COVID 19 did not skip my family….

I have been very concerned about the spread of this virus that has taken so many lives and has changed the way of life for everyone in our country.

We have had many of our church members test positive and some have succumbed to it. The first in my family to have it was my grandson. He and his wife have young children and that was a great concern. He did recover and was able to return to work.

Later my granddaughter, who is a teacher was exposed to it by a pupil of hers whose Mother tested positive . This was not found out immediately by the child’s parent, so the little girl was sent to school, unaware of the situation. My granddaughter became ill and was tested, but did not receive a report immediately. After several days of being sick, at home, her report came back negative! She was able to return to the classroom to teach, although she did suffer for several days while awaiting the results.

My daughter and son in law had been around their daughter, providing food and delivering it to her. She may have been a carrier, we do not know that.

My daughter, who never misses work due to illness, got so sick she had to go to bed. After a visit with her doctor the following day, she was sent to be tested. My son in law is a pastor and has come in contact with some of the church members who are ill, not with the virus necessarily. He became ill. We do not know where he picked the virus up.

Both were tested and immediately the results were positive for each of them. So now, the they are sick and quarantined at home. I have kept the Lord busy with listening to my prayers for my family and for everyone. I am considered to be “at risk” for several reasons, so I hibernate for safety reasons.

We have read of the plagues in the Bible, but I’m sure we did not think that we, as a nation, would be living through one. Our country is so blessed in every way and it is very easy easy to assume that life for us will always be safe and wonderful! Our eyes have been opened to the reality that no country and no person is immune to tragedy. Life is a mystery, but one day we will understand why certain things happened as they did. Until then, our prayers should be that of a thankful heart to God, who does not give us more than we can bear.

A week has gone by…time gets away and can never be reclaimed…

I have referred to an old song, “Funny how time slips away” several times recently. It does vanish and you have nothing to show for it. For three days, I didn’t feel like doing much of anything, so only the basics got done at my house. Thank goodness I no longer have a paying job with deadlines to meet! I was very disciplined during that period of my life. Everything was neat and organized when I worked.

I have a journal I write in daily, but I include all sorts of information that is not for publication, but for me as a reference when certain things take place. After a while, I shred those journals. I don’t want my daughters to have to go through the things I leave behind. It took me a year to sort through my Mother’s belongings before I sold her house. She “saved” a lot.

I did go through the kitchen “junk drawer” as I call it, not long ago. It has a conglomeration of things, from nails to hang pictures to many recipes I clipped over the years. It was a relief to dispose of more than half of the contents!

I had two boxes of “this and that” that needed to be looked at before it was tossed. There were brochures from trips I had taken in the past few years, birthday cards from some dear friends and my daughters, some receipts that were put in the boxes by mistake. There is no telling what you put back, if you don’t make the decision to throw it away right then!

When I heard from my granddaughter that she had been exposed to COVID 19, naturally, I was concerned until I got the report that her test was negative. Then when my daughter had the symptoms, that was another concern. After three days of my own issues, I did feel better and could get back into my “work routine.”

I do have some health issues that can really mess a schedule up. Some days, when things are going well, I think, “ Thus is like old times, I can resume a “normal” life!” Wishful thinking! There are some things that I do every day, rain or shine, sick or well, no matter what! I look forward to the day when I combine more of the disciplines into retirement that I practiced when I worked.

My day starts pretty early and I have something I do from 7:00 until 9:00 AM each day. After that comes “other things.” I hope to resume my daily entries in “Jean’s journal “ so that my daughter’s can read them after all the useless junk has been thrown away.

As soon as the pandemic is a thing of the past and I can attend classes at the Shepherd’s Center, a Bible study, with lunch included , do grocery shopping, volunteer work and keep routine appointments, I won’t feel guilty of “wasting “ time!

Wednesday was a work day….

It was a beautiful Fall morning with just a little chill in the air when I woke up. The newspaper has a few extra pages on Wednesday because that is when the grocery store ads come out. Such a simple thing as a circular from a store isn’t a big deal to most people, but I like to see what items are good buys. If you don’t go on the first day, sometimes the special items sell out quickly.

I had my breakfast and Bible study with Dr. Jeremiah, as usual. Then I decided I wanted to change the color of my bedspread and a few other things in the guest bedroom. I had to take some things off the bed and put others on. I didn’t want to have to change the window treatments because I am shorter now and cannot reach very high.

