Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

It's a mixed bag here on the weather front.  Our yard doesn't usually look like this in January or February, but here we are.  My photos are from our walk yesterday.

This morning we woke up to a couple of inches of very heavy wet snow that has now turned into rain.  It's a real mess out there.  The big question is, will it thaw enough before the temperatures drop below freezing?  If not, get out your ice skates.

The days of sunshine are unusual so we enjoyed every moment as we headed out for our walk to the newspaper boxes.  

It's an added bonus when we get to talk to someone like Linda Heisel, as she was on her way to our neighbors house.  

There was a disaster site at our neighbors at the top of the hill, Curtis and Kris Kitchen.  During the last windstorm a tree had fallen onto their chicken house.  It hit it squarely in the middle.   I took this photo shortly after it happened.  

Today they are well on their way through the logging job of clearing more trees so that they won't blow down on their house or barn.

Retired Mountain Man has been working on his burn piles.  Picking up tree limbs and branches and sawing them into sizeable pieces for the piles.  He says it's strange to be able to do this project in January or February.  

It's a good thing though because we are basically staying home until our second Moderna shot, which will be next week.  What a relief it will be to know that after a couple of weeks it will be safe for us to do some things such as shopping in a store once again.  

Plus, there's always that trip to the dentist that we've been putting off since last March.  (I can't believe I'm looking forward to a trip to the dentist)  

What will you do when you get your Get Out of Covid Jail Pass?  We would love to visit our sons and their families, but we will wait until the CDC says it's okay to do so.  While we will be safe, we want to be certain that it is the same for them.   

That means we will still be wearing masks and social distancing when we are out and about.

Our latest forecast calls for some colder temperatures next week  so Jon and I brought in five loads of firewood.  That capped off our day. 

I have decorated the front porch for the UPS deliveryman.  Fat Tuesday is February 16th.   It will be Mardi Gras time!  All I can say is that we have to do something that's festive and fun, even though we can't have a parade or party.  

I've seen reports on the news that in lieu of the Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans and Mobile, people are decorating "house floats".  There are maps to the house locations.  What a great idea. 

 

Let the good times roll with a little bit of Kermit Ruffins Monday Night in New Orleans.

Desiderata - it is desired

 The Pacific Northwest just experienced what is a Category 5 River of Moisture.  Here, it included another windstorm.  Another one!  We were only about two minutes into it when our power went out at 6:30 a.m. last Wednesday. 

We are prepared for power outages now with a generator.  We got it running and soon we were back to having heat, TV and Internet.  Thousands were without power and once again, there were more trees lost in the storm.  Fortunately, we lost only a couple this time.  

Retired Mountain Man pointing out the root rot to me on this tree.

24 hours later our power was restored.  I know the line crews worked all night long and I thank them.  We managed, but really it's no fun to be without electricity. 

We're in a very strange pattern here in the northwest.  It's January 18th and at our elevation, which is about 2500 feet, we do not have snow.  Well, there's a bit here and there, but basically, we have no snow.  Last night it rained again. 

In a normal year, we would need our snow shoes to take this walk and this water would be frozen or buried by two-three feet of snow.

The UPS driver is very happy because she has no problem making it up our driveway.  I don't know why UPS doesn't have delivery trucks with four-wheel drive, but they don't.  They have to chain-up.  

 

My strawberry plants are handling the weather just fine. 

We now have our own Jon and Connie dolls thanks to a surprise gift from David and Julie.  I do love the red hat.  Jon has worn one forever, but now the problem seems to be that they no longer make them in a small size.  We had no luck finding one.  I tried, unsuccessfully, to shrink a medium size one. 

Two more days until we have a change in our government.  Americans have had to take a hard look at themselves these past few days.  Let's hope that we will decide that we really do want unity and do what is necessary to obtain that.  

I will report that Jon and I had few side effects from our vaccination, which was six days ago.   My arm was sore at the site of the injection for a couple of days.  Jon's was not.  That's it.  The injection itself did not even hurt.  

 My friend Marianne posted the poem, IF, by Rudyard Kipling the other day.  I remember bits of it from my high school days.  In our family though, the words from Desiderata are some of those to live by.  We have always had a print copy on our wall.  

Desiderata

GO PLACIDLY amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

By Max Ehrmann © 1927

Original text

There will be a memorial tomorrow evening for all of those who have lost their lives to Covid-19. 

 

I will be lighting our candle. 

Pray for peace and unity in our country.

It was like winning the lottery!

On Monday morning my friend, Susan Howard called me to us know that we could go online to schedule an appointment for the next day to get our Covid Vaccination.  She had emailed me the link to the online site.  There was only one day available and the location was the Panhandle Health District in Hayden.  

Needless to say - I was immediately ON IT!

It was tedious to sign up especially since they required a photo of the front and back of our insurance cards and that file had to be uploaded during registration. 

After some frustrating moments, it was done. 

Tada!  We had appointments at 12;55 p.m.  We could hardly believe our luck. 

As soon as I finished I was on the phone to let others who were over the age of 65 know that this opportunity was available.  Everyone that I could think of. 

