Yes, ma'am, that's a lot of letters. What do they mean? SFO is San Francisco International Airport. So why isn't it SFIA? Because that would be too logical? Just looked it up. Had to have three letters...I mean, what's the X in LAX stand for? So maybe it's San FranciscO. Oh!
Anyway, that's where we are right now. The Grand Hyatt SFO for the CISOA conference. Chief Information Systems Officers Assiciation. Dave used to come to this all the time when he was head of IT at the VCCCD. Now he's here as a vendor. He invited me along. I thought we were actually going to be in San Francisco, and I think he did too initially. But it turns out we're quite a ways away. <\/p>
I wasn't too nervous about packing and such, and Mike Rose was driving to the airport, so all that seemed very relaxing. But then we left Lemon Wood and were halfway down Wells Road when I realized I had left my phone at home. And my driver license is on my phone. Oh, no! We had to go back. And we had to change our flights. But Dave and Mike were very nice about it (after the initial cries of dismay). And Dave later said we would have barely made the flight as it was. So, whew. I left it in the bathroom, because that stupid toilet always takes two flushes and so I was distracted! Yes, that is my lame story that you needn't share with anyone. \ud83d\ude2c
So there was a long time to wait at the airport for our new flight, but we had time for lunch (I had Margherita pizza) (it was okay) (and Dave shared his salad), and Dave and Mike had time for some business chats, and no one was stressed. <\/p>
The flight was short, a little bumpy, and not very full, so that was good. A man from APOGEE (the company that bought Dave out) picked us up at the airport, and when we checked in Dave had booked it a day too soon and had forgotten to change the reservation, so he made a mistake too, so we were even, which was satisfying. And I was very understanding, Ha ha! <\/p>
Dave got me a badge (free because of a nice lady who said not to worry about it) so I can join in the festivities if I want to. I know a lot of the people here from parties and dinners and from VCCCD, so that makes it fun. I might take a walk by the bay tomorrow...
<\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/287227.html?view=comments#comments","category":["san francisco","dave"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286777.html","pubDate":"Thu, 06 Aug 2020 03:18:33 GMT","title":"In a funk","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286777.html","description":"Nowhere to go and nothing to do. I need to exercise. I'm eating too much. The Covid days are gnawing at me. Isn't there something meaningful I should be doing, or is it okay to read my book and eat M&Ms very, very slowly? It's not like I'm not being productive. I hosed down the porch and cleaned everything that resides there--the furniture and all the little pots and knick-knacks. I re-organized and consolidated the contents of the shed, and took several puzzles to the thrift store. I make dinner or at least a very good salad every night, and I exercise every day. So why do I still have that nagging feeling of guilt for not doing enough?
Kevin once called me the sparkle fairy, saying that my smile and cheer lit up the neighborhood. It's hard to be the sparkle fairy when my smile is behind a mask, and I can't be among my LW peeps.
I miss people.","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286777.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286674.html","pubDate":"Wed, 15 Jul 2020 16:34:56 GMT","title":"Phoney-phone","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286674.html","description":"
Whenever I can't find my phone, I always whine to Dave. "Where's my phoney-phone?" I say, my voice ratcheting up into the high ceilings and then plummeting down to the floor in the familiar pitch pattern of the classic whine. Why is it always getting lost? It has nothing to do with me. It's just contrary that way. The other day I couldn't find my phoney-phone (I only call it that when I lose it; don't ask me why) and after whining to Dave, he called it on his iPhone. I walked around the house and heard it, muffled and weak, somewhere in the vicinity of the bedroom.
"I can hear it," I told him, "but I can't find it."
He came in the bedroom. "It must be outside," he said. (He's probably remembering the time he went outside to see if I left it in my car, and by following the ringing he instead found it on the potting bench. This is why you should never, never put your phone on silent!)
I went outside, but couldn't hear it or see it. I came back inside and looked at the foot of the bed where things sometimes fall into the crevice between the footboard and the mattress, and there it was-- my beloved\/incorrigible phoney-phone!
