California! Where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain. Whoops, wrong state. But we do get a lot of wind in the Coachella Valley. It has to do with low pressure drawing in the air from areas of higher pressure through the San Gorgonio Pass. That’s why we see a lot of wind turbines dotting the landscape coming into the valley too.
‘Windgarten’ by Ian D Keating on Wikimedia.org
It get’s going in the afternoon right into the night and can really howl, an eerie effect at night. It doesn’t happen every night, but when it does I want to cozy up with a good mystery book.
The coffee is ready. Come on in and pull up a chair. If we were having coffee I might ask you how your life has been over the past year. We are passing through an anniversary of sorts. It has been a year since we first heard we were in a pandemic.
The year of the pandemic started officially on March 11, 2020 with the declaration from the World Health Organization. For me it has felt like a year of unreality. The shock and fear in the beginning. On March 19 Governor Newson announced the lockdown of California. The first lock down which was to last until April 21 in LA. I remember thinking how will we get through it, a 1 month lock down. Little did I know it would extend into a year plus. The memory of our first trips to the grocery stores. We went in the early hours of the morning designated for older people and found long lines at one of our regular markets so decided to try another instead. The disorientation of walking into a store with many shelves, milk and meat cases empty. The hasty decisions about what to buy out of what was left. I quickly learned how to order online groceries and at first there were shortages with that as well. It seems like ages ago when we couldn’t get paper towels, toilet paper, or disinfectants. I remember hunting for those items everywhere. There were worse things to come. The loss of my younger brother to COVID. I remember visits with my grandson at a distance on our front patio. Dental visits postponed indefinitely. Doctors visits done remotely. A very frightening visit to the ER where we waited for almost 2 hours in masks. My husband hospitalized with a non-COVID illness. Eventually we all felt safe to visit with our grandson inside our house. We were our own little pod. My daughter was living with us for several months, so at least I was able to be with her regularly too. So grateful that my husband, children, and grandson have made it through. I have become accustomed to living my life inside my house. I am an introvert so this is not completely uncomfortable, but it will take some getting used to being out in public places again. Like shopping in a market, going to get my hair cut, or going to a movie theatre. I wonder if I have developed a mild case of ‘cave syndrome’, ( a term coined by Dr. Bregman, a psychiatrist), where I fear going out of my house. During the pandemic my hair got very long and I took to wearing it in a single braid down my back. My daughter said I looked like Willie Nelson and gave me my COVID haircut. She did a good job. I haven’t had my hair professionally cut for the whole year. My husband has an appointment for a haircut at the end of this month. He will wear a mask but I still feel nervous about it. He did go to have a couple of haircuts when the barber was allowed to be open. I know I will adjust to going into shops, the dentist, and doctor eventually. It will feel very strange in the beginning.
Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Featured image ‘Good Morning Coffee’ by Daniel Go on Flickr.com
Also sharing this post with Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, hosted by Linda G Hill. Linda who asked if we would be comfortable sharing our experience of the pandemic year. I have shared my experiences throughout the year as you know if you have been following my blog. I wanted to do a post on the One Year Anniversary of the pandemic and Natalie and Linda were thinking on the same theme.
Do I butter you up with a cheery post. I know on which side my bread is buttered, she thought. Since making a big move to a new house, I have been eating a lot of peanut butter sandwiches or peanut butter stuffed pretzels because it is easy to grab when I am busy with other stuff around here. I like peanut butter, creamy peanut butter, crunchy peanut butter too. 🙂
Peanut Butter song by the Olympics via Orchard Enterprises on You Tube.com
And finding all the nooks and crannies in which to stuff carefully place all our belongings. This often requires the use of our folding step ladder to reach the high places.
‘Ladder to heaven’ by tumisu on Pixabay.com
I did have good news this past week. My older brother came home from the hospital and I was able to speak with him briefly. It was so good to hear his voice. I told him he is a tough guy because he came through it. Feel the need to keep even closer touch with him.
Many of us are getting our COVID shot series completed just in time for the attack of the mutant variants.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Adrian Perez on Flickr.com
We have our own California variant. Although, I just read an article that said the UK variant is expected to dominate in the US. We could have battle of the variants.
My older brother never wants to tell me his problems and has often not let me know when he was sick or in the hospital. I would find out at a later date and then still be upset anyway. He was being my big brother, trying to protect me, and is a very kind and loving person. I have been so tied up with our move that I had not spoken with him for several weeks. I was having trouble getting through to him recently and had a feeling something was wrong. I finally spoke with my sister-in-law today. He had been in the hospital last month and now had to go back in again. He did not want to worry me. It would have worried me and does now, but I’m glad I found out so I am able to send my love to him.
Even though we may want to protect our loved ones from bad news, I think they want to know what is going on no matter what.
Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today was a word ending with ‘sty’. Featured image ‘Vase de roses’ by Renoir via wikimedia.org
San Francisco From Above by Steve Jurvetson on Flickr.com
I was born in San Francisco and I still feel a connection to this city. My husband talked me into moving to the Los Angeles area after I graduated from college and we have lived in Southern California ever since then. Our kids grew up here near LA. Now we are starting a new stage in a new location that is very different to what came before. We have discovered many things with our move. We have signed up with a new internet, TV, and cell phone provider. I learned, after several hours and several calls to the new and old providers, how to activate our phones and transfer our important information from our old phones to the new ones. We found out we are capable of moving large objects and heavy boxes. Working as a team we moved a metal storage cabinet and table from our front door to the garage, bookcases from the living room to the office. I am getting in my weight bearing exercise every day. I am making decisions on where to store things in the kitchen cupboards, above or below. Some of the shelves are high up and require a ladder to reach them. So stuff we don’t use as often is delegated to the high shelves. We are making progress but still have a ways to go before we are done. We have started to meet our new neighbors. Here is one we met the other day:
Roadrunner image via Death Valley National Park Service
A roadrunner was crossing the street in front of my car. So exciting to see it. I am glad I was able to stop and let it pass safely.
We made our big move earlier this week but we’re not at the finish line quite yet. We are progressing in increments. We have a garage full of boxes but I am ok with them occupying their present location until we are ready to bring them into the house, one by one. Today I was in the garage identifying the candidates that were the first to move in. I am glad I did label a lot them with their contents, like silverware, kitchen, dishes, utensils, shoes….you get the idea. Would hate to have to open them all to find out what is in them. The ones that aren’t labeled will have to be a surprise.
In addition to boxes, I have large bags under my eyes. Hope to get rid of both soon.
Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt word for today is ‘flag.’ Featured image of ‘Race Flags’ by Dimitris Vetsikas on Pixabay.com
I thought I was too busy to write anything but here is a short note. The beginning of the next chapter. We are leaving our home of 30 years and moving to a smaller house. It is the end of one story and the start of another. I’m pretty tired with all the packing. I am the queen of bubble wrap. Next we will start over in reverse and unpack everything. It will take a few weeks to get settled and feel relaxed again. Need to get the internet hooked up and the TV. We were sent a ‘kit’ from the company we are using for internet, cell phone, and TV. The young woman I spoke with from their business office said it would be easy for us to follow the instructions. I’ll let you know how it goes. Right now have to get some sleep.
Making the big move this weekend and tumbling off to the desert. Be back on my blog soon.
For our SOCS prompt today we were to “open a book, a newspaper, or whatever is handy and close your eyes and point. Whatever word or picture your finger lands on, make that the basis of your SoCS/JusJoJan post.” I have a book of short writings on self-care. The one for January 22 is ‘Listen to Fatigue.’
I mentioned in my past post that I’m in the process of moving to another house. ‘We are downsizing,’ she said hopefully. In reality, I think we are taking everything with us to a smaller house. Packing up is tiring. One member of this couple has a very hard time letting go of stuff and it’s not me. Oh well, if I am being honest, I would say I have a hard time letting go of some of the stuff. As a result we are taking a lot of stuff to our new place. Today we made an extra trip to the desert to drop off some of it. We made the round trip in one day and I am pooped. On the positive side, it was good getting out of the house and seeing the sky, clouds, hills, and mountains. I have been spending most of my time indoors and have missed out on seeing nature. The beauty of nature always restores me. That and getting some sleep. Good night.
‘Lone Cypress’ (17 mile drive Pebble Beach, California) by Anita Ritenour on Flickr.com
Above is a scene from another very beautiful drive.
Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill.
Featured image ‘Tired’ by Christian Krohg via wikimedia.org
First thing I want to do when the pandemic is over is…I am so tired I don’t know what I want to do. I have been reading about mindfulness and how we need to find acceptance and peace in our lives no matter where we find ourselves. It is a big challenge to feel at peace these days. I do think I am lucky that I am an introvert and my kids are adults. I don’t have to work and have a lot of exposure to the public. But I am in my older years and did not plan to spend my time on house arrest. I thought I was ok with waiting for the vaccine, then the news my husband and I would be eligible for it now but it is not available in our county. This made me angry because people in other counties are able to get it. Have to try to be patient but it’s hard. I’m in the middle of packing up my house for a move to the desert. I still have things to look forward to. I always considered myself an optimist. Have to find what brings me joy again. Last thing I want to do is lose my ‘joie de vivre.’
After I started this post, I spotted an article in the New York Times, that asked several people ‘what is the first thing you will do when the pandemic ends?’
What is the first thing you want to do when the pandemic is over?
Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is ‘first thing’, start you post with ‘first thing,’ bonus points for ending post with ‘last thing.’
Featured image by S. Hermann and F. Richter on Pixabay.com
In my corner of the world we are told we are now an epicenter of the pandemic. I read in the LA Times every day now that our hospitals are overcapacity with people waiting to get in. I stay sheltered in place pretty much receiving grocery deliveries at my door which I have done for months. I feel fortunate that I can stay at home and have been able to avoid infection up to now. Yet there are people who still refuse to take this seriously. I can understand the fatigue with it all. We started the first lockdown in March. When you can’t see the virus affecting people close to you it is easy to deny it is a threat. We all want to say it is a New Year and the pandemic is behind us. It isn’t behind us yet.
Notes Tied On The Sagebrush 