Day 146: Knock It Off

Posted on 08/06/2020 by chick

Today the United States hit some grim milestones in the coronavirus pandemic. Over five million cases have been identified. Over 160,000 Americans have died.

Even so, people are still fighting over whether or not schools can be opened safely. I think it’s pretty obvious that they can’t, at least not on the scale on which schools normally operate. In Georgia, where school has already started, a second grader tested positive on the first day of school, so already that entire class is quarantining. They didn’t even get past one day without a potential outbreak.

Rhode Island is still considered to be one of the safer states, but we’ve had a recent uptick in cases, prompting the nearby states of MA, CT, NY, and NJ to put Rhode Islanders on the “must quarantine” list. The reason for the uptick is clear, says our governor, Gina Raimondo. “We’re partying too much. Social gatherings are too large, and folks aren’t wearing their masks.” She reprimanded partygoers with her catchphrase “Knock it off!” and reduced the maximum number of people allowed at social gatherings to 15. Anyone found to be in noncompliance could face a fine, so I were a certain someone, I would not be throwing any more parties. And I would say to anyone else thinking about having a party, “Knock it off!”

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Day 145: Rainbows and Oaks

Posted on 08/05/2020 by chick

Isaias turned out to be a strange storm. Mostly it hit us with wind, but for a little while we had slashing rain interspersed with periods of sunlight, creating an on-again, off-again rainbow.

Isaias’s Rainbow,
as seen from an upstairs window.

Just when it seemed the storm was about to hit hard, it fizzled. The clouds were still flying by at high speed, but between them was calm blue sky. What a relief.

That doesn’t mean the storm didn’t do any damage. Our power was out for the better part of a day. As I mentioned yesterday, a falling limb hit the back of our house, causing some minor damage. The picture below shows what our driveway looked like this morning.

Isaias’s Mess

Livia and I used the larger fallen branches as brooms and cleared a lane for walking and biking. I would have swept the entire driveway except that I could hear my husband say, “Why’d you do that? What a waste of time! I could have cleared it in five minutes with my leaf blower.” So I left it for him to clear, because he deserves it after having said that to me in my imaginary conversation with him. Marshall helped us a little bit, but he had the nerve to say, “You know what would work better? A real broom or something.” (The acorn does not fall far from the tree! 😉 ).

Speaking of acorns, you can’t really tell from the picture, but the driveway was covered with them. Fallen acorns are a nuisance, but I don’t mind, at least not this year. I’m just happy that the oaks are well enough to make acorns. This is the first time in years that they’ve made a noticeable quantity. The squirrels will be dancing for joy. Unfortunately, so will the ticks, because along with deer and mice, they’re part of a cycle that takes off every time there’s a bumper crop of acorns. But, there will always be ticks, and I guess that’s OK as long as there will also always be oaks.

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Storm Update

Posted on 08/04/2020 by chick

The power’s out, but the generator’s running. A few more hours to go, and then the storm will be past. It’s relatively calm outside now. I hope it lasts.

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Day 144: In for a Bumpy Ride

Posted on 08/04/2020 by chick

It’s late afternoon and the wind is already picking up. The worst of Tropical Storm Isaias isn’t supposed to hit until later tonight, but already our driveway is covered with bits of tree debris, and a tree limb hit the corner of the house, causing some minor damage to the roof, gutter, and deck. It’s not a good day for living under trees that have been weakened by years of insect damage and drought. But, my phone is charged, the flashlights are ready, and I put a few gallons of water aside. There’s not much else to do but wait and see.

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Day 143: Just in Time for Tacos

Posted on 08/03/2020 by chick

I tried to curl Livia’s hair using my old curling iron. Her hair has gotten very long, and it doesn’t hold a curl well. So, there was some disappointment. But then we painted each other’s fingernails sparkly pink, and happiness was restored, just in time for tacos.

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Day 142: Moon Slice

Posted on 08/02/2020 by chick

I don’t often take pictures of the moon. My camera isn’t powerful enough to do it justice. But one evening last week the moon looked so “clean-cut” that I had to try to capture it.

Clean-Cut Moon
July 28, 2020

Tonight the sky is overcast, so the moon can’t be seen. But it’s pleasant to be outside and listen to the sounds of the insects and frogs. They’re so loud one might almost think they were having a party, which would be fine for them, since they’re not in the middle of a pandemic.

