Anniversary Trip......

So yesterday we celebrated our 53rd anniversary with a big party, lots of good friends and family gathered to enjoy delicious food, conversation, laughter and share memories. Not.

Our first choice for what-to-do-for-the-day was to order our dinner from our favorite Port restaurant.....Twisted Willow. But they had a pipe burst a few days ago and are closed until January 5th while they repair the damage. Second thought was to get take out from the Pasta Shoppe in town....also a restaurant we enjoy. Closed for a few days. We didn't want to order something from anything out of town as we expected snow to start falling heavily late afternoon. So, in the morning, Dave drove to a nearby Sendek's and got some delicious carry-out items and all we had to do was reheat.

At 5:00ish we sat on the couch with our fireplace turned on (electric!) and looked through a scrapbook I unearthed from our college years. Fun photos and notes from when we met, dated, got engaged and then married. Wow we were young!

6:00 dinner was served and we enjoyed it on the card table set up right in front of the computer screen while we toured the Canadian Rockies. We've been to the Banff and Lake Louise area once in the RV, but there was so much more to see. Our tour guide was good and we really did enjoy the hour.

An anniversary "trip"......certainly nothing like really being there....but hey, it's 2020.

Something Silly......

A few nights ago we had a small zoom "party" and before it started I asked everyone to come prepared to share one of their weirdest holiday memories. Something that just didn't go right. A really horrible gift, a meal that was a disaster, the year the tree fell down....anything that you never wanted to repeat! It was a laughter filled zoom!

And one of the memories Dave and I shared was our annual Ugly Angel Contest. I start by explaining that Dave's lovely mom belonged to a group at her church who made felt Christmas ornaments for an annual fund raising effort. The ladies worked for months and the holiday gift "shop" made lots of money every year. She always made an extra ornament for our tree. Every year the ornament was unwrapped, accepted with love on our end and put on our tree. Sometimes we had to "swallow" pretty hard to keep from laughing and to give her a warm "thank you Mom"!

Privately we began to have a new game included in our annual holiday open house. We called it "The Ugly Angel Contest". All of the ornaments were displayed on a piece of poster board with their name underneath....guests were asked to vote on the one they thought was the ugliest.

For awhile it was Raunch Angel who took the prize....and she now resides at our son's house and decorates the back of his family tree.

She won until the year Pig Angel showed up. The game continued for several more years.....but when we realized that Piggy took top honors each Christmas we finally stopped. No ornament came close, and this felt beauty now boasts a place of honor in the back of our daughter's family tree.

We finally told Dave's mom about our little tradition and she took it in good spirits and with a laugh. She was just happy she and her friends provided us with a unique and fun family holiday game.

My New Holiday Tradition.....

Just a few days until Christmas. We sit in our decorated condo, it's a warmish day, and I just got back from my second year of making myself feel good. Now that sounds rather selfish, but my little expedition does make me feel good.

Dave and I are very fortunate and we've weathered this year with boredom knocking at the door, but no worries about food on the table or eviction or health care. Our lives are pretty much "normal" excerpt we aren't going anywhere! As I watched the months go by and took care of our monthly bills I realized that we were living way below budget. It was pretty obvious that this was due to the COVID virus and the fact we weren't taking any trips, or going to restaurants, the theater, the movies. 

So today was my day to drive on up to our local food bank and give out some anonymous holiday cards with a little surprise inside. I parked and talked to one of the women in charge. It was different than last year when I was able to interact quickly with families as they left the food pantry. This year the clients waited in their cars while the volunteers packed boxes and bags with the items they requested. The volunteer suggested I could just go down the line and give my card to anyone with a lanyard around their neck....the "identification" that meant they were waiting for food. 

So I took a quick walk from car to car....six in all....each driver lowered their window and I just said "happy holidays" and passed my card in to them and walked to the next car. As I finished and went back to my car the first recipient asked "What is your name?" I just smiled (behind my mask, waved and shrugged). She echoed my smile and said "This gift came at just the perfect time!"

So yes...that made me feel good. Six envelopes with $50 in each. A small contribution but I hope it helped to spread just a little holiday cheer during a difficult year.

A December Gift.....