There was some trepidation because the Idaho governor had just changed who was eligible to receive the vaccine to all those who were over the age of 65.  No one was certain that when we arrived in Hayden it was actually going to happen.

We didn't know what to expect and after going through the maze of trying to schedule the appointments, we wondered what kind of delays or problems we would run into at the clinic.

It was so fitting that the entire drive to Hayden was terrible.  It's January 12th and it was pouring rain with dense fog and poor visibility all the way.   Then again, it was better than snow packed roads and ice.  

We arrived ten minutes early.

As soon as we walked in the door there were four Idaho National Guard members at the entrance.  One had a clipboard and asked if we had an appointment.   Yes we did! After checking off our names on the list we were directed immediately into the vaccination room.  

There were three stations where they were giving the shots and our neighbors, Neil and Ann Wimberley had just received theirs so we were next.  

Piece of cake.  Didn't feel a thing. 

Jon didn't have time to take his hat off.  It was that quick.

Our next step was to get in the line to set up our appointments for the 2nd dose.  All the volunteers were very helpful.  The appointments were setup using our cell phones which took some time, but that was also a good thing, because we needed to wait there at least 15 minutes to be certain we didn't have an allergic reaction.

A very big thank you to all the volunteers and guard members who were there and the nurses giving the vaccine.  There were a lot of people to help. 

There are some other people we owe thanks to and not much is said about them on the news or in the headlines.  

The scientists and researchers. 

There are thousands of them all over the world.  The have worked tirelessly for at least ten months to make these vaccines.  Where would we be without them. 

Thanks also to all those who took part in the vaccine trials, some of which are still happening.

After we received our shots, Jon asked the nurse how many people would be vaccinated that day.  She replied that as of 1:00 p.m. they had given out 200 doses.

Yes, I know that's a small number considering how many people in the U.S. need it, but I'm sure the vaccine rollout is going to improve. 

Jon and I are on our way to our "get out of jail free card".

We will be out of Covid prison by the middle of March.

Freedom!

This Land Is Your Land...

...This land is my land 

I know that most of you know all of the lyrics to this song.

Yesterday, I wondered if the lyrics were really true. 

Integrity and Truth 

Words that kept coming back to me as Jon and I watched the horrible events unfold yesterday. 

Patriotism and American values.

I thought of all of the years that the Cougar Creek Band marched in the 4th of July parade in Clark Fork.   Every year for more than ten years, we decorated a float for the parade.  We tossed candy treats to the kids as we marched and the band played This Land Is Your Land.

The people marching in the parade and the people lined up to watch the parade - we were celebrating America.  What it means to be an American.  We love our country.

Our families were all involved in creating and decorating the float, including all of the kids and grandkids.  Some of them played instruments and marched in the parade.  All I can say is that I am horrified by what they watched on TV yesterday.  

 I hope that our leaders will finally have the courage to step up and do what is necessary to save our country.

Leadership is crucial for America in this moment.  

Leadership that contains the core values of honesty, truth, 

kindness, compassion, and most of all respect for all people

and a commitment to serve our country.

This performance of This Land Is Your Land by Pete Seger in front of the Lincoln Memorial seems fitting for today.

Out with the old and in with the new.

The time has come to move on.  

2020 is finally over and it seemed like it went out with a lot of whining and then a whimper.  It was quiet here except around midnight when the neighbors set off some fireworks.  I'm glad someone was celebrating.  

We had some snow fall before Christmas Eve, but since then it has warmed up and it's been raining ever since.  It is now a very wet, soupy, sloppy mess out there.  

The year was filled with too much sadness and grief, lies and hoaxes, craziness and loss of common sense.  Retired Mountain Man went through three major surgeries and cancer treatment, plus other hospital stays all the while trying to avoid catching the virus.  It was stressful. 

Americans didn't learn much after eight months of the pandemic since for the most part, we re-elected the same incompetent people to continue to govern us.  In my opinion they've done a lousy job.  2020 couldn't end soon enough.  

Good riddance, I say.

It may be 2021, and so far nothing seems to have changed yet, but I do believe that the tide is starting to turn and there is hope on the horizon with the vaccine.  Yes, there are problems with the rollout, but in seventeen days, in spite of all of the recounts, audits, lawsuits and political antics, we will have a new president and administration.  They will have a different approach to the handling of the virus and the vaccine rollout.  Almost anything would be an improvement.

There will be sunshine as in this photo from 2015. 

It's hard to grasp that every day more that 3,000 Americans are dying and whatever it is that our government is doing, the deaths are not waning or stopping.  As individuals we each have only our own power to make this change.  

Our president-elect, Joe Biden, announced a national memorial event on January 19th to honor and remember all of the Americans who have died of Covid-19.  It's something we need to do as a country.  It's time to acknowledge the losses so many are suffering.  The death count as of today is almost 350,000 and it will be so many more by the 19th.  Yes, it's more than a couple of weeks away, but make your plan.  How will you honor and remember them?

Light a candle in their memory

along with

A moment of silence.  

and listen

to some beautiful music to bring us together. 

There will be brighter days.  Let's make it happen.