Omaha Pandemic, Friday, March 26, 2021

Time is flying by, “normal” times are slowly returning, and we hold our breath that there will not be an upsurge in this pandemic to further stymie our lives. The weather at Pierce Street has been cool, occasionally rainy, but promising of spring. On Saturday, we sat through a two hour on-line class presented by Nebraska Extension on beginning vegetable gardening. We learned about soil temperatures, soil balance and planting timing. It confirmed some of our long held beliefs, and upended some others. All in all, a good experience.

We were able to celebrate a birthday this week by attending a real, in person, birthday party - the 4th birthday of our great friend and neighbor Iris Margery Highland.

It was held at her parents house, around the corner from us, and included her parents, her extremely verbal younger sister Esmè, our next door neighbors Beth and Tom Babb, and Char, a good friend and fellow book club member of Deb’s and Zoe’s.  We were joined via What’s App by Iris’ grandmother Bernadette Cleary from her home in Ireland. 

While the birthday girl seemed to enjoy the party, the heavily sprinkled birthday cake, and the presents, the real celebrants were the adults who finally were able to congregate with friends, in person, on the back patio and engage in real time conversations. Such a joy and a harbinger of things to come.

We both are now 11 days past our second vaccination, and looking forward to spending some unmasked time with friends similarly vaccinated in the coming weeks. We wouldn’t have believed a year ago, that we would so look forward to spending a little time in the company of others - not that we don’t enjoy our own company, but. . . Well you all know.

Saturday afternoon, the drywall taping guy finished the wall in the upstairs family room, which you recall was damaged by a burst water line in February.

We then spent most of this week applying four coats of paint and rehanging the television and shelving, moving the temporary TV out and getting the room set back up so as not feel like we were in the middle of a construction zone.

Slowly but surely, Deb’s travel business has begun to pick up.  She has several cruises booked for the end of the year and into 2022 as well as trips to Mexico.  She is not sure how she feels about the uptick as retirement has been very satisfying but the moment she actually received a pay check in March for some travel insurance she had sold, the dollar signs reappeared in her eyes.  She is 2 years short of being in this business for 50 years and she would love to hit that landmark career achievement.  Her plan right now is to let her business ebb naturally and to not take on new clients.  Also no air-only business, no Las Vegas or  honeymoons packages or cheap cruises or hotels.  She does reserve the right to change her mind about any of this!  

This morning the carpet crew arrived to install new carpeting on the steps to the basement. Last weekend, Mark tore up the old carpet and repainted the stringers of the steps. The drywall will be finished in the basement room, and painting can then begin in that section. We are nearing the end now and getting positively excited about all the changes we have wrought.

As we finish up on our fifth year in this house, we are finally finished with the remodelling and redecorating. Now we can spend some quality time outdoors, sprucing the gardens, adding shrubs and flowers, and planning meals on the patio. 

Most should now have at least one vaccine in their arms - good job. If not, get it scheduled. Keep your masks on, wash your hands, stay distanced and stay safe.

Omaha Pandemic, Friday, March 19, 2021

The word this week in the Midwest is rain and cold. It began raining on Sunday and continued on until Tuesday. We experienced over 4.7 inches of rainfall here at Pierce Street. The wind gusts on Sunday reached 30 mph and the temperatures ranged from highs of 45ºF to  overnight lows of 33ºF. The rain, cold and wind made for a good time to be indoors. The sun finally came out on Thursday, but the high temps were still forecast to be in the upper 40’s to low 50’s. At least a little drying can occur.

Tuesday we went for our second Moderna vaccination,

and so we are now fully vaccinated. As reports say we won’t have full coverage for 14-28 days, we will continue to lay fairly low - there is really no place to go in any event. We continue to bake and cook, worry about our kids and grandkids, and fuss about the slowness of the remodel in the basement. The drywall tape part of the project is always slow as the guy comes, applies a coat of mud, then leaves for a few days while it dries, then back to sand and create a mess  before he applies another coat of mud. The process repeats. We don’t expect to begin getting paint on the walls for another two weeks. 

The garage is full of all the furniture, both new and old, that will be transplanted back into the space. We are looking forward to completion and then the fun of hanging more art and photos, rearranging the space and then sitting to watch some TV. Next project on the horizon is an expansion of Abigail’s vegetable garden and installing railings on her newly built deck. Whatever retirement is, it is not sitting back and growing old, it is working, growing older faster and getting sore muscles to go with the stooped back. At least we are not COVID infected yet.

Wednesday morning, Mark led a Zoom meeting with the Josie Harper Hospice House Master Gardener group in planning for the coming spring and setting dates and ideas for the season. The group now numbers 26 active members and 17 of them were available to log in and join the meeting. Somewhat like wrangling cats, but all were able to log on and make some substantive contributions. It looks to be a busy Spring for them. 

