In The News – Page 5 – This Old House 2

COVID-19 Perspective

For those who need perspective to understand the severity of Covid-19, in 2018 in Connecticut approximately 700 people died a flu related death. This year so far coronavirus has taken more than 3,000. Can you imagine if we had not used the difficult precautions put in place? Precautions we do not take for the flu. The symptoms have been growing as they learn more, and right now there are children at Yale with strange symptoms of the virus. In otherwise healthy people, Organ failure, heart inflammation, blood clots throughout the body are just a few odd symptoms for some patients with the disease. This is not a joke, it’s not a hoax meant to take down the President ( yes I still have a FB friend who believes it ) it’s serious shit, so Thank You to all who are on the front lines, thank you to those doing kindnesses where you can, Keep wearing masks in public for now and keep washing your damn hands, as my friend Sean hashtags regularly. It’s important. ❤️

Spring Cottage Gardens and Wild Woods Blooms

Having come off a mild Winter, I had assumed incorrectly we’d have a mild Spring. It’s been a cold wet one here in New England and today only underscores the statement with more rain in the forecast. In between the raindrops I’ve been visiting the cottage for things like tiny garden cleanup and beginning the restock of the refrigerator and cupboard. The 140 “island” cottages have many little gardens, not so much groomed as a bit random. Depending on water from little wells on a rocky outcropping of land jutting out into the salt water of Long Island Sound into the Atlantic, a peninsula not-really-an-island, water must be conserved so as not to use it up. Hence, big gardens are discouraged. Most of these cottages are seasonal and aren’t inhabited by their owners or renters until the summer season has arrived. For that reason I have been pleasantly surprised by all the spring blooming tulips, daffodils and forsythia planted across the community. On a grey day it’s a cheery sight…

In our Stella’s little waterfront garden, the Parsley from last summer is still growing in abundance. I have literally been pulling parsley from it all winter long , see it in the right hand bottom corner?- who woulda believed it.

The little cottages each have their own personality, no two are the same. I have had the opportunity to see the insides of at least 10 of them now and each has it’s own unique charm, I love seeing what people do with their spaces. Below are a few photos from a neighbor… Love the fireplace and the checked floor!

Yesterday I took the dogs for a walk down the trail behind the farm, and found wild spring blooms in abundance….

Swamp Marigold…

Trout Lily…

and wild violet? Pansy?…..

The goat girls, Bella and Star – have captured all of our hearts, even the Mr. They are so very friendly, call to us as we approach their pen and cry for us when we leave it. They lay in our laps, enjoy head scratches and are discovering the mini horses Coady and Lacey are their neighbor buddies.

We’ve loved having our show horse, Leah, home…. and she’s loved being a real horse again without all the constraints of show horse life. The show season has been postponed yet another month or two, which I think is very wise – and I am so glad we brought her home. Not just for the financial reasons, but for all of our well being.

I’ve started another painting, a tiny oil on canvas depiction of Cruz Bay in St. John – lots more to fill in…I’ll share it again when it’s done… I am finding much more joy in painting as an older person than I did when I was young. The reason is simple – I am … a simple artist. I will never have the patience to draw out and execute a spectacular painting, like those you see from the truly gifted, truly patient, truly educated greats – That used to disappoint me, but it no longer does. I paint for enjoyment, for stress relief. My simple method pleases me in the ways it needs to, and if someone else likes looking at it too, icing on the cake! but not the main goal. If you’re so inclined to create art in whatever form, don’t ever be discouraged by what you might believe is – not good enough – There’s no such thing with an expression of art. Just do it, and enjoy the process. There are some benefits to aging – and that’s been one of them for me.

During these strange social distancing times, have you picked up something you put down long ago? I’ve been painting, cleaning, cooking, baking, eating, cursing all the eating, wash, rinse, repeat. We are all well and I still have a job, thankfully – and have been working in my home office, thankful for that too. I hope you are all finding ways to enjoy this down time, also hoping you are staying well and have not come across too much financial hardship, sadly that’s the case for many workers and businesses.

Closing this post with a little COVID-19 humor, because we have to find ways to laugh, amIRight?

