祝日 / Permanent Vacation
Janaina Medeiros
ojovivo
trying on a metaphor
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
Claire Keane
#extradirty
hello vonnie
blake kathryn
DEAR READER
Sade Olutola
if i look back, i am lost
Keni
wallacepolsom
ellievsbear
cherry valley forever
we're not kids anymore.
will byers stan first human second
Mike Driver
seen from United Arab Emirates
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@lynnrmitchell
Day 29 of Coronavirus Chronicles
Easter Sunday. He is risen. And this is what it’s all about.
At times over the years my faith has wavered. But Easter always rights me and reminds of why I believe, why I’m a Christian, and it’s not just because I’m a cradle Baptist. I took to heart the lessons of the Bible and the church beginning as a child about how to live, to follow the Ten Commandments, to do unto others, to do forothers ……
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Happy (Virtual) Easter
Reminiscent of “The Brady Bunch,” stacked in boxes on the iPhone screen, my family’s smiling faces looked back at me on this Easter Sunday, sharing greetings and life updates and weather reports.
The weather reports were because we were, literally, stretched across the country from coast to coast: Richmond and Shenandoah Valley in Virginia … Nashville … Houston … and Los Angeles. Nashville had…
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Day 28 of Coronavirus Chronicles
Saturday of Easter weekend, a dark day after Christ died. In this coronavirus year of isolation, it strikes the mood of the nation.
Today has been mostly sunny, high of 62, windy again (windy for four days). There was a “Pride and Prejudice” marathon featuring the 1995 miniseries, my favorite with Colin Firth. We were still living in NC when this originally aired. Texting all day with the kids…
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Day 27 of Coronavirus Chronicles
Good Friday.
Snow! We’ve had flurries all morning. It was 34 overnight but I saw a FB pic from Back Creek Farm where they had a nice covering of snow on the ground in Highland. It’s still windy, gray, and cold — high today was mid-40s. Brunswick stew kept us warm.
It was a busy morning at Bearing Drift with three new posts and more reading than I can even remember. There’s so much to keep up with…
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Day 26 of Coronavirus Chronicles
Maundy Thursday of this sheltering-in-place holy week. Jesus washed his disciples’ feet. The Last Supper. Christ and his Apostles. This is always sad to me … the beginning of the end.
WINDY, temp in mid-60s, and sunny. Cool temps for the weekend with overnight in the 30s for the next week. That is why we don’t plant gardens early in the Valley. I made a big pot of Brunswick stew today; will bag…
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Day 24 of Coronavirus Chronicles
Tuesday. Sunny and warm in the morning; overcast, 78 degrees, and breezy in the afternoon with rain showers. Thunder rumbled after lunch … more rain and mild. As I write tonight I can hear thunder in the distance coming this way so maybe we’ll have a nighttime storm.
For an overall of Tuesday’s numbers released by the Virginia Department of Health, Dr. Holsworth’s analysisbegan publishing today at
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Day 23 of Coronavirus Chronicles
It’s Monday. Funny … it feels like every other day this week. It was cloudy and temps ended up around 70 — mild and nice. We got a little rain in early afternoon. Tonight when we went out for our sunset walk, the moon was full. Takes my breath away to see the beauty of the Valley.
At 6:00 this evening we were notified by Spring Arbor Salisbury that the number of Covid-19 cases had risen to seven…
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Day 22 of Coronavirus Chronicles
Palm Sunday. Joyful entry into Jerusaleum. Holy Week, one we will never forget. Many churches were empty to prevent spreading COVID-19 even more than it already is. God knows why His houses of worship are empty. Jesus knows we are commemorating this most holy of times in the Christian world. At Memorial everyone is usually handed a small palm branch when entering the church, in years past. Today…
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Day 21 of Coronavirus Chronicles
Another beautiful spring day with bright sunshine, blue skies, and cool temps. We had frost this morning and the overnight low was 33 degrees. The redbuds are brilliant against the sky.
Lori was going over to see Cal today through the window from outside where the bird feeders are. Wish I could go, too. I know he’s lonely. We call, email, send snail mail cards … but he talked about how lonely he…
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Day 20 of Coronavirus Chronicles
Day 20. Wow. Thank goodness I didn’t wake up at 3am again like the night before; in fact, I slept like a rock.
Distressing news today when Lori and I received emails from Spring Arbor saying they had three additional COVID-19 cases in addition to the one we were notified of earlier in the week. Residents have been quarantined in their rooms for several weeks which is lonely and boring for them.…
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Day 19 of Coronavirus Chronicles
“We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail.” –President George W. Bush
As I typed the title, it seemed impossible that I’ve been writing these posts for 19 days. Updates appear to indicate I’ll be typing them for the long haul. It’s hard to know when any semblance of normal will return which is something I cannot think about right now.