Deb broke out her Instant Pot this weekend and brewed up some chicken stock from her horde of roast chicken bones, all of which promptly went into the freezer. Next she popped some hamburger into the pot, followed by beans and spices and produced a huge batch of chili to offset the cold evenings on the weekend. Again, we dined on that for two nights and stashed the rest in the freezer for later consumption.  Deb baked a beautiful and very tasty cherry pie this week. Her best crust ever and that is saying something as her crust is world famous, at least in this family. Mark baked up another pair of baguettes on Tuesday, which meant that we could enjoy a very French meal of baguettes and Brie with our wine as a dinner that night. This was in preparation for the annual St. Patrick’s Day feast.

Wednesday, the Instant Pot was again pressed into action with a corned beef brisket going in the pot with onions, broth and seasoning. It was pressurized and an hour later it was done, then carrots, potatoes and cabbage went in for 5 minutes, again under pressure. Abigail joined us and we had a proper St. Paddy’s day feast, accompanied by two fresh loaves of Tim Duggan’s Aunt Mary’s Irish Soda Bread and a couple of bottles of Guinness for Mark. We topped all of this off with the last of the cherry pie for dessert. Quite the meal and we were finished by 8:30! Abigail headed home and the two of us fell into a stupor in front of the TV screen.

We have been binge watching this past week an English comedy, The Detectorists, which is available to us on the Acorn Network. It is a hilarious, low key comedy about a group of metal detector enthusiasts in the fictional town of Danebury in rural Southeast England. It is written, directed and stars McKenzie Crook and includes as his wife, Rachel Stirling, and her mother, played by her real life mother, Diana Rigg. We are definitly enjoying this and would highly recommend it to fans of droll British comedy. 

Thursday evening was a busy one - Deb held her Girls Drinks Nite via Zoom at 5:00. She finished at 6:15 and Mark had heated up Abigail’s turkey tetrazzini for dinner, we then logged on to a Zoom cocktail hour with our friends Karen and Dell in Phoenix. We learned that their pool is heating up nicely and the outside temperature is approaching 80ºF during the daytime. It doesn’t look like we will get south this spring as the season is slipping away and there are too many things pressing on our time. Oh well, there is still time so we will wait it out and hope for the best.

If you have finished your vaccination run, congratulations; if not then get to cracken! Keep those masks in place, wash your hands and stay socially distanced. Conditions are moving more and more towards normal, whatever that may be.

Omaha Pandemic, Friday, March 12, 2021

Now we are into the second year of our pandemic adventure. The big story this past week has been the weather in the Great Plains. The weekend was cold but sunny. By Monday, the daytime temps were in the mid 70º range and stayed that way  through Wednesday. However, on Wednesday the winds picked up, gusting to as much as 40 mph in the late afternoon. The ensuing cool front moved in overnight on Wednesday, ushering in clear skies, a little wind, and temps peaking in the mid 50º range with lows dipping into the low thirties. It looks nice and makes one want to get out into the garden, but it is way too early. Luckily we have begun to receive the garden porn (seed and flower catalogs) in the mail to let us drool over what we hope it will all look like in a few months.

.Saturday and Sunday the contractor was here to finish the drywall installation in the basement. We now await the next phase, the guy to tape and apply the mud to all the seams This will be the longest and messiest part of the job - dust and more dust.

Abigail received delivery of her new washer/dryer combo this week, and Darcy was quick at work catching up on laundry. Nice to have machines that work and not take two hours to complete a single load. Mark met the plumber there this week for a quick repair and hung a picture for them while the plumber completed his work.

A side benefit was Mark’s haircut by our in-house stylist on their new rear deck. Deb went over there this week also and delivered a fire pit kit we had found on a Menard’s visit this past weekend.

With the better weather, we had an opportunity to dine out with friends. Monday evening we met Deb and Tim Duggan at the local tavern patio for cheeseburgers, a couple of “Dirty” martinis and beer. The occasion was to celebrate Tim’s impending birthday on the 9th of March, his 78th. Deb noted that Tim is now officially her oldest living friend. There are those no longer with us though. We received word on Thursday of the passing of old friend Sally Lusk who had moved to Maryland to be closer to her children after the passing of her husband a few years ago. Sally was a character, but a loving and faithful one. Memories of her will live on for a long time. Especially the time that she and Deb were on a trip to Russia when Sally was set upon by street urchins who tried to steal her purse.  They were scary but unsuccessful as Sally had her purse hidden in her voluminous jean skirt that was a staple for her travels.  Also, an American living in Moscow saw the attack and sprayed pepper spray on the little darlings and, unfortunately, Sally.  She was so happy about being saved she didn’t mind.  She will be missed in the Covert household.