When we moved up to Port Washington we did so because our condo overlooked Lake Michigan and we love watching that lake change hour by hour. We never get tired of walking along the shore. What we didn't really expect or even think about was the fact that our condo would put us in the middle of almost everyday sightings of some pretty interesting wildlife. At this point, if we walk along the lake or up the bike path we consider it a must....we keep walking until we spot something!

It normal now notice deer all year long, and the rabbits and squirrels. We see chipmunks and the occasional mouse or shrew. We've spotted the great horned owl who nests up the path and even seen her fledglings in the spring. Once I saw the fox run down the hill and disappear up the path in front of me. I've seen the wild turkeys awkwardly fly across from one side of our stream to the other. We see the salmon going upstream in the fall. I can't even begin to list all the birds we've seen.....small and large.

But about a week ago we saw a couple stopped on the path as we walked back toward home....they were obviously watching something. We all stood (six plus feet apart) and watched as the little weasel popped up and looked at us, then disappeared for a minute before popping up again as if to say "You guys still here?" His winter coat made him easy to spot. This is a stock photo but here he is!

I watch for him now every time I walk Fenway up the path....so far no repeat visit but maybe today.

This morning's walk down to the harbor gave us a real gift. People had been posting pictures of this particular duck on Facebook saying it was in Port Washington. So Dave, Fenway and I walked down at 9:00.....Dave prepared with his camera and long lens. Success! What a beautiful long tail duck.....passing through and stopping here on it's trip all the way from the Arctic. 

A big thank you to Mother Nature.....she shared a special moment with two very appreciative fans this morning. A December gift......

Well They Tried.....

There is a casual brew pub right next to our condo building. Just like every such gathering place the restaurant had a rough year. The owners tried to find ways to make people comfortable gathering outside by adding some fire pits and additional seating. The picnic tables and benches worked well enough over the summer and into our long fall, but as the temperatures dropped the owners decided to put up a big white tent. They were trying to provide some shelter from cold winds and snow so that patrons would still want to stop by for a burger and a beer. At least that was the idea.

The first time the tent blew down it ended up in our condo's north parking lot. It was sort of wrapped around an owner's car but luckily didn't do any real damage. The pub crew decided on a bigger tend with much stronger tie-downs etc. Dave and I watched as people gathered in it over the past few weeks but had no desire to join them.

The wind kicked up last night and when we looked outside this morning we could see that the pub's dining tent had given up. It was twisted and collapsing. Several of the fire pits also seemed to have fallen victim as well. The owners were notified and a few hours later they proceeded to dismantle everything.

Mother Nature two for two - Brew Pub zero. I seriously doubt they will try it again. You just can't mess with the elements.....well you can try.....

I Just Stopped......

I got my 2021 calendar today and spent some time transferring birthday and anniversary dates from 2020 to the new one so I wouldn't forget. I still use the old fashioned wall calendar and I've always liked to see my whole month spread out on the side of the refrigerator so I can plan my week(s).

As I made the notations I saw a number back on May 16th....it was the number 62. Hmmmm.....for a minute I couldn't figure out what that was for and then it came to me. When we started this formal COVID lock-down I began to count the days. I think I figured it wouldn't last for too long.....how could it? And the "62" on my calendar was the last time I made the calculation.

May 16th we'd been in basic quarantine for 62 days. It may be that I forgot to keep adding as the weeks went by because the weather was warming up and we were able be out and about. We could meet other couples for small groups for outside gatherings and visits. So the spring and summer weeks flew by.

Today is December 15th and when I do the math I see that we've now basically been by ourselves for 272 days. The new number stops me in my tracks. And the new number means an introduction to several hundred more days of being careful, wearing masks, practicing social distancing, washing my hands etc. etc. as the cold weather settles in.

We can do this......we have to do this. I'm sorry I did the math and can see that number in black and white. It's the last time I will do a count.....this will last as long as it lasts. Counting the days won't make it go any faster...one day at a time. 

What choice do I have?

Naughty.......

I don't remember where we got this wonderful soft-sculpture Santa but he's been part of our holiday decor for years. When we brought Fenway home years ago and decorated for his first Christmas with us I wondered if he would look at this as just another stuffed toy to quickly destroy. But, to my surprise, he treated Santa with great respect.

Every year Fenway would cuddle up next to Santa, never really moving him or doing anything "naughty" at all. Maybe dreams of sugar plums....or a new ball?

Then I found him on the couch this morning. Not quite as respectful of Santa this year.....another 2020 mood change???

