Am I Afraid

The Coronavirus seems to spread fast and there are certain precautions that are advised by medical groups. Wear a mask, wash your hands and stay ten feet away from others seem to be three main suggestions. I have two sets of friends with opposite ways of thinking. One group follows the rules by staying home except for essential outings. The other group meets in small groups, wear masks and try to have space between each other. They meet to play cards, dominoes or eat out and feel safe. I have not joined the second group and am staying home. So far, neither group has gotten the virus and hopefully no one will. Each person handles how they react by what makes them feel comfortable. The thing is that no one seems to know exactly what to do or what is the safest way to react with the information given to us.

A friend asked me, "Why are you so afraid?" When she said this to me I resented the fact that she thought I was afraid. I felt as if she was saying that I was cringing in corner, afraid to do anything! Yet, when I looked up the word afraid in the dictionary I found out what it means; feeling fear or anxiety,  worried that something undesirable will occur or unwilling to do something for fear of the consequences. Which leads me to the conclusion, that I do fit in the category of being afraid, not frightened, but worried about the consequences that might happen if I am exposed to the virus.

My prayer is that either group, those feeling the need to socialize and those staying at home until a better time, stay healthy. Each person has to make a decision as to what makes them feel comfortable during this Covid 19 pandemic.

"In time we hate

that which 

we often fear."

William Shakespeare

The Power of a Screw

In the middle of being isolated due to Covid 19, on my birthday, May 20th, some friends drove by my house and sang happy birthday from their car while I stood in the driveway. One friend yelled and asked me what was wrong with my mailbox. I glanced over at the mailbox and it looked a bit tilted. After they left I straightened the mail box and it was okay.  It was all right until the night of June 6, when we had strong winds. The next morning I noticed the mailbox was hanging sideways. I again straightened it out and checked to see why it kept moving.

As I examined the mailbox I noticed that one screw was holding the box in place. Amazing that the one screw is keeping the mailbox from flying away! Once I adjusted the box, it looks fine sitting on top of the post. But, I know that if a wind comes up it will turn the mailbox sideways again or it might rip it right off the post. Today, since there is a breeze that might turn in to a stronger wind, I keep looking out to see if the mailbox has moved but, so far, it is staying in place.

I looked on the Internet and found mailboxes at Home Depot. My next project will be to go buy a metal mailbox and get it screwed in with the right amount of screws. I figure that should keep it without moving in any kind of wind!

"That's what I do.

Watch movies and read.

Sometimes I even

pretend to write, but

I 'm not fooling anyone.

Oh, and I go to the mailbox."

Nicole Krauss

A Final Closure

The only male in our book club passed away a few weeks ago. He left us, and to many of us, it was a huge shock and surprise. We knew he had a brain tumor but he looked fine and acted healthy. The cancer spread to his liver and that is what took his life.  I blogged about him on May 4, 2020, Prayers For A Friend and on May 15, 2020, Attending a Virtual Funeral. Today I am writing about a dream I had last night.

Members of the Spirit of Christ Catholic Community 

were gathered around the table ready for a discussion on a book.

Al walked in and took his seat next to me. I glanced over at him 

and felt a happiness overcome me. I said, "Al, I am glad you came back," 

and I turned around and gave him a big hug; it was a long and hard hug. 

I do not remember if he hugged me back but I felt as if I was saying goodbye to him and it felt good!

Five Separate Shampoos in One Day

Today I decided to shampoo my hair. Well, it is my hair but why five separate shampoos? The reason is because they are my wigs that I wear when I go out. About fifteen years ago, my real hair began to thin out and I decided to wear a wig. Presently I have five wigs. Two of the wigs are shag like, one is a light brown, and two are brown. The latest wig is a pixie and it is light brown. Different friends compliment the wig styles and I am hoping that the pixie cut will be well received also. When I visit my family in California, I use a sculpture of my daughter's face to put my wig on.

The wigs are on my dresser on their own special stands or on pottery vases and I decided to shampoo the wigs and put them in plastic baggies and store them in a drawer. After shampooing and storing them they will be ready to wear when I decide I want to change my hair style.

I was asked how I wash the wigs and the procedure is to place the wig in a sink with cold water and put some wig shampoo into the water and swish the wig around. When I ran out of the wig shampoo I began using regular shampoo and found out it works quite well. The next step is to rinse once or twice and spray a wig conditioner on the wet wig. Place the wig on its stand and let dry. Once the wig dries, I shake it out and brush the hair into a style. The spraying with a hair spray is the final step. It's amazing how long the wigs hold up after many uses.

                             






Four of the wigs are now in plastic bags and in a drawer. The only one I left out, and which I will use when I go out, is my new Pixie wig. Yet, I know I have four wigs to choose from depending on my mood!

"My wigs are ever changing in

height, width, color and size.

They make me feel happy.

Wearing them makes me feel I

can be a different person every day

and that is kind of exciting."

Nicki Minaj

Should I or Shouldn't I

"Home is a shelter from storms--all sorts of storms!"

