Presidents and Grandsons

Life on the road in the times of Covid are a balancing act.  It is very easy to shut off the outside world and follow the open road.  The problem is, once you stop you have a few new extra steps that are a constant reminder that these times, although sometimes they feel normal, are not normal at all.  To get out of the car first you put on your mask, then you assess the situation.  Are there too many people between you and your goal?  If so, move on.  If not, get out of the car and head to your goal (usually the bathroom).  Be sure to try your best not to touch any surfaces with your hands, if you must, make a mental note to keep your hand far away from your face!  Once your goal has been achieved, wash your hands like you are doing surgery on your favorite person, dry them, keep a paper towel in your hand to open the door if needed and proceed cautiously to your cabin of safety, aka your car.  Yes, life on the road is not as glamorous as it may look in my pictures but it is still proving to be better than melting away in Houston while we long for our beloved Nova Scotia.  

We left Houston almost 3 weeks ago.  TJ researched hot spots for Covid and spots of low infection rates.  We chose to stay in the low infection spots and it turns out the two stops on our way to Madison, Wisconsin were presidential birthplaces.  We stayed in Hope, Arkansas, birthplace of Bill Clinton and Springfield, Illinois, birthplace of Lincoln.  We were able to drive by Clinton's house in Hope and fully explore Lincoln land.  Turns out the best time to visit downtown Springfield is on a Sunday morning at 8:30 in the middle of a pandemic.  We were the only people walking around the capital, the Lincoln Museum and the Lincoln Library.  None of them were open but the statues were lovely and the buildings were even more beautiful!

We were here in Hope, Arkansas

Illinois State Capital

The Old State Capital

The only other bodies out that day were inanimate.

Sunday morning and not a soul on the streets.

We made it safely to Madison on our third day and were greeted with open arms, with masks on our faces and heads turned away we hugged our grandsons!   The day after we arrived we all packed up and drove 3 more hours to one of the cutest areas I have ever visited.  Door County is between Green Bay and Lake Michigan on a peninsula.  We rented the perfect house for a week.  I could have moved there for the rest of the summer and been perfectly happy.  The cherries were in season, the water was surprisingly blue and clear, the air was crisp and clear and I truly felt like we had escaped.  The grandsons took it on as their job to swim at as many different beaches as possible in 6 days.  Turns out they still had a few more beaches to visit!

A nice place to get away from reality!

Pebble Beach, aptly named.  They could have kept throwing
until there were no more rocks on that beach!

Cherry season!

Two boys cliff jumping with Grampy!

3 heads pop up...whew!

We played many Clue games, rode bikes, went for long walks along Lake Michigan, explored a different beach every day, had a couple of bonfires complete with s'mores, and enjoyed out time together.  You have not lived until you have played five consecutive Clue games with the Lee boys...or one particular Lee boy!   John, age 7, was a Clue master.  He would play any time, any day!  I made the mistake once of letting him set the game up while I made some tea in the kitchen.  We began our game and it was over in one turn with John nailing the culprit, weapon and location.  Hmmmm, might he have set me up?  I was a bit more cautious after that.  He loves that game and we loved playing it with him.  We also got to spend time with TJ's brother and his family who have a place up there, thus the attraction to visiting Door County.   I think we all needed some fresh air and a change of scenery.  It is amazing how those two things can affect your psyche.  We went back to Madison refreshed and ready for the second half of summer 2020 as we know it.

Had lunch on the way home outside Lambeau Field in Green Bay

Christopher wanted to jump into one more body of water...

And I went on my bi-annual boat ride....

It was time to move on after a little more than a week.  We were revived and maybe a bit exhausted from all of the fun but in a good way.  Mister Green, with the wrench in the Conservatory!

We Have Opened Pandora's Box

I have a new respect for bloggers who are able to write while on the road.  I have such good intentions but somehow never seem to get it done.  This was written a couple of weeks ago.  The fine tuning had not been done until tonight.  At this point it is old news, my apologies.  Still, I figure why not set it free into the blog sphere, it does have some exciting news if you give it some time! 