Sunday evening Deb tried a new recipe of cauliflower soup, using some of her stash of homemade chicken broth, some bacon for topping and plenty of vegetables and spices.  It proved to be a “keeper” and will show on the menu again soon. This actually lasted for two evening meals. Tuesday we dined on Asian take-out with our friends Lee and Howie Needelman on their beautiful patio as we watched the sunset. It is so good to be able to see and visit in person with friends again. All have had at least one round of vaccine and a few have received both already. The end of fearing the pandemic is in site, although we expect to be living with masks and social distancing for many months or years to come.

Wednesday we stayed in but had a good, healthy meal of asparagus spears, baked potato and a thick pan fried pork chop, perfectly cooked. All washed down with our favorite red beverage.  A mellow day and a mellow meal.  Deb has rediscovered Cheerios for breakfast with blueberries and says she feels like it is summer already. Apparently, isolation has done her in.

Thursday afternoon Mark made some baguettes and Deb picked up some homemade tomato sauce from Abigail so we dined in the Italian mode with pasta, fresh bread, a salad and some more red beverages.

Friday, Mark will take part in two Zoom classes for his Master Gardener series, and we will again enjoy a Zoom cocktail hour with Kevin and Tom from Tucson.  Tom is recovering from rotator cuff surgery this week but should still manage to enjoy his cocktails, - he is ambidextrous we are told, not a two fisted drinker!

We still remind you to wash your hands, stay distanced and wear your masks. If you have not yet gotten on the vaccine list, please do so ASAP. We want to see you soon in person.

Omaha Pandemic, Friday, March 5, 2021

Well here we are, 52 weeks into the Pandemic and we are still stuck in real (not virtual) lockdown, but at least with our loved ones. It still seems like a prison of sorts but we are beginning to formulate plans to break out of here and drive somewhere! Two more weeks until our second COVID vaccination and then we will feel more comfortable, especially if we can see other elderly who have also received their vaccinations. 

For a birthday celebration this week we offer congratulations to Dell Sennentz, who past the 74th milestone on March 1. Of course so did the State of Nebraska, but Dell is still younger. We zoomed last Friday with Tom and Kevin in Tucson and we are looking forward to seeing them when we can again travel, although they are so young (early retirement you know,) that they will have to quarantine for two weeks prior to our arrival unless they also can get vaccinated. Just sayin.

The weather here in Omaha has been amazing this past week. Lows in the 25º - 35º range at night and sunny days in the upper 50º to 65º range. This has allowed us to sit on the front porch for our cocktail hour for a few evenings. We get to see the neighbors walking by and assure them we are not dead yet! Most enjoyable to see other signs of life and to have some impromptu conversations, even if at a truly social distance.

Our basement redo project is moving along. All the electrical work was completed last weekend and the drywall delivery guys showed up on Wednesday to load in 25 sheets of drywall. They were young and fit, so making thirteen trips from their truck into the basement with heavy double sheets of drywall didn’t phase them. Our contractor Dave showed up on Thursday and turned our somewhat small water damage hole into a whole wall of exposed studs and insulation in preparation for adding some outlets in the family room and repairing the water damage from our burst water pipe. It appears we are going to be in a constant state of construction for the next few weeks.

On another front, Abigail’s clothes dryer gave up the good fight this past week. These were inherited with her house purchase seven years ago, so it wasn’t a great surprise. She pored over the various offerings and, after Deb made a reconnoiter trip to Nebraska Furniture Mart, a new matched pair is on the way, scheduled for delivery today. Of course, that meant that we had to haul a load of laundry home here to wash, dry and fold this week, but what else are mothers for, if not laundry duty?

Due to the heavy schedule of moving furniture into the garage, taking down an entire wall of display, television and sound set, and finding a place to safely place it all, our gourmet meals took a hit. Some Hot Dogs, Costco rotisserie chicken, and a quick Hash and eggs meal about did it.  Although we did get a chance to try a recipe from our friend Glenda - a

Sesame-Hoisin Sauce Salmon. We paired this with some red beans & rice and a glass of red shiraz. Although the rice looks a little messy, the flavors were lovely and all was absolutely delicious, a new addition to the regular repertoire for sure.

We got so busy setting up a replacement temporary TV for the family room that we spaced off our biweekly Zoom cocktail with Dell and Karen in Phoenix. After a questioning phone call from them, we agreed to set it up for tonight.  All this work is getting to us it seems. We will have to slow down in the next week.

That’s all for this issue. Please continue to wash your hands, maintain social distance, wear your masks, and get your vaccinations scheduled. If we get to come your way, we want to be able to sit in the same room with you and toast a good life!