I decided on the colors that would work with the least amount of stretching, etc. After that little chore was completed, I decided to make homemade vegetable soup. Then I thought I must have cornbread with my soup. I had been wanting some good muffins, so that was the next item to bake. No need to heat the oven for just one thing.

I had some beautiful apples, so I cooked them and made a casserole dish for later. I had been wanting deviled eggs since I had not had any for some time, so I boiled half a dozen eggs for that dish. I am only one person and since the pandemic has brought about so many changes I have not invited anyone to have lunch or dinner, so I really don’t need to cook large quantities. I enjoyed my lunch very much. I will have enough food to last for a number of days, which is nice, but I was too tired to go out to buy more. So I had to rest a bit before dinner, Jeopardy and a few other programs.

We have prayer meeting tonight, by IPad. I decided that I had done enough for today, so my trip to ALDI will come later in the week. I look forward to a time when things will be normal again.I am not the only one. I am thankful that I enjoyed my nice meal at lunch and look forward to another one a little later today. Then at 6:00 PM, prayer meeting will take place followed by a program or two before time to go to sleep.

I thank God that things are no worse than they are, but I do look forward to the time when we can go out without fear of becoming infected with the virus. Our lives are so precious, we have to be careful. It is better to be safe than sorry, for most of us that means continue to hibernate! Despite everything, we are truly blessed to live where we do and to have so few inconveniences!

I like to put a daily entry in my journal. Some days are more interesting than others. My day has been a work day and my errands will take place when it is convenient. As Scarlet said, in Gone With the Wind, “ I will think about that tomorrow, after all, tomorrow is another day! “

The first day of Fall!

It was a beautiful here. A chill in the air, but a sun shiny day! You could tell it was Fall because Facebook was overflowing with orange pumpkins, colored leaves and wreaths that added excitement to this season.

Fall is my favorite time because of the colors! Not just the leaves, but cooler air, beautiful sweaters, bonfires, and all the pumpkin spice foods! When I went grocery shopping last week, the pumpkin spice bagels, pumpkin spice creamer, pumpkin spice cream cheese and pumpkin cakes filled the shelves! Pumpkins and the hard winter squash were in great supply. The mums had arrived, also!

I decorated my house very early so I could enjoy the orange, gold, brown, rust and wine colors longer. I am using my fireplace for the warm, cozy feeling that the flames give me. To complete the feeling, I have CDs of beautiful music to listen to. You can tell I am retired and love being at home.

A new trend in decorating has taken place over the past few years. It started with the use of white pumpkins. This year black and white checks are very popular. I like the place mats, napkins and pillows , but I have not added them to my collection of decorations yet.

I will probably add a few things, but I feel like that trend will be here for a while. Last Christmas red and black checks became very popular, not only for decorating, but for pajamas, shirts and ponchos which appeared in stores almost overnight!

I am not among the first to buy the latest in fashion, but I do add a few things to my very basic wardrobe. I know I will add black and white to my Fall decorations, but I am still partial to the traditional colors and I always will be!

A mug of hot cider with a cinnamon stick, the warmth from my fireplace, lots of pillows and an afghan….

Here it is, the day before Fall is official! My house has the look and feel of my favorite time of year! In the past, I would have taken my annual trip to New England, but not this year. Things are different because of a virus that disrupted life for everyone.

After a trip to go “leaf peeping” years ago, I wanted to go again the following year, so I did! Leaves change earlier in Vermont and New Hampshire. There is just something about dressing in warm clothes and going to some of the stores that sell “maple” everything! Maple syrup, maple pralines, maple scented candles, I bought some of all those things! I have visited a farm where there are buckets on the trees to catch the delicious liquid that makes pancakes taste so good! But this year, I will have to be content to look at photographs of previous trips.

I remember the White Mountains and the Green Mountains, the boat trips on some of the lakes and all the good food. So many places had huge fire places for you to stand in front of to warm your cold hands! Every part of our beautiful country has things that are unique to them. I remember a trip one year when I stayed at Mount Washington and woke up to a blanket of snow! In South Carolina we may get a dusting of snow once in a season, but it is gone very quickly.

When I lived in Atlanta, there was a street that I traveled each day as I drove to work. In the Fall, every tree turned a beautiful shade of yellow, no orange, brown or rust leaves, just yellow! When the sun was shining brightly, it reminded me of what the “streets of gold” will look like!

