Good news, Bad news, Good news

I had two things on my list for today.

 1) call 529 NY Saves to straighten out my on-line account.  After getting a message to log in, I was unable to do so due to a "password" problem, even though I signed in a week or so ago. The message said I was "locked out" & I would have to call. I was planning to call them realizing I might be on the phone a while.

2) Work on my NY/HELP annual report for the NY Conference.

Second things first.  I worked on finishing the annual report, read it over again & made a few small changes.  Then I printed it out to see how it looked & then sent it to the NY Conference.  It is due by Friday, so I am under the wire.  Good News!

Then I looked & found another email from 529 saying "Account Confirmation Available" and suggesting I sign in.  When I tried to do so, it again said my password was wrong and I would have to call.  Bad News.

Okay, I called, and actually got an answer fairly quickly.  After a couple of moments, it seemed my Long-in name had changed & the agent read me the current log-in.  I didn't remember changing it, but I tried, but still didn't get in.  She sent me a temp password, which I worked on changing.  After trying my previous (though new) password & being told I had to actually CHANGE the password, I edited it.  Then, it took me a couple tries to get it typed correctly twice.  Now, however, all is good!
Good News.

Okay, one more thing for my list today.  3) Work on finishing editing the next newsletter for NY/HELP and sending it to NY Conference for them to send out using their mass e-mail list.  I might not get it finished today, as I am putting together 3 reports plus adding pictures that were taken on the trip in March; but it will be ready before the end of the week.

Now I feel more relaxed.

In the Midst of a Pandemic

Time is funny.  Sometimes it seems as though I'm in a time warp.  It's bad enough being retired which means I could get up at any time I'd like to & often have to think about what day it is when I get up in the morning.  But now that we are in the midst of a pandemic of COVID-19 and are not supposed to go out, except for walks or the grocery store, it's even harder to keep track of what day it is.  It's a good thing I have a calendar in my bedroom, the kitchen, & the dining room next to my computer.  It's a big help!

We are prevented from being with other people closer than 6 ft.  When I go out for a walk I might not see anyone, and surely not within 6 ft, maybe on the other side of the street.  If I do stop to talk with someone, I put on the mask I carry with me.

Church meetings are on Zoom now where we all sit at our laptops and can see everyone else at the meeting.  It works fine but isn't the same as being with someone.

We have learned (very quickly) how to conduct our church's worship services online.  We have a new pastor & one or two other "geeks" in our church who put it all together during the week & then it is on a Facebook Watch Party on Sunday morning.  They're doing a wonderful job!

Sometimes Kim will call me in the evening (mid-afternoon for her) & ask if I have the time to read a book to Calvin.  It's fun to be able to read a book to him sitting there on my laptop.  He enjoys it & I do too.

For Kim's birthday, on April 7, she said she wanted to meet with family, so we all got together on Zoom.  It was fun, really.  Not the same as actually being there, no, but ordinarily we would not be able to get together on Kim's birthday (or anyone else's) since we live so far from each other.  So that was a really good thing.  In fact, we liked it so much we did it again last Sunday afternoon!  Now they want to "meet" on my birthday, May 4.  That will be fun.  They mentioned we should all make cakes so we can all eat cake together! I am looking forward to that.

Yes, time is funny.  I just realized today that tomorrow it will be 6 months since Gordon died. How could it be?  I have trouble getting my head around that, partly due to the strange times we're in with the virus making everything so different.  I counted the months & then counted again & then once again.  Yes, it's been 6 months. Really?  Yes.  Does it seem like it's been longer, or not that long?  BOTH!

I was working on getting a "new" schedule to my life because I really have to.  Then the virus came along & since I am in the "vulnerable" age group, again I have to have a "newer" schedule.  I no longer go shopping at the grocery store.  I call in the order & later in the day they call to say my order is ready.  I go & park out front, call them to let them know I'm there & someone brings out my order & puts it in my trunk.  A nice service.

Enjoying the Buffalo Philharmonic

The BPO is streaming a concert that was recorded last October.  This is a gift due to the Coronavirus I think.  I must admit it is nice to hear it on my phone.  Made doing the dishes much more pleasant!

I was just thinking about my day today.  I took a half-hour walk after I put the payment for the tax preparer in the mailbox.  That was pleasant.  It was a bit chilly, but not raining or anything.  I was listening to the radio as I walked.

I had made a list of things I wanted to get done today, most of which I actually accomplished.  Tomorrow I want to take care of getting back online with the 529 accounts, which means going through getting a new password & making sure my accounts all sync, etc.  Then I should take some time to call my portion of our church's membership list to just check-in and see how everyone is doing.

Today I tried out going to Tops for groceries during their "senior only" time in the early morning.  There were more people there than the last time I went later in the day.  The main difference was they were all seniors and many were wearing masks.  Maybe I should do that next time also.  Everyone was friendly.  In fact, I have found most people to be friendly -- A small truck with a front-loader on it went by while I was walking & the driver waved.  I couldn't see in the window well enough to know if it was someone I know, but I've found many cars going by often wave -- not so much on Main St, but on side streets.  And people just out for a walk wave.

