Sunday, February 21
Sunday, Sunday - Good day for whatever comes. I worked more on my sewing project, cutting out all the pieces - lots of small pieces. Then we watched the Lady Vols lose a BBal game. After the game, we met Laura across the river for a Sunday afternoon walk in the park. Unfortunately, no eagles were present for Laura.
Ruby T's salmon for supper finished a good day on a good note.
Monday, February 22
The first goal of this morning was getting an appointment for a vaccine. I'm set for March 5 but I have to go to Tennova North. Then I hurried out the door for an early blood draw appoint in preparation for next week's physical.
More work on the sewing project. I assembled all the pieces and parts that didn't require the bits of hardware that are on order. The day was warm enough and beautifully sunny but a stiff breeze kept us from our walk.
Today the country exceeded 500,000 - half-a million - deaths. President Biden gave a very moving memorial speech as part of a candlelight memorial on the White House grounds.
For supper I made a new dish - Soy and maple glazed chicken with sweet potatoes, cooked in the crock-pot and finished under the broiler.
 |
| Soy-Maple Chicken with sweet potatoes and green beans |
Numbers for 2/22
Loudon County: 5597 total cases; 112 total hospitalized; 64 deaths; 197 active cases; 33.6 case rate; 16.7% pos rate; avg 60.4 tests/day;
Lo Co today had 20.8% pos on just 24 tests; there have been 32 Covid deaths since Christmas; 16.5% of all cases are children under 20.
We are in the Orange Zone because the statistics are improving.
TN: 766,089 total cases; 11,153 total deaths; 0-10 40,875; 11-20 96,861
Tuesday, February 23
In the morning I worked on the Trinity website and refilled the bird feeders. The athletic gray squirrels have figured out that they can launch themselves from a limb and maybe grab the feeder pole to access the seeds. While it is entertaining to watch, we will have to figure out how to thwart them. In the meantime, I need to order more Safflower seeds.
The hardware that I had ordered for my project arrived just after lunch so I made some progress before it was time to pick up Amanda.
When I got back, we went for a walk. No eagles today, but we had a nice conversation with a lady photographer from Tellico Village. We showed her the best spot to get a clear view of the nest. I feel a sense of community among those we recognize and acknowledge as 'regulars.'
Leftover chicken for supper.
Wednesday, February 24
The started as bright and clear as promised. Bill had the RV ready. After breakfast, I put together a picnic and we loaded up for a day trip to Chickamauga Battlefield NP outside of Chattanooga. We pulled out at 10:20, not exactly an early start for the almost 2 hour drive.
We had to detour because of a traffic blockage so didn't get to the park visitor center until after 12:30. We watched the movie and then finally had our picnic. The battlefield park was the first created after the Civil War and encompasses thousands of acres in northern Georgia. There are no particular geographic features. There are many monuments, cannons and other installations commemorating the confederate and union soldiers who fought and died there.
The park has over 50 miles of hiking/walking trails and we picked one that made of loop of a little over 2 miles. Even though the first sections was a gravel road, I was glad I had changed into my hiking boots and taken my trekking pole. Once we turn off the gravel road, the trail narrowed and was flooded in spots. We had to hop a small creed and find detours around a couple of the worst spots. At one point, the trail came Chickamauga Creek along the park boundary. By the time we got back to the RV my Fitbit GPS said we had walked a little more than 3 miles. It was a beautiful warm day to be out in the woods.
Walk along with us in this short slideshow movie. The sound effects are my recording of spring peepers who serenaded us at several spots along the way.
After a stop at Bass Pro, we were on the road toward home by 6. We got home at 7:45 after a stop at Bojangles for fried chicken. We travelled 212 road miles.
Thursday, February 25
We have been blessed with another warm sunny day. It is not as warm as yesterday, but warm enough to enjoy working outside. I also wanted to clean up the flower/herb bed and pots around the deck. Bill decided that this would be the day to cut the leaning cedar and a the tree next to it. I agreed to help. The leaning cedar was partially help up by its crown hung in the pines and partially by thick fox grape vines growing up and into neighboring trees. The first task was to cut the vines as high as possible, so while I held some tension on a vine, Bill used the long pruning saw to cut it. As you might predict, when the vine suddenly snapped, I stepped back and over the chain saw, got tangled in the vine and tumbled down the hill. I am so fortunate that I was not injured. Fortunately also, there is no video or photo evidence! After the trees were down, Bill cut everything into manageable pieces and I helped drag some of it up the hill and out of his way. Finishing the cleanup will have to wait for the next warm day.
 |
| Leaning trees - before |
 |
| Downed trees - after |
 |
| My rewards! - Martini |
 |
| and beautiful sunset |
For supper, I made fajita style cod filets with Spanish rice.
Number 2/25/21
US: 28,509,300 total cases; 69,483 avg # cases/day - decreasing; 510,373 total deaths - avg daily rate decreasing
TN: 772,513 total cases; daily case rate is decreasing; 846,119 people vaccinated (12%)
LoCo: 5658 total cases; 184 active; 65 deaths; 26.9 avg case rate; 16.6 avg new cases/day; 69.4 avg tests/day; 11.9% avg pos rate; 13,635 vaccinations; Orange Status because stats are improving.
Friday, February 26
A rainy morning is always good for sleeping in, even if it's not the weekend yet. After a late start to the day, I went back to my sewing project and finished! I have been working on a cell phone purse and consider this first attempt to be a prototype. Now that I understand how the pieces fit together, I understand better how to choose each fabric for its place on the finished product.
I also hand-sewed strips of seam binding on the inside of some of my masks and installed the metal 'nose strips' to give the masks a better fit.
Taco supper and movie - Hillbilly Elegy. Glen Close was amazing as the grandma.
Mother died one year ago tonight, Feb 26, 2020.
Saturday, February 27
Another gloomy rainy Saturday, so typical of East Tennessee in February. I started some pinto beans for chili before lunch. When they had cooked for a couple of hours, I put together the chili, using the taco meat left over from last night.
After lunch, we went to the Matzek's for a visit. Claire is home for the weekend and we enjoyed talking with her.
The chili did not turn out as good as I hoped. I think I added the tomatoes too soon to the beans, because the beans never softened, even though they cooked for several hours. We served it like a petro, chili over Fritos, topped with shredded cheese. It was edible, but not as good as I hoped.
Today Book 4 of these journals was completed.
No comments:
Post a Comment