Thursday Already!

Last day of April. Will May be any better?

Wednesday we had a nice day to go out into the woods.  Didn't pass any other walkers the entire time we were out.  This was a good thing because walking closer to home on the paved paths are lots of others with the same intent to get fresh air. One gets a crowded uncomfortable feeling and social distancing is not happening.  We gave up that day but yesterday was good.

A few photos only because got the low battery message and turned off the phone.

This is the patch of woods we've walked in now three times.  The parking lot is closed but there's parking on the road.

Redbuds are done and dogwood have taken on the show.

Jack in the Pulpit were prolific.

We wore rain jackets because the weather map showed showers moving through.  It got too warm to have them on in the sun.

Skunk cabbage looks like tobacco growing now.

Last photo: another Jack in the pulpit.

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Last Sunday I finished this puzzle.  9 pieces missing from it and one piece from another puzzle. No more puzzles for a while.  I've done all the interesting ones in the cabinet drawers in the lobby.

Checking In

I'm still here.  Healthy, safe, hibernating of sorts.

The weeks seem to pass fairly fast but I look back and wonder what I have to show for it?

Dan and I went out for lunch on Thursday.  We went to a drive through Checkers for fast food that we then ate in the car.  Checkers doesn't have a dining room, its all drive through so I don't think their business has been hurting.  We then took a drive.  When we came home we noticed the new sign, finally, in front of our home.  We took a closer look after parking the car.

See the expanse of wood being Dan on the right? Another sign is to go on there.  It's been a long time coming because the awning roof when first installed leaked water down on the wood.  Twice it had to be repaired. 

Finished another puzzle and started another.

Talking more with granddaughters.  Made these pigs and wolf to tell them the Three Little Pigs story.

Youngest granddaughter in Buffalo has the biggest laugh when her Papa pretends to eat the pigs.

Wish I could be with them in person.  This was the weekend of the ballet recital that had to be postponed.   We were combining the trip to NH with an overnight in Boston. Canceled that too of course.

Finished a book in one day yesterday: Skinwalker by Tony Hillerman.  A good mystery.  The next book to read is on the Churchhills during the Blitz.  It's a bit thicker and will take me longer if it holds my interest.

It's another gray day here after a rainy one yesterday.  Doesn't help one's mood, does it?

Bleeding Hearts

I have half a raised-bed garden plot in the garden downstairs where perennials are growing transplanted from daughter Sarah's house in Greenbelt, MD awaiting planting at their new house in Buffalo, NY.  Dan and I checked them out yesterday.

I had forgotten that the bleeding heart was a white variety.

Everything doing well.

Sarah and William settle on their new home in early June.  I don't know when we'll get to visit them there.

Sunday Thoughts

The last Sunday we met as a congregation in our worship space was March 15th.  Today is the 5th Sunday that we will meet online.

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The last meal we had in the dining room here was on March 17th. Meal deliveries began the next day.  I write down what we order so when it arrives and its different we know who's fault it was.  Last night we got a bag with two bananas.  I asked where's the rest and the server said it was on another cart.  After 30 minutes I called.  They said oops and sent up the two Cobb salads we'd ordered except the chicken and the salmon were missing.  Called again and a third person brought the missing items.  Normally we have no problems.

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Life goes on.  There's no hurry to anything.  If I decide I don't feel like doing something one day I tell myself there's always tomorrow.  And of course there is.

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Thanks to October Farm

There have been protestors here in Maryland.  What don't they understand about flattening the curve? Until the beige bars below stay at the same height we haven't flattened our curve here in MD. And even when we do we still must be vigilant (keep that parachute on) because the virus is still with us and will be for months and months to come.

Chart from Washington Post

Keeping Occupied

What's occupying my time?

Making cards.

 Walking.  We have a marathon challenge going this month to walk a total of 26 miles.  I went over that yesterday at the halfway through the month point.  Others here met the goal weeks ago but I'll keep walking.  Yesterday walked 2 and a half miles to Lake Kittamaqundi and back.  Below James Rouse the founder of Columbia and his brother are wearing masks but not social distancing!

I spotted this three part water fountain.

And this gorgeous redbud tree.

And geese on the lake.

I'm also spending time on jigsaw puzzles.  Didn't take a finished photo, but this one went back to the drawer in the lobby yesterday.  It was fun.

I talk three times week on Zoom with granddaughter in Buffalo.  I created this puppet show for her of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

The scenes were each on a different page of this spiral pad.

Today the challenge is to do the Three Little Pigs story for Friday.  I'm going to do it three D by making the houses out of paper and the pigs and wolf to stand on their own.

I've also been working on a new website for church using WiX.  Almost done with that but must create a manual for our pastor and admin assistant who will be the ones to keep it updated.  I'm going to have them play with the site before it goes live under our domain name.

