Not Crazy Yet

or What the Pandemic Looks Like at My House
(Pictures are from several years ago. They are random ones I found while deleting extra photos from our computer.)

You have to have been living under a rock to not be barraged with constant talk of the corona virus. Or maybe you are living under a rock at this point to get away from it all. We aren't quite there yet, so I'm going to be yet another place that will be talking about the corona virus.
 

Theo at Seneca Rocks, WV.

I think the saying  "the only thing that stays the same is change," applies here as well as elsewhere.
Many things have closed in the area including the library where I work as of Monday. While it is closed to the public, the staff are going in. I am using this time to work on my classes and programs I'm preparing for without so many interruptions. So far, it is working out well. We're closed officially for another week and a half, but we'll see, when that time comes, what the powers-that-be will do.
   

Lucy liked to play Scrabble as well as the next cat.

Ward's job is going full force at the office. He works with computers and communication, and there always seems to be a panic, so I'm not sure the current pandemic is looking any different to him. I'm hoping they will tell everyone to telework full-time soon, which he does a lot on the weekends, because I like having him home. Wally is also working with computers and his job is proceeding as normal with no teleworking yet.

I used to make felt purses. This is a display for a craft fair.

Theo works in the Costco e-commerce department that processes online orders for much of the eastern US. Everyday he comes home tired and says, "That was our biggest day yet!" They are starting to have a mandatory overtime trying to handle the avalanche of orders. Meanwhile, his college classes are scheduled to be held remotely for the next 3 weeks. I'm guessing after that ,the university will keep the campus closed for classes. For one of his classes, he has to have a webcam while he is taking his midterm, so it can proctored remotely. Things sure have changed since I was in school.

Theo made sure that we and his brother were well stocked fairly early on. We already had most of the things we needed, so we didn't have to fight anyone for toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or wipes. We have put aside food in case we have to be quarantined for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we're eating our normal stock, and we're still going in the stores for milk, bananas, and sandpaper. However, we try to pick less busy times so it's easy to do social distancing. So far we haven't encountered any of the craziness that everyone is talking about and the rows and rows of empty shelves, but my friends have some good stories to tell.

Lilies from our previous yard.

Our extended families are well. One family member was suspiciously sick for a few days, but was not tested because he didn't meet the criteria for travel and known direct exposure. However, he is fine now and is practicing self quarantining.

We are still busy and haven't had time to get bored. For now, we aren't going too crazy.
And if we want a distraction, we just go outside and look as spring springing. :)

Until next time...

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Since I'm pretty sure that all of the St. Patrick's Day parades were canceled this year, here are a few pictures of a parade I went to in Washington, D.C., several years ago. I had been to a St. Patrick's Day parade when I lived in New Orleans where they threw potatoes, carrots, and cabbages to the crowd to make an Irish stew. However, this one was more traditional with bagpipes, Irish dancers, and Irish wolfhounds among other things. Scroll down and imagine it is a cold crisp day and you are watching a fun parade with friendly people that you don't have to stand 6' from.

 

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Recently, I spent the morning with my special needs buddy, Sarah. As always, I enjoyed our time together as she encouraged me to look at things in a new way. We were taking a walk outside when I commented on some emerging daffodil leaves and asked if any were coming up at her house. She said yes, then stooped down and gently stroked the leaves. She commented how soft they were and how the backs were softer than the fronts. I had never taken the time to examine daffodils with my hands, so I was curious. I bent down and stroked the leaves gently just as she had and no surprise, she was right. They were soft.  I'm not exactly sure of the path that my mind took, but I soon started to quietly sing the Mr. Roger's song, "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood."

Since then, that song has been popping in and out of my mind as I see more and more signs of spring. Here are just a few of them.

The ornamental pear tree has tiny buds on it.

The snowdrop buds have bloomed.

As has the helebore.

I hear more birds singing.

I dug in the dirt when we planted our apple tree. Eventually, we hope this replaces the old apple trees we have now. If we can keep the deer away until we get a cage around it, we'll be good to go.

And the sign of spring that I wait for the most every year, our first crocuses have bloomed.

A Walk About

or Looking for Signs of Spring

As the days grow longer, talk of spring is popular.  There have been reports of crocus, daffodil, and forsythia blooming already because of the warmer than usual winter we've been having in the east, I took a walk around the yard looking for some of these early bits of color. While I didn't find many of the things my friends have been talking about, I was not disappointed.

I found snowdrops in the ground cover bed. This is the first year I've seen them. Which means that I have missed seeing them before or they were with some of the daffodil bulbs from a friend I planted last fall.  Whatever is the case, they were a great surprise.

Miss Annie Laurie's hellebore is blooming. This poor plant has managed to survive through multiple transplants and injuries, but this is the first time it has bloomed in several years. Now I'm not sure if I should transplant it to the other location that I thought would be better for it. 

I didn't find any forsythia blooms, but I did find this bird's nest in a forsythia bush 

Several people have said that they have crocus blooming, but I only have the leaves starting to emerge. 

The nandina is giving a show with its bright, red berries. Birds don't like these berries, so they remain all winter.

And no walk around the yard would be complete without a porch update. The main structure is done. We are now waiting on warm enough weather for painting. After that is done, ceiling fans, gutters, drains, and lights will be installed. When it's warm enough for the porch to get painted, that will be a sure sign of spring.

This and That

I'm definitely not a morning person, especially if I don't get a good night's sleep, like last night. So everyone in my house has come to an understanding that I'm best left alone this morning as we go about getting ready for our day, a don't-poke-the-bear kind of self-preservation. I just need a little time. But I'm happy to use my waking up time to catch up with all of you and tell you about some of the this and that that has been filling my days.

Yesterday, we bought a new car. A new used car, that is. Ward's car is 10 years old, but has no major problems and we hadn't thought about replacing it. But a friend of Uncle Billy's was selling a newer car that had a lot more of the safety features that we were interested in, so we decided it would be a good thing. The process took all day yesterday. The workers at the DMV were doing their best to be efficient and friendly, but it just takes time to process thousands of people. We now have a shiny "new" car that will be safer for Ward to drive to work every day. I feel fortunate that we were able to do this.

The day before that was a fun day when I had a cookbook party here with friends from work. We all chose a different recipe from the same cookbook, cooked it, and brought it to the party to share. It was a great way to sample several different recipes to see what you thought about them. There was not a dud in the bunch. All delicious. But someone made a comment that I think is even more important. "How nice that you like the people you work with enough to socialize with them outside of work."  I am very fortunate.


Speaking of work, it is going well, however, I am definitely still in the adjusting and learning phase. A couple of people have told me that it will take about a year or longer until I will feel comfortable. I have a ways to go then. Among other things, I am learning about storytimes and am starting to take part in them. Learning and performing them are exhausting me at this point, but I am really enjoying interacting with the kids. Many have said that I am learning under the best children's librarian in our large library system. I am very fortunate in that way.

A couple of weeks ago, Ward and I went to Phil Wiggins concert. Who is that you may say (or not)? Phil is a renown harmonica player who helped develop the Piedmont Blues sound. I have only recently discovered him and am very happy that I did. It turns out that he is married to Jerri, someone I went to school with and recently connected with on Facebook. I was going to meet Jerri at the concert but unfortunately she got sick and couldn't come. But we were fortunate that she hadn't passed her illness to Phil and he did come and give a great concert of music and storytelling.

I am still tired, but I have to move onto other things. I think Ward and Theo have left for the day. How fortunate for them. :)

Until next time...