Near Portland Two days ago, Don and I reached our home away from home, in Clackamas, OR. We're renting the basement "apt", of a family home for 6 weeks. What were we thinking? I felt my age when we made 10 trips to unload the car... with bigger loads than this first photo! Quite a hike for a couple of oldsters. There were 30 steps up and down, to reach the rear entrance. Like Teen I felt like a giddy teen when I saw the entrance to the Theatre Room. So funny that our Airbnb has this. Then I felt like a pouty teen when I saw the House Rules. Quiet time after 9. No guests. What? College Dorm When I saw the kitchen area, I felt like a college student in my new dorm. We learned the hot plate could only be used outside. (smoke issues) The tiny sink could barely hold a plate. The mini freezer needed defrosting. However, there actually is an outdoor kitchen. Again, this is an odd arrangement and not so good for all the rainy days. We'll see. Being Quiet Don and I are used to adapting. It's like camping or staying at quirky hotels. Making it work is the fun challenge. But I am having the hardest time learning how to be quiet, after months of very loud quarantining. With owners above, I feel like we need to whisper and tiptoe. But we came to Portland to help Heidi and Jamie move and to welcome their new baby in Feb! We saw them on Tuesday for the first time. We are merging our quarantine bubbles for a couple months. On Tuesday they came to our BnB. No guests? Oh well. We had carryout dinner and happily got caught up. We did not whisper and we were not quiet. How can you be quiet when you feel your granddaughter kick!
I hope we can stay here 6 weeks without being kicked out.
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Reaching Oregon We made it to Oregon and I'm actually thrilled. Our travels have felt very safe. We don't see this kind of scenery from our car windows, in Texas! But, we missed being in Texas today, when Don got a phone call from his doctor's office. They were inviting him to come in that day, for the vaccine! What!? We're thousands of miles away and won't be home for many weeks. This is a bad time to be away from Texas... one of the few states that seems to be moving on vaccinations. Family! But we ignored that missed opportunity. We were able to make a stop in Eugene and see Jennifer and Kate! It's been way over a year! We were cautious and wore masks for hugging. It was a wonderful stop on our way to Portland, We were fed homemade pea soup and freshly baked sourdough bread, And we looked at all the stuff they've been dealing with for weeks. Jennifer and Kate have been receiving baby shower packages for weeks at their home. It's been a complicated mess having our daughter, pregnant and far away during a pandemic. But so many have helped from afar. Too many presents is not a bad problem. So Much Help I'm actually stunned at all the family pitching in to help, with Heidi's isolated pregnancy. Heidi's aunt in NY, sent decorations and gift wrap. Heidi's sis-in-law has been coordinating the virtual event from CA. Kate and Jennifer have used their address in Eugene, since Heidi and Jamie are between houses in Portland. When I attempted to thank Kate for wrapping all the gifts, she assured me that this baby shower has been the best distraction ever, from the depressing news these days. Chali said the same thing as she showed me pictures of colorful cake options on her computer.
This is an awful time to be pregnant, in a place far away from family and friends. But how connected and happily distracted we've all been by this happy focus! January 7 Traveling during a pandemic is worrisome. But we learned how to make it safe, last August. Now, we're traveling at the most deeply troubling time in U.S. history, since 9/11... while the Covid still rages. I'm glad we're driving. Two days ago, I woke at 5 in our hotel and turned on the news. The day before, the Capitol was breached. Only a few hours before I woke, Congress officially certified Biden's victory. Thinking on the Road On that Wednesday morning, we were on the road before sunrise, headed for Arizona... brains swimming with all that took place less than 24 hours ago. So many questions. How has our country reached this point? Why was there so little security at the Capitol? Why didn't Trump speak out right away, against the attack? Why hasn't he spoken at all to Pence or shown concern for those who died? Will they invoke the 25th amendment? How safe will our country be on Inauguration Day? Pandemic Also, there's still a pandemic in our world. We're traveling like we did in August. Picnics instead of restaurants. Lots of spray sanitizer, for restrooms and hotels. It's less stressful. More masks in Jan, than Aug. California The scenery was refreshing when we hit southern California. The southern route helped us avoid risky winter weather. It also took us right through L.A., which is ahout the worst place in the country to be right now, after the post holiday surge of infections. I had to force myself to stop thinking about all the what-ifs. I've read reports of overflowing hospitals in Los Angeles. Patients lined up outside, while workers find bed space... No car accident in L.A. please! Our Oasis But we made it to our family oasis in Sacramento and all worries melted away. Scott and Chali have stayed extra isolated in their safe bubble, waiting for our visit. They kept their tree up, so we could feel festive. We saw our silly grand-dog, Lola! We had 2 heavenly days together. Don helped with a roof project and I helped Chali with some virtual shower planning... for her sis-in-law, Heidi. We went on walks and ordered food delivery and drove around Sacramento. It's still a pandemic gathering, but we enjoyed each other!
