Narrow Escape

 

I spent this morning clearing off the top shelves of my bottom kitchen cupboards and the counters as well. Tomorrow an installer of new countertops was to show up at 8:30 a.m., and he needs to be able to reach under the counter to do his job. 

Now there has been a change in plans. This afternoon the company called to let us know the installer tested positive for COVID today! We will be traveling by airplane soon and having to quarantine for exposure would have created a big mess. We thank God for His protection. 

The cases in our county have decreased in the past few days. However, the cases of employees and now residents at Grace Village are increasing. 

Warsaw Farmers' Market

 This morning I went to the Kosciusko County Farmers' Market in Warsaw. I was pleased to see more vendors than when I was there earlier in the summer, but still disappointed that the produce vendors were small in number. Below you can see my purchases.

We already sampled the oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips at lunch. Still waiting for us are our snickerdoodles. I plan to grate the large zucchini to freeze for baking bread in the next few months.

The pink earrings do not go as well with my wardrobe as I had anticipated; I can use them with a few items though. 

These zinnias are not drooping at all like my last batch. Relieved. 

Living with change can be hard. Of course we all are having to deal with the pandemic.

We learned this past week that our dentist has fully retired. The last we had heard he was semi-retired. The dentist that bought out his practice leaves me wanting more. We will probably have to look for a new dentist after a decade of using the same one.

We also learned that our advisor at Vanguard has abruptly left the company. We have been assigned a new advisor who hopefully will be able to look at the work done by the previous one to get up to speed. We plan to have a phone meeting sometime in the next month to become acquainted. We are pretty low maintenance having a meeting every 6 months in the past two years. We do want him to understand our priorities, however. 

The shorter hours of daylight are starting. My personal days on earth are growing shorter too. One of our neighbors died of COVID this past Sunday. Reminders that we are on the ending side and not the beginning side of our lives. 

A Life Cut Short By COVID

 Though it has been several months since the death of Bethany Nesbitt, I just discovered this article by her brother today. It was a link on the Facebook page of a lady in my church. She is greatly missed by her family. I heard of her death through Grace College and the local media. I did not know her, but she was the second person I learned had died from COVID in Winona Lake. 

When I hear about people who think COVID is not a threat to young people, I wish they would see how Bethany at 20 had dreams for her life and family who adored her. Yet she became a fatality of the pandemic. 

Today we returned to our church to worship after a year of just live-streaming. We are fully inoculated so are ready to take part in what before the vaccine would have been high risk. So sad Bethany had no vaccine to protect her, but we know she is now safe in heaven.

More New Placemats

 

Tuesday my husband and I drove to Shipshewana. He wanted to look for boots at Yoder Department Store. While he tried on boots, I shopped the housewares area. I bought 4 placemats. I hadn't spent all of my birthday money on walking shoes; the funds left I used to buy 4 placemats. The blue is actually a little lighter than the photo shows. 

We ate a nice (large) lunch at the Blue Gate restaurant. It was so crowded! I guess other mostly older people had the same itch to travel on a bright and sunny day as we did. I brought a big slab of my meatloaf home. We ate it today as a sandwich. 

My husband went to the Y today. He reported that except for the  employee checking in members, nobody had on a mask. I am sure not all of these people are inoculated. It kind of disappointed me. I thought in a few months I might return to the Y; now I am pretty sure I will not feel safe there for a long time.

We will have slightly warmer weather this weekend. I will try to take a walk around my neighborhood. I will get some exercise and fresh air that way.

My brother-in-law got a Moderna shot yesterday! Indiana opened the shots to those 60 and older. He was able to go in on the same day. I know a few people that have received the Moderna shot from the Kroger pharmacy in Warsaw, also with almost no wait. The local newspaper said that our county was receiving 500 doses per week, but this week they received 1500. There is no scarcity for those eligible right now. 

I am looking at possibilities for a short trip in a few months. Right now I am exploring Starved Rock State Park in Illinois maybe in May. We might stay at a near-by resort either in the lodge or in a condo (log-cabin decor). I am not sure we would do a lot of cooking so a lodge room would be OK. But the condo units have kitchens, whirlpool in the master bedroom, and fireplaces. It might be nice to have room to play board games on a dining table and a fridge for takeout food or an oven for pizza. I will probably decide in the next week whether to make a reservation. 