Till soon, friends…

How Y’all doing out there

Dear Georgia – Shout out to the brave ones as your Governor has opened your doors again, with the high praise of Tr*mp and P*nce. Let us know how y’all make out, we’ll be paying attention. Of course.. you won’t be seeing Tr*mp & P*nce out there among you, because they do still care about their own asses, just not yours so much as the all mighty dollar as it pertains to their re election prospects. Of course, with all the MAGA stupidity going on, those rallies to be set free again with our own POTUS calling for civil unrest – set yourself free!!…. and don’t leave out the can’t-make-me-wear-a-mask bullshit… sad but true – there might be fewer MAGA voters come November.

Mask wearing no longer feels weird in a grocery store, hell, everyone’s doing it. If I could only master the damned arrows in the aisles!… sheesh, such a simple thing and yet so many of us are getting it wrong. (hand raised high here). I don’t wear gloves except at the gas pump, where they are thrown out as soon as the handle is back in it’s holder. Hand washing is so frequent my hands are sandpaper, but MOM to the rescue – have you tried Cetaphil ultra healing with ceramides? It’s not cheap but it’s magic on rough try hands. Thanks, Mom – it works!

I’m eating more than I should because I’m cooking and baking more than usual because I’m home and there’s the damned refrigerator every time I turn around and you know I have to open it and take something out and shove it in my mouth. Right now I’ve got a blueberry buckle baking in the oven, and Maple BBQ Ribs and green beans are on tonight’s dinner menu. Tomorrow night I’ll make the New York Times recipe Caramelized Shallot Pasta. All are delish recipes, easy to put together if you have the ingredients.

Farm news! – the baby goats, Star and Bella will be moving in this weekend. YAY!!… It’s been 40 years since I’ve had a goat – that’s an actual fact.. and I am so excited to welcome them home. My first goat was one I had adopted at the Staten Island Zoo while I worked there at the pony ride track. The baby goat had eye ulcers and they were going to put her down. I begged them to let me take her, and got her to the vet immediately. We healed her ulcers and she lived on our little plot on Staten Island until she became much bigger and a neighbor’s daughter who had a farm took her to live a bigger farm life. Her name was Casey – She was a black goat with a white star on her forehead just like our Star. We’ve got the goat house ready and their goat yard properly fenced in for their safety, now to create a little bit of a playscape for them. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, Stella is open and ready for the season… we just need some warm weather…. Some scenes from “down island” after yesterday’s rainstorm…

I hope you’re well and staying sane. We’re all good here, working from home and out on job sites with caution of course. Our business has definitely been affected, as several tenants have notified us they will be abandoning their lease (hair dresses among them). Time will tell how it all pans out.

Closing out this post with a little quarantine humor…

A New Season

Who in their right mind would have ever guessed we’d be in the middle of a pandemic come Spring? How are you all coping, I hope this post finds you well and sane, if nothing else. We are all (crossed fingers) healthy here and practicing as much safe social distancing as is possible. My hands are sand paper from all the washing. I have now begun wearing a face mask in the grocery store, as are most other people. I also see others wearing them when walking outdoors – I think that’s a bit of an overkill in areas like ours, perhaps not in the big cities and in stores, etc. When will it all end? Well, when will we feel comfortable sauntering around a store or sitting in a crowded restaurant when someone coughs? *sigh. When there’s a vaccine, I suppose? …. we can only wait and see.

We opened the cottage for the season last week – water turned back on, lawn is mowed, garden beds raked out, the beds newly made with fresh-washed linen, floors and furniture wiped down, outdoor furniture back in it’s place. There is fresh dirt in all the pots and I’ll plant annuals once the threat of frost is gone – Mother’s Day is a good rule of thumb but this year I’m a little impatient.

I bought two new candy and dog bone glass jars for the counter – they look like Fire King jadeite type glass but I’m not sure they actually are. The Pioneer Woman’s line in walmart.