On Saturday, however, it wasn't me who lost a phone. It was Dave. "Where's my phone?" he said in a tone of wonderment as he doesn't often lose it. I spun into action. He always helps me find my phone and maybe this time I could be the hero! I grabbed my phone--I knew where it was, hooray--and called his phone. Nothing. But then, he always has his phone on vibrate. What? Has he learned nothing from my experiences??? It dates from the days when he was in lots of meetings, and everyone always looked askance at the person whose phone was always ringing and interrupting someone's bilious outburst (hm, maybe it wasn't such a bad thing). But anyway, I told him to try the app, "Where's my iPhone," which from experience with my phoney-phone getting lost on a regular basis, I knew would pull up a map that showed you where it was, like the time I left my phone on the floor under the table at Stonefire Grill (not on purpose!).
So he used the app. I thought it might show that it was left at Smart and Final where we had just been shopping, and where Dave, in a rare moment of absent mindedness, had almost left his satchel in the shopping cart. The map pinpointed our house, so we knew it was here. Yet, another comprehensive sweep of the premises availed nothing. Hm. So I got my phone (I still knew where it was!) and dialed his number again, thinking to listen even more carefully for vibration noises. To my surprise, someone answered. A woman. "Um," I said, thinking quickly very slowly, "My husband can't find his phone?" And she said she had it, and I (dumbly) said, "Really?" and she said she was at Smart and Final, would wait for us in the fruit area and was wearing a Patagonia shirt. I was impressed with her acumen. She gave me all the information I would need.
Sure enough, there she was in the fruit section, wearing a Patagonia T-shirt, (and a mask, of course, like all of us) and she was watching for us. I lifted a finger and she nodded and gave us the phone, which she had found in her shopping cart just as I called. She was tall and pretty, a lovely Latina woman with long dark hair. We thanked her. Dave tried to give her a $20, but she refused it. (What a gal!)
It turned out later that when Dave used the Where's my iPhone app, it had found his iPad. We knew<\/i> where that was!<\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286674.html?view=comments#comments","category":["iphone","dave"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286363.html","pubDate":"Tue, 07 Jul 2020 01:53:04 GMT","title":"Stupid pothole!","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286363.html","description":"If you drive to the Von's off of Telephone Road, there is an entrance to the shopping center that leads on the right to Vons, on the left to Luna Grill and straight ahead to the well populated strip mall, which includes such popular stops as I Love Sushi, Subway, and Pastabilities. I suppose because the entryway got so much traffic, it was inevitatble that a pothole would develop. What was not inevitable, but rather curious was the development of a sign that said, "SLOW DOWN. POTHOLE." I guess the powers that be determined that the pothole was unlkely to be fixed for sometime, so they just warned us to slow down. Slow down, the sign admonished, for there is a pothole here. A sign costs money to construct and money to install, so there must have been a great swelling of resignation. "Well," said one city council member to another, "we ain't gonna get to this darn pothole for some time, mebbe never, so I suggest we just build a sign and maybe people can get used to it."
But apparently not everyone felt this way, because today (not that long since the sign was installed), the pothole has been mended and there is no longer any hole. However, the sign is still there. "Well," said the city council member, "We may as well leave it there. One day there'll be another pothole and we'll be prepared." The other members nodded sagely.
But since there is no longer any pothole, the sign has taken on another meaning. Instead of "beware and slow down, for there is a hole in the road," the sign now seems to say, "Slow down, you pothole," which is a little insulting. Instead of taking it personally, we are using the word as a way of referring to the non-mask wearing public.
"What a pothole," we say, and they have no idea what we're talking about.","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286363.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286021.html","pubDate":"Sat, 27 Jun 2020 23:56:51 GMT","title":"Masks, Part Two","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286021.html","description":"I have previously noted that masks hide the wrinkles around my mouth, which I am in favor of. The other thing I like about masks is that when we're riding our bikes during these chilly overcast mornings, wearing a mask can keep you warm! The warm air from the exhalations is very cosy. If I ever go to an outdoor event again, like a football game or a concert (unlikely?), I will bring a mask to keep my nose warm. Also, if I ever go on a plane again (unlikely?), I will use the mask when I sleep, so that people don't see my open mouth. That is so humiliating.
I think even after this pandemic ends (unlikely?), we'll wear masks more than we ever did before.
