#19, Another day Safe At Home

Beautiful sunshine today.  

I did some more decorating on the driveway.

Niece Erin sent me her photo, she did 41 balloons on the street to celebrate her 41st birthday tomorrow.

Erin's street in Baldwin, WI
Happy 41st Birthday to Erin!

I decided to try her design, mine never quite measures up to hers.

But you get the idea.

Lots of birthdays right now.

Aunt Johanne today, then coming up Erin, Vinny, Ryan, Jude, & Jack and Andy's was last weekend.

So,  Safer At Home birthday party on the driveway.

I also pulled my big pots out of the garage.

I can start cleaning those out and planting some seeds. 

I am thinking of doing some salad bowl pots this year.

Something different and fun.

This afternoon we had a 95th Birthday Party on Zoom for my Aunt Johanne.

My cousin Mike suggested it yesterday and he set it up, I helped get the invites out.

We had 17 of Aunt Johanne's niece, nephews and great niece and nephews.

Not everyone was on line when I snapped a photo of the screen.

We sang Happy Birthday and then everyone got to ask a question or two.

My first cousins who are currently stranded in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, were also able to join in.  It was good to see everyone and very nice way to celebrate Aunt Johanne.

I hope she spends the rest of the day feeling really special, we all think she is a treasure.

I am looking forward to having a Zoom chat with Aunt Johanne again soon.

She is reliable on Email.

It's nicer to be able to see her and see her expressions.

Laila and Glenn & Kathy said that we would Zoom again soon too.

Pretty sweet way to keep in touch, even when we are no Safer At Home.

Zoom is pretty cool.

Life is good.

16 or is it 17. Safer At Home Day 18

Laila and I were discussing how long we have been sheltering at home.  For me, my last outing was the Sectional SemiFinal in Hayward on March 12, which makes today Day 18.  

It is a little confusing, but that will be my marker from now on.

I need to write even more about my daily activities 

now that I see how hard it was just to get the count right, geesh.

So, today was better than yesterday.  We had sunshine, which always helps.

PSA

I updated my Driveway Public Service Announcement.  

My VOTE in blue is a subliminal message of course, "vote blue, vote blue, vote blue".

and my nod to the anti-virus efforts.

I got some spray chalk from Amazon, it's pretty fun, I might become a graffiti tagger.

I need to start planning my next PSA.

TEA

Then, I had my bay leaf tea in my pretty cup.

This has become a daily ritual, 2 cups of bay leaf tea.

Add an email conversation with my doctor about potassium supplements and prescriptions.

So, that was good, soon the clinic will have tele-appointments.  I wonder how they will charge for those, but as long as my insurance pays, I really don't care.  I was thinking that our emails today were sort of freebies, that really isn't right.

***

I was digging in the front coat closet looking for an Easter decoration for the front door, and found a USPS box up there and much to my surprise, inside was a 6 pack of dehydrated hasbrowns!

Yippee!

I used to buy these at CostCo in Colorado, then when I moved I could not get them.

I remember that friend Roche shipped me a big box of them and I guess I stashed the extras in the closet and then... they slipped my mind!

Oh my gosh these are so great, either for hash-browns or for soups & stews.  

I bet they are available on Amazon too, although I have not checked.

Anyway, what a bonus to find these today.

Life is Timing.

ZOOM

Then, I got a message from cousin Mike/Scout about trying a Zoom birthday party for Aunt Johanne for tomorrow.  So, I got busy figuring out Zoom.  I had trouble getting my microphone and camera to work, but after some trial and error, Laila and I were able to have a face to face chat.

What fun!

So, I've invited my cousins to join us tomorrow.

Even if it is only a few tomorrow, we will all get a little practice, and it will be fun.

Sounds like we are in for some more nice weather, it will be good to get out the rake and start working on the clean up, although, I don't want to get too carried away, it is still March, and I do live in Northern Wisconsin, so anything can happen.

Be Well.

15 days of Covid-19

I think we are just getting into this Safer At Home countdown.  Today my attitude was "meh".

I had wanted to do a porch portrait project with the families in Luck,  but the weather was wet, cold and snowy.  This was the last weekend I dare to do it,  so that was sad disappointing. 