Because we all need a break in this pandemic to pretend that life is normal I bring you this post.  If you are like me, you will read this and wish you too lived in a house near the ocean with blue skies and peaceful waters.  Unless you already do and then lucky you.  Before we went to California a couple of weeks ago, I had the occasional pity party looking out the same windows at the same trees and the same sidewalks while I just knew there were people in the world who get to live in places that look like postcards.  I mean if you have to self isolate wouldn't it be nicer to do it in a house on a hill with a view of the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other?  Just saying.

If I lived here this would be the view from my closet window.

Enter youngest daughter and husband.  They moved back to the states from Berlin the day before the international border was closed in March.  It was good timing on their part.  They moved to his parents' house in California, quarantined for 2 weeks, and both started looking for new jobs....amidst a growing pandemic.  Not so perfect timing.  Fast  Slow forward to June, they needed a change of air.  I volunteered to rent a house, near the ocean, and give them some "space" for a week.  It was not a totally altruistic offer.  We also needed to change the air which meant they would be trading one set of parents for another.  Win some, lose some.

On June 20th we risked flying and headed to sunny California for a week.  It was surreal.  Aside from the whole flying thing, being in California felt indulgent....and so nice.  I cannot tell a lie, it was a real escape.  An escape from just making it from one day to the next.  It was an escape from the past 3 months.  It was and escape for my senses, visually, emotionally and physically.  To feel the dry, cool air and breathe it in was heavenly.  Unless you live in the south... you have no idea how oppressive the summer air can be, not just for a week here and there but for months and months with no respite.  I soaked up the California air for that week.

We hiked up to this lookout on our second day
and were treated to whale sightings and this view.

For a whole week, our days were spent exploring nature.  What else does one do when trying to distance from other people?  We hiked, we played golf, we took scenic drives to places we had only read about.  We did our best to stay to ourselves and we were perfectly happy.  One day we drove to Carmel by the Sea.  TJ and I left on our honeymoon 42 years ago in my parents station wagon pulling a pop up camper and were heading to California.  I wanted to see Carmel by the Sea.  We had high hopes....and a low sense of reality.  We made it to Colorado Springs and once we parked that camper next to the lake at the campground and I tasted the ice cold Coors beer, we decided to just "stay on".  We never made it to Carmel so I decided we really needed to check that box now.

Our expert tour guide aka our son-in-law, gave us a great tour, we saw Carmel (worthy) and then Pebble Beach golf course and drove the 17 mile drive.  All in a lovely day.  We also walked around Monterrey, which in non COVID times I would love to visit again!

The water in Monterrey

That is our table for lunch in Carmel.  Perfect!

Apparently the wind from the ocean does this to the trees.  Very cool!

After our trip I promptly went home and planted my own bougainvillea !
They are just beautiful!

along the 17 mile drive

We all really enjoyed our break from reality.  Sometimes in order to maintain sanity, you just have to shut off the news, grab your mask, go for a hike or a walk and try to put things in perspective.  We were so glad we had this opportunity.  One other driving motivation to make this trip was to see our daughter and son-in-law and congratulate them and celebrate the fact that they are expecting a baby in January!!!  I have waited several long months to be able to share this exciting news!  Everyone is so happy for them!  In the midst of Covid and the challenges facing our country, the promise of new life is a true blessing!

We flew back to Texas and stayed home for a couple of weeks just to be on the safe side.  After our trip to California though, our travel appetites have been stimulated.  Two weeks together at home can be dangerous.  Stay tuned for stories of life on the road in the times of Covid.

My Moving Meditation

Every morning there are a few precious moments between sleep and wakening when everything is peaceful and good.   Those are the best moments of the day sometimes. Then I wake up and realize we are still in a pandemic.  Life should not be lived best in a semi conscious sleep state.  I miss so much!  Please tell me we won't forget the things of living our lives fully and together . 

How time flies when you are experiencing a pandemic.  At this point I would like it to fly to a time where we are not in a pandemic any longer and while I'm asking maybe we could fly right to the point where we all live in peaceful harmony?  Not necessarily back where we used to live but far beyond and better.  Asking too much?  As my Mother always said, "You never know unless you ask.".   Unfortunately, I think we will have to do more than ask this time.

