Rainy Day People

My Water Post For Today.

Folks, after several days in the month of March, they said that it was not a March Miracle, but at least there was some rain this winter.

Along came April...who said, hold my beer.

It has been raining since a week ago Sunday evening and they don't expect it to end until Saturday.

For LA, that is a lot of time for rain. It seems a low has just settled over us and it rains and rains. Not hard, but steady.

Being we are still quarantined again this week, it is welcome and it is pushing our rainfall total close to a normal amount for the season.

It will probably still be a drought year, but less so than it looked like 2 weeks ago.

Enjoy another look at our house in the rain.

Lyrics to Rainy Day People by Gordon Lightfoot, which was the song I wrote this post to.

Rainy day people always seem to know when it's time to call
Rainy day people don't talk
They just listen till they've heard it all
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you
They've been down like you
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two
If you get lonely, all you really need is that rainy day love
Rainy day people all know there's no sorrow
They can't rise above
Rainy day lovers don't love any others
That would not be kind
Rainy day people all know how it hangs
On their peace of mind
Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you
They've been down there, too
Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two
Rainy day people always seem to know
When you're feelin' blue
High stepping strutters who land in the gutters
Sometimes need one, too
Take it or leave it or try to believe it,
If you've been down too long,
Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside, they just pass it on

Totals: Week 4 Of Quarantine

Week four and here is Easter.

We are still holding our own, at the angel house. Still healthy and still staying home, for the most part. Quarantine has been extended to May 15th, here in California.

Quarantine Week 4

Toilet Paper: 13 rolls (plus 15 in our emergency closet). I made a major score at the market, 4 rolls of the tiniest package of toilet paper I have ever seen. I refuse to add them to the totals and instead, I am going to use them this week.

Paper Towels: 8 rolls (it seems we go through 1 roll a week).

Tissues: 2 packages and many around the house for use, though those are getting less and less full. I figure things will start to get critical, in another 2 or so weeks.

Hand Sanitizer: Just 1 that I see, in use in the family room. Mostly, we use the little ones we got from CVS, that live in our car.

Soft Soap: A large bottle under the sink in the bathroom, that is in progress and then 2 new Lavender bottles that I got at Rite Aid.

Meat: I managed to get a package of pork country ribs and I cooked it this week.

The inventory of our freezer hasn't changed much too. Several packages of lamb and pork. 4 NY Strip Steaks. I took out the turkey leftovers from Christmas and we had it today, for Easter. Gravy and Stuffing were available, as is some cranberry sauce.

Once again, the main reason we went shopping this week, is for some fresh produce. I had to go alone (week 2 of this new rule in this increasingly hard time and I have to wear a mask at the store). The main task was to get my Husband 9 salads. I went to the store on Wednesday, this week, so his salads should last for a bit. This was week 1 of being told to not shop. Yeah, you see how much I obeyed that message.

Pantry is thankfully still full of staples, though flour is starting to get critical. I have one package left as Easter and Passover took a lot of our last package. we did use 1 can of soup and made chocolate chip cookies, again this week.

I hope you are holding your own in these very unsettled times.

Getting Ready For Easter (2020)

Since I have been stuck at home for the past month, I have been working on my Pysanky Eggs.

I finished up all the eggs from prior years with a coat of clear glaze and then actually made 2 more eggs, in addition to the 2 that I did in class this year.

Those 4 new eggs, I finally got the egg out of and then sprayed them with the clear glaze, too.

One of the 4 final eggs I did as a present to my great niece, who turns 1 next week.

I feel like it is not a good thing to send it to her and her family at this time, so I will keep it here and give it to them at a later date, when I feel confident that it is not contaminated in any way.

I will be making a very small bread and a small meat pie this year. It was a bit of a challenge to get the ingredients, but with my Brother-In-Law's help, it happened.

Enjoy Easter on Sunday and of course, Passover this week.

It Is Looking Like No More Concerts This Year

We have just 2 events scheduled this spring, another chance at Hamilton and then Steely Dan at the Hollywood Bowl.

The Bowl still might happen, but I personally can't see Donald Fagen going out on tour so soon. So it will probably be a total wash.

The Hamilton event is on the last week of April. I am sure that one is also a no starter.

Hopefully we will get our money back on both events (Update: we just got a refund message from Ticket Master for Hamilton, yay).

On a brighter note, I did want to mention that I have been incredibly lucky, since The Canyon Santa Clarita opened.

I have seen close-up and personal, four key artists in my musical growing up time, during the past 2 years.

Al Stewart 5/11/18

Justin Hayward 9/9/18

Gordon Lightfoot 3/8/19

Ambrosia 1/10/20

In addition (minus Steely Dan, who I see most years), I have seen Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald and Christopher Cross at the Hollywood Bowl 7/14/18.