I never really got out of my funk.

Tomorrow is another day. 

☮

Day 14, Anti-Virus - Safer At Home time

Today I finished the pruning of the bushes along the front of the house.  I still have to haul off the cuttings, but the front of the house sure looks tidier.  My pruning turned out to be lopping of the stems right at the ground, so now there will either be new growth, or room for a new bush.  

There were 2 Bayberry, which are not bad to look at, but have deadly 1 to 2" thorns, Gooseberry,  Hydrangea, Spirea, and another that I am not sure what it was.

Now I can clean out the rock and debris.

I've been meaning to do this for years, AntiVirus Silver Lining.

Daffodils are coming along.

What a nice sight that will be when those are blooming!

I enjoyed two cups of bay leaf tea after I finished my work.

Tonight I am listening to a live concert via Facebook; 

our local hero, Chris Kroeze is performing.

It is so good, and such great sound, and like having a personal concert in my living room.

What a lovely way to spend the evening.

It's raining and thundering outside, had one little power bump that delayed my access for a few minutes until everything booted up again.

But now I'm relaxing enjoying listening to Chris who is a magician on the guitar!

Life is good.

Day 13, Friday. The Bay Leaf

I friend of mine from Colorado has been drinking Bay Leaf Tea for a while now, I kept thinking I would try it, but then it would skip my mind.

Today, when she posted her cup of tea on Facebook, I immediately went to the kitchen.

I went into the china cabinet to find a fancy cup and saucer to use.

This cup & saucer was something that I bought when I was on my way from Colorado to Eau Claire to the University in the fall of 1971.

Gail was moving back from Colorado after several years working in Denver, but she had grown up in St. Croix Falls, WI and was ready to live closer to family.  

She had a very small UHaul and I had a couple of suitcases, so she agreed to let me tag along.

I really don't remember if we drove straight through, but I'm guessing we did.

I stayed a night or two at  Gail's house somewhere in the Twin Cities area before someone, I'm guessing Glenn, came to get me and transport me to Eau Claire.

Somewhere along the line, I was shopping and walked past a store window that had these cup & saucer sets.  I think they were $7, which for me at that time was a lot of money.

But I decided I had to have them and they have traveled with me through life every since.

They rarely get used, kind of small and fancy, but now I have decided that I will use them for my Bay Leaf Tea every morning. Gotta get my $7 worth of use out of them.

There are many benefits of drinking bay leaf tea. Some of the most widely known benefits are:

1.  Bay leaves are a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, potassium, calcium, and magnesium. Also regular inclusion of bay leaves in meals promotes general health.

2.  They have been proven to be useful in the treatment of migraines.

3.  Bay Leaf contains enzymes that help to breakdown proteins and digest food faster, helping to calm indigestion.

Recipe for Bay Leaf Tea

• 16 oz water
• 3 bay leaves
• Juice1 large or 2 smaller lemons

1. Place ingredients, together, in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Drink, after it cools down

A hot cup of bay leaf tea can be very comforting. The aromatic fragrance that the leaves release is calming and the essence of the spiced tea makes bay leaf tea delicious.

Source:  https://www.flushinghospital.org/newsletter/the-benefits-of-drinking-bay-leaf-tea/

I also decided that one thing that 'might' have played into my racing heart yesterday was the tea I had been drinking.  It is herbal and is for Immune Support, but it has quite a variety of herbs included, so perhaps there was an interaction with my medication or my heart, either way, I'll take a break from that flavor of tea for awhile.

I seem to remember that my Grandmother Frederikke just drank hot water after a meal, so that might be my other easy option.  A bit of lemon perhaps, or just plain is fine too.

***

It was nice outside today, sunny most of the day, I lopped off 2 more bushes at the ground.

I'm forcing my bushes to have a fresh start or die, their choice.

I have 3 of those Barberry bushes with the terrible spiky thorns.  I had a Naturalist tell me that one problem with those bushes is that mice can hide under them and prey cannot get to the mice.

Well, that settled it for me, those are going to be gone if I can get them to die.

I'll start with a chop down and go from there.

I'm all about having less mice in the area.

***

It is interesting to see how people react to the SaferAtHome guideline.