Nicholas Christakis

Three months of isolation due to the Coronavirus or as it is also known, COVID 19,  questions roil around in my head. Is it safe to go out? Is it okay to meet with a few friends in their back yards? Have friends been tested for the virus? Is anyone sure it is safe to meet friends?  A large percentage of people are asymptomatic and some people who get the virus are from someone not showing any symptoms at all! ( From CDC; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

I have one friend who insists on having friends over and she says, "We will wear masks, sit 6' apart and meet outdoors in my patio." Another friend who meets friends for a wine party or to play dominoes, says, "If it is my time, then I will get sick and die!" Another group has told me, "We have been healthy, we take care of following the rules so we are pretty sure we are okay getting together." Another friend said, "I do not know of one, single friend who has or has died of the virus."

And then I speak to another friend who says, "I am not ready to go out and will continue to stay inside until I feel safe." Another says, "Some places that opened up had people coming down with the virus." Another friend said, "After things open up, I will still stay indoors until another month has passed just to make sure."  I feel like I am sitting on the fence not sure of what I should do. I miss seeing my friends, yet since this coronavirus is such an unknown, I think I would rather stay in than go out.

The Coronavirus spreading around the world

is calling us to suppress our profoundly human and 

evolutionarily hard-wired impulses for connection: 

seeing our friends, getting together in groups

or touching each other."

Nicholas Christakis

I wonder about how much faith do I have? Should I trust that God will take care of me? When I mentioned this to my sister-in-law, she said, "Yes, but God is quite busy these days so anything you can do to help I am sure he would appreciate it!" The latest on Jefferson County cases as of today
is 2,196 with 171 deaths. That does not seem to be a lot of people for as many people that live in Jeffco.

The rules on staying safe: Stay away from others, wear a mask when going out, stay 6' apart, wash hands thoroughly and often, keep hands away from face, limit exposure to others, social distancing, refrain from seeing friends and family. Okay, so I have the guidelines now I have to make up my mind whether I am going to go out and meet some friends!

"You know how fragile the shadow is!

A light falls on it and it disappears.

Some of the shadows that we fear

and believe that they will always rule

our lives also suddenly disappear."

Mehmet Murat Ilan

Did I Throw Away Twenty Five Dollars?

This morning I decided to go get the Emissions Test for my 2013 car. Since I purchased my car until this year, I have been able to get my license tag without an emissions test. This year, the emissions test had to be checked before I went to the Motor Vehicle Department for my tags.

What I remember of past inspections, is getting out of my car, waiting in a long room with other people and watching through the window as they stuck a hose in the exhaust pipe, spun the wheels and poked around my car.

The place opened at 8 a.m. and I read on the Internet information that they were extremely busy. I arrived at 52nd and Marshall and noticed many cars in a long line stretching for over two blocks. I joined the parade and almost an hour and a half later I arrived to where the testing was being done. One thing I noticed was that it looked efficient as cars were checked. People exited their cars, stood beside the car on a spot marked with an X and the worker looked inside the car, checked the gas cap and told me to get back in my car. Another man came and took my credit card and printed out the report.  I was handed a sheet of paper letting me know my car had passed!

I am not sure what kind of a test was done because none of what I remembered in the past was done. Maybe because my car is only seven years old, maybe they were trying to get as many people through the line, or maybe things have changed since I last had to have an emissions test done. Once I made it to the inspection it was simple and fast and it made being bumper to bumper for one hour and a half soon forgotten!

Here is the ironic thing about getting my tags. One message let me know that the MVD was open so I drove to the office and was told it was closed. That was a bummer. I came home and ordered my tags on the Internet and my emissions test was not even asked for and I wondered if I could have saved the $25 that I paid for the test. I am now up to date on my car registration but paying for something I may not have needed sticks in my craw!

"You do not need to let

anything get you down, but

if you are down, you

certainly need not let

anything keep you down."

Norman Vincent Peale

A Day Of Surprises

My wish for my birthday on May 20, 2020, was to Face Time with five friends. But, it turned out to be a difficult feat. First of all, we have different brand phones; two of us have I-phones and the other persons having Androids. I was told that without I-Phones we could not Face Time, though we would be able to group talk on Messenger.

For over an hour we messed around but I was never able to connect with the other people. "Joined the video chat, the video chat ended, joined the club, started sharing video," must have popped up over fifteen times as we attempted to get every one on the chat. One person, with an I-Phone, and I did manage to see each other and talk to each other but when she tried to add the other persons, I would be cut off.  It didn't matter that I hit the  "accept call," because nothing happened.

 Later, another friend helped me update my Microsoft Edge and we are hoping that the update will be the answer to group talking!

My day was filled with surprises! Every time I went out side I found presents at my front door. The big surprise came when I received a call telling me to go outside and there was a car with three friends.  I walked to the middle of my driveway and they sang Happy Birthday to me. It was wonderful seeing their smiling faces and I realized how much I am missing seeing them after three months in isolation! Tears of joy came to my eyes! When I thought my birthday celebrations, presents, cards, phone calls, texts, had come to an end, I went out to get my mail and found a beautiful planter with purple and white flowers at my front door!

My family in California and I did Face Time and they sang Happy Birthday while I blew out my candle! If we cannot be body to body with someone, the next best thing is a virtual get together! Even today, the day after my birthday, I received belated calls, two different persons sang Happy Birthday to me and I enjoyed four more cards from thoughtful friends!

My birthday would have been a quiet and lonely one if it had not been for my wonderful friends. I thank God for giving me such a thoughtful family and my dear friends who helped make my birthday special. And now I look forward to staying healthy and celebrating my birthday in 2021!

"I don't mind getting older;

it's a privilege denied to so many."

Chris Geiger