also Deb’s friend Char’s 70th birthday on that date, Deb joined Char at Zoë Highland’s house along with Zoë’s husband Garth, her two beautiful girls Iris and Esmè, along with neighbors Beth & Tom Babb and good friend, Jan Carlin for an afternoon birthday

celebration complete with a stunning cake from The Cake Gallery.  Masks were worn (except during cake devouring). Meanwhile, Mark ordered world famous LaCasa pizza and around 6:00 Deb and Mark drove, together with the pizza to Abigail’s to celebrate along with Darcy and Maria. The pizza was great (hamburger and onion double crust and a large cheese ) together with some of Deb’s homemade salad, and an amount of wine. Chocolate cake, courtesy of HyVee, was the dessert. A grand time.

Four years ago at this time, 2017, we all were in Washington D.C. In the late summer of 2016, feeling sure that Hillary Clinton was about to become the first woman President, Deb purchased four tickets to DC for the Inauguration. We intended to bunk with Ed, who was then living in McClean, Virginia while he worked for Deutsche Bank. As we all know, Hillary didn’t win the election but was bested in the Electoral College vote by the “Orange One.” Out of our sorrow came a little bit of joy.

The Women’s March on Washington was scheduled for Inauguration Week, and so, with Abigail knitting “Pussy” hats while we were still on the airplane, the four of us headed to D.C. to help make history in another way. We bunked with Ed and were joined on March day by our granddaughter Avery. We hopped on the Metro train right at Ed’s building the morning of January 21, 2017 and headed into D.C. The train was filling up with each stop. Because the cars were filled to overflowing, they added more and more trains to bring the people in. The sea of humanity was amazing and everyone was cheering and chanting as we walked along the streets of D.C. There were over 200,000 people at this impromptu march and even though we didn’t march around the White House, the energy was electric. It took us most of the afternoon to get back to the apartment. Darcy stayed behind to meet up with some of her friends that has also been to the march. What a day.

That brings us to this past Wednesday, January 20, 2021 and the historic Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We spent hours in front of the TV, marvelling at all we saw and heard, from Lady Gaga’s rendition of the National Anthem ( the best we have ever heard,) the vibrant, stirring and fresh poetry of Amanda Gorman, to the President’s Inaugural address. It was a great start to the mending of our torn democracy. Now the real work begins.

Other activities of the week were quiet in comparison. We took our surviving pet Sushi the Cat into the vet for a rabies shot and check up. He is only 2 years younger than Harry the Dog was, so we thought we

should get him assessed. He has an infection and some slight kidney disease; also hearing loss. We brought him home loaded up with antibiotic pills and ear drops. Looks as if he will be with us for a while.

Thursday evening we chatted via cocktail Zoom with Karen and Dell in Phoenix. They are now waiting for the second round of COVID vaccine and seem perfectly content in their milieu. We are still looking forward to visiting and, as soon as we receive our round of vaccines, we may hit the road for a round of visiting in the southwest.

Food this week wasn’t too inventive, although the Ruth Reichel recipe for Chicken Curry was very tasty, especially paired with some homemade salad, naan and mixed rice medley.  Nothing spectacular, but tasty nonetheless.

Stay safe, wash your hands, mask up at all times out of your bubble/nest, and keep distanced. We want to be able to see each and every one of you when this is over. Hey, this may be the last mention of Trump in the weekly missive - unless the Impeachment Trial gets on the docket soon.

Omaha Pandemic, Friday, January 15, 2021

 Well, another week has “flown” by. The excitement of the riot and insurrection has passed and now we are left to the blaming and finger pointing, of which there is plenty to go around. The “Orange One” professes total innocence; all of the Democratic members of the House of Representatives plus 10 of their Republican cohorts manage, in one long day of interminable talking, to impeach him again. Thus he becomes the first U.S. President to be impeached twice. We fear he will again not be convicted of the offenses, and will proudly wear this one as another merit badge. Again something that no one else has ever done, Making America Groan Again.

We now watch and wait as each State Capitol prepares for its individual marches, protecting itself from insurrection and arguing as to whether or not the idiots can carry their firearms into the various legislative buildings with impunity. Meanwhile, the National Guard stations 20,000 - 30,000 troops around Washington D.C. One hopes that will be enough troops to ward off another riot during the inauguration ceremony that the defeated departing person, once again throwing decorum and tradition into the garbage bin that has become his term of office, is refusing to attend. Florida can have him.

 That is enough politics for this screed. Friday night we decided that spaghetti and meatballs sounded good, so we trotted out some frozen meatballs from the freezer box, mixed in some of our homemade tomato sauce from last years’ garden and toasted up some hot dog buns with garlic butter and parmesan. Add in a small salad, and we were back in Rome at some little trattoria enjoying a glass of wine and convivial surroundings.