************
At Von's, I would say, 99% of people were wearing masks today. And everyone at Smart and Final was wearing masks. When Jan and I meandered through Main Street recently, where they have closed off the street, about 50% were wearing masks. That may have been because people were outside. But it was also before that Emergency Alert went off on Saturday. The virus is seeking those who underestimate its power. That will not be Dave or me.","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/286021.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285707.html","pubDate":"Thu, 25 Jun 2020 19:36:25 GMT","title":"Happy Bird Day","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285707.html","description":"
So, I made my breakfast in the morning. I always have the same thing: A petite bowl of blueberries, covered with about 2 oz of Yoplait yogurt, a teaspoon of psyllium and a splash of museli. I went out on the porch and balanced my bowl on the railing to stand up and eat. There was quite a clamor down the end of the street. The crows were yelling and screeching like crazy. I looked down there, and just as I did a hawk flew by at just above eye level followed by the screaming crows. I could see he had something in his talons, but due to the fact that I was wearing my reading glasses (damn it!) I couldn't tell what it was. A few minutes later, Mary came walking down, reporting that the mother duck was agitated and Mary could only see two ducklings now, instead of the former three. Aw. Maybe I'm glad, after all, that I was wearing my reading glasses. Did I really want to see one of our adorable ducklings being carried off for a hawkling gourmet dinner?
Later in the morning I was on a bike ride with Kevin and Bob and we stopped at the end of the street in the Northbank area. Kevin was riding Bob's bike to diagnose a wobbly back wheel while Bob and I chatted desultorily. Suddenly there was a whoosh, and then there was a huge white owl in the air, leaving the shelter of brush from behind us. We caught a close-up view of his magnificent wing span.
Later that afternoon, I came walking from the clubhouse toward the little bridge over the creek on the way back home. I stopped abruptly before the bridge to let something else pass. A heron. He looked at me and I looked at him, then he stepped his stately way across, as dignified as royalty.
Happy bird day to me! Except for the duckling.<\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285707.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285611.html","pubDate":"Fri, 12 Jun 2020 23:51:38 GMT","title":"Masks and animals","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285611.html","description":"
Oh, dear. Masks. Some people do not want to wear them. Possibly because their president finds them weak. Some people just do not want to do anything that someone else tells them they must do. This is called being "immature." Or having "authority issues." I believe I do have authority issues myself (but I'm not immature, so SHUT UP). I don't like to do something just because someone else tells me to, especially when I don't respect the person who just told me to do it. Like our president.
But let's be more positive, shall we? Masks might be protecting us all a little bit. But a little bit is good when you're talking about viral load. Sure, they make it hard to talk so you can be understood, and they fog up my glasses, and they make my ears stick out. Oh, wait. I said I was going to be positive.
The best thing about masks is they hide the wrinkles around my mouth. No one can really tell how old I am. Let's wear masks forever!
***
I have been huddling in fear inside my house. Not really, but I think I need more sunshine. So this morning I went for a walk on the creek paths in Lemon Wood. At the bridge at the end of my street (I love saying that), I saw the mother duck in the water of Lemon Lake, so I stopped and looked around for a while until I spotted the ducklings. I think the mother knows me by now, or at least she knows she has nothing to fear from the humans at LW (we are not duck hunters), and so after a few minutes, she gave the signal and she climbed up the rocks to the road and crossed the bridge with her three children behind her in a nice line right in front of me, just as instructed. They have no authority issues.
I went down to Ducks Pond, passing Mirror Lake, and the geese were nowhere to be seen. But I did see a squirrel who climbed a tree so he could look at me eye-to-eye as if to say, "do you have any peanuts?" I didn't, so he left.