We did talk about the current mess in D.C., We all need to vent and worry together. But we kept it to a minimum. Mostly we enjoyed this brief visit and planned for the excitement ahead in coming months. I'm so grateful that we've all stayed healthy. On the Road It's been less than a week since I griped on this blog. On Jan. 1, I vowed to stop my obsessive daily posts. But today, I need to rant. The day actually started well. We left our cabin, in a car jammed with 2 months worth of stuff. So excited to see our kids out west! I spotted a sweet church in Mason. We stopped in London, TX so I could mail a letter to my dad. All felt good. Window Watching After lots of logistical planning, we were on our way. The scenery was drab but my thoughts were nice. Our grand baby is due next month...we'll be seeing CA kids soon... then OR fam... 2021 is going to be better! I stared out the windows and let the signs amuse me. I chuckled at the sassy message, to drivers in Texas. I rolled my eyes at numerous Trump signs, proudly displayed near ranch entrances. Then, I grinned as we passed the exit for Warnock Road. Warnock! Hours earlier we had learned, the election runoff results in Georgia. Reverand Raphael Warnock, became the first black senator in Georgia. Counting Votes at the Capitol By noon, we were out near Ozona, Texas with spotty cell service. I was able to pull up NPR's live coverage of congress, counting the Electoral College votes. I had no idea what was just about to unfold, at the Capitol. Pence, then Biden... I squinted at my phone and watched Pence preside over this extra stressful process... due to numerous objections. The vice president looked anxious. (Trump has not been pleased, since his VP essentially denied his demand to help overturn the results of the 2020 election.) The comments below the video were flying, along with emojis. My eyes grew weary after a while. But I ended up being glued to that cell phone for hours, when I learned about the horrifying happenings at the Capitol. After hours of texting, I returned to NPR Live and saw President-elect Biden addressing the nation. "...our democracy is under unprecedented assault unlike anything we've seen in modern times," Calm Before the Storm Earlier in the morning, it had felt so peaceful driving along in the middle of Nowhere-Texas. I'd been texting with friends about the surprising election results in Georgia. We joked about the tedious coverage of the vote count. Suddenly, Shari texted, "The Capitol is on lockdown! Protesters are breaking down police barricades... scaling walls, tear gas..." I scrambled to find news on my phone. Were these pro-Trump protesters? They were in the building? The news was happening so fast, I couldn't get updated info on my phone. But, all our friends and family are at home, during these pandemic days... near TVs. So we got nonstop text reports. The Rally Before the Storm I barely took note earlier, when I heard that Trump was expecting to have one more rally in D.C. this morning. No surprise that he would make one last attempt, before Congress gathered at the Capitol. But when I heard what he told thousands of supporters, it suddenly made sense what happened later. "We will never concede... We will stop the steal...You will never take back our country with weakness..." He made it clear he was furious with Pence, He encouraged the crowd to walk with him to the Capitol to overturn Biden's victory. Trump of course did not march. He returned to the White House and watched his supporters storm the Capitol on TV. Shocking Photos Don and I finally reached our hotel in New Mexico and turned on the TV. It was close to the 6 pm in D.C. Crowds still filled the streets, despite a 6 pm curfew. Eventually the live coverage paused, to share images and footage of what had unfolded, hours earlier. How could this be our country? Angry crowds... many in MAGA hats, carrying confederate flags and Trump flags... scaling walls and breaking windows.. spraying tear gas... ransacking.. looting... occupying offices. Congress and staff rushing to safety... hiding under furniture... putting on gas masks... Chaos! Hotel TV We ate dinner in our room and tried to absorb what had happened on this day, that had started well. I felt anxious just watching the news in a quiet hotel room. How did it feel to be inside the building, when the mob's voices and shouts were heard? Confusion and panic. How may thought they might actually be killed? Was it like a plane going down, with people texting families? I can't imagine the horror. Yet, after hours of enduring the terrorizing invasion, Congress returned to their jobs, to finish counting votes. Words of Comfort? I'm ready to go to bed and try to sleep. It's hardly fair that I will sleep safely, while lawmakers work through the night, in a space filled with broken glass and violent memories. It's even less fair, that the president has been safely tucked into the White House for hours... tweeting his helpful words.
