Nobody is Promised Tomorrow. . .
I was just finishing up my day’s work when I heard a hawk. Couldn’t see it but, I found it with my long lens. That has to count as the high point of the day.
Lovely day. 80°. Sunny. Windy enough to knock your ears off. Mai Tais were the special at the saloon. I had more than one. An altogether good day.
I didn’t take being in quarantine seriously at all. Especially since my housekeeper came to spiff up my apartment.
Not much going on today. Went to Trader Joe. Messed around my garden boxes. Did a little visiting. Oh yes, and I was “in” quarantine. Maybe “out” quarantine.
Had a long chat with my boss. Planning on what to do next. It’s hard to make plans. We were both digging through our email “vaults” looking for things that have fallen by the wayside during Covid. I would really like to get out of day-to-day operations. I am 77 years old. On the other hand, I found out that I was going to be one of the “and others” on an article about Covid vaccination rates. They wanted to know my name and credentials. “Old Woman” doesn’t hack it as a credential.
Today I am paying the price for the great escape. In quarantine. Last night the screws delivered a 2-page document of “Thou Shalt Nots”. But, it suited my purposes to follow the rules today. It was raining. So, I stayed in. And attended to reviewing taxes, doing some statistics for the hospital, and checking up on my investments. And, culling photos from my trip to Charleston. But, better weather is scheduled for tomorrow. And, my quality beer supply is exhausted. So a nice walk to the New District Brewery is on tap soon. I can walk two miles for beer. Four miles round trip. Of course, coming back, I’ll have a backpack of beer.
So, a couple of signs from Charleston.
Mālama Pono
Been meaning to repot this orchid for 2 years. For no apparent reason, I decided that today was the day. Now, mind you, I have never repotted an orchid. There is a very good chance that I killed Orchie. But, since the kitchen was already messed up, what to do but repot the new orchid as well?
I am supposed to be in “5-day quarantine”. I sneaked out for a walk this morning. I am actually pretty tired for no apparent reason beyond old age, so, I am not objecting to the sentence too much.
Got to the airport WAAY earlier than necessary. But, you never know. There wasn’t a single soul in the PreCheck line. (And at 12:30 at National – there was nobody in any of the TSA lines.)
But, if I hadn’t gotten to the airport early, I would have missed the Dream Lifter. It actually took off. There are only 4 of them. So, seeing a Dream Lifter roll by my window and take off. That was the highlight of today.
Not far behind was riding the Metro and a bus back to The Asylum. My Metro card hadn’t been used in over a year. I did a happy dance when it worked.
Post trip packing notes. 3 shirts, one pants, one skirt, 3 undies, 2 bras, 2 pair sox, a scarf, a jacket and a windbreaker. One pair of shoes. Ball cap. This count includes the clothes that I wore. Used everything. The only things I didn’t use: Power bank, eye mask, extra Covid masks. Weighted my entire kit at the Charleston Airport – 15 pounds. At least 7 of that was Forbin the Computer and his carrying case.
Now I am in quarantine for 5 days. That being said, I am visiting with my pod tonight. Eating chocolate is the reason for the in-person gathering.
Grateful to be safely back in The Old Bat Cave. And, ready to plan my next escape.
Windy, chilly, damp, totally unfriendly outside today. So, instead of an afternoon walk, I am having a coffee and some M&M’s . The hotel has M&M’s. And coffee. As well as breakfast, wine and cheese, and cookies and milk. I may well return to this fine little hotel.
I have checked in for tomorrow’s flight and arranged for transportation to the airport. Pretty sure that I will arrive way too early, but, I can always read after I get through security. Missing a flight would just be stupid. And stupid is something to be avoided at my age.
Meanwhile, time to return to reality. Or to plan another escape. And, a good thing about packing ultralight – it will take 15 minutes max tomorrow morning to get packed up. I didn’t find anything that I needed to acquire here in Charleston. So everything will fit. I however may have acquired a couple of pounds. Breakfast, M&M’s, wine, charcuterie, cookies.
Didn’t do much today. I walked 6 miles. Just wandering around. The weather forecast was for cloudy and chilly all day. Well, the sun came out and it was very nice. Not toasty, but nice. Rain is on tap for tomorrow. The hotel has umbrellas.
I always loved southern graveyards. Carlton and I rarely passed an old graveyard without stopping for a visit with the dearly departed. In fact, Carlton rode his bike to the Columbia Cemetery almost every day. He was buddies with the gravediggers and after he died I walked down to tell them that he had died suddenly. Being professionals, they wanted to know where he was going. They told me that if I wanted, they would find a nice place for his ashes in the cemetery and that management would never know. Actually, that was very sweet of them.
