The Circle Draws Near in Everyday Ramblings

This fuchsia is in Mrs. Sherlock’s wild and wonderful garden. I finally made it over there yesterday and we had a lovely lunch and chat about history, poetry and current affairs. Mr. Sherlock is doing well; his energy is good. He loves having his wife grounded at home. She takes the dog out and rides her bike and walks with friends a few times a week but otherwise she is home practicing social distancing like the rest of us.

Or at least the us I know.

Other than the tenants that live in the 3 units they own in the old duplexes there that they chat with fully masked in the garden as needed I am the first guest they have had since March. We were all trying to figure out the distancing, mask off eating, chatting thing. Mrs. Sherlock drives by a farm stand when she bikes so I did go into the kitchen, mask on, back door open to pick out a few gorgeous real tomatoes.

She gave me fresh chard, basil and mint as well.

Kes and Most Honorable came up a few hours earlier and spent time with the cats and me chatting with the window open fan and masks on. It was a big day for us all pushing out a bit against the edges of our bubbles. They dropped me off and went to have takeout lunch on trays on Kes’s best friend’s condo porch deck area.

I walked home, Mrs. Sherlock and Frieda walked me half the way.

There is graffiti on the side doors of the church and an array of tents out front. Young folks living rough. There are tents here everywhere now. All the department of transportation land is filling up with the police otherwise engaged.

Deep change that affects an established system is not fun.

Our mayor was out pleading with the protestors on Saturday night not to give sound bites and create pictures for the current government to use against us. It is a sticky wicket that is for sure.

I am still listening to “my” history of the ancient world, a Great Courses program in audio book format. I read a long murder mystery over the weekend and have a couple more in different series to read.

I was able to start feeding Diego, both cats in fact, wet food again starting last Wednesday. He is definitely allergic to something, but it is pretty clear it is not food. The big question now is if it is say… irritable bowel one or the other or something more dire like cancer.

My Stella girl had stomach cancer, and this does not seem like that at all. I think, seriously it is something more like gastro-intestinal discomfort. I have just stuck with chicken so far and he is so hungry that yesterday when I got home, he ate so fast he, well, you get the picture.

I am going to do some more research before I spring for the ultrasound or give him steroids that will make him even more hungry.

One of Kes’s knitting friends has Covid-19. The circle gets closer in and tighter. Kes has not been exposed and she knows where she got it, from another friend, talking inside in a room who came down with symptoms the next day. Two of my students also have a friend they thought last week had it.

On Friday, Charity took me to the grocery store, and we had fun. Everybody was respectful and masked up. Then we went for a walk that turned into a lovely neighborhood social hour after I admired a gorgeous yellow mask with colored embroidery on it a woman about our age was wearing. We talked to her twice, both coming and going, not a stranger anymore and then she introduced us to some of her neighbors…

But this is the best part, we were talking about food, particularly pasta, and how much we love it as we neared a lookout point with a bench that is next to a high-end restaurant with a gorgeous view that is doing very little business right now.

A gentleman approached us from behind and said very politely that he had overheard us talking about pasta and gluten intolerance and he had some suggestions…turns out he is a server at the restaurant with 25 years in the business.

We had a delightful conversation and it made us laugh. Yes, it is still possible to laugh during these days that stick together like candy in the bottom of the bag.

Last updated August 10, 2020