Pandemic Times, August 23-29

 I started this series of blog posts on April 1 to record my life during the pandemic.  This week I started the 3rd handwritten journal.  I don't know how long I will continue the daily record, but I hope that I will be able to maintain it until the end of the calendar year at least.  Health experts do not expect the pandemic to be over any time soon.  The discipline of daily writing is good, even if sometimes I get behind a few days and have to catch up.

Sunday, August 23

Amanda and LeRoy were with us another night, so we decided on an omelette, sausage and toast for breakfast.  With Amanda's help I made a fancy omelette with whipped egg whites and finished it in the oven.  It turn out to be very good.

After checking the fit of her skirt, I took Amanda and LeRoy home.  Again, she drove through the part and did well.  Laura and Mike will be home early afternoon.

Today was also bread-making again.  I mixed the Levain before bed last night and continued this morning and throughout the day, culminating with 3 pretty good loaves.  I still am not getting the final "oven-spring," so that the loaves are light enough and taste good, but are not tall.  It seems that when I try the slash, I deflate the bread too much.  Maybe I need to buy that special tool for making the slashes.

Monday, August 24

We walked the lake route this morning, then I spent some time catching up on household chores.  I left for West Knoxville at 2 pm for a dermatology appoint and got out of that with a few spots removed but no biopsies.  Yeah!  I took the opportunity to stop in a couple of stores looking for bread-making supplies, but to no avail.  I stocked up on wine and picked up a few groceries on the way home.  I haven't gone shopping except for necessities in such a long time.

Sometime during the day, Bill discovered a bat, or two as it turned out, in the garage.  The droppings on the car hood were the tell-tale sign.  The bats were wedged between the rafter and a piece of plywood.  Bill managed to dislodge them and after they made a loop or two around the garage they flew away.  I wish I had been there with my camera to see him waving his arms frantically to keep them away!

Supper was meatloaf and mashed potatoes - which I very seldom make - and green beans, of course.

The Republican convention started today but we are not watching.  They have no shame in telling outright lies and stoking fear.  They know they get votes by making their supporters fear the "other." It is disgusting and I will not give them ratings.  Many prominent Republicans have repudiated Trump and endorsed Biden.  The RNC has not adopted a platform.  Their statement just says that they support Trump and their platform is the same as 2016.  When I first saw it, I though it must be a hoax!  Of course, the 2016 platform criticized the 'current administration' in terms that are pretty ironic under the circumstances.

Tuesday, August 25

We started the day with a walk up Brock Way.  I took a few pictures along the way, but a little clump of daisies by the road's edge caught my fancy.  I am working on 'Meditation on a Daisy.' If I come up with anything worth sharing I will post it.  As I sometimes do, I went to the garden while I was still hot and sweaty to pick a small harvest. I took a lot of pictures today.

This little wildflower was no more than 8 inches tall, but exquisite.

I have been watching this mullien, waiting for it to be in full bloom. However, someone has run over the base and knocked it down.  At full height, it might have been 4 ft tall.

Not a wall, but stacked rocks waiting for someone's project

Beautiful red oak

The road cut has created some amazing images in tree roots

Too small for hickory nuts. I don't know what they are.

Looking into the trees.

This little daisy caught my imagination

Today's harvest

At about 3:30 we left in the RV to watch Amanda play golf at Toqua Course in Tellico Village.  The sky ominously threatened rain and storm, but we continued on.  By the time we got there, the treat was largely past and it was not raining.  We rented a cart for the first time just to be safe.  The course was beautifully scenic and Amanda did well, shooting a 48 on a difficult course.

As planned, we got takeout from Thai Bistro in the Village.  Too bad that it is so far from us.  We would eat there (or from there) more often.  It is very good.

Lenoir City Schools has had the high school on "online learning days" Monday through Wednesday this week due to Covid cases and quarantines. Laura texted us that they announced this afternoon that they will begin and alternating day schedule for all students grades 7-12, beginning on Thursday this week and continuing through Fall Break, October 9.  Students with last names A-L will attend school on Mon & Thurs, M-Z will attend Tues & Fri and all students will have online learning Wed and their alternate days. Extra-curricular activities will continue. So all students grades 7-12 will have 2 in-person and 3 online days each week for at least the next few weeks.  Amanda said she was glad to be full-time in the online academy so she doesn't have to worry about changing schedules and disruptions.

My FitBit recorded 7923 steps today.  I slightly exceeded my goal of 7500.  That doesn't happen every day and never happens unless we have a morning walk.

Wednesday, August 26

Our morning walk was the lake route again.  It was not too hot but very humid.

Pastor Kristie had called me late yesterday afternoon to ask if I would do the message again this week.  Of course I said yes, so I spent most of the day preparing and writing.  I needed to leave at 4 pm to take Amanda to Avalon for golf pictures and I almost had it done by then.  Since we were having left-over meatloaf I didn't have to worry about cooking.  I got home a little after 5 and had my message finished and revised by about 6:15. Good timing to break for supper.

