I'm back

 For the last four days a friend has been visiting with me, actually staying over night in my apartment.  My first overnight guests since early March.  We were careful.  I kept the windows open as much as possible for lots of fresh air circulation.  We sat at least six feet apart and spent a lot of time on the balcony.   Another friend visited during the days and all of us wore masks when we went out.  We ate at outdoor restaurants which was fine except it was really chilly on The Deck yesterday.  All in all I could almost convince myself that things were nearly back to normal.  Almost, but not quite.  I just found out this evening that my daughter was exposed to Covid at work two days ago and has to self-quarantine until the 22nd.  She feels fine but still it is a reminder that things are not back to "normal."  Be careful out there.

extra preparation

 Tomorrow a friend is coming to stay over for a few nights.  We've been friends since high school and haven't seen each other since February, for obvious reasons, so I'm really looking forward to her visit.  A third friend will be joining us for most of each day, although she lives here in town so won't be sleeping over.  We are all still apprehensive about Covid 19.  We all feel well but keep hearing about asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus.  None of us wants to infect the others but we do want to spend time together.  So I find myself doing some extra prep work for this visit.  I've done all the usual - dusting, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, mopping floors, etc. But I also have made sure I have plenty of clean masks and I've measured to make sure we can sit six feet apart in the living room and in the dining room and on the balcony.  I've also opened lots of windows to let fresh air circulate and found several restaurants where we can eat outside.  Beyond that I guess we'll just have to take our chances, which seems to be what the rest of the country is doing.  

off to the races again.

 Two weeks ago I watched the pandemic version of the Indianapolis 500 and today I watched the pandemic version of the Kentucky Derby.  No fancy hats, at least not on site, but the race did go on.  They are both great races and I enjoy them. I love the roar of the engines and the grace of the horses.  As I said, both great races, but the Kentucky Derby has better names.  Authentic won, Tiz the Law came in second and Mr. Big News was third.  I'm not sure where NY Traffic and Storm the Court ended up.  I think the winning car at Indy was a Honda but that's all I remember.  The Indy 500 cars are really colorful and plastered with the ads of their sponsors.  Evidently Kentucky Derby winners do something similar.  I noticed the name 'Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse' printed on the winning jockey's pant leg.  Kind of ironic when you think of how carefully jockeys have to watch their weight.  The KD winner didn't get milk but he and the horse got roses.  Another fun fact, today was the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby, making it the oldest continuous sporting event in the US.  

strolling through the museum

My friend and I spent a lovely, quiet afternoon at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art today.  I love the glass sculptures.  There was one I would gladly have brought home with me, a lovely smooth sort of leaf shaped piece in shades of blue about 18 inches long and 12 inches high.  Unfortunately it's not for sale and if it was I probably couldn't lift it.  I couldn't check the weight because of all the pesky 'do not touch' signs all over the place.  Why is it that, when I read do not touch, I immediately want to touch whatever is in front of me.  I know perfectly well what smooth glass or rough stone or fired clay or cool metal feels like but still, the urge to touch is almost irresistible.  Almost, but not quite.  My friend watches me like a hawk.  I think he's afraid I'll get arrested or something.  So I walk around, with my hands clasped behind my back and use my eyes and imagination.   One of these days I'll go by myself and when no one is looking.............

advanced notice

For a change I am giving you a heads up so you can celebrate tomorrow's special day all day long.  Tomorrow is Newspaper Carrier Day.  My husband was a newspaper carrier, aka a paper boy, many, many years ago.  He used to reminisce about picking up his papers at a common drop off point early each morning, rolling them properly and loading up his bike to make his deliveries.  Just like a mailman neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor dark of night kept him from his appointed rounds.  Miserable weather was part of the job and they didn't even have nifty plastic sleeves to put the papers in.  The only thing worse than delivering the papers in miserable weather was making collections in miserable weather.  Most people were very good about paying their weekly bills but there were always a few who didn't have any cash handy or pretended they weren't at home.  My husband's proudest possession from that era was his change maker, a nifty little device he could put on his belt that held pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters which could be released one at a time by pressing the right lever.  It stood on our dresser collecting spare change for many years.  My son has it now.  In contrast, I think my current paper person has one of the best paper routes ever.  He goes from floor to floor, door to door, delivering papers in these two apartment buildings, in little plastic bags that he hangs on our door knobs, and of course he never needs to knock  on a door for payment.  He's actually a little old man so I guess he's earned the easy route.  He never misses a Sunday so I'm not complaining.  Let's hear it for Newspaper Carriers everywhere.  

a creative day

 Today is Bison-Ten-Yell Day.  When I received this information from my west coast brother this morning I assumed it had something to do with an ancient Native American ritual.  Maybe, long, long ago ten bison were running into a village and the women (the men were out hunting) yelled at the bison until they ran away.  Maybe they chased them over a cliff, starting that method of hunting.  But no, that's not what it means at all.  bison-ten-yell said quickly is bicentennial and today is a day to celebrate the 200th anniversary of your favorite imaginary animal.  I have two, the Hodag, a monstrous assembled creature which fooled naturalists for a while and which I first learned about on a trip to Wisconsin, and the Jackalope, a mythical creature of the great southwest.  It looks like a large jackrabbit with antlers.  So what's your favorite mythical creature? I'm sure you have one.  

At last!!!

 I live on the tenth floor of a 55 year old apartment building.  It's a very solid building but some of its systems are getting a bit worn.  For instance the elevators.  We have three. I have never been trapped in one but I have experienced some unexpected rides (up when I push down or the reverse, stops on floors where only ghosts get on and doors that are reluctant to open, not to mention very slow response times). You get the idea.  For the last several months (it's not a speedy process) a crew has been working to replace the first of our three elevators. and today, joy of joys, our new elevator was working for the first day.  It happened to be laundry day for me which means six elevator rides,  three down, three up.  I rode down the first time in one of the old elevators because I didn't know til I got to the ground floor that the new elevator was ready to ride.  A group of workers were admiring their work and assured me it was good to go. I took the next five rides on the new elevator and it was wonderful.  It came when I pushed the button, it was light and bright inside, it pings at every floor and said "tenth floor" when I got there. I know I'm easily entertained but believe me this elevator is a treat to ride.  And better yet, they were starting work on the second one this morning.