No, I am not bored with Charleston yet. It is a great joy to be able to walk around and see stuff. Today I saw two dolphins. Or maybe I saw one dolphin twice.
Weather today was breezy and sunny for my morning walk and breezier and cloudy for my afternoon walk. Work was uneventful and the highlight of the day was the best BLT sandwich that I have ever had. Picked it up at a tiny grocery store that I passed on my morning walk. Workmen were buying hotdogs. I just picked up a sandwich out of the fridge and 3 hours later was delighted.
Flowers have been fine. Two weeks from now, they will be better. But, I am still enjoying what is out.
Tomorrow’s weather is cooler and damper. Whatever.
The storm, which promised to have heavy rain, wind, large hail, and tornadoes just had normal rain. And, that seems to be mostly gone by now. I was rather tired today, so I more or less took the day off from having fun and took a nap instead. And read some.
When Carlton and I traveled I would insist on taking every 5th day off from doing travel stuff to get recentered. And this was when I was in my 40s. But, it is hard to consider this as traveling. I had a travel half-day. And, another half-day learning my way around. And, the rest of the time, I have just been doing normal little old lady stuff.
Grateful that the evil weather bypassed Charleston. And, that I made it through a week without tripping over the sidewalks. That’s being grateful for things that didn’t happen. Grateful for the wonderful breakfast that shows up at my door every morning.
Have 3 more days in Charleston. Work tomorrow. Then, it is supposed to be cloudy and cool for the weekend. Which will be fine. Last weekend there were lots more people wandering around than during the week.
The golf cart seems to be an acceptable mode of transportation around town. This one is far and away the best one.
Bandwidth is pretty skimpy. Don’t think I will have a good zoom experience with The Asylum Sisters tonight. But, I’ll try.
I have seen 3 container ships coming or going today. 5 or 6 seem to arrive every day. And, the harbor is currently being dredged to 52 feet so that any container ship can come and go without waiting for high tide. I didn’t realize there was so much container ship traffic from the east coast. The very red state of SC seemed to have no trouble taking money from the nasty US government for this harbor improvement project. But the real question is – what is on that container ship. I thought that we Americans didn’t make anything that only one wanted.
I plan on staying in my hotel this evening. Charleston is very dark at night. And, the sidewalks are not old-lady friendly. St Paddy’s Day will have to be celebrated without me. I feel sure that today’s youth are up to the challenge.
I found this sign on my afternoon walk. Good to know that the staff at the liquor store is “sober” as well as friendly and knowledgeable. The unmasked man in the background is using the “eating or drinking” way around the mask rules. But, local businesses take the rule very seriously and they don’t let anyone in the stores without masks. I covered a little over 5 miles today and rewarded myself with a nice nap. It isn’t easy being one of the vintage people.
The wifi is better today. But, the weather will be going all to hell tomorrow afternoon. They have promised rain, wind, tornadoes, hail. Should be interesting.
If I look right out my window it is all Ft Sumter, fountains, and park. If I look left, it is construction and a working dock. All things considered, I like the left view better. But, it is nice to have both. Small complaint. The WiFi is really shitty tonight. But, it was good enough all day long to get my work done. So, no worries. Just hope it gets better by Friday. Friday is the next scheduled workday. There isn’t enough bandwidth to change the header image.
It was warmer and calmer today. So, I managed to get 4.5 miles of walking in. Before and after work.
Before work, I bravely went into a deli and got a fine turkey wrap to go. Charleston is heavy into grits. Shrimp and grits. Cheese and grits. Grits and grits. Collards and grits. Fortunately, they have some good barbeque. And, their soup and gumbos are excellent. I didn’t come for the food. I came for a change of venue.
Very windy and much cooler today. When I went out today I wore all three of my shirts, my scarf, and my jacket. But, it was 10 degrees warmer than back at The Asylum. so no complaints. Sort of took the day off today. Only walked 3.5 miles. And, didn’t really go anywhere except out to see The Eagle leave, and to pick up lunch and dinner. (Lunch was a salad, dinner will be a pig sandwich). Mostly I sat by the window and read. Nothing wrong with that.
But somethings did catch my attention.
I don’t think this frog is public art. He is out front of a gallery, so, he might be for sale. Doubt he will fit in the Old Bat Cave, however.
Reading old sci-fi. Finished “A Scanner Darkly” by Phillip K Dick. He wrote it in the mid-’70s and it is set in the mid-’90s and here we are in the ’20s. Dick was doing a lot of amphetamines when he wrote it. And, it is about drugs, bad trips, addiction, and “recovery” operations. A totally dark read. But, still compelling.
Have to work tomorrow. So, I hope the wifi goddess will bless me with good signal.