But no more tweeting for Trump, now. Evidently he's been cut off. First Day of 2021! I woke at 7 on New Year's Day, fretting about all I needed to do. It looked cold and wintery out the window. A good day to finish putting away Christmas decor and packing for our trip. Before I started, I read a Happy New Year text from my brother who lives in New Orleans. It's fun to know that we all are waking up to a new year, wherever we are! My brother shared an amusing photo, revealing some sidewalk litter from the night before. No beads, no confetti. Just a discarded Buc-ees face mask. NYE 2020! Boxing up Xmas I headed upstairs to box up decorations. My phone lit up while I worked away. More people are wishing "Happy New Year!" this year, than ever before! I stopped to text with a good friend and learned that her family dealt with Covid (as in very sick) over the holidays. For so long it has only been friends of friends. Now the pandemic is everywhere! Vaccinations are in our future, but not soon enough. Back to Work I put the phone aside and went to work on mugs. Why so many for 2 people? Because I love having options during these pandemic times! While I wrapped up the mugs, I thought about our trip ahead. In 3 days we'll head west to help our daughter and husband move and prepare for their baby. How can we make this trip safer than safe? Baby Distraction I finally got all the Xmas boxes into the guest room closet. Then I suddenly remembered I have a box under the guest room bed... I've been meaning to get to these old clothes! It was the best interruption, thinking about when baby Heidi wore these, years ago! Will Heidi and Jamie even want these for their baby girl? I don't know, but I'm going to wash them just in case. Moderna Text After a fun distraction with baby clothes, I got a text from another friend and learned she'd received the vaccine! I was thrilled for her! She's been one of the most cautious and concerned people I know. But I'm also confused. My friend isn't a frontline worker and she's younger than me. She heard about a local center with vaccines and simply made an appointment online. We texted back and forth and then I got back to work. My mind is boggled with how this whole distribution thing is going to work out. Different states with different plans. And it's extra complicated, since Don and I will be leaving our state, soon. Oh man. Packing! Then it was time to do a little more packing. How do you pack for 2 months? We've never been gone more than a month. Since we'll be quarantining for a while, I figured I will need a few books. How to decide? I got all these wonderful books for Christmas! William Saroyan I stopped and studied the cover of "The Human Comedy", That reminded me that I hadn't called my dad yet. (I gave Dad the very same book for Christmas) Our daily phone chat was a nice distraction. We talked about the book and and the author. Dad remembers reading short stories by William Saroyan in the Saturday Evening Post, when he was a kid. Diary Time As we talked, I had an idea. I asked Dad, "Do you know what we did on New Year's Eve in 1967?" He of course didn't. I dug quickly and found my diary from 5th grade. I haven't heard my dad laugh that hard in a while. I started reading about our 1967 celebration with the Betts family. Then I jumped around to different dates. My writing was awful, but Dad and I could visualize every silly thing I wrote about... we stopped at Krispy Kreme after church... David made me laugh so hard, I spit out my milk all over the table... it was a rainy day, so Dad put a big carpet in the garage so all the kids could play... It was much more fun reading my lame diary, than talking about vaccines and being on lockdown. Sunset My day was full of stops and starts. At 5:30, Don and I sat down to have a glass of wine. Then we both looked out the window and the sky distracted us! We left the comfy couch and headed out to see the first sunset of 2021! It was a beauty.
So the new year has begun and I will slow down with these ridiculous daily blog posts. I'm going to stop documenting every single day. I'm going to enjoy a sunset or two without interrupting the moment, with my camera! That's it for now! |
Not-So-Happy List
Cancer, Covid & Coronary... I started this complaining list/blog, in May 2016. I posted 200 gripes about my breast CANCER and then I was done. On March 13, 2020, I started venting all over again, when another disease (starting with a C) interfered with my life. This time it was the invasion of COVID and it affected every person. I ranted for a year, until I got my COVID vaccine in March 2021. CORONARY Artery Disease was the reason I restarted this blog on September 26, 2021. This time it was my hubby Don, who was dealing with a worry that started with the letter "C". Coronavirus and Cancer, Coronary Artery Disease! All are evil, but none can totally get me down... if I vent! I usually end up feeling a little more positive at the end of each post! Navigating This Mess! The most recent post is at the top, from coronary posts in 2022, back to cancer posts in 2016. To find past posts, look below the "Archives" section, to find "Categories". Archives
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