Some folks take it in stride and maybe for some it is not a big stretch to stay home more.

Some folks really struggle, are bored, mad, 

think it is wayyy over blown and just want to go back to normal.

And some folks become enforcers.  

Our local Community Center when our Seniors group meets is closed like all other municipal buildings.  The Librarian works off and on in the library, but it is closed to the public.  Local folks noticed that the coffee clutch guys were still gathering in the mornings for coffee and cribbage.  Well, wasn't right, and it's not smart, but I was a little surprised to see the barrage of comments on Facebook and I also got a phone call from a concerned citizen.  So, the Village has been notified and that has been handled.

I think I fall into the first category.  I'm quite a solitary person so this doesn't feel that bad to me.

I do feel at LOT of pressure to do more stuff around home.  I keep thinking of a million jobs that need done around here and there is an endless list of sewing projects.

But so far, I am able to keep things on balance.  A little gets done each day; well most days at least.

Be Well.

Covid - 19, Day 12 and Spoiler Alert...it is gross,

Started the day with a normal lunch, and watching The Price is Right.  

And then I felt my heart rate increasing.  

My Fitbit showed it at about 95 bpm.  I was wondering if I was headed to ER again with RVR / Atrial Fib.  Caution, this is the gross part....Then suddenly I had to puke and then have a bowel movement.  I laid down for a bit and then I had to repeat the above.  

All of that activity made me think I was having more than just a little quick heart rate.  

So, off to the ER I went.

It was an interesting experience to try to enter the hospital.  

Screening for the virus with temperature & questions, then I waited to be seen.

You must have on a badge to be in the building.

  

By the time I was on the heart monitor, my rhythm was normal, my blood pressure was coming back down to normal and my heart rate was slowing down too.  

So, an EKG, some blood work and a chest x-ray later, 

I was discharged with no real explanation of what had happened.   

So, I'm happy I didn't need the cardio-version again, 

and I'm sad because now I've been to the one place I was hoping to avoid during all the virus precautions.  

It's always something, never nothing.

Day 11

It's rainy,  I might clean house,  I might not.  

I started The Sun Also Rises by Hemmingway.  

I have been drinking Yogi tea ever since visiting my cousins Ron & Cathlee in Washington about 4 years ago.  Right now I'm drinking the Immune Support flavor,  but I love the Ginger flavor a lot.

This was my inspirational tea tag from this morning. 

I added my comment to make it real time.

888

Later in the day......yeah, I did not clean house.
I did ride my exercise bike, at 30 minutes at a time, I'm getting through the movie Yeh Ballet! very slowly, but that's okay.

I decided to make soup today.
I found a package of Louie's Finest Meats bratwurst in the freezer.  These were custom brats made for my piano teacher who has an orchard, so there were apples in the brats.
I took the casings off to use the meat for soup.
I had some onions and carrots so chunked those up and added to the meat.

Last night when I baked a frozen pizza, I also roasted a head of cabbage.

Today, I chunked that up and added it my soup pot.

Next, I added some canned black bean & Rotel spicy tomatoes.

I added some cayenne pepper, cumin and Mexican seasoning.

Then I put the lid on the Instant Pot and hit the soup button.

I see there are some tortillas in the refrigerator, so I think I have several days of yummy soup/stew with tortilla for bread.
I'll let you know how it turns out.

My soup was good, too bad I wasted the cabbage this way, I should have just eaten that separately, it got lost in the soup.  Potatoes would have been better.
  Live and learn.

888

A couple of things I had not considered until this all started.

• The toilet paper thing really caught me by surprise, but I remember when I first retired, I was very surprised how much toilet paper I used, staying home changes household supply & demand.
• Today the trash company called and said that they are experiencing high volumes of trash, mine has stayed the same, but again, being home full time does impact the supply & demand for a household.
• The dishwasher has to be run more often too, I didn't realize how often I was eating out the house, or how often I was eating food that did not need to cooked?  I have not really analyzed the cause and effect, but the dishwasher is full more often, so there ya go.

Ha' det godt

Wanda ☮

Day 10 Covid 19 - Safer at home, a 'stinky' story

Across the country, toilet paper hoarders were quick to empty all the stores of toilet tissue.

