Saturday, May 30, 2020

Saturday, May 30, 2020

What a week. On Monday, a 46-year-old black man, George Floyd, was apprehended by 4 police officers and restrained by one cop holding him on the ground with his knee on his neck as  the man pleaded “I can’t breathe”. The cop continued to hold him down for 8 minutes, even though he quit breathing after 4 minutes.  The community responded with grief and anger, as the video went viral, yet, the 4 cops had not been arrested. It wasn’t long and the protests became violent and buildings were looted and set afire, including the Minneapolis 3rd Precinct where the 4 cops worked from - it burned to the ground.

Each night since then, the violence has spread and gotten worse. Neighborhood business have burned and stores have been looted and emptied of everything that might have a value. The National Guard was called in yesterday and they weren’t able to handle the crowds during the night, in spite of a curfew being placed between 8pm and 6am. When Tom and I took Frisco out at 9pm, we stayed right in my community, but there wasn’t a car on the road - an unreal silence. On the news, we learned that the police officer who held the man down has been charged with murder. A large group of peaceful protestors had blocked the northbound lanes of I35W and were marching north toward downtown, in spite of the curfew. 

This morning, we learn of even more violence, looting and burning overnight. Governor Walz has been on the news and they are saying that everyone that has been arrested has been from out of town. They are bringing in even more National Guard troops and police from other cities and states in anticipation of more violence tonight as the violence has been caused by drug cartels, and violent black groups - the local citizens are pleading for peace and cleaning up after the thugs.

And all of this with the continuing loss of lives from COVID-19, just as businesses are starting to open up.  It is truly a sad situation around here.

We saw this sign on our walk earlier in the week:


Tom and I have been getting lots of walks in these days and we have explored neighborhoods and the trails along the Mississippi. We stopped to watch a barge go by yesterday and today we walked the trail between the South and North entrances to Hidden Falls Regional Park - 4.2 miles total. We did not find the falls.







Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

I was looking for something in a box on Thursday, found lots of music and photo CDs and spent the some time sorting through, trashing several, and putting several of the Music CDs out in the lobby for someone in the apartments on my floor to help themselves.  It wasn’t long and they disappeared.  I spent the next few hours watching photos dating back to 1999 on up to about 2005 on my tv from the DVD player.  I sure did have some beautiful gardens, both in Wisconsin and Florida, and had lots of fun times and travels with friends and family.

Preparing for Tom’s arrival on Sunday, I shopped for groceries, cleaned my car, did laundry, and cleaned the apartment on Friday and Saturday.  On 
Sunday afternoon, I put a rack of Baby Back Ribs in the oven and mixed up a bowl of coleslaw.  He pulled in a little after 3 pm, relieved to be off the road and glad to be here. It has been 4 months since we’ve seen each other and we found plenty to talk about.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

We are finally seeing temps in the 70s and it sure feels good. I actually changed into knee length pants and short sleeves for my walk today. Frisco and I ended up getting 2 miles in and I stopped to get some photos of spring flora along the way. The sweet smells of lilac and flowering crab are everywhere - and yes, my allergies have also flared.
I arranged to meet up with Ben after work so we could take a walk together. Because of home schooling, he doesn’t finish working until 7:30-8 pm. I hung out with Jill and the kids for a while and we all had Strawberry-Rhubarb crisp that Camille made (with a little help from Mom). She even found and chose the recipe online and insisted on serving. It was very tasty.

These are the ‘Super Dooper Rollerblader Girls’ out for an adventure.



Ben and I had a very nice 2-mile walk (that makes 4-miles and 12,000+ steps for me today) and lots of talk along with it.  We will have to do that more often and maybe even take the girls for a walk instead of video time in the afternoon.



Monday, May 18, 2020

Monday, May 18, 2020

It’s been almost a week again - without a lot to write about.  

We got some much needed rain over the weekend - Saturday, just enough to need a raincoat but not get soaked. Sunday was steady and we got almost 4 inches throughout the day. I got soaked on my first walk with Frisco and got smart and wore my waterproof hiking shoes, rain pants and raincoat on the other walks so I stayed dry by my outerwear sure got soaked. I am thankful that I had it.