Today's news has been about the massive Hurricane Laura which will hit near the TX-LA border tonight as a Cat-5 storm.

In other news- another white police shot of another black man, in the back 7 times.  The man did not have a gun and it is questionable as to whether he had a knife in his possession.  There has been subsequent rioting and news of protestors killed.  These cycles are occurring with disturbing frequency.  It turned out that the protestors were killed by a 17-year-old AR toting right-winger.  The police had not stopped hime for carrying the weapon and had even given him a bottle of water.  Systemic racism is real.

Thursday, August 27

For the fourth day in a row, we walked, this day on the lake route. We had a nice conversation with a couple that we had seen on Tuesday coming down Brock hill.  Turns out they are from Oak Ridge and spend a lot of time camping in the RV at Melton Hill. The FitBit GPS tracks our route. Today it gave me credit for 8747 steps and 18 floors.  I got a little credit for milling around while we were talking in a couple of places.

I got home drenched in sweat.  Before I had cooled off, I had a message from Connie to pick surplus green beans from her garden.  I was glad to drive up the hill and do that!  I shared some with Kathy and put some in the freezer.  From my garden I picked enough PH Peas for a small package for the freezer. Below are some pictures of Connie's garden, beautiful but very different that mine.

Damage reports are still coming in from Laura.  It maintained hurricane force winds all the way north through LA, but the greatest damage was in Lake Charles and vicinity.  

Numbers:
Worldometer: US: 6,037,097 cases; 184,434 deaths; 3,335,576 recovered
TN Dept of Health: 149,416 cases; 111,416 recovered; 1673 deaths
age 0-10 7,405, 11-21 18,194
Loudon County: 914 cases; 9295 neg, 1099 pos, 229 active, 682 rec
17.83 rate; 9.64 actual avg new cases

9 cases at LCHS created 100 students/staff in quarantine

Friday, August 28

I led the whole worship for the 3rd week.  My message was based on this week's lectionary, Romans 12:9-21.  I called it "Heaping Coals," and it is posted on YouTube and the text on this blog.   https://youtu.be/UmZW8uWbXLo

Bonnie fixed bacon and tomato sandwiches again this week.  After lunch we went to our Loudon County Democratic 'headquarters' at LC Park by the lake to get some yard signs and buttons.  Drug store, gas & grocery rounded out my outing.

I finished two masks for Sandra's niece and somehow it was time for supper - Salmon, squash casserole and asparagus.  I doubt if I'll have more squash and tomatoes & green beans are about done, too.  August garden is winding down. Maybe I'll get a few messes of PH Peas and enough okra to fry occasionally. Pepper are still ripening.

The last remnants of Hurricane Laura should pass through before morning.

The Republican Convention finished Thursday night with Trump's completely inappropriate, unethical and probably illegal acceptance speech from the White House lawn.  The crowd of 1000 was not safe-distanced and few masks were seen.  Earlier in the week First Lady Melania also spoke from the White House grounds.

His speech, as so many were, was filled with divisiveness, hatred and lies. During the 4 days of the convention, 4000 people died of Covid - more than died on 9-11. Yet the only mention was of how well this administration has handled the pandemic and rosy promises of a vaccine.  No recognition was given to the loss and suffering of so many. The main theme was "Law and Order," which we've constantly heard from racists politicians sowing fear.  BLM protestors are being demonized while extreme white nationalists/supremacists are instigation most of the violence.  We are in for an ugly fall election season.

Saturday, August 29

We had some rain and wind in the early morning hours.  We used the wet start as an excuse to lay in bed and drink coffee until mid-morning. It was 11 by the time we were eating brunch. I delivered Sandra's masks by noon.

I spent most of the afternoon transferring my journal notes to this online blog.  Selecting pictures to match with events is time consuming. I did take some time out to call Melanie and Park.  Neither of them had any bad weather from the hurricane.  I hadn't talked with Park in quite a while, so it was good to hear his voice.

I used the last bit of meatloaf to make beef enchiladas and some other things that needed to be used to make corn and black bean salsa as a side.

Pandemic Times, August 16-22

 Sunday, August 16

I thought this would be a quiet, relaxing Sunday, baking bread and preparing for our trip. It turned into anything but! I got the bread going and before our with a Melton Hill walk. The fog was just lifting over the lake, giving the view a peaceful blur.  

When we got home, I decided I should check the garden and pick whatever needed to be harvested.  That turned out to be quite a bit - too many tomatoes (I gave most of them to Kathy), green beans, a few purple hulls and some yellow squash.  After snapping and blanching, I put 5 pints of greens beans in the freezer and decided the squash would hold in the refrigerator.  It was really more than I wanted to do!  In intervals, I would work on bread-making steps.  That wouldn't be finished until bedtime. 