We moved our Miss Leah home because I do believe the show season is official deceased. I could be wrong about that but I don’t feel comfortable putting myself and my daughter out there while they find out. She has adjusted very well to home life and we continue to give her exercise as she would normally get at the show barn. My daughter and I have actually ridden together again for the first time in a long time! In the photo below I’m riding her old boy, Max. He has glaucoma in one eye now but we are managing it with meds.

The farm has been such a blessing as we wade through this time of quarantine, social distancing, etc. The fruit trees in the orchard are blooming, the berry bushes we planted last year are greening up, and most of the christmas trees we planted for the third time the wrong way are actually alive. They might just live to see Christmas in a tree stand some day.

My kitchen junk drawer got cleaned out and organized – holy crap, I found christmas ornament hooks I didn’t know I had, baby aspirin that expired five years ago, four pairs of dog nail clippers, at least five collars, 5,000 hair elastics, and I could build a bathroom with the tools in there, I’m almost not exaggerating. Below is the “after”.

I’ve been exercising more, which is a good thing, and I finished the painting of Opie, which I started last year after he passed on. It was just too sad to sit there reminded of him, so I left it unfinished for a long time. I’m no professional, my work is primitive for sure.. but I’m happy with the result and finishing it was therapeutic. And maybe that was because I was watching episodes of Outlander ( watching Jamie Fraser if I’m being totally honest) as I went along. The painting is of Opie standing under our ancient pear tree on a misty fall morning.

A few funnies for you below and an old recipe a friend shared – wishing us all good health and peace of mind as we carry on through and past these weird days –

Till soon, friends…

Hush

The world is so quiet right now…

This will sound odd, but as a hearing impaired person this has never been more striking for me. What I still hear on a normal day are none of the beautiful nuances, cadence and understandable language of a human voice. No musical magic that can carry you to a better frame of mind in minutes. No bird song.

What I still hear on a normal day are all the loud irritating noises we humans produce – car engines, plane jets, train whistles, car horns, shouting , machines, door slams, the thump of a heavy object dropped, etc.

As I stood in my driveway this morning I suddenly noticed it- all of that irritating noise is gone. Walkers pass by and wave with a smile. A biker glides past. No planes overhead, no cars driving by.

Just Peace and quiet.

Scary times we are living in, so much uncertainty and fear. I’m no expert who should be handing out advice, but this is universal, good advice for anyone , isn’t it?

✨Find the silver lining wherever you are . ✨

Wishing us all good health, healing .. peace of mind. ✨❤️ …. and… a fragrant purple hyacinth on each of our kitchen window sills next to a vase of nature’s treasures we’ve collected in a past day well spent.

Lesson for the day….

LESSON FOR THE DAY- when your husband says he will come to the grocery store with you and you’re thinking – well sure, I mean…. I’ve always wondered whether he’d be useful or dead wood in a zombie apocalypse- JUST SAY NO. . And especially- don’t let him grab his own cart. 150 hot dogs and buns, bacon, garbage bags, pudding, meat and bread to feed an army later- we’re covered for the next three Fourth of Julys. 🙄

We’re all staying healthy and relatively sane here, and we hope that continues – Wishing the same for you as well –

Karen

Strange Times Indeed

So how are you all faring in these strange and scary times? I go back and forth between OMGOMGOMG ventilators, deaths, hospitals without supplies, WTF! … and figuring out how to go to the grocery store without hyperventilating. The husband and I have had our typical Spring allergy symptoms and of course that leads to thoughts of… is this really allergies or the other dreaded “C” word? Do I have a fever? (no) Dry cough, trouble breathing? (no) So I’ve stopped watching so much of the updates on the news and I’m certainly not watching the blithering idiot in Chief as he blunders and blusters his way through his press conferences.

I’ve been walking the dogs, exercising some, disinfecting the house, fretting over whether I will have a job when this is all done. As editor of our small town publication, some ads have been pulling due to businesses already shuttering for good (that’s really sad) and events having been cancelled. If this goes on for a while, and I suspect it might, there will be no publication with not enough ads to sustain it. There are so many people who are suffering economically because of the damned virus. And there are so many people on the front lines taking care of us all – Doctors, nurses, grocery store clerks, truckers, postal workers, feed store owners, liquor store owners and dog groomers (because in the state of CT, apparently they are absolutely essential).