There are two house finches sitting on nests (I presume) in the crevices of our awning. I can see their little heads from the dining room window. One day I saw the male come and climb inside with the female, and he was regurgitating food and depositing it into her open mouth. I haven't seen any babies and they've been sitting quite a while. "C'mon, get with it!" I say, in an attempt to hurry up the process, but they pay me no mind. How immature.<\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285611.html?view=comments#comments","category":["squirrels","masks","lemon wood","ducks","nests"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285316.html","pubDate":"Tue, 26 May 2020 22:47:49 GMT","title":"Plumbers, birds and bodies","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285316.html","description":"I had the plumber come over the other day to do the yearly flushing out of the tankless water heater, and also to clean out my slow draining sink (I knew it was clogging with hair, and oh boy, was it ever: GROSSSS). Anyway, at some point in our interations he said to me, "Ma'am, any chance I can use your bathroom?" I was startled and I stumbled a little in my reply and what I came up with was, "No, yeah, of course, go ahead." That's one of those interesting cases where we say "no" when we mean "yes," as in this exchange: "The red states are taking terrible chances," and the response, "No, yeah, I completely agree with you." Weird. I have always wondered, though, why I don't get asked for the bathroom more by service people. I guess they go to McDonald's or some restaurant somewhere, but now they can't.
There's a bird sitting on a nest in our awning. She was sitting and calling, and then suddenly she left the nest and flew to a nearby roof where another bird met her and put some food down her throat. Then she went back to the nest. I watched for a while, hoping to see it happen again, because I didn't catch the signal.
I wonder what Dave would think if suddenly he were able to experience being in my body for an hour? (Have I written about this before?) I think he would be like, oh my goodness you don't weigh anything, I feel like I could blow away in a strong wind. And, oh, I see you really do feel cold a lot. And I think he would say, "Ugh, this bra is so uncomfortable!" ( I wonder if it would be nice not having testicles to worry about? Maybe he would enjoy crotch emptiness, or maybe he would really miss the package and feel incomplete.) I bet he would feel like why would anyone listen to a weenie voice like this? And I can't stand this hair in my face all the time! And because he has oily skin, he would feel really dry and scratchy. But he would like it because finally he could take a deep breath. ","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285316.html?view=comments#comments","category":["birds","plumber","dave"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285159.html","pubDate":"Thu, 21 May 2020 22:43:34 GMT","title":"What's the plan, baby?","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285159.html","description":"
When I came out to water the garden, I noticed immediately a nest that had fallen from the Italian Cypress tree. I nudged it with my shoe. There were no live babies inside, thank goodness, but I was fascinated with the intricacy of the construction of the tiny domicile. I murmured over it and then commenced watering. I was watering the side garden, dousing the yerba buena, the azaleas and the pot of succulents. And then I got to the camellia. I was just moving my spray away when I caught a movement with the corner of my eye. There was a hop and a shudder, and I saw a small fuzzy blackbird jump to a lower branch of the camellia and start to shake off the water from my spray. Ah! Perhaps a youngster who had been pushed out of the nest? Or possibly the nest had been kicked over and the bird forced to decamp along with it? I talked to the little one for a few minutes to make sure he was all right. He didn't seem to be hurt or unduly frightened, so I moved in a northerly direction, away from him, while continuing to talk to him and keep an eye on him. He didn't move much, and I approved his studied caution. But I was a little worried about his fate. "What's the plan, baby?" I asked him. "You can't just stay there all day!"
I finished watering the side, moved to the front and watered the ferns from my porch, letting the water pour down (as a rain goddess will do). Then I went back for one final sprizzle of water over all my thirsty plants, and I saw that the baby was still there. I aimed just a tiny bit of mist his way and he let out a little peep of alarm. "That's it, baby, call your mother. She will come and help." When he had called her twice more, I left him and went on with my day.
An hour later when I went to check on him, he was gone. I'm sure his mother described the plan to him: "Imbecile! Move along! Fly away! What do you think wings are for?"
************
In other news, bunny scampering and duckling feedings have been sighted on the premises. Soon, I am advised, there will be goslings!<\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/285159.html?view=comments#comments","category":["blackbirds","ducklings","goslings","lemon wood","nests","bunnies"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284803.html","pubDate":"Sun, 17 May 2020 22:15:47 GMT","title":"Four out of five stars","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284803.html","description":"
For a place to stay during the pandemic, it's not bad. Wood floors, big windows with nice views. I love that there's a piano, and the big, big bathroom with separate his and her vanities is a big plus. However, room service only happens ONCE A MONTH. In the meantime, you have to make your own bed and change your own sheets. Even in the condos in Hawaii, we had room service once a week, but once a month!
There are no open restaurants in the area, so you have to cook your own food or get take out. But there is a nicely stocked pantry with plenty of options for vegetarians, which we are. TV is hooked up to HBO, Netflix and Amazon Prime, with Hulu (but not commercial free).