 Santa brought Deb an Instant Pot this past Christmas, and this week we tried it out for the first time. She took her famous (in certain circles) ham and bean soup and threw all the ingredients into the pot, pressurized it, and an hour later - voila  - bean soup. It was edible out of the pot, but, as we customarily prepare meals sized to include four hungry children who we imagine might join us, we had a bit leftover.  We have what we refer to as our outside refrigerator, actually our gas grill, sitting right outside the patio door. In very cold weather, as we have been enjoying lately, we stick the large pot in the grill overnight, and it comes out frozen solid the next day.  So, the following morning we brought it in, scraped off the excess fat that had risen to the top, and reheated.  Now the flavors had melded properly and we had a sublime soup.  Enough left over after a second dinner and to have some for lunch later in the week.

Feeling the pull of comfort foods, Deb then pulled out some fresh ground beef and prepared her also famous meatloaf. This time intentionally making enough for sandwiches and dinner the next day. We accompanied the meatloaf with a try at a new (to us) Martha Stewart method of baked potatoes. We picked up two large Yukon Gold potatoes (not Russets) and stuck them, untouched, in the oven on the rack with the meatloaf for 90 minutes at 325Fº. We pulled them out, smashed them on the cutting board enough to pop them open and had a most delicious baked potato. Slathered in butter or your favorite sour cream, they were great and easy.  The taste was different from the roasted Russets from years past, but a great and easy change of pace.  Of course, all these meals are accompanied by a salad and home mixed vinaigrette dressing.

Last Saturday we were to have our denuded live (actually dead) holiday tree out at the curb for the Boy Scouts to pick up and haul away. We failed that test as we had not even started on the great takedown. We buckled down starting on Sunday, to deconstruct all the displays. We hauled all the empty crates up from the garage storage and began the repacking. The trees were untrimmed, with the live tree hauled to the backyard to entertain the birds and wildlife until spring. Last to go was the Santa display in the glass fronted cabinet. By Wednesday, all was put away back in the garage. The only remaining project was to place all the nice knickknack collection (that is probably not the correct word for these items but you get the idea) back in the cabinet.  This will take a day or two to dig them all out of their drawers and hiding places. Some will turn up a month later as a drawer in the guest room is opened for some reason and there, snuggled in amongst the bedding or towels will be another missing item.

We had another nasal swabbing test on Thursday afternoon, and by Friday morning received our Negative results.  We now are pleased to learn that we may be able to sign up for our vaccine inoculations next week. That will be something to really get excited about. Our friends Dell and Karen in Phoenix received there first inoculation on Thursday. As we post our comments this Friday morning, Omaha is in the middle of a full blown blizzard. Total snow accumulation is predicted to be near 3 inches, and the wind is gusting to 55 mph. Quite a change from Wednesday, when we were out chipping the last of the ice and snow from our rear deck, and refilling the bird feeders and suet holders around the yard. Such is the strain of living in middle America, where the landscape turns white while the politics remain red.

In the meantime, keep socially distancing, wash your hands repeatedly, stay in your own “bubble” group, and keep safe. We will write again after the inauguration and the final riddance of our 4-year sickness.

Pandemic, Friday, January 8, 2021

 Another Friday, but today, the only comments we have about our week will be minimal. On Wednesday we slept, we ate, we cooked, we grocery shopped, we washed our hands, we wore masks in public, Mark spent a 30 minute time period with the Master Gardener group removing outside Holiday decorations from the gardens. Tuesday morning, Deb was up early, taking a picture of a  beautiful sunrise. Little did we suspect that beauty in our life was about to get displaced!

Mostly what we did was watch in horror on Wednesday as Donald J. Trump, President of The United States of America, proceed to do his damndest to tear apart our country and our democracy. We watched with tears streaming down our cheeks and fear in our hearts as the riotous mob he had called to the City of Washington and then fired up with a rally speech, marched to the U.S. Capitol Building, break down the doors, break out windows, and invade and occupy the premises. We watched as videos and photographs of Capitol Policeman, guns drawn, held a standoff with thugs breaking down the doors. 

We watched as louts clamored over the galleries, dropping onto the dais and then sitting in the recently vacated President’s chair, spinning around and taking a selfie of his smug bearded mug. We watched as another, having invaded the Speaker’s office, sat in her chair for a selfie and left a note scrawled on her file folders. We learned that the Senators and Congressional Representatives had been evacuated to undisclosed locations after taking their issued gas masks with them.

We learned of the shooting of another woman rioter, shot dead in the rotunda by Capitol Police. We watched as the policemen politely held open the doors of the building for these common criminal trespassers to exit. We watched as people paraded around the steps, waving Trump flags, American flags and the traitorous Confederate flag. We learned that the last time the Capitol Building was invaded was in 1814, 207 years before, during the War of 1812! Were we fortunate that this group did not burn it as the first set of invaders had done?

We watched as the National Guard and the Washington D.C. police,  along with police from Virginia and Maryland, finally showed up as the 6:00 curfew was approaching and slowly pushed the criminal crowd back and away from the Capitol grounds. Admittedly there was no violence on the part of the police and Guard, but for once in our lives, we wished that we could witness a little beating of the perpetrators.

