Covid Chronicles, Week 12

OK, so now I am over the Memorial Day holiday hump and moving on.  We drove north again on Saturday to have another short visit with Katie, and John came over again for a distanced Sunday evening dinner on the back porch.  Our garden is moving along, and so is the small patio in the front of the house.  I’m expecting my new bench from Wayfair today.....hopefully.  

Two fun stories for today:

First, a story about the garden.....Peter has been curious for a while now about growing hops.  Yes, the stuff they use in beer.  We know they are “bines,” that grow tall and climb on things like string or poles. They actually seem to be decorative as well.  But where to find them?  They certainly aren’t in any local nurseries!

He finally found some online, from Michigan.  They are not cheap.  So he bought just two, one each of two different types (Cascade and Chinook).  He even paid for shipping!  Whoa!

No, he’s not starting a new hobby....just very interested.  Perhaps a neighbor will use them to make homemade beer and share?

They arrived with certificates!  They are “pest free.”  Cute little things growing in little pots.  They also arrived with information on “growing hops.”

Um, did you know there are male and female plants for hops?  The female plants are the ones that make the cone-shaped hops that are dried for beer.  

So, what do we have?  Do we need both a male and female plant?  Good grief, why did we even get two *different* plants?  How do you tell a baby male plant from a baby female plant? 

So today he called the company.  The woman who answered the phone was very helpful!  Good news:  They only sell female plants, because the ONLY reason you need a male plant is if you are breeding new plants.  And then it’s a gamble about what kind of hops you end up with, anyway!  Yes, we can plant the two different plants next to each other, about 4 feet apart.  Phew!!!

He took an old dead cedar tree and set that up in the garden.  Soon we will have string strung up to one of the branches, and our baby hops will have a home.  

The second story is an addition to last week’s story about re-writing “9 to 5” as “6 to 10.”  I sent this to a number of people via email.  One of them is a friend that I worked with at our local magnet school (she was a first grade teacher then), and she is also in my weekly bible study group.  She responded enthusiastically, asking if she could send this to a friend in England who would love to sing it!  Would I mind?

No, of course I don’t mind.  I just do this for fun, and hopefully others will get a smile out of it.  I don’t worry about copyright or anything.  Send it anywhere you want!

A few days later, I received an email with an mp3 attachment.  Her friend recorded the song!  It’s AMAZING.  That certainly made my day!!!! 

Best wishes for health and safety to you and yours,

Covid Chronicles, week 11

The Covid thing is starting to get to me more.  I guess I have some days that are better than others......but the Memorial Day holiday, without a parade, without having everyone over for burgers on the back porch....and knowing that this could go on for quite a while, well, that's depressing.   We actually did have John over for burgers outside on Sunday evening, but he sits apart from us.....kind of like when the Amish "shun" a family member.  It's very nice except I don't really get near him.  I stretch out my arms and say, "virtual hug!"  

I try to focus on the positives:  With the good weather, we can have socially distant gatherings with family, friends and neighbors.  Just not too many at once.  I continue to "see" others via Zoom or FaceTime.  The good weather also allows us to go for more walks, and since we are trying to walk all the streets of Glastonbury, we are often driving to different streets and seeing different things.  Yesterday we took the 1935 Ford Pickup out for a ride, and that's fun as well.  

Also, yesterday we ordered takeout from Bertucci's and enjoyed that outside on our back porch.  It felt like a luxury!  Thinking back, we realized that the last time we ate restaurant food was exactly ten weeks earlier, in Miami.  We returned home late that evening.  So March 16 began "week one" for us.  We are now beginning "week 11".  

I re-wrote the lyrics to Dolly Parton's song, "9 to 5".  What do you think?

I call it, "6 to 10"  (Social Distance Song):

Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen;

Dig down deep to get some ambition

‘Cause work at home – has demons to fend.

Jump in the shower, think about your mornin’.

If you go out there, you gotta keep watchin’

“Cause folks like me – stay away from 6 to 10.

Keepin’ 6 to 10 – what a way to go on livin’;

And I wonder when – we can stop this social distance.

They say, “use your mask” – and also disinfectant.

It’s enough to drive you – crazy if you let it!

6 to 10 – to stop the spread of Covid.

When you think of it – it’s depressingly morbid.

Want to hug my kids – but the rules don’t seem to let me.

I swear sometimes that germ is – out to get me!

We can go out but we keep our distance;

We want it safe in every instance

But we’ve got dreams it’ll never take away.

We’re in the same boat with all of our friends,

Waitin’ for the day our ship’ll come in,

And the tide’s gonna turn, and it’s all gonna roll our way!

Keepin’ 6 to 10 – what a way to go on livin’;

And I wonder when – we can stop this social distance.

They say, “use your mask” – and also disinfectant.

It’s enough to drive you – crazy if you let it!

6 to 10 – to stop the spread of Covid.

There’s a better life – and you dream about it, don’t you?