Amy & Andy Bolt gave us 2 pieces of barn board.  Jeff Smith had requested a short length of board to be used in construction of the urn that he is making for Jake.  I'll ship it to him next week.

Then there was some preparation for our RV trip tomorrow, but not as much as I had hoped.  On top of everything else, the Matzek's had a breakdown of their boat on Melton Hill lake and we spent more than an hour rescuing them.  We launched our boat and Bill went up-lake and towed them back to the dock while I waited with the trailer.

Supper and finishing the baking completed my not-so-relaxing Sunday.

Monday, August 17

A busy day started with a UMW officers meeting at church.  We made some important decision about fall activities - or no activities. No general meetings for the rest of the year. We will try to meet in 2s or 3s to sort the sale items which are packed in 3 downstairs rooms.  We will dispose of trash, give away most of the clothing and pull our some holiday items for a fall holiday/bake sale on November 4.  We hope we can have our Christmas luncheon, scheduled for the 1st Saturday in December. But with the virus, we don't know what will be possible.

I got home around 11:30. After a quick lunch, I packed my things and the kitchen/food items for the trip.  Bill had most everything else already loaded in the RV, so we were able to get away around 1 pm.  (RV starting mileage 97916). After stops for groceries and gas we arrived at Indian Boundary, campsite #18 at 3:45.  It was really not much more than a 2 hour drive without the stops.  Our campsite has a great view of the lake and is at least mostly shaded.  The path around the lake is close and everything is clean.

As we found it when we arrived.  Looks like something Owen would do!

Enjoying a pre-dinner snack

Our access if we had our kayaks

After we went to the camp store for coffee water that I had forgotten, we settled down for a pre-dinner appetizer of home-made sourdough bread with olive oil.  Just as we finished, as I was about to start heating the beef stew that I made yesterday, our neighbor at the next campsite popped over.  He invited us to bring our bowls and come over to share some excess Jambalaya that his wife had made.  We couldn't resist Jambalaya.  We found that we had a lot of common touch points with Mitch and Joan - Concord UMC, Pontotoc Co, MS, Cedar Key, FL, fishing, and more.  They have been living in their RV since they sold their house in March because they haven't yet found what they are looking for.  Joan's Jambalaya was fiery, but good.

Later we walked a short distance to the fishing pier to enjoy the sunset view.  The sky was so clear that the sunset wasn't very dramatic.  It takes clouds to make a sunset pretty.  We struck up a conversation with an older gent who was fishing and found touch points - fishing stories and Cocodrie, LA. Both of these men were friendly and pleasant, but more interested in telling their stories than hearing ours.  Listening is a gift, too.  I realized that I was more tolerant of the older man's stories.

View from near our campsite

Across the lake from our campsite

No clouds mean no drama at sunset

Sunset from the fishing dock

Inside view before we set up the bed

Tuesday, August 18

After a not-so-restful night, we slept in until 8 am and woke to a cool quiet morning in the mid-60s. We fixed our usual camp breakfast of sausage, eggs, grits & toast. Meal clean-up with no water is always challenging and we didn't have paper plates etc. We then packed up for the day's adventure along the Cherohala Skyway, ending at Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.   The Cherohala Skyway is a 43-mile scenic drive along rivers and ridge-tops from Tellico Plains, TN to Robbinsville, NC.  The name comes from the Cherokee National Forest in TN and the Nantahala National Forest in NC. For more information: https://www.monroecountytourism.com/cherohala-skyway

We finally got away from Indian Boundary at 10:45. Indian Boundary is a National Forest Service camp ground along the Cherohala. Our first stop was the beautifully scenic Turkey Creek overlook on the Cherohala. We were pretty sure that the stacks we saw in the distance were at Watts Bar, but could even be Kingston Steam Plant. After passing the Santeelah overlook, the highest overlook at over 5300 ft, we came to our first destination - Huckleberry Knob.  We got to the parking lot at noon.  The informational sign said that we were at 5300 ft and that our destination, the top of Huckleberry Knob was 5560 ft and a little more than 2 miles round trip. The trail was an old roadbed that climbed gently but relentlessless through a wooded area, out onto Oak Knob, through another wooded area and culminating on Huckleberry Knob.  The Knobs or balds are naturally occurring clear/non-forested ridge-tops that occur throughout the southern Appalachian highlands.  We love to hike to the balds because the 360 views are spectacular. At 5560 ft elevation, Huckleberry is the highest point along this region of the Nantahala NF. Yes there are huckleberry bushes on Huckleberry Knob, even with a few unripe berries.  At that altitude, I sucked air going up 260 ft in elevation, but it was worth it and the hike back down was a piece of cake!

