life in the old lane

The sun has started shifting to the right of the Washington Monument. Again this year, the shades will be down when the fireworks go off. He who must not be named had once again co-opted July 4th. There are other fireworks. There will be other years. Maybe not for me. But, for someone.

Sort of a nice gentle new normal day for me. More and more ways of communicating. The Asylum is managing to put a lot to the normal meeting on inhouse TV and YouTube. They are making more use of Zoom. Zoom is a little difficult for our residents. But, they are getting the hang of it.

This meeting used to attract a hundred or so residents. (They served cookies and coffee.) We had an audience of 4 live and 4 zoom today. And no cookies. It will be shown on in-house TV. I was 25% of the audience.

Last night’s dinner. Tomatoes, asparagus, salmon, sparkling water, and Gearharts dark chocolate. At this rate, I’ll fit into those shorts by the time I am 80!

Gratitude

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Grateful that I can still talk to Carlton. Funny, I always envision him as 78ish. If he was still alive he would be 85. And, he doesn’t very often answer me. But, sometimes he does. “Avoid beginnings, Wreckage of the future. You did What???”

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June 24, 2019 – Returned to London from Scotland. It was 25° warmer. A good thing in my world.

I scored a standing room ticket. Well, actually the concierge at the hotel did. Made for a long day.

Mālama pono

Foggy morning today. We are supposed to get the Saharan dust cloud late this week. Which will make for hazy days but superior sunrises. Sunsets too. But, I live on the morning side of the building.

I stuck with my personal reclamation project today. Zoom yoga. Good walk around the big block twice. Last Tuesday I covered 1.45 miles at a pace of 27 minutes/mile. Today it was 2.55 miles at a pace of 22 minutes/mile. I thought that I walked faster and better outside The Asylum. And the data supports that theory. Hoping for 3 miles in an hour. That will get me to my dentist or my doctor.

I am pretty sure that I am not serious about this. And, if I am I am sure that they are back ordered like crazy if they are available at all in the US. And, I did promise Carlton not to buy anything with wheels. But, it is something to think about if The Asylum and/or common sense forbids public transit and Uber.

I don’t need a scale. These O’Neill shorts will tell the tale.

Gratitude

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Grateful for coffee. Something so wonderful. Zero calories. And nice happy healthy antioxidants.

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June 23, 2019 was my last day in Edinburg. I was trying to get over a cold so I sort of took it easy.

The English, the Bermudians, the Aussies, the Scots: they all eat cold pancakes.  I can pass on all pancakes. Even when I fit in my shorts!

Mālama pono

For most of last week, my little fan provided all the conditioning that the air needed in the Old Bat Cave. But, today, the A/C is back on the job.

Getting ready to walk right out that front gate for the 3rd morning in a row. This morning I walked two miles. Which is twice around what I call the big block. I didn’t walk at “going to miss the bus” pace. But, I didn’t go at old lady speed either. When I walk around and around the building I walk slower. Older even.

As I was finishing up this walk I decided that I haven’t been taking very good care of the old equipment. Haven’t checked my blood pressure in over three months. I haven’t weighed myself since last year. And, I have been eating everything in sight. So, when I got back to The Asylum, I went right to the scale and read the news. Well, it wasn’t news. I know I am at MAX weight before I must purchase new clothes. 10 stone. Sounds better than 141 pounds. Need to drop a stone. Then I checked my BP. Fortunately, it is what passes for good for me 120/75.

When lunch arrived it was turkey and swiss on a croissant. Oversized fake Sysco croissants have no place in my fat world. (I would make an exception for a real croissant.) I know that my elderly body will be happier if it has less weight to haul around. I know how to do this. Goodness knows I have done it many times before. Eat half as much and exercise twice as much.

Gratitude

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Grateful to be on the green side of the grass!

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June 22, 2019 went on a trip from Edinburgh to Stirling Castle.

Mālama pono

The residents have been doing whatever they want this weekend. As soon as they read that they could get in the car, drive somewhere, and get out of the car, they did. Nevermind all those words about what you should and should not do after you got out of the car.

I went for my one-mile hike around the block. And, I didn’t go anywhere. I might ask permission to walk to the farmers market and purchase something. That would be 4.5 miles round trip.

I am still planning on going to the dentist on July 7 and getting quarantined for 5 days. But, on the off chance, they decide that I can go to the dentist – I need to be in condition to walk. (If I am going to get quarantined I’ll take Uber or the bus.) And that is a 6-mile round trip. Normally not a problem to walk 6 miles. But, I have had a lot of downtime. Have to kick up my walking from the bare minimum to something approaching 5 miles a day before I feel confident enough to head off to the dentist.