Tom started on his road trip with the hopes of arriving here next Saturday or Sunday. He is taking a detour to visit his sister Geri in Blythe, CA, then Joyce in Falcon, CO and is hoping to arrive here by Saturday or Sunday.

I found another one if these engraved sidewalk blocks on my walk today. I find them interesting and feel good when I spot one.




Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Mother’s Day started with a call from Pat and Tracey and lots of texts from family and friends.  The weather has been cool and wet but we managed to have a family gathering on Sunday to celebrate Mother’s Day at Lois and Dennis’ house again.  We started by taking a long walk on the trails through their neighborhood, then hung out around the fire pit with a good fire burning.  The kids were busy playing yard games and I pitched the ball to them and they each got 3 hits before passing the bat.

Dennis made steak and pepper burritos for dinner and we roasted marshmallows and had some mores for dessert. All in all it was a very nice day in spite of the weather.




Saturday, May 9, 2020

Friday, May 8, 2020

This week’s highlight - I got to visit with Marta and Kerry, friends from Washington who were passing through and stopped for a visit.  They are long time RVers that I met when Mike and I stayed at Marin RV, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Greenbrae, CA. Kerry was working at the Maritime Museum in SF and Mike and I were babysitting Charlotte a few days a week for a few about 6 months. Marta and I became quick friends and would go on long hiking adventures to places like the Marin Headlands, and other beautiful spots. I will never forget our trip to Maritime Museum’s warehouse where we were given a guided tour of artifacts that were in storage or being repaired for the museum, followed by a great dinner and beers. That was the point where we hit it off as couples but then Mike and I left there shortly after. After Kerry retired, they went back to Washington to be near their family.

Marta and I have stayed in touch through the years, thanks to Facebook, and I feel fortunate that they took the time for a visit with me.  We last saw each other in 2014 and just missed connecting last spring when Tom and I were in Washington.  We had a nice, distanced visit, some lunch, and a walk along the river. Unfortunately, Marta’s health is not so great as she suffers from Fibromyalgia in her legs and was recently  diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Dementia. She seemed like the same old Marta to me, but after a couple of hours she struggled to remember things and Kerry helped her out a lot and filled in the blanks. She is fortunate to have a good man by her side who is willing to do whatever he can to care for her and to keep her happy. After her diagnosis, they were considering an end to their travels but it is something that she loves and it keeps her brain active, so they will continue for as long as they can.




Monday, May 4, 2020

Monday, May 4, 2020

The same old, same old continues here with the exception of some beautiful weather for long walks and having windows open and occasionally striking up a conversation outdoors at a safe distance.

Saturday was the highlight of the last few days for me, as I met up with Ben and his family at Lois and Dennis’ back yard for a belated birthday celebration. Each granddaughter handed me a self-made birthday card with pretty birds and tender messages on them. 









We had beers, played with the kids, and sat in a large circle visiting. Dennis grilled brats and hot dogs and we had some salads and chips on the side, ice cream bars to top it all off. It was a lovely day.





I felt bad for Tom tonight when he called to express his frustration over something that he witnessed at his park in Apache Junction. When he was out walking, he became angry when he noticed that a huge Class A motor home that was covered in Trump supporting/promoting skin was parked in one of the spots and he hoped that he wouldn’t have to have any personal contact with someone in that RV. As we talked, he calmed down but he certainly needed to vent and lower his blood pressure.  We figured that it was probably there in support of Trump’s visit to the Honeywell plant tomorrow and it would hopefully be gone, never to return again. We both are finding it difficult to understand how he is still getting support after the way he has handled this pandemic. We see it that he has done nothing right and they see it that he has done everything right. 

Things are getting ugly with some states deciding to open up their businesses while the Medical experts are telling us that this isn’t even close to being on the downside. People are protesting, some violently, refusing to wear masks, and even some KKK activity - a person wearing a KKK hood while grocery shopping in California and a Zoom video church service getting a KKK video bombed that interrupted the service (I’m not sure how that works, but apparently an unwanted video appears on the screen while watching the church service).