We do feel that with the shots we can take more risk, i.e., eating in restaurants and taking a little vacation trip.

The Red Zone

 Last week my county entered the red zone, the most at-risk high-transmission category. The Warsaw public library is only available for curb-side pickup and telephone reference calls. Banks are drive-thru or lobby access by appointment only. Yesterday I learned that my pastor and his wife are ill with COVID. He officiated at his son's wedding on December 27th sans mask. The whole wedding party of 13 wore no masks. His symptoms showed up one week later on January 3rd, his wife's a few days earlier. A church family (parents, grown daughter, 2 grown sons-in-law) also has COVID. 6 adults and 4 children spent all day together on Christmas. Our church will have no live nor livestreamed service on Jan. 10th and probably not on the 17th. The live service had already been cancelled due to snow on Jan. 3rd.

Our county is very slow in administering the vaccine. Grace Village healthcare workers and HC residents received the first shot Dec. 28th; assisted living will receive their first Jan. 25th when HC gets their second. Health care workers throughout the county are getting shots. The general public has been given no projected dates except that those 75 and older and essential workers will be next. Now one of the administrative staff and 5-6 independent living residents of Grace Village have tested positive for COVID. 

I am feeling a little crabby today. My December 22nd ACDF surgery went OK. Today an assistant of the surgeon removed the steri-strips. The incision area looks very puffy still. The x-ray shows the inside throat area still swollen as well. I am having a little trouble swallowing. I am still sleeping in a recliner, hope to try my bed on Friday or Saturday (after an earlier disastrous try). I did perk up when I finally managed to get my wedding ring over the big knuckle and back in place several days ago. I am having muscle pain across the shoulders and around the shoulder blades. I got off the percocet on the third day and switched to tylenol, but it only takes the edge off. I start physical therapy tomorrow. I am praying the shoulder/back pain goes away in the next 10 days. Then I can get off the muscle relaxant and drive again. Not too chipper right now. I knew it would take weeks, even months, to get back to normal activity, but knowing and accepting are two different things.

Time to take the muscle relaxant afternoon dose which means I will be overwhelmingly drowsy in 20 minutes and forced to take a nap.

Hope your new year is going well. 

Another Wrinkle

 Yesterday the governor of Indiana promulgated new restrictions re COVID. All elective surgeries starting December 16th thru January 3rd are ordered to be postponed. I talked to the surgery coordinator Teri at Parkview Ortho. She told me the COO had sent out an email earlier today saying that they are designating all of their spine surgeries as urgent and plan to do them. 

I did read that outpatient day surgeries would not be affected by the gubernatorial order. Teri will call me if the interpretations being issued by Governor Holcomb's office change my situation. Right now she said to proceed as instructed. I have to stop some of my vitamins starting Saturday. 

I received an email from my family doctor's office today which wanted me to confirm my Dec. 16th appointment. This was an automated system of some kind. I have never received such a thing before. In the past I just received a reminder phone call a few days before, also automated. There was a message in the email that there was great demand for appointments currently and to let them know ASAP if I planned to cancel. 

The virus is rampant in Indiana. Yesterday we led the nation in community transmission rates. And yet today when I went to Meijer, there were people in the store without masks. Just 3 except little children. While I was filling my car trunk with my purchases, a family pulled up next to me and headed for the store. They were back in minutes. I wonder if they were told they could not enter. They never displayed any masks that I could see. The Amish shoppers still don't cover their noses; everybody else is pretty good at that. 

Today was my last visit to a grocery store for several months. I will be doing only online ordering with pickup.

Surgery December 22nd

 I am scheduled for surgery on Tuesday December 22nd. This will be at Parkview Orthopedic Hospital in Fort Wayne. I need to stay well until then so the surgery won't have to be postponed. I don't think there will be any occupancy level problems at that hospital; not sure about staffing. The surgery is considered day surgery; I will come home that day unless there are complications. I had an ACDF (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion) 17 years ago. The doctor will remove the old titanium plate and screws and install a plate that spans 3 levels (C4-C6). I will start physical therapy 4 weeks later as long as everything goes as expected.