We had several nice steamtable Father’s Day lunch offerings. I decided to pass and made a shrimp, tomato, and avocado salad.

Still haven’t found a Monarch Butterfly – but I found a big fat bee in my garden box this afternoon.

Gratitude

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Grateful that the Wifi has been pretty damn reliable during this lockdown.

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June 21, 2019 – Edinburgh Scotland.

This was some sort of horse beauty contest. But you had to have 4 identical horses. Guessing this is left over from the carriage days.

Mālama pono

Made it out from behind bars for a little “hike” this morning. Just about one mile around the block. Four laps around the building is a mile. But, if I do it fast enough that is about all the cardio that I must get in every day.

As soon as the weather gets out of this thunderstorm cycle, I will go on a more proper “hike.” I must make sure that I can get all the way back home on foot because taking Uber gets 5 days punitive quarantine. I shudder to think what they would do to me if I rode a bus!

So, some signs of the times.

For the last 15 years at least most all of the summer lifeguards in our area have come from Eastern Europe. College-age kids were recruited, got some special work visa, flown over here, stuffed into cheap apartments, given bicycles, run through a quickie lifeguard training session, and deployed on their bikes to area pools. We have lots of pools. And, unless it is in your own backyard it must have a lifeguard. Now, pools are starting to open, but no kids from Eastern Europe. This is a sign of the new normal. I wonder if they give you a bike?

I only saw one “Closed/Closing” sign. But, I am sure more are coming. More new normal.

Gratitude

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Grateful for  a socially distance and masked IRL visit with my Asylum Sisters this morning. The 7 of us who used to huddle around a single table spread out over three tables.

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June 20, 2019 – Trained from London to Edinburgh.

Mālama pono

It isn’t easy being green. Or in jail.

This is getting pretty tedious.  The warden issued a directive today. We can drive around in our car, alone. As long as we stay in our car. That leaves me out. We can hike. We can play golf. I still can not go to the dentist without 5 days in quarantine. I bet a lot of illicit visits will be made to see grandkids and shop at Trader Joe’s. I plan to hike right out the gate. With a golf club if necessary. As soon as another resident shows up with Covid I am sure they will rescind these modest privileges. So, I am going to go for it ASAP.

Gratitude

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Grateful that I might be able to walk outside the gate. I am assuming I can walk outside the gate. They didn’t actually say I could. But, I asked the Warden and he just emailed “Go!” I can even pack a lunch and have a one-person picnic.

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June 19, 2019 was a travel day. I flew from Dubai to London. I was going to overnight in London before heading north to Scotland.

No time for a leisurely and lavish breakfast buffet. Just excellent coffee and my favorite peanut butter granola bar.

A shock to the system. Coming from 125° in Dubai to what passes for summer in Great Britain. Little wonder that I turned up with a cold 2 days later!

All I remember about this one-nighter was the hotel had a nice view and I got a free beer at the bar. What more could I want?

Mālama pono

Even the rabbit wants out of jail! And he can actually leave. Not so the inmates.

Sort of a do-nothing kind of a day. And what is wrong with that? So far so good on the Covid-19 front here in the Asylum. Nobody seems to be sick, staff or resident – but there are a dozen or so folks waiting to have 2 negative tests so they can be declared “good to go”.

Gratitude

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Extremely grateful that the WiFi service hasn’t failed, yet.

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Yesterday I was confused about where I was when. It only matters to me. I’ll fix yesterday. Or not. It only matters to me.

June 18, 2019 – Dubai.

Mālama pono

Cloudy and rainy today. That will be good for the garden boxes. And I was able to get in my barest minimum of outdoor time early this morning.

The street out front is being re-paved. I am sure that it is easier to do with less traffic. Don’t know when/if traffic will return. Talked to my friends at work this afternoon. One of the nurse’s son got a new job with Microsoft. They sent him a computer, a couple of monitors, a laptop, etc and said “welcome aboard”.  The guy decided that he needed to buy a new desk since he wasn’t going to be going to any office anytime soon.

Question: in my “day” my entire social life was wrapped around work. Heck, work is where I found Carlton. And more than a few others that weren’t keepers.  So how is this going to work?

Gratitude

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Grateful to everyone who reached out to me over the last couple of weeks with beer, books, chocolates, and conversation.

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Don’t want to miss showing off some pictures from Dubai. June 17, 2019.

The original Cereal Killer Cafe is in London.

I did go out for a very little while in the day. It was always over 120° when the sun was out. That’s why it was good that I was connected via an underground tunnel to the largest shopping mall on the planet.