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Day 141: Not Worth the Risk

Posted on 08/01/2020 by chick

Today my sister-in-law threw a big graduation party for her son. Many of our family members, including my octogenarian MIL, were planning to go to the party and presumably did. The party was supposed to be outdoors and carefully catered. We don’t know how big the invitation list was, or how many people ultimately went, but we could tell just from knowing the people involved that it would be a larger number than we would consider safe. So we did not go.

My nephew is a great kid. He deserved a big party. And yes, outdoors is safer than indoors. But still, was it worth the risk?

I don’t think so. I know that there are some who would consider my level of social isolation to be extreme, but most of the people I know are doing roughly the same thing. They physically distance themselves from other people as much as possible, and excepting necessary excursions and outdoor exercise, they stay home. And it’s important that we do this, because spreading the virus is so obviously bad. Everyone who catches the virus makes more of the virus. More virus equals more danger for everyone, and every case of COVID-19 means a longer time before we can all go back to normal.

So what really pisses me off is people who don’t take the virus seriously, and people who do not wear masks, and people who are so eager to get back to normal that they do things like go to parties even though they shouldn’t. They are creating more risk for all of us. They are the fuel that keeps this pandemic going.

Odds are that everyone who went to the party will be fine, and I hope they will be. But honestly I am angry at my sister-in-law for inviting people to take that risk, and I’m angry at everyone who accepted the invitation. Once this pandemic is over, we can have parties every day if we want to. But if we lose someone we love, we can never get them back. It’s not worth the risk.

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Day 140: Who Needs Teachers?

Posted on 07/31/2020 by chick

We finally got some news about the upcoming school year. One of the options our local schools have been working on is what they’re calling a Virtual Academy. It’s a self-directed learning course that they plan to offer for the children of parents who don’t want to send their kids to school. Apparently there will be some minimal tech support, but no teaching staff. As if the plan didn’t already sound bad enough, word is that it’s a permanent (for the school year) choice. Any kids who join the academy will not be able to go back to school if the pandemic situation improves or take advantage of distance learning if the schools close again. But hey, what parent wouldn’t jump at the chance to leave their kids’ education almost entirely in their kids’ own hands? And who needs teachers, right? Grr.

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Day 139: Thrillers Don’t Thrill

Posted on 07/30/2020 by chick

The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva, Grade: B

In The Rembrandt Affair, retired spy Gabriel Allon is asked by his art dealer friend to locate a missing Rembrandt painting. Following his belief that “sometimes the best way to find a painting is to discover where it’s been,” Allon sets out to discover the painting’s history. His search will take him to different locations around the world, and it will require the help of friends and colleagues, old and new. As they dig into a dark past involving Nazis, they uncover connections to people in the present who will stop at nothing to keep those connections from being exposed.

The Rembrandt Affair is #10 in the Gabriel Allon series (a series that contains at least 20 books), and it currently has a 4.6-star rating at Amazon and a 4.29-star rating at Goodreads. So, clearly some people really like this book and its series. As for me, I thought it was readable, but it didn’t do much for me. There was nothing so off-putting as to make me abandon the book, but the writing style was cool and distant (more like a report than a story), and the spy stuff felt cliche. Thrillers don’t thrill me, I guess. I enjoyed breaking out of my reading bubble for a while, though.

Someone recently told me that if they can find one thing to like in a book then they consider that book to have been worth their time. I agree. This book gave me a better understanding of how much wealth the Nazis gained by stealing from Jews during the Holocaust. Not that I wanted to know that per se, because it’s awful, but it’s the kind of thing one ought to know, because history must not be allowed to repeat itself. I also liked the advice that Allon had for a spy in training. He told her, “The mind is like a basin, . . . Pull the plug, and the memory drains away.” I don’t know that it’s true, but I certainly would like the power to control my mind that way, to make it full or empty of memories depending on which state I preferred at any given moment. Who knows? Maybe it just requires practice, or becoming a spy 😉

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Day 138: Back to the Library

Posted on 07/29/2020 by chick

Today we finally received the box of books that I ordered a few weeks ago. Most of the books were for Livia, but there were also two in there for me. I know it’s crazy, but I already have another couple dozen titles picked out for my next order. They are mostly sequels of books that Livia and/or I read recently and enjoyed. But the library is back to relatively normal business, so I will try to behave and order more books from them instead.

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