COVID is rampant in our state and county. Fort Wayne also has a very high number of cases. My husband will not be allowed in the hospital except for a few minutes before I go into surgery. The doctor will phone him to update my status; the hospital will call when I am ready to go home (after 4-5 hours in recovery). It will be a long day for him. I had hoped he could spend time in a warm library nearby, but that won't be happening as people will no longer be allowed inside.

In some counties, libraries are open for curb-pickup only, banks have drive-up service only except when an appointment is needed and made ahead, and restaurants have gone from full capacity to 50-75% depending on the risk level in the county. It is going to get ugly the next few weeks as people travel and celebrate in large groups. The college students in my town (Grace College) started earlier than normal so that the instruction period would end at Thanksgiving. They won't start again until January, but that could be online.

My last activity I attended regularly in person (every 2 weeks) was Winona Literary Club. It has canceled its Dec. 2nd meeting. We always have a winter break; hopefully, by March we can start up again as usual.

I bought a few Christmas presents for my husband last week. I have a few things to buy yet online. I will be mostly doing online grocery shopping as well. I do plan to put up my Christmas decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving, and buy a poinsettia at Menards. I have 4 medical appointments between now and December 22nd all related to the surgery. I need to see if I can reschedule my dental cleaning; it was to be December 30th. A month seems like a long time, but I know it will go by quickly as I stock my pantry and freezer for my recuperation time. 

Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving.

Second Half of Autumn

 In northern Indiana where I live the first 6 weeks or so of autumn are glorious. Warm sunny days with cool nights and beautiful colorful foliage. 

But the last 6 weeks of fall are bleak and barren with cold days and some overnight frost. Before we officially leave autumn in December, we will probably have some snow. When I say I love autumn, I am definitely thinking of the first half.

Brrr! I am not a lover of cold temperatures. Usually Thanksgiving makes the second half of autumn special. This year we will not go to a buffet in a restaurant. My husband's sister will join us in our condo; there will be just the 3 of us. We will have the traditional turkey (I already bought a frozen breast) and pumpkin pie. We will probably work on a jigsaw puzzle or play games.

A card I received today from the Fort Wayne Hallmark store.

I brought the purple celosia in from the front porch several weeks ago. It is doing OK inside. It will eventually be replaced by a poinsettia. My cheddar pinks look amazingly fine after last night's heavy frost.

Covid is overtaking our state and county. An 85-year-old woman at my church who had Covid in early July has it again. That is not a comforting thought; that any immunity she had lasted about 4 months at most.

 I have dropped out of Grace Village choir for now. 20 people singing without masks was too much risk for me. Grace Village has put out an announcement that any health care and assisted-living residents that leave to spend time with family or friends for the holidays must quarantine for 14 days when they return. If they have no single room for returning residents to quarantine in, they may not be allowed back inside. Currently we have 5 health care workers who tested positive for COVID. We are supposed to get some National Guard workers to help with testing and other non-medical jobs. All of the staff, including independent living area, are being tested twice a week now.

I know a few people who plan to have big family gatherings for Thanksgiving. I hope they don't get sick. Since I don't have kids or grandkids, it is a little bit easier for me to stay away from groups.

The news that there is an effective vaccine in the pipeline keeps me plugging away, taking it day by day. There is still a long road, but there is hope for a brighter future.

Goodies

 I ordered some Cheryl's cookies to brighten our days. They are individually wrapped; we will try to stretch out our eating of them.

One of the churches in Winona Lake makes and sells peanut brittle as a fundraiser for their projects. They usually sell the patties at the holiday craft bazaars and do quite well. Of course this year there are no bazaars. They are selling the candy from the church office during set hours they advertise in the local newspaper. I picked up one package of 3 patties last week. We have nibbled a few pieces, but because I bought an apple pie and some mini cupcakes as part of my Thursday grocery pickup order, we are mostly saving the brittle for later. 

On a totally different and sad note, our county had 5 deaths from COVID in the past week, including the man that caused the scare from my husband eating breakfast with him. One of the ladies in the Grace Village choir is also ill with the virus. The number of cases is spiking. God was merciful to us or we might be among those cases.

This pandemic is going to last a long time. Cookies and peanut brittle help to make the days special and cheer us a bit.