Oh well.....something tells me Fenway will have a few new toys under our little tree....after all we are celebrating on our own so we want everyone to "smile". Chewy.com order in the mail!

Another Alteration......

Christmas 2020 and another annual tradition undergoes a bit of revision. Ever since we moved back to Wisconsin and settled in Bay View we've enjoyed going down to the city branch of the BMO Harris Bank to see the colorful display of Steiff animals. Every year the theme would change and we'd enjoy seeing the big and small creatures in new costumes and in a new setting. 

For years we took the two local grandsons and their delight made it even more fun.

Then the boys sort of outgrew this event so we shared it with friends....some who traveled in for a visit and others who lived nearby but who had never actually seen the display.

This year we drove down again. We parked, met our friends at the corner and marveled at the holiday happening on display in the windows. It stretched along one whole city block and was just as creative and engaging as always even if we couldn't go inside for a free candy cane.

Masks in place....finding ways to be merry! 

Solitude.....By Choice....

A friend recommended this book. The true story about a young man who, with a back pack and small tent, walked into the Maine woods in 1986 and lived there until 2013. Completely alone. No contact with any other people with the exception of one quick "Hi." when he passed a hiker on a nearby trail. Zero conversations....zero interactions.

This was a fast and fascinating read but I'm not really sure just why it grabbed and held my attention. Reading has always been a favorite pass time, but during COVID 2020 it's been difficult to pick up and concentrate on a book. I thought this would be something that I would do to pass the time but that hasn't worked out. So to pick up a book and find it hard to put it down was great.

I'm sure part of the "grab" was the fact that while I am struggling with so much sort-of-mostly alone-quarantine-time here was a man who chose to leave it all behind and just disappear. I'm not going to really give a lot of detail, but consider the idea of living in a tent in Maine in the winter, consider never lighting a fire for warmth because the smoke might lead someone to your location. The details of his life were absolutely fascinating. And there was some consideration, after he was found, about possible/probable mental health issues but the real "why" remained an unanswered question.

There was a paragraph that struck me. "According to more than a dozen studies conducted around the world, Knight's camp - an oasis of natural quiet - may have been the ideal setting to encourage maximal brain function. These studies, examining the difference between living in a calm place and existing amid commotion, all arrived at the same conclusion: noise and distraction are toxic."

It was a good read. It made me re-think some of my reactions to our alone time. We fill the hours with TV shows, puzzles, quilting, dog walking, zoom gatherings, phone calls, emails, web surfing.....lots of screen time. Perhaps my pass times are "toxic" but I'm not sure I'd be willing to give them up. 

I guess I'll deal with less than maximal brain function.

All Dressed Up.....Nowhere to Go.....

One of our favorite December traditions has always been hosting a holiday open house. It's fun to share our space with friends and neighbors when it's looking a little different. We don't usually have a lot of red to add color to our decor and certainly seldom have Santa Claus peeking at us from spaces all over our condo. We've had December open houses almost every year since about 1975......lots of different houses with lots of different friends from Wisconsin, and New Jersey, and Delaware, and Illinois. Wherever we lived, this holiday happening was a favorite.

Sigh. Not this year. We are all decorated but no one will be coming over. So I share a few pictures from what you would see starting at our front door.

The only good thing about this, if there is a good thing, is the fact I don't have to dust or make any h'ors d'oeuvres to share. 

Trying to find ways to celebrate the season while basically staying on our own. Hopefully next year the condo will be filled not only with our holiday decorations but also with the conversation and laughter provided by those who can join us!

A Small Tradition.....

Dave and I have celebrated 52 Christmases as a married couple....and most of those involved shopping for toys or gifts for our kids and then for our four grandsons. For many years, one of my very favorite things to do was wrapping the presents and putting them under our tree. I loved using lots of colorful paper and ribbons....and I was really good at tying fancy bows. Happy, happy memories!

But, probably for about five plus years now there haven't been any requests for "toys". Our "boys" are way past the Fisher Price stage and as teenagers and young adults it's really hard for us to get a wish list from anyone. Gift cards or cash are the gift of choice. Not as much fun to wrap.

I realized awhile back that I missed browsing through the toy aisle at the store.....I missed looking for that special truck, or game, or whatever that was on a little-boy-list. So we've made annual purchases for non-profit organizations gathering toys for kids much less fortunate than ours.

