12 Oakdale

The DoGe bros continue to decimate our national government, laying off/firing thousands of workers, not knowing what anyone is doing, including themselves. Oops, fired those who watch over our nuclear arsenal; perhaps better rehire. If only we hadn’t closed down their federal email so we could get in touch with them. Our bad. There is a measles outbreak in Texas, 124 ill, so far 2 dead. However, RFK Jr assures us it’s “only” in the Mennonite community and that outbreaks happen every year. He cancelled the meeting of experts who make the educated guess about which strain(s) of flu next year’s vaccine should tackle. All good? My current schlocky novel is a mystery (perhaps true) that involves White supremacists and their crazy beliefs. Fairly scary. I went to retina specialist Dr. Kraut who assured me the only thing he found wrong with my eyes is a small wrinkle in my right retina, too small to bother operating on, which might be the cause of my poorer vision in that eye. Pr...

A quick trip to Fort Lauderdale to lunch with B. She is half way through 6 courses of chemo for ovarian cancer. She claims she fells good, with the usual side effect of hair loss, which is an excuse to wear absolutely charming hats. The infusions are 3 weeks apart, so Sunday was the day our schedules meshed. Patten and Ryann were using their pasta roller/cutter for the first time. Fettuccine for the mussels with nduja sauce (Grant was disappointed we weren’t eating with them) and capellini for later. Patten has a seal-a-meal which he uses for all things, including bait. He was complaining how long it takes to clean out the fish parts. A Christmas or birthday present idea to be tucked away.  We spent the night with Kristine since they now have roommate Phil for the next few months. For breakfast, I’d hoped to indulge with cinnamon rolls at Sticky Buns in Deerfield, but I was saved because they are closed Mondays. Dunkin breakfast sandwiches instead. Healthier, but not as much fun. I...

I hesitated to get on the scale. Yes, the 5 pounds I gained on our Christmas market cruise have been joined by new friends from our 4 days of cabin camping. Too much wine, desserts, and hearty breakfasts. My only consolation is the joy I had spending time with friends. This year we (Kristine, Diane and David, Donna and Bob, Scott, and us) were joined by Deb and Rob, Paige, Scott’s daughter Katie, and visited each day by Tina and Ken, members of themUU church when Steph and Mary were in elementary school. Grant and I mostly lazier around (why I’m not shocked about my weight gain). One day, the others took the glass-bottomed boat ride. This year, no manatees. They had already left the river for summer digs. Another morning, the healthier ones rented kayaks. I’d thought about joining them when the option was just a float downstream. When they decided to take a shorter trip that involved paddling back upstream, I opted out. My shoulders just aren’t strong enough for that. next year? I did ...

To quote Dorothy Parker, “What fresh hell is this?” On a political front, like picking at a scab before it is ready to fall off, each morning I can’t help myself, but I read the papers and see what damage our dear leader has now inflicted on us and the world. Two weeks in office, he has signed orders to get rid of any Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion anywhere (since incompetent white men are rightly fearful for their jobs), closed the USAID office, and set (and of course backed down) tariffs with our (now former?) friends, Canada and Mexico. He has unleashed the dogs of DoGE, laughingly the Department of Government Efficiency, whose real goal, now met, was to get their grubby paws on the Treasury Department’s computers and all the information therein. Republicans fall into line, Democrats flutter their hands in anguish. Eventually he will break enough to either collapse the country or cause riots in the streets. Mess with Social Security and Medicare, I dare you. On the home front, I...

 I am attempting to grow potatoes in boxes, an idea from YouTube. Cost: $2.20 of white seed potatoes from Winter Garden Feed.  January 29th  I’d cut several potatoes in half, so I will have enough pieces to place them 6” apart in my 5 boxes. Then I let them dry to get a hard edge which might avoid any fungus or other disease.  January 31st:  I put several inches of leaves (Japanese blueberry tree, Elaeocarpus decipiens  ) in the bottom of each box, then 4-5” of my homemade compost. I watered that, added my potatoes, and covered them with more compost. Watered again.

I signed up for another 6 week course of watercolor classes at the Art Room on Tuesday evenings. This time we are painting 2 pictures of beeches, one with snow, the other with water, perhaps a lake. My Florida soul rebels, however the snowbirds are happy. The first week, we sketched, then masked all the trees. After painting in the backgrounds, we will remove the masking, leaving white trees to have their markings painted. While we were in California, I missed the second week. Not a problem because I can make it up Thursday morning. On the other hand, a problem, because I couldn’t find my drawings when I went last night. We put our projects in numbered slots to keep all them sorted. Of course, I couldn’t remember my number. I looked at every slot allotted to our Tuesday night class. Nothing. I looked at every slot for the Thursday watercolor class. Nothing. One of the instructors looked. Nothing. All I can figure is that someone accidentally took mine and painted them, even though ...

We decided to go on our planned trip to visit Mary even though she and Bella had been sick with A H3 influenza, and Remi was coming down with it. Mary developed pneumonia and was exhausted.  Crossing our fingers that the germs would be gone by the time we arrived. Fortunately, everyone seems on the mend. They all still coughing, and Mary is frustrated that she has no energy and is very short of breath. I have resisted (somewhat) telling her, “I told you that pneumonia takes a long time to recover from.” Mostly I try to reinforce that she should give her self a break, literally and figuratively. She is being pretty good about resting. Of course, her impulse to do too much (genetic or environmental?) comes up. Shortness of breath tamps it down.  Ash on the car To add insult to illness, the Border Fire is raging away about 10 miles east, and ash is raining down at their house. I think we are safe, but we encouraged Mary to put important papers in a suitcase, have som...