Pandemic Times - August 9-15

Sunday, August 9

If we are going to walk in August, we have to get started earlier! - 7:30 instead of 9:30.  As we started out today, I reflected on how hard it is to notice something different on a familiar route.  This morning, I determined to be on the lookout for details that I haven't "noticed."  I remembered an old piece of abandoned farm machinery that I haven't noticed for a very long time.  Sure enough, there it was where it has been since I've traveled this road. Someone has recently cleared away some of the brush and vines, revealing it.  It appeared to be a very old hay baler.  What stories could it tell?

 

We spent a quiet Sunday at home, interrupted only by a visit from Laura, Claire and Amanda.  The girls came to do a small raking job for me on their way to an afternoon boating on Melton Hill Lake.

Monday, August 10

We managed to get going a little earlier this morning - 8:05 instead of 9:30!  The air was quite humid but cool enough so we walked our lake route.  About the time we started the uphill climb toward home, a light sprinkle started.  We were glad that we started early.  The morning remained rainy, a good time to catch up on laundry and other chores. This hill doesn't look to steep, but I certainly feels like it at the end of our walk.

I started serious work on my worship planning for Friday. When complete, it will be posted under "Sermons & Essays" as "What are you Wearing?" and based on Colossians 3:17.  At 3 pm I left to pick up Amanda for a golf match in Alcoa/Rockford.  Bill met us there at tee time.  We walked 9 holes with her.  The sun came out in full force just as we started so it was quickly hot and steamy.  Fitbit recorded 5 1/2 miles for the day.

Tuesday, August 11

No walk this morning - still recovering from yesterday.  One of the features of getting older is slow recovery!  Instead, I harvested tomatoes, a small picking of green beans, purple hulls and a couple of zucchini.  The afternoon was spent processing and overflowing pint of beans and a scant pint of peas.  I got out the Victorio Strainer and made sauce of the tomatoes.  I started with 13-14 lbs of tomatoes which became 11 lbs after culling, trimming and quartering.  The tomatoes then went into the big cook pot to heat until soft.  

Then they are put through the strainer to separate out the skins and seeds. The puree went back into the big pot to cook down with a bit of garlic-infused oil, dried basil and salt.  Finally the sauce is sealed into pint gars and processed in a water bath for 20 minutes.   The end product of 13+ lbs of tomatoes was 5 pints of sauce.  No wonder no one does this anymore! But it is good, and I know it is as pure and local as I can get.

Wednesday, August 12

I made it to Good Samaritan by 10 am, in time to greet the Executive Committee members that I haven't seen since January.  Our grant meeting started at 10:30 and lasted almost 2 hours with three women from Align 9, included our own Raquel.  The purpose was to determine whether we would collaborate with them on the grant.  We were interested to learn about the work that they do, but did not find many points of overlap of our goals.  

Later in the afternoon, I met Laura at Avalon to watch Amanda's golf match. This is her digital scorecard in the golf cart.

Numbers: TN Dept of Health
case count: 126,393; increase of 1478
deaths: 1289; increase of 18
age 0-10, 6096; 11-20, 14760
Loudon County: 774 cases; 256 active; 7688 negative tests

US, Worldometer: 5,361,131 cases; 169,161 deaths

Thursday, August 13

On the way up the hill to the overlook this morning, I heard a distinctive bird call, but I did not recognize the bird.  I have always wanted to be able to identify birds by their call, but I have not been willing to exercise the discipline and diligence, nor put in the time needed to develop that skill.  This morning I recorded the bird in hope of identifying it later. I began to "notice" the other sounds around me: the chatting of a flock of little birds in the tree tops; the cawing of a flock of crows; the hum of Melton Hill Dam generators as we came down the hill; the soft cooing of a dove; the rapid drumming of a woodpecker in the distance; quiet people sounds as we walked through the campground; a brief conversation with a woman who was also enjoying the morning birdsong; the harsh energy of a leaf-blower as one of the campground hosts tidied a campsite for the next visitor; a large dog's bark, but no small dogs yapping at us; the whirr of insects in the trees (or is it my tinnitis - I'm never sure)' the sound of my own hard breathing on the uphill climb toward home; and finally the welcome clink of ice in a glass for tea.

