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.

This and That

We got a bunch of little things done, which really adds up to a lot I guess, just in small steps.  A little bit of grocery shopping, a little bit of reading, a little laundry, a little bit of cleaning out a few more things in the basement -- just enough for one trash bag for tomorrow & two recycle containers full of old plastic milk bottles, old large salad containers that were either #1 or #2 & recyclable.  The basement is coming along slowly, though it will take quite a while before it looks "good."  Still, little bits add up.

Now it's time to turn to thinking about what we are packing for the trip to Chicago & make sure all goes through the laundry & will fit in.

Tomorrow we will be going to Lois Yauczy's 90th birthday party in the cabin in the Arcade Park.

A Very Interesting Morning

We were headed out to do grocery shopping when Gordon told me the A&A was receiving the flatbed car (minus wheels) that goes under the coal tender they received last week from Baltimore, MD.  This had been a deal. The A&A fixed up & painted an older tender they had & shipped it to Baltimore where it will be used for a Baltimore & Ohio display.  In return, they sent us a larger tender that was too big for them, but will (some day) go behind the old #14 Steam Train the A&A has.  First, much fundraising needs to be done & both the engine & this "new" tender need work.

Anyway, we went to the train yard and watch as the tender arrived on a flatbed truck.  It took two forklifts to get off the truck.  Then they had to maneuver it over by old tracks at the back of their property.  The top part had been sitting in the grass for a while, uneven with nothing under it.  So, they then managed to maneuver it over to put on top of the car.  We watched & took pictures.  I videoed various parts of it.  It was quite an operation. 

We finally left to do our grocery shopping around 1pm.

Our 50th Anniversary -- July 27, 2018

What a great day!  I put up on Facebook that it was a Golden Day for Us and we got very many people "liking" that post all through the day & into the night.

 We exchanged cards at breakfast & Gordon gave me a second present -- dangly earrings with the tree of life inside a circle.  I decided I would wear them for our dinner at the Glen Iris Inn.

   The other present for us (maybe mostly Gordon) was a new laptop computer.  We can't pick that up until Saturday.

   Late afternoon we drove over to Letchworth & stopped at several of the look-out points to look at the gorge & watch the birds flying around, many of them vultures. 

When it got closer to 6 we drove to the Glen Iris & stood looking at the Middle Falls for a while.  I really enjoy watching & listening to the falls.  We also discovered The Glen Iris has an herb garden out back planted in gutters on the side of the building.

Library's Cookbook Club

Tonight was the Cookbook Club at the library.  About 12 of us gathered at the library to share what each made from the cookbook of the month.  I made Black Eyed Peas and Greens which I had never tried before, but I'm so glad I did.  It had 2 cans of black-eyed peas, a can of diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin & a pound of collard greens.  I also had to cook 6 strips of bacon (to cook everything else in the bacon grease) & crumble over everything at the end.  It turned out quite well & I think everyone liked it.  

My List Got Upended

I need to learn to be flexible when I make a list (mental or physical) of things I want to do in a day. Things don't always work out the way I plan.

My plan was to finish cutting the rhubarb & blueberries in the fridge so I could make jam early this afternoon.  It didn't happen that way.  We got caught up in computer things. Among other things, we made flight reservations to visit Kim, Geoff & Calvin in the middle of Sept. 

Then Margaret called to see if I could come to take pictures of the Women's Fellowship's newest quilt.  Of course!  It is, as always, beautiful.  Margaret invited us to have coffee & visit with her, which we did and had a very nice visit. 

Then we sent to the jewelry store in Springville to have the band on my new watch adjusted so it fits.  While we were there, Gordon bought me new earrings which have the tree of life on them.  Very pretty.  A stop on the way home to get collard greens for tomorrow's Cook Book Club dinner at the library, then Arcade Center to get corn for tonight's dinner as well as a quick stop at Stangteck to check on a new laptop we ordered (also Anniv present for Gordon &/or us).  It was almost 3 before I got to make the jam, but it is done now!

Today was for Finances

We had a  phone meeting with our financial planner today & will be having them more often now that we are retired I think.  This was to see where we are and plan for the future, starting with the rest of this year.  We were reasonably pleased with the evaluation and seem to be doing okay.  The next thing was to get our checkbook reconciled.  That hadn't been done in a while & Gordon successfully did it, with the help of Quicken.

I got everything together to make another batch of Bluebarb Jam but decided to put it off until tomorrow & instead took a bit of time to sit & read a library book.  It's supposed to rain all or most of tomorrow, so that will be a good time to make jam.

I received an early anniversary present today.  We had ordered a new watch for me, as my present one started acting "funny."  It wasn't just a battery problem, as it still ran, most of the time, but just didn't keep good time & stopped altogether now & then.  So, Gordon got me a watch that doesn't need a battery.  It's a Citizen Eco-Drive.  It has a rechargeable battery that is charged by exposure to light -- sunlight or fluorescent (or perhaps other light).  We do have to either get the band adjusted or get a new band, which we will try to do tomorrow.  Other than that, I am thrilled with it.  It has what I like in a watch -- real numbers, instead of dots and a second hand.