Well, this year, my trip to see colored leaves will probably be to North Carolina! I always go there anyway. The mountains of North Georgia and other states are breathtaking, especially if you take a train ride and you see all the autumn glory from higher up!

For today, I will listen to Roger Williams play Autumn Leaves, have a cup hot coffee a little later with some of my pumpkin roll that is filled with cream cheese and reminisce of bygone days when life was gentler and safer. We have learned that we should never take our blessings for granted and we must seize the moment, because it may never come again.

Saturday night is the loneliest night of the week….

Old timers will recognize those words made famous by Frank Sinatra. The song became very popular and was recorded by several artists. I enjoy the old songs because they sometimes tell a story and are not just one line that is repeated over and over. I don’t live in the past, but most of the current songs cannot compare with the Golden Oldies.

The quality of the vintage songs has been remastered and are being advertised by Time Life Books for many times the cost of the originals. I enjoy listening to the commercials and parts of the songs when I happen to run across them.

Today is Saturday, but for me it is not the loneliest night of the week. I have mentioned my Saturday agenda several times in my journal entries. My friends and family know not to call me after 5:00 PM. Starting with Lawrence Welk at 5:00 PM and ending at 10:00 PM, I am occupied with television.

I am thankful for the ability to “attend” church services all over the United States without leaving home. Since local churches have not had services due to the danger of the virus spreading, many of them are also using the media to keep in touch with their congregations.

Many years ago when I had young children, Saturday nights were times for preparing for Sunday. Clothes had been selected, baths taken and I prepared some food in advance for Sunday lunch. All that has changed since my children are married with families of their own.

But still, under normal circumstances, I would be doing many of the same things I did years ago. I have always tried to reserve Saturday nights as getting ready for Sunday.

Just this afternoon, I was playing some old songs when Frank Sinatra began singing “ Saturday night is the loneliest night of the week.” I thought maybe it was for Frank, but not for me!

The weekend is here…again!

They say time flies when you are having fun. It can also fly if you aren’t having fun. When I open my date book, I see nothing but blank spaces. Maybe once in a while there is a doctor’s appointment, but now you can be at home and “meet on your Ipad.” That doesn’t work if you need an injection!

Our current way of life is totally different. I remember when we used to say, “ I will be so glad when I can slow down and get out of this rat race.” Now that we have slowed down, we miss “the rat race!”

I don’t think we are a bunch of complainers, but we did not expect the pandemic to last this long. No one knows how long this situation will last. It is “very wait and see” from day to day.. We don’t want to rush back to “normalcy” and have things get worse.

As I try to keep busy doing things that have been neglected for years, I have come across some letters I wrote to my Mother. Most of what I wrote her had been shredded because she did not want anyone to see anything with her name on it. She didn’t want her identity stolen.

I have enjoyed reliving some adventures that happened years ago. Now I wish she had saved all my letters! Our minds can store so much, but we cannot remember every detail because we continue to have more things happen and we cannot retain all of it.

I need to take advantage of this solitary confinement because it could be over before we expect it to. Then we will wish we had not put off things like looking through boxes of old photos or reading old clippings from the newspaper.

There is one thing for certain, humans can be complainers. No matter what the situation is, we find something that is wrong with it. At least we can keep our minds busy! Seriously, when we get our previous way of life back, I think there will be more thankfulness and less talking about how bad things were! There is a lesson to be learned from everything that happens.

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Lotta fun in Latta…thanks to Carol

Latta is a small town in South Carolina and is the hometown of Carol Fore. As I have mentioned before, our travel group likes to go places! Carol thought it would be fun if we went to her home town to see why she wanted to show it off! Normally, most of our trips were to more well known destinations.

We had a full motor coach. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a number of folks who volunteered to lead us in smaller groups around town. That was very nice because we could ask questions and get answers.

We were parked across the street from the library. It was one of the Carnegie Libraries, which made it very special. A festival was taking place down the Main Street, so it was crowded. The library had tables set up in front of the building, filled with books they were giving away. Anything free draws a crowd!

Opposite the Library on the other side of the street was one of the nicest museum I have visited in some time. It was filled with interesting objects. There was an old fashioned dentist office and many other things that I enjoyed. I spent a long time here.

Across the street on the corner was a very old wooden building that my guide said was the “original” Walmart. It was good that the town saved this building of the past where the people shopped.