Oh and don't forget Hall & Oates with Tears for Fears in 2017.

Thankfully, we did get in Ambrosia, just before the year went to hell in a handbasket.

Ricotta Pie (Pizza Dulce)

I could not find Ricotta Cheese anywhere.

I lamented to my Brother-In-Law about this and he said that NY stores were full of Ricotta Cheese.

That made me think for a moment and the answer came to me in a rush.

Try the Italian Deli in Valencia.

On Monday, I called them and they confirmed that yes, they were open and yes, they had Ricotta.

So I headed over and ended up having to buy 3 lbs of the cheese.

Note, it wasn't cheap, so I did not want to have the remainder go bad, after I make the Meat Pie on Friday.

So I decided to make Pizza Dulce.

I got a pie crust from the store and put just a few ingredients together and there it is.

A nice dessert for Passover and whenever.

Yum.

Palm Sunday In Quarantine

My Church did not televise services on Palm Sunday.

They deferred to the Archdiocese and the video coming from Our Lady Queen of Angels Church, in Downtown Los Angeles.

I watched it and enjoyed being together with the many Catholics who watched with me.

Unfortunately, it was only on Youtube, not shown on a broadcast channel, via our big screen TV.

I wonder what will happen, on Easter Sunday?

My April Calendar

Our calendar is usually filled with events and trips to the gym.

When I sat down to see what might be needed on our calendar for the month of April, instead of a trip to Charlotte, Las Vegas and friends coming over on the 6th, I was down to just 2 entries.

The Household Hazardous Waste collection on Saturday the 4th, has been canceled and I am sure the Iconography class will be canceled on the 18th, but for now, it stays on this very empty calendar.

There are several religious holidays this month and we will still celebrate them, just all alone.

Prayers going out that we can start returning to some semblance of normal in May.

A haircut would be nice. :-)

Zoom

Last week I got a message from a former Traffic friend (in Sacramento). He told about a Zoom Happy Hour session happening on Friday.

Like I have anything to do at this point in time, I said YES!

With almost no time to get it together, we ended up with 16 people Zooming in and we had a nice time seeing each other.

Remember, when life was normal, I and my Husband had plans to go to Las Vegas and attend Tech Con and the NAB. Those plans went totally out the window by the 3rd week of February, when I could see how things were shaping up, virus wise.

So many of us who would have attended Tech Con, instead shared a toast and talked to each other. It was a nice time and we hope to do it, each week in April.

I am in, as I said, what else is there to do. :-)

Photo was taken by Susie from Penn State. Hers was better than mine.

The Bay Bridge In January

My Water Post For Today.

As our ship left the Port of San Francisco on January 27th, we passed the Oakland Bay Bridge.

Considering how many photos I have of the Golden Gate Bridge, I am glad I got some nice photos of the Bay Bridge, too.

The bridge, water and a seagull. What more could you want?

San Francisco, a beautiful city by the bay.

Totals: Week 3 Of Quarantine

Week three finds us still holding our own, here at the angel house. Still healthy and still staying home, for the most part.
Quarantine Week 3

Toilet Paper: 16 rolls (plus 15 in our emergency closet).

Paper Towels: 9 rolls

Tissues: 2 packages and many around the house for use, though those are getting less and less full.

Hand Sanitizer: Just 1 that I see, in use in the family room. When it runs out I will have to look into seeing if I have any other ones.

Soft Soap: A large bottle under the sink in the bathroom, that is in progress and then 2 new Lavender bottles that I got at Rite Aid.

Meat:

I managed to get a whole Foster Farms chicken that I plan to cook sometime this week.

The inventory of our freezer hasn't changed much. Several packages of lamb and pork. 6 NY Strip Steaks. I still have half the taco meat from 2 weeks ago in the freezer and figure I will probably use it up this week.

Once again, the main reason we went shopping this week, is for some fresh produce. I had to go alone (a new rule in this increasingly hard time and wear a mask at the store). In good news, my Husband had a bunch of masks in the garage! Woot! Old as the hills, but better than nothing. The main task was to get my Husband 6 salads. He will run out on Tuesday and so we may have to vamp until shopping day. By the way, I went to the store on Tuesday, due to the 1st of the month being on Wednesday. We were warned that people waiting for their EBT, Snap and WIC money for the month, would be shopping those 1st 3 days.

Pantry is thankfully still full of staples, though we did use 2 cans of soup and made chocolate chip cookies, again this week.

I hope you are holding your own in these very unsettled times.

Another Lost Plan For This Spring

We were supposed to get together with our friends from Phoenix and their son's family (who live in New York) on the 6th.