It’s a changin’ game – no matter how they call it,

And you spend your life hopin’ for good news that will stall it!

6 to 10 – what a way to go on livin’;

And I wonder when – we can stop this social distance.

They say, “use your mask” – and also disinfectant.

It’s enough to drive you – crazy if you let it!

6 to 10 – to stop the spread of Covid.

There’s a better life – and you dream about it, don’t you?

It’s a changing game – no matter how they call it,

And you spend your life – hopin’ for good news that will stall it!

6 to 10, keepin’ 6 to 10….

This is one way I express myself during Covid.  

Stay safe and be healthy!

Covid Chronicles, Week 10

 It seems as though I'm busier than ever now that the weather is picking up.

Peter has started making what he calls a "victory garden."  He rented a post hole digger to set 11 posts.  I helped him ensure they were up straight.  I was the "person with the level."  

We finally got a chance to drive up to see Katie and Andy!  Ninety minutes to drive there, 90 minutes to visit (socially distantly) on the back porch, and 90 minutes to return home.  We were tired by then, but it was nice to see them and their dogs.  Uhtred, the puppy, jumped on us as we arrived.  That was ok until I realized that his paws were quite muddy!  Oh, well.  Good thing we have a washer and dryer at home.  

Otherwise, Uhtred has a pretty good disposition.  Poor Dogmatix has to deal with the puppy jumping on him occasionally, but apparently all is going well overall.  

Actually, Uhtred wasn't feeling well a few weeks ago, and the vet prescribed medications for inflammation.  He tested negative for Lyme disease, however, and it's most likely some "growing pains" that puppies can get.  

We are planning to make a small patio in the front of the house.  I went online to find some furniture that we could put there, and I found this from Wayfair:

It's actually all one piece!  It's called a "Tete-a-Tete Bench".  It's cast aluminum.  Already on order, should arrive by mid-June.  

As we go walking in different neighborhoods, I have been looking for a piece like this, but to no avail.  We see lots of benches, Adirondack chairs, and an occasional tiny garden table with two chairs.  I didn't want the wiry look of those garden tables and chairs; I wanted some chairs with arms that looked comfortable but don't send us into a reclining slumber, like an Adirondack chair could.  This seems to be my best bet.  We can sit and read and enjoy some sort of beverage while sitting together.  

A lot of the time I go outside and sit on the steps if I am waiting for an expected visitor to arrive.  This will be a lot nicer for that!  (Sitting on the steps is not the greatest for comfort!)

Covid Chronicles, Week 8

Best wishes for a happy Mother's Day!

We are very happy to have had a very nice day on our 39th anniversary a few days ago.  Well, it was about as good as it can get with Covid restrictions in place.  We enjoyed a walk in the sunshine, and later in the afternoon Katie called just as John was expected for a visit!  We sat outside, ten feet away from John, with Katie on the speaker phone.  So nice to have a "family visit!"  

After the phone call ended and John left, we cooked a dinner of filet mignon (which we ordered from Omaha steaks just as the problems with meat began to brew), and a dessert of ricotta cheesecake.  Good thing we know a thing or two about cooking!

I was browsing on Facebook this weekend....and I came upon this template for a mask.  It looked to be exactly what I was looking for!   And - it was FREE.  I've never really taken to sewing, but it seems like having a number of washable masks on hand is a good idea right now.  We already had a few masks (two each), but I wanted a more fitted model (like this).  This one looked to be simple for my basic sewing skills.  It worked out pretty well,  The links are included below.  

Perhaps you....or someone you know.....would also like this.  I was happy to share it with a friend who needed the child size for her granddaughter!  

Three of my masks were made from cloth napkins with a fairly tight weave.  I made two more with old denim pants for the outside layer and an old navy t-shirt for the inner layer.  I had enough elastic to make ear-loops for three of the masks; Amazon has some that will arrive in another week.  In the meantime, I cut up an old sock and those became ear-loops on one of mine.  

Thanks to my mom and dad, who gave me a sewing machine years ago as a gift!  Digging out the machine was a chore, but once that's done the machine became more "accessible."  I made five masks!

Here is a photo of the masks made from cloth napkins:

Here is the link to the template:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UlnV0alwP3r0ZblWc6k9E8SCk2DCYUfe/view

And here is the YouTube video:  DIY Fabric Face Mask - Make These Well Fitting Masks to Donate to Healthcare Workers and Shelters

DIY Fabric Face Mask - Make These Well Fitting Masks to Donate to Health... Download the pattern here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UlnV0alwP3r0ZblWc6k9E8SCk2DCYUfe/view?usp=sharing Th...

Covid Chronicles, Week 7

Week seven has begun.....I think this will be a while, so I'm trying to pay attention to the little things that make life interesting.  Practice makes progress, right?