The grounds are nice, with a short walk to small lakes\/ponds and streams with ducks and an occasional goose, heron or egret. Four stars for comfort and the sounds of birds, foutains and chimes. Minus one star for the housecleaning and cooking I have to do.<\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284803.html?view=comments#comments","category":["hotels","pandemic"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284626.html","pubDate":"Mon, 11 May 2020 03:48:53 GMT","title":"Mother's Day in the time of COVID-19","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284626.html","description":"Dave says he's been practicing social distancing since he was a kid. Ha, ha.
There's wasn't much hugging or phyiscal expressions of affection in his family. We weren't big huggers in our family either, but we did have the ritual of the good night kiss. And we were tucked in our beds. Our aunts and uncles and grandparents kissed and hugged us, and we sat on our dad's lap, or close to our mom. I have photos of us all in bed with mom in the morning.
Then in the 70s when I started to get to know other people, it was already the time of free love and there was more touching. I still found it rather alarming and suspicious. By the eighties, most people who knew each other well would hug or kiss as a greeting. By the ninties, it was remarkable when someone wouldn't hug.
Now we can't touch each other or even get close to anyone who isn't a part of our household. I miss being in close proximity to people, talking quietly and intimately, sharing confidences, laughing gently together. We all have to speak loud and articulately now. I miss nuance.
But do I really miss hugging? There were times when it felt expected, but I wasn't really feeling it. There were times when it was unexpected and felt wonderful. There were times when I needed it, and times I thought others needed it. Now, I mainly miss hugging my mom. Especially on Mother's Day.","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284626.html?view=comments#comments","category":["covid-19","hugs","mom","mother's day","dave"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284161.html","pubDate":"Wed, 06 May 2020 22:50:47 GMT","title":"Aging","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284161.html","description":"
I was thinking the other day about how it felt the first time someone called me "ma'am." It was horrible!
That made me think of various other rites of passage for the decades.
TWENTIES:
That's when you get a job and realize you are now a "grown up."
THIRTIES:
Someone calls you ma'am for the first time.
FORTIES;
Are you going to cover the gray or let it grow out?
FIFTIES:
No more periods!
SIXTIES:
You keep saying, "Hey, isn't that <someone's name>. Oh, no, he's dead."
SEVENTIES:
I don't know! I'm not there yet. Maybe it will be "The seventies are the best decade ever"!<\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284161.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284147.html","pubDate":"Mon, 04 May 2020 04:18:41 GMT","title":"Covid-19: Jigsaw puzzles","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284147.html","description":"One morning recently I woke slowly, coming out of dreamland more gradually than usual. I became aware first of the coolness of the room, and then the lack of traffic noise. I was subliminally aware that I had nothing on my calendar for days. I could hear the birds outside, calling and cooing and clicking and zhrring, and I was starting to remember several jigsaw puzzles recently completed. There was only one conclusion: We were in Hawaii!
But then I woke up. We weren't in Hawaii, we were in Covid Town.
But we really were doing jigsaws!
We just keep doing them. There were many in the clubhouse and no one else seemed to know or care. We started out being picky, choosing only those whose pictures appealed to us and that had 1,000 pieces (Dave's preference). I also got some for my mom. She wanted ones with pretty pictures that were no more than 300 pieces. When we finished those we went back for more. This time we took ones we didn't think we'd like. One was just teacups, another was a cartoony depiction of a construction site. There was also a big garden with lots of flowers and a garden shed.Da However, once we got into these puzzles, they turned out to be quite challenging. Thinking back on it now, the ones we originally didn't want turned out to be our favorites. I'm sure there's a life lesson there.
There were a few 700s, but now all that's left are the 500s and they seem so easy to us now. We're doing 500s and my mom is doing 750s and we've all gotten good at it.
But!
Dave is so much better than I am. He likes to put together the pieces that are all the same color, like the sky. I like to look for the pieces that fit in the holes he leaves. I do better when I can match colors and images, Dave can work with just the shapes of the pieces. He says he's good at pattern recognition. After having done about seven or so, we've got into a routine where he does most of the puzzle and I come in and assist here and there. Then, when it's almost done, he lets me put in the last few pieces. I like that. We bump fists when it's done. It's the same when we do the crossword. He's done a million of them, so he can pop out the answers really fast. Occasionally, when the clues are book or music related, I might know something he doesn't, but not very often. He does let me type in the answers. Although he's even better at typing in the crossword grid than I am.