Has anyone else looked at how their life and mindset have changed since March?  What have you done since March?  What have you NOT done?  For me, March is the line between "then" and "now".  We had no idea the first day of March that in June or July we would be in the middle (?) of a pandemic.  We stayed home.  We did puzzles.  We spent weeks upon weeks avoiding physical contact with anyone, to our best ability.  We have not hugged a person other than the one(s) we live with for MONTHS!  How wrong is that?  I do hope that someday hugging makes a comeback.  I have never been know as a hugger but damn, I want to hug people when I say hello and goodbye sometimes.

We have settled into a routine of predictability.  TJ works from the home office every day, except weekends.  He rides his bike a few days a week for many, many miles!  He is working on his golf game and on every fix-it project that has been neglected for years.  I have been playing golf like it is my job!  If you consult my handicap entries, I averaged 15-17 rounds of golf a month since March.  Thanks to the unbelievable weather for the first few months of Covid-19.  Golf covered all of the bases.  Socially distant but still social.  Outdoors in the sunshine and the fresh air.  It also used up about 4 hours a day... one step closer to passing another day in the pandemic and coming out the other side.  A sad way to live your life if you think about it. 

In addition to golf, I have logged more miles walking or running than probably in any other 3 or 4 month period in my life.  "Walking is a moving meditation"... a quote I read recently in a book and it definitely hit home.  I have found sanity in my walks.  When I am tired of "filling" time doing busy work at home or even productive work at home, I take a walk.  I listen to books, podcasts, Mass, music or nothing.  My eyes search for beauty.  My mind searches for peace and reason.  I pray when I walk.  I think when I walk.  The repetitive movement provides a perfect meditation.  My mind responds when it feels my body walking.  If I go more than one day without a walk I get agitated and restless.  Walking...Covid sanity.  (no such thing)
Scenes from my walks....

Where I found my sanity in Covid.

Good morning glory!

Last week we left our cocoon of predictability and safety.  We boarded an airplane and flew to California to visit our daughter and her husband.  At some point we weighed the risk and the reward and decided to fly.  Armed with our masks, our sanitizing wipes, our own water and snacks and our best "leave me alone" faces we boarded a plane and tried not to breathe.  I admit that the week before the flight I found myself a bit anxious.  Having not flown since February and in this uncertain time, I was hesitant. 

One good thing...
Plenty of overhead storage available these days.

Walking through an empty airport makes a person think.  The closed down kiosks, the saran wrapped restaurants, the closed shops, the absence of travelers all felt a bit apocalyptic.  It also made me think about all of the lives that have been affected by this pandemic.  Think of the people who are not working at those shops and restaurants.  The people not manning the gates for the flights and the ones not working on the flights that are not flying.  The people not loading or unloading bags.  The people not directing air traffic.  The people not traveling for work.  The families not taking vacations.  The list goes on and on and in one respect, yes, they are all home being safe ( we can assume) and in another respect so many are unemployed and the wheels of the world are not turning.  After 63 years maybe one would think they have seen it all... not even close!  The airport is just one microcosm of our world and in every part of our world this scenario is being played out over and over.  The lives and livelihoods changed by this are mind boggling. 

You can't sit here, eat here or work here.

Our flight was very calm.  Every middle seat was vacant.  They passed out prepackaged snacks and water.  People behaved very well if you ask me.  There was very little up and down or walking the aisles.  And on a four hour flight, very few people even got up to use the bathroom.  Everyone stayed in their seat and minded their own business.  Very civilized.  I think we were all in the same mind set, get me there quickly and safely, I'll stay in my space and you stay in yours.  It is still very hard to maintain your distance when on an airplane though and after all these months being that close to that many people is a bit unsettling.  It has been one week since we returned and every time I feel anything the least bit "off" or even sneeze I wonder if I caught "it".   I find myself making sure I taste and smell everything possible just to make sure my senses are still intact.  Six more days and I will rest easy.  Was it worth it?  Ask me in six more days but as of today, yes it was. 