I didn’t find out if the palm trees were always decorated or was this for Eid al-Fitr which was the week before I arrived.

Mālama pono

This morning, I ran into the rabbit with the correct camera. This guy seems to have a cataract in his/her eye. Apparently cataracts are not uncommon among rabbits. But, while researching rabbit illnesses, apparently there is something called Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus type 2 which sounds dreadful and apparently is. If you are a rabbit, hare, or pika. It has recently been found in California, Arizona, and northern Mexico.

Signed up for Zoom Yoga. The class that I used to take at the hospital. I didn’t do it last session. Figured that we would be back to normal soon. And, how did that work out, Peg? Assume nothing. Focus on NOW.

Gratitude

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Grateful to have escaped from the thrall of darkness that overtook me yesterday. I should be good to go for another couple of weeks. If I am careful and focus on NOW. Not two months from NOW. But NOW.

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June 16, 2019. I was trying to figure out Dubai. Staying in the tallest building in the world (on the 7th floor) next to the biggest shopping mall in the world. And a very different world it was.

Mālama pono

Day 77 was not one of my best days in Lockdown. Honestly, how long am I going to sit in this chair and look out this window before I jump out of this window?

This is Justin. He is our fearless executive director. What sort of title is executive director? He is the person we complain to. He got me my new frosty cold fridge. He is trying “management by donuts”  today. In my experience “leadership by beer” worked better. Justin is most likely hating life more than I am.

I was so bored today that I cleaned the rubber thingie in the disposer. Pretty sure I haven’t done that ever. This is seriously bored. With no end in sight.

The residents are getting really grumpy. There are two camps. The people who follow the rules and the people who don’t. There really isn’t any reason to follow the rules because breaking a rule and getting caught just gets you a scolding from the aforementioned executive director. It’s like summer camp.

I have been a good little rule follower – which is very unlike me – because I would hate to do some that would cause someone else to get sick.

Gratitude

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Thank goodness for Whole Foods delivery! Shrimp, raspberries, cantaloupe, avocado, sugarsnap peas, pretty good tomatoes, good bread… Thank you Jeff Bezos.

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Mālama

The Summer Solstice is approaching.  Spring Solstice was March 19. I was locked up. Summer Solstice will be June 20. I will still be locked up.

I thought about going to Bermuda the day I go to the dentist. That would earn me 14 days in solitary.  (Going to the dentist gets you 5 days.) But, I would have any number of days in Bermuda. Ocean. And, I can walk to the grocery. It is an uphill hot walk. But, there is that ocean. Problem. Last year, I could leave here after breakfast and be in my cottage by tea time. Not this year. It takes 24+ hours to get to Bermuda.  I don’t think so.

Gratitude

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Grateful for all the fine years I had with Carlton. AND, grateful that he missed this adventure. One of us would be dead after 75 days of TOGETHER.

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Looking back at June 14, 2019.

In the blog I wrote: Singapore has been great. I would come back in a wink. It’s like Japan only hotter and the streets have names and I can read the signs.

Mālama pono

Light is not always in the morning. I love watching the glass buildings reflecting the last rays of the sun.

I have been putting this update off for years. Now WordPress is nagging me about it. According to my host “there is nothing to it”. I am using 5.6 something and should be using 7.3 or so. It scares me to do it. Because if something goes wrong? I really need to do this while I still have 3 or 4 brain cells rattling around. Another thing I would like to do while I can still think is convert to https.

Took a proper lens with me to see if I encountered a rabbit on my morning laps around the building. No rabbit. Of course.

But, I did find a really nice gray catbird. They are one of my favorite birds.

Big event around The Asylum is “visitation” started today. If you want to have a visitor. There are rules.

 Limited to 2 visitors/resident and/or resident couple at one time
 Residents & visitors must wear masks and maintain social distancing
 Visits up to 45 minutes (by appointment) in designated areas with 15 minutes in between for cleaning
 On-campus visits with family/friends are allowed with appointments in designated outdoor spaces only
 Family members/friends required to have negative COVID-19 test within the last 5 days before visiting the resident and provide a printed record of test result and testing date to be permitted on
campus for resident visitation

The real problem is the COVID test requirement. Not all that easy to get and costs between $60-120. Say you paid $100.  I think that would work out to about $2.25 per minute of visit. Most of us aren’t worth $2.25/minute.

Gratitude

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Grateful for friends who actually bake brownies. And share.

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Trying to finish cataloging my photos from last year. Currently working on June 13, 2019 – I was in Singapore.

Mālama pono