Sometimes it feels a little disspiriting to find that Dave is so much smarter than I am. But I suppose it doesn't necessarily mean I'm dumb. And would I want to have a husband who wasn't smarter than I am?
I wouldn't want to be in Hawaii with anyone else.","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/284147.html?view=comments#comments","category":["covid-19","hawaii","jigsaw puzzles","dave"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/283723.html","pubDate":"Thu, 30 Apr 2020 19:29:30 GMT","title":"Zooming around","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/283723.html","description":"I attend a large Zoom meeting. I hate it. Why?
I start out in gallery mode, which is where you can see about 15 people in small windows at a time.
I envy babies. They don't have to use words.
There's that particularly mournful, piteous cry they use when they figure out they're never going back in the womb, but have to put up with all the changing temperatures, uncomfortable clothing, and unappetizing food. That's a nice one. And there's the scream when they want something but don't know what it is. It's loud and piercing and can go on for days. "I want something!" they scream. "What is it?" says the parent, "I will be happy to get it for you!!" "I DON'T KNOW, YOU IDIOT!" screams the baby. And then there's the rhythmic wah wah wah of the youngest babies that's just for the heck of it. There's nothing else they have any control over, so they make some noise. It's rather comforting to them.
I remember when my nephew was small, maybe four years old. He had so much fun in the bathtub, playing in the bubbles with his toys. But when it was time to get out, he just cried like he was heartbroken. It was more than just having to stop playing. I didn't understand at first, but one day, during the winter, getting out of the shower, I understood. It's so cold, and takes so long to get warm again. You stand up in all your nakedness, and the air is shockingly cold, and your mom just does not dry you off fast enough. Once I realzed this, I put a towel around him as fast as I could, and embraced him and told him I was getting him dry as fast as I could. I think it helped that I understood.
Sometimes I wish I could just make a sound instead of using words.
How do I feel today? Eeeeaaarrggghhhh.<\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/283639.html?view=comments#comments"},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/283361.html","pubDate":"Thu, 23 Apr 2020 21:16:02 GMT","title":"Covid-19: Grab bag","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/283361.html","description":"It's been a year since Dave's hemoraghic stroke. A year of rebounding health. But just the memory of it is frightening. I wish I did not remember. Please do not remind me.
I have had two bouts with the migraine aura in two succeeding days. It is very rare to have one day, but two in a row! I think it is the bright, angled sun in my eyes. Or maybe it is the low burning threat of the virus.
I had the windows washed today. They were badly in need of it, but it would keep raining. So Wayne came and they cleaned the outside only. No one wants to go inside another's house. Not yet. Well, the insides are not so bad. "They look pretty good," the washer told me.
When we go to the grocery store, I'm offended that people don't observe the distancing they're supposed to when they pass you. But how can we help it? Even I pass people too closely. The alternative is to choose another route or wait for someone to move on. If I wait for someone to move, then someone else passes me. It's infurtiating! I don't have eye contact with people, I move with my head down, try not to breathe and walk quickly by.
I was sleeping really, really well. But now my sleep is shattered, and only because again I read about how important sleep is! I have to avoid all articles on sleep. I am dismayed that my unconscious mind is so easily disturbed.
My neighbor Ted, with whom I have previously only shared a "hello" or a "has the mail come yet" exchange, stopped at my porch today and we had a conversation! When I first moved in I told him, "I notice you never come out" and he said, "Well, that's just how it is," turned his back on me and scurried back inside. But today he seemed to want to talk, and talked about his time in the army, and about when he lived in Los Angeles in the 1950s. He pronounced it "Las Angle-ees" like people used to in those days. Now we pronounce it "La Sangel Ease." I wonder what Sangels are and would they lend me some of their ease?","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/283361.html?view=comments#comments","category":["covid-19","neighbors","dave","sleep"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/282981.html","pubDate":"Fri, 17 Apr 2020 03:37:49 GMT","title":"COVID-19: Guilt","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/282981.html","description":"I'll talk about guilt in a minute, but first, this:
I opened the back door and stopped when I saw a blackbird sitting calmly on Dave's car, about three feet from me. She saw me, but didn't fly away, which is unusual. I talked to her in my high-pitched bird voice. "Hello, birdie, how are you? What do you want?" The bird gave me a quick look, then took a short flight to the bird feeder and made a point of picking fruitlessly at the empty bottom.