I spent a happy 30 minutes at Target the other day and dropped the bunch of colorful toys at a friend's house this morning. They are on the way to Milwaukee to a women's shelter....and will, I hope, bring some smiles to children unknown-to-me on Christmas.

Teddy bears, Matchbox cars, building blocks, puzzles, a few games etc. I don't get to do any wrapping, but it still makes me feel good to imagine little ones finding a surprise and parents breathing a sigh of relief that Santa didn't forget them this year.

A small start on our holiday traditions, many of which will be altered for 2020.....but this one was pretty much the same as in years past. Fun shopping for me....and a hand-off to an organization for families who need a little extra support.

Jingle....jingle....jingle....

Different But Good.....

Thanksgiving 2020 is now history. Many families, used to gathering together, celebrated in a much smaller way. Much smaller.

Our day was broken into two parts......we enjoyed pie for lunch (four selections!) in Megan and Mike's back yard with three dogs and our teenage grandsons.

At one point Megan said to me "I don't want this to become an annual tradition at all....but I am proud of us that we came up with a way to be together and make a memory!" And I agreed.

I have so many memories of Thanksgivings. All the years while I was growing up when we gathered with my cousins at Gramma and Grampa's house up on a small lake near Antioch, Illinois. Gramma's pies, that huge traditional meal, a walk through the country to digest! Other Thanksgivings after Dave and I were married.....my mom and sister flying out to our first house in New Jersey, or years we shared the day with our New Hampshire friends or the two years that we celebrated while living on our sailboat. Some Thanksgivings were shared with Dave's mom and his side of the family in Massachusetts. Terrific holidays spent at my cousin's farmhouse in Indiana with a big crowd gathered from all over the country. Looking back I realize that our Thanksgiving holidays were pretty "flexible" and each has a place in my memory bank.

This year our day ended with dinner for two....turkey and vegetable ordered from a nearby restaurant and a few sides prepared at home. Dinner for two set at our dining room table instead of the way we eat most of our dinners using TV trays while watching "Jeopardy".

A little odd.....a nice tablecloth and dishes at one end and a puzzle-in-the-works on the other end. 

Thanksgiving 2020.....unique.

Blow Out the Candles......

Every few years my birthday would fall on Thanksgiving and I used to "tease" my kids and say the United States was celebrating ME.

This year I woke to a rainy/grey day November 24th and I didn't feel very festive....in fact I've gotten to the point where I'd rather just skip the fact that the date means I am another year older. But, on the other hand, I can celebrate that I am another year older!

Our day was quiet, Dave, Fenway and me just doing normal type stuff.....until 8:00 p.m. central time. Then it really did suddenly feel like a birthday party. My daughter and sister got the idea and Megan hosted a Zoom Party....the computer screen lit up with much-loved faces from Florida to Alaska, New Hampshire, Cape Cod and Washington to Wisconsin, Chicago to Milwaukee. About a dozen "squares" zooming at me from all around the Country. It was such crazy, sort-of-unorganized fun! There was a best friend whose known me since third grade and others that have become good friends since we moved to Wisconsin. There was my freshman college roommate and the best friend I met while we lived in Delaware.  My kids with their spouses and our grandkids lit up screens with smiles. I had the fun of "introducing" each of them and remembering where we met so they could get to know each other. A screen full of people who help make my life good and full and fun.

The zoom-time made my birthday really special and I quickly realized that this kind of party would never have happened during a normal year. Distances would be way to great for all these family members and friends to gather to sing Happy Birthday to ME! 

Darn....I wish I'd thought to take a picture of the screen! 

Deflate the Balloon......

It's been weeks since American's either mailed in their ballots or went to the polls and filled them out. The choice of President of the United States is a clear one....both if you count the popular vote or the electoral college results. And I understand that a huge number of citizens are disappointed in the results because "their guy" didn't prevail. So they can imagine just how many of us felt when we woke up in 2016 to find out who would be walking into the White House after inauguration day in January 2017.

But now I wish that the news on TV, radio, newspaper, social media would just stop covering and re-covering 45's attempts to say "NO!! It was ME!! I WON!!"