Today Lori, Gail, and I had a conference…
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Day 18 of Coronavirus Chronicles
“… their new hoax.” -Donald Trump, February 28, 2020, at Charleston, SC, campaign rally, calling the coronavirus the Democrats’ new hoax
“It’s not the flu. It’s vicious.” -Donald Trump, March 31, 2020
This morning as America absorbed a new grim reality of what we are facing with the coronavirus pandemic, I am grateful to Mom and Dad — both children of the depression — who instilled in we three…
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Day 17 of Coronavirus Chronicles
Each morning the Virginia Health Department puts out updated numbers for Covid-19 victims. Bearing Drift’s Jason has been charting them. We have a little consult every morning on how the numbers are playing out and what it means … up, down, or flat?
This morning the news in Virginia wasn’t good. In 24 hours we had the largest single day increase since the start of the outbreak, up 23% in the…
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Day 16 of Coronavirus Chronicles
The news today that stands out the most for me personally is that my step-dad’s assisted living facility had its first diagnosed case of Covid-19. They are quarantined — have been for two or three weeks (seems forever) — and residents have been eating meals in their apartments. This creeping menace still got in. We shall see how things go. Across on the other side of RVA Canterbury, a nursing…
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“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” -Philippians 4:13 KJV
Sunday morning and I slept late, again. I guess getting up so early on weekdays and staying up late a number of nights really drained me more than I realized. A cool breeze came in the window as I reached for the TV remote and turned on “CBS Sunday Morning.” At 10:00 Memorial Baptist had online church service from the sanctuary, and many other churches who are trying to keep their congregations safe right now did the same.
An early rain shower ushered in another beautiful day — 80 degrees and extremely breezy with filtered sunshine in the afternoon. Huge clouds are hanging along the mountains but no rain in the forecast. Thankfully, cooler temps are on tap the rest of the week.
The blustery breeze felt wonderful as we walked in the neighborhood this evening at sunset. Wish my sister was here to walk with me. As she walks along the James River, I’m walking in the shadow of the Appalachians. We saw neighbors on the far end of the street but no one was anywhere near us.
I waited until after lunch to turn on the news to see if there was any emergency virus news. There wasn’t. Thank goodness. But there has been news. Trump made a big turnaround by backing off his “churches will be packed on Easter Sunday” and the country will be open, to saying social distancing will continue at least until April 30. That was the right thing to do and it’s good that someone was able to get through to him.
During his press conference Trump seemed to accuse hospitals of over-ordering surgical masks because order requests had jumped in the amount needed. Has he not been listening to the news? He practically accused them of ordering and selling them “out the back door.” Health care officials are putting their lives on the line and working round the clock … perhaps he needs to put his attention on caring more about human life and less on veiled accusations.
Increased testing with self-swabbing is expected to begin being available this week to help with testing and isolating those who are infected. That should help in our woefully behind-the-times testing and diagnosing.
One description I heard about how behind we are in testing — they are testing only the “sickest of the sick” — was that it was like a surfer who misses a wave and then tried to catch up with it. It’s nearly impossible — and that’s what’s happening since America still doesn’t have enough kits to test everyone other than those who are the sickest. By that time it’s often too late for their survival.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said he believes at this point in our battle against this extremely contagious disease that the virus will infect millions and kill 100,000-200,000 Americans.
Some churches went on as usual today with Sunday services, with one pastor saying to his congregation that scientists are talking about another wave of Covid-19 in the fall. He told those attending this morning’s service, “Let’s just plunge America into nothingness … when more people have died from the flu.”
THIS IS NOT THE FLU.
Locally, we now have two cases in Augusta County and one in Staunton in addition to the Stuarts Draft Little Debbie factory worker who lives in Nelson County. We first heard of the three in Staunton and Augusta this morning from a member of Staunton’s Faith Baptist Church who said on Facebook that one of their congregation was in ICU and two others were very ill. The Virginia Health Department notified both locations this afternoon of the cases.
Covid-19 continues to march across the country and today’s news announced the deaths of country singer Joe Diffie and singer-songwriter Alan Merrill (“I Love Rock ‘N Roll”). Singer-songwriter John Prine is in critical condition.
In the past 48 hours the New York City Police Department has lost one uniformed officer and two civilian employees.
I talked with RVA sister for two hours as well as a good friend this afternoon. It’s good to have those interactions at a time when most of us are islands. My sister and I were remembering how all heck started breaking loose with the coronavirus on Friday the 13th … March 13, 2020. How appropriate. We’re on self-quarantine, and professionals suggest America may need to be on lockdown another two to three (or more) weeks to basically stop the virus in its tracks, to stop giving it hosts to jump onto. Take away its availability to keep the numbers rising and victims dying.
So much bad news. On a lighter note….