I later found an app that identified that distinctive call as a towhee and the birdsong as a flock of titmouse.

I experienced the sounds or re-creation and re-vitalization; the sounds of harmony and peace. "He restores my soul."

The rest of the day I spent preparing the worship message for recording on Friday.

Numbers:

US: 5,405,100 cases; 170,093 deaths; 2,831,072 recovered

TN: 128,511 cases, increase 2118; 1313 deaths, increase 24
age 0-10, 6245; 11-20, 15051

LoCo: 779 cases; 245 active; about 25 new cases/100,000 still way too high

Friday, August 14

I woke up this morning with my "performance" foremost in my mind.  My goal was to leave home at o am so as to have plenty of time for relaxed preparation, mike tests, etc.  I made sure I had all my equipment loaded in the car.  My "costume" and a change of clothes were packed and I was dressed for church and out the door on time.  When I got to the church I realized that I hadn't put my accessory bag in the car.  My plan for a relaxed prep time was blown!  Bill saved the morning by meeting me halfway at Eaton Crossroads with my bag of stuff.

The main accessory was my housecoat.  I intended to come out dressed in my housecoat to tease the topic of the day, "What are you wearing/" As I write this, I haven't seen the finished video but I will link it here and post my text. https://youtu.be/41w70wKCI_c

The other event of significant today was the death of Mrs. Florence Evans, age 101, who was a "cradle roll" member of Trinity. She was a remarkable woman and beloved in the community.  Her two grandson's who live away were able to fly in and were with her when she passed last night.  She was aware enough to know they were coming and waited for them.  Her last words were "I love you" to them.  A beautiful life, well lived.  I went with Bonnie to the funeral home to visit with Rick and Billy before supper.

Saturday, August 15

Happy Birthday, Amanda!  Happy Quincineanera!

The first main event of the day was to attend the graveside service for Mrs. Florence.  I picked up Bonnie again and we went first to the funeral home and then to the old part of Lenoir City Cemetery just off Hwy 11. Loud trucks interrupted the service which was conducted by Rev. Mahan Archer in Pastor Kristie's absence.  It was good to see him and Laura. The men's ensemble sang "Let There Be Peace," a favorite of Florence.

Auspicious rainbow on the way to Amanda's birthday party.

At 7:30, after supper, Bill and I went to the Matzek's to celebrate Amanda's birthday.  She - Amanda- made a wonderful cappuccino chiffon cake with real whipped cream icing.  It was beautiful and tasted fantastic.  She has become quite an accomplished baker to produce a perfect 3-layer chiffon cake.

Wayne and Kathy were there also. After a raining day, the evening was cool. We celebrated under the carport because of rain and to be safely distanced. Nice way to end the week.

Pandemic Times - August 2 - 8

Sunday, August 2

Today would have been Mother's 91st birthday.  I am so thankful that we were able to have such a joyous celebration last summer for her 90th, with all her children, grandchildren, their spouses and all 12 great-grandchildren.  

Everybody!

Claire, John, Owen, Amanda, Evangeline, Sandling, John Wallace, Erica, Solace, Allison, Leo, Missing Orion.

More: https://flowersandfeathers.blogspot.com/2019/06/clara-nelle-is-almost-90.html

I am grateful that she and we have been spared the worry of her contracting this virus.  She lived fully until the end.

This morning broke cooler with lower humidity - a welcome relief!  After breakfast, we were able to go for a walk at Melton Hill, even though we waited until late to start.

Field of Queen Anne's Lace

This ugly patch of weeds will be beautiful soon - purple ironweek, pink Joe-Pye and goldenrod.

Sunday morning baptism, complete with singing.  A joyful occasion!

After our walk, I picked peas and beans and watched the Sunday morning news shows while I shelled and snapped. One pint of purple hull peas and two pints of green beans went in the freezer.

Purple Hull Peas

Many goldfinches feeding on the sunflower seeds

I love sitting in my garden chair under the pear trees and watching the birds and butterflies at work. 
There were quite a few goldfinches on this tall sunflower.

Numbers:

TN case count is 109,627, with 1443 added since yesterday, 1043 deaths and 4756 have been hospitalized.