I was so excited, that I started dusting the house way back in February.

Since I am stuck in this house, the fact that it got dusted, is a godsend.

Unfortunately, the trip to Disneyland and then up to us, afterward, has been canceled until September.

By they way, these photos were taken at Bob's Big Boy, back in 2018.

It was the last time our friends visited us and we were all looking forward to a get together this spring.

We did Facebook Messenger each other last Sunday, to catch up and see how every one is doing.

It wasn't the same, but the best we all could do.

Oh well, let's make it to our future.

What A Day In Quarantine Is Like

I thought that for posterity sake, I would document a day in the life of two over 65 year olds, under quarantine.

Way back in January I had plans to possibly work some projects with people I used to work with, or do website work.

Most all those ideas are totally out the window, for now.

What I thought was a plan that would give me things to do and keep me in the loop on the ever changing world of broadcasting (or other interests), has become a no starter.

So...what are you doing during this pandemic? Here is one person's boring life.

I sleep from 10:45PM to 7:00AM.

First off, I feed the cat.

Get the Newspaper.

Put the coffee on.

Make breakfast for me and set myself down by the computer, to find out what is happening in the world. The cat sleeps, while keeping an eye on me.

Between 8:30AM and 9:00AM, my silence is interrupted by Hubby, who moves from the Bedroom to the Family Room and turns on the TV (I ignore it) :-)

Around 10:00AM, we go outside and garden together most days. If it is grocery shopping, it happens at this time. After any of these activities, I come in and take a shower, getting me clean once again. Every 2nd day (especially on grocery day) we do laundry.

Whenever we get back in the house, the news goes back on and around Noon, The Governor speaks (I ignore it).

I remember to put the automatic feeder on the ground, before the noon feeding of the cat (we had ants earlier in March and so I get it away from them, outside feeding time).

12:00PM Lunch! Yum.

12:30PM Read the newspaper and maybe take a nap (if needed).

2:PM Do some sort of craft or computer project. Maybe talk to my family, during this time, or bake cookies for dessert.

4:00PM Hubby turns the TV from whatever he is watching, to the news and Mayor Garcetti speaks around 5PM) I start considering the dinner hour and begin preparations, if needed. (Those are beef short ribs I cooked on the BBQ on Tuesday and the homemade potato salad was a Wednesday project).

5:00PM Place the automatic feeder back on the ground for the 6:00PM feeding and begin to consider when we will break for dinner.

Between 5:30PM and 6:00PM, eat dinner, while watching the news (I ignore it).

6:15PM I ask if we can watch Doc Martin and usually that is what we do. I don't know what will happen when we run out of Season 9...

7:00PM back to whatever programming Hubby wants to watch. (I ignore it).

8:00PM Primetime. Maybe something I might want to watch, is on. Otherwise I read a book or continue a craft project.

10:00PM I start considering if bed is in my future. If I am into the show at that time, I go to sleep around 11:00PM. Corral the cat and off we go to do it all over again tomorrow.

Miss Fisher And The Crypt Of Tears Movie

So February came and the Miss Fisher Movie opened in different areas, including Palm Springs (of all things).

It was supposed to come out in movie theaters around the world, but due to the coronavirus, that is not happening.

Instead, Acorn TV gave us viewers a free month of Acorn TV if you used the word Crypt in your sign up.

So last week I signed up and we watched the movie I had given $10AU to help get made, almost 2 years ago.

It was wonderful to see Phryne and Jack, once again and the plot was good.

Highly recommend it, if you like Miss Fisher.

HGTV

I have found that my house is Home and Garden Channel central.

If not that, then Cops, or other dramas with lots of shootings going on.

None of this is my thing.

The worst, part is that if I want to be in the same room with my spouse, then I put up with this stuff.

We got a one month free subscription to Acorn TV and I am taking advantage of that fact, by asking to watch the 9th season of Doc Martin.

I will not be buying the service, but this is a nice benefit to seeing Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears, for free, a week ago.

I can only watch 1 episode at a time (cause I have other things to do) and so after we stream one good show, I have to deal with Home and Garden Channel, once again. Sigh...

Pink Jasmine, Once Again

Happy April Fools Day...not.

I still have work to do in the front of my house, but I took a break this week and instead worked on the flower bed by the Pink Jasmine.

See all the bright green asparagus fern down toward the bottom of the Jasmine? That is what I removed over the past 2 days.

The Jasmine is blooming and the fragrance is so very nice. Not overwhelming, but something that adds to the work experience. :-)

Today, we plan on trimming the hedge in the back yard and if I am lucky, I will cut the top off the eucalyptus tree.

Gardening...it never ends.