I hope this wasn't too much of a downer post but lately it seems that is just how life goes.  We keep putting one foot in front of the other and make the best of a challenging situation but sometimes you just get down.  Is it all bad?  No!  Stay tuned for the good stuff!  I'm going to go take a walk!

For the Birds

I wish I could tell all of you that this post will be full of inspiration and wise words to help you get through the next few minutes/hours/days/weeks or /God forbid...months but alas I am right where you are in all of this.  I am at the end of yet another day at home.  Nothing noteworthy happened today, just like yesterday and probably like tomorrow.  At least on the surface that is how it feels and looks to me.  If I dig a little deeper though, I can probably come up with something special about today, yesterday, and last week.  It is easy to get down these days so let's all take a challenge and do it the hard way and see the good side.

Today I walked, as I do every day.  I decided to mix up my route a bit and walk on the levee for a while.  I have joined many others during this home stay and started really watching birds.  It is a good season for birds right now too!  On the levee I saw a hawk land in a tree ahead of me.  I watched him/her wondering if I might be able to get a picture with my cell phone.  Hawks are very common around here so seeing one was not unusual but it was a very large bird!  I switched on my camera and just as I was ready the hawk flew to another tree.  I snapped and between my sunglasses and the sunny day I had no idea whether I got the hawk or not, I would have to wait until I got home to see.

About as good as I can do with a cell phone and lots of glare!

Since we have been home I have gone through about 8 bags of birdseed!  I have 2 3 feeders and I refill them every other day.  Some days I don't pay attention at all and other days I am like some obsessed birdwatcher all day long.  It does make me pause and wonder, is it the staying home or is it just a developmental stage?  I am going with the fact that I have very little else at this time to focus on so birds it is and if I am honest here, I think it is genetic.  I come from a long line of bird watchers.

Saw this one probably on Facebook and it cracked me up!

I had a somewhat spiritual bird experience last week.  I have been playing a lot of golf, because we can and I seem to have a lot of time these days!  Anyway, I enjoy looking around at nature while I play golf and had noticed a bluebird one day.  We do not see many bluebirds down here, or at least I haven't so I was intrigued.  I think they are such beautiful birds.  The color is just exquisite!  Of course, every time I tried to point out the bluebird to one of my golf friends, it would flit off and they would miss it.  It was becoming a phantom bird and people were beginning to think I made it up.  TJ and I even took a long Sunday walk to stalk the bluebird, to no avail.  I too was beginning to wonder if it was real.

The golf course was closed on Monday so I decided to just walk by bluebird corner and be still for a while.  I stood in the middle of the trees looking at everything that had wings and patiently waited.  I did have a fleeting thought that maybe I made the bluebird up or that maybe I have just become a crazy bird lady.  Then there it was!  That brick colored neck and that blue back.  I just watched and crept closer.  I watched it go from tree to tree and it let me get closer and closer.  I was regretting not bringing my camera, all I had was my cell phone.  I stalked the bird for a long time and then to my utter surprise and delight, it flew down about 5 feet in front of me and about 4 feet off the ground and turned it's beautiful back to me, did a little flutter dance above the ground and then flew off.  Alas, I was too stunned and it happened so fast that there is no digital proof of this.  I followed it a little longer and then it flew away...far away.  I wondered if it was permanently gone.

My new BFF!

 

He was posing for me right before he flew off to another hole on the course.

I shared this story with my sister who lives here and she too has bluebirds near her house.  I'll have to stalk them too!  She also told me they are symbols of hope and happiness, appropriate sentiments for these times.   "My" bluebird coincidentally lives on my most dreaded hole on the golf course.  It is the #1 handicap hole on the course and if you ask me, it should be a par 6 instead of par 5 for ladies because it is virtually impossible to par this hole.  I have done it once in my 10 years of playing golf.  Par for me on this hole is about as rare as sighting a bluebird!  This hole is the bane of my golf game...until recently.  I sit at the corner near the pond that has eaten more of my balls than any other on the course and now look for "My" bird.  It brings me great joy and anticipation to play this hole now with the hope of seeing the bluebird.  Like I said, it was a spiritual experience to have this creature dance for me, especially in that location.  I think I will bring my camera with me next Monday when the course is closed and spend some quality time with "my" bird.