Dizzy Dame

 So far after a week of physical therapy exercises, I see no improvement in my pain. The other therapy I have been given is deep muscle massage. This actually increases my pain for several days. Although it gives me more flexibility in neck movement, that increase doesn't last. I think next week I will tell them to discontinue the massage.

I started taking the gabapentin again last night. It is for nerve root pain. The first time I took it I also took tramadol as instructed. Drowsiness, dizziness, sweating, nausea meant I didn't take a second pill. The prescription for gabapentin is titered. I slowly increase the number of times a day I take it. I did get a little drowsy last night, but it is the dizziness that is bothersome. When I got up to use the bathroom last night I had to sit on the side of the bed until I felt I could safely navigate. I do believe my other problems during the first dose actually came from the tramadol. The dizziness wasn't as severe this morning, but it lasted until about 10 a.m. I will continue with bedtime doses for the next two nights. I will have to decide whether to continue next week because I have several engagements and responsibilities where I cannot risk dizziness.

I plead guilty to feeling some schadenfreude this morning when I heard President Trump had contracted Covid-19. I just heard that he will be going to Walter Reed Medical Center. I hope that is just precaution and not because he is getting worse. The White House has not been very forthcoming re his real condition.

Last Sunday my husband and I decided to dine in at Ruby Tuesday. We had been using the generous BOGO coupons for pick-up. We wore masks as requested by the sign on the front door. We took them off while dining but replaced them to leave the restaurant. As we exited, an older couple not wearing masks was in the vestibule. The man sneered and in a derisive tone said to us "Wearing masks." As we drove away, I did not see them exit so I am assuming the restaurant employees seated them. I blame a lot of this attitude on President Trump. 

Last week I took a photo of my moss roses in their glory. The cold nights the last few days have brought them to the point of needing to be pulled up. The bright flowers do not open up and the stems are turning brown. I will try to pull them out next week when it is warmer.

We are enjoying the flavors of fall. I finished off our apple cider this morning. Last night we started in on a pumpkin pie.

We will warm up next week to mid-60s. That will allow me to do some walking outside. The autumn colors are just lovely right now and will probably peak next weekend. Happy autumn to you!

Music In the Time of a Pandemic

 The Lake Area Community Band traditionally comes to Grace Village each September to perform a concert. This year the band set up outside. Some residents sat in the dining room where they could hear through the open windows. Fortunately, the weather cooperated. My husband and I and others brought folding chairs to put on the grass a safe distance from the musicians.

This band is a wonderful opportunity for people who played as students and young adults to pick up their instruments once again and contribute to the community.

Grace Village choir had its first rehearsal today since mid-March. We all started off with masks, but the back row (tenors and basses) took them off. It would be their germs that project forward onto the two front rows (altos and sopranos). I guess their only risk would be from those spaced out along their own row. A few people wore masks all the time, some part of the time, some took short breaks by pulling the mask down under their chins.

 It is not easy to sing wearing a mask which causes limited airflow. This may be why some church attendees don't wear masks or take them off while singing. I cannot see the people at my church on the livestream except those on the platform; they take their masks off before singing and playing. My church sings 6 or 7 songs during a service. It is one of the reasons I do not attend in person. 

If you think the risk is low at churches, read this sad tale of an older Hoosier couple who isolated except for medical appointments and attending church. Unfortunately, they both contracted COVID-19, and the man who also had COPD died. Turns out members of their church had presymtomatic cases and did become ill several days before the couple did.

On a positive note: after reading on the internet suggestions for fixing my ipad problem of Safari freezing, I was able to change some settings, etc. I can now search the internet and play games again on my ipad. I sat in my comfy chair in the living room doing just that.

Wake Up Call

My sister-in-law sent an email this morning telling us that a resident in health care at Grace Village died of Covid-19 this morning. She knew this lady who had attended her church and served as a missionary. Now the deceased's husband is being tested because he did spend some time with her. As of Friday we had 8 people in our county that died from the corona virus. When she is added it will be at least 9. Last week at this time it was 4.

Last night there was a "patriotism" rally at the courthouse square. It was announced that since Black Lives Matter had held rallies there, those who want to demonstrate love for their country should also rally. In the media photos the participants are sitting or standing close to each other with no masks in sight. What I expected to see given the attitudes of some of our area residents. We shall see if there is a spike in cases in 1-2 weeks. I am glad that more stores are requiring masks since so many people will not wear them otherwise. 