My suggestion is that all of the reporters just stop reporting oh him...take the air out of his balloon. If he walks out into the rose garden to stand behind a podium all the reporters should just get up, turn their backs and walk away. When 45's pretty little blond press secretary walks in to give a briefing they should all stand up, turn their backs and just walk away. When 45 leaves the oval office to go play another round of golf stop sending any photographers to clip pictures of him "maybe" talking to some world leader on the cell phone.

Just stop. Don't feed any oxygen to this fire. Just stop.

Turn all of your attention to the President Elect and his work to bring order to the transition of power. Turn  the reporting and cameras in a direction that matters.

Stop covering 45 and move on to 46.

Another Opportunity......

Anyone who knows me knows that I spend a lot of time sitting at my sewing machine. I am usually involved with a new quilting project because that's one of my favorite things to do. But I used to make memory bears for hospice and I've made a few memory quilts for friends or neighbors. I make small colorful baby quilts for area hospital NICUs and that always makes me feel good.

Yesterday there was a post on my Facebook page asking if anyone could make or donate scarves or hats (gently used or new) and I thought "I can do that." So off to the store to buy some fleece....and today I drop about 40 scarves off in Cedarburg. Soon they will go to homeless Vets in our area. A little enough effort on my part to help some folks find a little warmth this winter.

A pile of fleece on my carpet, but one by one I hope they wrap around someone's neck and help just a little. These didn't even require any sewing, but still, I felt good making them. It's an anonymous way to reach out and "touch" someone....the least I can do.

Southbound......

It was Dave's turn to take Fenway for a nice long walk and his nature adventure was much better than mine earlier in the day. He said he heard what he thought were geese flying overhead......four big groups heading south, one after another.

But the "honking" was wrong and when he spotted them and their long necks he realized these were sandhill cranes. We always see a few pairs in our area starting in the spring and we enjoy watching them as their chicks arrive and grow. I've seen a few flying overhead since we moved to Port but never as many as Dave spotted yesterday.

Sigh.....well today I saw at least three dozen merganzers in our harbor and over by the electric plant so I will be satisfied with that! Migration season....smart birds southbound.....

Later In the Month.....

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. In some ways this year has gone by in a flash.....and in others it feels like the days crawl by. But here we are in mid-November with 2021 coming at us fast. I feel hopeful for this new year......concerned still.....but hopeful. Like everyone I know Dave and I hope to get back to something approaching a more "normal" existence. Or rather a new normal.

We won't be part of a gathering this year to share turkey and all the sides. It will be just the two of us sharing the day with Fenway. I told Dave I would not be cooking so we've ordered turkey, gravy and a good veggie from a nice restaurant near us. I will do my cousin's recipe for cranberry sauce and Dave does want to do his smashed potatoes but in-the-kitchen time will be very, very short. It just isn't as much fun to prepare all the traditional things for only the two of us.

I'm already preparing myself to feel sort of "low" for the holiday....and then I pull myself up short and try to even begin to list all the things for which I am thankful. It's a long list.

As I walked past the pile of eight baby quilts sitting in the dining room they helped me to realize that I am fortunate this year. November 16th after more than eight months of semi-quarantine and social distancing and only seeing friends at outdoor gatherings, our little family and all of our closest friends are OK. (Knock wood.) Some days I feel like we are dodging bullets.....but so far, we are dodging.

These eight quilts will be dropped off at area hospitals to cover isolets in the NICU's. Eight babies who need special care and won't be home for awhile....or at all. Eight families not as fortunate as mine.

So I will  look at this colorful pile and I will, once again, remind myself to just "buckle up buttercup" and stop my interior and exterior complaining.

Revealed.......

We walk out the door of our condo's foyer and make a few quick right turns to take Fenway up the bike path. Within minutes we are surrounded by trees, a hill on one side and a creek running on the other. It just feels like an easy way to walk in the woods....and we almost always spot some kind of wildlife.

The trees have dropped almost all of their leaves now so the walk is a little less colorful. The surroundings don't seem as "soft" as when the trees are full and the breeze flips their leaves this way and that. It's more winter-y already.

Yesterday, after his walk, Dave came in with a photo on his phone.

This was hanging right above his head at the tree just at the start of the path. We've been walking beneath it for months......never noticed any activity. The nest really is fascinating to look at. I don't know much about wasps (other than I prefer to avoid them) but assume they are dormant inside the structure until next spring? Quietly waiting warmer weather again. 