In our construction business, we’ve closed down the office where tenants come to pay rent or rent facilities, apartments, storage units. All work is being done online, e-mail, phone. If this drags on, our business will be hurt as well, as tenants who have not been able to work or draw a paycheck will not be able to pay rent, etc. I think this is going to have an effect on all people in ways we haven’t even thought of yet in the long run.

Strange times.

The good news? People are being forced to get back in touch with and tend their relationships, their home life, their cooking skills, fitness, reading, the great outdoors, crafts, art, quality time with children, the list does go on, and it’s a good list, at least.

Thank GOD for Netflix, AmIRight? I’m watching Outlander for the second time because I just can’t get enough of it. Even being deaf, I’ve started walking around the house practicing a wee bit uv a Scottish Brogue, do ye ken, because closed caption reflects the brogue and before I was deaf I had a keen ear for these things. It’s just fun. 😂

These two people have such crazy good chemistry I am very surprised they did not become a couple in real life, but alas, they did not.

I’ve been doing some cooking with simple ingredients I keep in the pantry… two recipes from the New York Times I’ll share with you here – They are super easy, delicious and you might have the stuff you need without venturing out to get them. They were both a hit with my family.

Pasta e Ceci – recipe HERE. I didn’t have escarole or Kale on hand so I used spinach and it was fine.

No-Knead Bread – recipe HERE. (this one is not my image) Absolutely delish and SO easy to make. You just need a little patience as it does require rise time.

A simple tip – wash those plastic grocery reusable totes in hot water in the washing machine and then toss in the dryer for a few minutes. They’re germ catchers, and this really works.

Some humor in these trying times…

Welp. That’s all I’ve got for today… wishing us all good health and good riddance to all the coronavirus madness in the near future, praying and begging pretty please to all the powers of the universe. And seriously, praying for all the people on the front lines who are taking care of business so that we all can still function through this test of all we hold dear.

karen

WTF

First the denials, then when caught red handed, the denial is twisted into a “so what”. How many arrests of people in his inner circle? How many times does he have to outright lie right to all of our faces, not fake news , bend our laws to suit his needs, hide his information from we the people? – BELIEVE HIM.

For those who think it’s OK for a draft dodging pussy grabbing tax evading lying cheating adultering porn star fucking reality TV President to abuse his power, to ask outside FOREIGN HOSTILE entities for help in his re- election, to withhold aid to foreign entities in exchange for help in his re election, to lie almost daily and sometimes multiple times in a day, to hide his finances from us, to mock and slander generals and intelligence community and women and children and gold star families and military who “had a headache” whose immediate family gains FAR more nepotistic benefit in the White House and financial gain opportunities than Hunter Biden or Chelsea Clinton or any other you want to smear or bring up ever could, conflicts of business interest in every fucking major country, is continuing to trash animal welfare and environmental welfare… he is truly one disgusting human being on every fucking level.

This is not about guns or rights or the economy or jobs or immigration – there are many problems that need solving and I happen to agree with talking points and solutions all across the political spectrum.

This is no longer a “Oh, this is just politics, they all lie, they all cheat” thing – This man is the devil. FOR GOD’S SAKE Believe him when he shows you who he is. I am so sad for this country, I am sad for what the GOP has turned into, not the Republican Party of my younger days and more importantly I truly thought we were a better nation, a more decent people. I’m seeing people I know mock teenagers, mock women for their looks, mock victims of sexual assault, mock women for standing up for women’s rights, (are you kidding me? How quickly we forget, or how ignorant we truly are, which is it?) Jew hate , gay hate, Immigrant hate, black hate, white hate, brown and yellow hate – racism is alive and well and stoked by the fires of the ignorant would-be King who spews garbage all over his social media regularly as do the hate groups that embrace him. The irony of the religious who support him!