Well, that was very clear.
Okay, now: Guilt. I didn't cause this pandemic, thank goodness. But I am enjoying it. To be as clear as a blackbird, I am enjoying staying home. I am sleeping so well! Yes, during the global pandemic when many people are dying and some people are finding themselves unable to pay their bills and care for their loved ones and struggling with having their children at home, I am sleeping better than ever.
It makes me feel guilty. But not so guilty that I lose sleep!","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/282981.html?view=comments#comments","category":["covid-19","birds","sleep"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/282650.html","pubDate":"Tue, 14 Apr 2020 18:07:59 GMT","title":"Random updates and thoughts","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/282650.html","description":"
The blackbirds are back and they are nesting. The female contends with the fat cypress fronds, nuzzling into their crevices. In her beak is a bit of straw. Once inside, she crafts her nest, the cradle. Outside, the male stands guard on his green and trembling bough, his yellow eye alert to any dangers. They speak to each other with whistles and clicks and zhrrrrs.
Today, as I sit by the gas fireplace and read about Henry VIII and his beheadings, I hear some sounds up the chimney. Tiny zhrrrs, little whistles, baby clicks. Has the mother made a nest at the top of the chimney, noting how warm it is at times, considering it cosy and safe? Is there an infant in a nest above me, abandoned for the moment and fearful as his fledgling feathers warm to smouldering? Surely not. The nests are being built now, there are no young ones yet, not even eggs. Yet those sounds are so rending, so tender. I will not be like Henry, counting life of so little value. I will not think of my comfort. It is not too late to save a soul.
I turn off the fireplace.<\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/282226.html?view=comments#comments","category":["blackbirds","fireplace"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/282026.html","pubDate":"Tue, 07 Apr 2020 16:30:15 GMT","title":"COVID-19: Daily life","author":"kiminorkey","link":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/282026.html","description":"
How has daily life changed?
In some ways, not so much. I still do housework and watch TV in the evenings. Wait. Maybe that's it. Everything else has changed.
I hardly ever drive my car.
We don't go out to eat.
I cook more.
I run the dishwasher a lot more.
There's no more Coffee and Doughnuts, no choir, no tutoring, no bike ride outside of LW.
I walk or ride bikes with Dave, and only Dave, every day.
We're doing jigsaw puzzles.
I talk to my mom over the Echo Show a lot.
Group emails keep our family talking.
Grocery shopping is fraught.
I have to make a point to go outside and get some sunshine.
If you want to visit with someone, you do it outside and yell across the social distance.
My bookgroups and bible study are over Zoom.
I'm calling people to check up on them, worried they might be sick and alone.
Every news story I read is about the virus.
Ventura is holding hands over NextDoor.
We wash our hands A LOT.
I have to do all the driving, the little of it there is. Why is explained below.
So Dave did not notice that his driver license had expired. I don't know if they didn't send him a reminder or what. So he applied online. Then he got a notice that they wouldn't renew because he didn't have insurance. So then he posted proof of insurance. This still did not work. It appeared that because he had business insurance covering his car instead of just personal insurance, they didn't recognize it, and they need him to mail, not fax, a form. He mailed it and didn't hear anything for a long time, so he called. They said he had to fill out another form. One of the questions on the form is "have you had a stroke in the past year" which he had to answer in the affirmative. Now they won't give him the license until he gets clearance from his doctor. His doctor referred him to a neurosurgeon. Kaiser tells him to drop by a form at the neurologist's office. We'll see what happens after that. Whatever it is, it will be slow. Because it's the DMV, that's why.<\/p>","comments":"https:\/\/kiminorkey.livejournal.com\/282026.html?view=comments#comments","category":["covid-19","driving","virus","dave"]}]}}