Changes......

Such a strange, sad, scary time in our world. COVID-19 spreading across the world and a daily drum beat of frightening statistics and predictions. It's very hard to try to find the good news and to stay less-than-depressed. Our little town is so quiet with basically no one on the streets. Restaurants are closed. The library. The schools. The senior center. The YMCA. Area department stores....closed. Everyone encouraged to stay inside unless going out is absolutely necessary. You hardly need bother to look both ways before crossing the street.

So we walk the dog to get fresh air.....seeing a few others doing the same. We smile and say hi at a distance. We breath in the outside feeling "lucky" to have Fenway as a reason to get out. We notice the four deer along the bike path, appreciate a bright red cardinal calling from a tree branch, point out two black-capped chickadees zipping around near the bird feeder. Our trees are still leafless so everything basically still looks brown and grey....moods will improve once we see some greenery. Moods will also improve once it's a bit warmer and we can sit outside on our little deck.

The economic ramifications of this pandemic will last for a long, long time. It's hard for me to wrap my brain around the domino effect and all of the companies/jobs/events that will be forever changed or shut down completely. The news yesterday that Harley-Davidson shut down all of it's US plants was a slap-my-face-in-Milwaukee moment. Probably just because HD equals Milwaukee....and the rumble of their motorcycles is an integral part of our outdoor experience once the weather warms. Just one company and one notice....but it caught my attention.

The daily drum beat goes on. For me, personally, social distancing is my new norm, no book club, no newcomer club activities, quilt shop closed and quilt meeting cancelled, no meeting friends for coffee, no going out to lunch. The feeling of cold isolation builds and I decide to connect with at least two friends per day by telephone....to have a conversation instead of an email or text. The sound of a friendly voice helps remind me that connections remain and it also lets me check on my friends to confirm that they still feel just fine. Yesterday I connected with a friend in Florida and one on Cape Cod, and my condo neighbor on the other side of my kitchen wall! The conversations and laughter made me feel better.

Changes......unwanted but necessary changes.....

This Emperor Has No Clothes.....

For the past few days I've watched leaders speak to their countrymen about what was being done to try to mitigate COVID-19 or at least try to stay just a little ahead of worst case scenarios. Entire countries are "closed" and everyone is in self-quarantine. I watched Canada's Prime Minister (in self quarantine because his wife tested positive) speak thoughtfully and strongly offering steps the government was taking and hitting the right note of empathy and understanding. Even Boris Nelson in the UK spoke as a leader.

And then there was 45. Who over the past weeks has labeled this virus no worse than the flu, a temporary thing that would quickly disappear, nothing to worry about and America had "great numbers" meaning the infection would not dare to spread here. Until it did and we watched the news display a map of the USA with one state after another reporting active cases. Still 45 didn't seem to get it....the virus was within our borders and issuing a travel ban for some people headed to the States from Europe wasn't going to change that.

And then I watched with some fascination as State Governors stepped up and took charge on their own....no longer waiting for 45 and his minions. They were listening to those who spoke science and they were banning large crowds, closing schools, beefing up health care programs where they could. A ripple effect as, across the nation, parents scrambled to figure out daycare, food programs tried to figure out how to support families who needed assistance, Broadway closed down, sports teams stopped sporting, no March Madness, colleges closed and told their students to finish the semester's classes online, Disneyland and Disney World closed, people cancelled travel plans, there was a run on cleaning supplies and toilet paper at the grocery stores. Change after change after change.

I read  and share Heather Cox Richardson's post every single morning. A professor and historian she puts the days events in perspective for me and compares them to challenges America has faced during our history. She is a calm, steady and informed source......and her post this morning offered additional insights into 45's most recent press conference....the one where he stated that Google had 1700 workers who were developing a website to help us figure out where to go to get tested for the virus. The only problem there is that the statement is completely untrue. When asked, a senior engineer at Google said, "No comment because there is nothing to comment on."

She goes on to quote "lifelong Republican Peter Wehner, who worked in three GOP administrations, arguing that the pandemic crisis has finally forced Americans to grapple with the fact that Trump is unfit to be president. They have, Wehner says, seen the con man behind the curtain. Having recognized that he is worse than useless....they are treating him as a bystander."

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." Let's send in the flying monkeys.....

Those Empty Eyes.....

I met her when we moved to Old New Castle, Delaware in 1990. Dave and I joined the Presbyterian Church because we liked the minister and that's where I met my soon-to-be-best-friend. She and I volunteered to help on some committee and right away she was welcoming and engaging and I thought to myself "I really like her!" Happily she seemed to feel the same and soon we were taking long walks along the Delaware River and developing a friendship.