There was a garage sale going on for several blocks down Main Street. Many of our folks found some bargains. You know the saying that one person’s junk could be another person’s treasure. One of the highlights of a trip is lunch! We went to a very popular restaurant and had to wait for a short while to be seated and then it was just wherever you could find a seat. After we served ourselves of the delicious home cooked meats, vegetables and salads, we understood what it was so popular!

We visited an antique store next. I love seeing period furniture and other things from the past. Winding up our visit was a trip to see some beautiful old homes. We did not get to go into one that had become a Bed and Breakfast. It was an amazing trip! Now I want to visit every small town in South Carolina!

So many small towns have hidden treasures….

I am still sorting through things I have saved so I could take a second look before I disposed of them. That works fine if you don’t let them accumulate. This forced hibernation has allowed time to dispose of so many things. That may be one of the only good things that the pandemic caused.

A picture is worth a thousand words, as an old saying goes. As I looked through a brochure, the saying proved to be true. My travel club friends and I love to go places. I enjoy learning what I can about the area, as well as to enjoy a meal from a hometown restaurant.

The headline for this July trip was shown as, “Bluegrass and BBQ” and had a photograph of the Earl Scruggs band in the write up. I was never a big fan of bluegrass music, but I had listened to it and recognized the name Earl Scruggs.

The weather was beautiful and when we reached our destination in Shelby, North Carolina, we were greeted by some very friendly folks. The beautiful building we were taken to was previously used for local government, I believe. Once inside we were escorted to a large multipurpose room where tables and chairs were set up. We were actually in the museum. After we toured the interesting collection of many instruments, old clothing, signs and other memorabilia, we enjoyed a delicious BBQ meal. Our group loves to eat and we were pleased with the bountiful meal that was provided.

A number of musicians treated us to a concert, in the same room as soon as lunch was over and the food had been cleared away. The musicians were so personable, answered all our questions and even took some requests. It was a well planned trip, with everything in one location. Older folks appreciate not having to do a lot of walking, if they can avoid it.

After a delightful tour of the museum, a delicious lunch and the concert, we boarded our motor coach for a tour of the town. Shelby is a beautiful small town and the guide was very pleased to tell us a lot of history, which none of us was familiar with.

The next event brought back pleasant memories of bygone days when we went to a theater to see our favorite movie stars. Our age group got to see quality films and knew so much about the actors because of all the magazines that were full of photographs of their lives off screen. The theater we toured was the Art Deco style and actually took our breath away! The building has been beautifully restored to the glory days of the past. It is used as a venue for singers and other performers now. We were given a tour backstage, as well as a history lesson.

Our fellow travelers agreed we had enjoyed the trip to a small town much better than going to one that had many fast food establishments and outlet malls. I enjoyed reliving my trip on that July day because of a photograph I saw on brochure I had put back so I could take a second look!

You know things are pretty bad, if…

Yes, things are pretty bad if next to the most exciting thing on your list is to push the garbage and recycling bins out for pick up! The most exciting item on my list every day is the time I spend on line with Dr. David Jeremiah. He has been my teacher for quite some time and starts my day off full of enthusiasm!

Most people are creatures of habit and I fall into that category, I suppose. I don’t have a rigid daily routine, but everyone usually has certain things they do.

When I went out this morning, the air felt so good! It was crisp and invigorating. That is such a welcome change from the heat South Carolina is famous for! The second cause for excitement today was my coffee, in my favorite cup, and a warm bagel topped with a pretty heavy coating of pumpkin flavored cream cheese! Now, that is something to get excited about!

It is “pumpkin season,” for sure! The store shelves are beginning to be filled with so many seasonal pumpkin items! This is my favorite time of the year! I like buying real pumpkins and winter squash for decorating. I like getting lost in a corn maze and taking a hayride when young children are along!

It used to be an annual event to go to Burt’s Pumpkin Patch when I lived in Georgia. All you could see was section after section of orange normal and odd shaped pumpkins. Of, course, now white pumpkins are quite popular.

With the pandemic still dictating what we can and cannot do, I may have to defer the hay ride and corn maize. I know I will not go to Burt’s this Fall. There will be plenty of pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks and hot cider close by.

Well, I didn’t even have to leave home to have a great time on my “trip down memory lane.” Just the chill in the air, the taste of a warm bagel and all that scrumptious pumpkin spice cream cheese on top and thinking about how blessed I have been in prior years was all it took to make this the MOST exciting Tuesday in a long time!