I kept thinking the supply chain would rebound, but evidently, hoarding is extremely communicable!  So, I have yet to see even 1 roll of TP in the 2 stores I have been to since I started sheltering at home.  I read on Facebook that when Walmart and other stores open in the morning, the toilet paper is first to go, so if you aren't standing there, you can forget it.

So...what to do.

I usually get a shipment of TP every couple of months from Amazon, I had skipped my last shipment wanting to wait until nicer weather for benefit of the delivery person, whether it be UPS or USPS.

So, I am down to 1 roll in each bathroom.

I had been thinking about what else I could use.  

Paper towels, with no flushing, yes, but guess what, I don't have many of those either.

I could install one of the Bidet attachments popular on Amazon, but with my bad luck with water, that seemed like a bad choice.

So, then I was thinking, well, a diaper pail used to always be in every bathroom when families had little ones before potty training.  So, I decided wash cloths would work, but it isn't like I'm sitting on a stack of those either.

So, today I cut up one old bath towel, and now I have 24 toilette cloths to use.

I searched Google and of course this is a popular option with folks who are really serious about saving the Earth, so there are lots of ideas.  Most were squares of flannel, but again, its not like I have yards of flannel on hand either.  So, the bath towel was a good option, it was quick to do and I'm pleased how it worked out.  I zigzagged the edges and ran them through the wash.

Problem solved!

Sorry if this is TMI, but it is my reality.

***

I chopped down some bushes today, I've been wanting to have these shrubs start from scratch for a few years now, so this will be their year.

I also rode the exercise bike for a while today.

I am watching a movie on Netflix called Yeh Ballet!

It's a Bollywood movie and really interesting.

Of course, I had to be supervised while I was on the bike.

I feel better about today, much more productive, and I have a plan for tomorrow.

I'm going to start setting up quilt camp with a cutting table on risers, then I can get sewing.

The new "Safer at Home" emergency order was officially released by the Evers administration. 

The order goes into effect on Wednesday, March 25 at 8:00 a.m. and remains in effect until 8:00 a.m on Friday, April 24. 

This order requires people in Wisconsin to stay in their homes if they're not performing essential activities such as going to the doctor, getting necessary services or supplies, participating in outdoor activities, working in an essential business or taking care of others.

 The order also requires the closure of so-called "nonessential" businesses as deemed by the state. 

There are many exceptions, including grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and medical facilities.

What about liquor stores?  I haven't heard...cue the Jaws music

Viterbo Women's Basketball

Yesterday, the Viterbo Women's Basketball Facebook page posted this info.

Everyday, they have been highlighting one of their new recruits.

I am so proud of Alyxis and I cannot wait to see her play college basketball.

She told me that her knee is doing well, she is out of the brace and starting to lift weights in physical therapy.  Her future in basketball will be so exciting, I can't wait.

Alyxis is a very focused young woman.  I think sometimes it has been difficult for her to play sports with other high school kids who are just playing to play, and perhaps are not as willing as Lexi to commit the time and work for excellence.

Lexi shows the same diligence about her education goals, always on the Honor Roll.

Being an only child, Alyxis lives in a different style than some of her cousins with the big families, sometimes that is an advantage, sometimes it is not.  But always, she rolls with the punches.

Alyxis experienced in January what the rest of her team felt in March, the sudden end to their senior season.  Now she is facing now formal graduation ceremony and an abrupt end to her senior year classes.  It remains to be seen how well she copes with those changes, but I have faith in Lex, her future is bright.

😎

#9, Covid-19 saga

This morning the driveway was white with snow.  It had stopped snowing by the time I got up.  

I'm on some weird sleep or no-sleep, schedule now.  Going to bed about 10:30pm, then I'm watching an episode (or two) of Bosch on Amazon Prime TV; then if I'm not yet sleepy, I watch an episode of The Repair Shop on Netflix.  This is my favorite show of all time.  I am going to be very sad if there are really only 2 seasons.  Anyway, then if I'm still awake, I listen to a podcast about anything other than the virus.  My go-to has been a The West Wing Weekly, where episodes of The West Wing TV series are reviewed.  As you can tell, I'm not sleeping well.  Then I'm getting up about 6am, feed the cats, eat a bowl of cereal and go back to bed until whenever.  I've been re-rising about 9:30am.  It's not a great pattern, but I've decided to just let it be what it is.

