All is Well

 Ward and I are completely well after our bouts with COVID, and according to the CDC, today, I am free to move about without a mask on. After the first positive test, the game changes to days and symptoms- no negative test is needed as long as you've been without a fever for 24 hours and symptoms are improving. Current guidelines have you isolating for 5 days and wearing a mask for 5 days after that. I am on day 11 but will continue to wear a mask as I did before. We are both very thankful that we had mild cases, probably because we are fully vaccinated and boosted. And very grateful for the technology and researchers that made them possible.

I haven't been out of the house much for the last two weeks, so I had the Go-fever, as we used to call it as kids. To treat my Go-fever, Ward and I set off on a drive to look at the fall leaves, which are in all of their glory. But a funny thing happened on the way, we passed a sign for Gathland State Park, and I decided that was where we needed to be. 

Gathland belonged to George Alfred Townsend and was the site of the Civil War Battle of South Mountain. Townsend was a reporter during the Civil war and decided he liked the area while working there. Rumor has it that he got 100 acres cheap because people didn't like former battle sites. His penname was Gath, thus the name Gathland State Park.

Gathland is popular with hikers because the Appalachian Trail runs through it. In fact, Ward had been there several times on backpacking trips, but I had only been there once for a drop-off for one of those trips. We had a nice hike and saw some interesting history. And I was oh so happy to be out again. 

Below are a few more details of our outing.

The arch in the back is a memorial to journalists who lost their lives in the Civil War. Townsend built it in 1896 and it was the first of its kind. In the foreground are a few of the numerous signs describing the battle that took place there.

There were tributes to other journalists as well as those from the Civil War.

This was his wife Bessie's house. It housed a kitchen and meeting rooms. Today it is a museum about being a reporter during the Civil War.

The floor inside the museum was covered with an annotated carpet map of the area - a first for me.

Townsend had a total of nine buildings on his property. Unfortunately, we couldn't find anything identifying this ruin, although it might have been a barn.

After exploring the central area, we hiked. The trail was nice, although rocky.

In fact, the whole area was rocky, and there was a prevalence of stone walls on the farms in the area. This was one of Townsend's.

An overnight shelter for through hikers on the Appalachian Trail. According to Ward, this was a nice one.

The park has many more places to explore, and we will definitely be making a return trip.

Until next time...

I've Joined the Crowd

Anemone

Just like clockwork, five days after Ward came down with COVID, I tested positive. This is my second day, and it's not too bad. I had a fever that broke last night, and I feel better today than yesterday. Now it's just the common respiratory symptoms, a runny nose, a hacking cough, and some achiness.

Ward is on day seven and is feeling much better. In fact, according to the CDC, he's free to move about with a mask, so he's out getting some groceries for us. He is very happy to be out of the house, and we are both happy that we do not have to keep up the vigilance of staying apart. In fact, the first thing we did was sit together on the couch - a welcome change from the past week.

To get some fresh air this afternoon, I looked at some of the flowers in the yard. Even though the cats protested, it was good to get off the couch. Below are a few pictures.

These mums are quite the show-stopper every year.

A lone surviving zinnia among the mums.

Various vincas are still blooming around the yard, but our first frost last week has slowed them down quite a bit.

I put these marigolds in late, so they're just starting to bloom. 

These mums were some that Miss Landers was throwing out. I take seasonal mums that people don't want and plant them with varying success. I can usually get a couple more seasons out of them before they die out.

Same story with these mums.

Until next time...

We've Joined the Majority

Ward tested positive last Saturday for COVID, which means that our family joined the many other families who have had a member with COVID. In April, over half (58%) of the US population had already had COVID infections; no doubt, this number is even higher now. In the almost 3 years since the coronavirus was discovered, our family has been able to dodge getting infected. However, even though we have been careful, the coronavirus is so widespread it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Ward missed Family Day at Theo's
work because he was sick.

So far, Ward's infection is no worse than a bad cold. He feels well enough that he is getting bored because he has been sequestered to just a few rooms in the house. In the mornings, before I go to work, I make sure he has food, drink, and activities to fill his time until I get back since he's not allowed in the kitchen, the basement, our bedroom, or the den. He's working on a puzzle right now. I anticipate that in a few days, he should be good to join the world again. But this virus, if nothing else, is unpredictable. So we shall see.

In the meantime, Theo and I are symptom-free and are testing negative. And with every day that goes by, I feel more confident that things will stay that way. But we shall see.

We all feel lucky that we have been fully vaccinated and boosted because things could be much worse.

My Neck of the Woods

 or to paraphrase weatherman Al Roker, "Here's what's happening in my neck of the woods."

The most recent snowfall. We are forecast to get three times this much tomorrow.

Today is a welcome day off from a busy week at work before I return tomorrow. Our library has begun handing out COVID test kits for county residents, and there's been somewhat of a frenzy. While there is separate staff handing out the kits, we are fielding continuous phone calls asking about the status of the distribution. These constant interruptions make it hard to assist people who want help with actual library services. But it's all good. People are happy to get the kits, and we are happy to be providing the service. BTW, I don't know the current COVID-related numbers anymore because I've stopped listening to the details. I just know that they are high, and more and more people I know are getting sick. But this too shall pass, she says wearily.

Well, I didn't get this posted yesterday, so let's see what I can do before I'm off to work. And speaking of work, I just found out one of my coworkers now has COVID, which he contracted from his wife. It's been five days since I've seen him, and that was from a distance, both masked. So I think I'm okay. 

And speaking of COVID-related matters, we are experiencing empty grocery store shelves here like most of the rest of the country. I think we are seeing the perfect storm of residual supply chain issues, worker shortages because of COVID, and a big snowstorm last week with a promise of another tomorrow. And to top it all off, these have led to panic buying. Panic buying is the only thing we can really control, but human nature gets in the way, and panic buying results. While we don't exactly have an overly full pantry or freezer here, we won't go hungry for a long time if we get no more supplies.