I have to wonder just how big this grey nest will get?

 

Flash Dancing......

We are still enjoying an amazing stretch of warm November weather in Wisconsin...76 degrees today!! It is a pleasure to take Fenway out for his walks in the neighborhood. The other day we went to Rotary Park and there must have been 100 gulls and terns flying and diving into the water. The flash and dance of their wings as they zipped and zoomed, then curved one way or another was beautiful. They were diving for small alewives and most every trip down into the water was a success. The birds called and flew and dove....over and over.

For our afternoon walk I had my cell phone and we just meandered a few blocks to the now-empty marina and the birds were back. The afternoon light again highlighted the wild, raucous activity.  Without a good camera it was impossible for me to catch the way the light reflected off the white undersides of the birds' wings but it was flashy.

The activity gave me a reason, once again, to stop and look at "my" Lake Michigan. She's a beauty and never disappoints. Today the birds' flash dance added the exclamation point!

New Seating Arrangement......

It's Wednesday, November 4th....the day after election day and we are waiting final results. Who will be our new President and what kind of turmoil will occur between that announcement and inauguration day? It's been an exhausting campaign and frankly an exhausting four years.

I was talking to a friend the other day remembering years when there was more cooperation in our Congress and members actually "reached across the aisle" to come to agreement about what was best for our Country. Remember that??? I'm sure there was always discussion and disagreement but still....there was bipartisan cooperation. Really....there was.

She and I were talking about how to "fix" this....experts that we are....and came up with what I think is a pretty workable idea. When you look at a photo of the chamber for the House of Representatives you will notice that the desks are literally separated by a center aisle. Wikipedia told me that "by tradition, Democrats sit on the left of the center aisle, while Republicans sit on the right, facing the presiding officer's chair." What about if the representatives from each state were simply seated alphabetically by their last name. (Remember when that used to be the procedure in grade school classrooms?) I checked the list of names for the current representatives and quickly realized that if you did seat them alphabetically they would be all mixed up.....Wyoming might sit next to Connecticut on one side and have Alabama on the other. California might sit behind Maine and in front of Louisiana. Party affiliation would have nothing to do with seating arrangement.

Hmmmmm.....now maybe, just maybe, that would foster conversations and discussions that would not happen otherwise. Maybe these elected officials might accidentally find things they could agree upon! They would be "forced" to be civil to one another so maybe there wouldn't be as much name calling and finger pointing. Maybe, just maybe, they would begin to work better together and there wouldn't be hundreds of bills just sitting in committee or on someone's desk. Maybe, just maybe the work of the government would get done more smoothly and we would all benefit.

I think I'll write to my Wisconsin Representatives and then my Senators to suggest the same thing for that chamber.

Boys and girls....change to alphabetical seating and work together dammit.

The Day of the Dead.....

I've been feeling a need to find other "communities" to share time with as I see winter coming. When we lived in Bay View we belonged to the Unitarian Universalist Church on the east side......and on Sundays I've been feeling a need to maybe reconnect with a congregation. This continuing pandemic doesn't make it easy to do this. But the UU Church in Mequon has on-line services so I've zoomed in for three weeks just to listen and to get my brain to ponder something outside "myself". 

This morning the sermon followed a video of people celebrating the Day of the Dead in Mexico. I was slightly familiar with the holiday but the short Youtube video documentary that started the hour was fascinating. The minister's remarks were also thoughtful and made me think about the people I love who are no longer with me. The minister said that Day of the Dead celebrations involve families taking food to the cemeteries and sharing a meal while sitting at the side of their loved one's grave. They leave small amounts of favorite foods behind on the tombstones. He told a short story about an American asking "How long do you think it will be until they come back to eat the food?" The response was something like "About the same amount of time until your loved one comes back to smell the flowers you left at their grave." It's just a different tradition....and a way of remembering good times past.

I sat in front of the computer screen and wondered about why the service seemed to touch a cord for me today. And then I remembered.  My mom and my mother-in-law both died about ten years ago, each on the night of a full moon....and last night was a rare blue moon. The second full moon this month.

Whenever I walk outside and glance up to see a full moon I immediately think of both of them....I guess this month I had two chances to celebrate the day of my dead.

Just Don't Say It.....

