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.
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.
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.