Until next time...

Happy New Year!

“Again, the time elapsed.”
― Carolyn Keene, The Secret of the Old Clock

Not much to say, except, "Here we go again!"

Below is what I posted last year at the beginning of 2021. While the details are different, the big picture is the same. Maybe this will be the year that we can finally let our guard down because, you know, "Hope springs eternal."

____________________________________________________

 Welcome, 2021!

In the new year, may you find the peace
of a cat sleeping in a sunbeam.

I know that a new year always brings new hopes and dreams - especially this year. Hopes of not living in constant fear of the coronavirus. Hopes of being rid of the vigilance it takes to be safe. Hopes of not hearing upsetting statistics every day. And dreams of talking to someone face to face. Dreams of being able to hug family members and friends. Dreams of taking a trip. Dreams of sitting in a restaurant.

While there is no doubt that everyone wants this pandemic that started in 2020 over, it has been remarkable in some ways. It has unified people around the entire globe. We have been united in trying to figure out the best procedures, treatments, and vaccines for the disease. Sometimes there have been disagreements on what those are, but there has been a common goal--to be rid of the devastating effects of the coronavirus. That blows my mind. Around the world, everyone is thinking about the same thing and feeling empathy for each other.  I guess you might call that the silver lining to the storm cloud of 2020.

So I'll just summarize and say, "Goodbye, 2020, and thank you for all that you taught us, and Welcome 2021, we have high hopes for you."

This and That

I've been away for a while, so it's time for a check-in with a bit of this and that.

Spring is really here (and the calendar agrees). We have entered into the stage where something new is budding or blooming every day. Granted we could still have snow, and the last frost is not usually until the middle of May, but the ratio of cold to warm days is getting smaller.

Today was a warm but windy day, a day I spent outside digging in the dirt preparing beds for seeds and then planting them - but not before I had to chase more than one envelope of seeds around the yard.  I planted carrots, beets, peas, radishes, lettuce, and bunching onions using seeds that Miss Lander's shared with me. Among them, she gave me pelleted carrot seeds which are the greatest thing since sliced bread. I shouldn't have to do the extensive thinning that I usually have to do with carrots since these were big enough to control the spacing. I still have broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and carrots growing in the milk jugs. I think they are ready for transplanting and I will do that tomorrow. We'll see how they survive and that will be the true test to see if this method of cold starting seeds is as easy as it seems.

And speaking of things that are supposed to be easy, I have been painting the grout between the tiles in one of my bathrooms. The grout is still in good shape, but its white color has turned to brown over the years. I read several places about grout paint, and this is supposed to be the easiest job ever. It's not working out that way for me, however. The theory is that you paint the grout using a toothbrush and the paint sticks to the grout, but easily removes from the tile.  The bottle says to wipe as you go, and others say to wait a little. Well, I have tried various painting and wiping methods and I am getting uneven coverage at best. I've been doing a row of tile a day, so as to not kill my back and knees, and I am trying a different technique everytime to see if I can find the magic formula. So far it works best when I let it dry completely and scrape the extra paint off the tile. It is true that it sticks to the grout, but not to the tile--sort of. It is a very labor intensive job, but overall the floor does look better. 

In other news, Ward and I, both, got our first COVID vaccines on Monday. That experience brought a flood of emotions--a few tears of relief that there is an end in sight to the hypervigilance of the past year. (Vigilance will still be around, but hypervigilance-I hope not.) Then I had a few wild thoughts that I just drank the Kool-Aid. Do we really know what's in those vaccines? Granted that was my crazed mind that was taking center stage for a moment. All of that was followed by plans of what we may be able to comfortably do in a few months. Apparently, I'm not off the roller coaster of emotions of the last year yet.

Well, that's just a few things that have been keeping me busy. In another post, I will tell more. But for now, here are a few scenes from the yard.

There are still a few snowdrops blooming.

I have planted little pockets of crocus around the yard.
They are my favorite flower of early spring.

I have also planted daffodils in various places that are starting to bloom. I don't know if all of them will bloom this spring, however. They may need another year to mature.
(You may notice my milk jug planters behind the daffodil.)

The forsythia started to bloom a couple of days ago.

The birds are singing their hearts out and building nests.

Some of the lilacs have leaves budding.

Well, that's about it until next time...

A Lapse

Everyone is tired these days from the vigilance needed to keep COVID-19 at bay. Eight months is a long time to be on hyperalert. Even with that being said, I still get very annoyed with people who don't wear a mask around others or only pretend to wear a mask with it pulled down below their nose.

Well today, one of those annoying people was me. I had gone for my allergy shot, fully masked, and was trying to decided whether or not I was going to stop at Aldi's on the way home. We didn't really need anything, but finally decided to stop in for some bananas. Then I contemplated whether or not I'd need a cart in case I found some great deals, and whether or not I had a quarter to get one. With all of these considerations bouncing around in my head, I forgot to put my mask back on before I went into the store. There I was darting up and down the aisles with a totally naked face when I finally noticed a woman who gave me a side-ways glance. Then I realized it. I had forgotten my mask. Embarrassed that people would see me as one of "those inconsiderates," I rushed to the car and suited up.

I went back into the store hoping that I'd see some of the same people who had seen me before without a mask. I don't know if anyone noticed me without or with my mask, but I felt better with it on, not to mention that wearing it is a county and state ordinance. 

The store wasn't crowded and, as usual, I avoided people the best I could. I think it's going to be alright.

Have you ever forgotten to wear your mask when you've gone out?