Yesterday when we went to a restaurant to eat breakfast we noted as we passed another restaurant we frequent that there were no cars in the parking lot. Once home, I found on Facebook that the empty restaurant is closed until July 23rd because one of their employees tested positive for the virus on July 8th. The staff are self-isolating. I have not eaten there recently, but my husband ate there July 9th. Perhaps we shouldn't be dining in restaurants so often. My husband goes to restaurants for breakfast 2-3 times a week. We ate dinner at one Wednesday. 

As those affected creep closer and closer to us and the places we visit, assessing risk may be a good thing to do. Maybe more take-out and fast-food drive-thru business would be safer. Hate to give up food prepared by others.

The vague is becoming more specific and the surreal more real.

Beautiful Rose

We were surprised yesterday afternoon when our back-door neighbors rang our doorbell while holding a rose in a small vase. Traditionally, Grace Village has a monthly party to recognize and celebrate birthdays and anniversaries that fall in that month. The birthday honorees get a carnation, and the anniversary couple receive a rose. I had seen on the calendar that they now have a birthday cart (no party), but since we are not allowed in the main building hadn't given it much thought. This couple was drafted or volunteered to carry the flowers to the condo honorees. 

I put our flower in a larger vase I already own. They also gave us two muffins in lieu of cake I guess. It was nice to know that we are still a part of the community and the effort was made to include us.

I did on-line ordering with pickup today from my usual grocery store. I am still not willing to go inside with the narrow aisles, but I wanted a few of their store-brand items. I got all but one item on my list this time, an improvement. I am not good at picturing quantity or size. When I am in the produce section, I bag up the amount of green beans I think we will eat. In the on-line module you order by weight. I ended up with twice the beans I usually would select. I guess they will stay good long enough to eat not only tomorrow but Monday as well. I ordered what I thought from the picture was a large slice of carrot cake. Nope. It was an actual small cake with easily 6 servings.

 Still despite the drawbacks, I feel safer doing pickup, especially at this store.

 Today we learned that one of the local Winona Lake pastors has tested positive for Covid-19. All of the church staff that share office space with him have to isolate now. My husband has been helping the church secretary's brother-in-law with a woodworking project this past week. We don't know that the brother-in-law has interacted with the secretary, but it is just too close for comfort given that this man doesn't wear a mask. 

For the past 2-3 weeks, our county has been averaging 100 new positive cases per week. I had been thinking of going to my church this Sunday, but now I will stay home and do online church instead. Because so few people in our community wear masks when they are in public, I stick out and feel odd, but I am going to keep wearing one. 

I had a good long read of Erik Larson's The Splendid and the Vile this past week. Nothing like England's suffering during the German blitzkrieg in World War II to put things in perspective. I had the advantage of hindsight though to know they would win the war; no such assurances yet of overcoming the pandemic.

Pretty Summer Day

This has been a fairly relaxed happy day. I slipped my shoes off while typing up this post after walking around the neighborhood. The air conditioner is off; we have windows and doors open and ceiling fans turning instead. 

It has been a picturesque day with blue sky and fluffy white clouds.

The flags that were installed around the Grace Village campus for Memorial Day have remained up for Flag Day and I assume for Independence Day.

I decided to walk down the grassy slope after taking the flag picture rather than back around to the paved sidewalk to get to the main campus. I saw these little flowers scattered around; certainly not purposely planted.

We have 3 residents with Covid-19 now. Though the employees were all tested last week, there doesn't seem to be much testing of the residents. The comment made to us was that the state does not mandate it. I certainly don't know all of the details, but if my loved one was living in a facility with residents with Covid-19 I think I would want everybody tested to isolate those that are contagious.

 My Stella d'Oro lilies are just now getting spikes with buds. Lots of  plants already are blooming. I don't know why mine are so slow as they have plenty of sun.

 This tree at the front of the campus looks like something you would see in autumn.

 The neighborhood has lots of pretty landscaping. We could use a bit more rain to green things up though. There is some forecasted over the weekend.