The first time I heard the phrase was at my annual physical when I was about 45+. We were living in Delaware and it was just a normal check-up. I went into my doctor with a list of a few questions that I didn't want to forget. The answer to each? "It's a function of your age."

I can't say how many times I've heard those dumb words at other doctor visits. And the latest was when I just tore my meniscus and spent a week or so after the injury trying to navigate on crutches.....failure....and they made every muscle in my arms ache and the arthritis beginning in my wrists hurt like crazy! So I "graduated" to scooting around the condo backward using the "old person walker". That worked a lot better even if it was awkward.

Happily I got to see the orthopedic specialist pretty quickly. The pain was gone and he showed me the results of my MRI and x-rays. Showed me where the meniscus at my right knee had torn. He explained that there are several types of tears, but this one really couldn't be fixed and he would recommend surgery only as a last result. First, since I seemed to be getting around better (slower, but better) I should continue and see if I could get back to what I felt was normal activity for me. If not I should call and go in for some shots that might help.

And then he said it....this type of tear was more common for "women of a certain age". Crap. 

It's that 2020 thing again. Certainly it could be much worse and I could be facing some really difficult health challenges so this will be OK. But I wouldn't care if I ever heard that phrase again. Sigh. 

Mute......

Colder weather means we're spending even more time inside our comfy condo. Still outside to walk Fenway, still going to the grocery store, stopping at the library and stuff like that. But still....a lot of indoor time zooming with family on the computer and a lot of TV time. Friends suggest good movies or a series to stream and we've seen some good stuff. However....as we get closer and closer to November 3rd and election day, every show on regular channels is interrupted over and over and over with political ads. Repetitive political ads. Competing political ads.

So I've gotten really good at hitting the mute button on the remote....I don't even have to look down anymore. It's automatic.

The printing is starting to wear off the little button. We've already voted.....I don't want to hear anymore. I'm just sitting on the couch with the remote in my right hand and fingers crossed on my left. Can't wait until this is over. 2020.....I want the whole year to be over, just over.

Searching For the Pretty.....

Autumn is here and Wisconsin trees boast some beautiful golds/oranges/reds.....and they are pretty. But it also announces the arrival of colder weather and I am just not ready for inside time this year. The drumbeat of political ads, the COVID statistics every day all day.....I can feel my mood darkening. I remind myself that we are two of the fortunate ones....retired, living in a mortgage-free condo, food in the cupboard, adult kids doing well, grandsons all healthy. I remind myself we will get through this and to the other side where COVID is just part of our world and we've learned to live with it.

But still......it's hard to find the positive in my every-day-stay-socially-distant life. But driving down the highway toward Milwaukee yesterday afternoon I was smacked in the face with beauty.

I just had to look up. Mother Nature putting on a display.....and she brightened my day as she did so. I will find the positive.....I just have to look a little harder.

The Supply.....

Two days ago I stopped at our local Walgreens to pick up a prescription. While I was there I asked the pharmacist if they had "senior" flu shots and he said "No." He went on to say that their first supply ran out in three days and then, last week they got 80 vaccines and those ran out in a matter of days. I asked if the pharmacy could call when they got their next batch and he apologized but said that was simply impossible due to the number of seniors who had asked the same question. He went on to say that he hoped to get another supply "maybe" in about ten days....that was a corporate decision.

Hmmmmm.......so I drove home and told Dave we'd have to wait for awhile, but if we couldn't find the recommended senior dosage pretty soon we'd have to just get the regular flu shot this year. Then, that same evening, my neighbor texted that she was able to get her senior shot at our local Walmart.

Early the next morning we jumped in the car and drove on over.....arriving just before the pharmacy section opened. We were the first two "in line", filled out the paperwork, got our shots and were back out the door and on the way home within 30 minutes. Here again the pharmacist said they'd received 60 doses the day before and she expected they would soon run out.

There are thousands of seniors living in Port and the surrounding communities. Thousands of us who believe in the efficacy of vaccines and get our annual flu shots without fail. 

So I began to wonder about the supply chain and just how "corporate" decides that 60 or 80 doses would be a good number and then another bunch could go out maybe two weeks later? And I began to wonder just what the supply chain would look like when there is a tested and approved COVID-19 vaccine maybe sometime in 2021. Just how long would it take for all of us who would feel comfortable doing so could actually get our shot?

If the delivery of senior flu vaccine is this haphazard I can only imagine.....