And so, these are the small things that are bringing me bits of joy during these challenging days.  Keep looking for the bluebirds in life! 
They will bring you hope and happiness.

Waiting

As I checked my email for the hundredth time looking for a notification from the fabric store that the curbside pick-up order I placed over a week ago was ready for pick up, it hit me.  Through all of this we are learning how to wait.  In a world that had become accustomed to instant everything, we are all stuck at home waiting for the Covid-19 stats to decline, a vaccine, better treatment and for it to just go away.

Consider Amazon.  BC (Before Covid) I placed my order and in one or two days my order was at the front door.  I placed an order last week and still have not received it.  I got an estimate for one item of over 2 weeks for delivery!  It wasn't even toilet paper or hand sanitizer! It brought me back to the 80's when I would order things from a catalog and they would arrive a week or two later.  I just waited in anticipation.

Yes, a Zoom get together can bring this much joy!

While we have all been cooped up many of us have taken to Zoom for online meetings or chats with our long lost friends, family or co-workers.  For Zoom to work effectively only one person at a time can be talking otherwise it is nuts!  So....we wait our turn to talk.  This can be frustrating for some but result in more well thought out words than the "just blurt it out method".

BC, many people were using that new-fangled curbside pickup for their groceries.  Just order online and pick-up later in the day or the next day.  Not any more!  The wait time for curbside groceries is days not hours.

BC, I was a regular at my nearby grocery store.  I had gotten used to not planning ahead and just picking stuff up as needed or as the urge hit me.  No longer!  I have been waiting and planning ahead so I can limit my trips to the grocery.  (a huge mindset change pour moi!).  If I run out of cheddar cheese I will just have to WAIT until the next giant grocery run....or wait for a curbside pickup. 

Speaking of waiting....I will just be honest here but the truth is, every day I can't WAIT for happy hour, dinner and TV time. With so little to look forward to these days, I have been reduced to looking forward to the part of the day when I can do some of my favorite things.... eat, drink, watch some TV and stop trying to figure out how I am going to pass another day...at home.  What am I missing?  Is it just me or is everyone else out there feeling the same way?  I know there are families with parents working and kids schooling.  You don't have to think how to spend your days at home, you spend them just doing life and keeping your head above water.  You would probably be happy to trade days with me right now and have nothing to do for a while.  Here in the "near retirement home"....I am running out ways to entertain myself .  Ugh!  Even as a child, I needed a lot of outside stimulus to keep me going.  I was never the kid who could play alone for days.  I don't do alone very well!  Suffice it to say I can't WAIT until I can go somewhere....anywhere and be with people!

The Douro Valley in Portugal sits and waits for me.

Before all of this happened, I spent the better part of the late fall and a dreary January planning a trip to Portugal.  I spent days just looking at one beautiful place after another to include on our itinerary.  I made several reservations for accommodations and had finally settled on our route.  I must have looked at hundreds of potential places to visit, drives to take, historic locations to experience, and natural beauty to soak up and photograph.  We were very excited about our trip in June.  Alas, we have postponed our trip.  We will just have to wait...until the fall, if we are lucky...or next year if that isn't in the cards.  I have promised myself I will not obsess about this trip like I did in January lest I be disappointed...again.  I just have to wait and see how the world of travel shakes out through the summer.   The Douro Valley and I will have to wait until we meet each other.  There are countless other plans that were made in our world that are now waiting to be lived out by their planners.

The world is waiting to see what our new reality will look like after the virus.  Many can't wait to go back to work.  Kids can't wait to go back to school.  Everyone is waiting to see how our economy will survive.  There are thousands of people waiting to see loved ones again.  There are others waiting for their next breath to come easier.  There are exhausted workers waiting for a break. 
We are all waiting  (at home) for this to be over.

P.S.  I finally got my fabric order and spent a week making this....

It was worth the wait!

Cooking, Cleaning, Woodworking, Walking and Zooming

Today I thought I would share some randomness from our time "staying home".
 But first, a virtual vacation because we all need a little vacation and a "reason to believe"..to quote Rod Stewart.