I saw my family doctor yesterday for the deferred check-up from April 2nd. It is time for a colonoscopy according to my schedule. Ugh. The general surgeon's office called today. I will have the consult July 7th. At first the scheduler said she had an appointment on June 30th at 4 p.m. I told her I wasn't in a hurry. She just laughed. I do feel a bit anxious about being in a hospital out-patient facility during a time of pandemic, but things could get worse the way the cases are mounting so I may as well get it over with sooner than later.

Our new CEO starts July 20th. He will work with the current one, though the current one will go to part-time August 31st and phase out much of his involvement until the end of the year. I suspect he will be relieved to see an end in sight for a very stressful winding down of his career.

Weak Link

You have probably heard the adage that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Likewise, a defense is only as strong as its weakest member. This holds true in a pandemic.

When people live together in a household or community, the protection against contagious illness works best when all members agree on following guidelines to minimize risk. 

My husband is more comfortable with mingling with other people right now than I am. Thursday a friend who lives in the independent apartments came to our condo to give us an anniversary card. My husband promptly invited her inside to sit in our recliner and visit. I felt it would be rude to oppose him, but I was not happy with the situation. She told us she had recently had lunch with a friend at Ruby Tuesday so she is out mingling. My husband also crossed over the berm between our condos to talk with the neighbor who was sitting on his patio. Neither wore masks; the two men were less than 3 feet apart. My spouse is ready and willing to eat often in restaurants. I am a bit reluctant. 

I am working like crazy in the grocery stores to social distance, but my efforts aren't worth much if my partner introduces the virus into our home. I must admit that I have a dental appointment at the end of June that I plan to keep; he canceled his.  So our assessments of risk and what we are willing to do differ.

Our county had about 200 cases of Covid-19 June 4th. Now on June 12th it has 306. Grace Village has 2 more employees that tested positive (for a total of 3). I feel like staying home more while my husband is out and about happy things are reopening. I do plan to go to the public library next week during "senior hour"; this will be its first time open for use since March 24th, though it did some curbside pickup service the past few weeks. 

Thursday we did expose ourselves to risk by eating in a restaurant and shopping. At Kohl's, there were many people without masks. After I browsed for some rugs on the second level, I was not happy to discover the down escalator had been shut down while I was shopping. I had to use the elevator. The family in front of me in line consisted of an unmasked mother and 3 children under 5. She pushed the elevator button. When the elevator arrived, they piled in. The lady behind me (unmasked) said aren't you getting on. When I answered no she hurriedly joined the family. Yes 5 people could fit, but was that wise? As I stepped up to the elevator button, I noticed there was a sign that said 1 person or 1 party at a time. I bumped the button with my elbow. When my turn came, I invited the masked lady behind me to join me if she wanted, with each of us in separate corners. There were probably over a dozen people waiting to ride down. At least, with another person joining me, we speeded things up a tad. So even when you think you are not taking much risk, things can go much differently and increase that risk.

I am grateful to be surrounded by nature. It cheers me a bit to watch the birds and see what plants are blooming. The Asiatic lilies started opening the past few days.

My anniversary bouquet had a single red rose among the purple, pink, and yellow flowers. I put it in a budvase where I think it looks better by itself. 

We have been watching Downton Abbey the past few weeks. My sister gave me several years ago a DVD set of the first two seasons. I had forgotten some of the incidents, but of course not Mr. Pamuk.

Grace Village has hired a new CEO to start mid-July working beside the current one until January when the current one retires. Too bad he has to face Covid-19 in the campus now; I am sure when he signed on we still didn't have any cases. His abilities will have to arise to meet new challenges.

All of us have new challenges these days.

Last and Lost Things

This week I finished coloring the last page I had gleaned from the internet. It is kind of busy and detailed, the type of page I tend to avoid. I taped it to the inside of my clothes closet. My natural tendency is toward melancholy. "Choosing" is an active behavior, a reminder that with the Holy Spirit's help I can control how I respond to what is around me.

I don't think I will look for any more pages. Like the shelling and eating of peanuts, these were things to do while spending extra time at home. I don't see them becoming a regular part of my life. They filled a void in my days because my usual activities (Literary Club, choir practice, ladies' Bible study, Robin Hood lunches, and Silver Sneaker classes) had stopped.

Usually, everything but the exercise class and the neighborhood monthly lunch would stop for the summer months anyway. 