   I took an 8" x 10" picture of Gordon to Dr. Lori Hudzinski today at the Medical Center.  She had asked me to drop it off.  They are going to use it in Bertrand Chaffee Hospital on the wall of pictures of doctors who had at least 25 years of service to the hospital and have retired.  This picture is one of him in front of his charts from a few years ago, & he's not wearing a suit coat, but then he didn't usually.  It's a nice one & Lori said it was one of her favorites.

It is beginning to look like Spring, though it has a ways to go. Things are starting to come up, but this is as far as the daffodils have gotten.  The rhubarb is starting to show itself, though.


It's interesting -- Since we have been told to practice social distancing and not go out except for walking (6 ft from anyone else) or groceries, I have been getting more walking exercise than previously.  That has to be a good thing.

Another month (at least) of social distancing & then they will re-evaluate the situation with the coronavirus to see if we need even more.  If it helps to keep people from being infected with it & possibly dying, I'm more than willing to continue staying away from folks.

Walking daily when I can

I haven't been writing much (too much email & meetings, etc).  But I have been walking daily.  Some days I wish I had walked more, but at least I'm walking.
Also, every day since last Monday I have walked over a mile & logged aerobic steps on the way.  I'm trying for at least a half-hour of walking and have made that goal most days.  The least number of aerobic steps I've gotten this week was 11, but even that day I walked over a mile.  Today I was out for over an hour and 43 minutes of that time was aerobic. and just over 2 3/4 miles, plus what I manage to walk around the house.
Kim has now gotten a Zoom account & this afternoon she (with Calvin), Barb & I were all online and able to see each other.  I read Calvin 2 books and Barb did also.  Zoom allows us to use a laptop instead of trying to do it on the phone where the picture is so much smaller.

Good Deed for the Day

This morning I got stamps at the Post Office because I plan to be sending out some cards to various people.
Then I went to the Verizon store (ex-Radio Shack) to talk to them about Margaret's getting a DVD player.  They asked if I was going to help her set it up & I said I really hadn't looked at her TV & don't know if she has the proper cords, though he said she probably did.  She had been told they would deliver it.  Josh said he could deliver it in the afternoon.  I told him I had made a mask for her to wear while he was there (after prompting from Kim and a video "how-to" sent by Geoff.  That made Josh feel better.  I also offered him some of the "duck-bill" masks I have at home that Gordon had been using.  I have most of a box left.  He said that would be wonderful & said he could probably use about 5.  So, I got my groceries at Tops, went home, put them away, put 6 or more duck-bill masks in separate baggies, then went to Margaret's with hers.  She said she had gotten a call from Josh saying he would be out to bring her DVD. She was thrilled that I would do that for her.
Hopefully, it all goes well when she gets her new DVD player later today.

The whole episode gave me a really good feeling.  I didn't get very close to anyone, but was still able to do a good deed.

Makes the whole day feel better!

Has it Been only Seven Days?

Somehow it seems much longer than 7 days since it was announced we should meet in no more than groups of 50, quickly changed to 10, and all discretionary travel should be suspended.

On that Monday afternoon, I was on my home from spending the weekend in Lebanon CT to see the High School play Maggie, my oldest granddaughter, was running the lighting board for.  She had also designed the poster & program for it.  The musical, Little Shop of Horrors, was due to be performed the following weekend; however, the school quickly moved it up a week fearing (correctly) the school would be closed by then.

I had a great weekend with the 4 Kings and got to see the musical, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was good to be there for the musical and to join them in celebrating Dan (March 17), Barb(March 20) & Ella's(March 26) birthdays.  We also had an afternoon hike in the woods which gave us all, including their dog Natalie, a good amount of exercise.

Now New York, CT, and several other states are under orders to refrain from congregating.  Businesses, except for essential services, are closed.  Restaurants can serve meals, but only take-out. People over 70, or those with underlying medical conditions, are advised to stay indoors and not congregate with others. Churches are closed and learning how to do services via Facebook or other electronic means.  We are learning new things.  I'm sure we will be learning more new things in the future.

I have been trying to get in a walk of reasonable length each day. It's not hard for me to find places to walk where I don't encounter other people.  I am listening to a book while I walk, which works well when I walk in the cemetery, not quite as well well when I'm on Main St as trucks are noisy & keep me from hearing the book.  I hope to continue a daily walk, weather permitting.

More later.

Today Started Strangely

I got out the coffee cups & turned on the coffee maker.  Normal morning activities.  Except...The coffee maker just sat there quietly and did nothing.  Oops.  I checked it was plugged in, had water & coffee in it, turned it off & on again. No luck.  When Gordon and Casper got back we went through it again.  Then boiled some water and poured it through the grounds.  That worked -- for this morning anyway.

After breakfast, we gathered up our newspapers for recycling, went to the library and gathered theirs and took all to the high school as today is paper recycling day.  Then we went to WalMart to send MoneyGrams to Honduras for salaries and other expenses.  After that, we went off to McKinley Mall and the Sears store and came home with a new coffee maker.

This afternoon I started cleaning up/out the refrigerator.  I had some rhubarb that needed cutting & freezing for later use.  We ate up some left-overs for lunch.  Dinner was stir fry (always a good "clean the fridge thing" and steamed garden greens (weeds - lambs quarters. Yum).  Since we're leaving for Chicago on Wed, I want to be sure there isn't much in the fridge or what there is can be frozen for when we come back.

Tonight we took care of loading the Go Chicago card with a couple of attractions and making a reservation at the parking lot near Midway airport.