We have friends where the husband is on fellowship in Cardiology at Baystate Medical in Springfield.  The wife is a pharmacist at Hartford Hospital.  The daughter is kindergarten age, and they are having a tough time implementing the many distance learning lessons supplied by her teacher.  I offered to meet with Vivienne via FaceTime (on a regular basis) and do some things with her.  She is nicely improving in decoding consonant-vowel-consonant words with sh and ch, and also in recognizing her sight words.  Yesterday I noticed good improvement in counting, as we played a dice game!  It's a lot of fun, and also gives me a feeling that I'm at least doing something to help others at this time.  

Anyway, I had the family print out a paper square that needed to be folded like the origami "fortune tellers" we used to make in grammar school.  This one folded to become a SHark!!!  She had a lot of directions to follow (that's the SLP in me getting activated here), it starts with SH, and it's good practice for fine motor skills, too.  

Here is a photo of mine. The tape was necessary to keep the forehead together while I made it "talk."  I guess I could have used glue, but then one needs to wait until it dries!  

A fun thing that anyone can do at this time is head on over to the Cornell Red Tail Hawks camera:

Red-tailed Hawks

Red-tailed Hawks A Red-tailed Hawk pair has been nesting above Cornell University’s athletic fields since at least the 2012. Watc...

At the moment of this writing, there are two babies hatched.  They are so cute!  I am always amazed at the good parenting the hawks provide to the babies.  The mom is named "Big Red," and the dad is "Arthur."  I have been watching this for quite a few years and continue to donate so that these web cameras can continue.  Give it a look!

Here is a photo they provided of the first baby that hatched:

Just a warning:  they are carnivores.  They eat raw, fresh meat.  To keep the babies healthy and happy, there are usually some dead animals hanging around the nest at this point.  Once you get over that, they are totally amazing.  

At least we can keep in touch with our kids with FaceTime, texting, emails, and phone calls.  Katie recently sent us this photo of her two dogs.  Uhtred, the big one standing, is only like 6 months old.  He is a standard schnauzer.  Dogmatix, relaxing on the bench, is at least 10 years old and a mini schnauzer.  

I continue to try to maintain a routine and exercise every day.  I've also been on Amazon a lot.  On Saturday we got up and Peter went to make coffee......but the coffee grinder just stopped.  Sigh.  It was six years old already, so I just ordered a new one on Amazon.  Thankfully I found some ground coffee in the house, as most of our coffee is in whole bean form.  It will tide us over until the grinder arrives next weekend.  

Best wishes to all......

It's not about the cake! - Musings on gluten free baking

I just finished 24 cupcakes for a birthday party for my adult kids this afternoon.



This is what I have learned over the years:

Make cupcakes.  It's fine to use a mix.  I like cupcakes because they are fun, don't dry out as quickly as regular cake, and allow the hints below to make a great dessert.

My son tells me that most GF baked goods taste better when refrigerated.  It's a good idea to make the cupcakes and fill them, then put them into the refrigerator until the next day, when you frost them ahead of your guests' arrival.

Use a cupcake corer or small spoon to carve out a bit from the top of each cupcake.  Put a small glop of something everyone will enjoy, whether it's from a jar of fudge topping, some cherry pie filling, jam, lemon curd, or a peanut butter filling.  Cover your filling with the small cake piece that you just carved out.  This gives a nice surprise when your guests bite into the cupcake.

Use HOMEMADE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING.  Do not use a can of frosting!  There is a big difference in flavor.  Make a double batch, because the frosting is important.

Use a piping bag to make a bakery-like topping with the frosting.  This is easier than you think.  You can use a disposable pastry bag and a decent open-star stainless steel tip.  Swirl from the outside in.  Well, that's my experience, anyway.

You can put cocoa into a fine mesh strainer, then bring the strainer over the frosted cupcakes, tapping the strainer lightly with a spoon to let some cocoa drift onto the frosting.  This is nice if you filled the cupcakes with something chocolaty.  Otherwise, a small decoration like chocolate chips looks nice.

Do not worry about perfection.  It's homemade, not made by a computerized machine!  No one will care.

With the filling, homemade buttercream frosting, and the bit of decoration, your guests will love the cupcakes.....even guests who hate gluten free food.

It's not about the cake!

How do I handle that?

I've been lacking in keeping up this blog.  Sorry!

What's been going on, you ask?  Well, a year ago, I retired from my work as a speech-language pathologist in my local school system.  I truly loved my job, but the time seemed to be right.  I didn't see any sense in putting off the next step in life.  I felt that I needed to figure myself out, just as I had to figure myself out when I got married....had kids....an empty nest....etc. 

It was a good thing to retire a bit earlier than Mr. HH.  I took up strength training classes at a local gym.  I started teaching third grade religion classes at my church.  I joined a bible study group, which was fascinating.  (People talking about the afterlife?  NO ONE discusses such things in a public school setting!)  I started line dancing. 

Mr. HH is now retired, and I am busier than ever. 

Here's my take on change:  It takes a year to get used to any major change, like a new job, a new life situation, or even the death of a loved one.  It takes two years to "get a handle" on it. 

We need to give ourselves time to get a handle on things.