0-10 - 5,218; 11-20 - 12,507

US case count is 4,649,669 with 154,744 deaths

Monday, August 3

I spend most of the day at home, catching up on such mundane tasks as vacuuming and laundry.  In the morning, I spent some time at my desk and I worked on masks in the afternoon.

At 6 pm I showed up at the Loudon County Election Commission office for orientation as member of one of the counting panels for absentee ballots.  The primary is Thursday.  Already about 1800 absentee ballots have been received and the number of early votes casts is about 21% of eligible voters.  Both those are records.  According the the election officer, Susan, about 16% of Loudon Countians are eligible by age to vote absentee (over 60).  Tennessee is one of those states that have set criteria for receiving a ballot and voting by mail.  An exception has been made for the primary because of Covid-19, but the TN Supreme Court has ruled that the exception will not apply to the November general election.  Republicans are in charge and the Republican establishment does not favor extending the mail-in vote.  I was interested in and impressed with the layers of security measures in place to insure that every ballot is accounted for and counted if eligible.

Tuesday, August 4

This morning I went to the Good Samaritan Center for the first time since January.  The occasion was a meeting with MAB, Cindy & Raquel to brainstorm ideas for a grant addressing racial inequity.  We came up with an idea for hiring a liaison with the Hispanic community to facilitate communication, delivery of services and building trust.

After lunch, I put up 4 pints of tomatoes as whole tomato sauce.  It was lots of work for not a lot of product.  The sauce is good, though.  I processed the four pints in a water-bath.

My window view Tuesday morning - friendly deer and elusive hummingbirds:

Photographing through a window screen is not the best, but if you look closely you may be able to see the hummingbird on the feeder. 

Numbers:

TN: case count 112,441, +1805 since yesterday; 1,117 death, +25; 1.5+ million tests

LoCo: case count 682; 291 active; new case rate above 32/100,000

Wednesday, August 5

Dewy August morn
And a spider web adorned,
Glistening in the sun.

Company is always a good motivator to spruce up the place, so Bill cleaned up the deck and even spot painted the bench while I ran the vacuum.  Marie C brought fried rice for lunch and Bill decided to join us for food and conversation.

Later in the afternoon, I started a new batch of sourdough. It was a wet dough and I left it to proof overnight in the refrigerator. In between bread-making steps, I finished 10 masks for Claire to take to college.  She leaves for MTSU on Aug 22.

Loudon County reported 4 new Covid cases, but 4 fewer active one. Pray this is the start of a trend and not a reporting variation.

Thursday, August 6

I got up a little early to heat the oven and cast-iron dutch oven to 475 for baking the bread.  It takes at least 1/2 hour for it all to come up to that high temperature.  The bread bakes 15 minutes covered in the dutch oven, the temperature is reduced to 425 for another 30-40 minutes of baking uncovered.  I could tell when the dough went in the pot that it would stick, and it did.  I thought I would never get it out.  Other than sticking, it turned out good.  I had to re-season the pot, though. 

I made a quick harvest trip to the garden and reaped a bucket of tomatoes and a nice mess each of purple hull peas and green beans.  No time today to process them so the tomatoes were spread on the table to finish ripening and the beans and peas went in the refrigerator to be dealt with later.

I had to be in Loudon by noon for the vote counting. On the way, I bought a face shield at Greenleaf Industries in Lenoir City.  I had read about this company that converted some of their fabrication process to making shields at the beginning of this pandemic.  When I arrived at the Election Commission office I found that they were supplying us with a paper surgical mask, a face shield and a pair of gloves.  Now I have 2 shields.  Of course, I had several of my cloth masks on hand and that is what I used.  I met up with Bonnie and Walter who were also representing the Democrats.  (There must be an equal number of R & D in each panel.) We were there until the polls closed at 8 pm and we counted more than 1800 ballots.

After 8 hours of "safely" counting ballots, we are on our way home.

Friday, August 7

Lenoir City and Loudon students officially start school today. I know that teacher are anxious about safety.  Most kids just want to see their friends and most parents just want their students out of the house and in school.  Amanda started her online classes today, also.

Amanda had a great golf match at Gettysvue yesterday which we didn't see.  She shot a 41!  She said her putting was better after a lesson with her private coach.  Claire is enjoying her new kitten, Luna.  She was allowed to keep one of the six that they fostered this summer.