At the top of Huckleberry Knob

The night sky must be spectacular

There were a few huckleberry bushes scattered about

Dramatic Sky, Dramatic views

On Oak Knob and on our way to Huckleberry at the top of the picture.

Looking back at Oak Knob

We got back to the parking lot about 1:30.  Since we had a late breakfast, we drove on to our next destination, Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest.  This pocket wilderness of virgin timber is dedicated the the author of the poem, "Trees."

Our picnic spot was beside a creek and we enjoyed the sound of water rushing over the rocks.  The trail was not as benign as we remembered.  With the humidity, the trail up the first loop was pretty rugged and I was sucking air again.  The upper loop is where the giant poplars are located.  That part was less steep, but still climbed for a half mile before finally turning down.  Again, I was grateful that the way back was downhill.  Even though we were worn out, we were thrilled to see the huge old trees, many over 400 years old. They are not like the giant redwood and sequoias out west, but impressive nonetheless.  At the end of the hike, my FitBit had recorded about 5 1/2 miles and 60 flights (10 fit) up.  I think it over-counted, but the hikes were strenuous enough for us.

One of the views along the Cherohala Skyway

Our mileage at the beginning of the day was 97,982 and at the end 98,048, so we traveled 66 miles.  We had a marvelous day and were ready for an easy meal of beef stew and an early bedtime.

Wednesday, August 19

Our wake-up view

Relaxing after breakfast

Camp breakfast this morning included potatoes left-over from last night's stew and the last of my sourdough loaf, along with sausage and eggs. Before leaving, we drove down to the swimming area for a few picture of this most scenic lake.  Then to the dump station to take care of business.  It was a few minutes after 11 when we actually left the park.

We detoured to Ft. Loudoun Historic Park near Vonore for a picnic lunch before finishing our last lap toward home.  We got home about 2:30, having travelled 210 miles on the ground and countless miles in spirit.

Thursday, August 20

Today I had to get serious about finishing my message for worship this week, so I was up and at it relatively early.  This being the 3rd Thursday, our neighborhood lunch was at Connie Green's beautiful farm house on the hill.  The four of us- Kathy, Connie, Marilyn and I, sat on a little deck under an old maple tree for conversation.  We each brought our lunch and drinks.  It was a delight to be together.

After lunch I was back to my computer until time to fix supper - fired rice with chicken and shrimp.  We made a  brief trip to the Matzek's to wish Claire farewell as she leaves for college tomorrow.  She is going to Middle Tennessee State University in Murphreesboro to major in Forensic Science.  She is excited and we are excited for her.

On the way home, we encountered two bucks and a doe and a big family of turkeys.

Friday, August 21

Video day at church and I was responsible for the service again this week.  So getting ready and out the door on time is a little tense.  I did take time to carefully rehearse my message one more time.  The recording session seemed to go fine.  Afterward, I learned that the center front camera didn't record - too bad.  My message was entitled "Who Do You Say That I AM?" and is posted under "Sermons and Essays" and on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaOgC8-BHo4

Bonnie fixed us bacon and tomato sandwiches for lunch. Is there a better summer treat?  From Bonnie's I went to Good Samaritan to meet Mary Ann B to work on the new grant proposal.  It turned out to be just the two of us.  She and I brainstorm well together, always seeming to be on the same wavelength.

Claire left for college this afternoon.  Of course, Mike and Laura went to help her move in and transition.  In this age of coronavirus, going to college is fraught with more anxiety than usual.  Claire will be in a dorm, but will not have a roommate.

Amanda and LeRoy spent the night with us.  Amanda got her driving permit today, so I let her drive home through the park.  She did well. We had burgers from Ruby Tuesday, as much a treat for me as for Amanda.  After supper we watched the old Tom Hanks movie, Cast Away.

Numbers:

I haven't recorded coronavirus numbers since last Thursday.  Maybe once a week is enough for now.

NY Times (noon)

case count: 5,599,400; 1080 new deaths today; 49,787 new cases today; 174,361 deaths to date

TN Dept of Health: case count 140,844, up 1669 today; total deaths 1549, 61 since yesterday

Age 0-10 6923 cases; 11-21 16,923 cases

Loudon County: 834 cases; 207 active; 8666 negative; new case rate 16.25 (slight improvement)

Saturday, August 22

In honor of Amanda's sleepover we had blueberry pancakes for breakfast - a treat for all of us.  When I got up for coffee, Amanda already had LeRoy outside for a walk.  She want to have one of her golf skirts shortened, so we marked that before I took her home.  She drove through the park again.  She was looking forward to having the house to herself until I pick her up at supper-time.  We had wings and corn-on-the-cob.  We tried to get Hamilton on Disney+ without success, so we ended up watching Pride and Prejudice.

Laura sent us a picture of Claire after they got her settled in her room.

Claire in her new digs