Spring is proof that life goes on!
Brought to you by Texas wildflowers!

-I feel like we are living our farmhouse life in some respects.  Aside from the one time a week we order take-out to support one of the restaurants we hope survives this pandemic, we cook and eat at home... just like everyone else right now.  Every summer at the farmhouse I do a lot of cooking and eventually I get to that point where all I want is to go out for dinner and let someone else do the cooking and cleaning for a change.  Covid-19....I'm there...I want to go out to eat...with some friends.

-Has anyone else noticed how often the dishwasher needs to be run/emptied while we are cooking and eating all these meals at home?

-One of the side effects I have noticed while "staying home" is my sudden craving for baked goods.  What is up with that?  Yes, maybe I am eating away my anxiety and killing a little time but now I've added anxiety about the weight gain and the bad habits I am developing.  Why haven't I developed a salad craving?

My version of
California roll salad
(sans rice)
for lunch.

With a banana coffee cake chaser!
Highly recommend!
The house smelled like
bananas foster!

-While trying to make the hours pass and the days go by faster so this can all be behind us, many of us are using this time for our hobbies.  TJ is in the process of refinishing every piece of wood furniture we own.  He refurbished an old (I mean really old, like on its third life) wrought iron park bench.  The wood was all rotten and broken and the wrought iron was peeling and rusting.  He did the woodwork and I painted the iron.  We also relocated it to a more prominent location in the yard since it was no longer an embarrassment.

The "new" bench in its new location.

Broken slats replaced and a fresh coat of varathane
just in time for patio season...at home.

The next target of TJ's woodworking-keep-busy spree.

-I have taken this time at home to go through my closet and wear some of the clothes not in my regular rotation.  You all know you have your "go to" favorites and then there are all those clothes that you haven't gotten rid of but haven't worn in a while either.  I am wearing them and if by the end of the day or a couple of hours I just don't like it anymore, to the donation pile it will go.  These clothes are going to have to earn their way into the closet.  If it isn't good enough to wear while we "stay home" it isn't good enough to keep.  The pile is growing!

Fancy Friday....this top is trying to earn its spot in the closet!

-One of my neglected hobbies is sewing.  I am beginning to wish I was one of those people who hoarded fabric.  I am not and therefore I have no fabric to smock or sew....moving on to the next hobby.

-Things are almost to the point that I am seriously considering beginning a home improvement project.  The dated wall paper in the bathroom upstairs is starting to peel off the walls.  I am thinking of tearing it all down and painting the walls.  I figure if it is already peeling off the walls it can't be that hard to take down at this point...right?  I am afraid...very afraid to begin... for fear it will turn into Pandora's box!  Stay tuned.

-I had an interesting dream last night.  In the dream I was hosting a meeting, but was totally unprepared.  I was wearing workout clothes, my hair had that post workout disheveled look, I had no make-up on and had just finished a run.  I had no idea how to make coffee using the percolator in the dream. FYI, being a tea drinker, I can't make coffee in real life either! The coffee looked like clear, slightly brown water.  I could not find a decent mug for anyone to use.  The house in the dream was my house but was not my house if you know what I mean.  The people at the meeting were a mix of my book club, my golf friends, and my bunco friends.  You do not have to be a professional to figure this one out!  I miss my friends, I miss book club, I even miss LGA board meetings!  Plus, I am losing my hosting skills and should probably get out of my workout clothes!

-Walking down the street to our mailbox has become a very big event in my day. So much so that I am starting to do some online shopping, for clothes that I will have nowhere to wear. On the plus side, I am making room in my closet for some new residents.  You know...just doing my part stimulating the economy and giving myself something to look forward to in the mail.  Its the little things!  I walk down hoping to see one of the neighbors outside and share a brief conversation...from a distance.

-My feet have a new Covid-19 "look".  My bi-weekly pedicure is two weeks overdue.  This has resulted in my new minimalist clean look which is accented by the lovely sock tan I am sporting as a result of my daily mental health walks.  Not complaining, my nails could probably use a breath of fresh air...plus, who is going to see them anyway?!