 

Just Wondering......

 It's a Saturday.....a grey day here in Port and probably on-and-off rain. The whole day feels kind of "uneasy" to me.....because 45 is hospitalized with COVID-19, the election is only a few weeks away and America seems to be in a world of hurt....with so much uncertainty about just what is happening and what might happen.

I look back at 45's 2016 campaign and move into the White House and really just have to wonder. I know many people who just "didn't like" Hillary....who just "couldn't vote for Hillary" or said "I hate Hillary." They either voted for 45....or didn't vote for anyone to fill the highest office in our land.

And so here we are.

IF we'd had President Hillary Rodham Clinton in the oval office would anything have been any different? Well my crystal ball is as good as yours. We would still have had forest fires burning thousands of acres. We would still have had hurricanes come ashore. We would still have to be thinking about climate change. We would still be working to improve health care for our citizens. We would still have a huge gap between the haves and the have-nots. We would still be talking about racism. We would still be facing economic challenges. Probably most of what we face in 2020 would be the same no matter who was at the helm.

BUT I can't help but feel that a President Clinton would have gathered an experienced cabinet right from the get-go. The transition from the Obama administration would have been a smooth one. Once COVID-19 started to rear it's head the response would have been completely different and America would not be looking at more than 200,000 deaths as of October 3rd with so many more to come. You can bet that mask wearing would not have been politicized and that the tone of all presidential announcements would have been so very, very different. I think the anxiety level would have been much, much lower....at least for me.

Can I blame one man for the virus? No. Can I blame one man for the way he handled the response. Yes.

Just wondering......

A Fitting Final......

Dave looked out the window in the late afternoon yesterday and said "I wonder what's going on across the streets with all the men and flags!?" My first thought was that it was some kind of "white power" gathering/protest and my heart sank. Our America just seems so fragile to me right now.....but a closer look put the activity in a different light.

Many of the men were from the American Legion....and they were carefully draping the flags across several tables. Then they gathered and stood with new flags on display and a salute. We couldn't hear any words....but my neighbor texted to say it was a flag "retirement" ceremony. As we stood on our deck to watch and suddenly there was a beautiful rainbow stretching across the lake.

The flames were lit....the flags began to burn.....and I thought to myself "What a fitting way to say goodbye and thank you to our national red, white and blue." 

Another special moment in Port.....I'm glad we were home to share the moment.

  

Two Mornings.......

Fenway and I walked out of the building early yesterday morning and turned east toward Lake Michigan. I swear I saw dinosaurs walking across the horizon. Elephants and brontosaurus and even a t-rex!

Then today, the last day of September we were again out just in time. Good morning sunshine.

Thank you for starting my day in such a beautiful way....I will try to hold this memory in my mind as I make it through Wednesday!

Wrong Place At the Wrong Time......

A few days ago I was taking stuff out to our little RV.....planning for a few days at Wisconsin State Parks for a change of scenery. I loaded up tote bags in the condo, put my mask on, went down the elevator and out the garage door to the RV. One one trip I noticed something kind of "sad".

A poor little bird must have been flying past the garage, or sitting on the pavement and met an untimely end. Squished. 

Living in Port Washington on the shores of Lake Michigan offers us many chances to enjoy nature up close and personal.....but usually on a happier note. Sorry little guy.....wrong place, wrong time. 

Oh Please......

According to this morning's TV meteorologist we will be "celebrating" the first day of fall in a few days. Usually I love the onset of cooler weather as I am a jeans/sweater kind of person. I love the trees as the leaves begin to change color. Somehow I feel a bit differently this year.

We went for a hike yesterday at a nature preserve just west of Port Washington. A nice in-the-woods kind of walk around a pond. We were hoping to spot lots of birds and maybe some wildlife....but we didn't pick the right time of day for that. However two things did catch my eye. 

A tree that is beginning to boast a new wardrobe. And a single leaf on the side of the path.

I am not ready for fall 2020. During this crazy year the past few months of warmer temperatures have given us the chance to gather and visit with friends outside. Small groups sitting at socially distant intervals....each couple bringing their own picnic meal. Conversation, laughter, friendship in person instead of zooming. I look at these two colorful signals as a warning that our outdoor entertaining will soon come to an end. Then what?

Trying to figure out how many of our friends are willing to buy snowmobile suits.