You need to understand just how smart she was, educated at Cornell, she was into computers (and teaching college level classes) while many of us were still using Commodore 64s and Ask Jeeves was our search engine! She was a reader and a traveler and a community activist. Everything she did, she did well.

And happily, one of the best parts, our husbands ended up really being best of friends as well. The four of us shared so many meals while we lived there, we traveled together on our first trip to Europe in 2006 (they knew the ropes in London and Paris!) We chartered sailboats in the Virgin Islands and Belize. We had a fun "tradition" of cheap dates.....we would take turns planning outings where we would see who could spend the least money. (One of the most successful was a drive to see eagles migrating, tour a big dam at the north end of Chesapeake Bay and a stop at a potato chip factory, all free, and a picnic lunch.)

When we moved away I really missed spending so much time with her.....telephone conversations and a few scattered visits had to suffice. Until that was no longer an option.

This best friend is now in the end stages of dementia....and she no longer can communicate or knows who anyone is. She is still at home and her wonderful husband is her primary caregiver..... an amazing and loving man. I now stay in touch by sending cards and notes to let them know they are both in my thoughts and my heart.

Yesterday I got a quick text from her husband thanking me for the notes and a picture of my friend sitting in her wheelchair. I have been in tears ever since..... her eyes were just blank. Just empty.

So I am remembering Phoebe.... my laughing, conversational, smart, funny best friend. I'll try to think of her as she was when we shared so many lovely times together. When her smile was wide and her eyes sparkled......

There is just so much about this diagnosis that is so unfair, so hard, so complex. I can't begin to imagine how difficult this is for her family when it's this "hard" for me. I wish I could get that last picture out of my head.....I don't want to think of my dear Phoebe with empty eyes.

Second Sign......

Fenway and I bundled up to go out for our first-thing-in-the-morning walk. I opened the door from the lobby and was hit with a breeze from the south....a warm breeze! The first thing that came into my mind was "The air feels soft!"

We walked toward the lakeshore and saw the very beginning of the sunrise....a blurry bit of red before she came up and hid behind the low cloud cover.

Fen and I loved every minute of that short before breakfast stroll and it's subtle signals that warm weather is approaching. A southerly breeze, soft air and a sunrise.....spring is just around the corner.

I could have left Fenway's sweater in the condo.

First Sign.....

When I was growing up I remember my parents or my grandparents saying I should watch for a robin and that would mean that cold Chicago winter was almost over and spring was soon to arrive. That first robin meant warmer weather! So I would look and try to spot the bird with the red breast.

Driving home from Cedarburg the other day I glanced toward a field....corn remnants accentuated by a little left-over snow. There was a movement and I spotted something I didn't expect to see for a few more weeks.

Sandhill cranes! From now on my first sign of Wisconsin spring will be different....never mind the robin, my eyes are now on the prowl for more pairs of these interesting birds and then the babies to come.

Sandhill equals spring.....yea!

Moneys Worth......

I'm not the first to complain about packaging.....and the waste involved. Dave and I just ordered some health supplies through our Medicare insurance program. This is a new offering that allows us to order $40 worth of medicines or supplies each quarter. Such a deal! We ordered things like aspirin and bandaids and got four mid-size boxes in the mail.  Each box had ONE bottle of aspirin or ONE package of bandaids. Keep in mind they came from the same source so I had to wonder just why the company couldn't have put all four items in one box?

And then yesterday I drove to the store and bought myself some night cream for those age-related wrinkles magically appearing around my lips. (What!!!??? Age??!!! Wrinkles???) The box was pretty and the copy promised it would "plump" up my skin.

Opening the top I peered down.....the jar was in there, down at the bottom.

Now I'm sure that the idea is that the consumer (me) would think they were really getting a bargain....a pretty big jar of cream that would last for months. Not. Half of the box was filled with air.

Sigh. I flattened out the box and put it in recycling and I will use every smidge of the cream......and continue to shake my head about the way companies "fool" the consumer and waste trees.

That Odd Looking Pot.....

It was a birthday gift and when Dave unwrapped it I don't think he had a clue as to what to do with it....until our daughter explained. She told him to rinse it out with water, dump the water out, put an egg in (scramble it a little bit) and stick it in the microwave for a minute or two.

Then dump the egg on your plate or on an English muffin with cheese if you want a breakfast sandwich.

Works every time and he loves it! That odd little pot makes a good breakfast a breeze.....

....plus it has a beautiful glaze!