-I miss church!  I find myself just a bit disappointed every Saturday night when I go to bed and catch myself having to rethink my Sunday plans.  I feel like my battery recharge has been taken away.  My weekly reset button has gone remote.  My Sunday ritual has changed from going to church to taking a four mile walk, listening to mass being streamed.  There is something to be said for inspiration in my ears, nature in my eyes and fresh air in my lungs.

-Speaking of the virtual world.  I never knew how satisfying a Zoom happy hour, trivia night or family chat could be until now!  Just seeing other humans and sharing this madness brings comfort and perspective.  We are all in this together and everyone else is just as tired of "staying home" as we are.

-My daily walks, runs or bike rides are my sanity!  I have added more miles just to pass the time and offset the baking habit I've developed.

-At the end of each day I say to myself,  "We've made it through another day!  We are one step closer to it being over."  This is not necessarily a great mindset to go through life with but for now it is all I've got.  What are we going to watch on TV tonight?

-So life goes on down here.  We don't necessarily like it but we are doing it.  Most days are fine, as long as the sun shines and I can get outside.  My attitude will change if it rains for more than two days in a row or the unrelenting heat and humidity of Houston eventually descend upon us.  I pray every day that the medical professionals dealing with this virus can stay safe and treat their patients as they need.  I pray for those trying to find a vaccine and treatment for this virus to be successful.   I pray for those who have the virus, that they recover.  I pray for Covid-19 to go away and I thank God for my family, my friends and for life.
Stay home and stay safe!

Virtual Travel and Happy Hours

Let's begin with another virtual vacation! 
Today, we are going to the Cayman Islands!  I could use a nice day on the beach, especially since it is raining here.  Feel the warm breeze, the sand between your toes, that slightly crispy salty way your skin feels after snorkeling in the salt water for an hour, taste the ice cold cerveza and feel your body relax onto one of these lounge chairs.  Close your eyes, hear the waves lapping onto the shore and the wind rustling the leaves in the nearby trees. 

Choose 4 other people and imagine yourself here with them!
Cayman Islands, circa  2011
The above post is quite ironic!

Couldn't we all use a day like this right about now?  Those chairs are mighty close to each other aren't they?  This social distancing has made me crave human contact!  As an extrovert, I get my energy from being around other people and the way things are going my personal energy level may be depleted by the end of week 2.  I keep finding myself envying people lucky enough to be living together in a house with several others.  I would love nothing more than to have all of my kids and grand kids here together under one roof.  It has been just me and TJ bumping around this house for a week.  Not that I don't love TJ, but I need my other human batteries to charge me up! 

I am sure we all are feeling the same ebb and flow of emotions as we deal with trying our best to distance ourselves from others and still do our jobs, educate our children, reach out (from a safe distance) to those in need and those we love, and live the new life we are faced with for the foreseeable future.  Those last words are the ones that are giving me the most trouble, the foreseeable future. 

How many of us have made plans for some date in the future and are now wondering if those plans will actually happen?  What a complicated new mindset we are facing.  As we are finding out, we have no idea what tomorrow will look like.  Even an optimist like me is having trouble from time to time through this mixture of isolation and social distancing.  It does not help that the sun has also decided to distance itself from Sugar Land.  I really need to stop looking at those Instagram posts of people walking along scenic lakes, majestic mountains, sunny French countrysides or forest paths while socially distancing themselves.  Bah humbug!  I am here to make all of you suburbanites feel better because I walk the same sidewalks every day and there is nothing majestic or scenic here.  I try to see the beauty but it is getting harder and harder. 

The splendor and beauty of my daily sanity walk.

I will say I had one of the best hours of my week the other night when I had a great video chat with two dear friends.  We were supposed to be together this past week, seeing a play, laughing, eating, drinking and catching up but Covid-19 had other plans.  We instead shared an hour and several drinks together while we laughed and caught up on life as we now know it.  It really was one of the best hours of my week, thanks ladies.  I highly recommend a virtual girls night to everyone!

So ponder my first photo and let me know where you are going and with whom you are going when we are free to roam....someday!  We all need to dream!
Hang in there and stay home!