Friday brings the usual video recording, a visit with Bonnie which included Tammie & Brian B, and grocery shopping.  Food City has some wild-caught sock-eye salmon on sale so I bought a piece for supper.  I baked it, seasoned with cumin and served it topped with fajita-style peppers, tomatoes & onions.

Numbers:

TN Dept of Health: 118,782 cases, + 2432; 1206 deaths, +20; 0-10 5,670 cases; 11-20 13,698 cases;

LoCo: 718 cases, 285 active with 19 new yesterday.

Saturday, August 8

We started the day with a piece of banana bread from yesterday's baking, and a walk up Brock way before the heat set in.  

We never tire of the view.

Interesting patch of lichen on the road-bank.

For brunch, I made a salmon fajita frittata from last night's leftovers.  It turned out great, served with a side of cantaloupe, a slice of sourdough bread and a piece of bacon.

After being MIA since Thursday, Kali cat is officially gone.  Country female cats just don't come back.  I cleaned up her stuff and took the supplies to the Matzeks.  With 3 cats, they can surely use it.  We then went on to Food City to get more of the salmon while it is on sale. They don't have the wild-caught very often.

Luna in his/her favorite hat

Being Saturday, I posted the TUMC worship service online then settled down with the green beans, purple hull peas and an episode (or 2) of "Anne with an E" - the Green Gables story made into a Netflix series.  Bill won't watch it anymore because it "irritates his eyes!"  We had peas and green beans for supper to go with new potatoes and pork chops, plus two pints of peas for the freezer.

Numbers:

TN Dept of Health: 120,585 cases, +1803; 1215 deaths, +9; 1,683,722 tests, 9.8% pos

0-10 5,777; 11-20 13,922; 17% of all cases are 20 & under; 16% of all cases are 61 & over

LoCo: 725 case count; 282 active; 8352 tests; 9.5% pos; 14-day avg rate of new cases/100,000 - 29.33

Pandemic Times - July 26-August 1

Sunday, July 26

The cool weather after yesterday afternoon's rain continued this morning, so Bill and I went for a walk up Brock Way (Grubb Rd). At our turn-around spot, I noticed a pond that I don't remember seeing before.  I've traveled that road hundreds of times in the 46 years that we've lived here so I must have seen it before, but I "noticed" it for the first time today.

We later drove to Oak Ridge Country Club where we will be taking Amanda tomorrow for a golf match.  Bill wanted to check out the parking.  We also checked out the location of an Asian restaurant that we want to try.  Heat returned with a vengance in the afternoon.

Monday, July 27

Happy Birthday Mike Matzek.  We left early (for us) for Oak Ridge Country Club to watch Amanda play in her 1st tournament of the school year with her LC team.  There are 2 other girls on the team, but one of them did not play this tournament.  They all started together last year as freshmen.  My FitBit logged 3.25 miles as we walked the hilly course.  Amanda held her own, shooting 49 on the back nine which we walked and 50 on the front for a final score of 99.  She was the best in her group. She was satisfied.  We didn't stay for the 2nd half because Laura arrived.  I would have struggled to walk 9 more holes in the heat.

Approaching the green

Teeing off.  Amanda can really drive the ball!

In the middle of the fairway, as usual.

We went straight to Dick's Sporting Goods and bought a couple of folding stools and then picked up Chinese at China Palace.  Two entree dishes were enough for lunch and supper.  We spent the rest of the afternoon recovering!  After supper, we went to the Matzek's to celebrate Mike's birthday.

TN added 2533 new cases with and 11 new deaths and 48 more people hospitalized.

Loudon Co case count is 544 with 226 active; 41 new cases since Saturday and 31 more active cases.

Knox Co is up to 3240 cases and 26 deaths.  Until the end of June, Knox Co had only 5 deaths.  All the reset have been in July.

The US case count is 4,421,178 with 150,235 deaths.

Our dear leader has not mentioned or mourned the deaths.

Tuesday, July 28

The second day of the golf tournament at Oak Ridge CC.  We woke up to rain and thunderstorms, but as predicted, it was over before Amanda's 11:30 tee time, starting again on the back nine.  We were hoping for an overcast sky to keep the temperature down but we got sun and steam instead.  We turned it over to Laura when Amanda started the 2nd half of play.  She ended the day with a fantastic score of 88, including one birdie!  We and I got another good workout.  If not for the heat, we might have walked all 18.  