There are all kinds of things being rescheduled or canceled. In the spring and summer, I would normally attend a Volunteer Appreciation luncheon at Grace Village, Saint Ann's rummage sale, maybe a musical/play at the Wagon Wheel Theater. I know some Indiana towns plan to have July 4th fireworks; haven't heard what Winona Lake has decided. The county fair in July will have rides and activities but no 4-H animal competitions. I am guessing the Senior Day free breakfast and afternoon ice cream and door prizes will be eliminated as well. On television, I enjoy watching the American Kennel Club dog show and the National Spelling Bee which were canceled this year. What kind of community events are not happening where you live?

Non-essential travel is allowed now in Indiana. Stores and restaurants are open with restrictions. On Memorial Day a ton of people visited Winona Lake beach without social distancing; the town has blocked access to the beach now. With increased mingling comes increased exposure to the virus. In the past few days 15 new cases of Covid-19 have appeared in our county. We are now up to 120 people sick; two months ago we had about 20. The illness is spiking in the state as well.

 The news reporting about the GOP dinner last week in Warsaw stated 130 attended, 5 wore masks during the non-meal part of the program. Kudos to the mayor as he is one who did don a mask; he has persistently been trying to get people to show respect and care for fellow citizens by wearing a mask. I expect such cavalier attitudes toward the pandemic will result in more cases this next week or two. 

My pastor announced that our church will resume meeting June 7th. I don't think I am quite ready to do that yet. Maybe by the end of June if it appears the spread of the virus is slowing down in our county rather than spiking.

I am reading the 3-book Christian romance series Wings of Glory by Sarah Sundin. I like her writing. The timeframe is World War II, including American aviators in England.

I would like to travel a bit this summer, but that is not looking likely. Might as well lose myself in fiction.

Annual Tulip Trek

My husband and I defied the stay-at-home order today. We drove to Peabody Retirement Community in North Manchester to see the tulips. We were a bit too early. Another 10 days probably before they open fully. April was just too cold for early bloom. We did not see any residents outside, just a maintenance man wearing a mask, and we never got close to him.

Which is a good thing given the sad and sobering news report that came out a few days ago. Peabody decided to be pro-active and test all of their employees. Nobody exhibited any signs of illness. However out of about 300 people tested, 42 tested positive for the Covid-19 virus. All asymptomatic. How scary is that. Peabody will over the next few weeks test their residents. None of them appear to be infected, but we are learning that people with the virus and no symptoms can indeed pass the virus to others. 

Sometimes we would get a mini blizzard from the nearby Dairy Queen, but today we had plans to go to Hogs R Wild BBQ in Warsaw for lunch. This eating establishment is very small with little inside seating. Of course the inside was closed to customers; but they opened the two windows facing north, making one place order, and the other window pickup. My husband had suggested eating in the parking lot, but they are on busy Detroit Street and any parking away from the street was already full. This was Hogs R Wild's first time in weeks to offer a full menu. They were offering smoked meat with a minimum of 30 pounds for evening pickup in the weeks after the mandate. 

We went to Center Lake Park instead. The park is closed, but the parking lot facing the lake made a fine place to eat lunch. There were maybe 8 other cars in the lot with people seated inside enjoying their lunches. So we shook up our routine today. 

At 2:30 our governor will have a press conference to explain any changes in the stay-home mandate and business closures that had a deadline of today May 1st. I don't expect a big change, but maybe some shops and restaurants can offer limited service. 

I felt a bit depressed this week, especially after reading a digital article about the more realistic timeframe for a vaccine. It felt good to drive through the countryside this morning, to see the tulips and eat lunch by the lake. Things in nature look so normal.

"Novel" Entertainment

When you don't get out much, little things become one's entertainment or diversion.

Tonight we ordered a pizza from Domino's which is across town from where we live. We were amused to find they give you a tracker, a visual way to follow the delivery person on a map on a computer or a smartphone. The little car icon slowed down several times; don't know if that was for stoplights or if the screen only refreshes at certain increments. It entertained us.

I finally hosted a Zoom session/meeting. It was a test run with my sister in North Carolina this evening. Still not confident about certain aspects, but we saw and heard each other just fine. She on her laptop and me on my ipad.