Today’s outcome via the spineless bought and paid for GOP proves there are no checks and balances, we are a sea of fools adrift without a moral sail or rudder and we will be the cause of our own decline. We already are. Truth no longer matters, decency no longer matters, Greed will be our end. For those of you who will mock this post, Fuck you. You’ll never meet a kinder soul, and I’d give you the shirt off my back regardless of our differences if you needed it, that’s exactly why this is so horrifying to someone like me, to see the complete moral destruction of the fabric of this nation.

– Not a fucking snowflake, Not a Dem, not a Liberal, not a Republican – just an ordinary decent resident of these United States, Heartbroken for us all 💔

Lift

Have you been watching the impeachment hearings/trial? I haven’t. Can’t believe I just typed that, but it’s true. I just cannot believe, in this day and age, that apparently for some of us and a particular sector of our government… law no longer applies. Truth no longer matters. When witnesses and evidence are banned from a Trial, we’re lost. Since he is getting away with everything but murder, I doubt 45 will be held accountable… for anything. It’s how his whole life has panned out despite his corrupt practices both personally and in business, and it looks as if the same will be true of his presidency.

Onward. Last week I took a look in the mirror and realized I hadn’t been for a haircut in almost a year. I did chop a few inches off about a month ago to “clean up” the split ends but the effect was… choppy. So my dear stylist Amber fit me in yesterday and gave me a good shaping cut. I felt lighter walking out of the salon with just that simple lift. I’ve got more grays now but I don’t think I want to get into the habit of having to be at the salon every three-four weeks to douse my head in toxic chemicals to cover the gray. I might change my mind as more come in, but.. for now.. I think I’m just going to see how it looks as it turns.

My weight loss journey continues – I’m getting good exercise in with light weight training and walk/jogging. Plus shit shoveling, hay bale throwing, water bucket lugging, horse blanket swapping. etc. etc. and then some. What I’m putting in my mouth is still the struggle. Will power is not my strong suit. I have indeed lost a few pounds since the last time I blogged about this. And so… I’ll keep moving forward, hopefully, putting less in my mouth. We’ve got a family vacation coming up in which I will be in a bathing suit often, and I really… really.. want to feel comfortable in my suit.

Speaking of suit shopping – man, (that should say woman) if that isn’t the hardest item to shop for. Mostly because I’m just not happy with how I look in a suit. But also, for a girl of a certain age, the suit needs to be comfortable, hold everything in, not too revealing but not a house dress either. I did find a suit that’s made well, does the job, and I feel OK in it. That’s the best I’m gonna get out of that experience, so be it.

LL Bean – she looks better in this than I do, but close enough. It’s their halter tankini, which comes in several colors/patterns and won’t break the bank.

As the news out in the world gets uglier, I’ve been turning away from it and looking around and inward, paying more attention to the relationships I cherish with family and friends, doing some organizing and refreshing here on the farm and at the cottage and in my line of work. It’s the lift I’ve needed and it feels good. Having our daughter and Company right next door has been such a blessing, and our son has begun the build of his home just over the hill. This little farm has become a haven for all of us, and I am so very grateful.

Hoping all is well in your neck o’the woods –

Karen

No. 3

Not my quote – but it’s in essence what I keep saying to anyone I know who still supports No. 3 and tries to defend it. Truly an ugly soul on every front –

“None of the president’s positives can balance the moral and political danger we face under a leader of such grossly immoral character.”

And women like Sara Sanders who last night mocked Joe Biden’s stutter on twitter? I don’t have to be a fan of Joe Biden or a member of his party to know that’s just a really low blow – an ugly flaw in character, just like No. 3’s mocking of handicapped people, pussy grabbing mentality, attacks on 16 year old climate activists with autism, gold star families and dead DECENT politicians and career military who gave their entire lives to service, – and I am so done with anyone who continues to applaud these people and their degrading bullying childish stupid behavior. Reminds me of all the mean kids in school and how some never grow up. These things have nothing to do with politics and everything to do with who we are as a people.

I believe you when you tell me who you are.

🎇 But in this season it is well to reassert that the hope of mankind rests in faith. As man thinketh, so he is. Nothing much happens unless you believe in it, and believing there is hope for the world is a way to move toward it.

– Gladys Taber