Numbers:

US deaths have surpassed 150,000 and are now the 5th leading cause of death in the US.  TN has recorded 99,044 cases, adding 2555 new cases today, has administered over 1.4 million tests and recorded 999 deaths.  The state positivity rate is 8.1%

Loudon County case count is 560 with 230 active cases and 6069 negative tests - still well above the threshold for safe opening with an 8.5% pos rate.

Wednesday, July 29

I picked the garden this morning and got a good amount of purple hull peas and tomatoes.  Tomorrow I'll check the beans again and pick the squash.  I was so hot by the time I finished that I didn't cool off until half an hour AFTER my shower.

Purple Hull peas

I was able to put 3 pints of peas in the freezer

Tomatoes are finally ripening.  I still have problems with early blight.

Today's harvest

Rain is reviving the green bean bloom

Late in the afternoon I met Amanda at Avalon Golf Club for a school match.  I started out walking, but didn't last long with the heat and steep hills.  Fortunately, Laura arrived and rented a cart. This was a nine-hole match.  Amanda did well and ended with a 47, best of the 6 girls playing.  Her team won on her good score.

This is where Amanda's tee shot landed on a long hole!  She got a good roll off a hill.

Some of the greens were pretty rough

Thursday, July 30

I picked a few more green beans & squash, cooked the green beans and put 2 pints of squash in the freezer.  I took the beans to Bonnie's for supper.  She fixed hamburger steak and potatoes.  We watched "Hamilton." It is the most creative production that I've ever seen!  I would see it again.

Numbers:

TN Dept of Health: 100,822 cases; 1020 deaths

LoCo: 575 cases; 237 active

No improvement in growth rate of new cases, averaging almost 16/day (14 day rolling avg)

Friday, July 31

The usual Friday video recording and trip to the grocery, along with a few other errands.  I spent time in the afternoon working on the church website and created a blog for Pastor Kristie's bible study.

Laura came for a late afternoon visit and shared a glass of excellent sangria made from a bottle of sweet red wine that Bonnie had given me.  We had a major thunderstorm while she was here, but it finally cleared enough for her to get home.  Taco supper and TV finished the day.

Numbers:

TN case count is 105,959 with 1060 deaths; more than 1.5 millions test with 8.3% pos rate.

LoCo case count is 606, with 31 new cases and 251 active.  We have a 10.2% pos rate.  

We need to start watching the case counts for the under-20 age groups now that school is starting.  Gov Lee has announced that the state will not record or report case counts by school or county.  That seems irresponsible.  The data is important for making proper decisions about school attendance and the needs/welfare of children.

Statewide as of today: 0-10, 4985 cases, 5% of total; 11-20, 11, 974 cases, 11% of total.

Saturday, August 1

Ed had the video ready early, so I got that posted before noon but after enjoying a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, biscuits, grits and cantaloupe.  I picked more tomatoes and made a pint of sauce from the ones that needed to be used. I spent most of the afternoon working on this blog and have caught up with online posting as of this afternoon.  I always wish I had one or two more pictures so that I had one for each day.

TN case count is 108,184 with 1067 deaths.

LoCo case count is 643, with 282 active - another big increase

Statewide as of today: 0-10, 5140 cases (+55), 5% of total; 11-20, 12,287 cases (+313), 11% of total.

US (NY Times) 4,599,300+ cases; 154,300+ deaths; 67,746 new cases yesterday and 1424 additional deaths.

Pandemic Times - July 19 - 25

Sunday, July 19

Uh-Oh!  No entry for this day.  Sometimes the spirit needs a break, I guess. I found this picture, so I must have made bread:

Monday, July 20

This was a home day, with gardening and housework. I took this photo of a garden supper: corn left from Saturday, cut off the cob and fried in bacon grease, Marguarite Stuart's  cheesy squash casserole, garden-fresh green beans with a few purple hull peas tucked in and a small pork chop.  I had enough green beans to put a few pints in the freezer.