Anyway, because of the snow, my driveway chalk graffiti is nearly washed away, but through the magic of Amazon, today I got some cans of Spray Chalk, so as soon as the weather is reliable, I'm going to start Chalk the Walk messages again.

When I went down for the mail today, I noticed some shoots have broken through in the garden by the front door.  These are daffodils and their sunny faces will sure be a welcome sight, of course, that's still a few weeks off.

I also got a handwritten letter in the mail today.  It was not from anyone I knew, but it was mail.

Everybody has to do something I guess.

Our Governor announced a Stay At Home order today.  

I'm not sure how that affects me much other than a few more businesses will have to close.  

I'm already staying home and will plan to leave the house for grocery once per week and also one take out dinner per week, as long as I feel it is safe. 

Whatever it takes to stop the spread of this virus, it has to be done. 

The consequences are too scary to face.

A Creeper

Sister in law Lois called today to check in.  

While I was on the phone with her, I looked out the front window and saw a little bird that I have only seen one other time.  

It was a Brown Creeper.

Not my best photography, but considering I was on the phone and the little bird was moving up and down the trunk of the tree quickly and the first camera I grabbed did not get a good photo so I had to grab the Nikon, 

I did okay.

Welcome you little creeper.

Sunday stuff, Covid-19, 8 days a week

So, today was day 8 since it became a reality that I need to stay home to stay healthy.  

I decided it was time to go out for a few grocery items.   My report from an outing to KwikTrip. They had milk, no eggs. Butter on sale for $1.99 and they had a lot. Lots of take and bake pizzas too. The bananas are bright green, but they will ripen at home. Lots of ice cream, no TP. I got what I needed with the exception of TP.   I call that successful.

For supper, I called in a take out order to Lehman's Supper Club.  

Today's special was a chicken dinner.  

It included relish, soup, cracker, baguette, chicken, homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, kale garnish (ha, but I'll eat it) and dessert.  I got a little cup of spumoni ice cream for my dessert. 

When the server brought me the bag of food, I said "Oh My" because the bag was so big.

She said "Yup, I hope you are hungry and I put your roll of TP in there too."  

I almost started crying, I had no idea they were giving a roll of TP, but I started my last roll this morning, so this is a very welcome gift! 

The food was so delicious, very very yummy.  

I stuffed myself and still have left overs for lunch tomorrow.

While I was waiting there was a Mom in there waiting for their food.

She told me that there has been TP at Walmart but only when they open, so I might have to do an early morning run one of these days.

I told her about the butter on sale at KwikTrip 

and we both kept as far from each other as the room allowed.

It is a different world, but it is all okay.

Stay well, keep in touch.

Sunny Saturday - Covid-19 Home Stay

Well, I woke up to the chirp of a smoke alarm battery needing attention.  I much prefer the chirping of birds, which I am also starting to hear more and more of.

Finding a couple of spare batteries, much to my surprise, I was able to detect which smoke alarm was needing my attention and got that fixed.

I heard from niece in law Erin today with a wonderful idea about CHALK YOUR WALK.

Erin is an elementary school art teacher and her design is so wonderful.

My design is not nearly as artistic, but I hope it makes at least one passerby smile as they drive on.

It felt good to be outside in the sunshine and fresh air.

I also hauled the remaining wintertime rabbit food back to the edge of the woods and dumped it under a pine tree for easy access, I see the bunnies in the yard from time to time.

888

In case you need an update on Hops and Barley, and you know you do...

They have not changed their routine much, 

I do think they are sleeping in the living room more often now, but who's to say.

One thing that has not changed, Hops loves to empty the pine cones out of the little canoe on the bookcase.  She is dutiful and gets the cone out of the canoe and then jettisons it off the shelf.

These things must be done I guess.

After the pine cone work was done, she decided that Barley needed a facial.

This is not a real common event with these two anymore.

 It went fine for awhile, the mutual facial, 

but then it turned to hissing and they parted ways for the rest of the evening. 

Social distancing is a real thing with these two cats.

Be well, keep in touch.