We talked long into the night, thinking that if this had been a Black Lives Matter protest, or a Gay Rights Protest taking over the Capitol and storming through the offices and halls, there would have been murder and mayhem. Why is it that white rioters receive a pass? We ended the week, continuing to question our country, the one we love and grew up in, the one Mark, his fore-bearers and his sons served in the military of, and our granddaughter continues to serve. We talked to friends who have immigrated from other countries, thinking of returning rather than live in this dichotomous and schizoid land.

We are disappointed in our own representatives, all Republican, who supported this President, and some of whom continue to support him. We wonder at our neighbors who have doubled down on their support of the man tearing apart our country - marching to our own State Capitol Building in Lincoln in support of the thugs and criminals? Are we reactionary or are are we right? All we know is that we are saddened and our hearts are breaking for the land we call home. President-elect Joe Biden said on Wednesday, “This is not who we are.” Unfortunately, it is who we are, but not who we should be. We hope that the new administration can right the ship of state, but doubt is still strong in our souls.

We did take a picture of the sunset that Tuesday, again thinking that we were going to bracket a wonderful day. Oh Well! Stay safe, wash your hands, mask up, keep your distance and take your vaccine as soon as it is offered to you.

Omaha Pandemic, Friday, January 1, 2021

 A new year and a new start. The coronavirus is still with us though. This week we endured another COVID test on Monday, as Darcy may have had an exposure last week, we thought it prudent. This was our 7th testing, and we were again negative. So far, so many bullets dodged. Some birthdays to reflect upon this week: Monday, the 27th was Lynn Covert’s 70th birthday. She does not look or feel like she is a septuagenarian. Her loving husband John bought her a cake/brownie mix and asked her to make it for her birthday cake, he is so thoughtful! Also Tuesday, the 29th was Marsha Gallagher’s birthday - an undisclosed number of years, but still spry and sightful.

Three wedding anniversaries to celebrate this week. Evidently a lot of people looking for a joint tax return filing in past years: Ann & Don Hosford on the 29th, and both Lynn & John Covert and Mary & Dennis Picken on the 30th. Happy-Happy to all celebrants!

It is with regret that we announce the passing (euthanasia) of our dear Harry Picken Covert. Our somewhat incomplete records say that Harry entered this world on November 4, 2001. If accurate, he was 19 years old at his last birthday. He had been living with us since December 24, 2009, which is when we took over his care and lodging from Deb’s mom, Beverly Picken. Harry had been adopted as a puppy by Bev and Roger Picken, and brought them much happiness, as he did to us. To the end, he would be sprite-full and carefree, running around the yard and house, barking at other dogs as they pass by or inhabit the neighboring yards. In the last few months, he became increasingly incontinent, his cataracts reduced him to almost total blindness, and he couldn’t hear unless you shouted at him or stomped on the floor so he could feel the vibrations. It was a very tough decision for us, but Harry had had a good run and was in obvious pain and much confusion. RIP Harry: 2001-2020. We toasted you on the 30th and you will be in our memories forever.

We have been dining on leftovers: ham and cheesy potatoes, braunsweiger dip with black bread, lasagna, snickerdoodle cookies, fudge, pecan spice bars, frosted cookies, chocolate peanut clusters and assorted other health foods. We even scrounged up a salad with one of our lasagna evenings. Monday we made a run to the stores for groceries and bird seed while we were out for our COVID testing. Monday evening

the Tuesday forecast was for a big winter storm  with projected accumulations of 5” - 11” inches of snow. Mark, knowing that his new hip probably wasn’t best for heavy snow shoveling, ran out to the local ACE hardware and purchased a new battery operated snow blower, which uses the same batteries as his other yard implements. There may have been some previous planning in this acquisition of a new (toy) tool! Come Tuesday afternoon, when the snow stopped falling, he was out like a flash and cleaned up the 7” we received in a thrice, never even skidding on the ice. Slick and a quiet operating machine. Of course that means that we now have to store the new 96 gallon trash and recycling containers outside to make room for the new purchase in the garage, but such is the sacrifice Deb is willing to make to keep her husband healthy and happy. He even promises to show her how to operate it for future snows!

Deb’s book club, Women with Spines, had a gift/treat exchange this week. Each member contributed some small edible, two of the members collected them all and placed them in decorated paper grocery sacks, and three other members collected them and delivered them to members’ homes.The club then met this week, virtually, to choose the books for next year. They spent a few hours making their various presentations on the choices and narrowed it down to 12 plus one alternate from the original list of 24 titles. 2021 will be a well read year. 

Our New Year’s Eve celebration was raucous as usual. We had a virtual cocktail with our friends Karen and Dell in Phoenix, Lee and Howie, and Ann and Don, all having traveled together in times past;

we then dined on a Hungarian turkey goulash recipe, accompanied by some wine and home made baguettes. We tried to stay up until it was midnight somewhere on the globe, and toasted out 2020 and toasted in 2021with a few glasses of bubbly. We even tried to sing a verse of Auld Lang Syne!

We wish all a very prosperous and safe New Year in 2021. We will have a new leader in the White House, one who can string a sentence together and who doesn’t lie at every breath, one who respects others and has a calming influence, we hope. Please stay safe, wash your hands, mask up when needed, test if you can and we hope the coming year will allow us to see many of you in person.