Numbers:

Loudon County case count is now 408 with 126 active.  In Knox Co, the active cases exceed recovered.  The US has recorded more than 141,000 deaths and over 3.8 million cases.  TN has recorded 79,754 cases with 45, 974 of those listed as "recovered."

Tuesday, July 21

This morning I went to Lenoir City Elementary School to pack school supplies for the Good Samaritan Back Pack give-away program.  The work was scheduled for 9-12, but we finished at 11. Masks were required and the work was arranged so that it was not crowded.  After lunch at home, I went to Farragut for a much needed hair cut and picked up Fried Rice and Spring Rolls from Little Bankok for supper.  I read that LoCo had 25 new cases today, but I didn't get the numbers recorded.  

Wednesday, July 22

I volunteered again this morning for the Back Pack project.  Claire and Amanda met me there at 9.  We were finished by 9:45, so they had a short morning of work.  

Afterward, Bonnie and I went by Click's Funeral Home to pay respects to Bill Harris.  His death was unexpected and he will be very missed in our church and community.

Numbers:

US:  NBC reported more than 1000 deaths today, for a total of 142,505 death

TN Dept of Health recorded 2473 new cases and 17 deaths.

Loudon County case count is 443 with 151 active cases; 5662 neg tests total.  We are above the threshold

Knox Co has 1401 active cases

Rutherford Co, where Claire will be going to college, has 2518 active cases.

Thursday, July 23

Kathy and I went to the graveside service for Bill Harris.  It was hot, but not unbearable and lasted only about 30 minutes, including full Masonic rights.  A men's ensemble from Trinity sang.  Trinity has a number of members in attendance and all were wearing masks.  Most others were not.

After dropping Kathy off, I stopped for a doe and her two fawns crossing Grubb Road.  The fawns were confused and took several minutes to make up their minds about which way to go. They wanted to follow their mother who had gone up the steep bank on the left.  I enjoyed watching them resolve their dilemma.  After I got home, Bill went shopping to replenish his favorite shorts.  He came home with 5 pair!

Which way did mama go?

Not that way!

We can't find her

Finally going in the right direction!

Numbers keep getting getting worse.

TN case count exceeds 86,000 with 2570 new cases, 109 new hospitalization and 37 deaths since yesterday.

LoCo case count is 484 with 183 active

Knox Co has 1436 active

US (NY Times) case count is 4,011,100 with 143,700 deaths

The time it is taking to double the number of cases has been decreasing by half.

Friday, July 24

Video recording day.  I put up some of the "Reserved for Safe Distancing"  signs to make off pews so I could take a picture for the newsletter.  I think it will be many weeks before we return to in-person worship and activities.

Afterward, I picked up Bonnie for a funeral home visit for John Davis.  John was a teaching colleague and his wife Carole, also a teaching colleague is a friend. I have known them both for many years and taught their children.

Numbers:

Loudon Co recorded 7 more active cases today after an increase of 40 yesterday. 

Knox Co has 1544 active

TN added more than 200 cases

Loudon Co remains above the threshold of 10 new cases/100,000 residents

Nationally, new cases, hospitalizations and deaths are increasing alarmingly.

Saturday, July 25

I went to another funeral today, this time for John David. (Neither was Covid-related) I got up early to pick a few vegetables and water the garden.  Just as I was leaving to pick up Bonnie and go to the graveside service, the sky opened with a deluge of rain.  The service ended up being inside the funeral home in the visitation room.  There were not many there other than family and everyone was masked.  I am so sorry for Carole. 

Later, Bonnie came over for steaks and fresh corn.  The rain had cooled the air so that we were able to sit and eat on the deck.  After strawberries and ice-cream for dessert we decided to try to see the comet.  We (Bill, Bonnie & me) went down by the river where we had a good sky view.  We waited until "good dark," about 10:30 but all we could see through the scope was a smudge which might have been the comet.  It was in exactly the right location. Wish I could have gotten a picture.  We were very disappointed, but had fun anyway.  At least we tried!

Numbers: 

TN added 1718 cases to a total of 90,796, with 26 more deaths and 76 more hospitalizations.

The US has exceeded 4 million cases and is averaging 70,000 new cases every day.

Loudon Co has 195 active cases and a total case count of 503.  We are still well above the threshold.  LoCo has added 135 cases this week and has a 8.2% positivity rate.