Tonight around 10 p.m. we might step outside on our front lawn to see the satellite overhead. It is tracking northwest to southwest. We had lots of wind today so the skies are clear. I didn't hear clearly on this evening's weather report what I would be seeing. It was a SpaceX StarLink Satellite Train. These are satellites Elon Musk launched for internet access service. They are evenly spaced. The train gets smaller as the individual satellites find their orbit. The video attached is from another county. I did not see as many as pictured but I was originally looking a bit too far high and only saw them as I turned toward the west. I may have missed some. It was eerily beautiful.

I scheduled another to-go grocery order. I will drive to the loading spot around 2 p.m. Monday. We will see how complete this order is. I am thinking of signing up with the store I most often visit (owned by Kroger) for another pickup in 10-12 days. I am more familiar with that store's inventory and store brand products. 

I have been thinking of this coming winter. We will not make a trip to a warmer place probably. Still too much virus around. I had a day of gastroenteritis in Oceanside and my husband grew weary of any outings more than an hour's drive. Maybe God was preparing us for letting go of winter trips. 

What are you doing to divert your thoughts from the restrictions around us? 

Still Here

It has been quiet around here. Today I did have some human-to-human interaction (from a safe distance) besides my husband.

I went to the grocery store this morning. The employees are wearing masks now and there are "sneeze guards" between the checkout clerk and the customer. I saw several older people wearing masks as they shopped. I used my disinfectant wipe to open freezer and dairy doors. The clerk told me if I wanted to use my cloth bags I would have to bag everything myself so I told her the plastic is OK. *No* toilet paper again.

 On the way home I passed a Walgreen's. They had some tp. I really only needed to buy one package, but since the sign said limit of 2, I went ahead and bought a second package since it is so hard to find and we will now be staying home more days. When I bought my two packages of Charmin, there were only two left on the shelf, but at least a dozen packages of other brands. 

I am thinking of doing an online order for pick up at Martin's grocery store around the 15th. I will only have contact with one person who brings the items to the car. Several of my neighbors are no longer going to the grocery store, just ordering online. 

This afternoon we have sunshine and 57 degrees temp. I opened a few windows to let some fresh air in. I took a walk around my neighborhood. I talked with 5 neighbors biking, walking, or sitting on the porch. As I am typing this, I see a few others out walking. Daffodils are blooming in several places. Mine have slivers of yellow so should be open in another few days.

 I had a springtime surprise this year. Those of you who have been reading my blog posts for a while know that I gave up on crocus after several attempts because an animal (rabbit?) kept eating not only the blooms but the foliage. I used nets, but as soon as the blooms were done and I removed the netting, the plants would be nibbled to the ground. The foliage comes up from the last planting 3-4 years ago but never blooms. Well this year I have one purple bloom.

Those red tulips I mentioned in an earlier post now fill the whole plant. 

We have 5 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in our county, but more are expected. My nephew who lives in Detroit has felt the effects directly. He has been furloughed from his job. His girl friend's mother died last Saturday in Beaumont Hospital from the virus. This deceased woman had underlying health problems. Unfortunately, she had no visitors allowed in the hospital, and her daughter was unable to have a Jewish funeral for her. So sad. Most of the funeral homes in our area allow a small gathering of immediate family at a graveside service, but some families choose to plan a memorial service when circumstances permit later. My pastor's daughter postponed her big wedding. Her father will administer the vows privately (if the county clerk's office reopens so she can get a license). She hopes to have a big celebration in the future. 

Keep safe during these difficult times.

The Enemy Has Arrived

My county now has its first confirmed case of Covid-19. Before it seemed surreal and like going through the motions. Now it is imperative to take precautions seriously. I have been trying to do that, but sometimes unexpected things crop up. Like finding out Tuesday when I went grocery shopping that one of the stores no longer had wipes available to disinfect the cart. I will take my own wipe in a baggie now when I go to stores since I can't depend on them to offer help.

 There are maybe two dozen tests in our county where the results are not yet known so there could be more ill people. Hopefully they have been following the stay-home mandate and not spreading the virus widely. It is only realistic to expect there will be more positives in the coming days and weeks.

I just listened to a press conference by our governor who says they are looking at the state's situation each day, and that if the mandate must be lengthened, we will know several days before the expiration date arrives. That target date to end stay-home was April 7th.  But of course as a person in the high-risk group, I will be attempting to stay home anyway.