I put the Last Elegant Bear in the other living room window today to join Theodore E. Bear for the Staunton “Going on a Bear Hunt” game. Abiner Smoothie is heir to four generations of aristocratic beardom and was Matt’s childhood friend after Gail gave it to him when he was two. She also gave him the book, “The Last Elegant Bear,” that had been published the year before he was born. Two bears are my limit for sitting in the front windows. Lol.
A new change for Mr. M and me is that we started taking our shoes off at the front door because we didn’t want to track possible virus germs in on the carpet. When we’re out of quarantine I’ll get a rug cleaning service in to professional clean the carpet — it’s been a year and a half since it was last done.
Tomorrow is Monday and I’ve got Bearing Drift to set up in the morning. It’s a normal thing for me.
Be well. — See also….
–Day 1, 2, 3 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 4 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 5 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 6 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 7 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 8 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 9 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 10 –Day 11 –Day 12 –Day 13 –Day 14
Day 15 of Coronavirus Chronicles "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." -Philippians 4:13 KJV Sunday morning and I slept late, again.
Day 14 of Coronavirus Chronicles
It rained overnight and a looooong rumble of thunder woke me before dawn … for about 10 seconds, then back to sleep. The gobble of a wild turkey then woke me after the sun came up, its persistent call coming through the open window from the woods behind the house.
It provided a welcome bit of normalcy familiar to the world I used to live in … but it only took a moment for my sleep-confused mind…
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This morning began with breaking news from Britain that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had tweeted out a video saying he had tested positive for COVID-19. Ironically, he had been one of those in the beginning who didn’t take the virus seriously, as noted in this New Yorker magazine article:
This time last week, the Prime Minister was resisting shutting down daily life, as most European governments already had. Even when the data suggested that the United Kingdom’s infection and mortality rates were on a similar trajectory to Italy’s, Johnson hesitated to close schools or enforce any kind of lockdown.
From the start, the British government has followed its own bespoke response to the pandemic—initially eschewing widespread testing, experimenting with the goal of “herd immunity,” and, in Johnsonian fashion, deploying a distinctive vocabulary to talk about the crisis. (Last week, on a conference call with business leaders, Johnson described a national plan to build more ventilators as “Operation Last Gasp.”)
But things changed last weekend, when, across the country, people ignored the government’s social-distancing entreaties and flocked to beaches, national parks, and cafés to enjoy the spring sunshine.
On Tuesday night, broadcasting from his book-lined study in Downing Street, a sombre Johnson ordered a three-week national lockdown to halt the spread of the virus. More than twenty-seven million people watched the Prime Minister’s address, making it the most popular event on British television since the wedding of Princess Anne, in 1973. As of 5 P.M. on March 26th, Britain had 14,579 known cases of COVID-19 and seven hundred and fifty-nine people had died.
Congress met at 9:00 this morning for three hours of debate before voting on and passing the $2 trillion bill that will help Americans who were suddenly out of work and companies that were shut down since coronavirus hit America.
People are being urged to stay home this weekend. Don’t be in crowds. I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for people … are they not reading what is happening? Or maybe they don’t believe. Err on the side of caution. Look at what happened to Boris Johnson.
A big worry spot now is New Orleans where 1.1 million people crowded into the city to celebrate Mardi Gras. Now there are ill people and it’s spreading.
Today Mr. M and I worked outside in the yard. It got up to 76 degrees and was beautiful before clouds rolled in and, in the surrounding of flowers, birds singing, and lawn mowers going, if I didn’t keep up with the news I wouldn’t have a clue how bad this emergency has become in some areas of the country.
The problem is that those who don’t take it seriously are becoming among those who have caught it, as noted above again by Boris Johnson. I don’t understanding putting yourself at risk like that.
Tonight friend Barb and I were texting to check in on each other. Interesting at a time like this … we are reaching out to those in our close circle of friends and family to be sure all is well. I’m concerned about them because I’ve read too many accounts of people who have caught the virus and the difficulty they have encountered battling the disease. None of us want to go through that. An RN who was caring for ER patients died. Other health care providers have caught it.
I had an Augusta County Library board meeting on my calendar yesterday. However, the board and director all agreed that we would not be meeting this week and have put it off until things settle down. Most are self-isolating right now so no way were we going to head to Fishersville for a meeting. The library is closed down but they are offering curbside service at Fishersville and Churchville.
A photo collage of the spring flowering things in our yard, a reminder of what has given me solace. Spring.
Be well. — See also….
–Day 1, 2, 3 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 4 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 5 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 6 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 7 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 8 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 9 of Coronavirus Chronicles –Day 10 –Day 11 –Day 12
Day 13 of Coronavirus Chronicles This morning began with breaking news from Britain that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had tweeted out a video saying he had tested positive for COVID-19.