Trying a New Bread Recipe

This afternoon I decided to try a bread recipe I have had for a while, but I don't think I have ever made it.  It's called Maple Wheat Bread and it makes 3 loaves.  It uses ½cup of maple syrup in it.  Sure smelled good baking!  I have been having a bit of trouble with my bread not turning out as tall as it used to. It rises, but then during the baking process, it seems to go down a bit.  I don't know if my yeast is old, or I need to adjust the rising time, or what.  It doesn't affect the taste, however!

Sunday in church our Coffee Hour is Toast Sunday, since it's the fifth Sunday of the month.  I'll take one of these, and a Buttermilk Bread I made and some jam. 

Tomorrow I plan to make another batch of Bluebarb Jam.

Early Anniversary Celebration

We were invited to meet Carol & Sonya Christensen (who were our best man & maid of honor at our wedding) at the Roycroft Inn in East Aurora at noon today.  This was to celebrate both our 50th anniversaries! Our actual date is next Friday & theirs Sept 22, so this was close enough to both to celebrate together!  We had a great lunch and then sat and chatted until nearly 4pm.  It was nice to sit & catch up/reminisce about the past and near past and folks from our college days.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Next Fri the two of us have reservations at the Glen Iris Inn for a dinner on our actual anniversary.  Celebrating more than once is always nice.

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers -awent to Bisons Game

Last night many of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of the Buffalo area met at Coca ColaField in Buffalo to take in a Bisons game.  It was quite a good game, except the Bisons lost at the end.  I like the field because it is small & so easy to see everything that is going on.

After the game there were fireworks, which was fun also.  

 We had not been to a Bisons game in more than 20 years, so it was fun.

Tonight we met Dona & Harvey Roll to share a fish fry at the Arcade Vets Club. We enjoyed the company and the fish.  We'll have to do this again.

Finally Our Phone Works!

Nearly a week ago Verizon said they fixed our phone (from their office).  And it did work -- for 24 hours!  We had been having trouble with it for a week or two.  We could call out, but no one could call in.  If we were standing in front of the phone & heard a little half-ring & grabbed it quickly, we could talk to whoever called.  But most of the time it would do one or two half rings & that would be that.  The person calling would hear a half ring perhaps followed by a fast busy signal.  Today, after trying from the office again, the Verizon repairman came to the house & spent some time in the basement figuring out the problem.  I don't know how much they will charge us since it was our phone line inside the house that was giving the problem, but the important thing is that it is now working!  Yeah!

I attended my first session of the Book Club that meets monthly at the library.  I could not before, as it met during my work hours.  There were 8 of us & we discussed the book we'd read over the last month, Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate.  Some said it wasn't as good as one of her newest books, but this one was about 6 years old.  The one for next month is Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

Tonight, as we were watching the last episode of Loch Ness, we had a bit of a thunderstorm.  It's been dry so the rain is needed.  It's also been extremely warm, so the cooldown is needed as well.

No Rain Until After the Book Sale

I would say the book sale was a success.  We thought we would be there for a couple of hours in the morning & then go back to help pack up the left-over books.  But, that's not what happened.  There were 7 volunteers total and we stayed all day AND helped with packing up the books at the end, along with a family of 4 who came to help pack boxes.  Most of the very hot day I sat on the library's porch & cashed for the paperback books on the porch.  Someone took orders & ordered lunch from Marcos around noon or so.  At 3 there was a "BagSale" when people paid $3.00 for all the books that would fit into a bag (plastic bag we had, or a bag or box they brought).  That went well & helped sell many more books.  However, at the end of the sale, it still looked like we were ready to start the sale, rather than finishing it -- except for the huge pile of empty boxes that were previously full of books!  The money hasn't been counted yet, but we should know soon.

We were so tired (or I was, & didn't want to cook), we decided to go to Theos for Soluvaci dinner & Greek salad.  One of my retirement presents was a coupon from there, so today was a great time to use it.  And we have enough for tomorrow's dinner too!

Off to the BPO

This morning we were among the volunteers who  helped with the set-up for tomorrow's Library Book Sale (9-4).  The tent was already up, but we helped bring up box after box after box from the basement.  Wow there were a lot.  We have more childrens' books than previously.  There were also oodles of hard back fiction & non-fiction to put under the tent on tables.  The paperback books ae on the porch.  Those that seems exposed were covered with plastic as it's supposed to rain in the morning.

Now we're eating an early supper and headed for Kleinhans Music Hall for their annual Donor's Concert.  It is free to all those who donate money to them.  Among other offerings tonight, is a world-wide group of doctors who also play instruments.  Earlier in the week they played at the Children's Hospital in Buffalo.  We expect to enjoy this tonight.

Partial Cleaning of Basement

This is the result of our first go at getting things out of the basement.  We started with all the discarded planting pots and other gardening things that found their way down to the basement.  We emptied the pots (hanging & other) of their potting soil & put the plastic pots into the trash.

Some of the other pots we kept, but if they don't have a use soon, they will go also.

After Gordon cut out the grapevine that was trying to take over the railing & cover the clematis, they look much better.  The mint is very hardy this year also.  It really likes to grow up around and through the steps to the deck!

 We also got a picturethis morning from yesterday's special day for Calvin!   He is TWO!!  He's looking at a train book we sent him from the A&A.