Life goes on.

This should make you laugh

Another source of laughter for us has been TED Talks by James Veitch on spam and unsubscribing from emails.  He's a talented comedian.

Help Needed

My brother in law, Jerry, married to my sister Suzie, needs some financial help to keep his studio going during the stay at home orders.  My youngest sister, Marie, has helped them put together a Go Fund Me site to raise $3000.

Here is the link.  GoFund Me. Any amount would be welcome.

Here's a link to Jerry's FaceBook page so you can see some of his work in stained glass and acrylics.

Thank you in advance for helping if you can.

Easter 2020

I spotted these dandelions shaped as a cross on one of my walks.

Happy Easter to you all!

An Escape

Today once the fog cleared it was a beautiful blue sky day.  I woke in a bit of a bad mood and suggested to Dan we return to the woods we'd walked briefly in on Monday and then go to Chik-Fil-A drive through for lunch.  Dan jumped on the idea.

What a wonderful escape!

Above Monday and the redbuds in bloom.

Below today.

Above Monday, below today.

The trail is well maintained.  It's a park of the county park system but preserves part of the watershed of the Middle Patuxent River.

Lovely to see the ferns unfolding,

the canopy greening,

wild flowers in bloom,

skunk cabbage leaves unfurled,

and first sighting of Trout lily, the yellow flower, along with a May apple leaves.

We passed two other people today.  The second one said that he just got a severe thunderstorm alert on his phone.  We had seen the dark clouds but to the east and systems usually come from the west.  We made the full loop with the sky darkening and wind whipping up.  Got back to the car for the first raindrops.  They didn't last long. 

Off to Chik-Fil-A drive through.  Attendants waiting curbside masked and gloved 6 feet away with iPads in hand to take our orders, we swiped our credit card and traveled to the window to pick up our order.  Bag included Purell wipes.  Found a nice parking spot to eat our lunch, listening to the radio (storm to the east of us), and feel the wind.

We took a leisurely drive back home feeling good about our escape.

How are you escaping the confines of the stay at home order but not violating the social distancing?

In Years Past

I looked through my photo library to see where I was at this time in the last three years.

April 2017

Visiting family in NH.

In April 2018 we had finished our Rhine river cruise and were visiting Basel, Switzerland.  We took a train trip to Luzern to then travel to see the Alps from Mount Pilatus

And last year while Dan went on a mission trip to help rebuild Puerto Rico I went to Arizona to visit my brother.

No trips on the horizon now. We were to travel at the end of the month to New Hampshire but that has been scrapped.  We booked a trip to Wyoming for June but that is out of the question. Remaining travel is for August.  I hope we can do that.

Just Sharing

Received this photo from a staff person here at Vantage Point who received it from a new resident who hopes to move in shortly.

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Another week!

Nothing has gotten better.  Only more restrictions.

The big one: we must wear a mask every time we leave our apartment.

Today was laundry day so every time I stepped in the hall to go down to the laundry room I pulled up the mask.  Thankfully we have some since daughter, Emily made them for us and mailed them last week.  We had to keep them in quarantine and wash them because at the time she made them she thought she may be coming down with Covid-19.  She's okay now.  The achy body didn't develop into fever, shortness of breath or any other symptoms.  No one else in the household got sick.

Another big change for Dan the coffee drinker is that the three fancy coffee machines on the 1st and 2nd floors are now closed.  We had to get our coffee maker out of the pantry.  Fortunately we have coffee in the apartment.

One plus is we may be able to request books from our library here, but I haven't seen that in writing yet.

It's a blue sky day so a walk where there aren't many people is in the plan.

News Update

Keeping busy.

Making cards for Easter.

Doing puzzles on half of the dining room table.

Reading - finished "Crisis" by Felix Francis and past it on to my neighbor.

Currently reading "The Thousand Hills to Heaven" by Josh Ruxin about Rwanda.  Got it from another neighbor.

Taking walks.

I wanted to take a drive to see cherry blossoms.  Knew we couldn't go to DC but there are spots in Maryland with cherry blossoms galore.  Then I read the stay-at-home order and we decided a joy ride was not following the rules.  We took a walk across the street to Wilde Lake and spotted these cherry trees.

No we haven't be writing on the pavement but someone has.

Tot lots are closed!

Walked this morning around the other lake near us, Lake Kittamaqundi.  I thought at first it was going to be a walk with few people but once I got on the trail around the lake there were many walkers, dog people, joggers and bikers.  Too many for comfort.  I kept thinking I should be wearing my mask.  Am I breathing in their droplets?  Am I exposing myself?

The skies were lighter than this photo shows but this shows my fear better.

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In other news, there are two more cases of Covid-19 in our complex.  Three people were tested and one was negative.  There are likely on the same floor of the health center where the other case was who died.