Sunday, November 1
All-Saints Day. Mother, Clara Nelle Taylor Westmoreland, was among the saints that we recognized this year. Many church members knew her. The Sunday routine is being re-established. I have mixed feelings, having enjoyed the quiet pace of Sundays at home. My SS lesson was on unity from the perspective of John Wesley. He was amazingly progressive in his thinking. I took a dozen pears for Bonnie and another dozen I delivered to Mary Mills. I enjoyed a brief driveway visit with her.
Monday, November 2
Baking day started at around 8 am. The levain was prepared before bedtime las night and I started the actual baking of the loaves at about 4 pm. The whole process is about 24 hours. Sitting at the dining table, between rises, I thought I saw a few Cedar Waxwings at the pond and bird bath. They often travel with migrating Robins. I've seen more Robins than usual, but not large flocks like we get sometimes. It was impossible to get a picture through the window and the migrating birds are not habituated to our movements like our home-birds are.
Kathy came over for a drink and visit around 5. It was too chilly to sit outside and I needed to be close to the stove anyway. Our visit was warm and welcomed. The bread turned out good, so I sent her home with a loaf.
Tuesday, November 3
Election Day has finally arrived! Of course, we voted weeks ago by mail-in ballot. Anyone over 65 in Tennessee is eligible to request an absentee ballot. I picked up Walter at 9:30 and we reported to the Election Commission office in Loudon before 10 am. We were on one of the three 6-person counting teams. Each team processed 1200 ballots. The process was tedious, but secure. The actual ballots were scanned, so we did not know any totals when we left later in the evening. We all knew that we were stuck in the building until the pols closed at 8 pm (or later if necessary). Fortunately, the process was well-organized and we were finished before 8.
When I got home, I learned just how close the results were so far. Trump was already declared the winner in Florida. In some states where the Dems thought they might take a Senate seat turned out to be clear Rep wins. As midnight approached, it was clear that there would be no decisive winner declared for several days at least. Of course, the Republicans swept Tennessee.
Wednesday, November 4
We woke up to uncertain election results as votes are still being counted. It is very close and I determined to not watch TV until after 5 pm. I can't change any outcome today.
I spent a couple of hours posting worship and updating the church website. That is a first of the month job. Then Amanda and I went into town to post a couple of packages, pick up lunch and eat our picnic at LC Park. Once again, feeding the ducks was the day's highlight.
Then I was back to the computer for Santa's Helper shopping. Kathy came over at 5 to share a glas of wine on the deck.
At the end of the day, there was still no election decision, but Biden's chances are looking better.
Numbers:
TN has 3445 new cases today, the 3rd highest count. In the US, the news reported that there were more than 100,000 new cases today.
TN Dept of Health: 3445 new cases today; 269,802 total case count; 0-10, 13,158; 11-20, 35,703
Loudon County: 1775 total case count; 13 deaths to-date; 13 new cases today, 20.3 case rate; 9.5% pos rate These numbers are bad but not the worse.
Thursday, November 5
When I woke up this morning, I realized that I completely forgot our wedding anniversary yesterday. In 48 years that has never happened. I didn't realize that I was THAT absorbed in the election news and COVID news. We had a good laugh about it. Later in the day, Bill bought be a sweet card - two kids, still in love, with a picture of a pair of little goats.
Amanda is back to workouts today, so I was out early. I went to WalMart for some Santa Helper shopping mid-morning and then to FRC to sort packages. Judith and I have been ordering from Amazon and WalMart, so it is necessary to open each box/package, determine who it is for and label it with the child's code. I worked until about noon and then visited with my friends there while eating our various lunches.
Friday, November 6
Back to town once again this morning on church business and a meeting with Cindy at GSC. The long-serving Clinet Services Manager, Judy Howell, had to retire to care for her husband who broke his leg. They are both well into their 80s. Judy has been an amazing repository of community knowledge and has served the center with passion and compassion for the community. Cindy and I talked about the job mechanics of the job search process - seems I am to chair the committee.
I went to Bonnie's for a lunch visit and was home early in the afternoon. These fall afternoons have been perfect for deck-sitting around 5 o'clock. With earlier sunsets we are getting more shade for our wine/beer time.
Saturday, November 7
After several tense days of vote counting, at mid-day Biden was declared the winner and President-Elect by all the media outlets, even FOX. Of course, Trump is not accepting the defeat yet and is making claims of voter fraud and a stolen election (has been doing so all week). No credible evidence has been produced to support his claims. Pennsylvania became the deciding state with Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia and Alaska still undecided. Biden leads in both Electoral College and popular votes. The Senate balance is still undecided, too.
Football Vols don't kick off until 7:30. They are playing Arkansas so we have hope. My White Chicken Chili was in the crock pot before 1 pm. Kathy is making cornbread and Bonnie is bringing her famous eggs and a Mrs. Edwards Key Lime Pie. We eat well, regardless of game results.
On this lovely fall afternoon, Bill helped me clean up the garden, put aways hoses and tomato cages. Many years, I don't get around to this job in the fall. It is a pleasure to see the garden ready for winter. There are still herbs to harvest, but I didn't plant any fall greens. I'm sorry now! It was nice to be working outside together. I picked another basket of pears, 27 pounds. Don't know what I'll do with them. While working in the garden, I declared this "Getting Rid of the Old to Make Way for the New" day. That will be my theme for tomorrow's SS lesson.
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